VALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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Boston, 1831.

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

1942

AN

ADDRESS

BEFORE THE

MEMBERS OF THE TAUNTON LYCEUM.

DELIVKRED

JULY 4, 1831.
[published at their RE(iUEST.]

BY FRANCIS BAYLIES.

BOSTON:
J. H. EASTBURN  CONGKESS STREET.
1831.

ADDRESS.

The indulgence of my fellow citizens is great, I
know, and I am compelled to draw upon it to the
full extent of my credit.
It is impossible for me, at present, if ever, to
come before you with an elaborated and finished
address, — systematically arranged, with rounded
periods, and sentences, which have been polished
like a warrior's weapons, until they shine, and flash,
and glitter and dazzle ; but I must approach you in
my every day dress, and shew myself as I am, "a
plain blunt man, who speaks right on, and tells you
that, which you yourselves do know."
In short, my friends, I have not had time to pre
pare for this occasion ; but if you will permit me to
proceed in my desultory manner, you may pick out
some truths from a mass of crudities.
I have a well founded claim on your indulgence,
for you well know that in another place during the
preceding month, I have been constantly, strenu
ously employed in doing your business ; I appreciat
ed the confidence manifested so repeatedly, too high
ly and too gratefully to neglect that business.
Having been a working-man in your employment
so long, if I should not be thoroughly prepared for

4
the play which is now to be "enacted," for your amuse
ment, I trust you will accord some favor to an old,
long tried and faithful servant.
It is awkward, I acknowledge, to speak so much of
myself; yet the circumstances and the occasion
must be my justification. I am the more induced to
ofier these preliminary remarks, because I well know
the difficulties which a political orator at the present
time is compelled to encounter. He must go forth
armed at all points, and ready for battle. His path
is beset by lions and serpents. He must encounter
the roars of the one and the hisses of the other. To
do a giant's work, requires a giant's arm,^-to do it
successfully is glorious, and it is glorious even to fail
in the attempt.
It is a melancholy truth, in the history of man, that
most governments have originated in force, and few
by the consent of the people ; few indeed there are,
where the people acting either by themselves or their
agents, have universally concurred in their establish
ment. That the form of the government has a powerful
influence in fashioning the character of the nation
over which it is established is an unquestionable truth,
but far greater is the influence of its practical admin
istration. This is exemplified in the history of the United
States. The original form of the Government under
which the American colonies were ruled was not only
monarchical but despotic. The two most ancient
colonies of North- America, Virginia, and Plymouth
were founded in the reign of James I, and their set
tlement commenced at a period when the doctrine

that kings ruled by divine right was acknowledged
by the whole world. The origin of these American
colonies was in the darkest hour of the dark night of
European despotism, — yet that hour was the harbin
ger of the day star of liberty. The spirit of religious
freedom was then commencing its mighty work, —
and when the people began to inquire into the reasons
why one man should dictate to them the articles of
their religious faith — it was an easy transition to the
inquiry why one man should dictate the forms and
the principles of their civil government — for on the
theory of government as then understood all rights
were derived from the crown, and whatever privileges
the people enjoyed were derived from royal grants.
The eastern colonies of North America became
practical Republics through the spirit of religious
freedom, — and approached as near to perfect democ
racies, as was possible under their circumstances; —
a perfect democracy, we all know, is not practicable
unless over a territory so limited in extent, as to
enable the whole people to act personally, in mak
ing the laws : — therefore it is, that the political pow
er is entrusted to agents, chosen by the people, rep
resenting the people, and accountable to the people —
and such governments are representative democra
cies. Such in fact though not in theory, were the
New England colonies from their origin, to the va
cation of their charters in the reign of James II : —
and such Rhode-Island and Connecticut continued
to be, after the accession of King William, although
an essential change was then effected, in the gov
ernment of Massachusetts. A royal Governor rep
resenting the Soi'ereign, superceded the Governors

chosen by the people, and then commenced in this
province the contest between the advocates of pop
ular rights, and the advocates of the powers of the
royal prerogative, which found its crisis in the revo
lution, and its consummation, in the declaration of in
dependence. The mode of sustaining civil liberty in the United
States, is a question, which it is the duty of every
American statesman to look full in the face ; if he
shrinks from it, he is undeserving of a place in the
public councils; if for popular favor, he professes
doctrines apparently favorable, but really destructive
to the principles of freedom, he is a political hypo
crite. If the intentions are honest, mistakes ought
to be pardoned, and eccentricities excused. — But let
the wrath of the people fall upon him, who for the
sake of power, distinction, or office, advocates prin
ciples which he knows to be wrong, and believes
to be dangerous, and inflames popular excitement, to
ruin honest men. If the demagogue usurps the pa
triot's place in the affections and confidence of the
people, it is a certain evidence of the decay of public
virtue. One of the first duties of the patriot, is to warn
the people against the influence of foreign example.
That influence has engendered many bitter animosi
ties, and wrought much woe. It is not for us to re
ceive the lessons of liberty from abroad, from pre
tenders and imposters. It is not for us to be taught,
when we are capable of teaching.
Although we have learned to view the political
events of Europe with calmness if not with apathy,—
with philosophic moderation and not under the excite-

ment of burning passions. — Although it is nearly cer
tain that it will not be possible hereafter to stigma
tise any party which may arise here, either as Brit
ish or French ; — for we have grown too great, we
are too independent in feeling, as well as in fact, to
permit ourselves in any crisis, to wear the badge of
a foreign nation ; yet there are lurking dangers,
which are neither to be contemned nor concealed.
We have that within us, which may be roused. The
same air that is wafted by the zephyr, is driven by
the whirlwind. Like those crazy but generous
knights, who traversed the world to redress its
wrongs, we may find ourselves unexpectedly tilting
in the lists, with the chivalry of Europe. We have
much curiosity. When the maelstrom of European
politics begins to roar, we may approach so near, that
it will require all our dexterity to s:hun the gulf. But
at present, I trust we can examine the character of the
recent revolutionary movements in Europe, without
prejudices or partialities, and that we may be per
mitted to predict consequences, without incurring
the imputation of foreign predelictions, or antipa
thies ; if it were not so, no wise statesman, would
permit himself to mistake a temporary clamour, for
the popular voice.
With these preliminary remarks, I shall proceed
to a fearless examination of the character of the re
cent revolution in France, and the commencing revor
lution in Great Britain. The discussion of these
topics, in my opinion, is. peculiarly appropriate, on
this day. We cannot fail to profit by it, if we bring
our minds, fully and fairly to the investigation of
subjects, so peculiarly illustrative txf political history,
and political philosophy.

