THE LONDON MAGAZINE. MARCH, 1749. To the AUTHOR of the LONDON SIR, Α As you inferted in your MAGA. I am, &c. I. That a Patriot King ought to efpoufe no Party. II. The Evil of governing by one, ei ther in a State united or divided. T O espouse no party, oppreffion of the people. For faction is to party, what the fuperlative is to the pofitive: Party is a political evil, and faction is the worst of all parties. The true image of a free people governed by a PATRIOT KING, is that of a patriarchal family, where the head and all the members are united by one common intereft, and animated by one common fpirit; and where, if any are perverse enough to have another, they will be foon born down by the fuB periority of thofe, who have the fame; which, far from making a divifion, will but confirm the union of the little fate. That to approach as near as poffible to thele ideas of perfect government, and ociable happinefs under it, is defirable in every ftate, no man will be abfurd enough to deny. The fole queftion is therefore, how near to them it is poble to attain? For if this attempt be not abfolutely impracticable, all the views of a PATRIOT KING will be directed to make it fucceed. Inftead of abetting the divisions of his people, he will endeavour to unite them, and to be himself the center of their union: Inftead of putting himfelf at the head of one party in order to govern his people, he will put himself at the head of his people in order to govern, or, more properly, to fubdue all parties. To arrive at this defirable union, and to maintain it, will indeed be found more difficult Q 2 C the common father of his people, is fo effential to the character of a PATRIOT KING, that he, who does otherwife, forfeits the title. It is the peculiar privilege and glory of D this character, that princes, who maintain it, and they alone, are fo far from the neceffity, that they are not expofed to the temptation, of governing by a party: Which muft always end in the government of a faction; (the faction of the E prince, if he has ability; the faction of his minifters, if he has not) and either one way or the other, in the March, 1749. in in fome cafes than in others, but abfolutely impoflible in none, to a wife and good prince. II. If his people are united in their fubmiffion to him, and in their attachment to the establish'd government, he must not only pufe but A create a party, in order to govern by one; and what fhould tempt him to purfue fo wild a meature? A prince who aims at more power than the conftitution gives him, may be fo tempted; because he may hope to obtain in the diforders of the ftate B what cannot be obtained in quiet times; and becaufe contending parties will give what a nation will not. Parties, even before they degenerate into factions, are ftill nuinbers of men affociated together for certain purposes, and certain interefts, which C are not, or which are not allowed by others to be thofe of the community. A more private or perfonal intereft comes but too foon and too often, to be fuper added, and to grow predominant in them; and when it does fo, whatever occafions or prin- D ciples began to form them, the fame logick prevails in them as prevails in every church. The intereft of the ftate is fuppofed to be that of the party, as the intereft of religion is fuppofed to be that of the church; and with this pretence or prepof- E feffion, the intereft of the flate becomes, like that of religion, a remote confideration, is never purfued for its own fake, and is often facrificed to the other. A king, therefore, who has ill defigns to carry on, must endeavour to divide an united people, and by blending or feeming to blend his interefts with that of a party, he may fucceed perhaps, and his party and he may share the fpoils of a ruin'd nation: Such a party is then become a faction, fuch a king is a tyrant, and fuch a government is a G confpiracy. A PATRIOT KING muft renounce his character to have II. The evil of governing by party, in a flate in a ftate divided. fuch defigns, or act against his own defigns to purfue fuch methods. Both are too abfurd to be fuppofed. It remains, therefore, that as all the good ends of government are most attainable in an united state, and as the divifions of a people can ferve to bad purposes alone, the king we fuppofe here will deem the union of his fubjects his greateft advantage, and will think himself happy to find that established, which he would have employed the whole labour of his life to bring about. This feems fo plain, that I am ready to make excufes for having infifted at all upon it. II. Let us turn ourselves to another fuppofition, to that of a divided ftate. This will fall in oftener with the ordinary courfe of things in free governments, and efpecially after iniquitous and weak adminiftrations. Such a flate may be better or worse, and the great and good purposes of a PATRIOT KING more or less attainable in it, according to the dif ferent nature of thofe divifions; and therefore we will confider this ftate in different lights. A people may be united in fubmiffion to the prince, and to the eftablishment, and yet be divided about general principles, or particular meajures of government. In the first cafe, they will do by their conftitution, what has been frequently done by the fcripture; ftrain it to their own actions and prejudices, and if they cannot ftrain it, alter it as much as is neceffary to render it conformFable to them. In the fecond, they will fupport or oppofe particular acts of adminiftrations, and defend, or attack the perfons employed in them: And both these ways a conflict of parties may arife, but no great difficulty to a prince, who determines to purfue the union of his fubjects, and the profperity of his kingdoms, independently of all parties. When united. II. The evil of governing by party, When parties are divided by different notions and principles concerning fome particular ecclefiaftical or civil inflitutions, the conflitution which should be their rule, muft A be that of the prince. He may and he ought to fhew his diflike or his favour, as he judges the conftitution may be hurt or improved by one fide of the other. The hurt he is never to fuffer, not for his own fake; and therefore, furely, not for B the fake of any whimfical factions, or ambitious fet of men. The improvement he must always defire; but as every new modification in a fcheme of government and of national policy, is a matter of great importance, and requires more and deeper confideration than the warmth, and hurry, and rafhnefs of party-conduct admit, the duty of a prince feems to require, that he fhould render by his influence the proceedings more orderly and more deliberate, even when he approves the end to which they are directed. All this may be done by him without fomenting divifion; and far from forming, or elpoufing a party, he will defeat party in defence of the conftitution, on fome occafions; and lead men from acting with a party-fpirit, to E act with a national-fpirit, on others. At least we will fuppofe fo, that we. may include in this argument every Grievances then contingent cafe. D are complained of, mistakes, and abufes in government are pointed out, and minifters are profecuted by their enemies. Shall the prince on the throne form a party by intrigue, and by fecret and corrupt influence, to oppofe the profecution? When the prince and the minifters are participes criminis, when every thing is to be defended, left fomething fhould come out, that may unravel the filly wicked fcheme, and difclofe to publick fight the, whole turpitude of the adminiftration; there is then indeed no help, C this must be done, and fuch a party must be formed, becaufe fuch a party alone will fubmit to a drudgery of this kind. But a prince who is not. in these circumftances, will not have recourfe to thefe means: He has others more open, more noble," and more effectual in his power: He knows that the views of his government are right, and that the tenor of his adminiftration is good; but he knows that neither he nor his minifters are infallible, nor impeccable. There may be abufes in his government, millakes in his adminiftration, and guilt in his minifters, which he has not observed; and he will be far from imputing the complaints that give him occafion to obferve them, to a fpirit of party, much less will he treat thofe, who carry on fuch profecutions in a legal manner, as incendiaries, and as enemies to his government. On the contrary, he will diftinguish the voice of his people from the clamour of a faction, and will hearken to it. He will redress grievances, correct errors, and reform or punish minifters. This he will do as a good prince; and as a wife one, he will do it in fuch a manner, that his dignity fhall be maintained, and that his authority fhall increafe with his reputation by F When the divifion is about particular measures of government, and the conduct of the adminiftration is alone concerned, a PATRIOT King will fland in want of party as little as in any other cafe. Under his reign, the opportunities of forming an oppofition of this fort will be rare, and the pretences generally weak. Nay, the motives to it will lofe much of their force, when a government is ftrong in reputation, and men are kept in good humour by feeling the G rod of a party on no occafion, tho' they feel the weight of the fcepter on fome. Such opportunities however may happen, and there may be reafon as well as pretences fometimes for oppofition, even in fuch a reign: 5 it. Should Should the efforts of a mere faction be bent to calumniate his government, and to diftrefs the administration on groundless pretences, and for infufficient reafons; he will not neglect, but he will not apprehend neither, miniftration, as long as he can refift the jfteft and most popular oppofition, and therefore the opposition will laft and grow, as long as a free conftitution is in force, and the fpirit of liberty is preferved; for fo long the fhort-lived