entirely, or continued with an increafing difadvantage to the publick. The minifter's fagacity has ferved to raise the value of the thing he means to purchase, and to fink that of the three per cents, which it is his purpose to fell. In effect, he has contrived to make it the intereft of the proprietor of four per cents to fell out, and buy three per. cents in the market, rather than subscribe his ftock upon any terms that can poffibly be offered by

government.

The state of the nation leads us naturally to confider the fituation of the king. The prorogation of parliament has the effect of a temporary diflolution. The odium of meafures adopted by the collective body fits lightly upon the feparate members who compofe it. They retire into fummerquarters, and reft from the difgraceful labours of the campaign. But as for the Sovereign, it is not fo with him. He has a permanent existence in this country; he cannot withdraw himself from the complaints, the discontents, the reproaches, of his fubjects. They purfue him to his retirement, and invade his domeftick happiness, when no addrefs can be obtained from an obfequious parliament to encourage or confole him.. In other times, the intereft of the King and people of England was, as it ought to be, entirely the fame. A new fyftem has not only been adopted in fact, but profeffed upon principle. Minifters are no longer the publick fervants of the ftate, but the private domesticks of the Sovereign. One particular clafs of men are permitted to call themfelves the King's friends, as if the body of the people were the King's enemies; or as if his Majesty looked for a

refource or confolation in the attachment of a few favourites, against the general contempt and de

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teftation

"An ignorant, mercenary, and fervile crew; unanimous in "evil, diligent in mifchief, variable in principles, conftant to flattery, "talkers for liberty, but flaves to power;---ftyling themselves the "Court party, and the prince's only friends." Davenant.

teftation of his fubjects. Edward, and Richard the fecond, made the fame diftinction between the collective body of the people, and a contemptible party who furrounded the throne. The event of their mistaken conduct might have been a warning to their fucceffors. Yet the errors of those princes were not without excufe. They had as many falfe friends as our present gracious Sovereign, and infinitely greater temptations to feduce them. They were neither fober, religious, nor demure. Intoxicated with pleasure, they wafted their inheritance in pursuit of it. Their lives were like a rapid torrent, brilliant in profpect, though useless or dangerous in its courfe. In the dull, unanimated exiftence of other princes, we fee nothing but a fickly ftagnant water, which taints the atmosphere without fertilizing the foil.-The morality of a king is not to be measured by vulgar rules. His fituation is fingular. There are faults which do him honour, and virtues that difgrace him. A faultlefs infipid equality in his character, is neither capable of vice nor virtue in the extreme; but it fecures his fubmiffion to those perfons whom he has been accustomed to refpect, and makes him a dangerous inftrument of their ambition. Secluded from the world, attached from his infancy to one fet of perfons, and one fet of ideas, he can neither open his heart to new connections, nor his mind to better information. A character of this fort is the foil fitteft to produce that obftinate bigotry in politics and religion, which begins with a meritorious facrifice of the understanding, and finally conducts the monarch and the martyr to the block.

At any other period, I doubt not, the fcandalous diforders which have been introduced into the government of all the dependencies in the empire, would have rouzed the attention of the publick. The odious abufe and proftitution of the preroga

tive at home,-the unconftitutional employment of the military,-the arbitrary fines and commitments by the houfe of lords, and court of King'sbench; the mercy of a chafte and pious prince, extended cheerfully to a wilful murderer, because that murderer is the brother of a common prostitute *, would, I think, at any other time, have excited univerfal indignation. But the daring attack upon the conftitution, in the Middlefex election, makes us callous and indifferent to inferior grievances. No man regards an eruption upon the furface, when the noble parts are invaded, and he feels a mortification approaching to his heart. The free election of our reprefentatives in parliament comprehends, becaufe it is, the fource and fecurity of every right and privilege of the English nation. The miniftry have realifed the compendious ideas of Caligula. They know that the liberty, the laws, and property of an Englishman, have in truth but one neck; and that to violate the freedom of election, ftrikes deeply at them all.

JUNIUS.