8
The recent French Revolution, although foreseen
and predicted by some who look beneath the surface
of politics, as an event likely to happen at some peri
od, came upon the world like an earthquake in a still
and tranquil day — like a tornado in the midst of a
calm and sunshine. The first sensation was that of
amazement. When the imagination is strongly affect
ed, the other faculties of the mind are paralized — so
it was at first with the American nation ; from the
central city to either extremity of our wide empire a
simultaneous shout of triumph ascended to the heav
ens. A point of union was found for all — But this
universal sentiment of approbation however credita
ble to our feelings, in my opinion does no great credit
to our political sagacity. Perhaps I shall always be
fated to stand alone, and to doubt when all others
are convinced. Can it be that when I think I see
on its periodical return the same comet which fright
ened my infancy " which from its horrid hair shook
pestilence and war," blazing high in the heavens
again, I am deluded by a phantom ?
On the 24th of July, King Charies dissolved the
Chamber of Deputies. On the 25th, he imposed
additional restrictions on the Press. On the 27th,
the Revolution commenced. On the 31st, it was
terminated— the reigning King was expelled— the
Duke of Orleans was placed at the head of the
Government. A new ministry was appointed  the
tri-colored flag of the first revolution displaced the
lillies of the Bourbons— Fayette reappeared at the
head of the National Guards— the chamber of Depu
ties although dissolved, resumed its powers, and the
revolution was completed.

To form a just idea of its principles and of the
probability of its ultimate success, it is necessary to
examine the manner in which it has been conducted,
the characters of the leading revolutionists, and the
capability of the people of France to sustain a govern
ment of limited powers.
If a revolution commences in blood it is ominous
of evil. The American people bore much, and suf
fered much, without dreaming of forcible resistance.
For ten years, they remonstrated — they petitioned —
they entreated — and until they were driven to the
battle field their hands were unstained with the
blood of a single enemy — and yet the people of Mas
sachusetts endured far more oppression than the
Parisians ; the Boston Port bill — citizens shot down
in the streets — the vexations of the custom house —
the seizure of the military stores — the annihilation
of the Provincial Charter, were far greater evils than
the ordinances of the French King touching the
press — yet we endured them all before we resorted
to arms.
As in the first revolution, so in the second, the
Swiss Guards were made the first victims. The
Swiss Guards acting on the simple principle of fideli
ty to their engagements which bound them to pro
tect the person of the King, maintained their faith,
their principles, and their honor, and were butcher
ed one by one — while the troops of the line under
an oath of allegiance,^ — and subjects of the king, —
as we are told, looked gravely on the slaughter of
their foreign comrades, discovered no emotion, and
made no effort to protect them, but yielded these re^-
publican soldiers to the sabres of the soldiers and
2

10
slaves of Napoleon; to the mob of well dressed*
printers and philanthropic gentlemen, — to the ruffian
bands from the Fauxbourgh St. Antoine who came
forth from their foul and filthy lurking places, like
famished wolves bearing their ancient pikes rusted
with the blood of former victims — snuffing the taint
of the carnage, and screaming for fresh blood.
The ostensible object of the revolution, was the
restoration of the charter; — for this, the blood of
seven thousand people was shed ; — for this, Paris
vi^as made a battle field ; — for this an ancient dynasty
were driven into a hopeless, miserable exile ; — and
yet the first act, of the new rulers, was a greater
violation of the charter, than any which had been
committed by the king: — one hundred and ten peers,
were deprived of their titles, and their places, whose
rights were recognised in the charter. Had the
evils which the French people endured under the
charter, been oppressive and intolerable, then the
right of complete revolution, of entire change would
have existed, but that was not pretended. The ob
ject of the Revolutionists was the restoration of the
charter— and while sternly avenging its violation on
the King, they did not hesitate themselves to violate
It in one of its most important provisions !
The charter was to be restored which had been
violated by an infringement of the freedom of the
press, and yet the persecution of the press, and of
men for freedom of speech by the new government,
has been vmdictive, vexatious, and tyrannical. Be
tween February and May in the present year, there
have been eighteen public prosecutions, against edi
tors for libels, and against others, for disloyal ex-

11
pressions. One editor has been prosecuted for an
article complaining of the ill treatment of the Catho
lic priests, and favourable to a general toleration : —
another for saying that the charter of 1830, was not
to become that great truth, which was promised in
the days of the Revolution, by Louis Philippe. — Three
persons were prosecuted for expressing sentiments
favourable to Charles X. Two for railing against
the national guards. The curate Le Fevre, for ex
pressing his dislike to the King in a sermon. One
person for saying, down with the ministers. Two
for saying, down with the national guards, and down
with the lamp-posts. Two for saying, long live Na
poleon II. Several were prosecuted for a conspira
cy, for having said, "the people were sovereign, and
that all powers and authorities were subject to
them," that being the doctrine under which Louis
Phillippe was called to the throne. One was prose
cuted for censuring the Administration, and one for
saying, "long live the Republic;" and this is the
government which has restored the freedom of speech
and of the press !
The characters of the leading Revolutionists are
important when investigating the character of the
Revolution. Gen. Girard appears on the front ground the cham
pion of the rights of the people and of the rights of
the press, — the instrument — the tool — the idolater of
Napoleon. Where was his patriotic energy — his
devotion to liberty — his attachment to the freedom
of the press, when Napoleon banished a female and
shot a printer for using the jDress, as the medium of
bringing liberal opinions before the people ?

