T II ; E E C LIP S E 5. DIlIlDPJDrDDDDPIiDDIiSDIliDDPDDDDDyiijjD $> S S S $? $! 2 0000000 ¥¥¥¥¥¥* T?^n?wvv WvV VVVVVVvv 1 ^ M,dcc ? uv, It?)* YYY DT'TTDTT r r.TTTDTTV □ Y Y D Y Y V □ YY Y D VV Y The ECLIPSE. *XXXr=£XXKrs5XXX^ = XXX^sKXX«srsxxx* T HE B--LL which requires everyPerfon to render a pub- lick Account of his private Confumption of Liquors, upon Oath, all the World knows, had been condemn’d , is grievous and vxconftitutioml, both by the G—v—r, and the Voice of the People. We were therefore aftonifh’d to hear a few Weeks ago, that this very B-ll, with fome circumftantial Alterations was reviv’d. But however ftrange it may fecm, it foon pals’d both H-f-s again, tho’ it obtain’d at the C-un-1 a Majority only of One. Our Eyes then were turn’d upon the G—rn-r, and our Plopes fufpended upon his Refolution. The Friends of Liberty doubted not that the Event would prove fafe to the People, and glorious to him, whole former Interpofition had at once procur’d him their Praife and Confi¬ dence : They believed they-had.found a Refuge from****** ****** in the Reprefentative of our gracious King. They confided in the Wifdonrand patnotick Spirit of the G-v-r ; they confided in his Honour and-publick Declarations ; they confided in his Regard to his'Royal'Matter, fince he himfelf had put theMatter upon this very Footing, declaring, That He Jhottld ill dfcharge the Truft repo fed in him by his Majefy, if he fiould join in impofmg a Burden upon the Teople , inconfiftent ivith the natural Rights of every private Family in the Community. ■ a But what fudden Revolutions' are human Affairs fubjett to '—and who can tell from what appears in one Hour,what will happen in the next !>. TJtiWbWe turn’d out fo con- ( 3 ) trary to all Expectation, that t fancy nlyfelf in a Dream, and begin to 1 diftrutl the Teftimony of my Scnfcs. The B-bll is Sign’d 1 by the G-r ; its Patrons rejoice, and the People mourn. Where is npw that publick'Joy' that To lately gloVd in every Face, and'fparkied injefyry^Eye ? J^kere are th'ofe Tefti'moriies of^ratftuHfc ;and.';R3ei|i'e$t v ,'(h&t fldw’d i’o profufely frofn an' obliged People ? Who"' hears' now the Ecchoes of Applaufe ? What, has’ wither’d the .Laurels What has effaced the Monumental Infcriptions ?-The People arc the fame,—incondaht as they, aie laid to be ; their Sentiments and .ConduH in this important' .Affair. have, been confident and uniform ; Tell me then, .whence comes-this melancholy Change ? It was an uncommon and glorious Part for the G—-n—r to interpole between the Aff—-y and, the Community, in behalf of Liberty : I do not wonder that the People fe'em’d fo traniported at this fhining,ConductI do not wonder that their Addrefles of'Thanks were fo warm, and their Applaufe fo loud. They were ready to own, (as they generally are) a real Obligation : And they gavcPlonour wlicre.it was due ; nor is it anyFauit of theirs,if thisHonour is hot dill aeferv’d. Though the A -—t has pafs'd all the Branches of the L—g—1—c, yet I hope for the Sake of all that ought to be dear to us,, we Ihal! not think ourfelves obliged to exp refs an hearty Approbation of it.' The' G—w—r has' indeed' fign’d it, and thereby done his Part to bind it upon us.. But with¬ out giving my own Opinion,’ I would mcxldlly alk a few Quedions. Is the Nature of Things ffubborn 1 Can it be changed by Authority ? Will it bend to the Apprehenfion, the Humour,' Or the Intered 1 of any Man ? Has this B—11 receiv’d'any Alteration, inthp Spirit ofif, fince it was reviv’d i And if it flaould be granted that it lias not,,, Is‘it as unconftl- tutional, Is it as unprecedented in the Englifb Government, Is it as' inconfijlent with' the natural Rights of every private Family in the [Community,' as it vvas before, - and as the G—v—.r had folemnly 'declar'd 'it to' be A ( + ). • , After this B—-11 had been engrofs’d,. both Hr-f—s pafs’d upon itfuddehly,-and every Body wasfurpriz’d to hear how foonj and with what little Hefitation it was confeiited to by the Ch-r. Immediately upon ‘which, his E—11—-y fent . a Meffage to the H—— ; , demanding a Grant for his extraordi¬ nary Services.; and. after muchBebate,they voted hini£.^. 