THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF Illinois' 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 35^ 
 
 B875 
 
 V.5 
 
 '^^WKKS
 
 1 " ( •'«^JS''VS'*'
 
 A 
 
 LETTER 
 
 ON 
 
 FINANCE, 
 
 AND ON 
 
 NATIONAL DEFENCE^ 
 
 ADDRESSED TO THOSE WHO ARE INCLINED 
 
 TO DESPOND AT THE PRESENT POSTURE 
 
 OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 
 
 By JOHN CHARNOCK. Jun^ 
 
 If he be <vanquijhedy 
 
 Or rnake his peace, Egypt is ({corned lo be 
 
 A Roman pro-vince, and our ^^lenteous har-uefis 
 
 Mujl then redeem the fcarcenefs of their foil. 
 
 Dryden'sAll for Love. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR R. FAULDER, NEW BOND-STREET j 
 
 H. D. SYMOnDS, r'ATER-NOSTER-ROW; 
 
 AND W. RICHARDSON, UNDER THE ROYAL EXCHANGE. 
 
 1798.
 
 LETTER, &c. 
 
 IN the hour of fo general a public alarm, 
 and at a crifis fo extremely interefling, if 
 not momentous, as the prefent, it becomes 
 the duty of every well-difpofed member of 
 fociety to'contribute his mite towards allay- 
 ing the fears of thofe who, from their pecu- 
 liar habits in life and other caufes, may be 
 hurried into a degree of foUicitude greater 
 than exifting circumflances appear to re- 
 quire. Little apology therefore is necefTary 
 to the public for the obtrufion of this fhort 
 and fimple addrefs to every cool, difpaffionate 
 underftanding. It is certainly the part of a 
 prudent man not to defpife danger, but it is 
 the duty of every brave, of every honeft man 
 not to fhrink from it. 
 
 B Mui-mur
 
 ,■ I ^ ] 
 
 Murmur and difcontent having produced 
 timidity : our inteftine foes to peace and civil ' 
 tranquility have joyfully feized the opportu* 
 nity of encreafing the latter by exciting the 
 former with all the deep-mouthed thunder 
 of difafFe<5tion and treafon. This attack on 
 the feelings and paffions of the credulous has 
 afTumed a variety of fhapes according to the 
 apparent exigence and complexion of affairs. 
 We have rapidly advanced from the mild, 
 the generous, the philanthropic attempt of 
 abolifliing the flave trade, through the pro- 
 pofed repeal of the tefl' a61, and a parlia- 
 mentary reform, till we have long fincc 
 happily arrived at the grand climax of trea- 
 fonable oratory, and the walls of almoft every 
 petty alehoufe have re-echoed the traitorous 
 difcontent of feme abandoned emifTary tb the 
 caufe,not merely of civil commotion ,but of one, 
 ifpoffible, infinitely more wicked — the promo- 
 tion of the views and hopes of a people who, 
 after having been for ages the declared, the na- 
 tural enemy of Britain, have, after annihilating 
 every thing like order and public faith among 
 themfelves, fuddenly burfl forth as the de- 
 termined foe of every principle under which 
 
 civil,
 
 [ 3 ] 
 civil fociety is regulated, and diflingulfhed 
 from the mod favage and unprecedented 
 barbarifm. 
 
 The worthy champions in this renowned 
 caufe have of late made their grand and mofl 
 forcible appeal to that point which has always 
 been, and we may fay conftitutionally fb, 
 the darling obje6l of fear with all Britons, 
 the fear of poverty. Though rapacity and 
 avarice, my Countrymen, are, I hope, by no 
 means leading features in your national cha- 
 ra61er, you will excufe my plainnefs in telling 
 you that you are never fo delicioufly miferable 
 as when gravely told, with all the folemnity 
 of true republicanifm, that you are groaning 
 under a national bankruptcy^ and though by 
 certain, and not very honourable manoeuvres, 
 the avowal of this circumflance may be pro- 
 crailinated for a few da^s, yet that it certainly 
 muft foon arrive, to the fhame, confufioii 
 and deftrudlion, not only of the firm actually 
 engaged in the bufinefs, but of all who are 
 unhappily connedled with it. Now I fhall en- 
 deavour to convince you, in the plain language 
 of Lombard-ftreet argument, that there is not 
 B 2 a fyl-
 
 [ 4 ] 
 
 a fyllable of truth in this horrid, and fo feri- 
 oufly inflfted on, democratical dogma. 
 
 I Ihall begin by very gravely and wifely 
 remarking, that no man, having incurred 
 debts to the amount of four hundred pounds, 
 and poffefling a property valued at five thou- 
 fand, can poffibly be faid to be in a ftate of 
 infolvency. This is exa6i:ly the financial 
 ftate of Great Britain at this inftant. The 
 permanent and immoveable property, by 
 v^^hich I mean the land of the country, the 
 timber growing on it, and, the buildings 
 ere6led on it, on the moil accurate and nap- 
 derate calculation I have been able to form, 
 would, if progreffively fold, and properly 
 recommended by the flowing oratory of 
 Meffieurs Skinner and Chriftie, produce 
 the enormous fum of 2500,000,000 : the 
 moveable or chattel property, that is to fay, 
 the flock in the funds, the fpecie, the plate, 
 the jewels, the furniture, the flock in trade, 
 the manufa6lured goods, the fhipping, would 
 certainly produce as great a fum, when all 
 the debts due from this country to perfons 
 living in foreign countries are fatisfied and 
 ■ difcharged. Many intelligent and extremely 
 
 well-
 
 [ 5 ] 
 
 well-informed perfons, with whom I have 
 had the honour of converfing on this fubje<5l, 
 have been of opinion that this eftimate, taken 
 in the. aggregate, is too moderate ; but if it is 
 an error, as it rather makes in favour of my 
 propoiition, I Ihall be content to take it as 
 flated. To avoid ftill farther all pofiibUity 
 of ca\il I will take off twenty per cent, 
 which reduces the fuppofed value of the 
 aftual property of the country to four thou- 
 fand milHons ; out of this there are owing, 
 principally to perfons refident in the country, 
 who confequently receive with one hand and 
 pay with the other, fay four hundred millions, 
 making a debt on, or dedu6lion from, the laid 
 property, amounting exa^ly to t&n per cent. 
 The following argument may probably be 
 fallacioufly objected to me, as I have fre- 
 quently heard it ufed in political converfa- 
 tion by thofe who are fond of reprefenting 
 pubhc affairs in their worfl: light. " It is ridi- 
 culous," fay they, " to eftimate the wealth of the 
 country by the fuppofed extended polfetiions 
 of individuals. Can you fay that a man, 
 whofe landed property if fold might probably 
 yield one hundred tlioufand pounds, can be 
 
 " faid
 
 [ 6 ] 
 
 " faid to be worth that fum if there is a mort- 
 gage on that property to the amount of feventy- 
 fivc thoufand? It is no proof at all that a perfon 
 is rich becaufe he is fo in the world's conceit, 
 A foreigner paffing along the Strand, Cheap- 
 fide, as well as many other public flreets in 
 London, might imagine, on feeing the 
 enormous property displayed in the fhops, 
 that the metropolis was peopled by an hoft 
 of perfons, fele(Sled with care from different 
 countries, as the congregate body of the 
 wealthieft merchants in the univerfe. Enter 
 their fhops, examine their books, and you 
 will find, alas ! that their riches are imaginary 
 and vifionary ; you will difcover many of 
 them little removed from a ftate of infol- 
 vency, fome abfolutely plunged into it, and 
 I he greater part of the remainder, who have 
 been more induftrious and fortunate, Icantily 
 furnifhing the means of fubfiftence to them- 
 felves and a numerous family, by the narrow 
 allowance of profit on commodities in which 
 they have in fa6l no property, but which are 
 cntrufted to them, as fervants, or brokers for 
 fale, by more wealthy perfons, who, for a 
 variety of reafons, do not chufe to take an 
 
 ai^ive
 
 [ 7 ] 
 a6live part themfelves. They will conclude 
 by defiring you to minute down in your 
 pocket book the names of thofe, in the dif- 
 ferent ranks of gentlemen and tradefmen 
 whom you reafonably may fuppofe to be in 
 a ftate of affluence, and they will afk you 
 whether you are not perpetually meeting 
 with fome of them in the deplorable condi- 
 tion they have defcribed, either in advertile- 
 ments for the fale of their property in the 
 public newfpapers, or that lamentable lift of 
 bankrupts publifhed officially twice a week, 
 both of which afford a ftriking, an incontro- 
 vertible proof of the profligacy, of the extra- 
 vagance of the times, and the little confidence 
 that is to be given to what is called public 
 appearance. " 
 
 This is all very true, but not at all to 
 the purpofe. It is extremely irkfome to be 
 compelled to the trouble of anfwering argu- 
 ments which do not bear at all on the point, 
 merely becaufe pafling them over may be 
 fuppofed to proceed from a tacit acquiefcence 
 in their propriety. All that thefe worthy 
 gentlemen have advanced is, according to a 
 quaint and comical term, mere mooplhine. 
 