12

The bankers, La Fitte and Casimir Perriei^lso
aopear as principle actors in this terrific farce. Why
ome forth the'money changers to mingle in this
IZl f armed men.^ They were disquieted with-
the steady course of the finances-they wanted flu -
u at ns-^they wanted to sell out and buy in, and to
realise monthly, millions. They have no conception
of the moral sublime of a revolution wh^ch changes
a dynasty and aff-ects a world. They consider a
Revolution as a speculation. No matter if the streets
of Paris are deluged with blood. The woes and the
miseries of the people are nothing, if their money
bags ar- filled. From the sublime to the ridiculous,
is but a step. So said Napoleon, and he understood
things well. Casimir Perrier, Prime Mmister of
France ! One moment accepting a bill— then dictat
ing a royal ordinance— now discounting a note, and
now signing a treaty— now calculating the per cen-
tage, or rate of exchange between gold and paper-
now drafting a code of laws for Algiers,— now mov
ing a box of specie, now moving an army — now
breaking a merchant, and now ruining a nation.
The reign of the Bankers however is generally short.
The Banker who was placed at the head of the revo
lution of 1789, was soon forced from his Bureau to
his desk, from the Halls of State, to his counting
room. In the eyes of Americans the approbation of
Fayette sanctions any cause. The purity and sin
cerity of this veteran son of liberty cannot be doubt
ed. He is not even ambitious of power, but he has a
passion for fame and notoriety. He seeks to drive
the Chariot of the Sun, not indeed to set the world

13
on fire, but to shew himself to the, world a skilful
charioteer : to do this he may approach too near the
earth, and while he thinks that nothing but beams of
light are radiating from his car, he may find to his
amazement that he has kindled a general conflagra
tion. Let us now pass to the apex of the revolutionary
pyramid ; the champion of popular rights — the citi
zen king — the young Egalite who ascends his throne
by the double title of Representative of the Orleans
branch of the House of Bourbon and as the represen
tative of the Revolution, the revolution of liberty and
equality, — who appeared in the first act of that tragic
drama, and now assumes the chief part in the catas
trophe. Possessing millions, all recovered by the restoration,
he boasts of having worn the glorious tri-colour, under
which emblem his wealth was scattered to the winds
and his head devoted to the guillotine. The Revo
lution made him a teacher of languages and mathe
matics — a fugitive and an outcast, the restoration
made him (after the reigning family) the first prince
of the blood, and the lord of princely wealth. It
placed him at the foot of the throne, and enabled
him to mount it over the prostrate form of the head
of his House,  " to whom he stood in double trust

As kinsman, and as subject,
Strong both against the deed."
Much has been said of his virtues : virtues are always
found in royal personages, except in such as have no
thrones.

14
If the pupil of his father's mistress if the de-
scendent of that infamous regent Duke, whose vices
were not surpassed by the successors of Augustus,
whose example tainted the age in which he lived,
filled men with amazement and with doubts of the
justice of Heaven, which permitted such a wretch to
live and to reign, if one who was baptised in the
blood of the first revolution, who had before him,
a monster of portentous growth of profligacy, sensu
ality, meanness, dishonour, cowardice, treachery and
murder in the person of a father — has resisted the
influence of such examples, — we may indeed suppose
th^t like the Saxon Princess he could walk unharm
ed over .the burning ploughshares.
Already the meanest of the vices, ingratitude, has
developed itself in its natural seat— a royal bosom.
Already he speaks in the language of Bolingbroke to
his illustrious patron and friend, to whom he owes
his crown, the venerable Fayette.. " O, Sir,
Your presence is too bold and peremptory,
And majesty might never yet endure,
The moody frontier of a servant brow.
You have good leave to leave us ; when we need
Your use and counsel, we shall send for you."
I know it is the fashion of the rimes to place his
virtues and qualiries in triumphant contrast with those
of his royal kinsman, to talk of the liberality of the
one and the bigotry of the other. But let us exam
ine this accusarion of bigotry, which has been so often
urged against the unfortunate Charles.
It is certainly not unbecoming, even in a Roval
personage who has reached theage of seventy-three,

15
to be regular and devout in his religious practices,
and to perform the duties, required by his Church*
with zeal and punctuality. ^That the King was a
sincere christian according to the creed of the Church
of Rome cannot be denied. But because he practic
ed what he professed — which was the Christian re
ligion as believed and practiced by half the christian
world, is he to be reproached by a Christian people ?
The only inquiries pertinent to this subject are
these : Did he persecute men for their religious faith ?
Did he violate the laws to favour a sect ? I defy any
one to prove that the King violated the laws to fa
vour the Catholics, or to oppress the Protestants : —
if any fault has been committed it has been that of
too much toleration, for under indulgence a monster,
hunted from all civilized communities has found a
refuge in France, and has breathed his poisons in
Churches and in Palaces — a monster whose ambition
aims not merely at the overthrow of human thrones,
but of the throne of God !
Penal laws are necessary, unquestionably, in the gov
ernment of society — but of all the checks on the in
ordinate passions and propensities of men, that of re
ligion is the most effectual. Superstition is better
than irreligion, for that at least is some check to the
excesses of vicious passions. The belief of a future
state where human crimes are to be examined and
judged, has restrained the violence of the ravisher,
and sheathed the poignard of the assassin. Under
the influence of such belief the midnight incendiary
has thrown away his firebrand. The ties of honor,
the precepts of philosophy, the kindness and benev
olence of natural temperament are but as feathers in

16
the tempests of the human passions. But the most
ferocious, the most savage heart-the heart which
has defied the tempest, the earthquake, and the fire,
has melted into tears of penitence at the sound of the
srill, small voice. Hence it is that all wise states
men and lawyers! have always availed themselves of
the influences of religion as a powerful instrument in
controlling and repressing the disorders and violences
of society.
If a community which neither professes to believe,
nor actually believes in the existence of a Supreme
Being, shall regard all the laws of moral and social
obligation, do justice, practice self denial, endure pri- .
vation, want, and suffering for the geheral good^^then
indeed human nature is changed, and* a millenial
state is preparing for man. The dreams of philoso
phy however have but little connexion with the sober
realities of life, and man without religion will be as he
has ever been, the slave, and the victim of his pas
sions. Throughout the fair land of France the great
majority of the people regard religion either with
fanatical hatred (for atheism has its fanatics) or with
scorn and ridicule, and it is made the subject either of
malignant reproach or of gay derision. The heart of
the Atheist is blighted — it is dead to every generous
emotion— to every kindly feeling. Destitute of the
moral sense he knows no distinction between virtue
and vice— right and wrong— truth and falsehood. —
Insensible to all human sympathies and all human af
fections, the indulgence of every evil, and malignant
and ferocious passion, will be restrained by nothing
hut his fears or his interest. Like the deadly Upas,
he taints the moral atmosphere, and thrives in the

