T0_ 
 
 SBMDS, FATHERS/AO BROTHERS, 
 
 SPECIALLY THOSE OF THE LABOURING CLASSES: 
 
 LRNING AGAINST PREVAILING DELUSIONS, 
 
 A WORD IN SEASON 
 I WEARY AND HEAVY LADEN. 
 
 I A BROTHER. 
 
 EDINBURGH: 
 
 ROBERT GRANT & SON, 82 PRINCES STREET. 
 LONDON: LONGMAN & CO. 
 irocccxLviii. 
 
S bv. tV >v\ 'o V^ 
 
j WARNING AGAINST PREVAILING DELUSIONS, &<, 
 
 j ___ 
 
 | “ WHERE THE SPIRIT OP THE LORD IS, THERE IS LIBERTY:” 
 
 | ' 
 
 | In addressing myself to Scotchmen, I scruple not to 
 j appeal to the words of Holy Scripture for the ground and 
 i authority of what I have to say. For I know you have 
 ■ not now to learn that the Bible is the voice of perfect wis- 
 | dom; nor to he told that, in its words, man hears the words 
 | of man’s lest friend. 
 
 | We talk about liberty; and liberty is a good thing. 
 But where is this liberty ? “ Where the Spirit of the Lord 
 is, there is liberty!” He is a freeman whom the truth 
 makes free, and all are slaves beside. Independence— 
 happiness—are in the mind, not in circumstances. 
 
 So our own Burns sings; 
 
 | “If happiness hath not her seat 
 
 , And centre in the breast; 
 
4 j 
 
 This is both true poetry, and true wisdom. But there j 
 are those, who are endeavouring to make us believe that 
 happiness consists in a man having a vote for a member of l 
 Parliament; and wishing to persuade us that a change in i 
 the political constitution of the kingdom will give us ' 
 every blessing,—make the poor rich, the weary strong, j 
 and the discontented satisfied. But these things depend 
 far more on the constitution of the mind, than the constitu¬ 
 tion of the kingdom. The virtuous mind, is free under the 
 reign of a tyrant. "While the wicked and rebellious, it is 
 said, “dwell in a dryland.” They are always thirsty; 
 always in want; always in bondage; always oppressed; 
 for their tyrants are within themselves, the wild leasts of 
 their own hearts,—anger, envy, hatred, and uncharitable¬ 
 ness. These continually oppress them, and “ they have 
 no rest day nor night ” because of them. 
 
 Such were the wild beasts which made desolate unhap¬ 
 py France, at the end of the last century; and have now 
 broken loose again, but with less cruelty. i 
 
 Many things then required reformation in the govern- ; 
 ment of France. But no one can read the direful histoiy 1 
 of that period, without seeing, that the reformation most | 
 needed, was in the spirits of the reformers themselves; | 
 without which, no outward change whatever could give :j 
 them rest. All their history, since that day, has proved it. E 
 They did all they willed to do !—they swept away every- J 
 thing that displeased them! But though they could destroy, | 
 they could not rebuild. And another revolution has sue- | 
 ceeded (1830), and another—and the happiness they desire !| 
 is still as far ofif as ever. if 
 
j 5 
 
 ■I Such things as these should teach us wisdom. And when 
 j men try to persuade us, that making six changes in the British 
 j Constitution, will ensure our happiness, before committing 
 | ourselves to their measures, we should endeavour to find out 
 hvhat kind of happiness they wish; and whether as Christian 
 j men, we are at liberty to seek it in the way they desire; or 
 i whether the constitution which needs changing first, he 
 | not the constitution of their own minds. Scripture is the 
 ! test of the moral character of all actions, as well of nations, as 
 | of individuals. And history is the only test of the benefits 
 of abstract politics. 
 
 If, when men “ promise us liberty,” we discover that 
 they themselves are the “ servants of corruption,” we can 
 have nothing to do with their liberty. If we find them in¬ 
 dulging in lying, and falsewitness, and fierce violence, we 
 should recommend them to change the constitution of their 
 own minds, before they meddle with the State. 
 
 Look at the exposure of corruption, in the late petition 
 for the People’s Charter, as it is called. Declared by the 
 member of Parliament who presented it, to be signed by 
 five million six hundred thousand men; and discovered to 
 contain not more than one million nine hundred thousand 
 signatures: an immense number of these being forgeries; 
 such as the names of “ the Queen,” and “ the Duke of 
 Wellington;” also names utterly fictitious, such as “Pug- 
 nose,” and the like ; all mixed up with obscene and blas¬ 
 phemous words. Now, I say, let us judge of such a thing 
 as this as men of common sense, and common honesty, 
 and we shall say, the men who prepared, and presented 
 this petition to the House of Commons, ought to have 
 
S' 
 
 known what was in it. If they cannot take care of their j 
 own private affairs, how shall they be able to take care 
 of the things of a kingdom ? If they make such huge' 
 blunders in casting up the number of signatures to their 
 petition, how will they manage the finances of this great ■ 
 nation ? ,■ 
 
 And what did the delegate from one of our Scotch towns r 
 (Dundee) say to the Convention ? He said—“ he was the J 
 representative of between sixty and seventy thousand peo- j 
 pie.” That is the whole number of the inhabitants of j 
 Dundee, men, women, and children! And this is one of l 
 the men, whose trade is to “ speak evil of dignities,” and | 
 talk “ great swelling words ” about virtue and truth and I 
 honesty. At the meeting at which this man was chosen to ! ' 
 be a delegate, there was another candidate proposed, but 
 rejected, one of those who spoke against him objecting 
 that he was a preacher, and he haled all preachers! IVas 
 that man put down, or called to order, for saying such a 
 thing in the midst of Christian men ? No! And, as a 
 straw is enough to shew which way the wind blows ; so 
 this suffices to shew how the fear of God is passing away; 
 and men are seeking for, and hoping to obtain, happiness , ^ 
 without God, or the fear of God, or the ways of God—as I 
 if God ruled only in heaven, and had nothing to do with is 
 the earth. We know how the foolish king Nebuchadnezzar fj 
 once said so, and thought it in his heart; whereupon God 
 “ drove him from men, to herd with the beasts of the field, | 
 till he should know that the Most High ruleth in the king- I) 
 doms of men.” A voice has long been sounding in these fij 
 lands, saying, “ religion has nothing to do with politics." | 
 
