to God we could say to perpetuate-the inestimable blessings.

It has been said by some, that as the danger was temporary, the law ought to have been passed only for a time, and that it should have been delayed till the approach of a general election should ascertain, whether a change in the temper of the people had not rendered it unnecessary. But it was necessary, at the instant, to confound the hopes of conspirators, who were then supported and animated by the prospect of a general election: and if any period had been fixed for its duration, it might have weakened its effects, as a declaration of the determined resolution of Parliament to stand or fall with the Revolution.

It is now certain, that the conspiracy of the Tories against the House of Hanover continued till the last years of the reign of George II. The Whigs, who had preserved the fruits of the Revolution, and upheld the tottering throne of the Hanoverian Family during half a century, were, in this state of things, unwilling to repeal a law, for, which the reasons had not entirely ceased. The hostility of the Tories to the Protestant succession was not extinguished, till the appearance of their leaders at the court of King George III. proclaimed to the world their hope, that Jacobite principles might re-ascend the throne of England with a monarch of the House of Brunswick.

The effects of the Septennial Act on the constitution were materially altered in the late reign, by an innovation in the exercise of the prerogative of dissolution. This important prerogative is the buckler of the monarchy: it is intended for great emergencies, when its exercise may be the only means of averting immediate danger from the throne: it is strictly a defensive right. As no necessity arose under the two first Georges for its defensive exercise, it lay, during that period, in a state of almost total inactivity. Only one Parliament, under these two Princes, was dissolved till its seventh year. The same inoffensive maxims were pursued during the early part of the reign of George III. In the year 1784, the power of dissolution, hitherto reserved for the defence of the monarchy, was, for the first time, employed to support the power of an Administration. majority of the House of Commons had, in 1782, driven one Administration from office, and compelled another to retire. Its right to interpose, with decisive weight, in the choice of ministers, as well as the adoption of measures, seemed by

The

these vigorous exertions to be finally established. | George II. had, indeed, often been compelled to receive ministers whom he hated: but his successor, more tenacious of his prerogative, and more inflexible in his resentment, did not so easily brook the subjection to which he thought himself about to be reduced. When the latter, in 1784, again saw his Ministers threatened with expulsion by a majority of the House of Commons, he found a Prime Minister who, trusting to his popularity, ventured to make common cause with him, and to brave that Parliamentary disapprobation to which the prudence or principle of both his predecessors had induced them to yield. Not content with this great victory, he proceeded, by a dissolution of Parliament, to inflict such an exemplary punishment on the majority, as might deter all future ones from following their dangerous example.

The ministers of 1806 gave some countenance to Mr. Pitt's precedent, by a very reprehensible dissolution; and, in 1807, its full consequences were unfolded. The House of Commons was then openly threatened with a dissolution, if a majority should vote against Ministers; and, in pursuance of this threat, the Parliament was actually dissolved. From that moment, the new prerogative of penal dissolution was added to all the other means of ministerial influence.

Of all the silent revolutions which have materially changed the English government, without any alteration in the letter of the law, there is, perhaps, none more fatal to the constitution than the power thus introduced by Mr. Pitt, and strengthened by his followers. And it is the more dangerous, because it is hardly capable of being counteracted by direct laws. The prerogative of dissolution, being a means of defence on sudden emergencies, is scarcely to be limited by law. There is, however, an indirect, but effectual mode of meeting its abuse: - by shortening the duration of Parliaments, the punishment of dissolution will be divested of its terrors. While its defensive power will be unimpaired, its efficacy, as a means of influence, will be nearly destroyed. The attempt to reduce Parliament to a greater degree of dependence will thus be defeated; due reparation be made to the constitution; and future ministers, taught by a useful example of just retaliation, that the Crown is not likely to be finally the gainer, in struggles to convert a necessary prerogative into a means of unconstitutional influence. Ibid. p. 494.

A.

ABBOT, Mr., state prosecutor, 663.

Abergavenny, Lady, intercedes for Mrs. Lisle, 285.
Academy of Physics, foundation of, at Edinburgh, 109.
Act, Black, felonies under the, 720; the Mutiny, 735.
Acts. See Habeas Corpus, Test, Settlement, Conscience,
Triennial, Septennial.

