TO The moſt inſolent Man living.

AMONG the crowd of ſympathiz⯑ing friends, who affect to lament your downfall, but who have by their advice and influence ſo effectually contributed to it, will you permit a ſtranger to ap⯑proach, and ſpeak a language which few great men wiſh to hear, and none of their followers dare to utter?

It is not, Sir, the whining cant of impotent condo⯑lence,—it is not the ſelfiſh ſigh, which burſts from the boſom without affecting the heart,—it is not the anticipating groan for a place about to be reſigned, or [6] a ſinecure ſnatched from the hand which had al⯑ready graſped it;—it is—ſtart not!—it is the Voice of TRUTH, which, however you may pretend to deſpiſe it, will vibrate through the ſhades of retire⯑ment, and from whoſe penetrating ſhafts you will fly to Holwood in vain.

It has been ſaid, that every effect ſhould be equal to the object which it means to attain; if the impor⯑tance of your views is to be judged of by this axiom, how exalted muſt they be! how high are they to be rated! with ſuch ſacrifices as you have made, ſo zealous an high-prieſt as you are,—the deity you worſhip muſt be powerful, and the gifts he beſtows invaluable.

Yet, if after the prophetic viſions of your oracle, and the gilded ſcenes of a warm imagination, you ſhould find, too late, that you have been deceived; if the ſplendid fabric of the daemon vaniſhes into ſmoke, [7] what muſt be your feelings and ſituation, when for honours, rewards, and perpetual ſway, nothing remains but popular indignation, infamy, and ruin!

Without an hand to heal your wounds, or an heart to ſhare in your ſorrows, the balm of an addreſs will then be poured forth in vain; Jenkinſon deſerts you, for the ear which liſtened to him is deaf; the modeſt Dundas will not then be heard, nor ſhall the gentle Sydney avail.

The uxorious Marquis will fly to his nuptial bower, and ſeek in the arms of beauty for thoſe pleaſures which ambition and power can no longer beſtow, and which once even Hymen denied.

I will not offend by deſcribing the manner in which, notwithſtanding the preſent pride of your deportment, you crept into power; nor will I confuſe the placid ſe⯑renity of your couſin, the good Marquis of Buckingham, [8] by recounting the ſpeedy rewards that followed his well⯑timed private ſervices.—Theſe, with ‘"the invaſion of chartered rights,"’ that political taliſman, by which in ſo maſterly a manner you deluded a whole nation, have had their day.‘"Il y a un germe du raiſon qui commence a ſe developer."’

The eyes of the people are opened, the miſts are gradually diſperſed by the radiance of the RISING SUN, and thoſe who were duped by, and thoſe who aſſiſted in your artifices, can no longer be managed.

The curtain was drawn up, and diſcovered you, the REFORMER of PARLIAMENTARY CORRUPTION—that fatal meaſure for which you had pledged yourſelf, when the down had ſcarcely covered your cheek.

This trap for the approbation of others, in which you were caught yourſelf, was deviſed at an ill-ſtarred moment, when your cold ſyſtematic prudence had for once been laid aſide.

[9] The faint applauſe, the adulterate adoption of ſpu⯑rious praiſe, the zeal which damns, and the lukewarm ſupport which defeats its purpoſe, were avowedly yours.

Thus early you commenced the preparatory farce of inſult, for a people againſt whom you meditated the deepeſt injury!

The honourable band of merchants in Leadenhall⯑ſtreet, who have been in the habit of dethroning princes, and ſetting empires up to ſale; who execrated, in the moment of popular frenzy, Mr. Fox, as a bold invader, begin to diſcover in indignant whiſ⯑pers, that what they would not yield to the undiſ⯑guiſed language of ſtate neceſſity, has been pilfered from them by mean fineſſe and low ſtratagem.

Happy had it been for this country, could your ambition have been ſatisfied, to tread in the humble [10] track of petty crimes; we ſhould not then have been enabled to trace your daring ſpirit, mounting by gradual ſucceſſion, from court intrigue, borough jobbing, and a conſpiracy with tea brokers, to in⯑fringe the conſtitution of your country, and inſult the Heir Apparent of your Sovereign.

I would make every allowance for an amiable Queen, diſtracted with affliction and ſorrow for the calamity of the beſt of huſbands; but ſurely ſome decorum was due to a young Prince, on whom the future hopes of the nation reſt, whoſe mind was harrowed by filial diſtreſs, and whoſe conduct on this occa⯑ſion even you and his bittereſt enemies cannot but approve.

Was it right, was it decent, for a CONFIDENTIAL SERVANT of the Crown to addreſs the Prince of Wales to the following purport?

