ter, about whom he however fays he will not give himself much trouble. He tells his lordship that he had defigned to marry her to his neighbour Winterbottom, a rich old man like himself, but rather than comply the fled. Lord Belmont having fent for his banker, Mr. Freeman, in order to fettle his accompts, which he constantly does himself, asks after his brother. The account which Freeman gives of his brother, affords fome ground for Lord Belmont fufpecting he must be the man who had been in the house; and accord Emily. He calls it his best Othe: it has the true green mould upon it, and is fo very antique, that all the traces of the figure are worn out, and it looks for all the world like a bit of plain copper. The whole of this character is perfectly humorous, and is inimitably performed by Mr. Shuter. The scene is next changed to Younger Freeman's lodgings, who is just arrived in town to him comes his elder brother, a banker in Lombard-ftreet, whom he acquaints with a defign, or rather a scheme he has formed, of marrying a lady with 10,000l. but the elder bro-ingly, at his next meeting with the ladies, ther detefts and abhors the whole plot, as clandeftine and fcandalous, and with a fevere contempt reproaches his brother's folly, prefumption, and artifice. The lady proves to be Lord Belmont's fifter, Lady Louifa, whom he impofes upon with falfe tales of his large eftate, unalterable paffion, &c. The Virtuofo having conceived a paffion for Emily's true Cleopatrian neck, as he calls it, takes an opportunity, when the is alone, of acquainting her with it; but is terribly dif. treffed to declare it. At length he hits on an excellent expedient. He tells her he has got a fine parrot that speaks very plain, and by the next morning he will teach it to tell Emily he loves her, and will marry her. Lady Louifa having confented to the admiflion of younger Freeman, he comes, and after declaring his love, taiking of his rents, on his knees preffing her to fly with him, to which the almoft confents, news is brought that her brother, lord Belmont, is coming up stairs. This obliges young Freeman to decamp down the back stairs. The fcene is changed to a ftreet, with part of lord Belmont's garden-wall and the door of the garden. Sir Charles Somerville is going to lord Belmont's, when at the inftant he is oppofite to the garden-door, out comes younger Freeman. Sir Charles is furprifed and thunder-ftruck, as this is the fame man whom he found in Emily's clofet at Bath. He goes directly to lord Belmont, whom he upbraids, and even infults, with clandestinely affifting his rival. After many high words they come to understand each other; and lord Belmont declares his refolution of finding out this fecret vifitor. Sir Charles goes out, and Mr. Southerne, Emily's father, is next introduced, who is come to town to fearch for his daughFebruary 1766, he afks Emily if he knows, one Mr. Freeman; the peremptorily, and without concern anfwers the does not; but Lady Louifa faulters. Young Freeman having formed a defign of carrying off Lady Louifa, in his brother's chariot, which ftands waiting for him at the door, by ordering the coachman to drive to the garden-gate; and being admitted to Lady Louifa, eagerly preffes her to comply, but is prevented, by fomebody's overlooking the garden. The scene changes to Lord Belmont's library, and in comes Sir Charles, to acquaint his lordship that, feeing a chariot at the garden-gate, he asked the coachman whom he belonged to, and he answered to Mr. Freeman: fo that Sir Charles is certain he must be in his lordship's houfe. Strict fearch is inftantly made, and Freeman flies from room to room; at length in the utmolt diftrefs, and not knowing where to run, finding his purfuer at his heels, he burits open another room-door, which proves to be Emily's. She comes out in the greateft furprize, and finding him to be the man who had been concealed in her clofet at Bath, fhe is in the utmost distraction. Lord Belmont and Sir Charles enter, as do likewife the ladies and all the family, even Emily's father; from whole knowledge Lord Belmont had kept her concealed. After fome fevere expoftulations with Freeman, Lord Belmont demands to whom he came he answers to Emily, which greatly heighthens her dif trefs; and increafes Sir Charles's contempt for her. Being urged to marry her, he refufes. Emily exclaims againit his perfidy, and afferts her innocence. At length he confeffes the truth, and Lady Louifa confirms it, with a proper indignation for his falfhoods concerning his birth and character. Loid Belmont having in N formed formed her he was only his banker's brother. All parties now feem to be reconciled and fatisfied of Emily's innocence, except Sir Charles, who defires the Bath affair may be explained. Young Freeman confeffes, that he then came to the maid, and as he was paffing through Emily's room into her's, in came Emily and • Sir Charles: and she, to prevent a difcovery, thrust him into the closet. Sir Charles is inftantly reconciled to his fond and amiable Emily, who forgives him. The father likewife forgives her, and all parties are made happy in the marriage. This is the plot of the play. As to the language it is polite and elegant: and from the applaufe it met with from all parts of the house, we may not only venture to pronounce its fucefs certain; but add, that it bids fair for being an ornament to the English theatre. PROLOGUE to the DOUBLE MISTAKE, Spoken by Mr. SMITH, at the Theatre-Royal in Covent-Garden. "But to the mufe his grateful tribute pay, "And in the common mint his quota lay." On this refolve, he to your sterling store Prefents a fpecimen of untry'd ore; If any worth it bears, affay'd by you, His private talent is the public due; And should it not difgrace your brilliant mafs, Give it your stamp, and let the metal pafs. EPILOGUE, Spoken by Mifs Wilford, in the Character of Lady LOUISA. to Had an epilogue to speak to night, But I'm fo hurried, put in such a fright, Deuce take me! if I ha'nt forgot it quite. To fee my name in firft night's play-bill printed, A character quite new,in time quite ftinted; An epilogue, befides, to get by heart, 'Tis moft unmerciful, too long a partBut they fo coax'd and wheedled me to duty, Left I should fret-for fretting spoils one's beauty, That in obedience to the kind command, A fuppliant to your favour, here I stand: And hope, inftead of what had been prepar'd, Some nonfenfe of my own, may now be heard. Well! I have had a great escape, I own, From being made the jeft of all the town; For from the court end I could claim no pity, Nor had I more to hope for, from the city; Such matches rarely answer either fide, For industry is suited ill with pride. But, to divert your cenfure, let me shew A folly more compleat, a city beau! What contraft can there be fo ftrong in Invades a province, to our sex deny'd, Aiming at knowledge with a pedant's pride; When, after all our boast, we find, at length, [ftrength, To know our weakness is our fureft • One path of science only, wife men say, Is left for female learning-to obey. [Curtfying. If characters like thefe your mirth excite, And furnish fome amufement for the night, If nought offend the maxims of the stage, Or fhock the nicer morals of the age, If only venial errors here you find, Critics be dumb-ye men of candor, kind. The Manner and Ability with which the following Piece is wrote, leads us to pay it a particular Attention, and from the Number of Editions it has passed through in the fort Time of its Publication (we have seen the third) hews how well it has been received in the Meridian, for which it was wrote. -The concluding Paragraph reminds us of a Book of Axioms, that for Antiquity and Stability muft ever be revered: From this Palladium we fbali tranfcribe one quite applicable to our own, and our Neighbour's State," Every Kingdom divided against itself, is brought to Deflation," fo that Unanimity is the Bandage that muft fupport Us:- -that this will foon be our happy State, we have to hope from The Memorable One Hundred and Forty; they will refore Peace to the Land, and again will Plentioufnefs be feen in our Streets, with a Refloration of that antient Cordiality which must ever unite us to our diftant Empire, and give Commerce an unli mited Sway. temper or rude manners; and leaft of all to infult, to threaten him with a majority that was fubfequent to his Address, and reproach him for riots that happened when he was abfent, and which, in all likelihood, his prefence might either have prevented or appeased. Who I am it imports not to declare. Truth carries in itfelf fufficient authority. As I am too infignificant to give it any ornament, I will not venture to do it difgrace. Through a fucceffion of feveral years, I have generally had the good fortune, I may also say the spirit to agree in fentiments with Mr. Lucas. Though I diffent from him on the fubject of his late thers. I greatly refpect his talents, and fignal addrefs to you, my lord and brotill more his integrity. But this does not blind me to the quickness of his difpofition, prone, at feafons, to push him thing but the goodness of his heart can exinto errors or misapprehenfions that nocufe. Perhaps this propensity may not fo properly be titled a fault as virtue in excess. I am fenfible that he could not intend faid addrefs. I cannot fuppofe, I fay, any kind of deception or artifice by his that he coolly took up his pen and fat down in his closet, with the least view or diftant defire of impofing upon you; I know him to be incapable of fuch a bafe nefs, in the warmth and impetuolity of nature But there is often a fpecies of art, itself more powerful, more feducing than all the ftudied figures of an elaborate piece of rhetoric; and by fuch means an orator, when kindled by his own paffions, is