"I could not help thinking it my duty," fays he, addreffing him. felf to the Common-Council, on the foregoing effay's falling into my hands, to enter into the prefent remonftrance with you, on the Occafion ; especially as, by the part, you have taken in behalf of the Americans, you seem defirous of obtaining a restoration of conflitutional liberty, in bringing back the corrupted government of this coun try to its firfl-principles.

"You will give me leave, therefore, to expatiate on fome affertions in the preceding tract, relative to the encroachments, long fince made by your predeceffors and fill continued by you, on the rights of your brother-citizens, refpecting the election of their city officers and parliamentary reprefentatives.

"The affertion of the learned effayift that, the whole body of freemen or their reprefentatives, who fhall be actually chofen by them, have an exclufive right to fuch election,' is, I prefume, un'controvertible: it appearing on your own records that in those times, viz. on Simon and Jude's day, anno 1347, there gathered together the whole commonalty into Guildhall, London: fo that the whole hall was full with the commonally.'-What fhall be said, then, to the late moft flagrant violation of our ancient privileges, in the erection of fences in Guildhall yard; to prevent the entrance of the commonally at the holding of a common hall; and to admit only the livery of the respective companies, who have each a particular hall of their own, and have nothing to do at the Guild, but in common with their fellow citizens ?

*

"It is admitted that, finding the incovenience of fo numerous an affembly, it was agreed in a full hall, that a felect number, chofen by every ward, should affemble for the future; according to which agreement it was the practice of the city for fome ages, before the office of election was put into the hands of the liverymen of each company.

But by whom was it put into fuch hands? and who are the livery? Are they chofen by the citizens of the refpective wards, either for their wealth or their wisdom ?-For their wealth indeed, fome of them are appointed by the court of affiftants of their respective companies, in order to increase the general fund for gormandizing and gluttony; while others, whofe wifdom would rather induce them to decline fuch worshipful' fociety, are called upon, through pique or ill-will, to take up, as it is called, their livery, before they can well afford to pay the fine exacted of them on that occafion.

The Livery are, indeed, fo far. from being the deputies of the citizens of their respective wards, that it is not even required of them to be refident within the city. They may be aliens, foreigners and even members of other corporations, whofe interefts are diametrically oppofite to those of the city of London; and yet enjoy all the privi leges to which a citizen, born, bred and living within the walls, is entitled by fervitude, patrimony, or purchafe. I add purchase, be

caule

Commonly called the sheep-pens; which, if the commonalty, or citizens at large, knew their privileges and had spirit enough to maintain them, they would foon effectually demolish.

cause the fine, paid by a freeman, on taking up his livery, is in fac the purchase-money he is compelled to pay, in order to be entitled to the rights and privileges to which he is born and bred: the acts of common-council, putting into the hands of the livery only, the power of chufing the city officers and representatives, having in fact deprived him of his birth-right.

"Such faithful guardians, however, have the members, of that court, been of this, the conftitutional patrimony of their fellowcitizens, that, under their fanction, it has for years been confiantly fold by fome of the beggarly and bankrupt companies, even as Esau -fold his, for a mess of pottage *.

"It is from this venal proftitution of the rights and privileges of the London citizens, that so much tumult and distraction hath occafionally arifen in the city councils and elections. It makes a conftitutional citizen almoft fhudder with horror, to reflect on the number and quality of aliens, that have, within thefe few years, been allowed to purchase those privileges; of which the natural born or apprentice-bred freemen are unconftitutionally deprived.

"What a pack of vagabonds,' have not thus intruded themselves into our common-halls; abfurdly brawling for liberty and the conftitution; while they were feating Weft Indian, negro-drivers, as they would as readily do, Afiatic Nabobs, not only in the chair of magif tracy, but as their representatives in the fenate itself."

This author is certainly not. upon the Livery, unless he be, indeed, that zealot for confiftency which he pretends.

"In a word, fays he, the Livery, with refpect to the city of London, confidered as a body corporate, refembles an over-grown fungus hanging about an oak; a prepofterous excrefcence that, while it hides and difgraces the form, fecretly preys on the substance, of the trunk, that fupports it.