7 
 
 jUntliinMng men repeat the word; and it sounds very fine 
 land philosophic; but it is nothing else than the denial of 
 i God’s sovereignty. And the next step is, “ the voice of 
 jthe people is the voice of God.” 0, ye brothers, and hus¬ 
 bands, and fathers ; ye Scotchmen, whose forefathers shed 
 ] then- blood for the truth’s sake, do not worship this beast 
 j that is rising up ! Do not say, we are God! 
 
 | In such a path you shall find licentiousness enough, but 
 I no liberty; for “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is 
 | liberty.” And we all know what his spirit was—a meek 
 | and lowly heart. From his parents’ roof to his death upon 
 | the cross, we see one exhibition of obedience and cheerful 
 i submission to authority! 
 
 It is delusion to say religion has nothing to do with 
 politics. Eeligion has to do with everything. Everything 
 we do, is either done in the Spirit of Christ, or not in the 
 Spirit of Christ. If we act in the Spirit of Christ, we are 
 Freemen. If we act not in the Spirit of Christ, we are 
 Slaves. Go, then, to the meetings of these political 
 agitators, and see whether the spirit of the meek and 
 lowly one be there, or the spirit of the fierce “ King of 
 Pride.” 0 ye Chartists, I appeal to you. I speak to you. 
 I have no anger against you. I wish you had all the good 
 you expect from the Charter ten times over. But you 
 will never have it in this world. But you shall have 
 it, if you will: and that speedily. For a better king¬ 
 dom than mortal eye hath ever seen is near to come, 
 and the inheritance is offered freely to all. “ The tree of 
 life shall be there. And there shall be no more curse." 
 Do rulers oppress you? He vrill judge them. But do 
 
8 
 
 you pray for them. Are you poor ? To you is this mes¬ 
 sage of glad tidings sent. It is hut a wry little while j 
 and He will come. “ For the sighing of the poor and the l 
 crying of the needy He will arise.” “ He will rend the 
 heavens and come down.” “ And the kingdom, and do- j 
 minion, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole ! 
 heaven, shall he given to the saints of the Most High.”— 
 Dan. vii. 27. The redeemed earth shall be yours for an 
 everlasting possession. “ And God shall wipe away all 
 tears from off all faces.” Your bodies shall he made 
 like unto his glorious body. And in your flesh you 
 shall see God, even the Lord Jesus Christ, your brother. I 
 You shall possess the earth for ever, and delight your¬ 
 selves in the abundance of peace; for the mouth of the ! 
 Lord has spoken it. Think not death puts an end to all 
 enjoyments: and men vanish away into invisible space. 
 All true enjoyment begins at the coming of the Lord. 
 Instead of an earth under the curse, bringing forth thorns 
 and thistles, shall be the desert blossoming as the rose. 
 Instead of sickness and sorrow, everlasting joy shall be 
 upon our heads. . Instead of oppression, shall be the 
 blessed and righteous rule of the Lamb of God. What 1 
 has hindered it from coming long ago ? Nothing but our 
 unbelief. He has been waiting, longing to hear us cry, 
 and say, Come, Lord Jesus! But we have been fighting 
 against one another , to tiy to make some imaginary happi¬ 
 ness in the earth as it is; instead of striving together in 
 supplication and prayer, that he would come and make all 
 things new. Oh, if but a thousandth part of the breath 
 that has swept over the earth in anger and reproach , 
 
liad ascended up in prayer for one another to the Lord; 
 long ere this he would have come, and set up his king¬ 
 dom of peace. 0 my brothers, the hope of this is a better 
 hope than all you have beside. Your other hopes may 
 fail you. I believe they will fail you. But this hope 
 is sure and everlasting. To build expectations on the 
 earth as it is, is building on a quicksand; for the fashion 
 of this world is passing away. See what St Peter says in 
 his second epistle, 2d chap. 10, 11, 12, 18 and 19 verses, 
 regarding the character of the men whose hopes centre 
 in this present world: and avoid the delusion. Let us 
 beat our swords into ploughshares—turn our hitter words 
 into prayer. Ah ! hut if you will follow the steps of the 
 lowly One : you must he content to be called poor spirited 
 slaves ! Can you hear this ? Yes, my brothers, you can. 
 If the servants of corruption are not ashamed of their 
 master; we will not be ashamed to confess that Jesus is 
 Lord over us, and that we will not obey any other laws 
 than Ms. 
 
 Say not, my friends, “ ours is a political question, not a 
 religious one.” Almost everything partakes of a religious 
 character. Religion is a condition. It is a condition where¬ 
 in the spirit of a man is laid hold of, and held fast, by the 
 power of the will of another: embracing as its law the 
 principles and precepts of that other’s mind. All men 
 are witnessing that the present time is essentially spiritual 
 by all their words. Every one you meet tells you about 
 the spirit that is abroad. The sad fact, however, is, that 
 we talk about spirit without considering what we say; 
 and, in consequence, are led and driven by spiritual power 
 
10 
 
 while supposing that we are guiding ourselves; and are led 
 captive by an unseen hand, while dreaming only of liberty. 
 What is the cry in France ? We have no king! They think 
 they have broken such bands from off their necks for ever. 
 They know not that, in their hatred of kings, they have 
 chosen to bow their necks to the yoke of the “ cruel king,” 
 the “ king over all the children of pride.” It is a hard 
 bondage—a cruel deception. 
 
 But God is just. If men will not receive the truth in the 
 love of it, what can save them from believing a lie ? Do 
 you ask what truth is not received ? The truth of the duty 
 of obedience. This is the truth which is not received; and 
 it is the especial mark of the religion of Christ—just as 
 disobedience is the mark of the religion of Antichrist. 
 
