606 Remonftrances of the Parliament of Rouen. App. would probably go with their millions, And upon the 8th he fays, The stockjobbers have the words publick faith and publick credit conftantly in their mouths; and want to establish it as a maxim, that they are both engaged to fupport their monopoly, at the expence of the whole body of the people. The advanced price of ftocks is more a proof of the folly, than of the faith of the publick; and if people did not depend more on the first than the last, a redeem- E able annuity could never rife above par. The exceffive premiums are owing to an opinion, that we want either the means or inclination to pay off our debts. Such an opinion would not add to the credit of a private man; and how it should increase that of the nation, is difficult to be com prehended by thofe that are not in the fecret. And afterwards upon the fame head, he fays, When the art of funding was first introduced, the common talk of mankind was, that the people of England must be undone. Some people tell us, that the event has proved the vanity of that apprehenfion. I affirm, that the prediction has been verified in the ftricteft fenfe. All that could be meant by the affertion was, that the then poffeffors and their pofterity must be undone, and their inheritances given away from them, and become the property of other men. It could never be their G meaning, that the land would run away, or ceafe to be occupied by fome body, At prefent, that is, fixty years after the revolution, one tenth of the land of England is not poffeffed by the pofterity or heirs of thofe who poffeffed it at that time. And if the extermination (as it may juttly be termed) is not univerfal, it is only becaufe there were a few overgrown eftates, fuch as the Devonshire, Bedford, Curzon, &c. which where proof against the wafte of luxury and taxes. Suppofe the Turks were to over-run England, it might certainly be affirmed with propriety, that if we did not drive them out, England must be undone; and yet if they should prevail, the land would still remain, would still be occupied and culti vated; and poffibly the trade of England might receive fome advantages from the favour of other Mahometan nations, who are all great customers for the woollen, and most other manufactures; and it is more than probable, that a greater proportion of the property of the country would remain in the poffeffion of the original inhabitants fixty years after fuch a conqueft, than is now to be found in the pofterity of those to whom it belonged at the revolution. As the cause, I mean the publick debt, still fubfifts, the prefent poffeffors must not expect a more durable eftablishment. Was the plague to rage in a city, and all the rich to perish, the poor would get poffeffion of the houses and effects; but if the infection continued to prevail, they would foon make room for others in their turn. Preamble to the Remonftrances of the Parlia ment of ROUEN to the King. (See p. 582.) SIRE, OUR parliament cannot avoid agairi progrefs of the schism in your kingdom, the dangerous principles which gave rife to it, the odious measures which fupport it, and the fatal effects which it produces. If your parliament were lefs acquainted with their duty, and lefs affected by the evils which threaten the church and state, they would, perhaps, be afraid of prefenting the fame objects fo often to your ma jefty: But their fidelity, and your own intereft, which shall always be the rule of their conduct, oblige them to infist afresh upon thefe points, in order to make your majefty fenfible of their great im4 portance to religion, to your fervice, and to the publick tranquillity. The magiftrates have always carried truth to the throne. They have even repeated their applications till they triumph 1753. MULTIPLICITY of OATHS condemned. ed over every obftacle that feemed to bar its accefs. At prefent they would think themfelves more criminal than ever, if from indifference, faintheartednefs, or a timid deference to orders, evidently incompatible with your majefty's true intereft, they should fit down filent or unactive." It is very rare, Sir, that the difputes which arife in the church do not occafion a convulfion in the state. But how great is the danger with which it is threatened, when, the divifion is carried to fuch a length as. to produce an open rupture; when the minifters of the church, unmoved by the horrors of a fchifm, communicate the falfe zeal with which they are animated, to the people. A 607 demonstrate that perjury is a horrid crime against God and man, and destructive of human fociety. The laws of England prefume that oaths will be kept facred ; that no man will perjure himself; and therefore faith is given to an oath; and all judgments, as well upon the lives as the properties of the fubjects, are founded upon oaths. This prefumption of law is built upon good reafon, England, as defined by the old lawyers, is a common-weal, compofed of chriftian people, and Chriftians are fuch as are baptized, and, believe in the law of God, as revealed by Holy Jefus, the Chrift. Now no one who stedfaftly beBlieves that God is prefent, and will punish the perfon who takes his name to a falfehood, dare venture to tell a lie upon oath, no more than a thief would dare to take publickly plate away from the fide-board before the master's eye, who has frength enough to take the plunder from him, and punish him upon the spot. C Your parliament, wholly employed in maintaining the publick peace, were greatly alarmed at the fchifm which has broke out in the kingdom. They made. hafte to put a stop to it by the rigour of the law, and they prefume to acquaint your majefty, that the firft fteps which their vigilance took to ftop the evil in its beginning, would have been effectual, if orders