They give the country a new name; set up a stone or rotten plank for a memorial; murder a dozen of the natives, and bring away a couple by force. Heré commences a new right of dominion; ships are sent, and the natives driven out or destroyed. And this is done to civilize and convert a barbarous and idolatrous people.'

1

But whatever be the cause, let us calmly and impartially consider the thing itself. Here are forty thousand men gathered together on this plain. What are they going to do? See! there are thirty or forty thousand more at a little distance. And these are going to shoot them through the head or body, to stab them, or split their sculls, and send most of their souls into everlasting fire, as fast as possibly they can. Why so, what harm have they done to them? O none at all. They do not so much as know them. But a man, who is king of France, has a quarrel with another man, who is king of England. So these Frenchmen are to kill as many of these Englishmen as they can, to prove the king of France is in the right. Now, what an argument is this! What a method of proof! What an amazing way of deciding controversies! What must mankind be, before such a thing as war could ever be known, or thought of upon earth! How shocking, how inconceivable a want must there have been of common understanding, as well as common humanity, before any two governors, or any two nations in the universe, could once think of such a method of decision! If then all nations, Pagan, Mahometan, and Christian, do in fact make this their last resort: what farther proof do we need of the utter degeneracy of all nations, from the plainest principles of reason and virtue ? Of the absolute want both of common sense and common humanity, which runs through the whole race of mankind?

In how just and strong a light is this placed by the writer cited before! I gave him a description of cannons, muskets, pistols, swords, bayonets: of sieges, attacks, mines, countermines, bombardments: of engagements by sea and land: ships sunk with a thousand men, twenty thousand killed on each side, dying groans, limbs flying in the

air: smoke, noise, trampling to death under horses' feet, flight, pursuit, victory: fields strewed with carcases left for food to dogs and beasts of prey: and farther, of plun dering, stripping, ravishing, burning, and destroying. I assured him, I had seen a hundred enemies blown up at once in a siege, and as many in a ship, and beheld the dead bodies drop down in pieces from the clouds to the great diversion of the spectators.'

Is it not astonishing, beyond all expression, that this is the naked truth! That within a short term of years, this has been the real case, in almost every part of even the Christian world! And mean while we gravely talk of the Dignity of our Nature, in its present state! This is really surprising, and might easily drive even a well-tempered man to say, 'One might bear with men, if they would be content with those vices and follies to which nature has entitled them. I am not provoked at the sight of a pickpocket, a gamester, a politician, a suborner, a traitor, or the like. This is all according to the natural course of things. But when I behold a lump of deformity and diseases, both in body and mind, smitten with pride, it breaks all the measures of my patience. Neither shall I ever be able to comprehend, how such an animal and such a vice can tally together.'

And surely all our declamations on the strength of human reason, and the eminence of our virtues, are no more than the cant and jargon of pride and ignorance, so long as there is such a thing as war in the world. Men in general can never be allowed to be reasonable creatures, till they know not war any more. So long as this monster stalks uncontrouled, where is reason, virtue, humanity? They are utterly excluded; they have no place: they are a name and nothing more. If even an Heathen were to give an account of an age, wherein reason and virtue reigned, he would allow no war to have place therein. So Ovid of the golden age.

Nondum præcipites cingebant oppida fossæ :

Non galeæ, non ensis erat. Sine militis usu
Mollia securæ peragebant otia gentes.

Steep ditches did not then the towns surround,

Nor glitt❜ring helm, nor slaught'ring sword was found.
Nor arms had they to wield, nor wars to wage,
But peace and safety crown'd the blissful age.

11. How far is the world at present from this state! Yet when we speak of the folly and wickedness of mankind, may we not except our own country, Great-Britain and Ireland? In these we have such advantages, for improvement both in knowledge and virtue, as scarcely any other nation enjoys. We are under an excellent constitution, which secures both our religious and civil liberty. We have religion taught in its primitive purity, its genuine, native simplicity. And how it prospers among us, we may know with great ease and certainty. For we depend not on hearsay, on the report of others, or on subtle and uncer tain reasonings, but may see every thing with our own eyes, and hear it with our own ears. Well then, to make all the allowance possible, we will suppose mankind in general, to be on a level, with regard to knowledge and virtue, even with the inhabitants of our fortunate islands: and take our measure of them, from the present undeniable state of our own countrymen.