 The great question which is now coming to an issue is 
 this, “ Is power from above or beneath ?” Are the powers 
 that be, ordained of God or not? Is obedience to au¬ 
 thority a duty or not? And all things shew that the de¬ 
 cision is close at hand. One by one the foundations of 
 all rule and authority have been sapped by the operation 
 of that principle which we have called the enlightened 
 spirit of the age. All knowledge has been increased but 
 the knowledge of the fear of God; and education embraces 
 all training save the training of the spirit of reverence and 
 obedience. Undutifulness to parents has ceased to be a 
 shame. Conceit and boasting are no longer despised. But 
 we have learned to think that we are wiser than our fore¬ 
 fathers ; and every youth pronounces positively in praise or 
 censure of-the deepest matters of statesmanship, and the 
 highest mysteries of religion. Everything old is called anti- 
 
11 
 
 quated. Principles receive the name of prejudices, and are 
 superseded everywhere by expediency. Truth is held to 
 be a matter of opinion—consequently as various as the 
 minds of men. Before such a principle, or rather want of 
 principle, as this, must every institution, political, social, 
 and religious, he swept away. 
 
 0 ye reformers, I honour the thought within your bosom, 
 that abuses ought to be remedied: and imperfections re¬ 
 moved. Reform is a holy word. But do not reform 
 without the Spirit of God. Do not call destruction refor¬ 
 mation. Set up some standard for your guidance. And 
 do not worship gods of change and chance. As Christian 
 reformers, you must bear in mind, at least, these two things, 
 that the will of God is the only foundation of true princi¬ 
 ples ; and the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only 
 admissible spirit of action. But instead of the will of God, 
 the will of the people has become supreme. Which in¬ 
 volves a double lie; first, that the people is God: and 
 secondly, that the universal mind has been ascertained; a 
 thing which never has been, and never can be. Neverthe¬ 
 less, this popular will is on every side extolled as the only 
 criterion of what is right. 
 
 In France we see the name of the Eepablic, for the present, 
 representing the will of the people : and it is lauded to the 
 sky as divine, infallible, all-wise, all-virtuous, almighty. 
 What it affirms is right. W r hat it disallows is wrong. The 
 men who refuse all respect, all acknowledgment to the name 
 of “ King” which name God has ordained; and which is 
 sanctified for ever in the person of the Son of God, are 
 willing to worship this republic, the creature of their own 
 
12 
 
 mind, tlieir impersonation, and obey it, and die for it. 
 Yet what is this sovereign will ? This People-God ? Let 
 us hear what M. Lamartine himself has said in his little 
 work entitled “ The Manner of 'Writing History for The 
 People.” He says, “ Yet what is the people ? Take each 
 individual, one by one, and what do you find ? The same 
 ignorances, the same errors, the same passions, the same 
 vices, perhaps, as elsewhere. Multiply then,” says he, “ all 
 these ignorances, vices, passions, miserable weaknesses, 
 by as many millions as you please, you will not change 
 their nature.” No one can deny the truth of this. And 
 it proves that the whole stands in need of that which each 
 individual requires, viz., government, direction, superin¬ 
 tendence, instruction. And if each man require these 
 things, whence shall, whence can the blessing come ? From 
 God. By whom? By whomsoever he will; kings, go¬ 
 vernors, judges, parents, pastors. By men taken of him, 
 and used of him as channels through whom, and by whom, 
 he may convey those blessings which all need. And here j 
 is the mighty difference between God’s way and men’s 
 way. In the former we recognise God’s ordinance, and 
 honour and obey Him in the ordinance; and not the men. 
 While in the latter, men are seen worshipping and serving 
 their equals, “holding men’s persons in admiration.” Look 
 at the question from whatever side you will, God’s ways 
 are ways of freedom : and every invention of man leads 
 into bondage. Every man has his proper gift of God. 
 Every man’s rights are appointed of God. ' If kings have a 
 right to reign, the subjects’ right is to obey. Each has his 
 privilege. And he who would rob me of my privilege of \ 
 
13 
 
 obedience, would deprive me of the opportunity of using the 
 talent God has given me, and thereby prevent my earning 
 its corresponding reward. Again, M. Lamartine says, “ po¬ 
 pular writers have hitherto grossly flattered the people, a 
 proof that they had no great esteem for them; for we only 
 flatter those whom we seek to seduce.” They have said, let us 
 tell the people that right resides in numbers; that their will is 
 j ustice; that all means are good which secure the popular 
 cause; and that crimes are effaced by the grandeur and 
 sanctity of results.” This he says is the course which men 
 pursue when they wish to get the aid of popular strength 
 to “ upset governments.” And he adds, “ When by these 
 means they shall have overthrown a despotism and con¬ 
 vulsed Europe, then they will dismiss them.” Yet what 
 does this same man, who could see so well that multiplying 
 never so many weaknesses could not make one strength; nor 
 millions of crimes one virtue; nor unnumbered ignorances 
 one wisdom; what does this man now say? “ You, the 
 people, are about to accomplish the greatest act in the life 
 of a nation, to elect the representatives of the people, to call 
 forth by your votes, not only a government, hut a social 
 power,—an entire constitution. You are about to organise 
 the Republic.” A heavy task indeed for numberless weak¬ 
 nesses to accomplish! 
 
 It is such things .as these that draw tears from the 
 eyes of all who know the honest and hard-working poor, 
 and desire their good. How respectable, how respected 
 are the intelligent artisans of this country. Princes and 
 poets, nobles and statesmen, visit the manufactories where 
 they are employed, and acknowledge with admiration their 
 
14 
 
 intelligence and skill. A skilful workman is a far more 
 respectable person than a bad statesman. And the ar¬ 
 tisans of France who leave their honourable occupations 
 to become spouters in a National Assembly, throw away 
 , their standing; and exchange substance for shadow. No 
 machinery is so complicated as the machinery of govern¬ 
 ment. None hut they whose minds have been engaged for 
 years in contemplating its mechanism, its balances, and 
 compensations, its thousand wheels whose movements 
 depend upon each other, are fitted to control it. In 
 mechanical things men have this perception by instinct; 
 and in beholding machinery in motion, they keep their 
 hands quiet; and the forward and ignorant visiter, who 
 should presume to act otherwise, would incur the contempt 
 of the workmen, and run the risk of losing a limb. Yet 
 men allow themselves to be persuaded that they can manage 
 that State Machinery, the derangement of which would in¬ 
 volve not themselves only, but their country in ruin! TV hat 
 result can any sane man expect but confusion, from the future 
 legislation of the French National Assembly ! They may 
 decree prosperity; but prosperity is not to be obtained by 
 a decree. 
 
