1 These feelings and fears were increased by the resignation of William Pitt, in 1761, and by the formation of a new ministry under the Earl of Bute, the king's especial favorite. He had the honor, however, of bringing to a close that terrible war which brought so much of glory" to Mr. Pitt and the nation, along with an overwhelming national debt. To meet the great expenses of the nation, additional taxes were proposed, both upon the people at home, and upon the then American colonies. This produced great discontent on both sides of the Atlantic. The Earl of Bute resigned in 1763, and a new ministry was appointed, at the head of which was Lord Grenville, 1763–65. At this time very free, and in many cases virulent discussions were carried on in the newspapers of the day, relative to the course of public events. Of these, a paper called the "North Briton" was the most violent. It was edited by John Wilkes, a member of parliament, who, in consequence of some very severe remarks in his paper upon the speech of the king to the parliament, was expelled that body. At once he became the idol of the peo ple-offered himself as a candidate to the electors of Westminster-and was returned to parliament by a large majority. Parliament, however, declared him incapable of resuming his seat; and hence arose throughout the kingdom that remarkable discussion which shook the pillars of the state. While the cause of Wilkes was agitating the nation, the question of taxing America, and the consequences that might result therefrom, were becoming every day more alarming. To add to the general discontent, there was a constant change in the administration. Lord Bute was succeeded by the Grenville ministry in 1763; Lord Rockingham was appointed prime minister in 1765; Lord Chatham formed a new arrangement in 1766; the Duke of Grafton another in 1767; and Lord North completed the series in 1770. Thus the people saw that there was little harmony of views in those who were at the helm of state, and who should, in their counsels, especially at such a time, be united. On the 22d of February, 1770, the Marquis of Rockingham, in his place in the House of Lords, moved "that a day be appointed to take into consideration the STATE OF THE NATION. In supporting this motion, he urged, that the present unhappy condition of affairs, and the universal discontent of the peo ple, arose from no temporary cause, but had grown by degrees from the first moment of his majesty's accession to the throne; that the persons in whom nis majesty then confided had introduced a system subversive of the old principles of English government; their maxim being, that the royal prerogative alone was sufficient to support government, to whatever hand the administra tion might be committed. The operation of this principle was observable in every act over which the influence of these persons had been exerted; and by a tyrannical exercise of power, they had removed from their places, not the great and dignified only, but numberless innocent families, who had subsisted on small salaries, and were now turned out to misery and ruin. By this injustice by the taxes which had been imposed at home-by the indecent management of the civil list-by the mode of taxing and treating America-by the recent invasion of the freedom of election-in short, by every procedure at home and abroad, the constitution had been wounded, and the worst effects had resulted to the nation. He therefore recommended it strongly to their lordships, to fix an early day for taking into consideration the state of the country, in all its relations, foreign, provincial, and domestic; for it had been injured in them all. That consideration, he hoped, would lead them to advise the crown to correct past errors, and to establish a system of government more suited to the people, and more consistent with the consti- It was at this period, when the public mind was thus intensely agitated, The first quality of style that will strike the reader of Junius, is the studied energy and great compression of his language. There is not only no superfluous sentence, but there is no superfluous word in any of his sentences. He seems to have aimed at this quality with the greatest care, as best suited to the style and character of his mode of thinking, and best accommodated to the high attitude which he assumed, as the satirist and judge, not of ordinary men or common authors, but of the most elevated and distinguished personages and institutions of his country; of a person who seemed to feel himself called on to treat majesty itself with perfect freedom; and before whom the supreme wisdom and might of the great councils of the state stood rebuked and in fear. But of all the varied powers that Junius has displayed, none is so peculiarly and entirely his own, as his power of sarcasın. Other authers deal occasionally in it, but with Junius it is more general; and whenever he rises to his highest sphere, he assumes the air of a being who delights to taunt and to mock his adversary. He refuses to treat him as a person who should be seriously dealt with, and pours out his contempt or indignation under an imposing affectation of deference and respect. His talent for sarcasm, too, is of the finest kind: it is so carefully but so poignantly exerted, that it is necessary to watch his words to perceive all the satire which they contain. Thus we may have an impression that the author is only speaking in his natural style, when he is employing a mode of annoyance which it requires the utmost address and skill to manage. But when his irony is perceived, it strikes like a poniard, and the wound which it makes is such as cannot be closed. Indeed, there is, perhaps, no author who possesses this quality in the same perfection, or who has exerted it with the same effect. But the style of Junius, admirable as it is, cannot be proposeu as a mode! for general imitation. It is too epigrammatic-too much characterized by the tone of invective-and too strongly compressed, to be used by any mind 1 Woodfall was afterwards tried for these alleged "libellous publications," before Ford Mansfeld and though his lordship did all he could that he might be convicted, the jury acquitted him, and thus established, on an immovable foundation, THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. * See Burke's admirable description of him, on p. 718. but one similar to that of its author, and, it may be added, but for purposes resembling those for which he employed it. Few authors, accordingly, have attempted to imitate the style of Junius, and the few that have attempted it have not succeeded. His style was exquisitely fitted for the purpose to which he destined it, and should be studied, carefully and repeatedly, by those who would see the English language in one of its happiest forms. But the nerve of Junius must belong to the man who can hope to use, successfully, the instrument which he used; for that instrument was fitted to his grasp, among ordinary men there are none who can pretend to wield it."1 and FROM THE DEDICATION TO THE ENGLISH NATION. I dedicate to you a collection of Letters, written by one of your selves for the common benefit of us all. They would never have grown to this size, without your continued encouragement and applause. To me they originally owe nothing, but a healthy, sanguine constitution. Under your care they have thriven. To you they are indebted for whatever strength or beauty they pos sess. When kings and ministers are forgotten, when the force