The true poli- tical fenfe of pofitions. laft affertion, viz. the right to chufe our own governors, and to frame a government for ourfelves, are certainly true, and it would be treafonable to deny them openly. The fecond part of the affertion cannot be faid to be falfe, though, from the improbability of its taking effect, it becomes childishly abfurd. It certainly is within phyfical poffibility, though without moral probability, that a king of England should give the royal affent to an act of parliament for cashiering himself for mifconduct; for in the present conftitution of our government, there can be no act of the people, which is not an act of parliament; nor any act of the parliament, which is not the act of the people. Now, although in this proper true political sense the doctrine of Dr. Price be strictly true, yet, from the manner, in which the truth appears to have been conveyed, or reprefented to his congregation, I cannot help concluding, that most of them came from the Old Jewry fully fatisfied (as indeed they probably went thither), that these boasted rights were poffeffed, and might at all times be exercised by those particularly, who diffented from our ecclefiaftical, and were difcontented with our prefent civil establishRights of the community re- ment. It was rather infidious, to foothe them diously, as the with this flattering difplay of rights, and not prefented infi rights of every individual. at at the fame time inform them, that they never could be exercifed, but by the act of the majority of that community, of which they were avowedly a very decided minority; and that they were moreover amenable, col lectively and individually, to the full rigour of the laws, for refifting or oppofing in any manner the acts of the majority; any idea, therefore, of a perfonal enjoyment of these rights, in confequence of our own judgments, was delufive and mifchievous in the extreme; and the idea of cafhiering our governors for misconduct, which in moft minds would implant the previous idea of a right of perfonal condemnation, fuperadds to the delusion and mifchief a fenfe of indelicacy, little congenial with the deference and respect, which our constitution enjoins every one to pay to the fupreme governor of the state. I perhaps understand these thrée affertions of Dr. Price differently from the generality of his congregation; but, probably, not differently, from himself; for he exprefsly and truly says, * "Were it not true, that liberty of conscience is a facred right; that power abufed juftifies refiftance; and that civil authority is a delegation from the people, the revolution. would have been, not an assertion, but an invafion of rights; not a revolution, but a rebellion." There is one more paffage in this much canvaffed fermon, which has given the highest offence to Mr. Burke. † "All things in this fulminating bull are not of fo innoxious a tendency. His doctrines affect our conftitution in the moft vital parts. He tells the revolution fociety in this political sermon, that his majefty is almost the only lawful king in the world, becaufe the only one, who owes his crown to the choice of his people. This doctrine, (he fays), affirms a moft unfounded, dangerous, illegal, and unconstitutional pofiThe true caufe tion." I think it clear, that Dr. Price, by of the king's owing his crown to the choice of his people. the words, owes his crown to the choice of his people, did not mean, that he owed his high office to any form of popular election, as Mr. Burke infinuates, which would have been notoriously false; but that our fovereign owes his crown and station to the free affent of the people, which is the efficient caufe of every free conftitution; and this I take to be true, found, and genuine revolution doctrine; and as fuch was it exprefsly delivered by Mr. Locke, immediately after the revolution had Reflections on the Revolution in France, p. 16. taken taken effect. «Thefe which remain, I hope, are fufficient to establish the throne of our great restorer, our prefent King Wil liam; to make good his title in the consent of the people; which being the only one of all lawful governments, he has more fully and clearly, than any prince in Chriftendom; and to justify to the world the people of England, whofe love of their juft and natural rights, with their refolution to preserve them, faved the nation." In this fenfe, I profess to fee little or no difference between the compliment paid to King William by Mr. Locke, a very great philosopher and an old whig, and that paid to King George the Third by Dr. Price, who by many was esteemed a very great philofopher and a modern whig. And it is very certain, that by far the greatest part of the people of England do now believe and maintain, that both his prefent majesty and the late king William became entitled to the fovereignty of this community upon those principles, which, from the days of King William have been called revolution principles; not that they were formed, given, or even established by the revolution, but that the revolution was effected by them; fo that the *Locke's Preface to his Treatife on Civil Govern ment. M 4 deno Difcuffion fa vourable to the denomination has been borrowed from the effect, and not from the origin or cause, No fovereign in fact from King Egbert to his prefent majefty, has ever owed his crown to any other, than these identical principles. It would be very unwarrantable in me to fubmit to this fentiment, that it has been our misfortune, and not the glory of this age, that every thing is to be difcuffed. Wherever misreeaufe of truth, prefentation of truth has existed, and that mifreprefentation has been attended with pernicious confequences, difcuffion alone can cure the evil. I openly avow this to be the intent of my making this publication; and with this view am I induced to make the most public and unequivocal profeffion of thofe principles, which have engendered, nurtured, and maturated our constitution; and which, if strictly adhered to, muft ever preferve it in full vigour, and fo perpetuate it to the latest pofterity. I am very far from wishing to draw a veil over the principles, which justified the alterations in the conftitution of our government at the revolution; for if that great event had never taken place, and any circumftance had provoked the difcuffion of the principles, upon which it was formed, I should * Burke, ubi fupra, |