 One of the decrees which has already come forth is for 
 obtaining riches out of poverty. The profits of manufacturing 
 having been destroyed, works were suspended. Whereon 
 it was decreed that government should take possession of 
 them and work them. And the plan provides, that out of 
 the profits, the workmen’s wages (the amount of which they 
 are to settle) shall first be paid; and after that, the surplus 
 shall be divided into four parts; one-fourth for a sinking 
 
15 
 
 } fund, for the proprietor; one-fourth for a fund to support 
 
 I old men, &e.; one-fourth for a bonus to the workmen; 
 
 and the remainder for a reserve fund! All this is gravely 
 I decreed; when the works are being stopped for the only 
 reason that works do stop, viz. want of profits. Does any 
 man in this country believe that a Government Commission 
 could carry on any public work more advantageously than 
 the proprietors themselves ? Would they be more anxious 
 I for a profit than the owners ? Enormous mischief must 
 result from such legislation. And whenever it comes, the 
 prime movers will have escaped, while their dupes will come 
 under a worse despotism than any before. For that which 
 is always lost by a nation recovering out of confusion, is 
 liberty. 
 
 One of the greatest delusions under which men are labour¬ 
 ing, is the belief that happiness and prosperity are to be ob¬ 
 tained by political changes. But what has our experience 
 shewn us ? Take the Reform Bill; Free Trade; the aboli¬ 
 tion of the Corn Laws. In each of these cases the expectation 
 of millions was at the highest. The advocates of these 
 measures foretold almost every good, moral and physical, 
 would spring from them. Have they done so ? No. Bitter 
 disappointment has followed every one. Not a tenth part 
 of all that was anticipated has been realised by any of them. 
 And are we to be continually doomed to be in agitation, 
 every man against his brother, at the will of every one who 
 thinks he can mend the constitution—a constitution the envy 
 and admiration of all Europe ? Happiness is not found in 
 political change. 
 
 There are some who are inviting us to imitate the 
 
French, and he as free and happy as they are! They 
 little know what they speak about. France, through head¬ 
 strong self-will, has purchased the deepest calamities , at a 
 higher price than other countries have paid for the most 
 unquestionable blessings. What price did she pay for the 
 death of Louis XVI. ? One of her historians, the Kepubli- 
 can Prudhomme, has estimated that it cost the lives of more j 
 than a million of her people ! That was the first taste of 1 
 happiness which France had from her republic. j 
 
 18,000 were guillotined ; 
 
 13,000 workpeople were slain ; 
 
 3,400 women died of premature child-birth; 
 
 16.000 women. 1 . . ,, , 
 
 22 ’oOO children, t P enslied ' '™' s “ d massacres 
 
 950,000 men, ’ j 
 
 n La Vendee. 
 
 In the course of three years the National Convention of 
 France committed, and encouraged, crimes more numerous, 
 and more atrocious, than had ever, perhaps, before, in the 
 course of as many centuries, darkened the page of history, 
 and disgraced human nature. And when we examine this 
 notable Convention , we find the majority of these freemen 
 following, in slavish submission, the dictates of a handful 
 of despots, such as Kobespierre, Couthon, and St Just. 
 
 In three years this free convention enacted 11,210 
 laws: and against it were formed 360 conspiracies, and 
 160 insurrections; the suppression of every one of which 
 afforded pretext for edicts of confiscation and murder. 
 
 The motto, then, as it is now, was —“ Respect property.” 
 But nearly all property was confiscated. And, by forced 
 conscription, the youth and flower of the kingdom were 
 
17 
 
 driven to serve as soldiers in the field. And a citizen 
 Marat, of that day, incited the mad populace to pillage all 
 the shops. This was the man who, in the National Con¬ 
 vention, said, “ that in order to extirpate notions of royalty, 
 it would be necessary to put to death all who were above 
 18 years of age.” Such was the horrible amount of 
 bloodshed at that period, that it has been said by an able 
 writer, “ had not Napoleon been mercifully permitted by 
 God to seize the sovereignty, France must have been de¬ 
 populated.” 
 
 "Why do men seek to overthrow governments ? Gene¬ 
 rally to endeavour to obtain less expensive ones. What 
 did the French make of this ? When they had got rid of 
 their old Bourbon line of kings, and had got Louis- 
 Philippe, a citizen king, to their taste: in the course of 
 two years the French budget amounted to 50,000,000 
 more than it had done in the previous reign. 
 
 Again, before the Revolution of July 1830, Charles X. 
 was able to preserve the peace of Paris with an army of 
 about 1,000 men; while shortly after that revolution 
 60,000 men were required. This was the first specimen of 
 cheap popular government. Now the scenes are shifted 
 again by these lovers of change: and the citizen king is gone. 
 And all is hope and joy; and liberty, equality, and fraternity 
 of course. And there are thirty-five million crowned heads 
 instead of one; for the people is sovereign. Every one of 
 them is king. And the workmen have made a decree that 
 they shall get more pay for less work than formerly, and 
 that that shall be the law for ever. 
 
 A little farther on we see the people destroying palaces, 
 
18 
 
 in the name of fraternity, and abolishing the punishment of 
 death for political offences, that is, treason , and the like; while 
 close by, the same people are bayonetling some poor wretch 
 for stealing a silver spoon ; without benefit of trial by jury, 
 •or any tyrannous old thing of that sort. Hear again all 
 Paris shouting. “ Brotherhood all the world over!” While, 
 at Rouen, and elsewhere, hundreds of Scotch and English 
 workmen are being turned out of their houses, and driven 
 with threats, and insults, out of the country ; robbed and 
 spoiled of all they possessed. Liberty of the Press is, of 
 course, in everybody’s mouth: while a poor editor of a l 
 paper escapes, by the merest accident, from being put to i 
 death by a band of these brothers , for daring to draw a 
 comparison between M. Lamartine and M. Guizot. And 
 M. Ledru Rollin orders all his brothers, the municipal : 
 officers throughout the kingdom, to be dismissed, unaccused , 
 untried, uncondemned. Such is Liberty and Equality!! 
 And when some complained that this rule was very like a 
 dictatorship, he was told “ that a strong hand and a will of 
 iron, were necessary to drive the republican principle into 
 the minds of the people.” Farther on you see these people 
 compelling the priests to bless the stock of a tree , their trees 
 of liberty. So considerate are they of a brother’s con¬ 
 science ! 
 