Adams, Mr. S., election of, 655. n.
Addison as a writer, 511, 512.
Advocates, French provincial, 573.
Albemarle, Duke of, removal of, 295.
Alfonso, King, conquers the Moors, 482.

Allemagne, De l', Madame de Staël's, 526, 527. 530.
Alliance, the Holy, 750. n. 767, Spain in the, 757.
Allibone, Judge, and the bishops, 414. 418.

Allies, policy of the, against France, 628.

Alsop, Rev. Mr., tool of James, 364.
Alva, Duke of, in Netherlands, 751.

America, vote by ballot in, 653-655; elective system of,
653; degraded by slavery, 655; government of under
England, 810.

America, Spanish, advantage of recognising, 749, 750. 763.
768; extent and produce of, 760; value of English
trade with, 763, 764.; Capt. Basil Hall on, 765; free
trade of, ib.; Ferdinand's decree for, 766.
American freedom, how purchased, 581; revolution,
effect of, 613; president, election of, 655; war, France
in the, 753.

Amiens, peace of, 656. n. 699.

Anglesea, Lord, against Papists, 298.

"Animal Mechanics," Mr. Charles Bell's notice of, 86,
and n.

Anne, Princess, a firm Protestant, 316; and the Pope's
nuncio, 368; political dexterity of, 373; her husband,
ib.; disbelieves the Queen's pregnancy, 382. 423.
Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, the Augustinian doc-
trines revived by him, 18.

Antisthenes, 8.

Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius, 14.
Aquinas, 18; observations on his doctrine concerning
faith and the human will, 18, 19; examination of his
opinions as to the relative powers of the Church and
the State, 19. 135; his reputation mainly dependent on
his ethical works, 22; his Calvinism proved by extracts
from his writings, 133.

Argyle, Marquis, prosecution of, 391.
Aristippus, 8.

Aristocracies, French, 558, 559. 567; and liberty, 598. n.;
on creation of, 773.

Aristotle, genius and character of his writings contrasted
with those of Plato, 10; his Aixaμaтα TŴY TOλiμar,

165, and n.; considered poetry as of a more excellent
nature than history, 184.

Armies, pay of, 556, 557. See Soldiers.

Army, defect of French, 555, 556; of James II., 314. n.;
against Popery, 316. 318.

Artois, Compte d', project of, 546; against the Assembly,

554.

Arundel, Lord, privy councillor, 311.
Asiatic Society, origin of, 536.

Assemblies, French, number of, 594; arguments against,
ib.; functions of the, 596; use of numerous, 652.
Assembly, National. See States General. Tiers Etat
constitute themselves a, 554; scene in Tennis Court,
ib.; disobey royal commands, 555; the soldiery adhere
to, 556; power and legislation of, 557; the public
organ, 558; question on their proceedings, ib.; outcry
against, on abolition of titles, 561; declaration of
rights, 564. n.; eradicate abuses, 568; accusations against,
569; their use of experience, ib.; and philosophic re-
search, 570; character of, 572; lawyers in the, ib.; a
litigious constitution? 573; philosophic atheists ? 574;
Jansenist party in, 576; behaviour of Paris populace
to, 584; eloquence in, 587; on general rights, 592;
not democratic, ib.; on adopting English as model,
599; on executive magistracy, 601. 605; on declaring
war and peace, 602.

Assembly of Notables, 549. 551; against despotism, 549.
Assignats, account of, 577; objects gained by, 577, 578;
and national lands, 578; circulation of, ib.
Association, effects of, considered, 77; the true doctrine
stated and illustrated, 78, &c.; importance of the prin-
ciple of association to philosophy, 83; ancients' state-
ments concerning, 144.

Atheism and religious zeal, 576.
Athens, government of, 592.
Athol, Marquis, cruelty of, 326.
Atkyns, Judge, and Test Act, 305.
Attica, soil of, 588.

Atticus, the true representative of the school of Epicurus,

14.

Auckland, Lord, character of, 550. n.

Augsburg, League of, 272.

Augustin, founder of the scholastic theology, 17, 18; ge-
neral review of the doctrines taught by him, ib.
Austin, Rev. Mr., in Demerara insurrection, 728; his
evidence against Mr. Smith, 728, 729.
Austria, invasion of, by the Turks, 269.