17
midst of the desolation he has created. The enemy,
of all, like the Pirate, he raises the death flag and
wars on the human race.
A community of Atheists would 'realise on earth
the vision of hell — " a hell ringing with curses and
blasphemies". Men would be changed to devils, and
find their pleasure in tormenting each other. With
them the shedding of blood would be sport — murder
a pastime. The order of social life would be derang
ed. A wild and ferocious anarchy would succeed to
law, to morality and to religion — civil society having
no basis to rest upon would fall to pieces. If such a
community, even were it composed of men as learned
and intellectual as Hobbes or Spinoza, Voltaire or
Volney, can be governed by equal laws, or by any
power short of the sword — we shall be compelled to
admit the existence of miracles, even if we deny the
truth of revelation.
To return to the unfortunate King — I ask again
where are the evidences of his bigotry and intolerance ?
The secrets of his heart — the breathings of his spirit,
the wounds of his conscience were all laid open to
the Archbishop of Toulouse. By his advice the King
was governed, whenever the action of the royal pre
rogative was required in the affairs of the Church. —
And who was this royal confessor, this keeper (so to
speak) of the King's conscience ? — Cheverus, for
merly bishop of Boston. There can be no mistake
as to him. He was our fellow citizen, almost forty
years, and never was there a human being, who bore
his high qualities so meekly, who was so little of the
Churchman, and so much of the Christian ; — so sin
cere,, so humble, and so devout, so much enamoured
3

of virtue for its own sake, so grateful to the Creator,
and so benevolent to his creatures. Like the early
martyrs of the church, he would have died for his
faith. Like the blessed Saviour whom he worship
ped, he wept for the misfortunes of his fellow men,
and felt and prayed for all. Amid the angry con
tentions of his protestant brethren, in the wild up
roar of discordant passions, in the fierce strife be
tween religious parties, he stood among us the dis
ciple and preacher of peace, the friend and benefac
tor of his race. Such was the man who, in all mat
ters touching Religion, possessed the most control
ling influence over the mind of Charles X.
The next question in the course of this investiga
tion is this; — can the present constitution or charter
of France be sustained ?
If the present race of Frenchmen, who never en
joyed a year of true liberty, can feel its true spirit,
a spirit not to be created by casual circumstances,
but by education and a course of moral discipline ;
it will prove that the moral laws, by which human
nature is regulated, are not immutable.
A Democratic monarchy, for such is the present
government of France, is certainly an anomaly. It
seems to me, to be as incongruous as a lamb's head
on the body of a lion. There is but one precedent,
A Democraric monarchy was established during the
first Revolution ; and Louis XVI, was a spectacle for
the ridicule of France. A constitutional King, yet
destitute of influence or power, and a miserable 'pris
oner in his own palace. In a monarchical govern
ment there must be an intermediate power between
the Kmg and the people, or else there is no stability

19
to the throne. A monarchy cannot be sustained
without an Aristocracy ; an Aristocracy which spreads
its roots throughout the nation, — based on ancient
names, historical recollections, and vast wealth. A
national clergy, may be a collateral support to the
throne, but if the people are destitute of religion, or
if they profess a religion different from that of the
established church, it is a feeble one. There are it
is true, in France, a body of men called Peer.s, but
totally different from a true Aristocracy ; mere polit
ical jobbers, the creatures of an hour, enjoying neith
er the respect or the confidence of the people, and
totally incapable of sustaining the throne in ordinary
times, and in a crisis, an incumbrance, rather than
a support. All sound civilians agree in the opinion,
that a throne cannot be sustained without the sup
port of a real Aristocracy, the elite of the nation for
birth, talents and wealth. Of this truth Napoleon
himself, who seemed to rule by his own sword, and
the musquets of his soldiers, was convinced. "I
ought, said he, to have attached the emigrants on
their return ; I might easily have become an object
of adoration with the Aristocracy. An establishment
of that nature, was necessary for me. It is the real,
the only support of monarchy, its guide, its lever,
its point of resistance. Without it, the State is but
a vessel without a rudder, a real balloon in the air.
But the essence of Aristocracy, its talismanic charm,
consists in antiquity, in age; and those were the
only things I could not create. The intermediate
means were wanting."
If the clergy cannot be sustained for the want of
religion in the people, if a legislative Aristocracy

20
cannot be created for the want of the essential ele
ments,— anriquity— historical names and wealth, if
the monarch be destitute of that commanding genius,
which when armed with the execurive power, can
sometimes uphold an ill constructed fabric of Govern
ment, how long will the present constitution of
France endure ? The next arrival may bring us the
news of its overthrow. The latter days of this
month may give us another revolutionary anniversary
or it may happen on the 10th of August. That it
will happen before another year be completed — 1
have little doubt. The shape which a new govern
ment m?iy take is a question of much doubt. It may
be that Napoleon II will mount the throne. It may
be that the infant Duke of Bordeaux will restore the
lillies of the Bourbons. But the probability is that
a Republic with a constitution somewhat similar to
that of the United States will be established. I
have no hesitation in saying that such a government
would be preferable to the existing one ; but whether
such a government can be sustained in France is a
question of great doubt. If it be given into the
hands of philosophers and philanthropists they will
soon begin to dream of Utopia, and to torture their
inventions in framing metaphysical plans of constitu
tions, founded on the abstract theory of the perfecta-
bility of man. These are the men who would em
bark on the revolutionary ocean in a high pressure
steamer with corroded boilers.
If the government be placed in the hands of such,
the aggressions of the Jacobins perhaps under a new
name, but with the same principles, will be sure to
follow. They will set fire to the social edifice, and

21
while it is burning, the philosophers will be dis
cussing the nature of flame, and devising modes to
extinguish it without application of water ; during
their deliberations, the building will burn down, — and
sans-cuUottes will howl, and triumph, and dance and
rejoice among the warm ashes. Havoc, plunder and
murder will be incorporated as legitimate principles
in their code of government. The Goddess of Rea
son will ascend the new Jacobin throne. The
Churches will be closed.
Last scene of all which ends this strange eventful
history will be the man with the sword ! — But if the
government be entrusted to those who are better ac
quainted with man as he is, than with man in the ab
stract, who consider the human race, as human beings
with passions, affections, sympathies, and moral and in
tellectual qualities ; — not as mere machines, to which
the application of mechanical power will give a certain
and positive movement which shall always be equal
and exact, — who consider them as more or less influ
enced by usages, customs and circumstances and not
altogether by abstract theories ; if such rulers to this
practical knowledge should unite good intentions and
enlightened wisdom, and if some great change should
be effected in the religious character of the nation,
a Republic may be sustained even in France. But
it is a most fearful experiment. May God in his
mercy avert his wrath from this brave, intellectual,
vivacious, cultivated, polished and amiable people !
It was my intention to have treated the subject of
the commencing revolution in Great Britain, some
what at large ; for a revolution it is, or will be : but I
find myself constrained to keep within narrow limits.

