the having a million of overplus to be lain by, with its accumulations, towards the discharge of the national debt, but a profpect of having still more for that purpose; and added to this, a feeming fecurity to our every poffeffion in present or in perspective, from the wars and confequent diftreffes of all our rival states. We too in firm alliance with others, in corroboration all this. What a picture, and how true a one!

and confirmation of

What is national happiness? private happiness; freedom of action in every poffible thing short of injury to others, which furely every man must even wish to be restrained from, if not for himself, for the community; and confequently gladly fubfcribe to the law that is to fecure and enforce the blessed restraint. That law then is your protection, your fafeguard against injury from others; your property and perfon is thereby fecured to you, and the meaneft fubject has it open to his application against the higheft, equally as the highest against him. Then, as to the finances of the country, it has already been said, that there is even an annual overplus of a million, and a prospect of much more. The productions of the country itfelf who does not know and fee, even equal 'to luxury itself; then the fpecie in the country is immenfe, though how much beyond Dr. Price's falfe calculation I know not: Safe too, as has been' faid, from war abroad as from commotions at home. Are we not then even excited to the exclamation of “O fortunati nimium fua fi bona norint!”

But is all this real as well as nominal? That I am free to do what I please within the law is certain; but am I not free to do more? I towards others, as others towards me. Or rather is it true, that the law is my fufficient protection? Do not answer me by the nominal, the theoretic, and the letter; all this, fhort of the practical, is nugatory, is nothing. Surely I need not go far for my objection, my denial. I am a poor man, and you defraud 'me of ten pounds, twenty pounds, more or lefs; I am to get it back by law! But to get my twenty, it will, befide the time and trouble, coft me thirty; or my

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ten,

ten, fourteen or fifteen; and so on; (as to the exactness of loss, no matter) what do I do? why, give up my money to be fure, and bear as well as I can my robbery. There is no occafion to extend my objects, you all know where they will go to, and how, keeping their principle, keep to their proportionate degree. But there is no help for this; it is not our faults, fay our governours; we would give you redrefs if we could, but we cannot; for fuch is the law. And why cannot you give redress? Rather fay you will not. I remember when I had the honour to fit in parliament the old first Lord Lyttleton, in one of his oratorical, or at least called oratorical, fpeeches, thundering out again and again, as a burthen of a fong;- Nolumus leges Anglia mutari,' and with no fmall effect; and has not many a member rather a predilection for an old Latin quotation (though still more perhaps, however bad, a precedent;) nolimus? I remember I then faid to myfelf, then fo much the worfe for you, though poffibly a good deal more for the community. But pray, gentlemen, my governors, nay and my doomed protectors too; are you not (and need I say more) omnipotent even? It is needless to go on with this, and into its immensity of branches; every one can do it more or less; but you completely. Allow me at least to fay this, that you must not tell me (even if the things be impracticable) of my personal freedom and protection and happiness as a fubject, whether with the sword sticking in my fcull, or only hanging over it. Nay more, the very means of my procuring by law any little matter, or making a legal bargain or purchase, &c. (either, in fenfe and reafon, done in very few words and fhort time,) must be procured by wading through, day after day, the trash with my attorney, to know what to do or how to proceed; and his law-learning of ejectment, rejoinder, fubpoena, and twenty more of his law terms, all put-offs from term to term, &c.; and at the end of all, having perhaps half a dozen great sheets or skins of parchment (exclufive of your expence) painfully to read over, with whereases, and repetitions of useless words; all which terms and modes of acting, if I

hear

hear one day I forget the next, and am fet down by my attorney (one of the copyifts perhaps mentioned more than once*) for a great blockhead; pluming himself, from this deep and luminous knowledge, as being a man of business. I remember, in a very important tranfaction I had to act in, by common fenfe as well as law, fetting down in writing fomething about the reasoning on it I defired to be purfued; he took it home, and, exactly like my coach-maker with my vis-a-vis, brought me his reafoning instead, all quite different. I was not a little piqued, and next day wrote to fay I begged him not to think me void of all rationality as well as law terms; as alfo to let me think and reason for myself; and to fhew him I might have fome, begged him to accept of a book, where I hoped he might find in me a little common fense: he told me he had lent it his wife, and she thought it very pretty. But too much of this. This is all very trifling; yet comes into my Hiftory of Man, and of one particular corps in its focial formation. As to the great law of the land, and its real men of business, and all its confequences through the nation, it is of more importance, and the mention of it all is enough, if to them.

