dame, attired in the richeft filks, and fhowered with diamonds;" but it fhould not be forgotten that these ornaments were purchased at the expence of human blood. The candidates who ftarted on this occafion were Lord Clare, one of the late Reprefentatives, who declined on the fecond day of the poll; Mr. Brickdale, and Mr. Cruger, an American merchant. Mr. Burke appeared on the Huftings on the afternoon of the fixth day's poll. His addrefs to the ele&ors, was manly, candid, and captivating---and fuch as might be expected from one, whom neither " avarice or ambition had juftled out of the traight line of duty." The exertions of his friends were crowned with fuccefs. It was certainly a very pleafing fight, to behold a man of Mr. Burke's fenfibility flanding amidst the unbought plaudits of the populace, dumb with gratitude, till his tears got the flart of his words---and as a gentleman, who was prefent, obferved it was hard to fay which of the two was the more cloquent. The opening of his addrefs was worthy of the man voidof all affectation, it arofe naturally from the circumftances of the moment, and conveyed a fine compliment to the feelings of his colleague, Mr. Cruger— It ran thus:

GENTLEMEN,

"I cannot avoid fympathizing firongly with the feelings of the gentleman who has received the fame honour that you have conferred on me. If he, who was bred and paffed his whole life amongst you; if he, who, through the cafy gradations of acquaintance, friendthip, and efteem, has obtained the honour, which feems of it felf, naturally and almoft infenfibly, to meet with thofe, who, by the even tenour of pleafing manners and focial virtues, flide into the love and confidence of their fellow-citizens;---if he cannot fpeak but with great emotion on this fubject, furrounded as he is on all fides with his old friends; you will have the goodness to excufe me, if my real,

unaffected embarraffment prevents me from expreffing my gratitude to you as I ought.

"I was brought hither under the difadvantage of being unknown, even by fight, to any of you. No previous canvafs was made for me. I was put in nomination after the poll was opened. I did not appear until it was far advanced. If, under all thefe accumulated difadvantages, your good opinion has carried me to this happy point of fuccefs, you will pardon me, if I can only fay to you collectively, as I faid to you individually, fimply and plainly, I thank you I am obliged to you-I am not infenfible of your kindness."

Mr. Burke declared, that from the beginning to the end of the election, that he never afked a quef tion of a voter on the other fide, or fupported a doubtful one on his own; it is alfo well known that he never folicited a vote in perfon-and yet it does not appear that he was deficient in election cant, from the following humourous fpecimen of it which he gave in the fame speech.

But how fhould I appear to the voters themselves? If I had gone round to the citizens intitled to freedom, and squeezed them by the hand-" Sir, I "humbly beg your vote-I fhall be eternally thank"ful-may I hope for the honour of your support?— "Well!-come-we fhall fee you at the council" house." If I were then to deliver them to my managers, pack them into tallies, vote them off in court, and when I heard from the bar-" Such a "one only! and fuch a one for ever!-he's my "man!""Thank you, good Sir-Hah! my wor"thy friend! thank you kindly-that's an honest "fellow-how is your good family ?"-Whilst these words were hardly out of my mouth, if I fhould have wheeled round at once, and told them-" Get "you gone, you pack of worthlefs fellows! you "have no votes-you are ufurpers! you are intru"ders on the rights of real freemen! I will have

"nothing to do with you! you ought never to have "been produced at this election, and the fheriffs "ought not to have admitted you to poll."

Mr. Burke was extremely happy in the locality of his fimiles during the election-witnefs the following: "As for the trifling petulance, which the rage of party ftirs up in little minds, though it fhould fhew itfelf even in this court, it has not made the flighteft impreffion on me. The higheft flight of fuch clamorous birds is winged in an inferior region of the air. We hear them, and we look upon them, juft as you, gentlemen, when you enjoy the ferene air on your lofty rocks, look down upon the gulls, that fkim the mud of your river, when it is exhaufted of its tide."

