men against their will; but in that government they would be discharged from the exercise of vigilance, providence, and fortitude; and therefore, that they may fleep on their watch, they confent to take fome one divifion of the fociety into partnerfhip of the tyranny over the reft. But let government, in what form it may be, comprehend the whole in its justice, and restrain the fufpicious by its vigilance; let it keep watch and ward; let it difcover by its fagacity, and punish by its firmness, all delinquency against its power, whenever delinquency exifts in the overt acts; and then it will be as fafe as ever God and nature intended it should be. Crimes are the acts of individuals, and not of denominations; and therefore arbitrarily to clafs men under general descriptions, in order to profcribe and punish them in the lump for a prefumed delinquency, of which perhaps but a part, perhaps none at all, are guilty, is indeed a compendious method, and faves a world of trouble about proof; but fuch a method, instead of being law, is an act of unnatural rebellion against the legal dominion of reafon and justice; and this vice, in any conftitution that entertains it, at one time or other will certainly bring on its ruin.

We are told, that this is not a religious perfecution, and its abettors are loud in disclaiming all severities on account of confcience. Very fine indeed! then let it be fo; they are not perfecutors; they are only tyrants. With all my heart. I am perfectly indifferent concerning the pretexts upon which we torment one another; or whether it be for the conftitution of the Church of England,

or

or for the conftitution of the State of England, that people choose to make their fellow-creatures wretched. When we were fent into a place of authority, you that fent us had yourselves but one commiffion to give. You could give us none to wrong or oppress, or even to fuffer any kind of oppreffion or wrong, on any grounds whatfoever; not on political, as in the affairs of America; not on commercial, as in those of Ireland; not in civil, as in the laws for debt; not in religious, as in the ftatutes against Proteftant or Catholic Diffenters. The diverfified but connected fabric of univerfal justice, is well cramped and bolted together in all its parts; and depend upon it, I never have employed, and I never shall employ, any engine of power which may come into my hands, to wrench it afunder. All shall stand, if I can help it, and all shall stand connected. After all, to complete this work, much remains to be done; much in the Eaft, much in the Weft. But great as the work is, if our will be ready, our powers are not deficient.

Since you have fuffered me to trouble you fo much on this subject, permit me, Gentlemen, to detain you a little longer. I am indeed moft folicitous to give you perfect fatisfaction. I find there are fome of a better and fofter nature than the perfons with whom I have supposed myself in debate, who neither think ill of the act of relief, nor by any means defire the repeal, not accufing but lamenting what was done, on account of the confequences, have frequently expreffed their wifh,

that

that the late act had never been made. Some of this defcription, and perfons of worth, I have met with in this city. They conceive, that the prejudices, whatever they might be, of a large part of the people, ought not to have been fhocked; that their opinions ought to have been previously taken, and much attended to; and that thereby the late horrid scenes might have been prevented.

I confefs, my notions are widely different; and I never was lefs forry for any action of my life. I like the bill the better, on account of the events of all kinds that followed it. It relieved the real fufferers; it strengthened the state; and, by the diforders that enfued, we had clear evidence, that there lurked a temper fomewhere, which ought not to be foftered by the laws. No ill confequences whatever could be attributed to the act itself. We knew before-hand, or we were poorly inftructed, that tolération is odious to the intolerant ; freedom to oppreffors; property to robbers; and all kinds and degrees of profperity to the envious. We knew, that all these kinds of men would gladly gratify their evil difpofitions under the fanction of law and religion, if they could: if they could not, yet, to make way to their objects, they would do their utmost to fubvert all religion and all law. This we certainly knew. But knowing this, is there any reason, because thieves break in and steal, and thus bring detriment to you, and draw ruin on themselves, that I am to be forry that you are in poffeffion of fhops, and of warehouses, and of wholefome

wholesome laws to protect them? Are you to build no houses, because desperate men may pull them down upon their own heads? Or, if a malignant wretch will cut his own throat, because he fees you give alms to the neceffitous and deferving; fhall his deftruction be attributed to your charity, and not to his own deplorable madness? If we repent of our good actions, what, I pray you, is left for our faults and follies? It is not the beneficence of the laws, it is the unnatural temper which beneficence can fret and four, that is to be lamented. It is this temper which, by all rational means, ought to be sweetened and corrected. If froward men

fhould refufe this cure, can they vitiate any thing but themselves? Does evil fo react upon good, as not only to retard its motion, but to change its nature? If it can fo operate, then good men will always be in the power of the bad; and virtue, by a dreadful reverse of order, must lie under perpetual subjection and bondage to vice.

As to the opinion of the people, which fome think, in fuch cafes, is to be implicitly obeyed; near two years tranquillity, which followed the act, and its inftant imitation in Ireland, proved abundantly, that the late horrible spirit was, in a great measure, the effect of infidious art, and perverfe industry, and grofs mifrepresentation. suppose that the dislike had been much more deliberate, and much more general than I am perfuaded it was-When we know, that the opinions of even the greatest multitudes, are the ftandard of rectitude, I fhall think myself obliged to make those opinions

But

the

the masters of my confcience. But if it may be doubted whether Omnipotence itself is competent to alter the effential conftitution of right and wrong, fure I am, that fuch things, as they and I, are poffeffed of no fuch power. No man carries further than I do the policy of making govern

But the wideft

ment pleafing to the people. range of this politic complaifance is confined within the limits of juftice. I would not only confult the interest of the people, but I would chearfully gratify their humours. We are all a fort of children, that must be foothed and managed. I think I am not austere or formal in my nature. I would bear, I would even myself play my part in, any innocent buffooneries, to divert them. But I never will act the tyrant for their amusement. If they will mix malice in their sports, I fhall never consent to throw them any living, fentient, creature whatsoever, no not fo much as a kitling, to tor

ment.

"But if I profefs all this impolitic stubbornness, "I may chance never to be elected into Parliament." It is certainly not pleafing to be put out of the public fervice. But I wish to be a member of Parliament, to have my share of doing good, and refifting evil. It would therefore be abfurd to renounce my objects, in order to obtain my feat. I deceive myself indeed moft grofsly, if I had not much rather pass the remainder of my life hidden in the receffes of the deepeft obfcurity, feeding my mind even with the vifions and imaginations of fuch things, than to be placed on the most splendid

throne