wholly poffeffed her, and her laft indication of fenfe, was an indication of curfing her kneeling child.

The effect was, notwithflanding, a blessed one-this execrated, because culpable, child, ever after led a life of ftrict repentance, and propriety but neither the impreffion of repentance, nor the refolution of propriety, were permanent in her renounced companion's breaft his wife was loft to him, and he at this inftant remains a moft pitiable, yet irreclaimable wretch.

Let me now entreat you to recommend what I have related to the ferious confideration of

every fenfible female. Bid them ask their own hearts, how far they may, or may not, be capable of acting the fame indifcreet part: and bid them remember, that it is not the avoiding actual crimes, that conftitutes propriety, nor the being guilty of actual baseness, that is productive of the most extenfive mifchief; to be negligent or perverfe is fre quently to be criminal; for as a combination of atoms form the univerfe, fo a combination of trivial faults become, at the long run, errors of the first magnitude, and lead on to final destruction. ORESTES.

I

MY LORD,

Have fo good an opinion of your grace's difcernment, that when the author of the Vindication of your Conduct affures us, that he writes from his own mere motion, without the leaft authority from your grace, I should be ready enough to believe him, but for one fatal mark, which feems to be fixed upon every measure, in which either your perfonal or your political character is concerned.

Your first attempt to fupport Sir William Proctor ended in the election of Mr. Wilkes; the fecond infured fuccefs to Mr. Glynn. The extraordinary fl gu took to make Sir James Lowther lor amount of Cumberland, has ruined his intereft in that county for ever. The houfe lift of directors was curfed with the concurrence of government; and even the miferable dy could not efcape the misfortune of your grace's protection. With this uniform experience before us, we are authorised to fufpect, that when a pretended Vindication of your Principles and Conduct in reality contain the bittereft reflections upon both, it could not have been written without your immediate direction and affiftance. The authcr, indeed, calls God to witness for him, with all the fincerity, and in the very terms of an Irish evidence, to the best of his knowledge and belief. My lord, you should not encourage thefe appeals to Heaven. The pious prince, from whom you are fuppofed to defcend, made fuch frequent ufe of them in his public declarations, that at laft the people alfo found it neceflary to appeal to Heaven in their turn. Your adminiftration has driven us into circumstances of equal diftrefs; beware at least how you remind us of the remedy.

You have already much to answer for. You have provoked this unhappy gentleman to play the fool once more in public life, in fpite of his years and infirmities, and to fhew us,

that, as you yourself are a fingular inftance of youth without fpirit, the man, who defends you, is a no lefs remarkable example of age, without the benefit of experience. To follow fuch a writer minutely, would, like his own periods, be a labour without end. The fubject too has been already difcuffed, and is fufficiently understood. I cannot help observing however, that, when the pardon of Mac Quirk was the principal charge against you, it would have been but a decent compliment to your grace's understanding, to have defended you upon your own principles. What credit does a man deserve, who tells us plainly that the facts fet forth in the king's proclamation were not the true motives on which the pardon was granted, and that he wishes that thofe chirurgical reports, which first gave occafion to certain doubts in the royal breast, had not been laid before his majefty. You fee, my lord, that even your friends cannot defend your actions without changing your principles, nor juftify a deliberate measure of government, without contradicting the main affertion on which it was founded.

The conviction of Mac Quirk had reduced you to a dilemma, in which it was hardly poffible for you to reconcile your political in tereft with your luty. You were obliged either to abandon an active, ufeful partisan, or to protect a felon from public justice. With your ufual spirit, you preferred your interest to every other confideration; and with your ufual judgment, you founded your determi nation upon the only motives, which fhould not have been given to the public.

I have frequently cenfured Mr. Wilkes's conduct, yet your advocate reproaches me with having devoted myself to the service of fedition. Your grace can beft inform us, for which of Mr. Wilkes's good qualities you firft honoured him with your friendship, or how long it was before you difcovered thofe bad

ones

ones in him, at which it seems your delicacy was offended. Remember, my lord, that you continued your connection with Mr. Wilkes long after he had been convicted of those crimes which you have fince taken pains to reprefent in the blackeft colours of blafphemy and treafon. How unlucky is it that the first inftance you have given us of a fcrupulous regard to decorum, is united with the breach of a moral obligation! For my own part, my lord, I am proud to affirm, that, if I had been weak enough to form fuch a friendship, I would never have been bafe enough to betray it. But, let Mr. Wilkes's character be what it may, this at leaft is certain, that, circumftanced as he is, with regard to the public, even his vices plead for him. The people of England have too much difcernment to suffer your grace to take advantage of the failings of a private character to establish a precedent, by

14:

which the public liberty is affected, and which you may hereafter, with equal ease and fatisfaction, employ to the ruin of the best men in the kingdom. Content yourself, my lord, with the many advantages which the unfullied purity of your own character has given you over your unhappy deferted friend. Avail yourself of all the unforgiving piety of the court you live in, and bless God that you are not as other men are, EXTORTIO NERS, UNJUST, ADULTERERS, or even as this PUBLICAN. In a heart void of feeling, the laws of honour and good faith may be violated with impunity, and there you may safely indulge your genius. But the laws of England fhall not be violated, even by your holy zeal to opprefs a finner; and though you have fucceeded in making him the tool, you shall not make him the victim of your ambition. JUNIUS.