Austria, intolerance of, 276; favours Poland, 440; in-
fluenced by Russia, 444-446; artifice of, 446. See The-
resa. Agrees to the partition, 447. n. 451; claims on
Lombardy and Venice, 707; its relation to Europe,
710.

Autun, Bishop, address of, 568. n. ; on French revolution,
581. n.

Averroes and Avicenna, two famous Mahometans in the
middle age, 17.

B.

Bacon, Lord, 3; considerations on the philosophical
genius of, 147-152; his relative estimation of poetry
and history, 184; great increase of Chancery business
in his time, 216; his history of Henry VII., 502; on
Queen Elizabeth, 677.

Bailey, Old, perjury at, 784.

Bailly, M., Spartan energy of, 555.

Balance of power, 447. 459. 625. 699. 708, 709.

Ballot and Universal Suffrage, 648. 650; as ensuring
secrecy, 650.; argument for, 653; in America, 653.
655.

Bank notes, effects of superabundance of, 718.
Bankes, Mr., on Reform, 793.

Baptists, account of, 362.

Bar, confederation of, 439. 441.

Barclay, Quaker, boast of, 394.

Barillon, envoy of France, 308.

Baring & Co., high commercial character of, 748.
Barras, character of, 664.

Barrere, employment of, 635.

Bastile, new definition of the, 583; attack on the, ib.
Bath, Earl of, styled Prince Elector, 276. n.
Bathurst's, Earl, defence of ministers, 690.

Baxter, Richard, account of, 358, 359; and the bishops,
407.

Beaufort, Duc de, general of Louis, 341.

Beauty, examination into the pleasure derived from, 7.
Behn, Mrs., poetastress, 382.

Bellarmine, Cardinal, Jesuit, 313. 398.

Bellasis, Lord, privy councillor, 311; in office, 325.
"Beneficial tendency," the standard of morality, the
theory investigated, 116; comparison of, with the doc-
trine of Utility, ib.

Bennet, Hon. H. G., on criminal law, 713.
Bentham, Mr. Jeremy, his definition of the term "moral
sense," 6; general observations upon the genius of his
writings, and strictures on his philosophical system, 89
-100; extract from the Westminster Review on his
"principle of Utility," 145, 146; strictures on its state-
ments, 146; on vote by ballot, 650.

Bentinck, Lord Wiiliam, occupies Genoa, 689. n.; his
address to the Italians, 695. 699, 700.; his march to
Genoa, 696; Italian negotiations of, 697, 698.
Berkeley, notice of his "Theory of Vision," 61.; his de-
sign of reclaiming and converting the natives of North
America, ib.; remarks on his "Querist," 62; state-
ment of his ethical principles, 62, 63.

Bernstorff, administration of, 462.

Berwick, Duke, lieutenant of Ireland, 339.
Bible against Popery, 327.

Biography and history, difference between, 184.
Birkbeck, Mr., character of, 631.

Bishops. See Cartwright Compton, Crew, Dunkeld,
Glasgow, Hall, Kew, Lloyd, Mew, Morley, Ross, San-
croft, Sprat, Tenison, Tillotson, Trelawney, Wood.
Against standing army, 298; five, betray the Church, 367;
petition the King, 404-406; examination of the, 409;
committed to the Tower, ib.; scene thereon, 410;
brought to King's Bench, 412, 413; enlargement of the,
413; trial of the, 414-419; acquitted, 419.
Blackstone, Sir W., on penal laws, 723.
Blair, Dr., as an author, 498.

Blathwaite, clerk of Privy Council, 415.

Boethius, 16.

Boileau, mind of, 547.

Boleyn, Anne, commencement of proceedings towards her
marriage with Henry VIII., 208; alleged part taken by
her in the case of Sir Thomas More, 230.
Bolingbroke, work of, 575. n.
Bolivar in Peru, 761.

Bombay, European force at, 687.
Bonrepos, policy of, 317. 341.