22
I have already taxed your patience too severely, and
I must curtail my remarks, although, I think the
consequences of the British, will be more interesting
to the worid, than those of the French revolution.
The scheme of reform if it succeeds will certainly
unsettie the balance of the English Constitution.
The existing organization of the House of Commons
is as much a part of the system of government in
Great Britain, as the King, the House of Lords, the
Law Courts, or the Church. The derangement of
either may prove the derangement of all ; and the dis
franchisement of a borough may disturb the motion
of the whole machine. The security of vested rights,
once deemed so vital a part of the constitutional law
of England, will be impaired, and may be destroyed.
From time immemorial we have heard the rotten
borough system of Great Britain denounced as unjust,
and subversive of all free principles — yet a rotten
borough system is neither more or less, than an une
qual representation of the people.
Let us see how we the enlightened people of old
Massachusetts who have such a detestation to rotten
boroughs, apply our principles to our practices.
This very year, within three weeks the Legislature
of our State by the voice of a large majority have
taken the preliminary step to establish the rotten bo
rough system, in the representation of our venerable
Commonwealth, by giving to the people of Middle
sex, Worcester, Old Hampshire aud Berkshire with
a population less by nearly thirty thousand than the
remaining Counties a majority of thirteen in the House
of Representatives, and establishing as a constitution-
aLprmciple the right of the minority to legislate for

23
the majority. Depriving a part of the people also,
of a right, anterior to the Constitution itself ; the
right of being represented, because they happen to
reside in small towns. All this is done, not in sub
mission to any ancient usage, not for the purpose of
avoiding a greater evil, not in respect to prescriptive
privileges and vested rights ; but as an improvement
in our constitution ! Great Britain can defend the
system which she is about to abandon, with far more
forcible arguments than we can defend its assump
tion here.
In Great Britain the system of Parliamentary re
presentation originally, was not very unequal. The
inequality has been created by time, accident and un
controllable circumstances. The power of electing
members of the House of Commons was not consi
dered originally as a right or even a privilege, but a
burthen, and many petitions are now on the files of
Parliament, not only from boroughs, but from Coun
ties praying to be released from this political obliga
tion. But such is, or was, the chymical elasticity of
the British Constitution, that it transmuted an origi
nal burthen into a high privilege, and transformed an
imposition and hardship into a popular right.
The House of Commons, so far as England is con
cerned, became fixed on its present basis during the
reign of Charles II. On that basis it has remained
with little variation to the present day. About the
same period the nation became divided between the
two great parties of Whigs and Tories, The Whigs
being regarded as the advocates of liberal, and the
Tories of arbitrary principles. Yet their positions
have been frequently reversed. The Whigs in pow-

24
er have frequently practiced the most barefaced cor
ruption, and have been the unblushing advocates of
the most odious powers of the royal perogative, while
the Tories, out of power, have been the efficient de
fenders of popular rights and civil liberty.
The late dissolution, will throw into Pariiament
a decided majority of Whigs. The King sustains
them, and the popular feeling runs like a torrent in
their favour. Pariiamentary reform, is the question
on which the two parties divide. To this, the Whigs
are pledged ; and the Tories view it as a measure
which will ultimately subvert the constitution.
The argument on this question has been much
perplexed, by confounding the abstract rights of man
in a state of nature, with the social rights as regu
lated by the institutions of society. None have a
natural right to govern others : that right is a creature
of society : government and laws are creatures of
society, and restrictions on the natural rights of man.
Yet we are eternally discovering oppressions and in
justice in the social regulations, because they neces
sarily conflict with natural rights. The reformers
in England seem to be proceeding on the theory of
abstract rights, without regarding the obligations of
the social system ; and this, in my apprehension, was
the grand mistake of the revolutionists of France,
If under a particular social system, great abuses,
great oppression, great unhappiness, and great mis
ery, should fall upon the people, the remedy will be
found in the right of revolution. The only question
will be as to the degree of the evil, and the expedi
ency of forcible resistance. It is a serious affkir to
change the fundamental principles of the constitution
ol a nation.

26
There is however but little doubt, that the plan of
reform submitted to the last, will succeed in the
present Parliament. At this point of reform, the
Whigs will be disposed to stop. Having disfran
chised forty or fifty Tory boroughs, and added seve
ral new members to Whig counties and cities, their
predominance in the national councils will be se
cured, and the Tories, the old Church and King
party, as to political influence, will be annihilat
ed. Having effected all their party purposes, the
Whigs will be anxious to preserve the remaining in
stitutions, and will endeavour to prevent any further
alteration in the constitution of the Parliament,
But they will soon find amongst their munitions of
war, the materials of their own destruction. They
will find that they have nursed in their own ranks,
as a sort of inferior coadjutors, or rather as Helots,
to do their worst work, a party, who, like the mad
dened elephants, will trample on their keepers ; who
will spring into power, with all the hardihood, and
terrific energy of the French Jacobins ; who will
turn their policy upon them with dire success, and
conquer them with their own weapons.
"So the struck eagle stretched upon the plain.
No more through rolling clouds to soar again,
View'd his own feather on the fatal dart,
And winged the shaft that quivered in his heart :
Keen were his pangs, but keener far to feel,
He nursed the pinion which impelled the steel ;
While the same plumage that had warmed his nest,
Drank the last life drop of his bleeding breast."
When the right of suffrage shall be extended in
the manner proposed in the Reform Bill, the great
4