 It was always so. Whoever has studied the history of 
 the ancient republics of Greece and Rome, knows that it 
 was so then. Among the republican States of Greece the 
 condition of the people was more oppressed than under ! 
 their former despots. These governments promised the po- | 
 litical happiness of the citizen, but iu practice it was never j 
 
19 
 
 found. And as tlie popular constitution prevailed in the 
 Roman republics, we find the people assuming, in a greater 
 degree, all the arrogance which they had blamed in others ; 
 and, led away by designing men, tyrannizing more foully 
 than the worst monarchs : till endless strife paved the way 
 for the total loss of that liberty, which they never enjoyed 
 less than when they supposed themselves to be in the pos¬ 
 session of it. 
 
 Men complain of the tyranny of kings and aristocracies, 
 but the tyranny of republics is worse than either. And 
 the tyranny of a mob worst of all. A specimen of this, 
 on a small scale, I have before me, in a newspaper of 
 January 1841. An anti-patronage meeting was held in 
 Dundee, to petition Parliament; but the Chartists besieged 
 the gates of the church, and succeeded in destroying the 
 proceedings of the meeting; because those parties would 
 not make common cause with them to endeavour to obtain 
 the Charter. The editor, in commenting on these proceed¬ 
 ings, says, “ The effect of the Charter would be to place 
 the power of the State in the hands of these men, and if 
 the little we have tasted of then. - rule he a fair sample of 
 what we might expect, then we earnestly pray that we may 
 long be saved from their tender mercies. It is evident that 
 we have nothing to expect but the most absolute tyranny 
 under the reign of chartism.” Plain enough it is, that many 
 of the men who are quarrelling about institutions and legis¬ 
 lation, are totally indifferent about those things which are 
 the only end and object of legislation. In general, they 
 who make most noise about freedom, and free institutions, 
 are precisely the persons who are not in a state to make 
 
20 
 
 good use of them ; because they have not learned to be 
 virtuous and self-denying. No political change can bring 
 prosperity to a licentious people. For every good gift 
 comes from, above , and God will not bless a people in such 
 • a state. 
 
 Equality is an idle dream. There never was such a 
 condition. Look at the course of things. The industrious 
 and idle begin the day together: at night the industrious 
 man is richer than the idle ; and the equality has ceased. 
 And the difference goes on increasing. The one may, in 
 this country, rise, by his energies, to be Lord Chancellor; 
 while the other, as poor as at first, is getting drunk, beat¬ 
 ing his wife, and talking-great swelling words about love, 
 and justice, and fraternity. There is no equality in nature. 
 The earth’s surface is mountain and valley; and this dif¬ 
 ference constitutes its beauty. So every glorious building 
 is stone above stone. So the members of our body are 
 some more honourable, some less honourable. The idea 
 of equality is a palpable lie, and an impossibility. 
 
 And as to Liberty and Fraternity, ask the work-people 
 ejected out of France what they mean ! 
 
 Mr F. 0‘Connor says, he cares not who is on the throne, 
 provided only the people be above it. The idea of a king 
 reigning over a people who are above him, is so complete 
 an Irish bull, that one is ashamed to find any body of men 
 in England, or Scotland, applauding such foolery. . It is 
 the old idea over again, .of a government, in which the will 
 of the majority shall rule, and in which there shall be no 
 oppression, and no discontent. 
 
 The will of the majority cannot be ascertained. The ma- 
 
21 
 
 jority are always led and governed by tlie minority. In the 
 National Convention in France, no tongue dared to wag 
 when Robespierre and his little band bad spoken ; for they 
 would have been put to death. Yea, and this tyrant, more 
 bloody than ajl the Kings of France put together, was only, 
 at length, got ridof,bymany of the Convention discovering, 
 that they were marked oat to la his victims. The majority are 
 always governed. And of all governments, a democratic go¬ 
 vernment is the bloodiest and most persecuting. Not because 
 poor men are more wicked than rich men : but because in 
 a democracy the only principle recognised is might, the 
 power of the majority—and unless this brute force be kept 
 manifest, the strength of the Government is gone. Robe¬ 
 spierre and his brother patriots knew this, and so 18,000 
 heads fell by the guillotine. But, in this country, the king 
 having a right to reign, and hitherto the great mass of the 
 people having cheerfully acknowledged that right, force 
 has not been needed : and scarcely any blood has flowed 
 in this happy land but the blood of murderers. Our 
 fathers were not fools when they settled the constitution of 
 these kingdoms, and acknowledged the right of kings to 
 reign; not, as F. O'Connor says, under the people, but over 
 them. Hear how nobly one of them expressed this truth. 
 He says, “ Kingliness agrees with all Christians, who are 
 indeed Christians : for they are themselves of a royal na¬ 
 ture, made kings with Christ; and cannot but be friends to 
 it, being of kin to it. And if there wore not kings to hon¬ 
 our, they would want one of the appointed objects whereon 
 to bestow that fulness of honour which is in their breasts. 
 A virtue would lie unemployed within them, pining and 
 
