visible Purposes, than to gratify fuch a mercenary Ruler's fordid Avarice, or to enable him to pay his private or political Profitates, the Wages of their Iniquity, out of the Spoils of an inflaved and plundered People; if, in fuch a Country, all Traces of Civil Government, except a Sort of Shadow of the Form, fhould, at any Time, appear to have been almoft entirely effaced, and a Military Force thould be univerfally exercifed, instead of that Law, to which all Ranks and Degrees of Man fhould pay ftritt and pofitive Obedience; if, when it may be deemed expedient for leffening the Expences of the Establishment, or for the better Prefervation of the Liberties of a Nation, fo often endangered, or actually overturned, by Military Power, to reduce the Land Forces, an other Country, contrary to express Low, fhould appear to have been made a Place of Arms, by privately increafing the Military Eftablishment, and that in Times of univerfal Peace, to almost double the Force or Expence; I fay, fuppofe, that any neighbouring Nation, in League with Britain, France, or Spain, for Inftance, were reduced to thefe deplorable Circumftances, for, they were once as free, as You can now boaft; or, fuppofe the Cafe but imaginary, and that it were properly reprefented upon the Stage, how would it affect the Hearts of a British Andience?But, to make the Scene yet more affecting; fuppofe then, for Argument's Sake, it had been layed in Ireland, that the loyal People of that Country should have been governed by Laws made without that, which alone can give Sanction and Force to human Laws, the free Affent and Confent of the PEOPLE, and fhould, in other Refpects, have been reduced to the flavish Condition above recited, from which calamitous Circumftances, PROPITIOUS HEAVEN and the KING defend them!were this, I fay, the Cafe. of your Brethren and Fellow-Subjects of Ireland, what Briton could be for flothful, fo indolent and vane, cas to imagine bis Country out of Danger?Might You not reasonably apprehend, that Britain, like Rome, from her more remote Colonies, may, fome Time.or

other,

other, catch the fatal Infection of Slavery, and be fooner or later involved in the fame common Calamity? Whilft that Kingdom is governed, as it is to be hoped You will find it at prefent, upon the fame Principles with Britain; whilft the Subjects are protected in the full and free Enjoyment of the fame natural and legal Rights and Liberties, to which, they undeniably have an equal Titule, they can have but one common Intereft to serve, and must therefore prove a strong Barrier, an IMPREGNABLE BULWARK to the CONSTITUTION of Britain, fhould that, in any future Time, be threatened or invaded. But, fhould the LOYAL PEOPLE of Ireland, be once difpoffeffed of their legal and juft Privileges; fhould they, through external or internal Force, through foreign or home-bred Corruption, by any Means, be reduced to Slavery, ruled at the arbitrary Will and Pleasure of principal or deputy Slaves or Mercenaries, is it poffible, they fhould be perfect Friends to your Eftablishment? Rather, is there not the strongest Reason to apprehend, that they must become, from being ufeful, a Nuifance, inftead of true Friends and natural, invariable Allies, defperate and irreconcileable Enemies, to Britain.

I CAN not, however, presume to affert, that this is the present Case of Ireland. But, of it's having been, fome Time, in fuch dismal Circumftances, there yet remane fome pregnant Proofs, as true, as they are melancholy. I am not yet paffed the Meridian of Life, and notwithstanding, I believe my much-impaired Memory could furnish fome Teftimony to the Cafe in Point, in due Time, and upon a proper Occafion. But, if the Cafe of this People were really analogous to that I have above reprefented; yet, under a certain late Management of that Kingdom, there would be no Poffibility of bringing a true State of her Cafe before the Crown, fo as to procure a Redress of Grievances. That Kingdom has, more than once, been infefted with fuch Governors, as would fuffer none Address or Remonftrance from any private Subject or Body Politic, even from either House of Parlement,

lement, to be presented to the King, unless it had been dictated or approved by them; whilft the wickedeft and worst of these impious Rulers have always taken Care to fupprefs the Complaints of the Injured, or even to punish them for complaining; at the fame Time, that they have got their own weak or iniquitous Adminiftration celebrated for it's Wisdom and Juftice, and the flourishing, the happy State of the Kingdom pompously fet forth, and published in Gazettes, &c. under the Titule of dutiful and loyal Addreffes, &c. as the Sense of a wife and free People, delivered in the unerring Voice of a conftitutional, or a legitimate Parlement; when fuch were, in Fact, no better, than falfe and fcandalous Libels, framed and calculated by a base, fervile Faction, to impofe on the fupreme Governor, the easier and better to dupe and inflave bis People.

