her lover on promife of marriage. Our cafe is that of a worthless bold wench, who fells her maidenhead for a piece of money, or so much a year.

The collector of Alm. DEB. COм. writes very judiciously on this fubject, as follows:

The profligacy of the common people, at this time, [about A. D. 1751,] called for fome legal reftraint; for not only every city and town, but almost every village had affemblies of mufic, dancing, and gaming. This occafioned a prodigious diffipation of the time, money, and morals of the lower people. Robberies were fo frequent, that the enormity of the crime was almost effaced in the minds of the people; and nothing was more common than to advertise in the news-papers, an impunity to any perfon who could bring to a party that was robbed, the effects that had been taken from them, and that too with a reward according to the value. Those disorders were very juftly afcribed, in a great measure, to the extravagance of the common people, and therefore a bill was brought in for the better preventing thefts and robberies, and for regulating places of public entertainment, and punishing people keeping diforderly houses. The operation of this bill, when it paffed the house of commons, was confined to London and Weftminster, and twenty miles round; and all perfons within that circuit were required to take out licences from the juftices of the peace of the county, affembled at their quarter feffions, before they could open any room or place for public dancing, mufic, or any other entertainment of the like kind. Several other

regulations regarding idle, diforderly, or fufpected perfons and houfes, were inferted in the fame act, and pecuniary as well as corporal penalties were affixed to the tranfgreffors. When this bill went to the

house

houfe of lords, they thought fo well of it, that they extended the operation of it all over England. But as a tax was laid by it upon the fubject, when they returned the bill to the houfe of commons, their amendments were unanimously disagreed to, because they would not fuffer the lords to alter any bill that was to affect the purse of the subject. They therefore defired a conference of the lords, and appointed a committee to draw up reasons against the amendments. The lords, on the other hand, having never formally given up their right to amend money bills, could not receive the true reafon of the diffent of the commons, without giving up that right, or coming to an open breach with them. The commons therefore, to avoid fo difagreeable an emergency, drew up reasons against the amendment, which had no regard or connexion with the true reafon of their disagreeing with them; and the lords rather than so good a bill fhould be loft, agreed not to infift upon their amendments; and thus the bill paffed, and received the royal aflenta.'

Few crimes either private, or relating to the public, can be committed by those whofe minds are early feafoned with the principle of loving and promoting the welfare of their native country. For, generally fpeaking, all our vices whatsoever turn to her prejudice; and if we were convinced of this betimes, and if from our very youth we were feasoned with this notion, we should of course be virtuous, and our country would profper and flourish in proportion to this amendment of our manners. Wherever private men can be brought to make all their actions and tounfels thoughts, and defignments, to center in

the

Alm. DEB. COM. v. 29.

the common good, that nation will foon gather fuch ftrength as fhall refift any home-bred mischief, or outward accident. No great thing was ever done, but by fuch as have preferred the love of their country to all other confiderations; and wherever this public fpirit reigns, and where this zeal for the common good governs in the minds of men, that state will flourish, and increase in riches and power, and wherever it declines, or is fet at nought, weakness, disorder, and poverty must be expected. This love to their native foil, where it has been deeply rooted, and where it could be preferved, has made little cities famous and invincible, as Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, and Athens; and from thence all the Roman greatness took its rife. But where they are wretchedly contriving their own ends, without any care of their country's profit, or trafficking its wealth and liberties, for rewards, preferments, and titles; where every one is fnatching all he can; and where there is a general neglect of national intereft, they grow luxurious, proud, falfe, and effeminate; and a people fo depraved, is commonly the prey of fome neighbour feafoned with more wife and better principles. In a kingdom but too near us, we may fee all forts of men labouring for the public welfare, and every one as vigilant in his poft, as if the fuccefs of the whole empire depended on his fingle care and diligence; fo that, to the fhame of another place, they feem more intent upon the profperity and honour of their country, under a hard and oppreffive tyranny, than the inhabitants of fome free nations, where the people have an intereft in the laws, and are a part of the conftitution. Homer in his two poems feems to intend but two morals. In the ILIAD, to fet out how fatal difcord among the great ones is to ftates and armies.

And

And in his ODYSSEY, to fhew that the love of our own country ought to be stronger than any other paffion; for he makes Ulyes quit the nymph Calypfo with all her pleasure, and the immortality he had promised him, to return to Ithaca, a rocky and barren ifland. The affairs of a country relating either to civil government, war, the revenues, or trade, can never be well and profperously conducted, unless the men of principle rank and figure diveft themselves of their paffions, felf-intereft, overweening opinion of their own merits, their flattery, false arts, mean ambition, irregular appetites, and pursuits after wealth and greatnefs. No people did ever become famous and powerful, but by temperance, fortitude, juftice, reverence to the laws, and piety to the country, And when any empire is deftined to be undone, or to lofe its freedom, the feeds of this ruin are to be firft feen in the corruption of its manners. In vicious governments, all care of the public is laid afide, and every one is plundering for himself, as if the commonwealth were adrift, or had fuffered fhipwreck; and where a people is thus depraved, their national affemblies have the firft open marks of the infection upon them, from whence fpring all disorders in the ftate whatsoever. For then fuch as have most eloquence, valour, skill in bufinefs, and most interest in their country, throw off the mask of popularity, which they had put on for a time, and in the face of the world defire wealth, honours, and greatnefs, upon any terms; and this ambition leads them to corrupt others, that their own natural vices may be the lefs observed; so that in a conftitution ripe for change, those who are best esteemed, and most trusted, begin to buy the people's voice, and afterwards expose to fale their own fuffrages; which practice is always attended

attended with utter deftruction, or the lofs of liberty. This error in the first concoction does prefently deprave the whole mafs; for then the dignities of the commonwealth are made the reward of fraud and vice, and not the recompence of merit. All is bought and fold, and the worst men who can afford to bid highest, are accepted; and where the management is once got into fuch hands, factions are sufferfered to grow; rafh counfels are embraced, and wholesome advices rejected; every one is bufy for himself, and careless of the common intereft; treachery is winked at, and private perfons are allowed to become wealthy by the public fpoils; all which is followed with the lofs of reputation abroad, and poverty at home a'

Mr. Sydenbam, in the debate, A. D. 1744, on the motion for annual parliaments, argues, that long parments produce, and increafe corruption of manners in the people. • Sir, fays he, the middling people in this country have always, till of late years, been remarkable for their bravery, generofity, and hofpitality, and those of inferior rank for their honefty frugality, and industry. These are the virtues which raised this nation to that height of glory, riches, and power it had once arrived at ; but these virtues are every one of them in danger of being utterly extinguished by ministerial corruption at elections, and in parliament. For proving this, I have no occafion to appeal to any thing but experience under the late administration, the decay of every one of thefe virtues, and the causes of that decay became fo vifible to every thinking man in the kingdom, that the whole nation, except the very tools of the minifter, joined in putting an end to his power, and thank God, with the help of a very extraordinary conjuncture at court,

a Daven. 11. 48.

we