22 
 
 restless. It is a spurious religion which is inconsistent 
 with the majesty and the greatness of the most splendid 
 monarch. Such spirits are strangers to the kingdom of 
 Heaven. Either they know not the glory in which God 
 lives; or they are of a narrow mind, corrupt themselves, 
 and not able to bear greatness.” These were the words of 
 a common soldier two hundred years ago. But they are as 
 fresh as the day they were spoken. Because truth is eter¬ 
 nal. Compare such a man with the political squabblers of 
 this day, and mark the difference. This man was free, 
 with the heart of a king, under Charles I. While they are \ 
 striving to persuade themselves that they are slaves, under 
 the free and gracious government of Queen Victoria. He 
 gave the living commentary on the words of the Apostle 
 Paul, that “ where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 
 His mind turns from Charles I. to the King of kings, even 
 Jesus Christ: and he knows that a crown awaits himself 
 in the kingdom that is coming. When he read in the 
 Scripture, “Honour the King!” he did so, “not for 
 wrath, but for conscience sake.” He saw him who was 
 invisible, and gave honour to whom honour was due. Was 
 he a slave ? Why, his words shew that he was full of a 
 noble freedom ; a freedom which no man could rob him of; 
 a freedom which we may all possess; unless we are liars, 
 and call evil good, and good evil. In that case we can 
 never be free, for we make ourselves the willing bond- 
 slaves of the devil. But you will say, perhaps, “obe¬ 
 dience is a hard thing.” Hear brothers, I am appealing to 
 the hearts of men who know the truth; and I trust love it. 
 Is any duty easy ? The question is not, will it be pleasant ? 
 
23 
 
 but, is it right? 0 , ye fathers, teach your children that it 
 is not what is pleasantest, hut what is right! And as you 
 teach them, so act. It will not he long that you shall have 
 to wait for your reward—the reward of the inheritance. 
 All things shew that the time is at hand, when “the 
 Desire of all nations ” shall come, and set up his kingdom, 
 and reign: and the meek shall inherit the earth, and delight 
 themselves in the abundance of peace. Ps. xxxvii. The 
 rulers and the ruled have, alike, keen forgetting the coming 
 One, whose right it is to reign. But the signs of his coming 
 are now evident to the weakest capacity. See Matt. xxiv.; 
 Luke xxi. And as Satan ever seeks to anticipate the Lord’s 
 purpose, and deceive many: so, now, when the kingdom 
 of peace, for which the groaning m'eation has been waiting, 
 is about to he established, he has sprung up, as an angel 
 of light, throughout all Europe, as it were in a dag, pro¬ 
 claiming his kingdom—and his banner is inscribed with 
 “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity;” and his footsteps are 
 “ Terror, Distress, Perplexity, Rebellion, and Blood !” 
 
 Obey some one we must. Either Christ or Antichrist. 
 Either the powers which are ordained of God, or the powers 
 which are banded together to overthrow them. I know that 
 there are many Chartists, who believe sincerely that the 
 things they are seeking to obtain are the best things for the 
 country. They do not desire revolution, nor intend it. But 
 it has been truly said by the writer I have quoted, that the 
 necessary effect of the Charter would be, to place all the 
 power of the State in their hands. And if ever that day 
 shall come, they who live to behold it, may see the horrors 
 of the first French Revolution repeated in our own land, 
 with ten-fold cruelty. 
 
24 
 
 Words are the precursors of deeds; and nothing can ex¬ 
 ceed the cruelty of the words which are daily uttered 
 against all rulers and persons in authority; as if wealth and 
 station were a crime, and every ruler was necessarily an 
 'oppressor, No ruler ever committed such atrocious op¬ 
 pressions as have been, and are being, perpetrated by tlie 
 friends of liberty, as they call themselves. 
 
 What then? Are rulers all good, and not worthy of 
 blame ? Have they all fulfilled tlieir duty of watching over, 
 and caring for the people’s good? No! Shortcoming is 
 written on all their deeds, just as it is written on all ours. 
 But search the world over, and you will invariably find, 
 that the man who is most deficient in fulfilling his own 
 duties, is the man who is most intolerant of shortcomings 
 in others. The drunken beast of a husband is the loudest 
 declaimer in public against the tyranny of rulers. Being 
 an oppressor in his own house, he imagines all other men 
 are like himself. Having destroyed the peace of his own 
 family, he is envious of the prosperity of other people. 
 
 The man who neglects his own duties, and raves about 
 bad government, acts the part of an infidel. Every good 
 and perfect gift comes from above. Good government is a 
 most blessed gift. It comes from above. But has a bad man 
 any right to expect good government ? To say so is to deny 
 the being of God altogether. If we curse the ruler, instead 
 of praying for him, have we any right to expect a “ perfect 
 gift” of rule at his hand ? I know that this mode of reason¬ 
 ing will be distasteful to some; and they will say, “ Do not j 
 bring to us arguments from Scripture, we want common j 
 sense.” But we will not be so laughed out of our birth¬ 
 right! The Scripture is given to us for a guide by the God 
 
25 
 
 of all wisdom; and the man is a fool who goes to drink at 
 the polluted stream, when he can drink at the pure foun¬ 
 tain ; and that man must he far gone in believing we are 
 his slaves already , who can assume that we are to prefer Ms 
 common sense to the word of the living God. 
 
 But are there not many things which Scripture cannot 
 directly instruct us in? Yes! The price of flax, for in¬ 
 stance, and the probable price of bread, and the effect of 
 diminished credit on commercial prosperity, &c. &c. These 
 are some of the things concerning which it is no use to 
 quote Scripture. And these things are intimately connected 
 with all political changes; those which our brethren in 
 France are now making, and those in which many, in this 
 country, are ambitious of imitating them. Putting, then, 
 religion for the moment aside, if you can satisfy yourselves 
 that Frenchmen have cheaply purchased the prosperity they 
 enjoy, at the price of all the blood and treasure it has cost 
 them, then you had better join their admirers and imitators 
 here. But it would be difficult to point out anything worth 
 possessing that they enjoy, which you enjoy not in a Mgher 
 degree. We have spoken of their first and second revolu¬ 
 tions. The history of the third is not yet complete. But 
 well assured we may be, that its history will shew, what all 
 previous history has done, that the poor man and the labour¬ 
 ing man are the greatest sufferers. 
 
 In all great countries the bread of millions depends on 
 public credit. Public credit ceases with public confidence. 
 Confidence alone can ensure employment; and natural em¬ 
 ployment can alone ensure subsistence—other than that very 
 short-lived subsistence which may be obtained by robbery. 
 
