A 697,657
SILAS WRIGHT DUNNING
BEQUEST
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
GENERAL LIBRARY
دلسية
江
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DA
520
F79
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礻
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丫
​Tracts
by
William Fox
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Т.
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Table of Contents
Goy the Interest of Great Berlain
"especting the French Was
2 An Examination Fist Paines
Writings
Spilk.
on the deaths of theihen
hits or
3 Thoughts
of France
4 A Discourse on National
pasts
A
5 a Defence of the Decree &
the National Conventions &
for emancipating the slaves in the
West Indies
6 a discourse occasioned by the
National of Freb. 1702
Wts on
7 Thoughts
the Impending
Invasion of England
8 On Jacobinions
9 On the Renewal of the East
India Charter
10 Defence of the War against
Fonance
11 On Peale
12 On Trials for Treason
13
Table of Contents contenned
2013 Poor Richards Scraps hos
14 Poor Richards Scraps 133
15 Poor Richsunds Scraps 24
16 am Address to the people
of Great Britain on the
propriety of abstaining
from West India Sugar & Muns
all written by William Hox
× MB I have not 402
2.
THE
Gurney
Walworth
INTEREST
O F
GREAT BRITAIN,
RESPECTING THE
FRENCH WAR.
By WILLIAM FOX.
THE FIFTH EDITION, CORRECTED.
LONDON:
SOLD BY J. RIDGWAY, YORK STREET, ST. JAMES'S SQUARE;
T. WHIELDON AND BUTTERWORTH, FLEET STREET;
RICHARDSON, OPPOSITE THE ROYAL
EXCHANGE; AND M. GURNEY,
W.
NO. 128, HOLBORN HILL.
1793.
(PRICE THREE PENCE, OR FIVE FOR A SHILLING.)
Where may be had, juſt publiſhed, by the fame Author,
A Difcourfe on National Fafts, Third Edition.
An Examination of Mr. Paine's Writings.
A Summary View of Evidence relating to the Slave Trade.
An Addreſs to the People of Great Britain, 26th Edition.
Alfo Thoughts on the Death of the King of France, Price 3d.
}
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A
MONGST the peculiar circumſtances attending
the French revolution; the moſt intereſting, and
the moſt remarkable, is the general horror with which
it is viewed by the European Monarchs, and the exten-
five and powerful combination which has been formed
amongst them to fupprefs it. The terror it has pro-
duced feems to have totally abforbed every other con-
fideration, to have united the moft difcordant interefts,
deſtroyed the moft inveterate prejudices, and the moſt
violent jealoufies. It has even driven the Pope to feek
refuge in a nation, which has for more than two cen-
turies had the misfortune to lie under his interdict, and
to that monarch whofe fubjects he has moft folemnly
diſcharged from their allegiance to him. An invefti-
gation into the caufe of this political phenomenon may
not be uninterefting, even exclufive of the important
confequences likely to refult from it.
The revolt of fubjects against their fovereigns, is not
a very rare occurence; the king of Great Britain has
recently experienced an important one, by which he loft
the far greater part of his dominions, without exciting
any very great concern amongst his fellow monarchs, or
any very powerful combination of them in his fupport.
Even republicanifin has not heretofore appeared to
excite any confiderable alarm; America, Holland, Swit-
zerland, nay, England, in the laſt century, renounced
the authority of their fovereigns, and formed republics,
yet the monarchs of Europe abetted their revolt, and
fought their alliance. An antipathy to republicanifim
cannot be pretended, in this cafe, to be the motive for
this confederacy against France, becauſe it exiſted at a
time, when inſtead of dethroning their monarch, though
intirely at their difpofal, they voluntarily left him a fhare
of power, dangerous to the fafety and peace of the
kingdom, and granted him a civil lift to the utmost of
his defire, and much larger than that enjoyed by the
king of England. Far lefs can the recent cruelties in
France be deemed the caufe, as thoſe were the effect,
and not the cauſe of the royal confederacy. For when
it was firft formed, far lefs blood had been fhed in
France than in any revolution of equal importance,
and a limited monarchy appeared to be peaceably
(4)
eſtabliſhed. No part of the abhorrence of the French
revolution can therefore be attributed to the inftability
of the government, or the changes it has undergone,
becauſe they were the natural confequences of the
hoftile meaſures purfued against it. Mr. Pitt acknow-
ledges, that the limited monarchy of France appeared
to have been formed with the general concurrence of
the people. Had that government then been left
undiſturbed. Had not the king, the clergy, and nobles
of France been tempted by the hope of powerful foreign
aid, to endeavour the fubverfion of the new tormed
government, its permanency, its peaceable eftabliſh-
ment, was far more promifing than could reaſonably
have been expected, from the nature of the convulfion,
and the importance of the change which had taken
place. All the calamities which have fince appeared,
and the perilous fituation of the royal family of France,
may therefore be far more properly attributed to
Meffrs. Burke and Calonne, who have been indefat-
igable in inciting the prefent clamour, than to the people
of France.
At the time thefe men undertook the horrid tafk of
inciting all Europe againſt that peopie, they had
declared, that having obtained liberty with the fword,
they wished to fheath it for ever. They expressly
diſclaimed any hoftile deſign on the moſt defence lefs
ftate; they did not appear to entertain any views
inimical to the peace of the furrounding nations, nor
the leaft intention of interfering in their concerns.
They appeared difpofed to fit down peaceably, to enjoy
the happineſs they expected to derive from the revolu-
tion they had effected. To us they were naturally led
to look rather as allies, than as enemies; they confider-
ed us as the nation in Europe, whofe government
approximated the neareſt to that which they had re-
cently eſtabliſhed; and when they ſaw the continent of
Europe arming againſt them, they threw themſelves on
our juftice, and proffered us the office of mediator:
when this was declined, when Mr. Burke was allowed
to ftigmatize them with impunity, when the French
princes were inciting all Europe against them, when
almoſt every European monarch appeared difpofed to
attack them, and their king was ſuppoſed to be em-
( 5 )
ploying the immenfe revenue they had granted him in
fupporting theſe meaſures, we cannot much wonder at
the rage of the French populace or its confequences,
nor will any man believe it to be the real reafon of
any
meatures which may be adopted against them. Indeed
whatever may be the catastrophe of the royal family
of France, or whatever may have been its origin, it can,
hardly be deemed a fufficient caufe for deluging Europe
in blood. Tranfitions from the throne to an untimely
grave, occur in almoft every page of hiftory, they en-
force the argument of the moralift, embellish the works
of the poet, and form the principle pathos of the
drama. In the space of about half a century the blood of four
queens, as beautiful and accomplished as the queen of France,
Areamed on an English fcaffold, and although it was an age
of shivalry, not a ford ftarted from its feabbard to avenge
them. Even fovereigns themfelves do not in general
feem to poffefs very fympathetic feelings, they rarely
concern themſelves in the fate of thofe fellow monarchs,
with whom their own interefts are not interwoven.
The prefent age has feen a fovereign precipitated from
his throne to a prifon, and from thence to his tomb;
not by injured fubjects, but by her whom he had raifed
to empire, and who now ways the bloody fcepter, with-
out having excited thofe exclamations of horror which
feem to have been referved for the prefent occafion.
Ifa regard for the Bourbons be not the real motive
for this confederacy, far lefs can we fuppofe it to be a
concern for the people of Franse. Mr. Burke and
his affociates, indeed, are extremely pathetic in lament-
ing the mifery which they have brought upon them-
felves. That unhappy people! That
That miferable,
deluded, unfortunate country! are the epithets we apply
to France; and it is perhaps the most extraordinary
circumftance, in this memorable event, that thirty
millions of people fhould fo univerfally, and fo pertina-
ciouſly perfift in being miferable, and that it should
require fuch very extraordinary means to compel them
to be happy. It must be prefumed that the illuftrious
and beneficient monarchs of Ruffia, of Pruffia, and of
Auftria have placed their own fubjects at the fummit
of happiness, that they are thus fo perfectly at leifure to
give happineſs to the people of another country. And
( 6 )
;
that the luminous geniuses of Ruffia of Brandenberg,
and of Auftria, have fet out with fwords in their hands
to convince the French that they have mistaken the
road to felicity, and that the true principles of govern-
ment, of focial order, and national profperity, are not
to be judged of by human reafon, but to be adopted
from the banks of the Wolga, the Don, and the Oder,
where antient and venerable fyftems of government
are eſtabliſhed, which were framed by the wifdom of
antient times, improved through a fucceffion of ages
and fanctioned by happy expeirence. But however
powerfully the Ruffian, Auftrian, and Pruſſian armies
may contend in favor of theſe fyftems, it becomes us to
pauſe on the ſubject, becauſe it is poffible the illuftrious
monarchs may be intereſted in the queftion, and fome
perfons may be apt to furmife, that were the mifery
reſulting from the French principles, real, the benevo-
lent monarchs would have left theſe people undiſturbed,
to have been as miferable as they pleafed, as a terrible
example to deter furrounding nations, from fubverting
antient fyftems, or rebelling against their dread
fovereigns.
Let us then inquire a little into the nature of thofe
principles, which have caufed fuch univerfal alarm,
and threaten fuch univerfal mifchief. Firft let us afk
what they are? "Men being all free, equal, and indepen-
"dent, no one can be put out of his eftate without his own
confent, by agreeing with other men to join and unite in a
"community. Thus, that which begins, and actually con-
"cludes any political ſociety, is nothing but the conſent of a
"number of free men, capable of a majority to unite and
"c
<<
C.
incorporate into fuch fociety; and this is that, and that
only, which did, or could, give beginning to any lawful
government, The Supreme power cannot lawfully or
rightly take from man, any part of his property witbout
his own confent.-There remains inherent in the people,
a power to remove or alter the legislative, when they find
"the legislative act contrary to the truft repofed in them;
for when fuch truft is abused, it is thereby forfeited, and
""devolves to those who gave it.
"(
">
Are thefe the principles of the French revolution?
they are; but they ate not extracted from the paltry,
blurred, fcraps of the Rights of Man; they are taken
( 7 )
from the celebrated Mr. Locke's Treatife on Govern-
ment, written avowedly for the purpofe of defending the
English revolution; and for writing of which, he was
rewarded with a thouſand a year from the British govern-
ment.
It ſhould ſeem then that theſe principles are not
quite new, that the French philofophers have not
invented them; they have it feems for a century paſt
curfed this country, and now they are fermenting and
ſpreading their baneful effects through Europe. It is
not then the principles themſelves, but it is theſe prin-
ciples becoming French, which conftitutes the danger;
while they were confined to this foggy iſland, while
they were locked up in a language almoft unknown
upon the continent, the monarchs of Europe were
either ftrangers to their exiftence, or fearleſs of their
effects. But when thefe principles are adopted by a
nation, fituated in the midst of happy defpotic mon-
archies; by a nation whofe language is the univerfal
language of Europe; and whofe writers by their genius,
their wit, their learning, and their tafte, had almoft
monopolized the literature of Europe; then it was
that theſe principles excited their alarm, and threaten-
ed danger. The French writers have until lately been
admired through Europe, patronized by kings and
applauded by nobles. Some of them indeed were
tinctured with deifin, fome even with atheifmn; but that
did not feem much to diminish their celebrity, or draw
down the indignation of the monarchs and nobles of
Europe. But when theſe writers adopted the principles
of Mr. Locke, when thefe principles began to operate,
when the ftate of France threatened an extenfive circu-
lation of them. Then the alarm commenced; then
it was difcovered that the only writers in Europe, who
were univerfally read, were a fet of unhappy, miferable
philofophers. That the only literary nation on the
continent, were inadequate judges of their own happi-
nefs, and that it was requifite to fend them Ruffian and
Pruffian foldiers to teach it them.
Let it not be imagined that I mean to infinuate, that
theſe principles are not dangerous. Principles of
liberty, whether English, French, or Polifb certainly are
dangerous to the defpots of Europe, in proportion as they
( 8 )
1
are beneficial to their fubjects; and that thefe defpots
fhould unite to eradicate thefe principles, by deftroying
the new Polife and French governments is extremely
natural. I only mean to difpute the propriety of our
joining the confederacy.
But probably I may be told that the French have
introduced fome new principles in addition to
Mr. Locke's. True, but thefe principles do not feem
to be very miſchievous, or very hoftile to human happi-
nels. To renounce foreign conquests and aggreffive war-
To confine themselves to the arts of peace, content with cul-
tivating the foil, and improving the natural advantages
beaven bath alloted them-To improve the buman ſpecies
by national education, thus attaching man to fociety by
enabling him to partake of its benefits, and apportioning
buman bnppiness as equally as poffible amongst human kind.
Thefe if errors, do not feem to be of a very atrocious
nature, and ſhould they fail of being realiſed, it ought
rather excite our forrow and commiferation, than our
contempt, our indignation, or our vengeance.
But it is faid, that in the feeming excellence of thefe
principles, confifts their danger; that by theſe reveries
of literary enthuſiaſts, mankind are induced to abandon
a preſent and practicable ſtate of happineſs, in purſuit
of a viſionary fyftem which never can be realized. If
ſo, it became more peculiarly neceſſary that the French
government fhould have been left undisturbed; that
its impracticability and inutility might have been
clearly manifeſted. Even the Ruffian peafant and the
German boor might have been more content under their
prefent defpotifm, had it appeared that the principles
of the French revolution naturally led to a ftate of
anarchy, or a ſtate of defpotifm, more oppreffive than
their own; whereas the anarchy and diforders of France
may now be afcribed to the obftruction it has met with,
and diſturbance it has received from foreign powers.
Its advocates may now fairly contend-Had the French
government been left to its natural course, it would have
produced a state of buman happineſs, fuperior to what the
world ever bebeld. The defpots knew it, they knew the
contrast it would form, to the mifery they spread around
them. They refolved to prevent its maturity, they combined
to ftrangle it in its birth. They attempted it, but in vain.
(9)
-And tho' defeated, and defeated in a manner that must
deftroy every hope of effecting its overthrow, yet they threat-
en renewed hoftilities; and keep them in perpetual alarm, in
hope their deluded fubjects may believe, that the miferies and
calamities France endures from their machinations, are the
confequences of the government they have adopted.
The continental potentates have confederated againſt
France, not from any thing peculiar to her, either as to
principles, government, or conduct; and whether we ſtand
by a calm fpectator of the deftruction of Polish liberty,
or join the continental powers in fubverting the French;
in either cafe, it is the general principles of liberty, and
not any particular modification of them we are affifting.
to deftroy; and it is the general fyftem of tyranny which
we in fuch cafe neceffarily fupport.
That the Auftrian, Ruffian, and Pruffian monarchs
are to confederate with us to force upon France, the
English Conftitution, or any kind of free government, is
too abfurd to be fuppofed. It is even not pretended by
thoſe who have promoted this war. To our confed-
erates, the English principles of government are as
obnoxious as the French. Poland had formed a govern-
ment fimilar to our own; the neighbouring monarchs
beheld it with abhorrence, conſpired to deſtroy it; and
his majeſty of Pruffia, after due deliberation, pro-
nounced that Poland was contaminated with French
principles, which he was determined to deftroy. Theſe
fentiments we alſo apparently adopt, for with every
diverfified fyftem of tyranny, with every fpecies of
arbitrary power, we can cordially coalefce;, we can
confederate for mutual defence. But let any fyftem of
liberty appear among the nations of Europe; let a form
of government arife approximating to our own, with
them we difdain treaty or alliance: we look on them
with abhorrence, or turn from them with contempt; we
fuffer them to be deftroyed by the furrounding tyrants;
and if their power proves infufficient for the purpoſe,
we at last join the confederacy to fubvert them. We
at leaſt cannot be accufed of offering confraternity.
We ally ourſelves with any government, provided it be
hoftile to freedom, but liberty and happineſs, it ſeems,
we deem ſo eſtimable, that we keep them to ourſelves.
To fee the British arms otherwife employed, would
( 10 )
indeed be an uncommon circumftance. The effects of
our power and influence, are indeed to be very visibly
traced throughout every quarter of the globe, but alas!
it is in one unvaried fcene of ſlavery, defolation, and
blood! No wonder we look with abhorrence on the
French principle of communicating to others that
liberty they have themſelves obtained. It is a principle
they certainly cannot be accuſed of having learned of
us.
The intereft the continental monarchs have in fup-
preffing the principles of liberty, is plain and obvious;
but let it be aſked, what intereft have we therein? I
will not aſk if his majefty, as elector of Hanover has any!
but it will not be eafy to fhew, that the king and people
of England can poffibly have any: to them it must be
perfectly indifferent whether the principles of liberty
exift on the east or the west of the Rhine, or whether
they be bounded by the Alps or the Pyrennees.
Yet it is the danger from thefe principles which is
chiefly founded in our ears. It is their principles
Mr. Dundas tells us, which has rendered France obnoxi-
ous and dangerous. And it is their principles Mr. Burke
fo vehemently calls on us, to wage eternal war, to
eradicate.
The war then it feems is intended to fubvert thefe
principles? Difmiffing for a moment the enquiry,
whether they be true or falſe, dangerous or beneficial;
let us afk a plain queftion, How a war with the French
republic is to destroy them? England is their native land;
here they may be deemed indigenous, in France only
exotic; and whether fuffered to remain, or whether the
hand of violence tears up the new planted offset, the
mother plant ftill remains. Here if any where, that
muſt be deſtroyed: not only Mr. Burke's speeches and
the Duke of Richmond's letters, but Mr. Locke's writ-
ings muſt be configned to oblivion before the principles
of the French revolution can be annihilated. They are
not merely the principles of that revolution, but of all
our modern revolutions. Mr. Locke reduced them
into form for the English revolution; Mr. Molyneux
reforted to them as a proper foundation for an Irish
revolution; Mr. Burke's coadjutor, Dr. Price brought
them forward for the American, and the national
( II )
?
affembly adopted them for the French revolution.
They are ſtill very little the worſe for wear, and may
ſerve for twenty revolutions more. It is true thofe
who have uſed them to effect a revolution, have ufually
wiſhed, as foon as the end has been answered, to confign
them to oblivion; yet they furvive. Admitting then
theſe principles to be dangerous in the extreme; admitting
alſo that their progrefs in this nation be rapid and
alarming: nay, that all the exertions of government
will be inadequate to preferve the public peace from the
diſorders that theſe principles will occafion. Still we
muſt requeſt Mr. Dundas, Mr. Burke, or Mr. Jenkinſon
to inform us how a war will eradicate thefe prin-
ciples, or prevent their further progreſs amongſt us?
Suppofing the Anftrian and Pruffian grenadiers, with the
affiftance of the Engliſh guards, were to eat up thirty millions
of French, and bring away the eighty-three Departments in
their knap-facks; would thefe principles be loft? would the
murder of thirty millions of people prove them to be falſe?
or would any calamities the French may endure from the
band of violence make theſe principles be lefs admired? If
it be intended to root them out, meafures very dif-
ferent indeed from thoſe avowed muſt be adopted.
Should we indeed ever be informed that we have
fucceeded in reftoring the antient French monarchy to
its former luftre, and that the national convention have
been all fent to a new Baftile, erected on purpoſe
to receive them. Should we be told that the
British arms had turned the fcale, and determined the
war in favor of the allied monarchs, that they had
determined no longer to quarrel about the boundaries
of their territories; but, from a fenfe of common danger
had affociated together against their fubjects as their
common enemy; I know not but fome inquifitive
perfons amongſt us might be apt to enquire the names
of the allied kings; and probably might be fooliſh
enough to imagine, that if ever we should have an en-
terprising monarch on the throne, our liberties might
be in rather more danger from the nations of Europe
being governed by defpotic monarchs, who had effec-
tually fubjugated their funjesis, and had large ftanding
armies at their abfolute difpofal, than if theſe nations
were all democratic republics.-And it is not undeſerv-
( 12 )
ing notice, that ſhould the French revolution be fup-
preffed, the European monarchs will have learnt a leffon
from it they will not foon forget. Mr. Burke juftly
obferves that kings will be deterred from granting their
fubjects any degree of liberty; they will from policy
be cruel. Should the continental monarchs fucceed
in fuppreffing the French revolution, they will hardly
make Mr. Burke a lying prophet. Tyrants are cruel
in proportion to their fears.
Perhaps it will be faid, we do not mean to reſtore
the old government of France. Indeed it is not eaſy to
furmiſe what is really meant by the farrago of incoherent
complaints againſt France with which we are deafened;
but certainly as moſt of them are philippicks againſt the
new government, the only plain inference is, that this
abominable government is to be deſtroyed, and as we
fhould reaſonably fuppofe, the old one to be reftored:
certainly it appears to be intended to compel them to
have a king. Mr. Burke's moſt vehement complaint is,
that they hate kings. The meaſures which have been.
purſued againſt them, do not ſeem indeed to have been
extremely well calculated to remove their antipathy;
and ſhould the king of England join the confederacy
againſt them, it is not quite certain that it will totally
eradicate their ſtrange prejudices against kings.
make them love kings will certainly be rather a difficult
taſk; the utmoſt we ſhall be able to effect, will be to
compel them to fwallow a king, which they will difgorge
if ever it be in their power.
To
It is peculiar to this war, that our moſt imminent
danger may poffibly refult from fuccefs. Can we believe
it poffible, that the monarchs of Europe, after we have
afſiſted them to eradicate theſe principles out of France,
will fuffer them to exift in England? Muft not this
country have the benefit of their kind attention? The
English language is becoming common on the continent,
and they will hardly overlook the danger which may
refult from it, nor is it to be imagined that if the con-
tinent be thoroughly fubjugated, England can infure
her exemption from the yoke. Hence if it were to be
fuppofed poffible, that the Royal Affociation fhould
totally fubvert the new government of France, we might
justly entertain the moſt dreadful apprehenfions. The
( 13 )
continental monarchs no longer engaged in endleſs
quarrels about the boundaries of their dominions, but
combined together in one horrid confederacy to main-
tain their power againſt their fubjects; all principles
of benefit and importance to mankind would be erad-
icated. Europe would prefent to our view a new and a
monftrous fyftem of government indeed, far more deteftable
than the old. One itagnant and putrid maſs of defpotifm
would hang over the whole continent. Then indeed
the plan would prefent to our view a grand unity of de-
fign. It would not appear as it now does, in unconnected
and disjointed parts. If this be a part of the plan,
it is carefully and prudently kept out of fight. We are
told nothing of reciprocity. The king of England is
to engage in this conteft from pure motives of regard
to his fellow monarchs; to preferve their dignity and
power, as king of England; at leaſt, he aſks nothing for
himſelf.
But as there is little chance that these principles,
whether French or English, will ever be rooted out, it
may
be fome comfort to thoſe who are alarmed about
them, to be informed that however dangerous or how-
ever beneficial they may be in Germany; yet in England
they are unimportant. As principles they have long
exiſted in this country: they have been appealed to in
both the English and American revolutions; but that
they had any tendency to produce theſe events may be
doubted. If the English, the Irish, the Scotch, or the
Welsh fhould ever feel apprehenfions fufficient to induce
them to revolt, and ſhould have it in their power to ef-
fect it, they may poffibly refort to thefe principles, if they
are to be found, but were they to be loft, that circum-
ftance certainly would not reftrain them from revolt:
they would do as we did at the revolution, firſt effect it,
and then find fome Mr. Locke to form a fet of prin-
ciples to defend it. In the mean time there is little
danger of our reforting to them, but as themes of literary
difcuffion. Perhaps the Duke of Richmond and a few
whimſical men may wish to fee thefe principles more
obviouſly realiſed in our government; but to go to war
with the French for that reaſon, is as abfurd as if we
were to commence a crufade against the Turks, becauſe
a few individuals amongst us may admire the Koran; or
( 14 )
againſt the idolatrous Chineſe, becauſe an extravagant
author has lately expreffed his approbation of the
Heathen Theology.
The people of this country in a fituation of increaſ-
ing profperity, furrounded with comparative mifery,
will not be eaſily induced to hazard this happineſs:
they will not fcrutinize accurately into our form of
government; nor hazard a public convulfion, by at-
tempting fuch fpeculative, or even real improvements
as may endanger the public peace. Some few always
have been, and always will be endeavouring to draw
the public notice by their ſpeculations, but the bulk of
the nation will give but little heed to them. If ever
there be the leaſt danger of their interrupting the pub-
lic happineſs, we fhall ftop our bufinefs and our plea-
fures for a moment, and convince them of their
infignificance. That the public peace was in any
danger from theſe principles could hardly be believed;
and cannot be now even pretended. The public have
manifeſted ſuch an univerfal approbation of the govern-
ment and its adminiſtration, and fuch a determination
to ſupport it, as was never before witneſſed: all parties,
all religions, all ranks, merely on being informed, by
authority, that the public peace was in danger, have
with unexampled zeal, preffed forward to exprefs their
attachment, without even ſtopping to enquire whether
the danger be real or imaginary. Is this a time to
tell us of danger from public commotions? If any
man really thought fo, he muſt be convinced of his
miſtake; and it is certainly a little inconfiftent in
Mr. Burke, that he reprefents us as cleaving to our
antient prejudices, becauſe they are prejudices, yet
confiders us as ready to run mad after the moſt ex-
travagant innovations; the baneful and mifchievous
effects of which, he ſays, we have an example of, in
the miſery they have brought on the French nation.
But admitting there were fome ground to apprehend
danger from republicans and levellers, the meaſures
which have been taken, appear to have been fully
adequate to the purpoſe: if libellers write, juries will
convict, and courts will puniſh: if riots ſhould happen,
conftables or foldiers will fupprefs them. Thefe feem
to be the proper, we have experienced them to be
( 15 )
adequate, and they certainly are cheaper remedies for the
evil, than a war against France.
As none of the principles of the French revolution
can be refered to as being either new or dangerous,
Mr. Burke to ſtigmatize it, talks for hours, about blood
and atheism, and then to produce ftage effect throws
daggers about the houfe; but after he has finiſhed his
theatric rant, he muſt be told, that the circumſtances
attending a revolution, are not its principles, and fre-
quently not the refult of the principles. The maſſacre
of Glencoe, or King William's bloody wars, our national
debt, the feptennial or riot at, were never called the
principles of the English revolution. The events of
Auguft and September arofe from foreign cauſes; had
thoſe cauſes not exifted, the events would not have
followed; yet the principles of the revolution would
have been the fame; fo the hatred to kings conftitutes.
no part of thoſe principles, it fprang from the hatred
kings have manifefted to their government. The offer
of confi aternity was adopted to counteract the univerſal
confederation they faw formed againſt them, or at leaſt
to retaliate it; and had the confederation never been
formed, there is not the leaſt evidence to prove, that
either hatred to kings, or the offer of confraternity would
have refulted from their principles, any more than from
the principles of any other republic, or than from the
principles of our revolution, for even that has been
difgraced with blood, and ftigmatized with atheifm.
The refiftance of our anceſtors to the antient authority
of the crown, during the reigns of the Stuarts, was
attended with much blood-fhed, and produced fome
ridiculous, and fome disgraceful circumftances.
preferying the new line of kings, and the new fpecies of
monarchy, fince 1688, we have ſhed no finall quantity
of blood, both in Ireland and in Scotland; and under
circumſtances, which, Mr. Burke, fhould he ever be
difpofed to undertake the tafk, might poffibly be able
to place in as odious a point of view, as he has the
French massacrees.
In
As to both atheism and murder they are not new
charges againſt revolution principles. Mr. Burke is
only a copyift; he merely ecchos the decrees of the univer-
fity of Oxford juft prior to our revolution. When
( 16 )
having carefully examined the principles of thofe very
revolutioniſts, whofe conduct and whofe writings, even
Mr. Burke affects to revere; that celebrated fear of
piety and learning, folemnly decreed, that the faid
propofitions were falfe, feditious, impious,beretical, and
blafphemous, injurious to Christianity, and deftructive
* of all government in church and ſtate, fitted to deprave
good manners, corrupt the minds of uneafy men, ftir
"up feditions and tumults, and lead to rebellions, murder
of princes, and atheism itſelf." And about the fame
time one of the most learned and refpectable of our
bishops had fagacity enough to diſcover atheiſm ish
Mr. Locke's writings.
寫
​But however dangerous, or however atheistical thefe
principles might then be deemed, we now feem defirous
of monopolizing them; and the oppofition to the
French revolution, arifes in no fmall degree, from an
apprehenfion that other nations may derive the fame
benefit from them which we have experienced. Much
is it to be lamented that in this country there are many,
who, fraught with national pride, caft a jaundiced exe
around and fay, If the nations of Europe enjoy the fweets
of liberty, and their commerce ceaſes to be expoſed to arbi-
rary laws administered by venal judges - if their land no
Louger lies uncultivated, that their nobles may enjoy the
pleasures of the cbace;-if myriads of clergy draw not
way their wealth from the channels of industry;-if arbi-
trary and rapacious exa&ios no longer rob the artifan and
the peasant of the fruit of their induſtry, or violence force
them from their families, to fill up the ravages of death in
the armies of contending defpots; then thofe nations, poffeffed
of fuperior natural advantages to ourselves, will rear their
beads around us; no longer shall we retain our proud pre-
eminenence, or hold the equilibrium of empire; confined to the
#atural advantages our island poffeffes, we shall cease to carry
on balf the commerce of Europe; no more will the Britifb
name carry terror through the world, or its terrors refound
from pole to pole. But let fuch recollect—that if
patriotifm be a virtue, it cannot be founded on fuch
malignant propenfities; it will not lead us to wish
human happiness to be circumfcribed by Albion's Cliffs,
or that the genius of Liberty ſhould caft her mantle
only o'er our ifle.
( 17 )
But admitting the overthrow of the old government
in France, may, by increafing its trade, agriculture, and
manufactures, be at fome diftant period, prejudicial to
our own: admitting alfo, that on this malignant prin-
ciple we did not fcruple to act; yet on the mere
impolicy of it we may fafely reft the queſtion, even under
any circumftances which can poffibly take place.
To re-eſtabliſh the old government, we may now
certainly reckon amongst the impoffibilities: had that
been in contemplation, we fhould have attempted it
earlier, when the Auftrian and Pruffian armies were in
full ftrength, undiminished by fickness and flaughter, and
undifinayed by defeat, when their exchequers were not
extruited, and when they would not have reſted folely
on us for their fupply; even then, no man can imagine
that ur weight thrown into the fcale would have turned
the ballance; our importance as a military power is
certainly not great, and where the combined armies of
Auftria and Pruffia have had fo fhameful a repulfe
ours would hardly have made much impreffion: we
might to be fure, have fent a few regiments to be cut off
at St. Cas, to be flaughtered in the fields of Fontenoy, or
to fign a capitulation at Clofter-Seven; and we may now
replenia the exhauſted coffers of the German princes,
to enable them to obftruct the progrefs of republicaniſm
in Germany, for to overthrow it in France they can have
now no hope. But may it not be aſked, what intereſt
can we have in this? What concern have we whether
republicanifm prevail on the banks of the Rhine, the
Wolga, the Danube, or the Po? If the change of the
government of France will be advantageous to its trade
and manufactures, and thereby become injurious to ours,
it is an evil we muſt prepare to meet, it cannot be pre-
vented. France is an eſtabliſhed republic, and there, if
any where, we muſt expect to ſee rifing and flouriſhing
manufactories; but from Germany, remote indeed muſt
be any fuch danger:
danger: to improve her uncul-
tivated ground will afford employment for an increaf-
ing population, and long prevent her engaging in
extenſive manufactures to our prejudice, and in the
mean time they will be taken of us in an increaſing
proportion. Germany is even now the best market we
have: will fhe become a worſe, when rich, populous, free,
( 18 )
and happy? when her forefts fhall be converted into cul-
tivated villages, full of inhabitants, enjoying the com-
forts, perhaps the fuperfluities of life, ſhall we not find
an additional ſource of trade? If there be an event
to be wifhed for by us of more peculiar importance
than any other, it is that Germany be free, and in con-
nection with it, that the Scheldt be opened; the Britiſh
veffels will then unload our manufacttures on the quays
of Antwerp, from whence they will be conveyed by the
Flemish canals, Rhine, &c. to the interior parts of Europe:
if there be a nation to whom the opening the port of
Antwerp must be highly advantageous, it is England;
if there be a nation to whom (except Holland) it will
be injurious, it is France; they are giving to Flanders a
port far fuperior to any one they themselves poffefs in
the channel; yet even to Flanders is it unimportant, in
compariſon of us, for of English manufactures chiefly,
Antwerp will become the depot.
Wars, when commenced, even on popular ground,
and originating in the public voice, have ufually a
different termination. Ideal benefits are in general
held out, but they always vanish when the great and
certain evils of war come to be experienced! But in
this war, not only every reflecting man will know its
impolicy and abfurdity, but what is of much more im-
portance, no object can poffibly be held out to deceive
the ignorant multitude: 'fhould they be even told that
the large fubfidies fent by us to the continent had been
fo well employed by our illuftrious allies, that the armies
of the German potentates, and the Ruffian emprefs had
been crowned with the most complete fuccefs, that
French principles had been effectually eradicated out
of France and Poland, and their antient and venerable
governments restored, eſtabliſhed, and fecured, from the
deteftable innovations of reafon and philofophy: yet
perhaps fome may ſay, the mad and boundleſs ambition
of the court of France had been founded in our ears
for above a century, it had been repreſented as endan-
gering the peace and liberties of mankind; to it we
attributed our wars, our taxes, our national debt, our
ftanding army, and expenſive navy.
This power,
Mr. Burke told us no longer exifted as a nation, its
army without difcipline, its finances ruined, he could
(
19 )
only fee a vaſt chafm, which once was France. And
is our commerce ruined, our taxes and national debt
increaſed? are we involved in all the calamities of war,
to fill up this chafm, to restore this dreadful and danger-
ous power, to give difcipline to its armies, and order
and energy to its government? Did you regret that
this dangerous government lay before you an object of
commiferation and contempt? or was the danger only
ideal, and you regreted that there no longer exifted a
pretence for perpetual war, accumulated taxes, and a
ſtanding army?
Indeed it is ſcarcely poffible that this war can have
been projected for any of the avowed purpoſes; cer-
tainly not to keep principles out of this kingdom
which were in it before the French revolution took
place, and will ſtill exift, whether the French govern-
ment ſtand or fall. The war can hardly be intended to
reftore the old government of France, for that, even it
practicable, would be expofing ourfelves to a known
evil: It cannot be intended to give France a good
government, for that would be injurious to our trade
and manufactures; nor a bad one, for that we are told
ſhe has already it is hardly intended to engage in a
war, to block up Antwerp from our own Thipping,
nor to prevent Germany, Italy, Ruffia, or China from
becoming republics, which can certainly do us no hurt :
and a war can hardly be intended for fecuring the
liberty of the Genevefe, the fnowy Alps to Sardinia,
or the caftle of St. Angelo to the Pope: we are hardly
going to mount our Rozinante, to redrefs all the wrongs,
and engage all the windmills in the world.
The motives for this war may be various-While
the true born Englishmen are frantic with hatred of the
French, and the king terrified with the danger of Han-
over; the intrigues of a divided cabinet may have pro-
duced the prefent ferment for private purpofes, and the
miniſter may at length be propelled (as other miniſters
have been) into a war, which threatens to be as de-
ftrutive to his popularity, as to the profperity
of the nation; and as no minifter, who commenced a
war, ever yet terminated it, we ſhall probably have to
innumerate amongst the evils of this war, the lofs of a
minifter, who has juftly obtained the confidence and
efteem of his country. FINIS.
I
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EXAMINATION
Mr. Paine's Writings.
By WILLIAM FOX.
+
AUTHOR OF AN ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF GREAT
BRITAIN, ON THE PROPRIETY OF ABSTAINING
FROM WEST-INDIA SUGAR AND RUM,
LONDON:
SOLD BY T.WHIELDON AND BUTTERWORTH, FLEET STREET;
W. RICHARDSON, OPPOSITE THE ROYAL EXCHANGE;
AND M. GURNEY, NO. 128, HOLBORN HILL.
M DCC XCIII.
(Price Threepence, or Five for a Shilling)
Where may be had, just published, by the fame Author,
The Intereft of Great Britain, refpecting the French War, Price 3d.
A Summary View of Evidence relating to the Slave Trade.
An Addrefs to the People of Great Britain, 26th Edition.
I
Prefume not to denominate this little tra& an anſwer to
Mr. Paine, becauſe I do not mean to undertake what that
gentleman feems to expect from his opponents: I certainly fhall
not attempt to convince the foldiers and failors that to have
their diſcharge, and their pay continued for life, will not be
preferable to the prefent fyftem. Labouring men will certainly
approve his plan of having their families fupported by the public,
as thereby they may be enabled to ſpend two days more in the
week at the alehoufe; and, when fifty years of age, receive an
additional penſion from the public, which may ftill diminish the
neceflity they may be under of continuing their labour. That
thefe plans thould be received with avidity is not very extraor
dinary, and that Mr. Paine fhould felect them from his work,
and circulate them in the public prints, as a fpecimen of his book,
and as the ground on which he challenges, his opponents to meet
him, is very natural. I fhall certainly concede to Mr. Paine,
thefe important points: fhall not attempt to prove that ten
pounds a year is not a very good thing; I ſhall merely content
myfelf with fhewing, that money raiſed and applied in the
manner he propofes, would be a very bad thing indeed for the
public: and, as it is his financial arrangements which he ſeems
to confider as his ſtrong hold, I fhall venture to take this bull by
the horns, and confider Mr. Paine's merit as a financier.
But properly to appretiate his merit in this line, it is certainly
requilite to aſcertain in what light he is to be confidered, for on
that, in a great meaſure, will the merit or demerit of his work
depend. As an Engliſh financier, his plan is profligate and
abfurd in the extreme; but if he be confidered merely as an
American partizan, promulgating an illufory plan to deſtroy
the peace, trade, and happineſs of this country, that the trade
and navigation of his beloved America may profper on our ruin,
then indeed is there meaning and confiftency in it. The wifdom
of his fpeculations depends on the probability of our having the
folly to adopt them, but their abfurdity is fo extreme that it may
be doubtful whether his propofing them evince most his hatred
or his contempt, for this country.
Every author who had before written on the finances of the
nation, every individual who had made them the ſubject of
his confideration, have uniformly confidered our national debt,
as threatning the greateſt mifchiets to this country. Judge
Blackstone confidered it as even endangering our liberties: it is
true we have not yet experienced thofe fatal effects, but they are
not therefore lets inevitable however uncertain may be the
period in which they may take place. The difficulties and
difadvantages under which the commerce of other countries has
hitherto laboured, prevented our own, from being affected by the
weight of taxes arifing from our national debt, as it is compar-
ative incumbrances which operate on the commerce of nations.
!
( 3 )
America preſents to our view a country whofe commerce is
totally free from incumbrances. Want of population, and
capital are its fole obſtacles; but theſe obftacles are continually
diminiſhing. An Engliſhman would, therefore, naturally have
faid (poffeffed of a flouriſhing and extenfive commerce) it is
incumbent on us, affiduouſly to guard it againſt every danger,
to render it fecure that it may be tranfmitted as a permanent
bleffing to fucceeding generations we have hitherto enjoyed it
almoſt unrivaled, the nations of Europe, poffeffed of natural
advantages for trade and manufacture, have been hitherto
oppreffed by governments, which by rendering property infecure,
neceffitated manufactures and commerce to fly to us for refuge;
and Holland, the only country in Europe where property
could be deemed fecure, laboured under fuch natural diſadvan-
tages, and a load of taxes, even greater than our own, that we
had little to fear from her, as a commercial rival. But however
flouriſhing, however advantageous, our preſent fituation may be,
we are not warranted to look on it as permanent. Commerce and
manufactures are of a tranfient nature, and it is incumbent on us
to guard againſt thoſe circumſtances which may endanger our
poffeffion. However deranged the preſent ftate of
France, and however long that derangement may continue; yet
it doubtlefs will be fucceeded by a state more favourable to
commerce than the antient ſyſtem: and however injurious their
fyftem of finance may be, yet it can be but temporary, as their
national debt is converted into a mafs of paper, of which the
ftate is obligated to difcharge neither principal nor intereft.
America, almoſt incumbered with naval ftores, wants only a
capital to render her a formidable commercial rival; it is true,
conſiderable may be the lapſe of time, before either America or
any of the European nations will be in a fituation to rival our
trade and manufactures: but to that period it is incumbent on
us to look: till then we are fecure of a pre-eminence. It is ne-
ceffary to avail ourſelves of our prefent fituation, that the
profperity we enjoy may be fecured to our pofterity.
To effect this, it is abfolutely neceffary we fhould in ſome
mode difcharge our national debt; otherwife the payment of the
intereft muft inevitably fink our trade and manufactures. When-
ever France or America fhall poffefs a large commercial capital;
when France fhall become fo fettled in its government, as to
afford a temptation to our monied men to transfer their capitals
and veft them in the commerce manufactures or agriculture of
that nation, the incumbrances under which we labour muſt
have a ftrong tendency to produce this effect. Hitherto, and
eſpecially lately, fuch has been the ſtate of Europe as to occaſion
great influx of the floating cash of the continent to be veſted
in our funds this has more than counterbalanced the portion of
the intereft due to foreigners; the payment of that intereſt has
not therefore been felt: but when the continent of Europe and
America, fhall open a temptation to employ this capital, England
( 4 )
}
will be as a bank to be drawn on for that purpofe; and even
the payment of the intereft of the national debt due to foreigners,
and much more the withdrawing their capital, will produce the
molt fatal confequences, exclufive of the confideration of that
capital being withdrawn from us, to be employed in fwelling the
commerce of rival ſtates.
On the contrary, were we to avail ourſelves of the preſent
increaſing flate of our commerce to diſcharge the national
incumbrances, we fhould then be enabled to enter into a fair
competition with either America or France, however favourable
for commerce their circumſtances may prove; and being in prior
poffeffion, there could be no temptation for withdrawing thoſe
capitals already veſted in our trade and manufactures, which wil
then be unincumbered. The common expences of our govern-
ment, would be fupported by thofe internal impofitions which
the public good would require us to continue, and England
would in fact become a mere free port, whofe trade and
manufactures would in fuch caſe be rather increaſed than
diminiſhed, by the increaſing proſperity of other ſtates.
Such would be the reafoning of an Englishman, anxious for the
profperity of his country. What is the propofal of this American
partizan, Mr. Paine? as might be expected from fuch a char-
acter, exactly the reverſe. He propoſes, continuing our national
debt, our excifes, our cuſtoms, and all our taxes, to be hung as a
dead weight on our commerce and manufactures for ever: extreme-
ly modeft to be fure! by continuing our taxes our navigation
will be burdened, and thereby give an immediate encouragement
to the American fhipping; and our national debt will form a
ſtanding fund, to be drawn on gradually, as America fhall
hold out an inducement to Engliſhmen to fix their reſidence in
that country; this at prefent operates but flowly, we are not
yet quite certain of the pre-eminence of that country over this;
many of us require better evidence of it than Mr. Paine's; but
certainly many perfons of property may in time be induced to
exchange countries, and in that cafe money in our funds is the
beſt adapted for that purpoſe, and therefore Mr. Paine very
properly adviſes us for that purpoſe to referve it.
Upon the fame principle he wishes us to contemn, and
trample on a landed interelt. To improve the land of England
he knows muſt be a permanent advantage, no emigration can
carry that away to America, he therefore tells us the landed
intereft needs no care to be taken of it, and propofes that all land
fhould pay an additional tax, and in cafe any perfon poffeffed
of an eftate of £500 per annum, fhould by draining, manuring,
inclofing, building, embanking, or other expenfive improve-
ments, prefume to improve it, the faid offender fhould as a penalty
pay a double tax for fuch improvement, the tax or penalty to
increaſe with the improvement; thus if a gentleman has an
eftate of twelve thousand pounds, if he improves it to thirteen
thouſand, half the improved, or additional thouſand is to be paid
( 5 5)
)
to the public; and, if he fhould dare to extend his improvements
above a given standard, the whole of it is to be forfeited to the
ftate. Mr. Paine was an excifeman in Suffex, he faw there a
great deal of poor waste land, of very trifling value to the com-
munity, he faw alfo land which had been equally ufelefs, con-
verted into valuable farms, producing both food and labour for
an immenfe number of people, he knew alfo that important as
thefe improvements might be to the public, yet were they fo
expenſive to the individuals who effected them, as frequently to
injure their fortunes, and rarely to return an intereft for the
money fo employed. It is peculiar to agricnltural improvements,
that to the public they must be beneficial, whatever they may be
to the undertaker: with great propriety Mr. Paine therefore
levels, not only his arguments, but his wit alſo, againſt them.
He fays, we talk of taxing luxuries, furely a large eſtate is a
luxury: very witty to be fure! and it will certainly be expedient
to prohibit the luxury, a large eftate, when Mr. Paine will
prove the prohibition to be beneficial to the community, or
even to the poor. The barriers of property are fecured for their
benefit, and were theſe barriers trampled under foot, the millions
of the poor would be the principal fufferers; was Sir Richard
Arkwright's luxury of fifty thousand per annum, beneficial to him
alone, or to the thouſands and tens of thouſands, who were
thereby provided with labour and with food; and were he de-
prived of it, would the public be benefited? Is the Duke of
Bridgwater's canal a luxury, which juftice and the national
good call on us to feize as a forfeitute to the ftate, to deter others
from fimilar improvements? When Mr. Paine's national con-
vention fhall be affembled, when the illiterate, and the prof-
ligate ſhall be aſſembled to make our laws, when thoſe who are
deftitute of property fhall be called on to control and regulate the
property of others, thefe plans might probably take place.
Mr. Paine's farcaſm on a landed intereft, would not be loft, he
tells them it is the only intereft that needs no particular protection.
He fays," It is the only one for which the common prayer of man-
“kind is put up; and the only one that can never fail for want of
means. That when the farmer wants rain, people may
wish for it, we will admit; but fomething more is requifite to
render the earth productive; had Mr. Paine lived all his life in
America, his obfervations on this head might have been the mere
refult of ignorance; there indeed the farmer or occupier needs
little protection or encouragement from law; law or govern-
ment can fcarcely injure him.
68
In that country where only three or four millions of people
have to range along a coaſt two thouſand miles long, and can
extend their poffeffion inland, without limits, there indeed the
farmer has only to ſelect the richeft of the land, he can neglect
the fteril foil, and leave it in the ltate it came from the hand of
nature: if additional plantations be wanted, ftill the other is
neglected, he has only to inquire in what part of the immenfe
་
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continent, the hand of Heaven has ſcattered the richest mold;
of that he takes poffeffion, and has only to expel and murder
the original inhabitants. But in England, where we have eight
millions of people on a spot of ground inferior in fize, even to
one of the thirteen ftates, the cafe is totally different; here I
have ſeen a moſs, which had lain uſeleſs probably from the flood,
converted into fields, and yielding crops equal to the richeſt
foil; yet thouſands of acres of fimilar land ftill lay round it in its
original ſtate, becauſe the owners were detered from engaging in
the expenſive proceſs: many of theſe undertakings originate in
a laudable ambition of our landed proprietors to improve their
eſtates, as no pecuniary returns can poffibly compenfate them.
Is then the landed intereft, the only permanent, the moſt
important intereſt of the ſtate, to be trampled on, degraded, and
infulted? Are we to be told it needs no peculiar protection, it
has the prayers and wiſhes of the community, and it will there-
fore bear taxes, penalties, and forfeitures ?
On this fubject Mr. Paine ſpends many pages, he commences
it at page 100, by commenting on Mr. Burke's nonfenfe.
"That the House of Lords is the great ground and pillar of the
"landed interest. But Mr. Burke's text and Mr. Paine's
comment are equally abfurd. The Feudal Barons indeed fat in
Parliament in right of their baronies, fo did the Biſhops and
Abbots in right of their temporalities; the Bishops do fo ſtill;
but the temporal Lords bear no refemblance to the Feudal
Barons, they now fit by authority of the King's writ, it is not
requiſite for them to have an inch of land, many of them have
none. Their influence and weight they derive from their landed
intereft, not from their privilege as Lords. The poffeffion of
land in this country, by giving influence in the Houſe of Com-
mons, frequently procures them feats in the Houſe of Lords, but
if no fuch Houfe exifted, their influence in the Commons, which
gives them their real importance would be the fame; and as in
that caſe they would fit in the Houfe of Commons themſelves,
the landed intereft would acquire additional weight,in thatHoufe,
where ever fince the revolution it has much needed it. It is
the Houſe of Commons, which by its conftitution, fhould be the
pillar of the landed intereft, as every member is required to have
a landed eftate; but that is fo trifling, and frequently nominal,
that fince the increafed weight of the monied intereft, the landed
intereft has been oppreffed by it.
Mr. Paine to eſtabliſh the pofition of the weight of the landed
intereft, fays, "the only ufe to be made of this power (and which
"it always has made) is to ward off taxes from itself." And to
fupport this propofition, he fabricates fuch a monftrous collection
of falſe ſtatements as to our taxes, as might furprize thoſe who
have not read his "Common Senfe:" where to induce congrefs
to build a fleet, he calculates the expence of building the English
navy at less than half the real coft, and to fupport this eftimate he
quotes a book printed in 1758, thereby conveying an idea that the
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eflimates were of that date; but he carefully kept concealed what
was fated in the book itself, that the efimates were of the laft
century, when the materials and labour of ship-building, were at
half the prefent price. Such is the celebrated Mr. Paine, who
boafts he poffeffes an heart that knows no guile.
As we are now coming to a flatement of facts, which confider-
ably affect the veracity of this great man, we will be fomewhat
particular. In page 109 he fates that our annual taxes in
1066 was £400,000. In 1166 £200,000. In 1266,
£150,000. In 1366, £130,000. In 1466, £100,000. He
then pronounces an eulogium on our ancestors for their republi-
can economy in taxes. "That the people would not be impofed
upon, but kept the government in awe as to taxation.
For my
own part I am not much inclined to accept this compliment of
Mr, Paine's on our ancestors, till he points out thoſe taxes, or at
lealt fome one of them, which were repealed during thoſe
centuries. Í have read all the ftatutes of that period, but I do
not recollect any fhop-tax, or commutation being fet afide.
Many complaints are to be found of taxes being levied, and
promiſes that only the old ones fhould be extorted but their
abolition, nobody except Mr. Paine ever difcovered. But is
Mr. Paine, who talks fo familiarly about the feudal ſyſtem, ſo
totally ignorant of it as not to know that it was from that fyftem,
and not from taxation, that the Conqueror and his fucceffors
derived their revenue. He held 1422 manors, which, according
to Sir R. Cotton, had belonged to Edward the Confeffor. The
revenue of theſe demefne lands, according to Ordericus Vitalis,
came to the immenfe fum of £.387,265 per annum, only
£12,735 fhort of what Mr. Paine flates to be the whole of his
revenue.
i
Will he now be fo obliging as to inform us what were thoſe
heavy taxes at the conqueft, which by the virtuous flruggles of
the people during four centuries were reduced to a fourth part.
The fact is exactly the reverfe of Mr. Paine's ſtatement. This
revenue of the crown arifing from the demefne lands rapidly de-
creafed, because they were continually granted away by the
fucceffive monarchs to their favourites; thus the revenue of the
crown decreaſed as he has ftated, but it had nothing to do with
taxation, except to increafe it, for as the grant of thefe lands
impoverished the crown, it became neceffary to levy taxes, and to
call Parliaments for that purpofe. Could Mr. Paine be ignorant
of this? certainly not, if he ever read a hiftory of England.
But we have not yet done with his Scale of Taxation, for as
he found by his former feries, that the virtuous refiſtance of the
people to taxation increaſed for four centuries, he tells us the
three last centuries prove that the national character of the
Engliſh has changed. We did indeed fuppofe that fince the time
of Richard the third, we had changed, and we prefumed for
the better: but this it feems is a miftake; and it is rather re-
markable, that both Mr. Burke and Mr. Paine fhould concur in
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86
a defire to make us look back with regret to the happineſs enjoy-
ed by our anceſtors in the 14th and 15th centuries. Mr. Burke
tells us, that fince the 14th century we have fcarce made any
improvements in our government; and Mr. Paine afferts that
it would have been impoffible to have dragooned the former
English into the excess of taxation which now exifts." Indeed
it gives me great pleaſure that I can heartily 'concur with him in
this fentiment: firmly am I perfuaded that at the period of
which he ſpeaks (1466) it would not have been in the power of
bloody King Richard, to have dragooued the people of this
country into the payment of feventeen millions of money, eveu
had he ſtriped them of all their property; it may even be doubt-
ed whether the fee fimple of this Ifland would then have foli
for that fum. The nation, as Mr. Paine juftly obſerves, has
fince that time undergone a great change; we are now un-
fortunately in fuch a fituation, that government can dragoon us
into the payment of this immenfe fum.
It muſt be obſerved that Mr. Paine has very eafy and com-
pendious rules for forming a judgment on fubjects, which fome
people fuppofe to be of fome difficulty. Thus to judge of a
government and its adminiſtration we are to look at the amount of
taxes. Mr. Pitt, he ſays, boafts of how much revenue, whereas
the boaft ought to be how little: judging by this rule certainly our
government deferves all the rancour Mr. Paine has expreffed.
It certainly is the worst government, and Mr. Pitt is the worst
minifter that ever exiſted; and what is ftill worſe, he does not
ſeem diſpoſed to mend and notwithſtanding Mr. Paine's advice,
he ftill continues plundering us of more and more every year.
When Mr. Paine publifhe his book, he ftated the revenue at
feventeen millions, this year it is faid to be eighteen. If fo it is
extremely obvious, that in the courfe of a fingle year, our govern-
ment is grown exactly a ſeventeenth part worſe, and the minifter
in precifely the fame proportion, more boyish and profligate.
As the grofs amount of our taxes thus appears to be the proper
fcale by which the defects of our government are to be eſtimated,
it will follow, not only, that our government is the worst that
ever exifted, and that it has been gradually growing worſe for
above three centuries,but that if, in cafe of a war,the produce of
our permanent taxes fhould decreaſe from fourteen millions,
their preſent amount, to half that fum, which is extremely
probable, it will then be equally evident, that our government
is improved, and that its adminiftration is only half as bad as at
prefent. Such is the nature of the reaſoning of this profound
logician.
It is remarkable that notwithſtanding theſe exclamations as to
the amount of our taxes, yet there is one of them Mr. Paine
ſeems much to regret to find fo low; and fo extremely anxious'is
he to convince us of it, that he hazards affertions, which not only
every perſon the leaft acquainted with the ſubject knows to be
falfe, but which are fo extravagantly abfurd, that the moſt
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46
ignorant mult fufpect their falfehood. In page 100, he fays,
notwithstanding taxes have increaſed and multiplied upon every
"article of common confumption the land-tax has diminished. In
"1788 it was £.1900,000 which is half a million less than it
produced, almost an hundred years fince." And he gives us a
reference to Sir John Sinclair in a note.
This reference is
perhaps the moſt extraordinary inftance of literary effrontery
exifting. He does not give us the amount of the land-tax at
the time mentioned in the text. He does not produce a fingle
year in any King's reign, from the conqueft to this time. He
does not do this, becauſe there is not one can be refered to, but
what would directly fallify his affertion. An appearance of
evidence was all he wanted, and prefuming the bulk of readers,
would read his text without troubling themfelves to compare it with
his note, he gives, for the amount of the land-tax at the revolu-
tion, the fum which in the time of the civil war, was levied on
all property, and every fpecies of income, by the republican
army. Had the affertion in the note been true that the republic
in 1646 raiſed two millions and a half on the land, what would
it prove, but the tyranny, oppreffion, and injuftice of a repub-
lican government. Would it ferve Mr. Paine's argument to
fhew that the republic in one year affeffed on the land, more
than was levied on it during the whole reign of any one of the
Stuarts. But the fact is not fo. Mr. Paine to induce us to
plunder the landed proprietors, does not fcruple to flander even
republicaniſm itſelf. The republic in the last century was
certainly tolerably difpofed to punish the landed men for their
adherence to monarchy: but they never thought of doing it
to the extent Mr. Paine alledges. I have the affeffment for
1657 now before me, it is a general tax on every fpecies of
property, land included, at fixty thouſand pounds per month:
not a third part of our prefent land-tax; and inſtead of the land
having been favored fince the revolution, it appears that prior
thereto there exifted no fuch thing as a regular land-tax. Lord
Coke in his 2d. Inft. page 77, gives an account of the antient ſubſidies
and fifteenths: they were affeffments on all property, real and
perfonal, and till the revolution were levied only occafionally.
This mode was followed for fome time even after the revolution.
That in 1697 is called " an Act as well by a land-tax as by feveral
fubfidies and other duties." It included a capitation of four
fhillings on all but paupers. This is about the period Mr. Paine
alludes to, when the amount of the levy on all property, land
included, was only about half of what Mr. Paine allerts was
raiſed on the land only. The mode of affeffing the land only
was by degrees adopted foon after. The land proprietors were
deemed enemies to the Hanover Succeffion, and as fuch they were
treated. Addiſon's Fox-hunter, and Fielding's 'Squire Weftern
were intended to depict and ridicule them. The object of
government, while revolution politics prevailed, was to raiſe a
monied intereft and deprefs the landed. The artifice with which
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this plan was conducted is ſomewhat curious. After the revolu-
tion, though the acts were formed in the antient manner as an
affeffment on perfonal as well as real property yet Dr. Davenant
tells us, as people were fuffered to give in what accounts they
pleafed of their perfonal effects and incomes, and government
adopting no mode to render the affeffment effectual, it by degrees
became trivial: thus tho' by the first of Queen Ann, a fubfidy
was granted on all perfonal effects, as well as land, and even the
practitioners of the law were affeffed at four fhillings in the pound of
their neat income, yet was it fo levied, that tho' it ought in the
increaſed ſtate of perfonal property at that time, to have raiſed
fome millions, yet it produced only £300,524. The affeff-
ment on perfonal property and income being become fo
inconfiderable, the levy was foon after difcontinued, and the
whole raiſed on the land. Yet is the old form fiill continued in
framing the land-tax acts, they contain a general affeffment on
every fpecies of property, except money in the funds. The
commiffioners are velted with extraordinry power, their decifions
cannot be appealed from. The oath they formerly took was,
you fhall cauſe the rates and duties to be charged on ſtock in trade,
"debts at intereft, penfsons, annuities, ftipends, profeffions, offices,
"and the perfonal-duty of four ſbilling to be duly levied according
"to your skill and judgment." This oath has been diſcontinued,
that they might not perjure themſelves, and they now only take
the oath of allegiance. The act called a Land-tax At is
now trampled under foot, and totally difregarded by thofe who
ought to execute it, and a tax is raiſed every year on the land, to
the amount of two millions, in direct oppofition to the very act,
under which it is pretended to be levied. On what principle
this act is thus uniformly difpenfed with might call for inquiry, as
much as thofe numerous abuſes, of the existence of which
Mr. Paine labours fo much to convince us: it is now adduced
merely to illuftrate Mr. Paine's wonderful pofition, of the
landed intereft having been favored in refpect to taxation fince
the revolution, and if he can ſpare a few moments of his valuable
time, we might beg him to fupport his affertion, in page 101,
“That before the coming of the Hanoverians, the taxes were divided
"in nearly equal proportions between the land and articles of con-
fumption, the land bearing rather the largest fare." Or rather
will he fhew that prior to within a few years of the Hanover
Succeffion, there was any regular tax at all levied folely on the
land. And it may alſo be afked, if a portion of any particular
fpecies of property can feized on by the ſtate, on any other prin-
ciple than that, on which Mr. Paine would inſtigate a national
convention to feize upon the whole.
The landed intereft, or as he chufes to call it "the Ariftocracy,
"he fays, are not the farmers who work the land, and raise the
"produce, but are the mere confumers of the rent; and when compared
"with the active world, are the drones, a feraglio of males, u ho
"heither collect the honey nor form the hive, but exift only for lazy
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"enjoyment." And in page 103," It is difficult to difcover what
66 is meant by a landed intereft, if it does not mean a combina
"tion of ariftocratical land-holders, oppofing their own pecuniary
"intereft, to that of the farmer, and every branch of trade, com-
merce, and manufacture." Notwithſtanding the difficulty
Mr. Paine is under of diſcovering the meaning of a landed
intereſt, moſt people will imagine it to be very obvious; they
will fuppofe it to mean, the intereft of thoſe whofe property is
veſted in land; as a commercial intereft means, the intereſt of
thoſe whoſe property is vefted in commerce, or a monied intereſt,
that of thoſe perſons whofe property is veſted in money, and its
various fecurities, and they will be apt to aſk Mr. Paine what
neceffary relation ariftecracy or combination, has to a landed,
more than a commercial or monied intereſt. Thoſe who attend
to our legiſlative proceedings will not eaſily diſcover this aristocrat-
ical" combination of perfons in a common intereſt."
The monied intereft lince it has acquired weight in the legif-
Jature, has indeed given evidence, if not of a combination, yet of
an active powerful attention to its peculiar intereft. When at
the cloſe of the laſt war, they poffeffed twenty millions of navy
bills, they were not content with having bought them at a great
difcount, and with government fulfilling the only compact it was
under, the payment of the intereft: they by their clamour and
weight in parliament, compelled government to fund them, and
in fo doing to give them three millions more than the bills were
worth, and more than upon any principle of juſtice or common
fenfe they ought to have received: and this they effected in fpite
of the oppofition of the minifter himſelf. The landed intereft
may indeed in one ſenſe deſerve the epithet of drones, which
Mr. Paine beſtows on them. It will not be eaſy to diſcover
any traces of their activity to guard themſelves from injuftice:
poffeffed of a property of fix hundred millions, they might be
ſuppoſed to have fome weight in the legislature; but little
folicitous have they been to avail themſelves of it. Theirs is
the only ſpecies of property, on which an annual depredation is
made, under the denomination of a tax. On them is quartered
the whole body of the national clergy, though the original
claim to tythe had no particular relation to land: the ſpeculation
of the ſtock-jobber, and the winnings of the gambler, are by the
law of tythes equally fubject to clerical claims, though for
feveral centuries the clergy have faftened themſelves folely on
landed property. The rate to maintain the poor is really levied
on then, for tho' it be levied on the tenant, the landlord's
property is depreciated by every incumbrance with which it
is loaded: hence it is evident that he maintains the
appendages of the national religion; the roads, priſons, bridges,
and almoſt all important public expences and tho' the poffeffion
of landed property be naturally of the ſimpleſt nature, yet the
lawyers derive their principal ſupport from its being involved in
fuch a labyrinth, that they themselves are frequently loft in its
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mazes. And laftly the whole of this vaft property, is for near
half the year converted into a vaft common, to be laid wafte
and trodden under foot, by every individual who can call him-
felf efquire, or who, by renting a fhop in 'Change-alley, or a
warehouſe in Thames-ftreet, to a given amount, can break the
incloſures and ſpoil the crop of the beſt eſtate in the kingdom :
and the law has been fo careful to protect him in the trefpafs,
that in cafe it does not exceed a given fum, the greater part of
the expence of the action falls on the landed proprietor who
prefumes to feek redrefs for the injury. Mr. Paine attributes
the game laws to the undue influence of the landed intereft,
and tells us if there were a houſe of farmers they would not
exist." It has been calculated that the damage refulting to
one fingle county by the game laws, amounts to £.40,000 per
annum. Will Mr. Paine inform us whether the county is not
worth fo much the lefs to its proprietors, and whether the
rentals would not be increaſed if the game were not protected
by law, for the amufement of the country attorney, the ſport-
ing parfon, or the rufticated cit. Let us no longer complain of
uncultivated land, of deferted villages, or of the flow progreſs
of agricultural improvements; that they take place in a property
fo circumſtanced, muſt be attributed to the patriotifm, or the
ignorance of the proprietor, who, after all theſe incumbrances
and reſtrictions on his eftate, is ftill farther controled by
capricious laws in the fale of the produce of his land.
