TO Mr. HENRY DUNDAS.

AS you opened the debate in the houſe of Commons, May 25th, on the Pro⯑clamation for ſuppreſſing. Publications, which that Proclamation (without naming any) calls wicked and ſeditious, and as you applied thoſe approbrious epithets to the works entitled "RIGHTS OF MAN," I think it unne⯑ceſſary to offer any other reaſon for addreſſing this Letter to you.

I begin, then, at once, by declaring that I do not believe there are to be found in the writings of any author, ancient or modern, on the ſubject of Government, a ſpirit of greater benignity, and a ſtronger inculcation of moral [4]principles than in thoſe which I have publiſhed. They come, Sir, from a man, who, by having lived in different countries, and under different ſyſtems of Government, and who, being in⯑timate in the conſtruction of them, is a bet⯑ter judge of the ſubject than it is poſſible that you, from the want of thoſe opportunities, can be:—And, beſides this, they come from an heart that knows not how to beguile.

I will further ſay, that when that moment arrives in which the beſt conſolation that ſhall be left will be that of looking back on ſome paſt actions, more virtuous, more meritorious, than the reſt, I ſhall then with happineſs re⯑member, among other things, I have written the RIGHTS OF MAN.—As to what Pro⯑clamations, or Proſecutions, or Place-men, or Place-expectants,—thoſe who poſſeſs, or thoſe who are gaping for office, may ſay of them, it will not alter their character, either with the world or with me.

Having, Sir, made this declaration, I ſhall proceed to remark, not particularly upon your own Speech on that occaſion, but on any other Speech to which your Motion on that day gave riſe; and I ſhall begin with that of Mr. ADAM.

This Gentleman accuſes me of not having done the very thing that I have done, and which he ſays, if I had done, he ſhould not have ac⯑cuſed me.

[5]Mr. ADAM, in his Speech, (ſee the Morn⯑ing Chronicle of May 26,) ſays, ‘That he had well conſidered the ſubject of Conſtitu⯑tional Publications, and was by no means ready to ſay (but the contrary) that books of ſcience upon Government, though re⯑commending a doctrine or ſyſtem different from the form of our Conſtitution, (meaning that of England) were fit objects of proſe⯑cution; that if he did, he muſt condemn (which he meant not to do) HARRINGTON for his Oceana, SIR. THOMAS MORE for his Eutopia, and HUME for his Idea of a per⯑fect Common-wealth. But, (continued Mr. Adam,) the Publication of Mr. PAINE was very different; for it reviled what was moſt ſacred in the Conſtitution, deſtroyed every principle of ſubordination, and eſtabliſhed no⯑thing in their room.’

I readily perceive that Mr. ADAM had not read the Second Part of Rights of Man, and I am put under the neceſſity, either of ſubmitting to an erroneous charge, or of juſ⯑tifying myſelf againſt it; and I certainly ſhall prefer the latter.—If, then, I ſhall prove to Mr. ADAM, that, in my reaſoning upon Syſ⯑tems of Government in the Second Part of Rights of Man, I have ſhewn as clearly, I think, as words can convey ideas, a certain Syſtem of Government, and that not exiſting in theory only, but already in full and eſtabliſh⯑ed, [6]practice, and ſyſtematically and practically free from all the vices and defects, of the Eng⯑liſh Government, and capable of producing more happineſs to the People, and that alſo with an eightieth part of the Taxes, which the preſent Syſtem of Engliſh Government conſumes; I hope he will do me the juſtice when he next goes to the Houſe, to get up and confeſs he had been miſtaken in ſaying, that I had eſtabliſhed nothing, and that I had deſtroyed every principle of ſubor⯑dination. Having thus opened the caſe, I now come to the point.

In the Second Part of RIGHTS OF MAN, I have diſtinguiſhed Government into two claſſes or ſyſtems; the one the hereditary ſyſtem; the other the repreſentative ſyſtem.

In the Firſt Part of Rights of Man, I have en⯑deavoured to ſhew, and I challenge any man to refute it, that there does not exiſt a right to eſta⯑bliſh Hereditary Government; or, in other words Hereditary Governors; becauſe Hereditary Go⯑vernment always means a Government yet to come, and the caſe always is, that the People who are to live afterwards, have always the ſame right to chuſe a Government for themſelves, as the people had who lived before them.

In the Second Part of Rights of Man, I have not repeated thoſe arguments, becauſe they are irrefutable; but have confined myſelf to ſhew the defects of what is called Hereditary Government, or Hereditary Succeſſion; that it muſt, from the [7]nature of it, throw Government into the hands of men totally unworthy of it, from want of principle, or unfitted for it from want of capaci⯑ty.—James the IId. is recorded as an inſtance of the firſt of theſe caſes; and inſtances are to be found almoſt all over Europe to prove the truth of the latter.