 Whether 
 4
 
 t 8 ] 
 Whether property is in the hands of A. or B^, 
 "whether it a<51ually remains with the appa- 
 rent poffeflbr, or is divided and' fubdivided 
 into live hundred parcels, is of no consequence ; 
 it is no abridgement of the exigence of that 
 property which ftill remains with fome perfon 
 relldent in the country, and confequently 
 forms a part of its poffeffions. All fecu- 
 rity on bond fide property, whether real 
 or perfonal, cannot lefTen the property it- 
 felf : it certainly only transfers it from the 
 right hand to the left, fo long as there exifts 
 no right of removing either fuch a part of the 
 property fo mortgaged, or its produce in 
 Ipecie, into a foreign country. 
 
 { fhall next beg leave to meet another 
 argument, notwithftanding it is, if poffible, 
 ftilll more ridiculous than the former. 
 " You value the property of Great Britain,** 
 fay the fame grumblers, " in a broad fum 
 of four thoufand millions. The property, 
 the value of the property, is only to be efbi- 
 mated at what it will aftually produce in 
 fpecie ; every thing Ihort of that, is merely 
 nominal. The fpecie of all Europe, were it 
 four tidies as rich as it is, would not fuffice 
 
 to
 
 [ 9 ] 
 
 to make good the payment : and as fpecic 
 decreafes, the depreciation of property natu- 
 rally takes place as caufe and cife6t, fo that 
 in the event of the faie, which is a vifionary 
 propofal, it is ftrongly to be inferred that it 
 would not produce a fifth part of the fura it 
 has been eilimated at." 
 
 To thisl anfwer, that the idea of intrinfic 
 value is intriniic nonfenfe ; that of fpecie itfelf 
 as much depends on exiting circumftances,' 
 on the whim and caprice of the world, as 
 that of a bank note. The only difference in 
 advantage of the former is, that it is capable 
 of a general circulation, the latter merely 
 of a national one ; that the former is h& 
 liable to nijury, from the depredation of tim.e 
 and natural wear, than the latter. Dia*' 
 monds were fome years fmce fuppofed to 
 poflefs this intrinftc value ; that is to fay, a 
 value which feldom varies ; and if any extra- 
 ordinary accident fhoul4 caufc a fludu- 
 ation, that it would be at mofl: fo trivial as 
 not to be worth the mention, fo that like 
 water it may eafily and fpeedily be carried ta 
 nearly the fame height as that of the original 
 fpring. For the truth or fallacy of this alTer- 
 tion I appeal, firfl, to the perfonal experience
 
 C 10 1 
 
 of many diflinguifhed perfonages who hav@ 
 experimentally afcertained the truth of this 
 fa6l ; and, fecondly, to all thofe who have 
 latterly, in the v/ay of their b^fmefs, beerv 
 converfant with it, 
 
 Intrinfic value is the quantity of any 
 neceiTary af life which a coin of a particular 
 defignation, or a flip of paper ilamped ac-* 
 cording to a known form, and held in com^ 
 mon acceptation of the fame value, will 
 produce. If in the year 1788 a coin, called 
 a fhilling, would purchafe three pounds of 
 beef, and i^> 1798 it will only pay for one 
 ' pound and an half, it may either bo thci 
 confequence of the depreciation of the 
 fhilling, or gf the fcarcity of the commo-r 
 dity itfelf, A Swediih financier, nearly 
 a century ago, contrived, in a fcarcity 
 of fpecie, a temporary fupply or fubflitute 
 for its deficiency, by circulatng pieces of 
 flamped leather, to each of which was au^ 
 thoritatively annexed a flippofed value, ac« 
 cording to the fize and form of the impref^ 
 fion. The idea was jufl and patriotic ; and, 
 if the baron had been an honell man, he 
 would have died with the reputation of 
 
 having
 
 i: " 1 
 
 havirig l)een 6h6 bf" the ablefl miiiiflers who 
 fever exifted, after fairly acquiring, in addi- 
 tion to it, the higheft chara6ler attainable by 
 man for public as well as private honefty. 
 He was iiotj however^ proof againfl: the 
 temptation ; the hope of private emolument 
 proved too firorig fbr the frailty of his nature, 
 and his life atoned for the injudicious, the 
 too liberal ufe of his newly-invented coinage. 
 Little doubt can, nevefthelefs, be enter- 
 tained, but that the meafure would have 
 proved extremely beneficial and falutary to 
 his country, had it been carried into execu- 
 tion with ^n honefl prudence; So that this 
 tranfa6tioil, even in the limited extent to 
 which it was carried, fufficiently j5roves how 
 ridiculous is the idea that, without an in- 
 trirific value, no circulation, of what is called 
 money, can take place with effeft. 
 
 If the king, lords and commons of Great 
 Britain, in parliament alTembled, were to 
 ena(5l, that what is now called a guinea fliould^ 
 on being carried to the mint, and after receiv- 
 ing a certain ftatnp, acquire the value of five, it 
 might open a dangerous door to iniquitous 
 ingenuity ; it might caufe the ere6lion of 
 
 C 2 many
 
 r «^ ] 
 
 many private mints, and create much labour 
 to the judge and executioner ; but the opera- 
 tion of fuch an a6t would not be injurious to 
 the country in general, particularly after the 
 expiration of the (hort-lived wonder and 
 aftoniihment a meafure fo unexpe6tcd would 
 probably occaiion ; fo that, to fum up the 
 whole in few words, the intrinfic value, as it 
 is called, of an ounce of gold or filver may 
 be doubled, tripled, or encreafed to any 
 amount, by its apparent fcarcity, or depre- 
 'ciated in an equal ratio by its a6lual or fup- 
 pofed abundance. 
 
 An author of confequence and chara6ter 
 has, a very fhort time fince, put forth the 
 following whimfical idea ; that, in cafe of an 
 extermination of real liberty, and thedeftruc- 
 tion of that political quiet in Europe which 
 the rapid fuccefles of the French banditti 
 appear, according to the opinion of fome 
 timid perfons, to threaten, he would pro- 
 pofe the emigration of the whole Britiih 
 nation to fome foreign climate, congenial to 
 their natural habit of body and general pur- 
 fuits in life : he gravely offers, if I miftake 
 4iot, a part of China, as well adapted to an 
 ^venture of this kind : I will therefore take 
 
 . the
 
 [ '3 ]■ 
 
 the liberty, as well as himfelf, to ftep for a 
 few moments out of the regions of common 
 and plain fenfe into the vifionary diftrifts of 
 fpeculatlve romance : I will fuppofe the 
 whole property of Great Britain, real and 
 perfonal, of what kind or nature fbever it 
 may be, configned to the fraternity of the 
 hammer at Garraway's or in Pall Mall ; and 
 as in that cafe bidders certainly could not be 
 found in the ifland itfelf, let me magically 
 waft the people of China hither to fupply 
 their place. I will venture to affert that, 
 waving the legal dedu6lions of commiffion, 
 the proceeds of the fale, if proper juftice was 
 done to the employers' property, would 
 amount at leaft to what I have before ftated, 
 — five thoufand millions. 
 
 But finally to quit this field of ridicule, 
 and affume a more ferioys mode of argu- 
 ment better fuited •td fb weighty and impor- 
 tant a fubje6t. Taking, as we have pre- 
 mifed, the general national property at four 
 thoufand millions, and the debt on it at 
 four hundred, there needs no great ikill in 
 arithmetic to prove, to the underftanding 
 of the xnofl incredulous, that a fair contribu- 
 
 fion 
 9
 
 tiori of ten /ler cent, out -of all pfopeftj^^ 
 would difpell that immenfe incubus whidi 
 hourly fpreads its terrific influence, diftrads 
 us even in ideal dreams, enervates every 
 faculty of the national mind, and prevents 
 alfo the natural exertions of the bodyj 
 Can Britain then be faid to be in a iiate of 
 bankruptcy ? Let us fuppofe for a moment 
 that the kgiilative power was tyrannical 
 enough — if nothing fhort of that hard terni 
 tvill pleafe the joi difant friends of liberty—- 
 to impofe a tax amounting to one-tenth orl 
 all real and perfonal property, to be fairly anc^ 
 rigidly levied : let the people of this oppref- 
 fed, this injured country, groaning in the 
 fpirit under their fevere afflictions, exclaim 
 againft their defpotic rulers ; let them appeal 
 to every nation in the univerfe, and to every 
 reftlefs partizan of what is whimfically called 
 freedom in thofe nati^^. Let the ableft 
 republican lawgiver in the world, being com-f 
 pelled to confine himfelf ftriclly to the queJP 
 tion and to fa6ts, plead theif caufe and* 
 enforce their wrongs with all the energy 
 fophiftry can contrive : What muft be the 
 folenan verdi<El of this tremendous jury? 
 