It is fomewhat extraordinary that Mr. Paine's partizans
fhould be remarkably folicitous to difclaim the leading principle
of their maſter. An equalization of rights, not of property,
they pretend he contends for: but if there be any meaning in
his work, it is, that all the moſt important boundaries of prop-
crty ſhould be trodden under foot, for if the moſt confiderable
branch of property, that of land and its improvement, is to be
thus ftigmatized, furely no other can be deemed inviolable.
That the earth in its natural ftate is equally the property of
every individual born on it, we will readily admit ; all men have
an equal right to the uſe of it, and no man could be entitled to
more, if the good of fociety did not require it. But the earth in
a ftate of nature affords a miferable fupport to a ſmall number
of inhabitants in the imperfect state refulting from mere oc-
cupancy, its benefit to man is inconfiderable, in compariton of
the improved ſtate of which it is capable. As then a transfer-
able and permanent property in land is neceffary for the fupport
of an increafed number of inhabitants, and as the increafe of its
inhabitants is the will of Heaven, it thence neceflarily follows
that that ſtate of the earth ſhould exiſt, which is necef-
fary to adapt it to an increafing ftate of man; that is a perma-
nent and transferable property. Hence this ſtate of a landed
property which Mr. Paine ftigmatizes, appears to be of the
molt facred nature, it mult have a collateral exiftence with the
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it
increaſe of man, and to fhake it, is to terminate that increaſe.
The fecundity of the earth, under the cultivating hand of man,
has ſcarfe any limits from that favage ftate in which hundreds
of acres are requifite to fupport an individual, to the ſupport
of many on a ſingle acre: thus the earth appears to be wifely
fitted by its maker to the increaſing ſtate of man: the earth in
this improved ftate may be deemed almoſt a new creation;
bears no more refemblance to its original ftate, than the oak
growing in the foreft, to the oak when converted into a fhip,
and floating on the waves: it becomes as much a property, and
it is a property whieh the good of fociety calls on us to fanction
and protect, far indeed beyond any other. A capital veſted in
any other ſpecies of property, can be transfered from one part
of the earth to another, the proprietor is a citizen of the world:
but agricultural improvement must take place in confidence of
the permanency and ftability of thoſe laws on the faith of which
they were made, and if fociety innovate on this fpecies of
property, it violates that confidence which was repofed in it,
and a confidence from whence it derives the moſt effential
benefits. A capital veſted in any other purſuit, requires
not an equal confidence in the good faith of fociety, becauſe
the expectation of a reimburſement is far leſs remote: the com-
paſs of a few years limits our views, and circumfcribes our
hopes; and a difappointment will not refult from any
remote changes in the laws, or convulfions in the ſtate: but the
more operofe improvements of the earth, muft refult from views
far more diftant, to build, plant, inclofe, embank, and drain; to
render the earth fruitful by combining its various foils, an
inducement muſt be held forth, far beyond the fragil tenure of
human life; the profpect of tranfmiting them to a fucceffion of
heirs, and if that fucceffion be violated, or the property
dilapitated, that implied compact is broken, on the faith of
which the improvements were made.
*
With this obvious view of landed property before us, let us
confider Mr. Paine ftigmatifing as ufelefs drones, the propri-
etors of the moſt improved portion of this habitable globe.
Men whoſe labour or whofe property has converted this iſland
into a refidence for ten millions of men in all the various claffes
of civilized life; which originally would not have preferved a
tenth part of the number, in a ftate of mere favage exiſtence.
But theſe men it ſeems, are, mere drones, they are not
"the farmers who work the land and raife the produce, but are
"the mere confumers of the rent." This will deferve fome
confideration The idea of a drone is that of a uſeleſs intruder
into a well ordered fociety who lives on the fpoil of it, and whom
it is incumbent on the fociety to expel from amongst them.
This certainly is the idea Mt. Paine means to convey to his
national convention when it fhall affemble, and as the labouring
part of the nation will compofe a great majority, perhaps ten to
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one, what can be a more natural ftep for them first to adopt,
than to expel from the hive, thefe mere drones, who do not
raiſe the produce, but only confume the rent; and the idea
muſt be extended ftill farther, for by a parity of reafon, all are
to be confidered as drones, who do not labour themfelves, but
derive their ſupport from the labour of others: that they pay
the labourer his hire cannot be deemed fufficient, the land
proprietor himself, or the perfon from whom he derives his
title has done that, he has inclofed the ground to fecure the
crop, and the barn to receive it, but as he neither fows nor
reaps it, he can from thence it ſeems derive no title to any part
of it: thus the farmer himſelf, if he hires the labourers and
derives a living from their labour and not his own, muſt be
equally deſtitute of a title to the crop; the landlord's large
capital and the farmer's fmall one are indeed both employed,
and tho' without them the crop could never have been raiſed,
yet is the labourer who fows and reaps intitled to the whole,
all but him are mere drones, living on the labour of others.
Every other great clafs of property ftands in the fame predic-
ament: the owners of ſhipping,are"mere drones,they are not the
“mariners who navigate the veſſel, they are the mere conſumers
"of the freight." The heirs of Sir R. Arkwright will poſſeſs a
luxurious property equal to moſt landed eſtates in the kingdom,
they may like the land-holders let it, and become the mere
confumers of a rent, and tho' Mr. Paine in his 141 page only
propoſes depriving them of a part, yet furely if he be confiftent
the whole ought to be forfeited. If a national convention
adopt his principles they will confider as a luxury every eſtate
from whence an income is derived without labour, and will
convert the mere drones into uſeful bees, that is, into active
citizens, or labouring men. Yet have Mr. Paine's partizans
the affurance to tell us that Mr. Paine's principles, equalife
rights only, and not property.
Mr. Paine in the fame page, in which he fays" it is difficult
"to discover what is meant by a landed intereft, if it does not mean
"a combination of aristocratical land-holders," immediately
proceeds to admit its fuperior importance, "it is the intereft (he
"fays) not of the policy, but of the existence of man, and when it
"ceafes he must ceafe to be," and from thence infers, with that
perverſity of intellect which characteriſes his work, that it needs
no particular protection. Moſt people would have drawn a
different inference, they would have fuppofed that in proportion
as it was important, it should be powerfully fupported and
fedulouſly guarded. Mr. Paine, indeed chooſes to fuppofe that
mankind poffefs a fufficient portion of wiſdom to difcern the
public good, and virtue and fortitude enough to pursue it: but
the hiftory of mankind will hardly fupport his poſition. Turn-
pike roads, broad-wheel waggons, faw-mills, and cotton-mills,
however beneficial to the public, have not always received the
( 15 )
countenance, even of that part of the community for whofe
benefit they were particularly adopted, until uſe had rendered
them familiar, and experience proved their utility. This
obfervation applies more particularly to landed property, as the
benefit the public derive from fecuringit,though the moſt important
is not the moſt obvious: an act to feize on all the shipping of,
the kingdom, and divide it among the failors, would be eaſily feen
to be dangerous, becauſe every one man know the very rumour
of it would deprive us of our thipping: but Mr. Paine may
fuggeft to a national convention, that no fuch danger can reſult
from feizing on landed property; the improvements of the land
exiit, the barns are built, the incloſures made, and the foil
improved, thefe cannot be conveyed away to another nation: to
divide it among thofe who have hitherto laboured on it for a
miferab'e exiftance, is a plan plaufible at leaſt.
If legal fan&tions and all the energy of the flate be ſcarcely
fufficient to preferve property, little veneration can we expect to
be paid to it, when, as Mr. Paine propofes, all government and
all law thall be diffolved, and the whole property in the nation
fhall be thrown into one mafs to be difpofed of at the will of the
majority; when even plunder may affume the forms of law.
It will then be in vain to urge, that the land, by having been
fecured to the proprietors for a ſeries of years, has received
improvements, by which it renders tenfold more than if the
ufufruct only had been enjoyed;-That thofe improvements had
been made under an implied compact, that a permanent property
in them was eſtabliſhed; and that a violation of this property
was an infraction of that implied compact, from whence refult-
ed thofe improvements by which the earth was fitted to fupport
ten times the number of inhabitants it would fuftain if mere
occupancy only had been enjoyed. It would probably be in
vain to urge, that by feizing the improvements already made, all
future improvements would be obftructed, for that in proportion
as the property in land was infecure and limited, in that
propor-
tion would the motive to improve it be diminished.
As the increaſe of mankind is only limited by the means of
their fupport, fo is the earth capable of yielding that fupport to
man in an almoſt unlimited degree. This iftand is perhaps in
the most perfect flate of cultivation of any part of the globe, yet it
is probably as inferior to the ſtate of cultivation to which it may be
carried, as its prefent ftate is fuperior, to even that of America
itfelf. As therefore a permanent and exclufive property in
land is that which will render the earth fit to ſuſtain the greatest
number of inhabitants, it follows that to preferre that permanent
and excluſive property muſt be a principal object of laws and
government, and in proportion as any fyftem of government
tends to weaken the poffeffion of land, in that proportion it it
unfit to be adopted in that advanced ftage of civil fociety where
the increaſe of man calls for an increafing means of fupport.
•
}
( )
16)
•
16 I
Mr. Paine, to ftigmatize the landed intereft, reproaches them
with the reſtraints under which their property labours from the
continuance of barbarous laws. The anticnt military tenures,
to which the land of the various countries of Europe was ſub-
jected, aroſe not from a difpofition to benefit land-holders or
the public, but merely to create a power that might defend the
new made conquefts: hence the holders of the lands were not
fuffered to alienate them, and they were limited in their deſcent
to a fingle individual, that the ftrength of the military chief
might not be weakened by dividing the eftate, and for the fame
purpofe during a minority they were feized into the King's
hands. Mr. Paine ſeems to reproach the landed intereft that
it was delivered from the laſt of theſe reſtrictions, by the ftatute
of Charles the fecond, for aboliſhing the Court of Wards, and
then, to fhew how perfectly abfurd and inconfiftent it was poffible
to be, he alfo infults them, in page 107 of the first edition of
his fecond part (from whence all the quotations have been taken)
becauſe the law of entails and primogeniture ftill continues.
will admit thoſe reſtraints to form what Mr.Paine terms, " a law
of brutal injeflice. The intereft of the land-holder and the
community, both fuggeft that his property fhould be fecure, and
his authority and control over it as unlimited as over any other
fpecies of property: that he ſhould be allowed to alienate and to
devife it to whom he pleaſes. But what ever hardships the
landed intereft may labour under from our prefent fyftem of
laws, they will hardly thank Mr. Paine for his inteference, they
will certainly prefer paying a fine to the crown for alienation,
to being deprived of it altogether; and I believe moft men,
though they might wish for the liberty of diſpoſing of landed,
like other property, to whom they pleafe, yet they will certainly
prefer its defcending to their eldeſt ſon, to its being, as Mr. Painé
propoſes, forfeited to the ftate, or difpofed of by thoſe who have
no property of their own, and confequently whofe intereſt in
the ſtate, can be but of a ſubordinate nature: for contrary to
Mr. Paine's affertion, no part of the community can have an
intereſt in the laws and government of the country equal to the
Janded proprietors; none can have an intereft fo perfectly connected
with its general intereft: none who are fo incapable of purſuing
a partial, in oppofition to that general intereft. The landed
proprietors not only poffefs the largeft portion of national
property, that on which the principal portion of wealth has
been expended, but they are the only perfons who have any
material intereft in the future ftate of this country.
When every individual can be fuppofed to have an equal
intereft in the ftate, and every clafs of mankind are equally
concerned in the future and permanent profperity of the country,
then let every individual affume an equal fhare in its government:
but ere we call the coal-heaver from his labour, and the coach-
man from his box to legiſlate, we have at leaſt a right to fome
evidence that our laws will be thereby improved.-FINIS.
THOUGHTS
}
:
:
A.
1
3
ON THE
DEATH
OF THE
KING of FRANCE.
By WILLIAM FOX,
10
LONDON:
يم
SOLD BY J. RIDGWAY, YORK STREET, ST. JAMES'S
SQUARE; W. RICHARDSON, OPPOSITE THE ROYAL
EXCHANGE; T. WHIELDON AND BUTTERWORTH,
FLEET STREET; AND M. GURNEV, NO. 128,
་་
HOLBORN HILL.
1793.
}
Where may be had, juſt publiſhed, by the same Author,
The Intereft of Great Britain, respecting the French War, 4th Edition.
An Examination of Mr. Paine's Writings.
Address to the People of Great Britain, 26th Edition.
Summary View of Evidence relating to the Slave Trade, 6th Edition,
15.
1
1
1
1
+
S
5
મરીનાં.
*
£
}
۲
*
E
;
{
2
{
-
1
•
THE
HE melancholy cataſtrophe of the king of France,
and the horror it has excited in this country, call
for inveftigation; becaufe confequences of great import-
ance feem likely to refult from it, and, in proportion as
thefe confequences may be important, it is requifite
that the investigation fhould be cool and unimpaffioned.
Even in the ordinary fituations, and common occur-
ences of human life, great is the rifk and danger of
giving up our conduct to the guidance, even of thofe
paffions, which, when under the guidance and
control of reafon, are valuable and amiable. The
human paffions may properly give energy to our actions,
when reafon has marked out their courfe, and fixed
their boundaries; but, without theſe precautions, they
are dangerous in the extreme; nor can any action,
refulting merely from our paffions, be denominated
· virtuous or moral, any more than the fidelity of a dog,
the harmleffneſs of a ſheep, or the attachment of a dove.
If we extend our views from common life, to the more
enlarged fphere of human action, which hiſtory prefents
to our view, we fhall find the moſt enormous evils,
arofe from the dictates of reafon being overborn by the
fervor of the paffions, under whoſe fallacious colouring
men have fuppofed themfelves to be in the path of
duty, while they have been outraging every moral
principle, and trampling on every duty of focial life.
Under the impreffion of heroifin and patriotifin, what
dreadful miſchiefs have pervaded every age of the
world! and an imagination inflamed with an idea of
advancing God's glory, has been productive of no leſs
dreadful confequences; not much inferior have been
thoſe which have refulted from a defire of avenging the
real or imaginary wrongs of individuals: Nor is this
principle confined to the annals of chivalry; it difgraces
the page of hiſtory. For upwards of a century this
nation was deluged in blood, by the partizans of the
elaimants of the crown; and in the prefent century we
have had two civil wars, to avenge the injuries, and
redreſs the wrongs of the houfe of Stuart.
(4)
Thus have we experienced the mifchiefs of this
principle, of which the danger is the greater, as it
affumes the guife of juftice and humanity. Were we
merely to accompany with a look of pity, and the figh
of commiferation, the unfortunate Bourbons, or the
ſtill more unfortunate Stuarts; it might not be neceſſary
accurately to inveftigate the foundation of our pity, or
to be very folicitous exactly to apportion it. If it
tends to meliorate our minds by contemplating human
woe, or, to improve them by reflection on the uncer-
tainty of human felicity, no harm would refult, though
our ferrow fhould border on excefs: nor may it be
requifite in fuch cafe, to be very anxious to bring our
feelings to the bar of reaſon. But if the profligate and
defigning attempt to take advantage of human frailty;
if they excite our pity that they may work it into
rage; if they attempt to fuffufe our eyes in tears, that
they may lead us blindly, to perpetrate greater
miſchiefs than thoſe they affect to deplore; it will then
become us to give firmneſs to our nerves, to reprefs
our feelings, and to call upon reaſon to refume her
throne. She will tell us, that the continuance both of
moral and phyſical evil in the world, is the will of him.
who made it; and that the cognizance of human actions,
as to their moral nature, belongs to him who will in due
time render to every man according to his works; that
man can have no authority to puniſh his fellow mortals,
but what is derived from the will, either exprefs, or
implied of their common parent. Hence it appears
that that degree and fpecies of authority is to be ex-
erciſed among men united in focial compact, which the
preſervation of that compact requires; and in the
ſeveral relations of life that which thoſe ſpecial relations
call for But in none of thoſe caſes cognizanceis taken
of the action abftractedly, as to its moral turpitude, but
merely in reference to the relation between man and man;
if we prefume to go beyond this, we are trampling on
the authority of him, who, fpeaking of the good and
evil in this world, decreed, "let them grow together
"till the harveſt."
This principle is actually recognized by the general
ftructure of our criminal code, which forbears to take
notice of many offences, though of a very criminal
nature. A man may fuffer even his parent to periſh
F
1
( 5 )
for want; and though, in this and a variety of inftances,
he might be guilty of an atrocious murder, the law will
take no notice of it. Perjury, if unaccompanied with
any injury to fociety; and even adultery and feduction,
though attended with circumſtances which might con-
ſtitute the climax of human guilt, are totally unnoticed
by our criminal law. As thus the moft enormous
crimes are fuffered to go unpuniſhed; ſo actions not
merely of trivial guilt, but which refult from good and
amiable difpofitions, if deemed injurious to fociety, are
puniſhed with ſeverity. The Grecian Daughter, for
obſtructing the execution of a legal fentence, muſt have
been deemed guilty of a crime, by every well conſtituted
fyftem of law. And it is not only in annexing punish-
ment to crime, but in conducting the legal proceſs that
we lofe fight of the moral turpitude of the offence.
Thus we acquit the moſt notorious and well-known
criminals, rather than violate thofe rules of evidence
which we deem the good of fociety to require; nor is
an individual ſuffered to inflict thofe puniſhments which
the laws have annexed to crimes, however certain he
may be of the criminal's guilt.
If then a ſtate of civil compact, where mankind are
connected by a recognized fyftem of laws, enforced by
the fanctions of government; where the crimes can be
accurately defined, and the criminals diſcriminated and
puniſhed; the moral nature of human actions is thus dif-
regarded, and they are not punithed on the mere abſtract
principle of their moral turpitude; lurely we are not
on any fuch principle, to enter forcibly into other fo-
cieties, to punish its members, either collectively or
individually? Such a proceeding mult neceffarily be
deftitute of every proper principle, on which man can
be authoriſed to take cognizance of the actions of his
fellow creatures. There is no acknowleged ſyſtem or
laws to govern the conduct of nations in thus punith-
ing each others crimes. The diffonance in the laws
and cuſtoms of different nations, renders them very
inadequate judges of each others proceedings; nor are
there any means by which the nature of the offence can
be properly eſtimated. The accufed nation will not
fubmit to plead to any foreign jurifdiction, they muſt
therefore be condemned unheard. The French national
( 6 )
convention will be as little difpofed to fubmit the juftice
of their revolution to the adjudication of the Britiſh
court, as the English convention would in 1688 have
been to have fubmitted that of the English revolution
to the court of France. Such proceedings must be
deftitute of the femblance of juſtice; and thoſe who
have the government of nations fo avowedly act on
political motives, that, when others are pretended, it
may reaſonably be imagined that the view is to per-
petrate crimes, under the pretence of puniſhing them.
But, admitting the British court to be actuated by the
pureft motives;-admitting that Africa, the Weft-
indies, the Eaft-indies, and our Sifter Kingdom were
to bear a united teftimony to the rectitude and bene-
ficence of our conduct, that we never interfere in the
concerns of other countries, but to promote their happi-
neſs, and fecure their rights;-that our fword is the
fword of juftice, and not of outrage; and, that it never
was unfheathed but to protect the innocent, and to
puniſh the aggreffor: yet, ftill might the propriety of
our avenging the death of the king of France be doubt-
ed, becauſe we have hardly the means of difcriminating
the guilty, or afcertaining their proportionate ſhare
in the guilt.
Political events are of fo complicated a nature, and
arife frequently from fuch contingencies, that to diſtin-
guiſh the reſpective ſhares of merit or demerit in
the actors is ufually very difficult, even to thoſe who
are actors in the fcene, and moft intimately acquainted
with its conduct; and it muſt be peculiarly fo, reſpect-
ing the French revolution, from the various forms it
has affumed, the variety of circumftances with which it
has been attended, and the numerous actors who have
taken part in it. Are we to puniſh the municipal
officers who conducted the execution, or the individual
members of the convention who voted it? Admitting
the king to have committed no offence that deferved
puniſhment; admitting our judgment on this head to
be infallible; and admitting alfo that the majority of
the national convention faw it in the fame point of view;
yet ftill we are inadequate judges how far they were
voluntary actors in the fcene, or how far they were
impelled by circumftances; whether they were actuated
( 7 )
by malice or revenge, or whether, in a critical moment,
and threatened with deftruction by furrounding enemies,
they might think it expedient to unite the nation, by
removing the only fource of diſcord that exiſted
amongſt them. If it be faid that they ought to have
rendered juſtice uninfluenced by popular clamour, let it
be aſked if the British parliament have always manifeſt-
ed fuch laudable firmnefs? Did they not avowedly to
appeaſe a popular clamour, repeal the Jew bill, and
deprive of their acknowledged right, thouſands of
peaceable fubjects? If it be faid the French con-
vention were not juſtified in puniſhing an individual, on
the mere political principle, that the peace, the fafety,
and the good of the community called for it; may it
not be demanded, for what offence the houſes of Stuart
and of Savoy were fet afide by a British parliament? If
attachment to the Romish fee was their crime; of that
crime was Louis equally guilty, and if the fecurity of
this iſland juſtified us in confidering it as fuch, furely
the national convention of France are equally juftifiable
in paying the fame attention to the fecurity, the peace,
and the happiness of the firft nation in the univerfe.
It is customary in this kingdom, to fpeak contem-
tuouſly of the national convention. I will fo far comply
with the faſhion, as to acknowledge them to have been
perfectly infignificant on this occafion. The municipal
officers, who executed the fentence, and the national
convention who decreed it, may be confidered as the
mere inftruments, the accidental terminators of an event
which refulted from a train of circumftances: and, in
inveſtigating thofe circumftances, we fhall be far more
likely to find the real criminals, than among the national
convention, or the municipal officers. Mr. Burke,
even in the early ſtages of the French revolution, con-
fidently predicted a fatal cataſtrophe; this was certainly
not very difficult for him to do with fome degree of
certainty. Jonathan Wild feldom failed in his predic-
tions. Thofe who were not in the fecret of the hoftile
meaſures, intended to be purfued, refpecting the French
revolution, could not, indeed, perceive any thing of a
very king-killing afpect: not a fingle circumftance
attending the eſtabliſhment of the new government
could be refered to, as containing the feeds of danger
( 8 )
to the royal perfon. To impofe this on the public
mind, the eſtabliſhment of the new government, and
the attempt to fubvert it, muit be confounded. The
meaſures taken to effect the reſtoration of the old
government, whether they fucceeded, or whether they
miſcarried, not merely threatened, but infured deftruc-
tion to the unfortunate monarch. The hoftile armies
gathering round, were the fure prefages of his fate.
At that important and critical moment, the national
affembly invoked our interference, and offered to fub-
mit to our mediation; an offer honorable to themſelves!
-honorable to us! They repofed a confidence in us,
that, poffeffing a free government, we would not impoſe
on them their antient defpotiſm. And will not fome
be apt to imagine that this was the real reaſon that we
refuſed our mediation? They will perhaps fay that
fubverting the infant liberty of France and Poland, and
eſtabliſhing antient flavery, was an office more becom-
ing German and Ruffian defpots, than a Britiſh nation,
and that it was more convenient that we ſhould ſtand
aloof, at least for the prefent. The Pruffian, the Auftrian,
and the Ruffian armies might undertake the buſineſs;
they poffibly might effect it, as they have that of Poland,
without our interference; if not, the conteft might pro-
duce fome event which would afford us a more colour-
able pretext for interfering, than the fubvertion of the
liberties of France or Poland, or fecuring the defpotifm
of Germany. Among thefe events, the most certain
and the moſt deſirable, muſt be the death of the king of
France, by the hands of his enraged fubjects. It is
not eaſy to ſee how the hoftile armies could enter
France, with threatened deftruction, but in the expecta-
tion of that event. The emigrant princes, the cidevant
nobles, and the nonjuring clergy of France might fay,
The whole body of our countrymen are united in one
firm phalanx, to refiſt thoſe excluſive privileges we have
fo long enjoyed; and, however zealous the illuftrious
potentates of Ruffia, Pruffia, and Auftria may be to
replace us in the poffeffion of them, yet alas! it is an
arduous undertaking, which it is poffible our country-
men, united as one man against us, may fucceſsfully
refift. In this fituation, what can be more important
to our cauſe? What could enliven our hopes fo much,
1
( 9 )
}
as the court of Britain adopting our caufe? If her
armies are not confiderable, her refources are great.
She can fupply the finews of war. Her national cre-
dit, and her ſyſtem of finance are of fo peculiar a ſtruc-
ture, that, were ſhe to join cordially in our fup; ort, the
war might be protracted to an extent, that would ex-
hauſt the reſources of our countrymen, and they may
at length, be neceffitated to exchange the calamities of
war for thoſe we mean to impoſe upon them. But though
the reception of our friend Calonne, at the British court,
and tho' Mr. Burke's abufe of our adverfaries, having
there obliterated the remembrance of his panegyrics on
republicaniſm, and his infults on royalty, are circum-
ftances which may well warrant us to conclude that our
friends are not limited to Germany and Ruffia; yet
alas, in Britain liberty rears her head! There a
fwiniſh multitude influences public proceedings, and
however cordially fome perfonages may be inclined to
fupport us, yet may they be fearful of doing it in oppo-
fition to the public voice. But could our countrymen
be induced to deftroy the king or queen, then indeed a
fudden furor might be raiſed in the English nation,
under cover of which our friends there might adopt
our caufe. The minifter might be then perfuaded to
come down to the houſe, and tell them that the death
of the king was "The natural eflect of the principles
"maintained in France," and that theſe principles "Had
brought to a fatal catastrophe a lawful fovereign."
That "they had shed the blood of their unfortunate monarch
"left the world fhould be at a loss to know the nature of
“their ſyſtem,” and he may then poffibly be induced to
call on the nation" to arrest the progress of ſuch principles,
"and prevent their contagion," Shall we then quietly fub-
mit to the limited monarchy now eſtabliſhed? Shall we
fuffer the king, like the English monarchs, to obtain
the love of the people, by willingly abandoning the
antient prerogatives of the crown, chear fully acquiefcing
in the limited power affigned him, and exercifing his
veto in fubfervience to the public voice, content with
the influence and importance he will derive from the
immenfe civil lift they have alloted him? Shall we
fuffer him, like the English queen Mary, to concur in
the feiſure of the temporalities of the clergy, of that
CC
(
10 )
religion, to which, like her, he is attached? Or, fhall
we tempt him to unite his intereft with ours, and, by
holding out to him the hope of powerful foreign affift-
ance, induce him to uſe the power ſtill left in his hands?
Our countrymen will fuppofe that the hoftile armies in-
vading and defolating France in his name, have his
concurrence. The people will be enraged, a conven-
tion will take place, and thus the king muſt inevitably
fall. This may induce the friends of a limited mon-
archy to ſtrengthen our party; but, at all events, if the
nation ſhould ſtill be united againſt us, and the invading
armies ſhould be repulſed, ſtill the king being deſtroy-
ed, and a democratic republic eſtabliſhed,
Mr. Burke and our other friends in England will
thence be enabled to render our countrymen more
generally odious to the Engliſh nation, than is poffible
while France continues a limited monarchy. Thus
the death of the king will become the means of induce
ing the English, to engage in a war, to reſtore us to
thofe riches and privileges, of which they have long
fince deprived their own nobility and clergy. The
riches of England and Holland will then give energy to
the operations of the great and illuftrious monarchs
of Ruffia, Pruffia, and Auſtria. Shall we then he fitate
to provoke our adverfaries, to embrue their hands in the
blood of the king, and thus abandon for ever the only
hope that now remains to us of reftoring that antient,
that venerable government, which, however odious it
might be to the people, we contend, as we have good
reafon to contend, was moft excellent and perfect?
Thus probably, on an accurate examination of the
whole train of circumftances attending this event,
we ſhall find a new order of criminals appear to our
view, of a very different defcription from the national
convention, the municipal officers, or the mob of Paris.
And it will not be eaſy to procure the acquittal of thoſe
criminals before an impartial judicature, unleſs it can
be fhewn that the invafion of France, and the duke of
Brunſwick's manifefto were not fuch proceedings, as, in
the common order of human events, might reafonably
be expected to produce the death of the king.
But before we fit in judgment on the murderers of the
king of France, whoever they may be, it is abfolutely
1
( II )
requifite, for preferving the femblance of juftice, that
we should be certain that we ourſelves are perfectly free
from guilt. Here methinks a burst of indignation ſpreads
around me and all with one voice, exclaim, Do you
charge us with the guilt of a deed which appears to
have excited univerfal horror? And when our court
has been cloathed in the enfigns of forrow, and the
femblance of woe.-But are not thefe proofs of in-
nocence equivocal?-What vile flanderer! Can't thou
pretend that the Britiſh nation has taken any concern in
theſe meaſures, which have brought the unhappy
monarch to the fcaffold? Did we interfere in the
affairs of France, till that melancholy event took place?
Did we not ftand by, calm fpectators of all thefe cir-
cumſtances which produced the tremendous ſcene?
It is true! And on this exculpatory defence I found
my charge!-If a crime be about to be perpetrated,
and we ufe not thofe endeavours in our power, and
which we lawfully may, to prevent its commiffion, we
become partners in the guilt. If we ftand by while
the deadly ingredients are preparing, and daſh them not
to the ground. If we fee the Affaffin uplift his
poniard, and, though it be in our power, wreſt it not
from his hand, we become equally guilty, as if we ad-
miniſtered the empoifoned draught, or plunged the
murderous weapon.
With this indifputable poſition in our mind, let us
review the circumftances. In doing this it will not be
neceffary to defend the French revolution in any refpect.
Admitting we perceived the government as formed by
the conftituting affembly, to contain in it the latent
feeds of danger to the king.-That the embryo prin-
ciples, which have fince produced fuch deadly fruit, lay
then open to our difcriminating eye.-Let it then be
confidered, that this dangerous government was volun-
tarily fubmitted to our revifal. When the French
nation proffered us the office of mediator, we could
without violating the law of nations, without infulting
the independency of a great nation, have then pointed
out the defects in the new eftablished government.
We might then have advifed the rooting out any
germinating feeds of danger to the king, and the new
formed government; our recommendation would have
( 12 )
come with propriety, for it was requeſted, our interfer-
ence would then have had weight, for it was in a crit-
ical moment, when the limited monarchy was threaten-
ed from adverſe quarters.
On the one hand it was
threatened with deftruction by the invading armies
in fupport of the antient defpotifim, and on the other
by the powerful republican party, in oppofition to
whom the limited monarchy had been eſtabliſhed.
The friends of the then exifting government would,
doubtless, have been defirous to have liftened to our
friendly council, and then have guarded the ftate
from thoſe threatened dangers, and themſelves from
Pruffian prifons. Enemies as they were to the
antient defpotifm, yet were they anxious to fupport
that limited authority of the monarch, which the con-
ftituting affembly had deemed expedient. But
Mr. Pitt contends, that " by the law of nations, we
"have a right to interfere in the concerns of other
"countries, fo far as to oblige them to establish a form
"of government and terminate anarchy." How ftands
the fact even compared with his own principle? France
when threatened with invafion by the combined armies,
was poffeffed of a government, which Mr. Pitt acknow-
ledges to have had apparently the concurrence of the
people. This government was threatened by a foreign
force, and a domeftic faction; the one would naturally
operate to increafe the other. At this critical period
we are called on to mediate, to endeavour by accommo-
dating the pretenfions of the adverfe parties to give
permanency to this government, and prevent that
anarchy which threatened to arife from this hoftile at-
tack, and, the neceffary refult of anarchy, the deſtruc-
tion of the king: we refufe to interfere; we decline,
though folicited, to take any meaſure to prevent this
anarchy, and we fuffer it to take place, with its unavoid-
able confequence, the death of the king; and then make
this anarchy, which we refuſed to prevent, a pretence
for joining in the hoftile attack, and thereby perpetuate
the evils we ought to have prevented; and now avenge
the death of the king of France, though we declined
taking any meaſures for his prefervation. If to inter-
fere in the government of neighbouring ſtates be a right,
it is alfo a duty; becauſe it muſt be incumbent on us
}
( 13 )
to exerciſe it on proper occafions, and not merely as
caprice or intereft may fuggeft. Grotius in 20th cap.
of his 2d book, where, on the authority of Hercules, he
lays down the dangerous doctrine of one ſtate interfere-
ing with another, feems to doubt his principle, for he
obferves, "It is to be noted that thofe wars, which are
"undertaken for exacting puniſhment, unless the injuries be
very great, very manifeft, or backed with fome other caufe,
"are always fufpected to be unjust." How much more
than fufpected, muft it be, when, though requested, we
have declined to prevent the evils we now pretend to
puniſh?
cc
So far then as it was evident that the death of the
king of France would refult from the government form-
ed by the conftituting affembly being fubverted, and
one more democratical rifing in its place, fo far our
decliningany lawful meaſures, which promiſed to give
permanency to that government, conftitutes us guilty
of his death. And if his death refulted from errors in
the limited monarchy, then, as far as our mediation
might have corrected thoſe errors, fo far are we in that
cafe accountable for the confequences.
We have not ground to fay, that our acceptance of the
mediation would have produced no effect; for, as the
attack on France was to effect a change in their govern-
ment, the fubmitting the difpute to mediation implied
a difpofition to admit of fome change for the fake of
peace, and we know not what conceffion might have
been made to obtain our alliance and friendship.
When all the nations of Europe armed againſt them, it
might be wife and prudent to adopt a more democratic
form of government than otherwife might have been
expedient, and thus riſk a temporary anarchy, in order
to give an energy to the people againſt their foreign
enemies. And though it is not to be fuppofed that
change which the French might have adopted, even had
it been an exact copy of the English conftitution, would
have much reconciled the Auftrian, Pruffian, or Ruffian
monarchs; yet had they found that the government of
France had our cordial approbation, and they had no
hopes of our affiftance in fubverting it, we may reafon-
ably imagine they would not have been very ready to
diſturb
any
་
( 14 )
+
As in endeavouring to prevent the late convulfions
in France, we ſhould have had the greateft profpect of
fuccefs, fo it is equally evident that to avenge them is
totally impracticable. Suppofing us to meet with
fuccefs equal to our moft fanguine wishes; admitting,
that according to Mr. Burke's directions, we wage
eternal war, defolate France, and lay Paris in ruins;
will our fword in this wide devaftation difcriminate the
innocent from the guilty? Alas! it muſt be the inno-
cent, chiefly, on whom our vengeance will fall. Was
the death of the king perpetrated by a faction who have
ufurped the authority? or, have certain miferable
philofophers, by their fpeculations, produced this melan-
choly fcene? Will our vengeance felect this faction, or
thefe philofophers for punishment? Before our armies
fhall have entered France, the national affembly that
voted the death of the king will be diffolved, and we
fhall be carrying on a war againft another government,
which may poftibly deplore that event equally with our-
felves. The impoffibility of punishing the real crim-
inals, manifefts the abfurdity of attemping to puniſh
crimes by a war, and proves that fuch a war muft in
its nature be unjuſt.
Confcious of this, many contend that the death of the
king is not the cauſe of the war, but that it reſults
folely from the national aggreffions of France. But
this cannot be admitted, when we confider that it con-
ftitutes the principal part of thofe invectives which have
been delivered in the Senate to prompt us to a war;
that it was brought before it by the king himfelf; and
that immediately on the news of the fact being per-
petrated, the French minifter was forbid the kingdom,
and the royal meffage for a war armament delivered.
From thefe circumftances we may rather infer that it is
this event which has actually precipitated us into a war,
not that we are to imagine it to be the real motive;
Lord Aukland's memorial, ftates, that the French
government had given us umbrage from the beginning,
but it was not til this event took place, that the war
appears to have been refolved on, however much it
might by fome have been defired.
As punishing nations by war is unjuft from the
confideration of its confounding the innocent with the
1
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( 15 )
guilty, it is no lefs fo from its being totally deftitute of
the effential property of punishment, the prevention of
future crimes; becauſe, there is no fyftem of laws by
which the punishment is regulated, nor any jurifdiction
whofe authority is recognized. The Prince of Orange
did not undertake his expedition, becauſe it was con-
fonant to any law which had been fanctioned by the
monarchs of Europe, nor was he detered from it be-
cauſe Monmouth and his adherents had been ſeverely
puniſhed for fimilar attempts. Thofe, who, in govern-
ing nations, or commanding armies, perpetrate crimes;
-thoſe who affume, or fubvert dominion, do fo in
conſequence of the power they poffefs; and thoſe
who are concerned in any revolt, will govern them-
felves merely on the circumſtances of that, in which
they are engaged, and not of any prior one. The
national convention were not detered from executing the
king, becauſe the murderers of Charles the firſt were
brought to the fcaffold; and fhould we be able to felect
the perfons concerned in the death of the French king,
and puniſh them, it does not follow, that thoſe who
in future may have the difpofal of kings, will treat them
with greater lenity. The feverity with which James
the fecond treated his nephew, Monmouth, did not
occafion his daughters to manifeft any great tenderneſs
to the depofed monarch; nor did the fevere puniſhinent
inflicted on the murderers of fome of the Scottiſh kings,
prevent twelve of them from being killed in fucceffion.
If, however we be determined to take cognizance of
this crime, notwithstanding we can be authorized by no
principle whatever, and though our threatened ven-
geance can be productive of no future good, even to
kings themſelves.-If we do affume the judgment feat,
it behoves us to conduct ourfelves, becoming the im-
portant fituation in which we have placed ourſelves;
and more peculiarly fo, as our conduct bears a moſt
fufpicious afpect. Why, it may be aſked, is this fingle,
folitary crime, particularly felected as the fole object of
our indignation?-Attend-Lord Grenville replies-
"The recent tranfaction at Paris has filled all Europe
"with amazement and horror, and has been received in
"this country with a degree of feeling and emotion that
"makes me glory in being an Englishman."-Indeed!
•
( 16 )
K
happy news, that there is fuch a paucity of crimes in
the world, that the attention of all Europe ſhould be ſo
totally engroffed by one. Happy, happy nations of
Europe! whofe diverfified forms of government and
multifarious ſyſtems of laws are all fo admirably adapt-
ed to fecure human felicity, inſure the ſafety of man-
kind, and prevent the commiffion of crimes, that they
are thus fo univerfally ftruck with horror and amazement
at this fingle offence, perpetrated in a foreign jurifdic-
tion. The emprefs of Ruffia, who, I preſume ſtands
foremoſt, almoſt petrified with aſtoniſhment at the
murder of a king, cannot, I dare lay, find through all
her wide extended territories, one act of injuftice, one
fcene of mifery, that can be produced as a counter-part.
Not in the leaft meaning to difpute this univerfal
juſtice, this exemption from crime, which pervades the
empires of Ruffia and Germany, and which has made
it requifite for the happy fubjects of thofe empires to
extend their views to Paris for an object to excite
their amazement and their horror; yet may the propriety
of the people of this country joining in it admit of
fome confideration.
It might indeed poffibly be doubted whether our
own virtue were not rather a more rational ground of
glory, than any emotion or any feeling refpecting the
crimes of others. It muft indeed be acknowledged,
that to express the warmest emotions, and the moſt
indignant feelings against them, is a far eaſier taſk than
to purſue the thorny path of virtue, and ſteadily refiſt
the temptations to which we are expoſed. Thus
we execrate an Inkle, and we fob and figh at the tragedy
of Oroonoko; yet we could not only perpetrate the
facts themſelves, but, through every revolving hour
from age to age, we can realize the fcenes, and re-act
them on the wide theatre of the world, for the fake of
gratifying our appetite with a defpicable luxury. Let
it then be aſked, if we have no other, no clearer evidence
of our purity, than our amazement and our horror,
our feeling and our emotion, on the death of the king
of France.
The extent of our conqueſts ſurpaſs thoſe of Cazar
and of Alexander; and cannot thoſe wide extended
dominions be appealed to, as proofs of the moderation
( 17 )
with which we exerciſe power, the firmnefs with which
we refift every temptation of oppreflion and injuftice,
the facrednefs with which we regard the lives and
property of thoſe who are at our mercy, and the vigilance
with which we protect the innocent? If not, "our
"most marked and animated indignation at a late tranfac-
"tion at Paris," inſtead of being our glory, will prove
us to be mean, as we are vile, baſe as we are criminal.
It will prove we poffefs the defpicable art of a proftitute,
who attempts to conceal her deviations from the path
of virtue, by invectives on the unchaſtity of others.
Is there then, through theſe vaft dominions, no evil to be
found of equal magnitude to the murder of the king of
France? Has no crime been perpetrated that calls
for our ſwift vengeance, that we are thus neceffitated
to go into other jurifdictions, to traverſe foreign coun-
tries, in ſearch of criminals? Are there none equal to
the national convention, and the mob of Paris to be
found among thoſe who are under our protection, and
fubject to our authority? Alas! were the French to
feize all the kings and queens, and emperors and
empreffes, and clergy, and nobles of the continent of
Europe, and involve them all in one general carnage,
dreadfully, monftrous, as might be the deed, it would
fink beneath our notice, were it compared with thoſe
fcenes which the Weft-india iſlands prefent to our view.
Lord Grenville, perhaps, will glory in being an Engliſh-
man, when he compares the flow, the folemn, the
cautious deliberation, with which that body, who now
poffeffes Mr. Burke's hyperbolic praifes, conduct the
proceedings refpecting thofe enormities of which we
ourfelves are guilty, with the promptitude and ardor
with which they can exprefs their marked and animated
indignation at the crimes of others. Infinite is the
difference, it ſeems, between forming a judgment of
other peoples conduct and our own. No fooner are
they told of the death of the king of France, than
inſtantly they can refolve," that it was an atrocious a&t
«which must be viewed by every nation of Europe as an
"outrage of religion, justice, and humanity." And can
as inftantly refolve to affure his majefty," That impreſſed
"with theſe fentiments, they will enable his majesty to
augment his forces, to act as circumstances may require
<c
( 18 18)
)
"at fuch an important juncture." But it feems they have
not leiſure to profecute the inquiry any farther on the
Slave Trade, becauſe they are fo extremely bufy in
pouring out vengeance on the murderers of the king
of France.
Well! but I am told, the crimes to which I allude
are common ordinary offences, but at Paris a King has
been murdered. "An innocent monarch has been facrificed
" in violation of every principle of justice."—When I fee
a man unjustly deprived by his fellow mortals, of that
life which his Creater gave, and which he alone
has a right to take away, I indeed fee a tremendous fight,
and it were to be wished that it were an event as un-
common as it is awful. But if we be called on to pro-
nounce the murder of the king of France, " to be an
"atrocious fcene, unparalleled in the annals of the world."
-We must then demand, what are the peculiar circum-
ſtances attending it? The being deprived of life unjustly
is a general definition of murder. But I am again
reminded that it is a King, and not an African, but a
European monarch, whofe lofs we deplore. True, but
I know not that impartial juftice will much confider
that the human form is wrapped in purple, or that the
brow is encircled with a diadem. I am indeed ready to
admit, that in addition to the crime of murder, which
every unjuſt privation of life implies, there may attach
circumſtances of additional criminality, and that addi-
tional criminality may arife among other circumftances,
from the fituation in which the murdered perfon was
placed. But merely his being an innocent King, will not
raiſe it above the ordinary level of thofe murders which
occur every hour of the day in our Weft-india iſlands,
and in the holds of our Corfairs. The former govern-
ment of France, in which Mr. Burke fays they might
glory, perpetrated thouſands of murders far more
atrocious than the murder of the king of France,
fuppofing him to have been innocent. But it may be
remarked that from the nature of royalty the crimes of
kings muſt be extremely equivocal. Actions may be
deemed innocent by them, merely becauſe they are
fuch as other monarchs have committed, or becauſe the
laws of the country had not recognized the crimes of
kings, yet may their fubjects juftly deem them criminal.
( 19 )
cc
r
When Lord Grenville tells us that "this innocent
"monarch has been cruelly murdered by a felf-conftituted
power, without having violated any existing law, con-
"trary to every principle of justice, for that his judges
were parties in the caufe, they were legiflators, accufers,
judges, and jurors." He fays no more than muft
neceffarily be true of every fuffering monarch. In
this kingdom, in the space of about 800 years, upwards of
thirty kings and queens have been killed, befides dethrone-
ments, banishments, profcriptious, fentences of baftardy, &c.
Now will Lord Grenville give us an account of the
regular proceffes againſt them? Will he favor us with
an account of the parties, the accufers, the judges, and
the jurors? Will he fhew that the BRAVE, MAGNAN-
IMOUS, JUST, LIBERAL, and HUMANE people of this
iſland have proceeded in any one cafe, more confonantly
to exiſting laws, and the principles of juſtice, than the
people of France have against the deceaſed king?
When calamities fall on monarchs; fo far from its
exciting our amazement and aftonishment, we might
rather confider them as being from their fituation,
moſt peculiarly expoſed to violence and injuftice. If
feated on their thrones by power, when that power
fails them, they muft neceffarily become the moft for-
lorn, and moſt helpleſs of the human race: no laws to
which they can appeal: no judicature to grant them.
redreſs: no fanctuary they can depend upon for refuge.
If they have the misfortune to escape a fpeedy termi-
nation of their woes by death, they become the ſport
of fortune, a wandering or a degraded fpectacle, infult-
ed and trampled on in their mifery.
If then thofe experiments in government, which are
going forward in the world, fhould at length prove
that the government of nations, the prefervation of
property, the benefit of ſociety, do not abfolutely re-
quire a regal order. If no great injury would reſult to
mankind from its abolition, it might then poſſibly be-
come a queſtion, not unworthy confideration; whether
it be compatable with humanity, to dress out the gaudy
trappings of a throne, to enfnare our fellow creatures; thus
tempting them to afcend a dangerous eminence, from whence
to be precipitated, must be calamitous, in proportion to the
extent of the power they poſſeſſed, and the fplendor and the
adulation with which they had been furrounded.-FINIS.
|
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A DISCOURSE
4
ON
NATIONAL FASTS,
Particularly in reference to that of
APRIL 19, 1793,
ON OCCASION OF THE
WAR against FRANCE.
By W. FOX.
THE THIRD EDITION.
LONDON:
Sold by J. Ridgway, York Street, St. James's Square;
T. Wheildon and Butterworth, Fleet Street;
W.Richardſon, Royal Exchange; and M. Gurney,
No. 128, Holborn Hill.
1793.
[Price Threepence, or Five for a Shilling.]
1
1
i
1
AM.
UJA
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སྐྱ
1
}
A Difcourfe on National Fafts, by W. Fox.
Author of the Address on abstaining from West India Sugar and
Rum- Interest of Great Britain reſpecting the French War
Thoughts on the Death of the King of France,
Sold by M. GURNEY, No. 128, Holborn Hill.-1793.
O
c.
F all the wonderful abfurdities which the hi ory
of man preſents to our view, perhaps; there is none
fo extraordinary as the affociating of religious rites
with thofe criminal purpoſes to which we fhould i:nag-
ine the rudeft and fimpleft ideas of religion must be
inimical. Adam, when he firft tranfgreffed ag inft his
maker, very naturally hid himfelf amongst the trees of
the garden but his more profligate pofterity, harden-
ed in guilt, when affociated together to commit any
crime of peculiar enormity, and extenfive mifchier,
boldly rush into his prefence, claim him as a partner in
their guilt, and demand his affiftance in perpetrating
their crimes.
One would naturally imagine that, when men were de-
termined to give a lcofe to their criminal paffions, they
might be fatisfied with immolating their fellow-creatures,
by thouſands, and by millions, at the fhrine of their
ambition, their cruelty, or their avarice. And we may
furely afk why they fhould wantonly and unneceffarily
infult their maker?-but we will have the candour to
fuppofe, that they do not believe there exifts any fu-
preme being, whom they can infult by thus profaning
his name. We will admit that they confider religion
as a mere political engine. Yet may we not afk, whe-
ther it be not degrading the State to drefs it out in the
tattered remnants of a religion which we defpife? we
may give to our crimes a factitious glare. Captain
Macheath is not ſo deſpicable a character as Mother Cole.
Let it then be confidered whether it be not more be-
coming the character of men to give to our crimes the
manly boldneſs of the former character, than, with the
latter, to form an unnatural compound of vice and re-
ligion.
The hiftory of this degradation of the human chà-
racter might not be unamuling, were not its wickedneſs
too extreme, and its impiety too fhocking. It muſt be
( 2 )
obferved that, though this affociation of religion and
vice is to be too extenfively traced in the hiftory of
man, yet in fome cafes, fomething may be offered in
its extenuation. That in a rude ftate of fociety, the
druids ſhould, by their religious orgies, maintain an
authority and influence over inankind was not very ex-
traordinary; and the fraud might poffibly not be in-
jurious, at a period when there exifted nothing that
bore any refemblance to civil government, and when
kings were merely leaders of armies. Nor need we
much wonder that the komán emperors combined the
priesthood with the imperial dignity; they might with
great propriety be confidered as the reprefentatives of
the deities they acknowledged: plunder and carnage
might properly be conducted under their aufpices.
It is in affuming the religion of Christ for fuch a
purpoſe, that human depravity becomes peculiarly ma-
nifefted; for, were it deemed expedient to affociate the
black catalogue of human crimes with religion, one
would have thought that the Chriftian religion would
hardly have been felected for fuch a purpoſe. Mahomed
had the good fenfe to perceive its unfitnefs for a national
religion, and therefore he altered and adapted it for
that urpose. The church of Rome have adopted a
plan nearly fimilar, by concealing the nature and im-
port of the fcripture from the people, and thereby have
avoided fhocking the feelings of mankind, by promul-
gating a religion totally incompatible with their avowed
principles of conduct. Bishop Burnet obferves, "That
"the reformed churches have added new abuſes to the old
ones," and adds, "That growing atheism and impiety is
c
cr
daily gaining ground, not only among us, but indeed all
"Europe over." Certainly meaſures have been adopted
fince the reformation, which feem extremely well
adapted to fuch an end.
To promulgate amongſt the people a religion againſt
which every national act militates; to be continually at
war, yet profefs the gofpel of peace; to be ranging
round the world to fpread, mifery, defolation, famine
and war; yet to place before us for an example him
who went about doing good. To have the fame govern-
ment and legiſlature, who are perpetrating thofe deeds,
( 3 )
7
enacting penal laws to compel us to profefs a belief
in the very religion that condemns them, are certainly
admirable contrivances to deſtroy every religious, and
every moral principle. Nor, is it lefs obfervable that,
becauſe Jefus has declared that his kingdom is not
of this world, it is determined that it fhall be of
this world; becauſe he has told us, that his difciples
ſhall be hated for his name fake, they therefore enact
penalties to compel them to profefs their belief in him;
as we are informed by him, that his church ſhall con-
fift of a remnant, chofen out of all nations, and ton-
gues, and people, with infinite propriety, it is made to
confift of whole nations; and, to finish the picture, be-
cauſe Jefus has proclaimed himſelf to be the head over
all things to his church, the king is proclaimed to be the
head of it.
If it is in this character his majesty has iffued a procla-
mation, and if as fuch we obey it, certainly then it
will not be eafy to diſcover a more effectual mode
of manifefting that we obey him, not as an earthly mo-
narch but as ſeated on the throne of Jehovah, than by
a national faſt: becauſe, (except circumcifion) national
fafts conftitute the most prominent feature in that ce-
conomy wherein God condefcended to become the head
of a national church. When that inftitution was dif
folved, by the authority that formed it, no method
could be contrived more conveniently to prove our con-
tempt of that authority, than by continuing the obier-
vances of that inftitution. This method of trampling
on the divine authority was very early reforced to; the
myſtery of iniquity began to work even in tué apoftles
time; it was then contended that the Gentiles fhould be
circumciſed, and keep the law. Paul's judgment on
this ſubject was indeed fomething different, for he tells
the Galatians "If they were circumcifed Chryt bould pro-
fit them nothing" yet had circumcifion divine ſanction,
and Paul himſelf circumcifed Timothy: out to obſerve
divine inftitutions other wife than as God has appointed
is as criminal as introducing human inventions
add to or to diminith his commands are equally re-
bellion against him. Hence to obferve any fall other-
wife than as we are authoriſed by Chrift, or his apoſtles
To
( 4 )
is to trample under foot that goſpel which has been
promulgated to man, as the fource of his eternal hope.
+
A Chriftian must not merely decline joining in a faſt,
but even ſtart with horror at the thought, from the
confideration that amidst all the corruptions with
which the ational profetons of chriftianity abound,
fafting is that fubject which has been peculiarly felected
by them to be placed in the moſt farcical point of view,
and o degrade, and to infult not only religion and mo-
rality but the common f nfe and language of mankind.
When the nations of Europe became what is called
Chijian, the conductors of the bufinefs had fome dif-
ficulties to combat. To adopt intire a religion they
did not believe, and which they only reforted to for in-
tereſted purpoſes, could hardly be expected. And as
the religion already exifted, they were not at liberty to
frame it de novo, they were therefore neceffitated to
re-organize it but as the original was not extremely
well adapted to the purposes to which it was to be ap-
plied, the tranfmutation was not very eafy.
འ༢༩་
Fafting was a remarkable inftance of the adroitnefs
with which the affair was conducted. It was a term of
very obvious import, even to the most illiterate; it
could not poffibly mean any thing but abftinence
from food: fo it has invariably been underftood by
mahommedans, and by every people who practice it,
and who believe the religion they profefs. To change
this obvious meaning, one would have thought, would
have been impoffible; yet was this indifpenfibly necef-
fary. Abfence from food could hardly be expected,
from Kings, and Emperors, Pope's and Cardinals,
it was therefore boldly refolved, that fafting ſhould
mean feasting on the most delicate viands, in diftinc-
tion from common and ordinary food; and thus faſt-
ing was by this notable expedient rendered perfectly
paratable even to an epicure; and when we recollect
that this curious definition of fafting has, like the En-
ghh conftitution, been framed by the deliberative
widom of our anceſtors, tranfimitted through a fuccef-
fion of ages, and fanctioned by happy experience; if
any bold innovator ſhould dare to intimate, that oyfters,
eels, dories, and cray fiſh, are not peculiarly adapted'
( 5 )
to fafting and mortification; it may be hoped that we
fhall ftill preferve our reverence for antiquity, and care-
fully guard our minds from being corrupted, by the
deteftable innovations of reafon and philofophy.
Despicably extravagant as this mummery may be,
yet fuch is the influence of bad principles, that modes
of fafting not much inferior in abfurdity have been a-
dopted, by perfons who appear to have fome reverence
for the gofpel of Chriſt. Thus, fome call it a faſt day to
delay their breakfaſt a few hours, fome omit a meal,
others eat nothing till dinner, while others have only a
flight repaft in the day, delaying their principal meal
to the evening. As fuch modes of falling are the re-
fult of whim and caprice, it is no wonder they are fo di-
verfified; and, if they are deemed fafting, it can only
be becauſe the uſual mode of feeding is gluttony. The
moſt abſtemious of thefe methods of fafting correfpond
with the regular manner of living in other countries;
the Romans, and many other nations, partook not of
any fubftantial meal until the evening.
As the methods of fafting are thus diverfified, fo fome
have an ingenious method of keeping the national faſt
without fafting at all. They will, indeed, go to church,
or meeting, and thus the ceremony ends. But Dr.
Price's mode of keeping the royal fafts, during the
Imerican war, was ftill more curious. The Doctor
punctually kept them, but ufed to make a ſmall mif-
take, for, inſtead of praying for the fuccefs of his ma-
jefty's arms, he ufed to deprecate and deplore it as an
impending calamity. Viewing it in that light, it would
certainly have been highly criminal in him to have ob-
ferved it in any other manner: but why obferve it at all?
Obedience to the government under which we live
is a duty ſtrongly inculcated in the fcriptures, and it
ever juftly claims our regard, except when it trenches on
the fuperior duty we owe to God, rather than to Man.
Hence, as it is not the proper office of the civil magif-
trate to determine when, or how, man fhould worſhip
his maker, and he cannot affume fuch an office with-
out invading the prerogatives of the Lord of the whole
earth, ſo it ſhould ſeem that we cannot, in any ſhape,
or in any degree, obey fuch commands without recog-
(6)
1
nizing that affumed authority, and thereby rebelling
againſt heaven.
The peculiar nature of chriftianity is totally repug-
nant to a combination of religion with national contefts.
As men, living in the world, we cannot but have our
political opinions, and by thofe opinions we muſt be
governed when our duty calls on us to take a part in
the affairs of this world. But the minds of Chrif-
tians will be far otherwife employed whenever they ap-
proach the awful prefence of Jehovah. It is true,
fince praying has become an art, and practifed as a
trade, much ingenuity has been diſcovered in inventing
topics for prayer. Yet numerous as are the paffages,
in the epiftles of the apoftles, where prayer is mention-
ed; they uniformly refer to fpiritual bleffings, or to
thofe miraculous and peculiar circumſtances appropri-
ate to thoſe times. Chriftians were commanded to
pray for kings, and all in authority: but it was that
they might live quiet and peaceable lives, in godliness
and honefty. And if they aſked for food, it was only
as daily bread, which, by ſupporting that life which
had been forfeited by their tranfgreffions, was a conti-
nual manifeſtation of the divine long fuffering towards
them. And when Paul prayed, night and day for the
Theffalonians, it was that they might increaſe and abound
in love, and might be unblameable in holinefs before
God. If then Chriftian prayer be thus limited, pro-
phane in the extreme muſt it be for us to apply to
heaven that our favorite army may deſtroy the adverſe
one. It muſt, even fuppofing we were thoroughly ac-
quainted with the merits of the difpute, and the pur-
pole meant to be effected, and were fatisfied that thoſe
difputes, and that purpoſe, was perfectly confonant to
the commonly received law of nations, which certain-
ly bears no great refemblance to the law of Christ. To
return good for evil; forgive injuries; do good to all
men; form no very prominent feature in it. The New
Teftament is extremely defective in refpect that it
gives us no idea of a just war; it even fpeaks of all war,
as arifing from our lufts; yet the principal object of
Grotius, is to fhew from whence wars may lawfully ori-
ginate. But it is remarkable, that in the prefent war
( 7 )
we are perfect ſtrangers to its purpoſe. In former wars,
though the people were never in the fecret of their real
object, and confequently while they were telling God
it was juſt and neceffary for one purpoſe, which was a-
vowed, government was profecuting it for one totally
different. Yet, this muſt be admitted, that a ſpecific
object was always held out. A nation was to be weak-
ened, becauſe it was ftrong; or it was to be deſtroyed
becauſe it was weak. Another was to be divided, and
another was to have a barrier. One to be attacked, be-
cauſe they had the affurance to fay they had not injured
us; and another, becauſe we imagined they would re-
fent the injuries we had done them. Some nations we
attacked, becauſe they made treaties we did not like;
and others, becauſe the treaties we made for them they
did not chooſe to adopt. Sometimes we were informed,
a country would be of ufe to us, and therefore we muſt
feize it; and then we muſt feize another, becauſe
without it the firft would be ufelefs. Some wars were
engaged in to protect our piracies, and our fmugglers;
one to aggrandife our colonies, and then another to
weaken them. But in the prefent war, we are perfect
ftrangers to the object it is to obtain. Mr. Burke fays,
we ought to be fo. Admit it. Yet furely then we
ought not to be called on to pray for fuccefs on his ma-
jetty's arms, without knowing how they are to be em-
ployed; and to affure God that their object is perfectly
juft and neceflary, while we are ignorant of what that
object is. All we can poffibly know is, that two thou-
fand men, from England, are to be joined to fixteen
thouſand more, which the king of England has hired of
the elector of Hanover; and that thefe men are to be
employed fomewhere in killing their fellow-creatures.
This is the fum total of our knowledge on this bufi-
nefs. But this circumftance certainly poffeffes one ad-
vantage; for, as nobody knows how his majefty's arms.
are to be employed, every body may fuppofe they are
to be employed to his own mind, and every body is left
at liberty to affert, as it fuits his purpoſe at the time to
contend they ought to be employed. Hence, any man
might have afferted, that they were only to have beer
employed in protecting Holland, and the Scheld
1
( 8 )
and two months fince he could not have been contra-
dicted. Then, it might have been afferted, they were to
fecure Flanders, as a barrier for Holand. When that
was effected, it might be pretended, we were only to
deprive them of their other conqueſts, as Mr. Pitt had
declared that it was not intended to meddle with the in-
ternal affairs of France. But as the will probably have
abandoned her remaining trifling acquifitions, before
the faſt ſhall have taken place, it will then evidently
follow that the fuccefs we pray for, and the object of
that war which we shall then tell God, is both juft and
neceffary; is, not that which Mr. Pitt declared to be
the object, but that which he exprefsly diſclaimed, an
interference with the internal affairs of France. In fuch
cafe, it muſt be infered that Mr. Pitt is not in the fecret
of the prefent meafures, and that he has not their con-
duct and control; or, that he faid the thing that was
not. In the first moment in which the foreign armies
enter the territories of France, it will be for him to come
forward, and explain his tremendouſly ambiguous ex-
preffion of "pufking France at all points:" but, alas!
nothing will be explained but by the event. The au-
thors of this tragedy know how to conduct the plot too
well, to fuffer the denouement to be difcovered till towards
the conclufion of the piece. Is France and Poland, and
every country where principles of liberty may dawn, and
which may endanger furrounding defpotifms, to be dif
membered? If 10, England mult be included: from her
have emanated thofe principles, and never can the de-
fpotifm of Europe be fecure while there they are fuffered
to remain. It will not be fufficient even to reltore the
antient defpotifm of France. Governments must be
formed both there and here, in comparifon of which
the former defpotifin of France was liberty itfelf. For,
let it be recollected, that from the art of printing, all the
evils which are now deplored have refult d; and if that
art be not totally annihilated, if it be ſuffered to exiſt
even in that limited ſtate which it did in France, all
thofe confequences which have already refulted from
it will again recur. But, if the continental princes
ſhould be able, with our affiftance, effectually to fub-
jugate France, the whole plan may be eafily executed.
( 9 )
Conceited indeed, muſt be that Englishman, who ima-
gines that this country would, in fuch caſe, be able to
refift the confederacy:
If then printing be totally and effectually put a stop
to-If by a general alliance amongst the fovereigns of
Europe, which this war, if fucceſsful, feems well-
adapted to produce, they agree to have large, well
paid, and well trained armies, not to be ftationed in their
native lands, but in thoſe to the language of which
they are ſtrangers; and thoſe armies to be mutually re-
moved from country to country, to prevent their being
connected with the natives; then, and only then, can
this plan be effected. Thus, and thus only, can the
defpotifm of Europe be rendered permanent. If a trait
of liberty, if even femi-defpotifm be fuffered to exiſt in
any one country, that country will become a germina-
ting feed, from whence will again fpring up all theſe
mifchiefs which we now deplore; and all our laudable
exertions will terminate, in producing only theſe ſu-
bordinate and trivial evils, the lofs of millions of lives,
and the ſpreading mifery and defolation around us.
