Now, Mr. Kane, in the Preface to thefe Letters, is pleafed to call my Honey and Courage in Question! Alas! good Man! his Memory furely fails him, or his Emanuenfis must have miftaken. What better Proof could he have of both, than that I conftantly, fteadily, uniformly, and refolutely oppofed the Board of Aldermen, in general, and him, in particular, from the first Day, in which I knew them, to this Day, furrounded, as they were, untill lately, with a Multitude of venal, defperate Wretches, who were always ready to perpetrate any Wickednefs, they could prompt? If this does not fatisfy him, let him choose any further Teft, and he shall find me ready to ftand the Trial.

THIS Narrative must have proved tedious and difagreeable, as well to You, as to me. I have been conftrained to enter thus minutely upon it, in Vindication of a Perfon's Character, affiduously traduced and vilified by Alderman Kane, and his Creatures, though the utmoft Crime, that can be imputed to his public Conduct, is his Care and Fidelity, in the Service of the Public, in which, as a Man, and unaffifted and oppofed, he might, and probably has committed many Errors and Mistakes.

IT is with no fmall Reluctance, I am forced to mention the Names of Mr. Matthew Weld, Mr. James Dunn, and Mr. Darby, in a Light, that may tend to glance any Reflection upon either. To the Honor of Mr. Weld, be it fpoken, and to that of his worthy Father, to whofe Memory, I fhall ever pay due Reverence, at the fame Time, that his Uncles, Jofeph and Charles, who were, during the Dominion of the Rofe Club, in the Commons, and the Doctor, who was not, publicly or actually, in the Councils of the City, however he was interested fecretly, in the Succefs of the Schemes of the Faction: I fay, that when thefe Gentlemen, particularly the later, under the fpecious Mask of Friendship, publicly and privately avowed, were indefatigable, in oppofing me, with Bitternefs, in public, and wounding my Character, even, in my Profeffion, in fecret, Mr. Edmond Weld, and Mr. Matthew Weld, though they differed from me, yet, differed like fenfible, undefigning, moderate Men, and Gentlemen. And, I gladly confess, that I think Mr. Matthew Weld's Character, in general, if You except fome of his late Treatments of me, not onely reproachless, but most highly praife-worthy.

As for Mr. Dunn, I do not know a Man of a better Heart. And, do believe, he was led undefignedly, unknowingly, or perhaps with a good, though a mistaken, Intention, to act the Part he did in this Affair.

AND, as for Mr. Darby, I do not think he was to regard who was to be the Purchafer; he might, without any Blame, make the moft of his Bargain, and I believe he did fo, as honeftly, as Bargains are generally made.

WHAT I have fayed on this Head, in this, as well, as former Addrefes, may, I think, planely demonftrate to all thinking Men, what a distempered, broken Constitution, that of our City is

now

now become. I fhall hereafter endeavor to point out an adequate Remedy.

I am,

ADDRESS XIX.

BRETHREN and FELLOW-SUBJECTS!

H

AVING layed before You, the best Sketches, that Time and Opportunity would permit me to draw, of the Conftitution of our Country and City, the Inftitution, Office and Duty of the chief Magiftrates, Legiflators and Minifters of the State, and of the City, with the Rights, Privileges, and refpective Duties of Subjects in general, of Citizens in particular, together with the Breaches made in the Constitution of the City and Nation, and by whom perpetrated; it is Time, I should now draw to a Conclufion, and offer to your Confideration, the Means of Redrefs and Reparation.

BUT, firft let me trouble You, with a brief Recapitulation of what I have already offered on these Subjects.

TOUCHED with a tender Senfe of the melancholy State of your City, and the Neceffity, as well, as Duty, by which You were bound to choose well-qualified Members to reprefent You, and in You, the whole Kingdom, in Parlement, as foon as a Vacancy happened, I rung the Alarm-Bell, and in a fhort Addrefs, of the 18th of Auguft, 1748, moved You, on the Principles of our Contitution, to Caution in, and juft Deliberation on, your Choice.

I DETERMINED to continue a Course of Addreffes of this Kind, as I judged this a critical Occafion of putting You in a Method of making one great Effort for the Restoration of the Rights and Liberties of my Fellow-Subjects and Fellow-Citizens, moft notoriously invaded, moft perfidiously violated, and, as I was well convinced,

U uz

vinced, You wanted onely the proper Means and Opportunity of proving your felves, truly loyal Subjects, and truly faithful and free Citizens.