and contemptible A even a change of his minifters, with fcheme. He will indeed have no E out a change of his meafures, will But When a party is thus revived or continued in the fpirit of a faction, the corrupt and the infatuated members of it will act without any regard to right or wrong; and they who have afferted liberty in one reign, or against invafions of one kind, will give it up in another reign, and abet invafions of another kind; tho' they fill diftinguifh themfelves by the fame appellation, ftill fpread the fame banner, and still deafen G their adverfaries and one another with the fame cry. If the national caufe prevails againft all the wicked arts of corruption and divifion, that an obftinate prince and flagitious mi To conclude all I will fay on the divifions of this kind, let me add, that the cafe of a groundless oppofition can hardly happen in a bad reign, because in fuch a reign juft F occafions of oppofition must of courfe be frequently given (as we have allowed that they may be given fometimes, tho' very rarely, in a good reign) but that whether it be well or ill grounded, whether it be that of the nation, or that of a faction, the conduct of a bad prince with respect to it will be the fame; and one way or other this conduct must have a very fatal event. Such a prince will not mend the ad niftry niftry can employ; yet will the Whether the like manner of pubftruggle be long, and the difficulties, lifhing our ftatutes, as they are authe diftreffes, and the danger great, thenticated by parliament, can be both to the king and to the people. effected in their prefent voluminous The best he can hope for in fuch a and prolix ftate; or whether for that, case, will be to escape with a dimi- or any other wife reason, the publinution of reputation, authority, and A cation is avoided; it certainly, in power. He may be exposed to fomethe cafe of all penal ftatutes, bething worfe, and his obftinacy may hoves us to know what rifques we force things to fuch extremities, as are liable to, if we even innocently they who oppofe him will lament, offend against the laws of our counand as the preservation of liberty and try; it being a maxim founded on good government can alone juftify. the old method of publication, and, If the wicked arts I fpeak of prevail, B as it fhould feem, ftill fubfifting, tho' faction will be propagated thro' the no fuch publication takes place, That whole nation, an ill or well grounded no man is ignorant of the law; tho', oppofition will be the question no in truth, and in fact, no man can longer, and the conteft among par- comprehend, contain, or perfectly ties will be, who fhall govern, not know, all our laws. However, how they shall be governed. In short, that our readers may be duly cautiuniverfal confufion will follow, and C on'd not to offend against one para compleat victory on any fide will ticular penal law, juft now come to enflave all fides. be in full force in all its parts, which is really calculated for the publick good, and enacted under a very ftrict and fevere penalty, we fhall give them the following abftract of the late cambrick alts. I have not overcharged the draught: Such confequences must follow fuch a conduct; and therefore let me afk, how much more safe, more easy, more pleafant, more ho- D nourable is it, for a prince to correct, if he has not prevented male-administration? that he may be able to reft his caufe (as I faid before) on the ftrength of the crown and the concurrence of his people, whenever any faction prefumes to rife in oppofition to him. [To be continued in our next.] A Caution in relation to the Cambrick I E F T was a custom formerly, when the acts of ten kings reigns were not equally voluminous to thofe of one now, to publish such acts or ftatutes in every market-town, by reading them publickly to the people on 3 fucceffive market-days, by affixing them to the market-crofs, or may-pole, and by reading them, G after divine fervice, to the congregation in every parish church in the kingdom; as appears by the parliamentary directions at the conclusion of the faid acts. The first act was made in the 18th year of his prefent majefty's reign, and is intitled, "An act for prohibiting the wearing and importation of cambricks and French lawns."-It directs, that no cambricks or French lawns fhall be worn in Great Britain, in any garment or apparel, after the 24th day of June, 1748, under the penalty of five pounds.-That, on any information upon path before a juftice of the peace, of fuch being worn, he is obliged to fummon the party accufed before him; and, on conviction, and refufing to pay the penalty, he is to grant a warrant, under his hand and feal, to levy it by diftrefs and fale of the offender's goods; with a provifo, however, that the perfon accufed is at liberty to appeal to the quarter feffions, giv ing fix days notice to the profecutor, but the determination there to be final. All fellers of cambricks and French lawns, made, or not made up. after |