if they are not fo without Reafon. We com-
mend human Reafon, and mean only our own
Folly. And our Religion, however ridiculous,
is always the beft for all Men, who are in a.
dangerous Way, if they are not in our aMurd
one. If we adhere to our Opinions, and wU
not- alter our Conduct, we cannot forget thofc
v:ho will not join with us j and if they do, we
do not forgive them when we change, if they
do not change too,
Thus inconiifrent, foolifti, and fhsmeleis, is
the Nature of Men, felfifh and prone to
ror. Methinks thofe who were once in our
Circumftances and Sentiments, might, at leait,
forgive us, if when they leave us and their own
Principles for a very bad Reafon, we ftill Ad-
here to ours for a very good one : But this Piece
of plain Equity is not to be expected. Men
are fo partial to themfelves, that altnoft every
Man, if he could, would fet up the Arbitrary
Standard of his own Will, and oblige all Men
blindly to follow it. The Story of Prtfcrttfles is
full of excellent Inftru&ion, and a lively Em-
blem of human Nature : That Tyrant had
an Iron Bed, which he feemed to intend for the
Standard
ia Giro's LETTERS.
Standard of humane Srature ; thofe who were
too long for it, had their Legs chopped off;
and thofe who were too fhorr, had their Bodies
extended by a Rack ; and both the Long and
HSSKott were m:lde to nt the Tyrant's Bed.
Whans the Inquifitton, what is Tyranny, and
what is any extravagant Power, but Procrufteis
Bed And who would not be a Procruftes, 'if he
had his Will, in fome Refpect or other ?
The very Name of France, ufed to be art
Abomination to the Whigs -. They hated the
Country for the Sake of it's Government ; and
were eternally upbraiding the Tories, with a
Fondnefs for that Government. Who would
have expe&ed, after all this, that ever the
tfj'jp. or any of them, could have fpoken
with Patience, much lefs with Approbation, of
the Fre?;;'} Government ? Any the lea ft Hint
of this kind was fhameful and unpardonable
in a 14 ng, But there are Wl>l^ who, not
content to (new their Diil'ke and Refentment
of every thing faid or done in Behalf of Li-
berty, and the Engltjh Conftitution, have boldly
told People how fuch Things would be re-
warded in France : That is to fay, The Go-
vernmcnt of France is defended by Galleys,
Wheels, Racks, and Dragoons, and we want
the fame Methods here'; for, if they diflike-
fuch Methods, how come they to mention
them ? If :n commit Crimes againft the
Englijh Government, there are Englifh Laws to
punifh them ; but if they are guilty of no Crime
againft the Laws of E-ngiavd^ why are they
thought worthy of the Arbitrary Punifhments
of France, unlefs thofe, who think they are,
trmffi
's LETTERS,
thirft after the Arbitrary Power of France ?
Or if they mean not thus, why do they talk
thus, and {"hewing Rage without Provocation,
fcatter Words without a Meaning ? I know
no Sort of Englijkmen worthy of French Chain?,
and French Cruelty, but fuch apoftate Englifo-
msn as wifli for the Power and Opportunity of
inflicting them upon their Countrymen, and
of governing thole by Terrors and Tortures,
who defpife weak Capacities, and deteil vile
Meafures.
And have Wings at lad the Face to tell us
how they rule in France ? Here is an In fiance
of Toyifm, which every modern Tory, of any
Senfe, difclaims and abhors, and which fome
modern Whigs have modeftly avowed, and are
therefore become old Tories. Thus do Parties
chop and change. One Party, by railing wirh
great Juftice at another, gets into its Place ; and
lofes it as juflly, by doing the very Things
againft which it railed.
By thefe Means, and by thus acting every
one of them contrary to their Profeilions, all
Parties play the Game into one another's
Hands, though far from intending it ; and no
Party has ever yet found their Account in it,
whatever their Leaders may have done : For
the^moit part, a Revolution of five or fix Years
fubjeh them to Oppreinons of their own in-
venting. Others get into their Seat, and turn
their own hard Meafures upon them ; nor can
they complain, with a good Grace, that they
fuffer thole Evils which they had made others
to fuffer, and their own Conducr. having been
as bad as that of which they complain, they
have
114 C^fO's LETTERS.
not fufficient Reputation to oppofe the
Progrefs of puhlick Mifchief and Milcarriages,
which perhaps rhey began.
It is therefore high Time for all Parties to
consider what is bell for the Whole ; and to
eftablifh flich Rules of commutative Juftice
and Indulgence, as may prevent Oppreflion
'from any Party. And this can only be done
'by retraining the Hands of Power, and fixing
it within certain Bounds as to its Limits and
Expence. Under every Power that is exorbi-
tant, Millions mud fuffer to aggrandize a few,
and Men mu' 1 be ftrangely partial to them-
felves and ti- rlr 'own Expectations, if, in the
almoft eternal Changes and Revolutions of Mi-
niftries, they -^n hope to continue long to be
any Part of thole Few.
dec.
7 O Man, or fmall Number of Men, can
fupport them/elves in Power upon their
own proper Strength, without taking in the
Arliiiance of a great many others, and they
can never have that Afliftance, unlefs they take
in their Intereits too, and the latter can find
their own Account in giving it ; for Men will
laugh at bare Arguments brought to prove that
they muft labour, be robbed of that Labour,
and want, that others may be idle, riot, and
.plunder -them. Thoie Governments therefore,
wliich
's LETTERS,
which are founded upon Oppreflicn, always
End it neceffary to engage Interefts enough in
'their Tyranny to overcome all Oppoiltion from
thofe who are tyrannized over, by giving ie-
parate and unequal Privileges to the Inilru-
ments and Accomplices of their Oppreilion,
by letting them (hare the Advantages of it, by
putting Arms in their Hands, and by taking
away all the Means of Self Defence from thofe
who have more Right to ufe them.
But when a Government is founded upon
Liberty, and equal Laws, it is ridiculous for
thofe in the Adminiftration to 'have any Hopes
of preserving themfelves long there, but by
juft Actions, or the Appearance of juft Actions ;
and by letting the People find, or fancy they
find their ^own Happinefs in their Submifllon..
It is^ certain, People have fo juft a Dread of
publick Diflurbances, that they will bear a
great deal, before they will involve themlelves
in Tumults and Wars ; and Mankind are fo
prone to Emulation and Ambition, and to pur-
iue their feparate Interefts, that 'tis eafy to
form them into Parties, and to play thofe Pat-
ties in their Tarns upon one another ; but all
Parties will at laft confer Notes, and find out,
that they are made life cf only as Cudgels in
the Hands of wicked Men, to aiTault each
other by Turns, till they are both undone. It
is downright Madnefs, to hope long to govern
All^ againil the Interefls of All ; and fuch
Knight-Errants have Qiialifications only to.be
-fent to Bedlam, or to be (but up in (bine other
Madhoufe,
People
216 Giro's LETTERS.
People will for fbme Time be dallied with,
and amufed with falfe Reafbnings, Mifrepre-
fenrations, and Prcmifes, wild Expectations,
vain Terrors, and imaginary Fears ; bur all
thefe Hopes and Apprehenfions will vanifti by
Degrees, and will produce a quite contrary Ef-
fect and no wife .Vlan will think it prudent
to provoke a whole People. What could the
late King Jnrr.es do againft his whole People ?
tfis IVlinifters betrayed him, h^s Family defert-
ed him, and hia Soldiers revolted from him :
And 'twas foolifh to expect any thing elfe ; for
how could he hope that thofe who could have
no Motive to (land by him, befides their own
perfonal Intereft, and every Motive to oppofe
him arifmg from Confcience and Honour,
would not leave him when that Intereft chan-
ged, and they could ferve themfelves better by
ferving their Country.
I laugh at the ftuptrl Notions of thofe who
think that more is due frcm them to their Pa-
trons, who are truded to dlfpofe of Employ-
ments for the publick Benofit, than to their
Country, for whofe Sake, and by whofe Direc-
tion, thofe Employments were firft inftituted,
out of whofe Pockets the Profits of them arife,
and from whofe Confidence or Credulity their
precended Benefactors derive all their Power
to give them, Thofe who receive them, ac-
cept the Gift upon the Terms of the Confti-
tution i that is, to execute them faithfully for
the publlck Good, and not to take the People's
Mo f icy ro destroy the People.