furreptitiously obtained from your majesty, and arrets of your council granted to importunity, had not encouraged the guilty. Ought not they to have flattered themselves, Sir, that, on their just reprefentations, your majefty would difavow thofe acts which were contrary to law, and the good of the kingdom? How greatly, then, muft they have been deceived in their hopes, and with how much grief muft they have beheld your majesty, thro' the fame abufe of your piety, turning a deaf ear to their complaints ? Their fidelity is proof against oppofition or difgrace. The fmall fuccefs of their remonftrances, far from abating their E courage, on the contrary ferves to aninate it, because nothing ought to cool their zeal for fuch interefting objects. It is therefore the want of faith, in believing that God is prefent and ready to punith, which occafions perjury; and perfons who take falfe and prevaricating oaths, and find they are not punished, increase in hardness and unbelief. The more univerfal faith and Chriftianity were, the fewer there were that would commit per jury; and therefore when credulity exDtended even beyond faith into bigotry, and that credulity was univerfal, oaths were fo ftrong an evidence of truth, that all determinations turned upon them. as credulity difappeared and faith leffened, perjury increased, the horrid confequences of which we daily feel. The uncertainty of the evidence of an oath makes it difficult to convict the guilty, and often condemns the innocent. And the m te rimcult it is to convict a murderer or a felon, the more murderers and thieves will increase. Yes, Sir, whatever may have been the furprite and confternation of your parliament on reading your chancellor's difcourfe, ftill guided by the love of their duty, and perfuaded that, fooner or later, fuch pure motive will juftify them in your F eyes, they are not afraid of reprefenting to your majefty, with the freedom that characterizes magiftrates, that that dif course, in almoft every part of it, tended to favour the independency and dominion of the ecclefiafticks who disturb your kingdom; to extend the fchium, to overturn the laws, and to vilify the courts in which your fovereign authority is lodged, &c. INSPECTOR, No. 54. T would be an idle tank to prove it is day-light at noon, and it is as needicis to Appendix, 1753 G But Therefore it is highly neceffary for the government to keep up the fan&tity of an cath in the opinions of men. The first reafon that leffened the people's regard to oaths, was the decay of Chriftianity; the fecond, familiarity. Wife and good men will always pay an awful regard to oaths, and will thictly take care to aver nothing but truth upon oath, and they would do fo, were they examined without an oath. But the multitude take up things more by habit than by reafon, and many of thole would, perhaps, tell an untruth to favour rheinfelves or their friends, who world not confirm the fame, it an oath was admi niftered to them in a folemn manner; and it is this kind of men that mattes the 4 H rturds. 608 PLAN of the NAVY-SURGEONS, &c. multitude, upon whofe teftimonies the eftates and lives of the subjects depend. To thefe kind of men the formality of adminiftring an oath is of great confequence, and the familiarizng them to oaths contributes greatly to the spreading of perjury. There is an old faying, that familiarity breeds contempt; and furely, the giving" oaths upon fuch a multitude of occafions, as they now do, familiarizes oaths to the multitude, fo as to take off the weight of the teftimony. I. App. Utility: Commenced May 7, 1750. By the Society of Surgeons of the Royal Navy, and others. T IT IS AGREED, HAT a committee of twenty-five members and honorary members, do collect and revife all fuch effays, ob A fervations and cafes in phyfick, furgery, anatomy, the animal economy, pharmacy, chemistry, botany and natural hiftory, as may be tranfmitted to them by the members of the fociety, or by any ingenious and obliging correfpondents: That the phyfician of Greenwich hofpital, the demonftrator of anatomy, and the lecturer of the materia medica, be, ex officio, of the committee: That the meetings be held at the fociety's apartments, the firft Thursday in every month, at fix in the evening. An ordinary man, for example, who collects a turnpike toll, is called every week to fwear how much money he has received; he fhudders at firft with the B awe of an oath, and probably really accounts truly; but the temptation of money in their hands and mere neceffity (they being generally poor) makes them, perhaps, take a hilling or two, and the fear of being turned out makes them fupport their account upon oath: Habit makes them familiar with fwearing; and what credit fhould be given to fuch a man, fhould he be examined relating to a robbery, or other matter, by which life may be affected, in a court of justice ? Will any one fay, that cuftom-house oaths, election oaths, manor oaths, office caths, and numberlefs other oaths will not familiarize the perfons so to swearing as to have every ill effect? In order therefore to prevent the inconveniences that arise from the familiarity with oaths, it, perhaps, might not be improper to adminifter oaths only upon the most folemn occafions, and that in a moft serious and decent manner. 