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tage of the poverty of a wretched voter, of; whose foul he makes a stepping-stone to false honour, and to fordid lucre; treading. it down into perdition, and himself finking with it. Then I could not help wondering: in myself at the abominable partiality of the law, which obliges the miferable voter. to purge himself, (that is, to damn himfelf) by oath, while the villainous tempter, the fole cause and firft mover in the wickedness, is left at large and without check though not the more without guilt. Nor could I avoid reflecting, with horror, on the tiger-like, or rather fiend-like hatred, which fubfifts between oppofite parties at elections. For what worse difpofition could an infernal fiend fhew, than a thirst for a fellow-creature's damnation? Yet the election. I had the misfortune to be prefent at, was, by all I have been able to learn, not remarkable for any thing more particularly fhocking, than the fcenery exhibited at most controverted elections..

Thus, my worthy heirs of the times to come, you fee how we proceed in a matter of fupreme concern, where our integrity and public spirit ought moft confpicuously

to appear. Our candidates bribe, and our voters receive the bribe. Our people fell themselves, and the buyers are the fhepherds of the people. The fafety of the na tion is in the mean time neglected by thofe, who have it in their power to reform these grofs abuses. For reformation, as I have faid above, is romantic and vifionary. These are, you must know, the happy effects of our enormous court-emoluments; of which more by and by.

I am not for fanguinary laws; elfe I might perhaps advife you to put to death the man, who is convicted of bribery. He is a murderer of fouls, an accomplice with the Enemy of mankind. It may, however, be as well, that you give him a chance for réformation. But let him perform his penance any where, but in your country. Expel him without mercy, immediately on conviction. The poifoner of your people's virtue is more to be dreaded, than he, whose infected breath would give them the peftilence. If we were, in my times, to proceed to execute this fpecies of justice, we

fhould

fhould thin the land; at least of some particular ranks.

There are, you must know, in my times, fome few perfons (of perhaps too gloomy complexions) who look upon the ftate, corrupted as it is in all its parts, in much the fame light, as on a human conftitution in the heighth of a putrid fever, when purulent matter, inftead of blood, follows the lancet. Such perfons have as little expectation of the ftate's holding on any length of time in the way it is now in, as of a man's living a year round in the extremity of the above mortal diftemper..

Our great ones, however, do not defpair of the commonwealth. They fhew plainly, that they do not look. upon the ftate as in any danger; if they did, they would

Even fo worthless a prince as Philip of Macedom could fee the falfe policy (to fay nothing, of the vice) of fuffering bribery to prevail.. "How come you, "young man" (fays he in his letter on that subject to his fon Alexander) to reafon fo wretchedly, as "to expect, that those persons should serve you faith"fully, whom you daily bribe with money. ? "They who take gifts, are corrupted by being habituated to that bad practice." Cic. De Offic. 1. 2.

would fee it not to be worth while to treafure up reversions of penfions and places, for their fons, their grand-fons, their great grand-fons, and fo on, to the tenth generation. Having never yet feen their country undone, they cannot be convinced, that fhe is in any danger from that which has ruined all the free ftates, that have been ruined. In which they fhew the fame fagacity, as the drunkard does, who living irregularly till forty, and having never in all his life killed himself by drinking, though he knows thousands have, wifely concludes, he may foak on with fafety for fifty years longer. But to proceed with my ineftimable precepts:

After the concuffions, which, without the gift of prophecy, or even the fecond light, I forefee are haftening upon this nation, come to be fettled again, which in what manner they will iffure, I own I do not forefee; I would with your good pofterityfhips not to alter the conflitution. The wit. of man will never devife any form of government preferable to limited monarchy, with a house of lords, and another of commons, rightly regulated, and duly balanced again

against one another. Accordingly, please only to confider, how long a space of time, we, your worthy predeceffors, have taken in demolishing the ftate, and have not yet quite finished the work. Let me therefore advifey when you come to be about fet

ting up the nation anew, to keep to the old constitution of king, lords, and commons: only be fure to overfet our whole method. of forming a houfe of commons.

Let all votes univerfally, if poffiole, be given by ballot. This will alone demolish the greatest part of the machinery of corruption. It was the original manner of voting among the antients, particularly the Romans. And when, through degene-. racy of the times, it went into defuetude,. it was twice reftored, viz. by the lex Papiria, and the lex Gabinia.

Let your counties elect, without regard to the cities or boroughs they may contain. Let thofe inhabitants, whether townfmen or countrymen, who contribute the leaft to the fupport of government (they. who, for instance, pay the leaft windowtax) have one vote each; the middle rank two, and the highest three. Let each coun

ty