WHAT has been, may be.-Therefore, give me Leave to fay, that this makes it incumbent on every TRUE LOVER of this Country, to hold as watchful an Eye on the Administration in that Kingdom, as in this; with the pure, patriot Intent, if it fhould, at any Time, be found in fuch calamitous Circumftances, to help it to Restoration, by all lawful and just Means. And thus, by preferving the LIBERTIES of your Neighbours and Fellow-Subjects, You bid fair to fecure YOUR OWN. But to come to a Point, with which I am more converfant, and in which I can therefore be more pofitive.

By the following Papers, particularly, the feventeenth Addrefs, YOUR LORDSHIP and HONORS may obferve, the Analogy between the Constitutions of London and Dublin. And here, give me Leave to add, that fuch a friendly, fuch a brotherly Intercourfe and Correfpondence has always fubfifted between the two Cities, that the CITIZENS of London, as well as thofe of our MOTHER CITY, Bristol, are exempted from all Cuftoms or Duties of the Port, as much as the Citizens of Dublin, than which, there could not be a ftronger Proof of our intimate Connection with, and firm Regard for, You.But, alas! how little does the Friendship

Friendship of poor Dublin now avail! She, that was to Ireland, what London has always been to Britain, can now hardly be sayed to fubfift her self, more than in Name alone!She, whofe Loyalty and Fidelity to the Crown, was never fhaken or varied, but on the contrary, always powerfully exerted, at the Expence of her Blood and Treafure, for it's Defence and the Support of it's Interefts, has of late become fo much the Object of the Averfion and Contempt of the Rulers and Judges of that Kingdom, that the is openly, avowedly stripped of the most valuable of her RIGHTS and PRIVILEGES; yet denied all Means of Redrefs, in the Courts!Her Charters and Laws fet at nought!Her Citizens but nominal Free-Men, in Fact, Slaves!Her Magiftrates, Officers and Council, neither elected by the Citizens, nor Inhabitants.

In this Refpect, We are not a Bit better circumftanced, than You were under the memorable QQua Warranto!It is true, We have a Lord Mayor, Sherifs, Aldermen, and a Common-Council, fuch as they are; but, they are not to be looked upon, as the Agents or Reprefentatives of the PEOPLE, being, in Effect, the Creatures of the Government; that is, the Aldermen, who are not, by Charter, a conftituent Part of the Body Corporate, but were originally created, and until lately, always elected, by the ASSEMBLY of the City, now take upon them, not onely, to elect one an other in Succeffion, quite regardless of the Commons and Citizens, but to fill all the confiderable Offices of the City, under the Influence or Approbation of the Government; which has often heretofore been known to disap prove the most worthy, when chofen without their public' or private Direction, and, not onely, to give a Conge d'elire, but a fpecial Command, to choose or appoint Lord Mayors, Sherifs, Recorders, Aldermen and Juftices, at Pleasure; as alfo, to make, inrol or record, as well as to annul, obliterate or erafe, Acтs of ASSEMBLY! But, what makes her Cafe very fingular, moft fuperlatively grievous and deplorable, is, that he is not now allowed to choose her own Members of Parlement,

ment, but has the additional Mortification to see Members impofed upon her, quite obnoxious to the Citizens; whilft the beft of the Citizens are treated with the utmost Contempt and Indignity, by the Commons and Rulers; the prevailing Faction of which, has formed a Scheme of building a Bridge, between the present City and the Sea, by which the Site of the City must be altered, or removed, without the Confent of those, that are, by Law, the local Governors thereof, as well as the Proprietors of the River and Harbor, though fuch a Bridge, when built, muft have a worse Effect on that City, in Proportion, than a Bridge built upon the Thames, any where below the Tower, without your Confent, could have upon YOUR CITY. And fuch is the abject Slavery, to which thefe LOYAL MEN are reduced, that complaining of, or even murmuring at, any of these unparalleled Oppreffions, is the moft heinous and unpardonable Crime, of which a poor Citizen can now be guilty.- -Such is the hapless Profpect We have of the Redemption of our poor inflaved City!Was ever Servitude and Bondage like this, impofed upon a loyal People, under a FREE BRITISH GOVERNMENT? And, who can conceal it, confiftent with the Duty, he owes his KING, his COUNTRY, and his GOD?

YOU, MY LORD and GENTLEMEN, whofe FREE NECKS have never borne the galling Yoke of Slavery, will be impatient to know, what We did to extricate our felves out of thefe calamitous Circumftances.

This Enquiry probes our Wounds a-new! Let me however anfwer, that We had Recourfe to every Meafure, confiftent with Peace and Loyalty: First, We fought for Redress in the City Courts, in vane; then, We had Recourfe to the Court of King's-Bench; but there, We received an additional Wound, by be.. ing peremptorily denied, the commoneft Right of the Subject, an ordinary legal Trial of a Matter of Property, of the utmoft Confequence. Judging a fervile Submission to this arbitrary and injurious Denial of Law, or a Connivance at this new Grievance, to be inconfiftent with the Honor and Intereft of the King and his f

People,