Boroughs, franchise in, 793; on reform of, 793, 794; power
of Crown to create new, 795, 796; fraud, &c., in elec-
tions for, 797; corporate rights of, 798; argument for
nomination, 800; argument for retaining corrupt, ib.
Bossuet, contrast between him and Fenelon, 45, 46; their
controversy concerning the doctrines of the Mystics, 46;
spirit of, 547.

Bouillé, memoirs of Marquis de, 753.

Bradwardine, Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury, 18.
Braganza, house of, 482; on Portuguese throne, 752.
Bragg, Attorney, executed, 286. n.

Braminical philosophers, the, 8.

Brand, Hon. T., on game laws, 717.

Brandenburg, Frederick William of, 265.

Brandon, Lord, case of, 293.

Brandt, minister of Charles VII., 461; an infidel, 462;
imprisoned, 464; beheaded, ib.

Brazil, a separate kingdom, 474; independence of, 475.
477. See Pedro, Don.

Breda, the peace of, 260; declaration of Charles II. from,
351.

Bretagne, contest in, 551.

Brézé, Marquis de, master of ceremonies, 555.
Bridgewater, cruelties at, 281.

Bridgman, Sir Orlando, Great Seal, 352. n.
Brienne, M. de, violence of, 549.
Brissot, character of, 664.

Bristol, Jeffreys at, 289.

Brown, Dr. Thomas, notices of his early life, 109; his
character and manners, 110; his style, 110, 111; his
poetry, 111; observations upon his philosophical sys-
tem, 112; his theory of the social affections, 113; his
theory of conscience, 114.
Bruce. See Dunkeld, Bishop.
Brutus, Marcus, act of, 672.

Brutuses and brutes of French Republic, 668.
Buchanan, character of, 609.

Buenos Ayres, independence of, 758; account of, 761.
Buffier, character of his philosophical writings, 52; his
ethical doctrine stated, ib.

Bunyan, John, account and sufferings of, 359, 360.
Burke, Hon. Edward, his opinions as to a mixed govern-
ment, 177; history by, 470; opinions of, 543; Reflec
tions" on French revolutionists, 544; vituperations on |
English revolutions, 545; arrangement of his "Reflec
tions," ib.; reputation of his work, 546; on the French
soldiery, 555; opinion of States General, 557; on spolia-
tion of the Church, 562; on representatives in National
Assembly, 572. 574; and French clergy, 575; on French
finance, 577; on monastic institutions, 578; and the
Bastile, 583; on French revolution excesses, 584. n., 618;
on barbarism of National Assembly, 587; and rights of
man, 588. 608; fallacy of his logic, 590, 595; French
oracles of, 599; municipal army of, 604; and revolution
societies, 605; on English monarchy, 606; dissimula-
tion of, 607; former opinions of, 615; and Franklin, 615
n.; on liberty, 618; advice to, 627; on the French war,
629; on America and Ireland, 692; anecdote by, on
creating capital felonies, 718; his speech at Bristol,

791.

Burnet, Bishop, extracts from his "History of the Re-
formation," 211; good information of 304. m.; letter

Canada, petition of Lower, 768, 769; policy of England
towards, 769; importance of, 770; grievances of, 770.
772, 773; House of Assembly in, 772, 773; English in,
773; appeal in behalf of, ib.; Papists in Upper, 774 ;
on union of Upper and Lower, ib.
Candolle, M. de, character of, 631.

Canning, Hon. George, family and character of, 491;
manners of, ib.; generosity of, 492; as a speaker, 492—
494; as a writer, 494, 495; on slavery, 733; spirit of his
government, 749. n.; delivers Portugal, 510; death of,

512.

Capital punishments. See Punishment.
Capito, his character of the Stoics, 14.
Caraman, M., governor of Provence, 551.
Carlingford, Lord, favoured by James II., 312.
Carneades, 12.

Caroline Matilda. See Denmark, Queen. ↑
Carrier, massacre at Lyons by, 683.

Cartwright, dean of Ripon, conduct of, 311; made bishop
of Chester, 349; drunkard and liar, 385; reviled by
populace, 419.

Casal, base surrender of, by the Duke of Mantua, 267.
Casanova, anecdote of, 143.

Castlemaine, Earl, ambassador, 312; his incapacity, 313,
314; on persecutions, 360; in privy council, 383.
Catharine, Queen, 208.