Nothing is more opposed to confidence than sweeping 
 and violent political changes. In' the midst of the confu¬ 
 sion attending such changes, unscrupulous villains will, 
 doubtless, enrich themselves with the property of others. 
 But this you neither wish to do, nor would do. A better 
 reward for your labour you would gladly get; but you would 
 rather remain as you are than eat the bread of robbery and 
 blood. But in every country and in every large city there 
 are swarms of thieves and vagabonds, who wait for confu¬ 
 sion, as beasts of prey wait for the darkness. Let us not do 
 anything which shall enable such as these to eat the food, 
 which is the just reward of honest labour. Again, there are 
 many who see not this evil, and do not believe it. Never¬ 
 theless, if you are persuaded that their acts will accomplish 
 the evil, though they think not so, then you must be as 
 earnest to defeat their object as they are to attain it. But 
 you will not do this, unless you will take the trouble to 
 think ; for action springs from conviction, or ought to do so. 
 Do not believe every assertion a poor man makes, because 
 he is poor; neither the assertions of a rich man, because he 
 is rich; but “ prove all things, and hold fast that which is 
 good.” If it be true that rulers and great men have- not 
 been so careful of your interests as they might have been, 
 do not, I pray you, act so absurdly as to run into the oppo¬ 
 site extreme, and believe that every man is honest because 
 he is poor. 
 
 Affection and kindly feeling are much wanting every¬ 
 where, and much to be desired; but affection cannot be 
 compelled, it must be won. Think you the love of the rich 
 can be won by denouncing.them all as robbers and tyrants? 
 
27 
 
 Is wealth a crime? Is it to come to this, that the man whose 
 industry has gained for him an honest pre-eminence, is to 
 he denounced as an oppressor, and the had passions of 
 wicked men stirred up against him ? This is the religion 
 and philosophy of highwaymen ! Our fathers would have 
 knocked any man down who dared to use such thieves' lan¬ 
 guage to them. And I trust the day shall he seen again, 
 when they who say such things shall he forced to say them 
 in secret; feeling conscious that every honest man is their 
 enemy. 
 
 Do I justify the shortcomings of the great ? No ! But 
 lying and hatred will not make things hotter; it will not 
 create more love, hut destroy that portion W'hicli is left. The 
 man who hides this from you is a traitor and - an enemy. 
 
 It is as false to talk of the honest poor, as the honest rich. 
 The expression is delusive in both cases; and is nothing 
 hut a mischievous falsehood framed to deceive the un¬ 
 wary; and the man who uses it, loves a lie more than truth 
 and he who hates truth cannot love men. Let us not he 
 rohhed of the things we possess hy vain rvords of flattery. 
 
 Be reminded again, that, in all political convulsions, the 
 poor must he the greatest sufferers. If capital is de¬ 
 stroyed, labour ceases. If confidence is destroyed, ca¬ 
 pital is withdrawn ; and all history shews that when the 
 peace of society is broken, and the reins of power loosened, 
 confidence is only restored hy increased coercion. Those 
 who have saved anything out of the wreck, are glad to 
 have civil and military forces to defend it. Doubt, fear, 
 and suspicion, welcome any safety, even the protection of a 
 tyrant. For better it is, says a French writer of the pre- 
 
sent day, who knows what he is writing about,—“ better is 
 it to he torn in pieces by & great lion than gnawed to death 
 by a thousand rats" 
 
 France has got rid of Louis-Philippe. But what, think 
 you, is paying the wages of the hundreds of thousands of 
 workmen who have resolved to have more pay for less 
 work, when the profits of their employers are gone ? What, 
 think you, is keeping quiet the hundred thousand prosti¬ 
 tutes and thieves of Paris? What can give the journeymen 
 tailors more wages than before, just at the time when men 
 are too much taken up about their lives, to care what kind 
 of coats they wear? What sustains all this? Why I 
 know that Scotch workmen need not be told that the capi¬ 
 tal of France is doing it. And they need not be told that 
 the man or the nation living in this way cannot live so 
 long. Yes, the capital of France, in every shape, is paying 
 the price of this last experiment: that capital which, when 
 undiminished , has barely found- remunerative employment 
 for the industrious classes! There is a trying day to 
 come there soon. Men will again find that they must work 
 for their daily bread as aforetime, and they will look for 
 their old employers and they will not be found. They have 
 been ruined. Then they will go to the governors and say, 
 “ We are in distress,” and they will say, “ We cannot 
 help you, you must work.” And if they stand grumbling, 
 and seem inclined to act as these very rulers did in February, 
 some new-born aristocrat of liberty , some Bonaparte, man 
 of the people, will give the word to grape-shot them. And 
 they who escape will be the first of a new set of reformers, 
 to plan a new revolution—a revolution which once again 
 
29 
 
 shall be sure to give the poor peace and plenty for ever ; 
 and liberty, equality , and fraternity. And again, thousands 
 will believe the delusion; and do, and suffer; and gain no¬ 
 thing but disappointment. 
 
 What else can the rulers do ? When the government 
 granaries are empty—when the loaves are all done, they 
 have nothing else to give but powder and gunshot. Aye, 
 and somebody must pay for that, as well as for the 
 loaves. It is so much capital wasted: as much as the 
 destruction of palaces, and railroads, and printing-presses, 
 and machinery. Taxes must be increased. And the taxed 
 will grumble and say, “ We were better off under Louis- 
 Philippe, and Charles X., and Louis XVIII. and XVI.” 
 And, then, the government must increase the national 
 guard, and the police, and the army: and somebody must 
 pay for that. 0 ye hard-working poor men, it is because 
 of the worthless, and idle, and seditious, and the conceited 
 and boastful talkers, who praise themselves, and think they 
 have the monopoly of wisdom, and truth, and honesty—it 
 is because of these, that you are taxed to maintain military 
 and police establishments. 
 
