Grace had concurred in it with all his sincerity. Yet the first act of his own administration was to impose that tax upon America which has since thrown the whole continent into a flame. A wise man would have let the question drop; a good man would have felt and adhered to the principles he professed. While the gentle Conway breathed into his ear, he was all lenity and moderation. The colonies were dutiful children, and Great Britain a severe parent. A combination to ruin this country was no more than an amicable agreement, and rebellion was a natural right confirmed by the revolution. But now it seems his Grace's opinions are altered with his connections. The measures of the colonies are subversive of the constitution; they manifest a disposition to throw off their dependence, and vigorous measures must be enforced at the point of the sword. In vain may we look for the temper and firmness of a great minister: we shall find nothing but the passion or weakness of a boy, the enervated languor of a consumption, or the false strength of a delirium.

The same inconsistency will be found to prevail through every measure and operation of government. Perhaps there may be discovered something more than supineness in the first neglect of Corsica, and something worse than inconsistency in the contradiction given to Lord Rochford's spirited declaration to the court of France*. His Grace has lately adopted the opposite extreme, and scruples not to give an alarming shock to public credit by hints little short of a declaration of war. What is this but the undetermined timidity of a coward, who trembles on the brink until he plunges headlong into the stream?

In one gazette we see Sir Jeffery Amherst dismissed, in the very next we see him restored, and both without reason or decency. The peerage, which had been absolutely refused, is granted, and as in the first instance the royal faith was violated, in the second the royal dignity is betrayed. But this perhaps is a compliment to the Duke's new friendship with the Earl of Hillsborough.

Without approving of Mr. Wilkes's conduct, I lament his fate. The Duke of Grafton, who contributed to his support

Junius, Letter No. 12, vol. i. p. 160. Lord Rochford acted on the instructions of the Earl of Shelburne, secretary of state, whose conduct was repudiated by his colleagues, and the Earl resigned.-ED.

abroad, has given the mandate for his expulsion. But I trust there is yet a spirit which will not. obey such mandates. This honourable enterprise will probably be defeated, and leave the author of it nothing but a distinguished excess of infamy, the last consolation of a profligate mind.

Is it possible, Sir, that such a ministry can long remain united, or support themselves if they were united? The Duke of Grafton, it is true, has no scruple nor delicacy in the choice of his measures. They are the measures of the day, and vary as often as the weather. But his companions had each their separate plan, to which, for the credit of government, and the benefit of this country, they have severally adhered. The intrepid thoughtless spirit of the Commanderin-Chief looks no further than to the disposal of commissions. He is the friend and patron of the military. With this character he suffers the army to be robbed of a regiment, by way of pension to the noble disinterested house of Percy, and Sir Jeffery Amherst to be sacrificed without pretending to the credit of restoring him. His Lordship's conduct perplexes me. I am at a loss which to admire most, the penetrating sagacity with which he understands the rights of the army, or the firmness with which he defends them.

When an ungracious act was to be done, the Earl of Hillsborough was chosen for the instrument of it. He deserved, since he submitted to bear, the whole reproach of Sir Jeffery Amherst's dismission. The gallant knight obtains his price, and the noble Earl, with whatever appetite, must meet him with a smile of congratulation, and, Dear Sir Jeffery, I most cordially wish you joy! After all, it must be confessed there are some mortifications which might touch even the callous spirit of a courtier.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has many deficiencies to make good besides those of land and malt; and to say the truth, he has a gallant way of doing it. He gallops bravely through thick and thin, as the court directs, and I dare say would defend even an honest cause with as much zeal and eloquence as if he were ordered to show his parts upon nullum tempus*, or a Cumberland election.

* See Junius, Letter No. 57, vol. i., and note to Miscellaneous Letter, No. 14, ante, p. 159.

It would be unjust to the Duke of Bedford's friends to attribute their conduct to any but the motives which they themselves profess. Mr. Rigby is so modest a man that the imputation of public virtue or private good faith would offend his delicacy, if he did not feel, as he certainly does, the genuine emotions of patriotism and friendship warm in his breast. They argued not ill for ambition, while they asked for nothing but profit; and when the Duke of Grafton has exhausted the treasury he will find that every other power departs with the power of giving.

In this and my former letters I have presented to you, with plainness and sincerity, the melancholy condition to which we are reduced. The characters of a weak and worthless ministry would hardly deserve the attention of history, but that they are fatally united, and must be recorded, with the misfortunes of their country.