But there is one thing I will speak to, which I have thought on over and over, and with true regret, as I do at this moment; I have felt it fo much as for more than once to have fent paragraphs to the papers about it, all in filence and obfcurity, fo that I could have no other motive on earth in it than the welfare of the community, on what I imagined to be fo.

What I allude to, is the annual lotteries of this country; and I did, I confefs it, give Mr. Pitt credit for annulling them, if he fucceeded, while I was cordially wishing that fuccefs, when standing firm on the letter (aye and

What I have related of copiers, so very conducive to the confirmation of my given opinion about critics and criticism, is a fact so wonderful, that I could wish some really inquifitive reader to try the fact, and in a not very good hand writing, and not choose fools neither. What may feem to contradict it, is the Reviewers, who read and remark often very well; but they, be it remarked, have an intereft, the others not, nay, a practical profeffion.

fpirit

Spirit too) of the constitution against its ufage, for our poor king and it, in the grand business of the India bill, that was affuredly, if realized, to convert us to an aristocracy; and without being acquainted with, or competent to all that complicated business, need one be a conjuror to fee that fuch a fort of fecured patronage to Self and Co. muft go to it? As to the taking away the charter, fo much talked of, I cannot fay that my own fcruples would have stood fo much in the way there, if of neceffity to the then wretched state; and fo far must be granted to the party, it was impoffible for them to foresee the recovery that happened, or perhaps any. I fay, that while breathing my obfcure and useless hopes, in this inftance, for our King and Mr. Pitt, I did give him credit, on that fuccefs, for annihilating all lotteries.

Very fine indeed! say you, perhaps; you are a fine statesman, a rare politician; poffibly you do not know what it procures to the ftate? I answer, That if it procured millions I would have nothing to do with them. What are they? the feverest of tax on the very part of the community you affect not to tax at all. A tax? no; for a tax, however fevere, takes from the taxed individual only a part of his poffeffions, and profeffionally in proportion, more or lefs, to the means of paying it; but this takes the all, if the contradiction may be allowed, from those who have nothing. Does any one know of the fufferings of the lower claffes of the community, (I have been even privy to fome) up to beggary, defpondency, lunacy, fuicide, from lotteries? Abfurd all this, you fay; for how can I be faid to be taxed, when you exact nothing from me? Do we, the governors of the nation, compel any fubject to buy tickets? And am I to be blamed for your doing an imprudent thing, when it is left to your own option to do or not to do it? Oh! ye governors, and ye great, and to you one may urge it, for you are not of the poor herd; and yes, to you I fay it, let us not, like that herd, amuse ourselves with names instead of things; and if we do not, I ask the difference between your levying the fums you gain yearly by your lottery,

from

from the part of the community I allude to, and laying before them a lure, a bait, you know they will bite at; nay, reckon upon it as the very means of procuring what you do procure from your lottery? Nay more; is it a noble and a generous proceeding to profit in a fraudulent bargain, (for yes, is it not even in its beft light that very ufury you fo feverely punish by your laws?) from my ignorance and incapacity to know what that bargain &c. is? Nay, and what fort of men do you allow and encourage to be joined with you in this; already felling me property for not very much fhort perhaps of half its value; and by throwing in my way your bait for that very purpofe; and lofs (fay ruin) and your emolument?

to my

Need more be faid? And is this the true statement of lotteries or not? If a true lift could be made out of the horrors that have enfued from these lotteries, only hinted at above, it would furely strike into the heart of that person, I, and every one, in freedom of judging, almost adores as a minister and a man, and to the downfal of cruel lotteries; and would not every one, as well as myself, gladly pay the additional tax from thence, however grievous to pay the others?

But where is the confiftency of doing this with liberating all your flaves? I have for this confiderable time past, with my legs on a couch or chair, little heard of indeed any thing; confequently know not at all how far that confideration has now lately been difcuffed and laid open; fo that if the paradox be folved of lofing your flaves to your islands, &c. I know nothing of the matter. Last year I understood Mr. Pitt was for it, and therefore willingly gave him credit for there being valid reasons and motives behind, though I knew none of them; and from furmife only should have thought the measure abfurd in the extreme; thinking the flaves (on proper footing) much more secure, and better off in general, than our peasants; nay, perhaps, than their stations, whether with or without freedom, in their own country. Again do

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