 Will
 
 [ '5 ] 
 
 Will it deign a decifion ? Will it not fay 
 the queftion is beneath them ? Will it not 
 put an end to the proceedings at once, by 
 aiking, in plain and fimple terms, *' Will 
 you, the people of England, the advocates 
 for freedorn; you, who have fo long arro- 
 gated to yourfelves the character and title of 
 the fupporters of liberty againfl: the tyranny 
 of princes, apply to us for advice, afliftanee, 
 or interference againfl: what ? — an impoft for* 
 footh, amounting to one-tenth of what you 
 poffefs, which impoft, according to your own 
 ihowing, will, in an inftant, relieve you from 
 all thofe difficulties of which you fo much 
 complain, will place you once more, in the 
 proud condition, jaccording to your own boaft, 
 of awing the world ? Go ; your patriotifm 
 is falfe ; your pretended love of your country 
 abfurd : you are infe<5led with a national 
 avarice which palfies all your efforts, and 
 renders you defpicable and ridiculous in the 
 eyes of thofe to whom you now appeal." 
 
 Defperate, however, as fome perfons are 
 fond of reprefenting the affairs of Great 
 Britain, they do not by any means require 
 (even this effort to place them once more 
 
 in
 
 [ '6 ] 
 
 in prof|)erity. If the people were unanl- 
 moufly to lend one-tenth part of what they 
 individually poflefs, clear of their debts, for 
 twenty years without interefl:, and then to be 
 repaid, it would difcharge the whole of that 
 fuppofed incumbrance under which they are 
 faid to labour. Let us examine how this 
 meafiire might be carried into execution. Let 
 the loan be paid iii by inftalments, allowing 
 three years for the whole. For, paradoxical 
 and untrue as it may be thought by fome, I 
 will venture to afTert, that, if the whole 
 funded debt of this country were extin- 
 guifhed at one inftaat, and of courfe all 
 taxes impofed for the payment of the inte* 
 reft of that debt ceafed, as if by enchantment, 
 the nation in fuch cafe would inevitably be 
 thrown into greater confufion^ though of 
 a different, probably not of a lefs deftrudive 
 nature, than it would be, were the prefent 
 incumbrances and impofts tripled. Taxa- 
 tion has through long ufe become a part of 
 our fyftem ; it is interwoven with our nature 
 as a nation, and contributes to our ftability,our 
 political health, — ^our life ; — in the fame man- 
 ner ^s a chronic complaint frequently be^ 
 
 comes
 
 [ '7 1 
 comes the prefervative of life in old age. 
 Taxation to this country a6ts on its confti- 
 tution in the fame manner as intenfe froft 
 does on the human frame : if a man be long 
 expofed to it, and his extremities become 
 benumbed, fo that a fenfelefs torpidity per- 
 vades his whole fyftem, the miferable obje61', 
 if found in time, and proper progreflive - 
 meafures are ufed to accomplifh his gra- 
 dual recovery, his life, his health, his origi- 
 nal faculty of motion, may foon be reftored 
 without danger to his conftitution ; but let 
 a perfon in that torpid ftate be taken from 
 his icy bed and fuddenly placed, as the 
 quickeft means of recovering him, before a 
 great fire, death, if I may trufl: common 
 report, and accompanied by the feverefl tor- 
 tures, would inevitably enfue. Exadly 
 analogous to the two foregoing cafes would 
 be the gradual or fudden ceflation of taxes 
 on the conftitution of Great Britain. 
 
 It may be objefted to me that many una- 
 voidable obftacles might take place to the 
 raifing even ten per cent, on property, either 
 in fpecie or bank-paper ; that the land- 
 holder could not convert even his acres 
 
 D into
 
 [ i8 ] 
 
 into gold at a time when every perfon was 
 wanting to efFe6l the fame purpofe : the 
 merchant mioht nfe the fame argument 
 with refpe6l to the commodities in his ware- 
 houfes. This is- certainly all very true, but 
 the difficulty fhall vaniih like a vilion on 
 our near approach. It would not be necef- 
 fary or even politic to make a larger demand 
 on the lender to the public tSaji three and 
 one-half y/^r cent, during the i-i\'i:t year, two 
 and one-half in the fecond arid third, and one 
 and an half in the fourth. Thefe inftalments 
 w^ould certaiiiiy create no great difficulty 
 to patriotifm, efpecially when that patriotifna 
 was fo foon to experience the ben€fit of exo- 
 neration from fuch- taxes as, and it cannot be 
 denied that fome are, grievoufly felt by the 
 fubjecf, and for this reafon^ — ^they are par- 
 tially felt. 
 
 But there is another eafy method of over- 
 coming this objedion to the poflibility cf 
 generally raifmg the fum required to be lent, 
 adtnitting it to exill: in its fulleft extent. Let 
 there be a coinage of exchequer bills to the 
 amount of tenmillionSjwhichgovernmentfhall 
 advance for a given time in the proportion of 
 
 one- 
 9
 
 [ '9 ] 
 one-twentieth of the property poflefTed by each 
 applicant : theie vviii in due procefs of time 
 «xtinguilh themfelves, and, if wanted, by 
 creating a larger increafe of the circulating 
 medium, will eftedually remedy the appre- 
 hended want. The apparent and fuppofed 
 wealth of a nation depends on the very fuper- 
 ficiai and really trivial circumftance, of the 
 quantity of ipeeie, or what pafles for Ipecie, 
 which is current in it. Thus, a people 
 polTeffing a dead property amounting to one 
 hundred millions, and a circulation of five 
 millions in specie, will be in general estima- 
 tion much richer than one pofleffing a pro- 
 perty of two hundred millions ; and having 
 ipecie in circulation only to the amount of 
 two millions and an half. The principle will, 
 on the leall: ferious conli deration, appear fo 
 obvioufly true as to render any farther difcuf- 
 iion aJmoil: unnecelTary. The quantum of 
 deficiency of fpecie, or it's fubftitutes, in 
 this country has of late, through neceflity, 
 been experimentally proved, and afcertained 
 with a degree of nicety, which will, if 
 ferioufly attended to, place our lituation ill 
 (he pU'blic opinion, with refpe^i: to wealth, 
 D 2 much
 
 much higher than, perhaps, it is commonly 
 eflimated at. 
 
 We muft now again have recourfe to the 
 aid of a little arithmetical ftatement. The 
 commerce of Great Britain at the time of the 
 revolution hardly deferved a name, efpecially 
 when compared v^^ith that enormous extent 
 to which it has of late years been encreafed. 
 The quantity of fpecie in circulation, not 
 augmenting in the fame ratio, the whole 
 fyftem would have been thrown into confu- 
 iion, and muft inevitably have flood at one 
 point, many many years iince, had it not been 
 ingenioufly contrived to fiipply the deficiency 
 by the introdudion of what is called paper 
 credit. This artificial fubftitute for fpecie 
 commenced with the bank, and from thence 
 has defcended, through the different ranks of 
 private commerce, till you will now occafi* 
 onally find the paper undertaking of the 
 meanefl fhop-keeper paffing, current as cafh, 
 into the hands of the wealthiefl merchant. 
 It cannot, however, but be eafily forefeeri 
 that this contrivance, fuggeftcd at firfl by 
 neceffity, is liable to a number of abufes, {o 
 that; if not duly checked, and kept withia 
 
 proper
 
 [ ^' ] 
 