"The very spirit of the English conftitution requires that, as the officers of the corporations, and members of parliament, fhould be chosen by the majority of those who have a right to vote; fo this right is to be afcertained by cuflomary privileges of time immemorial, confirmed by the great charter, or by fubfequent charters or other grants, where none of the former fubfift.

Now fuch immemorial and confirmed charter-privileges being - vefted in the commonalty or citizens of London at large, their officers and representatives cannot be conftitutionally chofen but by a majority of all the citizens, none excluded..

"Those citizens, indeed, may conftitutionally agree, to avoid the inconvenience of the tumult, ufually attending popular elections, by eleding

Now-a-days for a turtle-foup and haunch of venifon.-It has frequently happened alfo that the Livery fines have been in part or altogether remittel, in due time before an approaching election; when the masters and wardens of the companies have chofen to add to the number of Liverymen, in order to fecure a majority for a favourite candidate. Were the Livery chofen by the citizens at large, this furreptitious method of creating voters could not be practifed.

electing fub-reprefentatives or deputies, to vote for fuperior reprefentatives. In doing this, the conftitutional fpirit of reprefentation would be ftill retained; which is not the cafe, as before obferved, with the Livery of London; who are not chofen by the citizens and of courfe are not their legal reprefentatives.

"It was with propriety, therefore, they were given to understand, on a late occafion, that, though his Majefty would willingly receive the petitions of the citizens of London, in their corporate capacity, he could not receive any from them, as he did not regard the livery, as any part of the corporation.

And yet this unincorporated and adventitious body poffefs the privilege of electing the officers and representatives of that corporaLion; What an absurdity !

"Had I been a member of parliament, when the motion was made, in the lower houfe for the expulfion of Luttrel, as not being chofen by a majority of the legal conftituents; I fhould have certainly feconded the motion. At the fame time, I would have immediately moved, whether I had been feconded or not, for the expulfion of all the four city members, for a fimilar reafon; their not being chofen by any legal conftituents at all.

"The conftitutional qualifications of all voters, whether for corporation officers or parliamentary reprefentatives, are founded in birth-right, fervice, habitation or properly. But a Liveryman of London may be neither free by patrimony nor fervitude; he may have neither houfe nor home either in or out of the city; and though he may have once been worth as much money as would buy his freedom and pay his livery-fine, he may not at prefent be worth a groat. And yet this man, though a pennylefs vagabond fhall have a vote for city officers and members of parliament!

"In fome petty boroughs indeed an inhabitant paying foot and lot, a pot-wabbler, as they deridingly call him, is entitled to a vote; but is it confiftent with the dignity and intereft of the metropolis of the British empire, the firft city for opulence and commerce in the world, that a starving wretch who may not have a bulk to put his head in or a pot to boil, fhould have a vote for its officers and reprefentatives?

"What adds to the abfurdity, alfo is this, that a citizen born and bred, free either by patrimony or fervitude, may refide in the city and poffefs ten thousand a year freehold eftate in the heart of it; and yet, if he have not bought his Livery in fome of the companies, he has no vote for either city officers or city-members. Is this confiftent with the conftitutional principles, on which the fundamental bafis, of all fuch elections, is grounded? Affuredly, not!

66

Matters ftanding thus, with refpect to civil liberty at home, and immediately in your own power, in a great meafure to redress ; ought you not, gentlemen, to begin a reformation among yourselves

and

• A fingular hard cafe this, as fuch an opulent freeholder has no vote for the County of Middlefex.

and reflore to your fellow-citizens thofe rights and privileges which your predeceffors have robbed them of, before you concern yourselves fo greatly in the behalf of the Americans ?"

The remonftrator proceeds to obviate the objection that lies against the voting of the freemen at large, on account of their multitude; obferving, that alledged conveniency, the tyrant's plea, as Milton calls it, has been introduced into all free governments to enflave the people. He then points out a method in which he thinks (and indeed it seems feasible) popular elec tions, however numerous the voters, might be carried on without great inconvenience: concluding with the following argument directly applicable, ad homines.