In order to take a thorough survey of these, let us begin with the lowest, and proceed upward. The bulk of the natives of Ireland are to be found in or near their little cabins. throughout the kingdom, most of which are their own workmanship, consisting of four earthen walls, covered with straw or sods, with one opening in the side-wall, which serves at once for door, window, and chimney. Here in one room are the cow and pig, the woman with her children, and the master of the family. Now what knowledge have these rational animals? They know to plant and boil their potatoes, to milk their cow, and to put their clothes on and off, if they have any besides a blanket. But other know

ledge they have none, unless in religion. And how much do they know of this? A little more than the Hottentots and not much. They know the names of God, and Christ, and the Virgin Mary. They know a little of St. Patrick, the pope, and the priest: how to tell their beads, to say Ave Maria and Pater Noster: to do what penance they are bid, to hear mass, confess, and pay so much for the pardon of their sins. But as to the nature of religion, the life of God in the soul, they know no more (I will not say, than the priest, but) than the beasts of the field.

And how very little above these are the numerous inhabitants of the northern parts of Scotland, or of the islands which lie either on the west, or the north side of that kingdom! What knowledge have these? And what religion? Their religion usually lies in a single point, in implicitly believing the head of their clan, and implicitly doing what he bids. Meantime they are, one and all, as ignorant of rational, scriptural religion as of Algebra; and altogether as far from the practice, as from the theory of it.

The very lowest of the
I should be right glad

'But it is not so in England. people are here better instructed.' to find it so but I doubt a fair trial will shew the contrary. I am afraid we may still say, of thousands, myriads of peasants, men, women, and children, throughout our nation,

'Wild as the untaught Indian's brood,

The Christian savages remain ;

Strangers, yea, enemies to God,

They make thee spend thy blood in vain.'

The generality of English peasants are not only grossly, stupidly, I had almost said, brutishly ignorant, as to all the arts of this life, but eminently so, with regard to religion and the life to come. Ask a countryman, What is faith? What is repentance? What is holiness? What is

By a late act of parliament, there is an happy alteration made in this particular,

true religion? And he is no more able to give you an intelligible answer, than if you were to ask him about the North-east Passage. Is there then any possibility that they should practise what they know nothing of? If religion is not even in their heads, can it be in their hearts or lives? It cannot. Nor is there the least savour thereof, either in their tempers or conversation. Neither in the one nor the! other do they rise one jot above the pitch of a Turk or an Heathen.

Perhaps it will be said, 'Whatever the clowns in the midland counties are, the people near the sea-coasts are more civilized." Yes, great numbers of them are, in and near all our ports: many thousands there are civilized by smuggling. The numbers concerned herein upon all our coasts, are far greater than can be imagined. But what reason, and what religion have these that trample on all laws, divine and human, by a course of thieving, or receiving stolen goods, of plundering their king and country? I say king and country: seeing whatever is taken from the king, is in effect taken from the country, who are obliged to make up all deficiencies in the royal revenue. These are therefore general robbers. They rob you and me, and every one of their countrymen: seeing had the king his due customs, a great part of our taxes might be spared. A smuggler then, (and in proportion every seller or buyer of uncustomed goods,) is a thief of the first order, a highwayman or pickpocket of the worst sort. Let not any of those prate about reason or religion. It is an amazing instance of human folly, that every government in Europe) does not drive these vermin away into lands not inhabited.

We are all indebted to those detachments of the army, which have cleared some of our coasts of these public nuisances. And indeed many of that body have, in several respects, deserved well of their country. Yet can we say of the soldiery in general, that they are men of reason and religion? I fear not. Are not the bulk of them void of almost all knowledge, divine and human? And is their virtue more eminent than their knowledge?

But I spare