Vv'h u did the whole Power of Spain do a-
gaiait a few revolted Provinces, when all the
People
's LETTERS. ^
People were enraged by OpprefHon ? How-
many Armies were loft ? How many Millions
Fooliflily fquandered, to recover by Force, what
a few ]uft Conceilions would have done ac
once? Her Generals no fboner took one Town,
but two revolted ; and they fbmetimes loft ten,
without ftriking a Stroke, for one they gained
by the Sword: What by the Mutinies of her
own Soldiers, and other common Events, which
ufually happen in fuch Cafes, they twice loft
all together, and were forced to begin their
Game a-new ; and fo deftroyed a mighty Em-
pire, to opprefs a little Part of it, whole Af-
Fe&ions might have been regained by doing
them but common Juftice.
'Tis fenfelefs, to hope to overcome fome
Sorts of convulfive Diftempers, by holding
the Patient's Hands, and tying him with
Ropes, which will only encreafe the Malady ;
whereas the fbfteft Remedies ought to be ufed :
Vjolent Methods may ftop the Diftemper for
a little Time, but the Caufe of the Grief re-
mains behind, and will break out again the
more furioufly. What did King Jnmes get by
all his bloody Executions in the Weft, and 1iis
manacling us with Chains, and keeping up a
Militar/ Force to lock them on, but to frighten
his Friends, itil'l more provoke his Enemies,
and at la ft unite them all againft himfelf ?
And yet, I believe, I may venture to aiiert,.
that if, inftead of throwing his Broad-Seal into
the T-ames, and deferring his People, he had
fuffered his Parliament to^ fir, had given up
f^me of the Inftruments of s Tyranny, snd
had permitted them to have taken a few proper
V O L. Ill K Pre-
ai8 Giro's LETTERS.
Precautions to have hindered it for the future^
Ke need not have been a Fugitive through the
World.
It is certain, that if King Charles -had made
at firft, and with a good Grace, but half of
thole Conceilions which were extorted from
him afterwards, that bloody War, fo fatal to
himfelf and his Family, had been prevented,
and the Ambition or Malice of his perional
Enemies had been fuppreffed, or turned to their
own Confufion, and he himfelf might have
reigned a happy Prince, with as much Power
-as he had Right to by the Conftitution : Where-
as, if my Lord Clarendon is to be believed, the
\vhole Kingdom, (very few excepted) took
part again!! the Court at firft, and continued
to do fb, till forne leading Men in the Houfe
of Commons difcovered Intentions to overturn
the Monarchy itfelf. And I will add farther,
that if fome Men, I could name, had fet them-
lelves at the Head of the Profecutions againft
the South-Set Directors, and their Directors, A-
gents, and Accomplices, and had propofed, or
ihewn an inclination to have come into eflec-
tual Methods to have paid off the publick
Debts, and to have leifened the publick Ex-
pences, the Name of a Jacobite had been as
-contemptible as it is now dreadful > and a few
Conftables might poiiibly have faved the
Charge of a great many Camps.
It is foclifh therefore to be frightened with
Apprehenfions which may be removed at plea-
lure : The Way to cure People of their Fears,
is not to frighten them farther, but to remove
the O.ufes of their Fears. If the Kingdom is
difaffefted.
LETTERS. 1
t!ifaffered, (as its Enemies of all Sorts would
make us believe) let enquiry be made into the
Motives of that Difaffe&ion : It cannot be
personally to his Majefty, who is a moft excel-
lent Prince ; and his greateft Opponents neither
do nor can object to him thofe Vices, which
too often accompany and are allied to Crowns :
Nor is there the leaft Pretence to accufe him
of any Defigns of enlarging his Prerogative
beyond its due Bounds ; but on the contrary
it is faid, that he was content by the Peerage-
Bill to have parted with a confiderable Branch
of it. in Favour of his People, whatever life
others intended to make of that Cpnceffion.