 Now I say again, my friends, that the assertion of a man 
 with a good coat, is as little worth as the assertion of a 
 man with a bad one. You must judge which is right. And 
 when you have decided, stand for it like men. If it is 
 the will of God that you should be rebellious instead of 
 obedient; peace-breakers instead of peace-makers; then 
 you must obey God. If history and experience tell 
 you that political confusions give bread and happiness 
 to the poor man, then you must seek for political confu- 
 
30 
 
 sion. If you think you are slaves, then you should try to 
 find out wherein liberty consists, and where it may he 
 found. But do not mistake licentiousness for liberty ! And 
 whatever you seek for, seek for it as men—as Christian 
 men, who fear God. If an object cannot be gained but by 
 throwing aside truth, and charity, and religion, then I say, 
 it is beyond our reach, and we will do without it. We will 
 not barter eternal life in exchange for the chance of getting 
 a little more gain in this present world. 
 
 Do I mean to say that the Chartists in this land, and 
 the Revolutionists in France, have counted this cost, and 
 know what it is, and have made up their minds to band 
 with those who do evil that good may come, “ whose dam¬ 
 nation,” the apostle says, “ is just ?” God forbid that I 
 should say so. I know that, in all movements, the majo¬ 
 rity merely follow their leaders. It is always so. What¬ 
 ever be the name of the party, Tories, Whigs, Radicals, 
 Free-Traders, Corn-law Repealers, the few always do, and 
 always will, lead the many. And the honour or the dis¬ 
 grace is always due, in the first place, to the few; and in a 
 very secondary degree to the many. I hope the great body 
 of the Chartists are true and honest men, who, if they knew 
 the issue of their undertaking, would have nothing to do 
 with it. But they are deceived by evil and designing, or. 
 at the best, conceited and ignorant men, who pretend to 
 love them, when they hate truth, and wilfully distort and. 
 •pervert all the facts they Iring before them; “ speaking evil 
 of the things they understand not.” If lying, and false-wit¬ 
 ness, and blasphemy, uttered in order to stir up the minds 
 of suffering men to desperate madness, is a grave offence 
 
31 
 
 against society, tlien, I say, the leaders of tlie Chartists 
 must plead guilty to that offence. 
 
 I do not approve of the Charter. But I am not finding 
 fault with it. There may he no harm in a man approving 
 of the six points of the Charter. But there is grievous 
 harm in his resolving to thrust them down other people’s 
 throats—grievous harm in winning others to his side hy 
 lying and false-witness. Liberty springs not from such a 
 source, hut tyranny and oppression. 
 
 There has seldom, perhaps, been a time, when on every 
 hand there is seen awakening so great a sympathy for the 
 labouring poor, and such an inclination to help them as 
 now. But if these efforts are met hy hitter and cruel 
 accusations .of tyranny and persecution, then this spirit will 
 pass away. Every man’s heart tells him it must he so. I 
 believe there never was a time when violence had so little 
 to gain, and so much to lose, as now. But I have a higher 
 ground than this. And I say there never was a time, when 
 it was so little worth while to strive and fight even for a 
 desirable end. For the signs on every hand, are declar¬ 
 ing, with a voice which cannot he mistaken, that He, 
 whose right the kingdom is, to whom high and lorv, rich 
 and poor, subject and ruler, must give account, is about 
 to come. The days of refreshing , spoken of by the 
 mouth of all the holy prophets since the rvorld began, 
 are davming on our sight. Are you poor, and weary, 
 and sick, and sorrowful ? 0, lift up your eyes and be¬ 
 hold, your redemption draweth nigh! The kingdom of 
 heaven is at hand. A kingdom—not a republic. “ A 
 King shall reign in righteousness.” “ The desert shall 
 
32 
 
 blossom as the rose.” “ The lion shall lie down with tlu 
 lamb.” And who of us shall be there ? The meek! for ii 
 is written, “ they shall inherit the earth.” The pure h 
 heart! for “ they shall see God.” The peacemakers! foi 
 “ they shall be called the children of God.” 
 
 And now I will not detain you any longer. I have de¬ 
 sired to make others partakers of the information whicli 
 leisure for observing has enabled me to acquire; and of the 
 sure and certain hope which God has given me of the 
 speedy glorious appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ. My 
 spirit would not let me rest in selfish possession of facts 
 and truths which I knew many of you would be glad to 
 bear. I have written earnestly, but I trust in love. 
 
 The man who loves truth must be indignant against 
 falsehood. Be you indignant also : and suffer not your¬ 
 selves to be brought into bondage. There is no true liberty 
 without virtue. And happiness and freedom are in the 
 mind, not in circumstances. Let us avoid rash experiments, 
 which may bring us evil instead of good. 
 
 Reason, history, and experience unite with the voice of 
 Scripture, in calling upon us to “ fear God, and honour 
 the king,” and meddle not with them that are given to 
 change. 
 
 If we will hear this voice, and possess our souls in pa¬ 
 tience, for a little while; He will give us joy, a thousand¬ 
 fold, for all the suffering which we now endure. 
 
 Youn Friend and 'W’ellwisiier. 
 
A PRAYER FOR THE PRESENT TIME. 
 
 Almighty and everlasting God, Governor of the universe, 
 and great Disposer of events, who setteth up kingdoms and 
 casteth them down, as seemeth best to thy godly wisdom, 
 we humbly offer Thee our tribute of praise and thanks¬ 
 giving, that amidst the revolts and tumults in the govern¬ 
 ments of neighbouring nations, Thou hast been graciously 
 pleased to preserve us in peace and quietness. Continue 
 this Thy mercy to us, we humbly beseech Thee, and suffer 
 us not to turn unto vanities. May our Queen and her 
 Council rule for the welfare and happiness of the people, 
 and to thy honour and glory; and may we, as dutiful sub¬ 
 jects, obey the laws, giving honour to whom honour is due, 
 and tribute to whom tribute, in thy fear and love. 
 
 And, while we pray for ourselves, hear us, 0 Lord, in 
 behalf of those nations suffering under public tumult. En¬ 
 lighten their minds that they may apply their hearts unto 
 true wisdom; and so rule and direct their councils that all 
 things may be ordered and settled, in the several states, 
 upon the best and surest foundations, that peace and happi¬ 
 ness, truth and justice, religion and piety, may be estab¬ 
 lished among them; and that they and we may live in 
 unity, peace, and concord, bearing one anothers’ burdens. 
 
 We ask all in the name and through the merits of Jesus 
 Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.