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to prove any of their foul Imputations; was to be ftigmatifed with every odious Mark, and for ever kept out of the Government; when the Worft of his Crimes, upon due Examination, appeared in fact to be no more than a ftrict Attention to the extending the Power and Influence of him, to whom he owed all he poffeffed, and for that Purpose, exercifing it, as far as poffible in the Absence of his Principal; permitting his late Coadjutor, the Speaker, to fhare as little as may be of the Authority or Emoluments of the Office. This abufed Man was foremost in my Perfecution. I cannot be fuppofed Partial to him. I cannot be his Friend. But, I cannot do even an Enemy Injustice; nor see him fuffer Wrong, without Pain.

And a fourth was to be called to a moft ftrict Account, for paying Money out of the Treasury, a facred Fund, not appropriated to any particular Purpose, without the Authority of Parlement. And many more Grievances were moft loudly complained of, with folemn Affurances of parlementary Redress.

Libertas et Natale Solum, was the Motto of a great Man's Arms, whofe Memory is gibbetted to perpetual Infamy, by the immortal Swift. Liberty and Patriotism are of all others the Mafques, under which Men can moft effectually, moft fatally wound the credulous Community. Had I lived in Peace and Safety in Ireland, I confels, I might have been taken in by fuch Declarations, as were openly, univerfally made by these new raised Patriots. They were enough to deceive the very Elect. But, as a fcalded Cat ever after dreads cold Water, I could not, at a Diftance especially, repofe much_Confidence in the Party; though towards the latter End, I fometimes layed afide my Sufpicion, and found myfelf inclined to believe and hope, they were in earneft, as far as I thought them in the Right. Some I am sure were both. How the Multitude food, judge from the Sequel.

Had my Papers been permitted to come before you, when I prefented them; you would have been able to fee how these Matters ftood; you must have learned the true State of the Cafe of Ireland, and have been able to judge how far you were interested in them. Had an Earthquake overwhelmed the Capital, which of you would not have been fhocked at the Recital? Had a raging Peftilence arofe, and fwept off Multitudes of the

Inhabitants of that Kingdom; which of you could have flept fupinely in his Bed-Or, if a foregne Enemy had invaded and ranfacked the Country, or fome evil Spirit ftirred up a Rebellion there, and overturned the eftablifhed Syftem of civil Government; is there among you a Sot fo infenfible, as not to be alarmed? I must judge not; unless you Convince me of the Contrary. Think then is any of these an Evil fo dreadful, as the overturning the civil Conftitution? If this fhould by any Means be effected, or onely in danger of being done who that deserves the Name of Briton, could be fo flothful as to fit fill unconcerned?-I hope the Breath of fuch à Slave does not contaminate our free, wholefome Air ! And for my Part, I fhould think myself unworthy of the Bleffings, I enjoy in this Land of Liberty, did I withold my Thoughts from you upon this interesting Occafion. Apply them as your honeft Hearts direct. I must be forgiven, if to eafe mine own Breaft I deliver my Sentiments.

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Now, permit me, for my private Vindication, to recapitulate the principal Proceedings of this long-lived, this perennial Parlement in Ireland, in order to fhew the true Weight of their Cenfure, as well as the Danger of letting a People under the fame Crown, and common Form of Government with us, degenerate into Slavery.

In 1749, the mighty Managers, the Undertakers of Ireland, the very Men, that lately affumed the Sacred, though abufed, Name of Patriots; perfecuted the Author of these Papers for afferting the Rights and Liberties of the People, and the Privilege and Power of Parlements; in fhort, for vindicating the political Conftitution of that Country, as well as of this; condemned him without Evidence and unheared; declared him an Enemy to his Country; in order to prevent his Election, which they knew could by none other Means be obftructed. ordered him to clofe Confinement in a common Goal; and afterwards gave him up to rigorous Profecution under merciless, not to fay, lawless Judges, in an inferior Court, which was not to be prefumed to dare to differ in Judgment from the fuperior Tribunal, where he was already, though without Trial, condemned.

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The fame Seffion, they voted Mr. Digges La Touche unduly elected, who was elected upon the fame Intereft, that would have returned the Author, by a confiderable Majority of unquestionable and indeed unquestioned Voices; in order to make Room for a Petitioner, who was fo far

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from being able to prove any of the Allegations of his Petition true, that every one of them was generally known and partly proved the diametrical Reverfe, by the very Evidence of the Petitioner. The zealous Citizens honored the Minority in this interefting Question, with Gold Medals.

So far did the Houfe adopt and perfevere in the Sentiments of their worthy Agent and Member, Sir Richard Cox; to wit, that Ireland had no political Conftitution, but the Will of the Minifter, to which the Parlement and People were bound to pay implicit Obfervance; that, in 1751, they paffively, if not voluntarily, received the Dictates of the Miniftry, inferted in the Recital of a Bill, fetting forth the previous Congè or Confent of the Crown to frame and pass fuch a Bill, in the Preamble, before any of the enacting Claufes. And therefore thus tacitly agreed to give up the People's Right to the furplus Money in the Treafury; acknowleged it to be in the Crown alone; fuffered the effential Form of an Act of Parlement to be altered, and agreed to register the Dictates or Edicts of the Minifter! What Parricides could have gone further?