BEFORE I was able to get an other to the Prefs, You were pleased to call me to a Tafk, in which, nothing, but your Sollicitations and Commands, added to the strongest Love for my Country, and the highest Opinion of your most generous and virtuous Intentions, could poffibly prompt me to imbarque.

On the 27th of the fame Month, I published my fecond Addrefs to You. In this, I endeavored briefly to fet forth the Duty of a Man, as a Member of civil Society, and the Character of the good and perfect Free-Man. I made an Apology for my declaring my felf a Candidate for so great and so important a Truft. I payed fo great Defference, to the Judgement and free Election of the Citizens of Dublin, that I declared, that my offering my self a Candidate, was onely to fhew mine Intention and Defire to ferve the finking Caufe of Liberty and my Country, however weak and infufficient You may find me; and, Fmight have added, in pure Refpect to the public Entreaties; as I did, that from the fame Motives, incapable as I am of the Tafk, if the Citizens of Dublin fhould command me, on any juft Emergency, to lead an Army for them, Ifhould certainly think it my Duty to obey them, I beg Leave thus to repeat this Sentence, because a certain great Man, who prudently chooses to lye masked in his Villainy, out of the abundant Malignity of a corrupt Heart, is pleased to wreft and pervert my Meaning; which was no more, than, by Comparifon, to fhew my earnest Desire to serve You, and my fubmiffive Regard to your Election, or Appointment, by inftancing that Station, for which, of all others, I was, by Nature or Art, left qualified.

I HAVE declared my Regard to a free Election, and my Contempt and Deteftation of all, the flighteft Degrees of, finifter Influence; and fhewed, that a Vote is not a private Property, but a public Truft, repofed in every Individual, for the common Good of the whole Society.

In order to enable You to elect upon true Principles, I engaged to lay open to your View, fome juft Sketches of the Conftitution of the Nation and City, traced out from the original Foundation of our Policy, by the beft Authorities of Hiftory and Laws; and engaged to lay my felf open to Contradiction, or Reproof, by fubIcribing my Name to every Address on this Subject; declaring my felf open to Conviction, and as ready to retract Error, as to advance Truth. I gave fome rude Sketches of the Abuses of the Aldermen, with Intent to fhew their Incapacity and Difqualification for the great and important Office of REPRESENTATIVES for a City, that was to contend with the Board, for her Eftate, and Revenues, Liberties and Franchifes. And I fhewed by what Means, Men became intituled to their Freedom of the City; and offered fome Hints for preferving their Senfe, Virtue, and Freedom.

I WAS obftructed in this Course, which I had promised to purfue, by fundry illicit Artifices, ufed by the Aldermen in general, particularly their Candidate, for cajoling the Citizens, and extorting their Votes. They went together in Parties, through the Streets and Lanes of the Town, ufing all Sorts of Influence and Authority to compell the Citizens to promife and engage to vote for the Candidate Alderman, without confulting their Judgement. For these base Purposes, the Influence of Benefactors, Customers, Creditors, Landlords, Aldermen, and even of Lords of Parlement, though probably as much without the Knowlege of any of the later, as contrary to exprefs Law, was let loofe on the Voters, and most artfully plied by the Aldermen, and their Emiffaries. Not content with this, the old latent Party-Spirit of Sir CON's Administration, was to be conjured on the Stage. The Remnant of the old Leaven, was to be stirred up and fired, to make an other furious Effort, for the late exploded Cause. Laics, were not alone, judged fufficient, but old Mother Church, was, as ufual, to be protituted to ferve fecular Ends. Thofe few furviving Priefis, who had manifested their Religion, by their blind Biggotry, and furious Party-Zeal, at the Head of Mobs, with Clubs in their Hands, Laurels in their Hats, Satan and the Pretender in their Hearts, and took the Church in their Mouths, to filence all Oppofition, again arose, ready to cry out, the Craft is in Danger, great is Diana of the Ephefians. All thofe of this Caft, arofe, confederated and confpired against LIBERTY and her Friends. They inlifted their Clerks and other Dependents, with all they could any Way influ ence in the Cause, preached up Sir Samuel Cooke, as a true Son of the Church, the Counter-part of his dear Father, and abused his Opponents, as furious Fanatics, blind Papifts, foolish Jacobites, perjured Williamites, violent Oliverians, filly Tories, rank Whigs, Fools, mad Men, or any Thing, as Party and Occafion offered.

