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Numbers will be found to want, in all Places, however opportune the Means of Employment may be ; and Men of this kind may be industrious in a Faction, which is carried on by Noife, Drunkennefs and Riot, when they can be fo in nothing elfe. In all trading Countries the Profpect of Gain allures many to adventurous Undertakings above their Abilities, by which fome must be undone, and these never fail to attribute to Mifinanagements of Governinent, thofe Evils which arife from their own Sloth, Incapacity or Avarice.Again, in fuch Countries, the Luxury of fome induces others to follow them in the fame Expence, to the Ruin of themselves and of their Families, and the Generality of thefe unite in Views of a like Nature.As in all populous Countries, from a Variety of Diftrefs, fuch Objects must be very numerous; fo from the very Numbers of a People alone, Faction always derives a great Advantage, fince from the Difference of Difpofitions, with which Men are born into the World, fome will infallibly arife from time to time, framed by Nature itself of a reftlefs and discontented Temper; form'd, whether they have Cause for it or not, to be as well a Torment to themselves, as a Plague to the Society in which they live.--Nor can Oppofition, right or wrong, want even Property to gild it over and to grace it; for Men arifing from the loweft Level of the People, and advancing into confiderable and eafy Fortunes, are by a natural Confequence, too often led to confpire against that very Felicity, Peace, Quiet and Profperity, to which alone they have owed their Exiftence.Arrogance and Pride, without a more than common Share of Understanding, are the univerfal Product of all hafty Advancement. Thefe Men repine at what they never before had Leifure to confider; that there is ftill a certain Difference between their Condition and that of another Rank, which they cannot remedy by all their Efforts to exceed them in Expence. This fomething, which they find ftill wanting, fours them with their own State, and inclines them to fall in with any popular Difcontent; partly, to gratify their Vanity in infulting thofe above them; and partly, to create a Chaos, out of which they hope to emerge upon a Level with those they envy. From whence the Obfervation holds moft true, That all Nations, in proportion to their Increase, grow turbulent and factious, and from this Quarter arife thofe levelling Schemes, in the Contention for which, fooner or later, Anarchy enfues; and in process of time, the Lofs of that real Liberty, whofe facred Name is fo often fpeciously prophaned by Malice and Ambition. Even Liberty itfelf, the more perfect it is, produces thefe Effects more strongly;

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for Wantonnefs and Licentioufnefs, which are its evil Genii, tempt all depraved Tempers to abuse it, and expofe many to the Lafh of the Laws, and to the juft Indignation of Power; which none, who feel, forgive, however they deferve it. At the fame time, the natural Tendancy in all Mankind to expect more Favour than they merit, provokes unjuft Refentments against Government, and a certain Infirmity (of which we all in fome Degree partake) to be uneafy with what we have, and to endeavour after more, inclines Multitudes, either out of Views of private Benefit to themfelves, or general Views of Encrease of Privilege to the Order in which they ftand, to follow any Set of Men, who take the Lead in Oppofition of any kind.-All these move by a fecret Principle to that Quarter where it erects its Standard, be it just or unjuft, be it to fave or to deftroy their Country.

It is obvious from hence, and it is a Truth that cannot be difputed, however it may affect the Credit of many pretended Patriots, that the difcontented Party of all Denominations confift in general of Men of no Principle, and of very unworthy Character. Its Root is always the fame ;-but indeed its Effects are very different. It becomes in fome Conjunctures of very beneficial Confequence, when it is led by Men of honeft Views; and equally pernicious in others, when conducted by Men of a different Character.-In the first Cafe, it is an Oppofition; in the fecond it is a Faction.

Faction is of two kinds in this Country.--Oppofition led by Republicans; and Oppofition led by Jacobites;Of the two great Parties into which this Nation has been long divided--the Whigs (though not Republicans) have formerly joined the firftthe Tories (though not Jacobites) do conftantly abet the last.——They who know the Nature of this Country, who are acquainted with our Hiftory, need no Definition or Defcription of these two Parties, and all who are capable of Obfervation and Reflection can eafily trace the Reasons of their respective Conduct. It is therefore fufficient for us in this Place, that this is a Fact, which cannot be denied; and without a zealous Attachment of one or other of these two Parties, Faction is incapable of doing much Prejudice to Britain.

A Faction of the former kind once deftroyed the Liberties and Conftitution of this Nation. It grew up unobferved with the great Improvements of its Commerce, and was nourished in the uncommon Measure of Profperity, which arose from a long Tranquillity, and a wonderful Encrease of Wealth after the Difcovery of the Weft-Indies, which diffused itself through

through the Commons, and gave them Ability to contend with a Prince, who, ignorant of this new acquired Vigour of the People, and vainly fond of Power, provoked it by avowed Attempts to introduce an abfolute Authority.

This Faction, by the Imprudence of that Prince, appeared at first no more than an honeft Oppofition. But abetted at length by the Majority of the Nation, (who neither perceived how dangerous it was, nor could have well avoided joining with it, if they had, to preferve themselves against the violent Attack then made upon their Freedom,) grew too strong both for the Prince and for the Laws. The miferable Confequences that it brought upon us are related at large in the Hiftories of England from 1642 to 1660.

These Evils of Faction in a Republican Form, prevented its Revival again in the fame Shape.-The People of England had (fince the Union of the two Houses of York and Lancaster) never feen it in another.-They therefore feared it in no other. This gave it Opportunity to fhew itself in a new Form, and Oppofition became again a Faction in the Reign of the late King William, and a Faction of a much more dangerous Nature than the first.