M

Y purfuit after happiness has led me to the manfions of the GREAT, where I expected it would have met me on the threshold; for, furely, they can have no wants who are poffeffed of riches and honour. But, alas! I have found that bereditary bonours cannot shield us from" the thousand natural fhocks that flesh is heir to,' or give to kings that infinite heart eafe which private men enjoy." Thorns will often lurk beneath the bed of majesty, and the heart that is oppreffed with the care of millions, will, like the harmless infant, figh itself to fleep. In conformity to the fons of perverted liberty, it were to be wifhed, that kings might not be born with paffions like other men; that they might be deaf to the cry of mercy, devoid of filial affection, and debarred the Tweets of friendship, which the meaneft peafant may enjoy. They must at once forgive perfonal indignities, tamely fubmit to the infults of the populace, and to compleat the princely character (with them) as the father of his people, he fhould even rebel against ber who gave him birth.-Hard taxes these upon royalty! more grievous to bear than any parliament could inflict'

A virtuous mind, unacquainted with friend

B

fhip, like a genius uncultivated, will, at the fame time that it raises our wonder, excite our compaffion; 'tis a plant of tender growth that both invigorates and meliorates the foul and though liable to the rude blafts of paffion, yet the sunshine of humanity would revive the dying branches.

Princes, in private education, want many advantages: In public fchools, any little petulance of temper, or perverfeness of difpofition, are eafily removed, through the fhame of correction; and, furely, a youth, who has been converfant with variety of difpofitions, will be able, when he arrives at manhood, to form a better judgment of human nature, its virtues and its vices, than him whofe experience has been confined within a narrower circle. If a tutor or a guardian treats us with tenderness, and fweetens the dull path of inftruction with good humour and lenity, I fhould hope that our innate principles could not but infpire us with gratitude and love for fo amiable a character; where thefe virtues are refident, we have happiness within our reach; where they are wanting, we should think it Heaven to reflect only on the shadow.

T. B.

L. P.

The

TH

HE inftitution of that important office which your country now calls upon you to execute, is fo ancient in itself, has been fo often and fo ably explained, is fo generally understood, and its advantages to the fubject are fo univerfally felt throughout this kingdom, that it would be unpardonable in me to Lake up any of your time on that subject; but as fome errors have moft unaccountably crept into the method of executing this office, I fhall take the liberty to point out thofe, which I think both have been, and may still be, injurious to the liberty and reputation of his majefty's fubjects.

-And the firft error I fhall mention, is an opinion that has been received by fome grand juries, that flight and probable evidence is fufficient to warrant the finding of a bill of indictment, and thereby to put the party on his trial, leaving the merits to be more particularly enquired into by the petty jury; this is directly oppofite to the opinions of the ableft lawyers, and is an open violation of the laws of reafon and humanity. The most approved lawyers tell you, that the fame degree of evidence is neceffary to warrant a grand jury to find a bill of indictment, as would juftify a petty jury to find a verdict against the prifoner; and if the party injured, together with his witneffes, cannot make out fuch a clear cafe to you, as will convince you of the guilt of the party charged, where they run no risk of contradiction, how unreafonable it is to think, that they will be able to convince the petty jury, when the fuppofed offender has an opportunity of making his defence? And, how fhocking is to humanity, to fee an innocent perfon brought to his trial for an offence without almost any evidence to fupport the charge? If you will remember that in criminal cafes, it is almoft as difgraceful to be tried, as it is to be convicted. On these confiderations, therefore, you ought to be extremely careful, that no fubject fhould be brought to the fhame of a trial, where there is not fubftantial evidence to prove the offence.

the care of the door-keeper, with directions to keep them together in the witnefs-room, which is at your door: and as fast as they are examined, let the door-keeper make them go down ftairs: I mention this method thus exactly, because it has been found of great ufe in this court, in the investigation of truth; to difcover which, you cannot take too much pains, as by your oath you are enjoined to prefent the truth, and nothing but the truth,

To

Having faid thus much concerning the execution of your office, I fhall beg leave to make a few obfervations on the offences, which from the Goaler's Calendar may probably be fubject to your enquiry, and these are frauds, felonies, and riots. By the 30th of George II. a provifion is made for the punishment for fuch cheats as obtain the goods of tradefmen and other perfons, by falfe pretences, with an intention to defraud. punish fuch offenders, therefore, it ought to be proved to your fatisfaction, that the goods were really obtained by falfe pretences, and with an intention to defraud the perfon out of them ought to be evidenced, otherwise it would be mere matter of credit, and not indictable. As to felonies they are charges of a ferious nature, and like an infection deftroying the character of the perfon it touches. The defcription of theft is, that it should be done forceably or privately, but with a felonious mind, otherwife it is no more than a trefpafs. * The last offence I mean to speak of is Riots, the beft defcription of which in the law books, is when three or more are gathered together in a riotous and tumultuous manner; to the terror of the inhabitants, and commit fome unlawful act. The word Liberty is in the mouth of every Englishman, and in order to know whether it be in his heart alfo, and whether he has a juft and becoming fenfe of this great privilege, examine well if he fear God, honour the king, and be obedient to the law; if he fail in either of thefe, he must be an hypocrite, a mock patriot, and a libertiné; a true Englishman knows that his perfon or property cannot be injured with impunity, if he flies to the laws of his country for redrefs; but he that takes the law into his own hand, and commits riots to obtain juftice, is no longer an Englishman but a rebel. What fort of Englishmen must those be who meet in a riotous and tumultuous manner in our freets, and without provocacation, beat and wound inoffenfive paffengers, and break the windows of quiet inhabitants? What fort of Englishmen must thofe be, who

you must not forget that Sir John Fielding

hearing