By these infamous Measures, which were making no small Progrefs in corrupting and inflaving the Minds of the People, I was drove out of mine intended Courfe, to expofe the extolled Administration of the Miniftry and Magiftrates of the four laft Years of Queen Anne, in this City, particularly that of the chief Tool of the Faction, the late Sir Samuel Cooke, Knight and Alderman of this City. I layed open the chief Measures of this Ministry, and their Creatures, in a third Address to You, of the 5th of September, 1748. And, though I did this, upon the Principles of DIVINE and human Laws, vifiting the Sins of the Fathers upon the Children of Difobedience, for fome Generations, and stripping the Child en of Rebels, or Traitors, of the Means of injuring the Conftitution; yet, has it raifed the Indignation and Fury of the Faction against me, fo violently, that it is a Doubt, whether the bufy Devil will ever be layed. But, You were informed of important Truths, to which, moft of You were then Strangers; and You were fore warned and fore-armed against Stratagems and Dangers, which You might not otherwise have efcaped; fo, mine Ends were

fully

fully answered, with Regard to You, however injurious it might have turned out, with Regard to my felf.

On the 15th of September, I published a third Addrefs to You, with Intent to explane and reconcile the Powers and Prerogatives of those intrusted to govern, with the Freedom and Privileges of thofe to be governed. In this, I have briefly layed down, the Relation, Man bears to Man, in a State of Nature, and the ftricter Connection of Men to each other, in regular civil Societies. I have pointed out the original Formation, or Inftitution, and the End of civil Society, in general, that of Great-Britain, which is the fame of that of Ireland, in particular. I have made out the ORIGINAL COMPACT between the Governors and Governed, and layed down the Heads of the ORIGINAL, ESSENTIAL and INVARIABLE PRINCIPLES of our Government, and demonftrated the Common BIRTH-RIGHT, the INDEFEASABLE, HEREDITARY PRIVILEGES of the PEOPLE, which are never to be invaded, varied, or violated, by KING, LEGISLATURE, OF PEOPLE.

I HAVE added fome Apology for my fourth Addrefs, to which, fome Men took Exceptions, and gave an Account of the remarkable Procedings of the Aldermen, against me, in the Guild-Hall, the first Time I addreffed that Corporation, as a Candidate, with fome Quæras of the Causes of such Procedure.

By this Time, I met with the British FREE-HOLDER's political Catechism; and finding, it contained many useful Informations, touching the Rights of the Subject, and the Duty of Electors, I thought it might be conducive to your Knowlege, and the common Canfe of LIBERTY, to publish it, which I did, with a short Introduction, or Prefate, with fome of the principal Qualifications of a Member of Parlement, taken from Coke's Inftitutes.

On the zift of October following, I publifhed my fiveth Addrefs to You; in which, I have endeavored to lay down the Inflitution, Office and Duty of the Legislature. I have recited all the different Forms and Modes of Government, and fhewn how and for what Reafons ours has the Pre-eminence of all others known in the Univerfe. I have explaned the Power, Authority, Dignity, Office and Duty of the fupreme Magiftrate, the HEAD of our great Community, and fhewn the End and the Intent of the Inftitution and of the Prerogatives, as they are fet forth and established by our Laws, by which it appears, that he is the firft of the three Eftates in the Legislature, and that his Power is in no Inftance abfolute or unlimited, his Office being onely fiduciary and executive, fubject to the direttive, if not the coercive, Power of the Laws.

I HAVE attempted an Apology for the feeming Novelty of this Doctrine, fhewn the Advantages to the King and People that duly obferved it, and the fatal Confequences that attended to both, upon the Neglect or Breach of thefe FUNDAMENTAL LAWS. I have explaned the Words, Whig and Tory, and offered more expreffive Words, which will eternally hold their Force, CONSTITUTIONISTS and ANTICONSTITUTIONISTS, as Substitutes.