26

body of the people will be admitted to a P-^-P^^^
The Radicals of the Pariiament now so ^^^ ^^^
bers, and so contemptible in influence, w^^^^tben^be
comL the real Tribunes of the people. 1 he graaa
ions f property, once so regular as to ensure perfect
ecurity against internal convulsions, have become
fZZ abrupt. The nation is now divided into two
classes,'and two classes only-the -st alarming d-
vision that can exist-the division of rich and of poor,
and the poor outnumber the rich in the proportion ot a
hundred to one. This state of things presents many
advantages to those who are bent on complete reform.
And this argument can be used by the Radicals with
great plausibility. If natural rights are to supercede
the social compact, what disposition shall be made o
property. Property is as much a creature of social
regulation as a Borough. If you can take from A
his right of sufiVage, why not from B his manor or
his farm ? The social regulations are now working
a greater inequality in property, than in civil and po
litical privileges, creating monopolies, giving to the
few the means of luxurious enjoyment, entailing on
the many, want, ignorance, vice, and pauperism. —
The laws have protected individual property for the
common beiiefit of society. If the peace and happi
ness of society are not secured, let us reform, let us
equalize, let us fix a maximum. Hitherto much has
been gained for the Whigs, but nothing for the people.
The Reform shall go on, we will have our Parlia
ments annually chosen. We have the same power to
fix the time for which members of Parliaments shall
be chosen, as the numbers to be chosen. If we have
a right to alter the constitution of the House of Com-.

27
mons, we have an equal right to alter the constitution
of the Executive Department. Our Chief Magistrate
shall be elected, we will have no hereditary Legislator,
The idea that a man is born a Legislator is absurd.
The Teachers of Religion shall trust to Providence for
support, and not to tythes and sinecures. Shall the
Dignitaries of the Church be permitted to live in
Palaces and to revel in wealth and luxury, when the
Author of our religion had not where to lay his head ?
The people are sovereign, and they shall exercise
their sovereignty — they shall rule — and rule they will.
England will become a Republic — perhaps after a
civil war. I will not venture to predict the period of
its duration, or the time of its termination. There is
a God above,, and he is a God of mercy !
To use the words of Jefferson. " During these
throes and convulsions of the ancient world, durmg
the agonising spasms of infuriated man, seeking
through blood and slaughter his long lost liberties,
will it be surprising if the agitation of the billows
should reach even this distant and peaceful shore .?"
No, it will not be surprising. We shall view the strug
gles and changes of Europe with an intense and
burning anxiety. Every gale will waft to us, the
news of some new convulsion ; it is not in our nature
to view such struggles with indifference ; every feeling
of our hearts, will be in a state of continual excite
ment. It is against this sensibility that we ought to
guard. We have experienced enough of European
revolutions. We have gone too far in our predilec
tions and antipathies to foreign nations. Let the
parties there, fight their battles on their own ground,
and not disturb the tranquil firesides of America.

28
Our happiness is too precious to be thrown away.
Let our land be the asylum of the fugitives. Let
our arms, be always open to receive the wandermg
children of misfortune, of whatever tongue, of what
ever party. They will do us no harm. The son
of a King, is a Postmaster in Florida. A king who
has worn two crowns, is a peaceable citizen of New
Jersey. Let us keep out of this strife, let us min
gle in none of its feuds. We have nothing to do
with the balance of European power. If our rights
are assailed, let us seek our redress, "peaceably if
we can, forcibly if we must." If our honour is as
sailed, let us fight.
We are scarcely sensible of the happiness of our
condition. We are not made to feel the existence
of our national government by its exactions, or by
the array of force and arms ; it touches us with the
lightness of a feather. Some changes in office some
times happen, and we hear much of the spirit of re
form, but it is an impartial spirit to say the least ;
it visits friends as well as foes. The President and
the Vice President may quarrel, the integrity of the
unit may be destroyed, the fashionable society of
Washington may be thrown into a flutter by the fol-
Ues and vagaries of a female, the Secretaries may
abuse and challenge each other, the Seer of Penn
sylvania, may have a sort of Highland second sight of
assassins ; what then, no treason is commited,except-
ing treason against the English language, and the rules
of grammar. The nation goes on prosperously, hap
pily ; the quarrels of Presidents, Vice Presidents,
and Cabinets, cannot seriously affect the happiness
of twenty individuals ; they are scarcely worth a mo
ment's thought.

29
But there are subjects worthy of all our thoughts, —
our national interests.
Let us cultivate all our resources, let us spread
our canvass on every sea ; let us push our commer
cial enterprise to the ends of the earth, "saying to
the North, give up, and to the South, keep thou not
back ;" let us drag up riches from the depths of the
ocean, and turn even the polar ices into gold.
Let us protect our domestic industry ; let us guard
our own manufactures from foreign competition;'
from foreign animosity. That interest is vital, it
must be protected ; it would be a violation of nation
al honour, of public faith, to abandon the manufac
turers, after repeated and solemn pledges, that they
should be sustained, so far as protecting duties can
sustain them. If an administration, can be frighten
ed from their settled policy by threats of nullifica-
¦ tion, they are unworthy of the support of the people.
Let us hope better things.
Our destiny is in our own hands, — we may be the
mightiest, or we may be the meanest nation, that
ever existed.
The swelling tide of our population is covering
every Prairie of the West, every green hill of the
North ; it will flow from ocean to ocean. Then let
us give the wings to enterprise, and essay the con
quest of time and space. Canal boats shall ascend
summit levels, on mountains ; and our people, and
our productions, shall be borne along our stupendous
railways, with a speed that shall literally outstrip the
winds. Away with that sullen jealousy, that scowling en
vy, with which we too often regard the sons of ge-

30
nius, the men of talent ; let us cherish them, as we
would cherish the vital blood of our bosoms ; for
through them we may win the meed of fame, in eve
ry department of human knowledge, and place the
monuments of our glory, on rocks of Adamant,
Above all, let us reject all foreign interference.
If wars should disturb and desolate Europe again,
if France and Great Britain, should engage in another
contest for superiority, let our position be neutral ;
not the neutrality of feebleness, but of strength. —
Not the neutrality which would crouch to both, and
permit the flags of both to insult our sovereignty,
but that neutrality which is conscious of the power
to defend itself. Which while rejecting with equal
indignation the cross of St. George, and the tri-color
of France, would raise the stars and stripes aloft, the
banner of Liberty ; like the Labarum of Constantino,
bearing upon its ample folds, these immortal words,
emblazoned in characters of living light, "by this
sign thou shalt conquer."