[11]

After ſuch an addreſs, cloathed perhaps in treache⯑rous and ſmooth words, to the only perſon whom our melancholy ſituation points out as your maſter, let us pauſe.—Will you deny that your cheek turned pale at being told that the Prince would accept the [14] Regency, notwithſtanding your inſidious inſtructions?—you ſtarted like a guilty thing, bit your lip with an⯑guiſh, and confeſſed you were undone!

When your new-modelled ſyſtem is put into execu⯑tion, when the harmleſs^* Regent is bound by diſgrace⯑ful Reſtrictions, which were you to be his miniſter never would have been heard of; what defence have we againſt YOU, THE MOST PLAUSIBLE, FAIR SPOKEN, BUT MOST DANGEROUS YOUNG MAN THIS KINGDOM EVER BEHELD?

Will it be any protection againſt the active malignity of your miſchievous intriguing ſpirit, to be told that you have ſecured the lords of the bedchamber, that a gentleman uſher is in no danger of loſing his place, and that a clerk of the kitchen ſhall not be diſ⯑miſſed?

[15] Need you be told, with all your merits as a Finan⯑cier and an economiſt, a reputation which by the moſt ſpecious arts you ſtole but never deſerved, need you be told, at what an expence you have ſecured a retreat for your party, and an oppoſition to the Regent?

But in this, as in every other inſtance of your life, you have the addreſs to diſguiſe a hateful miniſ⯑terial meaſure under an alluring popular maſk.

It would have been too ſhocking a ſight for the good men of the City to ſee you, the paragon of moral rectitude, the phoenix of expiring chaſtity, creating court patronage, and confeſſing yourſelf the humble minion of a petticoat government.

From you, who ſtand forth to ſtem the torrent of cor⯑ruption, to reſtore the exhauſted finances of a king⯑dom, far be from you ſuch an unhallowed pur⯑poſe!

[16] The dignity of the King's perſon is to be pre⯑ſerved at every expence; the feelings of the nation are to be worked up to a ſufficient pitch by a pathetic tale; iron tears run down the brazen face of Pluto; and we are betrayed to conſent to a violation of the conſtitution!

So ſucceſsful have your experiments been in im⯑poſing on the people of this country, that your fruitful mind is ever teeming with new projects of deceit, and as you have played your part ſo often without detection, you ſtill perſevere in myſtery and delay without fear.

Gild but your poiſonous pill with a thin outſide of perſonal attachment, economy, or commercial advan⯑tage, and the undiſcerning crowd ſwallow with avidity the noſtrums, and the poliſhed periods of the quack.

In politics, as in quackery, tumid promiſes, and irra⯑tional [17] credulity reſiſt and triumph over the evidence of the moſt ſtubborn facts.

Surrounded with diſeaſe and death, the deluded pa⯑tient will ſcarcely bear to be told, that the remedy is as injurious as it is deceiving, and that the mountebank is a contemptible pretender.

Your countrymen, Sir, find with ſorrow and ſur⯑prize, that you ſubſtitute declamation for argument; that in oppoſition to plain facts which ſtare you in the face, you obtrude a numerical diſplay of figures and falſe calculations; and inſtead of adopting a fair, open line of conduct, evade detection in the intricacies of a cuſtom-houſe entry, purſue a dark and crooked path, and, ſecure in your virtuous majority, are myſterious, waſpiſh, and inſolent.

But the time is near at hand, when your character will be generally underſtood, and a plain man may [18] venture to aſſert, that an immenſe unappropriated fund is no proof of ſkill in finance; that increaſing burthens to diminiſh them, is a paradox in politics, and that the deranged and diſordered ſtate of France cannot poſſibly reflect any credit on you as a negociator or a ſtateſ⯑man.

Yet with theſe barren materials have your profeſſed panegyriſts, who in their attempts to defend, ſo effec⯑tually damn your fame; with theſe crumbling mate⯑rials have they eſſayed to build you a reputation, which a little time, a little experience, and a little common ſenſe, levels to the ground.

The ſudden reverſe of your fortune holds forth an uſeful leſſon to future miniſters; it will teach them to ſhun thoſe meretricious arts which you have ſo inef⯑fectually practiſed, to procure the name without the eſſence of patriotiſm.

[19] Few men ever poſſeſſed in a greater degree than yourſelf the attracting glitter of tinſel, the gewgaw glare of foil, ſo attractive to women and children, but none were ever leſs qualified to paſs through the try⯑ing furnace of the refiner; every criterion of ſterling metal was wanting to ſtamp it into real value; the counterfeit is quickly diſcovered, ‘"his Majeſty's countenance no longer ſhines upon it,"’ and it in⯑ſtantly ceaſes to be current.

You were ſeated at the helm in the prime of life, with ſtrong hope, youthful ardour, family pride, and an indulgent King at your diſpoſal.

With fair probability you might have looked for⯑ward to a long adminiſtration, and in a few years might have filled every department of church and ſtate (if any ſuch remained unfilled) with relations and fa⯑mily dependants.