Catharine, Czarina, and Poland, 437. 455; policy of, 440–
444; "that woman," 442; her lovers, 437. 444; her share
in partition of Poland, 448.

Cato, Marcus Portius, 14.

Cato, remarks of Cicero on the Stoicism of, 132.
Caucusing, origin of the term, 655. n.

Celibacy, clerical, its origin traced, 20; its disadvantages, ib.
**Chambers of Union," institution of, by Louis, 267.
Chancellor, origin of the office, 214; growing importance
of, in France, and in England, ib.; progressive increase
of the business in his court from the time of Sir Thomas
More, 216.

Charitas, its signification as employed by the ancient di-
vines, 131.

Charles I. and Papists, 585.; policy of, 561.
Charles II., uncertainty as to the precise period of his
conversion to Catholicism, 249; his political intrigues
with Louis XIV., 260. 270; his death, 272; his friends
and ministers, 279; his declaration from Breda, 351-
353.

Charles VII. of Denmark, physician of, 461; scene in his
bed-chamber, 463, 464; parade of, 464; beaten by
Brandt? 466; incapacity and death of, 471.

Charles XII. defeats Russians, 436.
Charlton, Sir Job, and Test Act, 304.
Charter House, James II. attacks, 344.
Chatham, Lord. See Pitt, Mr.
Chaumont, treaty of, 699.

Chauvelin, M., French ambassador, 624.
Chenier, ode ascribed to, 664. 670.
Child-murder in India, 688. n.

Chili, state of, 761.

China, insulation of, 622.

Chivalry, age of, 586; use of, 587; and literature, ib.
Choiseul, Duc de, policy of, 440, 441. 753.
Christie, Mr., on French Revolution, 588. n.
Chrysippus, 12.

Church of England attacked by James, 295, 296; with-
stands James, 402-404. See Ecclesiastical. During
French Revolution, 562-565; lands, national pro-
perty? 563, 564; compensation to, 565; power destined
to perish, 566. n. See Monastic. In danger from
French Revolution, 623.

Churchill, Lord and Lady, Protestants, 317, 318.
Cicero, 2; his remarks on the stoicism of Cato, 132; his
description of "Old Cato" applicable to Sir Thomas
More, 195.

Clarendon, Earl, part taken by him in the case of Bishop
Gauden's claim to the authorship of Εἰκὼν Βασιλική,
242. 244-246, his total silence as to this book in his
History, 247; inference to be deduced from it, 248;
his "Short View of the State of Ireland," 255; his
daughter, 333. n.

Clarendon, Earl, son of. See Rochester. Intercedes for
Mrs. Lisle, 285; lord lieutenant of Ireland, 323; cha-
racter of, 333. 336. 338; and Mr. Somers, 611; History
by, 658.

Clarges, Sir T., offended, 295.

Clarke, Dr. Samuel, remarks on his work, "On the Being
and Attributes of God," 37; summary of his moral doc-
trine, 38.

Cleanthes, anecdote of, 12.

Clergy unfit for free government, 559; Mirabeau on the,
563. n.; character of the, 566; David Hume's opinion
of the, 575.

Clermont-Tonnerre, M. de, secedes to Commons, 555.
Cleveland, Duchess, 312.

Clifford, Sir T., 352.

Clinton, Mr. Fynes, speech by, 535. n.
Cloots, Anacharsis, republic of, 627.
Coimbra, revolt at, 785.

Coke, Sir Edward, on Petition of Rights, 306; oracle
of law, 553.

Coleridge, Mr., reply to observations in his "Biographia
Literaria," 144.

Coligny, Louise de, 257.

Collard, M. Royer, notices of his works, 102, and n.;
effects of his writings in restoring speculative philo-
sophy in France, ib.

Collins's tract on Liberty, 575. n.

Colonial possessions, value of, 603.

Columbia, independence of, 758; account of republic of,
761.

Columbus, as a poetical subject, 518, 519.

Commerce and chivalry, 586; effects of war on, 661; value
of, 766.

Commercial interest. See Landed.

Commons, the, their growing strength in the time of Sir
Thomas More, 206. French see States General.
Constituents of English House of, 617; Irish House of,
645; House of, power of, 693; right of, to counsel the