5 o,f I am griev’d to mention this Circumftahce, and leave every Man to make his own Reflections upon it. It is faid indeed, in Excufe for the G——r, that the People forg’d this-and put it on themfelves ; and therefore they ought to -wear. it: "But almoft every Child in theCommunity knows this : to be falfe. A few Men only, who owe all their Weight and Influence to the Ch—-ce of the People, have preft this Affair, and carried it through. The People themfelves expreff their Abhorrence of tlieB—-11,when itwas fubmitted to them— They deprecated it,— They inftruCled their R—pr—f—s to oppofe it.. But how came it to pafs, that after the G—-v—f had requefted that the People might give their Voice upon this Affair, he yet'never attended to it ? Will any fay, that the H—e fluffed it ? But had -the G—v—t called upon them" to 'give .him the/Senfe of their C—-nit— ts in this Matter, would they- have chofe to refufe him ? And might not the People juftly expect to be heard, at leaft by him who had invited them to l'peak ? But then it- mu.fi: be confefs d, the Difficulty of paffing it into a L—-w, .would, have been greater. It is in vain to fay,, that the Exigencies of G—v—:—nt, and fome very important Affairs, rendered it neceffarythat thisB-U ffiould be pafs’d. For if it Ihould be granted, that it affeCls our Rights, what, I pray, is of fomuchImportance.asLiberty? Why are we fo ftrenuoufly- exerting our (elves againfl: the Encroachments of the French ? Why are we plunging pur felves into Debt by Armaments and Expeditions, but for the Sake of Liberty ? And what fnould we gain by all, could we fuppofe (which I do not affert) theForces employ’ d to defend us againfl: a foreign Yoke, muff be paid by Taxes as grievous ( 5 ) and opprejfive as the Subje&s of arbitrary Power groan under ? I wifh I could fpeak foloud on this Subject, as to.be bear’d.bn the other Side of the Water. Liberty is the Nurfe of Forth tude: No People can be at the fame Time the Lyon and the Afs, crouching between two Burthens. If any Thing in earned is clefigh’d .againft the French' in' North-jhnericd, ought the Spirit of that People to be broken, though it fliould be only by an imaginary Burthen, who are chiefly expected to exert themfelves in fuch a Caufe? Why do we Fight'With fo much Obftinacy; why are we fo prodigal of our Blood &Treafure, inDefence of the Honour & Rights of our good ICi n g ?—beCaufe his Subjects are free. Whoever then checks our Spirit of Li- . berty, does in the fame Proportion leflen our Honour, at be¬ coming the Vaflals of Lcuis the XVth. So that thole very im¬ portant Affairs, which (accordingto dome) rendered the B— neceflary, are, really the ftrongeft Arguments againft it. Some People gravely tell us, that the Goodnefs of a L—w muft never be call’d in Qrreftion; and that an A—-t of A—-y requires unlimited Submiflion. ■ ... 1 I'would indeed pay all. due Reverence to conftitutional Authority, and yield all Obedience, not inconfiftent With; Freedom, but withoutpreluming to aflert any Thing on To' nice a SubjecI : ’ I would aik, Can any Power in this little' Pr—v-—-e make . Slaves of any Part of the Br—t—Jh Nation l Can a Law of the - s vacate Magna Charta ? Could any A—-t be prefumed to have the proper Force of a L—w, which Ihould be found not only'unconllitutional in itfelf, but alfo in the,Manner of its palling. Some may indeed difpute whether a fingle R--pr-e who ads for the Pubiick, is oblig’d to follow the Inilrudions of his own fingle Town : But will any one aflert, that the H-e have a Right to act contrary to the united Voice of the wholeC—mm—•nity which they repr-—nt, in an Affair .that concerns all ; and that has been formally fubmitted to the Judgment of the People. I alk, (but affert nothing,) Would not an A—t paft in this Man¬ ner, be fundamentally wrong \ And have the H—e any confti¬ tutional ( 6 ) tutionalAuthority to confent to it : TheRoyal Ch--rt--r, upon which the Authority of our G—n-lC-rt is founded, & by which it is limitted, exprefly fays, That no Laws are to be made here,, incor.fiftent with the Laws of our M—tb—r Country. Granting then that an A—t of this little G-v-m-t ftiould be contrary to the Spirit of the B—t—f C—nft~t--n, could it . be valid ? Is it not impoffible in theNature of Things ? Would notffuch an A—t be in itfelf aNullity ; and ftiould we not