testant cause through all Europe! and, that, DIALOGUE as Rome hath hitherto been the centre of slavish impositions and anti-christian politics, the court of England may henceforth be the constant refuge and asylum of fainting liberty and religion!

But to turn from these flattering views, my good friend, to the recital of our late conver sation; which I proceed to lay before you with the same exactness and punctuality that I did the former. You will see the reason why I cannot promise you the same entertainment from it.

We had no sooner come together, than Sir JOHN MAYNARD began with his usual.vivacity.

I have been thinking, my lord, how dexte rous a game I have played with you, in this inquiry of ours into the English government. What was obvious enough in itself, and had indeed been undertaken by many persons, I

mean the vindication of our common liberties as founded in the ancient feudal constitution, is the part I assumed to myself in this debate; and have left it to your lordship to reconcile the FACT to the RIGHT: which is not only the most material point of inquiry, but the most

DIALOGUE difficult, and that which the patrons of liberty

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have either less meddled with, or have less succeeded in explaining. For, to own an unwelcome truth, however specious our claim. may be to civil liberty, the administration of government from the time of HENRY VII's accession to the crown, that is, for two entire centuries, has very little agreed to this system. The regal power, throughout this period, has been uniformly exercised in so high and arbitrary a manner, that we can hardly believe there could be any certain foundation for the people's claim to a limited monarchy.` Add to this, that the language of parliaments, the decrees of lawyers, and the doctrines of divines, have generally run in favour of the highest exertions of prerogative. So that I cannot but be in some pain for the success of your undertaking, and am at a loss to conjecture in what way your lordship will go about to extricate yourself from these difficulties.

BP. BURNET.

I understand, Sir John, that your intention in setting forth the difficulties of this attempt is only, in your polite way, to enhance the

merit of it. I must not however assume too much to myself. The way is clear and easy

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before me. You have conducted us very DIALOGUE agreeably through the rough and thorny part of our journey. You have opened the genius of our ancient constitution. You have explained the principles on which it was raised, All that remains for me is, only to solve doubts, and rectify appearances; a matter of no great difficulty, when, instead of groping in the dark, we are now got into open daylight, and are treading in the paths of known and authentic history.

MR. SOMERS.

And yet, my lord, I shall very readily acknowledge, with my Lord Commissioner, the importance of the service. For, unless appearances be strangely deceitful indeed, there is but too great reason to conclude, from the recent parts of our history, either that there never was a rightful claim in the people to civil liberty, or that they, as well as their princes, had lost all sense of it. I doubt, the most your lordship can make appear, is, that as our kings, from the coming of the Tudor line, had usurped on the ancient privileges of the subject; so the subject, at length, in our days, has, in its turn, usurped on the undisputed

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DIALOGUE and long-acknowledged prerogative of the sovereign. In short, I doubt there is no forming a connected system on these subjects; but that in our country, as well as in others, liberty and prerogative have prevailed and taken the ascendant at different times, according as either was checked or favoured by contingent èircumstances.

BP. BURNET.

Still Mr. Somers, I see, is on the desponding side: and with better reason than before; since, if the difficulty be half so great as is pretended, this change of the speaker is little favourable to the removal of it. However, I do not despair, whether these surmises of difficulty be real or dissembled, to clear up the whole matter to both your satisfactions. The stress of it lies here: That, whereas a mixed and limited government is supposed to have been the ancient constitution in this country, the appearances, in fact, for a couple of centuries, have been so repugnant to this notion, that either the supposition must be given up as too hastily formed, or sufficient reasons must be assigned for these contradictory appearances. I embrace the latter part of this alternative without hesitation or reserve; and pretend to

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lay before you such unanswerable arguments DIALOGUE for the cause I have undertaken, as, in better hands, might amount to a perfect vindication of ENGLISH LIBERTY.

I take my rise from the period which my Lord Commissioner has prescribed to me; that is, from the accession of the TUDOR family.

We have henceforth, indeed, a succession of high despotic princes, who were politie and daring enough to improve every advantage against the people's liberties. And their peculiar characters were well suited to the places in which we find them. HENRY VII. was wise and provident; jealous of his authority as well as title; and fruitful in expedients to secure both. His son and successor, who had a spirit of the largest size, and, as one says, feared nothing but the falling of the heavens, was admirably formed to sustain and establish that power, which the other had assumed. And after two short reigns, which afforded the people no opportunity of recovering their lost ground, the crown settled on the head of a princess, who, with the united qualifications of her father and grandfather, surpassed them both in the arts of a winning and gracious

f NAT. BACON, in his Disc. part II, p. 125. Lond. 1739.