The power and limits of France are trivial circumftan-
ces; and Mr. Burke, with great propriety, urges us
to wage eternal war, or to extirpate. But war cannot be
eternal; it must then terminate in extirpation, and that
extirpation muſt be extended as far as the flendereſt fi-
bre of liberty can be traced. If this be not the plan,
it is childish in the extreme-if it be-But I am filent
-becauſe my knowledge of language is inadequate to
the task of combining appropriate expreflions to convey
my feelings. If indeed it were to be fuppofed poffible,
that the confederacy against France fhould finally and
fatally prevail, and if it were lawful to approach the
Divine Being reſpecting the events of a tranfitory world:
In contemplation of the threatened horrors we fhould
throw ourſelves at his feet, trembling in every limb,
and bleeding at every pore, and pour out our requests,
not in thoſe monftrous and tautological forms which in-
fult God, and degrade Man, but in thoſe words which
flow from the energetic feelings of the mind, or in thote
far more expreffive modes, flowing from the fulneſs of
the foul, in compariſon with which all words are weak
( 10 )
and puerile. Thus it fhould feem that there ought to
be fome ſpecific and appropriate meaning annexed to
the words "fuccefs to his majesty's arms," before we pre-
fume to make it a fubject of addrefs to the Deity.-
One man means by it, fecuring the Scheldt to Holland,
another Flanders for her barrier, a third fuppofes it in-
cludes Hanover, fome mean by it diftreffing and weak-
ening France, ſome diſmembering and partitioning her,
fome impofing on her one kind of government, and
fome another, while others mean depriving her of all go-
vernment, and annihilating her as a nation, and fome in-
clude in the idea of "fuccefs to his majesty's arms" the
eradicating certain principles wherever they are to be
found, or wherever they can be traced. To approach
the Deity in a form of words, to which fuch diverfified
ideas are annexed by the worshippers, they muſt have a
ſtrange taſte for religious worship indeed who can ap-
prove. Did we worship Jupiter, it might be amufing
to imagine, how merry the god would make himſelf
with the difcordant ideas of his votaries, and that he
might humourouſly diſmiſs them, with affurances that
he would grant their requeſts, when he could under-
ftand what they meant, and when they could agree a-
mongſt themſelves on the fubject.
We will admit, with Mr. Burke, that it is not fit, nor
becoming the dignity of government, to let the people
into the fecret of what is the real object of the war; or,
what is to be the refult of fuccefs attending his majeſty's
arms; that it is fufficient for them to be told ftories
about atheiſts, republicans, and levellers; French prin-
ciples and daggers; to be one moment told that the
French are an object of our pity and contempt, and the
next of terror and alarm. We will admit alſo with the
English Solomon, James 1ft. That "It does not become
Jubjects to pry into affairs of fate." Yet, furely,
fomething may be urged, if not in defence, yet in ex-
tenuation of our prefumption; if, when his majeſty
orders us to pray to God for fuccefs on his arms, we
humbly aſk how they are to be employed, and what
confequences are to refult from the fuccefs we are to aſk.
For, as miſchievous confequences have fometimes re-
fulted from the fuccefs of a conquering army, we ought
CC
( II >
to ask what object is to be attained? and what confe-
quences are to refult from the fuccefs we are ordered to
afk for? And, before we preſume to tell God the war is
juſt and neceffary, we ought to have fatis action as to
the ſpecific nature of the war, and that fuch is its pro-
per defcription. For, though it is alledged to be fo by
high authority, yet that authority is human, and con-
fequently fallible. Under fuch circumftances, the
queſtion affumes a more ſerious form than even an af-
fair of state. The king muſt now be confidered, not
as being burled from his tarone, but voluntarily de-
fcending from it, and leading his fubjects into a pre-
fence where he and the meaneft of them are on a perfect
level. Under fuch circumftances, furely, we may
permitted to paufe at the threshold, and refpectfully
afk for fome evidence that the war be really of that de-
ſcription which we are required to affirm it to be in the
prefence of Jehovah. If, on enquiry, it appears to us
not fo to be, it then becomes our duty, not only to
decline affirming it ourfelves, but to urge others to
make a fimilar inquiry, that they may thereby avoid
the guilt of afferting a falfehood to God.
be
To affure God that his majefty's arms will be em-
ployed in juſt and neceffary purſuits, may appear rather
rafh; becauſe it is not quite certain that either intellec-
tual or moral perfection neceffarily appertains to royal-
ty. The glorious and immortal William as readily told
us, that it was juſt and neceffary to difmember and par.
tition the Spaniſh monarchy, as that moſt excellent prince
George Ift. that it was juft and neceffary to make war
with Charles XII. becaufe Charles did not like to be
deprived of Bremen and Verden.
We may be confidered as having been engaged in
one continual war ever fince the revolution; the inter-
vals of peace may be confidered, merely as paufes to
recover a little ftrength; and it is alfo obfervable that
theſe peaces have generally been much execrated, and
there has always been much clamour and difcontent till
we have again been fuffered to embrue our hands in
blood. In other nations the wars originate in the ambi-
tion of the prince, in this country the people have uni-
formly manifefted a cannibal ferocity to fit down to the
( 12 )
bloody banquet. Thefe bloody banquets we have uni-
formly accompanied with fafts and thankgivings, on
all theſe occafions we have folemly affured God that
they were juft: that any one of them was fo, no one
will now be hardy enough to undertake to prove. We
have alſo as conftantly befought God to give fuccefs to
his majeſty's arms, for that the caufe in which we were
engaged was not only just but neceffary. If by neceffary
was meant that theſe wars were neceffary for produ-
cing death, ſlavery, miſery, and defolation, the affertion
was true, but if it imported that they were neceflary
for our fafety, or, even for our profperity, it was de-
monftrably falſe, becauſe we have conftantly miſcarried
in the avowed objects for which every one of thoſe wars
was undertaken. For, if thofe wars were neceffary for our
fafety, having miſcarried in the objects of them, it fol-
lows, that we are now in a ruined fituation; on the
contrary; if we are now happy and glorious, it alfo fol-
lows, that we lied before God in affirming that thoſe
wars were neceffary.
par-
But here I am told that, in all I have faid, I have
proved nothing but my own ignorance. I am told that
thefe things called fafts have no relation to religion;
that nobody ever ſuppoſed ſo but a few old women, who
were too blind to fee, too deaf to hear, and too ſtupid
to underſtand, what was paffing in the world. I fhall
be told that calling on God is a mere pretext; that the
prayers are meant for Man not for God. A political
contrivance to inflame the minds of the people for
ticular purpoſes, and to give the clergy an opportunity
of diffeminating political mifchief from their pulpits-
Be it fo-Admitting that a Swift might tell me that a
Faft was a Farce, yet ftill I muft contend that my ob-
jection is valid, becauſe a Farce when it becomes pro-
phane ought to excite our horror. A faft certainly is a
moſt convenient mode of diffeminating opinions among
the people. To call the weaver from his loom, and
the husbandman from his plough; to command the
hand of induſtry to ftand ftill, and all bufinefs to be
fufpended through the nation; is of it felf fufficient to
alarm and to aftoniſh. The faft neceffarily becomes the
topic of diſcourſe, and the obſcureft and remoteft vil-
1
A
( 13 )
lage in the kingdom becomes the ſcene of political in-
quiry. The imith lays afide his hammer, and the
taylor his goofe; in vain they inquire of each other
the cauſe of the alarm; obfcure danger is the moſt ter-
rific; and to the alehouſe they adjourn, to drown their
terror, in drinking church and king; there the curate
and the exciſe man inftruct the gaping multitude, and
while pouring down their throats muddy ale, and poi-
fonous gin, they are told, of the excellence of the con-
ftitution in church and ftate; of its danger from repu-
blicans and levellers, from french daggers and french
principles, of king-killing, and atheifm: paragraphs
are read from Burke's Speeches, and from Horſley's Ser-
mon: then all roaring out Rule Britannia, and God fave
the King, the night paffes in praiſing the conftitution,
damning diffenters and execrating the French, interlar-
ded with curfing, fwearing, quarrelling, and obfcenity.
Thus prepared for the faſt day, they go to church,
and their terrors are confirmed by royal authority. The
curate from the defk reads what he had before retailed
at the ale-houſe, and if able to tack together a few pa-
ragraphs from newſpapers and 30th of January fermons,
he afcends the pulpit, and ingratiates himſelf with the
fquire and rector, by making a flaming fermon againſt
the French, and then finishes the faft-day with the jo-
vial fare at the manor houfe.
If then faft days are attended with fuch extenſive,
fach important confequences, they certainly will be re-
forted to-I mean not to contend, ftatefmen ought
not to obferve them. I only afk, on what principle a
Chriſtian can obferve or countenance them in any ſhape
or in any manner.
manner. Should he, while reading the gof-
pel, and rejoicing in it as his prefent confolation, and
his future hope, be told, that this was the only confi-
derable country in Europe where that bleffing could
be freely enjoyed-that even here, the full enjoyment
of his religion was only by fufferance, for that tremen-
dous penal laws hung over him if he refufed to conform
to a particular religious cult, and though not now ex-
ecuted, yet that the clergy ftrenuouſly contended for
their continuance, in hope that the period might arrive
( 14 )
in which the ſtate might ſuffer them to be enforced
fhould he then be told that a revolution had taken
place in a neighbouring nation, which not only muft
fecure us effectually from any danger of returning per-
fecution, but infured the free circulation of the goſpel
through Europe, that in this, the moſt important country
in Europe, where the goſpel had not been fufered to
be printed for a century, liberty was now proclaimed
to print, and to circulate it; and that Chriftians
were allowed freely to meet together, and to defend
and to propagate their faith without reftraint--ſhould
he be told, that this revolution had led another confider-
ble nation to follow the example, and that from the uni-
verfality of the french language, it might be expected
that fimilar effects would be produced through Europe,
How would he rejoice in this joyful news? How he
only can tell, who knows the golpel of Chrift to be
the power of God unto falvation; nor would his joy be
repreffed on being told, that at the fa ne time as Chrif-
tians were permitted freely to defend the gofpel, there
exifted no pains nor penalties to prevent others from
oppoſing it. Again, let us fuppofe, that he was told
that the fovereigns of Europe had combined together to
fubvert theſe governments, and that they had effectually
ſucceeded as to one of them, but having failed as to the
other, his majefty had thought proper to join in attack-
ing it, at all points, and had called on the people to
pray for fuccefs to his arms in this attempt-Can it be
thought that he would join with bithops and ſtateſ-
men in fupplicating for fuccefs?
But many tell us, that they do not mean to fuppli-
cate for fuccefs on the war, but that furely there can be
no harm in meeting together, and confeffing the crying
fins of the nation, and fupplicating God to avert his
judgments from a finful people. But, I fhould appre-
hend it to be criminal, to perform any religious act but
from a conviction that God has commanded it. If we
are Chriſtians, we fhall live under a continual ſenſe of
our finful ſtate, and be continually looking to him for
pardon; but to do this once in ten or twenty years, be-
cauſe the king commands it, and becauſe he chooſes to
exerciſe the royal prerogative of going to war, feems a
( 15 )
very ſtrange fancy. But it feems we are not only to con-
feſs our own fins, but the crying fins of the nation, but
what fort of confeffion that is, I am at a lofs to under-
ftand. Of what ufe could it be of for us to confeſs, if the
fact be fo, that our laws are framed to produce a wicked
and licentious populace, and to protect and fofter fuch
amazing fyftems of wickednefs in all quarters of the
globe, as the world never before witneffed!
That this nation is guilty of very great and very
crying fins we will readily admit; and if, as the pro-
clamation imports, his majefty is at laft convinced of
it, every quarter of the globe will have reaſon to re-
joice, becauſe at his hands the reformation must be
looked for. Indeed it muſt be acknowledged that the
evidences of the abandonment of the great and crying
fins of the nation are not very flattering, and a recent
event ſeems to indicate that our crying crimes are ra-
ther on the increaſe. The people of India had been by
a charter from the kings of England affigned over as a
property; and in confequence of this very modeſt, juſt,
and reaſonable affignment it has been faid that as
great a number of the inhabitants of India have been
deſtroyed (I must not fay murdered) as the whole po-
pulation of England equals: at this very moment fa-
mine rages through the moſt fertile country in the world,
and it is faid a million of the inhabitants will fall a fa-
crifice to it, becaufe we chofe to take the cattle from
the plough in the countries we had already conquered,
to drag our artillery and army baggage to engage in new
conquefts. With thefe events before our eyes, this
charter is juſt expired; and his majeſty's minifter now
propofes its renewal; by which, in confideration of
500,000l. per. annum, part and portion of the money
which is forcibly to be taken from the faid people of
India, which is to be paid into his majefty's Exchequer,
the faid people of India are to be affigned over by his
majefty for the further term of twenty years; and the right
of
, twenty millions of people
is to be retailed in Change-alley to the beſt bidders. If
this be not deemed a crying fin, it might be neceffary
for the biſhops to compofe a Homily, to accompany the
form of prayer, inftructing us a little in the nature of
and
>
( 16 )
1
fin and of repentance. A great mathematician of old,
faid, that there was no royal way to geometry; fo I
fhould imagine that even bishops have not been able ro
diſcover a royal way to repentance.
But it feems, we are to befeech heaven to avert fome
impending calamity, which we are told hangs over us
in confequence of thefe crying fins. What! are we to
befeech heaven to avert its judgment, while we perfift
and glory in our crimes, and while we daily increaſe
them in number and enormity? The houſebreaker and
footpad, certainly wife to escape puniſhment, but fure-
ly there never exifted one fo daringly impious, as to put
up fuch a petition to heaven, while he grafped the fruits
of his iniquity, and perfifted in the continuance of his
criminal purſuits. But what are thefe impending cala-
mities and threatened judgments? I perceive them not,
we feem to be gloriously triumphant in our purfuits:
did ever any nation fpread fuch wide, fuch uniform
mifery and defolation through the globe, did ever any
people reap fuch rich reward.
But, perhaps, I ſhall be told that, when his majeſty
and his minifters tell us to bewail the fins of the na-
tion, they do not mean that they have committed any
themſelves; that, though national fins may feem to im-
ply, fins committed by public authority, yet that good
fubjs fhould take it for granted, that the fupreme
head of the ſtate is perfectly pure, and that all its acts are
as pure as the fource from whence they flow. It might
indeed feem rather unreaſonable that those who admon-
ifh us of our fins, fhould claim an exemption as to their
own: but then it ought to be confidered, that, as it
may be propofed making a confiderable addition to our
foreign crimes, it may be requifite to balance the foreign
by calling on us to diminish the home confumption of
our guilt.
But let it be confidered that, whatever importance our
pride may ftimulate us to affume, yet if we continue to
be a curfe to mankind, what afpiration can more pro-
perly ariſe from the heart, than that this ifland might
be ſhaken to its center, and overwhelmed with the fur-
rounding waves.
FINIS.
<
i
1
t
Tracts written by the fame Author, aud fold by M. Gurney,
No. 128, Holborn Hill.
An Addreſs to the People of Great Britain, on the
Propriety of abſtaining from Weſt-India Sugar and
Rum. Twenty-Sixth Edition. Price 3s. 6d. per
Hundred.
A Summary View of Evidence relating to the
Slave Trade. Sixth Edition. Price 3s. 6d. per
Hundred.
The Intereft of Great Britain, refpecting the French
War. Fifth Edition. Price Threepence, or Five
for a Shilling.
An Examination of Mr. Paine's Writings. Price
Threepence, or Five for a Shilling.
Thoughts on the Death of the King of France.
Second Edition. Price Threepence, or Five for a
Shilling.
Alfo, Sold by M. Gurney,
An Addreſs to the People called Methodists, on the
Criminality of encouraging Slavery; by S. Bradburne,
Miniſter of the Gofpel. Price Twopence, or Seven
for a Shilling.
A
DEFENCE
OF THE
Decree of the National Convention
OF FRANCE,
For emancipating the SLAVES in the WEST INDIES.
BY W. FOX.
London: Sold by M. GURNEY, No. 128, Holborn
Hill; and D.I. EATON, No. 74, Newgate Street.
Price Threepence, or Five for a Shilling.
Where may be had, juſt publiſhed, by the fame Author,
THOUGHTS on the IMPENDING INVASION
OF ENGLAND;
AND
A DISCOURSE occafioned by the FAST.
WHATEVER may be the final iffue of the French
Revolution, or with whatever circumftances it
may be accompanied, yet will one important con-
fequence neceffarily refult. Every important prin-
ciple of Government, of Morals, and of Social
order will be brought in review before the public,
and fubjected to minute inveftigation, and in what-
ever obfcurity the difcuffion may for a while be in-
volved, yet, is there but little doubt, of its finally
terminating in juft and accurate views being exten-
fively diffeminated. As the endeavour to fupprefs
the French Republic feems not to promife much fuccefs;
we have the hope of feeing its effects brought to the
fair teft of actual experiment, which, like experiments
in all other branches of knowledge, will tend to elu-
cidate what theoretical difputants have involved in
confufion.
5
(2)
The West India Davery is one of the most in-
refting of thoſe fubjects, as well from its importance,
as from its fuppofed difficulty. For a feries of
years
it has engaged the unremitted attention of the ſeveral
branches of our well ballanced conftitution; and to
them, at leaſt, it appears fo extremely difficult to de-
termine whether we fhall till continue to murder and
enflave the inhabitants of Africa, that like the in-
quiry of the antient Philofopher into the nature of
God; the difficulty feems to increaſe in proportion
as we proceed in the inquiry.
Under fuch circumftances it might have been ima-
gined, that we ſhould have rejoiced to have ſeen a
neighbouring nation bring a question which had fo
much puzzled us to an iffue, and prove the compa-
rative value of Slavery and Freedom as principles in
actual operation, while we awaited the event to avail'
ourfelves of the knowledge to be derived from their
adventurous experiment.
If, as is generally fuppofed, the Weft India colonies
be the foundation of the wealth and naval power both
of France and England, and the emancipation of the
Slaves would be the deftruction of thofe colonies,
then, furely it might be imagined we fhould exult,
that those whom we choofe to confider as our natural.
enemies have adopted a meaſure attended with fuch
ruin to themſelves; leaving this great fource of wealth
and power almoft folely in our hands. If, as is fup-
pofed, emancipation would be injurious to the Negroes
themſelves, and that our Negroes are happy and con-
tented in the ftate of Slavery, as is afferted, then,
what a glorious triumph have the French Jacobins
afforded us; deftitute of cultivation or ordre, we ſhould
then fee Freedom in the French Colonies, producing.
the predicted baneful effects: the Negroes muft
decreaſe from year to year, whilft in our Colonies they
would increafe in numbers and in happisefs, under
the kind protection of their owners: the dreadful
mifchief of Freedom could not then have been deem-
ed imaginary, its fatal effects might have been then
( 3 )
appealed to, and have effectually filenced the defpic-
able advocates of the Rights of Man.
How then fhall we explain the abhorrence and
contempt with which this Decree is viewed in the
Britiſh Senate, where not one individual appears to
defend it. Mr. Pitt who has been declaiming for
years, that "This Slavery was the most extenfive calamity
recorded in the History of the World, and was only ano-
ther name for fraud, robbery and murder! now boldly
comes forward, and not only declares, that this de-
termination of the French to terminate this fyftem of
fraud, robbery and murder, is weak, abfurd and im-
provident; but propoſes fending an Armament to bind
thofe chains which have been broken, to enfave thoſe
who have been juft made free. He will not even
wait to fee whether freedom will be attended with
thoſe baneful effects which have been predicted, with
fuch abhorrence he contemplates the meaſure, that he
will not even fuffer the experiment to take place,
though its injurious effects, if any, muſt be experi-
enced by our enemies.
However extraordinary this may appear, yet can it
excite no furprife in thofe who are acquainted with
the nature and motives of the different parties, who
have agitated this question amongst us.
The long
and defultory harangues upon cruelty and injuſtice,
the volumes of evidence, by which thofe charges have
been brought home to our Coloniſts, have, indeed,
occafioned many to fuppofe that fome few individuals
in the Britiſh Senate reprobated our Colonial Slavery,
and were anxious to remove it; but, alas! no fuch
French principle was ever for a ſingle moment enter-
tained. To ſecure, perpetuate and extend the Slavery
have been their fole objects, and the difference be-
tween the Abolitionifts and their Adverfaries have
merely been, how thefe valuable ends might be beſt
obtained. Mr. Pitt and the other Abolitionists con-
tended that our Colonial Slavery was endangered by
introducing Negroes from Africa, who, bred in the en
joyment of Freedom, difdaineing the yoke of Slavery,
would be ever attempting to fubvert the venerable
:
( 4 )
1
fabric, and wickedly endeavouring to obtain their
freedom; he therefore propofed, that the importation
of fuch dangerous Negroes fhould be prohibited, and
that the Colonift, fhould be confined to the home
manufacture of slaves, and thefe being born and bred
Slaves would more patiently fubmit to chains and
whips, to inceffant labour and extreme hunger.
Mr. Dundas admitted the propriety and policy of
this regulation, and hoped the proprietors of Slaves
might at length fee it in the fame light; when it
might be adopted, but that it would be an invafion of
the rights and privileges of the Slave-holder to com-
pel him to rear inftead of purchafe Slaves. Mr.
Pitt then proved, that only four of our iſlands needed
fupplies, that fome were faturated with Slaves;
confequently thofe latter might be converted into
breeding pens for ſupplying thofe gentlemen in the
other Iſlands, who might not choofe to be at the
trouble of rearing Slaves to fupply the place of thoſe
whom they had murdered. To fet this very trouble-
fome queftion at reft, it was refolved, by one branch
of our well ballanced Government, that fome time or
other it might be expedient to adopt this notable re-
gulation. But the Slave-holders, alarmed at this in-
novation on their liberties, appeared at the bar of the
Houſe of Lords, denied their right and power to cir-
cumfcribe the Slave market, and on this remonstrance,
it has been deemed convenient to hang up this de-
fpicable queſtion, peace be to its manes.
Thus, it appears, that the queſtion fo long agi-
tated amongst us on the Slave Trade, was a mere
Commercial Regulation for encouraging the home
manufacture of Slaves, for opening a New Trade to
Africa, which the former was fuppofed to prevent,
and for giving permanence and fecurity to a fyftem of
Slavery in our Colonies. The Abolitioniſts and the
Anti-abolitioniſts, indeed, both talked, and with equal
propriety, about juftice and humanity, but it was
merely to lengthen, diverfify and ornament their
ſpeeches. The moſt eligible mode of increafing the
Slaves was the fole queftion, and fo far was the Abo-
( 5 )
lition of Slavery from being intended, that Mr. Pitt's
principal argument in favour of his plan was, that, it
fecured Slavery from impending dangers.
Hence it appears, that the Abolition of Slavery either
gradual or immediate is a meaſure intirely French, to
them belong all the Infamy, or all the Honour
Calumny felf cannot charge a fingle Member of the
British Legiſlature with being fo far contaminated
with French Principles, as to propoſe reſtoring the
Slaves in our Iſlands to the benefits of civil fociety,
and the protection of its laws. An offer of confra-
ternity, fo oppoſite to our whole fyftem of conduct,
that the remoteſt idea of it ftrikes us with horror.
Nor can any Whig Politician, from Mr. Locke to the
preſent time, be juſtly charged with adopting ſuch a
deteftable principle, That liberty and happi-
nefs are to be confined to his foggy Inland, is an
Engliſhman's favourite idea, to fpread mifchief and
defolation through the earth, is his most luxurious
enjoyment,
The proceedings of the French and English go-
vernments, on this, and on all other fubjects, are fo
perfectly diffimilar, that they may be excufable in
avowing mutual abhorrence. Mr. Burke justly ob-
ferves, in his preface to Briffot, That, "fuch is the
nature of Frénch principles, that they cannot be viewed
with indifference; that it is a ſyſtem which must be re-
garded with enthufiaftic admiration, or with the highest
degree of deteftation, horror and rejestment." On this
queſtion, at leaſt, the two governments are fairly at
iffue; and he muft, indeed, be an ideot who can ad-
mire both.
If the British government be juft, then, indeed, do
the French deferve the epithets of robbers, and
plunderers. They have at one blow annihilated a
property of at leaſt fixty millions sterling. But on the
contrary, if theſe Slaves were not a property, and
the French Decree has reſcued a million of fellow-
creatures from the hands of violence, placed them
under the protection of the law, and restored them
to the benefit of civil fociety; then have tney raiſed
( 6 )
an immortal monument to their Fame. If we on the
contrary, not merely ftrengthen the hands of violence,
within our own jurifdiction, but engage in a crufade to
bind a million of men, women and children, with an
adamantine yoke of flavery, in the very moment
when it was broken; then let it be aſked, whether
any curfe can await us, if any calamity can befal us,
which we do not deferve?
Mr. Pitt, in reprobating this emancipating Decree,
appears not to be at all defirous of cenfuring it as an
infulated act. He tells us this weak, abfurd, improvi-
dent proceeding flowed naturally from their general
fyftem, and was perfectly congenial with it. He con-
fiders it as a fample of their whole fyftem; the whole
then muſt be judged of by this felected portion: and
we cannot defend this Decree, without being under-
ſtood to have defended the whole fyftem of French
principles; and if any acts of the French govern-
ment ſhould be indefenfible, fuch acts, and not this
Decree, must be deemed anomalous.
As the French have only Decreed the general prin-
ciple, that the Slaves fhould be emancipated, and
have refered it to the Committee of Safety " to take
prudent measures to carry it into effect," fo it muſt be
underſtood that it is the general principle, that the
Slaves fhould be emancipated, which Mr. Pitt tig-
matizes, as weak, abfurd and improvident. Thefe
terms cannot be applied to the mode of effecting this
important purpoſe, as the mode has not as yet been
determined on. Danton justly obferves, "This day
you have done juftice to humanity, but let us be the mode-
rators of this wife Decree. Let us reflect that this paſ-
fage fo fudden from Slavery to Freedom, may be unfortu-
nate, while we ought only to be defirous of making is
useful. Let us, therefore, refer it to the Committee of
General Safety, to adopt prudent measures to carry the
Decree into execution: This conduct is, it feems,
abfurd, weak and improvident. Let us contraft it with
pur conduct, which is, to be fure, as laudable as that
pf the French is deteftable. The French have refolved,
that a million of fellow-creatures ſhall be reſtored to
"
.
( 7 )
the benefit of fociety, and the protection of the laws.
This is it ſeems, weak and foolish. We fay they
ſhall be confidered as chattels, remain out of the pro-
tection of the law, fubject to the will of their fellow
Tubjects, to be treated as brutes; is this it feems quite
wife and laudable. The French, having obtained li-
berty for themſelves, are defirous of communicating
its happineſs to others; this is abfurd. We make ufe
of the power we derive from the liberty we enjoy to
enflave others; this is perfectly rational. The French
refer the fubject to a Committee, to adopt prudent
meaſures; this is improvident. We are for years agi-
tating the fubject of the Weft India Slavery, bringing
the enormities of it before the public, without having
the leaft intention of interfering in it; and even fuffer
the Planters to infult the Legiflature, by declaring
that it had no right to interfere between them and
their Slaves, and that, if even it prefumes to endea-
vour to prevent additional importations, they will fet
our laws at defiance, and the Colonial Judicatures
ſhall trample them under foot. All this is perfectly
prudent.
Prefumptious as it may be deemed to attempt a
defence of this weak, abfurd, improvident Decree,
yet, alas! I am implicated in the crime, and con-
fequently neceffitated to undertake its defence.-
Long fince did I prefume to diffeminate the deteftable
pofitions, That it was incumbent on us to endeavour
"As fpeedy and effectual fubverſion of Slavery in
"our lands, as the circumſtances and ſituation of
"the Slaves would admit;" That "We fhould not
"limit our views to the abolition of the African
"Slave Trade, as the Slavery formed on it was
equally unjuft;" and "That the perfons called
"Slaves in our Iſlands were intitled to liberty, by
"the common law of the land; that the mode of
putting them in poffeffion of their legal and natu-
"ral right out to be fpeedy and effectual, and ought
"to be confidered with no other view but their hap-
pineſs, however it might militate against the in-
tereft of their oppreffors."
<<
(c
<<
( 8 )
Had the French been left in the undisturbed poſ-
feffion of that Freedom they had fo gloriouſly obtain-
ed; had they been fuffered quietly to purfue their
wife and benevolent principles, little would this, or
any of their other meaſures, have needed a defence
from me.
Their beſt and effectual defence, would
have been the beneficial effects they would have pro-
duced. This was well known, and dreaded by thoſe
whoſe intereſt it was that thoſe effects never ſhould
take place. To impede and obftruct their operation
was the obvious policy to be adopted. France muft
be attacked, and filled with blood; and then the ex-
clamation was to be bellowed forth, fee the effects of
French principles! fo we may fill now the French
Weſt India Iſlands with carnage, and then poffibly,
we may have the audacity to exclaim, behold the
effects of emancipation!
In defending this Decree, of the National Con-
vention, I mean not to be guided by any fup-
pofed effects, either beneficial, or adverſe, which may
poffibly refult; for, notwithſtanding the unmeaning
clamour which Mr. Burke has raiſed againſt abſtract
principles, I mean to contend, That "No circum-
ftances, or fituation, in fociety, can juftify the fub-
"jecting a human being, as a property, to his fel-
"low creature; or the continuance of fuch a ſtate,
" where it already exiſts;" and, in difcuffing this queſ-
ion, I mean not to be entangled with any particular
principles, of government, becauſe, fo far as the queſtion
of government is concerned, Slavery is equally inimi-
cal to all government. In whatever hands, or under
whatever form, governments exifts, it behoves to be
Supreme over every individual; to that Supreme
Authority he is to yield obedience, and to that he is
to look for protection. Whenever one member of
the comm.unity claims another as a property,
Supreme Authority, which is effential to government,
is, in fuch cafe, fo far fubver:ed; both the Slave, and
the Slave holder, as far as the relation exifts between
them ceafe to be amen.ble to the Supreme Authority,
Hence, in proportion as we deem government to be
this
¿
:
L
( 9 )
beneficial to ſociety, we muſt confider Slavery to be
injurious; and if a ſtate of government be natural to
man, a ftate of perfonal Slavery must be unnatural and
fubverfive of focial order.
Perional Slavery is as incompatible with a ſtate of
nature, as with a ſtate of government. No circum-
cumſtances can poffibly exiſt, in ſuch a ſtate, from
whence it can originate. Lecke and many other
writers, have, indeed, endeavoured to fupport it: but
it was on principles fo abfurd as to be now univerfally
abandoned; and Blackstone has juftly reprobated
them.
But however indefenfible the old principles of
Slavery may be confidered, yet, is it now attempted
to be fupported on grounds far more abfurd. Mr.
Pitt fays, "In that unhappy fituation in which our
"baneful conduct had brought both ourſelves and
"them, it would not be juſtice on either fide to give
"them liberty." Mr. Pitt, with a view to perfuade
us to abandon a particular fpecies of the Slave Trade,
has ftigmatized the original feizure of the African as
an atrocious robbery: but the Slave- holder, in the
Inlands can perpetuate the robbery, retain the ftolen
goods without any crime; nay, he fays, it would be
injustice in him to relinquish them; an enormous
ctime is, it ſeems cured by its continuance.
The unhappy African is feized in his native land,
dragged hundreds of miles to the coaft, carried to our
islands, where he is condemned, under chains, and
whips, to wear out the miferable remainder of his
life.
Mr. Pitt garbles this mafs of enormity; fome
of the gang concerned in this tranfaction are, it feems,
robbers, but others are honourable men. The wretched
victim is tranfmitted from hand to hand; will Mr.
Pitt inform us where, and at which tranfit, the cri-
minality vanishes? is only the original feizure cri-
minal? are all the purchaſers in the different markets
of Africa innocent? Is it a defence of the Planter
that the injury is already perpetrated, and cannot be
fully repaired, as the Slave cannot be returned to his
family, from whence he was torn! the fame defence
( 10 )
1
will apply to the Slave-dealer in Africa, who frequent-
ly is ignorant whence the Slave came, and equally un-
able to restore him.
It ſeems, then, that we have committed an injury,
which we cannot fully repair, we have torn a fellow-
creature from a country to which he never can return,
murdered his wife who never can again fołace his
cares; deprived him of his children whom he never can
again embrace; and, then, we make theſe irreparable
injuries a plea for perpetrating and extending to his
affspring, injuries which we can remedy. We deprive
them of thofe enjoyments which tend to make liber-
ty and life deſirable, and thence we infer that we have
a right to deprive them of liberty and life alfo. Mr. Pitt
talks of the unhappy fituation into which we have brought
them and ourselves. The unhappy fituation into which we
have brought them, is, to be fure, pretty evident: but in.
the name of common fenfe, what can he mean by the
unhappy fituation into which we are brought? Is
the Slave-holder unhappy, while his chariot rolls on
fugar hogfheads and rum puncheons? or are the nu-
merous claffes, who derive wealth and fplendor from
the Colonial Slavery, unhappy. The people at large
do not feem to be unhappy, while enjoying the pro-
duce of robbery and murder; nor does Mr. Pitt ap-
pear to be very miferable, while, by fwelling the re-
venue, trade, and navigation, of the nation, it enables
him to carry on the war for extirminating French prin-
ciples. Indeed, fo extremely well fatisfied are we
with the unhappy fituation, into which our baneful
conduct has brought both them and ourselves, that wo
are anxious to add to the half million, whom we have
already brought into that unhappy fituation, the mil-
lion in the French lands, whom the National Con-
vention have refolved to extricate from it.
But it is pretended that we have fo debafed fo
brutalized them, by Slavery, that they are incapable
of enjoying a ſtate of freedom; and we continue to
hold them in Slavery, from pure benevolence; and,
from fimilar principles of benevolence, the Slave-
dealer brings them from Africa, where he tells us,
( II
II )
they are in a brutal ftate.
It is a remarkable feature
in the conduct of this inquiry, that both the Aboli-
tionifts, and Anti-abolitionists, have fcarcely adduced
any evidence but what, like Hudibras' arguments
directly tend,
Againſt the cauſe they would defend.
Thus the Slave-dealers themſelves prove every
circumftance, with which their adverfaries had charg-
ed, them: and they, in their turn, while contending
for abolishing the African Slave Trade, and fetting
up a new manufacture of Slaves in our own Iſlands,
prove decidedly the abfurdity and futility of their plan,
and that an Abolition of the Slavery in the iflands
is both practicable and abfolutely indifpenfable Fully
fatisfied of this, from the flender extracts which, from
the voluminous evidence, has been laid before the
public, by the fociety for aboliſhing the Slave Trade,
I long fince, wifhed to examine the evidence at large,
with a view to elucidate this important point; but in
vain have I endeavoured to obtain it. Too precious
for the public eye, it is fedulously preferevd among
the parties who conduct this bufine's.
Understanding that Mr. Richard Phillips, one of the
Committee for abolishing the Slave Trade, had two
copies, I prefumed to folicit the loan of one of them
for the purpoſe, but I was informed that he would
furnish no materials to an Adverfary.
Under thefe circumftances, I must be content with
appealing to their own abftract, and even from thence
appears the fitnefs of the Slaves for a ftate of freedom.
In their own country, it appears, from the evidence
of Wadstrom, Storey, Towne, Dalrymple, Hall, Howe,
Falconbridge, and Trotter. That they are punctual,
honest, hofpitable, fufceptible of all the focial vir-
tues, friendly, grateful, affectionate, fkilful in manu-
factures, their capacities equal to the Europeans.-
Mr. Vadftrom contends they furpafs Europeans in
affection; and Mr. Newton fays, he found there the
beſt people he ever met with.-That when they are
brought among Europeans they are corrupted by
their example, will not be difputed, and the alleg-
1 12 1
وو
ing this corruption, as a plea for perpetuating their
Slavery is a tolerable degree of effrontery. Yet even
after we have brutalized them, as is pretended, they
feem to poffefs a character to which the lower claffes
of the Engliſh can fcarcely have a claim. Giles fays,
"Their capacity is good, and their difpofition
better than might be expected from perfons fo
untutored." The Rev. Mr. Rees fays, "They are
as reaſonable as any other beings, confidering their
education.' Doctor Harriſon, of Jamaica, thinks
the abilities of the Negroes equal to our own, and
their difpofition much the fame; that the Free Ne-
groes are as induftrious as the Whites, and that it is
the Slavery which caufes the unwillingneſs of the
others. Doctor Jackſon, of Jamaica, fays, that after
much knowledge of them, he could not perceive
them at all inferior in capacity to unlettered White
Men; that they poffefs many amiable qualities, cha-
ritable to all in diftrefs, parents ftrongly attached to
their children, and have given ftrong proofs of grati-
tude and attachment; often complain that they are an
oppreffed people, that they fuffer in this world, but
fhall be happy in the next, and denounce the judgment
of God on the White Men, their oppreffors. Coor,
of Jamaica, fays, he always obferved Negroes, who
had grounds in good order, work with great pleaſure.
Terry fays, that Free Negroes are as well behaved as
others in the fame rank of fociety. Capt. Smith al-
ways confidered the Negroes as a keen, fenfible, well
difpofed people; when their habits were not vitiated
by cruel ufage; has feen good ufage produce a good
effect. Duncan, of Antigua, fays, that the capacities
and difpofitions of Negroes are much the fame as the
Whites; that thofe inftructed by the Methodists were
improved in their morals and behaviour. Captain
Lloyd believed that Negroes might be induced to
work without feverity; and that a Mr. Greenland
never puniſhed his Slaves. Captain Davijon fays,
Free Negroes are very induftrious. Rev. Mr. Stuart
fays, the Blacks are not inferior to the Whites in
abilities, and difpofition; have as much generofity,
( 13 )
fidelity, gratitude, underſtanding and ingenuity.---
Rev. Mr. Davies fays, that their feelings are much
the fame as Europeans. Cook fays, the capacity of
fome Negroes are very great. Clappefon that the Free
Negroes, in general behaved well. The Dean of
Middleham fays, their diſpoſition is in general affec-
tionate, where well treated. Woolrich fays, the young
Negroes learn trades as readily as the Whites; knows
of no exceptions to their poffeffing the focial affecti-
ons as ftrongly as Whites, particularly the Creoles,
their natural affections are as great as elſewhere.
Is it meant to infult the common ſenſe of mankind,
that fuch evidence as this is brought forward, by the
very perſons who infift that ſuch a people as this are
to be deemed as brutes, unworthy of the protection
of the law, or of partaking of the benefits of civil ſo-
ciety? Will Mr. Pitt favour us with a ſcale of intel-
lectual powers, and intellectual cultivation, and by
that ſcale let the Weft India Negroes, and our Eng-
lish Church and King Mob be judged; let thofe who
rife to the given ſtandard be deemed Free, and let
thoſe who are beneath it be adjudged Slaves?
After all the abfurdity which has been circulated on
this fubject; will any one condefcend to fhew that any
degree of intellectual cultivation is effential to place
a man under the protection of the law, and conftitute
him a member of civil fociety? fo far from it that, in
proportion as he is deficient in both, it becomes
more peculiarly neceffary that he ſhould receive the
protection and be fubject to the controul of civil fo-
ciety. Lefs capable of governing and protecting
themſelves, the laws of fociety fhould peculiarly be
extended to protect them from injury; to fuffer fuch
to become fubject to the arbitrary will of an indivi-
dual is peculiarly criminal.
Is it the ordinary conduct of fociety to put out of
the protection of the law, and fubject to the arbitrary
will of another, the ignorant and helplefs? Is the
infant, or the ideot abandoned to the arbitrary will of
an individual? Let it be explained, how a itate of
perfonal Slavery can refult from any particular por-
( 14 )
tion of intellects, or degree of cultivation. Were a
man to reſcue an abandoned inrant from deftruction,
nourish and rear it, would it become his property?
If, then, a life faved, and benefits confered, cannot
conſtitute a property in man, fhall it be deduced
from injury? Shall we emafculate, or blind a fellow
creature, and thence claim doininion over him, be-
caufe we have degraded and funk him in the fcale of
human being? Will not the maxim of law be applied,
that "No man ſhall profit of his own wrong?" inſtead
of the vengeance of fociety be.ng averted, it fhall be
poured out on the culprit, and the injured fhall
claim reparation for the wrong, as for as it is repar-
able.
Indeed, no circumftances, whatever, can poffibly
authoriſe the making man a property of his fellow-
man. From the fpecial relation of the Father to the
Child, and Hufband to the Wife, peculiar authority
refults but the law of fociety ftill preſerves the
fupreme control, and limits the fpecial authority
within its neceffary bounds, and in no well ordered
fociety is it pretended, that even, the parental au-
thority conftitutes the child a property.
If, then, a property in man can refult from no
analogy in civil fociety, fhall it be derived from the
moft wanton, and abfurd pretexts? If it arifes not
from thofe high and fpecial authorities, which are ef
fential to fociety, fhall it be fuffered to exift where
no relation fubfifts, but what is formed by violence
and injuftice? If the greatest of benefits cannot be
a juſt foundation, fhall it be derived from the grofelt
of injuries?
As this question has been agitated in a manner
peculiarly adapted to perplex, and miflead; it is not
furprising, that many confound an emancipation from
Slavery with a diffolution of government; hence,
they exclaim, what would the Negroes do, if left to
themſelves? True; but do the French mean to aban-
don them, to leave them to themfelves? Does any
one who propofes emancipation, mean emancipation
from government? on the contrary, by deftroying
( 15 )
!
i
the arbitrary dominion of the Slave holder, the Slaves
would be brought immediately under the fubjections
as well as the protection of the law.
From their debaſed, their ignorant, their depraved
ftate, refults the ſtrongeſt reafon for their emancipati-
on from the dominion of the Slave-holder, becauſe
fuch a dominion is the farthest removed from a ſtate
of regular, well adminiſtered government, and ſuch
a government becomes neceffary in proportion as the
governed are ignorant and debafed. When the mind
of man is improved by cultivation, principles of ac-
tion arife, which in fome degree, fupply the place of
government; a ſenſe of honour, of ſhame, a regard
for the good opinion of others, knowledge of the
various relations of civil fociety, all come powerfully
in aid of moral principle; and even that principle
itſelf is fo far improved in the cultivated mind, as
greatly to aid, and in fome degree perhaps to fuper-
fede the neceffity, and obviate the imperfections of
government; but, where the governed are baſe and
ignorant, the moral principle is fo far deftroyed, and
no fpring of action remains but human laws; which,
it then becomes more peculiarly neceffary, fhould be
uniform in their operations, conftant in their applica-
tion, ftrong in their adminiftration, wife and juft in
their formation. The great defect in the fyftem of
Slavery is, that it is totally deficient in all theſe re-
fpects; the will of each Planter, or Overfeer becomes
varied and unstable law, ariſing not merely from the
weakness and wickedneſs of the human mind, but from
accident, caprice, removals, and anarchy: the control
of the Planter, or Overfeer is rarely exerted over the
Slave, except as to thofe fpecial circumftances and
times in which his own intereft is concerned; as to
every other action of their lives, and their inter-
courſes between each other, in which the mafter has
no intereft; he gives himſelf no concern. The Plant-
ers in their evidence, abfurdly boaft how much they
leave the Slaves to their own management; nay, they
tell us, that crimes which we deem capital, are fuf-
fered to paſs with trivial or with no punishment. But
(16)
they ought to know that a weak, relaxed adminiftra
tion of Juftice is the moſt deteftable, and peculiarly
fo, when the governed are fuch as they defcribe their
Slaves to be.
Mr. Pitt fays, that a Black government is an idea
fufficient to excite our horror. Why a Black govern-
ment ſhould not be as good as a White one, he does
not condeſcend to inform us. If he means that
perfons in the ſtate in which the Slaves are in our
inlands, are but ill qualified to form a government; he
fays, truly, and he may fay the fame, of the loweſt
claffes amongst ourselves; but that no more proves,
that the Negroes ought to be left in a state of
Slavery, becauſe they are not philofophers and poli-
ticians enough to form a government, than it
does that our peaſants ought to be made Slaves
of, becauſe they are not adequate to the taſk.-
After having by our baneful conduct brought them
to the unhappy fituation in which they now are, it no
more becomes us to abandon them without govern-
ment, to anarchy and confufion among themſelves,
than it does to leave them without the protection
of law to the wanton and lawlefs will of their oppref-
fors. The French Decree does what it became us to
do; deliver them from their oppreffors, reftore them
to the protection of the law, and fubject them to its
control.
That there exifts powerful motives for our not
adopting a fimilar mode of conduct, canne be
doubted by thoſe who know the nature of our excel-
lent conſtitution, and the powerful and extenſive Co-
lonial influence in the British Legiſlature.
Though Mr. Pitt, and even Mr. Dundas has admit-
ted that the ftate of Slavery is injurious to the commu-
nity, by diminishing the product of labour, yet is it
not to be expected, that they thould have the cou-
rage to purſue the public good, any more than the
path of juftice, in oppofition to fuch a terriffic power;
but ftill. furely, it was not too much to expect that
they ſhould fuffer that nation to adopt a different line
of conduct, where no powerful, partial intereft is fuf-
fered to obftruct the public good.--FINIS.
A DISCOURSE,
Occasioned by the National Fast,
FEBRUARY 28, 1794.
By W. FOX.
Sold by M. GURNEY, No. 128, Holborn-Hill.
Price Threepence, or Five for a Shilling.
CONSIDERING the state of mankind as it really
exifts, and not according to any utopian ideas
of perfection; and, fuppofing the conduct of thoſe
who govern nations, to bear fome reſemblance to that
which the page of hiftory prefents to our view, we
are certainly not warranted in very high expectations,
nor indeed, is it to be imagined from the nature
and fource of human actions, that any pecular emi-
nence in virtue will be their diftinguishing charac-
teriſtic.
That, thoſe who govern their fellow-men are
amenable only to heaven, being their favourit axiom,
an axiom which is the bafis of the Britiſh Conftitution,
It does not appear very rational, that their conduct
ſhould be exemplary in proportion as the means of
committing crimes are in their power, as the temp-
tation, to commit them become powerful, and in
proportion as the fear of puniſhment is removed to
a period which mankind are apt to confider as un-
certain and remote, and in which we do not feem
to repoſe any great confidence, as to reſttaining the
other claffes of fociety from violating its rights, and
if found fufficient to awe and reftrain thofe who
govern mankind, it can only be, becauſe the fanctions
of a future ftate more powerfully operate on their
minds, and are more uniformly and conftantly in
them an influencing principle of human action; or elſe,
becauſe they poffefs,fome innate principle of virtue,
which needs no fanction, and fears no temptation.
But, as this is not always the cafe, and as the dig-
nity of government requires, that thofe who adminifter
6
(2)
it, ſhould be contemplated as enthroned in wisdom
and virtue as well as in power, and as nothing can be
more libellous than to fuppofe that thoſe who govern
us, are weak and wicked like ourſelves. It has be-
come expedient, not merely that the moral principle
of human action fhould be relaxed in their favour,
but that its very nature fhould be fo abfolutely
changed, that the very line of conduct which is deemed
effentially requifite for obtaining the flendereft decency
of character amongst other men, may not merely be
trampled on by them with impunity; but the very
idea that they conduct themſelves on fuch vulgar
principles, is deemed a reproach to the fublimity of
their character. And we fee a fyftem of Ethics
framed for their uſe, called Political Morality, and
this prefix has ſuch a wonderful effect, that evil is
inftantly changed into good, and good into evil : nay,
that conduct, which if purfued by any other member
of ſociety ſhall bring on him infamy and puniſhment,
may be adopted by this elevated order of men with
eclat, add fplendor to their characters and be refounded
through the world as the foundation of their fame.
It may poffibly be lamented that this new Ethics
has not been reduced into a fyftem; but this, from
its very nature, is impracticable, its leading feature
being the lawfulness of violating all principle; and
were propriety of language regarded, contra morality
might be its appellation. To deprive our fellow
creature of that life which was the gift of his
Creator, feems on common principles an offence of a
moft tremendous nature: when an inftance of it oc-
curs in civil life, it awakens our attention, excites our
horror, and draws down on the culprit the vengeance
of fociety; but let thofe who govern nations, order
their bands of ruffians upon the bloody work, it is
then, it ſeems, no longer murder, it affumes the appel-
lation of war, and becomes honourable in proportion
to the extent of the mifery it occafions; we then re-
ceive with exultation, the news of tens of thouſands
killed and mangled in one dreadful heap; and what-
ever fentiment may be excited by the violent death
( 3 )
of an individual, yet, by extending the idea to thou-
fands and to millions, all our horror inftantly vanishes,
our minds become reconciled to their dying agonies,
and to the ftill more dreadful circumftance of the tor-
tures of the wounded, condemned to drag a mangled
and mutilated body through the miferable remnant
of life, while the wretched inhabitants of the feat of
war are involved in calamities, fo dreadful, that the
human mind is fcarcely capable of conceiving their
extent and diverfity.
To bring fuch enormous mifery on our fellow-
creatures, one would imagine no circumstances could
juſtify, no cauſe could be adequate, yet it is perpetu-
ally done, on pretexts fo frivolous, and often ſo falfe,
as to excite our mirth were it not fuppreffed by our
horror and indignation.
That a community, as well as an individual, ought to
defend themſelves when actually attacked, will not be
difputed; but to go abroad in queft of blood and
ſlaughter, under pretence of guarding againſt future
and Suppofed dangers, is certainly incompatible with
every moral principle even as recognized by the com-
mon practice of civil life Do we ftab every man from
whom we imagine it poffible that we may receive an
injury? Or, do we burn his houſe and murder his fa-
mily in order to fecure ourſelves by difabling him
from effecting his wicked purpoſes? But, in fact,
few wars have even fuch flimfy pretences; they are
uſually undertaken by powerful nations, who have
nothing to fear, againſt weak and defenceleſs ones;
or elfe, between powerful rival nations, contending
which fhall extend moft widely its oppreffive tyranny
over harmless people; nay, to found a commerce on
violence; and to compel other countriesto fell their
commodities, or buy ours, on terms dictated by the
fword; and which feems as juftifiable as murdering a
man that we may obtain his cuſtomers, or deftroying
his eftate, that we may benefit our own.
But even intereft is often out of the queftion, and
we fee all the horrors of war take place contrary to
intereft, in defence of fome imaginary point of honour;
(4)
nobody ever pretended that either Falkland Island, or
Nootka Sound, was an object adequate to the ex-
pence of a war. National honour was the pretext;
yet, what a drawcanfir fhould we deem the man who
defolated a pariſh, and murdered the inhabitants, be-
cauſe the Squire or the Parfon had affronted him!
In the House of Commons is avowed, a thorough ab-
horrence of all the parties who have prevailed during
the revolution; yet, have we obtained poffeffion of
Toulon, by holding out to them an approbation of the
conftitution recently fubverted; and Mr.'Pitt avows,
that Political Morality authorifes us to avail ourſelves
of the parties and divifions of France, to diſtreſs them,
and benefit ourſelves: yet fome may afk, what would
be thought of a lawyer, who held out hopes of fup-
porting a claimant to an eſtate in order to obtain pof-
feffion for himſelf? Or, a man who, under the guife
of Friendſhip, entered a houſe, and availed himſelf of
the difcord of the inhabitants to burn and plunder it?
Hence, it ſeems, that Political Morality eſtabliſhes as
a principle, and fource of conduct, pride, ambition,
avarice, and all thofe paffions, which ordinary mo-
rality calls on us to curb, and to fupprefs. It is not
that thorny path, which moralifts have depicted.-
The fummit is to be attained by giving a looſe to the
paffions; and there its votaries may fit enthroned, in-
dulging every crime, and ſpreading horror and defo-
lotion around them, while they are emblazoned with
refplendent glory, and receiving adulation and ap-
plauſe.
Thus feducing is this political morality; nor is it
furpriſing, that the conteft ſhould be violent for fitua-
tions, where the gratifying of the predominant paffions
of the human mind receive the moft fpendid rewards,
which the fevereft virtue can alone merit, and when
principles and motives of conduct, which would de-
bafe to infamy in private life, fhall, when adopted by
public men, on the great theatre of the world, be
dignified with the fplendid epithets of patriotifm and
love of our country. That to love our country may
be a duty, we will not difpute: fo is the love of our
(5
5)
6
families. It is the most powerful, the moſt laudable,
the moſt natural, and the moſt effentially necefiary. It
is a bond of union which exifted prior to governments,
and has been fuppofed, by fome, to have been their
origin. If any fuperior energy of action can be called
for, it muſt be in favour of a beloved woman, who has
attached herſelf to an individual, with a reliance on his
protection and ſupport, abandoning the world in con-
fidence that, in uniting herſelf with his fate, fhe fhall
receive an ample reward. If it were to be fuppofed
poffible, that there could exiſt in nature ſuch a monſter
as this political morality, if we could for a moment
imagine that circumſtances and relations in life might
warrant a deviation from the ftrict and general rules
of moral principle, it muſt furely be in behalf of the
helpleſs infants whom we have brought into exiſtence,
and the continuance of whoſe exiſtence depends every
moment on our exertions: yet, is it univerfally ad-
mitted, that thofe exertions muſt be circumfcribed by
the general rights of man, that however thefe relative
connections may call on us to put forth every energy,
and to facrifice our eaſe, our paffions, and our defires,
in the performance of fuch important duties, yet never
was it pretended, that they authorifed us to violate
the property, or infringe, in the ſmalleſt degree, the
facred and inviolable rights of our fellow creatures.-
The eye of pity may, indeed, contemplate the melan-
choly fituation of the wretch who, impelled by. fuch
powerful temptation, feizes the property of his neigh-
bour to preferve the wife he loves, or the infant which
it is his duty to fupport; yet no one fuppofes that
even ſuch a ſtrong cafe as that is a defence. Within
the bounds of Inoral duty are our exertions for their
relief to be limited, and the refult is to be left in the
hands of the Supreme.
But, do thoſe who govern
mankind, and who ftile themſelves Fathers of their
people, pretend to adopt fuch a line of conduct? Is
it by facrifices made by themselves that they benefit
their people? Or, do they ſeek to aggrandize, and en-
rich them, by bringing mifery and defolation on
others? While they themselves expect to be re-
( 6 )
warded for the deed by the applaufe and adulation of
mankind; and, inſtead of making any facrifice them-
ſelves, they claim fuch fplendor and power as deluges
the world in blood, to attain the envied eminence.
As the duty of fubmiffion to civil government is
ftrongly inculcated by the gofpel of Chrift, it may be
deemed an unfortunate circumftance when the conduct
of thoſe who adminifter it tempts us to deviate from
that reſpect to it, which the principles of moral duty,
drawn from the nature of civil fociety, call for, and
which Chriſtianity, with great propriety, ftill more
forcibly preffes on its votaries, That this duty may
have its limits, when attended with circumftances
which connect it with other duties, will hardly be
denied, becauſe, however ftrongly and broadly the
New Teftament lays down the duty of fubmiffion of
wives to their hufbands, children to their parents, and
fervants to their mafters, yet we cannot but acknow-
ledge that other duties frequently circumfcribe them.
None will contend that thefe are duties unlimited in
their operation; and it does not appear that fubmiffion
to civil government is laid down in more unqualified
terms, or can claim a more unqualified obfervance.
But however qualified may be this duty, yet the
gofpel, in its general tenor, certainly inculcates very
ftrongly fubmiffion to injury, returning good for evil,
&c. and it is probably this circumſtance which has ren-
dered chriſtianity a favourite with thoſe who govern,
or thoſe who opprefs mankind. We are neceffitated
to refort to this fuppofition, becauſe there does not
appear, that they can have any other motive for adopt-
ing a religion fo hoftile to worldly power and gran-
deur, and fo inimical to that conduct which is necef-
fary to attain them. Thus it is poffible, that a Mo-
narch on his throne, or a Slave-owner with his whip,
may condescend to hold the gofpel in his hands, and
tell his fubjects, or his flaves, "Let every foul be
fubject to the higher powers," and "He that refifts
ſhall receive to himself damnation!" and if the fub-
jects of the one become more paffive under oppreffion,
and the flaves of the other be increaſed in value
!
( 7 )
و
twenty per cent. it will not be deemed extraordinary
if they become ftrenuous advocates for an alliance
between Church and State: If bloody wars be adopt-
ed to prevent the State's being deprived of ſo im-
portant an ally, a clergy marſhaled for its defence,
and penal laws enacted to enforce and extend it. But,
as every good is faid to have its alloy of evil, ſo, even
this great and important fupport, which worldly do-
mination receives from chriftianity, may be accompa-
nied with a danger not undeferving notice. Had the
wife and venerable practice of former ages been ftill
adhered to,-Had the records of chriftianity been ſtill
locked up in an almoſt unknown tongue, to be dealt
out to the community in fuch fcraps as the caution of
the clergy might fuggeft, accompanied with fuch
gloffes, and reftricted to fuch an import, as their po-
licy would fuggeft; then, indeed, might chriſtianity,
fo restricted, have ftill contributed its fupport to hu-
man dominion, without endangering thoſe who re-
forted to its alliance. But, alas! this is no longer
the caſe, they have, unfortunately, been fuffered to
lie open to the Swinifh Multitude in their vernacular
tongues, while the art of printing has too diffufely
circulated among them a knowledge of the con-
tents.
Thus they find that Chriftians are exhorted to put
away all wrath and ftrife, to be kind, patient and long
fuffering to all men, return good for evil, to avenge
not themſelves, but leave vengeance to him to whom
vengeance belongs; to love their enemies, and do
them good, if their enemies hunger to feed them, and
if they thrift, to give them drink, &c.-And as theſe
precepts feem to be of unlimited obligation, as it
does not appear that Wetstein, Rengelius, or Grief-
bach, have been able to diſcover a fingle reading
which will warrant a fuppofition that chriftians, fhould
they become Kings or Miniſters, are difcharged from
the obligation of obeying the precepts of their reli-
gion, when we fee them (as fometimes happens)
trampling on thefe duties, we are apt, in proportion
as we really believe and reverence our religion, to
!
( 8 )
look with horror on their conduct; and, however,
much we may endeavour to reverence the King and
all in authority, yet, at the moit, will it only be with
that degree and fpecies of reverence with which the
child beholds his criminal parent when violating
the laws of fociety, and all the civil relations of life.
It will not reftrain him from remonftrating on his
criminal conduct, nor, in ſome caſes, even from en-
deavouring to obftruct him in the prepetration of his
crimes, and in guarding fociety from their baneful
effects.
We will, therefore, allow the advocates of monar-
chical authority to affume their ſtrongeſt ground, ad-
mit them to the poffeffion of that important poft
which they long triumphantly maintained, and which,
when, at length, neceffitated to abandon, they have.
never fince dared boldly to affume any other. Let us
admit Sir Robert Filmer to inveft his heroes with patri-
archal authority. Suppoſe them to poffefs all the
rights, and all the power of the Partres Familia, and,
then let us afk, what are thefe rights, and what is that
authority? But we will not derive an anſwer to this
queſtion from the corrupt practice of barbarous ages,
whether recorded in Profane or in Sacred Hiſtory,
nor will we derive it from that fpecial authority which
God,himſelf, for wife,though to us unknown purpoſes,
gave to particular nations, or families.
Let us
rather enquire what are the duties, and what the
rights of the heads of families, on that true foundation
of moral principle, the implied will of our common
parent, deducing that implied will from a confider-
ation of the relation we ftand in to him and to each
other.
Then let us change the term nation to family; let
us fuppofe one family to refide in this Inland, another
in Africa, another in the West Indies, one in the Eaft
Indies, another in France, and another in Ireland.-
Will it be faid, that the parent, the Head of this fa-
mily, reſiding in this Ifland, has any right as fuch, to
fend one of his fons to extirpate the family in a Weſt
India Inland?To furnifh the Head of the African
( 9 )
1
family with fire-arms, and chains, to fubdue and bind
his family; and fo fubdued, convey them in chains to
the Weſt India Iſland, that this African family and
their offspring fhould be kept in chains for ever, forci-
bly to fupply the English family with the rich products
which their own cold climate had refufed them?
Will it be faid, that he has a right to fend another of
his fons to the Eaft Indies, under pretence of trading
with the Afiatic family for the produce of their in-
duſtry, and quarelling with another foreigner who
had come there under the fame pretext, make that
quarrel a foundation not only for poffeffing their
houfes and their lands, but fpreading famine and
death among them, by feizing their very food; and
fhall the Engliſh parent grant a charter to his ſon,
authoriſing him thus to govern the Afiatic family, on
condition of his fending part of the money to Eng-
land, which has been fo obtained in Afia, to enable
him to pay his debts: and laftly, fuppofe he were to
fend another of his fons to the Irish family, harraffing
them from age to age, without the fhadow of a pre-
text, but that they had the misfortune to be neigh-
bours, and therefore expofed to their inroads; and
lefs powerful, confequently unable to retaliate the in-
jury; fhould he compel them to contribute a tenth
of the produce of their labour to fupport an English
clergy, whofe religion they abhored, and the greater
part of the rents of their land to aggrandife and enrich
their neighbour? Let us afk, whether there be any
principle which could juſtify this conduct? would any
one prefume to apoligife for it? would not the voice of
reafon and juſtice, call on mankind to abhor it?
If fo, let it then be aſked, whether that conduct can be
juſtifiable in a number of individuals, or families,
which would be deemed the extreme of profligate
wickedness in one? Bodies of men may countenance
each other in crimes which the most fhameless indivi-
duals would bluſh to perpetrate. Removed from the
fear of punishment, by the power they poffefs, they
may fet all moral duty at defiance, and invent a
jargon of their own, tell us of political morality, and
( 10 )
political neceffity, and, under this flimfy veil, they
may carry human crimes to their apex. They may
puniſh with harſh ſeverity ſubordinate ones, which,
in compariſon with their own, are but as duft in the
balance. Nay, perhaps, the fevereſt chaſtiſements
may be reſerved for thofe who dare to arraign their
crimes, and against whom they may have nothing to
alledge, but that they are more virtuous than them-
fclves. Have fuch a fenfe of the dignity of virtue, as
to express their abhorrence of their deeds, and dif
dain to profefs veneration and refpect for the perpe-
trators?
Mr. Pitt has arrainged with great and juſt ſeverity,
one part of our diverfified enormities. Perhaps it
is not very easy to diſcover any principle, on which
It can be felected from the dreadful mafs, unless it be
on the mere ground of impolicy, on the ground that
murdering and ftealing the inhabitants of Africa pre-
vent a more profitable trade to that country. But
as he urges the injuftice of the practice, may it not
he aſked, whether forcibly continuing the Africans,
and their pofterity, in a ftate of flavery, be not equally
incompatible with morality, as the original feizure;
and is not the deſtroying of twenty millions of Afiatics,
and bringing their property to England to diſcharge
our national debt, equally a violation of our duty?
Or is it much inferior, in the order of crimes, to har-
rafs and impoverish, for our aggrandifement, a country
fuperior in natural advantages to our own, compel
them to dance after us in all our whimfical changes
of religion and government, provoke them to infur-
rections, by compelling them to fupport the clergy
of a foreign country, and the nobility of a foreign
court. There may be fhades of difference in theſe
enormities, but they are all equally defenfible, or
equally unjuſtifiable. Will the advocates of govern-
ment come forward, and give us an intelligible de-
fence? will they give us any other than that theſe acts
are the baſis of our riches and our fplendor, as the
Highwayman will tell us that it is indifpenfibly ne-
ceffary for him to purfue his vocation, becauſe with-
( II
out it he has not the means of obtaining his bottle
and his girl.