be Traitors, I mean to the C—nft—n, if we did not take all warrantable Methods to get it repeal’d ? You will lay, perhaps, who is to be judge in fo nice an Aflair r AG- r v may be fudden in his public Declarations; and the People may be miftaken in' their Apprehenfions of this Law : I grant it, and I’o may a M—j-r—y of bothH~fes. For Liberty’s Sake, then,let us appeal untoCyESAR. Letthat Power which gave die Ch-rt-r, determine whether the G—l C—t has not gone beyond the Authority it .conveys : Let him who is the true Father-of the People, judge whether we are not opprell. We have a Sovereign, (GOD be thanked) cafy of Accel's; a Sovereign, whofe Glory it is to prefide over a free People ; a Sovereign, who efteenis New-E —— d, a valu¬ able, and at this Jun&ure, a very important Part of his Domi¬ nions ; and who will never endure that fo brave and loyal a People, who have fo often flgnaliz’d themfeives againft the common Enemy, ftiould be diftinguilh’d from their Fellow- Subjects, by any Badge of S——— In fuch an Appeal, , may. we not hope for the Countenance of the prefent glorious Mi- niftry ; who know and fupporrour happy Conftitution in its juft Extent: Who are fo vigilant againft the Encroachments of France, in this Part of the World ; and are taking fuch i igorous Mcafures for our Defence ?. In fuch ail Appeal, nlay v-e not hope for the Patronage of an Hattfax, thatOrnament of (hzBritft Nation, thatProp of Liberty, and Terror ofitsFoes. This is no private Caufe of the Town of BOSTON ; it is tiie Caufe of the whole Province : The Town lias, deferv’d highly of ail the Freemen of the-Government, for the noble Stand t 7i )■ Stand dhey/havp already ; n>acle.QvurBr^^ ij$ i^^po^.try ^^^"t^ipe'‘fe^^|^^<^/tIm,/.ah4t&ey!\^^ , b(en3^>Ee^ { £Q > , , .-wesi3^,ojcjp tl^or6\^gbly theyundetftandthe Affair/., Andev.en.now,Numbers are not wanting to..join-, us, ip .an Application j:o, the .KING; : uppnihkQc,mup ; . A ftrpng Appre^enfipn of this, warrants us to feek RedreTs/whereitis'to be.iohhd-’; and if we obtain it, we lhall be Gainers, tho’ it (hould coft us. Half. our ..Elates.. .. For .who would npt chufe..to. dine, upon ,a Xi}MQ|p ? .yifh; pl^'jjF^Wjland b,e. a. Freeman ; .rather than ■flow.in,Li)Xury,.aiifi.be,a Slaye.,k Many^elieve: [I dop’t affeit ;it),.thap a,^acj,^ 1 inadp;pppn ! -iLdusas Dykes are broken; the Danger is inffant, We fliould, takeVt-he Alarm; it is Common, every Man fhould lend his Hand "to make up the Gap. If we luffer ourfelves to be divided or lull d afleep at fuch aSeafon, the Breach (if any there be)will. foon grow wider, Oppreffion may come in upon us like a Deluge, and the proud Waters, go over our Soul. Pains I know will be taken to difcourage our carrying this Affair Home, and we Ihalltb.ejtold. that this A-t is a Supply for his Majefty’s Service, ap^tnuff) be tenderly touch’d. But whatever we think invades -rour Liberty, cannot, till our Apprehenfions are alter’d, claim our Tendernefs. And Ihould this A-t be found inconfiftenr with the Britijb Conftittition, is it an Honour to our Sovereign, to pretend to ferve him by any fuch Meafure ? Are there not other Methods, in which thePeople woukhcontribute much more tothepublickService, with Chearfulnefs and Spirit ? The Englijh, as a Foreigner ob- ferves, ‘ willfupport immenfeTaxes,fo long as they look upon thefe thePurchafe of Liberty,and are allow’d to pay them in ‘ their own Way.’ We ( 8 ) We may be told alfo, that if we wait ’till next May, Tilings will take another Turn, and the A—t be repeal’d. But this ik only to amufe us ; Time will reconcile us to almoft any Thing ; the Spirit of the People will wax cool; this Law will become a Precedent; and our Patience under it will invite more and heavier of the fame Kind. Whereas, if this Affair is properly reprefented Home, we fhall have fuch Re- drefs as will not only heal our Wound, (if we have received any) but effectually guard the Conftitution, from any future Attacks. Pofterity who are deeply interefled in our prefent Conduit, loudly calls upon us to act with die Refolution of Men, at this important CRISIS. And how can we bear that the fair Patrimony of Freedom fhould not defcend as full and ample to our Children, as it was convey’d to us by our Fathers r • && &