To ſhew the abſurdity of the Hereditary Syſ⯑tem ſtill more ſtrongly, I will now put the fol⯑lowing caſe—Take any fifty men promiſ⯑cuouſly, and it will be very extraordinary, if out of that number, one man ſhould be found, whoſe principles and talents taken together, (for ſome might have principles, and others have talents) would render him a perſon truly fitted to fill any very extraordinary office of Na⯑tional Truſt. If, then, ſuch a fitneſs of cha⯑racter could not be expected to be found in more than one perſon out of fifty, it would happen but one in a thouſand years to the eldeſt ſon of any one family, admitting each, on an average, to hold the office twenty years. Mr. Adam talks of ſomething in the Conſtitution which he calls moſt ſacred; but I hope he does not mean hereditary ſucceſſion, a thing which appears to me a violation of every order of nature, and of common ſenſe.

When I look into Hiſtory, and ſee the mul⯑titudes of men, otherwiſe virtuous, who have died, and their families been ruined, in defence of knaves and fools, and which they would not [8]have done, had they reaſoned at all upon the ſyſtem; I do not know a greater good that an individual can render to mankind, than to en⯑deavour to break the chains of political ſuper⯑ſtition. Thoſe chains are now diſſolving faſt, and proclamations and proſecutions will ſerve but to haſten that diſſolution.

Having thus ſpoken of the Hereditary Syſ⯑tem as a bad ſyſtem, and ſubject to every poſ⯑ſible defect; I now come to the Repreſentative Syſtem; and this Mr. ADAM will find ſtated in the Second Part of the Rights of Man, not only as the beſt, but as the only Theory of Go⯑vernment under which the liberties of a people can be permanently ſecure.

But it is needleſs now to talk of mere Theo⯑ry, ſince there is already a Government in full practice, eſtabliſhed upon that Theory, or in other words, upon the Rights of Man, and has been ſo for almoſt twenty years. Mr. Pitt, in a ſpeech of his ſome ſhort time ſince, ſaid, ‘That there never did, and never could ex⯑iſt a Government eſtabliſhed upon thoſe Rights, and that if it began at noon, it would end at night.’ Mr. Pitt is not yet arrived at the degree of a ſchool-boy in this ſpecies of knowledge. His practice has been confined to the means of extorting revenue, and hiſt boaſt has been—how much ? Whereas the boaſt of the Syſtem of Government that I am ſpeaking of, is not how much, but how little.

[9]The Syſtem of Government purely repre⯑ſentative, unmixed with any thing of here⯑ditary nonſenſe, began in America. I will now compare the effects of that ſyſtem of Go⯑vernment with the ſyſtem of Government in England, both during, and ſince the cloſe of the war.

So powerful is the Repreſentative Syſtem; firſt, by combining and conſolidating all the parts of a country together, however great the extent; and ſecondly, by admitting of none but men properly qualified into the Govern⯑ment, or diſmiſſing them if they prove to be otherwiſe, that America was enabled thereby totally to defeat and overthrow all the ſchemes and projects of the Hereditary Government of England againſt her. As the eſtabliſhment of the Revolution and Independance of America is a proof of this fact, it is needleſs to enlarge upon it.

I now come to the comparative effect of the two Syſtems ſince the cloſe of the war, and I re⯑queſt Mr. Adam to attend to it.

America had internally ſuſtained the ravage of upwards of ſeven years of war, which En⯑gland had not. England ſuſtained only the expence of the war; whereas America ſuſtained, not only the expence, but the deſtruction of property committed by both armies. Not a houſe was built during that period, and many thou⯑ſands were deſtroyed. The farms and planta⯑tions [8] [...] [9] [...] [10]along the coaſt of the country, for more than a thouſand miles, were laid waſte. Her commerce was annihilated. Her ſhips were ei⯑ther taken or had rotted within her own har⯑bour. The credit of her funds had fallen up⯑wards of ninety per cent that is, an original hundred pounds would not ſell for ten pounds. In fine, ſhe was apparently put back an hun⯑dred years when the war cloſed; which was not the caſe with England.

