their country and the dignity of the crown: who fufpected the council of thofe, who had courage and virtue enough to oppose arbitrary and ruinous measures, and risqued the happiness of his people, and the stability of his throne in fupport of men, who made their address to his majesty by foothing his passions, perverting his authority, mifrepresenting his friends and the most loyal actions of his best subjects, perfuading him to extend his prerogative above the limits of the national constitution, and to maintain his ufurpation upon their liberty by penal laws and exceffive taxes.

A CHARACTER little deferving the name of Pater Patria, fo much affumed by crowned heads. Yet it is next to a miracle for princes to divest themselves of that shiness, which is commonly fhewn, at court, towards the friends of liberty, or to guard against the toils spread, by fycophants and traytors of their country, to engage them in an interest separate from that of their people; which, instead of nurfing and cherishing, puts them upon ways and means to starve and devour the members of the body politic.

FROM the moment a prince appears upon the stage of life he is furrounded by a fet of men, whose thoughts are wholly fet upon deceiving him, and who are folely attached to their own private interest. These are the men, whofe very existence depends upon flattery and deceit; and who fcruple not to overturn the conftitution, should it stand in the way of their advancement.

WHEN it has happened that a prince had wisdom and refolution enough to discover, who deferves his confidence, and who, do not; and to refuse his ear to every one, who is unworthy of it; he has always found a sufficient fupply of all he has wanted for the fupport of his crown and dignity, and for the peace, fecurity and interest of his subjects: but wherever it has been feen that a prince prefers thofe, who think of nothing but accommodating themselves and their measures to his humour; though he may have in himself all the best dispositions for government, he by this one false step annihilates all his good qualities, and blunders and wanders with his bad guides till he loofes the affections of his people, and becomes the ridicule of foreign states.

THE greater princes are, and the more they have in their power to give; the more they are expofed to all that the most ingenious artful ambition, or covetoufnefs can invent to feduce them. And when once they begin to be foothed by flattery, they grow

referved

نے

reserved and fufpicious of thofe, who retain their integrity and fidelity, and refuse to imitate their adulation. They interpret their uprightness and steady conduct to be a fecret diffatisfaction, a kind of malignity aud envy, or a defire to diminish their glory. They speak to them with lefs affability and confult them

feldom or not all.

THUS, a prince having given himself up to those, who feed him with the bafest flattery and deceitfulness, and driven from him fuch, who excel in virtue, and are infpired with a noble emulation to do real fervice; there can be no wonder, if his court should be immediately over-run with perfons, who study nothing but to deceive him and while he vainly thinks himself beloved and admired by every one, he is furrounded by fecret enemies, who have conspired to hide the truth from him, who are folely employed in preparing poifon for his ears and his heart, and in gilding it over with an agreeable appearance: and who, under false pretences of the most profound refpect to him and the highest admiration of all he does, fecretly make a jest of his folly, and defpife him for his credulity. For, whoever are bafe enough to deceive their prince by mifrepresentations, are alfo wicked enough to infult him, when they have got him in hand, by depriving him of the affection of his fubjects. And nothing ought to be more fufpected by a prince, who reads ancient hiftories, than to perceive in them about him an affectation to enter into every measure he proposes without distinction, and a want of courage to contradict him on any occafion.

HENCE it is we may account for the juftness of the affertion in the motto. Where evil counsellors have robbed a king and his kingdom of that wisdom and equity, the difcernment between truth and falfhood; and of that love for juftice and the public good, which are the most effential qualities for promoting his own true happiness, and that of his people, no wonder that he from a disgust at truth proceeds to a hatred thereof. For flattery will fuffer none to come near him, but fuch whofe tongues are tipped with deceit, and deceive him into difficulties and dangers: the confequences of which too often prove fatal to his family as well as his people; as may be exemplified in a most eminent manner from the hiftory of Ifrael : where we read that sovereign truth chastised the obftinacy of a prince, who refused to give ear to wholsome counfel, and abandoned himself entirely to the mif

guidance

guidance of violent and artful men, by fuffering a lying Spirit to delude him, and to prevail against all the remonftrances of wife and faithful men, till he was utterly ruined.