But if theſe deeds be enormous, If the vileft fyco-
phant of power cannot mutter a defence, If they per-
petrate them merely becauſe they dare, If we are to
underſtand that they are perpetrated becauſe there
exifts no earthly power to whom the actors are
amenable, and becauſe the juft vengeance of Heaven
is deſpiſed; will not fome be apt to ask, whether it
be not rather extraordinary that thoſe ſhould expect
our obedience to their laws, who are trampling on
the eternal laws of juftice; that they fhould look
for our fubjection to their authority, while they them-
felves are ſpurning that of the most high?
A mind untutored in this fpecies of knowledge,
might be apt to imagine that, fo far from the conduct
of thoſe who govern nations being unreftrained by
thoſe moral principles whch are obligatory on indi-
viduals, on them they ought to be deemed pecu-
liarly binding, becauſe to no other control are they
fubject but confcience and honour; no power, no
laws to which they are amenable. Thofe circumftan-
ces in focial life are deemed the criterion of the hu-
man character; and a criminal conduct under them
conftitutes its loweft degradation. Debts of Honour,
where no laws interpofe to inforce them, are fuppofed
to be peculiarly binding. To injure thofe who are
helpless, who have no protector, and can hope no re-
drefs, conftitute the utmoft infamy of human character.
To ftrike the vanquished to trample on him who lies
proftrate at our feet, becomes only the loweft and the
bafeft mifcreant whom the meaneft peafant would de-
ſpiſe. And is it poffible that thofe who govern nati-
ons can purſue the fame line of conduct, and yet look
for honour and refpect? Do they expect that the
glare refulting from wealth and power can dazzle the
eyes of the ignorant and vulgar? and do they difre-
gard thoſe who are capable of judging of their con-
duct, becauſe they are but few? If fo, they must be
deftitute of thofe feelings effential to true dignity of
mind, which will ever lead a man to etteem the
( 12 )
approbation of his fellow citizen, in proportion as
they are acquainted with his conduct, and capable of
appreciating its intrinfic worth.
Admiting that nations have a right to violate all
the ordinary principles of human action, then ſhould
this extraordinary right, this unique code, be explained.
Or if it confifts in the trite and terrible apophthegm
that nations are fubject to no law, acknowledge no
principle of action. and are let loofe on mankind free
from all reſtraint; then let this be avowed, and if
poffible defended, and apoligized for: fo far from this,
they are perpetually talking of juſtice, reaſon, mo-
deration, nay, religion are they then afraid left we
fhould poffefs too great a reſpect and veneration
for those who govern us, that they thus bring before
us the records of their own condemnation?
:
Does the affaffin, while perpetrating his deeds,
proclaim aloud the command of heaven,
"Thou ·
ihalt not murder?" If not, why, when the blood-
hounds of war are about to be let looſe, on pretexts
which cannot furnifh the flendereft veil to the true
motives, on pretexts which poffefs not ingenuity
fufficient to excite a fmile, why must we bring in
array to our own condemnation the principles of
eternal and immutable juftice? Why, if we re-
folve to defolate a country of the Antipodes and
ftrip a prince of his dominions and revenues for our
emolument, under pretence that he has quarrelled
with fomebody about a fortrefs? Or, if we think it
our intereft to avail ourfelves of the difcord among
the first nation in the univerfe, that we may ſuppreſs
their rifing greatnefs, founded on the fuperior natural
advantages they poffefs; and to effect this, heca-
tombs of human victims are to be ſacrificed, becauſe we
fay a fhip has failed up a river; why must we in
fuch cafes talk of the justice of the war? Is it not to
provoke inquiry, and to call to the minds of the
people principles which policy and decency ought
to fupprefs? The conduct is certainly not without
precedent. Profitutes will fometimes vociferate
againſt unchaſtity; but it rarely difguifes, and ftill
}
( 13 )
anore rarely elevates their character. But, what is
ftill more extraordinary, in thoſe cafes, even heaven
is brought in array before us. If thoſe who govern
poffefs any vantage ground, if they have peculiar
privileges, to this world and to this life muft they be
limited. Here the doctrine of political morality ori-
ginated. This is the fole theatre of its exiftence, and
with this world muft it terminate. Why then, it may
be aſked, do princes term their bloody contefts ap-
peals to heaven? Why are they fo extremely willing
to adopt them? Why do they manifeft as much
readineſs to ſubmit their cauſe to that judicature, as
they do averſion to ſubmit to any other ordeal? It
certainly is a judicature that can hardly be deemed
peculiarly favourable to their caufe; but, to be ſure,
they have the advantage of obtaining a diftant day
of trial, which, it may be fuppoſed, is an advantage
that is prized in proportion to the badneſs of a
caufe. So willing they are to be accountable to heaven
for their conduct on earth, that while fome infer the
purity of their motives, others may imagine that
they await its decrees with tranquility, becauſe they
difbelieve its existence; that they fuppofe it to be a
cunningly deviſed fable; that they imagine the court
to which they appeal will never be opened, and will
never arraign its culprits.
That religion, which feems to be fo adverfe to
worldly views, ſhould be fo intimately and univer-
fally combined with the moft criminal, is not fo ex-
traordinary a circumftance as might be imagined.
As the gods men have worshipped have been ufually
the works of their hands, or of their imaginations,
little could they have to fear from fuch deities; and,
amongst the number originating from the rich fource
of human fancy, we might have gratified our moſt
faftidious tafte. Whatever may be our projects, or
our motives, there could be no great impropriety in
fupplicating Mars to patronize our caufe. Under
the aufpices of Mercury might we have conducted
our enterprize againft Toulon; and our Minifters,
by means of an intrigue with Juno, might poffibly
( 14 )
hare obtained poffeffion of the thunderbolts of Jupiter,
to hurl upon the French at Dunkirk. Or, if the ex-
ploits were too fanguniary, might not fome Belial
be invoked to whom hecatombs of human facrifices.
might yield a fweet favor, or a Moloch to whom
torrents of human blood might prove an acceptable
oblation? But, let us ask, what motive could ex-
ift for turning from this rich variety, which the
wisdom of former ages has ſpread before us? Why,
when we let loofe the Demon of war, muft we
affume that religion which points out the divine being
as the The God of Peace? The author and finiſher
of that faith takes on him no higher character than the
Prince of Peace, whofe miffion on earth was to pro-
claim Peace and good will to man, and who, though
poffeffed of all power, yet yielded his back to be
mitten, and hid not his face from fhame and infult;
and fo far from admitting any of his difciples to
adopt a contrary conduct, held himſelf forth as their
example, declared they must be as their mafter, and
his fervants as their Lord; and when they in-
clined to adopt a different conduct poured on
them the fterneft reproof, even when it appeared to
arife from a love of his perfen, and a zeal for his
caufe; when thofe, whom he moſt eminently loved,
propofed to him to avenge himſelf on fome who re-
jected his doctrine, and infulted his perfon,
" He
rebuked them, faying ye know not what manner of Spirit
ye are of :" Nay, when he who has been deemed the
chief of his apofties expreffed a repugnance to his
fubmiting to fuffer injury, from thofe whom his pow-
could destroy, the bittereft reproach he ever uttered
came from his lips, "Get thee behind me, Satan, thou
art an offence unto me; for thou favoreft not the things
that be of God, but those that be of men. If any man will
come after me let him take up his cross, and follow me.
Nor was this ftate of fuffering and fubmiflion fpoken
of by him as a tempory fufpenfion of a worldly power,
which was afterwards to break out with fplendor:
Heftes it as refulting from the nature of his
kingdom, which he characterifes as not being of this
!
( 15 )
:
world, and with great propriety, obferves, "If my
Kingdom were of this world, then would my fervants
fight." And he places that worldly domination which
is fo univerfally fought, and fo highly applauded, as
a perfect contraft to the future conduct of his difci-
ples, "Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exerciſe
authority over them: But it ſhall not be ſo among you:
But whofoever will be chief among you, let him be your
Servant."
Some may perhaps ask, whether the Princes of
the Gentiles paronize this religion, from mere per-
verfity of mind, becauſe it is peculiarly hoftile to their
conduct? Does it add to their dignity to recog-
nize the validity of a revelation which ſo tremendouſly
denounces the vengeance of Heaven against them?
Is it to prove their heroism that they hold themſelves
out as braving its terrors? Or, is it to prove the
fublimity of their character, that, while perpetually
at war, they hold out as a divine truth, "Whence
come Wars and Fightings amongst you, come they not bence
even of your lufts ?"
Be it fo; admit that the profligate vulgar will be
diſpoſed to venerate thofe who have the courage to
defy the most High, That they will, indeed, elteem
them to be great who can boldly glory in trampling
on his authority. Yet, furely, they must then be
content to be abhored by thoſe whofe mean and
daftardly minds lead them to reverence the God of
Heaven, and to tremble before his throne. In pro-
portion as we believe his gofpel, we fhall certainly
abhor those who affume his name to difgrace it, and
to trample on his authority.
In contemplating our fellow-men in poffeffion of
fupreme authority, and their actions unfettered by
the reſtraint of human laws, we are certainly pre-
pared to behold the depravity of the human mind
operating in no very moderate degree, we need not
be greatly furpriſed at acts of confiderable atrocity
taking place; nor ought we to be over ready to
caft off our allegiance on fuch grounds, but when
the chriftian character is affumed we have a right
( 16 )
1
to form different expectations, and adopt a different
line of conduct. The apoftle inculcating the duty of
feparation from the world, tells us it does not follow,
that we are to break off the connections and civil re-
lations of life, on account of our feeing a conduct
incompatible with purity of manners, for then, fays
he, we might go out of the world. But, fays he, If any
one who is called a brother (a chriftian brother) be
a notorious violater of the laws of Chrift, with ſuch
an one ye shall not preferve that focial intercouſe
which is incumbent on us, as to other finners; nay,
he carries the prohibition fo far, as even to forbid our
eating with them. If, then, thofe forms of focial re-
fpect which it is our duty to practice in the com-
mon intercourfe of civil fociety, are to be forborn in
relpect to thoſe who connect with a profeffion of the
chriſtian name a difregard to its precepts; muſt
not that reverence, which chriftians were taught
to manifeſt towards fovereign power, even in the
hands of a Nero be materially affected by the af
fumption of the chriftian name? Had the Roman
emperor taken on him that profeffion, would not Paul,
who withstood a brother apoftle, becauſe he was to be
blamed, have then infifted on a becoming conduct,
even from the emperor? nor does it feem to be ex-
tremly probable, that he, who fo vehemently called
on his fellow-chriftians to have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkneſs, but reprove them; to come
out from among them, and touch not the unclean thing,
and God would receive them, would have recogniſed
the monstrous ſpectacle of a union of worldly domina-
tion and pride with the chriftian name.
Whatever fubjection we may deem to be due to
civil governors, yet can we refpect them, when we
fee them affociate their crimes with chriftianity?
and, unleſs we mean to manifeft that, like them, we
affume it as a form, we fhall refift the thought of.
recognising the criminal union, recollecting, that
whatever rule of conduct our governors may adopt,
we muſt be guilty if we take part in any which are not
conformable to that law by which we at the leaft muſt
be judged at the last day.
FINIS.
t
1
F
THOUGHTS
ON THE
Impending Invasion of England.
By W. FOX.
London: Sold by M. GURNEY, No. 128, Holborn
Hill; Price Threepence or Five for a Shilling.
Where may be had, juſt publiſhed, A DISCOURSE
on the FAST, by the fame Author.
MODERN Europe, is fuppofed to have been the
theatre of the moft fubtle fpeculations, as well from
her ſtateſmen poffeffing extenſive and refined political
knowledge, as from her peculiar ftructure, rendering
her a fit fubject for the most extenfive and intricate
diplomatic arrangements.
If this be the cafe, certainly, her Hiſtory prefents
a mortifying ſpectacle to human pride, and ought to
humble in the duft the most prefumptuous part of the
human ſpecies. It appears, that when the mott fplendid
projects have been formed, nay, apparently effected,
they have uniformly failed to produce the expected
effects; and not uncommonly have produced difaftrous
ones. On the contrary, when nations have been cla-
morouſly arouſed to guard againft fome impending
miſchief, which the keen fighted Politician has been
able to trace amidst a labyrinth of contingent circum-
ftances at length the ſtateſman is foiled, the terrific
train of circumſtances actually take place, and behold,
no mischief enfues, and, even unforfeen advantages
arife. We are perpetually called on to attack and
difarm fome power, whom we are told is tremendously
formidable, when our attention is as fuddenly excit-
ed towards another which arifes to our view, and
whom we are informed preſents an afpect ſtill more
terrific. Thefe Guardan Angels, thefe Benefactors
of Mankind, who, influenced by the milk of human
kindneſs, are fo benevolent as to take nations under
( 2 )
their fostering care, are perpetually forming plans
which they tell us must be adopted, or ruin will enfue;
they are not adopted, and yet we find ourfelves per-
fectly fate; or, they are adopted, and bring on the
very mifchiefs against which they were propofed to
defend us.
It is not requifite to quote the Hiftory of the laft
hundred years; it is not neceffary to refer to K.
William's wife plans for partitioning the Spaniſh Mo-
narchy, or forming a Dutch Barrier. To Alberoni's
projects, the events of the no fearch war, or thoſe in
defence of the pragmatic fanction, or the Pruffian
power; a mere reference to facts in every ones recol-
lection; events which, even a few paffing years, have
brought in review before us, will afford an ample il-
luftration.
Not many years fince, the nation was giddy with
exultation and triumph, we had concluded a war which
exceeded our moft fanguine expectations, and though
the Miniſter, was of courfe, execrated for not tramp-
ling more effectually in the duft our proftrate foe,
yet we obtained much more than the utmoft object
of the war. Our poor Coloniſts were fecured from the
dreadful Plots of the perfidious French, ample room
was fecured for them to increafe and multiply through
fucceffive ages, during which their trade, confined
to this country, was to raife us to moft wonderful
fplendor and power, amply rewarding us for the
millions fpent in the glorious enterprize; but it hap-
pened a little oddly, that the event turned out exactly
the reverſe, and we totally loft our Colonies through
the fuccefs of the very meafures we had taken to fe-
cure them. The fcenes then fhifted, and England
was to become an object of commiferation, or con-
tempt. "Her fun was to fet for ever:" but this,
proved another mistake, and England, after defeat
and difgrace, and lofing a hundred millions to ſecure
her Colonies, and a hundred millions in lofing them,
poffeffed a fplendor and power fhe had never before
equalled; and the Court of France, who had pro-
duced theſe effects, expected to rife on the ruins of
[
1
(3)
England, to wreft from her the dominion of the Eaft
and Weſt Indies; and through the riches derived
from thence hoped to obtain the controul of all
the petty Courts of Europe. Similar diſappoint-
ments awaited hér alfo; the fuccefs of her projects
involved her in the moft calamitous ruin, and re-
duced the nation itſelf to fuch a flate, that Mr. Burke
affures us,
"He could only fee a vaft chafm, which once
was France."
This change naturally produced a new project;
we joined the other powers of Europe in invading her,
and it is avowed, in a refpectable Publication, that
while affifting them to feize her Provinces, we are to
difpoffefs her of her Sugar Plantations: all Europe
is to purchaſe its fugar of us, paying not only the
price to our Coloniſts, but even a tax on it to us;
and thus they are to reward us for the affiftance we
give them in fubjugating France. But, alas! this ad-
mirable plan, as wife and as juft as any of the pre-
ceding, feems to be in danger of becoming as futile.
She has driven us from her land, overcome the in-
teftine commotions which fhe fays we had fomented;
and now the threatens to retaliate the attack.
tremendous armies which, even German difcipline,
have in vain attempted to refift, are ready to pour
into a nation, which has long had no experience of
war, but what has arifen from petty civil contention.
The fuel of war, fhe with lavish hand has been
for above a century, inceffantly fpreading though
the world, and for the first time, fhe feems deltined
to partake of the effects.
Her
In this new and perilous fituaton, furely, it cannot
be very improper to folicit the attention of that com-
munity who are fo highly intereſted in the refult. It,
certainly, is not intended, to difpute his Majesty's
prerogative of involving us in war, yet, furely, it
cannot be deemed an infringement to difcufs the ef-
fects we are likely to experience, and more especially
if among thofe effects may poffibly be the dreadful
one, of his never having it again in his power of in-
volving us in another. It is not even intended to
(4)
interfere with the ordinary conduct of thoſe, to whom
with great propriety the management of our wars is in-
trufted; but if, with great ingenuity, they contrive
to bring the war home to us, it feems to be excufable
if we give it fome little attention, and if in ſome
fmall degree, it becomes the fubject of difcuffion.
When the High Priefts of Mars open with oracu-
lar ambiguity their tremendous myfteries, we attend
with awful reverence; when Mr. Dundas tells us of
the juſtice and neceffity of going to the Antipodes to
deprive Tippoo Saib of his revenues and dominions:
When Lord Hawksbury informs us, that our very ex-
iftence depends on fitting out Corfairs, feizing the
inhabitants of Africa, and carrying them to the Weft
Indies; and when Mr. Burke tells us that our religion,
our laws, our government, every thing that is dear
and valuable to us, depend on our waging eternal war
with the French, and extirpating them, and their
principles; we liften with filent aſtoniſhment, for who
can controvert what none can understand? But when a
powerful army, &c. appears to be ready to land upon
this Ifland, the danger feems to come within the limits
of a common underſtanding. WhetherFlanders belong-
ing to one or the other of the great powers of Europe,
would involve the ruin of England, may poffibly, by
fome, be deemed a difputable pofition: but that an
army of a Hundred Thouſand Men, landed in our
Inland, would be rather hurtful, no man will difpute.
That the French being in poffeffion of the Alps, or
their failing on the Scheldt would be a tremendous
evil, which it became us to riſk every thing tò avert,
however obvious it may appear to the microſcopic
eye of an adept in politics, yet fome may poffibly
not be able to perceive it. But were London to be
laid in ruins, even a Chimney Sweeper's Boy muſt
know that it would, at the leaſt, be an inconvenience.
In difcuffing this fubject, we are in no danger of be-
ing charged with reforting to imaginary evils, or
magnifying trivial ones, to alarm the timid and the
ignorant; it is admitted to be imminent and great,
and it therefore feems to be a caufe which with no
( 5 )
great impropriety may be brought before a jury of
the country.
Indeed, it appears more peculiarly proper, as it
is a queſtion not materially affected by any of thoſe
difputable points which divide the public mind;
which ever fide we adopt, whatever premifes we af-
fume, the deduction muſt be the fame. If with the
adverfaries of the war, we fay, that the French were
fingularly defirous of peace, and had no motive for
violating it, yet their intention, and their motives are
now avowed, and clearly underſtood: If with the
friends of the war, we contend, that their pacific
pretenfions were infidious, that they would fwallow
the Continent, and only do us the favour of re-
ferving us for the laft mouthful; then the obvious
inference is, that the danger which they depicted
as terrific, even when uncertain and remote, is be-
come ſtill more fo, by being immediate and probable.
If it be faid, that the Minifters are weak, negligent
and abandoned, how dreadful must be the danger
from ſuch an Adminiſtration at fuch an exigency?-
If on the contrary, it be alledged, that they are wife,
vigilant and confcientious, what reafon muft we have
to dread an enemy, whom, even fuch Minifters have
not been able to keep from our fhores, and how
much muft our terror be increafed by the dire ap-
prehenfion, left at fuch a momentous crifis the con-
vulfions of death, or the convulfions of Government
fhould remove them. If on the one hand, it be af-
firmed, that the reſources of the country have been
fhamefully neglected, is there not reafon to fear the
fame negligence may precipitate our ruin, or on the
other hand, have they been fully called forth, then is
it evident, that they are inadequate to an effectual
profecution of the war againſt fo powerful an enemy.
Indeed, the dreadful power of the enemy is now
univerſally admitted. Mr. Burke's jargon of their
diforder and imbecility, has long fince been aban-
doned, although they were the circumftances which
were held out to us as an inducement to commence
the war. The hope of its ſpeedy termination, and of
(6)
our crushing the enemy in a fingle campaign, was
held out by Mr. Pitt as a reafon for borrowing the
whole of the fix millions, though at a great diſadvan-
tage; but now he admits the power of the enemy to
be fo tremendous, that the ambitious views of Lewis
XIV, and his power to effect thofe views, however
terrific to Europe they might have been deemed, were
weak and infignificant in compariſon of the prefent
power of the French Republic. Indeed, fo tremend-
ous is this power, that it is the very circumftance
which is now held out as a reafon for profecuting the
war. We must never, it feems, fheath the fword
while a power exifls fo much greater than ourſelves.
Be it fo, yet furely, If we have not merely enter-
ed into, but been foiled in the conteft, it muſt be a
reaſonable ground for increaſing our apprehenfions.
If we have entered the enemies territories to weaken
and difmember them. If they have repelled us, and
in return, are ready to invade us, furely, the idea of
danger refulting from a mere contemplation of the
power of the enemy, muft be highly aggravated from
the circumftance of its being now an enemy that has
tried our ftrength, and in a conviction of our inferi-
ority are preparing to return our affault. Mr. Pitt
fo far from difguifing the power of the enemy, or the
magnitude of their defigns, admits them in the
fullest extent; he confiders it as a forlorn hope in
which our only reliance is, that the power of the
enemy is too enormous to be permanent.-It is, it
feems, a preternatural ftrength, the ftrong convulfive
agonies of death, and muft precipitate the termination
of exiſtence. Admit it, yet from this very circumftance
feems to arife our moft ferious ground of alarm.-
We will fuppofe the French Jacobins to have ex-
erted every nerve for a momentary effort, that they
have collected into a focus, every ſcattered portion of
ftrength which the French Republic affords them;
that by a forced loan, they have obtained all the
fpecie of the nation, that by the terror of the Guilotine,
they have raiſed an immenfe temporary force, which
they will be unable long to keep together. That,
( 7 )
to maintain even this temporary force, they have vio-
lated all property. That it muft quickly fail, and
then the whole fabric will be foon annihilated by the
very means which have brought it into existence.-
If ſo, what will naturally be the plan adopted by the
French Government? Knowing the temporary nature
of the refources they poffefs, feeling the unftable
nature of the power they enjoy, will they not be in-
duced to undertake a bold and defperate attempt
fuitable to the nature of the power and refources
they poffels? Protracted, defenfive war, will, in ſuch
cafe, be ruinous to them, and the most defperate mea-
fures will become the most prudent. Suppofe their
fituation to be defperate, defperate meaſures it will
then become them to purfue; and their irrefiftible
bands, when they can no longer be kept together in
France, may be poured into our Ifland. If then, our
Country be defolated by becoming the feat of war,
our Capital burned, and our Arfenals deftroyed;
will it be any confolation to be told, that the grafp
which has cruthed us, the ſtroke which has deſtroyed
our very vitals, was nothing but the preternatural ef-
forts of the madnefs of expiring power? Shall we
be happy when told, that, though this Sampfon has
brought on us dire and irreparable ruin, yet he par-
ticipates with us, that we both lie groveling in the
duft, while Ruffia, Auftria, America, or fome other
power rifes from our afhes? We are, indeed, told
that as we have every thing at ftake, every thing muft
be rifked, and that our conftitution being in danger,
it becomes us to make every facrifice to preferve it.
But, are we fure, that when our Country becomes
the Theatre of War, and mifery, and defclation are
fpread through the land, we fhall contemplate our
glorious Conftitution in Church and State, with that
rapturous pleaſure we felt in the moment of National
profperity?
Hence, it appears that our apprehenfions from the
enormous power of the enemy can fcarcely be carried
beyond the extent of the real danger, and that the
only alleviating circumitance held out by thofe who
I
( 8 )
have the direction of the power of the nation, and
can compare it with that of the enemy, is, the miſe-
rable hope, that, in cafe we can refift a confeffedly
almoft irreſiſtible enemy, we fhall at length
have the confolation of feeing him exhaufted at our
feet.
But the probable expectation of France becoming
the affaillant refults, not merely from the allegations
of Mr. Pitt, that her power is both enormous and
temporary. She muft neceffarily be ftimulated to it
by every circumftance which has occurred, by every
motive of intereft and fafety; and be prompted by
every paffion which can be fuppofed to influence her
public councils. A contemptuous flight of proffer-
ed friendſhip naturally produces the ftrongeft and
moſt permanent refentment; hence it is, that France
feems to poffefs peculiar animofity againſt this coun-
try. That the arbitrary Monarchs of Europe
ſhould have manifefted enmity to the rifing liberties
of France could excite no furprife; it was an ex-
ample which threatened the fubverfion of their power,
in proportion as it proved to be beneficial to the French;
and the hoftility of the defpotic Sovereigns of Europe
could produce no refentment in France, except what
naturally refulted from fuch a ſtate. But as to Eng-
land, the cafe was different; from her originated thoſe
principles on which France had acted, and even are
the bafis of the Monarch's throne. England had ſet
her the example of trampling on the Royal Authority,
The degraded fpectacle of the House of Stuart, and
the profperous ftate of England, had impreffed on
them the idea that the happineſs of nations was not
always commenfurate with the power of the Sove.
reign. To England, therefore, they looked with a
fraternal eye, far from confidering its Monarch as a
Tyrant and a Defpot. The Hall of the Jacobins was
ornamented with the Royal Flag of England, even,
after the antient ſtandard of the French Monarchs
had been configned to oblivion. It is true, as Elector
of Hanover, the Engliſh Monarch might be ſuppoſed
to have an adverfe intereft; but they appeared to have
(9)
fuch confidence that it would be loft in the fuperior
fplendor of the Britiſh Crown, that they even folicited
his mediation to fettle their differences with the
other powers of Europe, and to prevent the com-
mencement of the threatened hoftilities. The marked
contempt with which their proffer was received, natu-
rally gave rife to that difguft which quickly became
hatred, when they imagined, that under an infâdi-
ous neutrality, we were fomenting their difcords, and
plotting their deftruction. The open and avowed
hoftility of Auſtria, and of Pruffia, ſeems not to have
produced in France fuch animofity as did the ſuppoſed
conduct of the Britiſh Court.
Our infular ſituation impreffing an idea of fecu-
rity, has emboldened us to adopt a peculiar lip-
guage and conduct.
Ruffia from her diftance, has
been induced to imitate us. No other nation
has ventured to pour out fuch torrents of low fcurrility
as fome amongst us have uttered. Hatred and con-
tempt muſt neceffarily have been excited, even had we
before poffeffed their esteem; bnt, our claim of the flag,
of the dominion at fea, our contradictory and extraor
dinary claims of colonization, of no fearch on the
Spaniſh coaft while we confifcated thofe who ap-
proached our own; the fpreading the flames of war,
through every part of the world, notwithstanding the
juſt and humane treaty of 1686, our preferving on the
ſea (becauſe there we were moft powerful) the anti-
ent horrors of war, by feizing private property, while
hoftility by land had, by degrees, been meliorated fo
far, as almost univerfally to reſpect it; our even de-
taining neutral veffels, but, above all, our feizing the
French ſhipping in 1755, previous to any declaration
of war, had given an idea of us very unfavourable to
our national character. Books had long circulated
in France, ftigmatizing us, as the Savages of Europe,
and it is poffible, that the idea of us, was not much
improved by the changes which have taken place, in
the mode of conducting the war, fince we took part
in it. They, poffibly, attributed to us, exclufively,
the idea of confidering thirty millions of people, as
( 10 )
having no national exiſtence, and not to be treated ac-
cording to the univerfally received law of nations-
They, poffibly, fuppofe that we invented the ftrange
fiction,that a nation with a thouſand miles of fea co.ft,
of which not a fingle port was actually blockaded,
was to be confidered as being wholly and conftantly
befieged, that every neutral veffel bound for it might
be liable to ſeizure; and they may, perhaps, allege,
that we formed the plan of cutting off their cuftomary
fupply of corn, to raife difcontent in the country, by
ftarving the women and the children, as we must know
that the armies would certainly be at all even s fup-
plied; and, laftly, they fay, that the moment we
abandoned our neutrality, all the defenceicfs nac
Europe were ordered to join us in the war,-ap-
tice, which they fay, was never before relorted ta, by
any people. Nor can it be deemed extraordinary, if
fuch a concurrence of circumſtances fhould have pro-
duced very powerful effects on a people who may be
fuppofed to confider themſelves as the firft nation in
the univerfe, as to population, power, literature, and
civilization; and efpecially when they confider them-
felves as having been thus treated by a nation whom
they, probably, confider as infinitely beneath them.-
As every powerful paffion may have thus excited them
to turn their arms particularly againſt us, fo their
intereft, as to the general conduct of the war, may
have fuggeted the fame meaſure. However, incon-
fiderable may be our actual acceffion of force to the
combined powers, yet, the peculiarity of our fitu-
ation enables us to give a confiderable impetus to
their operations. Surrounded by the fea, we are
more removed from the effects of war; and our com-
merce and national credit, however diminiſhed, en-
able us to repleniſh the exhaufted coffers of the Allied
Powers; may they not then be tempted to endeavour
to tranfer the feat of war to this country, as an effec-
tual means of cutting off thofe refources which en-
able the Continental Powers to perpetuate the war?
But not merely paffion may prompt, and expedi-
ency ſuggeſt this meaſure, but is it not poffible, that
:
( II )
they may confider themſelves as even neceffitated to
adopt it? May they not fay, "Powerfully attacked,
for dark, ambiguous, unexplained purposes; England at
length, breaks the gloomy filence. She tells us, that he
will not even treat of peace. Behold the dreadful crifis,
when in drawing the word they threw away the
Scabbard-they have pronounced the dreadful fentence.-
Delenda eft Carthago-Delenda eft Carthago are we
not then neceffitated to reply. They seem to have left us
no alternative, but the fubversion of their government, or
the abandonment of our own.
ور
Thus it fhould feem probable, that their threatened
Invaſion, may be more than inere gafconade; and
it may be worth our while, feriously, to inquire,
whether it be really intended as a formidable, effec-
tual attack, or whether it be only intended as a feint
to alarm us, and divert our attention, while they are
really carrying on fome other plan? if they have
fufficient motives for undertaking the expedition,
then for the folution of this important queftion, it will
be next requifite to inquire, what degree of probability
exifts of their being able to effect their purpofe? be-
cauſe, however ftrong may be their difpofition, yet, if
their means be totally inadequate, it is not probable,
they will undertake it; at leaft, if they do, we may,
in fuch cafe, be more eafy as to the reſult. However
loud, the dog may bark at the moon, ſhe ſtill keeps
on her way, regardless of his noife,
But, at the fame time, as it becomes us not to give
way to caufeleis alarm, it behoves us carefully to ex-
amine the fubject; heedlefs confidence, founded in
pride and ignorance, is to the full, as dangerous as
caufelefs timidity. Though not the moſt pleaſing, yet,
is he the most useful Friend, who, inftead of flatter-
ing us, that nothing but flowry paths lie before us,
calls on us, carefully to examine the deceptious ap-
pearance, to fee that no dark abyfs open under our
unwary ſtep; examine how we may purfue in fafety
the dangerous path; or if, on careful examination, the
danger appears to be unavoidabie, exhorts us to re-
turn, and abandon the fruitlefs talk.
( 12
12 )
If we in attempting to fubvert other governments,
fhould be in danger of producing the deftruction of
our own. If in fpreading the flames of war through
the world, they ſhould be on the point of reverberat-
ing on ourſelves, we may then poffibly contemplate the
prefent war through a lefs pleafing medium, and may
poffibly be willing to return into the bofom of peace
with lefs reluctance.
Melancholy is the reflection, that the fecurity of
our fituation derived from the furrounding waves,
inſtead of becoming as it might be fuppofed a fource
of peace, and of that melioration of the human mind,
which is the natural refult of peace, has, in fact, pro-
duced effects exactly the reverfe; and from this very
circumſtance may be traced every deteftable trait of
the British character. From hence, fome fay, has arifen
intolerable pride, and infolence towards other na-
tions. From hence, they fay, we have been able to
oppreſs other nations in a degree far beyond our pro-
portionate degree of ftrength.
Other nations when contemplating objects of am-
bition have been neceffated to retain a confiderable
portion of their ftrength, for home defence; we, on
the contrary, have been accuſtomed to pour out our
whole ftrength for offenfive war. To fuch a degree
have we carried this fyftem, that in 1745, we had not
retained fufficient force to fupprefs a defpicable in-
furrection, and even reforted to foreign troops for a
defence. Hence we have derived fuch confidence
in our own fafety, fuch a perfuafion, that we are ex-
empt from the calamities of war, that to intimate the
poffibility of it, is almoft deemed difaffection to the
State, or, at leaft, will be received with as marked
contempt as the admonitions of a Laputan, on the
danger refulting from the cometary orbs, or the
howlings of an Indian on the eclipfes of the lu-
minaries.
Fearful of hurting the high-toned feelings of the
True born Englishman, we tremble to fuppofe it pof-
fible for the French to pafs the twenty mile ditch
which feparates us; we muft not prefume to imagine
( 13 )
the poffibility of their beating our fleet, nor aík,
whether, if while the fleets are engaged, troops may
not effect the paffage; we will not even afk whether,
in detached portions they may not take unknown
tracts through the boundlefs ocean, and center upon
our coafts; nor will we fuggeft a furmife, whether
Thuriot's landing a thouſand men and taking Carrick-
fergus, at a time when the French Navy was almoſt
annihilated, be not fomething like a proof of its be-
ing poffible.
But, here, Britiſh Heroifm boldly exclaims, Ah !
Ah! Let the Atheists, the Regicides, the Sans Culottes
come, I warrant Britons will give them a drubbing.
Indeed! and is it an invariable fixed Law of Nature,
that Englishmen must always conquer! is it an axiom to
be affumed, or is it a propofition to be examined?
Will not Spain prove that we may be beaten, and
America that we may be beaten, by thofe whom we
have deſpiſed. But this notable point, we mean not
to difpute. We will take it for granted, that the
French will be defeated, and that we preferve our
conftitution, our religion and our laws.
Let us fuppofe, our Game Laws, and our Ecclefiaf
tical Courts to remain intire; that neither a doxology
or a creed, be innovated on; that the thrones of the
Biſhops ftand firm as a rock, and their lawn fleeves
be unfinged; let the Corinthian capital of fociety ftill
remain, with the beautiful ranks, and fubordinations,
which diſtinguiſh our excellent Conftitution in Church
and State.
Let us merely review the calamities which will be-
fall the Swinish Multitude, and this may, in fome
degree, be requifite, even though the alarm of an
Invafion be totally unfounded. Admitting it to be
an artifice of our enemies to effect fome other deſign,
or an ingenious device of the Miniftry to inlift
alarmifts: yet, as Minifters have declared, that the
war was abfolutely neceffary to prevent the French
coming to attack us, and therefore was defenfive,
may it not be infered that, if we mifcarry, in effecting
the object, we fhall finally be expofed to thefe dangers
( 14 )
which the war was undertaken to avert, and as, not-
withstanding the prodigious and unexpected fuccefs
we have experienced, yet, as it is not quite certain that
we fhall fucceed in destroying the Jacobin Govern-
ment of France, as fome people are fo incredulous as
to think, that we fhall never fucceed in placing
little Capet upop the throne; a meaſure which our
Minifters have declared to be abfolutely neceffary for
our fecurity; may it not be infered, from the allega-
tions of the Minifters themſelves, that the French
Invaſion is an event to which we may be expofed,
ſhould the war prove finally unſucceſsful.
Notwithſtanding the great piety which fo univer-
fally pervades the nation, and more particularly the
higher crders of the State, and, notwithstanding the
Atheism and Impiety of the French, yet, in caſe of an
Invafion, it will hardly be deemed quite prudent to
rely on fupernatural affiftance; it will certainly be
reckoned rather more fatisfactory to have fome vifible
human mode of defence, fomething more than the
armies of the Kings of Brentford, or Falstaff's men in
buckram. Let thofe who know the military force in
this kingdom fay, whether it be equal to the conteft.
The military force, indeed! perhaps fome will exclaim,
Is the military force only to be reckoned on? If the
French have rifen in an immenfe body, if they have
manifefted unexampled energy in defence of Poverty,
Mifery, and the Guilotine, with what energy, with
what unanimity, will Englifhmen rife in defence of a
Conftitution, which is the wonder and admiration of
the univerfe? of a Religion which is the pureft and
the moft excellent that ever did or ever will exift!
and of thofe admirable laws which fome few people
may, poffibly, be rich enough to indulge themfelves
in the luxury of appealing to? but, however, excellent
thefe excellent things may be in themfelves, or
how much foever we may admire them, while
fmoaking our pipes, yet, I do not remember that we
have manifefted any wonderful alacrity in fighting for
them. That is a taſk which has ufually been under-
taken by Gentlemen, who are willing to run the riſk
( 15 )
}
of being knocked on the head, for fixpence per day.
We have been told, that our religion and liberties
were in horrible danger in 1688, 1715, 1745, and
1755, yet I do not recollect, that the people armed
a la mode Francoife, nay, I never heard that our ex-
cellent Government was ever fo contaminated with
French principles, as to think of putting the people
in a ſtate of requifition. Even, in 1780, when a few
people bought mufkets to defend their houfes from the
rabble, the meaſure was animadverted on in fome
remarkable letters; and the Irish Volunteers have been
ſuppoſed to have produced effects, not very recom-
mendatory of arming the people. Indeed it is a
meaſure that might be attended with fome inconveni-
ence, for, however, loudly they might vociferate
Church and King, when firft armed, yet, as the Swiniſh
Multitude are rather unstable, if they fhould take a
fancy to change the cry to Liberty and Equality, the
Attorney General might not be able to find parch-
ment to draw the informations, as they might de-
mur to giving up their drum beads for that purpoſe.
Hence, it may be furmifed, that the people will
not feel themſelves difpofed to rife in a body to fight,
nor is it probable, that the meaſure will be infifted on
by those who govern us. They will rather be difpofed
to follow the established mode, which has been prac
tifed fince the Revolution, of protecting the Religion
and Liberty of England with foreign troops; a me-
thod which may have arifen from the repugnance which
is felt to fhedding English blood! and by which a very
beneficial commercial intercourfe is preferved between
Germany and England.
Should the French attemp, at any time, to invade
England, with a powerful armament, we fuppofe the
force to repel them will be fuch regular forces as have
been carfully preferved in Barracks and the Militia,
if it be deemed proper. The deficiency will be
fupplied by troops to be drawn from Germany, for
that purpofe. And in proportion as we draw
the troops from Germany to England, the French
will, in like cafe, be enabled to draw theirs and
( 16 )
the whole change may then confift in a movement of
the armies from Germany to England.
What would be the final iffue of fuch a war, I will
not imagine. The exiſtence of it, and its unavoid-
able effects are the great and important evils. In all
political events, the apprehended effects are rarely
realized. Thofe which are experienced in the con-
teft, are the real and important ones. On the event
of the American conteft, we were told, by the re-
ſpective partizans, depended the very exiſtence of the
refpective countries: we mifcarried in the event, and
the miscarriage was unimportant. Had America mif-
carried, the alfo would, probably, have found the ef-
fects as infignificant. The mifchiefs, and calamities,
of the contest were the only certain and calculable
evils. If, then, the Allied Army, fighting on
English ground, be crowned with conqueft, ftill
thoſe who inhabit the Country, will fcarcely expe-
rence the difference between victory and defeat. In
war, the diſtinction of Friend and Foe, of the con-
quered, or the conquering, are fcarcely to be per-
ceived; wherever an army comes, it will be fupplied,
though famine overfpread the land; wherever the
conquering army comes, all property vanishes, where-
ever the conquered flies, defolation is left behind it.
A Conqueror has juft returned amongft us to receive
the laurel at our hands, let him tell how many thou-
fands died of famine, becauſe the cattle were taken
from the ploughs to convey his artillery.
If we have brought fuch horrors and defolation on
other countries, can we complain if at length, we have
to partake of the bitter cup, under fuch circumftances
rage and indignation against the accidental inftru-
ments of the vengeance we experience, will feize
our haughty fpirits: but difpofitions of a different
nature, it will better behove us to encourage. If a
powerful ememy fhould invade our land, and banish
from it happiness and peace, let us recollect how
many nations we have involved in thoſe calamities
of war, which we are at lenngth deſtined to experience.
FINIS.
ON
だ
​Ꮄ
}
JACOBINISM,
1
BY
WILLIAM FOX.
LONDON:
SOLD BY M. GURNEY, No. 128, HOLBORN HILL
1794.
THREE-PENCE, OR FIVE FOR A
SHILLING.
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The Jacobin.
IT has frequently been objected to controverfial
writers, that by ufing words without defining
their import, the fubjects which they bring before
the public are involved in great obfcurity, and their
difcuffion frequently extended to almost infinity.
However certain the fact, yet the propriety of its
being brought as a charge againſt our fraternity I ne-
ver could admit. By carefully avoiding definitions
and explanations, the feeds of controverſy are care-
fully preferved to engender future ones, as Bug-
Doctors and Ratcatchers fuffer fome vermin to eſcape,
that they and their brethren may find future employ-
ment: And why fhould not Authors as well as Rat-
Catchers, Clergy, Lawyers, Nobles, and other orders of
men, be influenced by the Efprit du Corps: Why
fhould not they be entitled to praife, for preferving
the fields of controverfy and tranfmitting them unim-
paired for the benefit of future Authors, inſtead of
dilapidating and deftroying the inheritance by bring-
ing controverfies to a termination by the fatal expedi-
ent of explanation and definition. But though this be
true as to thofe ordinary controverfies, whofe princi-
pal end is finding employment and food for authors,
yet are there a certain order of words, and a certain
fpecies of controverfy, of fo very different a nature
as might induce one to wifh they might be excepted.
Thefe words inſtead of merely wafting ink, deluge
the world with blood; they not only light up the
fire of controverſy, but produce real conflagrations :
inſtead of amufing the fpeculative and the idle, they
agitate the maſs of people, and fpread horror, con-
fuſion, and defolation through the earth.
That words of fuch importance fhould be accu-
rately defined, that controverfies productive of fuch
effects, fhould be fully explained, ſeems not to be un-
reaſonable; yet, alas! it is fuch words that remain
peculiarly undefined, and it is fuch controverfies that
are more eſpecially involved in obfcurity; we fee
(2)
them generate in quick fucceffion: like meteors
they rife and take their courfe through the political
hemiſphere, terrifying and confounding the ignorant
multitude.
As theſe words are invented to deceive, they have
been peculiarly reforted to in that ftate of this coun-
try, in which thoſe who govern have found them-
felves neceffitated, in fome degree, to refort to arti-
fice to obtain or maintain dominion, no longer deem-
ing it expedient to rely totally on force. From the
commencement of the laft century, a few cant words
have been the powerful means of producing all the
revolutions and events we have experienced. It com-
menced with Puritan, was fucceeded by Malignant,
and was terminated by Papifl: this laſt word pro-
duced our glorious Revolution, and in connection with
Pretender, generated the Hanover fucceffion; which
being endangered by the word Church, by calling to
its affiftance the words Liberty, Property, and Balance
of Power, it became triumphant until the preſent mo-
ment, when threatened, with danger by the dreadful
words Rights of Man, it has been deemed expedient
to refort to the word Jacobin for fupport. Our do-
meſtic factions have indeed in the interim adopted
Court, and Country, for the fubordinate purpoſe of
electioneering, riots, and murders, and North Ame-
rica obtained independence under the aufpices of the
word Tory.
It might be imagined that words of fuch import-
ance, and productive of fuch extenfive effects, fhould
have a clear and definite import; and that when ap-
plied to diſcriminate the characters and principles of
men, it ſhould be with the moft accurate preciſion;
but unfortunately this is the very reverfe of the fact.
Puritan equally characteriſed Archbiſhop Abbot, and
the wildeſt and moſt illiterate enthuſiaſt of the
age,
and Malignant was indifcriminately applied to an in-
finite variety of diffimilar characters. Papist we ap-
ply to Father Paul, and to St. Dominic, to Berrington,
and Bellarmine. Pretender was a nick name affigned
to an individual by an Act of Parliament, and as to
( 3 )
Church it never was underftood whether it meant,
Articles of Faith, which ſcarce any man believes, ce-
remonies and forms which every man of fenſe defpifes,
or an order of men who claim a right to a tenth of
every man's labour, in confideration of their wearing
black coats, white furplices, and lawn fleeves.
The word Liberty imported a foreign Prince, coming
with a foreign army, and poffeffing the throne of his
wife's father; and Property, fome fay, meant the de-
priving a King, Clergy, and Nobles of a neighbouring
island of their property, and beftowing it on foreign-
ers if we conquer American iſlands, for the purpoſe
of enflaving the Africans, we are told the war is un-
dertaken in defence of Liberty; and if we plunder
and defolate Afia, the undertaking is abfolutely ne-
ceffary in defence of our Rights and Property. As to
Whig and Tory, they were terms of abufe, as indefi-
nite in their meaning, as thofe which the ladies of St.
Giles's and Billinfgate beftow on each other: the au-
thor of this has been ever deemed a Tory, yet does
his Toryifm bear as little refemblance to that of Fil-
mer's or Sacheverell's, as the Whiggifm of Mr. Burke
to Dr. Price's. Laftly, the Balance of Power means
perpetual war, on a feriesof the moſt extravagant and
incongruous pretexts: It meant King William's am-
bitious project of conquering France, it meant car-
rying on a bloody expenfive war, for the emolument
of the Duke of Marlborough, and it meant annexing
Bremen and Verden to Hanover.
If then theſe words have been fucceffively adopted
without any definite import, merely to enable the
ambitious and the crafty to carry on their defigns; it
will become us to be cautious and fufpicious when
new terms and additional cant phrafes are introduced
into our political vocabulary: it will behove us at
leaſt carefully to analyfe their import, and inquire
whether they be introduced as the watch words of
faction, to diſguiſe unexplained projects of dark am-
bition, or as the fignals to flimulate a licentious
rabble to conflagration and to murder: our juſt fuf-
picion may be excited, if like preceding words they
.F.
(4)
bear no definite fenfe, and thereby appear to be
well adapted to enable a party to ftigmatife their ad-
verfaries; for in fuch proportion as thefe terms are
equivocal and deftitute of meaning, are they adapted
to this purpoſe. It will become us to endeavour to
analyſe them, as many objects of terror lofe their
effect, in proportion as they are explored: it is un-
defined danger which operates moft powerfully, and
the mind can meet even real danger with greater
firmness, when we thoroughly comprehend its na-
ture and extent.
In this moment when Jacobinifm is firſt founded in
our ears, it becomes peculiarly proper for us to ex-
plain its rife for the benefit of future generations; for
however terrible this word may now appear, yet to
pofterity it may excite no other feeling than contempt
for our fully, and curiofity to inquire into its cauſe:
the origin and hiftory of Whig and Tory have oc-
cafioned elaborate difcuffion, and as a ſubject of dif
cuffion, Jacobin may be tranſmitted to pofterity.
Loudly as Jacobin is refounded through the land,
yet have none condefcended to explain its meaning;
that muſt be gleaned from defultory harangues on its
terrible nature, and effects; from thence we learn
that it is a principle which is rapidly fpreading
through Europe, threatening its general order, the
fubverfion of its Governments, the annihilation of
its Property, the deſtruction of its Laws, and its
religion; introducing in their place Atheiſm,
Anarchy, Poverty, and Mifery. In this delineation
however highly coloured, perhaps, it muſt be ad-
mitted that there is fo near a reſemblance to fact in
fome of its parts as to deferve accurate inveſtigation,
and is certainly of importance fufficient to demand
our ſerious attention: it relates to the moſt import-
ant fubjects which can intereft our feelings, for with-
out focial order, without Government, without
Laws, alas! what is Man, and what is the earth
which he inhabits. Some indeed will laugh at this
ſtatement; they will afk what is that general order
which exists in Europe? What is there but an he-
1
( 5 )
terogenous mafs of Republicanifm, of Monarchy, of
Defpotifm, cf Popery, of Proteftantifm, of Oppref-
fion, and of Liberty, in all their diverfified forms?
What relation can they have to each other? What
common principles can they poffefs, deserving the
name of fyftem? Shall Britons be told of any analogy
The bears to the vaffalage of Hungary or to Neapolitan
Defpotifin?—I will make no fuch objection-I
will confider moſt of the nations of Europe as de-
rived from one common or fimilar crigin. I will con-
fider it as a bed of flowers, which when firft planted
prefented to the eye nothing but dull uniformity, but
which from accident, from diverfity of culture, and
of foil, opens to our view an immenfe variety, a
ftriking diffimilarity, which banishes from the in-
agination of a curfory fpectator the flendereft idea of
fyitem; though the accurate and careful obferver
will readily diftinguish the varieties of the fame
Species, as readily as the different species in the fame
genus. I will then readily admit that there is a ge-
neral order, a fimilarity, among the nations of
Europe, deferving the name of fyftem; and I will
even admit that Jacobinifm threatens this system with
deſtruction: but here my conceffions terminate. If
I am told that Anarchy muft enfue, that social order
and government will be banished from the earth, and
that property will be annihilated, for laws no longer
will exift to fofter and protect it if I am told this,
I paufe. I will not eafily fuppofe that the author of
the univerſe will admit to foul a blot in the creation.
I fee indeed a vaſt maſs of moral and phyfical evil
which neither reaſon nor revelation explains to my
limited imperfect comprehenfion; but I look around
me and trace the analogy of nature, and I fee a uni-
versal tendency of order from confufion to arife, and
improved exiftence to fpring from apparent diffoiu-
tion; my hope is then enlivened, nor can with
Mr. BURKE fit down in defpair and imagine that the
fair face of the creation is about to be involved in
1
A MASS OF RUINS." I cannot believe that the dark
cloud, which overhangs out hemifphere, will involve
( 6 )
!
us in eternal night. I confider the nature of man ; I
open the page of hiftory, and examine his recorded
annals; I here trace human kind through every gra-
dation of improvement, from the untutored favage
running wild in his native woods, to man in the
higheſt ſtate of polished fociety which has hitherto
appeared in the world; I then examine the preſent
face of the earth, as prefented to our view with the
accuracy of modern difquifition, I find a wonderful
concurrence, both the hiftorian and the traveller
bear one united and important teftimony, that Man,
whatever may be his degree of civilization, however
oppofite the nature of the climate he enjoys, or the
foil he poffeffes, however diverfified his manners, or
abundant or deficient are his advantages; whatever
may have been his original fituation, or however va-
ried the circumftances which through a fucceffion of
ages have befel him, has an uniform difpofition, anap-
parently inherent principle leading him to coalefce
into fome kind of order or government, though that
order and that government neceffarily partake of an
infinite variety, refulting from the diverfity of the
circumſtances above enumerated. It appears that
this mental attraction is as univerfal a law of his na-
ture, as that attraction which pervades inanimate ex-
iftence appears to be a univerfal law of matter; and
as little ground is there to expect that any partial
convulfions; however they may aſtoniſh and afflict
us, will diffolve this principle in the one cafe more
than in the other. There is no fonndation for ex-
pecting fuch a diffolution of the bonds offociety any
more than the principal of material exiſtence, until
He, on whofe will all things depend, fhall diffolve
theſe laws of nature which from him originated, re-
ducing this fyftem to the original chaos, or pro-
ducing thoſe changes of which we can have no idea.
If then it should feem that order and government
were coeval with man, and that with man only they
can terminate; If it appears that anarchy is fo ab-
horent to our nature, as that the political bodyhas as an
invariable tendency to counteract it, as the natural
( 7 )
body has to diſcharge the morbid matter with which it
may be loaded, fhall any one dare to tell us that
Facobinifm will break up civil fociety, deftroy focial
order, and introduce perpetual anarchy and ruin?
Yes, there are thofe who will dare to tell us this;
becauſe there is no falfhood fo palpable, no abfurdity
ſo grofs, but what the wicked will endeavour to im-
poſe upon the weak. If there have been thoſe who
could fummon the public to fee a man in a QUART
BOTTLE, and if among the public there were thoſe
who crouded to behold it, why may there not be
thoſe who will tell us, that unless we take Paris, and
guillotine ROBERSPIERRE, the French will kill one
another, diffolve all government, introduce anarchy,
and deſtroy all property, and why may there not be
amongst us thofe who will believe them?
In repelling the clamors againſt Jacobiniſm, it is
not neceffary accurately to appreciate its merits, or
the effects it may produce. The charge againſt it
is not merely that it will deftroy the general order
of Europe, but that no other fyftem of focial order
will arife; not only that it will fubvert the exiſting
governments, but ALL government; not only fhake
property, but annihilate it; not merely impair the
fat c of our laws, but diffolve ALL law, leave no-
thing but anarchy behind, feating us "in the midſt
of ruins."
This is a charge not merely againſt
Jacobiniſm, but againſt the order of nature, againſt
the conſtitution of human kind, againſt univerſal ex-
perience. The charge is fo abfurd that thoſe who
frame it are perpetually confuting themfelves; fee,
fay they, what a horrible government Jacobiniſm has
produced in France, a government worſe than
Caligula's. And was not Caligula's a government?
is not a worſe than Caligula's a government? What
you affert, and what we call on you to prove, is
that Jacobinifm will diffolve ALL government.
So
violating all propriety of language, they confound
confifcation with diffolution of property. How far the
confifcations of property in Ireland, in England, or
( 8 )
in France may have been cruel, refpecting indivi-
duals; whether harsh or unjuſt in their nature, in-
jurious or beneficial to the community, are feparate
confiderations. What we call on them to prove is,
that property either in Ireland, in England, or in
France, has thereby been annibiliated.
Having fully proved that however extenfive the
progrefs of Jacobinifm may be, yet that he will leave
government, focial order, property and law behind
her. We will next enter on what may be deemed a
rather more difficult inquiry, we will endeavour to
diſcover whether the effects of this progrefs will be
injurious, or beneficial: to predict, with any degree
of precifion, the effects which will be produced, or
the exact nature of the governments which will fub-
fift, would be folly in the extreme; leading traits,
and general tendencies only, we will undertake to
difcufs. We will not look into the declaration of the
Rights of Man, nor will we take for our guide this
or that plan of a conftitution; we may indeed rejoice
to fee principles and fyftems of benevolence, and juf-
tice, diffeminated among mankind, becauſe the
effects muſt be beneficial; much more must we
exult when they are diffeminated by thofe who go-
vern, even though by themselves they are difregard-
ed, becauſe thereby thofe principles become more
operative. When thofe who govern France lay
down fyftems of morality, and benevolence, as the
avowed rules of their conduct, or Mr. PITT pours
out his eloquence againft our colonial flavery, we are
not to imagine that they will reftrain themſelves in
their ambitious purfuits, by fuch fyftems, or fuch
declamations, which they may have adopted, for
temporary, and particular purpoſes; but we will
exult in this, that in trampling them under foot, they
will not be able to deftroy their effects.
In afcertaining the future ftate of Europe, we are
rather to look to general tendencies, than to particu-
lar events, which however calamitious can prove but
partial. Order, and Governments, muft neceffarily
may reaſonably be expected to be fu
arife, w
hich
( 9 )
perior to prior governments, in proportion to the
improved ftate of knowledge, and fociety. If in a
barbarous age, a favage banditti quickly formed into
order, and government; if, though the foundations.
were laid in rape, and robbery, the fuperftructure
has become the admiration of fucceffive ages, can we
imagine that any fituation, to which Europe may be
reduced, by temporary convulfions, will become a
bar to fplendid improvements? Suppofe, then Jacob.
inifm, or the confederacy to deftroy Jacobinifm, were
to produce an anarchy, as deplorable as that in
which Europe was involved when over-run by favage
plunderers, and that governments, or tyrannies, as
uncouth were to be obtruded on us, yet may it na-
turally be inferred that the prefent improved ftate of
human knowledge will operate powerfully, and that
governments will gradually arife, as fuperior to the
exiſting ones as the prefent ftate of the human mind
is fuperior to what its ftate was at the period in which
the exifting governments of Europe originated. As
the convulfions occafioned by Jacobinifm can be but
temporary, ſo it may be hoped they may be but par-
tial. If it be a principle operating to the fubverfion
of the general fyftem of Europe, convulfions might
reaſonably be expected, as violent as thofe we wit-
nefs; but as that which is denominated the fyftem of
Europe exiſts in very different degrees, and circum-
ftances, different confequences may refult. Where
the ancient fyftem of Europe has mouldered under
the hand of time, Jacobinifim may coalefce without
neceffarily producing much diforder. Let us then,
examine the nature of this fyftem of order, and go-
vernment, which, we are told, pervades Europe,
and which Jacobinifm threatens with deftruction;
from whence we may poffibly learn more precifely
the effects to be expected.
The fyftem of European governments originated
in bands of ferocious and barbarous conquerors, if-
fuing from the wildeſt and moſt uncultivated parts of
Europe, and overfpreading thoſe nations of it, which
had in fome ſmall degree been civilized by the ro
( 10 )
man conquefts. The countries were divided among
the conquerors; the inhabitants were enflaved, and
attached to the land for its cultivation; the leaders
of theſe bands became Dukes, and Counts, of their
reſpective portions of the conquered lands; thofe
titles importing a fubordinate fovereignity, the Su-
preme being little more than nominal. The General,
or Chief Commander, became, indeed, King: but
being chofen from among his fellow foldiers, he pof-
feffed little authority. His principal importance wasf
derived from the fhare of the fpoil he poffeffed.
the poffeffions, then obtained by the fword, the pof-
feffors were ſoon after deprived of a confiderable por-
tion by the Clergy, who, availing themfelves of the ig-
norance of the age, held forth to others the profpect
of another world, as the means of obtaining a con-
fiderable portion of the prefent. They obtained
grants from the conquerors, tofuch an extent as to en-
able the clergy to contend for a domination, found-
ed on mental terror, as powerful as that which had
been derived from the fword. Such was the origin
of the fovereigns, the nobles, and the clergy of
Europe.
To trace the origin of power, or of property, with
a view to ſhake their prefent exiftence, would be ab-
furd in the extreme. What power, and what pro-
perty, could bear fuch a ſcrutiny? But this fyſtem of
which we fpeak was not merely in its origin unjust,
but in its nature injurious to the property it had
ufurped, and to any government which could poffibly
take place. The earth, the fource of our exiftence,
and labour, was poffeffed by bodies of men of fo pe-
culiar a ſtructure as to deſtroy, in a great degree, its
value to fociety. To them the property was limited.
No perfons, no connections, no circumftances, could,
while the fyftem exifted, circulate it again among the
people. It was a gulph continually fwallowing, but
never giving up. The individual poffeffors had only
a life intereft; the property defcended by the nature
of the tenure, in the one cafe to fucceffive bodies of
men, in the other to fingle individuals; while the
( II )
>
prefent poffeffors were difabled from tranfinitting the
inheritance as motives of confanguinity, or friend-
fhip, might prompt; placing the earth in the pof-
feffion of a fucceffion of individuals, all of them,
deprived of the moft powerful incentives for its im-
provement. It is unneceffary to detail at length this
fyftem. Its mischievous nature has been brought to
the teſt of experience. It has uniformly appeared
that in every country, in proportion as it operated,
the country fuffered. Wherever a fingle city, or a
deſpicable and worthless district, became emancipated
from the yoke, it flouriſhed. When Philip of Spain,
to terminate a rebellion, caft off the most inconfider-
able part of his dominions, it inftantly rofe to wealth
and ſplendour, though a fpot peculiarly deftitute of
natural value. And with refpect to England, though
by no means diftinguiſhable for its intrinfic value, or
natural advantages, yet, from a concurrence of cir-
cumſtances, this fyftem haviug been much more in-
novated on than in any other confiderable country in
Europe, it appears that her agriculture, her wealth,
and her profperity, have increafed in proportion;
and it is obfervable that to the fmall remnant of this
ſyſtem, yet exiſting among us, the principal impedi-
ments to our further improvement are to be attributed
and the principal defects in our laws and civil policy,
are to be traced. No lefs hoftile is this fyftem to
government then to property: The privileged
ders have uniformly exerted the power, derived from
the property they poffefs, to overawe and control the
exiſting government, whatever may be its form; to
obtain privileges, and exemptions incompatible with
every idea of good government; and to throw the
burden of the state upon thofe who are deftitute of
the means of fupporting it. And it has been only
in proportion to the fubverfion of this ſyſtem, that
the governments of any of the countries of
Europe have been able to exercife their proper
functions.
or-
As, then, we aretold that Jacobinifm is a prin-
çiple operating to the fubverfion of the general order
( 12 )
of Europe, of its property, its religion, its govern-
ments, and its laws, it neceffarily follows, that it is
the fyftem above defcribed which must be alluded
to; becauſe there is no other general order which
pervades the nations of Europe. Nothing but this
that can be denominated its fyftem. No other prin-
ciple which appertains indifcriminately to their laws,
their religion, their governments, and their property.
And if fo, it must be inferred that whatever princi-
ples prevail in Europe, fubverting this fyftem, muſt
be Jacobinifm. And if this fyftem be hoftile to fo-
cial order, to good government, to juft ideas of pro-
perty, then the prevalence of correct ideas on pro-
perty; on government, and on focial order, mult be
Jacobinifm; and in proportion as knowledge
is diffuſed, and ignorance is difpelled, Jacobinifm
muft prevail. It has no relation to forms of govern-
ment, any further than as forms are connected with
and derived from the ancient fyftem. Under various
forms the prefent fyftem of Europe fubfifts; and un-
der various forms of them may Jacobinifin prevail,
Jt does not neceifarily follow that it muft fubvert the
existing governments, any farther than as thofe go-
vernments partake of the general fyftem. In France,
and Germany, where revolving centuries had, but in
a ſmall degree, affected it, Jacobinifm might natural-
ly be expected to produce ftrong convulfions. Af-
fecting extenfive poffeffions, and numerous privileges
and rights, the conteft could not be trifling, or the
wounds flight; but in England, and the other nations
of Europe, where the reformation had, in a great
degree, fubverted a principal branch of the ancient
fyftem and, by its effects, materially fapped the whole
fabric, it does not neceffarily follow that Jacobiniſm
muft produce a fubverfion of exifting governments
or changes in the general fyftem of laws; no branch
of property need be materiall affected: no bodies or
deſcription of men need be expofed to any confider-
able change in their fituation in fociety, nor even an
individual fuffer any inconvenience beyond thoſe
to which the most common viciffitudes of human
( 13 )
affairs fubject them. Let us fuppofe the adoption
of all the projects of the DUKE of RICHMOND, the
madeſt and moſt violent Jacobine which this country
ever has produced; projects which in him originated,
which no mad projector, no fpeculative politician,
ever before him thought of; and, which, though he
may have been fucceeded by a train of diftant fol-
lowers and faint imitators, yet, perhaps, but for
him might have remained defpifed, or unknown:
projects which excited the difapprobation of every
rational and well informed mind, a difapprobation
approximating to difguft, when, they faw crude and
untried experiments fuggefted to agitate a licentious.
populace, in the moft critical moment, which a fuc-
ceffion of ages could poffibly have produced. That at
fuch a crifis they were rafh and dangerous few can
doubt, yet is there no foundation for fuppofing, that,
had they been peaceably and generally adopted any
inconvenience could have refulted: for inftance it is
faid he fuggefted in the House of Lords, the idea of
feizing the Church Lands; but is it to be imagined
that he, or any other man, would have had the af-
furance to propoſe a confiſcation of all the impropria-
tions, and advowfons, comprehending a confider-
able portion of the landed property of the kingdom,
which had been tranfinitted through a fucceffion of
purchaſers, for full and valuable confiderations.
has France done it, France could not do it, for no
fuch property had the to confifcate; but fuppofe he
had fuch a defign, fortunately the only regulation
which is propoſed reſpecting it, muſt have effectually
defeated it. This property is derived from the la-
bour and property of man, employed in the cultiva-
tion of the foil; it now poffeffes diftinctive marks;
if it be in danger from the hands of the plunderer,
that danger must be more imminent becaufe, in its
prefent ftate, it is by thoſe diftinctive marks obtruded
on his notice, and is there an individual to be found
who propoſes any other reform refpecting this pro-
perty, than commuting it for an equivalent fhare of
land; the very meaſure which muft effectually fecure
( 14 )
it, by combining it in one general intereft with the
landed property of the kingdom. As to the dignitaries
of our church, they cannot be affected by any reform
which relates to their fucceffors, and the church has
already been plundered to fuch an extent as to ren-
der the remainder of its property fecure to its preſent
poffeffors, from the infignificance of its value as a
life inheritance. As to the House of Lords, let us
ſuppoſe, the infignificance to which they are reduced,
and the contempt with which, for above a century,
they have been treated by the Houſe of Commons,
ſhould induce an idea that they are uſeleſs; what ma-
terial detriment can they, as individvuals, receive by
an abolition of their order, and the faint fhadow of its
ancient power. All the feignioral rights and territo-
rial privileges which diftinguished the ancient Barons
of England have been long fince abolished: eftates
are of the fame nature, and of equal value, whether
in poffeffion of a Lord or a Commoner; and it is
from their property, not their titles; their prefent
importance reſults: fo unimportant are titles in this
country that when unaccompanied by eftates they
have remained unclaimed as not worth acceptance.
