all the other confiderable Hiftorians of that Time, agree upon it, and remark the Aftonishment of the whole Nation, when the King took the Field, and the Battle of Edge-hill was fought; that they began forely to repent, but it was then too late, and they were obliged to go on:-Now if a King of England at that Time, who had ftrained Prerogative fo high, who had manifeftly declared his Pretenfions to abfolute Power, who had galled both the Poor and Rich, and had ruled with a Rod of Iron, could have stood his ground fo well, and during that Contest frequently brought his Antagonist to the Brink of Ruin, and his People to the Verge of an irredeemable Bondage, what Man can think fo bafely of his Countrymen in this Age, as to imagine, that a Prince would now find no Friends, who has strictly made the Laws of this Land the fole Rule of his Government from the Beginning of his Reign; under whom no one Instance of illegal Conduct can be alledged, and against whom nothing was pretended to be urged, but the having upheld too long a Minifter, who was odious, (whether juftly or unjustly, no matter which,) to his Country; when even this had been done in a legal Way, nay when that Minifter had been actually removed at the preffing Inftances of the People, and before the Majority of either Houfe of Parliament had pronounced him guilty of any Crime: This Opinion therefore is very weak, and weaker ftill when we compare that Time with this. There was then no Pretender to the Throne, from whom a Change of Religion, and a Confifcation of Eftates might be expected, which Fears would operate upon many now, and cannot fail to tye a mighty Number steady to this Family; that Prince had no Revenues, and he had no Army; the prefent Prince has both: And though he neither could nor would employ either to enslave his People, he undoubtedly would and could exert them in his own juft Defence, and in that of the Conftitution of his Kingdoms; and he would be warranted before God and Man to do it :-But would any Man of Senfe, any Man who fincerely loved his Country, defire to drive things to this Extremity?-It is vain to flatter and cheat the People with an affected Tender, nefs for Liberty, when they prefs fo furiously to put it upon fuch an Iffue:-It needs no Solomon to pass a Judgment to which of the two Parents this Child belongs.

In truth there was no Poffibility for an honest Man in his right Senses to act any longer with this Party, when it was notorious by their Conduct, and by their Declarations in their Meetings to fupport what they called the Broad-Bottom, that their Contest was not only fo in Fact, but avowed to be for private Profit and Employments. When in that Conjuncture, all the

Cry

Cry against thofe, who were firft taken in, was grounded fingly upon the Non-admiffion of all the Tories, and others of known worfe Principles; had it been either wife or honeft to have stopt that Settlement of our Affairs fo infinitely neceflary to prevent Ruin Abroad and Confufion at Home, for the fake of any private Men whatever, and much more for the fake of Men of fuch a Character? It had been already done in fome Degree; it was earnestly wifhed to have done it farther; It might have been prudent in fuch a Time, to have gratified even the private and corrupt Views of fome for the Publick Tranquillity; and it would have been done, if the publick Safety could have fuffered it; in proportion as the Moderation of Particulars could have allowed: But the Violence of the Faction put it beyond Difcretion, and out of the Power of Government to do it. Their Conduct fully confirmed all former Sufpicions; the Demand was too general to be complied with; the Execution expected too fuddenly; the Nature of it too difguftful to dispose the Heart of any generous Man to yield. There is a Degree of private Intereft, which may, which must be allowed to human Nature. It is not Honefty but Folly to decline any Advantages, which are not procured by any Sacrifice of Principle, or any other unworthy Means; but when it appears barefaced and impudent, when it is regardless of all ill Confequences, when it attempts to ravifh and over-power all juft Authority, it then becomes deteftable, dangerous and must be crushed at all Events; was it not enough that the Minifter had been borne down by the People? that every Day produced new Changes in Favour of the new Adminiftration? Muft the Government, the Privy-Council, all Employments in the State be canton'd out ad arbitrium populi, nay by a private Cabal, or at the TavernMeetings of a direct Faction? What would the rational World think of this Conftitution, if the Laws of this Country put this Power into the Hands of the People; but how much more monftrous, if it fhould, or could be fuffered to be done at their Caprice, without any Law at all, and by their own arbitrary Will?

When a Combination visibly appeared, to exclude all Men from a Re-election into Parliament, who accepted of Employments; when the most expensive Oppofitions were created by all the worst and most corrupt Means to turn fuch Elections against the Perfons who accepted; how was it poffible for the new Adminiftration any longer to purfue their View of bringing in their Friends, much less of making that Rout among the Placemen of the old Party, which was fo vainly and abfurdly infifted upon?---When it was now on a fudden become the wild Doctrine of the People, to let no Placemen at all into Parliament;

and

and when the Doctrine of the Faction was, that none fhould be fuffered to come in but by their Confent and Approbation; was not the Abfurdity of the first a thing, that rendered it impoffible; the Conduct of the other, of fuch a Tendency, as no Government can or ought to bear; prepoiterous beyond the Power of Words to exprefs it, inconfiftent with the Conftitution, fubverfive of all Order in the State, and productive cf fuch Confequences, as must have encouraged Faction to a Degree, that would not allow one Hour's Peace in future Time to this Country.