 proper bounds, the innocent and indnftriou^ 
 may frequently fall a prey to the defigning, 
 and the thouohtlefs. With our utmoft care 
 accidents of this kind will too frequently ' 
 happen ; but, neverthelefs, thefe partial evils 
 muft unavoidably be forgotten and give way 
 to the general necefiity. It is in the recol- 
 le<51ion of all, that at the beginning of the 
 year 1 793, a period additionally memorable on 
 account of the commencement of our prefent 
 conteft with French anarchifts, the immen- 
 (ity of paper credit had induced not merely 
 the jealoufy, but had roufed the prudent 
 caution of the bank of England. The di- 
 re^ors came to a refolution of fuddenly flop* 
 ping thofe difcounts which, previous to that 
 time, they were in the habit of affording to all 
 applicants, almoft without limitation, whole 
 paper appeared to carry on its face the 
 fmalleft evidence of a fair mercantile tranf- 
 a6tion. The confufion created in the com- 
 mercial world by this fudden and unforefeeii 
 refolution, caufcd a paroxyfm of fear, mingled 
 with diftrufl, which rendered motionlefs, for 
 a time, that free intercourfe in trade which 
 has long fince become the fupport. of the 
 
 country
 
 [ " ] 
 
 foantry Ifi all difficulties requiring the aflift- 
 aiice of money. The alarm was general; 
 the liippofed want immenfe. To relieve it, 
 Ithe miniiler. who, as it afterwards appeared, . 
 livas better informed of its extent than was 
 generally admitted, proppfed to ilfue five 
 ininiQn§ of exchequer bills as a loan, repay- 
 able, at a given period, by thofe whofe ne-? 
 ceffities required fupport, but whofe flability 
 ihpuld^ pn proper examination, appear to 
 entitle them to it. The propofed accommo- 
 dation was ridiculed : the minifter and his 
 adherents were treated with an affeded fcorn- 
 }jy the million : their ignorance, their inca- 
 pacity were trumpeted forth in the loudeft 
 language of fedition ; and it was wifely prog- 
 noflicated by thofe, who on this occafion 
 boafted to profefs themfelves friends to their 
 country, that the commercial fun of Britain 
 was fet — never to rife again. 
 
 Mark, however, the effe6l of this Jioor, this 
 pitiful relief. The advance of this JiSiitious 
 loan, which was gravely pronounced by the 
 well-informed fcarcely adequate to a tythe of 
 the ncceffity, proved infinitely fuperior to it \ 
 The commerce of the country inflantly, as by 
 
 a magic
 
 [ ^3 ] 
 '8 mdgic touch, acquired new vigour : confi-' 
 deuce, regularity, fpirit of enterprize imme?- 
 diately rellimed their feat; and the returns of" 
 the pubUc revenue fland as an incontrover- 
 tible proof how fuddenly and completely this 
 extenfive alarm fubfided. 
 
 Let it be borne in mind, that in that hour 
 of general difmay and apprehenfion, when 
 the credit of private bills was reduced almoft 
 to nothing ; when thofe more enlarged, (and, 
 confequently, in common acceptation, more 
 ftable) communities formed for the ilTue of 
 paper money, which in all parts of the king- 
 dom fhould bear a fixed and determinate 
 value, were flopping payment in all direc- 
 tions, fo that their promifTory notes were 
 ■funk to almoft as little value as they were 
 originally charged in the flationer*s bill, 
 the bountiful loan of a ream or two of 
 paper, ftamped and impreffed according to a 
 form prefcribed by the legifktive power, 
 efFe6lually removed not only the general 
 terror, but the want itfelf, and that too with- 
 out calling on the printing-prefs to fullfil the 
 work in the extent originally and legally pre- 
 fcribed to it. 
 
 Afecond
 
 [ n J 
 
 A fecQiid and much more recent example 
 took place early in the year 1797. The 
 bank for very prudential reafons, in conjunc- 
 tion with government, thought proper to put 
 a flop to their ifTue of fpccie in payment of 
 tlieir own notes. Individuals followed their 
 example, and, for afhort time, a private perfon, 
 not in trade, polTeffing one hundred guineas 
 in fpecie, might have been confidered as a 
 meteor for the people to gaze at. The 
 copper-plate prefs was fet to work; an addi- 
 tional circulation of bank notes, for fmali 
 fums, took place, and to an amount trivial 
 beyond conception when compared with the 
 fuppofed want. Thefe were at firfl regarded 
 with a fufpicious eye by the uninformed j 
 they were affedtedly called by the feditious, 
 affignats ; fbme few had the infolence to re- 
 fuie receiving them in immediate payment 
 for their goods. But the tumult was ex- 
 tremely ihort-lived ; and the terrors of that 
 moment have left no impreffion at the prefent, 
 except it be of fhame for a ridiculous timidity. 
 
 Thus have we feen in the two preceding 
 and forcible inftances, and it is a maxim that 
 will^hold good to the end of time, how fmall 
 
 an
 
 [ ^S ] 
 ail objetl will create a univerlal terror. Wc 
 may remember too, that abiioil: as recently as 
 the event laft- mentioned, we were generally 
 imprelTed with all the horrors of an impending 
 famine : we were told from the firft autho- 
 rities that nothinor fhort of the o:reatefl: exer- 
 tions could preferve ns from it. This 
 mania of terror extended beyond this country; 
 all Europe, a part of Aiia, as well as Africa, 
 together with half America, felt its influence 
 and took advantage of the ideal diflreis, 
 Thofe who pretended to be beft informed on 
 the fubje6i: wxre credulous enough to fup- 
 pofe, that without a fupply, which it was 
 almofl impoflible to procure in the extent 
 expe6led, the mofl: horrid confequences muft 
 en-fue. The price of corn was unprece- 
 dented, but mark the event. The impor- 
 tation of 875,000 quarters of wheat, readily 
 procured in confequence of a trivial bounty 
 given to the importers, not only removed the 
 evil, but a6lually reduced the price of v/heat 
 lower than it -had been even before the ap* 
 .pearance of ferious alarm. 
 
 The facl is, that the apprehenlion of 
 public danger and difficulty is. mod eafily 
 i'aifed; but it is in general auickly found 
 
 K to 
 
 /
 
 [ ^6 ] 
 
 to be mere apprehenfion. The public mind 
 may well be compared to a river, the ftream 
 of which, when unoppoled, flows on without 
 hoife, and creates no alarm. Cut down a 
 iingle tree which grows on its banks, and 
 plunge it partially into the ftream, the noile 
 created by the trivial impediment it occallons 
 is heard even at a diilance, and may caule a 
 momentary apprehenfion in the tiniorous. 
 Public neceffities never can in the ordinary 
 courfe of events rife to an height really aw- 
 ful, becaufe the terror of what may happen, 
 which always precedes for a confiderable 
 length of time the neceiTity itfelf, roufes 
 an early attention to its prevention, or 
 removal. Means and wants put in oppofite 
 fcales generally preferve nearly an equili- 
 brium : if the latter preponderate in the 
 fm.alleft degree, the inclination is quickly 
 difcerned, and the fmallefl affiftance given 
 on the oppolite fide caufes the fcale to flrike the 
 ground with a force which the io;norant be- 
 holders fcarcely know how to credit as real. 
 
 Having thus humbly endeavoured to fhew 
 what might be done*, and without difficulty, 
 
 in 
 
 * A gift or loan of ten -per cent, would, of courfe, anni- 
 hilate at a ftroke, either for a time or in perpetuity, forty 
 
 millions
 
 [ ^7 ] 
 
 in cafe of emergency, I Ihall now beg leave 
 to affert that even thefe exertions are not 
 iieceiTary for the purpofe of affording very 
 fubflantial relief. A gift of five fier cent, 
 would prove adequate to the immediate ne- 
 cellities of the nation, and it may not im- 
 probably be found, on a clofer inveftigation, 
 even a loan of that fum. Grievous as our 
 laxes are reprefented, and it muH: be con- 
 feffed partiality has in fome inftances caufed 
 jufl grounds for complaint, there ftill re- 
 main a number of refources, a variety of 
 obje6ts for fair and equitable taxation, which 
 hiinifters either have, in the hurry of pub- 
 lic affairs, overlooked, or, from fome ill-- 
 founded reafoii, have been afraid to adopt. 
 The taxes paid by a country, however nu- 
 merous and extenfive they may be, fignify 
 very little to that country, provided certain 
 indifpenfible points are attended to in their 
 invention, and principle of adion. I fhall 
 endeavour to elucidate this, and defcribe the 
 principle. It is, as a firft point, requifite 
 that a tax fhould bear, proportionately at leafl, 
 
 millions of the funded property. So far there would be 
 no necefliry for an advance of exchequer bills. 
 
