iWiComlae. 
 
 «•> 1^ pYON/e.J sdifion of 
 
 of (lie. sontfs i r\ bi/irleljfl 
 
 of f/|idas. ^ 1 ^ 83 ,: 
 
 fo>.i,]Wke . 1 EdrnjiYvJ. LtHer lo W j 
 HercuiUs LsiviarisU. ftaaj 
 William. LeHe.r...6n fU ; 
 
 pvtstnl of puitli'c. I 1 
 
 affairs. i^ssj 
 
 0<nnside.r^fiovi5 oyi ■ 
 
 ■ me esI^LIisfiYYienl of a ■'! 
 YtGe.mc. v / |^a : 
 
 -PairliaTrienl. HtUks. 17S4 
 - CornTnom^. TV 
 
 IM 
 
 n 
 
 Ker'oj' 
 
 h* ' 
 
E 
 
 R 
 
 L E 
 
 COUNT 
 
 A 
 
 T T 
 
 FROM A 
 
 Y GENTLEMAN, 
 
 MEMBER of PARLIAMENT, 
 
 PRESENT STATE of PUBLIC AFFAIRS : 
 
 THE OBJECT OF THE CONTENDING PARTIES, 
 CHARACTERS 
 
 The DUKES of NORFOLK, PORTLAND, and NORTHUM- 
 BERLAND j 
 
 The HOUSES of DEVONSHIRE, and RUSSEL; 
 
 The LORDS THURLOW, LOUGHBOROUGH, and NORTH; 
 Ma. PITT,— MkI FOX,— Mr. BURKE,— Mr. SHERIDAN; 
 Mrs. FITZHERB'ERT, 
 
 HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES. 
 
 PARVE, NEC INVIDEO, SINE S1E, LIBER, IBIS IN URBEM. 
 
 THE SECOND EDIT.ION, 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed at the Ilogogtajiljic 
 
 J. Walter, No. 16$, facing Old Bond-Street, Piccadluf 
 and W. Richardson, Under the Rotal-ExchAnce, 
 MBCCLXXJIX. 
 
LETT E R, &c. 
 
 Lear Sir, 
 
 T Acknowledge your goodnefs for the Very 
 great indulgence you have exercifed 
 towards my anxious mind, in the various 
 and continued communications you have fo 
 kindly made to me, in the prefent very fin- 
 ■ gular and important crifis. My refidence 
 is at fuch a diftance from the metropolis, 
 and the public prints fo ftrenuous for their 
 refpeflive parties, that if fome confiderate 
 ' friend, in the centre of public bufinefs, did 
 not condefcend to favour us country people 
 with fome general principles for bur direc¬ 
 tion, we fhould be as little qualified to 
 judge of the prefent moment, as of any 
 doubtful matter of a former century. 
 
 B I KNOW 
 
( o 
 
 1 know your pofition in the great world 
 is fuch, as to enable you to overlook what 
 is palling in it; and I am equally fenlible 
 of your rare qualifications to form a right 
 judgment of what you fee and hear ; your 
 fentiments, therefore, mull have the great- 
 eft weight with me; and if you had not 
 defired me to embody my own thoughts on 
 the ftate of public affairs, I fhould cer¬ 
 tainly have adopted fuch as you might have 
 deliberately given me, without further re¬ 
 flexion or enquiry. • But you exprefs a de¬ 
 fire to receive my opinions, whatever they 
 may be, on the palling fcene of things in 
 this country ; by which, I fuppofe, you 
 mean, the opinions of a man who has 
 long been retired from what is 'called the 
 buftle of life; and who, living under the 
 fhade of his own fig-tree, may be naturally 
 expeXed to deliver fentiments entirely free 
 from that fpirit'of party, which, from pub¬ 
 lic communication, private friendihip, or 
 faXious arts, pofleffes, even in your opinion, 
 an influence which no one can altogether' 
 avoid, at fuch a moment as the prefent, 
 who 
 
( 3 ) 
 
 Who mlngies in the great fcene of political 
 
 If there is a fubjeft of thefe kingdoms 
 iiiore unconnected than another with the 
 leading perfons in either of the contending 
 parties—it is myfelf. Mr. Fox I have ne¬ 
 ver feeri iince he was a boy, and Mr. Pitt I 
 . have never feen at all; I have perfdn ally no 
 political hopes or fears whatever. Not all 
 the power of Minifters, nor all the wealth 
 of the Treafury, would tempt or bribe me 
 to quit the fhade of thofe woods where I 
 was born, whither I have retired to pafs the 
 remainder of my days, arid where I hope 
 to die. You will, therefore, receive the 
 fincere, and perhaps' the curious effu- 
 lions of an honeftj an unbiased, and 
 tranquil fpirit, upon the bufmefs that agi¬ 
 tates the national mind on the lamentable 
 incapacity of the fovereign of the empire. 
 
 The firft ob'fervation which occurs to me 
 is thisthat, at the moment, when the 
 heavy affli&ion of his Majesty’s illnefs in¬ 
 terrupted the government of his country,? 
 
 B z public 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 public affairs were conduced with great 
 apparent wifdom :—the nation was recover¬ 
 ing very faff from the diftrefles of a moft 
 unfortunate and expenfive war;—com¬ 
 merce was extending its limits—the reve¬ 
 nues were increafing their income—and, 
 though loaded with a moft burthenfome and 
 unparalelled weight of taxes, the nation was 
 fatisfied._ Wife alliances had been formed, 
 and others were forming. The energies of 
 our government-had been made known to the 
 world, and the Britifli character raifed to 
 its former importance in the eye of man¬ 
 kind, without the impofition. of any new 
 burthen on the people, or any infringement 
 on thofe funds which had been already ap¬ 
 propriated by Parliament, to the regular 
 diminution of-the national debt. Such, I 
 think, was our fituation; and a better, 
 could hardly be expeCted, when the nation 
 was called to contemplate the moft affect¬ 
 ing objeCt a profperous people could be¬ 
 hold, and to provide fuch means as were 
 neceffary to fupply the unprecedented exi¬ 
 gencies of the very alarming juncture. 
 
 ; The 
 
( 5 ) 
 
 The firft wifh my mind urged me to ex- 
 prefs was in common with the whole king¬ 
 dom, that his Majesty might be fhortly re- 
 ftored.to his capacity of tranfa&ing the 
 public bufinefs of the nation. The fecond 
 defire of my heart was, that the admini- 
 ftration of Government might proceed with¬ 
 out any change in the perfons who compo- 
 fed it.—Indeed, in the firft view of the 
 unfortunate event, and the earliefl: exertion 
 of conje&ure, on the confequences of it, I 
 did not fuppofe it probable that any altera¬ 
 tion would be immediately attempted by the 
 Regent power, whether that power fhould 
 be exercifed by an individual, or an aggre¬ 
 gate body.—That the Minifters whom the 
 Ring approved, while he pofleffed a capa¬ 
 city to approve, fhould, the moment that 
 capacity was fufpended, be difcharged from 
 their ftations, without having committed 
 any a£t, been guilty of any negleft, or 
 difcoyered any incapability which could juf- 
 tify their difmiffion, would be a meafure 
 too full of indecency to the King, of injuf- 
 tice to his fervants, and infult to the na¬ 
 tion, for any one to advife. But I had fo 
 1 B3 far 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 far forgotten the ways of mankind, and 
 the contefts for power, as to be the dupe, 
 of my own humble notions of public vir¬ 
 tue. I really could not conceive that the 
 fir ft thing which would occur to the party 
 in opposition was, that the lapfe of the fo- 
 vereign’s capacity to govern, ftiould be con¬ 
 sidered by them as the fignal to make an at¬ 
 tempt to feize the helm : and it did not ap¬ 
 pear to me to be within the fcope of poflibi- 
 lity, that, if they were hungry apd ambi¬ 
 tious enough to make the effort, they would 
 be encouraged to purfue their qbjeCt by a 
 great perfonage, who could derive honour 
 from the awful period by no other conduct 
 than that of immoveable patience and filent 
 dignity, But I was foon awakened from 
 this idle dream of political virtue. The, 
 exultations of a late defpairing party ap¬ 
 peared to mingle with the firft fighs of 
 thofe who embraced no party at all, or had 
 loft the influence of any in a fenfe of the 
 common affliction.' . 
 
 At the moment when the hand of Heaven 
 fmote his Majesty, the administration of 
 Mr. 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 Mr. Phi feemed to be fixed as firm as the 
 monarch’s life : the hopes of his oppo¬ 
 nents were funk very low in the focket, 
 and their re-poffeffion of power was an 
 pbjedt fo diftant in the landfcape of poli¬ 
 tics, as to claim their patience, rather than 
 their expectation, Mr. Fox, the great leader 
 and parliamentary fupport of this party, had 
 left his country and all his patriot cares, to 
 ramble, no one knew where, on the conti¬ 
 nent, and to recover himfelf from the fa¬ 
 tigues of political ftrife in the arms of faded 
 beauty. He little thought that his domeftic 
 enjoyments would fo foon be interrupted by 
 pew pi'ofpecls of power, nor could he dream 
 that, while he was pointing out to the chafle 
 Armjlead , the fcattered beauties of ancient 
 magnificence, beneath an Italian fky, his 
 disjointed party, were impatiently longing 
 for his prefence at home, to form the poli¬ 
 tical phalanx, and direct its operations. 
 