But ſuch was the event, that the ſame Re⯑preſentative Syſtem of Government, though ſince better organized, which enabled her to conquer, enabled her alſo to recover; and ſhe now preſents a more flouriſhing condition, and a more happy and harmonized ſociety under that ſyſtem of Government, than any country in the world can boaſt under any other. Her towns are rebuilt, much better than before; her farms and plantations are in higher im⯑provement than ever; her commerce is ſpread over the world, and her funds have riſen from leſs than ten pounds the hundred to upwards of one hundred and twenty. Mr. Pitt, and his colleagues, talk of the things that have hap⯑pened in his boyiſh Adminiſtration, without knowing what greater things have happened elſewhere, and under other ſyſtems of Govern⯑ment.

I next come to ſtate the expence of the two ſyſtems, as they now ſtand in each of the [11]countries; but it may firſt be proper to ob⯑ſerve, that Government in America is what it ought to be, a matter of honour and truſt, and not made a trade of for the purpoſe of lucre.

The whole amount of the nett taxes in En⯑gland (excluſive of the expence of collection, of drawbacks, of ſeizures and condemnations, of fines and penalties, of fees of office, of litiga⯑tions and informers, which are ſome of the bleſs⯑ed means of enforcing them) is, ſeventeen mil⯑lions. Of this ſum, about nine millions go for the payment of the intereſt of the National Debt, and the remainder, being about eight millions, is for the current annual expences. Thus much for one ſide of the caſe. I now come to the other.

The expence of all the ſeveral departments of the general Repreſentative Government of the United States of America, extending over a ſpace of country nearly ten times larger than England, is two hundred and ninety-four thou⯑ſand, five hundred and fifty-eight dollars, which, at 4s. 6d. per dollar, is 66,275l. 11s. ſterling, and is thus apportioned.

On account of the incurſions of the Indians on the back ſettlements, Congreſs is, at this time, obliged to keep ſix thouſand militia in pay, in addition to a regiment of foot, and a battalion of artillery, which it always keeps; and this increaſes the expence of the War De⯑partment to 390,000 dollars, which is 87,795l. ſterling, but when Peace ſhall be concluded with the Indians, the greateſt part of this expence will ceaſe, and the total amount of the expence of Government, including that of the army, will [13]not amount to one hundred thouſand pounds ſterling, which, as has been already ſtated, is but an eighteenth part of the expences of the Engliſh Government.

I requeſt Mr. Adam and Mr. Dundas, and all thoſe who are talking of Conſtitutions, and bleſſings, and Kings, and Lords, and the Lord knows what, to look at this ſtatement. Here is a form and ſyſtem of Government, that is better organized and better adminiſtered than any Government in the world, and that for leſs than one hundred thouſand pounds per annum, and yet every Member of Congreſs receives, as a compenſation for his time and attendance on public buſineſs, one pound ſeven ſhillings per day, which is at the rate of nearly five hundred pounds a year.

This is a government that has nothing to fear. It needs no proclamations to deter peo⯑ple from writing and reading. It needs no po⯑litical ſuperſtition to ſupport it. It was by en⯑couraging diſcuſſion, and rendering the preſs free upon all ſubjects of Government, that the principles of Government became underſtood in America, and the people are now enjoying the preſent bleſſings under it. You hear of no riots, tumults, and diſorders in that country; becauſe their exiſts no cauſe to produce them. Thoſe things are never the effect of Freedom, but of reſtraint, oppreſſion, and exceſſive taxation.

In America there is not that claſs of poor [14]and wretched people that are ſo numerouſly diſ⯑perſed all over England, and who are to be told by a Proclamation, that they are happy; and this is in a great meaſure to be accounted for, not by the difference of Proclamations, but by the difference of Governments and the dif⯑ference of Taxes between that country and this. What the labouring people of that country earn they apply to their own uſe, and to the education of their children; and do not pay it away in taxes as faſt as they earn it, to ſupport Court extravagance, and a long enor⯑mous liſt of Place-men and penſioners; and beſides this, they have learned the manly doctrine of reverencing themſelves, and con⯑ſequently of reſpecting each other; and they laugh at thoſe imaginary beings called Kings and Lords, and all the fraudulent trumpery of Courts.