NOTES

A.
The author knows that there are some who have no desire
to understand his real opinions ; but if impressions unfavoura
ble to him can be produced, they are willing to seize upon in
sulated expressions — detach them from their connexion, and
pervert their meaning.
Knowing this, he is not surprised to learn that he has been
denounced as an enemy to the principle of equality in popular
representation. He meets this denunciation by referring to his course in the
Legislature of Massachusetts, during the last three years.
Although in a minority, he sustained, as well as he was able,
the principle of equal representation, because he considered
that, as one of those original principles for whose security the
Constitution itself was founded ; and that a departure from an
ancient usage, which was right in theory also, for the purposes
of convenience only, could not be defended on the ground of
expediency or justice.
He has expressed doubts as to the expediency of the pro
jected reform in the Constitution of the British House of Com
mons. His doubts remain.
He has said that this plan of reform is a departure from fun
damental principles, and will be followed by further innovations
which may lead to an entire subversion of the British Consti
tution. He repeats it.
Yet these admissions do not justify even a presumption that
he is favorable to an unequal representation, either in theory
or practice.

32
He thinks that a statesman must be deluded, if he supposes
the same principles and forms of government to be equally ap
plicable to all nations. If he supposes that a ^J"^^^^^^
Government can be sustained in Russia, o^^l^l^llIZ
had been serfs and slaves, he is m as great an error as one
who thinks that a King and House of Lords can be introduced
into the Government of the United States.
Therefore, in discussing principlesof government, the ques
tion is not whether a particular form is the most perfect m the
abstract, but whether that is the form best adapted to secure
the happiness of the people upon whom it is to be imposed.
The Catholic disabilities, the beer tax, and the income tax,
in time of peace, were evils which, perhaps, would justify the
complaints of the people of Great Britain. These evils are re
moved or greatly palliated ; and if any remam, arising from
the legislation of Parliament, and not from the Constitution
itself, the proof that they are a consequence of Borough repre
sentation is not made out : therefore, the Borough representa
tion is to be considered, as yet, an abstract and theoretical,
and not a practical evil. There is not even an apparent ne
cessity to justify an experiment so hazardous as disfranchise
ment. The origin of the British House of Commons defies the re
searches of the historian. Some look to the Heptarchy, — and
some to the reigns of the early Norman Kings. It has existed
time out of mind. The number of the members, and the dur
ation of the Parliaments, depended, originally, on the pleasure
of the King. His writs were issued to Counties, Cities, and
Boroughs: Boroughs were sometimes overlooked. It was not
until the reign of James I, that the Universities became incor
porated in the general system of representation. Charles I.
consented to a law by which the dissolution of Parliament was
made to depend on themselves ; and the Parliament continued
to sit until they were expelled by the bayonets of Cromwell's
soldiers, — Cromwell himself, being commanded by the Lord
to perform the great work of subverting the Constitution of
England. Previous to the Restoration, seventy-two boroughs had been
disfranchised ; " that was to say, the crown had ceased to sum
mon them, at the general elections, to return Burgesses to the

33
House of Commons." After the' Restoration, thirty-six pe
titioned Parliament to be restored to their ancient privilege ;
this was done : theTother thirty-six made no application, and
lost the right. "The obligation to elect Burgesses had been
previously deemed a burthen, and not a privilege. At this
period, the Constitution of the House of Commons, with re
spect-to representation, became permanent ; and has existed
in the same^shape, (with slight variations) to the present day.
This pHvilege became valuable : its value has been constantly
augmenting ; and the price of real estate, wherever the privi
lege exists, has been greatly increased. Most of the great
men,^who have'*risen to eminence in Parliament, during the
last century, have made their way to distinction, through the
Boroughs. In 1783, Mr. Pitt introduced a plan of Reform into Parlia
ment, which proposed an addition of one hundred members to
the County Representation, but not any disfranchisement of
the Boroughs.
In 1786, then being Prime Minister, he renewed the at
tempt in another shape ; proposing to add seventy-two to the
number of the County members, and to disfranchise thirty-six
Boroughs by their own consent, on their own application, and
for a remuneration in money to be paid from a fund to be cre
ated for that purpose. He also proposed'that every Borough
should be disfranchised if it could be proved that a majority of
its voters had been bribed, the honest voters being permitted
to vote in the County on their Borough qualification.
William Pitt, bold as he was, and able as he was, in the
plenitude of his power, had not the hardihood to propose the
disfranchisement of a Borough, without consent and remuner
ation ; unless as a penalty for bribery and corruption. He
saw the danger of unsettling the foundation of property and
civil privileges, which had been secured by the laws and prac
tises of England.
A system of government may be simplified in explanation,
by comparison with another, of a similar character, with which
we are familiar.
In Rhode-Island, a system of representation was established
about the same period in which the English system became
permanent ; — a system originally equal ; but now, from time,
5

34
circumstances, and accident, unequal,— a system presenting
some analogies to the English Borough system ; for instance :
Newport, with less than half the population of Providence,
has, six Representatives. Providence only four ; Portsmouth,
has four ; and many other Towns with a population double and
triple, have only two. Jamestown with a population less than
five hundred, has two, and several towns, whose numbers are
but little less than five thousand have no more.
If a constitution was now to be established in Rhode Island,
for the first time, the present basis of representation would be
rejected, and that of population adopted.
But if the existing constitution has been equal to the exigen
cies of the State, — if 'i civil and religious liberty and property
have been well secured, — if justice has been well administered,
if the general welfare and happiness of the people have been
promoted, why should the Rhode Islanders change that con
stitution, and put so much positive good in hazard, to attain a
theoretic equality ? If it be answered, that the inequality of
the representation of Newport and Providence shews the in
justice of the system and is a sufiicient argument to justify a
change, it might be said with propriety that an argument drawn
from the condition of these towns carries its own refutation ;
for Newport has advanced but little for a century, and Provi
dence is one of the most thriving towns in New-England.
Whenever the people of Providence shall feel the evils of bad
government by an invasion of their rights and privileges, and
shall be able to trace su«h evils to an unequal representation,
then they would have an unquestionable justification for seek
ing a change.
The following are the views in brief, which the author takes
of this question.
There is no precise and exact model from which constitu
tions can be fashioned.
All constitutions must be framed with a view to the habits,
usages, course of education, degree of knowledge, circumstan
ces, sympathies and connexions of the people over whom they
are to be established, and these not being the same in any
two nations, a constitution well adapted to the one, would be
impracticable in the other. Even in this union there are no
two states with similar constitutions. Rhode Island would be

