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paftoral + might do well. Or what think you of a Newgate paftoral, among the whores and thieves there?

Laftly, to conclude, I love you never the worfe for feldom writing to you. I am in an obfcure fcene, where you know neither thing nor perfon. I can only anfwer yours, which I promise to do after a fort, whenever you think fit to employ me. But I can affure you, the fcene and the times have depreffed me wonderfully; for I will impute no defect to those two paltry years which have flipt by fince I had the happiness to fee you. I am, with the trueft efteem,

Yours, &c.

A

LETTER VI. *

From Dr. SWIFT to Mr. POPE. +

Dublin, Jan. 10. 1721.

Thousand things have vexed me of late years, upon which I am determined to lay open my mind to you. I rather chufe to appeal to you than

to

+ Swift himself wrote one of this kind, intitled, "Dermot and "Sheelah."

This letter Mr. Pope never received, nor did he believe it was ever fent. Pope and Warb.

This letter deferves the greater attention, as it feems to furnish more materials of Dr. Swift's life and principles, than any other of his epiftolary writings. The letter breathes an air of fincerity and freedom, and is addreffed to a particular friend, at a time when the views of ambition were at an end. It may therefore be confidered as a confeffion of one departing from this world, who only is defirous to vindicate his own character, and is anxious that his afhes may rest in peace,

It was written immediately after the arbitrary conduct of a judge in Ireland, who endeavoured to deftroy the freedom of juries, and confequently the very effence of that liberty and fafety which we have a right to poffefs by the conftitution of our ftate. Swift very gene

rously

to my Lord Chief Juftice Whitshed, under the fituation I am in. For I take this caufe properly to lie before you. You are a much fitter judge of what concerns the credit of a writer, the injuries that

rously declares himself averfe to all rigorous proceedings against perfons fufpected of problematical guilt, "By fuch Arict inquiries," fays he," a gate is left open to the whole tribe of informers; the "most accurfed, proftitute, and abandoned race, that God ever per "mitted to plague mankind." Upon this fubject I cannot avoid recollecting fome particulars from a book, which has lately given me great delight and instruction, and which I recommend very warmly to your perufal. I mean L'efprit des loix. The author M. de Mon

:

tesquieu, obferves, "that informers have been chiefly encouraged "under the most tyrannical governments. In the reign of Tiberius, "triumphal ornaments were conferred upon them, and flatues erect"ed to their honour. In the reign of Nero, upon the discovery and "punishment of a pretended confpiracy, triumphal dignities were "allotted to Turpilianus, Cocceius Nerva, and Tigillinus." In another part of his book, the Baron de Montefquieu takes notice, "that "in Turkey, where little regard is fhewn to the honour, lives, or "eftates of the subject, all causes are determined by the prefiding Ba"fhaw and in Rome, the judges had no more to do than to declare, "that the perfon accufed was guilty of a particular crime, and then "the punishment was found in the laws." From these and other examples of arbitrary government, this elegant author takes a particular pleasure in diftinguishing and admiring the civil conftitution of England; where, he fays, "the jury determine, whether the fact "brought under their cognifance be proved or not; if it be proved, "the judge pronounces the punishment inflicted by the law for fuch * a particular fact: and for this," adds the Baron," he need only "open their eyes.' But if M. de Montefquieu had read Swift's letter, or indeed had recollected many notorious facts of our hiftory, he must have obferved, that the judges have been often fo deaf to the repeated voice of the jury, and have not only shut their eyes againft our excellent laws, but have affumed "that terrible and menacing "air which Commodus ordered to be given to his ftatues."

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The method of trials by juries, is generally looked upon as one of the most excellent branches of our conftitution. In theory it certainly appears in that light. According to the original establishment, the jurors are to be men of competent fortunes in the neighbourhood; and are to be fo avowedly indifferent between the parties concerned, that no reasonable exception can be made to them on either fide, In treafon, the perfon accused has a right to challenge five and thirty, and in fellony twenty, without fhewing caufe of challenge. Nothing can be more equitable. No prisoner can defire a fairer field. But the misfortune is, that our juries are often compofed of men of mean eftates, and low understandings. Many difficult points of law are brought before them, and fubmitted to their verdict, when per

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that are done him, and the reparations he ought to receive. Befides, I doubt whether the arguments I could fuggeft to prove my own innocence, would be of much weight from the gentlemen of the long robe

haps they are not capable of determining, properly and judiciously, fuch nice matters of justice, although the judges of the court explain the nature of the cafe, and the law which arifes upon it. But if they are not defective in knowledge, th y are fometimes, I fear, from their station and indigence, liable to corruption. This indeed is an objection more to the privilege lodged with juries, than to the inftitution itself. The point moft liable to objection, is the power which any one or more of the twelve have to ftarve the reft into a compliance with their opinion; fo that the verdict may poffibly be given by Atrength of conftitution, not by conviction of confcience;" and "wretches hang that jurymen may dine."