When Place-men and Penſioners, or thoſe who expect to be ſuch, are laviſh in praiſe of a Government, it is not a ſign of its being a good one. The penſion liſt alone, in England, (ſee Sir John Sinclair's Hiſtory of the Revenue, page 6, of the Appendix,) is One Hundred and ſeven thouſand Four Hundred and Four Pounds, which is more than the expences of the whole Government of America amount to. And I am now more convinced than before, that the offer that was made to me of a Thouſand Pounds, for the copy-right of the Second Part of the [15] Rights of Man, together with the remaining copy-right of the Firſt Part, was to have ef⯑fected, by a quick ſuppreſſion, what is now at⯑tempted to be done by a Proſecution. The connection which the perſon who made that offer has with the King's Printing Office, may furniſh part of the means of enquiring into this affair, when the Miniſtry ſhall pleaſe to bring their Proſecution to iſſue. But to return to my ſubject.—

I have ſaid, in the Second Part of Rights of Man, and I repeat it here, that the ſervice of any man, whether called King, Preſident, Se⯑nator, Legiſlator, or any thing elſe, cannot be worth more to any country, in the regular rou⯑tine of office, than Ten Thouſand Pounds per annum. We have a better man in America, and more of a Gentleman than any King I ever knew of, who does not occaſion even half that expence; for, though the ſalary is fixed at Five Thouſand Two Hundred and Sixty-Five Pounds, he does not accept it, and it is only the incidental expences that are paid out of it. The name by which a man is called is, of itſelf, but an empty thing. It is worth and character alone which can render him valuable, for without theſe, Kings, and Lords, and Preſidents are but jingling names.

But without troubling myſelf about Conſti⯑tutions of Government, I have ſhewn, in the Second Part of Rights of Man, that an alliance [16]may be formed between England, France, and America, and that the expences of Government in England may be put back to one million and an half, viz.

And even this ſum is fifteen times greater than the expences of Government are in America; and it is alſo greater than the whole peace eſta⯑bliſhment of England amounted to about an hundred years ago. So much has the weight and oppreſſion of Taxes encreaſed ſince the Re⯑volution, and eſpecially ſince the year, 1714.

To ſhew that the ſum of 500,000l. is ſuf⯑ficient to defray all the civil expences of Go⯑vernment, I have, in that work, annexed the following eſtimate for any country of the ſame extent as England:

In the firſt place, three hundred Repreſenta⯑tives, fairly elected, are ſufficient for all the purpoſes to which Legiſlation can apply, and preferable to a larger number.

If then an allowance, at the rate of five hundred pounds per ann. be made to every Re⯑preſentative, deducting for non-attendance, the expence, if the whole number attended ſix months each year, would be £ 75,000

[17]The Official Departments could not poſſibly exceed the following number, with the ſa⯑laries annexed, viz.

If a Nation choſe, it might deduct four per cent. from all the offices, and make one of twenty thouſand pounds per annum; and ſtyle the perſon who ſhould fill it, King, or Majeſ⯑ty, or Madjeſty, or give him any other title.

Taking, however, this ſum of one million and an half as an abundant ſupply for all the expences of Government under any form what⯑ever, there will remain a ſurplus of nearly ſix millions and an half out of the preſent Taxes, after paying the intereſt of the National Debt; and I have ſhewn, in the Second Part of Rights of Man, what appears to me the beſt mode of applying the ſurplus money; for I am now ſpeaking of expences and ſavings, and not of ſyſtems of Government.

I have in the firſt place, eſtimated the poor-rates at two millions annually, and ſhewn that the firſt effectual ſtep would be to aboliſh the poor-rates entirely, (which would be a ſaving [18]of two millions to the houſe-keepers,) and to remit four millions out of the ſurplus taxes to the poor to be paid to them in money in pro⯑portion to the number of children in each fa⯑mily, and the number of aged perſons.

I have eſtimated the number of perſons of both ſexes in England, of fifty years of age and upwards, at 420,000, and have taken one-third of this number, viz. 140,000, to be poor people.

To ſave long calculations, I have taken 70,000 of them to be upwards of fifty years of age and under ſixty, and the other to be ſixty years and upwards; and to allow ſix pounds per ann. to the former claſs, and ten pounds per ann. to the latter. The expence of which will be,

There will then remain of the four millions 2,880,000l. I have ſtated two different methods of appropriating this money. The one is to pay it in proportion to the number of children in each family, at the rate of three or four pounds per ann. for each child; the other is, to apportion it according to the expence of living in different countries; but in either of theſe caſes it would, together with the allowance to be made to the aged, completely take off taxes from one-third of all the families in England, beſides [19]relieving all the other families from the burthen of poor-rates.

