him to his political health and honour, but the firm fincerity of his English subjects?

IT has not been usual in this country, at leaft fince the days of Charles the First, to fee the fovereign perfonally at variance, or engaged in a direct altercation with his fubjects.

Acts of grace and indulgence are wifely appropriated to him, and should conftantly be performed by himself. He never fhould appear but in an amiable light to his fubjects. Even in France, as long as any ideas of a limited monarchy were thought worth preferving, it was a maxim, that no man fhould leave the royal prefence difcontented. They have loft or renounced the moderate principles of their government, and now, when their parliaments venture to remonftrate, the tyrant comes forward, and anfwers abfolutely for himfelf. The fpirit of their prefent conftitution requires that the King fhould be feared, and the principle, I believe, is tolerably fupported by the fact. But, in our political fyftem, the theory is at variance with the practice, for the King fhould be beloved. Meafures of greater feverity may, indeed, in fome circumstances, be neceffary; but the minitter who advises, fhould take the execution and odium of them entirely upon himself. He not only betrays his mafter, but violates the fpirit of the English

con

conftitution, when he expofes the chief magiftrate to the personal hatred or contempt of his fubjects. When we fpeak of the firmness of government, we, mean an uniform fyftem of measures, deliberately adopted, and refolutely maintained by the fervants of the crown, not a peevish asperity in the language or behaviour of the fovereign. The government of a weak, irrefolute monarch may be wife, moderate, and firm;—that of an obftinate capricious prince, on the contrary, may be feeble, undetermined and relaxed. The reputation of public meafures depends upon the minifter, who is refponfible, not upon the King, whofe private opinions are not supposed to have any weight against the advice of his counsel, whofe perfonal authority fhould therefore never be interpofed in public affairs.-This, I believe, is true, conftitutional doctrine. But for a moment let us fuppofe it falfe. Let it be taken for granted, that an occafion may arife, in which a King of England fhall be compelled to take upon himself the ungrateful office of rejecting the petitions, and cenfuring the conduct of his fubjects; and let the City remonftrance be fuppofed to have created fo extraordinary an occafion. On this principle, which I prefume no friend of administration will difpute, let the wifdom and fpirit of the ministry be examined. They advife the King to hazard his dignity, by a pofitive

VOL. II.

D

pofitive declaration of his own fentiments? -they fuggeft to him a language full of feverity and reproach. What follows? When his Majefty had taken fo decifive a part in fupport of his miniftry and parliament, he had a right to expect from them a reciprocal demonftration of firmness in their own cause, and of their zeal for his honour. He had reafon to expect (and fuch, I doubt not, were the blustering promises of Lord North) that the perfons, whom he had been advised to charge with having failed in their refpect to him, with having injured parliament, and violated the principles of the constitution, thould not have been permitted to escape without fome fevere marks of the difpleafure and vengeance of parliament. As the matter stands, the minifter, after placing his fovereign in the most unfavourable light to his fubjects, and after attempting to fix the ridicule and odium of his own precipitate measures upon the royal character, leaves him a folitary figure upon the fcene, to recal, if he can, or to compenfate, by future compliances, for one unhappy demonstration of ill-fupported firmnefs, and ineffectual refentment. As a man of fpirit, his Majesty cannot but be fenfible, that the lofty terms in which he was perfuaded to reprimand the city, when united with the filly conclufion of the bufinefs, refemble the pomp of a mock

tragedy,

tragedy, where the most pathetic fentiments, and even the fufferings of the hero are calcu lated for derifion.

SUCH has been the Boafted firminefs and confiftency of a minifter, whofe appearance in the house of commons was thought effential to the King's fervice-whofe pres fence was to influence every divifion;-who had a voice to perfuade, an eye to penetrate, a gesture to command. The reputation of thefe great qualities has been fatal to his friends.

The little dignity of Mr. Ellis has been committed. The mine was funk;combustibles provided, and Welbore Ellis, the Guy Faux of the fable, waited only for the fignal of command. All of a sudden the country gentlemen difcover how grofsly they have been deceived; the minifter' heart fails him, the grand plot is defeated in a moment, and poor Mr. Ellis and his motion taken into cuftody*. From the event of Friday laft, one would imagine, that fome fatality hung over this gentleman, Whether he makes or fuppreffes a motion, he is equally fure of his difgrace. But the complexion of

MR. ELLIS intended to make a motion againft the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, but juftast he rofe in the houfe to enter upon the business, a message from the mi nifter made him fit down. The affair ended in a vote of censure only.

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the

the times will fuffer no man to be vice-treafurer of Ireland with impunity.

I Do not mean to exprefs the smallest anxiety for the minifter's reputation. He acts separately for himself, and the most fhameful inconfiftency may perhaps be no difgrace to him. But when the Sovereign, who reprefents the majefty of the state, appears in perfon, his dignity fhould be fupported. The occafion fhould be important; -the plan well confidered;-the execution fteady and confiftent. My zeal for his Majefty's real honour compels me to affert, that it has been too much the fyftem of the prefent reign, to introduce him perfonally, either to act for, or to defend his servants. They perfuade him to do what is properly their bufinefs, and defert him in the midst of it. Yet this is an inconvenience, to which he muft for ever be expofed, while he adheres to a miniftry divided among themselves, or unequal in credit and ability to the great task they have undertaken. Inftead of reserving the interpofition of the royal perfonage, as the last resource of government, their weaknefs obliges them to apply it to every ordinary occafion, and to render it cheap and common in the opinion of the people. Inftead of supporting their master, they look to him for fupport; and, for the emoluments of remain.