The Present Government.

Parties for overturning the present Constitution, and for setting up something in its Stead, for which we have not yet a Name.

1st. The Idle and Dissolute among the common People are for throwing the present System into Anarchy and Confusion. They have ardently wished these many Years, for some Kind of levelling Scheme whereby they might enrich themselves at the Cost of their Masters, and rob and plunder with Impunity. If Mr. Wilkes, or any other modern Patriot can lead them into this Path of Glory, they will joyfully follow such a Leader, and become his devoted Fellow-Labourers, in the same good Work; but if not, they will forsake him with as little Ceremony as they have done some others, and look out for a new Leader.

2dly. That Species among the Whigs which is properly Republican, is violently for a Change of Government, suitable to such Principles; and these Men are now become of some Consequence, not so much on the Score of their Numbers, as on Account of their enthusiastic Zeal, and of their breaking through every Tye of Honour, Honesty, and Conscience, for accomplishing such Designs. Moreover, as they put on every Disguise; as they forge, lye, falsify; as they use the Word Liberty merely as a Blind to conceal the Batteries they are erecting against it; and as they pretend to support and uphold the Constitution, at the very Instant they are planning a Scheme to destroy it; their Designs are so much the more dangerous by appearing to fight under the same Banner with ourselves; and the Wounds they give, are the more difficult of Cure, because they stab and assassinate under the Mask of Friendship, and therefore take their Aim the better, and strike the deeper. In the former Plots and Conspiracies of the Jacobites, their Aim and Intent were to dethrone the reigning Family, and to replace another: The present Views of the Republicans, which they are incessantly pursuing by various Means, and almost contradictory Measures, are, to have no Throne at all. Hence, by a Comparison of the two Crimes, the Reader must judge, which is the greatest, and the most repugnant to the English Constitution.

3dly. The Advocates for making North-America independent of the British Parliament must, if consistent with themselves, be for turning the British Constitution into something very different from what it is at present, or ever was; for the very Plea these Men use in regard to North-America is, that Representation and Legislation (a very small Part of which is the Power of raising Taxes) must always go together; therefore as nineteen Parts in twenty of the People of England, and upwards of ninety-nine Parts in an Hundred of the People of Scotland, are not qualified to be Voters, nor ever were, be their Property ever so great, that is (according to this new-fashioned Doctrine) are not represented in Parliament; it must inevitably follow, that a vast Majority of the Inhabitants of Great-Britain, as well as British America, have a right to renounce their Allegiance to the present Government as soon as they please, and to set up for Independence. For in Fact, according to the dangerous Principles now openly avowed, all this Multitude of Non-Electors owe no Subjection to that Legislature, and to those Powers, in the Choice or Continuance of which they were not consulted. They ought not to be compelled to obey any Laws, which were made without their Consent, or Privity; and more especially where they have no Representation, they ought not to be subject to any Taxation.—So that being thus happily set free from all Coercion of Government, all Restraints of Law, and Burden of Taxes; and having learnt at last to assert those inherent and unalienable Rights, which have been so long usurped, they are now restored to a State of the most perfect Freedom, and may either chuse another Form of Government, according to their own Fancy; or else live, as they can, without any Government at all. A blessed Specimen this of patriotic Liberty! A most comprehensive Bill of Rights! sure of overturning, if carried into Execution, every Government, that either ever was, or ever can be, proposed to the World.

4thly. The honourable Society of the Outs will go as great Lengths to throw Things into Confusion as any Set of Men whatever; for as these Persons have no other End in View than to get into Power, and to share the Emoluments of the State among themselves and their Dependents, they will stick at no Measure, however unjust and unconstitutional, to compass this End: Nay, they will unsay the Things which they themselves had said in Administration; they will blame those very Measures which they themselves had planned and recommended; and, in short, they will do any Thing, and every Thing, to raise the evil Spirit of Discord and Dissention, to bring themselves in.

Lastly. The Inconstant and Disappointed, those who love to fish in troubled Waters, and those who, having spent their Fortunes, have nothing to lose, but may have a Chance to share in the Property of other Men by a general Scramble; also the Desperate and Daring of every Denomination; all these wish for some speedy Change in the Constitution.

Parties for preserving the present Constitution, and for keeping every Thing in a quiet and peaceable Condition.

1st. The greatest Part of the Nobility and Gentry of the Kingdom; that is, almost all those who have the greatest Property at Stake, and have the most to lose.

2dly. A vast Majority of the richest Merchants, and principal Traders and Manufacturers throughout the Kingdom, are the warm Friends of Government: The Exceptions on this Head are few, and very inconsiderable.