 It has been faid that the Prince of 
 Wales confiders himfelf under fuch peculiar 
 obligations to this party, that he cannot do 
 ptherwife than feize the very firft opportu- 
 £4 nity 
 
C s ) 
 
 nity which occurs, to call them into power. 
 It is alfo afferted that Mr. Pitt has added 
 with lb much perfonal oppolition to the 
 views of the Heir Apparent, as to juftify 
 the royal difpleafure, in taking the earlieft 
 occalion to difmifs him from the public 
 fervice. We can only reafon from what 
 we know,— and the fame authority, by 
 which I am informed that - the Prince of 
 Wales .acknowledges very great obligations 
 to thofe men who have fo long oppofedhis 
 Father’s Minifters, inftrudts me to add, that 
 he conliders himfelf as indebted to their 
 friendlhip alone, for the parliamentary ar¬ 
 rangement of his private affairs, and his 
 confequent emancipation from that Hate of 
 inconvenience and perfonal diftrefs in which 
 his own imprudence had unfortunately in¬ 
 volved him.-If his Royal Highnefs really 
 
 believes that no relief would have been ad- 
 miniftered to his very unpleafant fituation, 
 but by the interpofition of Mr. Fox and his 
 followers; if he is perfuaded that thofe 
 men had no views whatever, of diftrelfmg 
 government, and rendering Minifters unpo¬ 
 pular by fuch an interpofition ; if his un. 
 
 derftandiqg 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 derftanding is convinced that principles of 
 public juftice and perfonal affedtion to him 
 were the foie motives of their condudt on 
 the occafion, he is certainly juftified in look¬ 
 ing upon them with an eye of partial favour. 
 If on the other hand, he can believe that 
 Mr. Pitt would ftep beyond all bounds of 
 decency and common fenfe; if he can be con¬ 
 vinced that the Minifter would rilk his re¬ 
 putation with a generous people, by becom¬ 
 ing a wanton opponent to the reafonable 
 wifhes of the Heir Apparent ; if he can be 
 perfuaded that the 'Chancellor of the Ex¬ 
 chequer poflefies fuch an irrefiftible com¬ 
 mand over the Houfe of Commons, as to 
 make them concur in heaping needlefs 
 mortifications on the Heir Apparent to the 
 Crown, and is forward to exercife that influ¬ 
 ence ; the wifh of the royal mind to remove 
 fuch a man from power can be confidered 
 in no other view than as proceeding from a 
 generous and a juft refentment. , 
 
 As for mere perfonal confiderations, I 
 will not fuppofe that the Prince can fuffer 
 ?hem to poflefs a leading influence on his 
 political 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 political connections : it would be infulting 
 his underftauding.to imagine that he does 
 not know hpw to diftinguifh between men 
 qualified to amufe his conviyial hours at 
 Carlton Houfe, or the Marine Pavilion, and 
 fuch as are bound to. affifi: in the folemn 
 councils of the State. He cannot but have 
 oftentimes experienced the different opera? 
 tions of duty and defire; and why may 
 it not be hoped; that he has attained one 
 of the moft neceflary faculties of his exalted 
 llation, to reconcile the man and the Prince 
 to each other:—perfonal predilection, and 
 public duty, may be in a ftatp of variance, 
 gild no one can be fo ignorant as to. doubt 
 where the facrifice is to b ; e made. 
 
 We well know what diftrefs anddeftruc- 
 tion favouritifm has brought upon fome of 
 the monarchs of this .country ; and it need 
 not, furely, be urged that an Heir apparent 
 to the Britifh Crown cannot ad in a man¬ 
 ner more hoftile to his own intereft and 
 honour, than by adopting an extended fpe- 
 cies of favouritifm, in consenting to be the 
 head of a party. The hifiory of Frederick 
 2, Prince 
 
( » ) 
 
 prince of Whales forms a fine leffon for 
 his royal Grandfon; and in Lord Mel - 
 combe's account of it, he may learn how to 
 fhape his condud fo as to fecure happinefs 
 to himfelf, and prosperity to his people, 
 whenever he (hall fucceed to the throne 
 pf his anceftors. I muff, indeed, acknow¬ 
 ledge that, were a Prince of Wales to hold 
 himfelf forth as the protedor of a party 
 and, on his fucceffion to the throne, fhould. 
 take that party with him to adminifter the 
 affairs of the country,—I fhould not augur 
 well of his future government. I am very 
 far from intimating that an Heir Apparent 
 to the crown of this kingdom fhould hide 
 himfelf, as it were, behind a curtain, or only 
 prefent himfelf to public attention as a cha" 
 rader of mere negative qualifications, and 
 infipid virtue ; but of this I am confident, 
 that he'would do well to preferve himfelf 
 in calm and tranquil dignity, taking no 
 violent part in public meafures, and living 
 in a continual ftate of preparation to exercife 
 thefovereign authority, when he fhould be 
 called to the inheritance of it. He fhould not 
 ^vafte his ftrength in premature and petty 
 i effoi ts 
 
( 12 T 
 
 efforts, but referve it for the great trial that 
 awaits himnor fhould heoppofe his mind 
 to the danger of contra&iug the habits and 
 prejudices of a party, which will certainly 
 prevent him, when he attains the Crown, 
 from being the King of more than half 
 his people. 
 
 I do not mean to affert that the Prince of 
 Wales had hitherto fet himfelf at the head 
 of a Party, though he has certainly mani- 
 fefted a particular predilection to thofe 
 men who . have not been remarkable for 
 fharing the favours of his Father. I have 
 not heard that he has encouraged oppofition 
 to government by fuffering political meet¬ 
 ings to be held at Carlton Houfe ; or af- 
 iifling himfelf at the Councils of Piccadilly , 
 or Si. James's Street : but the public ac¬ 
 counts of parliamentary proceedings have 
 informed me, that he has oppofed the mea- 
 fures of adminiftration, as a Peer of the 
 realm, and .that he has fometimes added 
 one vote to'a minority in theFIoufe of 
 Lords. I fhall not examine the truth of 
 the obfervation, that the placing themfelves 
 
 'in 
 
( ) 
 
 in a ridiculous foliation is always difgrace- 
 ful to perfons of a certain rank and cha¬ 
 racter ; I flnall not flay to enquire what is 
 idle and what is dignified in an exalted Na¬ 
 tion ; but I flnall take the liberty to obferve 
 that, whoever advifed the Prince to make 
 himfelf a party in parliamentary debate, did 
 not confult the 'dignity and propriety of 
 his great political character. His Royal 
 Highnefs might liften- to the powerful elo¬ 
 quence and fage counfels of many noble 
 Peers, who are in the habit of engaging in 
 the public deliberations of Parliament, and 
 receive inftruclion from them: an occafional 
 attendance on the Houfe of Lords, for fuch 
 a purpofe, might be' of ufe to his future 
 years : but to do that which is daily done, 
 by a penfioned courtier on one fide, and an 
 hungry patriot on the other,—the giving a 
 filent vote—cannot, in my opinion, be con- 
 fidered as a difcipline, which may be rea- 
 fonably expected to afford any improvement 
 or advantage to the'Royal mind. I am very 
 much difpofed to believe that the arts of a 
 party may, operate to the bringing about 
 fuch an ad as this, in order to inform the 
 ■ people, 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 people, that, if they have not a leader, they 
 have at leaft a friend in one; whofe attach¬ 
 ment, though not produdive of immediate 
 advantage, is of great reverfionary eftinota¬ 
 tion : and it is by the fuccefs of party 
 operations ori a young and amiable mind, 
 that I have been, able' to reconcile, to my 
 own conception, that conduct Which I have 
 juft mentioned, and always difapproved. 
 
 Another reafon perhaps may be fug- 
 gefted, which may have operated more pow¬ 
 erfully to conned the Prince with the party 
 in oppoiition to' his Father’s Minifters; 
 than any opinion he may profefs of their 
 fuperior political talents, of any fenfe he 
 may, entertain of his perfonal obligations to 
 them. I allude, as you may fuppofe, to 
 the myfterious cOnnedibn which his Royal 
 
 Highnefs has formed with Mrs . 1 F -.. 
 
 When you did me the honour to command 
 my opinions on political matters; you would 
 not, certainly, exped from me a iermon On 
 the.moral duties; I lhall therefore, only 
 exprefs my hope, in the language of Henry 
 the I V. of France , that the Prince has vir¬ 
 tues' 
 
( is ) 
 
 f ues fufficient to hide this one’failing, if con 4 
 fidering his fituation and the moral confe- 
 quences of the connection, fnch a term can 
 be properly adopted. Previous to his attach¬ 
 ment to this Lady, the paffions, it is too 
 well known, treated him with as little 
 referve as the meaneft of their votaries ; 
 and under their influence he was continu¬ 
 ally feen in thofe pavilions. of pleafure 
 where honour is not known :—it was there¬ 
 fore very fortunate for, himfelf, and, of 
 Courfe, beneficial to the nation, that he 
 became ftationary fomewhere ; and in par-< 
 ticular' with a perfon whofe fituation in life 
 entitles her to every attention, which the 
 laws of his country will allow him to 
 bellow. This connection, however, has 
 been confidered by the nation in general, as 
 a political objeCt of no fmall confequence, 
 and I mull acknowledge myfelf to be one 
 of thofe who think it demands no fmall 
 portion of public attention.' 
 
 Of Mrs. F --—# I can venture to 
 
 write with fome knowledge ; I have pro¬ 
 perty not- far diftant from Afton. Burnell,- the 
 feat 
 
( i6 ) 
 
 feat of the elder branch of her family, and 
 have been in the habits of communicatioil 
 with them. They are of antient origin in 
 this country, and poffefs all the pride com¬ 
 mon to thofe who can look far back toaii 
 honourable and illuftrious ahceftry ; nor 
 can there be any reafon to fuppofe that 
 
 Mrs. F -is infenfible to the diftindtion 
 
 of her family:—her education was in France, 
 where this principle was not likely to lofe 
 its influence; and her firft marriagewas into 
 one of the moil wealthy families of the 
 Roman Catholic religion in this kingdom. 
 The having been Miftrefs of Lul’worth Cajile, 
 was a circumftance of no fmall dignity to pri¬ 
 vate life;—and her fecond marriage with Mr. 
 F -—-—, of Swinnerton, ' in Stafordjhire , 
 continued her in that ftate of habitual im¬ 
 portance, which would effedtually preferve 
 her from being tempted into any degrada¬ 
 tion of her charadter. Befides,. the dov^ers 
 and legacies of her'different marriages qua¬ 
 lified her to command all the elegance of 
 falhionable life ; fo that I cannot be made 
 even to fufpedt that her prefent fituatiori 
 is not juftified to herjelf, by the folemnity 
 of 
 
( »7 ) 
 
 of fome engagement, or the fan&ion of 
 dome ceremony, whatever it may have 
 been. 
 
 When the great perfonage firft declared 
 himfelf her admirer, Ihe turned away from 
 his proteftations, and quitted the kingdom to 
 avoid his importunities:—on her return, 
 however, from the continent, fhe found the 
 paffio'n of her Royal lover {fill burning with 
 its former ardour; and fuch means were 
 foon after employed as to make the lady 
 no longer confider it as a difgrace to ac¬ 
 knowledge herfelf the objeft of it. The 
 exterior of this connedlion is evident to all 
 the world ; but the reality of it is an enigma 
 which futurity muft explain. That it'has 
 been confirmed by any form of matrimony 
 has been contradicted, in the moft authori¬ 
 tative manner, by Mr. Fox, in a place, 
 where I truft, he dare not attempt to de¬ 
 ceive on fuch a fubjeCt; while the lady 
 herfelf, labouring under the imputation 
 which, according to fome fcrupulous opi¬ 
 nions, the Right Honourable Gentleman’s 
 afiertion has connected with her character, 
 C is 
 
