of legislation, who abforbs in his own perfon the inheritance of a whole family of children, or doles out to them fome pitiful portion with the infolence of a gift?" *"A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody, ought not to be trusted by any body." t "By engendering the church with the state, a fort of mule animal capable only of destroying, and not of breeding up, is produced, called the church established by law." $ "The revolution of 1688, however from circumstances it may have been exalted beyond its value, will find its level; it is already on the wane, eclipsed by the enlarging orb of reason, and the luminous revolutions of America and France. In lefs than another .century it will go, as well as Mr. Burke's labours, to the family vault of all the Capulets. Mankind will then scarcely believe, that a country calling itself free, would send to Holland for a man, and clothe him with power, on purpose to put themselves in fear of him, and give him almost a million fterling a year for leave to fubmit themselves and their pofterity, like bond-men and bondwomen, for ever." * Rights of Man, p. 71. + Ibid. p. 76. "As "As to who is king in England or elfewhere, or whether there is any king at all, or whether the people chufe a Cherokee chief, or a Heffian huffar for a king, is not a matter that I trouble myself about." This ought to be a caution to every country, how it imports foreign families to be kings. It is fomewhat curious to observe, that although the people of England have been in the habit of talking about kings, it is always a foreign houfe of kings; hating foreigners, yet governed by them: it is now the house of Brunswick, one of the petty tribes of Germany." "Government with infolence is defpotism; but when contempt is added it becomes worse; and to pay for contempt is the excefs of flavery. This fpecies of government comes from Germany, and reminds me of what one of the Brunswick foldiers told me, who was taken prisoner by the Americans in the late war Ah!' faid he, ⚫ America is a fine free country, it is worth the people's fighting for; I know the dif 'ference by knowing my own; in my own country, if the prince says, Eat ftraw, we eat ftraw.' God help that * Rights of Man, p. 122. Ibid. p. 124. country, thought I, + Ibid. p. 123. be be it England or elsewhere, whofe liberties are to be protected by German principles of government and princes of Brunfwick." "Mr. Burke talks about what he calls an hereditary crown, as if it were fome production of nature; or as if, like time, it had a power to operate not only independent, but în fpite of man; or as if it were a thing or a fubject univerfally confented to. Alas! it has none of those properties, but is the reverfe of them all. It is a thing in imagination, the propriety of which is more than doubted, and the legality of which in a few years will be denied.” + " " If men will permit a second reflection to take place, and carry that reflection forward but one remove out of their own perfons to that of their offspring, they will then fee that hereditary fucceffion become in its confequences the fame defpotifm to others, which they reprobated for themselves. It operates to preclude the confent of the fucceeding generation, and the preclufion of confent is defpotism." As therefore hereditary fucceffion is out of the question with refpect to the firft generation, we have now to confider the cha Rights of Man, p. 126. + Ibid. p. 127. + Ibid. p. 128. racter, racter, in which that generation acts with refpect to the commencing generation, and to all fucceeding ones. It affumes a character to which it has neither right nor title." *« After all, what is this metaphor called a crown, or rather what is monarchy? Is it a thing, or is it a name, or is it a fraud? Is it a contrivance of human wisdom,' or of human craft to obtain money from a nation under fpecious pretences? Is it a thing neceffary to a nation? If it is, in what does that neceffity confift, what fervices does it perform, what is its business, and what are its merits? Doth the virtue confift in the metaphor, or in the man? Doth the goldsmith that makes the crown, make the virtue also? Doth it operate like Fortunatus's wishing cap, or Harlequin's wooden fword? Doth it make a man a conjuror? In fine, what is it? It appears to be a fomething going much out of fashion, falling into ridicule." "If government be what Mr. Burke defcribes it, a contrivance of human wisdom,' I might afk him, if wisdom was at fuch a low ebb in England, that it was become neceffary to import it from Holland and from * Rights of Man, p. 130. Ibid. Hanover? Hanover? But I will do the country the justice to fay, that was not the cafe; and even if it was, it miftook the cargo. The wisdom of every country, when properly exerted, is fufficient for all its purposes; and there could exist no more real occafion in England to have fent for a Dutch stadtholder, or a German elector, than there was in America to have done a similar thing.' * "If monarchy is a useless thing, why is it kept up any where ? and if a neceffary thing, how can it be difpepfed with ?" +"When the people of England fent for George the First (and it would puzzle a wifer man, than Mr. Burke to difcover for what he could be wanted, or what fervice he could render) they ought at least to have conditioned for the abandonment of Hanover. Befides the endless German intrigues, that muft follow from a German elector being ́king of England, there is a natural impoffibility of uniting in the fame person the principles of freedom, and the principles of despotism, or, as it is usually called in England, arbitrary power; a German elector is in his electorate a defpot; how then could it be expected, that he should be attached to prin |