It does not even follow that the progrefs of Ja-
cobinifm will produce greater changes in the nature
of the monarchical power than what has refulted from
paft events, or may refult from future ones: the
name and form of monarchy may fubfift, though Ja-
cobinifm prevail, and it is only the name and form
which can be permanent; its real nature must ne-
ceffarily be fubject to imperceptible changes, his pre-
fent Majefty bears no more refemblance to a Tudor, a
Plantagenet, or an Alfred, than a modern Doge of
Venice does to the ancient ones.
But though it does not follow, that, Jacobinifm
from its nature will materially affect any great exiſting
intereft amongst us, yet does it not follow but it may.
It is poffible, nay probable, that it may produce ca-
lamities fimilar to thofe which have befel France, and
inferior in degree only in proportion to the inferiority
of the feveral interefts concerned in the conteft. A
( 15 )
ftraw, or a feather, may be contended for with as much
violence, and as much obftinacy, as the most im-
portant right, and the moft effential intereft. The
Clergy may be tenacious of litigated tythes, and ec-
clefiaftical courts: the privilege of impriſoning a
Quaker during life for his Eafter Offering, may to
them appear an object beyond all price. So our
Peers may deluge the nation in blood, to preſerve
the important privilege of affembling in an old barn,
dreffed in red cloaks, to have culprits dragged before
them, and then be infulted with the threat, that if
they acquit the criminal they fhall be ftigmatized as
partners in his guilt.
If Jacobinifm be the progrefs of human know-
ledge fubverting ancient ſyſtems, founded on ignor-
ance and fuperftition, can it be deſtroyed by impriſon-
ing or hanging a few noify demagogues, or, even
by Mr. JENKINSON's conducting our army to Paris,
and guillotining Roberſpierre. No! The Engliſh, the
American, and the French Revolutions, are merely
the channels in which Jacobinifm has flowed: had
they never taken place, had thoſe countries never had
exiſtence, the mighty torrent would have rolled, its
courfe only would have been varied. Originating in
the art of Printing, having diffeminated knowledge,
the annihilation of the knowledge it has fpread, nay,
of the art itself is indifpenfibly neceffary to deftroy it.
It is not Mr. BURKE'S execration of reafon and philo-
fophy; it is not his admonishing us to cherish our
prejudices becauſe they are prejudices; nor is it the
applauſe he beſtows on the happy ignorance of the
middle ages, and his lamentation on modern innova-
tion, which will ſtop the progrefs of Jacobinifm. No!
you muſt look to a far more adequate means: have
you any hope that a new innundation of Goths and
Vandals will annihilate all traces of exifting know-
ledge from Europe and America? this and this only,
can give any well founded hope.
As the interefts and motives must be extremely
trivial and partial, which can excite an oppofition to
Tacobinifm, fo its friends can have as little pretence
( 16 )
for endangering the public peace, to promote and
fecure it. The progrefs of Jacobinifm is amply fe-
cure, without the aid of the Duke of Richmond or
Thomas Paine inciting the body of the people to af
fume the government: the progrefs of knowledge
has given them importance in the ftate, and in pro-
portion to its future progrefs will their importance
increaſe: fitted to affume an important rank in fo-
ciety, they will need no incitement, they will affume
and it of courſe, with fafety to the public.
With no important intereft of the community in
difpute, yet, is it not improbable, that the public may
be convulfed with fierce, if not bloody contefts: a li-
centious mob may rife; "No Jacobin," may be-
come the fucceffor to "No Papifts"; murder and
conflagration may fpread around. Of a conduct
founded in ignorance no eſtimate can be formed, and
thoſe who let loofe the mifchief may be themſelves
the victims; the fafety of a King or Bishops may
prove but infecure, if dependent on the piety, or
loyalty, even, of a Church and King mob, fhould
they believe the dearnefs of porter refulted from mo-
narchy, or that the deftruction of efpifcopacy would
raiſe the price of wages.
If moderation and reafon be not terms bordering
on fedition, it may become us to liften to their dic-
tates: thofe who poffefs earthly power may recoilect
that they are not omnipotent; that they cannot in-
terrupt the courfe of nature, they tell us a mighty
torrent has burst forth; it refts with them either to
guide it through the land, that it may fertilife, and
enrich; or by vainly attempting forcibly to confine
it in the bowels of the earth, convulfe the land, and
fpread horror around them.
If the DUKE of RICHMOND has endangered the
public peace, by inciting the mafs of the people to
claim a fhare in the Government, before the progreſs
of civilization and knowledge has qualified them for
the important fituation; let it be recollected, that,
the danger reſults from our laws and police being
adapted to render them profligate and corrupt; and
to reviſe and reform them, is the appropriate remedy
to the threatened danger.➖➖➖➖FINIS.
ON THE
9
RENEWAL
OF THE
EAST INDIA CHARTER.
BY
WILLIAM FOX.
LONDON:
SOLD BY M. GURNEY, No. 128, HOLBORN HILL.
1794.
(PRICE THREE-PENCE, OR FIVE FOR A
SHILLING.)
}
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V
1
WERE
7ERE the real dignity and value of the human character to
be estimated merely by the importance of the fituation which
is affumed; and were we to take it for granted that thoſe who ex-
ercife authority always poffefs talents adequate to the difficulty, and
integrity proportioned to the importance, of their ftations; it might
then naturally be inferred that thofe who now exercife the Briufh
government are the wifeft and the moſt virtuous of the human race:
or as the authority they have affumed feems to be of fuch a nature,
as is hardly fit to be intrufted to frail mortals; it might be ima-
gined, that fome beings of more than human origin had condefcend-
ed to vifit this happy ifland, and affume the feat of legislation, and
the reins of government.
To exercite dominion even over this iſland, amidſt the difcord-
ant interefts of the various parts of the community, might call for
no common fhare of human wifdom: nor would a lefs portion of
integrity and virtuous fortitude be requifite to guide, with impar-
tiality, the public councils, to guard the general interefts of the
Itate, from being facrificed to interested combinations, and the
rights of the weaker and more defenceleſs parts of the community
from the oppreffion of the powerful.
But we will admit that mere mortals may be adequate to the taſk
of governing ten millions of people, amongft whom they live, and
with whofe manners they are intimately acquainted, and, diverfi-
fied as the various interefts amongſt us are, yet poffibly they may be
fo balanced and combined, that the government may be conducted
with tolerable impartiality, even though thoſe who govern us fhould
not poffefs perfect angelic purity.
But, to engage in a more enlarged fphere than this, the human
powers feem not to be adapted; for, whatever dignified titles kings,
minifters, or parliaments may affume, I do not remember that it has
ever been fully proved that they are either omnipotent, or omnifci-
ent; and, if fo, it fhould feem to follow that, being limited in
their faculties and powers, they exceed the bounds of legitimate
authority when they exercife that fpecies, or extent of dominion,
to which human nature feems to be inadequate. When the exerciſe
of power is extended beyond thefe limits, it may be denominated
outrage, plunder, and oppreffion; but it cannot be deemed govern-
ment.
Theſe fentiments, obvious as they appear, do not feem to prevail
very forcibly in the British cabinet. The government of this na-
tion, arduous as might be the task properly to conduct it, they
deem to be far from equal to the extent of their genius; and it al-
moft finks into infignificance amidst their vaft and diverfified plans.
They can fit in the council-chamber at St. James's, or in St. Se-
phen's Chapel, and give laws to the moft diftant regions, while the
governors and governed are mutually ignorant of each others exiſt-
ence, and thoufands and millions perih beneath this yoke, in coun-
tries our beſt maps defcribe to us as unknown.
With great facility they can govern both this, and her fifter king-
dom; take due care of a German electorate, and give laws and go-
vernment to the undefined regions of Canada. They can difpofe
of thirty millions of French, determine what government they ihall
adopt, what principles they fhall profefs, and what religion they
fhall believe. They know perfectly well how the inhabitants of the
immenfe continent of Africa ought to be difpofed of, and can
correct the error of the great author of nature, by tranfplanting
them to thofe happy regions where they experience the inexpreffible
happiness of becoming his majefty's fubjects, or rather the fubjects
of thofe perfons to whom his majefty has, by his royal charters, been
gracioufly pleafed to teansfer that dominion and authority, which
he most rightfully poffeffes, over the black inhabitants of Africa,
and their poflerity for ever and ever.
With no lefs princely munificence, by another royal charter,
more than half the remainder of the world and its inhabitants are
conveyed to certain men, women, and children, of various nations,
called the honourable the Eaft India Company: but, as theſe honour-
able ladies and gentlemen have been informed that there exifts in
this nation an honourable Houſe of Commons, who have ſometimes
taken very great liberties, not only with royal grants, but with the
royal grantors' themfelves, they have thought it moft prudent to
have two ftrings to their bow, and have perfuaded the Right
Honourable Henry Dundas to inform the bonourable House of Com-
mons, that if they would confirm this royal munificent grant for
twenty years, they would pay to the diſpoſal of that honourable Houſe
ten millions, not of their own money, but part and parcel of that
money which the faid honourable gentlemen and ladies mean forcibly
to take from the inhabitants of Afia.
This very honourable tranfaction, between thefe very honourable
parties, may appear a little odd to thofe who are not acquainted with
the perfection and excellence of the British government; they may
think it a little extraordinary that a British houfe of commons fhould
hold the purſe not only of this nation, but the purfes of the innu-
merable nations of Afia; and, poffibly, this fyftem of munificence
may remind them of the generofity of Hudibras's faints
who could be,
Of gifts that coft them nothing, free.
Perhaps, it may be faid, that royal gifts are uſually diftinguiſhed
by their magnitude and munificence, and that their fplendor pre-
vents an enquiry into their juftice: but the munificence of George
the Third far furpaffes that of any of his compeers. It was never
equalled by a king, nor fcarcely exceeded by a pope. Alexander
could beftow the kingdoms he had conquered amongst the generals
who affifted him in the conqueft; but, by this charter, there is be-
ftowed to a parcel of men, women, and children, for the trifling
ground rent of 500,000 per. annum, countries almoft equalling both
in riches and extent, the conquefts of Alexander himself; in con-
fequence of which, monarchs have been hurled from their thrones,
whole magnificence and fplendor fo far furpafles that of European
monarchs that, in compariſon therewith, they can be deemed but
of the fwinifh multitude.
After the extent of abfurdity which we have witneffed, who fhall
pretend to define its limits? fhould the Aeroftatic art be improved,
may we not have the happineſs to fee his majefty's minifters range
the planatary fyftem, difpofe of the moon by a royal charter, catch
Mercury in the budget, and fhare out the Georgium Sidus in Change
Alley.
Moſt of thoſe enormities which have difgraced the hiftory of na-
tions have been obfcure in their origin, and have rifen through an
almoft imperceptible gradation. Our horror is, in fome degree, di-
minished by the veil of antiquity; and mankind are apt to imagine,
that they are guilty only of a venial crime, when they continue to
practice the mortal fins of their ancestors: but our domination over
Afia cannot be viewed through any fuch palliating medium; though
its features may have all the deformity of age, yet, like moft of the
fungus tribe, its growth has been as rapid, as its appearance is loath-
fome, and its effects noxious. When the duke of Hanover entered
into the important compact with the glorious and immortal William,
when he agreed to defert the caufe of Lewis XIV th. in confideration
of the electoral dignity, and the fucceffion to the English crown,
little did he think that the domains of the great Mogul was the fplen-
did appanage. Even George IId. would have ſtared to have been told
that his next fucceffor would grant the dominions of the great Mo-
gul to a parcel of men, women, and children, natives and foreign-
ers; and, notwithstanding the docility into which the honourable
houſe of commons had been trained, under the foftering care of the
illuftrious houfe of Hanover, he would hardly have believed that,
when Mr. Burke acknowledged that under this grant more than 20
millions had been deftroyed; a bill, confirming fuch a charter,
would paſs with lefs ceremony than a canal or a divorce bill. It
may be deemed extraordinary that, amongst all the loud clamourers
who contended that the British parliament had no right to take the
money of the Americans without their own confent, not one foli-
tary individual fhould be found to afk by what authority Britiſh
mifcreants ſpread defolation and horror through a country, which,
until it had the misfortune to be vifited by the English, was filed,
with peculiar propriety, the paradife of nations! and on what prin-
ciple we fanction thefe mifcreants, returning with the rich harveſt
of their plunder, and receive them with open arms, on condition of
their paying a tythe of it into the national treafury! as to Mr.
Burke, vociferous as he was in favour of American rights, he cer-
tainly may be excufed, he cannot be expected to defend and avow
principles of justice and humanity, as he honeftly owns that he ha-
ted all principles when he was young, and abhors them now his head
grows grey; but it was rather too much to expect that this adroit
mafter in ethics thould fo efficacioufly and extenfively inculcate his
precious doctrines; it indicates that he has manifeſted great ſkill in
felecting the foil in which to depofit the feed he has imported from
the rich hot bed of St. Omer's; in fuch a foil it feems to find a quick
growth, and promiſes a rich harveft. All that efcaped from our moft
precious patriots was, a faint doubt, an hefitating murmur, left the
rich plunder of the happieft regions of the earth fhould endanger the
fabric of the Britith conftitution, by increafing the influence of the
crown. Oh! Marat, Oh! Robertpierre ye now rife before me,
almoft the exemplars of perfect innocence. Wafh not your hands
from blood; fheath not your poniards; plunge, plunge them deep
in the hearts of your enemies; day by day add malfacre to maftacre;
ftill fhall I confider you as overflowing with the milk of human
kindneſs, when I compare your deeds with the horrors which have
overfpread the plains of Indoftan: your apologifts may find fome-
thing to ſay in your defence; they, at leaft, will not be neceffitated
to preferve a dead filence, nor to urge the horrors you have already
perpetrated as the fole reafon for their repetition. It cannot be faid,
that you have traverſed oceans in fearch of reſiſtleſs victims of
flaughter. You may affirm that, robbery and murder is not your
fale object, but merely a means to an end which you deem valuable;
that in your fhop of horrors you balance good and evil, and not
compound folely deadly poifons, and fpread nothing through the
world but firebrands and death.
This claim to the British territories in India, and to thofe valuable
poffeffions, which has now found a place in his majefty's fpeech,
furely needed, on that account, fome little preface, fome trifling ex-
planation on what this claim is founded. It would have been be-
flowing a favour on future hiftorians, as I know not where they will
find the records to prove the foundation of our claim; and it is ra-
ther unkind in us to leave future Vatels and Puffendorfs deftitute
of all information on this fubject, as they may be anxious to refer
to the proceedings of the British government, in affuming the em-
pire of Afia, as a memorable event illuftrative of the law of nations.
But, as fecret articles and private compacts frequently come to light
in diftant periods, fo, it is poffible, future hiftorians may poffefs pre-
cious documents to which we are ftrangers, and the obfcurities of
the prefent period may be elucidated to them by the events. While
we are fuppofing the prefent magnificent arrangement to be confined
to Europe, we are neceffarily involved in aftoniſhment. For though
the difguft with which the firft gleams of liberty in France was view-
ed in this country be now avowed, yet is no motive vifible to us
which could have occafioned it. No man could have furmifed a mo-
tive which could poffibly have induced a mere king of Great Britaini
to wiſh the fubverfion of the limited monarchy of France; there does
not appear a motive adequate to induce even the emprefs of Ruffia to
exterminate the principles of liberty out of France, unleſs ſhe has
fome hope of eradicating them from Britain alfo. But future hifto-
rians may poffibly know how far Afia may be comprehended in the
views of this royal confederacy.
The mention his majefty makes, in this fpeech, of meaſures having
been taken to fecure the benefits we derive from thefe valuable pof-
feffions, ought to excite our warmeft gratitude for his princely care.
To fecure fo extraordinary a dominion,over fuch diftant and extenfive
countries, might, indeed, call for the utmoft exertions of his ma-
jeſty's wiſdom, as the hiftory of the world proves, what his majeſty
has experienced, that diftant dominion ftands on a very flippery
foundation. Indeed, till I read his majeſty's moft excellent fpeech, I
never imagined that the exerciſe of any permanent and efficacious
authority over the antipodes was pretended to be in view; I confi-
dered our Afiatic adventures merely as marauding expeditions, to
gain a temporary poffeffion of diftant defenceless countries, which,
after ftripping and plundering, were to be abandoned in purfuit of
new fources of plundering. I had been taught by Mr. Burke to
onfider even "3000 miles of ocean as a powerful principle, in the
atural conſtitution of things, for weakening government, and of
which no contrivance could weaken the effect, that a power ſteps
n which limits the arrogance of the raging paffions, and fays, hi-
herto halt thou go and no farther. Who are you that you should fret
and rage, and bite the chains of nature? Nothing worfe happens to
you, than does to all nations which have extenfive em ires: and it
happens in all the forms into which empire can be thrown. In large
bodies, the circulation of power must be lefs vigorous at th ex-
tremities. Nature has faid it. The Turk has not the fame d minion
in Algiers, as in Turkey. Defpotifm itſelf is obliged to truck and
huckiter. Spain, in her American Provinces, fubmits to this
immutable condition, the eternal law of extenfive and detached
empire."
If weakness, diforder, difunion, and diffolution, be the general
laws of extenfive and detached empire, laws which refult from the
natural conſtitution of things, laws legible in every page of hift ry,
ſtill more do thefe confequences refult from the peculiar nature of
our Afiatic territories.
All thofe powerful and extenfive dominations, which in various.
ages have aftonifhed the world, have arifen from fome greas and ade-
quate caufe, fome one fingle great and fplendid power. In the Ro-
man legions, Alexander's armies, and the irrefift ble band of Sala-
din, we fee caufes adequate to the important effects produced; we
fee a great concentered power fpreading its domination, over con-
tries which prefented no barrier to the torrent They manifeft a
ftrength well proportioned to their extent, and it is merely from the
natural operation of time, in undermining that ftrength, the dan-
ger refults; but in our Afiatic adventures, the caufes which have
produced fuch extenfive and baneful effects, appear to have been f
as accidental and tranfitory a nature, as that which may occafionts
overthrow; it is an empire not merely terminating, but comm ncing
in weaknets and difunion. No Alexander, Cefar, or Saladin, ap-
to our view. Mr. Dundas cannot unveil to us the conquerors
pears
of Hindoftan: he is forced to amufe us with the unintelligible jar-
gon of "The King, being the Sovereign; the Parliament the
great fuperintending authority; and the company, the inftrument
through which that authority is to be adminiftered." The fource
and nature of that power, which has produced thefe baneful effects,
is thus unknown. It is involved in darknefs. It works in obfcu-
rity. Such power, however well calculated for fpreading defolation
and ruin, is certainly very ill fitted for rearing a mighty empire.
Rats and moles can undermine and deftroy, but I never heard that
they could rear or build.
The arrangement Mr. Dundas has made of this mighty power
feems to be lefs clear, than that to which fome think it bears the
nearest refemblance; the Grand Seignor, the Janiffaries, and
the Pacha. In this latter arrangement, the Sovereign, the gre t
fuperintending authority, and the inftrument of that authority, are
very obvious; but in Mr. Dundas's the mighty inftruments, who have
governed, and are to govern, India, are perfectly unnoticed, though
they ought to have conftituted the fourth, or rather the firft, order
in his claffification. In a former fpeech, his majefty lamented,
how inadequate this Inftrument, the Company, was to the talk
of governing the real Inftruments of authority in India; but, now
it ſeems, thoſe inftruments in India are perfectly unnoticed, and
men, women, and children, under the denomination of an honour-
able East India Company, are themſelves become the Inftruments.
That fuch an heterogenous mafs may poffefs fovereign dignity, I
mean not to difpute, becauſe, it is not eaſy to difcover human beings
more unfitting to exercife authority, than thofe in whom fovereignty
is frequently placed, but then the real authority is ufually exercifed
by inftruments, and it was a difcovery worthy of Mr. Dundas,
that theſe men, women, and children, could poffibly become the
inftruments of government themfelves.
Should this fpeech of Mr. Dundas's as an ancient manufcript,
fall into the hands of fome Dr. Bentley he may venture a conjectural
emendation: he may obferve that as tool and inftrument frequently
have the fame import, fome blundering tranfcriber had fubítituted
one term for the other, and their having in this paffage a very
different meaning, was a circumftance to which the tranfcriber had
not adverted. He might obferve that there was evidently an omif
fion alfo in the manufcript, and that the inftruments of this govern-
ment had been omitted by latter tranfcribers, in confequence of
the former error of the company being termed fuch: confequently
that the true reading was, The King, the Sovereign; the Parlia-
ment, the fuperintending authority; the Company, the tool for
conveniently conducting this government, and that the real infiru-
ments who conducted this government, were, owing to the carelefs
of the tranfcribers, unfortunately omitted in the manufcript. He
might ſupport this criticiſm by obferving, that though the fovereign
or fuperintending authority, might not, yet, it was impoffible, but
that the inftruments of government must be in the country governed:
And, as the learned fometimes write in the vulgar tongue, he might
exclaim, that he was aftonifhed that any perfon who pretended to
learning, could prove himſelf fuch a ftupid dolt as to fuppofe, that,
the inhabitants of a northern iſland not the moft confiderable in the
world, an island which had but recently emmerged from a ftate of
barbariſm, ſhould dream of governing the moft extenſive and fer-
tile countries in an oppofite region of the earth. That to govern
a people fo oppofite to themſelves, in manners, and fituation, was
as talk which even the most enlightened people would never have
thought of; and that theſe European Iflanders ever governed Afia
was too extravagant to be imagined; that the manufcript in quef-
tion could not poffibly refer to any other than piratical adventures,
to which landers were ever peculiarly prone as they naturally
apply to maritime affairs. Secure froin the aggreffions of their
neighbours, they have nothing to reftrain them from violating the
peace and happineſs of others, but a fenfe of moral principle, or
national honour, which rarely exifted in that early ftage of civiliza-
tion to which theſe iſlanders had arrived. That the firft and barba-
rous stages of fociety were affociations, rather for the purpoſes of
aggreffion than defence; the fpirit of rapine long continuing, even
after fome degree of civilization appeared in the world, and that
this fpirit of rapine was, in that ftage of fociety, rendered most
dangerous, by the ftrength it derived from the improvements and
difcoveries the people poffeffed beyond their more ignorant pre-
deceffors. They had not then learned that important truth, which
peculiarly diftinguishes the civilized from barbarous ages, that the
value of the earth depends on its quiet enjoyment, and is deftroyed
by violence and outrage. Secure, by their fituation, from all fear
of retaliation, they occupied themfelves in ranging the world to
infult, and to plunder; and, having not attained any refpe for
government, as a mere civil inftitution, their Kings were tempted to
encourage this fyftem of rapine, confidering very properly that it
was the fupport of their power, as it had been its origin.
+
Such, he might fay, was the ftate of theſe barbarous Iflanders,
in the eighteenth century; and, as the magnet had been then re
cently difcovered, they might engage in extenfive and piratical
expeditions to Afia and Africa; which, being of more confiderable
importance than thofe of preceding pirates, they might dignify
them with the terms conqueft, government, territories, and poffeffions.
They might make partial fettlements on coafts, or temporary ex-
curfions into countries; they might, under fraudulent pretences,
obtain admiffion into nations, and then, by intriguing with
profligate natives, difturb peaceable governments; and might avail
themfelves of the diſturbance they had excited to plunder and mur-
der the inhabitants. He might obferve that, as Afia had for many
ages been in a state of civilization, it was peculiarly liable to
the outrage of theſe northern Iſlanders; as a long and fettled ftate
of high civilization, by introducing peace, order, tranquillity, and
the milder difpofitions of the mind, equally qualified men to par-
take of the moft perfect enjoyments of civil life, and unfitted them
to defend that enjoyment from the outrages of more barbarous and
favage nations. But ftill, he might fay, that it was impoffible that
the extenfive civilized countries of Afia could ever have been go-
verned by any perfons refident in a northern Iſland; their enter-
prifes muft either have been of a predatory nature, or, if any of
them by intrigue, or artifice, had obtained any kind of eſtabliſh-
ment, they must have been abforbed amongſt the natives, or be-
come members of an Afiatic government.
Such may be the erroneous reafoning into which future ages
may be miſled, unleſs we tranfmit them fome little intimation of
the nature and origin of our claim to the government of Afia, and
the means by which it is to be conducted. In thefe refpects the
fpeeches of Mr. Dundas and the King, or the King and Mr. Dundas,
for I know not the proper order of precedency, appear to me to
afford no light. The diftinction of the fovereign, controling, and
inftrumental authorities, to me, conveys no idea; and as little could
I underſtand Mr. Fox's meaning of governing India by a ftrong go-
vernment at home. I can eafily underſtand making government
ftrong at home, by governing India; which certainly is a fubject
worthy the violent conteft it has occafioned: but ftill the affairs of
India must be conducted by perfons in India, and all the difpute
inuít terminate in whom the appointment of theſe India fovereigns
fhall be veſted, whether in the Minifters, the Parliament, or the
Company; or, whether it ſhall be ſhared amongſt them all. But it
government be, as Mr. Burke defines it, a contrivance of human
wiſdom, to fupply human wants, let it be afked, whofe wants
are to be ſupplied by this contrivance of human wifdom? The
wants of Afia will be very oddly fupplied, by forcing them to fend
three millions per annum to England; and this treatment of India
muft certainly claim a very different epithet to that of government.
In an age, when the fall glimmering of reafon, which the art of
printing had opened to u, is fo univerfally reprobated; and Mr.
Burke is fo kindly leading us back to the ignorance of the 14th Cen-
tury, I hope it will not be imagined that I object to any measures
merely on the ground of their being hoftile to justice, humanity, rea-
fon, liberty, the rights of man, or any other french principles. Ionly
mean to afk why muft our language be diftorted, and involved in
all the confufion of Babel? If it be deemed expedient to murder half
the inhabitants of India, and rob the remainder, furely it is not re-
quifite to call it governing them. If we choofe to feize, and carry off
the inhabitants of Africa, what is the ufe of terming it a trade? And
if we convert our Weft India Iſlands into jails to confine them, why,
in the name of common fenfe, muft they be called colonies? But
the confufion of language refpecting India is ftill more curious; for,
as nobody knows what is the government, or to whom it appertains,
fo it is not attempted to define what is its relation to this country.
Mr. Dundas contents himſelf with faying that they are not colonies.
His Majefty in his fpeech calls them territories and pofeffions; to whom
do they belong? not to the people of England; for, ftrange to tell,
they are the only people on the face of the earth who are forbid to
baunt, or vifit them. The Americans, when they compofed a part
of the British empire, were forbid to haunt, or visit them: but the
moment they became independent they might refort to them with-
out controul. An Englishman is forbid even to paſs the Cape of Good-
Hope. Is the King the Sovereign? fo he is of Hanover: but it
has not therefore any relation to this country. Are they the poffef-
fions of the India Company? who are the India Company? a non de-
fcript affemblage! many of whom are foreigners; all may be;
it is not requifite there fhould be a fcore of Englishmen amongſt
them. The prefent proprietors may fell their fhares to the national
convention of France, and Marat, Rober/pierre, T. Paine and Co.
may become the Eaft India Company. But whether we trade with,
ΟΙ
•
whether we plunder the Indies, the ufe of continuing
fuch a company no one can imagine. But in this age of wonders,
this is the very circumftance which Mr. Dundas preffès on the houfe
to recommend it to their notice. He fays, "The propofitions he had
to recommend were inconfiftent with the opinions generally received. No po-
litical writer, as far as he knew, had recommended a mercantile company as
the organ of government for a great country, and that, for reaping the full
advantage of commercial intercourfe, all the most esteemed writers had faid a
free trade was beft." Lord Grenville follows the fame line, ftill more
clearly, in the House of Lords; and his fhort (peech illuftrates moit
forcibly the tafte, and manners, of the prefent æra. He tells them,
"He fhould not enter into any detail on the ſubject of our India poffeffions,
A
or any speculative difcuffion of the mode in which India ought to be governed.
The ground he had to go on was a juft and well founded experience, a guide
which was at all times, perhaps, the best, but peculiarly fo under fuch cir-
cumftances as exifted at prefent." Well then, it might be fuppofed he
would have fhewn, from this experience, the confequences which
have refulted from our government of India; by no means! his
lordship very pithily tells them "The prefent fyftem has continued nine
Years: therefore he could fee no just reason why it should be altered. The
prefent Bill, of courfe, affumed for its principle the continuance of the pre-
Jent fyftem." Here, then, its paffing fub filentio is accounted for: it
is, it feems, a bill of courfe; it has exifted nine years, ergo it is to exiſt
twenty longer. The word experience is, it feems, condemned tö
change with the times, and, inftead of meaning the deduction of
wildom, from a careful and deliberate inveftigation, of the great
chain of past events, it now means only a continuance of a nine
years fyftem, without any inveftigation, or any difcuffion whatever.
Nay, when the univerfal and unqualified condemnation of Dr.
Smith, Dean Tucker, and every other author whofe opinion is worth
attending to, and who had profelfedly drawn their opinions from
the deduction of experience, thall be urged even as a recommenda-
tion of the meaſure, under the idea that philofophers and reafoners are
to be contemned.
All that is now deemed requifite in inveſtigating a fubject, is to
fhew that it is not contaminated with French principles; and on
this ftrong ground the India Bill is brought forward, and indeed
I do not hear that it has been accuſed of being the leaft tin&tured
with reafon, juftice, humanity, confraternity, liberty, equality, or rights
of man. But ftill, may it not be afked, If every thing that has
exited is therefore to be continued, and its effects, and confe-
quences, are not to be inveftigated under pain of being charged
with introducing innovations; have not Marat and Roberfpierre, as
much right to avail themfelvesof the doctrine, as Mr. Dundas and
Lord Grenville? May it not be urged in the national affembly as well
as in St. Stephen's chapel? If the proceedings of the one are to be open
to the exaggerations of falfehood, fhall the other claim an exemp-
tion even from the investigation of truth? If the murders, the
defolation, or the confufion, which the meaſures of the one may
have introduced, are to be centured, fhall the others boaft of them
as a merit, and urge them as a plea for their continuance? on the
contrary, if the proceedings of the one affembly, or the other, are
to be judged of, it must be through the medium of our reafon; and
to this judicature they muft both be fubject, or both have equally
a right to demur. In one refpect both Lord Grenville and Mr.
Dundas have certainly very carefully avoided French principles:
for, while they talk of governing India, the effects of it on the
people governed, or the benefits they are to derive from it, are in-
tirely and properly unnoticed. That would, indeed, be wandering
into the regions of vain theory. That is a fubject on which an
appeal to reafon, or to experience, would be equally futile. All that
is attempted is "To remind Gentlemen of the advantages in poffeffion,
and which it must naturally be their first object to fecure.
About eleven years fince there was an extraordinary paffage in
his majeity's fpeech,- The diligence and ardour with which you have
entered upon the confideration of the British interefts in the Eaft Indies, are
worthy of your wisdom, juftice, and humanity. To protect the perfons,
and fortunes, of millions in thefe diftant regions, and to combine our prof
perity with their happineſs, are objects which will amply repay the utmost
"labour and exertion"---To engage with diligence and ardour in pro-
tecting perfons and property, in the diftant regions of the earth, is
a work which the term Justice almoft degrades. I do not think
that the mere call of Justice can compel us to abandon our Iſland
and repair to Afia, Africa, or the West Indies, for fuch generous pur-
pofes. It ought to be claffed among the heroic virtues. It is an
offer of confraternity of the most ftupendous nature; and, when we
engage in it, will amply repay our utmoft labour and exertion, as
"the combining our profperity with their happiness," is a tak which,
when we effect it, will illuftrate our wisdom.
But there feems to be a great diffonance in the fpeeches of 1782 and
1793, though probably it may be not worth noticing; for, however
unityof place may be moft rigorously adhered to in this fpecies of
compofition, yet unity of defign may not be deemed fo effential. A
great change in our phrafeology has fince 1782 taken place. Mr.
Dundas's plan is far more intelligible; it feems to confiit merely in
fending fome perfons to India, to bring away three millions per
annum, or as much more as they can poffibly procure; and´in
dividing this (fhall I call it plunder) among the various expectants?
feems to confift the whole difficulty of the plan. But he does not
pretend to talk about Juftice, Wisdom, Humanity, Protection, Prof-
perity, and Happiness; they now fmell too ftrongly of French prin-
ciples to be admitted as the ornaments of a ſpeech; they are not
deemed requifite even as the paper and packthread, to tie up the
parliamentary manufacture.
When Mr. Dundas tritely ftates that the country governed had
advanced in profperity, he must be fuppofed to mean that the coun-
try had been profperous for thofe who governed it, for furely he can-
not mean to infinuate that any part of India has advanced in prof-
perity fince it has been fcized by us, becauſe there exifts too evi-
dent proof to the contrary. If it be true, let the important fact be
clearly and explicitly ftated; that, indeed, would be an appeal to
experience, and bringing the difpute to a fair iffue. Strong and clear
is the evidence of the happineſs of Afia at various periods, and under
various governments. It was not materially affected though con-
quered by the Mahometans. The hartheft defpotifm they have ever
experienced is mild and benificent, compared with what they have
undergone fince under the domination of Engliſhmen. Mr. Dundas
fays Lord Clive, the great founder of our territorial power, was greater
in the arrangements he made for peace than even in the victory_of
Plaify." Arrangements great indeed! The moment we poffeffed
the fovereignty the whole property of the land was feized on, every
proprietor difpoffefled, and the whole nation put up to auction to
the best bidder by the English. Not content with the whole pof-
feffion of the country, it was contrived, at one ſtroke, to drain it of
all its fpecie, by monopolizing its principle articles of confumption.
Thefe were dealt out to the people till all their effects were
extorted; when theſe failed, the land became fpread with the dying
46
喜
​bodies of the inhabitants, and twice the number of inhabitants of
Great Britain fell by peftilence and famine, a facrifice to thefe
great arrangements, which were made by five members of the Britiſh
legiflature. But the calamities of India terminated not with extort-
ing the whole property of the inhabitants, for the taxes were in-
creaſed and exacted when the means of paying them had ceaſed.
The manufacturers even cut off their thumbs, that they might not
be compelled to work without hire, to fupply the company's inveſt-
ments.
But probably Mr. Dundas, by advanced profperity, means only
diminiſhed horror, and that the plains of Bengal have never fince
produced fuch a rich harveft of death.-Granted.-To deftroy twen-
ty million per annum of the inhabitants of a country containing
fifty, was a ratio of defolation that muit neceffarily decreaſe. The
continuance of a violent difeafe deftroys the violence of its fymp-
toms. The vital ftream which, flows rapidly when first opened,
muſt naturally decreaſe, till it only falls in drops from the expiring
victim. I will grant that it is poffible that meaſures lefs violent may
have been fince adopted, becauſe their continuance would have de-
feated their object. The richest country in the world, without in-
habitants, without circulation, and without fome degree of fecurity,
would become as worthlefs to the poffeffors as the Lybian fands.
But indeed, Mr. Dundas, to do him juftice, confiders the happineſs
or mifery of Afia, as fo perfectly beneath confideration in this affair,
that he owns he should perfift in his prefent plan, "Even though the
adminiflration of the company were fill attended with all the abufes that had
been formerly charged upon it, and that he should have prefered enduring
thefe abuses, if they admitted no other remedy." Indeed, the merit of this
heroic fortitude with which Mr. Dundas could endure the calamities
of India, when placed in oppofition to any advantages refulting to
this country, may poffibly admit of fome abatement when we recol-
lect, that it does not appear to require any prodigious portion of fici-
cifm, for a man in St. Stephen's chapel to endure the calamities of
fifty millions of people in a diftant regions of the earth, eſpecially if
he fhould happen to derive revenue and patronage from their mifer-
ies. Indeed, this great philopher can endure with equal fortitude all
the calamities which we ſpread over Africa and the West Indies, as
well as thofe of France.
But I muſt now beg pardon of my readers for attempting to ridi-
cule or reprobate our pretences to govern India, as it is done by Mr.
Dundas himſelf, with a point and force which I will not pretend to
equal. When he talked of " the advantages we derived from the pre-
fent fyftem," when he " reminded the house of the advantages actually in
poffeffion," his addrefs was ferious and folemn, becoming the im-
portance of the fubject. He confidered it as intereſting their feelings,
and concluded very properly, and very emphatically, "That thoje
advantages it would naturally be their FIRST object to fecure." Having
drawn their attention to this important point, he, with great earneft-
nefs, labours there to confine it, anxiously cautions them againſt be-
ing drawn afide to any other enquiry, than the important one, the
advantages we derived from the prefent fyftem; all beyond he treated
as vain fpeculation; and the ridiculous idea of our governing India,
rufhes fo forcibly on his mind, that the grave, elaborate, fententi-
ous ftatefman, becomes inftantly metamorphofed into a perfect Ra-
belais, and he entertains the houfe with the following amufing and
inftructive fact, "foon after the acquifition of the dewanee (that is our
affuming the government of India) a new jet of gentlemen were fent out
to fuperintend the government, and the court of judicature was efablished.
By theſe gentlemen, as well as by the old fervants of the company in India,
many a le reports were fent home; and the noble lord, then at the head of
adminiftration, fubmitted them to the confideration of ingenious men, in or-
der to form a digeft for the government of Bergal, the administration of
jufiice, the mode of letting land, &c. On no one of the points fubmitted to
themerald any two of theſe able men agree."
1
Had not common fenfe, common justice, and common humanity, been
ftigmatized as French principles, fuely the deduction from this fact
was pain and obvious. I mean not to diſpute that prodigious anx-
iety his in jefty feels "to protect the perfons and fortunes of millions in
difiant (as well as neighbouring) regions;" but when his majefty's
wifdcin, and the wifdom of his minifters, affifted by the wifdom of
all the experienced fervants of the company, and of that noble lord
who, Mr. Dunda, tells us, was greater for the arrangements he made
for the government of the country, than even in founding our ter-
ritorial power; nay, when all this wifdom, with the experience and
w.fdom of the fet of gentlemen who were fent out by the wildom of
government, for the exprefs purpoſe of inveſtigating and fuperintend-
ing, on the spot, the government and jurifprudence of the country;
and when this bundle of wildom was combined with the wisdom of
all the ingenious men at home, to whom the importation of wildom
from the eaft was fubmitted; I do think, that when this climax of
wiſdom appeared to be fo inadequate to the tafk, as that no two of
them could agree on the fubject, his majefty might, confiftently
with the fublimeft ideas of juftice and humanity, have declined the
talk of "protecting the perfons of millions in diftant regions." I would
fubmit it to the bench of bishops, whether it could have been deem-
ed criminal in his majefty, under fuch circumftances, to have left
the inhabitants of diftant regions to their fate; nay, I would fubmit
it as a cafe of confcience, to our new friend the pope, w ether it
would have been any more than a vencal fin, to have left Hyder Al-
ly and Tippoo Saib the undisturbed poffeffion of the Myfore; at leaft
till there exifted mo é clear and decifive evidence, than I have ever
yet met with, of the advantage the perfons and property of the in-
habitants of diftant regions, derive from being taken under the pro-
tection of his majefty's Chriftian ſcepter.
Poffibly I may entertain erroneous ideas on this fubject, owing to
unfortunately having never met with any document, ancient, or
modern, that proves the neceflity of his majefty's taking the perfons
and property of millions in diftant regions under his pro.cction, or
the benefits they have derived from it: though my information has
been derived from Europeans, and not immediately from the natives
themſelves. Even in the reports of the committee of the Houſe of
Commons, I find painted, in the ftrongest colours, the iniquity of e-
very meaſure refpecting our pretended government of India.
great arrangements of lord Clive, the great founder of our territorial pow-
"The
er," I find defcribed in theſe reports, as being of the blackeſt dye. I
find charges of rapacity, treachery, and cruelty. Such was the o-
rigin of our power in Bengal. In another report, conducted under
the aufpices of Mr. Dundas, the origin of our quarrel with Hyder
Ally, which has now terminated, in ftripping his fon of a great part
of his dominions, is very clearly traced; our conduct is portrayed
as wicked in the extreme, and that of Hyder's as magnanimous,
juft, wife and prudent; nor does the unfortunate termination of the
war derogate at all from the qualities of his fucceffor. Let Europe,
I mean the continent) if it can, produce an equal to either of them.
The happinefs of his dominions, nay even of the Canare, a conquered
country, is as ftrongly contrafted with the mifery and defolation
of the English domination, as the love and attachment which the in-
habitants, even of the countries he had conquered, bore to Hyder
and his fucceffor, are contrafted with the horror and deteftation with
which the English are viewed in Afia. This deteftation, which
every fact, and every teftimony, proves, is tranimuted by Mr. Dun-
das into the reverence the natives have for the Europeans, and which,
he fays, extends to their very dogs, this reverence he cautions us
carefully to preſerve, and their feems to be little danger of our dif-
regarding his admonition.
Forcibly to take three millions per annum from any people, and
carry it to a diftant country, will certainly fecure this kind of re-
verence from any nation on earth, becauſe it will infure their mi-
fery. Whether the perfons fent from England to conduct this
bufinefs, which we choofe to call government, are fent by the King,
or the company, by Mr. Dundas, or by Jack Ketch, by a board of
control, or by parliamentary commiffioners, is perfectly indifferent
to the people of Afia; nor, indeed, are the various fhades of cruelty
which may be difcriminated in conducting the proceſs of extracting the
property of Afia for the emolument of England, a matter of any more
importance, than whether an English corfaire fhall murder 9 or 10 in
the hundred of his cargo; whether the furvivors fhall be burned with
an iron or a filver brand; or be ſtarved, on an allowance of 10 or 12
pints of horse-beans per week. The mere drawing three millions per
annum from her, that infure mifery to Afia, and clearly as Mr.
Dundas has defcribed the infatiable gulph into which the riches of
Afia is to be poured, he has as carefully avoided any inquiry into
the amplitude of the fource.
Inftead of amufing us with ideas of the immenfe annual income
to be drawn from Afia, and inftead of idle difcuffions as to remote
arrangements of its difpofition in England, there was a line of ar-
gument he might have taken, in which he might have proceeded on
fure ground. Had he made an enquiry into the circulating or hoard-
ed treaſures of thoſe countries of which he had the poffeffion; that
treaſure he night certainly reckon on as our own, and we might
take fuch meafures as to our wifdom might feem expedient, for
tranſporting it to this country; but there our depredations muft ne-
ceffarily terminate, for, as the circulating medium is withdrawn
from the country, the real riches, the induftry of the inhabitants,
and the riches of its foil, become inutile. The people must aban-
don it, or fall a facrifice to peftilence and famine. The land we
}
may then abandon to tygers and ferpents, our revenue muſt ceaſe,
and we have no refource, but to ſeek out freſh ſources of plunder
in new conquefts.
That a large permanent revenue can ever be drawn from India is
impoffible, even admitting every precaution be adopted; let us fup-
pofe that the antient taxes of Bengal had been adhered to, inſtead
of being quadrupled; admitting no monoplies had been formed;
that property had been fecured; that the perfons whom we fent to
India had clear heads and clean hands; in fhort, let us fuppofe
our conduct refpecting India to be exactly the reverfe to what it has
been, and that we merely confine ourſelves to remiting to Europe,
that antient, moderate, revenue, which had ever been levied by
the native princes. It might then be faid, has not the country ever
flouriſhed under theſe taxes, thefe laws, and thefe regulations?
true-and ſtill would it have flouriſhed, becauſe the affefliments le-
vied by the fovereigns again returned among the people, and con-
ftituted the circulating medium of the country; but you have with
drawn it never to return. No analogy can be drawn between the
effects of levies returned into the circulation of a country, and when
withdrawn from it. For inftance, let us fuppofe the empress of
Ruffia fhould take a fancy to cradicate French principles from this
ifland, and fhould take poffeffion of it for that purpofe, and fome
Ruffian Mr. Dundas fhould open a British budget at St. Petersburgh:
but ſtay, I will not fuppofe him a Mr. Dundas; becauſe I will not
fuppofe, what I cannot believe, that her imperial majeſty of all the
Ruffias will treat us, or any other people, as we treat thoſe over
whom we exercife dominion, or as we have treated our fifter king-
dom. I will not ſuppoſe that fhe will grant a charter to authorife
fome, and prohibit all the reft of her fubjects from trading to the
richest and moft confiderable nations of the earth;-that when thefe
wretches, under her authority, thall have been treated kindly, and
enjoyed great advantages and privileges, from the mildnefs and be-
nificence of the fovereigns, they fhould fortify their factories, and
garrifon them with troops from Ruffia;-that, when thefe fortifica-
tions, and their hoftile afpect, fhould at length give umbrage to the
fovereigns of the country, and they fhould forbid them to increaſe
their fortifications, or military enteprizes, thofe very meaſures and
precautions, which the duty the fovereigns of the countries owed
their fubjects, fhould be deemed a fufficient plea for attempting to
ufurp the dominion; that deftitute of force to effect this purpoſe,
they ſhould refort to the moft villanious artifices, intriguing with
the fervants to betray the fovereign, and weakening the government
by repeated ſcenes of revolt, fhould at length ufurp it to themſelves,
diffolving not merely all the bonds of government, but all the pro-
perty in the land, and range the country till it was one fcene of de-
folation, covered with the dead bodies of the inhabitants; that
the ſhould fuffer this feries of outrage, yet make fuch a deſpicable
mockery of juftice, as to rangle for a divifion of the fpoil, while
The pretended to cenfure a few particular facts, in this affemblage of
crimes, from whence was derived the plunder at which the was
grafping. That ſhe ſhould dreſs out a court of juftice, with all the
Irippery of a theatre, to fqueeze returning pachas, and difpence
an heterogenus mixture of cenfure and honour for the fame fpecies
of crime; and then, to conclude the ſcene, that it fhould be confi-
dered amongit ner minifters as a very good joke, that no two per-
fons could aree in the means of reftoring fome fpecies of order
and governnient into the chaotic defolation they had occafioned,
and that this fhould be siledged as a reafon for felling them to jews
and jobbers for 500,000 per annum. I fay, I will not fuppofe fhe
will ever be thus guilty, becauſe I believe fome fenfe of honour,
fome dignified pride, generally accompanies the poffeffion of fu-
preme unlimited authority, and that the loweft degradation of the
human character will ever be found, where power is divided and
contefted, like the Grand Seignor overawed by his Janiffaries, or a
Monarch controlled by popular affemblies, or other kinds of mixed
or confuled governments. I will then fuppofe that he treats
us with that fpecies of dignified oppreffion which becomes a great fo-
vereign; that the fuffers us to retain our laws and our cuſtoms; pre-
ferves all the foundations of property, nay, remits us half our cufto-
mary taxes, either to pay the nation's creditors, or to be difpofid of
by Mr. Payne in national bounties, and requires only half our ufual
taxes to be remitted to Ruffia. Here is a plan, mild and benefi-
cent, when compared to Mr. Dundas's; now will Mr. Jenkinſon, be-
fore he begins his operations upon India, afk his father how many
years, he apprehends, the great, the rich, the inexhauſtible England
could bear this drain.
When Mr. Dundas contends that a plan is warranted by experience,
againſt which the experience of every age and nation militates, he
pours fovereign contempt on his audience. He prefumes they are ig-
norant of the hiftory of this, and of every other country; or he
would not have dared to affert that a diftant dependent dominion is
permanent or valuable. The Portugueſe have preceded us in our
enterprize; can fhe bear witnefs-wili Spain bear teftimony to the
value of a colony, which though yielding an inexhauftible re-
venue, yet is it a fource of mifery and weaknefs to the parent state.
Mr. Dundas well knows that experience will warrant no intercourfe
between nations, but the intercourfe of fair and legitimate com-
merce; experience teftifies that all other is ruinous as it is wicked; yet
he ſeems to treat with contempt the idea of increafing our exports
to India, and boldly tells us, not to rifk the folid advantages we pof-
fefs, in purſuit of commercial fpeculations; ridicules the idea of
finding cuſtomers for our principal manufactures in that half of the
world between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, though the
records of parliament prove the eagerness with which the trade was
purfued, even in times far lefs qualified for fuch enterprizes than
the prefent. He knows that private adventurers offered to treble
the exports of the company, and to fupply government with faltpe-
tre much under the company's price. He knows that India prefents
fuch a fource of commercial enterprize, that all our fevere laws can-
not prevent English capitals being employed, in foreign bottoms, to a
much greater extent than the whole commerce of the company:
yet he has the boldness to fay that the hopes, formed of the limited
experiment he has introduced into his plan, will fail; which indeed may
probably be the cafe, as himſelf and the company have, certainly,
fufficient power in India to fecure a miscarriage. Thus contrary to
all experience is this plan formed, though on the very ground of
experience he pretends to recommend it.
"
Contemptibly as Mr. Dundas may treat our India Commerce, and
all attempts at increafing it, when compared with the folid and im-
portant advantages we now derive from India; he yet thinks it
worth while to dr. fs it out with fome pomp, and, ftrange to tell, he
even boaſts of the company employing 81,000 tons of fhipping.
Surely it was unneceflary to remind us of the company hiring twice
the quantity of thipping that was neceffary, paying twice the value,
and breaking up the fhips without wearing them out that new ones
might be built; but why did he not inform the Houſe, that, thefe
81.000 tons of Shipping had been employed in defiance of an act of the
legifature, paffed at the very time when Mr. Dundas himſelf held an
high office in the navy department, that the act ftates this very fact
which Mr. Dundas brings forward with applauſe to his ignorant
auditors, to be an unneceffary confumption of Oak Timber fit for the
royal navy.” Mr. Dundas then tells us of the immenfe imports of
the company, and trembles left a concern of fuch magnitude ſhould
be deranged by innovation. I fuppofe he must mean, that is, if he
has any meaning, that we ſhould leave off drinking tea, or at leaſt
that we ſhould have no tea to drink, if it were not for an Honourable
Eaft India Company; but really if this evil were certain, I cannot fee
it to be ſo very terrific: nay, fhould the ladies throw away their
fhawls and the gentlemen their wangees, I do not think it would
quite ruin poor old England, even though the duties on them amount
to a million per annum. At length he comes a little more to the
point, and tells us, this commerce is a vent for English manufac-
tures to the value of a million per annum. That thoſe who are juſt
come from counting the rollos at a gaming table, or cafting up their
private accounts, and have no ideas beyond them, ſhould ſtare at
being told of a whole million of money is probable, but they ought
to have been told, that, the exclufive trade of the company comprifes
that of almost half the globe, including the richest and most populous
countries; that yet this MILLION is not near a tythe of our exports, that
does not equal even that to Holland or Germany: and they ought to have
recollected the contempt with which the fale of our manufactures to France,
to the amount of a MILLION, was lately treated, when it was brought
in competition with the inexpreffible pleaſure of cutting the throats of its
inhabitants.
Admitting that we fubdue all the native princes of India, admit-
ting that Lord Macartney may enable us to ufurp the dominion of
China, that the Emprefs of Ruffia guarantees them, and that all the
powers in Europe and America fuffer their commerce to lie at the
mercy of our India Company, yet ftill will the fecurity of our India
poffeffions infure the lofs of them to this country. The English in
India will then no longer remit three millions per annum. Να
acknowledgement can be then expected from them beyond a burſe, or
a fate-bed, or a prefent to the India Minifter.
FINIS.
!
1
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H
2
J
TRACTS
་
L
BY WILLIAM FOX.
Intereft of Great Britain, refpecting the French
War, fixth Edition.
Thoughts on the Death of the King of France,
fecond Idition.
Difcourfe on National Fafts, fecond Edition.
Defence of the Decree of the National Conven-
tion of France, tor emancipating the Slaves in the
Weſt Indies.
Diſcourſe occafioned by the National Faft, April
19, 1794.
Thoughts on the Impending Invaſion of Eng-
land.
On Jacobiniſm.
On the Renewal of the Eaft India Charter.
Defence of the War againſt France.
On Peace.
THE ABOVE AT THREE PENCE EACH, OR
FIVE FOR A SHILLING.
An Addreſs to the People of Great Britain, on
the Propriety of abſtaining from Weſt India Sugar
and Rum. Twenty fixth Edition. Price 3s. 6d.
per Hundred.
Summary of Evidence relating to the Slave Trade.
Sixth Edition. Price 3s. 6d. per Hundred.
Examination of Mr. PAINE'S Writings.
į
The above TRACTS, by W. FOX,
ARE SOLD
By M. GURNEY, No. 128, HOLBORN HILL,
Where may be bad,
An Addreſs to the People called Methodiſts, on
the Criminality of encouraging Slavery; by S.
Bradburne, Minifter of the Goſpel. Price Two-
pence, or Seven for a Shilling.
DEFENCE
10
OF THE
WAR AGAINST FRANCE,
BY
WILLIAM FOX
LONDON
SOLD BY M. GURNEY, No. 128, HOLBORN HILL
1794-
PRICE THREE-PENCE, OR FIVE FOR
SHILLING.)
I
༢
&
}
A Defence of the War againft
I
FRANCE.
N viewing the oppofite opinions of mankind, it
will generally be found, that thofe variances
ufually refult from the difference of the original
principles we adopt, or on which we act, rather than
from any error in the deductions from thofe princi-
ples. In contemplating the wonderful adventures in
which, for a Century paft, we have been engaged,
fome are apt to fufpect an univerfal derangement of
intellect, confidering our ifland as one vaft hofpital
of incurable lunatics. And, perhaps, appearances
might warrant the conclufion. But, I believe, on in-
veſtigation it will be found, that fuppofitions fo de-
rogatory to our national character can refult only
from the ignorance of the principles on which we
act. Let thofe principles be affumed, and the whole
of our conduct refpecting Africa, the Weft Indies,
the Eaft Indies, and France, will prefent to our view
a wonderful uniformity.
To the honour of the nation it may be recorded,
that, perhaps, no meaſure was ever adopted with a
more univerfal approbation than the war againſt
France. Indeed, it would have been ſtrange if it had
not. It naturally refulted from principles fo ftrongly
and univerfally inculcated; as to become almoſt as
if they had been innate. A hatred of the French we
all imbibed in our earlieſt infancy. Every fource of
our ideas was impregnated with the laudable princi-
ple. It was the only fubject on which all parties, all
religions, all claffes amongst us, agreed. To be an
Engliſhman was to be an Antigallican. The Whig
Dr. Price, taught us from the pulpit, that "the
French were our natural enemies;" and the Tory
Dr. Johnson, with an accuracy becoming his charac-
ter, aſks "What can you expect from a people that
eat frogs?" All our writers tell us how defpicable
and fuperficial are their authors, and every cobler
can inform us, that one Englishman is as good as
three Frenchinen.
( 2 )
1
Theſe juſt and accurate fentiments very for-
tunately combining with recent events, it needed
not the eloquence of Mr. Burke to excite a univerfal
wifh for the extirpation of a people equally the ob-
jects of our hatred and contempt. The defpicable
wretches dared to wifh for freedom. Impudent pre-
fumption! Slavery and wooden fhoes were their juft
portion! It became them to have known that Li-
berty was the Englishman's birth-right, and a fong
would have informed them, that it was Britons who
"never would be Slaves." But the monſters had
the profligate wickedneſs to put their King to death,
for the trifling offences of confpiring with foreign
powers againſt his country, and ordering his guards
to fire on and maffacre ten thouſand of his unarmed
fubjects! This was, undoubtedly, a grofs infult on
the British nation. She had hitherto ftood folely and
peculiarly dittingnifhed for bringing a Monarch to
the fcaffold, profcribing his fucceffor, and pronounc-
ing a ſentence of baſtardy on---Here then the
French daringly infulted us, by prefuming, in fome
degree, to imitate our deeds; and, with matchlefs
impudence, ventured to purloin a fmall portion of
our crimes.
However properly, and however univerfally, the
defire of extirpating theſe monſters might prevail
amongſt us, yet the fact, however difgraceful, is too
notorious to be concealed, that there were fome
amongst us who were fo loft to thoſe ſentiments be-
coming Engliſhmen, as to be averſe to ſtarving, or
extirpating, the French; nay, they even fcrupled
not to express their wifh that they fhould be left un-
diſturbed in the poffeffion of the liberty they had ob-
tained. It is true, indeed, that the number of thefe
deſpicable wretches was very inconfiderable, and
they were looked on with becoming contempt; by
thofe amongst us who poffeffed elevated minds, be-
coming the people of a great nation. And, I truſt
I fhall not be deemed cenforious, when 1 declare
that I do not believe that there was a fingle indi-
vidual amongſt us who was averſe to the war againſt
(3
( 3 )
France, but might juftly be deemed an enemy to
our excellent conftitution in Church and State, be-
caule I know of no principle on which the war
against France can be reprobated, but will equally
apply to the whole fyftem of our conduct.
Political leaders labour under difadvantages pe-
culiar to their fituation. On all but political fubjects
the difputants are at full liberty to bring forward
their whole ſtore of arguments: Statefimen, on the
contrary, are in, general, neceffitated to conceal their
true motives; and, when called on for explanations.
and defence, it is only fictitious ones, adapted to
temporary purpofes, which we have any reafon to
expect. The true motives and reafons always lie
hidden deep in the receffes of the cabinet; and they
may be folid and confiftent, however weak, puerile,
and inconfiftent, thofe may be with which they are
neceffitated to fill their fpeeches, their declarations,
and their memorials. Is it any impeachment of the
underſtandings of the great characters who adorn
the Treasury bench in St. Stephen's Chapel, for them
to tell their audience that mifery, anarchy, and ruin,
have overſpread the unhappy country of France,
that there is no fuch thing as property exifting, and
that, unless we reftore the Clergy, and Nobles, to
their ancient rights, the land and property of Eng-
land will become of no value? Is it derogatory to
the ſplendid abilities of Lord Hawkesbury, for him to
order his fon to tell the Houfe of Commons, that it
is both practicable, and indifpenfibly neceffary, for
us to march to Paris, and deftroy the Jacobin Club?
No! Theſe men defpife the nonfenfe they deem it
expedient to adopt, and all that it proves is-tae
ideas they entertain of the audience they thus addrefs:
as the Clergy deem it no difgrace to fubmit to all
the mummery of a religion they defpife, for the va
luable end of preferving the authority and dignity of
their order.
Hence, in defending the war against France, I am
not, by any means, bound to adopt any of thofe mo-
tives or arguments, which have in the courfe of it
( 4 )
been thrown out to amufe the ignorant, and which
have regularly been diſclaimed, as foon as they have
effected the temporary purpoſe for which they were
intended. No longer is it requifite to fuppofe our
Miniſters to have been fo frantic as to plunge us in
a war, becauſe we were permitted to fend our manu-
factures up the Scheldt, for however loudly it might
have been vociferated, and however ſtrongly infifted
on as the oftenfible and juftifiable ground of war, we
are now told, in the fublime and beautiful language
of Mr. Burke, that it was as deſpicable as a difpute
about a pifs pot. And we now confider the death of
the King of France merely as a fortunate circum-
ftance, which happily produced a more perfect zeal
and unanimity amongst us in profecuting a war
which had been long araently fought for,from motives
which would have been equally powerful though
LOUIS XVI. never had exifted. It is now avowed,
that the real motives for our war againſt France,
originated in the French prefuming to change their
former government. "The fincerity of our wishes for
the fuccefs of fo difficult and fo interesting an undertak-
ing," is no longer alledged. We treat with con-
tempt every diftinction relating to the different par-
ties, and events, which have taken place. The
cauſe of the war, the danger to this country, exiſted
from the first period, when his moft Chriftian Majefiy
bad called his people around him, to join in concerting
meaſures for their common happiness." The apparent
neutrality, which for four years we obferved, is now
confidered with regret; and Mr. Dundas takes ſhame
to himſelf and his colleagues, that they were not fo
quick fighted as Mr. Burke, in perceiving the danger,
which refulted to this country, from the firſt dawn
of freedom in France. It is now deemed expedient
to apologize to that illuftrious Senator, for any ti-
midity (not reluctance) which may have appeared in
adopting his early, and earneft, advice-of exterm-
ination, or eternal War.
46
As the obfcurity, in which it has been deemed ex-
pedient to involve this fubject, has in fome degree
£
5 >
૧
-
been done away; as the view, in which I ever con-
fidered it, begins to be unveiled to the public, I have
prefumed to preſent myſelf as a champion in its de-
fence. And I mean to contend, That it is highly
becoming this nation, to exert all the energy of the
ſtate, to prevent France, Poland, or any other con-
fiderable nation in Europe, from adopting any alter-
ation in their Government, or Laws, which may
meliorate and improve the circumftances of the peo-
ple, or remove thofe defects in their Governments,
which impede their Manufactures, Trade, Agricul-
ture, and General Happinefs-That on our prevent-
ing the removal of thoſe defects in their Govern-
ments, and our fubverting their rifing happineſs,
depends the very existence of every thing which
peculiarly diftinguishes us amongft Nations.-That
it becomes us to perfevere, with a zeal proportioned
to the importance of the caufe, affured that in aban-
doning it we expofe our religion, the adminiftration
of our laws, the great fyftem of our commerce, nay
our well balanced government, the wonder and the
admiration of the world! to certain and irreparable
ruin. So far from wanting fuccefs, I mean to con-
tend that we have been eminently fuccefsful in our
defign, if not equal to our wishes, yet fully adequate
to any reaſonable expectation we could have formed.
-That our fuccefs, fo far from furnithing a motive
for peace, ought only to incite us to a farther profe-
cution of the war; as whether fuccefsful, or unfuc-
ceſsful, it never can be abandoned, without aband-
oning every thing which is the pride and boaſt of
Englishmen.