and direction of personal satire is no longer understood, and when measures are only felt in their remotest consequences, this book will, I believe, be found to contain principles worthy to be transmitted to posterity. When you leave the unimpaired, hereditary freehold to your children, you do but half your duty. Both liberty and property are precarious, unless the possessors have sense and spirit enough to defend them. This is not the language of vanity. If I am a vain man, my gratification lies within a narrow circle. I am the sole depositary of my own secret, and it shall perish with me." I cannot doubt that you will unanimously assert the freedom of election, and vindicate your exclusive right to chocse your repre sentatives. But other questions have been started, on which your determination should be equally clear and unanimous. Let it be impressed upon your minds, let it be instilled into your children, that the liberty of the press is the palladium of all the civil, poli tical, and religious rights of an Englishman, and that the right of juries to return a general verdict, in all cases whatsoever, is an essential part of our constitution, not to be controlled or limited by the judges, nor in any shape questionable by the legislature. The power of king, lords, and commons, is not an arbitrary power. They are the trustees, not the owners of the estate. The fee 1 Woodfall's is generally considered the best edition of Junius; but an admirable one is that pub Ushed by Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1822, with notes and preliminary dissertations, and to which I am indebted for a portion of the above remarks. 2 By hereditary freehold he evidently means the constitution in its original purity. The author of the "Letters of Junius" is now clearly ascertained to be Sir Philip Francis. See a very interesting letter from Lady Francis, in Lord Campbell's "Lives of the Chancellors," voi vi. p. 263, American edition. simple is in us. They cannot alienate, they cannot waste. When we say that the legislature is supreme, we mean that it is the highest power known to the constitution:-that it is the highest in comparison with the other subordinate powers established by the laws. In this sense, the word supreme is relative, not absolute. The power of the legislature is limited, not only by the general rules of natural justice, and the welfare of the community, but by the forms and principles of our particular constitution. If this doctrine be not true, we must admit that king, lords, and commons have no rule to direct their resolutions, but merely their own will and pleasure. They might unite the legislative and execu tive power in the same hands, and dissolve the constitution by an act of parliament. But I am persuaded you will not leave it to the choice of seven hundred persons, notoriously corrupted by the crown, whether seven millions of their equals shall be freemen or slaves. These are truths unquestionable.-If they make no impression, it is because they are too vulgar and notorious. But the inattention or indifference of the nation has continued too long. You are roused at last to a sense of your danger. The remedy will soon be in your power. If Junius lives, you shall often be reminded of it. If, when the opportunity presents itself, you neglect to do your duty to yourselves and to posterity,-to God and to your country, I shall have one consolation left, in common with the meanest and basest of mankind-civil liberty may still last the life of JUNIUS. TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BEDFORD.1 MY LORD:-You are so little accustomed to receive any marks of respect or esteem from the public, that if, in the following lines, a compliment or expression of applause should escape me, I fear you would consider it as a mockery of your established character, and, perhaps, an insult to your understanding. You have nice feelings, my lord, if we may judge from your resentments. Cautious, therefore, of giving offence, where you have so little deserved it, I shall leave the illustration of your virtues to other hands. Your friends have a privilege to play upon the easiness of your temper, or possibly they are better acquainted with your good qualities than I am. You have done good by stealth. The rest is upon record. You have still left ample room for speculation, when panegyric is exhausted. You are, indeed, a very considerable man. The highest rank; a splendid fortune; and a name, glorious till it was yours, were sufficient to have supported you with meaner abilities than I think 1 This is one of the most labored of our author's letters: and perhaps there is none of them which displays, in so striking a mannor, his unrelenting spirit. you possess. From the first you derived a constitutional claim to respect; from the second, a natural extensive authority;-the last created a partial expectation of hereditary virtues. The use you have made of these uncommon advantages might have been more honorable to yourself, but could not be more instructive to man kind. We may trace it in the veneration of your country, the choice of your friends, and in the accomplishment of every sanguine hope, which the public might have conceived from the illus trious name of Russell. The eminence of your station gave you a commanding prospect of your duty. The road, which led to honor, was open to your view. You could not lose it by mistake, and you had no tempta tion to depart from it by design. Compare the natural dignity and importance of the richest peer of England;-the noble inde pendence, which he might have maintained in parliament, and the real interest and respect, which he might have acquired, not only in parliament, but through the whole kingdom; compare these glorious distinctions with the ambition of holding a share in government, the emoluments of a place, the sale of a borough, or the purchase of a corporation; and though you may not regret the virtues which create respect, you may see, with anguish, how much real importance and authority you have lost. Consider the character of an independent, virtuous Duke of Bedford; imagine what he might be in this country, then reflect one moment upon what you are. If it be possible for me to withdraw my attention from the fact, I will tell you in theory what such a man might be. Conscious of his own weight and importance, his conduct in parliament would be directed by nothing but the constitutional duty of a peer. He would consider himself as a guardian of the laws. Willing to support the just measures of government, but determined to observe the conduct of the minister with suspicion, he would oppose the violence of faction with as much firmness as the encroachments of prerogative. He would be as little capable of bargaining with the minister for places for himself, or his dependants, as of descending to mix himself in the intrigues of oppo sition. Whenever an important question called for his opinion in parliament, he would be heard, by the most profligate minister, with deference and respect. His authority would either sanctify or disgrace the measures of government. The people would look up to him as to their protector, and a virtuous prince would have one honest man in his dominions, in whose integrity and judg ment he might safely confide. If it should be the will of Provi dence to afflict him with a domestic misfortune,1 he would submit to the stroke, with feeling, but not without dignity. He would 1 The duke lately lost his only son by a fall from his horse. |