[20] You might have projected, in riper years and ma⯑turer judgment, future Iriſh Propoſitions, without ſub⯑mitting to the diſagreeable neceſſity of turning them inſide out.

A ſubſtitute for the Shop Tax might have been deviſed, when you had ſufficiently gratified your ſpleen and ill-will againſt a particular deſcription of men.

Without drawing on yourſelf the accuſation of ma⯑lice and obſtinacy, you might in ſome other more in⯑genious way have gratified your revenge, under the cover of increaſing the revenue; in time, perhaps, your pertinacious adherence to this hated and partial op⯑preſſion might have been forgot.

Perhaps a ſecond Commutation Bill (be not uneaſy for I will not dwell long on the ſubject) a ſecond Com⯑mutation Bill would have preſented itſelf, and have enabled you to deceive the public by a viſionary pro⯑ſpect of advantages it never produced.

[21] For the ſake of putting two or three millions into the pockets of a monopolizing company, who I confeſs have not been ungrateful to you, you were guilty of an unwarrantable deception, and transferred a valuable portion of commercial profit to foreign markets.

I will not deny that you told us, this your favourite maſter-ſtroke of ſhallow policy would extirpate ſmug⯑gling root and branch, and give us in tea (your favour⯑ite beverage) what you robbed us of for light; un⯑fortunately the contraband trade revives with more than its uſual vigour, and the ſales at the India Houſe feelingly tell us how cheap we are to expect our teas.

Had it been your happy lot to have remained longer in office, what advantageous proſpects were in view! in time you might have matured into ſome apology for the inſignificance of the abilities of your brother; his tutor at the Admiralty might not again have experienced [22] ſo diſgraceful a repulſe at Weſtminſter; the ſurly brow of the Chancellor might have been ſmoothed; the ex⯑travagant chimeras of the gunpowder genius reſtrained by a little common ſenſe, and Camden ſooner or later, after your repeated entreaties, might have been pre⯑vailed on to hold his tongue.

With ſuch deſirable events in view, how cruel is your diſappointment?—alas, theſe enchanting pro⯑ſpects are no more! the fountain of your honour is dry, the ſource of your influence is deranged, and you already totter in your ſeat.

Your every hope is blaſted, the wildneſs of deſpair ſucceeds to the inſolence of office; and the ſceptre which for more than three months you have ſo firmly graſped, you muſt, however reluctantly, at laſt re⯑ſign after all your impotent endeavours to prevent another's wielding it with ſucceſs.

[23] Like Mrs. Nicholſon, you aim your knife at the conſtitution, wrapped up in the flimſy texture of loy⯑alty and prudential caution, and I hope the deſtructive abſurdity of the attempt will be defeated by the watch⯑ful guardians of the conſtitution, and the weakneſs of the hand which gives the blow.

Though the path of greatneſs and glory is barred againſt you as a miniſter and ſtateſman for ever, na⯑ture, and indeed your education, have eminently qua⯑lified you for the bar; in the Houſe, you are too well known to be able any longer to impoſe on the coun⯑try gentlemen, your boaſted majorities dwindle apace.

The Court of King's Bench, where your friend preſides, opens its friendly doors; with your tie-wig, your bag, and the fourth part of an hackney-coach, you may ſink with ſafety into a reſpectable barriſter.

Thoſe arts which you have ſo unhappily exerted [24] againſt your Prince and your country, will be valued by ſolicitors and attornies.—With pompous diction, ſtudied phraſeology, and hackney'd forms of words, you may ſooth the ſlumbers of a puiſne judge, and miſlead a petty jury; you may command the attention of Lord Kenyon, and probably excite his gratitude. The Maſter of the Rolls will not turn up his noſe at you, if the Chancellor, who complains of ſuch an incumbrance, condeſcends to leave him any thing to do.

With all your powers of face, can you dare to aſſert that ſplendour and external dignity are proper, conſiſtent, or even compatible with the horrors of coercion, the darkened room, the bold E------, and his deſperate crew?

In pity, Sir, to human nature, in pity to the proſ⯑trate majeſty of kings, tear not aſide with a rude hand the wholeſome veil which covers the misfortunes of [25] our Sovereign, nor endeavour by mock-ſolemnity and a ſuperfluous diſplay of wretched pageantry, to throw a ridicule on national diſtreſs.

I ſaid you were a dangerous young man; to which I will add, that you are a moſt daring and haughty one.

It is not your private life, correct beyond the ex⯑ample of modern times, it is not that forbidding unſo⯑cial virtue, for which you are indebted to the coldneſs of your conſtitution, that I have any right or inclina⯑tion to cenſure.