It is certain, that when he came to the Crown,
he had a large Share in the Affe&ions of his
People, and he himfelf has done nothing to
make it lels.
It cannot be to his Title, which is the bed
upon Earth, vi%. The pofitive Confent of a
Great and Free Nation, and not j;he prefump-
tive Confent of Succeilion : Befides, all his
Subjects of any Degree have fworn and f.ib-
fcribed to his Title, and the Ink is yet wet
upon their Fingers ^ nor can any formidable
Number of them (whilft they are governed
juftly and prudently) have any Motives to
call in a Pepifo Pretender, educated in Princi-
ples diametrically oppofite to their civil and
religious Interefts.
Whence therefore fhould fuch Dlfaffe&ion
srife, if there is any fuch, as I hope there is
not ? And it appears plainly, that there is not,
or that it is not -general, by the dutiful Recep-
tion his Majefty met with in all Places through-
K i> oat
CATffs I ETTERS.
cut his late Prcgrefs in the Weft. And the
fame loyal Difpolition would appear more and
more every Day, if thofe who have the Ho-
nour to be admitted to his more immediate
Confidence, would reprefent hone-ftly to him,
how acceptable his Prefence would always be
to his People.
'Tis childiih to fay, that a few Flies and
Jnfe&s can raife a great Dud ; or that as ma-
ny cjifapppihte<l and unpreferr "d Men can fhske
a great Kingdom, with a wife Prince at the
Heaa of it, fupported v/ith fuch Power and
Dependencies. A great Fire cannot be railed
withuuc Fewel, and the Materials which make
it mult have been combuftible before. And
if this is our Cafe, we ought to ask, How they
earns to be fo ? And, Who made them in-
flamable ? Who laid the Gunpowder ? as well
as, Who fired, or intended to fire it ? W 7 hen
we have dune this, we ought to remove the
Caufes of the Diftemper, allay the Heat of the
Fever by gentle Lenitives, throw in no more
iiery Spirits to enflame the Conilitution, but
do all we can to (often and cool it.
Every Country in the World will have ma-
ny Malecontents , fome through Want and
Neceility ; others through Ambition and Reft-
lefhefs of Temper ; many from Difappoint-
ments and personal Refentment ; and more
from the Fear of jult ^unifhment for Crimes :
But all thefe together can never be dangerous
to any Stare, who knows how to feparate the
People's Refentrnents from theirs. Make the
former eafy, arid the others are difarmed at
once.. When the Caufes of general Difcontent
arc
's LETTERS.
are removed, particular Difcontents will fig-
nify nothing.
The firft Care which wife Governours will
always rake is to prevent their Subjecls from
wanting, and to (ecure to them the Pofleflion
of their Property, upon which every thing elfe
depends. They will raife no Taxes but whan
the People (hall fee a NecelTky for railing ; and
no longer than that Necdiity continues : And
fuch Taxes ought to be levied cautiouGy, and
laid cut frugally. No Projects oughr to be
formed to enrich a few, and to ruin Thou-
fands ; for when Men of Fortunes come to lofe
tho r e Fortunes, they will try by all Means to
get new ones ; and when they cannot do it
Fairly, they will do it as they are able: p.?v.l if
they cannot do k at all, will throw all Thhics
into Con fufion, to ma!;.- . Vi-c-rs -as miferable as
ibemfelves. If People are poor, they \vill be
defperate, and catch at every pccafipn, and
join with every Friction, to make publick Di-
KUrbances, to fliuffle the Cards a-n^w, and to-
make their own Condition better, when they
find it cannot be worfe.
Wile Statefmen will fee all this at a DiHance;
will life the be ft Precautions, and mcib prudent
Measures, to procure general Plenty, encreafe
Trade and Manufactures, and keep the People
ufefully employed at Home, inftead of ftar
ving, and prating Sedition in the Streets. The/
will not be perpetually provoking them wi:h
conftant Injuries, giving them eternal Occa-
fions and Reafbns for DiiTuti>fac"^5on, and then
quarrel with them for (hewing it, and be [till
encreaimg their Difcontenrs, by prtpoileroufly
K
i^^ CM/O's LETTERS.
endeavouring to put a Stop to them by new
Shackles, armed Bands,Bribery,and Corruption,
and by laying on them frefh Burthens and Im-
pofitions to maintain fuch Oppreffions ; and
fb when they have raifed Reientment to ths
higheft Pitch, vainly hope to Hop the Tjde
with their Thumbs. This is what the King
of Spain did formerly in his Auftriaji Provinces,
and King Juries II. lately in England ; but
Yv'hat I hope will never be ieen here again.