'Thefe great occafions should be in trials before the courts of justice, as well to the jurymen as the witneffes. Alfo the oaths to his majefty, and all other oaths for the fupport of his government. Oaths alfo fhould be administered by justices of the peace, in fuch cases as charge a capital crime. On all other occafions whatsoever, where oarhs are now required, the perfon fhould be examined, instead of being fworn, and should fign the examination with his hand, or his mark, instead of kiffing the book, and fwearing, So help me God. N. B. This alteration of the law is not fo great as that made in favour of the Quakers, by which, inftead of swearing upon the book, they only affirm: And this, inftead of fwearing upon the book, is to declare under their hand-writing. APLAN for collecting and publishing such C II. That as one confiderable purpose of this undertaking is to purfue, particularly, fuch branches of medical knowledge, as fall more immediately under the obfervation of the navy furgeons, who may be reasonably prefumed to have advantages, for fome particular difquifitions, peculiar to their fituation; fuch as -an opportunity of enquiring into thenature' of fea difeafes, and any fpecifick or material difference between them and those at land of obferving any particuD lar effects of medicines at fea; the common effects of the principal operations of furgery on that element; efpecially where any remarkable diverfity occurs from their general events on shore and any different fuccefs of the fame operations in different climates, at fea and land; the effects of fea-air and diet in general, in various diseases, and the particular changes of the constitution, produced by them, under the co-operation of different feafons and climates; the va rious diftempers endemick on their different ftations; and any remarkable diversity in the fymptoms, and the general event of the difeafe, between natives and strangers, with the ufual method of treating such difeafe, or its ordinary fupervening fymptom, by practitioners of the best note and greatest experience in those countries, and the most frequent confequence of it. -It is therefore Arongly recommended to them to be carefully attentive to those very material articles: And further to improve every opportunity of informing themfelves of the popular methods of treatGing different diftempers in those places, where phyfick is little cultivated ;--of attaining the natural hiftory of the coun try;the weather;the animals plants (efpecially all indigenous physical ones) F 1753. PLAN of the NAVY-SURGEONS, &c. ones) and foffils ; -- to endeavour to difcover the process and manufacture of any drugs in it and to furnish themselves with the best collection of fuch productions, as they can conveniently procure. And for the reception of any rare and ufeful materials as may be prefented, a proper room will be affigned, wherein the favour of all contributions shall be registered and carefully preferved, with any history or defcription that may accompany fuch donations. Alfo every liberality of the like nature, from any hand difpofed to lend its affiftance, will be thankfully received. a A III. That every member employed on board any of his majesty's fhips appoint. B ed to the Baltick, Mediterranean, Guinea, East-Indies, America, or elsewhere, fhall favour the committee with feasonable notice of his voyage, that they may have time to prepare, and recommend to him, fuch memorandums, and inftructions, as they may judge neceffary for the fervice of the fociety, and C conducive to the laudable intention of this plan. But to prevent the multiplicity of volumes, without adding to the stock of ufeful knowledge, it is agreed, that no other cafes or obfervations in phyfick, furgery, &c. fhall be published, but fuch as may be instructive in their own nature, or rendered fo, by judicious and extenfive reflections deduced from them, D in order to the establishment or confirmation of general axioms. IV. That all papers, fubftances or articles, intended for the promotion of this defign, be directed for the committee, under cover, to Mr. Millar, bookfeller, in the Strand, or delivered at the apart E ments of the Navy Medical Society, in the Little Piazza, Covent Garden, every Wednefday in the evening from fix to eight, with a direction where to address the author or correfpondent, if a more particular atteftation of the facts, or an elucidation of any, circumftance of the cafe, may be judged requifite. That the name of each author or correfpondent hall be faithfully concealed, if required: But all anonymous papers, where any trels is laid on facts, must be neceffarily difregarded on this plan, without a fatiffactory evidence of their reality. F V. That if the publication of any thing, communicated to the committee, (hall be deemed inconfiftent with their plan, G in confequence of which the author fhall think himself negle&ted, or disingenuously dealt with, he may apply to them at pleafure, to be informed of their motives for not publishing it, and may depend on receiv ing all reasonable fatisfaction on their part. And that as foon as proper and fufficient 603 matter is collected for one volume in octavo, it shall be digested for the press, and published. VI. That each of the members, who tranfact the bufinef, of the committee, fhall have a copy on large paper of whatever shall be printed; that fix copies, on the fame paper, thall be deposited with the fociety, for their ufe, and at their difpofal That a golden medal be given annually, as a prize to the author of the most useful paper, communicated to the committee, within the purpose of this plan. And that all expences, which the committee fhall find neceffary to the effectual conduct and accomplishment of this undertaking, thall be allowed out of the for ciety's stock. 616 Poetical ESSAYS in DECEMBER, 1753. Thro' woods, thro' glades, the fowlers firay, Where lonely birds retreat; To them their little lives they pay, And flutter at their feet. Shines with new charms, claims new ap plaufe! Great in the mimick art, A TALE. HE people of a certain place Unless that he would undertake His word of honour he did give, That they should have, when he was Such weather as they liked beft. And now their paftor they accus'd, For he'd make good what he had said. |