 E 2 as
 
 t ^8 ] 
 
 as heavily on thofe who are in the mofl afflu- 
 ent circumllances as upon perfons who are not 
 {o wealthy, for nothing can be more felf- 
 evident than that, on every principle of poli- 
 tical equity, a man pOiTeired of ten thoufand 
 pounds a year, can better afford to pay one 
 thoufand to the public neceffities of the ftate 
 in which he lives, than a perfon who has 
 only one thoufand can pay fifty pounds. 
 This ftate do6trine has been very laudably 
 attended to, and with the greatefl care in 
 that mofl heavy and unprecedented tax which 
 the fuppofed calamitous ftate of the nation, 
 with refpe6t to finances, has, in the eyes of 
 minifters, rendered necefTary in the prefent 
 year. 
 
 Taxes fhould not be open to evafion ; 
 for nothing can be more politically im- 
 proper, unjuft, and unfair, than that A 
 fhould be compelled to pay his full quota, 
 and that B, through his ingenuity, or fome- 
 thiiig worfe, fhould not pay half. They 
 fhould be collectible with little expence; be fo 
 clearly defined as to leave no doubt as to the 
 tius ium demandible from each individual; 
 and fhould, if I may be allowed the term,' be 
 
 endued
 
 [ -9 ] 
 
 endued with an elaftic power, fo that they 
 mightj according to particular circumjftances, 
 be capable of being either comprefTed, or 
 extended. Such, however, is the nature 
 of our prefent impofts — fuch the jealoufy we 
 entertaip for what we call our freedom — that 
 none of them pofTefs thefe principles; nor is 
 it pofTible, perhaps, without violence to our 
 national prejudices to introduce tliem. 
 
 Curforily turning over in our minds thofe 
 impofts which come under the denominationof 
 taxes, that on windows appears to approach 
 neareft to perfection in the feveral points 1 
 have ftated, but is ftill remarkably deficient, 
 and, in manv inftances, extremely partial. 
 For inftance, the occupier of an houle 
 built fixty or feventy years fince will, in all 
 probability, have to pay the tax for three- 
 fcore windows, while the holder of a manlion 
 twice its fize, erected within thefe ten years, 
 will, through the happy evafive invention of 
 his architedt, not be chargeable with more 
 than thirty. This is one of the cafes, and a 
 ftronger need not be adduced, of the necef- 
 fity of that elaftic principle we have jufl 
 pointed out. Of all modes pradifed for the 
 
 purpofe
 
 t 30 i ' 
 
 J)tirp6fe of coUedirig money from the fubje6F,' 
 ftamp-duties appear the leaft obje6lionable ; 
 but unfortunatelj they are inapplicable^ ex- 
 cept in very few inftances* 
 
 The general fpirit of evafio^n which has iri 
 this cotmtry pervaded all ranks arid Condi- 
 tions of men^ has created an infinity of trou- 
 ble to the financier, Subflitutesi for defici- 
 encies have rifen on fubflitutes, and centatgeS 
 tn centages, heaping additional vexation^ and 
 creating an increafe of murmur, iri thofe 
 ^vho were either too patriotic to attempt, of 
 riot fudcefsfui enough to contrive, evafiorf. 
 All this has been done without fupplying the 
 want or remedying the evil. On the other 
 hand, while the law has in the foregoing cafe 
 grafped with its iron hand more than the 
 fabricator of it ever intended it fliould, there 
 are many by whom thofe impofls have beerf 
 fcarcelyj or, at leafl, very lightly felt. There 
 are many, let me repeat the word, who ha;veJ 
 had the arroo;ance to ridicule the abilities of 
 the minifter, to call him prefumptuous in 
 fuppofing he could fabricate any tax whatever 
 which they could not, at leafl partially^ evades 
 For the. truth of this affertion I will venture 
 
 to
 
 E 3' 3 
 
 to appeal to the perfonal knowledge of the 
 jninifter himfelf, and to the confeiences of 
 thofe great thofe w e a/ I /ly, thofe ingenious per- 
 sons who feel that their condu(5l, in this hour 
 of fuppofed diftrefs, has defervedly fubjecled 
 them to this cenfure. 
 
 It may appear fomewhat paradoxical tq 
 aflert, what certainly is a facSt, that, as I have 
 already declared, it is of little confequence tq 
 a country tq what extent taxation is carried, 
 provided the neceflary points are obferved. 
 There is only one grand principal to be ob- 
 ferved, whether the fum to be raifed be one 
 or one hundred millions- — it is an applied 
 attention that the quantum of circulating 
 medium fhall always keep due pace 
 with the ftate ncceffity. To explain 
 this alTertion in dire61: terms ; let us fuppofe 
 the income of any given diftri61, amounts 
 to twenty millions annually, and that it is 
 compelled to raife for the ufual mainte- 
 nance of its independence, or whatever 
 other public caufe may be affigned, five 
 hundred thoufand pounds, but from fome 
 unexpected revolution in the political world, 
 that fum mufl: be unavoidably augmentedto one 
 
 or
 
 [ 3^ ] 
 
 or even two millions * ; what I mean to af* 
 fert is, that the different eommodities, the 
 growth of that country ; the price of labour in 
 it ; the rent 6t land, and of houfes ; in ihort, 
 the ejcpence of living in that country, taking all 
 points feparately or jointly, will all bear an 
 equal increafe to that of the fum to be levied : 
 the rent of land is augmented from ten to 
 thirty fhillings Jier acre ; the rate of labour 
 from one {hilling to three Jier day ; and the 
 price of all commodities, the produce of the 
 country, experience an augmentation ac- 
 cording to the fame fcale-f-. This is a fa6l, firm, 
 abfolute, and uncontrovertible : I can boldly 
 challenge the united wifdom of republicanifm 
 to attempt its difproval, and fhall reft ex- 
 tremely certain of being able, in twenty 
 lines, and on the mofl: pofitive evidence, to 
 
 * In which cafe the quantum of fpecie, or its fubftitute, 
 to make every commercial or monied intercourfe as eafy 
 as it originally was, mud be encreafed fourfold ; in any cafe, 
 however, the country retains exaftly the fame portion 
 of wealth and property it did in the firil inftance. 
 
 f Confequently if the inhabitants, according to their 
 different ranks, have to pay more, fo have they alfo to 
 receive more. A circumftance which places them exadlly 
 in thei^ original ftate. 
 
 fully
 
 [ 33 ] 
 
 fvilly aiifwer any thing that may be advanced 
 in the attempt to controvert it. 
 
 I believe I am not extravagant in fuppof- 
 ing, nay, in fcrioufly aflerting, that without 
 having recoiirfe to any farther objccl of taxation 
 (though I mull: everftrenuoufly maintain there 
 are many which prefent themfelves as much 
 fairer pomts than thofe which have been 
 already fele6led) the imports of the prefent day 
 are not only more than adequate to the exigen- 
 cies of the ftate, but would furnifh triple their 
 prefent receipt to the king's exchequer, were 
 it not for thofe evafions which I have but 
 flightly, and, in very ^q\v particulars, hinted 
 at, or were the mode of afleffment as well 
 as collection, which is at prefent ufed, mate- 
 rially altered, llicre are few perfons who, 
 on being alked the queftion, will not mofh 
 forcibly affert, and be extremely angry if 
 you appear to doubt their veracity, that they 
 annually pay, taking in every branch of taxa- 
 tion, primary and fecondary, twenty//^;- cent. 
 on what they poffefs. For my own part I am 
 fo well convinced either of the fallacy of this 
 calculation, or of the incredible loiTes fuftained 
 by the revenue, or perhaps both, that even 
 under the prefTurc of the prefent, and moft ex- 
 
 F penfivc
 
 [ 34 ] 
 
 peiifive war Britain ever was engaged in, 
 under that accumulated load of debt daily 
 thundered in our ears as an inilirmountable 
 misfortune, I fhould think myfelf certain of 
 polfeffing in ten years the largell property any 
 fubjed- of the univerfe ever colle6i:ed, if after 
 repealing any tax and duty whatever payed by 
 the people of Great Britain, I had the contra6t 
 for lupplying the exigencies and expenditure of 
 the ftate, from a powder vefted in me of colle6l- 
 ing an impofl: of one Jier cent, on the amount of 
 all property which each individual fhall pollels 
 clear of his debts. The faft is, that I am certain, 
 far as any calculation can bear me out in the 
 opinion, that it would not, with proper 
 oeconomy ufed in the diiburfements, and di- 
 ligence in the colle6tion, require more for 
 the purpofes juft ftated than three-fourths 
 per cent. Who then is there bafe enough, 
 or bold enough, in this hour of apprehenfion, 
 in this hour when the fpirit of trcafon, rec- 
 tified and raifed to an alcohol in the traitorous 
 breafts of fome individuals, is flriving for 
 vent to inflame and confume the country, 
 wdio is there who will endeavour to encourage 
 aiid fan that flame by the untrue, the traitorous 
 dccluraUon, that Great Britain is in a ftate of 
 political bankruptcy ? I fliall
 
