found and show, shall vanish from the touch of reason as mists and vapors from the noon-day fun.

Agreeably then to the viciffitudes which have in a long series of eventful years taken place in the views and sentiments of the oppofing parties of the state, a WHIG must now be understood to mean a man who, in addition to the fpeculative principles of liberty civil and religious which have descended to him from his ancestors, entertains a lively and well-founded jealousy left the prerogative of the crown should, in consequence of the prodigious increase of its influence, ultimately absorb the whole power and authority of the other branches of the government, and with them the liberties of the nation at large, in its vast and tremendous vortex. A modern whig acknowledges and deeply regrets the improvidence of his ancestors in contributing, by the facility of their compliances, to the accumulation of an immenfe public debt, and the establishment of a standing army, both of which are yet in a state alarmingly progreflive. He can scarcely forgive those extravagant ebullitions of loyalty which could facrifice the most facred principles of the constitution to the interest or ambition of the reigning family, in prolonging by a most unjustifiable stretch of power the existence of parliaments to a term of dangerous duration, and in furnishing to a minifter little fcrupulous of expedients, and regardless of confequences, the means of universal and unbounded corrupti

on.

Whatever palliations of the fatal system then adopted, the peculiarity of that minister's situation, and the fituation of the country at large in a political view, might then afford, had it was affirmed been long fince entirely at an end; but the same system is nevertheless refolutely and uninterruptedly pursued, recovering Antæus-like from every apparent or accidental fall with renewed and redou bled vigor.

On the other hand, the modern tories, although the defcendants of those who long entertained a most inveterate enmity enmity against the family upon the throne, and who from motives not of the purest patriotism vehemently oppofed in the former reigns the unconstitutional measures of the whigs, having at length entirely shaken off their old at= tachments, and being taken into favor and invested with power under the marked and too partial protection of the court, suddenly became its open and zealous advocatescombining, as far as the spirit of the times would admit, the speculative errors of one party with the practical errors of the other. The neceffity of strengthening the prerogative of the monarch, and of supporting the DIGNITY of the CROWN, was from this time the inceffant theme of their argument and declamation. Conceffions and indulgencies were in their estimation things incompatible with the majesty of the regal character. The high, harsh, and peremptory tone of AUTHORITY uniformly marked every act of government under the almost constant predominance of this dangerous faction during the present reign, from the commitment of a printer, or the profecution of a libeller, to those measures of provocation and oppreffion terminating in a war which rent in twain and had well nigh fubverted the empire.

This party, now grown strong and confident by an un expected return of profperity, affumed with oftentatious audacity the appellation of the KING'S FRIENDS, in which novel capacity they hefitated not to give their eager and ardent fupport to those measures of court policy which had been ever reprobated by the tories of elder days as in the highest degree pernicious and unconstitutional. The STANDING ARMY, so long the theme of their invective and reproach, was now affirmed to be necessary for the prefervation of the national tranquillity; the public debt was pronounced a public benefit; the connection with Hanover was honorable and useful; the influence of the crown was the happy means of consolidating the harmony of the different branches of government; a long parliament was faid

to

to be attended with no fuch inconvenient consequences as had been previously and erroneously apprehended; and every attempt to restore that equality in the representation, or rather to remove those glaring inequalities so inconfistent with the spirit of the constitution and the practice of former ages, was opposed and rejected by them in terms of unbounded obloquy and detestation, as leading to nothing less than the abfolute fubversion of government. They profeffed on all occafions their dread of innovation and novelty-not adverting to the constant declaration of the antient tories, that the things to which they objected were themselves innovations wholly extraneous to the constitution-and that they who merely wished to restore were most unjustly accused of a fondness for innovation, or a dangerous propenfity to tamper with the constitution by trying new and hazardous experiments.

Although the high and preposterous notions once prevalent respecting the AUTHORITY of the CHURCH had, in common with the old opinions relative to civil government, gradually fallen into disrepute, the tories of the present reign have been invariably characterized by the strength of their attachment to the ecclesiastical establishment, which they are delighted to applaud and extol as a model of purity and perfection. Any suggestions of the expediency of a reform in the church, whether in relation to the irregularities of its difcipline, or the errors of its doctrine as exhibited in a fet of obsolete and unintelligible articles of faith, are received by this class of men with a fort of horror, as leading to foul fufpicions of sectarian heresy or atheistical profaneness; while the dissenters of all denominations are on the contrary viewed by them with eyes of jealousy and hatred, and affiduously held up on all occafions as the inveterate enemies of at least one part of the constitution, and as the doubtful friends at best of the other: and every idea of enlarging the limits of the toleration allowed them by law, and much more of extend.

ing ing to them the common privileges of citizens, they have uniformly exclaimed against with affected terror and real malignity.

By these grand and leading features are the oppofite parties of the present reign clearly difcriminated; and whether these parties shall continue to be known under the established denominations of whig and tory, whether by the appellations of court and country, king's friends or patriots, is of little importance, so that the terms be diftinctly defined and generally understood; although in different individuals these different systems will of course be -blended and diversified by all the possible tints and shades of moral and political variety.

No fooner had the whigs, after a long and laborious opposition, driven their antagonists the tories from the helm, and found themselves in full possession of the powers of government and the confidence of the people, than, in consequence of the unfortunate misunderstanding and subsequent conflict of their leaders, they were again broken and divided; and each division was under the necessity of strengthening itself by forming new and dangerous connections with their former opponents. On the fucceffion of Mr. Fox, the earl of Shelburne called in the aid, though in a somewhat covert manner, of the Jenkinson party; and when a fair profpect of supplanting that nobleman in a short time occurred, Mr. Fox scrupled not, to the astonishment and indignation of the kingdom, publicly to coalefce with lord North and his numerous partisans. The earl of Shelburne having been far more guarded in his previous declarations, as well as his subsequent political afsociations, escaped the obloquy which attended the more flagrant inconsistency of his once popular rival; who, by openly connecting himself with that individual minister of the crown whom he had so long and so successfully labored to, vilify and disgrace, had for ever forfeited his claim claim to the flattering appellation of " the man of the people."

On the dismission of the coalition administration, Mr. Pitt, the head of the new ministry, was in a manner compelled, like his predeceffor lord Shelburne, to admit no inconfiderable proportion of the tories to share in the honors and emoluments of government; and the nation, equally enraged at the whigs and the tories of the coalition, willingly excused the re-admiffion of those members of the old tory administration who could plead the recent merit of inveighing against the coalition, and of oppofing the India bill of Mr. Fox.

From this mixture of toryism in the new adminiftration, nevertheless, the most pernicious and direful consequences have ultimately resulted. The reign of the prefent monarch has indeed been distinguished by a strange and dreadful fatality; and the deplorable infatuation almost invariably actuating the national councils, and which has been productive of such mighty mischiefs, may well appear to the contemplative and philofophic mind-penetrating beyond the dark cloud which bounds the view of common observers the destined means of accomplishing the grand and beneficent purposes of that wisdom in comparison with which the highest human sagacity is as weakness and folly. But these are reflections which more properly appertain to the province of the theologift than the hiftorian.

After the division which took place on the address, and which terminated in the complete triumph of the new ministry, the business which chiefly for a time occupied the attention of the house and of the public, was the complaint stated by Mr. Fox respecting the conduct of the high bailiff of Westminster, who had obstinately and daringly refused to make the return in his favor, although he had upon the face of the poll a majority of 235 votes. Mr, Fox, however, was not deprived of his feat in parlia