Robert Walpole, the Prince, whose reconciliation with the Court proved of tranfient duration, was left entirely in the hands of the Tories, now affecting to style themselves the "Country Party; or, if the ancient nominal distinction was ever retained-REVOLUTION TORIES. The leaders of this party alleged with too much reason, that the Whigs, engroffing, as was notorious, the executive offices of the State with little intermission since the Revolution, and without any interval whatever since the acceffion of the House of Hanover, had introduced maxims of government totally inconsistent with the true interests of the nation. They had involved Great Britain as a principal in all the contentions, and quarrels, of the Continent; they had pretended a neceffity for supporting a political balance of power, which was never proved to be in danger; and under this pretext they had made England subservient to schemes of Hanoverian, of Austrian, of Pruffian aggrandizement. In the profecution of their wild and pernicious plans they had contracted an immense debt, the interest of which was discharged by taxes the most odious and oppreffive. This debt had rapidly and alarmingly accumulated; and as no serious or permanent measures had been adopted for it eventual liquidation, the nation was menaced with the hideous prospect of a general bankruptcy. In addition to the enormous sums raised upon the public, and mortgaged for the payment of the national creditors, the remaining branches of the revenue were appropriated to the maintaining a formidable army under the fole command of the Crown, by which the liberty of the Country and the very existence of the Constitution were exposed to imminent and habitual danger. They affirmed, that a system of corruption had been established in consequence of the vast increase of Ministerial and Regal influence that a very large proportion of the King's subjects had been long exposed to a state of political proscription, though chargeable with no disaffection to the present Government excepting what unavoidably arose from this injurious treatment. The Prince of Wales had deeply imbibed these ideas, and was laudably folicitous to extend the protection of Government to all who had not by culpable misconduct forfeited their claim to it, without any distinction of party; convinced that those who fulfilled the duties, were entitled to the privileges, of good citizens and fubjects. It may however be justly questioned whether the most eminent and respectable individuals of the Tory or country Partyta Wyrdham-a Shippen--or a Carew, ever attained to those clear conceptions of government and to the perfect and cordial adoption of those wife and beneficent maxims of policy which characterized the most virtuous and enlightened of the Whigs. The grand defect in the general theory of these patriots, who in many refpects deserved so highly the efteem and gratitude of their country, was their erroneous and imperfect ideas of the nature of toleration. Devotedly attached to the ESTABLISHED CHURCH, they confidered a diffent from it as a species of dangerous delinquency, or at least of culpable contumacy, permitted indeed by the indulgence of the law, but by no means founded or any immutable claim of equity or justice. And they were unhappily of an opinion recently revived, and enforced with all the art of fophiftical malignity, that a Sectary is a Citizen partially difaffected to the Conftitution, incl ding the twofold diftinction of Church and State; not confidering that the Church, as a civil institution, is the mere creation of the state, and exists only by its fovereign will-that a voluntary option therefore of afsent or dissent is allowed, and under a free Conftitution cannot but be allowed, to every citizen pleading the inviolable claims of confcience. In diffenting from the Church, a right is exercised which is recognized by the Conftitution, and which it must therefore be a complication of folly and injustice to brand as a proof of difaffection to the Conftitution. It does not however appear that the Prince of Wales was himself in any degree tainted with these miferable prejudices; and during the lifetime of the Prince, there is good reason to believe that great and inceffant

i

inceflant pains were taken to infuse into the minds of his rifing offspring, and more particularly into that of his eldestborn, " the second hope of Britain," just and elevated fentiments of government, and of liberty civil and religious*. But from the period of the untimely and lamented death of the Prince, the system of education adopted by the Princess Dowager of Wales, to whom the guardianship of the royal issue was entrusted, appeared to be impressed with a bias entirely new; and the ominous resignation of Lord Harcourt and the Bishop of Norwich, with the reasons affigned in vindication of their conduct, was the subject of much anxious apprehenfion-especially as it was but too well known that the Earl of BUTE; a nobleman haughty in his manners, contracted in his capacity, despotic in his sentiments, and mysterious in his conduct, was successfully infinuating himself into the confidence of the Princess of Wales, and of her son the Heir apparent of the Crown. On the 27th of October 1760, Sunday only having intervened since the death of the late King, the Earl of Bute was sworn a Member of the Privy Council-a mark of diftinction so striking and peculiar as apparently to portend changes of great political importance. After a short interval the Rangership of Richmond Park was taken from the Princess Amelia, the only unmarried daughter of the late King, and whom he

