guished every part of his political conduct. He procured a parliamentary fettlement of the Crown on himself and his heirs male, which amounted to a virtual adoption of the Salique law, in a mode least obnoxious to the public cenfure, and which bade faireft eventually to extinguish the claims of the rival family; but this very artful, or to give it a more fuitable appellation, this very wise measure, did not prove fuccessful, for the Parliament which had enacted this important law, foon found the neceffity of accommodating their own ideas, if indeed their ideas ever really coincided with those of the King, to the unconquerable force of popular prejudice, and of repealing an act which was highly beneficial to the public in its tendency, and which laid the best foundation for a permament and durable fettlement.

In the fucceeding reign, the ridiculous pretenfions of Edward III. which were abfolutely relinquished at the Peace of Bretigny, were unfortu nately revived by Henry V. who, in confequence of a remarkable concurrence of favourable circum. ftances, united to his own great talents, had nearly effected the final conqueft of the French monarchy; but his death unexpectedly taking place in the midst of his triumphs, the fortune of the war was fatally reverfed, and the English were at length difpoffeffed of all their tranfmarine territories, Calais alone excepted. Soon after the termination of this fecond violent and iniquitous attempt to deprive the Houfe of Valois of its juft rights,

that

that fierce and implacable conteft between the two rival houses commenced, which did not cease till the Earl of Warwick, laft of the name of Plantagenet, had fallen a victim to the jealous and cruel policy of Henry VII. and till, by a final union of claims in the perfon of Henry VIII. there no longer fubfifted any ground of competition. Since the acceffion of that monarch three centuries have nearly elapfed, and throughout that long period it must be acknowledged that no fenfible inconvenience has arifen from adhering to the established order of fucceffion, but this certainly is not to be ascribed to any extraordinary degree of political wisdom or forefight, but to a certain happy influence, whether natural or providential, which feems, with few intervals or exceptions, from that time to have diffused itself over almost all the public and national concerns of this country; and a very flight furvey of modern English history will fuffice to prove the truth of this affertion. Previous to the divorce of Henry VIII. from Catharine of Arragon, the Princefs Mary, afterwards Queen, was the undifputed prefumptive heiress of the English Crown, in confequence of which the difpofal of her in marriage became a matter of the utmost importance to the nation. Overtures on this fubject were at different times made, both by France and Spain, which were happily rejected, and though, on her acceffion to the throne, the liberties of the kingdom were ex, pofed to the most imminent danger by the ma trimonial

1

trimonial connection fhe then formed with Philip II. as the fortunately died in a few years without iffue, the evils which threatened the nation were for this time averted. The reign of Elizabeth was diftinguifhed by an almoft uninterrupted folicitude in the parliament and people, with regard to this fubject; a folicitude which dif played itself in applications to the Queen, continually repeated, to form fuch a matrimonial union as would most effectually fecure the public happinefs; and though the Queen firmly and magnanimously refifted these folicitations, with a view no doubt, in the first place, to maintain her own authority and independency entire, and in the next, eventually to effect an union of the two British Crowns, which was apparently a favourite if not a primary object with that great Princess, yet in fome critical moments of her life, reafons of ftate feemed to influence her conduct lefs than motives of a very different nature; and it is certain that the Duke of Anjou's accomplishments made fo deep an impreffion on the Queen's heart, that the refifted with difficulty the importunity with which he urged his fuit. The violence of the Duke's fubfequent conduct plainly evinces the rifque which must have been incurred had he met with fuccefs, of which indeed the nation at the time was fully fenfible. To pafs over fome of the fucceeding reigns, it is obvious to remark, that if the King and Parliament had not interfered as to the difpofal of the two daughters of the Dukę

of

of York, afterwards King James II. the moft fatal confequences might have enfued. Even posterior to the Act of Settlement, it is worthy of obfervation, that had our late venerable monarch died before marriage, the Crown of England would have devolved upon Sophia Dorothea, Queen of Pruffia, mother of the illuftrious Frederic, and how the English nation would have relished fuch a plan of government as thofe great political reformers the Pruffian Huffars might have established amongst us by this time, it is fcarcely worth while to examine. What I mean upon the whole to infer from this flight review of facts is this, that it is a most dangerous error in politics for a country, which like England boafts of a conftitution founded upon the bafis of liberty, in any circumstances to admit the right of females to fucceed to the Crown. It is a matter of fmall moment indeed to the inhabitants of France or Spain, whether the fceptre remains in the hands of a Prince of the Houfe of Bourbon, or whether it is fuffered to pafs into another and a foreign family; as political happiness amongst them depends almost entirely upon the perfonal difpofition and genius of the Monarch, they feem to stand a nearly equal chance of attaining it, whatever family may happen to acquire poffeffion of the throne; but in this kingdom, whofe maxims of policy differ fo widely from all others, it is of the utmoft importance that the Houfe of Brunswick should

continue

continue to fway the British fceptre. The title of the Princes of that House to the Crown, rests entirely upon parliamentary authority. They owe a debt of gratitude to the nation at large, which can never be obliterated. The ancient royal House of Stuart was depofed and banifhed, and a very confiderable number of Princes, who stood prior in the order of fucceffion, were excluded, in order to clear the path to the throne for them. They have not fcrupled frequently to exprefs the fense they entertain of thefe obligations in their public declarations, and to acknowledge that it is incumbent upon them in return, to maintain the free and happy constitution of this government facred and inviolate; and it must be allowed, that though in the courfe of an administration of near eighty years, their conduct in fome inftances has juftly been thought liable to exception, yet upon the whole, and to speak in general terms, they have acted in a manner worthy of their pro. feffions, and of the distinguished stations they have filled, as placed at the head of the most powerful community of free citizens which, fince the fall of the Roman Republic, the world has ever known. It would be a dangerous experiment, and fuch as I believe the heart of every Englishman would revolt against, to permit the Crown to be transferred to another family, deeply tinctured perhaps with foreign prejudices and arbitrary principles, whilft there may be numerous branches fubfifting