( I* ) 
 
 is received and vifited, with great refpefr, 
 not only by the Duchejfes of Devonshire 
 and Portland, and many other female pen- 
 ions of diftin&ion, connected with the op- 
 pofition leaders, but, if report fpeaks true, 
 by perfonages of a ilill more exalted ftation: 
 but be that as it may, it will not, I believe, 
 be denied that the political minority have 
 ' paid their court to the Prince by their at¬ 
 tentions to Mrs. F- -: certain engage¬ 
 
 ments, on their part, have, indeed, been 
 fuggefted which I ihall not mention, be- 
 caufe I do not give them a willing credit. 
 When-it isfaid that the Prince has fet his 
 heart upon a future meafure, which it will 
 require extraordinary courage to propofe, 
 the greateft abilities to defend, and the ut- 
 moft exertion of power to fupport, I have 
 my doubts as to the truth of fetch a deter¬ 
 mination;—l ean believe in the wifb, but 
 I kiidw not howto give credit to the defign. 
 Some of the party with the view of at¬ 
 taching the : Prince irrevocably to their 
 caufe, may have hinted at fomething like 
 the promife of a favourite gratification 
 of Mn Sheridan’s forward compliance! have 
 
 no 
 
( 19 ) 
 
 no doubt; though I confefs. myfelf pleafed 
 with the report, that encourages me to place 
 fome confidence in the conftitutional coynefs 
 of Mr. Fox in a matter of this nature ;—but 
 if the Duke of Portland were to hear it menti¬ 
 oned a fecond time* as a practicable bufinefs, 
 without retorting the utmoft difdairi' at 
 fuch a propofition, and withdrawing him- 
 felf from a political connection with fuch 
 as were capable of making it, I ffiould in- 
 ftantly ceafe. to confider him as an objtdl of 
 my efteem, and add his name to the . cata¬ 
 logue of thofe men who have difgraced 
 their rank, fortune, and underftanding, by 
 fubmitting to become the. tool of a faction, 
 or the puppet of a party t 
 
 To this party, however,—whatever may 
 be his motives* whether a fimilitude of 
 political opinion, a- belief of their fuperior 
 talents and integrity* a fenfe of perfonal 
 attachment, or the hope of future fervice— 
 the Prince has given very decided marks 
 of his preference :— this being the cafe, 
 it is a natural procefs for me, to exa¬ 
 mine into the characters of the leading in- 
 C 2 dividual s 
 
( 20 ) 
 
 dividuals who compofe it, in order to difeo. 
 ver, how far we may juftify any, and what 
 expeditions of public advantage to bede- 
 " rived in future from the royal prediledlion. 
 
 • The DUKE of PORTLAND, 
 
 t 
 
 ■ Gives a fupport to the party, by his name, 
 which receives but little comparative aid from 
 his abilities. I would not, however, bethought 
 to imply that this nobleman does not poffefs a 
 very, conliderable portion of underftanding; 
 But it is of that nature which, by no means, 
 qualifies him to be the leader of a political 
 Band, or the. prime minifter of his country. 
 While he poffeffes the integrity, he wants 
 that firmtiefs of mind which dillinguifhed 
 his predeceflor the Marquis of Rockingham ; 
 who, without poffeffmg what is called great 
 talents, was capable of thinking for himfelf, 
 and held his courfe with that kind of digni¬ 
 ty, which annihilated all attempts to prac- 
 tife impofition upon him. The Duke oj 
 Portland’s virtues are fuch, as to conciliate 
 no fmall fhare of public regard; bur they 
 do. not, I fear, pofiefs the texture which 
 , ' . ' will 
 
( *1 ): 
 
 will protect them from the power of mea 
 who pofi'eis not the leaf! degree of his me- 
 rit. That this nobleman will aft, accord¬ 
 ing to the bell: of his judgment, is an opi¬ 
 nion I poffefs in common with the nation at 
 large; but whether he has a fufficient dif- 
 cernment to preferve his judgement from 
 being milled by the craft of others, is a 
 circumltance of which I ihould hefitate to 
 form any fanguine expectations. The tedious 
 and mortifying embarraffments of his for¬ 
 tune did not arife from any inordinate paf- 
 fions or vicious habits of his own ; but 
 from his frieudlhip for men who were go¬ 
 verned by both. As a private individual, 
 his virtues have rendered him the dupe of 
 attful and defigning men ; and I cannot but 
 exprefs my apprehenfion, that, in his poli¬ 
 tical conduft, he may become fubjeft to a, 
 fimilar .influence, 
 
 Mr. FOX 
 
 Has been, for fome years, a very harraf- 
 fed topic of political criticifm, and party 
 
 declamation.-News-papers, pamphlets, 
 
 C 3 and 
 
( 22 ) 
 
 and parliamentary fpeeches, have long con- 
 Jidered him, according to their different pro- 
 penfities, as tlie ableft Minifter in Europe, 
 or the moft dangerous man in the kingdom. 
 As to his abilities, they poflefs all the pre¬ 
 eminence attributed to them by the moft 
 fanguine of his followers; and his ambi¬ 
 tion- keeps pace with his abilities. The 
 Coalition proves what he will do to get into 
 power, and his India- Bill difcovers the 
 means he is capable of adopting to fecure 
 the poffeffion of it. But I have, notwith- 
 ftanding, very little apprehenfion of Mr. 
 Fox as a dangerous public charader in this 
 country. .1 do not think him in a capacity 
 to do much mifchief, even if he fhould 
 poflefs the malicious inclination. He may 
 have led individuals of the higbeft and low- 
 eft clafies by the nofe;—he may have gulled 
 the duke and the cobler—he may' have 
 governed a political party, or gained a po¬ 
 pular election, by the’ exertion of his ver¬ 
 satile genius; ,but he has not yet won the 
 confidence of the nation at large. He is 
 with them an unpopular, and a fufpeded 
 charader—-and, in the prefent ftate of pub¬ 
 lic 
 
( 2 3 ) 
 
 Kc affairs, without that confidence, no ef- 
 fential mifchief can be done to the country 
 by any Mimiler whatever.—The man who 
 is an object of national fufpicion, may pof- 
 fefs the courage,'but muff want the fagacity 
 of Mr. Fox, if he attempts to impole upon 
 the people. The greateft political talents 
 will not enfure general confidence to a Mi- 
 nifter, if they are not accompanied by a con- 
 fiderable portion of private virtue, as a 
 pledge for their application to the general 
 good.—By private virtue, I do not mean 
 thofe qualities which form the charm of dif- 
 fipated life, animate convivial intempe¬ 
 rance, drown ferious thoughts, and Heal a- 
 way precaution from' the heart; but the 
 love of what, is right, and the refolution to 
 pra&ife it in every pofition of our exift- 
 ence. Such a fenfe of moral duty Mr. Fox 
 is not fuppofed to poffefs: indeed, fuch a 
 life as his has hitherto been, is by no means 
 calculated to produce or encourage if. The 
 gaming table is a place where I Ihould never 
 look for a {ingle virtue; and how much of his 
 time,'his fortune and his honour, have been 
 >yafte{l there, I do not wifh to enquire. As 
 C 4 to 
 
( H ) 
 
 to his public conduct, which appears to bo 
 nothing more than an enlarged modification 
 of his private principles, it prefents a feries. 
 of inconfiftences which fill me with afto- 
 nilhment and forrow, whenever the cir- 
 cumftances of the times force them upon 
 my reflection. I cannot but lament that a 
 man fo highly gifted as he is, lhould have 
 rendered himfelf fo ufelefs to his country— 
 and that his fplendid talents are forced con¬ 
 tinually to their belt exertion, in repeated 
 but fruitlefs endeavours to reconcile the nu¬ 
 merous contradictions of his political charac¬ 
 ter. In (hort, without oblerving farther upon 
 one of the mofi:lamentable examples of intel¬ 
 lectual perverfion we have ever known, I 
 fhali conclude with this declaration, which 
 is all that is neceffary to my purpofe, that, 
 to exprefs myfelf in the mildeft terms— 
 Mr. Fox Joes not pojfejs the confidence of the 
 nation. 
 
 LORD 
 
( z 5 ) 
 
 LORD NORTH 
 
 Was an unfortunate Minifter; but what¬ 
 ever political crimes were imputed to him 
 by his prefent friends, the nation held him 
 blamelefs. He poffefled the popular credit 
 of being a faithful and zealous, though 
 unfuccefsful fervant of the State, and the 
 efteem of his country accompanied his 
 retreat from power. His enemies, who af¬ 
 fected to defpife him when cloathed with 
 greatnefs, found him formidable in ruin, 
 and were glad to unite, his ftrength with 
 theirs. His perfonal influence was ftill 
 moft flattering to him ; he remained a very 
 powerful individual in this country, and 
 nothing could have prevented his return 
 to office, with honour to himfelf and fatis- 
 fa&ion to the people,' but his infatuated 
 junftion with a fet of men who had perfe¬ 
 cted him, for years, with the moft mali¬ 
 cious, and unrelenting oppofition, that had 
 ever been carried on againft any Minifter ; 
 with men, whofe enmity,even the mild fpirit 
 of Chriftianity could -not require him to for¬ 
 give ; 
 
( 26 ) 
 
 give ; and with' whom, I confider it almoft 
 criminal in him, to form any perfonal con¬ 
 nexion. Here then he took a long farewell 
 of public refpeX and popular eftimation ; 
 the calamity with which he is affiiXed may 
 perhaps awaken fomewhat of general pity, 
 but the honourable regard pf his country 
 he has loft for ever, 
 
 The DUKE of NORFOLK, 
 
 From his rank, fortune, mauly under? 
 ftanding and parliamentary influence, inuft 
 add a very confiderable degree of ftrength 
 to any party which he may chufe to fup- 
 port; neverthelefs, I am difpofed to think, 
 that the reoolleXion of his infignificance, 
 before he became the immediate heir of the 
 Norfolk Family, the diffipation of his life, 
 and the renunciation of his religion, will 
 operate very powerfully againft.his. acquir¬ 
 ing any liability of popular regard. From 
 his fifft appearance in life, he has been top 
 much engaged in the mifcellany of it, to be 
 a fecret Bigot, to liis, former religion, as 
 many proteftant converts have been ; and 
 a his 
 
( 27 ) 
 
 his mind is of too adtive a nature, to fuf? 
 fer him to remain at eafe under any influr 
 xnce, which obliged him to be an idle fpec? 
 tator of the leading concerns of the world. 
 He did not, however, quit popery while it 
 had any thing further to beftow; it had 
 given him the irrevocable fettlement of the 
 Norfolk Eftates, and a very wealthy Here- 
 fordjlnre Heirefs , before he quitted the er¬ 
 rors of it: I well know that Mifs Fitzroy 
 was a protcftant Lady, but, at the fame 
 time, I am more than inclined to believe, 
 that it was to the contrivance of Mr. Booth , 
 the Roman Catholic conveyancer, and the 
 ^rts of a Governefs, of the fame religious 
 perfuafion, that his Grace owes the poffef- 
 fion of the prefent Duchefs of Norfolk, I 
 I will not throw fo great a ridicule on the 
 charadter of this Nobleman, as to fuppofe 
 that the fpiritual advantages of one religion 
 over another, had any influence on hiscon- 
 yeriion : our Church is, 1 believe, indebted 
 for fuch a noble profelyte to very different 
 co'nfiderations. To live in that. Rate of 
 fuperb. infignificance, which had contented 
 fhe weaknels of his predeceflbrs, was by 
 no 
 
no means congenial to his bufy difpolition . 
 lie was not formed to be a calm fpedfator 
 of thole contefts, in which his temper 
 difpofed him to engage, and his fituation 
 qualified him to take a command ; and a 
 few minutes pious reading, in St. Martin’s 
 Church, gave him at once to the political 
 fervice of his Country. Previous to his 
 recantation he had been known, in his con¬ 
 vivial hours to declare, that the greateft 
 poffible pleafure of his life, would be to con¬ 
 tend for the reprefentation of a County, and 
 to gain the Eleftion by a Angle vote. The 
 proverb fays, in vim veritas ,— and the ap¬ 
 plication of it was never more fortunately 
 made than on the prefent occafion. Parli¬ 
 amentary bufinefs, in its various branches, 
 is the darling objedt of the Duke of Norfolk's 
 attention. In the Houfe of Commons he 
 was an active fenntor; in the Houfe of 
 Lords he is a perfevering Peer; and, in 
 every part of the Kingdom where his great 
 Eftates give him influence, an indefagitable 
 Canvafl'er :— Hereford, Carlifle , Arundel, and 
 Glouceftcr are the feenes of his attive en¬ 
 deavours to form a powerful phalanx of 
 
