THE

MONIT O R,

OR, THE

British Freeholder.

No 1. SATURDAY, August 9th, 1755.

Poftquam illos videt queri de avaritia magistratuum, accufare fenatum, quod in eo auxilii nihil effet, miferiis fuis remedium mortem expectare, at ego, inquit, vobis fi modi viri effe vultis, rationem oftendam, quâ tanta mala ifta effugiatis, SALLUST.

HE Liberty, which every Briton has of delivering his fentiments freely on public measures, is effential to the na ture of our government; and our hif tory abounds with inftances, where the exertion of this right in the collective body has produced great and noble effects. How often has the voice

of the people without, moderated and restrained the opinion within doors, and prevented dangerous schemes of power?

THE fubjects of an arbitrary prince can have no right to difcufs queftions relating to government: their obedience is unconditional and illimited; and they have no liberty, but what they occafionally enjoy by the accident of having a mild and benevolent prince. But the conftitution of Britain is the concern of every man therein. For, our liberties and privileges were not the gift of our princes; but are original rights, and as much a part of the constitution, as the prerogative, and powers of the crown: And when I confider the fhare, and the interest, which I have in the government, by being a freeholder, I look upon myself, as a perfon of more real confequence, than a premier prefident of the parliament of Paris; and esteem it my duty as well as my intereft, to guard and defend this temple of liberty, religiously to keep up its facred fire, and to prevent its being extinguished by daring and facrilegious hands.

ALL governments have within themselves the feeds of their own diffolution; and the wisest inftitutions will not ftand before the stroke of time, unless defended by a spirit of liberty and watchfulness. They require frequent revifions, and must often be brought back to their firft principles. The ambition and luft of power in rulers will obtrude many and dangerous innovations; which, if not checked in time, muft be

infenfibly

infenfibly woven into the original fyftem, and in the end prove fatal to, and deftroy liberty.

How much more then ought we to be alarmed, if a general tameness and a fupine indiffe rence to the public good prevail, at a time, when the keenest efforts ought to be employed to affert and vindicate the rights of our country?

THE freeholder will endeavour to roufe the fleeping lion from his couch of ease, stimulate his lethargick countrymen, and bring them back again from fubjects of vain curiofity, or trifling amufements, to the more important concerns of their country. This nation has been too long under the direction of ftate empiricks, whofe only merit has been to skin our wounds, and palliate our diftemper. It is now time to search the wound to the bottom, and to apply wholfome and regular medicaments to the almoft corrupted body. The cure may be painful; but it must be speedily undergone: for, a delay will certainly bring on more dreadful fymptoms, and infallibly end in political death. We have been too long deluded by the magic found of words, and fome of the principal men in our country have been drove from the throne by odious diftinctions, and falfe imputations; whereby the rancour, and animofity of parties has been kept up, and our fovereign has been deprived of the affiftance of fome of the ableft of his fubjects, most firmly attached to his perfon and family.

A prince, poffeffed of the affections of his people, cannot want the fupport of a party. B 2 Ministers

Minifters may, and often have employed it to the most factious purposes; to the enervating of the conftitution, in order to ftrengthen their own power, and to the empoverishing of the people, in order to engrofs to themfelves the riches of the nation.

THERE never was a crifis, that called more loudly for the aid of every Briton, than the prefent. We are on the brink of two precipices; alarmed by a moft heavy debt and other great and imminent dangers from within; and just on the point of a war with a great and powerful enemy, the event of which may determine our being, as a free and independent nation. Nothing lefs than a vigorous exertion of our natural rights, and unanimous concurrence with the divine affistance, in the defence of our liberties, king, and country, can prevent us from finking under the weight of fuch multiplied and growing evils, Let us then by our firmness, conftancy, and public virtue deferve the favour of providence. Let us, with an honest and difinterested zeal, labour to unite our divided and mifled countrymen, by first repairing the breaches within our walls. Let us endeavour to reftore the integrity of government, and root up corruption, the principal fource from whence all our domeftick evils have sprung. Let us expofe the folly and turpitude of thofe, who have avowed it as a neceffary expedient of government, and have with fo much care and indulgence nurtured and fupported this minifterial 'fyftem. They, who have tafted of its baneful

fruit, will be unwilling to lose the delicious morfel. But a king, who has no defign of ufurping upon the rights of his people,will find the weight of his fceptre fufficient for all the purposes of government, and will poffefs a more real and abfolute power, by gaining the efteem, confidence, and affection of his people; than thofe princes, who have leaned on the precarious fupport of dividing and corrupting their people, and whose government has been carried on by such unconftitutional expedients.

SUCH a king, as well as his fubjects, would feel the effects of fo iniquitous a conduct, and foon smart under the rod of party. He would be befieged in his palace by his ungrateful and profligate fervants, become the flave of those he employs, and would fuffer equally, if not more, than the rest of his people.

MEN, who are capable of employing, and avowing fuch wicked arts, must be loft to all fense of virtue and public good, and would act against their king, their country, or their God, to gratify their ambition or fatiate their avarice.

If we should ever be fo unhappy as to have a house of commons, conftituted chiefly of a set of profligate and unprincipled individuals, chofen by a minifterial mandate, the offspring of corruption; fuch an affembly will be the reprefentative of the minifter, not of the people; and inftead of being the guardian, and the affertor of the people's rights, and the palladium of liberty, it will be an inftrument, in the hands of power,