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mony, and above all, a party-fpirited opiniatrety, difgraced, and vulgariz'd the oratory of the contending parties, who, like mere attornies, maintained their cue of talking eternally on one fide of the question, without knowing the value of making those fair conceffions, thofe occafional acknowlegments of right, even in their opponents, which are fo great a grace, and form fuch favourable prepoffeffions of the candor and wisdom of the party who makes them. The prevalence of the chiefs of the parties, more than any concern for the public, engroffed the attention, and zeal of the humble herds of their refpective followers, whilft fome lay perdue, in readiness to fide with the con-queror, as foon as it fhould be decided.

Quis nemori imperitet, quem tota armenta fequantur.

Yet, even in that wretched period, it is but fair to remark, that it was too often the cruel and unjuft practice to accufe men in great employs, of difhonefty and corruption, whereas they were in truth, rather objects of the greatest pity. Mere want of parts, or intellectual difability, after all, are misfortunes, and " never crimes.'

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And again farther on in these,

It may be observed, that in a late conflict of embattled parties, thofe unmeaning cant-words, his Majefty's fervice, and the good of the country, which ufed to be fo falfely and undecently treated as diftinct points, and fo emphatically refounded on each fide, worn out as they were to windowed raggedness, were at laft honestly dropped. A new æra now opened: a more fair, if not a more modeft fyftem, took place of those ftale, and transparent impofitions, by which the public had been fo long amufed, and late, but at length, ceased to be ⚫ blinded. The leaders of the conflicting parties put their diffenfions openly and avowedly on the foot of perfonal pretenfion to power. Court and country were equally out of the queftion: nor was there any other matter for wrangling, fo much as pretended, than whether John-a-Nokes or Tom-a-Styles fhould be the pay-mafter, and of course, implicitly the general of the mercenaries; which, by the by, was a matter at bottom of about as much importance to the public, as which ideot of a horfe-fancier fhould have won the laft race at Newmarket; to that public I fay, whom experience had long fatisfied, that power might change hands, without changing maxims or meafures; and that it was ftill the fame dull ftate-farce, with perhaps a little alteration in the caft of parts."

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He has alfo the following paffage in his laft page but one. 'Never were thofe great refolutions, which have fo often faved nations on the brink of the precipice, mote neceffary than now. Firm, and high fpirited meafures, and thofe alone, planned with coolness, and executed with fire, may yet repair

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that recent lofs and difhonour, for which thousands of fuck worthless lives as his, whofe crime in it, is more immediately in fight, can be but a paltry atonement to a nation fo deeply injured, and fo juftly incensed: whilst probably those who were in a great measure, and primarily the occafion of it, would not ⚫ be forry to fee the people opening in full cry, and hunting the change, till they had run their refentment out of breath, or evaporated it upon that pitiful object.'

VI. Reafons humbly offered, to prove, that the Letter printed at the End of the French Memorial of Juftification, is a French Forgery, and falfly afcribed to his R-1 H—ss. 8vo. Is. Collyer.

What is faid of a Witch's prayer, is true, when applied to this performance: With the face of an out-work to this FortRoyal, it is, in effect, a battery raised against it: and it is no fault of the engineer who conducts the attack, and who seems to be tolerably well versed in his trade, if he does not lay it level with the ground.

His method of doing this is two fold we fhall give a specimen of each, and leave the Reader to his own reflections. First, undertaking to enumerate the great qualities of this great General, it is in this manner he makes out his lift.

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First, no General fo judicioufly diftinguishes what men ought ⚫ to be chofen for every kind of enterprize, either those who are to command, or those who are to obey.

Secondly, no Commander has ever been more intelligent, explicit, and juft in his orders, to all thofe whom he has appointed to command.

Thirdly, no man is more acquainted with the Geography, nature of the place, and nature of the enemy, against whom he fends an army, or plans an expedition, by what methods • fuccefs ought to be purfued, or is most eafily obtained.

Fourthly, no General is fo well filled in all the precautions which are neceffary to prevent a furprize, or the fpreading a panie amongst an army.