apt to deceive himself as well as his au ditors. Before I proceed, permit me to state the fimple fact in queftion, as by Mr. Lucas's own account it confeffedly ftands. On the apprehenfion of an approaching fcarcity of corn in this kingdom, a bill was framed by the commons to prevent the exportation till the third of next Sept. with a claufe empowering the king, by his vicegerent and council in Ireland, to withdraw fuch reftriction at any time deemed expedient within the faid term ; and thus far all was legal, all was cuftomary and conflitutional *. The * Thus far we agree, but in the fecond pofition, where he mentions the return of the bill, with a propofed alteration, I beg leave to differ, as Poynings's law (on which this right is founded) wants all the requiN 2 012187B The bill was accordingly tranfmitted for the royal affent †, and again returned by his majesty with a propofed alteration . And thus far alfo all was legal, cultomary and conftitutional. fites of a ftatute. For as all parliamentary power is derived from, and held in truft for thofe, who inftituted parliaments, and eltablished the national conftitution, before they were thought of. Those were the people, the origin of all power and authority. Their delegates were intrufted with all the powers, authorities and privileges of the people, not for the emoJument of individuals, but for the fecurity of the whole society. As deputies cannot delegate the repofed truft, without the confent of their principals; fo the parliament, without a breach of the original compact cannot alter the constitution, by sharing the legisla tive power with any man or body of men whatfoever. Hence, the acts of the parliament of that tyrant Richard II, which vefted the power of the legislature in the king, and a certain number of his counfellors, have fallen under the contempt and condemnation of all fucceeding parliaments. For by Poynings's law, the legiflature shared their delegated power, and added two other branches to the eftablished eftates of the nation, the chief governor and council in Ireland, where his majesty is unquestionably reprefented, and his majefly in perfon in England. This law, however neceffary, as a remedy, for a defperate disease, when made, must be confeffed, at this day, deftructive and anticonftitutional, fubverfive of the parliamentary government of this kingdom, however unfortunately customary it may be found. Here then, I must take the liberty to fet my honoured antagonist to rights. Heads of bills, or bills are not fent over to receive the royal affent in England, that can only be given here, by the king in perfon, or by his vicegerent. Then as for the propofed alteration, there is no mention of that in the 3d fect. of the ftat. of the third and fourth of Philip and Mary, chap. 4. which explains Poynings's law. This requires that all fuch confiderations, causes, tenors, and ordinances as fhall take rife in either houfe of parliament, and fhall be thought fit to be paffed into laws, are firft to be certified On the one hand, it is his majesty's unquestionable prerogative to put his negative on the whole of any bill or law, framed by either house of parliament in Eng land or Ireland; as alfo to propose any amendment that he fhall think expedient, fave in money-bills or the laying a tax upon the people On the other hand, it is the unqueftioned province and privilege of either house of parliament, in these his majesty's kingdoms, freely to accede to fuch amend ment, or arbitrarily to reject the whole of any bill fo propofed to be altered by his majefty, or by each other †. And thus under the great feal of Ireland, by the chief governor and council here, to the king and queen, and their heirs and fucceffors, in England, and are not to be paffed into laws, in this kingdom, till they are returned under the great feal of Eng land, and then receive the fanction of the three eftates of the parliament of Ireland. And his majefty has no authority, from this or any other ftatute I know of, in force, to propose any alteration, in any bill, fent for his approbation, from his parliament of Ireland, for by the confti. tution he is fuppofed not to know any thing of bills in their courfe, much lefs to propofe an amendment, and neither eftate has a right to take cognizance of what is depending in either houfe of parliament, until offered unto the other for its concurrence, or to the crown for the royal affent, fo clear of all interpofition and influence do they keep from each other. * This doctrine might be agreeable at the courts of the Stuart race, but we live not in fuch days, as can give fanction to any fuch anticonftitutional ineafures. Had I not learned to pay great respect to the ingenious writer, I fhould expofe this dangerous pofition with acrimony. When the king declines giving the royal affent to a bill, he only lays it afide for further confideration. Hence, bills