( 2 9 ) 
 
 parliamentary adherents. But I have my 
 doubts if this itch for carrying Ele&ions, 
 will give him any weight beyond the party 
 who is to profit by it. The mere pride of 
 bringing friends into Parliament from the 
 application of a great fortune, and the ex¬ 
 ertion of fuperior addrefs, partake of that 
 weaknefs which annexes confequence to a 
 {hid of horfes, or a kennel of hounds. His 
 Grace has private virtues and he exercifes 
 them in the bell manner ; he is fleady in 
 his political principles, which is a fpecies 
 of dignity ; he is not fond of difplaying the 
 exterior eclat of his exalted ftation, which 
 will be confidered by fome, as one fymptom 
 at leaft, of a fuperior mindNeverthelefs,. 
 from a fuppofed depravity, in the indul¬ 
 gence of certain paffions, and a fufpicion 
 that charafteriftic inclination predominates 
 over patjiotifm, in the ardor of his poli¬ 
 tical career, the Duke of Norfolk will not, 
 I think, become a chara&er of much pub¬ 
 lic confidence in this country. 
 
 The 
 
( ) 
 
 The HOUSE of CAVENDISH, 
 
 Possesses a very confidefable fhare of pri¬ 
 vate virtue, but unaffociated as it is with 
 great talents, and habituated as it has fo 
 long been to the trammels of political con- 
 teft, I feel my refpedt for that family conti¬ 
 nue no longer, than while I view them in 
 the confined fpherd of domeftic life ; therd 
 they a£t from themfelves,—while" in na¬ 
 tional concerns they have fo long been 
 the dupes, that they are at length becomd 
 the flavcs of a party. The Nephew does 
 what his Uncles bid him, and the Uncles 
 confider Mr. Fox as the ableft ftatefman, 
 the firmeft patriot, and the mofl virtuous 
 man in the world. 
 
 The NAME of RUSSEL, 
 
 May be dear to Englilh Liberty, but 
 what fhould be the efFe£t of a name, if he 
 who now bears it belies the patriot virtues 
 of his anceftors which made it honourable. 
 Wq, may admire the Progenitor, while we 
 defpife 
 
( 3 1 ) 
 
 defpife the Progeny. The hereditary right 
 of particular families to the favour of the 
 Crown and the confidence of the people, is 
 the moft egregious uonfenfe that was ever 
 uttered by political Fanaticifm. The late 
 Duke of Bedford was infolent to his Sove¬ 
 reign, and humble to his favourite ; he was 
 proved in a court of Law to have fold a 
 Borough ; and he moved the Houfe of Peers 
 to order the Mayor of London to the bar 
 becaufe he gave a calling vote in the com¬ 
 mon council againft thanking the Sheriffs 
 for having done nothing, in the filly bufinefs 
 of burning the North Briton. This exam¬ 
 ple of audacious indecorum, defpicable hu¬ 
 mility, avowed corruption, and ariftocratic 
 tyranny was a Rujfel .—Of his fucceffor little, 
 1 believe, is known, but that he enters into 
 life with all the peculiar knowledge which 
 the Duke of Queenjbury may be fuppofed to 
 poflefs in the matured period of his depar¬ 
 ture out of it. 
 
 The 
 
( 3 * ) 
 
 The DUKE of NORTHUMBERLAND. 
 
 Who is a new adherent and boafted 
 acquifition to this party, has never yet 
 prefented himfcdf by any great or brilliant 
 action, to the notice of mankind : his Ame¬ 
 rican command was a mere pie-ce of military 
 parade, while, with all his predilection for 
 the army, and his ftudious application to 
 taCtics, 1 have never heard him reprefented 
 by thofe who have ferved under him, but 
 as a teazing Martinet and a fupercilious 
 Commander. In the lphere of politics he is 
 only known by his late appearance as the 
 tranfient head of a very fhort lived party, 
 called the Armed Neutrality, to which, 
 though affifted by fo able an Aid de Camp 
 as Lord Rawdon, he could not communi¬ 
 cate fufficient importance, to laft beyond 
 a day :—It feems to have funk with his 
 Grace into the arms of oppofition, and 
 proves how little can be done by high rank, 
 and great property, without the {Length¬ 
 ening aid of eminent talents and public 
 character. Ever fince he fucceeded to the 
 honours 
 
C 33 ) 
 
 honours and fortune of his family, this No¬ 
 bleman feems to have been like a froward 
 child, that cries for fomething which can¬ 
 not be immediately obtained. Does he 
 thipk the ordnance would thrive .under 
 his care ? or is a regiment of Guards the 
 bauble of his ambition?—From the late 
 conduct of his Grace, I Ihould fufpe£f that 
 the Duke of Argyle's health declines, and 
 that the reverfion of his Military command 
 is already fecured, 
 
 I Ihould not have mentioned the chara&er 
 of thele opulent Dukes but in a very gene¬ 
 ral manner, -if much improper ftrefs did 
 not appear to be laid upon their fupport of 
 the party which is now under my confider 
 ration; and that a kind of natural claim has 
 been made to the confidence of the people 
 from the languid wealth of their noble hou- 
 fes* That power follows property is one of 
 thofe general maxims which oftentimes re¬ 
 quire a certain degree- of qualification. An 
 union of the influence poffefled by thefe great 
 families may produce great parliamentary- 
 flyength ; it is not, however, the pofleffion 
 D of 
 
( 34 > 
 
 of power, fo much as the knowledge’how 
 to employ it, that fecures a popular impor¬ 
 tance to any body of men : but I (hall leave 
 thefe barren and uninterefting- fubjects for 
 one of an higher clals, though unadorned 
 with the pageantry of birth, rank or for-; 
 tune, 
 
 - EDMUND BURKE, 
 
 ■ Is a genius of the firft order, whofe fupe? 
 rior abilities and univerfal Erudition have 
 been rendered ufeiefs hy an unnatural appli¬ 
 cation of them. Upwards of twenty years 
 has he been exerting thofe talents, which 
 were given him to enlighten his country, 
 to adorn his' age, and to improve mankind, 
 in the fervice of' a party which has added 
 but little to his fortune, and narrowed the 
 limits of his fame. To enlarge the map of 
 hiftory, to aid the refearches of philoiophy, 
 to illuminate the paths of fcience. to render 
 i'rrefiftible the charms of truth and virtue ; 
 in fhort, to forward the exalted purpofe of 
 making men happier and better, (hould have 
 been- the employment of his life, and he 
 would 
 
( 35 ) 
 
 would thea have fecured a place among 
 thofe illuftrious chara&ers who have done 
 moft honour to their nature, and the great- 
 eft fervice to the world. But ambition 
 cheated him into the defire of greatnefs, and, 
 inftead of pafling his days in Academic Bow¬ 
 ers , where his genius would have found an 
 home, and his fame have flourilhed with¬ 
 out a withering leaf, he engaged with all 
 the fervour of his mind, in the political 
 contefts of the times, and has diffipated his 
 energies, his eloquence and his knowledge, 
 in fupport of a Party, which has rewarded 
 his zeal with little more than the inter¬ 
 rupted hear-hims of Parliamentary applaud- 
 ers. His eloquence is rapid, animated and 
 highly adorned ; but it amufes rather than 
 inftru&s, and by its brilliance, weakens the 
 attention which it fo ftrongly folicits : be- 
 fides, the moft partial friends of Mr. Burke 
 are forced to acknowledge that his judgment 
 does not keep pace with his other faculties, 
 and, as he advances in years, his encrealing 
 irritability of temper, tends rather to dimi- 
 nifti the little ftock he poflefles of that pre¬ 
 cious quality of the mind. I do not mean 
 D 2 , it 
 
( 3 6 ) 
 
 it as an example of my laft affertion, when I 
 declare the opinion, that this Gentleman 
 poffeffes a much larger portion of integrity 
 than any of his aSive political coadjutors ; 
 and I have no doubt but his rigid love of 
 what he thinks to be right, has caufed him 
 frequently to do and fay things, which, in 
 the opinion of his friends, were extremely 
 wrong "whether it is owing to fuch errors, 
 his encreafing years, or any apparent dimi-j 
 nution of his talents, I do not know ; but 
 his political confequence, which never at¬ 
 tained the meridian of the world, appears 
 at this time, to be declining very fall to the 
 horizon of his party. 
 