But it will be faid, that People will be fome-
times diflatisfied without any juft Provocations
given to them by their Governours : The Ne-
ceiilties of all States will fbmetimes fubiecl:
them to greater Taxes, and other feeming Op-
preillons, than they can well bear ; and then,
like fick Men, they v/ili quarrel with their
Phyhcians, their belt Friend?, and their Reme-
dies, and reproach all who have the Direction
of their Affairs, as a Countryman once curfed
Cardinal Mazarine, when his Afs (tumbled, and
perhaps jiiftly, for the Oppreilions of that Mi-
niiler might have rendered him unable to feed'
his Afs, and to keep him in good Heart.
When this happens to be the Cafe, there
ought to be double Diligence ufed to prevent
any ill Confluences from fuch Difaffection^:
No War ought to be continued longer than is
abfolutely neceffary to the publick Security,
nor any new one to be entered into out or
W 7 antonnefs, Ambition, or, indeed, any other
Motive than Self Defence : No more Money
ought to be railed than is ftri6Wy neceflary for
the People's Protection ; and they are to be
fhewn that Neceiiity, and are to fee, from
* 9- t^
Time
's LETTERS,
Time to Time, the Accounts of what they
give, that it is disburfed frugally and honeftiy,
and not engroffed by private Men^ lavifhecl
upon Minions, or fquandered away in ufelefe
Penfions to Undefervers; and that the Product
of the whole People's Labour and Subftance,
is not fuffered ro be devoured by a few of the
word of the People. For, as it is (aid elfe-
where,
Vtfjat can Is more invidious^ than for a N/*-
ticn* flagging under the Weight and Opprejfion
cf its Debts, eaten up with Vfitry, nn,l exbttofted
with Payment Si to h.tve the additional Mortified-
t Ion, -to fee private and worthies Men riot in their
Calamities, and grew rich whi'ft they grew poor ;
to fee the Town every Day glittering with new and
pwMus Equipages, wbilfl they are mortgaging and
felling their Eft files, without having fpcnt tbjsm \
to fee blaming Meteors fuddenly exhaled out cf their
Jakes, and their Uud> a> in Egypt 5 warmed in?*
Uonjlers ? *
1 airs, &c.
* Cw/Meratiwr vfon the State of the Nation, and
Civil Lift.
4
214 CA ro ' s LETTERS.
5 I P^
JHave hitherto direkd my Letters to your
(elf; but I defireyou will direct rhe inclos'd
to the illuftrious Deputies of the whole People
of England. Not that I prefume to think my
(elf capable to inform them of their Duty, or
f hat they want fuch Information, or would ac-
cept it from me ; but I intend to (hew my good
Vv'ifhes to my Countrymen, and to prepare
them to expedl: the blef&d Effe&s of their dif-
creeu Choice ; not in the lea ft doubting but
tKIr ".Yorihy Reprefenratives will (peak aloud
: almoft unanimous Sentiments of the \vhole
Ivarion, and by fo doing, preferve the Digni-
ty of the Crown, and the Liberty of the Peo-
ple they reprefenr.
T* tbs Honcur fills the Members of tie prefent Hoi/Ji
cf Commons.
Gentlemen,
OU have now the Political Power of all
the Commons of Great-'Britain delegated to
you ; and as 1 doubt not but you will make an
honefl life of it, fo will you have their Natural
Power too, at your Command ; that is, you
will have their Thanks, their Wiihes, their
Prayers, and their Perfbns as well as their Pur-
fes, to (erve your King and Country. This
is the grcateft Truft thai' can be committed by
Me
LETTERS. 215
Men to one another; and contains in it all that
is valuable here on Earth, the Lives* the Pro-
perties, the Liberties ofyour Countrymen, and
in a great Meafure of all Europe, and your own
prefentand eternal Happinefs too. This great
Truft, Gentlemen, is not committed to you
for youf own fakes, but for the Prote6Uon, Se-
curity, and Happinefs of thofe you represent.
