before he came to reside in England, I have been well assured; as well as his favourite Topic ever afterwards. Therefore I will add, that by the Help of this Comment, we can explain many Passages in the Declarations of the grand American Congress, which otherwise must appear to be either nauseous Compliments, or gross Contradictions:—The Passages I refer to, are the Protestations so often and so solemnly repeated, that they [the Americans] have no Intention of separating from this Country; and that they have the purest Loyalty to the King, and the strongest Attachment to the illustrious House of Hanover. This Key therefore unlocks the whole Mystery of their (otherwise unaccountable) Proceedings. And as Pope said on another Occasion:

’Tis in the ruling Passion: There alone,
The Wild are constant, and the Cunning known.
This Clue, once found, unravels all the rest.
The Prospect clears, and Clodio stands confest.

In the mean Time, because his Majesty is graciously disposed to join with Great-Britain against America in this Contest for Empire, (for in Fact that is the real Dispute, whatever may be the Pretence) not only many among the Americans, which is natural enough, but (Shame to tell!) even among Englishmen themselves, vent the bitterest Reproaches against him for being the best Friend and Protector of the Mother-Country. Surely Posterity will stand amazed at such a Procedure! The like Scenes of Infatuation and Ingratitude (not to mention Disloyalty and Rebellion) never yet disgraced the Annals of the World! And it seems to be reserved as a Mark of Infamy peculiar to the present Age, and to our modern Race of Patriots, that while the Prince on the Throne is incessantly endeavouring to keep his People free, and to secure their Freedom more and more by all proper and constitutional Measures, such Numbers should be found amongst his Subjects, who are equally industrious to thwart his truly patriotic Designs, and to rush headlong into Slavery.

But as Providence very often brings the greatest Good out of the worst of Evils, let us not despair, but that these very Attempts, wicked and unnatural as they are, may be the Means of uniting all honest, and well-intentioned Men the firmer together, in order to support, and even to strengthen the present Constitution. For Example, the two great Islands of Britain and Ireland, which are only separated by a narrow Sea, ought not to be separated at all by different Governments, Laws, or Parliaments. No good Reason upon Earth can be given for such a Separation: And it has long been the ardent Wish of every true Patriot in both Nations, to see them united. Indeed, the best that can be said for the Continuance of the present absurd System is, that the City of Dublin would be a Sufferer by the Removal of the Court and Parliament:—I say, this is the very Argument, which can be urged: And yet this has no Foundation at all, but in the Prejudices of the Populace, who are almost perpetually mistaking their own Interests. Even the City of Dublin would be a very great Gainer by such a Removal: For it would acquire Industry in Exchange for Idleness; and then the Hands of its Tradesmen, by being the Hands of the Diligent, would enrich each other by reciprocal Employment;—the Hands, I say, of those very Tradesmen, who in their present State, are almost as poor, as the poorest in the Kingdom.—That this is the natural and necessary Course of Things, and not an idle Theory, or visionary Speculation, I appeal to Fact and daily Experience;—and I appeal, not only to the Case of Edinburgh, which is now three Times, at least, as rich and flourishing, as when it was the Residence of a Court, and of a Parliament; but I appeal also to almost every Town in Ireland: Cork and Belfast for Example, have neither Courts, nor Parliaments; and yet their Merchants, Manufacturers, and Traders are much richer in Proportion to their Numbers, than those of Dublin: And what is still more extraordinary, those little Towns, which once thought themselves happy in procuring Barracks to be erected among them, in order to obtain, as they fondly imagined, the Benefit of a great Flow of Money, are now perfectly convinced, that Towns without Barracks, or Towns from which Barracks have been removed, are in a much more flourishing Condition, then those which have them.—Of so mischievous a Tendency is the Circulation of Money, when it becomes the Means of introducing Idleness, and of preventing Industry. For, reason as long as you will on the Subject, the actual State of Things will ever prove itself to be this, that Idleness is the Parent of Poverty, and Industry the only Source of real Riches.

But, my Lords and Gentlemen, this is not all; and my Scheme of an Union with Ireland is calculated not only to introduce Wealth, and to prevent Idleness in the single City of Dublin; but also to diffuse constitutional Strength and Firmness, and to create a Stability and Compactness throughout the whole Empire: Whereas Mr. Burke’s has as necessary a Tendency to weaken and disjoint every Part of it, and to sow Jealousies and Dissentions both at Home and Abroad, in the Mother-Country, and in the Colonies:—The unavoidable Consequence of which would be at the last, arbitrary and despotic Power. In one Word, the true Motto for my Scheme is, Vis unita fortior; and for his, Divide et impera. Judge therefore, as Men who are more deeply concerned in preserving and improving the present Constitution, than any Class of Men whatever;—judge, I say, whether Mr. Burke’s Scheme or mine, in regard to America, ought to have the Preference. You have every Means of Information now at your Command: Your Birth, your Rank, and Education, lift you up much above the Prejudices of the Vulgar; whilst your patrimonial Estates and ample Fortunes screen you from a Multitude of those Temptations, to which other Men are grievously exposed. And yet, my Lords and Gentlemen, let me tell you, that if you will not exert yourselves on this trying Occasion, in some Degree proportionate to the Importance of the Cause now before you, perhaps it may never be in your Power to exert yourselves hereafter, when you would wish most ardently to do it. Remember, therefore, I beseech you, the Words, the emphatic, and perhaps even the prophetic, Words of a celebrated Partizan, whose Name I need not mention:—“Why, Gentlemen, will not you, who are Men of great Landed Estates, take an active Part in the present Disputes? Your Neutrality, I do assure you, will not protect you. For if you will still remain inactive at such a Crisis, what has happened before will happen again; and the *****’s and the *****’s who have but little to lose, but may have much to get in Times of general Confusion, will certainly become the great Men of this Nation.”

Fas est et ab hoste doceri.

Indeed the Estates of the Church, we all know, will fall the first Sacrifice, should the Republican Party now prevail. But nevertheless, if you, my Lords and Gentlemen, should be so weak as to imagine, that Matters will stop there; and that your own large Possessions, your splendid Titles, your hereditary Honours, and ample Privileges will escape unhurt, amidst that general Wreck of private Property, and Crush of Subordination, which will necessarily ensue; you will be woefully mistaken:—And I must beg Leave to say, that you will