cife, might be occupied by the wives and daughters of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Sheriffs. The other inferior officers of bufinefs might be filled by the wives and daughters of the common council; which would be fuch a happy establishment of public meafures, as would infallibly keep the great corporation in good humour; a point of the utmost im⚫portance, and to which no adminiftration, male or female, can be too attentive. And now, Sir, having fketched out a rough draught of my plan, I appeal to every impartial EngJifhman, whether the ministry, as here named, is not, in point of real abilities, confeffedly fuperior to any administration he has feen or read of in this country fince the days of Queen Anne or Queen Elizabeth. JACOBINA HENRIQUES. But the conftitutional fuperiority of Great Britain was preserved, by the act for fecuring the dependence of the colonies. Private houses were relieved from the jurifdiction of the excise, by the repeal of the cyder-tax. The perfonal liberty of the fabject was confirmed, by the refolution against general warrants. The lawful fecrets of business and friendship were rendered inviolable, by the refolution for condemning the feizure of papers. The trade of America was fet free from injudicious and rainous impofitions-its revenue was improved, and fettled upon a rational foundation-its commerce extended with foreign countries; while all the advantages were fecured to Great Britian, by the act for repealing certain duties, and encouraging, regulating, and fecuring the trade of this kingdom, and the British dominions in America. Materials were provided and infured to our manufactures-the fale of thefe manufactures was encreased the African trade preferved and extended-the principles of the act of navigation porfued, and the plan improved-and the trade for bullion rendered free, fecure, and perma nent, by the uct for opening certain ports in Dominica and Jamaica. That adminiftration was the firft which propofed and encouraged public meetings and free confultations of merchants from all parts of the kingdom; by which means the trueft lights have been received; great benefits have been already derived to manufactures and commerce; and the most extendive profpects are opened for further improvement. Under 1 Under them, the interefts of our northern and fouthern colonies, before that time jarring and diffonant, were understood, compared, adjufted, and perfectly reconciled. The paffions and animofities of the colonies, by judicious and lenient meafures, were allayed and compofed, and the foundation laid for a lafting agreement amongst them, Whilft that adminiftration provided for the liberty and commerce of their country, as the true bafis of its power, they confulted its intereft, they afferted its honour abroad, with temper and with firmnefs; by making an advantageous treaty of commerce with Ruffia; by obtaining a liquidation of the Canada bills, to the fatisfaction of the proprietors; by reviving and raifing from its afhes the negotiation for the Manilla ranfom, which had been extinguifhed and abahdoned by their predeceffors. They treated their fovereign with decency; with reverence. They difcountenanced, and, it is hoped, for ever abolished the dangerous and unconftitutional practice of removing military officers for their votes in parliament. They firmly adhered to thofe friends of liberty, who had run all hazards in its caufe, and provided for them in preference to every other claim. With the Earl of Bute they had no perfonal connection; no correfpondence of councils. They neither courted him nor perfecuted him. They practifed no corrup tion; nor were they even fufpected of it. They fold no offices. They obtained no revertions or penfions, either coming in or going out, for themfelves, their families, or their dependents. In the profecution of their meafures they were traversed by an oppofition of a new and fingular character; an oppofition of placemen and penfioners. They were fupported by the confidence of the nation. And having held their offices under many difficulties and difcou ragements, they left them at the exprefs command, as they had accepted them at the earnest request of their royal master. These are plain facts; of a clear and public nature; neither extended by elaborite reafoning, or heightened by the colouring of eloquence. They are the fervices of a fingle year. The removal of that administration from power is not to them premature; fince they were in office long enough to accomplish many plans of public utility; and, by their perfeverance and refolution, rendered the way smooth and eafy to their fucceffors; having left their king and their country in a much better condition than they found them. By the temper they manifeft, they feem to have now no other wifi, than that their fucceffors may do the public as real and as faithful fervice as they have done. Minifters, now-a-days, are prick- of October, 1760, to the 30th of ed down for the year like fheriffs; and if none were to make more of their offices than the laft did, I fancy we should fee them fine off, or demand a poll, before they confented to serve. In my younger days, Chamberlayn's prefent ftate of England would laft you feven years, and needed no more to be renewed annually, than a family-bible or a whole duty of man; but now you can no more guefs who is in office to-day, by the court-kalendar of laft year, than you can tell the prefent price of flocks by Lloyd's lift of Christmas 1745. But the main defign of my taking pen in hand, was to refute the filly author of a late filly publication, called," A fhort account of a late fhort adminiftration." This half-fheet accomptant fhows his ill-humour in the very title: he calls one year and twenty days a Short administration: whereas I can prove, by the rule of three direct, that it is as much as any miniftry in these times has a right to expect. Since the happy acceflion of his prefent Majefty, to this day, we have worn out no lefs than five complete fets of honeft, able, upright minifters; not to speak of the prefent, whom G-d long preferve. July, 1766, you will find five years, nine months, and thirty days! which, divided by five, the total of administration, gives exactly one year and fixty days each, on an average, as we fay in the city; and one day more, if they have the good fortune to ferve in leap year. How fpiteful then to cavil about a few days! for you fee, by this calculation, the accomptant's friends were, at moft, only forty days fhort of their allowance; befides, I am told, by a beefeater at court, that, from their kiffing in, to their being kicked out, was really one morning, or fix hours, more than one year and twenty days; a cir cumftance which he has maliciously fuppreffed. To proceed in my criticisms on this author, I must take notice of the compliments he pays his friends, at the expence of the D of C. He fays, "they came into employ. ment under that prince's mediation;" when the fact is, they came in by his pofitive commands. He conjur'd them, requir'd them, on their allegiance, to accept: to that they have only the merit of prefled men; and like them too, though they are liable to be thot for defertion as well as volunteers; yet, according to every rule of military juftice, they may be whipt out of the Fift, we had Mr. Pitt's admini- fervice at any time, and have no title ftration; Next, the Duke of Newcastle's; Now, Sir, if you will take a bit of chalk, and reckon from the 7th to the king's bounty for enlifting. The author's fpite against the Right Hon. William Earl of Chatham in the county of Kent, Vifcount Pynfent, in the county of Somerfet, appears in the fame paragraph. He fays, they (the late minifters) were removed by a plan fettled by that nobleman." How How little expreffive of his operations is the word jettled; when we know full well, that, when only a great commoner, he refuled to be refponfible for any meatures which he did not abfolutely guide. The accomptant, therefore, fhould have faid dictated by the Earl of Chatham, as more fuitable to his character, and to real fact, as is confirmed by the Enquiry jaft published, as, 'tis faid, by his quondam friend E. T. These two cronies, it feems, quarrelled about dilation; and the very man who a few years ago was glad to play Bowman to the great commoner at a city-feaft, ftooping and raising for half an hour together, like the Chelsea water-works, on this occafion flood straight as a maypole, and refufed bowing either to him, or for him, in the front of the stage, while he fat fculking in a fide box. On the whole, it is next to fcandalum magnatum, to alledge that the Earl of Chatham did any thing less than dictate the late changes. He has, once more, deigned to take the reins of government in his own hand, and will, no doubt, drive with his wonted speed, and raife a deal of duft around him. His horfes are all matched to his mind; but as fome of them are young and fkittish, it is faid he has adopted the new contrivance lately exhibited by Sir Francis Delaval on Weftminfter bridge: whenever they begin to inort, and to's up their heads, he touches the fpring, throws them loole, and away they go; leaving his Lordthip fafe and fnug, and as much at eafe, as if he fat on a woolpack. In the long bead-roll of fervices done by the late miniftry, which the author