I cannot, therefore, but greatly pity the fituation of a prince, who is thus liable to be deceived; and must be certainly driven upon the brink of deftruction by thofe he gives moft credit to, if he does not give very clofe attention to the characters, which distinguish bad counsellors from the fincere and faithful. For, though the nation feel the bad effects of their ruinous measures, the flattering minifter puts on an appearance of a true friend and faithful fervant. It is only in the heart they differ, and the heart is invifible.

Adulatio quam fimilis eft amicitia!

They both defire to please, and fear to offend: they both study the prince's inclinations to follow them, or at least that they may not oppose them imprudently: they are both affiduous, zealous and refpectful: their profeffions are the fame: their attachment

appears equal: their abilities and merit may alfo appear equal;

and fometimes the bad minifter has in external advantages excelled the faithful counsellor, who may not have the fame politeness, addrefs, and infinuation. And when this is the cafe, and the bad minister has infinuated himself into the heart of his royal master and got all his prejudices and paffions on his fide, what can hinder his gaining the afcendant? and if that is gained, the prince is undone: For, he to whom a King is ready to furrender himself, is a perfon of a dangerous fpirit, who will abuse the power he has obtained by false pretences, make it fubfervient to his own paffions, and attempt to inspire his own inclinations into his fovereign, under the fhew of yielding entirely to his.

Was not this the cause of all the discontent, which has ever been in this island between the fovereign and his people? of all the forrow and distreffes of the royal family? and of the misery to which the nation has been fo often reduced by intestine broils and tyrannical measures? Had not Charles the First preferred the council of his flattering courtiers to the plain dealing of his faithful fubjects, he might have slept with his fathers in peace. His fon James was undone and his family excluded from the throne, because he delivered himself up to be guided by men of bafe and corrupt principles, and was advised by them to disregard the remonftrances of his ftedfaft friends.

HAD

HAD thefe princes fufpended their judgment and examined more deliberately into the character of their favourite minifters, who advised them to break through their contract with their fubjects, and to introduce an arbitrary government, it is fcarce pro-bable that they would have yielded to fuch pernicious councils. It is very unwife to give up our friendship and ear to bare appearances. And a prince, who by whim, caprice and merely to please: his imagination, determines in a choice of fo great confequence to himself and to his people, deferves to be deceived all his life, and feldom efcapes the difquietudes, which naturally multiply

with bad measures.

HAPPY is it for princes, who deterred by the misfortunes of thofe, who have fuffered for their folly of prefering men, who deceive them, are careful not to attach themselves to any perfon, who has any other intereft than that of his country at heart, and whom they confult with unreserved confidence on all occafions. On the contrary how dangerous would it be for a prince, to confine his enquiries and the diftribution of his justice and favours to a few fycophants, who having got into employment, find it their intereft to play into one anothers hands, to conceal from him a part of what he ought to know, and to agree together in many points, notwithstanding their different interefts, and their fecret hatred and jealoufy one of another, in order to render themfelves fole mafters of all affairs, and confine the princes confidence wholly to themselves; and hold him as it were captive in the narrow circle, within which they have imprifoned him?

ONE folely attach'd to the prince, upon conftitutional principles, would be capable of breaking and difconcerting that fatal combination against their master's liberty: and fhould he be feconded by any other of equal probity, no artifice, no league would be able to hide itself, or fupport itself against fuch fagacious and incorruptible ministers.

His majesty, therefore, can't be too attentive in the choice of a miniftry, nor weigh its confequences too maturely. If he is fo happy to find such men, as will know no other good but that of the public and their prince, he ought to put the highest value upon them, and attach them to him by an unreferved confidence; which is the only tye, worthy of fuch minifters: and if he dif

covers,

covers, that the complaints of his fubjects, against the conduct of his former servants are just, that the nation has been greatly disappointed and oppreffed, and the crown difgraced by their measures; he ought to employ all means to find fuch, as shall act with more judgment and uprightness, and never give over the purfuit, till he has given his fubjects the most convincing proof by the nomination of his miniftry; that the king of Great-Britain detefts the practice of those princes, who feclude the men of merit and worth from their counfels, and make use of mean men and defperadoes, to fleece and oppress their subjects.

Z.

LONDON: Printed for J. SCOTT at the Black Swan in Pater-nofter-Row where Letters directed to the Monitor or British Freeholder (POST paid) will be received for the Author.

Where may be bad

In One Volume Octavo.

Price 6s.

The first Fifty-two Numbers of the MONITOR, OF BRITISH FREEHOLDER, PRO REGE & GREGE