With Regard to the Popular Laws, the Leaders of the Oppofition fincerely wifhed many Things amended in our Conftitution; they had begun by a Place Bill, by the Alteration in the Mutiny Bill, with Regard to the Billetting of Soldiers in the City and Liberty of Westminster, have fince proceeded by a Law for regulating the Scotch Elections, and by the Abolition of the Pot Act, which being under the Regulations of the Excife, and fettled at the arbitrary Eftimation of that Commiffion, was a heavy Oppreffion, and great Inftrument of Influence through the whole Capital; and they still do honeftly mean, as fast as they can, to rectify all other Matters of juft Uneafinefs.-But was it poffible, as Things were circumftanced, or would it be prudent, in any Time, to make every Alteration of this kind at once?-If thefe Things be duly confidered, they are great Points already gained.-Thefe Things however are faid to be nothing, but the little Content they have given is no Proof that they are nothing. I wish it may not rather lead to prove, that nothing but a total Change to Popular Government will do.-In fúch an heated Condition, was it fitting that Popular Bills, be they neceffary, or be they not, fhould be ravifhed by Force, when all thofe different Plans of Reformation, which, during the Courfe of the former Oppofition, had been propofed by Men of different Principles, never approved by all, and affented too tem porarily by the different Parties only for the fake of Union,→ pofitively known not to be all neceffary, but moved as Succedanea to each other; when one was loft, to fupply its Place by another, not in the View to procure all, but in Hopes at last to get fomething.-When all thefe different Propofitions were now ignorantly and grofsly confounded by the Vulgar, and blended into (what was never dreamed of, or intended in the greatest Fire of Oppofition) one regular Scheme of a new Conftitution, and when this was infolently made the Alternative of Peace or War between the Governours and the Governed,-when, among those who thought themselves moft moderate, no two Men agreed upon what was neceffary.-Some thinking that all Se

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curity lay in a good Place-Bill, about the Degree and Extent of which they likewife differed.-Some in a Penfion-Bill, which others more juftly thought would fignify nothing. Some in a Law for Triennial Parliaments, which all who did not delight in Riot, or in the Profpect of Corruption, thought both dangerous and dubious.-Some for Annual Parliaments, which others thought too frequent.-Some for Justice on the Earl of Orford. -Others not for fanguinary Views.- Some for a Reduction of the Civil Lift, which others thought unjust to be taken away, having been legally given.--Some for the Sale of all Employments. -Others for allowing a few.-Some for taking the Difpofition of them out of the Crown, which others thought Anti-Conftitutional. Some for allowing them to fubfift, but to be given only to those who were not in Parliament, that is, among themselves. -Some to allow them but to be given for Life. Some for making the Army independant.-Others for no regular Troops at all. In this Paffion, Irregularity, and Uncertainty of Publick Opinion, if the Leaders of the Oppofition had flood out till the People were fatisfied, it is plain they must have stood out for ever. For what Conceffions foever had been-made, the Bulk of that Set of Men, who, as I have obferved in the Beginning, compofe all kinds of Oppofition, would have ftill remained diffatisfied. And this Set of Men, whether in the Right or the Wrong, always affume to themselves the Title of the People. Farther, whatever fingle Points had been obtained, it was now become a Maxim, that nothing was got, if all was not got, and at least those who had not been gratified in their refpective fayourite Propofitions, would have ftill continued to abuse and villify in the fame degree.-And if all had been granted, which was impoffible, and abfurd, (becaufe, as I have obferved, all was never by any wife Men intended,) many others had been offended and terrified, at so great a Change in the Conftitution, to the other Extreme. They would have juftly complained, That the King and the Lords were rendered useless, that an Anarchy must be at length the Confequence, that the People would be raised to the Power of doing tumultuously every thing they lifted, and that being arrived at this Power, they would naturally fall under the Direction of wicked and factious Men, who would lead them to purfue a thoufand wilder Projects, which would have daily opened in proportion to their Succefs. In confequence of this, a new Oppofition would have rifen upon quite contrary Notions.-This Oppofition would have naturally degenerated into thofe deep Monarchical Principles, which would have brought us back again to Paffive Obedience, Non-Refiftance, Hereditary Right, and all that Train

of

of Nonfenfe, which infefted the Reafon of this Country fo many Years. Great Numbers are to be found in this Nation, who will not trust to the limited Views of the People, who know, that when they gain one thing by Force, they are taught from thence to extort every thing by the fame means; that as furely as Princes aim at abfolute Power, the popular Intereft equally drives at a Democracy; and when they are put into a Condition to enforce their Demands, never will defift in any Country till they get it.-This is not the Meaning of any honeft Man, who would fooner keep this Conftitution, with all its Faults, than put to Sea in Storms to fearch for another.-The People and Tribunes of Rome never refted till they got the Power of the Commonwealth into their Hands :-Their Ambition then became fo notorious, their Views fo corrupt, their Attempts fo mad, that the Senate they opposed, and endeavoured to destroy, (though themselves not wholly free from Blame,) made Friends by the Extravagance of their Antagonists, to refift them.-In the Refiftance, private Men grew too great for both, and the Contest ended in the Lofs of Liberty.-It did fo in England in the Time of Cromwell; the People never ceafed pushing for the whole Power, till Reafon came on the Side of the Crown ;the King was then enabled to refift, which, when he did, if he had conquered, the Nation had been Slaves to him,—as it happened, the popular General became the Tyrant.-The unrea fonable Oppofition of the Cortez to the Emperor Charles the Fifth, compleatly ruined the Liberties of Spain,-it was worked up into Rebellion, and it would be good to remark the Pre-. tenfions of that Oppofition, the Commencement, Course and Iffue of that Rebellion, if we had time to do it here.

Yet no Man will deny, but that the People and Tribunes of Rome were in the Right to oppofe the too great Power of the Senate to a certain Point.

The People of England, to oppofe the weak and wicked. Government of the Miniftry of Charles the First, had they known where to have stopped.

The Cortez of Spain, to have exerted their Privileges, had they done it with Moderation, and without falling into Faction. The Error lay, in not being contented with the juft Conces-` fions that were made to every one of these.

The Crime in attempting by Force to alter their respective Conftitutions, which ought ever to be deemed facred:-Conftitutions once established, can never be with Justice altered, but by the full and free Confent of the different Members of the Legislature.-It is intolerable for any one Member of it, to force the reft to concede any thing. Such an Attempt rarely

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