If there be yet a spark of virtue left among us, this great nation shall not be sacrificed to the fluctuating interests or wayward passions of a minister, nor even to the caprices of a monarch. If there be no virtue left, it is no matter who are ministers, nor how soon they accomplish our destruction.

ATTICUS*.

LETTER LII.

TO THE PRINTER OF THE PUBLIC ADVERTISER.

SIR, November 21, 1768. It will soon be decided by the highest authority, whether the justice of our laws and the liberty of our constitution have been essentially violated in the person of Mr. Wilkest. As a public man, his fate will be determined, nor is it safe or necessary at present to enter into the merits of his cause. We are interested in this question no further than as he is

* Whether or not Atticus was Junius, the reader cannot fail to perceive that the latter availed himself largely of the materials furnished by Atticus and others, his precursors, and wrought them up in superior style and fashion in the columns of the Public Advertiser.-Ed.

+ Upon the issue of the general warrant.

VOL. II.

a part of a well-regulated society. If a member of it be injured, the laws and constitution will defend him. But where is the law to enforce the engagements of private faith, or to punish the breach of them? Where shall he apply for redress with whom all ties of honour, professions of friendship, and obligations of party have been violated or betrayed? A man so injured has no redress or consolation, but what he finds in the resentment and generous sympathy of mankind.

The violation of party faith is of itself too common to excite surprise or indignation. Political friendships are so well understood that we can hardly pity the simplicity they deceive; and if Mr. Wilkes had only been deserted, he would but have given us one example more of the folly of relying on such engagements. But his, I conceive, is a singular situation. There is scarce an instance of party merit so great as his, or so ill rewarded. Other men have been abandoned by their friends: Mr. Wilkes alone is oppressed by them. One would think that the First Lord of the Treasury* and the Chancellort might have been contented with forgetting the man to whom they principally owed their elevation; but hearts like theirs are not so easily satisfied. They left him unsupported when they ceased to want his assistance, and, to cover the reproach of passive ingratitude, they pursue him to destruction. The bounds of human science are still unknown, but this assuredly is the last limit of human depravity. Notorious facts speak for themselves, and, in this case, an honest man will want no spur to rouse his indignation. Men of a different character would do well to consider what their security is with a minister who breaks without scruple through all engagements of party, and is weak enough to set all public shame at defiance. There is a firmness of character which will support a minister even against his vices; but where is the dependence of his friends, when they have no hold either on his heart or his understanding? Detested by the better part of mankind, he will soon be suspected by the worst, for no man relies securely on another whom he thinks less honest and less wise than himself.

In the present instance the Duke of Grafton may possibly

find that he has played a foolish game. He rose by Mr. Wilkes's popularity, and it is not improbable that he may fall by it.

JUNIUS*.

LETTER LIII.

For the Public Advertiser.

December 15, 1768.

SIR,

TO THE RIGHT HON. GEORGE GRENVILLE.

If there be anything improper in this address, the singularity of your present situation will, I hope, excuse it. Your conduct attracts the attention, because it is highly interesting to the welfare, of the public, and a private man, who only expresses what thousands think, cannot be well accused of flattery or detraction. If we may judge by what passes every day in a great assembly, you already possess all the constituent parts of a minister, except the honour of distributing, or the emolument of receiving, the public money. These, in the contemplation of the present ministry, are the most essential ornaments of office. They are the decus et tutamen of a respectable administration, and the last that a prudent administration will relinquish. As for the authority, the credit, or the business of their offices, they are ready to resign them to you without reluctance. With regard to their appearance and behaviour within doors, these docile creatures find a relief in your understanding from the burthen of thinking, and in your direction from the labour of acting. This, however, is no more than the natural precedence of

*The date of this short and well-penned epistle, the first bearing the signature of Junius, reminds us that the writer is on the eve of appearing in great figure. It is a genuine sample; has all the neatness and significance of expression, the nice observance and acute knowledge of human nature, that distinguish the authenticated letters. Why Junius did not include it in his collective edition, was probably the thought that his work would more fitly begin with the new year, ushered in by an elaborate and comprehensive exposition of the state of the country and of the characters of the chief members of the ministry. See his Letter, Jan. 21, 1769, vol. i. p. 103.-ED.