But, previous to the difcuffion of thefe propofi-
tions, I muſt beg leave to fubmit a preliminary one
of the first importance, that is, what thadow of right
have we to difcufs them at all? The right of making
war the wiſdom of our anceſtors has lodged folely
in the crown; and is it not to be inferred that the
crown is the fole and proper judge, and that every
fubject, in prefuming to judge of it, and, in confe-
quence of fuch judgment, attempting to control,
( 6 )
impede, or in any ſhape prevent, the crown engaging
in, or profecuting any war, is guilty of an attempt
against the prerogatives of his majefty? and, if trea-
fon be not limited to attempts against the perfon of
the fovereign, but extends to the regal rights, it fol-
lows, that to arraign thoſe rights, or attempt to in-
cite the people to impede the fovereign in the free
and undisturbed exercife of thofe rights, muft be far
more indiſputably treafon, than any attempt againſt
the novel and undefined right of an affembly called a
Houfe of Commons. No true friend to the princi-
ples of our glorious Revolution can wish to entrench
on this prerogative. It was particularly fecured to
the crown by the Bill of Rights. The prerogative
of leading us to flaughter, feems, according to Biſhop
Burnet, to have been the principal motive that in-
duced our glorious Deliverer to refcue us from Po-
pery, Slavery, and Wooden Shoes; for it ſeems that
on our proving fomewhat reftive, he was with dif-
ficulty perfuaded from abandoning us to the Pope,
the Devil, and the Pretender. Indeed the veſting
this prerogative intirely, and unrestrained, in the
Monarch became peculiarly proper, when a So-
vereign with foreign poffeffions was placed on the
throne. The particular intereft of thofe foreign
poffeffions might call for a war injurious to this
country, and ought not the Prince to be left to his
free uncontroled choice? would it not be a violation
of the first principles of juftice, were we to expect
him to attend to our fentiments on the fubject, who
must neceffarily be liable to be biaffed by our parti-
cular intereft? His prefent Majefty is the common
Father of all his fubjects, Hanoverian, and Engliſh,
Proteftants, Irish Catholics, Mungrel Canadians,
African Negroes, Muffulmen, Gentoos, and the
people of the South Sea Jlands, which Captain Cook
took poffeffion of in his Majefty's name; and fhall
we, from among this motley group, expect to have
our opinions attended to, merely becauſe his Majeſty
does us the honour of refiding amongst us in pre-
ference to his other dominions?-It is indeed
1.
1
(7)
alledged that the prerogative of making war is but
nominally in the Crown, as the Houſe of Commons
poffefs the means which are requifite to conduct it.
This might, poffibly, have been the cafe formerly, as
we find a Parliament defiring Charles I. to declare
war, and then laughing at him, and refufing to fur-
nish money to carry it on. But this was too great
a folecifm to be ſuffered to continue at the Revolu-
tion. From that period the Crown has poffeffed all
the means of war, a regular military force, enliſted
for life, fworn to fubmit to articles of war framed by
the Crown. On declaring war, the English troops
may be ſent abroad, and foreign introduced in their
room to preſerve order, and to pay the fe troops the
whole furplus revenue, amounting to feveral millions,
is at the difpofal of the crown; befides railing
money by Tallies, Debentures, Navy Bills to any
extent, which the government ever fince the revolu
tion have regularly practiced. When Mr. Pitt came
into power he found twenty millions of unfunded
debt, raiſed without any authority of Parliament
whatever; and this very feffions a bill has been paf-
fed binding Parliament to diſcharge Navy Bills, al-
though iffued without their previous authority. But
were we to admit Mr. Wyndham's doctrine, that the
Royal prerogatives are to be exercifed under the
fanction of the Houfe of Commons, fuppofing this
right of making war to be banded about between the
Council Chamber and St. Stephen's Chapel, or fup-
pofe it to be divided between them, yet ftill it may
be asked, what right can the people have to interfere?
whether power ſhifts from the Barons and Clergy to
the Monarch, or from the Monarch to the lower
Houſe of Parliament, yet no portion of it ever de-
volved upon the people; and it approximates to
Treaſon to contend that it ever ought. What im-
pertinence then muft it be, for any individual to in-
terfere in any part of the government of a country,
as to which the whole body of them have not the
leaft concern. The glorious Queen Elizabeth, and
Solomon her fucceffor, very properly, therefore,
( 8 )
checked this prefumption, by telling us that it did
not become fubjects to take upon them to judge of
affairs of State, or prefume to talk of what So-
vereigns might do in the plenitude of their
power.
M
As this war is fo completely defenfible on Arifto-
cratic, it is no lefs fo on Democratic principles. Let
us fuppofe Citizens RICHMOND and PAINE ranfacked
all the Gin-fhops to form a National Convention, can
it be doubted, but that a propofal for extirpating
the French would be clamouroufly adopted; and if
there be any meaning in thefe Whig principles, it
muft be, that the minority are bound to concur in,
and fupport, the refolutions of the majority, how
profligate foever they may be, and even though they
may poñiefs the means of preventing the profligate
meaſures of the majority being carried into effect.
Hence, were the war ever fo abfurd, and indefenfible
in itſelf, yet can no Tory object to it, as it evidently
flowed from Royalty, the proper fource of war; nor
can any Whig object to it, as it has been fanctioned
by the majority of the people, and if Vox Populi Vox
Dei be true, and I never heard its truth denied, it
then alfo follows, that this war has in a peculiar
manner received ftill fuperior fanction to that either
of the King or the people.
Having fully proved the rightful origin of this
war, on principles which all parties amongst us muſt
admit, I might here lay down my pen with triumph;
and I muſt infift that proceeding a ſingle ſtep further
in my argument, muſt be confidered as being per-
fectly ex Gratia. Nay, I muft acknowledge, that I
fcarcely know how to apologize for the daring pre-
fumption of difcuffing the merits of a queftion,
which the conftitution has wifely affigned to be folely
judged of by one individual, doubtless on the prin-
ciple that he alone is the fit proper and competent
judge of it. I even doubt whether even a zealous
defence may not be a crime. If the purity of my
intentions be pleadable in my defence, more than
Gulliver's was, when, with an ignominious ftream,
1
(9)
he extinguished the flames which threatened deftruc-
tion to the fuperb palace of the illuftrious Emperor
of Lilliput, it can only be owing to the fuperior
mildness of our laws, and the peculiar tenderneſs
with which they are, at the prefent period, adminif
tered. Some have pretended to difpute the right of
our interfering in the internal affairs of France, but
Mr. Pitt very truly tell us, that it is a practice juſ-
tified by the greateft writers, and by the conduct of
the beſt of Princes, in the best of times. Indeed, the
authorities are fo numerous that I am puzzled to fe-
lect them. The celebrated Grotius is clear on the
fubject. Did not (fays he; Hercules go about the
world to destroy Moniters ?" and he might have ad-
ded fo did Don Quixote. If then, Hercules, the Demi-
God, went about the world to deſtroy Monſters,
furely the Kings of Europe, who are deemed Gods
Vicegerents on Earth, have a right to deſtroy the
Jacobin Monflers at Paris. But, certainly, no friend
to our glorious Revolution can object to the inter-
ference of one country with the internal concerns of
another Did not the immo tal William come over
with 15,000 Dutch troops to interfere in our internal
concerns? Did he not go over to Ireland, and inter-
fere with her concerns? Did he not interfere with
the internal affairs of Germany, and procure a ninth
Electorate to be created, but which for him would
never have been thought of? and did he not plot the
partition and difpofition of the whole Spanith Mo-
narchy? Did not that great Prince George I. fend a
Aeet to Sweden, and Ruffia, and compel them to
fign the quadruple Alliance? and does not his
prefent Majesty interfere with the internal affairs of
Indoftan, and of Africa? All theſe inftances relate,
merely to the right of interfering in the affairs of
countries with whom you are at peace, folely on the
ground that it is your intereft to interfere: but with
respect to France we are in a state of war. Some ig-
norantly fuppofe, that even a ftate of war only au-
thorifes a reparation of the injury for which the war
was commenced, but Mr. Pitt very properly afks us,
( 10 )
whether in any war we ever regarded the caufe of
quarrel as the ground of peace? The right of war
clearly includes a right of adopting every meaſure
which intereft, which ambition, or which cruelty,
can fuggeft. Mr. Burke very juſtly obferves, that no
Tyrant, no favage Conqueror, ever filled up the
meaſure of cruelty which every writer on the Law of
Nations has allowed them. Certainly not. Let us,
for inftance, examine the mild Whig philofopher
Mr. Locke. He defines a ftate of war to be "a state
of enmity and destruction;" that it is "eftate of
enmity, malice, violence, and mutual deftruction," and
fays he, you may treat your enemies as a a beast of
prey" That we had a juft caufe of war againſt
France even Mr. For admits, and Mr. Locke then
grants that you may treat them as beafts of prey,
you may treat them with enmity and malice. Every
thing fhort of extermination and deftruction is kind-
nefs, favour, and abandonment of your juft right.
It is abfurd for Mr. Fox to fay, that we had a just
ground of war, but the ground done away we now
purfue it on unjuftifiable principles, or for a criminal
purpoſe. This is impoffible, for, once commenced,
it is according to Mr. Locke, to be pursued and con-
ducted with malice, violence, and deftruction; for he
defines fuch to be its very nature. It is certainly
fomething extraordinary, that any fhould venture to
promulgate a ſingle fcruple as to the lawfulneſs of
extirpating our natural enemies, the French. It is
too fatal a proof of the prevalence of French princi-
ples amongst us. Why are we fo faftidious on a fud-
den? are we ftartled at the idea of extermination?
has not the extermination of the Rohillas, after full
inveſtigation, been fanctioned by the British Parlia-
ment? and have not more fell in the Eaſt Indies,
during his prefent Majefty's reign, than is propofed
to be maffacred in France? Nay, have not more mil-
lions been exterminated from Africa than the whole
population of France amounts to? Yet both the
people of Africa and Indoftan
were fo far
1
( 11 )
from being our natural enemies, that the moft frantic
imagination could not fuggeft the idea. But if the
French partizans infift on our treating them with
greater tenderness than we have Africa or Indoftan,
will it be pretended that they are intitled to better
treatment than our fifter Kingdom, Ireland? Under
the glorious Queen Elizabeth, the Poet Spenfer pro-
poſes, "That a Proclamation be made for the Irish
to ſubmit themſelves in twenty days. If they did
not come in on this firft fummons, I would have
none received, but left to their miferable end, being
k pt from manurance, by hard rettraint, they would
quickly confume themfelves and devour one another."
He ſtates the proceedings in Munster, as an exam-
ple, "Notwithitanding that the fame was a moſt
rich and plentiful country, full of corn and cattle,
yet, ere one year and a half, they were brought to ſuch
wre.chedneſs as that out of every corner of the woods
and glens they came forth creeping on their hands,
for their legs would not bear them; they looked like
anatomies of death, they ſpoke like ghoſts, crying
out of their graves, they did eat the dead carrions,
happy were they could find them, yea, and one ano-
ther foon after, infomuch as the very carcafes they
ſpared not to scrape out of their graves-in a fhurt
fpace there were none almoft left and a moft populous
and plentiful country fuddenly left void of man and
beaft." Comparing thefe laudable proceedings with
our recent tranſactions in Bengal will prove the uni
formity of our national character, and furely remove
any fqueamish fcruples as to the vigorous meaſures
which it may be expedient for us to purfue refpecting
France. When we talk of exterminating the people
of that unhappy country, fome are apt to afk, whe-
ther we can pare hands to cut all their throats? for
taking the population at twenty feven millions, and
fuppofing we kill a thouſand a day, it will take $5
years and 3 months to deftroy them; unless, as i: s
a work of neceffity, the Bithops may allow it to ve
done on the Sabbath, in which cafe it may be com-
pleated in feventy four years, but let us not till -
ג.
( 12 )
mate the progrefs of the work of death by the inar-
tificial modes adopted by the petty dealers in this
traffic. When on an extenfive fcale, it, like all
other large manufactures, is capable of great im-
provements. As eafily as a Sarah Malcolm could
murder three or four, we can deftroy as many thou-
fands; and in as fmall a ſpace of time as a Brownrigg
could ſtarve half a dozen children, a whole country
may be destroyed by famine. Indeed, famine ſeems
to be the moſt expeditious and eligible mode of de-
ftruction, and it feems to be a mode peculiarly
British. In the total defolation of Munfter, Spenfer
fays, "All perished by the extremity of famine."
In the year 1749, it was a matter of univerſal la-
mentation, that the danger to which Holland and
Hanover were expofed, neceffitated us to make
peace at the critical moment, when the failure of the
French harveft would have produced a famine, and
deftroyed our natural enemies. And no fooner had
we poffeffion of Bengal than, in the courfe of a few
months, it is faid, three Members of the British Le-
giflature, with a few affiſtants, ſeized the crop of the
country, and, by an artificial famine, deſtroyed, it is
faid, a greater number of the inhabitants than the
whole population of England amounts to: much then
Is it to be lamented that our laudable exertions to
ftarve the French have not hitherto been crowned
with fuccefs; but, furely, we may now entertain the
moft fanguine hopes. The advocates for exterminat-
tion and eternal war have, at length, affumed the di-
rection. Mr. Pitt always faltered, and heſitated, as
to the object and mode of conducting the war: but a
Burke, a Wyndham, and a Mansfield, never could be
miſunderſtood. Fielding tells us, that it is a flander
on the devil to fay he leaves his friends in the lurch;
his half, his doubtful friends, only he abandons; may
we not hope then, that, with more than human af-
Siitance, the new triumvirate will prove fucceſsful?
When the Lilliputian Statefimen refolved to ftarve
their natural enemy Gulliver, they iffued a declara-
tion proving how infinitely the fentence fell fhort of
( 13 )
his offence, and hoping he would fubmit without a
murmur to the mild decree. And may not Mr.
BURKE'S Rhetoric, which operated fo powerfully in
convincing the French it was better to be loyal then
to be free, be now difplayed, with equal zeal, and
equal fuccefs, in perfuading that miferable unhappy
people, that, in ftarving them, we kindly propofe, a
deliverance from all their mifery, a cure for all their
forrows? May not the logic of Mr. Wyndham prove,
that, had the French as many lives as a Cat, they
have forfeited them all, and that in taking them on-
ly once we abandon a large portion of our rights?
He will prove, from Grotius that we may deftroy
them as Monsters; from Locke that being enemies we
may deſtroy them as wild beasts; from the Canonifts
that they may be put to death for facrilege; from Lord
Auckland's Memorial that they may be killed as Re-
gecides; and from Milton, Locke, Furneaux, and all
our Whig writers on toleration, that they ought to
be exterminated from fociety as Atheists or Papiſts.
In destroying them by famine we adopt the neatest
and moſt elegant mode, we do not, like Lady Macbeth
foil our fingers with blocd. Nay we may deny hav-
ing killed them at all; thus we do not fay that we
maffacred fo many millions in India but that fo many
millions died of famine; by which notable contriv-
ance we have not only the pleaſure of deftroying our
fellow creatures, but the additional fatisfaction of
imputing our deeds to heaven, or, if it fuits our
purpoſe, to thoſe whom we deftroy; as Spenfer tells
us that the famine by which the people of Munfter
perished, "They themfelves had wrought," becauſe
they were "Stout and obftinate rebels, fuch as will
never be made dutiful and obedient." Indeed it is
obfervable that where ever the English have gone,
whether into Ireland, Afia, or the Welt Indies, fa-
mine conftantly follows their footsteps: but it is a
famine in which no Englishman ever fuffered, the na-
tives only are the victims. I will not then relin-
quifh the hope that, under the aufpices of our new
Minifters, we fhall fucceed in deftroying the French
1
( 14 )
by famine and peftilence. If we can maintain the
dominion of the Sea, which, we are told, is our na-
tural dominion, may we may not prevent foreign fup-
plies? and, by continued defcents on their coafts,
deftroy their villages and their crops? appearances
feem to indicate fuch to be the plan of our new Mi-
nifters, and will not every true born Englishman with
them fuccefs?--One only objection occurs to me, as
peftilence naturally accompanies famine, can the
former like the latter, be limited to France? will not
twenty feven millions of putrid carcafes ſpread a ge-
neral contagion through Europe? Certainly I mean
it; for, as the object of the war is to eradicate
French principles, to exterminate the people of France
only will prove extremely inadequate to this im
portant end. The gangrene of Jacobinifm, we are
told, is ſpreading rapidly and widely through Eu-
rope; and, furely, our ftate Surgeons are not fo ig-
norant, or ſo negligent, as to confine their operation
to France. The proceedings in Poland, and in Scot-
land, prove that they are not; and afford the pleaf-
ing hope that the vigour of their exertions will be
commenfurate to the extent of the danger-a danger
from which famine and pestilence can alone give us
any well founded expectation of deliverance. The
fword, however fuccefsful, is but little adapted to
root out Jacobinifin. Its progrefs, in deftruction, is
too flow. It roufes to refiftance, inflames the paffions,
promotes difquifition, and invigorates the mind.
Peftilence and famine produce the contrary effects.
Their havoc is not only more rapid, and extenfive,
than the most deftructive war, but the furvivors na-
turally fink into an abject ftate, well fitted to receive
any yoke which may be impofed. Under fuch cir
cumſtances, the combined Monarchs, if they can but
agree amongst themselves, may arrange Europe, nay
the world itſelf, according to their wills. For, when
Jacobinifm fhall be effectually eradicated from Eu-
rope, it will certainly not be difficult to root it out
from amongst three or four millions of people in
North America. The terror and diftrefs of an univerfal
( 15 )
peftilence, may produce effects as powerful, and as
favourable, as an irruption of Goths and Vandals :
Arts, Commerce and Literature, may be involved in
common ruin; and Mr. BURKE's wishes may be gra-
tified, in carrying us back to the ſtate of thofe
paft ages, whofe ignorance and whofe barbarifm
we are now called to look on with envy.
Taught by paft experience, thofe who govern us will
carefully guard against thofe circumftances which
have produced the threatened danger. Mr. Burke
juſtly obferves, that, Kings will in future be careful
not to grant their fubjects any degree of liberty-
they will look with as much abhorrence on the anci-
ent mild defpotifm of France, as on the limitted mo-
narchy of England. It may be hoped that they
will grant no privileges to the moſt deſpicable vil-
lage, knowing that when exempt from their domina-
tion, when become a refuge from their tyranny, it
will rife to power and to fplendor: That they will
reftrict commerce and manufactures within the nar-
roweſt bounds, and fubject Agriculture to the most
barbarous fyftem; recollecting, that, man to be fer-
vile, muſt be rendered miferable. The fmall portion
of remaining knowledge must be carefully confined
among those orders of men, which have been inftitut-
ed for the purpoſe, of availing themfelves of the ig-
norance of their fellow creatures, to maintain a do-
minion over them; and for this purpoſe it will be-
come indifpenfibly neceffary, not merely to regu-
late, but to annihilate the prefs; obliterating from the
knowledge of mankind the Art of Printing, as
effectually as preceding events have the perpetual
lamp and the embalming art.
If then, we believe it to be incumbent on us to re-
prefs that ſpirit of Jacobinifim which threaten the ſub-
verfion of the antient fyftems of Europe, it will be-
come us to adopt thele meafures, as the only ones
adequate to the end propofed; as it will become us
carefully to avoid being deluded by the adoption of
inefficient remedies. To partition France among
the neighbouring powers would only fpread her
T
( 16 )
principles more widely. To diminiſh her territories
by conquests would be of no avail, as however li-
mited in extent, it would ftill illuſtrate and diffem-
inate her principles of government. No change in
the perfons who exercife her government, or in the
forms in which it is adminiftered, can be material;
various changes have we already witneffed, and, Mr.
PITT acknowledges, that they have been all inimical,
and every fucceffive change, more and more, hoftile
to our views. Whatever differences may exift in
France, whether Girondifts or Maratifts, Jacobins or
Feuillants, Mountain or Moderates, the Partifans of the
one Conftitution or the other, it is admitted, that they
all hold principles adverfe to the antient fyftem of
Europe, and equally incompatible with any object
for which we profecute this war. So univerfally are
the noxious principles prevalent in France, that, in
all its wide extended coaft, we cannot infinuate our-
felves for a moment into a fingle port, without
recognizing the very conititution which the war was
undertaken to deſtroy; nor can we obtain admiſſion
among the woods of Corfica, without proclaiming
through Europe our fanction to principles which we
avowedly hold in abhorence, and which all the terrors
of the law are exerted to eradicate from amongst us,
as fubverfive to all order and government.
As, then, the object for which this war was under-
taken cannot poffibly be attained without extirpating
the French, and as we have been uniformly told, that
on the attainment of the object of the war, depended
every thing that was dear to us, nay our very exift-
ence; it then follows, that to fign a peace with
France on any terms whatever, must be figning
nothing less than our own deftruction, and annihila-
tion, nor can any man propofe peace with them.
without acknowledging the fallehood of thofe reafons
which have been affigned for the profecution of the
war, which must be purſued on the magnificent plan
of Mr. BURKE, that if we fail to extirpate the
French the war must be continued until they ex-
tirpate us. FINIS.
-
ON
:
PEACE
BY
WILLIAM FOX.
LONDON
SOLD BY M. GURNEY, No. 128, HOLBORN HILL,
1794.
(PRICE THREE-PENCE, OR FIVE FOR A
SHILLING.)
!
?
1
Y
}
I }
L
ONSCIOUS of the difguft which must be ex-
cited in the breaſt of every true born English-
man at the idea of peace in fo early a ftage of the
War, it becomes me to treat fo delicate a fubject with
the utmost caution; nor will it, I truſt, be imagined,
that I have affumed the Pen with the feditious view
of perfuading my countrymen to ſheath the ſword, or
that I dare to infinuate, that the enormity of devafta-
tion which has characterised this war, fhould be
pleaded in diminution of its duration. That five hun-
dred thouſand mangled corfes overfpread the fields of
death, is a fcanty portion of human mifery which
can ſcarcely be expected to induce us to clofe the
bloody ſcene, and reviewing paft occurrences, we are
bound to expect that during fucceffive years, inſtead
of fucceffive months, the full tide of the purple
ftream must flow, ere with fullen and difcontented
minds we are willing to fit down under the fhade of
Peace; for however diverfified may have been the
motives or the pretexts for War, yet Peace never
yet fprang from any other fource than a failure of
the means of carrying on War. Were the ob-
jects for which it was commenced fully obtained, it
was ftill to be purfued for new objects of ambition
or of intereft: was the pretended danger which en-
gaged us in War removed, new dangers ftill ter-
rified us from the thoughts of Peace: Was our ad-
verſary defeated, the war was ſtill to be purſued until
he was deſtroyed: were we defeated ourfelves, ftill
the thoughts of Peace were abhorrent to our nature,
and War muſt be purſued without hope and with-
out object. If fuch has ever been our conduct, little
ground can we have to look for Peace in the early
ſtages of a War, avowedly termed by its great pro-
jector an eternal War, to be undertaken for the ex-
prefs purpoſe of extermination.
Mr. Burke labours with ardour to imprefs on us
the laudable purpoſe of exterminating our enemies ;
Mr. Pitt, indeed, feems to doubt the poffibility of
exterminating an armed nation, of extenfive popula-
2)
tion, and poffeffed of immenfe reſources; but then
he holds out to us the confolatory idea, that if we
cannot exterminate the French, we may be at
length exterminated ourfelves. No fituation to which
we can be reduced, he fays, can juſtify us in making
Peace with the Jacobin Government of France, and
he infifts on our continuing the War until our laſt
guinea be ſpent, and the lafl man of us has fallen.
Abfurd in the extreme, therefore, is it to ſay, that
the object of this War is unexplained: furely no-
thing can be more clear and more definite, than that
you are to exterminate your enemies, or be yourſelves
exterminated in the attempt: it is a clear it is a plain
and obvious alternative; the first and greateſt good
they place before you is the deftruction of your ene-
mies, the fecondary and fubordinate one is the de-
ftruction of yourſelves; and there is one advantage
peculiar to this War, the object of it is certainly and
infallibly attainable; for though even the powerful
may fail in deſtroying their enemies, yet felf deftruc-
tion is certainly within the grafp of the weakeft.-
The moſt deſpicable wretch on earth may provoke
a powerful adverfary, and, without the leaft profpect
of fuccefs, may obftinatly perfift in the combat; teaſe
him with thruſt after thruſt, until he becomes neceffi-
tated to lay in the duft an affailant he defpifes,
merely to get rid of the trouble of parrying his im-
becile affaults.
As doubts may poffibly be entertained of our ever
enjoying that great and fupreme good fo temptingly
placed before us, the extermination of the French,
our attention becomes naturally turned to the fe-
condary one, the extermination of ourſelves, and
this may poſſibly be deemed, by fome, an event ſuf-
ficiently interefting, to demand a rather more accu-
rate inveſtigation than it has hitherto experienced.
That the War is to be continued until the laſt guinea
is ſpent and the laft man has fallen, feems to be a
text fufficiently important, to deferve illuftration;
and much is it to be lamented that the fame great
man who favoured us with the one, has neglected to
F
( 3 )
furniſh us with the other: He might have informed
us whether the laft Guinea and the laft Man were
to be taken in a literal or in a figurative fenfe.
If only the latter, they were certainly undeferving the
emphaſis of his expreffion and the energy with which
it was delivered. In that fenfe they must be equally
applicable to moft Wars; for if any ambitious pro-
ject or partial intereft be the object of any War, it is
not to be imagined that it will be abandoned, fo
long as thoſe who engaged us in the War can ob-
tain Men or Money, by any expedient which they
can adopt with fafety to themſelves. Let Lord
Hawkesbury be afked, whether the American War
would not have been continued to the prefent mo-
ment if Men and Money could have been obtained
for carrying it on? The people of this country have
ever plunged into War with cruel and fanguinary
alacrity, but, alas! they always recoil long before
the last Guinea or the laft Man is exhauſted. How-
ever fond of defolation and flaughter, they ftill im-
agine they may be purchafed too dear. The Mi-
niſter however popular, or however firmly feated in
power, at the commencement of a War, is always un-
horſed, when, after fucceffive campaigns, he comes
to demand the price at which the blood is to be
purchaſed: fome new faction then rifes into power
who make peace, which fome trivial circumſtance
foon interrupts and the fame routine takes place.
When Mr. Pitt tells us that the War is perfectly
unique, that all is at stake, and all must be rifqued
in its defence, he certainly means fomething more
than the ordinary refults of War. The millions of
Confols which Mr. Pitt has fold have been purchaſed
on the fpeculation, that it is a commodity which will
rife when peace fhall take place. The moment the
Money Jobbers really believe that no peace will ever
be made with France this refource muft fail, What
mode muſt be then adopted? When no lure remains
to obtain a voluntary loan, will a forced one be re-
forted to? In what order will the remaining Gui-
neas be put in a state of requifition? Will thofe
(4)
which are derived from Places and Penfions be
amongst the earlieſt or the most remote claffes?-
Surely it might alfo be excufable were we to wish
to be informed in what mode the last Man is to be
obtained: What expedients are to be adopted to
compell us to defend the Bogs of Holland and the
Woods of Hanover, beyond the ufual gradations of
lures held out to the weak; relief to the wretched;
indemnity to guilt; or the more dreadful one of
fraud and force ſpread over the land to feize every
unhappy individual towards whom it may be ima-
gined that fraud and force may be exercifed with im-
punity. As the Jacobin Government of France has
hitherto withſtood thofe notable expedients to over-
throw it, what additional ones are to be adopted?
When no hope fhall remain of fuccefs in carrying on
the War and defeat fhall follow upon defeat; If un-
der fuch circumftances we afk for Peace, will it be
deemed a fufficient anfwer to fay, that a Man is yet
to be ſeen walking in our ſtreets, or that there is a
folitary Guinea which has not filed our land. Be it
fo. Harſh as this fentence of univerfal Death' may
be deemed, it falls fhort of Mr. Burke's malediction
of Eternal War. Mr. Pitt, on the contrary, tells
us, The world fhall at length enjoy peace, when
the laſt Engliſhman fhall be no more. The world
may then confole itfelf with the hopes of feeing our
ifland poffeffed by a lefs noxious race of beings, and
its native Wolves again range through its dreary
wilds. But ftay. I had forgot. A more pleafing
profpect opens to my view. Our well cultivated
inland fhall not be abandoned to Wolves and Ser-
pents. Mr. Pitt tells us, The laft Man only muft
fall. The Women then, it feems, are not included in
the bloody profcription, and though no partizan of
liberty and equality has ever yet condefcended to
confider Woman as a part of the Human Race, al-
though all their principles and fyftems of govern-
ment, founded on the Rights of Man, have left the
Women unnoticed, as though they had no exiſtence,
yet furely, when the laft Man has fallen, on them the
*
i
( 5 )
Government muſt devolve, and Mr. Pitt will hardly
iafift on their purfuing the crufade againſt French
principles. It does not follow that they will look on
French Republicans with his malignity.
Should
Citizen Chauvelin then vifit our inland he may not
find the unaccommodating Buckram of Lord Grenville.
Should an embaffy be then fent to Paris, the French
will hardly have fo far forgot their ancient politeneſs
as not to receive it with open arms, beftow the fra-
ternal embrace, and old animofities forgotten, a
union as firm as a family compact, may then take
place, not founded on the fragil baſis of diplomati-
que arrangements, but built on the firm foundations
of nature, and our Women may entertain fentiments
very oppofite to the horrible exterminating ideas of
Mr. Burke and Mr. Pitt. They may venerate the
great first command given to Man, and, when the
laft Engliſhman fhall have fallen, may confider it as
a duty devolved on them to look around for means
to ſupport the tottering fabric of fociety. The
Thames and the Seine may entwine their branches,
and even without a rape the Romans and the Sabines
may become united. Thus at length, may I behold-
No, alas! I am one of the profcribed. Mr. Pitt
has fentenced me never to behold it, unleſs, indeed,
I can hide myſelf in a corner, and like Tom of Coventry
endeavour to get a peep.
But alas! vain are the views and projects of men,
and more eſpecially of politicians! It is not merely
the rich colouring of fancy, with which Hope gilds
the horizon, and illumines the path of life, which
proves evanefcent. No! happily for mankind, the
wild and malignant projects which are perpetually
originating from mad ambition, are as often crum-
bled in the duft, and Mr. Burke's eternal and exter-
minating War may be recorded to future ages,
merely as a peculiar inftance of defperate and pro-
fligate malignancy; for whatever temporary calami-
ties may refult, no apprehenfion need be entertain-
ed of its leaving any more trace behind, than have
( 6 )
the mad projects of univerfal empire formed by a
Lewis xiv. a William 11. or an Alberoni.
Affuming then with confidence, that this War will
not be eternal, but that, like other Wars, it muſt, at
length, be terminated by Peace; and, whether we
confider this as an evil to be deplored, or a good to be
deſired, it may not be improper to confider the vari-
ous circumſtances under which fuch an event may take
place, and its probable nature, and confequences.
Not in the leaſt meaning, by fpeculating on Peace,
to arreft the career of War; admitting the propriety
of Mr. Jenkinson's exhortations to commence our
career as a military nation, confidering manu-
factures and commerce as fubfervient, if not injurious
to its fpirit; I do not mean to infinuate that we ſhall
fail in finally attaining all the explained and unex-
plained objects for which this War is profecuted.-
When I fee Young Jenkinson abandon chuck-farthing
to thump the table in St. Stephen's Chapel, telling
us that he has no difficulty in faying that our object muſt
be to break the cruft of France, march to Paris, and
deſtroy the Jacobin Club. I for my part, have ne
difficulty in saying that I am as confident that this plan
will be effected, as Henry Fielding was that his Captain
at Rye would perform his magnanimous Oath, of pro-
ceeding on his voyage to Lifbon in fpite of the Winds,
the Waves, and the Devil. After this folemn decla-
ration of the orthodoxy of my faith in the fucceſs of
this War, I muſt, however, admit that I may poffibly
be mistaken. It is poffible that the prefent temporary
reverſe, as it is called, inftead of being the mere
fungus of a day, may prove to be an annual, a bien-
nial, nay a perennial. It is poffible that we may pur-
fue this War as a deſperate ſtake, abandoned by Hope,
fupported by Defpair, and furrounded with Difgrace;
and, if fuch fhould be the cafe, let us employ a few
moments in examining the probable reſult.
There are ſome amongst us who, difheartened by
our abandonment of Flanders and lofs of Valenciennes,
express their wifh, for a fafe and honourable Peace.-
Abfurd in the extreme. If when this War com
( 7 )
menced we were exposed to the most imminent
danger, a hundred fold must that danger be increas<<
ed were Peace to take place under the present cir-
cumstances. Is it to be imagined that we should
be now suffered to withdraw from the combat,
crowned with honour? If in pursuing the War suc-
cessive years had added to our conquests and our
triumphs, we certainly should have expected our
reward in a glorious Peace. If, on the contrary, de-
feat and disgrace have taken place it will become
us, with fortitude, to expect the effects in any en-
suing Treaty. No cireumstance has tended more
to protract our Wars than our uniform discontents
as to the terms on which they have been concluded.
It cannot, therefore, be deemed a useless specula-
tion, to enquire what are the terms which may be
expected, under respective given circumstances.
When we first thought proper to abandon a
dark, ambiguous, offenfive neutrality, and ring the
changes on the Scheldt, Savoy, and Avignon; had we,
instead of making the then state of things a pre-
tence for war, been really desirous of restoring and
securing the peace of Europe; had we, instead of
being, as Lord Grenville properly calls it, un-accom-
modating to Citizen Chauvelin, condescended to
enter into a real negociation with him, fully ex-
plaining the nature of the dangers we apprehend-
ed, and the terms we deemed requisite to secure
us from them; and, on a compliance with those
terms, had proposed an alliance for securing the
peace of Europe; had such been our conduct,
there is little doubt but that advantageous terms,
fully adequate to such views, might have been at-
tained. Peace and security were all that France
could wish for: war could only be rendered palat-
able by being considered as the means of obtaining
them; and the party then in power, even consi-
dered as a party, must have been interested in pre-
serving a real and permanent peace; as the war
threatened, and actually produced their destruc-
tion. Thus might peace have doubtless been ob-
( 8 )
1
tained, on the footing of national security, had such
been our real object; but alas! the prospect of
dividing or dismembering France was too tempt-
ing a bait to be abandoned for mere security. The
Maritime part of France, the West India Islands, the
uncontrouled domination of the East, however in-
jurious the possession might have proved to the
people of England, yet certainly to its ministers they
must have appeared as prizes, for the obtaining of
which every thing ought to be risked. If then we
sat down to play for so rich a stake, surely, if the
dye turns up against us, we must be content not
only to lose the stake for which we played, but an
adequate one of our own which we pledged against
it. If, indeed, in an early period of the game, we
had carefully calculated the chances, and found the
odds against us, we might have inanifested our
dexterity by getting rid of a losing game by in-
ducing our adversary to draw the stakes. If, when
at the commencement of the war, we had, by va-
rious means, obtained possession of Toulon, Valen-
ciennes, &c. instead of holding them out as eminent
successes, sufficiently varranting a continuance of
the war, we had calmly considered them as result-
ing from the impetus of the first efforts of an ex-
tensive alliance acting in perfect unison and in full
vigour; had we considered how inconsiderable, in
this respect they ought to have been viewed,
that it was not probable that the same uniform
vigour would continue to pervade such incongru-
ous bodies as the courts which composed the grand
alliance; that a proportionate degree of success,
even had it continued, would have exhausted every
source from whence such efforts could have been
supported, long before any material object of the
war could have been obtained; but that, on the
contrary, the increasing energy of the French peo-
ple rather portended the arresting our progress,
and tearing the laurels from our brow: Had we.
carefully attended to these circumstances, we might,
by surrendering conquests which could be of no
9.)
ase if retained, and which there was no probability
we should be able to retain, have made a parade
of disinterestedness, procured the restoration of
conquests in Savoy, have made a peace on the
ground of the statu quo; and, perhaps have obtained
some trifling advantages for ourselves. Nay, even
when we had suffered this period to elapse, when
the increasing energy of the French had destroyed
our illusory prospects, when their myriads had ex-
pelled us from Toulon, forced the lines of Weissem-
bourg, and overwhelmed us with defeat and dis-
grace before Dunkirk, even then the French might
have wished to have been delivered from the ne-
cessity of making such terrible exertions, or, doubt-
ing of the certainty of their continuance, might
have been willing to retire into the arms of peace,
on the ground of the statu quo. But no period has
since occurred in which such terms could reason-
ably have been expected. If, since that period,
the union of the high allies has been broken, their
measures deranged, their councils disordered, their
armies mouldering away, and their finances ruined;
if all the original assailants have abandoned the
contest, and England, who had recently entered the
field as an auxiliary, is become the sole principal;
if her Aucklands, her Spencers, and her Wyndhams,
are seen running up and down to whip in the stray
cruisaders, and enlist a few thousand troops to be
captured in fortress after fortress, or to rot in the
bogs of Holland; and in this enterprize are become
the dupes of Europe, cheated and laughed at from
court to court; on the contrary, if France be seen
with increasing strength and resources, trampling
on all the barriers with which she is surrounded;
the passes of the stupendous Alps and Pyrennees
forced; the frontier fortresses subdued; pouring
her armed myriads all around her; nay, what is
more, if the commerce of England falls before her
in an increasing proportion, threatening an annihi-
lation of the only source which feeds and supports
the war; then let us ask, what are the equitable
( 10 )
terms under such circumstances? If we possessed
such advantages, would any minister dare to pro-
pose to abandon our conquests, or even to arrest
their progress?
If Government, at a calamitous period, were to
favour us with the blessings of Peace, ungrateful,
in the extreme, would it be were we to murmur at
those concessions being made to which the enemy,
by the fair chance of War, had become entitled.
If we, at the commencement of the War, with no
foundation for our demand but delusive hope, in-
sisted on Indemnity and Security, surely France,
standing on her present eminence, has, at least, as
good a claim. May she not reasonably insist on
annexing to her empire such of her conquests as
may tend to her security and advantage? May she
not say, that experiencing the power of coalesced
Monarchs, it is requisite, for her security, that a
republican counterpoise should exist? That Poland,
disposed to a republic shall be left undisturbed to
form one, comprehending her ancient and most
extensive limits, that France may at least have
one Ally in Europe, standing on the same basis.
and united in the same common interest? and may
she not also say, that England shall no longer dis-
turb the peace of Europe with the wealth of In-
dostan: that she shall in future cease to possess
the riches of Asia, unless her industry, her wealth,
and her natural resources, will procure it her,
through the medium of lawful commerce?
be resolved to support the War beyond this crisis,
it must be in confidence of a very great and ex-
traordinary change in the aspect of affairs; whether
there exists any visible cause adequate to such an
effect some may doubt. If France attacked by all
the great military powers of Europe, with a vigour
and perseverance which was never equalled, has
not only repelled their attacks, but by her energy,
broken and dismayed the confederacy-exhausted
their resources---weakened and dismayed with re-
peated defeats their numerous armies-----if her ef
If it
( II )
forts have appeared to be, not as was predicted, a
sudden and preternatural exertion, but that her re-
sources have regularly increased, and manifest-
ed a stability unshaken amidst all the convulsions
her Government has experienced if, indeed,
England, standing alore and abandoned by her
Allies, can stem this mighty torrent, take Spain,
Italy, Germany, and Holland, under her protection,
drive their enemies at all points back into his own
territories, pursue him with her all conquering arm,
and overwhelm him with her terrible vengeance;
make France to its utmost limits tremble before
her, lick the dust at her feet, and bend the neck to
her yoke; then indeed may we justly claim Mr.
Jenkinson's epithet of a military nation: Almanza
and Briuegua shall be forgotten: Fontenoy, St. Cas,
and Closter Seven, shall be consigned to oblivion:
Braddock and Burgoyne shall be no more remembered:
Then may we prepare to gather our well earned
laurels, we shall desend to future ages, not merely
as the Desolators and Oppressors of Ireland, the
plunderers of Asia, the Kidnappers of Africa,
and the base Slave-holders of the West: but
crowned with Glory, eclipsing the triumphs of an-
cient Rome, and should out new ministers by
buying men abroad, and
them athome, ef-
fect this mighty project, then the most sceptical
amongst us will surely admit that miracles have not
ceased. On the contrary, suppose all the puny ef
forts of a Wyndham to fail, in steming this mighty
torrent; suppose defeat and retreat to become the
order of the day, and yet that we persist in play-
ing a desperate game, and venturing a deeper stake;
then let us for a moment deliberate on the probable
result.
Whatever degrading and opprobious language
contending governments may pour on each other,
with a view to inflame and stimulate their respective
subjectsto aid them in effecting their ambitious pro-
jects, yet, does it not follow that villifying epithets
( 12 )
and insulting recriminations must necessarily
become an obstacle to a treaty of peace. When
the parties become exhausted by War, they at
len prove to be as unmeaning as those protesta-
ler.
tics of perpetual friendship and eternal amity,
with which treaties of peace are always prefaced.
But though words are no obstacle to treating for
peace, yet actions may become such. If those who
govern, or who may hereafter govern France, shall
perceive that when all the great powers of the con-
tinent are disposed to abandon their projects.
against France (whatever they might be) as useless
or as hopeless, and they see England stand forth
alone to uphold the banners of war-if her emis-
saries are seen spreading over Europe to gather its
scattered remnants, and fan the dying embers-
if sustaining the war to the last shilling and the last
man, appears to be not merely the tropes of ora-
tory, but as bearing a real and unequivocal import,
it then seems to follow, that every principle on
which negotiation can ever take place is totally
done away. No motive for France ever listening
to terms of accommodation can then possibly exist.
Whatever disparity there may be between con-
tending nations, however the events of war may
have depressed the one or exalted the other; yet
any negotiation for peace must proceed on the prin-
ciple, that the triumphant has some ground yet
remaining for fear, and the depressed for hope.
The conqueror can have no motive for assenting to
a treaty securing his conquests, unless those with
whom he treats possess some degree of power,
which may disturb him in the possession; nor will
he enter into any compact which can circumscribe
their extent, unless it be with those whom he sup-
poses are in some degree able to stop their pro-
gress. The nation who has totally exhausted all
means of offence and defence can therefore have no
pretence to treat: she can only claim it on the
ground that she has something which she can de-
fend, or that there is something which she can gua-
( 13 )
rantee. If then we persist in this war, not on the
ground of there being a possibility of success, but
merely because we can continue it---if, weaker and
weaker, we present a hostile front to our adversary
until at last we can no longer even aim the im-
becile stroke, and we lie breathless and unnerved
before him; it will then be only for us to wait and
see whether he will spare us from pity or contempt,
or crush us from indignation or vengeance.
To those who shall survive the present conflict,
so terminated, it may become an interesting cir-
cumstance to see what will be the conduct of
France, in so new and important a situation. Will
she say, behold the nation, who has long looked on
us with unabating and implacable animosity; who
has uniformly arraigned the order of Providence by
stigmatizing us as her natural enemy; who, for
above a century, had intrigued with all the powers of
Europe to distress and to destroy us; who secure from
the ravages of war, by her insular situation, had
involved Europe in perpetual and bloody contests,
that, while it was convulsed, she might seize all
the commerce of the world: See the nation who,
while the riches of our merchants were on the ocean,
in confidence of the law of nations, swept the whole
into her ports, and then dared to exult in the su-
periority thereby obtained: but, above all, see her
who had long derived advantage from the ancient
authority of her Kings being diminished, the op-
pressive jurisdiction of her Nobles annihilated, and
the accummulated wealth of her clergy dispersed,
yet were so dead to all the feelings of humanity as
to insult us as slaves, because subject to the yoke;
and yet when, with unprecedented energy, we had
shaken off our despotism,were so far from encouraging
us with her countenance, aiding us with her sup-
port, or assisting us with her advice, that when we
looked anxiously around and solicited universal
peace, she spurned our alliance, refused the office
of mediator to sheild us from the horrors of war,
looked on while the Despots gathered round us,
( 14 )
and at last headed the blood hounds of war, while
her Senate, her Pulpits, and her Press, overflowed
with such torrents of diversified base malignity as
to excite a doubt whether the wickedness or the
folly were predominant. See her now lie heipless
before us
Shail we terminate her existence as a
nation? shall Asia, shall Africa, shall America, re-
joice in her destruction? shall she no longer con-
taminate the page of history, and disgrace the hu-
man species?
Whatever line of conduct the French may adopt
under such circumstances, it is to be feared we have
given them, by our conduct, too just a plea, and too
strong a sanction. If we carried on the war to
give them the blessings of our constitution, they
may, if they chuse it, give us theirs. If we intend-
ed to give them a King, Lords, and Clergy, they
may imagine they have as good a right to take ours
away. If their interest prompts them to interfere
in our internal Concerns, to arrange our Laws, our
Government, and our Property, the speeches of Mr.
Pitt, Lord Mansfield, &c. will be authorities to the
point. If they wish to parcel out the nation amongst
their friends, they may refer to our Treaties with
our Allies; and should they wish for good Ports in
the Channel, they may, to save the expence of
making one at Cherbourg, keep possession of Ports-
mouth and Plymouth, and insist on choaking up
Thames, and refer us to Dunkirk, Calais, and Gibraltar.
Perhaps, they may wish to make the fertile part
of our island a potatoe garden; or they may think
our pastures are fit to breed sheep, to supply with
wool the French manufactures, and beef and pork
to victual their navies; they may then drive us,
like a herd of goats, into the mountains of Scot-
land, and Wales; call the rest of the island the
French pale, shoot us like wolves and pole-cats, if
we dare to enter it, parcel it out amongst the
friends of the Committee of Safety, give the tythes
to some French Atheists, on condition of their sub-
the
( 15 )
scribing creeds which every body know they laugh
at; then they may send Tom Paine to govern us,
and, if we murmur, they may point to Ireland.
Should they happen to see our East-India charter,
it may suggest the thought of selling the island and
inhabitants to him, for half a million per annum ;
or perhaps, they may deem it more profitable were
they to employ our Liverpool ships to convey all
the young men, women, and children, and sell them
to the people of France; the sale would diminish
their debts, and furnish labourers to cultivate the
vineyards, while their inhabitants, instead of work-
ing, might dance the carmagnol, and sing ca ira. In
such case, they might find plenty of evidence, pro-
duced before a committee of the House of Commons
by Lords, and Knights, and Squires, proving the
miserable situation of the people of England, and
how much they would be benefited by being made
slaves.
But it is possible that some sublime and beautiful
Orator, or some subtle Logician, may rise in the Na-
tional Convention, and contend, with violence, for
abfolute extermination. He may contend that
English principles are detestable, and incompatible
with all order and government. He may contend
that to suffer a nation to exist, whose government,
and whose laws, are derived from barbarous ages,
and savage nations, is an example dangerous to civil
society, Should he hear that an inclement season
had destroyed our harvest, and that, without a large
foreign supply, famine and pestilence must deso-
late the land, he might urge them to seize the
happy moment, and, at one stroke, destroy those
enemies to order and government. The advice
might be adopted; our island might be declared in
a state of starvation; and, as if infested with the
plague, we might be cut off from the world, and all
mankind prohibited from relieving our distress, and
even this they may ignorantly suppose even a Royal
Proclamation to have sanctioned.
If then we suppose that French power, combined
( 16 )
with English principles, may produce such effects, it
may possibly be doubted whether it would be more
calamitous if French power, if it becomes predomi-
nant, were to act on French principles. They, perhaps,
may not prove so calamitous and so mischievous as
some apprehend. Confraternity does not seem to
be much worse than extirpation. Let half a million
of fellow creatures in the West Indies tell us if there
be not greater evils than even Fraternization.
Cannot Indostan tell us that conquerors can over-
whelm a country with more dire calamities than
melting Church bells and seizing Church plate; and
Ireland may, probably, imagine that the abolition of
Tythes is not the most diastrous law which a power-
ful nation may impose on a weaker.
Should we at length fall into the hands of our en-
raged adverfaries, after having for years poured out
every degrading and infulting epithet on them,
we may, perhaps, at length happily experience their
falfehood; their conduct may even fall fhort of our
prefent conduct in Indoftan, they may not diffolve
all the landed property of the kingdom, they may
not difpofe of the rent of every acre of cur land
among the mifcreants whom France may vomit forth.
It is poffible, that we may find, that the princi-
pal evils we fhall have to experience, may be thofe
which the War produced, not thofe, againft which
it was to guard us. We may find, that like the
American Conteft, we have involved ourſelves in the
calamities of War, to avoid ideal danger, nay that
even unexpected benefits may refult. Should the War
terminate in depriving us of all our foreign depen-
dencies, ſhould the plunder of India no longer deluge
our land, fhould our mart of flavery no longer exiſt,
and fhould our Minifters be delivered from the thraldom
of governing a neighbouring Island, fhould we be-
kold in our Sovereign merely a King of Great
Britain, and our Houle of Commons ceafe to be
crouded with the reprefentatives of Weft India Slavery
or an Eaft India Squad, it is poffible that the change
produced on our Government, our Laws, and general
Polity may not prove extremely calamitous.-FINIS.
( 1 )
Fall the peculiar circumstances which charac-
terize the present æra, it is not the least re-
markable, that Charges of High Treason should be
brought forward at a period which seems to be
so unappropriate, that it is become requisite to dress
up this branch of our Law in a mode so novel,
that its most prominent features can scarcely be
recognised.
At every former period, when Trials for Treason
have engaged the attention of our Courts, the oc-
casion has been obvious. Some rebellion had con-
vulsed the Land; a competitor had claimed the
Throne; or a belief of serious attempts against the
life of the Sovereign, had occasioned a general
alarm that it was in danger. But we now see
Britons dragged before the Bar of Justice en masse
as Traitors, at a time when no War exists but
a foreign one, which has been sedulously, if not
wantonly, sought for; and in which it must have
been madness in the extreme to have engaged
us, had it been believed that there existed
amongst us the seeds of a dangerous conspiracy
against the State. It was a firm persuasion that the
people were attached not only to the King, but
even to his Ministers, in an unexampled degree, which
emboldened us to engage in projects of wild am-
bition; and if their failure has excited discontent
it was a natural effect. It was the discontents,
arising from the ill success of a former War, which
raised the Minister to his present situation; and
absurd, in the extreme, must it be to stigmatize
as Traiterous those discontents which Mr. Pitt, and
his Coadjutors, excited in a former War, or those
which may now exist. To whatever extent our
discontents may prevail, yet never was there a pe-
riod in which they had so little relation to Treason.
No one disputes the King's Title to the Crown; and
so far are we from wishing for a diminution of
His Prerogative, that, when it was apprehended a
former House of Commons was attempting an in-
eroachment the Nation arose almost to a Man, joined
12
( 2 )
Mr. Pitt as the avowed Champion of Prerogative,
and thus enabled him to crush the most formidable
Parliamentary Coalition that ever had existence.
Some, there are, indeed, who believe that "The
influence of the Crown has increased, is increasing,
and ought to be diminished;" and Mr. Pitt, having,
it is said, loudly proclaimed through the nation
that an East India Nabob had eight Members in our
House of Commons, and that it is so constituted that
foreign Powers may purchase seats, and, by putting
in their Agents, control our Government, some
are apt to imagine that such a body, possessing so
large a share in the Government, is dangerous to
the Community, and ought to be reformed. From
the nature of the late American contest it is not
extraordinary if the Duke of Richmond, Mr. Burke,
and the other Partizans of America, should have
disseminated Republican Principles, and if there be
some who, like Mr. Burke, "admire a Republic,"
who exclaim "That the Americans could not bear
the smell of Monarchy, even at 3000 miles distance;"
yet is there no reason to suppose that even such
men wish the death of the King, because they know
the only effect would be that the throne would be
instantly filled by another; and whatever contempt
for the King Mr. Burke may have disseminated,
yet is there not an individual who wishes to see him
"hurled from his throne," unless he be among those
who look for a place from his successor. Does the
conduct of the Sovereign manifest any idea of his
danger? has he doubled his guards? or does ha
wear a coat of mail? No! he walks and rides
about, justly unconscious of fear; and if his Minis-
ters think that there is one individual who is
plotting his destruction, they are traitors to their
Sovereign in suffering hin to go so exposed. But they
know he is in no danger; and it may be surmised
that they resort to the Law of Treason to protec
themselves, not him. So far are they from fearing
any civil commotion, that they scatter the national
force through distant regions; and, instead of ap-
F
i
( 3 )
prehending it to be needed for the purpose of quel-
ling domestic rebellion, they can spare it to protect
Holland and Hanover, to guard the Pope, and to
India. Of domestic insurrection we have, indeed,
had some instances: but, far from being treasonable,
they were merely Church and King Mobs, incited
by some of the zealous friends of the Ministers to
plunder and murder a few individuals, who were
pointed out as being inimical to their measures.
Through the whole range of our history, not a pe-
riod can be discovered which seems to have so little
reference to the Law of Treason, and some may be
apt to ask, whether our Ministers now resort to it on
any other principle than that on which a drunken
carman, when he gets well drubbed in an affray
abroad, comes home and wreaks his vengeance on
his wife and children.
However extraordinary it may be deemed that
the cry of Treason should be heard at such a pe-
riod, yet it cannot be deemed extraordinary that, if
it be heard, it should be heard to babble the gib-
berish of the times. If it be exhibited to the pub-
lic view we must expect to see it dressed a-la-mode,
and shaped to the fashion of the day; and it is a
fortunate opportunity for those who attend the
toilet of Treason to manifest their adroitness and in-
genuity, in fitting her to their purpose. If this be
too difficult a task they must then throw dust in
our eyes; or, while they are calling on us to be-
hold the work they place before us, it must be en-
veloped in a mist, that we may be unable to detect
its imperfections. A Blackfione may have told us
that "Treaſon is a crime which ought to be most precife-
ly afcertained; for if it be indeterminate, this alone is
fufficient to make any government degenerate into arbi-
trary power;" yet we need not be surprized if a
judge should now say to a jury "it is impoffible that
any certain rule should be laid down for your govern-
ment," that treasonable acts "must remain for ever
( 4 4)
)
infinitely various"---that men afembled peaceably may
finally and fuddenly involve themfelves in the crime of
High Treafon"--and "that the process is very fimple"
whereby, even "honeft men, lovers of their country, nay,
loyal to their prince, if eagerly bent on speculative im-
provement," may be subjected to the most horrible
sentence which the law has devised to punish the
"greatest crime against faith, duty, and human fociety."
If a judge should thus pronounce that honeft men
lovers of their country, and loyal to their prince, peaceably
affembled, may be dragged before a Revolutionary
Tribunal, which has no certain rule laid down for its
government, and if a jury should return humble
thanks to the judge, that honest men, and lovers of
their country, are thus liable to be dragged before
them for offences into which they may be fuddenly
involved, if they happen to be bent on fpeculative im-
provements, may we not be permitted to ask whether
this alarming doctrine be an excrescence from
existing circumstances, intended to make "terror
the order of the day," for the suppression of specu-
lation on improvements in Government, which our
Ministers suppose to be peculiarly dangerous be-
cause from themselves they originated, because but
for them they would never have engaged the public
attention, and because the Societies, which they
themselves formed for their dissemination, have
persevered in the conduct marked out for them,
and have refused to "face about" at the command
of their drill serjeants, with the adroitness which
a rigid disciplinarian might expect.
As I never had the honour of belonging to a Con-
stitutional, or a Corresponding Society, or enlisted
under the banners of Parliamentary Reform---As the
celebrated letter to Colonel Sharman failed to con-
vince me of the necessity, or wisdom, of calling on
a licentious mob to assume the Legislative Autho-
rity, who had just attempted to lay the capital in
ruins, and murder the Chief Justice of England.
As I was silly enough to laugh at Mr. Pitt's plan of
regenerating the House of Commons, by a revolu-
( 5 )
tionary process of 100 years---As even Mr.Dundas's
speech in favour of Parliamentary Reform produced
no very powerful conviction on my mind-As,
however fully the speeches of Citizens Pitt, Burke,
Wyndham, and Richmond, &c. might prove the vile-
ness, and corruption, of the assemblies they har-
rangued, yet I rather thought it preferable to leave
them in possession of the powers they possessed,
than risk the peace of the community by attempt-
ing to rescue it from their hands; as having had in-
variably these views it will be hardly imagined that
I mean to defend the disorderly recruits whom
Serjeant Richmond and Corporal Pitt have enlisted in
the cause of Parliamentary Reform. To "advance”
when they should “ face about," to "march" when
ordered to "halt," were circumstances sufficiently
provoking to any leader, whether strutting at the
head of his corps in St. James's Park or in St Ste-
phen's Chapel. But let the offence be properly
charged, and let the punishment be appropriate;
let them be tied up to the halbert or whipped out
of the regiment; but do not shoot them for deser-
tion. If, in 1782, Citizen Pitt, or in 1792, Citizen
Tooke, clamour for a reform of the House of Com-
mons, what, in the name of common sense, can it
have to do with a branch of our law founded solely
on a statute made centuries before any thing which
had a resemblance to our House of Commons exist-
ed? If Queen Elizabeth vouchsafed to order some
despicable Boroughs in Cornwall to send up 16
members to attend in the lower House of Parlia-
ment, where they were ordered to interfere in no
political concerns without her permission; if in the
next century they conspired to murder her succes-
sor, exclude his son from the throne, and establish
a Revolutionary Government; and, suppose a cen-
tury afterwards some persons should insist that
these Cornish Burgesses should be reduced to their
original nothingness, I do not say but laws may be
made inflicting specific pains and penalties on those
who shall dispute the right of these Cornish Bur-
( 6 )
gesses to the share they posses in the Legislature;
but it is not easy to discover how they can derive
protection from laws made to protect the lives of
monarchs, whom they have murdered, or to fortify
that regal power which they have encroached on,
if not subverted. If the biscuit bakers, and all the
other rabble, who fill the seats in St. Stephen's
Chapel, wish to protect their sacred persons, by
those awful sanctions with which the ancient laws
of the kingdom guarded the sovereign, his consort,
and the heir to the throne; if it be requisite to
deem an attack upon them to be equivalent to a
rebellion against the monarch's authority, why can-
not those things be effected by an enacting law?
such was the mode adopted by their worthy pre-
decessors, in the middle of the last century, adroit
as they were in adopting the fiction of taking up
arms by his authority against the life and person of
the sovereign, yet it never entered their heads that
conspiracies against the House of Commons were
overt acts of compassing the death of the King!
If they had, their proceedings might have assumed
a more legal form; and, instead of charging the
King with the strange fiction of Treason against the
People of England, he might have been indicted
on the Statute of Edward III. for compassing and
imagining his own death; and seizing the five mem-
bers and conspiring against the House of Com-
mons laid as the overt acts of the Treason; as a
Judge has solemnly delivered it as Law, that "a
force upon the Parliament must be immediately di
rected against the King." But it seems that Par-
liament, though anxious to intrench themselves
deep in the Law of Treason, had no idea of this
subtilty, and were therefore necessitated to take
the plain road; and, in the course of seven years,
passed no less than eleven acts on Treason, whereby
whoever shall contrive, or endeavour to stir up,
or raise force against the present Government, or
for the subversion, or alteration (that is Parliamen-
tary Reform) of the same, and shall declare the
17
7 1
same by any open deed, shall be deemed and ad
judged to be guilty of High Treason." Thus these
ignorant men were at the trouble of making eleven
acts to constitute attempts to obtain a Parliamen-
tary Reform Treason, although, as is now dis
covered, it was then already Treason, by the exist-
ing laws, of which even a Hale, then on the Bench,
was ignorant.
We are told "that a project for a Convention,
which has for its object the obtaining a Parlia-
mentary Reform, and that object only, but the 'ob-
taining it without the authority of Parliament, and
steps taken upon it would be High Treason im
all the actors in it! Now, I must acknowledge
that, from the first moment in which I could spell
a page in the English History, I have uniformly
beheld the House of Commons with the utmost loath-
ing, whether I considered their vile servility to all
the capricious and diversified cruelties of the Tudors,
their cunning cajoling conduct to the silly James,
their deep and infernal policy in murdering his
Successor, and usurping the regal power, and
their despicable imbecility when trampled on by
Cromwell; when I trace the dreadful labyrinths of
perjury which characterize their Journals in the
reign of Charles II. or their inertness under the
important circumstances which distinguished the
time of James II. let it be supposed then, that
with these views, I had lived in the year 1688, I
might then possibly have joined a body of con-
spirators at Chalk Farm, ail "Honest Men, Loyal
to their King, and Lovers of their Country," and
"an Impetuous Man might have precipitated us
into crimes of unforseen danger, and magnitude,"
by thus addressing us, "Citizens a foreign army
has landed in the Kingdom, and has been suffered
to march to London, under colour of a Declara-
tion that the General only meant to deliver us from
some grievance under which, he says, we groan,
and to remedy which he promised to call a
free Parliament, instead of fulfilling his promise
A
( 8 )
1
he has seized on the King's Palace, ordered Him by
a Lettre de cachet, to retire to Rochester, and thus ren-
dered it impossible that any Parliament, on the
principles of our Constitution, can ever exist, as
of such Parliament the King is an "integral part;"
having dissolved the old Government, they tell us
the Government devolves upon the people: 'but,
instead of assembling a Convention of the People to
form a new Government, or to reorganise the old,
we see this wretch assemble the Common Council of
London, and the old corrupt House of Commons, who
are so far from being chosen by the People of
England, that, it is said, 162 persons can command
a majority, with this majority the House of Lords
has been terrified, and necessitated to comply with
"existing circumstances" and under this sanction this
foreign General is about to be placed on the throne.
Will you suffer this traiterous design against your
lawful Sovereign to take place? No! let us take
our Pikes, enter St. Stephen's Chapel, and dye the
Silver Thames with the Blood of the Monsters." Sup
pose, deluded by such a Speech, we had issued
forth to execute the design, and had been seized,
and brought to trial for Treason, and a Judge had
told the Jury that "a force upon the Parliament
must be immediately directed against the King,"
and, consequently, that a conspiracy and intention
to attack the Members of the House of Commons,
to prevent their dethroning the Sovereign, was an
overt act of compalling and imagining his death.
But, perhaps, it may be deemed counter-revolution-
ary to treat so disrespectfully the immortal William,
I will, therefore, suppose the National Convention of
France to send over Tom Paine, with 16,000 troops;
that the King's Ministers and Children should con-
spire with the 162 Persons, who, we are told, can
command a majority in the House of Commons, and
that they should attempt to place Tom Paine upon
the Throne; suppose some Persons, who might
object to the King's being thus "hurled from his
Throne," were to meet at Chalk Farm, provide
( 9 )
p. es, and take measures for attacking the House of
Commons; this would, it seems, be Treason, even
though we thereby preserved the King on his throne,
for we are told, "a force upon the Parliament must be
directed against the King."
But, here, I may be told that I am wandering
amongst the absurdest of imaginations, to sup-
pose it to be possible that the House of Commons can
ever, for a moment, fail of entertaining the pro-
foundest veneration, the warmest attachment, and the moft
inviolable fidelity, to the Sovereign. Our political
Trinitarians will tell us that though King, Lords,
and Commons, are three, yet that these three are
one; and that, therefore, it is perfectly safe to con-
sider a conspiracy against the Cornish Boroughs as
the outward and visible sign of an inward and
treasonable design against the life of the Sovereign.