 LORD LOUGHBOROUGH, 
 
 Possesses eminent talents, which are 
 accompanied with a ready and commanding 
 eloquence. By the .favour of Lord Bm he 
 firft obtained a feat in the Houfe of Com¬ 
 mons, and having, by a very afliduous at¬ 
 tention to the bu'finefs of it,, become a Par¬ 
 liamentary Debater of fufficient confequence 
 to excite the regard pf contending parties, 
 ri i* _ he 
 
( 37 ) 
 
 lie availed himfelf of political circumftances, 
 as they arofe, to forward the views of his 
 ambition.—Such a plan of conduct did not 
 promife any liability of public principle; 
 and we End Mr. Wt\dderlurne inthecourfe 
 of the prefent Reign, conneded with every 
 fet of men that have fupported or oppofed 
 the meafures of Government. His patriot 
 oratory is Hill remembered at Tork, where 
 he employed its utmoll energy to enforce 
 the neceffity of addreEes, petitions and re- 
 monllrances from that refpedable County, 
 though he did not poflefs an inch of property 
 in it. His animated reprobation of the con- 
 dud of Miniflers refpeding the Middlefex 
 Eledion, is not forgotten by Mr. Wilkes ; 
 while the friends of the American War can¬ 
 not but recoiled with admiration, his cele¬ 
 brated Philippic at the Cock-pit againll Dr. 
 Franklin, which drove the hoary Politician 
 acrofs the Atlantic, to aroufe the Colonies 
 to a declaration of independence. His 
 powerful defence of Lord Clive, when cal¬ 
 led tp the Bar of the Commons, is a cir- 
 cumftance of which the world is in full 
 poffeffion ; and was confidered with grati- 
 D 3 tude 
 
( 38 ) 
 
 tude by every man who returned with fpoils 
 from the Eaft, till he caufed the fincerity 
 of his former conduit to be fufpedted, by 
 the ardour of his eloquence, when he called 
 down the vengeance of the laws upon thofe 
 men who were charged with a confpiracy 
 again# Lord Bigot's Government and life.— 
 Thus he proceeded, making his, profeilion 
 of the Lav/ fecondary to his Parliamentary 
 career, till he was appointed to be chief of 
 the court of common Pleas,, and called to 
 the Hoi/fe of Peers, in oppofition to the long 
 {landing claims, which were afferted to both 
 thofe honours by the late LordGrantley, then 
 .Speaker of thd Houfe of Commons. Thus 
 has this nobleman won his way to the ele¬ 
 vated ntuation which he now occupies. As 
 to his private virtues I am not fufficiently 
 informed to write concerning them ; but 
 this I know, that popular efteera has. never 
 waited upon any period of his life ; and it 
 feems to be generally believed, that the 
 individuals of the party which now depend^ 
 fo much upon his Parliamentary affiftance, 
 do not confider him with perfonal venera¬ 
 tion. • It has certainly been too much the 
 obieft 
 
( 39 ) 
 
 object of modern Lawyers to mingle in po¬ 
 litical' eontefts, and this noble Iwr^feems 
 to have taken the lead in this kind of prac¬ 
 tice. “ Mute at the Bar and in the fenate 
 loud,” is the defcription of him thirty years 
 ago by the beft poet of that day ; and I muft 
 acknowledge, that we who live at fome dif- 
 tance from the capital, know little of him 
 , in the form of a Judge, affiduoufly em¬ 
 ployed in the Adminiftration of Juftice — 
 we hear of him only as an able and adiive 
 Lord of Parliament, whofe eloquence and 
 abilities have been continually exerted in 
 oppofition to Mr. Pitt's Adminiftration.— 
 When Lord Loughborough's idea prefents 
 itfelf to me, it is not in the figure of a grave 
 Magiftrate, prefiding in the court of Common 
 Pleas, but as an able political Partizan in 
 the Houfe of Lords : in fhort, he has never 
 been an objeft of national regard. I do not 
 fay that he is deftitute of thofe great quali¬ 
 ties which command public veneration, or 
 that he is without the milder virtues which 
 conciliate general efteem: I am far from 
 aflerting that he poftefies any littlenefs of 
 character which keeps refped at a diftance; 
 
 D 4 I do 
 
C 40 ) 
 
 I do noteven hint that the lines of Church¬ 
 ill which deferibe him, and the farcafms 
 of Junius which are applied to him, are 
 founded in truth: I do not liften to.the ca¬ 
 lumny which has written his name in the 
 lift of a Gaming Club ; but Ifhallnothe- 
 fitate to repeat without fear of reproof, that 
 he is not diftinguifhed by the popular re¬ 
 gard of his Country. 
 
 In the common language of the world, 
 that perfon is called an Adventurer who de¬ 
 pends upon the credulity of others for ad¬ 
 vantage, without having any, thing of his 
 own to rilk in return. Nor is this title 
 more applicable to the Merchant without a 
 capital, or the Gamefter without a guinea, 
 than to the man who, without an atom of 
 property, or a grain of principle, is brought 
 forward by a party to ferve their political 
 purpofes, and is preferved from a Goal by 
 the privilege of Parliament. In our days, the 
 political adventurer, is no uncommon cha¬ 
 racter, and oftentimes meets with a degree 
 of protection, which is too rarely obtained 
 by patriot virtue. 
 
 Mr. 
 
( 4i ) 
 
 Mr. SHERIDAN, 
 
 Though by no means poffefled of fuffi- 
 cient confequence or charadter to be consi¬ 
 dered as a political leader, is fuch a brilli¬ 
 ant fatellite of Mr Fox, that he cannot be 
 paffed without fomewhat of particular atten¬ 
 tion. Mr. S -has rifen by the extent 
 
 and fubfervience of his abilities, from a 
 comparative date of obfcurity, to a point of 
 no common confideration with the party 
 which has adopted him. His eloquence is 
 of a very fuperior quality, and, on particu¬ 
 lar occalions, has been exerted with fuch re- 
 fiftlefs power, as to force the moft avowed 
 applaufe from thofe who have the Ieaft 
 belief in his poffeflion of public virtue, or 
 private principle : but with all his acknow¬ 
 ledged capacity to engage in ferious debate, 
 he is thought to be more ufefully employed 
 as the parliamentary Congreve of his party. 
 To pervert a meaning, to play happily upon 
 an expreffion, to retort a farcafm, to feize 
 an equivoque, to fport an irony, to create 
 a laugh, to employ the tricks of public 
 fpeaking, 
 
( 4 ^ ) 
 
 fpeaking, and exert all that playful kind of 
 - oratory which the . Speaker Onflow would 
 have confidered as degradatory to the pro¬ 
 ceedings of Parliament, this gentleman is 
 without a rival. But a man without pro¬ 
 perty or perfonal rank, who owes his main¬ 
 tenance to the furpriling kindnefs of thofe 
 who truft him, and the elemofynary bounty 
 of tlvofe who protect him, can never attain 
 to any folid confequence in this country : 
 he may be elevated by intrigue, fome 
 ftrange concuffiou of events may lift him 
 on high, or the wayward partiality of fa¬ 
 vour may advance him, but fomething 
 more than brilliant talents is neceffary to 
 the attainment of public confidence, and 
 that fomething he is not believed to poflefs.— 
 If the report is founded in faft, that among 
 the arrangements of the new Adminiftration, 
 the Duke of Portland turned with difdain 
 from the proportion of making Mr. Sheridan 
 a Cabinet Minifter; his Grace afted with 
 that honeft dignity.which became him, and 
 which for the fake of his country, and his 
 fovereign, I truft, he will continue to main¬ 
 tain. 
 
 Such, 
 
( 43 ) 
 
 Such, my , friend, are the more promi¬ 
 nent charaders of the party whom the Prince 
 ■ of JVales diftingui flies with his favour. It 
 would be a wafte of my time and your pati¬ 
 ence to develope the talents of Lord Stormont, 
 Mr. Erjkine, Mr. Arijlruther , Mr. Adam, Colo¬ 
 nel Fullarton and others of their countrymen,, 
 whom the conciliating powers of Mr. Fox, 
 who knows how and when to fmother his 
 moft inveterate prejudices, have won to his 
 fupport : I fliall, therefore, come at once to 
 the refulting charader of the party at large— 
 that it confifts on the one hand, of great 
 property, fome virtue and no talents'; and 
 on the other, of great talents, without any 
 property or virtue at all. 
 
 Such is my honefi: opinion, which arifes 
 from a very, impartial and difmterefted view 
 of the principal perfons engaged in the op- 
 pofition cohort. An examination of their 
 condud, from the time when Lord Rocking¬ 
 ham gave them his name, to the unhappy 
 moment which we now deplore, would not 
 elevate them, I fear, in your opinion or 
 mine; but we are at prefent confined, to a 
 
 verv 
 
( 44 3 
 
 very few riionths, and during that fhort 
 period, I can difcover nothing in their con¬ 
 duct, which does not manifeft the molt bold 
 and indecent attempt to obtain the Govern¬ 
 ment of this country, that was ever exhi¬ 
 bited by any fet of men, in any period of 
 our. hiftory. A very brief review of their 
 conduct on the melancholy occafiori which 
 has changed their profpeCts and elevated 
 their'hopes, will amply juftify my affertiofi. 
 
 No fooner was the awful vifitation of 
 Heaven on our Sovereign communicated by 
 the Royal Phyficians to the Prince of Wales , 
 and the Adminiftration, than the fcattered 
 Members of the party began to hold up their 
 heads, and enjoy the enlivening expectation 
 of a better and'more honourable dependence 
 than the Faro Fable, which had fo long been 
 the principal fupport of fo many of them. 
 Mr. Sheridan was ordered to remain in wait¬ 
 ing by a great perfonage, to receive his com¬ 
 munications, and to perform fuch little 
 agencies for him as the critical juncture 
 might be thought to require. Nothing, 
 however, could be done but to difleminate 
 reports 
 
( 45 ) . 
 
 reports, to fcatter opinions, and propagate 
 doctrines, in order to prepare the people for 
 their defigns, as foon as Mr. Fox. could be 
 brought from the continent, to give them 
 form and put them in motion. That gen¬ 
 tleman was,, at this time, conducing fuch a 
 woman as Mrs., Armjlead through Frame 
 and Italy , and was called from that ho¬ 
 nourable duty to head his party, and govern 
 an Empire. His arrival gave fomething of 
 confidence to the operations of his friends ; 
 the Prince became a more avowed patron of 
 the oppolition band, and a claim was made, • 
 as we may ffippofe, with his content, by 
 perfons high in his confidence, to the right 
 of fucceeding-to the Government, in the pre_ 
 fentlapfe of his Majesty’s capacity, with¬ 
 out any other operation of Parliament, than 
 a ready and unreferved aflent to it. But the 
 fentiments both of Parliament and the peo¬ 
 ple militating ftrongly again# fuch a claim* 
 as being a kind of high treafon to the con- 
 ftitution of this country, the declarations 
 of thofe who had made it, were retraced or 
 explained away, and very great perfonages 
 y'ere brought forward in debate,, in order to 
 quiet 
 
( 46 ) 
 
 quiet the alarms which had gone forth on 
 the promulgation of fuch an anti-conftitu- 
 tional doftrine. Fortunately for the nation,- 
 the eagernels to grafp at power perverted 
 the judgment of thofe -men who call them- 
 felves the Princes friends, fo that they let 
 the whole kingdom at once, into a view 
 of their deficits, and confirmed the necef- 
 fity of that wife fpirit of precaution, which 
 has been exerted againft them. 
 
