to France, the colonies of being torn to pieces, the fucceffion of the crown at the mercy of our great rival, and the kingdom itself on the very point of becoming tributary to that haughty power. All this for want of £.300,000; for I defy the reader to point out any other revenue, or any other precife and defined fcheme of politicks, which he affigns for our redemption. Dvbami Liow

I know that two things may be faid in his defence, as bad reasons are always at hand in an indifferent caufe; that he was not fure the money would be applied as he thinks it ought to be, by the prefent minifters. I think as ill of them as he does to the full. They have done very near as much mischief as they can do, to a conftitution fo robust as this is. Nothing can make them more dangerous, but that, as they are already in general compofed of his difciples and inftruments, they .may add to the publick calamity of their own meafures, the adoption of his projects. But be the minifters what they may, the author knows that they could not avoid applying this £.450,000 to the fervice of the establishment, ás faithfully as he, or any other minifter, could do. I fay they could not avoid it, and have no merit at all for the application. But fuppofing that they should greatly mifimanage this revenue. Here is a good deal of room for mistake and prodigality before you come to the edge of ruin. The difference between the

7

amount

amount of that real and his imaginary revenue is, £150,000 a year, at leaft; a tolerable fum for them to play with; this might compenfate the difference between the author's economy and their profufion; and ftill, notwithstanding their vices and ignorance, the nation might be faved. The -author ought alfo to recollect, that a good man would hardly deny, even to the worst of ministers, the means of doing their duty; especially in a crifis when our being depended on fupplying them with fome means or other. In fuch a cafe their penury of mind, in difcovering refources, would make it rather the more neceffary, not to ftrip fuch poor providers of the little ftock they had in hand.

Besides, here is another fubject of distress, and a very ferious one, which puts us again to a stand. The author may poffibly not come into power (I only state the poffibility): he may not always continue in it; and if the contrary to all this should fortunately for us happen, what infurance on his life can be made for a fum adequate to his lofs? Then we are thus unluckily fituated, that the chance of an American and Irish revenue of £.300,000 to be managed by him, is to fave us from ruin two or three years hence at beft, to make us happy at home and glorious abroad; and the actual poffeffion of £.400,000 English taxes cannot fo much as protract our ruin without him. So we are staked on four chances; his power, its permanence, the

fuccefs

fuccefs of his projects, and the duration of his life, Any one of thefe failing, we are gone. Propria hæc fi dona fuiffent! This is no unfair reprefentation; ultimately all hangs on his life, because, in his account of every fet of men that have held or fupported adminiftration, he finds neither virtue nor ability in any but himself. Indeed he pays (through their measures) fome compliments to Lord Bute and Lord Defpenfer. But to the latter, this is, I fuppofe, but a civility to old acquaintance: to the former, a little stroke of politicks. We may therefore fairly fay, that our only hope is his life; and he has, to make it the more fo, taken care to cut off any refource which we poffeffed independent of him.

In the next place it may be faid, to excufe any appearance of inconfifteney between the author's actions and his declarations, that he thought it right to relieve the landed intereft, and lay the burthen where it ought to lie, on the colonies. What! to take off a revenue fo neceffary to our being, before any thing whatsoever was acquired in the place of it? In prudence, he ought to have waited at leaft for the firft quarter's receipt of the new anonymous American revenue, and Irish land tax. Is there fomething fo fpecifick for our dif orders in American, and fomething fo poisonous in English money, that one is to heal, the other to deftroy us? To fay that the landed intereft could

not

not continue to pay it for a year or two longer, is more than the author will attempt to prove. To fay that they would pay it no longer, is to treat the landed intereft, in my opinion, very fcurvily. To fuppofe that the gentry, clergy, and freeholders of England do not rate the commerce, the credit, the religion, the liberty, the independency of their country, and the fucceffion of their crown, cat a fhilling in the pound land tax! They never gave him reafon to think fo meanly of them. And, if I am rightly informed, when that measure was debated in parliament, a very different reason was affigned by the author's great friend, as well as by others, for that reduction: one very different from the critical and almost desperate state of our finances. Some people then endeavoured to prove, that the reduction might be made without detriment to the national credit, or the due fupport of a proper peace establishment; otherwife it is obvious that the reduction could not be defended in argu'ment. So that this author cannot despair so much of the commonwealth, without this American and Irish revenue, as he pretends to do. If he does, the reader fees how handfomely he has provided for us, by voting away one revenue, and by giving us a pamphlet on the other.

I do not mean to blame the relief which was then given by parliament to the land. It was grounded on very weighty reafons. The adminif

tration

tration contended only for its continuance for a year, in order to have the merit of taking off the fhilling in the pound immediately before the elec tions; and thus to bribe the freeholders of Eng land with their own money.

It is true, the author, in his estimate of ways and means, takes credit for £.400,000 a year, Indian revenue. But he will not very positively infift, that we should put this revenue to the account of his plans or his power; and for a very plain' reafon: we are already near two years in poffeffion of it. By what means we came to that poffeffion, is a pretty long ftory; however, I fhall give nothing more than a fhort abftract of the proceeding, in order to fee whether the author will take to himself any part in that measure.

The fact is this; the Eaft India company had for a good while folicited the miniftry for a nego ciation, by which they proposed to pay largely for fome advantages in their trade, and for the renewal of their charter. This had been the former method of tranfacting with that body. Govern ment having only leafed the monopoly for fhort terms, the company has been obliged to refort to it frequently for renewals. These two parties had always negociated (on the true principle of credit) not as government and subject, but as equal dealers, on the footing of mutual advantage. The publick had derived great benefit from fuch deal

ing.