35
uneasy under the constitution of Massachusetts, and Mas
sachusetts under that of Rhode Island ; neither, would endure
the constitutions of Virginia, South Carolina, or Tennessee, nor
would those States endure theirs.
Equality of representation is to be preferred in the abstract,
and always where it has been the usage.
Amongst a people, who have thriven, and have been well
protected in their civil, religious, and personal rights under a
particular form of government, an attempt to obtain another,
even if it be in theory more perfect, is dangerous, and particu
larly so in Great-Britain because the constitution of that na
tion, existing altogether by prescription, the Parliament being
sovereign, and the boundaries of power not defined, in an in
strument of Government, if changed in an essential part, the
whole fabric of the government would be endangered : this
partial change would supply the authority of precedent to justify
entire change, and further innovations would be rendered com
paratively easy. The evils arising under the British Constitu
tion are not so great, as to justify a change so great. If under
the existing constitution great and intolerable evils should have
sprung up, productive of tyranny and oppression and render
ing person and property insecure, then the right of complete
revolution would follow, and there is a well grounded appre
hension that this innovation will produce that state of things
which would justify a revolution, by rendering property inse
cure at first, and then civil liberty : neither does it secure its
professed object, it enables a party, not the people, to secure
for a time at least, the enjoyment of political pow-er ; privileges
which the people were told were usurped from them, are not
restored. The Duke of Devonshire saves his five close Bo
roughs, and Lord Fitzwilliam four out of his five : the influence
of the Aristocracy is not curtailed, it is strengthened (tempora
rily at least) by destroying the antagonist power : it is trans
ferred from Tory Lords and weaUhy Commoners, to the Lords
and wealthly Commoners of the Whigs, but in so doing, the
" standing place" to Archimides has been supplied, and when
the Radical lever begins to shake the Whig Temple, the Whigs
may call upon the Tories for help, but they will find that Samp
son is bound and shorn of his locks.

36

B.
The author is aware that a single word in excuse of Charles
X. will not be received very graciously, at the present moment,
in America. But there were no special prejudices against him
here until he was dethroned : since then, he seeitis to have
been pursued by the hue and cry of the whole world. Even
the English press, — which once was disposed to treat all un
fortunate strangers, who sought an asylum in England, with
decent respect, and exhibited some commisseration and sym
pathy for misfortune, — has permitted itself to be made the me
dium of malicious jeers, and pitiful ribaldry upon this unfortu
nate and aged King and his family, and it even seemed to
display a savage exultation at the prospect of his arrest for
debt ! Are the common sympathies of human nature to be de
nied to fallen royalty ? Whatever his faults may have been,
this sorrow-stricken king was true to his friends and grateful
to those who had rendered him services. He had the enter
prise to undertake and bring to a successful termination the
expedition against Algiers, and the whole Christian world owe
him some gratitude for suppressing a nation of pirates, who
plundered the commerce of the universal world and inflicted the
most cruel slavery upon their christian prisoners. He was an
early friend of America. He was the brother of Louis XVI,
and the tenant of his throne is the son of Philip Egalite !
He trusts that it will not be placed to the score of aristocratic
propensities, if he, as an American, should feel and express
some sympathy in the fate of the Dutchess of Angouleme,
the only surviving offspring of Louis XVI, and Marie Antoi
nette, the benefactors of America. If he should lament the
unparalleled misfortunes of a female, who may well be denomi
nated "the child of misery" — whose face has never worn a
smile, and whose heart has been a perennial fountain of grief ;
who in her infancy shared the horrible imprisonment of her pa
rents ; who saw them dragged by ruffian hands to the Guillo
tine, and heard the savage yells/)f joy, which announced the
completion of that bloody catastrophe, which madq her an or-

37
phan ; who saw a double murder perpetrated upon her only
and infant brother, the murder of mind, and of body, under
circumstances of cruelty, till then unknown, and appalling to
think of; whose youth was spent among strangers, far from
the land of her birth, in wretched exile ; who had scarcely
tasted of prosperity, when she was driven from her country,
and after another restoration, to fill the cup of her sorrow to
overflowing, she is compelled to endure another exile, and
again to wander through the world, on another pilgrimage of
woe. The daughter of a mighty monarch, — the wife of the
heis apparent, of a mighty monarchy, — the grand-daughter of
the most illustrious woman of her age, — it would have seemed,
that the path of her destiny, would have led her through "the
pleasant places," yet the hand of a sinister fate, has pressed
heavily and steadily upon her, almost from her birth ; the
crown seems to fly from a head, which like that of Margaret
of Anjou, seems destined to bend beneath the weight of eter
nal disasters. Her high and heroic qualities, e.xtorted the ad
miration of Napoleon himself; — and yet the last and only
hope which consoles the desolation of her heart, is in that
quiet place, "where the wicked cease from troubling, and the
weary are at rest."
The author admits that Charles X, and his ministers, had
no perception of the actual state of aifairs in the city of Paris,
at the time of the Revolution : — that they should have re
mained in complete ignorance of a wide spread conspiracy to
effect their overthrow, whenever a decent pretext should be
found, indicates a miserable lack of sagacity. He who sup
poses the Revolution to have been the effect of a spontaneous
ebullition of popular feeling, has but little knowledge of the
mode of producing Revolutions in Paris. He who supposes
that the bankers La Fitte and Casimir Perrier, could have
placed themselves at the head of this Revolution, and filled
in succession the places of prime ministers, solely on the ground
of eminent talents, and exalted patriotism, must think meanly
of the wisdom and sagacity of Frenchmen.

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