 Having been foiled in this very bold 
 attempt, their next objeft was to prevent 
 the Regency, which was now conftitution- 
 ally. acknowledged to be the gift of Par¬ 
 liament, from being accompanied with 
 •thofe reftriftions, with which his Majefty’s 
 Minifters propofed to guard the rights of 
 the Conftitution, and the dignity of theaf- 
 flifted Sovereign. To attack the political 
 char after of the Mmifter, on this occafion, 
 was a very natural meafure, and to exhibit 
 him as a competitor for power with the 
 Prince of JVaies, was an effufion of party 
 rage, congenial to the fervid eloquence of 
 Mr. Burke. But fuch things were in the 
 2 ordinary 
 
( 47 ) 
 
 ordinary mode of political conteft, and the 
 filiation of the Party required fomething 
 of more effectual manoeuvre. This they 
 did not hefitate to employ; and the %ueen 
 was the objeCt of it. To the aftonifhment 
 and grief of every perfon in the kingdom, 
 not immediately conneaed with the calum¬ 
 niators themfelves, there appeared in the 
 Morning Herald an attack upon the confort 
 of our Sovereign , and the mother of,' the 
 Prince oj Wales, which not only treated 
 her name with contempt, but annexed 
 fomething of implied guilt to her character, 
 and menaced her Majejly with the publica¬ 
 tion of it, if fhe fhould be perfuaded to 
 interpofe,'in any manner whatever, in the 
 prelent ftate of affairs.—That the Hueen, 
 whom calumny had ever acknowledged to 
 be above its reach,—whofe whole life has 
 been one fcene of dignified virtue, fhould, 
 in a morqent of affliction, which language 
 is inadequate to defcribe, and the confolation 
 .of an Empire not fufficient to mitigate, be 
 ■vilified and menaced by the pen of a party 
 which boafls the protection of her foil, is 
 an 
 
C 43 ) 
 
 an event that compleats the infamy of do- 
 iiieftic politics. 
 
 When I make this aflertion, I do it 
 upon the credit of very fufficient informa¬ 
 tion, that it is a principle of the party to 
 hold in high eftimation Ge-auxiliary pow¬ 
 ers of the public prints; and that a fubor- 
 dinate committee of themfelves fits daily, 
 and, - perhaps nightly too, at a well known 
 Tavern, in Covent Garden, to lhape para-- 
 graphs, frame hand-bills, and propagate 
 falfehoods; in fhort, to do their utmoft, by 
 any and every means, to inflame the people 
 againft the King's friends, and to influence the 
 public mind in favour of their own matters. 
 Nay, fo much do the oppofition feem to de? 
 pend on this mode of proceeding,—that a 
 provincial paper, printed'in my neighbour¬ 
 hood, has been purchafed to abufe Govern¬ 
 ment, and inflammatory hand-bills feem to 
 have been blown through the air, to our mar¬ 
 ket towns, in order, (as one of my farmers 
 exprefled himfelf) to make people as glad as 
 the writers of them, that the King was 
 out of his mind. That the Morning He* 
 raid , 
 
( 49 ) 
 
 9ala, devoted as it has fo long been to oppb* 
 fition drudgery, Ihould infert fuch an article 
 as I have defcribed, without the authority 
 or fuggeftiori of fome of the leading perfons 
 of that partv, which it uniformly fupports, 
 is not within the fcope of my belief. It is 
 faid, indeed, that the publilher of this News¬ 
 paper, is profecuted by the Attorney General 
 to the ^ueen, for a Libel, and it will be cu¬ 
 rious to enquire hereafter, from whofe purfe 
 the heavy Fine which a court of Juftice 
 may fentence the delinquent, will proceed; 
 and by whofe kindnefs he will be enabled 
 to pafs in comfort the term of imprifonment 
 which he maybe doomed fo buffer. But 
 notwithftanding this infult upon the cha¬ 
 racter of the £>ueen was reprobated by every 
 hon'eff perfon in the kingdom, her popula- ; 
 rity was a circurnftatice too hoftile to the 
 interefts of the party, to be permitted to 
 pafs on without a continuation of attempts 
 to leflen it, by lies the moll ridiculous, 
 dories the moll, improbable, and fidtions 
 the mod audacious that the profligate hire¬ 
 lings of fa<3:ion could poflibly devife : but 
 the fcandals died almoft the moment they 
 ~ • E 
 
 were 
 
C 5 ° > 
 
 were boni; and fuch arts as thefe were not 
 fufficient to turn the affections of the peo¬ 
 ple from, an objeCt that had never ceafed 
 to deferve them. 
 
 The fecond examination of the Royal 
 Phyfieians, relative-to the ftate of his Ma- 
 jejly's health, was the next fource of hope 
 to the afpiring party. I have read the re¬ 
 port of the Committee with great attention, 
 and was concerned to fee the aftonilhing 
 length to which an enquiry, which might 
 have been made and fatisfied in an hour, 
 was protraCted. The examinations of the 
 fevera'l Phyfieians form a curiofity in their 
 kind and a young Barrifter could not 
 ftudy the art of interrogatory to fo much 
 advantage in any other publication, as in 
 the report of the Committee. Dr. Willis , 
 in particular, who had declared the moll 
 fanguine hopes of his Majejly s recovery, 
 and whofe attentions are faid to be very 
 conducive to that very definable end, was 
 queftioned and crofs-queftioned with a de¬ 
 gree of ability which nothing but the genius 
 of truth could have fupported. This tedi¬ 
 ous 
 
( 5 * ) 
 
 ous bufinefs, however, produced a confir¬ 
 mation of the former opinion of the Phyfi- 
 Cians, that his Majesty was ftill in a 
 recoverable ftate:—Ah opinion, which I will 
 venture to fay, did not give that peculiar 
 fatisfa&ion to fome minds, which it.did to 
 mold. The reafon is obvious,— and Ifhall 
 not enlarge upon it* 
 
 Thus did difappointment cloud the pro* 
 fpeQrs of the Oppofitidn Phalanx. The 
 Sueen proved fuperior to all calumny : His 
 Majesty is declared to be in a recoverable 
 ftate by all the Phyficians, and by one of 
 them, who is more intimately acquainted 
 With the diforder of the Royal Patient , he 
 is reprefeitted to be in the aftual progrefk 
 of recovery :—Mr. Pitt's popularity is con¬ 
 firmed or confirming in every part of the 
 kingdom ; and Dr. Willis, ill fpite of Medi¬ 
 cal differences, etiquettes, &c. ftill remains 
 in full power at ICew. Thus drived from 
 every poft they have hitherto endeavoured 
 to maintain, the Party apply to their laft, 
 and, as it appears to me, moft powerful re- 
 fource,—the letter written by the Prince in 
 E % ajifwer 
 
( 5 ^ > 
 
 aufwer to Mr. Pitt's official communica¬ 
 tion to his Royal Highnefs, of the reftric- 
 tions on the Regency, which his Majeflys 
 Servants propofed to fubmit to the confide - 
 ration of Parliament. It was evidently writ¬ 
 ten with a view to fubfequent publication, 
 if fuch a meafureffiould be found neceffary to 
 anfwer any particular purpofe, and, though 
 I have not heard that it was handed about 
 among the party, it had, certainly, lain 
 for fome time on the Duke of Portland’s 
 table, to be perufed by fuch perfons as were 
 admitted to an audience of his Grace. At' 
 length, however, it was prefented to the 
 public, through the favourite channel of 
 a Newfpaper, where I have feen it in 
 common with the reft of the' nation. 
 
 With this letter I ftiall beg leave to take 
 the fame liberty which is experienced by 
 the fovereign’s fpeeches from the throne.—I 
 fhall confider it as the joint produ&ion of 
 Mr .Sheridan, Mr. Fox, and Lord Loughbo¬ 
 rough —and treat it accordingly. Its more 
 apparent objeft was to make fuch people as 
 look not beyond the furface of things, to 
 believe 
 
( S3 ) 
 
 believe.—Firft, That Mr. Pin infults the 
 Prince by propofmg any limitations of the 
 Regency, as they mark a diftruft of his 
 Royal HighnefsV deiigns in the govern¬ 
 ment of the kingdom.— 2 (Uy, That he in¬ 
 fults the King, in his affliction, by reftrain- 
 ing the Prince in a manner which will caufe 
 the mod poignant, mortification to his. Ma¬ 
 jesty, whenever he {hall be reftored to his 
 former power of reafon: and reflection.— 
 ^dly, That he infults the people, by pro- 
 pofing fuch reftriCtions as will interrupt, if 
 not render impracticable, the operations of 
 government.— 4 thly, That he infults the 
 whole Royal Family, by giving fuch a 
 power to the f^ueen, in the care of the King's 
 perfoiij and the government of his houfe- 
 hold, as may beget diffenfions in it.—— 
 Such are the principal topics of this letter, 
 which ought never to have feen the light; 
 and will not, I believe, be found to have that 
 effeCt upon the popular mind for which it 
 was apparently publifhed :—for . I think, 
 without prefumption, that it may be ob- 
 ferved very conclufively in anfwer to it— 
 Firft, That the refolutions of the Two 
 E 3 Houfes 
 
Houfes are not made in favour of, or againft 
 any particular individual, but are conflitu- 
 tionaf guards, provided for'the fafe re- 
 fumption of the prerogative, whenever the 
 affli&ed fovereign fhall be deemed compe¬ 
 tent to the re-exercife of it. The Prince or 
 Regent fhould have every power neceffary 
 for the government of the country ; but it 
 is the duty of Parliament to take care that 
 he does not wear the crown. Nay, it ap¬ 
 pears to me, that the counfellors of the 
 Prince have difgraced the Royal mind, in 
 making it appear to harbour fufpicions of 
 infult, where infult could not be intended ; 
 as, in common life—a difpofition to fufpeft 
 the ill opinion of others, is generally confi- 
 dcred, as a preemptive proof that we deferve 
 it. 2dly, That whenever it fhall pleafe 
 Heaven, in its mercy to this nation, to heal 
 . the fovereign of it, he will be fo far from 
 exprefiing aiiy difpleafure at the conduct of 
 his Minifters, in the prefent important cri- 
 fis, that his Majesty will rather feel mor¬ 
 tification in the extreme at their having been 
 removed from their Rations, and make it the 
 firft a£l of his return to the throne, to re- 
 
( 55 ) 
 
 {tore them with every mark of honour, affec¬ 
 tion, and gratitude. gdly, The people in ge¬ 
 neral fo far from thinking themfel ves infulted 
 by the reftriCtions on the Regency, conlider 
 them as, protections from the rapacity and 
 ambition of the promifed Adminiftration. 
 And 4thly, If the power given to the $ueen 
 fhould prove a caufe of uneaflnefs between 
 her Majefty and the Regent, I cannot but 
 forefee to whom fuch an unfortunate diffen- 
 lion muft be neceflarily attributed.—Let 
 the- Prince act aright, and the rnoft profligate 
 incendiary of faCtion will not dare to fug- 
 geft, that the §>ueen will fupport what is 
 wrong, for no other purpofe but.to foment 
 a vexatious oppofition to her fon. 
 