3dly. The Clergy of the established Church are zealously attached to the present happy Constitution, wishing to preserve, and to promote Peace on Earth, and Good-Will among Men: And in respect to the dissenting Clergy, the most eminent and respectable (tho’ it is to be feared, not the most numerous) act in the same laudable Manner, and endeavour to make their People truly sensible of the many Blessings they enjoy under the Reign of his present Majesty.

4thly. The Proprietors and Stock-Holders in the public Funds will undoubtedly range on the Side of Government; because they can get nothing, but must necessarily lose by the Convulsions of the State, and by the Overthrow of that Constitution, the Preservation of which is their greatest Security.

5thly. The whole Body of the learned Profession in the Law (Men who have acquired their Knowledge of the Constitution from Authors of a Cast very different from bawling, disappointed Patriots, or hungry Pamphleteers;—these Men, I say) in general agree, that each Member of the House of Commons, tho’ elected by one particular County, City, or Borough, doth not represent that particular County, City, or Borough, in any exclusive Sense; for he represents the whole Commons of the Realm, one Part, and one Individual as well as another. A Member chosen by the County of Middlesex is not chosen for Middlesex exclusively, but for all the Subjects of the British Empire; each of whom hath as constitutional a Right to his Services, and may be as much affected by his particular Conduct, and therefore has as much Right to instruct him, as any Freeholder in the County of Middlesex: And he, on his Part, is bound by his Office to omit the smaller Interest of the County of Middlesex, or of the Middlesex Electors, when standing in Competition with the greater Interests of his Fellow Subjects in America, or other Places:—So that in short, tho’ some few only, perhaps not a fortieth Part, of the Inhabitants of the whole Island, have legal Votes for Representatives, all in general, both within the Island, and without it, are virtually represented. That this is Fact and Law, that this ever was the Constitution of the British Empire, from the earliest Times down to the present Day, is such an apparent Truth, that it cannot be denied. Therefore in this Sense it is true, and in no other, that every Member of the common Wealth is supposed to give his previous Consent to the making of those Laws, which he is afterwards bound to obey, and to the imposing of those Taxes which he is obliged to pay. Indeed upon this Footing (viz. of virtual Representation in some Cases, and of actual Election in others) a free and well-poised Government can stand, and be supported; but it can be supported on no other:—Nay, the Government of the Massachusets-Bay itself, whenever this Colony shall become independent of the Mother-Country, must then, as well as now, be supported on this very Principle; that is to say, on the very Principle against which they so loudly clamour. And besides all this, the very same Reasons, which induce the non-represented Subjects in England to submit quietly and peaceably to the Payment of those Taxes, to which they have not given their Consent by actual Representation, ought to induce the Americans to acquiesce also; because, if the American Trade is so valuable, as reported, a British Parliament cannot injure this Trade by any Mode of Taxation, without injuring the Merchants, the Manufacturers, and the Traders in general of Great-Britain; and thereby sinking the Profits of their own Estates, and the Rents of their own Lands and Houses.

6thly. The whole legislative Power of the Kingdom will certainly support their own Authority, and not commit Felo de se to please their Enemies. They will not, they never can admit the Parliaments of North-America to be independent of them, or co-ordinate with themselves in the same State or Empire.

7thly. The whole executive Power of the Kingdom is at present in the Hands of his Majesty, and of those who act in his Name, and by his Authority. There the Constitution has placed it, and in no other Hands; nor is there the least Probability that mobbing, huzzaing, furious Speeches, and inflammatory Libels, without Arms, Artillery, or Ammunition, and without a Treasury, will be able to wrest the executive Power out of the Hands of those who constitutionally enjoy it.

And now upon this General Review and Muster of the Forces on the Malcontent, as well as the Government Side, let every one consider well within himself, what he ought to do at the present Crisis, as a constitutional Patriot, an honest Englishman, a loyal Subject, and a prudent Man.

THE END.

ERRATA.

P. 19. l. 10.for Cacus read Polyphemus.
P. 62. l. 17.after Labour add and.
P. 62. l. 19.dele and.
P. 65. l. 8.before Sailors add and.
P. 72. l. 21.after Produce add of the Excise.

Lately published by the same Author,

TRACTS Political and Commercial.

1. A Solution of the important Question, whether a poor Country, where raw Materials and Provisions are cheap, and Wages low, can supplant the Trade of a rich manufacturing Country, where raw Materials and Provisions are dear, and the Price of Labour high.

2. The Case of going to War for the Sake of Trade considered in a new Light.

3. A Letter from a Merchant in London to his Nephew in America, concerning the late and present Disturbances in the Colonies.