had

had ever delighted to diftinguish by marks of his affection, and bestowed upon the Earl of Bute; and by an order of the King in Council, the name of the Duke of Cumberland, dear fince the memorable day of Culloden to the Whigs, was struck out of the Liturgy. The Parliament, which, agreeably to the salutary provisions of an Act passed for that purpose, continued to exercise its functions for a period of fix months after the death of the Sovereign, met on the 18th November, when the King, feated on the throne with all the splendid decorations of royalty, delivered a speech calculated in the highest degree to confirm all the fond and flattering prepoffeffions of the public in his favor. After a decent expreffion of concern for the loss of the late King, and imploring the blessing of Heaven on his endeavors to sustain the weight of Government which now devolved upon him, the young Monarch, with great propriety and dignity of elocution, proceeded in these remarkable words: "Born and educated in this country, I GLORY in the name of BRITON, and the peculiar happiness of my life will ever consist in promoting the happiness of a people whose loyalty and warm affection to me I confider as the greatest and moft permanent security of my Throne. The civil and religious rights of my loving subjects are equally dear to me with the most valuable prerogatives of my Crown." After an ample delineation of the flourishing circumstances of the Kingdom, he concludes as follows: "In this state I have found things at my acceffion to the throne of my ancestors-happy in viewing the profperous part of it; happier ftill should I have been had found my Kingdoms, whose true interest I have entirely at heart, in full peace; but fince the ambition, injurious encroachments, and dangerous designs of my enemies rendered the war both just and neceffary, and the generous overture made last winter towards a Congress for a pacification has not yet produced any fuitable return, Iam determined, with your cheerful and powerful afsistance, to profecute this war with vigor, in order to that defirable object -a fafe a fafe and honorable peace. The eyes of all Europe are upon you. From you the Protestant Interest hopes for protection, as well as all our friends for the preservation of their independency, and our enemies fear the final disappointment of their ambitious and destructive views. Let these hopes and fears be confirmed and augmented by the vigor, unanimity, and dispatch of our proceedings. In this expectation I am the more encouraged by a pleasing cir-cumstance, which I look upon as one of the most auspicious omens of my reign. That happy extinction of divisions, and that union and good harmony which continue to prevail amongst my subjects, afford me the most agreeable prospect. The natural disposition and wish of my heart are to cement and promote them; and I promise myself that nothing will arife on your part to interrupt or disturb a fituation so essential to the true and lasting felicity of this great people."

Although this celebrated speech was conceived in the true fpirit of Whiggism, and was expressed with all the energy and animation which characterized the present Minifter, it is probable that Mr. Pitt was not insensible, or inattentive, to the intrigues and cabals already formed for the purpose of effecting a general removal of the present Administration from office. In a few days subsequent to the meeting of Parliament, Lord Bute declared to his confidential friend Mr. Doddington, foon afterwards created Lord Melcombe, that Lord Holderness, who appears to have been the earlieft convert to the new system, "was ready, at his defire, to QUARREL with his fellow-ministers, on pretext of flight and ill usage, and throw up in SEEMING ANGER, in order that Lord Bute might come in without appearing to displace any body." This complaisant and courtly, or, to speak in juster terms, this mean and servile, offer Lord Bute did not deign for the present to accept. Very early in the month of January (1761), ten weeks of the new reign not being as yet completed, Lord Bute informed his confident Mr. Doddington, " that Mr. Pitt MEDITATED A RETREAT." Shortly