 But this letter contains another, though 
 lefs apparent defign, which is molt cun¬ 
 ningly contrived, and will certainly fucceed; 
 for it is fo written as’ to pledge the Prince 
 to difmifs the prefent Adminiftration. Af¬ 
 ter having accufed Mr. Pitt of forming a 
 projeCl difrefpeCtful to the King, injurious 
 to the nation, and infulting to himfelf, no¬ 
 thing but an inconfiftency of character, 
 E 4 . which 
 
which cannot with juftice be attributed to His 
 Royal Highnefs; of a fpirit of political for- 
 givenefs, which his'counlellors would effec¬ 
 tually oppofe, could influence him to employ 
 that Minifter. Thus Mr. Fox and his 
 friends’ are fecure of being appointed the 
 political fervants of the Regent. But they 
 are not content; they wilh to be the fer¬ 
 vants of a King ; and they who, during 
 their, public lives, have been continually 
 venting their eloquence againft the alarming 
 power of the Crown, are now in the conti¬ 
 nual exercife of outrageous declamation, 
 bedaufe that power is not communicated 
 to a perfon who has no immediate right 
 to wear the diadem.. All the patronage 
 of the army, the navy, the church, the 
 law, the revenues, foreign courts,. Ireland, 
 the Eaft Indies, &c. &c. is not enough for 
 them.' They complain, in bitternefs, that 
 their followers muff figh for coronets and 
 patent places in vain; nay, fuch is their 
 infatiate rapacity, that they would ftrip 
 their afflifted fovereigii of every appendage 
 of his exalted ftation, and leave him no¬ 
 thing but the name of a King. 
 
(.57 ^ 
 
 Such then are the men whom the Prince 
 of Wales takes to his bofom ; men who do 
 not poflefs the good opinion of their own 
 nation, and will not, I fear, be regarded 
 with the neceffary confidence by any other. 
 Such are the people whom his Royal High- 
 nefs is infatuated to make the guides of his 
 actions, at a period when he {lands in a 
 predicament unparalelled in- the hiflory of 
 Princes. Such, alas! are to be the Mini-? 
 fters of the Regent of Great-Britain. 
 
 It is, however, truly honourable to the 
 prefent Adminiftration, that when ever the 
 Prince {hall difmifs them from the fervice 
 of their country, they will retain its af- 
 fe&ions.—Profperity reftored, revenue- in- 
 creafed, debt diminilhed, charadler main¬ 
 tained, and a nation contented, are the cha-- 
 ra&eriftics of their government. After 
 fuch a declaration, which 1 believe to be 
 ' founded in truth, and fuftained by experi¬ 
 ence, it would* be unneceffary to detail the 
 individual merits and qualities of his Ma¬ 
 jesty’s fervants; yet it would prove an in- 
 {enfibility to fuperior excellence, which I 
 fhould 
 
( 58 ) 
 
 lhould be alhamed to own, were I to pafs 
 by, without obfervation, as a philofopher, 
 and without eulogium and gratitude as an 
 Englilhman, one of the firft characters 
 that have adorned the age, and advanced 
 the glory of the country in which we live. 
 
 Mk. PITT, 
 
 At a time of life when moll men only 
 begin to think, entered upon the govern¬ 
 ment of the moll complicated empire in the 
 world,when it was in a Hate of difficulty, dif- 
 refs, and embarraffment which it had never 
 known ; and, with a prematurity of talent, 
 which has no parallel, and in fpite of the 
 moll, able and inveterate Oppofition that 
 ever harrailed the meafures of a Minifter, 
 reftored it, in a great degree, to its former 
 Hate of profperity. You may obferve, my 
 friend, that there is fomething like a charm 
 in this great ftatefman’s name, fo propitious 
 to the glory of our country, which may at¬ 
 tract me fo powerfully to him ; but 1 am too 
 far advanced in my progrefs to be caught 
 with the whiffling of any name, and. on the 
 contrary, 
 
( 59 ) 
 
 contrary, I do moll: fincerely declare, that 
 it is in the great outline of his Adminiftra- 
 tion—in his capacity, eloquence, induftry, 
 difintereftednefs, integrity, and, which is 
 the refult of them all, in the growing prof- 
 perity and general good of our country, that 
 I find his irrefiftible claim to my applaufe 
 and admiration. He may have committed 
 errors as a Minifter, as he may have his 
 failings as a man ; for I am not defcribing 
 a divinity, but an human being,—though 
 fuch a one, I believe, as, confidering all 
 his circumftances and qualities, has not 
 many equals on the face of the globe.— 
 The Prince may difcard Mr. Pitt from the 
 fervice of the nation: but an higher ho¬ 
 nour will then await him than princes have 
 it in their power to bellow: the nation 
 whom he has ferved will adopt him. 
 
 I could wilh, at all times, to feparate 
 law from politics—or rather lawyers from 
 politicians ; but lince the circumftances of 
 the times have united them, I cannot but 
 mention a Nobleman, in the higheft office 
 of government, whofe great capacity in¬ 
 volves 
 
( 6o ) 
 
 volves, and does honour to both thofe cha« 
 radersi 
 
 LORD THURLOW 
 
 Possesses a mod comprehenfive under- 
 ftanding, a ftrong fydcmatic judgement, a 
 commanding eloquence, and a ftub'oorn in¬ 
 tegrity. As a Lord of Parliament in whom 
 is there more; dignity., and from whofe lips 
 proceeds fuch confummatc.-w-ifdom .h-As a 
 Judge, -at what time .has the law known 
 more official-attention, more folcmnity of 
 .demeanor, more patient inveftigation, and 
 more.complete jnilice, than during the pe¬ 
 riod of his adminiffiratioh in the Court of 
 Chancery ? , 
 
 I Shall not lengthen this letter, alrea¬ 
 dy too long, byentering at large into the 
 chara&ers of thofe perfons who compofe 
 the'Minidry of the affiidted Ring. It will 
 be fufficient for me to fay what, in my 
 opinion, events have fufficiently proved, 
 that they form an aggregate of talents and 
 qualities 
 
t 6i ) 
 
 quallties fully capable of conducting the 
 public bufinefs with honour to themfelves, 
 and advantage to the empire. 
 
 This Adminiftration is acknowledged by 
 every impartial perfon to be ftrong in abili¬ 
 ty, integrity, and popular efteem ; and it is 
 this general conviction which has enabled 
 them to a£t, and pofic-fs themfelves as they 
 have done, at the moment when they are 
 filling from power. The fervants of the 
 fovereign have, in general, remained true to 
 their matter, and very few indeed have fol¬ 
 lowed the example of the Duke of £>ueenf* 
 berry, who was the firji to quit the ufual 
 lervice of the King, and the lajl to care for 
 the public opinion of his apoftacy. 
 
 Such then is the pifttue of public affairs 
 at the moment when I .have "the honour of 
 ' addrefling myfelf to you/ The King, de¬ 
 prived of his capacity to govern, and the 
 nation on the eve of being deprived of an 
 Adminiftration, who, in their opinion, have 
 governed them well, and without being 
 able to derive any comfort from the hope of 
 I ah 
 
( 62 ) 
 
 another Miniftry, who will govern them 
 better. It is painful indeed, to glance even 
 at the caufe of fuch a change.—Nor is it 
 without the moft fincere affii&ion that I 
 fee, what appears to me to be the greateft 
 error—in the firft place—— 
 
 The PRINCE of WALES, 
 
 With all the perfonal qualities in the 
 human character to gain popularity, is by 
 no means popular in the country which is 
 his heritage. What then can we conclude 
 but that a fucceffion of untoward circum- 
 ftances have combined to turn the current 
 of national efteem from its natural channel. 
 For my own part, I cannot but confider 
 this circumftance with real aftonilhment. 
 When I reflect on the generous character of 
 the Englilh nation, and their warm attach¬ 
 ment to the family on the throne, I fliould 
 fuppofe it to be a matter of uncommon dif¬ 
 ficulty, to prevent the Heir-Apparent to 
 the Crown, who is highly qualified, and 
 completely amiable in hirafelf, from being 
 the 
 
( *3 ) 
 
 the idol of the people. Yet fo it is ; andl can 
 trace the coldnefs of the public towards the 
 Prince, to no other caufe than the wretched 
 ch a rafter of thofe men, whofe private fo- 
 ciety he has cherifhed, and whofe public 
 principles he has adopted. 
 
 If it had been my fortune to be placed 
 within the circle, of the Royal favour, and 
 at a period fimilarto the prefent, the Prince 
 had done me the honour to afk my confi¬ 
 dential opinion refpefting his conduft and 
 defigns, I fiiould have addrefl’ed myfelf to 
 him in the following manner : 
 
 “ It is neceffary for your Royal High- 
 “ nefs to refieft, that princes are not ele- 
 “ vated above the mixed nature of human 
 “ happinefs, and that there are bleffings 
 “ allotted to the loweft clafs of mankind 
 “ which Kings cannot poffefs. The for- 
 “ tune which made you heir to a great em- 
 “ pire, forbade you to have a friend. It 
 “ is a law of nature, and cannot be viola- 
 “ ted with impunity. The prince who 
 ‘ looks for friendfhip will find a favourite; 
 
 “ and 
 
( 64 ) 
 
 and in that favourite, perhaps* the lofs 
 “ of his honour^, and the mifery of his 
 “ life.—They who aim at convincing you 
 “ that you have a large fhare of friends, 
 “ bound to you by the ties of perfonal at- 
 “ tachment, infult your underftanding; 
 
 and if. you believe them, will laugh at 
 “ your credulity. Equality is the bond of 
 “ friendfhip.; if, therefore, you defcend to 
 “ others, you degrade your dignity;—if 
 lt you raife others to yourfelf, you create a 
 “ matter, where it is your duty and your 
 st happinefs to be fupreme. Your fpirit of 
 !t friendfhip .ftiould not attach itfelf to. 
 £< an individual, but. embrace a people.— 
 6 ‘ Your affedijp ttiould be capacious as your 
 * 4 fituation is Elevated. The mind of a fo- 
 * c vereign fliould be dilated as the limits of 
 il his empire ; nor ever buffer itfelf to con- 
 <e trad into any anxious attachment to the 
 li pigmy objects of private regard. . Your 
 “ generous mind, Sir, may revolt at fuch a 
 reprefentation; but it is the truth, and 
 ■“ it becomes you to fubmit to your allot- 
 “ ment. 
 
 Your 
 
( s 5 ;) 
 
 “ Your Royal Highnefs Hands in a 
 “ fituation unparalelled in the hiftory of 
 “ princes ;—and you are called to the 
 “ Government of an Empire by a national 
 “ misfortune of which there is no'example. 
 “ Power approaches'you in a form which 
 “ fhould greatly coutroul you in the exer- 
 u cife of it—It is a power that may be very 
 “ Ihortly refumed, and' therefore., while 
 “ there is any probability of its refurhption, 
 “ fhould be employed with the moil deli- 
 “ cate attention and tendernefs to the feel- 
 il ings of the Sovereign, whenever he 
 “ fhall awake to reafon and capacity.— 
 * c I think, Sir, if yotir Royal Highnefs 
 “ fhould make any change in his Majes- 
 “ ty’s Minifters, and fhould, from his re- 
 “ ftoratio'n' to reafon; be fhortly called upon 
 “ to refign your power, you will find your- 
 “ felf in a predicament that will divide the 
 “ people between ridicule and commifera- 
 “ tion: Indeed, we are not to' fuppofe that 
 “ the malady of the King will ftrengthen 
 “ his nerves, and render him lef6 fenfible 
 “ than he has ever been to infult and difap- 
 w pointment; it may,therefore, be reafonably 
 F appre- 
 
( « ) 
 
 ii apprehended, when his recovery qualifies 
 “ him to know the events which had arifen 
 u during his unhappy lapfe, what his fen- 
 il fations may be at the information, that 
 “ the Minifters whom he approved had been 
 “ put down, and that thofe very men who 
 “ had been the continued and intemperate 
 <c opponents of his Government, and whofe 
 “ public principles and private characters 
 “ had long been the avowed objeCts of his 
 il averfion, were appointed to fucceed them ; 
 t( his fenfations, alas! may be of fuch a 
 “ poignant nature, as to caufe an inftant re-, 
 “ lapfe of his complaint, and afflict the 
 “ nation with the moft cruel difappointment 
 “ it has ever known. 
 