 [ 35 ] 
 
 I fhall, before I difmifs this rubje61-, add a 
 few words relative to what is called the 
 Loyalty Loan ; tlie terms in which I fliall do 
 it may convince m}^'' countrymen, I am neither 
 the partifan, nor the friend of the minifter. 
 He certainly on that occaiion, either through 
 inadvertency, or for fome reafon I cannot 
 pretend to divine, fuffered a lignal opportu- 
 nity to pafs him, which, v/ell improved, 
 Would have enabled him to fupply, not only 
 the prefent, but the future exigencies of the 
 ftate on much more advantageous terms than 
 he can now exped, or hope for. If, in- 
 flead of cramping the loyalty of" the people, 
 and confining the fubfcription to eighteen 
 millions, which in the end proved in no de- 
 gree equal to his wants for the fervice of the 
 current year, he had called on the houfe- 
 of commons to appoint a lecret committee of 
 finance, formed indifcriminately of men 
 polTeffing folidity and national confequence 
 with all parties ; if he had invefccd this com- 
 mittee with the controul and fuperintend- 
 ance of this loyal loan, the amount of which 
 fhould have been indefinite, extending to any 
 fum the people chofe to fubfcribe, making a 
 
 F 2 depofit
 
 . [ 36 ] 
 
 depoflt of ten jier cent. ; if it had been ena61:ed 
 that every future payment lliould be made by 
 call of that committee, on due notice given, to 
 all the fubfcribers, in proportion to the wants 
 of the ll:ate; if he had at the fame time provided 
 himfelf with the power of aiding thofe fub- 
 fcribers, in cafes of flack circulation of money, 
 by the temporary loan of exchequer bills; he 
 would not only have poflelTed the purfes, but 
 the hearts of every wealthy friend to his 
 country ; the fubfcribers would have been 
 mutually pledged, to fupport each other ; the 
 chain would have been continuous from 
 north to fouth, from eaft to weft, and, by 
 properly cherifliing that enthufiaftic fpirit 
 of loyalty, which in one powerful burft ap- 
 peared burning with defire to ipread its 
 influence over the face of- the whole ifland^ 
 . the fum fubfcribed would have been beyond 
 idea ; a fum that would have been certainly 
 fubftantiated, and, by a little occaiional affift- 
 ance, transferred from paper to fpecie; a 
 fum that would have enabled him, at 
 a future day, progreffively, and warily to 
 purchafe, into the hands of government, a 
 confiderable part of the funded debt, on much 
 better terms than I fear it can now be done. 
 9 In
 
 t 37 ] 
 
 In few words, the a6lion and re-a6iion, caufed 
 by the quick circulation of this fubfcription, 
 
 would have materially benefited the country ; 
 it would have tied man to man, and, by its 
 various ramifications in different diredions, 
 would have united together one mafs 
 of intereft, affording ample fecurity to our 
 internal ftate, and rendering the name of 
 Britifli patriotifm terrific both to inteftine 
 traitors, and to external foes. 
 
 The alarm of invafion intentionally pro- 
 pagated with an induftrious affiduity by our 
 enemies, may probably not be altogether 
 without foundation : there are reafbns 
 which induce us to believe the reality of the 
 threat, but there are a great number alfo 
 which forbid us to fear any evil conle- 
 quence refulting to the nation from fo rafh, 
 fo ridiculous an attempt. There can be 
 little doubt but that the armv of France has 
 long been an object of terror to thofe who call 
 themfelves its rulers. That banditti, which 
 has fpread defolation and terror over half 
 Europe, can never fubmit to fink into the 
 inofFenfive ftate of peaceful fubje6ls. We may 
 add alfo to this confideration, that of the 
 numbers who compofe that army one 'fourth 
 
 at
 
 t 38 i 
 
 at leaft are fulpeded characters ; royaliilsTj 
 perfons from the Vendee and other countries, 
 who, till refinance became vain, had honelly 
 enough to efpoufe the caufe of their king, and 
 are now reludantly compelled to earn theif 
 bread under his murderers, becaufe they have 
 this only alternative, fight for us or be guil- 
 lotined* 
 
 Thefe perfons at leaft, if not a flill greater 
 proportion of their army, the French dire6lory 
 wifh to get rid of on any terms. Exhaufted 
 ' as their finances are they are compelled at no 
 fmall expencetoput thefe miferable men inthei 
 line of conqueft or deflruftion* The firfl they 
 undoubtedly would prefer, biit they as undoubt- 
 edly would fend them to the latter, though 
 their fate was, before theif embarkation, 
 reduced to the mofl: abfolute certainty, ra.ther 
 than not avail themfelves of fo patriotic an 
 opportunity of difpofing of thofe who, while 
 exifting in the bowels of France, they muft 
 always live in fear of. If, as a miraculous 
 and providential fcourge, commiffioned by 
 Heaven for the punifhment of Britons, they 
 obtain the fmallefl: advantage, all may go 
 well, they may be hailed as conquerors; if, as 
 without fome prseternatural interference we 
 
 may
 
 [ 39 ] 
 
 may fairly expe61, they fliould return to France 
 in numbers fcarce fufficient to tell the tale of 
 their ditcomfiture, the axe of the guillotine 
 may readily difpatch the miferable remnant, 
 and the cries of murder will be drowned in 
 the louder vociferations of vhe. la nation. 
 
 For the foregoing reafon an invaiion is cer- 
 tainly to be expelled, but for no other : though 
 enthufiafm, frenzy, madnels, may particularly 
 at the prefent time, be th|S leaduig charac- 
 teriftic of a French patriot, yet flill, in his 
 cooler moments, he cert^^mly cannot be fup- 
 pofed to poflefs them in fo violent a degree, 
 that he would thruft his hand into a cauldron 
 of blazing pitch, merely in the hope of per- 
 fuadino; the worla that fire would have no 
 efFe(51: on the fiefh of a Frenchman. The 
 diredory might amule their people with the 
 the threat, but they certainly never would, 
 for any other reafon than what has been juft 
 flated, attempt to carry it into execution. 
 
 Political caufes uro-ino; them, throuo-h ne- 
 ceffity, to this rafh undertaking, let us fuppofe. 
 them efcaped from our vidorious and all- 
 powerful fleets; let us fuppofe them at an-, 
 chor on our coafts ; let us figure to ourfelves 
 
 that
 
 ■ [ 40 ] 
 
 that they are adtually difembarked, together 
 with their proper train of artillery and camp 
 equipage; flill, if we behave like men, there 
 is not the fmalleft reafon to doubt their com- 
 plete de{l:ru6^ion. Britain is certainly capa- 
 ble of raifing, on fo preffing an emergency as 
 the prefervation of its conflitution, its pro- 
 perty, its religion, its liberty, an army of 
 eight hundred thoufand fighting men : nay, 
 I fhould be fanguine enough even to hope, 
 that if the ardour which at prefent appears 
 ready to burft forth, attains that height, and 
 Ipreads to the extent which all men who are not 
 traitors to their country muft wifh it fhould, 
 the number under arms, and in the habit of 
 learning the difcipline and duty of foldiers, 
 will in a very few Aveeks, including the regu- 
 lar troops and the militia, be little Ihort of 
 what I have above flated. 
 