เ

It lies with you, gentlemen, to exert your conftitutional influence, to bring about a reformation in the civil government of the city, and redrefs the injury done to the London freemen at large; in having been fo long, and ftill continuing to be, deprived of theit indubitable and unalienable right of election.

"Should you not do this, and my remonftrance prove, like your own with majefty, of no effect; it is to be hoped your conftituents, the Commonalty, by whom you are yourselves chofen, will take the firft opportunity to difmifs fuch unworthy pretenders to the guardianfhip of the rights and privileges of their fellow-citizens.

If they do not, but reft contented with their present nominal Liberty, idly pluming themselves on the mere name of freemen, they deserve ever to remain, what they now are, ACTUAL SLAVES.”

K.

Young James, or the Sage and the Atheist. An English story. From the French of M. de Voltaire. 8vo. 3s. Murray.

From the reputation of Voltaire, and by means of a striking frontispiece, reprefenting two young ladies peeping at a naked man, this performance has had fome fale. We cannot think it, - however, poffeffed of half the merit of most of his former pieces. It may, nevertheless, be thought curious, as it is hinted that it will probably be the laft production of the author's pen; his great age forbidding us to hope for more, I were his increafing infirmities out of the queftion. Confdered in this light, it will as naturally attract the notice of the public, as the laft performance of a favourite comedian, whofe increafing infirmities induce him to quit the ftage. To expect that either the productions of the author, or the performance of the actor, fhould be ftill the fame, would be as unreasonable in the impartial obferver, as it is abfurd in their partial admirers to maintain they are more excellent. It is not the intrinfic worth, fo much as the rarity, of a thing, that enhances its valué: as the thought of parting with what, we might

fparo

pare without miffing it, if unapprized of our lofs, is irksome and difagreeable.

We are told by the tranflator, in the advertisement prefixed to this story, that

"The adventures of the hero and his friends, fhew that Atheism is naturally productive of vice, and that unhappiness is the inevitable confequence of a vicious life. The author ftill preferves his playful humour, but it is the playfulness of age, tempered by wisdom, and a regard to propriety. When the arguments for the existence of God and a Providence have the fanction of our Author's name, and by his peculiar manner, are placed in the moft ftriking point of view, they must be truly irresistible."

That this author had ever much regard for propriety, either of fentiment or action, is not very apparent; and we should be more apt to impute the humour attending the playfulness of his age to dotage and fecond childhood, than to any difpofition at. tempered with wisdom.

It is well for the moral world, that the above trite propositions and obvious maxims need not the force of argument, and still lefs the fanction of any author's name, to be irresistible. If they did, the name of Voltaire, would, in our opinion, enforce them less than that of any other writer of reputation now living. He has ridiculed religion and virtue too long to turn the arms of buffoonery with fuccefs againft vice and irreligion. He has been too playful in his youth, for gravity not to become him better than levity in old age.

Why this piece is called an English ftory we know not, except it be because the dramatis perfonæ, if fo we may call them, have most of them English names:* For by their manners we should not be able to guess at the place of their nativity. Mr. Voltaire seems to take a pleasure in representing Englishmen as atheifts; but, though many of our countrymen are sceptical enough to be mere deifts, and fo far may, by divines, be called practical atheists, we conceive there exifts not a theoretical atheist in England: By ufing real names, fuch as Dr. Friend and Lord Peterborough, and mentioning fcenes and circumstances in which those perfonages were engaged, it fhould feem as if the writer meant to give veri-fimilitude to his ftory. It is, nevertheless, romantic, incoherent, and improbable; nor is its moral either ftriking or exemplary. There was no manner of occafion for the author to fend Dr. Friend to Spain or America, to hold dialogues either in religion or philofophy. These might have been compofed, and his fon James, with his friend Burton, been VOL. III.

Rr

converted

On this fubject the translator objects to his author, his ufe of Jenny for aman: This he has difcreetly altered to James: we with, when his hand was in at alteration, he had changed also that of Cleave-heart, a queer compound for the name of a woman,