If all this were right, I must have deferved the Condemnation, paffed on me and now not onely recorded, but published in the printed Journals of the Houfe of Commons; who afferted the contrary alone to be lawful and juft, in the Papers by the Parlement condemned, and fuppreffed by your Magiftrates. But, before the next Seffion, mine Accufers changed their Judgments, and in fact acquitted me; in effect, though undefignedly, repealed their iniquitous Sentences paffed upon me, by embracing my political Doctrines, by rebuilding upon the Plan, the very Foundation of the Building I had layed; which before, the Goths had ruined. If the Parlement of Ireland was not a free and competent Legislature for that Kingdom, as I afferted, by what Authority did they prefume to oppofe the Miniftry, even under the Sanction of the facred Name of Majefty? If they had no political Conftitution, but the Will of the Minifter, as Cox fet forth, which Heaven for Britain's Sake forbid ! why should the Commons prefume to cenfure a Servant of the Crown, in 1753; to expel him the Houfe, though as much as poffible protected by the Minifter? Why dare to reject a new-conftructed Bill, framed or dictated to them by the Miniftry, under the reputed Sanction of the previous Confent of the Crown, especially after they had paffed it in the identical Words, the preceding Seffion? Why threaten the Impeachment of a very great Minifter? The Cenfure and Expulfion of his Son? Why univerfally receive

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Compliments and Congratulations for their Patriot Spirit, and their juft Oppofition to detefted Measures? Why pocket the fecond fet of Gold Medals prefented by the mistaken, bigotted Citizens? And laftly, if they have no Power or Authority, but what they derive from the Will of the Minifter; why have they this Seffion ftipulated for the Exclufion of a Vice-Minifter from the Government? And for the Restoration of the vacated Places or withdrawn Penfions of the late Chiefs and their Agents, or proper Equivalents for their Lofles under the late Administration? And above all, if they have no parlementary Power, why have they all gained what they feverally contended for, their private Ends, Places, Penfions, Reverfions, Precedence, Preaudience, &c. &c. to the total Suppreffion of all Complaints against every Part of the late Adminiftration, which they before fo induftriously blackened and fo clamorously threatened ? -Are thefe Things fo? And do they not demand the Attention of Britons? Who would not rather fee Part of any the British Dominions poffeffed by a foregne Enemy, than enslaved under the Color of British Laws?

These Matters do or they do not deserve the Attention of the Citizens of the Metropolis of Britain. Who fhall judge whether or not? You are in your Sphere a Body politic, conftituted much upon the fame Principles with that of the great Body politic of the Nation. However wife, however excellent the Head or first Estate in our national Government, he is not intrufted to judge for the other Estates, though he be impowered to execute the whole Syftem of Laws agreed to by the two other Eftates. The fame Rule of Reason and of Law binds alike the Small and the Great.

Hence, judge by what Authority, feveral fucceffive chief Magiftrates of London took upon them to judge for the whole Community and to reject and fupprefs, as much as in them lay, a Book addreffed and dedicated, as well to every individual Member, that composes the Council and the Corporation of the City, as to the Head.

Give me Leave to inform you of the Manner of attempting to deliver this Work to your Community and the Perfons to whom I delivered it. Perhaps I was wrong and gave it into improper Hands; for fo the Event would seem to argue.

Before I went Abroad, the Book not being then printed, I waited upon the Lord Mayor in the Year 1750, upon the 17th of March, and prefented him with a manufcript Copy of the following dedicatory Addrefs. He received me with Politeness and Hofpitality, and gave me to understand, he would lay it before the City.

I directed a Friend, as foon the Book fhould be published,
to prefent a Copy in an elegant Binding, according to my
Promife, one to the Lord Mayor and one to each of the
Sheriffs. It was accordingly done.

By this Time, that Magiftrate had read the Manufcript,
was, or feemed to be moved by the Contents of it, in a
political and an humane Senfe; enquired courteously for my
Health, and wifhed me a fafe and fpeedy Return, expreffing a
ftrong Defire to serve me.

Upon my Return, I waited on this Gentleman, affured
the Book had been prefented to the Commons in fome Af-
fembly; when to my Surprife, I found none of the Com-
mons had ever seen or heard of it; but, to leffen the In-
juftice, with Respect to me, I had it returned and fent Home
to me. The Gentleman did not choose to give me his
Reasons, if any he had, for this Slight. It is to be hoped, he
will hardly refuse giving you the Satisfaction, if you think it
worth while to demand it.

At the fame Time, the then Sheriffs were attended and
prefented, each with a Book. One of them was with great
Difficulty perfwaded to accept of it. It is hard to fuppofe an
Officer of this Eminence furprised at the Sight of a gilded
Volume of the Size. Yet it is certain, the Gentleman feemed
afraid to accept of it. But, at length being affured, there was
no Harm meaned, nor any Thing expected in Return; he
vouchfafed to accept of it. I fuppofe it has ferved him for
wafte Paper fince. It is poffible the Titule Page frightened
him from reading further: For, I have met with no Body, that
learned the cautious Sheriff's Sentiments upon the Subject.

The other, with Refpect and Gratitude, let me ever re-
member it! politely accepted of the poor Prefent; generously
expreffed his Concern for the hard Sufferings of the Author,
and with Difficulty was prevented fhewing his Generosity
and Munificence upon the Occafion, in more than Words.
He reads the Book and pities and applauds the Author; while
he humanely feels much for the Difafters of his Country.
And thinks the Liberties of Britain now lefs fecure, than
when those of Ireland remaned unshaken.

When the Book was thus returned by the late Lord Mayor,
without confidering that he thereby intercepted a Letter or
Addrefs to the other Members of the Community, to which
he was but for a while the Head or Precedent; I could not
help expreffing my Surprise at finding any Magiftrate in a
free City affume fo much unauthorised Power. I spoke of it
to fome Friends, who hinted, what I could not before have
credited; that there was a Spirit prevalent in a certain Faction

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