 “ If your Royal Highnefs willies to pof- 
 <c fefs the love of a people, which is the 
 “ brighteft jewel in a Monarch’s crown - 
 “ if it is an object with you to appear with 
 <£ real dignity in the eyes of foreign Na- 
 “ tions ;—if you look with any anxiety to- 
 “ wards the page of the Hiftorian, which is 
 “ to contain the records of this important 
 ; 4 ‘ period, it becomes you to proceed with 
 
( 6 7 ) 
 
 “ the moll rigid precaution in the exercife 
 “ of that power with which Parliament 
 “ has invefted you. It appears to me that 
 “ you would confult your honour, your 
 “ comfort, and the happinefs of the people> 
 “ if you were to condud yourfelf according 
 te to the principles of your royal father’s 
 “ perfed mind, to ad as the reprefentative 
 “ of his reafon, and the finiflier of his work. 
 “ You may have perfonal prediledions, 
 “ but this is not a moment for the in- 
 “ dulgence of them;—nay, if the objeds 
 <£ of your favour pofl’efled the' fhadow of 
 “ magnanimity,—they would not accept of 
 “ power on the terms, and with the hazard 
 “ that mud accompany the approaching 
 “ elevation to office, which it is their com- 
 “ mon boaft that you'have promifed them .* 
 “ and if they had any inteteft in the prof- 
 “ perity- of their country, or any perfonal 
 
 regard for your Royal Highnefs,—they 
 i( would advife you as I have done. 
 
 “ His Majesty, —for I may venture to 
 “ employ the idea,—left his kingdom in a 
 c< date of encreadng profperity; and if he 
 F 2 . “ fhould 
 
( 68 ) 
 
 44 fhould find it on his return, diflrafted by 
 “ the violence of party broils and public 
 “ difcontents, and fhould maintain his mind 
 4( againft fuch a difcovery ;--on whom, think 
 “ you, Sir, will he lay the blame of fuch 
 “ things? If the minifters you may appoint 
 “ fliould do nothing more than purfue the 
 44 plan of their predecefl’ors, it will be con- 
 “ fideied as an infult to the King to have 
 44 appointed them;—and if they fliould 
 “ adopt plans of a different, and lefs be- 
 44 neficial nature,—not only the King but 
 
 the kingdom will be infulted on the 
 “ occafion :—nor can I, without the groffeft 
 “ flattery, augur favourably on the fubjeft, 
 
 44 The favourites of your Royal Highnefs 
 44 :are not the favourites of the people ; 
 44 and I am afraid that even your pa- 
 44 tronage will not elevate, them into 
 44 public confidence; becaufe, with grief I 
 44 pronounce it, you yourfelf are notpopu- 
 44 lar. You, perhaps, may be informed that 
 44 the public voice is with you ;—that ad- 
 44 drefles are by no means decifive pledges 
 44 of national favour, and that thofe which 
 44 have 
 
( *9 ) 
 
 “ have lately been prefen ted to Mr. Pitt , 
 “ were figned chiefly by the loweft claf- 
 “ fes of people, whom your Minifters 
 “ may, as other Minifters have done, en« 
 “ title the fcum of the Earth. But I muft 
 “ beg your royal permiflion to tell you 
 “ otherwife.—When a falling Minifteris 
 “ the raoft popular man in the kingdom, 
 “ his fucceflors have little to expert from 
 “ the favour of the people; and I muft 
 “ beg leave to add, for your inftru&ion, 
 
 “ a culinary proverb,-that when the 
 
 “ pot lolls, the fcum is uppemojl 
 
 “ Mr. Fox may attempt toperfuade your 
 “ Royal Highnefs to adopt his principles of 
 “ popularity:—. When the people are with. 
 “ me they are right, and I will cherijh their 
 “ patriotifm ; but when they are againft me , 
 “ they are infatuated, and it is my duty to op - 
 “ pofe their madnefs. —That fuch oppofh 
 “ tion will form a neceflary meafure in the 
 “ Adminiftration which it is expelled you 
 “ will appoint, I can eafily forefee; nor 
 “ will the repeal of the Shop-tax, the oa- 
 “ ly ground whatever which they poflefs 
 “ for 
 
( ) 
 
 4 for popularity, extend its conciliating in- 
 £ fluence Beyond fome forced illumination, 
 4 —the purchafed huzzas of Weftminfter 
 ;£ voters;—and the public thanks, perhaps, 
 4 of the City Affociation. 
 
 “ It is an incontrovertible maxim, and 
 c your adherent Mr. 'Edmund Burke will 
 4 confirm the truth of it, that, whenaMi- 
 ‘ nifter is determined to hold his place in 
 4 oppofition to the people, he mull govern 
 4 by the power of corruption ; but I trait, 
 ! Sir, that you will never eonfent to the 
 4 extenfion of an evil, which to have con- 
 4 trouled and correfted, is among the glo~ 
 
 4 ries. of the prefent Adminiftration. 
 
 44 Indeed, Sir, I cannot but lament that 
 44 the indifcreet councils of -your friends 
 44 have made you appear to difapprove the 
 44 meafure of configning the King’s difor- 
 44 dered ftate to-his faithful confort’s care.— 
 44 Is it poffible they can make you believe 
 44 that there is not fufficient in all the pa- 
 44 troriage, at home and abroad, to fatisfy 
 “ the craving poverty, or impatient arabi- 
 44 tion 
 
( 7 2 ) * 
 
 « lion of the party, as well as to anfwei* 
 “ the purpofe of corruption,—if corrup- 
 “ tion muft be an engine of your govern- 
 “ ment,—without intruding upon the be- 
 “ coming dignity of the Sovereign, and 
 “ violating the fan&uary of your royal 
 “ mother’s confolation 
 
 ‘•‘No common arts have been employed to 
 “ reprefent the reftridions of Parliament as 
 “ perfonal infults to you, and your Royal 
 “ mind has been perfuaded to adopt the idea; 
 “ but, furely, your more mature reflection. 
 “ willdifcover that limitations, like laws, are 
 “ made, not againft individuals, biit again# 
 “ the common frailties of human nature. 
 “ The Act'of Settlement is a firing of li« 
 “ mitations, and Magna Charta is v the 
 “ fame. Nay, the cumbrous volumes of 
 “ the Statute Law, contain nothing but 
 “ limitations in fome Ihape or other; and 
 “ King William III. had as good caufe 
 “ to complain of the Bill of Rights, as you 
 “ have to conflder yourfelf iafulted by the 
 “ refolutions of Parliament.—Permit me, 
 “ Sir, to add, that your advifers are not 
 “ your 
 
( 73 ) 
 
 <e your friends', — they never were the 
 “ friends of the afflicted King, nor, with all 
 44 their profeffions, do 1 believe them to be 
 44 the friends of the people. —They have 
 44 brought you into a conteff with the Mi* 
 44 nifters of your Father;—they have con- 
 44 dufted it with all the miferable fpirit of 
 44 a Borough Eledtion; and they have cauf- 
 44 ed your repeated defeats, where it was 
 44 • beneath your dignity to with to triumph. 
 44 If you cannot at once extirpate the ha- 
 44 bits of fenfual .indulgence, which have 
 44 done you fo much injury;—if you attempt 
 44 a vain refiftance to your paffions which 
 44 have fo often difgraced you;—if you can- 
 44 not live without having recourfe to the 
 “ pleafures of Intemperance, let them be 
 44 enjoyed in the iecret corners of your pa- 
 44 lace;—give to the world, at leaf!, the 
 44 exterior due to the llation which you oc- 
 44 cupy;—and .learn, I befeech you, Sir, to 
 44 diffinguifh between the Statefman whom 
 44 you employ in the fervice of your coun- 
 44 try, and die buffoon whom you call to 
 44 your midnight fefiivities. 
 
 44 You 
 
( 74 ) 
 
 “ You are, at this moment in a fituation 
 “ of great perplexity: by elevating your 
 “ perfonal favourites to immediate power 
 “ you will rifk much, and can gain but 
 “ little :—by continuing the minifters of 
 “ your royal father, during his recover- 
 “ able hate, you will rijk nothing, and 
 “ gain much;—you will gain the love of 
 “ the people, and the thanks of the King, 
 “ when he fhall poflefs the capacity to 
 “ thank you:—and, I fhould think, Sir, 
 “ that it can be of no little confequence 
 
 to fuch a mind as your’s, whether the 
 “ firfl congratulations you offer to. your 
 “ father, on his relloration to reafon, will 
 “ be returned by expreffions of gratitude or 
 “ reproach.—But whenever a repofleffion of 
 “ capacity Hi all be declared hopelefa by the 
 ' ef royal phyficians,—-and Parliament fhall 
 “ adopt, the declaration,—then, Sir, your 
 “ power will be entire, and thofe perfons 
 “ whom you fhall honour with your con- 
 “ fidence will naturally fucceed to the go- 
 “ yernmentof the kingdom:—e/ felix fauf- 
 i( tumque fit .—In the', mean time, let me 
 • C5 implore your Royal Highnefs to beware 
 G “ of 
 
(75 3 
 
 £< of any change ; holdyourfelf in the dig* 
 ce nity of patience :—the affairs of the coun- 
 “ try are well adminftered, and, if thofe 
 “ men whom you wilh to bring into power 
 “ were much better than they are, an a'l- 
 “ teratioil of minilterial arrangement, at 
 “ this crifis, would be a difadvantage to 
 “ the kingdom, and might prove a ferious 
 “ fource of mortification to yourfelf. Per- 
 “ mit me. Sir, in concluding, to offer to 
 “ the r.ecolle£tion of your Royal Highnefs 
 “ the epitaph of the Italian valetudinarian. 
 “ Stam bene—in a per Jlar megllo—fio qul— 
 “ I was well—I would be better—and here 
 “ I lie.” 
 
 Such, my friend, would be the fenti- 
 ments 1 Ihould deliver on fuch an occafion— 
 and, in fo doing, I ihould perform the du- 
 ty of a faithful fubjeft and a good citizen:— 
 but I mull now beg leave to quit the charac¬ 
 ter which. I have affumed, and to return to 
 that which, I trull, will accompany .me to 
 the end of my. days—for, till then, I fhall 
 be, with the greatell truth, 
 
 Your moll fincere friend, &c.