Fifthly, no General so truly understands the methods of re⚫gularly supplying an army with neceffary provifions, or how it may be transported from one part to another with the greatest facility to the foldiers.

Sixthly, no Commander has ever equalled him in defining troops to the duties for which they are adapted, from the raw• eft militia and irregulars, to the best difciplined and veteran ⚫ forces.

All thefe qualifications being acknowleged, by nature and study, to be inherent in his, and Orders repugnant to them in the Letter; it is easy to prove fyllogifically, that • he cannot be the author of it, in the following manner : • Major. No great General can be author of ridiculous orders. • Minor.

Dictator is the greatest General in

Minor. The fuppofed R 6 the world. Conclufion. Therefore the R-1 Dictator is not the author of thofe Orders. [This is almost as good logic as Dr. Free's.] Secondly, in his analyfis of the Letter, the vein runs as follows.

Should the Ohio expedition continue any confiderable time, 3 and PI's and Sly's regiments be found enough to "undertake, in the mean while, the reduction of Niagara, his "RIHfs would have you confider whether you could go there in perfon, leaving the command of the troops on the "Ohio to fome Officer on whom you might depend, unless you "fhould think it better for the fervice, to fend thofe troops un“ der some person whom you have defigned to command on the "Ohio; but this is a nice affair, and claims your particular at"tention."

Very farcaftical, indeed, Monfieur; you have written this paragraph long fince you have known that the Ohio expedition was finished in an hour, and that no Officer under Mr. Braddock was thought fit to be intrufted with the command in chief. • Very fneering, indeed, you call that a nice affair to determine, whether a man shall resolve to attack du Quefne, which cannot affect Niagara; or Niagara, which muft caufe the furrender of ⚫ du Quefne, reducing Braddock, and even his fuppofed R--1 Re⚫commender, to a more defpicable fituation than the ass between two bundles of hay, which was fufpended by the equality of the objects; whereas you have infinuated thofe Generals to be held in fufpenfe by unequal objects, the next paragraph declar'ing Niagara of the greatest confequence.

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This ungentleman-like infinuation feems defigned to invalidate the force of the fecond military excellence alfo. Believe me, it is in vain; your army may as well take Gibraltar, by throwing eggs at it, as diminish the fame of him against whom this whole malice is intended.

Now follows another paragraph of Orders, equally malicious and impoflible.

66

If, after the Ohio expedition is ended, it shall be neceffary "for you to go with your whole force to Niagara, it is the opi"nion of his R-1 H- fs, that you should carefully en"deavour to find out a fhorter way from the Ohio thither, than "that of the Lakes, which, however, ye are not to attempt un"der any pretence whatfoever, without a moral certainty of be"ing fupplied with provifions, &c. As to your defign of mak"ing yourself maffer of Niagara, which is of the greatest con"fequence, his R-1 H- -fs recommends it to you, to leave "nothing to Chance in the profecution of that enterprize.)

This Order of finding a fhorter way by land than through the lakes, is another fevere fneer upon the cutting down whole ⚫ forefts to make a road to du Quefne, where the English army

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never ought to have gone; but as that command has been already proved impoffible to proceed from the fuppofed great Dictator's mouth, fo must this for the fame reafon; befides which, the directing B- -k to find a fhorter way than through the lakes, is the grofieft affront that ever was offered to fo auguft a perfon. Can the R- General have imagined, that there is a fhorter way than a trait line between two points? Or would he have given fuch Orders, without obferving, that a line drawn between du Quefne and Niagara, muft país through • almost a hundred miles in length of the lake Erie ?

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A Command the like of this, is just faying, Go the fartheft way about, fpend me two or three months in cutting roads for a 'hundred miles through forefts, otherwife impaffable, harrafs your men and horfes to death with needlefs fatigue, lose your artillery in the road, lay yourselves open to momentary ambufcade, fickness, and death, notwithstanding you can pass the whole way by water in a few days, without labour or danger, carrying all the ammunition, baggage, and provifion, with the greatest care to the whole army. This was contrived to deftroy the belief of the fourth article of military excellence.

