conduct, on every important occafion. The admonition comes from one who has feen fomething of life, in different forms, and in various countries; and who is, from his own experience, deeply convinced of its importance. «Ig"norance, forgetfulness, or contempt," of fuch principles, are the causes of most of our errors and miferies. In MORALS, endeavour to form and preserve in your minds, a few plain maxims, such as reason and confcience, in the calm and filent hour of folitude, must approve. You will thus be preserved from many of the follies of the age. In RELIGION, ftrive to cultivate principles of purity. These will preserve you, on the one hand from being infected with that intolerance, bigotry, and fuperftition, which have hitherto more or lefs difgraced every established church in Christendom; and on the other, from being toffed about with those various winds of doctrine (if they deferve even such a name) which are blowing from different quarters of fcepticism and infidelity. Do not adopt your principles merely from the prejudices, or as they might sometimes be ftyled, the opinions of education*. Do not fuffer yourself

By education we are oft misled,

So we believe, because we fo were bred;
The priest continues, what the nurse began,
And thus the child, impofes on the man.

DRYDEN. to

to be misled, by long established fyftems, which, men having been paid, in many inftances extravagantly, for maintaining, have often fupported without examining whether they are true or false. If you look only at fuch fyftems, you will be in danger of getting rid of all religious fentiments whatever, and like too many of your countrymen, when they fet their foot on a foreign fhore, you will not only be inattentive. to the precepts, but to the forms of religion, if you do not foon deride the name. Adopt a few plain principles from that deposit of truth, the Bible; fuch as proclaim the divinity of the book which contains them. Try your fentiments and conduct continually by them, and you cannot materially err. You will on the contrary, affuredly follow the path of duty, and of happinefs. In PUBLIC LIFE, conftantly endeavour to cultivate, purity of principle. Engrave upon your hearts, the admirable fentiments of an elegant and excellent modern writer; The "fame neceffity for the fubftitution of general " maxims exifts in politics, as in morals: thofe precise and inflexible principles, which yield neither to the feductions of paffion, nor the fuggeftions of intereft, ought to be the guide "of public as well as private morals. "according to the natural rights of

66

66

Acting men, is

only another expreffion for acting according "to those general maxims of focial morals, "which prescribe what is right and fit in "human intercourfe*." Such fentiments as these, will preserve you from corruption in public life; and while they are impressed on your mind, you will never dare to vindicate actions in a minister of ftate, unless upon the fame principles as you may vindicate actions in a private individual. As men, and as citizens, study your own rights, and the rights of your fellowmen and fellow-citizens. Let the good of your neighbour, and of your country, be constantly kept in view. Should any denomination of men. do you the honour, to claim your affistance for the support of any plans for the reformation of fociety, or for the recovery of the lost rights of mankind; inftead of allowing yourself to reft in a fupine, which in fuch a cafe is a criminal, indifference, endeavour to fupport fuch plans by every means in your power. Acting from the principles of virtue, religion and patriotifm, you may meet with oppofition; you may be despised and reproached, by the vicious, and by the lukewarm; you may be striving against a powerful stream of corruption; but you will fecure to yourself

* Mackinto, p. 217.

what

what will infinitely overbalance all the difficulties and difcouragements you may meet with: You will infallibly fecure, the pleasures of a good confcience, the applause of virtuous men, and in the end, the declared approbation and the eternal reward of the Great GOVERNOR OF THE UNIVERSE!

CHAPTER

CHAPTER THE SECOND.

Account of the representative Part of the French Conftitution-Legislative Body-Electoral Affemblies-Active Citizens-General Remarks -Excellencies of the French Plan of Reprefentation pointed out, and contrafted with the Defects of the British-Abfolute neceffity of a Parliamentary Reform in Great Britain urged and enforced from various ConfiderationsPrinciples of the French Monarchy fimilar to thofe of the British.

H

AVING confidered the origin, nature, and defign of government, as expreffed in the French declaration; having endeavoured to prove, that the end of all political affociations is the preservation of the natural and imprefcriptible rights of man: I fhall now proceed to

the confideration of that mode which the National Affembly have adopted as the most eligible, by which the people may be the most effectually fecured in the exercife, and in the enjoyment of thofe rights. On this fubject the language of the conftitution is as follows: