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attempts to extend power are always dangerous, nor will they often fail to prove fatal to the inftruments of them. If that Jay, which is one of the characteristics of freedom, departs from us, we give up one of the strongest out-works of the conftitution; and by becoming lefs attentive to warnings, must lofe half of our defence againft encroachments.

Prerogative is misunderstood, when it is thought to be fome peculiar right, or intereft, which the crown has above, or oppofed, to the rights and privileges of the people. It is not an abfolute power, or fomething fo very near it, as not to be distinguishable from it, which was the notion James I. had endeavoured to establish, as his three fucceffors, defcended from him, alfo did. It is, in reality, no more than that fhare of the government, which is vested in the crown as the balance of the conftitution, and for the general welfare of the community. It is itfelf, in every part, a trust for the people, not a perfonal or patrimonial property or eftate of the prince: the people therefore, for their own fakes, will always fupport the prerogative in its juft extent. But it is one of those things that have a fort of attracting quality, and feems in its nature to tend towards growth or increafe; and therefore, when prerogative becomes the language of the court, it is full time for liberty to take the alarm. The rights and privileges of the people fhould then be diligently enquired into, that no advantage may be gained over them by furprize. For as my lord Coke obferves, "When any ancient law or custom is broke through, and the crown poffeffed of a precedent, it will be found very difficult to restore the fubjects to their former freedom and liberty."

The honour of the prefent, delegated or deputed, adminiftration, has, by the irarum indulgentes miniftri, been afferted with violence, under colour of acting by the authority of the

law.

They, whofe only offence was the credit of their perfonal talents, and the merit of their public fervices, which others could not rival, and therefore wifhed to deftroy, have experienced all the infolence of abufe, and impudence of fatire, which the arts of enmity, edged with pay, and unbridled by truth, could pour forth. Neither dignity nor fame have defended, nor private fituation protected, against the malignity. of defpair; but conicious virtue was able to repel the moit venomous darts with its own unborrowed mail; and the true fuperiority of foul, which always attends it, held in contempt. the impotent efforts of flander, which could not make itself be felt. They who have been the inftruments of all this, are known to have been employed and paid by those who

ought

ought to be ashamed of having any such service done to them, Places, penfions and reverfions have alike been the rewards of flatterers to the Favourite, and abuse of the late King: Summa fcelera peraguntur cum præmio.

Can there be a worfe act, or a greater cruelty to a king, than for a Favourite to perfuade him, that perfons the most attached to him and his family, are his enemies; to rob his Majefty of the pleasure of knowing he has the affection of his beft fubjects; to taint his mind with prejudices against those who are devoted to him in the highest degree, as if they were the most undutiful fubjects of his government, and the bittereft enemies of his crown?

Continuation of the Notes on the Works of the late Mr. CHURCHILL.

T

Epistle to William Hogarth.

HE Scottish minifter had been attacked in a variety of political papers. The North Briton, in particular, waged open war with him-Some of the numbers had been afcribed to Mr. Wilkes, others to Mr, Churchill, and Mr. Lloyd. Mr. Hogarth had for several years lived on terms of friendship and intimacy with Mr. Wilkes, As the Buckinghamshire regiment of militia, which this gentleman had the honour of commanding, had been for fome months at Winchefter, guarding the French prifoners, the colonel was there on that duty. A friend wrote to him, that Mr. Hogarth intended foon to publish a political print of the times, in which Mr. Pitt, Lord Temple, Mr. Churchill and bimfelf, were held out to the public, as objects of ridicule. Mr. Wilkes, on this notice, remonftrated by two of their common friends to Mr. Hogarth, that fuch a proceeding would not only be unfriendly in the highest degree, but extremely injudicious; for fuch a pencil ought to be universal and moral, to speak to all ages and all nations, not to be dipt in the dirt of the faction of a day, of an infignificant part of the country, when it might command the admiration of the whole. An anfwer was fent, that neither Mr. Wilkes nor Mr. Churchill were attacked in the times, tho' Lord Temple and Mr. Pitt were, and that the print would foon appear. A fecond meffage foon after told Mr. Hogarth, that Mr. Wilkes would never think it worth his while to take notice of any reflections on himself, but when his friends were attacked, he then found himself

wounded

wounded in the moft fenfible part, and would, as well as he could, revenge their caufe; adding, that if he thought the North Briton would infert what he fhould fend, he would make an appeal to the public on the very Saturday following the publication of the print. The Times foon after appeared, and on the Saturday following, No. 17. of the North Briton. If Mr. Wilkes did write that paper, he kept his word better with Mr. Hogarth, than the painter had done with him.