4. The true Interest of Great-Britain set forth in regard to the Colonies; and the only Means of living in Peace and Harmony with them.

5. The respective Pleas and Arguments of the Mother Country and of the Colonies distinctly set forth; and the Impossibility of a Compromise of Differences, or a mutual Concession of Rights plainly demonstrated; with a prefatory Epistle to the Plenipotentiaries of the Congress.

Printed for Rivington, Cadel, and Walter.

TRACTS Polemical and Theological.

1. An Apology for the Church of England, as by Law established, occasioned by a Petition to Parliament for abolishing Subscriptions.

2. Two Letters to the Rev. Dr. Kippis: Letter 1st. Concerning the Extent of the Claim of the Church of England to regulate the external Behaviour of her own Members; and also to influence their internal Judgments in Controversies of Faith: Letter 2d. Wherein the Question is discussed, whether the English Reformers in the Reign of Edward VI. intended to establish the Doctrines of Predestination, Redemption, Grace, Justification, and Perseverance, in the Calvinistical Sense, as the Doctrines of the Church of England.

3. Religious Intolerance no Part of the General Plan either of the Mosaic or Christian Dispensation.

4. A brief and dispassionate View of the Difficulties respectively attending the Trinitarian, Arian, and Socinian Systems.

To be published in the Course of the ensuing Winter.

A Volume of select Sermons on interesting and important Subjects.

All by the same Author.

Footnotes:

[1] In the Year of the Rebellion 1745, and for many Years afterwards, the London Evening Post (now a republican) was then a flaming Jacobite Paper: During which Period the Author of these Tracts had frequently the Honour of being abused by him, under the Character of a low-church, fanatical, Oliverian Whig. Once in particular (above 20 Years ago) he was complimented in the high-flown Strain of Josiah ben Tucker ben Judas Iscariot. The Times are now greatly altered; and so is the Tone of the Abuse. But the Author is perfectly resigned to these Vicissitudes of human Affairs: And he has no other Favour to ask of this, and of all his Brother-Scribblers, whether weekly or monthly, in Sheets, or in Pamphlets, than that they would never praise him, because that, and that only, he should look upon to be a real Disgrace. But it is not the London Evening Post alone, who from a violent Jacobite has commenced a fierce Republican. Many like Instances may be recollected. And indeed the Transition is natural enough; for if a Man can be so absurd as to think that there is an indefeasible Right in any one Family, when that Family becomes extinct, he turns a Republican.

[2] The late Dr. Butler, Bishop of Bristol, and afterwards of Durham had a singular Notion respecting large Communities and public Bodies;—a Notion which perhaps is not altogether unapplicable to the present Case. His Custom was, when at Bristol, to walk for Hours in his Garden in the darkest Night, which the Time of the Year could afford; and I had frequently the Honour to attend him. After walking some Time, he would stop suddenly, and ask the Question, “What Security is there against the Insanity of Individuals? The Physicians know of none: And as to Divines, we have no Data either from Scripture, or Reason to go upon relative to this Affair.”—True, my Lord, no Man has a Lease of his Understanding, any more than of his Life. They are both in the Hands of the Sovereign Disposer of all Things. He would then take another Turn, and again stop short. “Why might not whole Communities and public Bodies be seized with Fits of Insanity, as well as Individuals?” My Lord, I have never considered the Case, and can give no Opinion concerning it. “Nothing but this Principle, that they are liable to Insanity, equally at least with private Persons, can account for the major Part of those Transactions, which we read in History.” I thought little of this odd Conceit of the Bishop’s at that Juncture: But I own I could not avoid thinking of it a great deal since, and applying it to many Cases.

[3] See, for a Proof of this Fact, First, A Message from the General Assembly of Massachusetts Bay to Governor Shirley, 4th of January, 1754. Secondly, A Message from the Council and House of Representatives of ditto to ditto. Thirdly, An Address from the Council of Representatives of ditto to ditto. Forthly, An Address of the Assembly of Virginia to the King. Fifthly, A Representation of the Commissioners met at Albany. And Sixthly, Extracts from the Proceedings of the Congress at Albany, all in the Year 1754. And all of them antecedent to the Arrival of the two Regiments under General Braddock. I would here recommend the Perusal of The Controversy between Great Britain and her Colonies, printed for Almon, to those who wish for a fuller Information on these interesting Points; particularly from Page 107 to 136.

