Alteratives too; there must be a Change of Measures as well as a Dif charge of Men And the Method I would humbly offer is in general this, that you would be pleased to follow this general Rule, always to beware of iuch Minifters, and to avoid fuch Schemes and Counfels as are fimilar to thofe employed and adopted throughout the Reign of every one of the Stuarts, and then you can fuarcely err; for whatever is oppofite to their Principles and Practices, i. the direct Road to your Security and Succefs. But to be more par ticular, Firft, Make the Intereft of England your chief Defign and Aim; and fince you are born and bred amongst us, and it is to be fuppofed glory in the Name of Englishman, become intirely an Englfb King. England is a Nation jealous of Rivals in her Prince's Favour, and thinks herself deferving of his Care and his Careffes. If the People of England think you have a favourable Opinion of them, they will deferve it; if not, they may perhaps at laft be driven to deferve your worst Opinion too. This Humour of the Nation Queen Elizabeth found early, and applied herself fo happily to it, as by this fingle Point to mafter all her Difficulties (the greateft it may be that ever Prince had to ftruggle with); whereas her Succeffors, the Stuarts, by contrary Measures brought themselves into very unfortunate Circumstances.

In the next Place, Sir, let me defire you to avoid concerning yourself in Elections of Members. of Parliament, or influencing them when chofen. The Parliament is a facred Part of the English Conftitution, and, like the Ifraelites Ark of old, is not to be touched prophanely, but with great Danger to those who touch it fo; and therefore, Sir, it will be your true Interest to leave the People free to their Choice, and the Members undisturbed in their Seats, and free to their Opinions when chofen. The Practice of corrupting Elections, and the placing and penfioning of Members of Parliament, will always difguft the Nation; and they have Reason to refent it; for this is indeed to make a Pump of the Parliament, and by pouring in a Pint of Water to fetch out a Tun. Pefides, if for the Sake of a Vote, a Member of Parliament shall be placed in an Office of Truft he is not fit for, this is deftroying the Government two Ways at once; for to speak in the old Phrafe, it is making a Parliament of Clouts and officers of Clonts at the fame Stroke. It is true, this is not a new Invention, and the Bulk of the People, who are never rouzed against evil Measures till they feel their Confequences, confine themselves to Murmurs only, as long as the Moderation of the Minifler fupplies the Place of the Conftitution. But whenever a Minifter (as rash and ignorant as wicked) fhall exert that abfolute Power which his Predeceffors, tho' poffeffed of, cautioufly concealed; when he fhall totally annihilate our antient Government, by altering the very Form of Election, and by openly fporting with the fundamental Rights of the Subject, he will by fuch a Proceeding awake the People from their Dream of Liberty, and open their Eyes to their defperate Situation; he will moft juftly provoke them to enquire at laft into their long-loft Right of equal and true Representation. The Event alone will prove whether the

State

State was ripe for fuch Destruction, or whether the Minifter pulled off the Mask too foon; and accordingly the Struggle will either be fucceeded by a new Dawn of Freedom, or a long Night of Slavery

close upon us.

Thus, Sir, I have fet before your Majefty what in my poor Judgment is for your Intereft to purfue, and what is for your Service to avoid, what will make your Majefty and this Nation happy, and what will make both unhappy, and I heartily pray the great, good, and wife God to direct, blefs, and profper your Majefty in all your Designs for the Good of these Kingdoms, and the Happiness of your People. If I have ufed too great a Free. dom, or have offended in what I defigned for your Service, I am forry for it. I call God to Witnefs, my Plainnefs proceeds from my Zeal and Affection for your Interefts, and the Profperity of your Affairs, and not from any factious, faucy, or unmannerly Principle. I wish fome abler Pen had taken upon him this Part, but I muft own it has provoked me to fee my Country and my King fo forfaken; the one of Advocates, the other of honeft Counsel; and this has urged me to take upon me thefe two Characters of Advocate and Advifer, for both which I confefs myself very unfit : Not but that, as I faid in the Beginning, I take it to be the Privilege, aye, and the Duty too of every English Subject (provided it be performed with a decent and due Refpect) to lay before the King fuch Matters as may be dangerous to his Perfon or Govern ment to be concealed from his Knowledge; for we are not tied up in England to Spanish Forms, where the King must be wet to the Skin if he whofe proper Office it is be not in the Way to put on his Cloak: And I beg your Majefty to believe that what I have faid is from a Faithfulness and Sincerity which will in all Accidents and Difficulties preferve me unalterably

Your Majefty's most loyal,

Moft dutiful, and moft obedient
SUBJECT.