The whole number of families in England, lotting five ſouls to each family, is one million four hundred thouſand, of which I take one third, viz. 466,666 to be poor families, who now pay four millions of taxes, and that the pooreſt pays at leaſt four guineas a year; and that the other thirteen millions are paid by the other two-thirds. The plan, therefore, as ſtated in the work is, firſt, to remit or repay, as is al⯑ready ſtated, this ſum of four millions to the poor, becauſe it is impoſſible to ſeparate them from the others in the preſent mode of collect⯑ing taxes on articles of conſumption; and, ſe⯑condly, to aboliſh the poor-rates, the houſe and window-light tax, and to change the Com⯑mutation Tax into a progreſſive Tax on large eſtates, the particulars of all which are ſet forth in the work, and to which I deſire Mr. ADAM to refer for particulars. I ſhall here content my⯑ſelf with ſaying, that to a town of the population of Mancheſter, it will make a difference in its favour, compared with the preſent ſtate of things, of upwards of fifty thouſand pounds annually, and ſo in proportion to all other places through⯑out the nation. This certainly is of more con⯑ſequence, than that the ſame ſums ſhould be collected to be afterwards ſpent by riotous and profligate courtiers, and in nightly revels at the Star and Garter Tavern, Pall-Mall.

[20]I will conclude this part of my letter with an extract from the Second Part of Rights of Man, which Mr. Dundas (a man rolling in luxury at the expence of the nation) has brand⯑ed with the epithet of "wicked."

‘By the operation of this plan, the poor laws, thoſe ins;truments of civil torture, will be ſuperſeded, and the waſteful expence of litigation prevented. The hearts of the hu⯑mane will not be ſhocked by ragged and hun⯑gry children, and pers;ons of ſeventy and eighty years of age begging for bread. The dying poor will not be dragged from place to place, to breathe their laſt, as a repriſal of pa⯑riſh upon pariſh. Widows will have a main⯑tenance for their children, and not be carted away, on the death of their huſbands, like culprits and criminals, and children will no longer be conſidered as increaſing the diſtreſſes of their parents. The haunts of the wretched will be known, becauſe it will be to their advantage, and the number of petty crimes, the offspring of poverty and diſtreſs, will be leſſened. The poor, as well as the rich, will then be intereſted in the ſupport of Govern⯑ment and the cauſe and apprehenſion of riots and tumults will ceaſe. Ye who ſit in eaſe, and ſolace yourſelves in plenty, and ſuch there are in Turkey and Ruſſia as well as in Eng⯑land, and who ſay to yourſelves, are we not well off? have ye thought of theſe things? [21]When ye do, ye will ceaſe to ſpeak and feel for yours;elves alone.’—Rights of Man, Part II. p. 136.

After this remis;s;ion of four millions be made, and the poor Rates and Hous;e and Window⯑light Tax be aboliſhed, and the Commutation Tax changed, there will ſtill remain nearly one million and an half of ſurplus Taxes; and as by an alliance between England, France, and America, armies and navies will, in a great meaſure be rendered unneceſſary; and as men who have either been brought up in, or long ha⯑bited to, thoſe lines of life, are ſtill citizens of a nation in common with the reſt, and have a right to participate in all plans of National benefit, it is ſtated in that work (Rights of Man, Part II.) to apply annually 507,000l. out of the ſurplus taxes to this purpoſe in the following manner:

The limits to which it was proper to confine this letter, will not admit of my entering into [22]further particulars. I addreſs it to Mr. Dundas becauſe he took the lead in the debate, and he wiſhes, I ſuppoſe, to appear conſpicuous; but the purport of it is to juſtify myſelf from the charge which Mr. Adam has made.

This Gentleman, as has been obſerved in the beginning of this Letter, conſiders the writings of Harrington, Moore, and Hume, as juſtifia⯑ble and legal Publications, becauſe they reaſon⯑ed by compariſon, though, in ſo doing, they ſhewed plans and ſyſtems of Government, not only different from, but preferable to, that of England; and he accuſes me of endeavouring to confuſe, inſtead of producing a ſyſtem in the room of that which which I had reaſoned againſt; whereas the fact is, that I have not only reaſon⯑ed by compariſon of the Repreſentative ſyſtem againſt the Hereditary ſyſtem, but I have gone further; for I have produced an inſtance of a Government eſtabliſhed entirely on the Repre⯑ſentative ſyſtem, under which much greater hap⯑pineſs is enjoyed, much fewer Taxes required, and much higher credit is eſtablis;hed, than under the ſyſtem of Government in England. The Funds in England have riſen ſince the war only from 54l. to 97l. and they have been down, ſince the Proclamations, to 87l. whereas the Funds in America roſe in the mean time from 10l. to 120l. His charge againſt me "of deſtroying every principle of ſubordination," is equally as groundleſs, which even a ſingle paragraph from [23]the work will prove, and which I ſhall here quote:

‘Formerly, when diviſions aroſe reſpecting Go⯑vernments, recourſe was had to the ſword, and a civil war enſued. That ſavage cuſtom is ex⯑ploded by the new ſyſtem, and recourſe is had to a National Convention. Diſcuſſion, and the generol will, arbitrates the queſtion, and to this private opinion yields with a good grace, and order is preſerved uninterrupted.’—Rights of Man, Part II. p. 173.