Whether this fine spun theory of mixed Govern-
ment be warranted by nature, and experience,
may possibly be doubted. The Government of
nations is too rich a booty to be cordially, and peace-
ably, divided: nor does the union seem to be of
such a permanent nature as to warrant its be-
coming a principle of Law.----The Law of Trea-
son was framed to give a special protection to the
Sovereign; nor does it seem any more consistent
with Loyalty than with Law to share it among
those who have wrested a portion of the sovereign
Power from the hands of the Monarch. In what
age would our Kings have considered conspiracies
against the lower House of Parliament as on a
footing with Treason against themselves? even
though the House of Commons generously gave
the Crown to the immortal William, yet it is not very
certain that even he would have considered it as
Treason had they been blown up into the air, by
a new Gunpowder Plot. Oh! but, we shall be
told that, the case is prodigiously altered; that,
however scurvily this lower House of Parlia
ment may have used our former Monarchs, yet
they have chosen the House of Hanover as their
peculiar favourite; and, therefore, the least that the
→
10
Crown, and the Crown Lawyers, can do in return
is to dignify it with all the sanctions, and all the
prerogatives, which our laws gave to our ancient
Sovereigns. Were the fact true, the interence
might be deemed natüral: but I think Historians
tell us that, before George I. had been two years on
the throne, he feared to trust the 162 persons who,
we are told, enjoy the right of nominating a ma-
jority of the House of Commons, to send him a
new one; and he was necessitated actually to
change the Constitution of Parliament, to attempt
which, I think, is now laid down to be Treason'
though indeed it is the shortening of Parliaments,
which is alluded to as a criminal attempt. Whe-
ther a conspiracy to lengthen them be as criminal,
we are left in the dark; though the distinction
seems to be rather arbitrary, for it does not seem
to be any more treasonable to conspire to ſhorten
Parliament, from 7 to 3 years, than to conspire to
lengthen them from 3 to 7. The same great au-
thority lays down, as "a a principle never to be de-
parted from, that alterations in the Law of holding
Parliaments can only be effected by the King, Lords and
Commons: supposing then the House of Commons
to possess a Divine right (I say Divine right, because
I know of no other they can claim) to a third share
of the Government, yet it, certainly, can be only
for the limited time for which they are chosen.-
At its expiration they return among the " Swinish
Multitude," from whence they were taken; the
persons who chose them may be dead, the burgage
tenure, or the borough which communicates this
Divine right of governing may, by descent, or pur-
chase, have gone into other hands; the old Re-
presentatives can be deemed but leafeholders, and,
at the expiration of their terms, could no more
possess any right to govern than the Scotch Con-
vention, or any other body of men; whence it,
perhaps, seems to follow that the Members of the
House of Commons, who met in 1717, may by some,
be deemed to have come within the description
I I }
of "People met together in Convention in order to ufurp
the Government of the Country;" any one step to-
wards which, we are told, would be the clearest
High Treason. And it may be worthy consider-
ation whether this construction of the Law of
Treason might not implicate the then King, and
House of Lords.
If such consequences follow, from considering a
Convocation of the People to change the frame
and constitution of the House of Commons as
Treason against the Sovereign, we shall be involved
in still greater difficulties, when we consider that
this strangely constituted body, which Mr. Pitt
tells us, consists, in part of the Representatives of
East India Nabobs and is liable even to be sub-
jected to foreign influence, have sometimes made
great efforts to awe the Monarch, and control him
in the exercise of his undoubted prerogatives, nay,
even since they have placed their favourite House
of Hanover on the Throne. Some, indeed, have
imagined that the policy of our Revolutionists was
to introduce a foreign family, on purpose that it
might become abjectly dependent upon the lower
House of Parliament. If, in such a juncture,
66
Honeft men, loyal to their Prince," were to meet in
Convocation to overawe fuch a House of Commons,
nay, even to endeavour to change its Constitution,
when they saw it attempting to encroach on the
prerogatives of the Crown, and, possibly, under the
influence of foreign Powers, it surely seems to be
not merely a conftructive, but a firangely conftructive,
Treason, to deem such attempts, to control the
lower House of Parliament, to be overt acts of
conspiring the death of the King, though actually in-
tended to guard his Life and Prerogatives from the
incroachments of the House of Commons
Those who imagine these cases to be imaginary,
who suppose the House of Commons and the So-
vereign to be always in unison, ought to look a little
farther than speeches from the Throne, and ad-
dresses to it. They will do well, if they wish tọ
( 12
understand the true nature of the British Govern
ment, not to trust solely to forms and customs, let
them read Biſhop Newton's Life, prefixed to his
Works, and they will see in how degraded a situ-
ation a King of England may appear. They may
see a triumphant party in this lower House of Par-
liament, not merely treating with the Sovereign,
but impofing terms on him which in some mea-
sure to avert he was necessitated to resort to
something so much like artifice as to excite our
pity if not our contempt: but perhaps it is not re-
quisite to refer to Books or Events, which the lapse
of half a Century has consigned to oblivion. No,
scarcely ten years have elapsed since the most dis-
cordant sounds were heard, from among the seve-
ral branches of our well balanced Government, a
discord so harsh, and resounded so loudly through
the land, that I heard it in my garret. I was told
"That the House of Commons had overawed the So-
vereign, forced themfelves into the Cabinet, neceffitated
the King to bestow all the great Offices of the executivé
Government on men whom he abhorred, who had, for
years, oppofed all his measures, and fome of whom
had treated him with the moft degrading insult; that he
was neceffitated to fubmit to be dragged to his throne, to
have the hateful words La Roy le veult grated in his
ears, without daring to express a murmur at Bills which
he loathed, and which were levelled at defpoiling him of
his influence, as his Predeceffors had been defpoiled of
their authority. I was told that this Houfe of Commons had
crammed the Royal Stomach, with PORTLANDS, and
BURKES, and WYNDHAMS, until it heaved with
the loathſome potions, when at length Pitt and Co.
got access to the Sovereign, and exhorted him to discharge
the noiſome mess, in confidence that the People would
overave the Houſe of Commons, and fupport the Mo-
narch." Having ever uniformly abhorred the House
of Commons, having ever considered the power
of which they had, in the last Century, bereaved
the Monarch, as far more dangerous and injurious
to the People when in their hands, than in the
(
13 )
66
hands of even the worst of our Kings. I exulted,
therefore, in the event. I walked 30 miles to give
an unsolicited vote to a perfect Stranger, in op-
position to applications which it was painful to
resist. We succeeded. The 162 persons, who,
we are told, return a majority of the House of
Commons, would not, or could not, resist the
general voice. But, suppose the reverse, suppose
these 162 had persisted in obtruding the PORT
LANDS, WYNDHAMS, BURKES, and ELLIOTS, on
the Sovereign; suppose then I had conspired with
others having the same views, suppose Mr. PITT
or some other person had said,------ Shall 162 iudi-
viduals not only give law to ten millions of People,
but shall they equally control their Will, and trample on
the Prerogatives of the Crown, and the Privileges of
the Peers of the realm? Shall thefe 162 be permited to
claim the exclufive right of holding the Public Purfe,
of diſpenſing it, with wanton prodigality, when per-
mitted to divide amongst themselves the great Offices of
the State: but threatening to with-hold the most necef-
fary Supplies, threatening to diforganize the State, by
refufing to meet the most preffing public exigencies,
unless the Sovereign abandons his ancient and undoubted
Prerogatives, and fuffers them to fill all the great Offices
of the executive Government with their creatures, and
hafjes every Bill they may chufe to manufac ure? And
Shall the King, and his People, be thus jet at defiance
by an inconfiderable body of men unknown to our An-
reſtors, but who being fuffered, by fome of our Sovereigns,
to attend upon him in Parliament, and lay their humble
Petitions at the foot of the throne, have, by degrees. not
merely poſſeſſed themſelves of a ſhare of legiſlative power,
but, affuming the character of Reprefentatives of the
People, can thus fet both the People and the Soveroga
at defiance; fay, will you fuffer 162 individuals to ſeize
the Helm of State, compelling the King to give it to the
DUKE OF PORTLAND; or, will you rife in fupport of
the Royal Right, to bestow it upon Mr. PITT?
Shall we enter into St. Stephen's Chapel, das out
the Speaker's brains, with his mace, and bear away
( 14 )
the Heads of the Whole Body on our pikes?
Shall we any longer juffer the Cornish Boroughs
#o send Nabobs and Slave-holders to give Laws
to us aud our King? Or shall be enjoy his Prero-
gatives, uncontroled, unless, when we have destroy-
ed the prefent lower House of Parliament, he shall
deem it expedient to form one on a plan more confift-
ent with the public happiness, and with his Preroga-
tives"-Whether such a speech would have been
illegal, abfurd and wicked, I will not inquire; nor will -
I dispute but, had the purpose been carried into
effect, we might have been executed as murderers
and rioters, but I wish to ask Mr. ANSTRUTHER,
Whether he would have advised his Party to in-
dict us for compassing and imagining the death of
the King, and have laid, as the overt act, a con-
spiracy not indictable of itself, and which could
no way support a charge of Treason, but on a
supposition of its being intended against the Lite
of the King, when the sole intention of the con-
spirators was precisely the reverse, and (whether
mistakenly or otherwise is not the question) to
defend the King, and to rescue him from a depen-
dence on a body of men who had murdered one
of his Ancestors.
It must be recollected that no conspiracy or
preparation to levy War, is of itself Treason.
The War must be actually levied, and against
the King, to make it so. If, then, circumstances
occur in almost every period of our History, an-
cient and modern, wherein a conspiracy against
the lower House of Parliament might exist, and yet
be so far from implicating a design against the
Life of the King, that it might spring from mo-
tives and principles not only unconnected, but even
adverse to it, one would hardly have imagined,
unless we had it from very high authority, that
"It seems to follow, as a necessary consequence,
that a project of a Convention, which should have
for its object the obtaining a Parliamentary Reform,
( 15 )
and that object only, but the obtaining it with-
out the authority of Parliament, and steps taken
upon it, would be High Treason in all the actors
in it."
Nay, if a project to reform the lower House
of Parliament be of such a formidable nature, as
that attempts to obtain an exclusion of Cornish
Burgesses, or an East India Squad, must be con-
strued as "a confpiracy to overturn the Gevernment;"
it may, possibly, seem to imply that this lower
House of Parliament has acquired a greater im-
portance, and a larger share, in the Government,
than it formerly enjoyed, or, than, as some may
think, it ought to possess. That an actual in-
surrection to destroy the lower House of Parlia
ment may be an offence amenable to our Laws,
on the same principle as an Insurrection to de
stroy Meeting Houfes has been deemed so, I mean
not to dispute; because, though the object and in-
tention of the insurgents were laudable, yet, as
the means they take to effect the purpose is dan-
gerous to the State, as it is impossible to limit the
effects of a popular Commotion, as it may ever
endanger the fafety of the Sovereign, the Law
very properly interposes its sanction, to secure the
Peace and Safety of the State. But, however dan-
gerous such commotions may be deemed, though
a fertile imagination may fancy that they are, "In.
effect to introduce Anarchy, and that which An-
archy MAY CHANCE to settle down into after the
King may have been brought to the scaffold, and after:
the Country has suffered all the miseries which
discord and Civil War MAY produce," yet, as
it does not follow that the intention of the insur-
gents must necessarily be the Destruction of the
King, such insurrections never yet have been
deemed overt acts of compassing or imagining his.
Death; far less have confpiracies for such Purposes
been considered as such. They have, like other
criminal purposes, been left unnoticed by our
Laws, until they actually ripened into action.
( 16 )
1
If, owing to exifting circumftances it may even af-
ford a tempory security to the Monarch, to deem
a conspiracy against the lower House of parliament
as on a footing with a conspiracy against his Life,
yet may there be danger in establishiug it as a prin-
ciple of Law: existing circumstances may take place
in which the principle may be considered as ap-
proximating to Treason, because it seems to im-
ply that the Government vests in them as well as
in Him, which is not the language of our Law.
Our ancient Monarchs, certainly, would not have
been very much gratified with such a description of
their Government, and, if our Kings have, of late
years, suffered the lower House of Parliament to
possess the Government of the Country, it does not
seem very natural that we are to become the suf
ferers, and be implicated in crimes unknown to our
Ancestors: for neither amongst all the adjudged
cases, from the Year books to Burrows, nor in all
our cart loads of Law Books, from Bracton to
Blackstone, will Treason against the House of Commons
be found. Our modern Lawyers have set out on a
Voyage of Discovery, a circum-navigation of Trea-
son; and though their industry seems to be great,
and their nautical skill no less considerable, their
success appears not to be adequate; or, at least, their
new discovered Land is enveloped in a mist, im-
pervious to common eyes. Thus we are told that,
"This cafe, which I ftate to you, is a NEW and a
DOUBTFUL cafe;" though, indeed, we are told,
"Thus far is clear;" andwhat is it that is so clear?
why, "That a force i.pon the Parliament must be im-
mediately directed against the King, who is an integral
part of it; it must reach the King, or it can have no
effect at all;" whether this be clear, whether it be
true, we may, perhaps, more particularly exa-
mine, when we come to investigate the Law upon
the Question. At present, the absurdity of the
new Law of Treason, on principles of common
sense, is all which it is meant to discuss.
Poor Richard's Scraps. No. I.
London: Sold by M. Gurney, No. 128, Holborn-Hill,
Price 3d. or four for dg.
POOR
OOR RICHARD blufhes not to own, that after
having performed with alacrity that talk which
the duty to his numerous family day by day impofes
on him, he fuffers his mind to range beyond that fub-
ordinate and limited ſphere, to which the hand of
providence ſeems more immediately to have confined
it. And he then feels himſelf not merely the parent
of a numerous offspring, juſtly looking to him for
ſupport, but as a citizen of the world, a member of
the great commonwealth of mankind, and cannot but
attend with fome anxiety to the occurrences of an event-
ful period. With this difpofition he lately perufed a
celebrated manifefto; and, as the facts did not exactly
correſpond with the views he had hitherto entertained,
nor the explanations appear to be extremely obvious
or fatisfactory, he began to revolve in his mind, what
reply the French people might naturally adopt, in
cafe they were to exchange the manufacture of muskets
and pikes for that of manifeftos. Retiring to reft, that
undisturbed repoſe, the reſult of a peaceful mind and
a laborious occupation, was diſturbed by a vifion, the
obvious refult of a previous train of thought. He
imagined he beheld Britannia very bufily employed,
diſtributing theſe manifeftos; when fuddenly the genius
of France was unveiled to view, and holding in her
left hand one of the manifeftos which the appeared to
have juſt peruſed, with her right fhe ftilled the clamors
of war which had fpread around, and with firm and
dignified afpect fhe advanced to addrefs Britannia;
nor did Timotheus's lyre range through the grand fcale
of Harmony with greater effect than her voice and
manner produced in adapting themfelves to the fenti-
ments, which the delivered. A faint trait of ſprightly
fatire firſt played upon her features, when the fimpli-
city becoming plain narration was quickly changed to
that dignity becoming unempaffioned reafoning, from
whence it paffed to mild expoftulation, and rofe, with
gradual dignity, to ftern reproach, and bold defiance.
A
13
1
1
4
(2)
Conſcious as he is of his inability to detail her capti-
vating harangue, and that the waking relation of a
dream can but convey an extremely faint idea of the
impreffion made on the vifionary fancy, yet cannot he
refift the inclination he feels to convey that faint idea.
The extreme condefcenfion of the minifters of his Bri-
tannic Majefty in promulgating a manifefto addreffed to
the people of France, ought to excite in them the live-
lieft fentiments of gratitude, and juftly might they be
charged with having loft fight of their ancient charac-
ter for politeness, were they for a moment to neglect
making a fuitable acknowledgement.
The people of France, unfortunately, deprived of
thoſe radiant beams of royalty they fo long enjoyed,
muſt feel inexpreffible fatisfaction on the extenſion of
the refulgent rays from the furrounding thrones to
their miferable country.
That the Kings of Sardinia, Naples, or Pruffia, or
the Princes of Germany, who poffefs but limited domi-
nions, fhould thus extend their genial influence to
other countries may poffibly be accounted for from
that ſpirit of beneficence which fo univerfally refides.
in royal breaſts, but that Her Imperial Majesty of all
the Ruffias, or the minifters of his Britannic Majeſty,
whoſe dominions fet geographical deſcription at defi-
ance, ſhould thus condefcend, is a work of fupereroga-
tion which calls for the moft prompt and fervent ac-
knowledgments.
This attention, from the Britiſh Court, is more pe-
culiarly pleaſing from an apprehenfion entertained that
we were deemed unworthy of its notice; its oracle,
Mr. Burke, having loudly proclaimed that our country
was not to be found:-" That he could only fee a vaſt
chafm which once was France." As mankind are apt
to feel contempt more forcibly than even injury, we
were mortified to the extreme, at being thus unnoticed
among nations. Apprehenfive that thirty millions of
people were to be loft to mankind, and neceffitated to
become folitary reclufes, we were at length pleaſingly
gratified by having our national exiftence recogniſed,
by the invalion of our country, if not by a confederacy-
(3)
ftarve our women, and our children; and the Bri-
h Court is, at laft, fo fully fatisfied of our exiftence,
to addreſs us in moft pathetic exhortations, and
vowed explanations of its motives and its views.
But, however we may be gratified by this gracious
tondefcenfion, yet we cannot forbear to aſk, whether
this proceeding be not a little mal a propos? were the
people of France before acquainted with the motives
hd views of the British Court? then was this
manifefto not merely nugatory, but derogatory to its
dignity, by reiterating thofe gracious offers which we
had before defpifed. On the contrary, if thefe gracious
offers never have been before made us, if we have been
itherto ftrangers to them, furely it might have been
is proper to have reverfed the order of proceeding,
and have fuffered thefe exhortations, thefe explana-
ions of motives, to have preceded the operations of
the armies.
Does this manifefto breathe a fpirit of reafon and
oderation? If it be fuppofed that it may "accelerate the
turn of peace," would it not have operated as power-
ally to have prevented the commencement of hoftilities?
We furely fhould have been more difpofed to receive
eneficent advice, or candid expoftulation, from a
riendly than from an hoftile hand. In the early ftages
of our revolution, we were naturally led to look on
England with a fraternal eye; even the Hall of the
acobins was ornamented with the royal flag of England.
With pain we ſaw this difpofition received, by the
British Court, with marked contempt: yet ftill would
ot we abandon the hope that the people, nay a part
f the Cabinet of England, was friendly to our caufe; and
he concern was at the leaſt equal to the indignation with
which we beheld the various gradations regularly take
lace, from cool indifference to marked contempt, to ma-
ignant hatred, to infult, to menace, to hoſtile aſpect, and
t laft to avowed aggreffion. Endeavours to conciliate
were returned with lofty tones of complaint, and offers of
atisfaction fternly rejected, in words of ambiguity; or
demands made with which it was known to be impoffi-
ble we could comply.
A 2
(4)
Our extenſive country could, from conquest, der
no advantage; fhe certainly fuppofed (whether t
or falfely is not the queftion) that our newly acquis
liberty would open to us fources of happineſs, fuperi
to our former government, or to the furrounding de
potifms. Intereft, then, would rather fuggeft to
the exclusive poffeffion, than a participation of this happ
nefs. Policy would prompt us rather to rivet
fetters, than to break the chains, of the flaves of f
rounding defpots. We held out to the furroundin
nations the banner of univerfal peace, and they fa
political, as well as moral, obligation calling on us)
venerate it.
But, ftrongly as policy might call on us to ado
pacific meaſures, equally ftrong did it prompt ſome
the fovereigns of Europe to purfue hoftile ones; fo
violently as they vociferated amongſt their ſubject th
we were introducing diforder and mifery into our u
happy country, yet well did they know that we ha
not injured any effential part of the political fabr
that, though we had levelled its gothic orname
with the duft, yet had we left even the Corinthi
capital of polished fociety unimpaired. Why el
fhould they have been fo anxious to difturb, and i
troduce anarchy and diſorder amongst us? If they fa
Ahe germinating feeds of mifery in our governmen
they might have left them to have matured; fuck
government, and fuch a nation, would have operate
as a warning rather than an example. Had France ex
hibited the dreadful fpectacle that in grafping libert
anarchy only was to be embraced; had the people
Europe beheld our lands lie uncultivated, becaufe
who planted the crop could not reap, or enjoy it; th
the merchant no longer brought his rich cargo to o
ports, becauſe our laws could not protect him in i
difpofal; or if the manufacturer declined to put h
piece into the loom, from the apprehenfion of its be
ing torn from it, by a licentious rabble; then woul
the furrounding flaves have mocked at our new fang
led liberty, and have embraced their chains with
pleafure; the people of France would not then have
lavifhed their blood to refift the invaders of their land,
Co
( 5 )
ut with pleafure have fubmitted to any yoke; well
knowing none to be fo dreadful as that from which
they were delivered. The meaſures the defpots have
purfued, to bring mifery on our land, is proof that
they were convinced that their efforts were requifite to
produce it. They knew that the rich harveſt would
roclaim, to furrounding nations, that our agriculture
Was emancipated from feudal and clerical claims.
They knew that an equal fyftem of law would per-
vade the nation, protecting and cheriſhing our manu-
factures and our commerce; and that difcord, removed
by intire religious freedom, we ſhould prefent a
fpectacle to the world as favorable to religion and mo-
rality, as the alliance between church and ftate had
proved inimical. Hence the most powerful monarchs
flembled their armies, and, with hoftile afpect, ho-
vered on our borders. With a monarch on the throne,
and ftrangers to that deteftation of Kings which we
have fince had good caufe to cherith, we turned our
eyes to his Britannic Majefty; and, though we had no
afon for fuppofing him peculiarly favorable to us,
et we folicited him to accept the office of mediator.
If our proceedings were injurious to foreign nations,
or dangerous to fociety, as is now afferted, why not
hen come forward to warn and to admoniſh?
effential to regal dignity that advice muſt be obtruded
and not folicited? or muft the manifeftos of the Bri-
h court be found only in the fields of war? If as
s now infinuated, the King of England was friendly
to the conſtitution of 1789, let it be recollected that
conftitution then exifted, and its friends who were
redominant in the councils of France, would cer-
ainly have coalefced with the British court for its fup-
ort. They at leaſt did not wifh the oppofite parties
he mountain, or the violent republicans to prevail;
or did they wish to lofe their lives at the guillotine,
or waſte them in Pruflian prifons. But, if the Britiſh
court, thus obftinately refuſed to interpofe its media-
on to prevent the commencement of hoftilities, will
ey tell us on what principle, the moment the fate of
ar had put fome of the enemies towns in our pof-
Is it
A 3
(6)
feffion, they then came forward, complained that y
had dared to beat our enemies, and demanded th
we ſhould relinquish our conquefts, without even en
gaging that they fhould become the price of peace
and if their reprefentations had any meaning, it was
that in the midſt of war we were to ſurrender up towns
on the borders of our territories, that they might ag
become hoftile pofts, from whence the enemy migh
again pour out an armed banditti on our country. W
do not ask whether fuch a propofition was ever accede
to? We demand if fuch an one was ever before
made?
If the Britiſh minifters fuppofed that we did no
perfectly comprehend the extensive benificence of their de
figns, and it was deemed requifite to publiſh a man
fefto to explain them, fome might deem it an unplea
pleaſant circumftance, that the horrors of war fhoul
have been let loofe upon us, without theſe explana
tions having previouſly taken place. Such has formerly
been the practice of the nations of Europe, but th
Engliſh have, ever fince 1755, been charged w
practifing a new fyftem, and to fhew their courag
it is faid, that, like an Italian bravo, they ftrike fir
and explain afterwards. Shall we fuppofe that, lik
the heroes of the buſkin, they cannot open their mouth
without a prelude of trumpets? or, that, like ſome
the Gods of our anceſtors, they are only to be ap
proached, and their will diſcovered, through the m
dium of human facrifices? for it ſeems to be deemed
requifite, that hundreds of thoufands muft lie gafping
in the fields of death, ere the Court of London wi
condefcend to explain itſelf, and villages filled with.
widows and orphans is the cheap price at which w
are to purchaſe, from them, a manifefto, makin
known their fovereign will and pleaſure. And i
may be noticed that, fully as their motives are ex
plained in this manifefto, yet the principal one rẻ-
mains unexplained, viz. the motive for now, and
not till now, publiſhing them.
Do they, after being defeated in their views c
conquering our fleets, obtain poffeffion of them in
the name of Louis XVII. becauſe they know that
( 7 )
fuch a being will never exift, and that, therefore,
what is thus obtained will remain with them for
ever? Poffibly this manifefto, though it bears a fo-
reign ſuperſcription, may be merely intended for
the "good people of England?" Do they begin
to feel the effects of war? Does John Bull begin to
grumble, for want of plunder, proceffions and illu-
minations? Does the clamour of republicanifin, and
levelling begin to lofe its effect? and is it become
again requifite to invent fomething new to amuſe
the ignorant populace, and hold out to them the idea
that France fpurns the moderate and unambitious
views of the British court? Or, perhaps, the curious
manifefto refults from the ill fuccefs of their fleets
and armies, and from their now having no hope of
difmembring our country and annihilating our exif-
tence as a people? To cover their difgrace, it may
be defirable to intimate that the idea was never enter-
tained. But we know that Valenciennes and Conde
were feized in the name of the Emperor, and Dun-
kirk and Martinico fummoned to furrender to the
king of England. We alfo know, whether it be
owing to French courage, or to Engliſh honour, that
they are not now diffevered from our empire. And,
however forward the Engliſh minifters may now be
to proclaim, to the whole world, their objects in pro-
fecuting this war, yet we cannot but recollect that, it
is but a few months fince they refufed to
and explain them, even to the very affembly who
were to provide the means of carrying them into
effect.
avow
If this manifefto be a mere temporary .expedient,
for fome political purpoſe, we ſhall naturally be in-
duced to ask, "How long it is to be in force?"
nearly a fimilar one of the Prince of Coburg's was in
force four days. Whether this is to have a longer or
a fhorter operation thofe who iffued it may poffibly
be ignorant. If it originated in the rout of the
Duke of York before Dunkirk, it may already be
terminated, by a recent fuccefs; and we may be
even now employed in a taſk as nugatory and def-
'
( 8 )
picable, as refuting the memorials on the limits of
Acadia.
But we do not apprehend that the British court
will ever retract any promife contained in this mani-
fefto, becauſe we do not perceive that it contains any.
The openhearted foldier, the Prince of Coburg, a
ftranger to the art of conducting a war of words,
unfortunately, in his fhort manifefto, conveyed fome
meaning: it, therefore, became requifite to cancel it,
and publith a new edition, matured in the English
cabinet, amplified in words but deftitute of mean-
ing; and fo admirably conftructed is this excellent.
piece, that no event can poffibly take place which
can be deemed a violation. For inftance, fuppofe
"the well difpofed inhabitants of France" ſhould, like
the Toulonefe, "place confidence" in the Britiſh
court, and depofit all our maritime provinces, our
fleets, and our arfenals, in their hands; fuppofe that,
when our nation is thus weakened, the Auftrian,
Pruffian, and Ruffian armies fhould poffefs themfelves
of the remainder, rout the National Affembly, and
guillotine the murderers of the King of France; is
there any obligation that thofe who happen to be in
poffeffion of Rheims fhall crown the little king?
The Jacobins may have wickedly greafed their boots
with the holy oil, or fome other weighty reafon may
occur for deferring the ceremony, and we may, pof-
fibly, be diſappointed if we expect the allied powers to
make us a king, and then march off to the refpective
places from whence they came, and leave the fceptre
unimpaired in his hands. The king of England may
fay that he never engaged for others. He only ex-
preffed a hope of finding in the other powers,
engaged with him in the common caufe, fen-
"timents and views perfectly comformable to his
" own." That he cannot dictate to them, but that
whenever they have restored the monarchy he is
ready, with punctuality and good faith, to reſtore,
even to an ounce of gunpowder, every thing in his
poffeffion; and, in the mean while, he only keeps
them as a facred depofit, until fuch a deſirable event
CC
1
I
(9)
༣
شراك
fhall take place. Again, fuppofe that, in purſuance
of the kind admonitions, in this manifefto, we were of
fet about framing a government, and endeavour to
adapt it to the taſte of the Britiſh court: pray is
there no danger of its becoming a little faftidious,
when the approving our government is to be fol-
lowed by refunding our ports, our fleets, and our
arfenals? certainly fuch conduct would not be quite
in the newest English fashion. St. Stephens chapel
has refounded full as much with complaints of the
injuſtice, and cruelty, exerciſed towards the princes,
and other great perfonages of Indoftan, as towards
the king, queen, nobles and clergy of France; and
has been for twenty years
squeezing the culprits,
but we have never yet heard that any reparation
was ever propoſed to be made to the injured. On
the contrary, the countries, and revenues which had
been voted to have been unjustly feized, from the na-
tive fovereigns, inftead of being reftored, were all
partitioned between the company and the a, and
the very money which had been refolved to have
been infamouſly extorted, inftead of being reſtored,
is applied, without fcruple, to the important pur-
pofe of hiring German to reftore the French-arity
Suppofing then this valuable purpoſe ſhould be
effected, and we fhould place little Capet upon
the throne, may not the British court fay, that though
in the manifeſto they infifted on our having a king,
yet they had alſo infifted on our having a "stable"
government, and, at prefent, it was poffible we
might change it? If a lapſe of years ſhould prove
its "
ſtability," we might then be told, it muſt alſo
be a "legitimate" government; and, on an accu-
rate inveſtigation, they may poffibly find ſome flaw
they may tell us they have heard that young Capet was
introduced in a warming-pan, and they cannot think
of reſtoring us our fleets until they fee a Dutch Sooter-
kin placed on the throne, by fourten thouſand fo-
reign troops. And fhould we comply with this, we
may then be informed, that they wondered at our
affurance, in forming fuch unreaſonable expectations,
for that it had been particularly fpecified in the ma
;
( 10 )
)
nifefto, that our government must be formed on
"principles of univerfal juftice," whereas our prin-
ciples of government were fo far from being univer-
fal, that they were diffonant to thofe of Japan, of
Otaheite, and of Abyffinia.
The manifefto exults in the confidence which has
been placed in the British government, by the people
of Toulon. What fentiments of honour can prevail
in a nation which can exult in fuch a? Is it a
caufe of exultation that you have obtained poffeffion
of a fleet, at the expence of the blood of the wretched
Toulonnefe, who must inevitably fall a facrifice to their
enraged countrymen, and thus fupply you with freſh
fources of exclamation againft that cruelty which
fome of us fay you have inceffantly laboured to
excite! Is it a caufe of exultation, that you have ob-
tained poffeffion of their town, by holding out to
them an idea that the Britiſh Court approved the li-
mited monarchy of 1789? that very fyftem which,
even fo late as January laft, was, in Lord Auckland's
memorial, ftigmatifed as "a fyftem of atrocity, fur-
paſſing all that ever fullied the page of hiſtory," and that
OUF folly and wickedness have, for four years, been in-
troducing this fyftem, from whence has flowed, in quick
fucceffion, the events which have fince happened." So
accurate is your chronology, that you carefully ftig-
matize us as adopting a regular fyftem of atrocity,
from the first moment we deviated from our ancient
defpotifm. That is the detefted goal to which we are
called upon to haften. In vain we have looked to
England for a kind, a fraternal hand, to lead us on-
ward to peace, to liberty, to happiness. In the lan-
guage of a Burke, and a Calonne, the ſtrongly told us
to tread back the ſteps we had taken; and again kifs
our chains. She told us this, becaufe fhe abhors the
thought that any other nation fhould tafte the fweets
of freedom; and if a younger brother dares but to
glance a look at the throne of liberty, behold, ſhe
prepares the bowftring
However diverfified may have been the malign af-
pects of the British miniftry, yet their true import
never was equivocal; they have uniformly pointed
( II
II )
towards us with deadly portent. They have indeed
ventured to declare, in the face of Europe, that
"From the first period, when Louis XVI. called his
people around him, for their common happiness, the king has
uniformly fhewn, by his conduct, the fincerity of his wishes,
for the fuccefs of fo difficult, but at the fame time, fo in-
tereſting an undertaking. But they have forgot to in-
form us what was that conduct which proved the "fin-
cerity of the wishes, for the fuccefs of the difficult and
interesting undertaking;" and they alfo forget that it
is only within their own territories that they have a
right to be believed without evidence, or in oppoſition
to indubitable teftimony. But we will not call for
the proof of wishes for the fuccefs of our difficult under-
taking. We will be content with the leaft fhadow
of evidence, that the wishes were not uniformly ad-
verſe. We demand proof that the ballance ever hung
for a fingle moment in equilibrio. The difpofition of
the Britiſh court was manifeft, from the firſt dawn of
the French revolution, from the first meeting of the
National Aſſembly, when the principal, and moft
corrupt, member of the antient defpotifin fled from the
juftice, loaded with the fpoils, of the country, and was
received with open arms, careffed at the British court,
and was fuppofed, in no fmall degree, to affift its
counfels. It was manifeft, when a wretch, who taken
from among the fwinifh multitude, and placed in the
legiſlative body, by aristocratic power, to affift it
in feizing the helm of ftate, had been employed for a
ſeries of years in pouring out, on every branch of the
legiſlature, every member of the executive power, and
every act of ſtate, torrents of infult, incompatible with
good government, and the flendereſt ideas of focial
order; and when the fovereign was in a fituation
which moved every heart to pity, and excited even
in thoſe who were inimical to his government, mo-
mentary effufions of loyalty and affection, he treated
him with fuch bafe and degrading infult as by fome
it might have been imagined, no gentleman would
have borne, and to which no good government ought
to have fuffered even a fubordinate magiftrate to
have been expoſed; yet no fooner did this wretch
( 12 )
--
begin to throw out his foul and flanderous abufe on
the National Affembly, on its very formation, though
the act of the fovereign, on every meafure it had
adopted, and on the conftitution it had formed, than
it proved fo acceptable to the English court, fa con-
fonant to their ideas, that it inftantly cancelled all his
crimes, and he was received, careffed, and applauded,
in a mauner fo remarkable as if not to degrade the
character of the fovereign, yet, at leaft, to prove de-
cidedly the difpofition of the court.
c
Lord Auckland's memorial afferts that for four
years they "Saw a new system of civil fociety forming in
a great and neighbouring nation, overthrowing and de-
Straying all the received notions of fubordination, of manners,
of religion. That property, liberty, safety, life itſelf, had
been the sport of rage, of the Spirit of rapine, of hatred,
of ambition the most cruel, and the most unnatural.”
Is it to be believed, that the British court, for three
years, were perfectly unconcerned? muft we not in-
fer, that from the firft dawn of this nefarious fyftem
they took measures to prevent its effect; and that the
open avowal of them did not originate in a French
hip failing up the Scheldt, or in the decapitation of
the French King? In the early stages of the French
revolution, it certainly did not appear to be neceffary
to adopt fuch vigorous meaſures as fending Britiſh
fleets round Europe, to compel every nation (except
Ruffia) to unite for the deftruction of this fyftem. It
might then be deemed neceffary merely for England
to hold out to Europe, clear and unequivocal proofs
of its real difpofition, infpiring a confidence that a
firm reliance might be made on her utmoſt exertions
when they fhould become neceflary. It was long
before any of the other powers difcovered that even
their interference was neceffary to fubvert the new
fyftem. It was fift hoped that the king, nobles, and
clergy of France, aided by the private co-operation
of the furrounding powers, might effect it. The
next ſtep was to affemble armies with hoftile afpect
on their borders, while the king of France, with his
remaining prerogatives, was obftructing the new go-
vernment, and (as was fully proved on his trial) em-
( 13 )
ploying the immenfe revenue they had affigned him,
in fpreading corruption through the new fyftem, even
from the leaders of the National Affembly to the
loweft fcribling journaliſt. But at length, when the
energy of the people juftly deprived him of a power
he had fo grofly abufed, and drove the nobility and
clergy, from a country which they were, in conjunc-
tion with foreign powers, endeavouring to diſturb;
there then remained no hope of any effectual counter-
revolutionary power exifting in France, and, as Mr.
Burke juſtly obſerved, it then became requifite that the
power to effect this important change fhould be from
without. But it did not even then appear to have
become neceffary that England fhould openly join the
confederation of Pilnitz. Mr. Burke had depicted
France as without refources, and her army without
difcipline; it was therefore confidently expected that
the Duke of Brunfwick, with a fword in one hand,
and a manifefto in the other, would have been able,
with eafe, to effect the views of the auguft fovereigns.
It then feemed to be as unneceffary for England to
affift openly in the difmemberment of France, as in
that of Poland; and Hanover feemed to have a fair
proſpect of being fecured from their dangerous con-
tagion. But the unexpected termination of that cam-
paign rendered the active and open co-operation of
England indifpenfible. Or alas! the quiet eſtabliſhment
of a ftable government might unfortunately have
taken place, notwithſtanding the laudable endea-
vou which had been made to prevent it; and, as
France had offered to coalefce with any other free
people, for mutual fupport, there was danger of Po-
land's confederating with them, for fo deteftable a
purpoſe; and, dreadful to think of, what must then
have become of Hanover, aad the three hundred
other fovereignties of Germany, when thus placed
between two free republicks! a cry of daggers and
king-killing was now become neceffary, and republi-
canifm and levelling, was echoed through your land.
You launched into the war a la mode Angloife, and
now hold forth to us an idea that you are invading
and defolating our country, to restore that very con-
( 14 )
ftitutioo of 1789, which fuch indefatigable pains have
been taken to fubvert.
But we have taken unneceffary pains, to prove
the ſhare you have taken in the calamities of France;
thofe who are acquainted with the hiftory of Europe,
fince your revolution; thofe who are acquainted with
your conftant interference, in every event, in every
country, from the partitions of the Spaniſh monarchy
to the diſpute about a Turkiſh fortrefs, will not eaſily
believe that thefe bufy meddlers took no part in our
affairs, and ſtood by, for three years, idle fpectators
of fuch an important event. No; they will fay,
prove the difpofitions, the wishes of the English
court, and you, at the fame time, prove, that "it
"exerted itſelf, as far as was in its power, or as the
apparent exigencies at the time called for, to effec-
tuate thoſe wiſhes, and to act confonantly to that
difpofition." Nay, had the British court profeffed
to this moment a ftrict neutrality, had the moft pierc-
ing eye been unable to difcover the leaft traces of its
interference in our affairs, we fhould only have inferred
that they had been conducted in profound fecrecy,
and that they were of a nature becoming the darkneſs
in which they were enveloped.
60
<<
The fhare which a cabinet takes in any tranfaction,
is not to be judged of by the open and avowed part
it may adopt, under the cover of neutrality, effectual
meaſures may be purfued, when hoftile ones may not
be expedient. So England ftood by with affected
unconcern, for almoft four years, a calm fpectator
of the important events which have taken place in
France; fo, with a fimilar neutrality, has the be-
held the difimemberment of Poland, and the extir-
pation of liberty from that country, and had the
Duke of Brunſwick been as fuccefsful in the one
country as the Ruffian armies were in the other, it
might ftill have been afferted that England had been
perfectly neuter; they might even have denied ever
having acceded to the cenfederation of Pilnitz. The
fhare England has latterly had in the difmember-
ment of Poland, it may be difficult to aſcertain.
That it originated in the English cabinet, might,
( 15 )
CC
65
perhaps never have been furmiſed, had not a little
fracas taken place between two and three years fince.
The first project refpecting Poland was to difmember
it of its fea-ports, and thereby render it dependent
on thoſe who poffeffed them. Poland fuccefsfully re-
fifted the demand, as the powers who made it were
inadequate to the task of enforcing a compliance.
As every unfuccefsful attempt on the rights of others
is attended with odium, even as fuccefs ful ones are
generally accompanied with eclat; fo the court of
Pruffia, defirous of removing the odium from itſelf,
publiſhed a manifeſto contradicting the reports
as falfe as they are induſtriouſly circulated with
"equal impudence and artfulnefs, relating to the
"acquifition of Dantzic, and other views in re-
"gard to Poland. On the contrary it is certain Mr.
"Hailes, the British envoy at Warſaw, has employed
every means in his power to bring about a treaty,
"the bafis of which was to be a ceffion of Dantzic.
"But the court of Berlin has been entirely paffive in
"this tranfaction." The difmemberment of Poland
may not have taken place exactly according to the
mode projected by the British miniftry; they may
have proved unable to ride in the tempeft and direct
the ftorm. Such a power as England may affist in
forming plans, giving an impetus to political opera-
tions, while more powerful nations will affume the
reins and convert them to their own ends. The
Poliſh canvas may have been prepared by England :
but the maſterly hand of Ruffia finiſhes the defign.
CC
However ſucceſsful England may have been in
partitioning the Myfore, yet her fuccefs in difmem-
bring European nations has not been remarkable;
the glorious and immortal King William did not
perfectly fucceed in his admirable plans for parti-
tioning and difpofing of the Spanish monarchy; the
event proved his wifdom to be almoſt equal to his
virtue. Let England then be comforted by the re-
flection, that even had the defign of difmembring
France fucceeded, it might have terminated as dif-
fonantly to any plan fhe might have projected as the
difmemberment of Poland. English manifeftos, and
( 16 )
declarations, might have but little weight with the
great powers engaged in the prefent conteft, and the
hope his Britannic majefty now expreffes" of find-
ing in the other powers fentiments and views per-
"fectly conformable to his own," may happen to be
delufive. His majefty has communicated to Hol-
land his declaration, and, notwithſtanding the ftrict
connection between them, the fentiments do not ſeem
exactly to correſpond. The Dutch do not feem
like the king of England, to infift on the eſtabliſhment
of an "hereditary monarchy," as abfolutely indif-
penfible; but they declare they engaged in the war
for the purpoſe of obtaining indemnity, and fatisfac-
tion, though the king of England propofes only
equitable and moderate conditions, not fuch as the
expences, the rifques, and the facrifices of war might
juſtify." The people of France, not to be behind
hand in generous offers, will engage that whenever
they eſtabliſh an " hereditary monarchial govern-
"ment," to oblige the king of England, they will
gratify their high mightineffes, the Dutch, by giving
them a full indemnity for all their expences. After
the decided proof of the difpofition of the Britiſh
court, as adverfe to the reform of the French govern-
ment, manifefted by every act, nay confirmed and ac-
knowledged by themfelves, in Lord Auckland's me-
morial, can it be believed, that the conftitution of
1789 is meant to be reſtored? Can we believe they
really lament that "the defigns which had been
"profeffed, of reforming the abufes of the govern-
"ment of France, of eſtabliſhing perfonal liberty,
" and the rights of property, on a folid foundation,
"of fecuring to an extenfive and populous country,
"the benefit of a wife legiflation, and an equitable
" and mild adminiſtration of its laws, all theſe falu-
tary views have unfortunately perifhed." Are we
to believe that they deem it unfortunate, that theſe
views have vanished, who, though in ftrict alliance
with the old government, yet from the first forma-
tion of the new, not only refufed all alliance to give
it fupport, all mediation with its enemies to pro-
test it from overthrow, and have fince ftigmatized
EC
1
Poor Richard's Scraps, No. 3.
Price Threepence, or Five for a Shilling.
Sold by M. GURNEY, No. 128, Holborn Hill.
Where may be had, A DEFENCE of the FRENCH
DECREE for emancipating the NEGROES.
THOUGHTS on the IMPENDING INVASION
of ENGLAND.
A DISCOURSE Occafioned by the GENERAL FAST.
The above by W. FOX.
Al
On the Excellence of the BRITISH GOVERNMENT.
MONGST the numerous pofitions which we
tranfmit from age to age as indubitable truths,
the excellence of the Britiſh Conſtitution is the moſt
memorable, and it is fuppofed as little to require proof
or illuſtration, as that the Sun warms, or that cold
freezes. It will hardly be imagined that I mean
to fhock my Readers by difputing what is fo uni-
verially admitted, yet I muft own, that I have no bet-
ter reafon for admitting, its truth, than the common
adage, that "What every body fays muſt be true.”
Greatly mortified that I bould poffefs fuch an infe-
riority of intellect as to be incapable of obtaining the
flendereſt idea on a fubject which was faid to be fo
extremely obvious, ftill more did I feel my degrada-
tion when, on a recent alarm, the whole nation ware
impanelled as a Jury, by Royal Preclamation, to give
their verdict on our excellent Conftitution; and to
complete my mortification, a Weſl India Negro, in my
neighbourhood, figned his atteſtation to the excellence
of our well balanced Conftitution, and his refolution
to defend it againſt Republicans and Levellers, wift,
alas! I was unable to difcover what this Conftitution
was, or wherein its excellence confifted.
If by the term British Conftitution were merely
meant the mode in which the exifting British Go-
vernment was conftituted, or what were its conftitu-
ent parts, that certainly might be easily afcertained
by an examination of the Government itself; out
the fenfe in which the term British Conftitution is
14
( 2
generally ufed, certainly implies fomething very dif-
ferent from the frame or Conftitution of the exifting
Government; becauſe nothing is more common than
to confider the exifting Government as having de-
parted from the Conftitution, even as being conftituted
in a manner hoftile to the Spirit of the Conftitution;
and our patriots are continually calling on us to
carry back our Conftitution to its firft principles, to
rub off the few ſpecks and blemiſhes which the lapſe
of time has produced, and thus to restore the Confti-
tution to its original perfection.
This cuftom of ſpeaking of the Conſtitution as the
foundation and origin of Government, has authoriſed
Mr. Paine to call on us to produce it, to tell us
where it was to be found, and when, and by whom, it
was framed; and, as this is impoffible, he adviſes us
to diffolve our Government, and then form a Confti-
tution on which a Government may be reared.
However naturally theſe inferences of Mr. Paine's
may
refult from the premiſes we have furniſhed him,
yet neither the one nor the other am I diſpoſed to ad-
mit. Of a conftitution 1 neither know, nor am an-
xious to know any thing. If, on examining the exiſt-
ing Government, it appears to be ſo conſtituted as to
anfwer, in a tolerable degree, its proper purpoſes, it
becomes intitled to our fupport; and even though
it may poffefs great and effential defects, yet may it
be fuffered to remain undisturbed, if the remedy
threatens greater evils than thoſe which already exiſt.
and if a licentious populace be induced to fubmit
to the reftraints of Government by tales of a well
balanced Conftitution, the wonder and the envy of the
univerſe, in ſuch caſe let us view the defpicable de-
lufion with filent contempt. but if ever it ſhould be
employed for the purpoſe of inflaming an haughty
people, prompting them to infult, and to injure other
nations, it then becomes us to draw afide the veil,
and point out the dangerous deception. While Don
Quixote is content to wander in the woods, let him
with impunity indulge his frantic fancy with the ima-
ginary charms of his peerless Dulcinea; but when
( 3 )
he comes forth and intrudes his vagaries on man-
kind, rendering them a fource of outrage and of in-
fult, it then becomes neceffary to notice his error,
ftrip his dowdy of her imaginary charms, and point
out her filth and her deformity.
The whimſical imagination of the Knight of La
Mancha never depicted his homely miftrefs in more
fuperlative, and more numerous perfections, than the
Engliſhman does the Conftitution of his country.
He tells us, that it was formed by the deliberative
wiſdom of his ancestors, who bled in the field and
died on the fcaffold to preſerve the ineftimable gem
pure and unfullied; and, tranfmitted through a fuc-
ceffion of ages, it is bequeathed to us as a precious
truft to be handed down unimpaired to pofterity. Of
this pompous detail never have I yet been able to
diſcover the leaft trait. In reviewing the annals of
our country, we have to review a fucceffion of bar-
barous ages, diftinguifhed by manners, and abound-
ing with events correfpondently favage. Could
we have diſcovered that a Government, even of
a tolerable nature, had ever been formed by fuch
barbarians, it would, indeed, have been a remark-
able circumſtance, worthy of diſcuſſion and eluci-
dation. To what period of our history are we to
look, to what hiftorian are we to refort, to diſcover
our wife anceſtors affembled to exercife their delibe-
rative wiſdom, by framing a Conftitution which
was to remain hundreds, or thouſands of years, the
wonder, and the envy, of the univerfe. As genuine
hiſtory is totally filent as to this memorable event,
fhall we refort to fabulous ages? Shall we fuppofe
that Brutus made us the invaluable prefent? Or, ſhall
we confult GEOFFREY, or NINNIUS, whether ARTHUR,
and his Knights of the Round Table, framed this
monument of human wifdom! We may, indeed,
imagine that CÆSAR's envy induced him to leave un-
noticed this excellent Conftitution, or policy might
prompt the omiffion, left the fplendid fpectacle
should spread difcontent amongst the Roman people.
If it had no existence when Cæfar invaded the
"
(4)
inland, was it brought amongst us by Daniſh, op
Saxon pirates? Did they plunder and conquer us,
and then generously prefent us with a free Confti-
tution? Theſe favage plunderers, wherever they in-
undated, certainly poffeffed, in no fmall degree, that
Species of liberty which confits in an exemption
from the reſtraints of law, and government; but this
liberty they kept to themſelves. The fubjugated
people became flaves, or vaffals, to the conquerors,
and were parcelled out among their chiefs. Theſe
chiefs were to lawleſs that we find one of their Dukes,
after having for years difturbed the nation with his
piracies and robberies, fat down quietly to enjoy the
fpoils; and fo deftitute was the nation of govern-
And
ment that none dared to call him to account
a vaflal's running away, or betraying his Lord, was
the only capital offence in all the diverfified codes
of the Saxon princes. Pompous accounts have been
given of Alfred's body of laws. As not a ſingle veſ-
tige of them remains, we may certainly afcribe to it
every imaginary excellence. To Charlemagne's laws
have the old chronicles equally afcribed perfection;
they, however, exift, to falfify the afcription. Mr.
Gibbon has carefully examined them; he defcribes
them as chiefly local, and petty regulations, totally
undeſerving the character of a general ſyſtem of law,
or government. Alfred and Charlemagne may have
deſerved praiſe from their contemporaries, and they,
in tranfmitting praiſe, may with it have combined
fiction: but, even admitting the most exaggerated
accounts, it does not appear that the laws of Alfred
have a claim to a fuperior degree of merit than Mr.
Gibbon has afcribed to thofe of Charlemagne. One
of the beſt of our hiftorians obferves, that nothing.
has been diſcovered which proves them to deſerve the
title of a complete body of laws; that, fo far from
bearing any resemblance to a fyftem of government,
thofe of which we have accounts feem to relate
merely to private injuries, puniſhed chiefly by fine,
and regulated not merely by the nature of the injury
but by the rank of the parties. Some of the moſt
?
( 5 )
fevere puniſhments we find to be amputation of the
right hand for facrilege, cutting out the tongue for
fpreading falfe rumors, and caftration if a vaffal
ravifhed a fellow vafial; but if it was done by the
Lord it ſeems to have been deemed as infignificant
an offence as it is now in our Weft India Iſlands.
Like them, offences against the Lord was put on a
level with thofe againſt the King, and punished as
rebellion, with lofs of life and goods. Moft offences
were puniſhed with fines, which, if the offender was
unable to pay, himſelf, wife, and children, were con-
demned to flavery. So far from the Government
bearing the leaſt reſemblance to any modern form,
none but thoſe who compofed the Wettenagemot
poffeffed the leaft fhare in the Government; and fo
late as the year 045, one of the blood royal could
not be admitted to a feat in the Great Council of
the nation, becauſe he had not 40 hides of land, and
when poffeffed of them, he was entitled to take his
feat. For many centuries afterwards the term free-
man was applied only to thoſe who held lands imme
diately from the King; and, both before and atter
the Conqueft, the revenues and authority of the fove-
reign were derived chiefly from the crown lands, and
the nature of the tenures under which they were held.
It appears from Doomiday Book that the Conqueror
held 1400 manors, which had been poffeffed by Ed-
ward the Confeffor. The addition made to them by
the forfeitures of Harold's adherents, and probably
the change from allodial to military tenures, occa-
fioned the great increaſe of the royal power after thẹ
Conqueft, and as the fucceeding monarchs parted with
their lands, their power decreaſed, until at laft the Ba-
rons extorted from John, and afterwards purchaſed of
Henry, the celebrated Magna Charta: but, however
celebrated it may have been, it will not be eaſy to
trace in it the leaſt feature of the preſent Government
of England; it contains merely conceffions and regu-
lations concerning a fyftem which fucceeding events
have totally deftroyed, and which thofe events would
have equally deſtroyed, had Magna Charta never
( 6 )
exifted. There does not even appear any ground to
ſuppoſe that this charter had the most accidental
effect in producing the prefent Government, which
may evidently be traced to caufes even of an oppofite
nature. The object of this charter was to increaſe,
and fecure, the authority of the Clergy, and Barons;
hardly a fyllable is to be found which improved the
liberty of any other clafs of the community. The
former immunities of privileged cities are indeed
mentioned, and the Lords villains are protected from
the King on the fame principle as the Weft India
flaves are protected by their owners. However much
we may boait of this palladium of our liberties, there
is only one paffage in it which is ever mentioned.
We are frequently told of the 29th chapter, that
"No freeman fhall be taken, imprifoned, &c, but
by lawful judgment of his peers." But let us recol-
lect that this was a fpecial grant to a privileged order
of men; for the term freemen then meant merely the
greater landholders. So much were, what we term,
the people, then out of the contemplation of law and
government, that the word people is ufed by the hiſ-
torians of thoſe times to deſcribe an affembly of the -
great lay landholders, and are ſo called to diſtinguiſh
them from the Biſhops and Abbots. So extremely
few were thoſe who were intitled to the appellation
of freemen, or were frequently defcribed by the term
people, that we often read of their all meeting toge-
ther in one place, and perfonally giving their con--
fent. Above all, it muſt be recollected that this
charter has not a fyllable refpecting parliaments,
Standing armies, rights of taxation, or any of thoſe
important points which are now fuppofed to confti-
tute the moft material branches of the Confti-
tution.
So far is Magna Charta from afcertaining, or fecur-
ing, our liberties, that our prefent freedom could
never have taken place, or the Government have
exifted in its prefent ftate, had this law been invio-
lably preferved; its fubverfion, not its prefer-
vation, is the foundation of that degree of happi-
}
( 7 )
nefs which we enjoy. Had the Clergy, and the Ba
rons, ſtill preſerved thoſe immunities, and thofe pri-
vileges, which it was the fole object of Magna Charta
to ſecure to them, little reafon fhould we have had
to boaſt of liberty. The oppreffion and mifery of
moſt of the nations of Europe refult from thoſe pri-
vileges having been retained, and the fuperior hap-
pine's England enjoys is becauſe here they have been
trampled under foot. And it is to the circumſtances
which effected this, that we are to look for the origin
of the modern British Government. The Barons
were in fome degree weakened by the crufades, but
ftill more by their bloody domeſtic feuds. Poffeffed
of that property, and of that power, which they had
obtained from the fovereigns; to make and unmake
Kings, was, for a ſeries of years, the fole occupation
of theſe barbarians, one of whom obtained the nick-
name of the King maker. In the revolutions which
thefe adventures produced, profcriptions and for-
feitures weakened the Barons, and increaſed the
power of the Crown, which enabled Richard 111,
Henry VII and VIII, totally to fubjugate them, and
annihilate their power. The laft monarch having alfo,
fortunately, quarrelled with the Court of Rome, feized
the property of the Clergy, thus uniting in himſelf
all thofe different fources of power, ecclefiaftical and
civil, which had hitherto oppreffed and distracted
the kingdom: and thefe three fovereigns, but par-
ticularly the laft, poffeffed the moft unlimited,
uncontroled power, which had ever been enjoyed in
this nation, and this power was poffeffed almoſt
unimpaired by his tyrannic daughter Elizabeth: but
great and unlimited as was this power, the means
by which it had been obtained infured its ſpeedy
fubverfion.
However terrible, and however odious, the uncon-
troled defpotifm of an individual may appear, yet
will the injury refulting to the community be far
fhort of what arifes from divided, contending autho-
rity, and diverfified, numerous, fubordinate defpot-
ifis. In the firſt caſe, the effects may be dreadful
( 8 )
ནཾ
on particular individuals; but the great body of the
people will be farther removed from, and leſs expoſed
to, material oppreffion, than when numbers of def-
pots are difperfed over a land, each exercifing his
tyrannic power on a particular ſpot, and ſpreading
mifery and defolation all around him. Such were
formerly the nobility and clergy of this, and of all
the other nations of Europe; and fuch are they in
many of them at the prefent day.
The increaſing profperity of England, under the
tyrannic Tudors, illuftrates this pofition; and the
event proved, that as their power was not extremely
baneful, fo neither could fuch a domination be per-
manent. No fooner had it attained its fummit, than
it naturally fell into ruins. The people, delivered
from the tyrannic power of the Nobles and Clergy,
quickly rofe in wealth and importance: but from the
fituation in which they had hitherto been, they do
not appear to have had any idea of affuming, or
claiming, any fhare in the Government. They feem
to have been content to give their weight to a body
which was but of modern origin, and hitherto of
inconfiderable, but, in confequence of the changes
which had taken place, of increafing importance,
This body, though it owed its existence to the
Crown, yet, by calling itſelf the Reprefentative of the
People, fpeedily acquired fuch ftrength as to fubfti-
tute their own authority in the place of that of the
Crown; and it is only in tracing the rife and progreſs
of this innovating authority, that the nature of the
British Government can be underſtood,
Whatever may be alleged of the balance of our
Government, yet no one can pretend but that the
Houſe of Commons is now the principal branch of
legiſlative authority, and that its control over the exe-
cutive is fo fupreme as to render it little more than
the adminiſtrator of its will. Whatever real power
the King and Lords poffets, is generally attributed
to their influence in the Commons. The neceffity
of reforting to fuch a fupport, proves their inferio
rity, and the antient Prerogatives of the Crown be-
1
( 9 9)
)
171
ing either dormant, or exercifed under the awe, or
control, of the Houſe of Commons, proves this
change of the Government from the increaſed autho-
rity of that Houſe, however much, or improperiy,
its conduct may be under influence.
That we ſhould talk of the antiquity of the Bri-
tiſh Government, when the effential, principal, and
controling branch of it is of modern origin; of its
fability, when in every fucceffive age it affumes a va-
ried afpect; and that we fhould boaſt of a balance,
between parts which have been perpetually changing,
is not extraordinary, as the advocate of every party,
and of every opinion, can never be at a lofs, in fuch
an heterogenous mafs, to find fomething to colour
the most extravagant pofitions. In one fenſe, at
leaft, may the British Conftitution be termed excel-
lent, as, in its varied changes, it prefents admirable
fources of difputation, and to them can the champi-
ons of the moſt diſcordant opinions equally appeal.
If thofe who wish to force themfelves into place, by
diſturbing Government, call on the people to affume
the reins, and if, when the outcry has effected its
object, they wish to fupprefs their former declara-
tions, and introduce foreign troops to maintain their
authority, they can allege that both the one and the
other of thefe meatures are equally conformable to
our excellent Conftitution.
It is fomething amufing to fee with what dexterity.
the Whigs can difcover the races of a modern Houfe
of Commons, nay, of equal reprefentation, in antient
periods, when the whole body of the People were
trodden under foot by the King, Barons, and Clergy;
and, as the hiſtory of the period from the Conqueſt to
Magna Charta is extremely deftitute of information,
as to the nature of the Government, there is the
greater fcope for our imagination; and fome have
ventured to fuppofe that, however filent hiftory may
be on the fubject, yet popular reprefentative affem-
blies then held a fhare in the Government. That
when imagination is let loote any thing may be ſup-
pofed, and where hiftory is defective, we fhould fup-
( 10 )
ply the chaẩm to our refpective taftes, is not unna-
tural; yet if, when the Houſe of Commons is firft to
be traced in our records of legiſlation, it was neither
powerful nor popular, it might have been rather
inferred, that when it was not noticed it was becauſe
it either had no existence, or was fo inconfiderable in
its nature, and functions, as to be beneath the pen
of the hiftorian.
When Magna Charta originated, it was on the
claim of the Barons, and the Clergy, and on the grant
of the King; no Houſe of Commons is then ſtated
to have had any fhare in the tranfaction, nor is there
any provifion concerning it. The ftatutes of Henry
the id, are merely acts of royal authority. Thofe
of Edward ift fometimes mention the affent of the
Prelates, and Barons, fometimes in the prefence of
them. The ſtatute of Quo Warranto is ſtated to be
of his fpecial grace, and for the affection he beareth
unto his Prelates, Earls, and Barons, and other of
his realm; and, though there exift lifts of Members
returned the 23d, 25th, and 26th years of his reign,
yet are they totally unnoticed in the ftatutes, as giving
any affent. Indeed, it ſeems to have been customary
for perfons to attend national councils merely to
know what was tranfacted. Hincmar mentions that,
"At one of the general councils of the Chief Nobi-
lity of France, the Leffer Nobility alfo attended to
receive their inſtructions, and to give their advice,
but not to decide." In Edward ift's numerous laws,
the advice, rather than affent, even of the Barons,
ſeems to be ſtated; the 35th fays, "By the council
of his Earls, Barons, great Men, and other Nobles of
his Kingdom." The 1ft Edward III is ftated to be
"At the request of the Commonalty of his Realm,
by their petition, made before him and his Council
in the Parliament, and by the affent of the Prelates,
Earls, Barons, and other Great Men;" and in the
9th, "The faid Knights, Citizens, and Burgeffes,
defired for them, and the Commons defired our faid
Lord the King, in his faid Parliament, by their
petition." In the 10th, "By the affent of the faid
( 11 )
Prelates, Earls, Barons, and other Nobles of this
Realm, and at the request of the faid Knights and
Commons." In the reigns of Henry iv, v, and vi,
and as late as 1482, the Acts of Parliament are
ftated to be" with the affent of the Lords Spiritual,
and Temporal, and at the request of his Commons ;"
and the ftatutes of Richard II, in 1483, itate, that
"the King hath ordained, by the advice and affent
of the Lords Spiritual, and Temporal, and at the
request of the Commons, fummoned to the faid Par-
liament." It was in the reign of Henry VII, that we
first find the modern form of enacting, "by the
affent of the Lords Spiritual, and Temporal, and
Commons, in the faid Parliament, and by authority
of the fame." Probably, this innovation arofe from
the defire of Henry to ftrengthen his defective title;
and to this circumftance may we attribute the
origin of that very authority of the Houfe of Com-
mons, which, within a century afterwards, began to
contend with the power of the fovereign, and, in
another half century, totally fubverted it.
As the regular legiflative power of the Houfe of
Commons is thus founded on modern innovation, ſo,
alfo is its prefent nature, and formation. Until the
time of Henry VIIIth, it confifted only of about 300
members, who were returned by fuch places as the
King, by his writ, ordered; and in a lift extant, Lon-
don is not included. Even when the Members were
returned, they were always liable to be excluded
by the King, as the returns were judged of, not
by the Houfe of Commons, but by the Chancery,
Exchequer, or Privy Council; and Prynne admits,
that the King alone, or the King and the Houſe of
Lords, were originally the proper judges of the
election of the Members of the Houfe of Commons.
