Marlborough the confidence and favour of his royal master. Neither ought the knowledge of any man fo puff him up, as to affect to make himself necessary to his master, or to display his wisdom with a fhew of oftentation. This brought on the untimely fate of the great Earl of Warwick, in ancient times; and is the rock, on which thofe ftatefmen have been wafted by vanity and levity, when they loft the favour of their prince by their own folly.

BUT wisdom is nevertheless juftified in a statesman by a free and undaunted difintereftedness in all his deliberations and arguments. His wisdom explains itself in precife and pofitive terms; not affuming a fort of fuperiority and influence, as they did, who (in 1745) infulted their prince with threats of refignation, when perplexed with a continental war, and his kingdoms invaded; but confirming an inviolable attachment to the intereft of his king and country; and always defpifing that littleness of foul, which is attached to a private opinion, without regard to reafon.

SUCH are the abilities, by which a prince is to diftinguish good from bad fervants: but there are feveral other ways for him to prevent the evil tendency, of thofe, who would rob him of his power and authority.

No wife prince will determine himself in an affair by the fingle advice of any minifter, commiffioner or officer, to whom the principal

direction thereof is entrusted. It is bad policy to confult ONLY the firft lord of the treasury, or chancellor of the exchequer about the application of the public money; or the first lord of the admiralty about the neceffary fupplies and destination of the navy, or the first commiffioner of the board of trade concerning commerce; or the primate of all England about ecclefiaftical affairs. Each of thefe chiefs is to be confulted, and a due regard is to be paid to their advice and reasonings; but it is not the fafeft way to confine oneself, in any debate or enquiry about an affair, to the opinion of thofe, who are principally concerned therein because this would render other councils fuperfluous, and give those chiefs fuch a power, as in a fhort time they might usurp the government of the whole ftate, and of the prince likewife.

THEREFORE it has always been the care of wife princes to have no favourites, no private cabal, but a council general; where all affairs are examined by men free from all fufpicion; and where all the minifters may have a mutual inspection over each other; every opinion delivered without fear of offending, and every reafon allowed its juft and equitable weight. And this council ought not to confift of fuch men only, who have particular places of truft under the government: because it has been too frequently the misfortune, when the nation was under the direction of a council

of

of placemen, that for the fake of being permitted to exercise an arbitrary power in their own department, each of them have confented to the ufurpation of their fellow-tyrant. It was never known that a minifter, who thirfted after an independant power, gave himself any concern about controuling others to a faithful discharge of their duty.

'LET us look back to the adminiftration of Sir Robert Walpole: Did not the chancellor of the exchequer, that he might be allowed to govern without jealoufy, connive at every abuse of power, and every breach of truft in those, who had it in their power to thwart his measures? did not his measures expose the dignity of his mafter to contempt? and his country to fhame and difgrace? for which he fuffered the fate of a bad minifter: the people cried for juftice, and the wrath of the king went out against him: he was dif graced.

Under fuch an adminiftration the council becomes a cabal; where a few private men, without the leaft regard or efteem for one another, mutually combine to support the fhare, they have ufurped amongst themselves, in the government of the kingdom; and where every thing, they propofe, must be approved; however pernicious to the nation.

WHEN a king would convince his fubjects that his heart is towards wife councils, and that none fhall ftand in his prefence, who

is not fincerely attached to the welfare of his people, crown and dignity; he should set his wrath against all cabals in the ftate; and admit to his council fome men of great integrity, who not being interested in the execution of what is there debated, may, free from all embarraffment, examine fairly into the conduct of all, and deliver their opinions, without any private views.

UNDER thefe circumftances Britain has always flourished. The corrupt defigns of the placemen have been prevented: the people have placed their confidence in the miniftry, and the British name has commanded respect from other states.

BUT where public good is difregarded: where the king's favour is to be fought by flattery, and by confenting to measures injurious to the fubject: where his wrath is become dreadful to thofe, who bewail, but dare not appear to condemn, the proceedings of a cabal: where the unplaced and unpenfioned advocate for his country fhall be defpifed, and his council and remonftrances borne down by the dead weight of the ftate; private interest must prevail; the people muft be plundered; national virtue must decay; and majesty itself can hope to preserve no more, than the fhadow of authority.

A circumstance, which can never be too well confidered by the advocates for transporting our national troops to Germany! a measure

big with the inoft frightful confequences ! the offspring of flattery, and Talifman of that faction, which drew upon themselves the displeasure of their fovereign, by the fhame they, with the like measures, had before brought on their country. If armies are fent abroad to fight the battles of German princes, our operations in America, and in other parts, both by fea and land, muft droop and be rendered ineffectual; or fuch taxes muft be raifed, fuch debts contracted, as will exhauft our treasury, cramp our trade, and destroy our credit.

No army can be fent into the plains of Germany capable to reduce the power of France: and no money ever returns from that feat of war and though the miniftry, upon the faith of its application in a vigorous effort against France, by thofe ways, which are most natural to the fituation of thefe dominions, might have had a much greater fum than was fubfcribed; they perhaps, will find more difficulty to raise the fupplies of another year; not only upon account of the difagreeablenefs to be always labouring, and funding, for the defence of other ftates; but more feelingly, on account of the incredible weight of our paper-credit; which notwithstanding the facility of its currency within ourselves, will not pay our armies beyond the northern ocean: fo I shall not at all be furprized to hear, that the king fhall be fo far from approving this measure, as to fhew his difpleasure against them, who have

advised