That two different charges ſhould be brought at the ſame time, the one by a Member of the Le⯑giſlative for not doing a certain thing, and the other by the Attorney General for doing, it, is a ſtrange jumble of contradictions. I have now juſ⯑tified myſelf, or the work rather, againſt the firſt, by ſtating the caſe in this letter, and the juſtifica⯑tion of the other will be undertaken in its proper place. But in any caſe the work will go on.

I ſhall now conclude this Letter with ſaying, that the only objection I found againſt the plan, and principles contained in the Second Part of Rights of Man when I had written the book, was, that they would beneficially intereſt at leaſt nine⯑ty-nine perſons out of every hundred throughout the nation, and therefore would not leave ſufficient room for men to act from the direct and diſinter⯑eſted principle of honour; but the proſecution now commenced has fortunately removed that objec⯑tion, and the approvers and protectors of that [24]work now feel the immediate impulſe of honour, added to that National Intereſt.

TO ONSLOW CRANLEY, OR THE CHAIRMAN WHO SMALL PRESIDE AT THE MEETING TO BE HELDAY EPSOM, JUNE 18.

I HAVE s;een in the Public Newſpapers the following Advertiſement, to wit—

Taking it for granted, that the aforeſaid Ad⯑vertiſement, equally as obſcure as the Proclama⯑tion to which it refers, has nevertheleſs ſome meaning, and is intended to effect ſome purpoſe; and as proſecution (whether wiſely or unwiſely, juſtly or unjuſtly) is already commenced againſt a work intitled RIGHTS OF MAN, of which I have the honour and happineſs to be the author; I feel it neceſſary to addreſs this Letter to you, and to requeſt that it may be read publicly to the Gentlemen who ſhall meet at Epſom in conſe⯑quence of the Advertiſement.

The work now under proſecution is, I conceive, the ſame work which is intended to be ſuppreſſed by the aforeſaid Proclamation.—Admitting this to be the caſe, the Gentlemen of the county of Surrey are called upon by ſomebody to condemn a work, and they are at the ſame time forbidden by the Proclamation to know what that work is; and they are further called upon to give their aid [26]and aſſiſtance to prevent other people from know⯑ing it alſo.—It is therefore neceſſary that the Au⯑thor, for his own juſtification, as well as to pre⯑vent the Gentlemen who ſhall meet from being impoſed upon by miſrepreſentation, ſhould give ſome outlines of the principles and plans which that work contains.

The work, Sir, in queſtion contains, firſt, an inveſtigation of general principles of Govern⯑ment.

It alſo diſtinguiſhes Government into two claſ⯑ſes or ſyſtems, the one the hereditary ſyſtem— the other the repreſentative ſyſtem; and it com⯑pares theſe two ſyſtems with each other.

It ſhews, that what is called Hereditary Go⯑vernment cannot exiſt as a matter of right; be⯑cauſe Hereditary Government always means a Government yet to come; and the caſe always is, that thoſe who are to live afterwards have al⯑ways the ſame right to eſtabliſh a Government for themſelves as the people who had lived be⯑fore them.

It alſo ſhews the defect to which Hereditary Government is unavoidably ſubject: that it muſt, from the nature of it, throw Government into the hands of men totally unworthy of it from the want of principle, or unfitted for it from want of capacity. JAMES the IId. and many others are recorded in the Engliſt Hiſtory, as proofs of the former of thoſe caſes, and inſtances are to be found almoſt over Europe, to prove the truth of the latter.

[27]It then ſhews that the repreſentative ſyſtem is the only true ſyſtem of Government; that it is alſo the only ſyſtem under which the liberties of any people can be permanently ſecure; and fur⯑ther, that it is the only one that can continue the ſame equal probability at all times of admitting of none but men properly qualified, both by princi⯑ples and abilities, into Government, and of exclud⯑ing ſuch as are otherwiſe.