In the reign of Henry iv, the Commons prayed the
King, and Lords in Parliament, that a falfe return.
for Rutland might be examined in Parliament;
whereupon the King commanded the Lords in Par-
liament to examine the matter-which feems to
mply, both that the Houſe of Commons did not
( 12 )
then confider themſelves even as a part of the Parlia-
ment, and proves that they did not preſume to judge
of the returns of their own Members; and, arbitrary
as the Tudors may have been deerned, it was under
them that the Houſe of Commons firſt poffeffed
regular legiſlative authority, and rofe to importance
in the state.
Whatever temporary power Henry VII and VIII
obtained, by the havoc they made with the Nobles
and Clergy, yet they thereby laid the foundation for
that fubverfion of the regal power, which their fuc-
ceffors fatally experienced. Delivered from the dan-
gerous power of the Barons, and Clergy, they were
equally deprived of the benefit of their fupport, and
their immenfe property, difperfed amongst the people,
invigorated that commerce which foon after pro-
duced very viſible effects. A landed intereſt exiſted
independent of the Barons and Clergy; and a weal-
thy commercial body of men arofe in confequence of
the recent events; and thoſe new claffes of men,
obtaining admiffion into the Houſe of Commons,
became troubleſome even to Henry's own children,
We find Mary under fome difficulty in managing the
rifing power, and, fhe and her brother and fifter
Elizabeth introduced 130 new Members. This proved
a temporary expedient, aggravating the evil, by
introducing a greater number of opulent, and able
men, into the Houfe of Commons, increafed its
importance, enabled it, under the weak reign of
James, to obtain fuch privileges, and power, as
proved, in the fucceeding reign, the deftruction of
the monarchy. That a body of men whofe exift-
ence, and formation, were entirely dependent on the
Crown, fhould, in the courſe of little more than
a century, poffefs the Government, and trample un-
der foot the antient authorities of the kingdom, may
be easily accounted for under theſe circumſtances.
The Houfe of Commons obtained, and have ever
fince retained their power, not from any antient or
natural right to the Government, but becaufe, from
the nature of its conſtitution, men of wealth, influ-
( (13
13 )
ence, and ability, obtained feats in it, and when thus
congregated together, were enabled to wreft from
the King, Nobles, and Clergy, the ſmall remnant of
their power, and were equally enabled to affume it
themſelves. No fcruples did they entertain as to the
lawfulneſs of thus affuming power; nor do they
appear to have entertained a thought of forming any
rational fyftem of Government, but grafped the whole
of it themſelves.
At what is called the Reſtoration, though antient
names were retained, yet neither the King nor Parlia
ment bore the leaft refemblance to thofe of former
periods. The feudal rights of the Crown, from
whence was derived the power and the revenues of
our antient monarchs, had long been mouldering
away, and the laft veftige of it was annihilated im-
mediately on the Reſtoration, and left the King de-
pendent on the Houfe of Commons, deftitute of
any acknowledged rights which he dared to exercife,
and equally abject may he be deemed, whether we
confider him as attempting to retain a little tempo-
rary power by dealing out his largeffes amongst them,
or, when thoſe largeffes failed, we view Minifters
impeached, Government diforganized, and the de-
teftable leaders of that deteftable affembly plunging
into fuch an abyfs of crimes, that we can hardly fur-
mife their purpoſe, unleſs it were the mere gratifica-
tion of perpetrating them, while the aftoniſhed
monarch was neceffitated to follow them through
perjury and murder, until emboldend by fuccefs,
madnes at length induced them to infift on the
profcription and exclufion of his brother. The
King was ftimulated to refift the outrage by at-
tempting to govern without a Houfe of Com-
mons, but reducing it to its former infignificance or
original nothingnels, was an attempt defperate and
difficult. The Crown had loft its antient reſources
and fupport, the Houfe of Lords, inftead of being a
body of powerful Barons, poffeffed of almoft the
whole property of the kingdom, and vefted with
legiflative authority in coniequence of that poffeffion,
( 14 )
1
bore a much greater refemblance to Cromwell's
Other House. The King, like Cromwell, could by
his writ place whom he pleafed among the Lords;
but as then they had not found out the modern mode
of preferving their influence by purchafing feats in
the Houſe of Commons, and placing in them their
dependants, the Houſe of Lords became perfectly
infignificant, bullied and infulted by the Commons.
To what period then of the Britiſh hiftory do the
advocates for the antiquity of our Government with
to refer us? In what age are we to find the pattern
with which they wish us to compare it, and to which
they will be content to look back, as the ſtandard of
perfection, for any one of the branches of our excel-
lent Government? Do they with the monarch to pof-
feſs a large, independent, land revenue, with a nume-
rous train of armed Barons, bound by their tenures
to attend him in his wars? Do they with him to be
poffeffed of the rights of purveyance, and of ward-
hip, with the valuable reftriction of Magna Charta,
as to the firft, that "no demefne cart of any fpiritual
perfon, or Knight, or any Lord, fhall be taken by
our bailiffs," or as to the latter, the no lefs notable
privilege of the fixth chapter, that "heirs fhall be
married without difparagement;" or of the feventh,
that widows" fhall find furety that the fhall not
marry without our licence and affent, if the hold of
us, nor without the affent of the Lord, if the hold of
another?" Do we wish to fee our Houfe of Lords
changed into Prelates, Abbots, and armed Barons,
poffeffed of almoft the whole property of the kingdom,
holding the people on their eftates in a ftate of vaf-
falage, and poffeffing petty jurifdictions in their
ſeveral domains? Or laftly, are we defirous of ſeeing
our Houſe of Commons changed into a handful of
reprefentatives of petty Barons and Landholders, loft
in the great herd of powerful Barons? Or, when
turned out of their company, formed into a Lower
Houſe without legislative authority, and attending
on the Upper Houfe merely to receive the law at
their hands, and to prefent their humble petitions?
( 15 )
As the leaſt reſemblance to our preſent Govern-
ment cannot be traced in our antient annals, fo the
idea of a balanced, mixed Government, confifting
of three diftinct parts, equally poffeffing legiflative
authority, is as fabulous. No antiquarian has yet
diſcovered the exiſtence of a ſeparate Houſe of Com-
mons in the early periods of our hiftory. So fhort was
the period of their poffeffing a diftinct portion of
regular authority to their ufurpation of the whole,
that though it was the father of Henry VIII who firſt
admitted them to this acknowledged regular fhare of
legiſlative power, yet was his daughter neceffitated
to ſtruggle againſt their increaſing authority, and the
fon of her fucceffor, overwhelmed by the torrent,
was deprived by it both of his crown and his life.
As thus fabulous is the ſtory of our glorious con-
ftitution being framed by the deliberative wiſdom of
our anceſtors, it is no lefs fo, that it was cemented by
their blood: that they bled in the field, and died on
the ſcaffold, to tranſmit to us unimpaired the invalu-
able bleſſing.---That our fields, and our ſcaffolds,
have been deluged with blood, our annals too fatally
prove; but, alas! it was all fhed in the moſt deteft-
able purſuits, or for the moft frivolous objects, con-
tefts for power, capricious changes of government,
and theological wrangles, were the admirable cauſes
for which our wife and virtuous anceſtors were anxi-
ous to bleed. They died in the field to deprive the
monarch of the power of levying a trifling tax, and
to place that power in a body who uſed it when
poffeffed of it, to fix times the extent. And whence
did they derive the right of taxing and legiflating,
for themſelves, and all the rest of the nation? How
could the 130 members, who had been recently fum-
moned to parliament by the children of Henry VIII,
to answer their purpoſes, thence derive a right to
tax, and to legiflate? Could they poffefs an autho-
rity fuperior to that from which their own was de-
rived? Or what pretence could they have for affum-
ing the whole of that authority, a fourth fhare only
of which they fo recently poffeffed? For in Queen
( 16 )
1
Elizabeth's time, the clergy, in convocation, taxed
the infelves. Admitung then the people to have a
right to change the government, and that they could
not be taxed without their own content, then may it
be aſked what pretence the Commons had for calling
themſelves the People of Fngland, any more than
any other corporate body had, who, like them, de-
rived its powers, and conftitution, from the Grant
of the Crown? Will it be faid, that the Houſe of
Commons reprefented the people of England? when
even now, as is alleged, a few thouſands return a ma-
jority of the members, and ord North justly obſerved
that in every former age elections were far lefs po-
pular, as well becauſe the original number of mem-
bers had been nearly doubled, as that the divi-
fion of property, and increale of wealth, had intro-
duced a great increafe of voters. Will it be affirmed
that they repreſented the property of the kingdom?
Almoft the whole property of the nation was formerly
in the hands of the Clergy and Barons; and if ſub-
ſequent events had greatly diminiſhed it, yet pro-
bably the property of the Houfe of Commons, or
that of the fmall number who returned the majority
of them, was far lefs confiderable Did they repre-
fent the land of the kingdom? That was formerly
intirely in the hands of the Lords and Clergy; a great
part is fo ftill, and a great part of the remainder of
the landed property is totally unreprefented. All
copyhold intereit, which is nearly equivalent to the
value of the fole property, all leafehold and mort-
gage intereft, which in many cafes is far fuperior to
that of the freehold, the whole city of London, both
land and houſes, is unreprefented, as well as all lands
in the hands of corporate bodies, females, minors,
and truſtees.
If thus unfounded were the claims of thoſe who
ufurped the power of the Crown in the laft century,
fo were their purpofes frequently indefinite. Who
can tell what was the object for which Ruffel and
Sydney contended? To exclude James, we fhall be
told. Admirably juſt to be fure, to deprive him of
Poor Richard's Scraps, No. 4.
Sold by M. GURNEY, No. 128, Holborn-Hill.
15
his crown, becauſe he did not implicitly adopt the
new fangled creed of the two or three preceeding
monarchs, or becauſe he was guilty of believing in the
religion of his great Grandmother, and a long line of
Anceſtors! Did the perfecuting wretches mean to
hold it out, as a principle of Government, that to pof-
fèfs the rights to which we are born, conformity to
a national religion is an indifpenfible condition? Or,
was the monarch peculiarly to be marked out, to be
deprived of the moſt important, and inherent right,
a right which is equally important to the king, and
to the peasant, that of worshipping God according to
the dictates of his confcience? The affent, or diffent
of the mind, is an involuntary act. The human in-
tellect, in purfuit of truth, is liable to take an infinite
diverfity of paths. The lure of a crown may, indeed,
induce the abandoned to falfify the convictions of the
mind, but never can control them. And to make the
profeffion of a particular religion the condition of en-
joying an hereditary crown, perhaps, may, by fome, be
deemed fomething like faying that we wish to be go-
verned by thoſe who are fo deftitute of all religion
as, for the fake of worldly advantage, to be willing
to profeſs any. But, with refpect to JAMES, fuch
a conduct feems very extraordinary, he was the
Monarch of three kingdoms: his Irifh fubjects
(except the English and Scotch fettlers) were
firmly attached to the religion of the fovereign, fo
were the Highlands of Scotland; and in the Lowlands,
as well as in England, the numbers were not incon-
fiderable. Admitting, then, that the religion of a
monarch ought to conform to that of the majority of
his fubjects, yet will it be much easier to fhew that
his prefent majefty ought to become a Gentoo, or a
Mahommedan, than that JAMES ought to have been
of the Church of England. Was it incumbent on
him to be of the religion of his more confiderable
( 18 )
kingdom, England? The natural inference feems
to be exactly the reverfe. The weaker kingdoms
was moſt expoſed to the danger of having the religion
of the more powerful one impoſed on them; and, to
guard againſt that danger, juſtice feemed rather to
dictate that the common fovereign fhould not be of
it. That Popery was a dangerous, bloody, perfecut-
ing religion, was no otherwife true, than as the affi-
milating religion with worldly power, and con-
verting it into an engine of ftate, naturally renders it
bloody, and perfecuting. The Romish clergy pof-
fefied greater power, and exiſted during a period in
which they were enabled, by the ignorance and ſuper-
ftition of mankind, to extend moft widely that bane-
ful power, which, in proportion to the exifting cir-
cumſtances, as confpicuously characterifed the Eng-
gliſh Heirarchy, and the Scottish Prefbytery.
Whatever panick may have been ſpread by fraud,
or by folly, perhaps, it may not be eaſy to prove,
that any danger to the community could poffibly have
refulted from the religion of James; perhaps, fome
may furmife that it was a circumftance peculiarly fa-
vorable. It was to the power of fovereigns that the
claims of the court of Rome were peculiarly hoftile.
Thoſe claims all the monarchs of Europe had, when
in their power, uniformly oppofed. Louis XIV. was,
at that very period, in a ftate of hoftility with the
Holy See, and, however ftrongly James might be
attached to the dogmas of the Romish Church, there
was no ground to fuppofe that he was fo deftitute of
the fentiments of a fovereign as voluntarily to fubju-
gate himſelf to her domineering claims. And as the
affumption of the Tiara, with the Imperial Crown,
had increaſed the power of Henry and Elizabeth, lo
the feparation was a weakening of the royal power,
and favorable to the liberties of the people.
more was it, alſo, in another point of view. It af-
forded the opponents of the court an opportunity
of restricting, if they needed reftriction, the prero-
gative of the crown. A Carte Blanche was offered
them if they would have abandoned the Exclufion
Still
"
( 19 )
Bill, and they had it in their power to have framed
a conftitution favourable to the people, which, under
thofe circumſtances, would have been gladly accept-
ed by the crown, together with all the guards,
which they could have poffibly deviſed, to fecure it
againſt incroachments.
A militia might have been eſtabliſhed, ſtanding
armies been annihilated, Place, Penfion and Peerage
Bills, might have been obtained, nay, annual Parlia-
ments, and the Duke of Richmond's equal reprefenta-
tion, would have been conceeded. Shall we be told
that James was fo bad a prince that no reſtrictions
could have protected us from the threatened mif-
chief-No laws have been framed but what he
would have trampled under foot-If the monarchial
power was of fuch a nature, that the fafe exercife of
it could not be rendered fecure, by any conftitutional
guards, by any legal reftrictions; if all fuch muſt
give way, and prove like Sampson's cords to a wicked
prince, if the happineſs and liberty of the people
could not be fecured by law, but muſt ultimately
depend on the virtue of the monarch, that, indeed,
would have been a powerful reafon for abrogating the
office, or for rendering it elective, but none for
changing the Hereditary fucceffion.
The most wicked, and the most dangerous, mo-
narchs will be the most difficult to difpoffefs. Is it *
prudent, then, to fubject the community to the certain
evils of fuch a convulfion; to difpeffes one monarch
whoſe thread of lite may be nearl; run, and who
might be fucceeded by one of an oppofite defcription,
and to do this merely to introduce a new monarch,
who if he appear to poffefs fuperior virtue, the
appearances might be as deceitful as thofe of Sixtus v.
or, if real, might be quickly terminated by his life,
and the throne might then, poffibly, defcend to a
worſe monarch, and a worſe line, than that which had
been expelled?
▼
But, in fact, the epithets of defpotic, lawleſs, and
cruel, were far from applicable to Charles 11, and
his brother. Had fuch been their character they
}
(20)
had more quietly poffeffed the throne. It was when'
Charles 11 was neceffitated to trample on the domina-
tion of the Lower Houſe of Parliament, that he beſt
deſerved, and, probably, moſt poffeffed, the law of his
fubjects; and in too readily giving way, in the early
part of his reign, to fuch affemblies, his conduct
feems most repreheufible. Gratitude and neceffity
might prompt him to fubmit to the claims of that
affembly which had reftored him, but all foreign
conqueſts were folely fubject to the Royal Will.
Lord Hardwicke in 1722, and Lord Mansfield in 1774,
declared that unless there are fpecial treaties fuch
conquered lands are, by law, the fole property of the
crown, and the inhabitants, and their property,are all
at the king's difpofal. Had Charles, like fome mo-
narchs, been difpofed to extend and avail himſelf of
the prerogative of the crown, what an ample field
was opened for fecuring, and extending its powers,
and its influence? From hence might have been
derived revenues. Here might have been maintain-
ed an army of foreign mercenaries, to keep the colo-
nies in fubjection, to awe the mother country, to fe-
cure an influence in her legiſlature, and to undertake
new conquefts in India, which would have rendered
ftill more fecure his domeftic authority. But no
fooner had he taken poffeffion of his crown than he
permitted, nay, fent orders to his governors to form
provincial affemblies, which, mimicking the English
Houſe of Commons, reduced his authority to as de-
ſpicable a ſtate in the colonies as it was in England.
Thus inattentive to preſerve the authority, and pre-
rogatives of the crown, no lefs fo were thefe royal
brothers to preſerve the crown itſelf.
Had James
procured foreign territories, as depots for foreign
troops, ready to be poured into England to fupprefs
domeſtic rebellion, or foreign invafion,: Had he
formed treaties, and entered into confederacies,
for foreign troops to defend him at home, while
he fent his English troops abroad; Had he built
barracks to prevent his foldiers from catching any
popular contagion; Had he, in order to difcover and
(
21
21 )
get rid of thoſe who were adverſe to his government,
fuffer his minifters to diffeminate opinions to cap-
tivate the populace, and then impriſon and tranfport
thofe who adopted them; Had he known of, or chofe
to exercife thofe various prerogatives, which have fince
the Revolution, been fortunately difcovered: Under
theſe circumſtances his throne would have been more
permanent, nor would the courage, or the fataliſm
of the Prince of Orange have emboldened him to af
fail it, with fourteen thoufand Dutch troops, even,
though half a fcore factious Revolutionifts had
fkulked into a Derbyshire hovel to invite him to the
enterprize.
Sydney admits, that “a juſt, wiſe, and valiant king
is only a momentary help, his virtues end with him.”
Could fuch men be juſtified in attempting to exclude
the reigning family merely to introduce a new line,
even had they fuppofed that fome individual of it
poffeffed fuperior virtue? Had they fo much made
revolutions the order of the day, as to project them
for what they themselves confidered as, a mere mo-
mentary help? The danger which must have threaten-
ed us from introducing a Prince who poffeffed foreign
territories and troops ought to have been weighed,
and, that the power of fuch a Prince threatened
danger to the ftate. May it not be infered, that if
they meant by the exclufion to change the fucceffion,
it was becauſe they wished for foreign affiftance to
enable themſelves to maintain their aristocratic
power, equally againſt the authority of the fovereign,
and the rights of the people; or that the hoped
fuch foreign Prince neither loving nor being beloved
by the people, they themselves might poffefs, and
exercife in the Royal Name, that power which they
had wreſted from their native monarchs? Stigmatif-
ing the people as a Democracy, applauding the vileft
and moſt oppreffive military ariftocracies, fpeaking
even of Poland and Germany as enviable fyftems of
liberty; it is evident that theſe men had no intention
of forming any improved or rational fyftem of go.
vernment, and that poffeffed of influence and power
( 22 )
in the lower Houfe of Parliament, they meant in that
Affembly to exercife all the functions of govern-
ment.
In this view, it is evident, that the fole conteſt,
both in the reigns of Charles 1. and II. was, whether
the lower Houfe of Patliament fhculd exerciſe the
whole authority of the ftate? Imitating the ftile
of the ancient Barons, and our piratical invaders, they
dared to call themselves the people of England; and,
under the guife of that appellation, artfully advanced
their own power, and undermined that of the crown;
and, amidst all the difputes to which thefe contefts
have given rife, it is extraordinary that no one has
ever yet condefcended to undertake to prove, either
that this body of men had a right to wreft from the
crown the government of the country, or that fuch
a transfer of it would have been beneficial to the
people.
From the nature of ſuch an Affembly it muft, when
in poffeffion of the government, have poffeffed greater
power than Kings could; and there does not appear
any reaſon why they ſhould be leſs difpofed to abuſe it.
The experiment was tried: they did wreft the fceptre
from the crown. Did they then, or did they not, exer-
ciſe it more to the benefit of the people? Levying
taxes is the moſt important and moſt delicate
part of
the adminiſtration of government, the part which
we peculiarly exult to have wrefted from the crown,
and which it is fuppofed to be fo extremely important
to keep peculiarly under the cognizance of the Houſe
of Commons, Well, this very Houfe fucceeded.
They had the purfe of the public totally at their dif
pofal, for a ſeries of years, without kings, bifhops,
or courtiers, to waste, to plauder, dilapidate it. What
was the refult? The extravagant, defpotic monarch,
James 1, paid all the expences of government, kept
a fplendid court, maintained an expenfive war in
Ireland, and laid the foundation of our navy, at the
expence of half a million per annum; nor were all the
levies of Charles 1. much larger, though he greatly
raiſed the navy, kept a magnificient court, had
( 23 )
fplendid palaces, encouraged learning, and thofe ele-
gant arts which adorn fociety, and which, under his
aufpices, diftinguifhed this kingdom, yet under
the authority of the Commonwealth was 83 millions
levied in 19 years, a larger ſum than the four Starts
received in almoft a century. Sir John Sinclair ftates,
that "a confiderable part of this immenfe treaſure
was either lavithed by Parliament on its members, or
was fraudulently embezzled," that "commit-
tees of the Houſe appropriated whatever fum they
thought proper to their own ufe;" and that " by
thefe frauds, the Parliament were difabled from
paying the army, which was the principle fource of
Cromwell's exaltation." May not, then, the enormous
power claimed, and exerciſed, by the Houſe of Com-
mons in the reigns of Charles 1. and 11. be deemed not
merely an innovation, but an innovation dangerous
and injurious, not only to the crown, but ftill more
fo to the people?
If a Democracy be fo dangerous, and fo deteftable
as is fuppofed: If the great body of the people were
not to be admitted to any fhare in the government,
If no new fyftem of government was to be reforted
to which, in its conftitution, might be adapted to
fecure and regard the interefts of the feveral
parts of
the community, and the public happineſs, if any
part or member of the old government was to affume
the whole, or a predominant hare, of power, or a
controling domination over the others, then is it
proper to inquire whether the Houfe of Commons
had any pre-eminent claim? This point has been ra-
ther affumed, than proved.
Their power appeared to be greater than that of
either of the other branches of the legislature,and they
do not feem to have been lefs difpofed to abuſe it.-
Befides their power feemed to be an increafing one,
while that both of the Sovereign and the Lords was
evidently decreafing. Surely the Monarchs, whofe
predeceffors had poffeffed confiderable power, could
hardly be blamed that they beheld with reluctance
the attempts made to wreft it from them, by a body
( 24 )
whoſe authority was but of recent origin, and who,
within leſs than a century, had addreffed their ancef-
tors under the form of "Your Majesty's poor and
obedient Subjects and Commons." Had this Affembly
confined their views within moderate bounds, they
might have been uſeful to the community; and
within fuch bounds the Stuarts feemed difpofed to
admit it. But if they difpenfed to them with fuch
parfimony that property of the public which when it was
at their own difpofal, they laviſhed with fuch fhameful
prodigality, is it extraordinary, that our kings fhould
have attempted to govern without them? They
might, poſſibly, think that they had, at leaſt, as
good a right to the whole Government.
Under their reigns the agriculture of the country
had rapidly increafed, and commerce fwelled to fuch
a comparative extent, that the cuſtoms, under them,
were rifen to near ten times the amount as at any
former period; a navy was formed which may excite
our aftoniſhment, when we confider the trifling taxes
they received, and compare them with modern ex-
penditures.
Charles and his brother, confidering how mnch
their government was difturbed, appeared to pay great
attention to the manufactures and profperity of the
kingdom; the reception they gave to the French
Proteftants proves this, as well as the liberality of
their minds, and their difpofition towards univerfal
liberty of conscience.
*
May not then fome think, that it might have been
beneficial to the nation had they been lefs diſturbed
by the factious claims of the violent leaders in Par-
liament? May it not be faid, that the increafing
wealth and profperity of the People would have
formed a fufficient check to the feeble power of the
crown, until the people becoming more enlightned
would have at length affumed the power, and formed
a government on a popular principle, in a degree, pro-
portionate to the knowledge and improved ftate of
mankind? at leaft they may fay, the power of fuch a
King would have been much eafier checked and con-
( 25 )
trolled by the people than either, a Houfe of Com-
mons poffeffed of independent power, Or if, under
colour of a mixed government, it ſhould virtually ex-
erciſe the prerogatives of the crown, or if, under pretence
of controlling it they fhould really fanction, and
give uncontrolled power to a King. Such a coalefed C
power they will fay, may be far more terrific than the
fceptre of a Stuart.-That the levying taxes may be
more fafely trufted to a Houfe of Commons becauſe
in taxing the people they muſt tax themſelves may
not appear perfectly fatisfactory to fome; they may
afk, if it be not poffible to reimburfe to themſelves
that ſhare of the taxes which they pay in common
with the people.
If it be fuppofed that Sydney, &c. meant to adopt
fome kind of mixed government, yet, may it be
afked, whether paft experience had not proved its
impracticability? had not the contefts of the King,
Barons, Clergy, and Lower Houſe of Parliament
uniformly been for the purpoſe of grafping the whole
power, and to reprefs their rivals: could any period
be referred to wherein they appeared difpofed to ac-
quiefe in an equal partition of power, and it may be
afked, if in the nature of things, fuch a difpofition is
to be expected; though the weakest may, indeed, con-
tend for fuch a partition, with a view to deprefs
others. Could it reaſonably be expected that thofe who
have attained power will impartially divide and dif-
tribute it? Will they feparate the legiſlative, executive,
and judicial branches, and leave them independently
and uncontrolled to exerciſe their reſpective functi-
ons? Is it practicable for the legiſlative functions
to be divided into parts, to be exerciſed by different
bodies, each poffeffing equally diftinct legiſlative
power, independent and fecure from each other's con-
trol. I fay fecure from each other's control, becauſe,
unless they act independently, and uncontroled, the
mixed authority becomes merely nominal, the real
power is in the controling body, and if the others,
are more than nominal, it muſt be liable to convulfe
and disturb the government.
(
26 )
26
That these men had an intention of forming an
improved ſyſtem of national reprefentation is not
pretendea, they were of ancient families, the efprit du
corps actuated them; and Sydney's hatred of Kings and
contempt of modern Lords were as confpicious as his
attachment to ancient aristocracy; fuch, he fays, were
not fuch Lords as Hyde, Arlington, &c. but the fami-
lies of ancient defcent, fuch as the Hamdens, Pelhams,
&c. fuch, fays he, "were termed the people, from
whom all power originated, and from amongst whom
Kings were chofen." A Democratic government, he
fays, "never was, except in fech a place as Marino,
where a hundred clowns govern a barbarous rock that
no man invades."-" That thofe governments, in
which Democracy prevail, do more frequently err in
the means of preferving purity of manners, I confefs."
"The beft, and wifeft men, amongst the Greeks, and
Romans, did incline to Ariftocracy."-" In all the
legal governments of the North, the ftrength of the
government has always been placed in the Nobility`;
and no better defence has been found against the en-
croachments of ill Kings, than by fetting up an order
of men who by holding large territories, and having
great numbers of Tenants and Dependants, might be
able to rettrain the exorbitancies of either the King,
or the Commons." (y Commons he means com-
mon people, not the Houfe of Commons.)-But it
was not merely Aristocracy, but a Military Ariſtocracy
for which he contended. He reprobates the Venetian
Aristocracy for relying on Trade; and afferts that
"The beft judges have always given the preference
to thofe Conftitutions that principally intend War, and
make uſe of Trade as affifting to that end, and think
it better to aim at conqueft rather than fimply ftand
on their defence." Tyrrell admits that the common
people never had any concern in the government.-
Fletcher, a contemporary Whigg, has ſo ſtrong a pre-
deliction for the antient ariftocratic government, as
nodeftly to propofe that the common people fhould
be fold as flaves, as a convenient mode of providing
for them, and to increaſe the wealth and power of the
( 27 )
Aristocracy; and Mr. Locke, in his celebrated trea-
tife on Government, attempts to defend the lawful-
nefs of holding a whole body of People in Slavery!
or, as he choofes to call it, Servitude; and actually
drew up a code of Laws defigned for an infant colony
of which flavery formed a confiderable part.
Such being the principles of thofe old Whiggs,
whom Mr. Burke, with great propriety, claims as his
Allies, we may concur with the Whigg Clubb in ce-
lebrating the circumftance that they bled upon the
ſcaffold; and had their opinions perifhed with them
we ſhould not have been inconfoleable for the lofs.
Had thefe men, inftead of perifhing on the ſcaffold, been
fucceſsful in their projects, What would have been
the refult we have no documents to prove. Deep,
ambiguous defigns of dark ambition, have, indeed,
been difcovered, and thefe celebrated difcourfes,
drawn from the receffes of the clofet, may in fome
degree, tend to elucidate their nature; and lead us
to think it was intended to fill up the defign which
the bold pen of their leader had ſketched out.
To preferve the form of the exiſting government
was, probably, their intention, as it was not ill fuited
to be moulded to their purpoſe. To exclude the
Heir to the Crown, if not the reigning Monarch, was
effential to their plan, in proportion as he was be-
loved by the people, and attached to their intereft.-
A foreign Prince, remotely allied to the Crown, who
could have no hope but through them of ever pof-
feffing it, was the King beft fuited to their purpoſe;
fuch an one might become a tool in their hands, or an
accomplice in their defigns. If deftitute of the love
of the people he muſt become the more dependent
on them. If he hated the people, whom he nomi-
nally governed, then would he not fcruple affifting
in their purpoſes. His foreign troops, and foreign
alliances, might aid them against the people, while ig-
norant of the nature of our Government, and engaged
in foreign concerns, he must have been difpofed
to leave the management of English affairs in their
hands; and they, by involving the Nation in perpe-
( 28 )
tual foreign wars, would be effecting the various ends,
of eſtabliſhing ſuch a military ariftocracy as they
appeared to have in view, of gratifying the
Monarch, by enabling him to enlarge and ſtrength-
en his foreign dominions, which would always be a
fource from whence troops might be poured into the
nation, to fupport their power, and quell difcon-
tent, enabling them (as Sydney expreffes it) "To aim
at foreign conqueft rather than fimply stand on their de-
fence;" and thele foreign conqufts might have open-
ed a trade exactly of fuch a nature as he defcribes,
"A Trade afifting to the end of War." The genius
of this military ariftocracy was not, it feems, to be
contaminated by fair and lawful commerce: but
Lockes's flavery, and Sydney's War and Conqueſt were
to have conftituted its effence, and fo combined,
might have become a powerful and complicated ma-
chinery for enabling them to govern the whole em-
pire.
The infant colonies, which the unambitious Stuarts
poffeffed, might, by the conquefts of this military
ariftocracy, have been widely extended through both
Indies, until the plundered millions were poured
into England, ftill ftrengthening the ariffocratic
power, by raiſing powerful bodies, and defcriptions
of men, who would have been neceffitated to fupport
that fyftem of Government which was the fource of
their unjuſt power, and criminal wealth. From the
contempt with which Sydney fpeaks of the Houſe of
Lords, it may be imagined that the Houfe of Com-
mons was intended to have been the focus of this
power; for though Sydney speaks of an ariftocracy
aweing both the King and Commons, yet it was evi-
dently the Common People he meant, as the Houſe
of Commons was their favourite fcene of action.-
The Houfe of Lords might have been continued to
preſerve an appearance of the former Government,
and as a fort of dignified retreat for the political
champions when they retired from the fierce contefts
in St. Stephen's Chapel, but there might have cen-
(229 )
)
tered, in reality, the whole legiſlative, executive, and
even, judicial power of the State.
The King might have continued, as a matter of
form, to affent to Bills; but it might have been
ftigmatiſed as an obfolete prerogative; they might
have dared him to exerciſe it, and we might have
heard it avowed, that the Houſe of Lords would hardly
venture repeatedly to refuſe a Bill which the Com-
mons perfifled in prefenting to them.
So far from keeping the executive, and legiſlative,
powers diftinct, they might have claimed a controling
power, by which every act of the executive power
might have been fubjected to their will. We might
have ſeen Minifters made, and unmade, on the mere
intimation of their pleaſure, and claiming the right
of holding the public purfe; they might have
threatened to ſtop the wheels of Government, and
diſorder the fabric of the State, unleſs every meafnre
of government was conducted in conformity to their
withes. Nor might the judicial power have eſcaped
their grafp. By Impeachments, or Bills of pains.
and penalties, every individual might have been
dragged before them, deprived of the right of trial
by Jury; they might have trampled on all the rules
of evidence, charged as crimes actions which no law
had pronounced to be criminal, and, unreftrained
by decency, as well as law, theſe proceffes might
have been inftituted for temporary, political, nay,
intereſted purpoſes, and no man could, in fuch caſe,
have been deemed faſe who had incured their dif-
pleaſure.
Shall we reflect with fatisfaction that fuch defigns
were ftifled in embryo, and that we have never feen a
body of men poffeffed of fuch power! for who can
furmile to what extent it might have been carried?
might not the most dangerous and mifchievous prero -
gatives of the Crown have been revived, and enforced?
and whether we fuppofe that, in fuch caſe, fuch an
affembly were to be confidered as the creatures of the
crown, giving its fanction, and authorifing the Crown
to affume fuch alarming prerogatives, as without
(
30. ):
fuch fanction it would not have ventured to claim ;
or whether the Monarch was to be confidered as the
tool by means of which the affembly, through, its
inftruments, exerciſed thoſe prerogatives; yet the
danger to the people muſt have been the fame, as, in
either cafe, fuch prerogatives would have been pof-
feffed by their united and concentered powers as had
been deemed dangerous when exercifed only by
one.
In this extended range of our hiftory, from its ear-
lieft period until the Revolution in 1688, it does not,
then, appear that any particular form, or principle,
of Government can be ftated as its characteristic.-
We fee nothing but a feries of events, producing a
vaft variety of changes in the Government, fo im-
portant, and fo fudden, as, fo far from fuggefting the
hadow of a pretext of there exifting a regular per-
manent, well formed Government, it does not appear
that ſuch an one had ever even a momentary exiſtence,
as to which we can look back with regret, as having
paffed away, which can be refered to for our imita-
tion, or as to which we can boaſt of our anceſtors ·
forming by their wisdom, or tranfmitting to us by
their heroilm.
If fuch a Government, now, exifts, no higher ori-
gin can it claim than the paffing century; and that
period is alone entitled to claim all that wisdom, that
virtue, and that heroifin, which, with a laviſh hand,
we attribute to our anceſtors. Whether the laft 100
years is more intitled to this praife, than was its pre-
deceffors, is a queftion which, if at all, muft be cau-
tiouſly difcuffed. At 1688, the limitation of free in-
quiry terminates; from that happy period the pen of
the Hiftorian muft move according to Acts of
Parliament; and he who prefumes to analize ſubſe-
quent events is appaled by the terror of the law!-
The Government of our country, excellent as it is,
dares not, it feems, to truft that excellence to exami-
nation; nor is it even thought prudent to ſuffer
events, even after the intervention of a revolving
century, to be abandoned to free inquiry, left infer-
( 31 )
:
ences might be drawn unfavorable to the exifting Go-
vernment. Its own conduct, its own merits, is thought
too narrow a foundation on which to reſt its ſafety-
Be it fo-we fubmit to the indefpenfible condition:
but, then, let them not vaunt in their triumph. Mr.
Dymock, who throws down a gauntlet which no man
dares take up, may exult in his fafety, but has no
ground to boaſt of his prowess. In obedience to law,
then, we declare, we believe in the glorious Revolu-
tion, and in the immortal William; and, in difcuffing
this glorious Revolution, we fhall only venture to
ſuggeſt a few doubts, and afk a few queftions; at the
fame time, folemnly protefting that nothing which
has been ſaid extends, or fhall be conftrued to extend
to this glorious Revolution, or to any perfon, matter,
or thing, fubfequent to the date thereof.
As to this Revolution, let us first inquire as to the
propriety of the term. We certainly do not apply it
merely to the dethronement of one Monarch, and plac-
ing another on his vacant throne; nor even to the in-
troduction of a new line of Kings. Theſe are events
to be traced in the hiftory of every country, and fre-
quently unconnected with any Revolution in its Go-
vernment. The changes of the throne between the
houſes of York and Lancaſter, even though they pro-
duced fome accidental effects on the Government of
the country, were, notwitſtanding, never deemed Re-
volutions.
That a great Revolution has taken place in our
Government fince the reign of 2. Elizabeth cannot be.
difputed, but it was not in 1688 particularly. In
that year we only difcover one of thofe numerous
events, which marked the progrefs of a Revolution,
whofe fprings may be traced to an earlier origin, but
which from the beginning of the laft century was more
diſtinguiſhable in its effects. Mr. Burke has repro-
bated thoſe who would confound the Revolution in
1688 with what he calls a Revolution near half a
century earlier. He must indeed be a deſpicable.
politician who can feparate them in their nature and
principles. He who confiders the occurrences of
( 32 )
1688 a mere infulated facts, underived from, and
anomalous to, the ſeries of preceeding events, muft
trample on our hiftory, or difregard the nature and
confequences of human action. Motives may, in-
deed, exiſt for wiſhing to mark with abhorrence im-
portant events in the progrefs of a Revolution, while
we load with applaufe concluding ones, though com-
pofing a part of the fame feries, and participating in
one general nature.
When the French fhall have gone through their
revolutionary progrefs, thofe who may then be in
poffeffion of power, may wish to confign to oblivion,
or involve in cenfure, thofe acts of their predeceffors,
to which they themselves may be indebted for the
power they poffefs, and the happineſs they enjoy. In
England our conduct is peculiarly whimfical. We
have, for above a century, been branding as execrable
regecides thoſe who deprived one of our Monarchs
of his Crown and life, while we load with the moſt
extravagant applauſe thoſe who poffeffed the throne
of his fuceffors accompanied with circumftances which
would have rendered regecidiſm a mercy.
Have
thoſe who are fo loud in their execration of the
cruelties exercifed towards Charles I. and Louis XVI.
by their enraged fubjects, none to beftow on thoſe
endured by James II. from his own Children? Were
his wounds lefs painful becauſe inflicted not merely
by Children, but by Chlidren whom he had loved and
indulged with a tendernefs which rarely finds place
in a royal breaſt.
He not merely abandoned his palace, and flew from
kingdom to kingdom under the terror of him, on
whom he had beſtowed a beloved daughter; but he
beheld his Queen, who had left, a foft and genial
climate to fhare his throne in an inclement iſland, ne-
ceffitated to eſcape from his palace under the terror
of affaffination, and fhrouded in the darkneſs of the
night, with the new born infant at her breaft, expofed
to a tempestuous winter fky, the pitylefs ftorm beating
on their devoted heads, until means were obtained
for their fafety, in flight from our barbarous land.
A N
16
ADDRESS
TO THE
PEOPLE OF GREAT BRITAIN,
ON THE PROPRIETY OF ABSTAINING FROM
Weſt India Sugar and Rum.
Why did all-creating Nature,
Make the plant for which we toil!
Sighs muft fan it, Tears must water,
Sweat of ours muft dreſs the Soil.
Think ye Mafters, iron-hearted,
Lolling at your jovial Boards,
Think how many Backs have fmarted
For the fweets your Cane affords ?
COWPER'S Negro's Complaint.
THE TWELFTH EDITION, WITH ADDITIONS.
Sold by M. Gurney, No. 128, Holborn-Hill, T. Knott, No. 47,
Lombard-Street, and C. Forfter, No. 41, Poultry. 1791.
[Price a HALFPENNY.]
Or twenty-five for 1s, and 3s. 9d per hundred.
40,000 of this Pamphlet having been printed in about 4
months affords the moft flattering hopes of the plan pro-
pofed being extenfively adopted and producing very im-
portant effects :
to further them a trivial price is affixed,
that thofe who approve the Pamphlet may be more gene-
rally enabled to promote its circulation; this may be done
in the moſt inconfiderable town or village in the kingdom
if there be in it only one friend to the Caufe, who will
fend a letter (poft-paid) to M. Gurney, No. 128, Holborn,
directing to whom the parcel is to be delivered, and or-
dering the Coachman, Waggoner, or other perfon to pay
the money on delivery; the deduction abovementioned
will in moft cafes enable the perfon to difpole of them.
at a halfpenny, without any lofs.
*
Notwithstanding of you that
Ν
Otwithstanding the late determination of the Houfe of
Commons on the Slave Trade, we may hope that
the difcuffion it has received will not be ufelefs; and that
the public attention has not been excited in vain, to a fyf
tem of cruelty which it is painful even to recite. It may
be hoped that, claiming for ourſelves the moſt perfect free-
dom, we ſhall no longer impofe upon others a flavery the
moft oppreffive; and that, enjoying a degree of felicity un-
equalled in any age or country, we fhall no longer range
the world to increaſe the mifery of mankind.
The luft of power, and the pride of conqueft, have
doubtless produced inftances far too numerous, of man en-
flaved by inan. But we, in an enlightened age, have greatly
furpaffed, in brutality and injuſtice, the molt ignorant and
barbarous ages and while we are pretending to the fineſt
feelings of humanity, are exerciling unprecedented cruelty.
We have planted flavery in the rank foil of fordid avarice;
and the produce has been mifery in the extreme. We have
afcertained, by a courſe of experiments in cruelty, the leaft
portion of nourishment requifite to enable man to linger a
few years in mifery; the greatefl quantity of labour which,
in fuch a fituation, the extreme of punishment can extort;
and the utmolt degree of pain, labour, and hunger united,
that the human frame can endure.
In vain have fuch fcenes been developed. The wealth
derived from the horrid traffic, has created an influence
that fecures its continuance; unlefs the people at large
fball refuſe to receive the produce of robbery and murder.
The Legislature having refuſed to interpofe, the people
are now neceffarily called on, either to reprobate or approve
the meaſure; for Weft-India Slavery muft depend upon
their fupport for its exiflence, and it is in the power of
every individual to increaſe, or to diminish its extent. The
laws of our country may indeed prohibit us the fugar-cane,
unless we will receive it through the medium of flavery.
They may hold it to our lips, fteeped in the blood of our
fellow-creatures; but they cannot compel us to accept the
loathfome potion. With us it refts, either to receive it
and be partners in the crime, or to exonerate ourſelves from
guilt, by fpurning from us the temptation. For let us not
think, that the crime refls alone with thofe who condu&t
the traffic, or the legislature by which it is protected. If we
purchaſe the commodity we participate in the crime. The
flave-dealer, the flave holder, and the flave-driver, are vir-
[ 3 ]
1
i
tually the agents of the confumer, and may be confidered
as employed and hired by him to procure the commodity.
For, by holding out the temptation, he is the original
cauſe, the first mover in the horrid procefs; and every dif-
tinction is done away by the moral maxim, That whatever
we do by another, we do ourſelves.
Nor are we by any means warranted to confider our in-
dividual fhare in producing thefe evils in a trivial point
of view. The confumption of fugar in tea, wines, paſtry
and punch by many families in this country is fo confider-
able, that a few fuch families by abftaining, will have an
important effect on the Slave Trade, the colonial flavery,
and even on the other European markets, where the con-
fumption of fugar is comparatively inconfiderable, becauſe
thofe articles which occafion the confumption of ſugar in
this country, are on the Continent very little ufed. A fa-
mily that ufes 5lb. of fugar per week, with the proportion
of rum, will, by abftaining from the confumption 21
months, prevent the flavery or murder of one fellow-
creature, eight fuch families in 191 years, prevent the
flavery or murder of 100, and when the fugar trade fhall
have returned to its former channel by the French Colonies
ſupplying the other European markets, 38,000 fuch fa-
milies will have it in their power totally to prevent the
Slave Trade to fupply our iflands. Nay, fo neceffarily
connected are our confumption of the commodity, and the
mifery refulting from it, that in every pound of fugar ufed,
(the produce of flaves imported from Africa) we may be
confidered as confuming two ounces of human flesh, be-
fides deftroying an alarming number of feamen by the
Slave-Trade, and fpreading inconceivable anguifh, terror,
and difmay, through an immenfe Continent, by the burning
of their villages, tearing parents from their families, and
children from their parents; breaking every bond of fo-
ciety, and deftroying every fource of human happineſs.
A French writer obferves, "That he cannot look on a
"piece of fugar without conceiving it ftained with fpots
of human blood :" and Dr. Franklin adds, that had he
taken in all the confequences, "he might have feen the
fugar not merely fpotted, but thoroughly died in grain."
Dieadful confideration, that our increafing profperity has
fpread defolation over a country as large as all Europe!
For it is an indifputable fact, that it is British luxury, the
<
[ 4 ]
African Slave Trade depends on for fupport: they have in-
creaſed, and they would fall together. For our confumption
fugar is now fo immenfe that it nearly equals that of all
Europe befides: and Jamaica now fupplies more than all
our Weft-India Iflands did at any period prior to 1755.
But amazingly extenfive as is the increaſe of the culture,
fo far is it from keeping pace with our luxury, that (before
the difturbances in the French Islands, within thefe two or
three years) ſugars have ever fold in the British market 20
er 30, fometimes 50 per cent. dearer than in any other
part of the world. Nor is it to fupport the old plantations,
as is pretended, but to form new ones, for the fupply of
this our increaſing luxury, that the wretched Africans are
torn from their native land.
Let us then imagine our immenfe confumption wholly,
or in great part to ceafe, and our fugars to be thrown on
the foreign markets; would additional flaves be wanted to
Supply an overflowing market at a falling price? No: the
African Slave Trade, by whomfoever conducted, to ſupply
fugar colonies, by whatever nation poffeffed, muft totally
ceafe. Horror and difmay would give place to peace and
civilization, through a coaft of above three thouſand miles
extent, and above a thousand miles inland: for fo exten-
five are our depredations, and fo extenfive are the benefits
which it is in our power to confer. Nor would the be-
neficial effects ceafe, even here. The Weft-India iflands,
finding lefs demand for fugar, must appropriate leſs ground
to the fugar-cane, and leave more for provifions: the flaves
would be lefs worked, better fed, and in a few years confift
intirely of native Creoles. Or if the planters appropriate
the land to the other productions of the islands, the fame
beneficial effects muft enfue. For Mr. Cooke tells us, "the
"cultivation of cotton, pimento, and coffee, is eaſier than
fugar; the Slaves look better, and increaſe faſter :" and
inſtead of requiring additional flaves, they would be able to
increaſe their plantations with thoſe already in the Iflands.
For Governor Parry fays, "one acre of fugar requires as
“much labour as three of cotton." Thus our refraining
from the confumption of the fugar-cane, even for a few
years, would deftroy the Slave Trade to the Weft-India,
Iſlands, bring freſh land into culture, and place the flaves
in fuch a fituation, that they muft rapidly increaſe.
The diminution of the confumption of Wefl-India pro-
16
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[* 5: Fr
duce, would alſo have a powerful effect by fiaking the
price of the commodity; and thereby take away the ten p
tation to import additional flaves. The reverfe we have re
cently experienced, by the disturbances in the French fugar
iſlands, having fuddenly raiſed fome of the markets, which
were 20 or 30 per cent, lower than the British, much above
it; and thereby occafioned an exportation from this coun-
try to fupply the deficiency: and our exportation, though
only amounting to a 10th of our importation, has railed
our fugars 50 per cent. And as a fall in the price would
obftruct the Slave Trade, and meliorate the condition of
the flaves; fo this rife will produce effects the moſt bane-
ful. The planter, tempted by the high price to get fugar
and rum to market while that high price continues, will
deprive his flaves of their provifion grounds, to plant them
with canes; and by the energy of the whip, they will be
forced to the most extreme exertions. The murder, or, in
the technical language of the Weft Indies, the lofs of his
flaves, will be to him but a fecondary confideration. The
large crop, and the high price, will amply compenſate-
him and the queſtion now is, not merely whether we ſhall
hold out to him an inducement to purchaſe additional flaves ;-
but whether we fhall tempt him to murder thofe he already.
has. We can hardly doubt, but that Weft-India packets.
have already borne the murderous diſpatches, expreffed in-
language too dreadfully explicit, and to the following effect.
"The price of fugar and rum ftill continues high. You
"must adopt every mode to forward as large a cargo as
poffible. A fortunate crifis now offers itſelf for extri-
cating my eſtate from the difficulties in which it is in-
"volved. We muſt avail ourſelves of it, another may
"never occur. Confequences, though difagreeable, muft
"at the prefent moment be overlooked. The flave mar-
ket is ftill open for a ſupply. New-fangled humanity is no
"more." The day hardly dawns when the whip refounds.
through thofe regions of horror; nor ceafes, till darkneſs.
clofes the ſcene, which day after day is renewed. The mi-
ſerable victims, deftitute of every ſource of comfort to body.
or to mind, and finking under the three endeinic difeafes-
of our islands, hunger, torture, and extreme labour; and
urged to exertions they are unable to ſuſtain, at length ex-
pire beneath the lafh, which in vain endeavours to rouſe
them to a renewal of their labour.
[ 6 ]
If fuch be the dreadful fituation of the Weft-India
flaves, may it not be afked, on what principle we can re-
ceive that produce which occafions it, for as neither the
flave-dealer, nor the planter, can have any moral right to
the perfon of him they file their flave, to his labour, or to
the produce of it; fo they can convey no right in that pro-
duce to us and whatever number of hands it may paſs
through, if the criminal circumftances appertaining to it be
known at the time of the transfer, they can only have a
criminal poffeffion: and the money paid, either for the
flave, or for the produce of his labour, is paid to obtain
that criminal poffeffion; and can confer no moral right
whatever. So, if the death of the perfon called a flave,
be occafioned by the criminal poffeffion, the criminal pof-
feffor is guilty of murder; and we, who have knowingly
done any act which might occafion his being in that fitu-
ation, are acceffaries to the murder, as by receiving the pro-
duce of his labour, we are accefaries to the robbery.
If we, as individuals concerned in the Slave Trade (either
by procuring the flaves, compelling them to labour, or re-
ceiving the produce) imagine that our fhare in the tranfac-
tion is fo minute that it cannot perceptibly increaſe the
injury; let us recollect that, though numbers partaking
of a crime may diminiſh the fhame, they cannot diminiſh
its turpitude. Can we fuppofe, that an injury of enormous
magnitude can take place, and the criminality be deſtroyed
merely by the criminals becoming fo numerous as to ren-
der their respective fhares indiftinguishable? Were an hun-
dred affaffins to plunge their daggers into their victim,though
each might plead, that without his affiftence the crime
would have heen compleated, and that his poinard neither
occafioned nor accelerated the murder, yet every one of
them would be guilty of the entire crime. For into how
many parts foever a criminal action may be divided, the
crime itfelf refts intire and compleat on every perpetrator.
But waving theſe confiderations, and even fuppofing
for a moment, that the evil has an exiftence from caufes
totally independent of us: yet furely it will not be
faid, that we are to bind up no wounds but thoſe we have
inflicted, nor relieve any diſtreſs but what we have occa-
fioned; if dreadful mifery exifts, and we have it in our
power jointly with others, to remedy it; it is undoubtedly
our duty to contribute our fhare, in hopes that others will
=
[ 7 ]
theirs; and to act from confcience, as we ſhould from in-
clination in fimilar cafes that intereſted our feelings.
For inftance; let us fuppofe the Algerines to eſtabliſh
fugar plantations, and relort to the banks of the Thames
for flaves, as the only place to be infulted with impunity.
Suppofe our wives, our hufbands, our children, our
parents, our brethren, fwept away. and the fruit of their
labour, produced with agonizing hearts and trembling
limbs, landed at the port of London. What would be
our coudu&t? Should we ſay, fugar is a neceffary of life:
I cannot do without it. Befides, the quantity I ufe is but a
fmall proportion: and though it be very criminal of the
Algerines to enflave others, yet I am not bound to look
to the nature or confequences of the tranfaction; and
paying for the fugar, I have a right to confume it, how
ever it may have been obtained. If fuch would be our
language in that cafe, be it fo on the prefent occafion.
For let us recollect, that the only difference is, that in one
caſe our relation to the enslaved is rather more reinote,
but that in both cafes they are our brethren.
But it is hardly requifite to ſtate ſo ſtrong a cafe as that
fuppofed. For were only one Englishman to receive in-
juries, that bore but the flighteft refemblance to thofe
daily committed in our iflands, the nation would be in-
flamed with refentment, and clamorous to avenge the in-
jury. And can our pride fuggeft to us, that the rights of
men are limited to any nation, or to any colour? Or,
were any one to treat a fellow creature in this country as
we do the unhappy Africans in the Weft-Indies; ftruck
with horror, we fhould be zealous to deliver the oppreſſed,
and punish the oppreffor. Are then the offices of huma-
nity and functions of juftice to be circumfcribed by geo-
graphical boundaries? Can reafon, can confcience juftify
this contraft in our conduct, between our promptitude, in
the one cafe, and our torpor in the other ?-Mr. Addifon
justly obferves, that "humanity to become eftimable muft
be combined with juftice." But we feem to act as if we
thought that the relief of our fellow-creatures, protection
from injuries, communication of benefits, were works of
fupererogation, to be granted or with-held, as caprice, or
cuftom, or inclination may fuggeft.
After the important confiderations adduced, it might be
reckoned a degradation of the fubject to mention the na
[ 8 1
]
tional dignity; or even that might induce us to counte
raft a powerful body of men, who are trampling under
foot, the dictates of humanity, and the intereft of the
nation: men who have in 50 years received for ſugar.
alone, above 70 millions more than it would have coft at
any other market. And from Mr. Botham's evidence it
appears, that in Batavia, where labour is as high as in
England, fugar, equal to the beſt Weft-India, is fold at
id per pound. Theſe are the men, who are at this
moment fummoning meetings to compel the minifter to
aid the operation of their whips by the terrors of our bayo
nets; and to pervert the public treaſure for the purpoſe
of fupporting a few individuals in violating every principle
of law and juftice, and of defending them in the exercife-
of the moft dreadful tyranny over half a million of perfons,
born in iſlands, which, when it ferves their purpoſe they
pretend to be ours, but of which they have in fact ufurped
the abfolute fovereignty. Theſe men are now alfo en-
deavouring to overthrow a plan for fupplying us with
fugars, by means of free labour; and have the audacity to
tell the British legislature. "That they cannot abolish the
flave trade; for that if England refuſes to furnish them
with flaves, they will obtain a fupply through other chan-
nels." And a governor of Barbadoes admonishes us, "From
policy, to leave the Iflands to the quiet management of their
own affairs. Thefe nominal colonies have, it feems,
been taught, that we have no right to controul them;
that the acts of their Affemblies alone are obligatory; and
that thofe of British legiflators, are binding only on thofe
whom they reprefent. The right of enflaving others, they
contend for, as the most valuable of their privileges.
Thus it appears, that the legislature is not only un-
willing, but perhaps unable to grant redrefs; and there-
fore it is more peculiarly incumbent on us, To abſtain
from the ufe of fugar and rum, until our Weft-India Plan-
ters themselves have prohibited the importation of additional
flaves, and commenced as /peedy and effectual a fubversion of
flavery in their iflands, as the circumstances and fituation of
the flaves will admit: or till we can obtain the produce of the
Sugar cane in fome other mode, unconnected with flavery, and
unpolluted with blood.
For furely it may be hoped that we fhall not limit our
views merely to the abolition of the African flave trade, as
[ 9 ]
the colonial flavery formed on it, is in its principle equally
unjuft. For if it be iniquitous to force the Africans from
their native land; equally iniquitous muft it be, to retain
them and their pofterity in perpetual bondage. And though
the African flave trade be the moſt prominent feature in
this wickedneſs, yet it is but a feature: and were it
aboliſhed, the Weſt India flavery would ftill exiſt. And
fhall we fuffer half a million of fellow fubjects, and their
pofterity, to be held in flavery for ever? I fay, fellow fub-
jects, For undoubtedly, every perfon born in the dominions
of Great Britain is a fubject, bound to obey and entitled
to the protection of the common law of England; and
in oppofition to which, the acts of affemblies, exifting
merely by grant from the crown, can be of no authority.
In demanding liberty then for the perfons called flaves
in our Iſlands, we demand no more than they are entitled
to by the common law of the land. The most eligible
mode of putting them in poffeffion of their legal and natu-
ral right, may be a queftion of difficulty; but it is a
queftion that ought to be confidered with no other view,
but to their happineſs. The plan to be adopted, ought to
be certain and peedy in its operation; fhould it even
militate againſt the ſuppoſed, or even real intereſt, of their
oppreffors; and let it be remembered, that it is in the
power of a ſmall proportion of the people of England to
effect it, by refuſing to receive the produce. For the
planters themſelves would adopt the plan, were that the
only condition on which we would confume the fugar
of their islands: nor would the Legiflature be then har-
raffed with prepofterous claims for compenfation; which,
however unfounded in juftice or reaſon, will be ſupported
by influence, and enforced with clamour.
The cale now fully lies before us; and we have to
make our choice, either to join ourſelves with theſe manu-
facturers of human woe, or to renounce the horrid affo-
ciation. If we adopt the former, let us at leaſt have the
candour to avow our conduct in its real deformity. Let us
no longer affect to deplore tha calamities attendant on the
Slave Trade, of which we are the primary caufe: nor let
us pretend to execrate the conduct of the flave-dealer, the
flave-holder, or the flave-driver; but apologize for them as
our partners in iniquity; and be affured, that if we now
take our fhare in the tranfaction, we fhould, were we placed
[ 10 ]
in a fimilar fituation with them, with as little compunction
take theirs ; unleſs we can fuppofe the order of nature
would be ſo far inverted, as that we ſhould become virtu
ous, in proportion as the temptation to vice increaſed.
Nor should we then, any more than now, be deftitute of
fubterfuges to deftroy the feelings of our minds, and the
convictions of our confciences.
If ignorance and inattention may be pleaded as our ex-
cufe hitherto, yet that can be the cafe no longer. The
fubject has been four years before the public. Its dread-
ful wickedncfs has been fully proved. Every falſhood,
every deception with which it has been difguifed, has been
completely done away; and it ſtands before us in all its
native horrors. No longer can it be pretended, that Africa
is a barbarous, uncultivated land, inhabited by a race of
favages, inferior to the rest of the human fpecies. Mr.
How, who was employed by government to go up the coun-
try, depofes, that inland it is every where well cultivated,
abounding with rice, millet, potatoes, cotton and indigo
plantations; and that the inhabitants are quick in learning
languages, and remarkably induftrious, hofpitable and
obliging. It appears that they poffefs noble and heroic
minds, difdaining flavery, and frequently feeking refuge
from it in the arms of death. Nor fhall we again be told,
of the fuperior happineſs they enjoy under the benevolent
care of the planters; Mr. Coor having depofed, that
fetting flaves to work in the morning, is attended with
"loud peals of whipping;"—and General Tottenham,
"that there is no comparifon between regimental flogging,
"which only cuts the ſkin, and the plantation, which cuts
" out the flesh;"-Capt. Hall, "that the puniſhments are
very ſhocking, much more fo then in men of war;"
Capt, Smith, that at every froke of the whip a piece of
flesh is cut out,"-And Mr. Rofs, "that he confiders a
"comparifon between Weft-India flaves, and the Britill
peafantry, as an infult to common ſenſe."
$
We are now called on to redrefs evils, in compariſon
with which, all that exift in this nation fink beneath our
notice; and the only facrifice we are required to make in
order to effect it, is the abandoning a luxury, which ha-
bit alone can have rendered of importance, a luxury to
which the indufirious bee labours to fupply an excellent
fuccedaneum. If we refufe to liften to the admonitions of
[ 1 ]
1.
confcience on this occafion. May it not be juſtly in-
ferred, that thoſe numerous diſplays of humanity, of which
this kingdom boafis, have not their foundation in any vir
tuous or valable principle: but that to cultom and often-
tation they owe their origin? And if our execration of the
flave trade be any more than mere declamation againſt
crimes we are not in a fituation to commit, we fhall, in-
ftead of being folicitous to find deſpicable diſtinctions to
justify our conduct. abhor the idea of contributing in the
leaſt degree, to fuch ſcenes of miſery.
If theſe be the deductions from the most obvious prin-
ciples of reaſon, juftice or humanity; what must be
the refult if we extend our views to religious con--
fiderations? It will hardly be faid, that we affume a reli-
gious profeffion to diminifh the extent of our moral duties,
or to weaken the force of our obligation to obſerve them.
May we not then afk, if we mean to infult the God'
we pretend to worship, by fupplicating him to "have mercy
"upon all prifoners and captives," and to "defend and
provide for the fatherlefs, widows, and children, and all
that are defolate and oppreffed." But, if the diffenters fup-
poſe a national religion to be only matter of form, we may
expect that they will think it at the leaft, as requifite to diffent
from the national crimes, as the national religion; unleſs
they mean to prove they have confciences of fo peculiar a
texture, as to take offence at the religion of their country,
while they can conform without fcruple to its moſt cri-
minal practices. If indeed they are fatisfied, after an im-
partial examination, that the traffic alluded to is fair and
honest and that the produce ought to be conſidered as the
reſult of lawful co nmerce, it will become them to en-
courage it; it will become them to reprobate this work as
an attempt to flander honeſt men, and to injure their pro-
perty, by holding it out to the pnblic, as the produce of
robbery and murder. But, if the arguments be valid, will
they fill treat the lubject with cool indifference, and con-
tinue a criminal practice? May we not alfo hope that the
Methodists, who appear to feel forcibly their principles,
will ſeriouſly confider it? They are fo numerous, as to be
able of themſelves to destroy that dreadful traffic, which is
the fole obftacle to their minifters ſpreading the gofpel in
the extenſive continent of Africa; and, however others
may affect to degrade the Negroes, they are bound to con-
-
[ 12 ]
***
fider thouſands of them, not merely as their fellow crea-
tures, but as their brethren in Chriſt.
But there is one clafs of diffenters who juftly ftand high
in the public eftimation, for their fteady, manly and uniform
oppoſition to our colonial flavery. And can it be fup-
pofed that, after having awakened the public attention,
they can refufe to contribute what is in their own power
to remedy the evil? The plan propofed, is a plain and
obvious deduction from their uniform principle of having
no concern in what they difapprove. Thus, confidering
war as unlawful, they confider goods obtained through that
medium as criminally obtained; and will not fuffer any of
their members to purchaſe prize-goods and furely they
muſt confider the ſeizure of a man's goods, as a crime far
inferior to the ſeizing of his perfon
But however obvious a duty may be, yet the mind when
hardened by habit, admits with difficulty the conviction of
guil; and when our conduct is fanctioned by common prac-
tice, we may commit the groffeft violations of duty without
remorse. It is therefore more peculiarly incumbent on
us in fnch fituations, to examine our conduct with the ut-
moſt fufpicion, and to fortify our minds with moral prin-
ciples or the fanctions of religion. In proportion as we
are under their influence, we fhall rejoice that it is in our
power to diminiſh thofe dreadful calamities, recollecting
that their removal refts not with the exertions of wealth, of
rank, or of power: even in the peaceful hamlet, and fe-
queflered cot we may find the fource of Afric's wrongs,and
to them we look for their redrefs. And furely we may look
with hope, that the ftandard of the oppreffed being raiſed,
the wife and the good will form a phalanx round it that
fhall make the abettors of oppreffion tremble: and let us
exert ourſelves (to the utmost in our refpective fituations,
to reſcue from oppreffion and mifery the injured Africans
and their unhappy offspring in our iſlands, confidering that
our exertions are not to be judged of merely by their im
mediate effects, but that they may produce remote ones of
which we can form no eftimate; but which, after having
done our duty, we muſt leave to Him who governs all things
after the counfel of his own will. FINIS.
Published by the Author, a Summary View of the Evi-
dence relating to the Slave Trade and our Colonial Slavery,
Price 14, or 7 for 6d, 50 for 38 3d and 6s 48 per 100
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