As to the attempting the paffage by land or water, without a moral Certainty of provifion, it is morally certain equally ridiculous; yet at the fame time a tenth part of the provision, ⚫ which is ten times as easily provided, will be fufficient by water, which is neceffary by land; because the journey will not take up a tenth part of the time.

The laft fentence is, however, eminently beyond all the former, it is only to be paralleled by itself, as has been already moft happily expreffed and remarked, by former writers on ⚫ former occafions.

"You are to leave nothing to Chance in profecuting the fiege ❝ of Niagara."

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This, indeed, would have been moft excellent advice, if, ⚫ like Harlequin's dead horfe, it had not one fmall fault attending it, that of never being capable to be of ufe. For example, by what kind of fagacity, though the admonition was ever fo ⚫ well recommended, could Mr. B-k have guarded againft the Chance of being killed by a fhot from the Fortification, if ⚫ he went to the fiege; the Chance of being beaten by a fuperior number of the enemy; the Chance of being out,generalled by the antagonist Commander; the Chance of fickness and death of him and his troops; the Chance of interception of provifion, and raifing the fiege through want of fupplies; and the Chance of a thousand other accidents? When fuch Orders are given, without telling how they may be put into execation, What is it but commanding impoffibilities? And whoever had received this Command, to leave nothing to Chance in attackfing Niagara, ought to have confidered it as an abfolute prohi⚫bition from attempting it at all, the only method by which all Chance of miscarriage could have been avoided.'

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VII. A ferious Defence of fome late Measures of the Administration; particularly with regard to the Introduction and Establishment of Foreign Troops. 8vo. Is. Morgan.

This is another ironical performance; and tho' not directed against any particular perfonage, is calculated to inflame the political Tetter, at prefent gathering and spreading, by the fame kind of tickling irritation. Neither this, nor the former, it is reafonable to believe, are wholly the work of thofe Gentlemen, who, according to the City-watchmaker,* are Patriots through their Indigence; fome particular marks of intelligence, which are to be distinguished in each, feeming to argue, that the documents, at leaft, in which they are founded, were furnished by perfons who stood higher, and faw farther, than they can be fuppofed to do.

Two excerpts, taken out of different parts of this performance, will serve to give a tolerable idea of the political knowlege contained in it: viz.

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Though our misfortunes and difgraces in the Mediterranean, have, of late, been the general topic of conversation, few or none of my countrymen, fo far as I obferve, have reasoned upon them with propriety, or traced them to their proper fource; but have contented themselves with affigning caufes, which, when examined, do not appear adequate to the effect.

Thus fome have pleased themfelves with throwing all the blame upon the miniftry at home, who have been accused of want of abilities or want of honesty, of having neglected or betrayed their truft; and it hath been no unusual fund of clamour against them, that they deferred fending a fleet into the Mediterranean, till it was too late to fave our poffeffions there, and at laft, fent it fo weak as to be unable to fave them, even if it had failed much fooner. But Gentlemen who reafon in this manner, are not aware that unanswerable arguments may be urged, to free the administration from any blame on this head. In a word, the French preparations for invading Britain, could not but alarm the wife patriots who prefide in the cabinet. For tho Admiral Hawke was fent to cruize off Breft, in the beginning of March, with a fleet fuperior to that of the enemy blocked up there; tho' a vaft fleet befides, lay at Spithead ready to defend our coafts; and tho' it was well known, that no fhips were collected in any port of France for an embarkation of troops, except at Toulon; yet as Marêchal Belleifle, who knew the road to Windfor, had been nominated General upon the fea-coafts; as the French minifters at foreign courts, who cannot be fuppofed to be politicians at the expence of "truth, made no fecret of the intended invasion of England; ⚫ and as the Dutch Gazettes, remarkable for conveying authentic intelligence, gave us formidable accounts of French troops

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* See Art. II. of this Catalogue.
X

REV. Sep. 1736.

⚫ marching

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