The work ſhews alſo, by plans and calcula⯑tion not hitherto denied nor controverted, not even by the proſecution that is commenced, that the taxes now exiſting may be reduced at leaſt ſix millions, that taxes may be entirely taken off from the Poor, who are computed at one third of the nation; and that taxes on the other two thirds may be conſiderably reduced— that the aged Poor may be comfortably provided for, and the children of poor families properly educated—that fifteen thouſand ſoldiers, and the ſame number of ſailors; may be diſbanded and allowed three ſhillings per week during life out of the ſurplus taxes; and alſo that a proportion-allowance may be made to the officers, and the pay of the remaining ſoldiers and ſailors be en⯑creaſed; and that it is better to apply the ſur⯑plus taxes to thoſe purpoſes than to conſume them upon lazy and profligate placemen and penſioners; and that the revenue, ſaid to be twenty thouſand pounds per annum, raiſed by a tax upon coals, and given to the Duke of RICHMOND, is a groſs impoſition upon all the [28]people of London, ought to be inſtantly abo⯑liſhed.

This, Sir, is a conciſe abſtract of the prin⯑ciples and plans contained in the work that is now proſecuted, and for the ſuppreſſion of which the Proclamation appears to be intended: but as it is impoſſible that I can in the compaſs of a letter, bring into view all the matters contained in the work, and as it is proper that the Gen⯑tlemen who may compoſe that Meeting ſhould know what the merits or demerits of it are, be⯑fore they come to any reſolutions, either direct⯑ly or indirectly relating thereto, I requeſt the honour of preſenting them with one hundred copies of the Second Part of the RIGHTS OF MAN, and alſo one thouſand copies of my letter to Mr. DUNDAS, which I have directed to be ſent to Epſom for that purpoſe; and I beg the favour of the Chairman to take the trouble of preſenting them to the Gentlemen who ſhall meet on that occaſion, with my ſincere wiſhes for their happineſs, and for that of the Nation in general.

Having now cloſed thus much of the ſubject of my letter, I next come to ſpeak of what has relation to me perſonally. I am well aware of the delicacy that attends it, but the purpoſe of calling the Meeting appears to me ſo inconſiſtent with that juſtice that is always due between man and man, that it is proper I ſhould (as well on account of the Gentlemen who may meet, as [29]on my own account) explain myſelf fully and candidly thereon.

I have already informed the Gentlemen, that a proſecution is commenced againſt a work of which I have the honour and happineſs to be the Author; and I have good reaſons for believ⯑ing that the Proclamation which the Gentlemen are called to conſider, and to preſent an Addreſs upon, is purpoſely calculated to give an impreſ⯑ſion to the Jury before whom that matter is to come. In ſhort, that it is dictating a verdict by Proclamation; and I conſider the inſtigators of the Meeting to be held at Epſom, as aiding and abetting the ſame improper, and in my opi⯑nion illegal purpoſe, and that in a manner very artfully contrived, as I ſhall now ſhew.

Had a Meeting been called of the Freeholders of the County of Middleſex, the Gentlemen who had compoſed that Meeting would have rendered themſelves objectionable as perſons to ſerve on a Jury before whom the judicial caſe was afterwards to come. But by calling a meet⯑ing out of the County of Middleſex, that mat⯑ter is artfully avoided, and the Gentlemen of Surrey are ſummoned, as if it were intended thereby to give a tone to the ſort of verdict which the inſtigators of the Meeting no doubt wiſh ſhould be brought in, and to give counte⯑nance to the Jury in ſo doing.

TO ONSLOW CRANLEY, COMMONLY CALLED LORD ONSLOW,

WHEN I wrote you the Letter which Mr. HORNE TOOKE did me the favour to pre⯑ſent to you, as Chairman of the Meeting held at Epſom, Monday, June 18th it was not with much expectation that you would, do me the juſ⯑tice of permitting, or recommending it to be pub⯑lickly read. I am well aware that the ſignature of THOMAS PAINE has ſomething in it dreadful to ſinecure Placemen and Penſioners; and when you, on ſeeing the Letter opened, informed the Meeting that it was ſigned THOMAS PAINE, and added, in a note of exclamation, "the common enemy of us all," you ſpoke one of the greateſt truths you ever uttered, if you confine the ex⯑preſſion to men of the ſame deſcription with your⯑ſelf; men living in indolence and luxury, on the ſpoil and labours of the public.

The letter has ſince appeared in the ARGUS, and probably in other papers. It will juſtify it⯑ſelf; but if any thing on that account hath been wanting, your own conduct at the Meeting [31]would have ſupplied the omiſſion. You there ſufficiently proved that I was not miſtaken in ſup⯑poſing that the Meeting was called to give an in⯑direct aid to the proſecution commenced againſt a work, the reputation of which will long out-live the memory of the Penſioner I am writing to.