In this letter is moft evidently difplayed Swift's immutable attachment to Ireland. Such a kind of patriotifm muft have proceeded from a true love of liberty; for he hated individuals, and despised most of the men of property and power in that kingdom: he owed them no obligations; and while by his writings he labcured to make their pofterity happy, he forced from themselves ar. involuntary, but uni verfal applaufe. His conduct was fo uniform and conftant in the caufe of Ireland, that he not only gained the praise, but the confidence of that whole nation; who are a people feldom, if ever, in clined to study and purfue their own intereft, and who are always exceedingly apt to fufpect any advice that is contrary, or in defiance to a minifterial direction.

Swift's principles of government feem to have been founded upon that excellent maxim, "Salus populi fuprema eft lex." He begins by clearing himself from Jacobitifm. He speaks of the revolution as a neceflary but dangerous expedient, which has fince been attended with unavoidable bad confequences. He declares his mortal antipathy to ftanding armies in time of peace. He adores the wisdom of that inftitution which rendered our parliaments annual. He prefers the landed to the monied intereft, and expreffes a noble abhorrence to the fufpenfion of those laws upon which the liberty of the subject depends. When these articles of his political tenets are examined, they will leave no room for any one particular party to affume the honour of having had him in their alliance. He was neither Whig nor Tory, neither Jacobite nor Republican. He was Dr. Swift.

His judgement in relation to the visible decay of literature and go fenfe, is perfectly juft. He attributes this national calamity to the prevailing luxury of the times;, which he inftances in the encouragement of factions, and of feveral public diverfios, all tending to the increase of folly, ignorance, and vice. His fentiments are delivered more with the air of a philofopher than of a divine: and the conclufion of the letter is fo proper and fo excellent a defence of his own manner of acting and thinking, that, in regard to his memory, I

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robe to those in furs, upon whofe decifion about the difference of ftyle or fentiments, I fhould be very unwilling to leave the merits of my caufe.

Give me leave then to put you in mind, (altho' you cannot eafily forget it), that, about ten weeks before the Queen's death, I left the town, upon occafion of that incurable breach among the great men at court, and went down to Berkshire; where you may remember that you gave me the favour of a vifit. While I was in that retirement, I writ a discourse which I thought might be useful in fuch a juncture of affairs, and fent it up to London ; but, upon fome difference in opinion between me and a certain great minifter now abroad, the publifhing of it was deferred fo long, that the Queen died; and I recalled my copy, which hath been ever fince in fafe hands. In a few weeks after the lofs of that excellent princefs, I came to my station here; where I have continued ever fince in the greateft privacy, and utter ignorance of those events which are moft commonly talked of in the world. I neither know the names nor number of the royal family which now reigns, further than the prayerbook informs me. I cannot tell who is chancellor, who are fecretaries, nor with what nations we are in peace or war. And this manner of life was not taken up out of any fort of affectation, but merely to avoid giving offence, and for fear of provoking party-zeal.

I had indeed written fome memorials of the four laft years of the Queen's reign, with fome other informations which I received, as neceffary materials to qualify me for doing something in an em

must be at the trouble of tranfcribing it. [Here the last paragraph of the let er is inferted.]

In short, this letter is one of the most serious and best performances that he has given us in the epiftolary way. Orrery.

VOL. IX.

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p'oyment

ployment then defigned me*: but as it was at the difpofal of a perfon who had not the fmalleft. fhare of steadinefs or fincerity, I difdained to accept it.

Thefe papers, at my few hours of health and leisure, I have been digefting into order by one fheet at a time +; for I dare not venture any further, left the humour of fearching and feizing papers should revive; not that I am in pain of any danger to myfelf, (for they contain nothing of prefent times or perfons, upon which I fhall never lose a thought while there is a cat or a spaniel in the house), but to preferve them from being loft among meffengers and clerks.

I have written, in this kingdom, a difcourfe to perfuade the wretched people to wear their own manufactures, inftead of thofe from England ‡. This treatife foon spread very fast, being agreeable to the fentiments of the whole nation, except of thofe gentlemen who had employments, or were expectants. Upon which a perfon in great office here immediately took the alarm. He fent in hafte for the Chief Justice, and informed him of a feditious, factious, and virulent pamphlet lately publifhed, with a design of setting the two kingdoms

* Hiftoriographer.

Thefe papers fome years after were brought finished by the Dean into England, with an intention to publish them. But a friend on whofe judgement he relied, (the fame I fuppofe whom he mentions above, as being abroad at the time of writing this letter), diffuaded him from that defign. He told the Dean, there were feveral facts he knew to be falfe, and that the whole was fo much in the fpirit of party-writing, that though it might have made a seasonable phamphlet in the time of their adminiftration, it was a dishonour to juft history. The Dean would do nothing against his friend's judgement; yet it extremely chagrined him: and he told a common friend that fince *** did not approve his hiftory, he would caff it into the fire, though it was the best work he had ever written. However, it did not undergo this fate, and is faid to be yet in being.

A propofal for the universal use of Irish manufactures.

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