 The foes to your internal peace, my 
 Countrymen, thofe enemies to that eafe and 
 tranquillity of mind which the confcioufnels 
 of a power capable of refifling and overcom- 
 ing difficulties naturally infpires, may, per- 
 haps, endeavour to alarm the aged, the help- 
 lefs^ and the credulous, by reprefenting thefe 
 
 new
 
 [ 41 ] 
 new levies as little capable of refifting the 
 mighty conquerors of Germany, Holland, 
 Italy, and Switzerland-, they will, perhaps, 
 tell you that it requires two complete years 
 to form a perfect foot foldier; and, for the 
 cavalrv, the time is almoft bevoud calcula- 
 tion. Credit not a f^-liable of thefe ridiculous 
 ill-founded afiertions. A Martinet may 
 certainly confume twelve months in teach- 
 ing his men to turn their toes out, or to march 
 gracefully ; fo may Monf. Gallet require {qvci\. 
 years to inftrudl a lady of fafliion in the art of 
 dancing a minuet, and yet one of our own 
 common country mafters may, in his way, 
 convey the fame quantum of inftrudion 
 to the daughter of the village fquire in as 
 many days. Thefe points of difcipline, as 
 they are facetioufly called, may really be 
 requilite in time of peace, were they of 
 no other ufe than that of keeping both offi- 
 cers and men out of mifchief. The foldiers 
 cut a fine figure on the parade ; at a review 
 they pleafe the admiring populace, and ferve 
 to convince them that pay is not wholly o-iven 
 them for nothing ; that the life of a military 
 man is not merely a perfe<5l round of idle- 
 nefs and diffipation ; but they contribute not 
 
 ^ ill
 
 [ 42 ] 
 
 ill th? fmallefl: degree to the perfe6lion of a 
 foldier, who is required only for fervice 
 agairift the enemies of his country. The 
 eflential points to be attended to in the field 
 are, firft, the ufe of the mufquet, fo that 
 each man fliall be able coolly to load and dif- 
 charge, in a narrow fpace, without creating 
 hurry in his ov/n mind or a61ions, and without 
 inconveniencing thofe who fland next him. 
 The next thins; to be attended to is, the habit 
 of loading and difcharging with as much dex- 
 terity and quicknefs as poffible without falling 
 into confuiion, or expending ammunition 
 heedlefsly, and without proper efFe6t. The 
 third, and only remaining abfolutely efTential 
 point is that degree of ft^adinefs and firm- 
 nefs which enables a body of men to refifl: and 
 repel a charge, as well as to be able to make 
 one themfelves, mingling a due portion of 
 Ipirit with cool determined refolution, and 
 vigour. The inferior and fubordinate points 
 are attention to command, the praftice of 
 advancing rapidly, retreating coolly, and re- 
 forming, if broken, fo as to be quickly in a 
 condition to renew attack, or, at leaft, pre-r 
 vent the enemy from making any very feri- 
 ous imprefiion, 
 
 I think
 
 [ 43 ] 
 I think I fhall not incur much hazard of 
 being contradi6ted, when I aflert that thcle va- 
 rious indifpenlible points of mihtary duty may 
 be acquired, and in no fmall degree of progrefs 
 towards perfe6lion, in one month ; nay, by per- 
 fona who were previoufly totally unacquainted 
 with the feience and profeffion. The face of 
 this country is, perhaps, of all others in the 
 univerfe, the beft adapted to the advantage 
 of troops roughly difciplined. Permit me, 
 my Countrymen, in this place, to requeft 
 particularly of thofe among you who, from 
 your fituatidn, your popularity, or what is 
 ealled rank in life, are likely to comm^and or 
 advife the equipment of affociated corps, to 
 beware of plunging too far into a particular 
 branch of military mania, which appears at 
 this time to have felzed particularly thofe 
 who are affluent — the formiation and equip- 
 ment of corps defigned wholly to ferve on 
 horfeback* The inclofed itate of fome ex- 
 tenfive diftri^ls, and the unequal face of 
 others, render mere horfe, in many inflances, 
 totally ufelefs : but afTociations adopting 
 dragoon equipment* might render themfeL es 
 
 * Not too light. • 
 
 G 2 highly
 
 [ 44 ]. 
 
 liighly ufeful in all quarters alike. But ta 
 return to the more immediate caufe of this part 
 of the addrefs. In the more level, and, con- 
 fequently befl cultivated. parts of the country, 
 aim oft every field prefents itfelf as a redoubt 
 ready made, into which the defending troops 
 , may throw themfelves, and from many of 
 which, on account of the depth of the ditches 
 and ftrength of the embankments, they could 
 not be forced, without compelling the affail- 
 ants to a confiderable expence both of men 
 and time *. 
 
 In the wilder and more mountainous 
 parts impediments of a very different na- 
 ture arife, and, perhaps, flill more infuper- 
 able : the cannon, the wheel-carriages be- 
 longing to the army, and without which it 
 cannot advance, will not attempt to afcend 
 the declivities, except by the ordinary roads : 
 thefe are, by diligence and ingenuity, fre- 
 quently capable of being fo ruined in a nightV 
 
 * Even when forced, they might file off at a right angle 
 or nearly fo, along a bank which completely covers them, 
 till, at the diftance of an hundred yards or lefs, a frefh 
 bulwark prefents its breaft for thtir fupport and protec- 
 tion, and where the er.emy muft be compelled to a re- 
 newal of the^ir former labour. 
 
 9 time
 
 [ 45 1 
 
 time as to require the labour of three days 
 to put them in their original, or even a palT- 
 able flate for a mile in length. In many in- 
 flances no chance of penetrating is afforded 
 to the enemy, except that of forcing a paiTage 
 through a narrow pafs, feveral miles perhaps 
 in length. Here, as in the freights of Ther- 
 mopylae the Spartans did of old, four hundred 
 determined Britons might fuccefsfully de- 
 fend the natural barrier to their invaders, till 
 the carcalfes of the greater part of the af^ 
 failants becam.e a rampart againll the vain 
 attacks of the blood-thirfly furvivors. In (hort, 
 every dyke becomes a fpot, on which, in cafe 
 the frantic foe fhould be rafh enough to carry 
 into execution their defperate attempt, the 
 ftandard of Britifli liberty may be planted : 
 every hill prefents itfelf as a natural citadel, 
 from whence it may flout defiance and hurl 
 fecure deltrudion on its fava2:e and detefted 
 enemies. 
 
 It is not impoffible but that there may be 
 fiili remaining among us fome mifcreants un- 
 principled enough to attempt the check of 
 that generous ardour which appears on the 
 prefent occafion to have almoll: univerfaWy 
 annihilated that bane of national weU 
 
 fare.
 
 [ 46 ] 
 
 fare, party difputes : they may endeavour 
 to imprefs you with an idea, that, by aflbi 
 ciating as the voluntary defenders of your 
 own property, you render yourfelves liable 
 to thofe inconveniencies, which many per- 
 Ions, and with fome reafbn, fuppofe are to 
 be encountered in a military life : that you 
 voluntarily, and by your own aft, fubje6l 
 yourfelves to a compulfive continuance in it 
 long as thofe who are affededly and ffediti- 
 oufly called your rulers, fliall think proper ' 
 to infift. The alTertion is ridiculous, infa- 
 mous, and untrue : conlign the fabricators 
 of it to that contempt and deteftation they 
 fo juftly deferve. But though the written 
 law of your country has no power over you ; 
 freedom and patriotifm may, and ought to 
 have. The fervice you are alked, and re- 
 queued to afford is — the prote6tidii of your 
 families, your property, and yourfelves : the 
 greater part of you have wives or children, 
 who, I charitably hope, are dear to you ; 
 few, or none of us but poffefs fome property^ 
 which, fmall as it may be, is our all ; and we 
 Ihould aft bafely towards our country and 
 ourfelves, were we timidly to abandon it to 
 the torch of the mercilefs enemy. — I now 
 
 talk
 
 t 47 ] 
 
 talk to you on an awful fubjed^, and I wifh to 
 engage your ferlous unprejudiced attention. 
 It may be inconvenient, it may be uncom- 
 fortable to rife from a warm bed in a cold 
 winter's nic-ht, to aififl our neighbour whofe 
 houfe may be on fire : — Who is there, fl:iould 
 he refufe to affill: on fuch an occafion, but 
 would juftly merit the execration of the whole 
 village or hamlet, of whofe inhabitants he 
 forms fo unworthy a part ? Would he not 
 be abandoned to contempt by all who wit- 
 nefled his condu6i: ? Would he not be ex- 
 pofed to an internal torture — that of his own 
 refle61:ion? He has a6ted unlike a man; 
 and were he to fuftain no other, the culprit 
 will find the punifhment naturally attached 
 to the crime as much as he can bear. 
 
 In few words, it is our part to 3.3. toward^ 
 others not as we wifli (for I will put it ftill 
 flronger to you) but as we may require they 
 ihould a6l towards us : it is a mutual duty 
 incumbent on us all, to defend each other. 
 Should the necefiities, the danger of our 
 country, require fiich an exertion, who is 
 there that would not deferve the name of 
 traitor to his fellow-countrymen, did he not 
 patiently traverfe from one end of the ifland 
 
 to
 
 [ 48 ] 
 
 to the other, if fuch a journey would contrU 
 bute to their relief? All this, however, mull 
 be voluntary ; nor exifts there a power in 
 this country that can compel any man to do 
 it without his own perfe<5l confent. We may 
 hope, however, that, if required, the hardy 
 highlander and inhabitant of the north may 
 mingle his efforts joyfully with thofe of the 
 fouth ; that one connefted patriotifm may fire 
 all bofoms ; and the only difpute remaining 
 be, who fhall moft eagerly deftroy the ene-*. 
 mies of his country. 
 