In this fpeech Mr. Burke has drawn a picture of what he conceived to be the duty of a reprefentative to his conftituents. The paffage is too fine to be omitted or abridged, efpecially as it is a point on which the ableft writers are divided.

But

"I am forry I cannot conclude, without faying a word on a topic touched upon by my worthy colleague. I with that topic had been paffed by, at a time when I have fo little leifure to difcufs it. fince he has thought proper to throw it out, I owe you a clear explanation of my poor fentiments on that fubject.

He tells you, that "the topic of inftructions has "occafioned much altercation and uneafinefs in this "city" and he expreffes himfelf (if I understand him rightly) in favour of the coercive authority of fuch inftructions.

"Certainly, gentlemen, it ought to be the happiness and glory of a reprefentative, to live in the ftricteft union, the clofeft correfpondence, and the moft unreferved communication with his conftituents. Their wifhes ought to have great weight with him; their opinion high refpect; their business unremitted attention. It is his duty to facrifice his repose, his plea

fures, his fatisfactions, to theirs; and, above all, ever, and in all cafes, to prefer their intereft to his own. But, his unbiassed opinion, his mature judgment, his enlightened confcience, he ought not to facrifice to you, to any man, or to any fet of men living. These he does not derive from your pleafure; no, nor from the law and the conftitution., They are a truft from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply anfwerable. Your reprefentative owes you, not his induftry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he facrifices it to your opinion.

"My worthy colleague fays, his will ought to be. fubfervient to yours. If that be all, the thing is innocent. If government were a matter of will upon any fide, yours, without queftion, ought to be fuperior. But government and legiflation are matters of reafon and judgment, and not of inclination; and, what fort of reason is that, in which the determination precedes the difcuffion; in which one fet of men deliberate, and another decide; and where those who form the conclufion are perhaps three hundred miles diftant from thofe who hear the arguments?

To deliver an opinion, is the right of all men; that of conflituents is a weighty and refpectable opinion, which a reprefentative ought always to rejoice to hear, and which he ought always moft feriously to confider. But authoritative inftructions; mandates iffued, which the member is bound blindly and implicitly to obey, to vote, and to argue for, though contrary to the cleareft conviction of his judgement and confcience; these are things utterly unknown to the laws of this land, and which arise from a fundamental mistake of the whole order and tenour of our conftitution.

Parliament is not a congrefs of ambaffadors from different and hoftile interefts; which interests each muft maintain, as an agent and advocate, against other agents and advocates; but Parliament is a deli

berative affembly of one nation, with one intereft, that of the whole; where, not local purposes, not local prejudices ought to guide, but the general good, refulting from the general reafon of the whole. You chufe a member indeed; but when you have chofen him, he is not a member of Briftol, but he is a member of Parliament. If the local conftituent should have an intereft, or fhould form an hafty opinion, evidently oppofite to the real good of the reft of the community, the member for that place ought to be as far, as any other, from any endeavour to get it effect. I beg pardon for faying fo much on this subject. I have been unwillingly drawn into it; but I shall ever ufe a respectful frankness of communication with you. Your faithful friend, your devoted fervant, I fhall be to the end of my life: A flatterer you do not wifh for. On this point of inftructions, however, I think it fcarcely poffible we ever can have any fort of difference. Perhaps I may give you too much, rather than too little trouble."

Mr. Burke having found by experience that a "ftrenuous refiftance to every appearance of lawless power; a fpirit of independence carried to fome degree of enthufiafm; an inquifitive character to difcover, and a bold one to difplay, every corrup tion and every error of government," had recommended him to a feat for Bristol, he was determined to perfevere in the fame fteady course.

He had formed a moft intimate friendship with Sir George Saville, that good man, who was very juftly looked up to as the land-mark of the conftitution, went to Ireland about this time, for the humane purpose of meliorating the condition of his numerous tenantry in that country. Having rode out one frofty morning without any attendant, he efpied a man at a little diftance, with whom he entered into converfation. Who does that mill belong to? I'rent it, Sir. And what is the meaning that your mill is not better thatched, and yourfelf better clad?-I