[4] Were it not for the British Fleets, and for the Fortresses of Gibraltar and Port-Mahon,—and in short for the general Terror of the British Name, all the piratical States of Barbary would immediately seize on American Ships, when carrying Fish, or Rice, or any other American Produce South of Cape Finistere, as their lawful Prey. And yet America doth not pay a single Shilling towards the Support of our Fleets, or the Maintenance of our Forts and Garrisons in any Part of the World.

[5] See the Resolutions of the grand Continental Congress, in Opposition to the reconciliatory Proposal of Parliament for permitting each Province to tax itself, according to its own Mode. In these Resolutions they expressly declare, that they will be the sole Judges, not only of the Mode of raising, but also of the Sum or Quantum to be raised, and of the Application of it: And that the Parliament of Great-Britain hath no Right to decide as to either of these Points.

[6] The Princes of the House of Stuart took it into their Heads to believe, that all Colonies were their private Patrimony; in respect of which the Parliament had no Right to intermeddle. This Notion, so long ago justly exploded, is now revived, (strange to tell!) even by modern Patriots, and American Republicans: For they are the People at present, and not the King’s Ministers, who propose to exalt the Prerogatives of the Crown to the Subversion of the Rights, Privileges, and Liberties of the British Parliament, and the British Nation. Indeed so far, it must be owned, is Fact,—that as the Princes of that House had the first modelling of the Colonies, they introduced a Practice, (still most absurdly retained tho’ without any Power to enforce it) of bringing all Appeals before themselves and their Privy Councils, instead of before the Court of King’s-Bench or the House of Lords; which is the only regular and constitutional Mode of appealing, and the only one now observed in Appeals from Ireland. However, notwithstanding this Impropriety, as the King can send no armed Forces to America, without Consent of Parliament first had for their Maintenance, and afterwards for authorizing the Use of military Law, and military Discipline among them, it may be justly averred, that the King doth in no other exclusive Sense govern America, than as the sole executive Power, which is to enforce and put in Motion the Laws and Decrees of the supreme Legislature of Great-Britain. See a very candid and impartial Account of this Matter in a Book entituled, “Remarks on the principal Acts of the 13th Parliament of Great-Britain,” from Page 38 to 45.

[7] See De Lolme’s Constitution of England, the Note of Page 52. The whole is a most excellent Treatise, and worthy the Perusal of all those Englishmen, who wish to understand, and to set a just Value on the distinguishing Excellencies of the English Constitution,—a Constitution, as he justly observes, the only one in its Kind, ponderibus librata suis.

[8] See his Speech, March 22, 1775, second Edition Octavo.

[9] Queen Elizabeth sometimes raised this Duty to 20 and 25 per Cent. by Orders and Warrants issued from her Privy Council; that is, by her own sole and absolute Authority. Yet she was good Queen Bess: And her Days were golden Days. See also the shocking Number of Monopolies granted in her Reign, set forth at large in Townshend’s Collection; or in Sir Simon d’Ewe’s Journal of Parliament. See more particularly the Debates which past in the 43d Year of her Reign, after a Struggle of upwards of 20 Years for abolishing these Monopolies.

[10] A few shallow, half-sighted Politicians have objected to the Trade with Russia, because the Balance, according to their narrow Ideas, is visibly against us. But what Balance do they mean?—Not the Balance of Industry, for that is plainly in our Favour; or, in other Words, we export more manufactured Goods to Russia, than we receive from it. And as to the Balance of Money, they ought to have known, that it is much more beneficial to an industrious, commercial Country to import Raw-Materials (if it wants them) than to import Gold and Silver; because there cannot be so many Hands employed in the manufacturing of these Metals, as in the working up of Timber, Iron, Hemp, Flax, &c. &c. to their respective Uses. It is amazing, how little these self-evident Principles have been understood, or at least attended to by commercial Writers of some Note and Character, and particularly by Josiah Gee; according to whose Doctrine of the Balance of Trade, this Nation hath not been worth a single Shilling for almost these 100 Years.

[11] I am told, that this Deficiency of the Excise this Year, on Liquors imported into the Out-Ports, is owing to a new Species of Smuggling lately put in Practice, whereby the Revenue is grossly defrauded. If so, the Balance would have been still greater, had all the Duties on Rum, and other Liquors imported into the Out-Ports, been justly and fairly paid; or at least paid as fairly and justly as usual.

Transcriber’s Note:
The original text includes two blank spaces in the second paragraph on page 24. These blank spaces have been retained.
Text corrected by the transcriber is underlined in gray. Hover the cursor over the underlined text and the nature of the correction will appear. Other than the corrections so indicated, inconsistencies in spelling, punctuation, and hyphenation have been retained.