MY LORD,

TO LORD NORTH.

Aug. 22. 1770. MR. R. Luttrel's fervices were the chief fupportTM and ornament of the Duke of Grafton's adminiftration. The honour of rewarding them was referved for your Lordship. The Duke, it seems, had contracted an obligation he was afhamed to acknowledge, and unable to acquit. You, my Lord, had no fcruples. You accepted the fucceffion with all its incumbrances; and have paid Mr. Luttrel his legacy, at the hazard of ruining the eftate.

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When

Mifs Kennedy.

When this accomplished youth declared himself the champion of government, the world was busy in inquiring what honours or emoluments could be a fufficient recompence to a young man of his rank and fortune, for fubmitting to mark his entrance into life with the universal contempt and deteftation of his country.-His noble father had not been fo precipitate. To vacate his feat in parliament, to intrude upon a county in which he had no intereft or connection,-to poffefs himself of another man's right, and to maintain it in defiance of publick fhame as well as juftice, bespoke a degree of zeal, or of depravity, which all the favour of a pious Prince could hardly requite. I proteft, my Lord, there is in this young man's conduct, a strain of proftitution, which, for its fingularity, I cannot but admire. He has difcovered a new line in the human character ;-he has degraded even the name of Luttrel, and gratified his father's moft fanguine expectations.

The Duke of Grafton, with every poffible difpofition to patronife this kind of merit, was conented with pronouncing Colonel Luttrel's panegyrick. The gallant fpirit, the difinterested zeal of the young adventurer, were echoed through the houfe of lords. His Grace repeatedly pledged himfelf to the houfe, as an evidence of the purity of his friend Mr. Luttrel's intentions, that he had engaged without any profpect of personal benefit, and that the idea of compenfation would mortally offend him *. The noble Duke could hardly be in earneft; but he had lately quitted his employment, and began to think it neceffary to take fome care of his reputation. At that very moment the Irish negociation was probably begun. -Come forward, thou worthy reprefentative of Lord Bute, and tell this infulted country, Who advifed

He now fays that his great object is the rank of colonel, and that he will have it.

advised the King to appoint Mr. Luttrel ADJUTANT-GENERAL to the army in Ireland? By what management was Colonel Cunninghame prevailed on to refign his employment, and the obfequious Gisborne to accept of a penfion for the government of Kinfale? Was it an original: ftipulation with the Princefs of Wales, or does he owe his preferment to your Lordship's partiality, or to the Duke of Bedford's friendship? My Lord, though it may not be poffible to trace this measure to its fource, we can follow the stream, and warn the country of its approaching deftruction. The English nation must be roufed, and put upon its guard. Mr. Luttrel has already fhown us how far he may be trufted, whenever an open attack is to be made upon the liberties of this country. I do not doubt that there is a deliberate plan formed. Your Lordship beft knows by whom ;-the corruption of the legiflative body onthis fide-a military force on the other-and then Farewell to England! It is impoffible that any minifter fhall dare to advise the King to place fuch a man as Luttrel in the confidential post of Adjutant-General, if there were not fome fecret pur- pofe in view, which only fuch a man as Luttrel is fit to promote. The infult offered to the army in general, is as grofs as the outrage intended to the people of England. What! Lieutenant-colonel Luttrel Adjutant-general of an army of fixS 3

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This infamous tranfaction ought to be explained to the pub-lick. Colonel Gisborne was quarter-mafter-general in Ireland. Lord Townshend perfuades him to refign to a Scotch officer, one Frafer, and gives him the government of Kinfale.- -Colonel Cunninghame was Adjutant-general in Ireland. Lord Townfhend offers him a penfion to induce him to refign to Luttrel. Cunninghame treats the offer with contempt. What's to be done? poor Gisborne must move once more.He accepts of a pension of 500 l. a year, until a government of greater value shall become vacant. Colonel Cunninghame is made Governor of Kinfale, and Luttrel, at laft, from whom the whole machinery is put in motion, becomes Adjutant-general, and in effect takes the command 2 of the army in Ireland.