When Mr. Wilkes was the fecond time brought from the Tower to Westminster-hall, Mr. Hogarth fkulked behind in a corner of the gallery of the court of Common Pleas, and while the lord chief juftice Pratt, with the eloquence and courage of Old Rome, was enforcing the great principles of Magna Charta and the English Conftitution, while every breaft from his caught the holy flame of liberty, the painter was employed in caricaturing the perfon of the man, while all the rest of his fellow-citizens were animated in his caufe; for they knew it to be their own caufe, that of their country and of its laws. It was declared to be fo a few hours after, by the unanimous fentence of the judges of that court; and they were ALL prefent. The print of Mr. Wilkes was foon after published, drawn from the life by William Hogarth. It muft be allowed to be an excellent compound caricatura, or a caricatura of what nature had already caricatured. I know but one fhort apology to be made for this gentleman, or, to fpeak more properly, for the perfon of Mr. Wilkes; it is, that he did not make himself, and that he never was folicitous about the cafe of his foul (as Shakespear calls it) only fo far as to keep it clean and in health. I never heard that he once hung over the glaffy ftream, like another Narciffus, admiring the image in it, nor that he ever ftole an amorous look at his counterfeit in a fide mirrour. His form, fuch as it is, ought to give him no pain, while it is capable of giving fo much pleasure to others. I believe he finds himself tolerably happy in the clay cottage to which he is tenant for life, becaufe he has learned to keep it in pretty good order; while the share of health and animal fpirits, which heaven has given him, fhall hold out. I can fcarcely imagine he will be one moment peevish about the outfide of fo precarious, fo te.nporary a habitation, or will ever be brought to own Ingenium Galba male habitat: Monfieur eft mal loge.

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The WILL: Or, The Self-drawn Piɛure,

I'm leave my courage

"LL leave my courage to hot burning braves,

My public fpirit, and my fcorn of places,
To every Janus rafcal with two faces;
I'll leave my leapstick spring to fupple finners,
To minifterial quacks, and new beginners;
I'll leave my eloquence to rant and bawl
At the Old Baily, and at Hicks's Hall,
At Newgate, and the pifcatorial stall;
My faith, my probity, and fair pretences,

To cred'lous blockheads who have loft their fenfes ;
To hackney'd juftices, and wights o'th' pannel,
I leave my trading crutches and my flannel;
My deep exordium, and my awful pause,
To any acting oracle o'th' laws;

My veering principles, my patriot blood,
To fuch as fuffer for the public good:
To fmugglers, highwaymen, I freely leave,
And all the brothers of th' unhappy brave,
My thorny confcience, and my plaintive eye,
To fuch as hate themfelves, and wifh to die,
To fhew mankind I act a grateful part,
I'll leave the city both my tongue and heart,
Which they may lock up in a golden urn,
Or, if they choofe, at Billingfgate may burn,
My character and name, let none diffever,
I give to black obfcurity for ever.

To the EDITOR of the POLITICAL REGISTER.

SIR,

A very extraordinary indictment, for a very extraordinary offence, committed by a very extraordinary perfonage, having been presented to the grand jury for the city of London, in February Seffions, 1765, then fitting at the Old Bailey; and it being probable that no farther proceedings will be had thereon, I have procured from a friend a copy of it, in order to be depofited in your valuable Regifter; and this as a curiofity worthy to be handed down to pofterity, not only as an inftance of a very grave charge (which might, it feems, have been made ftill graver by an additional charge,

for

for actual poifon) against the faid extraordinary perfonage; but, as a lasting monument to the honour of thofe truly good and great men of the city of London, by whofe courage, and on whofe oath, the faid bill of indictment was found A True Bill. A true copy therefore of the fame, together with the names of the faid refpectable grand jury, are here, for the fake of public juftice, tranfmitted to you to difpofe of as you fhall think proper.

I am, Sir, your very humble fervant,

22 September, 1767.

London, TH

to wit.

PHILO JUSTICIA.

HE jurors for our fovereign lord the king, upon their oath, prefent, That Claudius Lewis Francis Regnier, count de Guerchy, late of London aforesaid, being a perfon of a cruel mind and difpofition, and not having the fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and feduced by the inftigation of the devil, and having conceived the utmoft malice towards Charles Genevieve Lewis Auguftus Andrew Timothy D'Eon de Beaumont, and not regarding the laws of this realm, on the 31st day of October, in the fourth year of the reign of our fovereign lord George the Third, by the grace of God, king of Great Britain, France and Ireland, defender of the faith, and fo forth, at London aforefaid, in the parish of St. Mary Le Bow, in the ward of Cheap, did wickedly, unlawfully, and maliciously folicit and endeavour to perfuade and procure one Peter Henry Treyflac de Vergy to aflaffinate the faid Charles Genevieve Lewis Auguftus Andrew Timothy D'Eon de Beaumont, with intent that he the faid Peter Henry Treyffac de Vergy fhould kill and murder the faid Charles Genevieve Lewis Auguftus Andrew Timothy D'Eon de Beaumont, to the great damage of the faid Charles Genevieve Lewis Auguftus Andrew Timothy D'Eon de Beaumont, in contempt of our faid fovereign lord the king and his laws, to the evil and pernicious example of all others in the like cafe offending, and against the peace of our faid lord the king, his crown and dignity. And the jurors aforefaid, upon their oath aforefaid, further prefent, That the faid Claudius Lewis Francis Regnier, count de Guerchy, being a perfon of a cruel mind and difpofition as aforefaid, and not having the fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and feduced by the inftiga tion of the devil, and having conceived the utmoft malice towards

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