prefents to our be lief, one after the other, like the thirty-nine articles, there is one I cannot avoid laughing at, the refuing to grant patents and reverfions, Their friends fay, they had the power, and would not; the more fools they: their enemies fay, they had the inclination, and could not, tant pis par eure But my Lord Chatham has already showed, that he had both inclination and power, by granting patents, in the first week of his administration, to Lord N-n, Lord C-n, and the Hon. Mr. St M'K——e, brother german to the E. of Bute, and brother in office to himself, par nobile fratrum, which ever way you take it. Reverfions were un employed ftocks, which the new miniftry found cut and dry, ready to begin trade upon; and this is, as I take it, what our author alludes to by the late adminiftration's "rendering the ways fimooth and eafy to their fucceffors;" to be fure it was rendering the way easy, to leave wherewithal to greafe them; but why they did not employ thefe helps to Imooth the way for themfelves, is indeed furpriting. It may be faid, before they canie in they always declaimed againft reverfions; but that is a poor excufe: every body knows that profeffions of patriotifm are like treaties of peace; they only bind till we are ftrong enough to break them. I finish my criticisms on this short performance, with an obfervation on the harsh and unwarranted word the accomptant employs in relating the difmiflion of his friends: he fays, "they left their offices at the exprefs command of their royal master;" thereby infinuating, that his P 4 Μ1My M. -y difmiffed them fpontaneously, and from a diflike to their measures. If their measures were good and popular (as he pretends), it is unjuft to his My to fay he difliked them. The truth is, that no letters of difmiffion were fent to thofe that attended court; and the countenance and hehaviour of his My to the late first lord of the treasury, marked the highest degree of esteem and perfonal favour; therefore we may judge they were fet afide at the never-ceafing importunities of an all-powerful thane, to whom they never bended the knee; and for the conveniency of a new adminiftration, from whom (perhaps vainly) he expected more complaifance. This is the first time I troubled you or the public with my politics, though I have been thirty years in London in the tallow-chandling way, and twelve a common-council man; and if the bell rings true, fhall be lord-mayor before I die. Therefore pray infert my letter directly, as you would oblige, SIR, Your most humble fervant, Cateaton-ftreet, WHITTINGTON. Aug. 1760. Original letter faid to be wrote by Ly M-y W-t—y M-1—8—e, from Conflantinople, to a Venetian nobleman; tranflated from the French. AM charm'd, Sir, with your I obliging letter; and you may perceive, by the largenefs of my per, that I intend to give punctil anfwers to all your questions, at least if my French will permit me; for as it is a language I do not understand to perfection, fo I much fear, that, for want of expreffions, I fall be quickly obliged to finish. Keep in mind, therefore, that I am writing in a foreign language; and be fure to attribute all the imperti nences and triflings dropping from my pen, to the want of proper words for declaring my thoughts, hut by no means to dulnefs, or na tural levity. Thefe conditions being thus a greed and fettled, I begin with telling you, that you have a true notion of the Alcoran, concerning which the Greek priefts (who are the greateft fcoundrels in the universe) have invented out of their own heads a thousand ridiculous ftories, in order to decry the law of Mahomet; to run it down, I fay, without any exa mination, or fo much as letting the people read it: being afraid, that if once they begun to fift the defects of the Alcoran, they might not flop there, but proceed to make ufe of their judgment, about their own legends and fictions. In effect, there is nothing fo like as the fables of the Greeks and the Mahometans ; and the last have multitudes of faints, at whole tombs Miracles are by them faid to be daily performed; nor are the accounts of the lives of those blessed Muffilmaus much less stoffed with extravagancies, than the fpiri tual romances of the Greek Papas. As to your next inquiry, I affure you 'tis certainly falle, though commonly believed in our parts of the world, that Mahomet excludes women from any fare in a future happy ftate. He was too much a gentleman, and loved the fair fex too well, to ufe them fo barbaroufly. On the contrary, he promifes a very fine paradife to the Turkish women. He fays, indeed, that this paradife will be a separate place from that of their husbands; but. I fancy the moft |