For whereas the Republicans, who are the Leaders of the first Faction, are in this Country little more than Whigs overheated by Oppreffion, and an extravagant Abuse of Power; as in reality there is very little of that Principle exifting among Men of Property and Fortune, and as it is chiefly confined to Men of an inferior Clafs; they may be eafily brought to moderate their Views by what it is in the Power of every honeft Government to apply: But the Leaders of the fecond Faction set out with Expectations, that no Government, without being felo de fe, can gratify. For they fet out upon the View of changing the Prince upon the Throne, and in neceffary Confequence to transform the Conftitution and Religion of the Kingdom..

In a word, a Jacobite Faction affumed the Shape of Oppofition in that Reign; that is, the People under the Circumftances I have mentioned, and the Difcontented of all Denominations acted in a Party, directed either fecretly or openly by Leaders, whose Views intended the Restoration of King James II. or of his Family.

Now that this Faction was more dangerous than that which had appeared before, is farther manifeft from hence. That the Republicans profeffed a Principle, and of a kind, which led them to do very great and glorious things. Their Zeal was indeed miftaken, but it clafhed in its Purfuit, neither with the Honour nor the Independency of their Country, and the Strength of

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this Party lay in the Acceffion of those who had the greatest Share of Senfe and Honefty.-They were therefore steady in every Conjuncture to defend the Nation against its Enemies abroad, and particularly against its most dangerous Enemy of all the French; and unless in Times of extream and rare Necef fity, were deferted conftantly by their Auxiliaries the Whigs, before they could bring their Scheme to any mature Effect.

But the Jacobite Faction profefed no Principle at all, or fuch as deferves the Name of none. They had indeed a View, but it was private Title, the Intereft of one Man, and of one Family, An Object in itself unworthy any Party, and criminal too in the highest Degree, in this Inftance, because it was the private Title, and the Intereft of a Man and Family, who by their Education and Religion were nourished in a fatal Enmity to their Country. These Men therefore, from the indifpenfible Nature of this their first View, could be animated with no good Sentiment for the Publick, and from the Circumftances of their Cafe, were obliged to affift the Ambition, support the Power, and abet the Views of France, by whofe Force alone they could hope to bring their Point to bear. Their Oppofition therefore tended in every Step to destroy the Honour and Independency of their own Country. The Strength of their Party lay in the Acceffion of those who were the weakest and most difhoneft Men; for who elfe could join in fuch a View as this; and therefore as all who furnished them Affistance must be either tainted in their Principles to their Country, or wrong in their Heads before they could engage with them, their Conduct was conftant, or wilful Error; and thus their Auxiliaries the Tories, if ever they feparated from their Faction, never did it till it was almoft too late, and never faw that they were deceived, or that they blindly concurred to the Ruin of their Country, till that Ruin was at the very Gate.

It is vifible from hence, that there is much less Danger from a Republican than from a Jacobite ; or in fofter Terms, from a Whig than from a Tory Oppofition. A Whig Oppofition is therefore that alone with which the People for inany Years have ventured to concur, and the only one with which they can for a Moment concur fafely.

But even when they follow this, they are not always without Danger. For when Oppofition under any Title rifes high, and becomes formidable, demanding fuch Terms, as Government is honestly under equal and real Difficulty either to grant or to refuse, the Symptoms are ftrong, and the Sufpicion generally juft, that fuch an Oppofition is converted into Faction.-Nor can the Generality of Men diftinguifh eafily of what Species it may be; for both the Republican Principles, and

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the Jacobite Views, being long fince fufficiently detected, and being therefore both become deteftable to all honest Men; both the one and the other are extreamly careful not to avow their refpective Pursuits.-When they take off the Mafk with greatest Freedom, the Republicans denominate their Faction by no harsher Name than that of a Whig, nor the Jacobites than that of a Tory Oppofition.-Nor would the Whigs be brought to fupport the one, nor the Tories to abet the other without this Artifice; and yet by this Delufion of Names, both Parties have been at different Times led on till they have very near deftroyed the Conftitution. In fact, every Faction will, without Scruple, affume any Appellation to impofe upon Mankind; and the most inveterate Jacobite Faction, to carry its View, will profefs to act upon a Whig Principle, when that becomes the favourite Principle, as it is at this Time. An Oppofition therefore may become Republican or Jacobite, when the Vulgar little conceive it to be either. The Judgment must be formed not upon what Men call themselves, but upon what they do, upon what they act, upon what is the vifible Tendency of their Measures and Purfuits. Whether they are a Faction or not, or of what Species their Faction is, can be determined only by their Conduct, and may be infallibly determined by that means. Now the Criterion of a Whig Conduct, is (as may be collected from what we have already obferved) to refift and reduce the Power, and the Criterion of a Jacobite or Tory Faction, directly or indirectly, to afft, encourage, and fupport the Interefts of France.

This I have premised to give a general Idea of the Nature of Oppofition, and of Faction in this Country, that I may with more Facility lay open to the Publick what I have to offer as to the Oppofition of this Time-and which I think it my Duty to offer, because I will be bold to affirm, that they are grofsly deceived in it, and that instead of pursuing a Whig Oppofition, which they conceive it to be, they now abet and fupport a Tory Oppofition, and a Jacobite Faction, which from the Circumstances of this Time, and the Impudence of its proceeding, is become more dangerous than ever that Faction yet has been in this Nation.

Had this been afferted two Years ago, it would have met with nothing but Ridicule, and it would have been impoffible to have induced the Majority of the People of England to have believed that the Jacobites could have ever given this Country any Uneafinefs again. The Reafon is very evident.

All the ill Humours of the Nation collected together had, for feveral Years laft paft, combined a very ftrong Oppofition; but this Oppofition was led by Whigs, by Men known to be of this Principle, and they had the Afcendant

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