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History must record the events that happen in time, that future ages may know what has paffed in former periods of the world, and take an example and warning from the tranfactions of their predeceffors. An historian should know no party, but record truth. Adulation and flattery as well as rancor and prejudice, are inconfiftent with the character of an honest historian. The author prefumes that your Majefty will meet with none of these in his hiftory. Love of liberty, and of his fovereign, has made him write freely; and if he have any ruling prejudice, it is in favour of his Country, his King, and the Law. Your Majefty will be graciously pleased to accept of this humble address of a subject, who is fincerely attached to the Brunswick family; who loves his King and country, values liberty and religion, and reveres the British conftitution; who fincerely wishes that your Majefty, your royal confort, and family, may live long, that it may be your happiness to rule with wisdom, live in tranquillity, and make your subjects happy ;-and at last enjoy a kingdom, incorruptible undefiled, and that fadeth not away;

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BOOK I

CHAP. I.

War more celebrated in history than the arts of peacethe American War proceeded from two causes-an ac. count of the Cyder Act-the Stamp Act-debates concerning it-an abridgement thereof-argumenss for, and against it-the proceeding of the Colonists against it-the Americans would have defended themselves without our help-the parliament would not fuffer them-Doctor Franklin's letter to Governor Shirley.

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A R, though of all things the most destructive to the human fpecies, and contrary to the original dictates of nature, has in all ages of the world filled up a great part of the hiftory of nations. The laws and conftitutions of kingdoms, and the improvements of virtue and science, make a small figure in the an nals of empires, when compared with the ponderous volumes that contain the achievements of foldiers, and the rife and progrefs of war. Archimedes, Socrates, and Plato; the laws of Solon, The works of and other eminent legiflators, fill up but a few pages in comparison of the hiftory of the wars of Greeçe and Rome. It is cuftom that renders the most dif agreeable things familiar, makes things difguftful at first,

firft, afterwards pleafant; and ftamps the most abandoned of all actions with the epithet of glory. The glory of war is a creature of the imagination; often formed by caprice, nurfed by policy, and manumitted by public authority; when yet this unnatural creature of fancy, instead of promoting public or private happinefs, is the torment of the poffeffor, and the universal bane of all fociety. A thirst after this glory, and a propenfity for renown in martial exploits, have made fruitful countries a wildernefs, cities a defolation, and empires fcenes of flaughter; this unnatural appetite dragsthe parent from his family, the children from their pa rents, renders the widow defolate, their children fatherlefs, and the father without offspring. Hence it becomes glorious to thirst for blood, an honour to fpoil our neighbours, and the dignity of men to live by rapine. It is magnanimity to fall at the command of princes; and to return maimed from battle, though in an unjust cause, is accounted bravery in the lowest individual. By giving falfe names and epithets to things, and by frequently repeating them as matters of the highest importance, they at last leave an impreffion which becomes a principle of action in the minds of fuch as do not examine them.

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The prefent war in America feems to have pro ceeded from two general caufes; an exceffive defire of dominion in government, and an exceeding great jealoufy in the people of the colonies, of minifterial defigns against their natural rights and liberties.It cannot be difputed that the legislature in Great Bri tain, as well as the executive power, by modern ftatutes of parliament, which had all the appearance of selfishnefs and domination, gave fufficient ground From the pretence of jealousy to the colonies. of expences and difqurfements, laid out for the

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defence of America, the government of the mother country claimed a right of internal taxation, unknown to the English conftitution; and proceeded to frame new laws, which in their own nature declared that the fole right of legiflation remained in the parliament of England. In this cafe the fubjects of the empire in that western part of the world, were confidered, noť as other fubjects, but as vaffals, under abfolute authority, to a legislature, in which they had none to repres fent them, and who were not under fufficient obligations to pay regard to their intereft. The late war with France and Spain, had added an enormous weight of debt to our former national burdens, and the peace that was but lately concluded had given us an addition of territory, without making us any richer than we were before. As foon as peace gave the nation time to reflect, it was found that the flattering ideas of conquest could not remove the feelings, which the preffure of fo many millions of debt, had impreffed on our national conftitution. It was expected that our debts would have been leffened, our taxes reduced, and our burdens lightened; but the hot fever of war had fo relaxed the folids of the body politic, and weakened the whole frame of the conftitution, that the nation foon after the ratification of the peace, ap peared in the second stage of a confumption. The conductors of the laft ftages of the war, who had only proceeded upon the plan which a minifter, the glory of his country, had formed before, were obliged ig nominiously to drop it, for want of credit and capacity, to carry it on; and ratified a peace as inglorious as the war had been fuccefsful. Though an indifferent peace is preferable to even a fuccessful ftate of war, yet when a nation is laden with a burden of enormous debt, contracted for its own defence against a perverse ene

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my, wisdom and political prudence, will certainly vin dicate a nation, in making their enemies, when they are in their power, pay as much of the debt contract-. ed as it is poffible to obtain from them. The nego

ciators of the peace were confidered by the nation as men unfriendly to the common intereft, and perfons, who when they were fenfible of their incapacity to carry on the war, were determined to conclude a peace, with as much advantage to their own private interest as poffible. Demands which might have pro tracted a war, which they neither had genius por credit to carry on, were induftriously avoided, and the more mild requifitions of private douccurs were fup. pofed to have been adopted. Whether this jealoufy of the nation proceeded from a fufpicion founded in distrust, or from fignatures which implied moral cer tainty, I will not pretend to determine; but it was the general opinion of the people at that period, that the French ministry purchased the peace, and that fome perfons of no fmall diftinction in England, received the price thereof. What gave more weight to thefe fufpicions of the people on this occafion was, that their favourite minifter, who had recovered the nation from difgrace, and exalted it to an high pitch of glory and renown, had for fome time been difplaced, through the influence of the royal favourite, who now was fuppofed to manage all the fprings of government. It is fo feldom that a prime minifter is univerfally esteemed, and when fuch a phænomenon happens in the politi cal world, it must be an unpopular action in a fove reign, to turn him out of office, without fetting forth fome confpicuous acts of his mal-adminiftration. The whole tranfactions concerning the peace, being carried on by men of different complexions and characters from their former minifter, afforded ground of

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