The traits in your character, which excite the ap⯑prehenſions of all unprejudiced men, are the ſpecious buckram of ſentiment, the ſententious gravity, the ſanctified grimace, and plauſible exterior of ſelf-impor⯑tance; obſtinacy, which no reaſoning or expediency can convince; and a boundleſs ambition, which no [26] private man can poſſeſs without danger to the com⯑munity.

Againſt a combination of ſuch dangerous qualities I would wiſh my countrymen to be guarded; a man of your deſcription is ſo well qualified, as a miniſter, to ruin his country, under pretence of preſerving it; and in oppoſition, ſo much in the habit of retarding the meaſures of government, by tampering with bed⯑chamber women, and cultivating back-ſtairs influence, that you cannot be provided againſt too cautiouſly.

With all the apparent purity of your principles and declarations, with all your affected ſcruples, you are not aſhamed to practiſe the corrupt arts of the moſt profligate miniſter, and to dabble in the moſt deſpi⯑cable manoeuvres.

If it ſhould be your fate hereafter to ſlumber away your old age in the Upper Houſe,‘"In vulgum ambiguas ſpargere voces,"’ [27] ſhall be your motto; while a ſtarched puritan with a hand in each pocket, and a double-faced Janus, looking like Mr. Wilkes two ways at once, ſhall be your cha⯑racteriſtic ſupporters.

With what decency, with what propriety could you be ſo inſolent as to introduce the mention of the King's private property, when you knew at the ſame time (yes, and your confidential Secretary well knew), that the Prince could not, without your good-natured officiouſneſs, have the leaſt controul over it?

It was a cruel piece of policy; but like every other action of your life, carried a ſeducing fair-faced rea⯑ſon on the ſurface of it, which, at the ſame time it played your old game of catching popular applauſe, wounded the feelings of a Prince, out of whoſe power you had put it ever to employ you, by this outrage on his character as a gentleman or a man.

[28] It was one of thoſe convenient legal inuendos, which I preſume you learnt at the Temple, by which a ſkilful croſs-examining counſel might irreparably in⯑jure a man's good name, without ſaying one word againſt it.

The uncorrupt, the virtuous young man, wiſhes for nothing more than to guard this ample proviſion for the Royal Offspring, he (heaven protect him!) had no purpoſe to anſwer by circulating this vile aſperſion, he could have no views in ſowing the ſeeds of ſuſpicion and diſtruſt in the public mind.

What but the moſt amiable motives could influence his conduct, by inculcating the neceſſity of preventing the Prince from robbing his father?

But, Sir, I truſt a generous nation will be as ready to give credit to a young Prince, the lawful ſucceſſor of his father, as to a Miniſter, who ſacrifices every thing [29] to a ſelfiſh love of office, whoſe adminiſtration com⯑menced in fraud, continued in deluſion, and ends in endeavours to mould the ſacred forms of our conſtitu⯑tion into a democratic ariſtocracy, or a conſular re⯑public.

It is the faſhion for you and your friends to lament in ſtrains of pity, ‘"that worſt of inſolence,"’ the licen⯑tious conduct of the Prince.

Every one, with the feelings and paſſions of a man, muſt allow for his age and ſituation. Fettered in the diſguſting forms of royalty, he cannot gratify his wiſhes in the nuptial path: But nature, (perhaps I ſpeak unintelligible to you) all powerful nature will vindicate her rights.

He loves a fine woman, enjoys the amuſements of the turf, and ſpends his income as becomes a Prince, in encouraging the arts, in ſplendour, elegance, and taſte.

[30] The ſcience of accumulation he may learn and prac⯑tiſe at ſome remote period; and however his expences may exceed his income, he has very fair precedents for meſſages to the Commons for more money.

You are ſaid occaſionally to amuſe your leiſure hours with a novel; perhaps, while you have been ſipping your tea, Fielding's Tom Jones has occaſionally occupied your attention.

Is it poſſible that you can have caught ſome congenial traits in the character of Blifil, and that you think them worthy of imitation?

While Jones was indulging the generous propenſi⯑ties of youthful ardour, and experiencing the amiable weakneſs of human nature, his good, chaſte, moral, ſober friend Blifil was ruining him with his benefactor Allworthy, and conſpiring againſt his fame, his fortune, and his life.

[31] But it is time to take my leave, which I ſhall do with a ſhort queſtion.

You ſay you will not oppoſe the Regent, but when you think he does wrong:—Shall you ever think an ad⯑miniſtration which you do not direct can do right?

After this declaration, which has left ſuch ample room for ſubterfuge, can we be ſurprized to ſee you conducting a regular preconcerted plan of oppoſition?

The kind condoler, the cabinet counſellor of a fa⯑ther and a mother, will reconcile his duty to his inte⯑reſt, and harraſs and perplex the meaſures of their ſon.

In this caſe, you may again expect to hear from