CLASS III. CONTINUED. CHAPTER I. The Hiftory of England. THE advantages, which refult from an acquaintance with the hiftory of our own country, are too obvious to require many previous obfervations. Such knowledge is of the greatest importance to all those who take an active part in the public fervice, either as officers of the army or navy, magiftrates, or members of parliament. And to perfons of all other defcriptions it is equally agreeable, if not equally neceffary; because, as every Englishman finds a peculiar gratification in deciding upon the propriety of political measures, and estimating the merits of thofe who direct the helm of government; he cannot form correct opinions, by adverting to the plans which have for ages been pursued, as conducive to the best interests of the nation, or by contemplating the caufes of national disgrace or glory, if he neglects to lay the foundation, upon which fuch correct opinions can alone be built. The love of our country naturally awakens in us spirit of curiosity to inquire into the conduct of VOL. 11. B our our ancestors, and to learn the memorable events of their history and this is certainly a far more urgent motive, than any which usually prompts us to the pursuit of other historical refearches. Nothing that happened to our forefathers can be a matter of indifference to us. It is natural to indulge the mixed emotions of veneration and esteem for them; and our regard is not founded upon blind partiality, but refults from the most steady and rational attachment. We are their defcendants, we reap the fruits of their public and private labours, and we not only fhare the inheritance of their property, but derive reputation from their noble actions. A Ruffian or a Turk may have a ftrong predilection for his country, and entertain a profound veneration for his ancestors: but, deftitute as he finds himself of an equal fhare of the bleffings which refult from fecurity, liberty, and impartial laws, he can never feel the fame generous and pure patriotifm, which glows in the breaft of a Briton. If an Englishman, faid the great Frederic of Pruffia, has no knowledge of thofe kings that filled the throne of Perfia; if his memory is embarrassed with that infinite number of popes that ruled the church, we are ready to excufe him: but we shall hardly have the fame indulgence for him, if he is a Stranger to the origin of parliaments, to the customs of his country, and to the different lines of kings who have reigned in England. • Memoirs of the Houfe of Brandenburg. In the eventful pages of her history, England prefents fome of the most interefting fcenes that the annals of the world can produce. In this country liberty has maintained frequent and bloody conflicts with defpotifm; fometimes fhe has funk oppreffed under the chains of tyrants, and fometimes reared her head in triumph. Here Charles the first brought, in defiance of all justice, to the fcaffold, and James the fecond compelled by the voice of his injured people to abdicate his throne, have given awful leffons to the fovereigns of the world. Here kings and fubjects, after engaging in the warmest oppofition of interefts, have made mutual conceffions; and the prerogative of the one, and the privileges of the other, have been fixed upon the folid basis of the general good. In the midft of civil commotions, as well as in the intervals of tranquillity, Science, Genius, and Arts have flourished, and advanced the national character above that of the neighbouring ftates. For this is the country of men defervedly renowned for their talents, learning, and difcoveries in the various branches of art and fcience; to whom future generations will bow with refpect and veneration, as to their guides and inftructors. In this island Shakefpeare and Milton displayed their vaft powers of original genius, Locke developed the faculties of the mind, and Newton explained and illuftrated the laws of nature. Here were trained thofe adventurous Navigators, who have conveyed the British flag to the extremities of the globe, added new dominions to their native land, extended the range B 2 range of nautical fcience, and fpread the bleffings of civilization among the moft remote people. Here mankind at large may contemplate a CoNSTITUTION, which is propitious to the higheft advancement of the moral and intellectual powers of man, which enfures perfonal fafety, maintains perfonal dignity, and combines the public and private advantages of all other governments. This conftitution, which has fo powerful and fo happy an influence upon the character, fentiments, and profperity of the British nation, arose from the conflict of difcordant interefts, and was meliorated by the wisdom of the moft fagacious and enlightened legislators. Referving a more exact inquiry into the regular train of events for future ftudies, let us at present confine our attention to a fhort view of thofe memorable reigns, during which the principles of the prefent conftitution were developed, and those laws were enacted which form its fupport. By the Conftitution is to be understood, "that collection of laws, eftablishments, and cuftoms, derived from certain principles of expediency and juftice, and directed to certain objects of public utility, according to which the majority of the British. people have agreed to be governed." Or, according to a more popular mode of definition, it is "the legiflative and executive government of Great Britain, confifting of the King, the House of Peers, and the Houfe of Commons, as established at the Revolution, and as their privileges have been explained by fubfequent acts of parliament." From |