 As to the taxes, thofe burthens, under 
 which, in order to dull your honeft zeal, 
 there are not wanting thofe who would fairi 
 perfuade you that you labour, I fhall beg to 
 remark to you allegorically, that though the 
 mechanifm of your government is, perhaps, 
 the moft perfect in the univerfe, the fmalleft, 
 irregularity in any of its wheels may 
 throw the whole llru61:ure into confuiion. 
 A mote, or hair, either wilfully or acciden- 
 tally introduced into the moil: perfecSt watch 
 ever conflru6led, will caufe that ingenious 
 piece of mechanifm to move with much 
 unfteadinefs and uncertainty : the hand of 
 the mafter is, neverthelefs, very confpicuous 
 
 in
 
 [ +9 ] 
 
 in the formation itfelf; and the obftacle being 
 eafily removed by the hand of a (kilful artift, 
 the wonderful machine performs the duty 
 and fervice originally affigned to it with ability 
 and advantage to the owner, becaufe, though 
 perhaps long worn, it ftill continues to pre- 
 serve a due and fcrupulous exadnefs in its 
 fundlions. 
 
 In fliort, my Countrymen, the queftion 
 which is before you is limple, the alternative 
 obvious. Will you bafely become the flaves 
 of thefe tyrant French, or will you prove 
 yourfelves in no degree degenerated from that 
 noble flock, who did, by their hardy prowefs, 
 acquire the never-to-be-forgotten vidlories of 
 Crefly, Poidiers, and Agincourt; vi6lories 
 which have rendered the very name of Eng- 
 land terrible to France ; a prowefs which has 
 in every after age caufed the pride, the infa- 
 tiable ambition of an envious rival to crouch 
 beneath the fury of that uplifted arm of ven- . 
 geance, which could have cruflied but which 
 nobly difdained it ? — Were your guardian ge- 
 nius to defcend, he would addrefs you in 
 fomething like the following terms : 
 
 H Britons f
 
 [ so ] 
 
 Britons! it has for ages been the cuftom 
 of your forefathers to dictate to their foes ; 
 will you now fufFer thofe verdant laurels 
 which have defcended to you as^ a birthright, 
 to wither and fade in your hands? Itcannot 
 be ; and that man is a traitor to his country 
 who flifpeds you of fiach bafenefs. There 
 arc fome among you who atfefl to complain 
 of grievances, who appear mad enough to 
 imagine the blefFings of liberty neceffarily 
 follow the enthufiaftic and cabaliftical re- 
 petition of the word itfelf. This certainly 
 leems the only enjoyment, if it can afford any, 
 of which the miferable, the infatuated ban- 
 ditti of France have, for years, fuppofed 
 themfelves partaking; A Britifh conftitution, 
 is not to be fuflained by fuch vifionary fare ; 
 the plain fubftantial food of real freedom, 
 which it has long fed on, is better adapted to its 
 fupport, and more conducive to its health. 
 Need I remind you that you have before your 
 eyes the fad, the dreadful effects which their 
 fatal, their abominable friendjliip has pro- 
 duced in every country of Europe, which 
 has been timid enough, fimple enough, or 
 mad enough to put truft in it for a moment. 
 
 But
 
 f 5' ] 
 
 But If vou are ftill fenfelefs enouo-h to credit 
 their profeffions, ftill blind enough not to 
 difcover their hypocrify, or ftill frantic enough 
 to fuppofe a fyftem of plunder, of devaftation, 
 of maflacre — an aflemblage and combina- 
 tion of every vice that can deform humaa 
 nature — forms the code of natural liberty, 
 or can render you acceptable in the eyes of 
 that fiipreme Being to whom we muft hope 
 you look iip for prote6lion, ftill will I demand 
 
 your paufe. Will your pride fufFer you 
 
 to become lawlefs, vicious and barbarous, 
 through fear, or compulilon ? Will you per- 
 mit your country to be laid wafle, your wives 
 and children to be violated before your faces? 
 Thefe, with many other horrors which I will 
 not {hock humanity by the recital of, are the 
 indifpenfible preliminaries to French frater- 
 nization ! 
 
 Some of you are ftill old enough to re- 
 member, and thofe who are not, may have 
 read the account of the fpirit with which 
 you on former occalions fpurned the in- 
 lidious interference of France, when flie 
 offered it, and certainly with better co- 
 lour than in the inftance now before you. 
 You vigoroufly repelled the attempt, you 
 H 2 glori-
 
 [ 52 ] 
 
 gloriouflypunifhed that infblence which would 
 have intruded and forced on you as a king 
 him whom many were in their hearts weak 
 enough to admire and love. Too late did 
 that unhappy vi6tim to French policy find 
 that the pride of Britain had taken the alarm ; 
 that the juft fpirit of the country fpread like 
 i contagious peftilence againfl: his hopes; and 
 that no apparent poffibility remained of his 
 ever beins: able to regain the feat of thofe he 
 called his anceftors, while the people of 
 Britain willed it fhould not be fo. 
 
 Examine what were the refources of de- 
 fence the nation then pofTeffed, and compare 
 them with thofe of the prefent day, and confi- 
 dence will refume its place in your hearts, 
 and thofe who have been terrified will be 
 afhamed of their folly. Think not, how- 
 ever, ab I have before remarked, that the 
 defperate tyrants of France will fuiFer fo 
 great an opportunity of facrificing thofe 
 of their prefent fubje6ls, who have long been 
 objects of terror, to pafs by neglefted. Expe6l 
 them daily, nightly, hourly ; be ready to re- 
 ceive, to repel them. Sooner fhould it be the 
 wifh of every honefl Britain, that the car- 
 caffes of himfelf, and his countrymen, falling 
 
 I with
 
 [ S3 ] 
 
 with their fwords in their hands in defence 
 of their real Hberty, (hould putrify the air, and 
 fweep, by inglorious difeafe, from the furfacc 
 of the earth thefe unprincipled foes to Britain, 
 than by ignominious peace fufFer them, whtlc 
 one fhall remain alive, to continue as a fcourge 
 to it. Such, however, is not your defperate 
 ftatc, nor need you entertain the fmalleft fear 
 but that the confli6l will end in the perfed: 
 re-eflablifhment of your peace, and the un- 
 difturbed enjoyment of the bleffings of liberty. 
 Blefs then and pay your thanks devoutly to 
 that fupreme being who hath not only 
 given you the. means of repelling your ene- 
 mies, but courage to ufe thofe means as you 
 ought. Crown fuch gifts, and render them 
 effcilual to your prefervation, by adding, 
 what is in your own power, U7iant7nity, 
 
 Thofe who may unhappily fall in this 
 neceffary, and glorious conteft will die with 
 the happy reflexion of having fulfilled their 
 duty, of having paid a patriotic debt when 
 demanded of them, and freed their country 
 from foreign tyranny. Their laft wifh will 
 be, that their remains might be colle6i:ed into 
 one mafs, and interred on the higheft promon- 
 tory
 
 I 54 J 
 tory oppofite to France, that their indignant 
 ghofts might be permitted to frown unre- 
 mittingly on that Ihore from whence their 
 murderers iflued forth : and that thofe who 
 may in every future age inhabit that wretched 
 country, may fay to their children, Behold 
 
 THAT monument OF OUR NATION's 
 BARBARISM AND FOLLY; ON THAT SPOT 
 ARE ENTOMBED THOSE BriTONS WHO 
 
 fell in defence of their liberties, 
 who by their deaths gloriously 
 preserved them to their posterity. 
 May you, our children, weeping as 
 
 WE DO, over the ashes OF THOSE OF 
 OUR WRETCHED FOREFATflERS WHO 
 JUSTLY FELL IN THE TREMENDOUS CON- 
 FLICT, PROFIT BY tHE EXAMPLE, AND 
 WHENEVER YOU THINK IT NECESSARY 
 TO CONTEND FOR YOUR OWN FREEDOM^ 
 BE CAUTIOUS NOT TO INTERFERE WITH 
 THAT OF OTHERS. 
 
 Perry-Hill, 
 
 ik% 7, 1798.
 
 ,?iv:^
 
 rife 
 
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