A Letter faid to have been written by the PRETENDER to a certain EARL his Relation, during his Retirement at Bareges, who answered it in Perfon, by paying a private Vifit to the Writer at Rome.

I

Dear Coufin,

Tis with the utmost pleasure, we fee you purfue fuch vigorous measures for our restoration. We have learned from fad experience, that it is in vain for us to expect this happy event from the feeble efforts of the faithlefs Gauls. We and our loyal adherents have been the dupes, nay the victims, of their intriguing politicks. We are therefore determined never more to place any abfolute confidence in their fallacious promifes, which they regard no longer than they serve their own interested views. It is from the difcontent and ditaffection, which you are fo induftriously fowing throughout the whole British empire, that we hope the expulfion of the H-r family from our dominions.

Your administration has luckily revived the fame quarrels,

7

which

which proved the ruin of our family. If you profecute your plan with the fame fpirit, with which you have begun, I doubt not but you will in a very fhort time render our rival as odious and contemptible, as was James the fecond of religious memory. You justly conclude, that when the minifter has forfeited all efteem and regard, by obftinately perfifting in fchemes big with publick ruin, and is, notwithstanding the moft violent clamour and uproar of the people, protected and trusted by the fn, the - must foon lofe all authority, and be held by a very precarious tenure. This was the fate of Edward II. Henry III Charles I. and many other princes, whofe names it would be tedious to mention. Their minifters, whofe only views were to aggrandize and enrich themselves, brought deftruction upon their own heads, as well as upon thofe of their maiters. You are fenfible, that this would be your cafe, if you were not fure of our coming to your assistance, and refcuing you out of the hands of the people. You may take our royal word for it, that when you have thoroughly drained the treafury, and embroiled the kingdom, you must take a French leave, and fly for refuge into our arms; they will be open to receive you, and to lead you back in triumph to our milled island, when the fchemes, which you have laid under our direction, have had their full effect, and wrought the total ruin of our e-my.

In the mean time, do not fpare the national money in bribing the majority, that they may be as obfequious as they were at the latter end of queen Anne's reign, and alter, when every thing is ripe, the act of ft, by which every catholic branch of the royal line is for ever excluded. As they have already fold the rights of their conftituents, and rendered themselves more infignificant than the parliaments of France, it is evident, that they will make no fcruple of felling likewise their religion. They have already fhown lefs confcience than the tory parliament, which was packed by Harley earl of Oxford, to give the king his own again. What reafon have we then to apprehend they will boggle at fuch a trifling article; They will hardly be choaked with cumins after swallowing camels. For my own part. I look upon their concurrence as certain, as they will be willing to preferve at any price the authority, which they have affumed over the people, and the pelf, which they have acquired an incurable habit of fharing among their own body.

The grand point is to work up the paffions of the people, as you have hitherto done, by a continued feries of acts of tyranny and oppreffion, and to contrive every defpotic measure, in fuch a manner, as to let the principal odium fall on the f n and the

r-1 fly, that they, being deemed the chief authors of every evil, may close the affections of the nation, and become at laft like our forefathers, the object of its vengeance. If you in conjunction with the reft of our good friends, can fucceed in this particular, we have no doubt but our Commons will return to their duty and allegiance.

