P. He has the prerogative of convoking, adjourning, proroguing, and dissolving parliament; and if the two houses sit and make provisions, he may reject them, and refuse passing them into Faws.

G. Is not the king also the power that moves the national military arms?

P. His majesty is generalissimo, he has the sole power of raising and regulating fleets and armies, of officering the militia, of erecting, manning, and governing forts, of appointing ports and havens, wharfs and quays, of building beacons, light-houses, and sea-marks, and of prohibiting the exportation of arms and ammunition.

G. An immense multitude of people must be employed to administer this branch of the royal prerogative.

P. An immense multitude is employed, and the whole business is an amazing system of boards, courts, officers, clerks and arrangements, under the direction of a few principal persons appointed by the crown for the purpose, as secretaries, admirals, generals, governors, paymasters, and so

on.

G. To this power must be added, I suppose, another, that is, the power of administering justice?

P. Yes; the king is entrusted by the constitution with the conservation of the peace of the kingdom, and his majesty does this by erecting courts of judicature, and by appointing both supreme and subordinate officers and magistrates, as

the Lord Chancellor, the Judges, the Sheriffs, the Justices of the Peace, under each of which are innumerable officers of inferior jurisdiction, from the Court of Chancery down to the bailiff, the jailor and the publick executioner.

G. The prerogative of royal proclamation belongs to this article, does it not, Sir?

P. It does; the constitution gives the king power to issue proclamations, on condition they be according to law.

G. Very well.

P. The next article of prerogative, is that of conferring honour, office and privilege.

G. His majesty confers all degrees of nobility and knighthood, I know.

P. He also erects and disposes of offices, for they are honours; and he can create new offices and new titles, though he cannot annex any fees to them. He can confer privileges on individuals, and erect corporations.

G. This trust supposes, to the honour of the prince, that he is the best, yea, the sole judge of

merit.

P. Another royal prerogative is, the direction of commerce, and to this belongs the regulation of markets and fairs, with their tolls, weights, measures, monies, coinage, and so forth.

G. An ample trust, this!

P. Nothing to the next, which is the royal prerogative of being the only supreme head on earth of the church of England.

G. The king administers this prerogative by the clergy.

P. By this prerogative the king convenes, prorogues, and dissolves all ecclesiastical synods and convocations; nominates archbishops, bishops, deans, and other ecclesiastical dignitaries, under whom are innumerable courts, officers, and administrators, for the purpose of christening, marrying, burying, performing publick worship, ordaining candidates for the ministry, proving wills, collecting tithes, and so on. A mixture of civil and sacred things.

G. From some one or other of these prerogatives, I should suppose his majesty the head of all literary bodies, as royal schools, colleges, and universities; of most publick charities, as many are royal foundations, and many more are incorporated; of all trading companies, and even of races, theatres, and publick amusements.

P. Directly or indirectly it is so.

G. The next prerogative you said was revenue, P. The king's revenue is usually divided into ordinary and extraordinary. The ordinary revenue of the crown is small and inadequate to the support of the royal dignity. Formerly it consisted of the custody of the temporalities of bishops during the vacancy of the see, and some other ecclesiastical claims, which are now disused; demesne lands, forest rights, fines, wrecks, profits of mines, treasure-trove, waifs, estrays, confiscated estates, forfeitures, escheats of lands, custody of idiots, and many more of the same antique cast, formerly

of great value, and consequently occasions of intolerable and vexatious oppressions. Almost all these have been alienated from the crown, the remainder yield very little, and the deficiency is now amply supplied by what is called the extraordinary revenue.

G. The modern revenue, then, is in lieu of ancient prerogatives?

P. It is intended to be so. The first branch is the annual land-tar. Upon an average, this is said to be about three shillings and three-pence in the pound a year. This is assessed and raised by commissioners and their officers.

Next is an annual malt-tar, properly an annual excise on malt, cyder, and perry.

Customs or duties, payable upon merchandize exported and imported, make a third branch of prodigious magnitude, and create a great multitude of officers, as commissioners, collectors, receivers, surveyors, inspectors, examiners, clerks, tidesmen, and so on.

Next is an inland revenue, called excise duty, a tax imposed on commodities of daily home consumption and use, malt, beer, spirits, candles, soap, coaches, plate, hides, glass, coffee, tea, paper, pasteboard, vinegar, and an endless number of other articles. The excise is managed by a great number of commissioners, collectors, secretaries, accomptants, surveyors, auditors, clerks, supervisors, and officers.

The fifth branch of revenue is the post office, or duty for the carriage of letters. This also employs

a great number of officers from the post-masters general down to the bell-men, who collect, the post-men, who deliver letters, and the boys, who carry the mails.

A sixth branch is salt-duties, a sort of excise, but managed by different commissioners, who have a number of officers under them.

A seventh branch of revenue is stamp-duties, This is a tax upon almost all parchments and papers, on which any legal proceedings are written, upon licenses for retailing wines, upon almanacks, news-papers, advertisements, cards and dice, &c. This is a branch of amazing magnitude, and employs commissioners, receivers, inspectors, stampers, engravers, clerks, and so forth.

The eighth branch is a duty upon houses and windows, and employs, as all the other duties do, a great train of officers.

The ninth branch of revenue is a duty upon li censes to hackney coaches and chairs in and about London. This also is managed by commissioners and other officers.

The tenth is a duty of one shilling in the pound upon offices and pensions, salaries, fees and perquisites payable to the crown. Have I not tired

your attention?

Give me leave

G. That would ill become me. to say, Sir, enormous as this list appears, I recollect several articles you have thought proper to omit. There is a revenue arising from a tax upon servants, another from a tax upon post-horses.