thus laid afide have been repeatedly offered in fucceeding feffions, till they obtained the royal affent, that whatever the ufage of latter days may be, with regard to the denying the royal affent to bills, by the antient inftitution and custom, the king was bound to give an anfwer to every bill. If fuch an amendment might be propofed, which is contrary to my best notions of the laws, cuftoms, and practice of the the harmony and stability of our happy and incomparable conftitution is provided for, by the joint concurrence of the three eftates in all that is right, or by that independent and enobled controul which each of them has, on every tendency toward evil, in the other two eftates. Now, in our laws or conftitution, no kind of provifion is made toward appointing or limiting the manner or matter of any amendment or alteration that the crown fhall please to propose respecting any pending bill, however such alteration may be laden with novelty, or even with an attempt at innovation *. The reafon is that no alteration, which the crown can poffibly propose, can innovate or be conclufive on the other two eftates, as it is equally at their option to reject or accede to fuch alteration f. If they hap parliament, I cannot fee how it would be conftitutionally acceded to. I hope it would be rejected by either house, with contempt, and that judiciously, not as our author I hope in a mistake, calls it arbitrarily, as that belongs only to defpotic power, which refides in no fingle ettate of our legifla ture. *Of the variety of complaints that have been made against the most defpotic governments, this of dictating amendments or alterations of bills to their parliaments is not known. And in the long black entalogue of their vices, furely one of fo deep a die as this could not be overlooked. The more than Machiavilian minifter of thefe princes, never attempt ed, amidit all his deftructive arts, one that might have answered his baneful purpoles fo well, as dictating from preroga tive, alterations or amendments in bills. From the words we are to understand, first, that no mischief can poffibly accrue from the crown's propofing alterations in bills, because the parliament has it in option whether to accede to, or reject fuch alteration. May not this argument be carried too far? I will anfwer for myfelf in the affirmative, with great deference to the learned author. May not the fame argument be used for the king's taking upon him, as the French tyrant now does, the fole power of framing the intire bills? For taking from both houfes of parliament their right of advising or counselling the fovereign or firft eftate? For taking away the deliberative voice of pen to approve thereof, it then becomes their own act 1. They are however free in profpect, they are not concluded thereby, the gate of repentance is never closed against them. If the alteration proposed is temporary or of fhort duration, it cannot innovate or conclude in any thing beyond its own term. The three eftates, with all their powers united, cannot frame any precedent that can conclude against themselves. Laws inftituted for perpetuity are still fubject to their repeal. And a fingle feffion, of fenfible and incorruptible members, is available for abolishing and tearing up by the roots every growth of iniquity, of treachery and prostitution that hath arifen, from the date of time, in these our unweeded gardens *. parliament ?-Where, fays our author, is the mischief, fince it is at the option of both houfes to accede to or reject these bills? Sure he could never intend this dreadful fubverfion of our legiflature! No certainly it must be all a mistake. This never can be the fyftem of our policy in Ireland. And God forbid, that this fhould be a prelude to the attempting the horrid change! How does this leffen the evil? Are matters the lefs reverfed, when the executive power takes the place of his grand council, because they may reject his advice! This, you fee will go as much too far as the former. Their even having a power to receive advice or alteration propofed is tremendous and dangerous, from the power and neceffary influence of the first estate. To thefe, with much restrained warmth and impetuofity, with much fuppreffed indignation, I endeavour to answer; First, that though parliaments or inferior courts cannot be bound by precedent; yet, precedents have great, not to fay too much, weight in the dermination of all courts. Elfe, why are they fo ftudioufly made and fo affiduoufly reforted to, in all debates, especially when in favour of the too much abused word, prerogative, and against the popular, which is, or ought to be the regal interest? And, fecondly, though the general evil or good of a temporary ftatute is but of it's own duration, the precedent is never failed to be occafionally quoted, as if of perpetual obligation. (See a cafe faid to be in point, p. 47. ift. col.) We |