Our former attempts were founded on the difaffection of the northern part of our united kingdoms to the reigning family. You

very fagaciously obferved, that this body of our fubjects was deficient both in men and money, and was confequently incapable of reeftablishing our throne. You have therefore, with great prudence, followed the fame plan in creating jealoufy, diftrust and difaffection in England, which was formerly ufed in Scotland. Nay you have gone farther. The maffacre of Glenco, the decimation of the Highland regiment, and the difrefpect fhown to the Clans, which were the cuafes of the infurrections then, were but mere trifes, in comparison of the contempt you have fhewn for Englishmen, and the infringements you have made upon their rights. May we not therefore foon expect a more powerful rifing in our favour in the South; I think, if you continue to conduct affairs as you have done, there is little doubt of it. The people perhaps may not intend any commotion they raise, for our advantage. But let the ftorm

once burit, and we shall find means to fifh to fome purpofe in the troubled waters: the majority, for the fake of their wages, will tand our friends, and make another act of settlement, Given at Rome, under our privy seal.

C. R.

A Succinct Detail of the Transactions at the India-House, fo far as they refpect the Government and the Public.

A

Friday, Auguft 11.

Ta general meeting of the proprietors of East India ftock, at their house in Leadenhall-ftreet, Sir George Colebrooke informed the court, that the directors had received, at ten o'clock on Tueday night, a letter from Lord Weymouth, one of his majefty's principal fecretaries of ftate; and as they intended to lay the fubftance of it before the proprietors, (according to the defire of his lordship) begged for an half hour's indulgence, till an abstract should be made out. This was accordingly granted, at half past twelve, the clerk read an extract of the letter, which is in fubftance as follows:

That the commiffion appointing the prefent fupervisors to India, had been taken into confideration by his majesty's fervants, and that it was their opinion, that in fome refpects it was illegal; that in an answer he (lord Weymouth) had received from the di'rectors, refp &ting the appointment of a naval officer, with full power to adjust all maritime affairs in India, he was concerned to find, that they had not totally acceded to it, and therefore begged of the directors that they would reconfider of the commiffion in general, and lay the last article in particular, that of giving 6 unlimited powers to a naval officer, to the proprietary at large.' The directors faid, in excufe for their not complying literally with the requifition of the ministry, that though they were willing to allow a naval officer a certain degree of power in conjunction with the governor and council of Bengal, yet they were cautious in acquiefcing to the request at large, left they might give up too much into the hands of any one perfon; and that Mr. Yorke was clear the commiffion was in every respect legal.

The

The further confideration of this object was, by general agree ment, deferred till Tuesday next; in the mean time the directors were defired to felect and produce fuch letters, papers, or paffages in them, as might give proper light into this interesting concern; and the business of the day, for which the court was called,

went on.

Tuesday, Auguft 15.

At a general meeting of the proprietors of Eaft India ftock, at their houfe in Leadenhall-ftreet, by adjournment, Sir George Colebrooke informed the court, that the directors had received another letter from lord Weymouth, dated that morning, which he propofed being read. The proprietors affenting, the letter was accordingly read, and contained in fubftance as follows:

That lord Weymouth had received an answer from the directors to his laft, by which he believes they, partly. misunderstood him: for as to invefting a naval officer with plenipotentiary powers at large, it was never his idea; all that he wanted to eftablish, being only such a share in the bufinefs of administration, as would be both for the good of the company, and the honour of the adminiftration. That as his fit letter, with theirs (the directors anfwer) were now both to be laid before the proprietors at large to prevent any future misunderstanding, he recommended only the difcuffion of the two following points:-firft, the reconfideration of the commiffion; and next, the degree of authority proper to be invested in a naval officer. To the firft of thefe, he said, as it was a point wherein its legality was demurred to by the fervants of the crown, and the council of the company, he would not pretend to speak on; but in regard, to the fecond, as government, at the request of the company, in the 11th article of the laft definitive treaty of peace with France, made conditions with ⚫ feveral princes in India, it highly refpected their honour, that an officer of theirs fhould be the principal agent in matters offen⚫ five and defenfive.'

After the letter was read, Sir George Colebrook spoke to the following effect:

'Gentlemen,

By this letter, I think, we fhall be able to judge with more precifion than hitherto, as the matter feems now to be reduced more to a point; however, as the directors have only received ⚫ this letter few hours ago, and have not had time fufficient to deliberate on it, I think that this court fhould be adjourned to a further day for the examination of it.'

After Mr. Sullivan, and feveral others, had fpoke, the court was unanimously adjourned.

The speakers on this occafion were,