And you are accountable to your own Corvfci-
cnces, and to the high Tribunal of Heaven,
for the jail Execution of this great Authority :
Not to mention the Applaufes and Bleilmgs ot
Millions of People, which will attend the faith-
ful Difcharge of your Duty ; and the Detefta-
tion, Reproaches and Curies, with their other
worfe Confequences, which ought to purfue
Corruption and Bribery, and which I am fore
you will never deferve.
You have, Gentlemen, the pureft Religion
in the World, to cherifh and fupport ; the In-^
tereib, Reputation, and Security of the bed or
Princes, to guard and defend : You have a grea
and populous Nation, abounding with Men of
Undemanding, Integrity and Courage, implo-
ring your Aiiutance ; \vhom you are obliged by
all the Ties of Gratitude, Juftice and Genero-
fitv, by ail the Laws of God and Man, to pro-
teCt and preferve : A People loaded with Debt?,;
enervated by War, and in firmer Reigns plun-
der'dby Mifcreants, and ]u(l ready to fink un-
der thofe Burthens, unlefs they caci receive fud-
den Help from your healing Hands. Here \s
a Scene of Glo^y, an Opportunity pur by gra-
cious Heaven into ycur Hands, to exerclie your
Virtues, andto obtain aRe^utatloafar above
K the
C A TG's LETTERS. 1
the tinfei Triumphs of fabulous and imaginary
Heroes. Virtuous Men could not ask more of
Providence ; nor could Providence beftow more
upon mortal Men, than to fet them at the Head
of a corrupted and alrnoft undone People, and
to give them the Honour of reftoring theirPow-
er, and reforming their Manners. I cannot
doubt but thefe ftrong and forcible Motives,
will call up all your Virtue, Generofiry and
Publick Spine; and infpire you with Refbluti-
ons to auift our gracious Sovereign in redrefling
all our Grievances, and making us once more a
great and happy People . 5 Tis in your Power
to do fo, and from your Endeavours we hope
and expect it.
Every Man you reprefent, has a Right to
apply to, and petition you for Protection and
Redrefs, and with Modelly and Humility tQ
complain of his own or his Country's Sufferings;
and by virtue of this undoubted Right, I addrt-te
to you in my own Behalf, and in the Behalf of
Millions of my Fellow Subjects, who, next to
God and our gracious Sovereign, are to receive
their Prefervaticn and whole Happinefs from
your Breath. Your own perfbnat Security too,
is nearly link'd and blended with theirs; for
you can make no Laws, countenance no Cor-
ruptions, or bring or fuffer any MJfchiefs upon
your Country, but what mufl fall upon your
felves and your Pcftericy ; and for thefe Rea-
ons, as well as from your known Principles of
Honour and Virtue, I afluremyfelfyou will ae>
for your own and the publick Inrereft.
The mo ft notorious Confpiritors, and chief
Inftruments of power, who headed that dete-
liable
*s LETTERS.
liable Parliament that gave up the Liberties
of a neighbouring Nation, involVd themfelyes
in the general Ruin, and were amongft thefirft
who loft their Eftates. Even the Penfionary
Parliament, in King Charles the lid's Time,
ftopp'd (hort, and turn'd upon that corrupt
Miniftry, when the laft Stroke was levell'd
againft our Liberties : They well few, that
when they fhouid become no longer nece0ary g
they would be no more regarded, but be treat-
ed as Traytors always are, by thofe who take
Advantage of theirTreafon; for 'tis a fteadyMax-
im always with Oppreiibrs,ro court and gratify
the People they enfiave, byfacrrficing the Inftru*
merits they make ufe of when they can be no
longer ferviceable ; a Maxim which difcharges
all Obligations to them, and gives fome Recom-
pence to their unhappy and undone Subjects,
by (hewing them the graceful Sight of their
wor.'t and mod implacable Enemies caught in