When Meetings, Sir, are called by the parti⯑zans of the Court, to preclude the Nation the right of inveſtigating Syſtems and Principles of Government, and of expoſing errors and defects, under the pretence of proſecuting any individual —it furniſhes an additional motive for maintain⯑ing facred that violated right.

The principles and arguments contained, in the work in queſtion, RIGHTS OF MAN, have ſtood, and they now ſtand, and I believe ever will ſtand, unrefuted. They are ſtated in a fair and open manner to the world, and they have al⯑ready received the public approbation of a greater number of men, of the beſt of characters, of every denomination of religion, and of every rank in life, (Placemen and Penſioners excepted) than all the Juries that ſhall meet in England, for ten years to come, will amount to, and I have more-good reaſons for believing that the approvers of that work, as well private as public, are already more numerous than all the preſent Electors throughout the Nation.

Not leſs than forty pamphlets, intended as an⯑ſwers thereto, have appeared, and as ſuddenly diſ⯑appeared: Scarcely are the titles of any of them remembered, notwithſtanding their endeavours [32]have been aided by all the daily abuſe which the Court and Miniſtterial Newſpapers, for almoſt a year and a half, could beſtow, both upon the work and the author; and now that every at⯑tempt to refute, and every abuſe has failed, the invention of calling the work a Libel has been hit upon, and the diſcomfited party has puſilla⯑nimouſly retreated to proſecution and a Jury, and obſcure Addreſſes.

As I well knew that a long Letter from me will not be agreeable to you, I will relieve your un⯑eaſineſs by making it as ſhort as I conveniently can; and will conclude it with taking up the ſub⯑ject at that part where Mr. HORNE TOOKE was interrupted from going on when at the Meeting.

That Gentleman was ſtaring, that the ſitu⯑ation you ſtood in render it improper for you to appear actively in a ſcene in which your private intereſt was too viſible; that you were a Bed⯑chamber Lord at a thouſand a year, and a Pen⯑ſioner at three thouſand pounds a year more— and here he was ſtopped by the little, but noiſy circle you had collected round. Permit me then, Sir, to add an explanation to his words, for the benefit of your neighbours, and with which, and a few obſervations, I ſhall cloſe my letter.

When it was reported in the Engliſh Newſ⯑papers, ſome ſhort time ſince, that the Empreſs of RUSSIA had given to one of her minions a large tract of country, and ſeveral thouſands of [33]peaſants as property, it very juſtly provoked in⯑dignation and abhorrence in thoſe who heard it. But if we compare the mode practiced in Eng⯑land, with that which appears to us ſo abhorrent in Ruſſia, it will be found to amount to very near the ſame thing;—for example—

As the whole of the revenue in England is drawn by taxes from the pockets of the people, thoſe things called gifts and grants, (of which kind are all penſions and ſinecure places) are paid out of that ſtock. The difference, there⯑fore, between the two modes is, that in England the money is collected by the Government, and then given to the Penſioner, and in Ruſſia he is left to collect it for himſelf. The ſmalleſt ſum which the pooreſt family in a county ſo near London as Surrey, can be ſuppoſed to pay annu⯑ally of taxes, is not leſs than five pounds; and as your ſinecure of one thouſand, and penſion of three thouſand per annum, are made up of taxes paid by eight hundred ſuch poor families, it comes to the ſame thing as if the eight hundered families had been given to you, as in Ruſſia, and you had collected the money on your ac⯑count. Were you to ſay that you are not quar⯑tered particularly on the people of Surrey, but on the nation at large, the objection would a⯑mount to nothing; for as there are more Penſi⯑oners than counties, every one may be conſider⯑ed as quartered on that in which he lives

What honour or happineſs you can derive [34]from being the PRINCIPAL PAUPER of the neighbourhood, and occaſioning a greater ex⯑pence than the poor, the aged, and the infirm, for ten miles round you, I leave you to enjoy. At the ſame time I can ſee that it is no wonder you ſhould be ſtrenuous in ſuppreſſing a book which ſtrikes at the root of thoſe abuſes. No wonder that you ſhould be againſt Reforms, a⯑gainſt the Freedom of the Preſs, and the Right of Inveſtigation. To you, and to others of your deſcription, theſe are dreadful things; but you ſhould alſo conſider, that the motives which prompt you to act, ought, by reflection, to com⯑pel you to be ſilent.

Having now returned your compliment, and ſufficiently tired your patience, I take my leave of you, with mentioning, that if you had not prevented my former Letter from being read at the Meeting, you would not have had the trou⯑ble of reading this; and alſo with requeſting, that the next time you call me ‘a common ene⯑my,’ you would add, "of us ſinecure Placemen and Penſioners.