was there, and ready, if they thought proper, to be interrogated on the fubject of the riot. But no notice was taken of the message.

Ill treated as I thought I had been, not merely by the populace of Birmingham, for they were the mere tools of their fuperiors, but by the country in general, which evidently exulted in our fufferings, and afterwards by the reprefentatives of the nation, who refufed to inquire into the caufe of them, I own I was not without deliberating upon the fubject of emigration; and feveral flattering propofals were made me, efpecially from France, which was then at peace within itself, and with all the world; and I was at one time much inclined to go thither, on account of its nearnefs to England, the greeablenefs of its climate, and my having many friends there.

But I likewife confidered that, if I went thither, I should have no employment of the kind to which I had been accustomed; and the feafon of active life not being, according to the courfe of nature, quite over, I wifhed to make as much ufe of it as I could. I therefore determined to continue in England, expofed as I was not only to unbounded obloquy and infult, but to every kind of outrage; and after my invitation to fucceed my friend Dr. Price, I had no hesitation about it. Accordingly I took up my refidence where I now am, though fo prevalent was the idea of my infecurity, that I was not able to take the house in my own name; and when a friend of mine took it in his, it was with much difficulty that, after fome time, the landlord was prevailed upon to

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transfer the leafe to me. He expreffed his apprehenfions, not only of the houfe that I occupied being demolished, but also a capital house in which he' himself refides, at the distance of no less than twenty miles from London, whither he fuppofed the rioters would go next, merely for fuffering me to live in a houfe of his.

But even this does not give fuch an idea of the danger that not only myfelf, but every perfon, and every thing, that had the flighteft connexion with me, were fuppofed to be in, as the following. The managers of one of the principal charities among the Diffenters applied to me to preach their annual fermon, and I had confented. But the treasurer, a man of fortune, who knew nothing more of me than my name, was fo much alarmed at it, that he declared he could not fleep. I therefore, to his great relief, declined preaching at all.

When it was known that I was fettled where I now am, several of my friends, who lived near me, were seriously advised to remove their papers, and other most valuable effects, to fome place of greater fafety in London. On the 14th of July, 1792, it was taken for granted by many of the neighbours, that my house was to come down, just as at Birmingham the year before. When the Hackney affociation was formed, feveral fervants in the neighbourhood actually removed their goods, and when there was fome political meeting at the houfe of Mr. Breillat, though about two miles from my house, a woman whofe daughter was fervant in the house contiguous

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contiguous to mine, came to her miftrefs, to entreat: that he might be out of the way; and it was not without much difficulty that fhe was pacified, and prevailed upon to continue in the house, her mistress faying that fhe was as fafe as herself.

On feveral other occafions the neighbourhood has. been greatly alarmed on account of my being so near them. Nor was this without apparent reason. I could: name a perfon, and to appearance a reputable tradefman, who, in the company of his friends, in the hearing of one of my late congregation at Birmingham, but without knowing him to be fuch, declared that, in cafe of any disturbance,, they would immediately come to Hackney, evidently for the purpose of mischief. In this state of things, it is not to be wondered at, that of many fervants who were recommended to me,. and fome that were actually hired, very few could,. for a long time, be prevailed upon to live with me.

These facts not only fhew how general was the idea of my particular infecurity in this country; but: what is of much more confequence, and highly interesting to the country at large, an idea of the general difpofition to rioting and violence that prevails in it, and that the Diffenters are the objects of it.. Mr. Pitt very juftly obferved, in his speech on the fubject of the riots in Birmingham, that it was "the "effervefcence of the public mind." Indeed the effervefcible matter has existed in this country ever fince the civil wars in the time of Charles I. and it was particularly apparent in the reign of queen Ann. But the power of government under the former princes

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of the House of Hanover prevented its doing any mifchief. The late events fhew that this power is no longer exerted as it ufed to be, but that, on the contrary, there prevails an idea, well or ill founded, that tumultuary proceedings against Diffenters will not receive any effectual difcouragement. After what has taken place with refpect to Birmingham, all idea of much hazard for infulting and abufing the Diffenters is entirely vanished; whereas the difposition to injure the Catholics was effectually checked by the proceedings of the year 1780. From that time they have been fafe, and I rejoice in it. But from the year 1791, the Diffenters have been more exposed to infult and outrage than ever.

Having fixed myself at Clapton; unhinged as I had been, and having loft the labour of several years; yet flattering myself that I should end my days here, I took a long leafe of my houfe, and expended a confiderable fum in improving it. I also determined, with the affiftance of my friends, to refume my philofophical and other pursuits; and after an interruption amounting to about two years, it was with a pleasure that I cannot describe, that I entered my new laboratory, and began the most common preparatory proceffes, with a view to fome original inquiries. With what fuccefs I have laboured, the public has already in some measure seen, and may see more hereafter.

But though I did not choose (notwithstanding I found myself exposed to continual infult) to leave my native country, I found it neceffary to provide for &y fons elsewhere. My eldest fon was fettled in a bufinefs,

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business, which promised to be very advantageous, at Manchester; but his partner, though a man of liberality himself, informed him, on perceiving the general prevalence of the fpirit which produced the riots in Birmingham, that, owing to his relationship to me, he was under the neceffity of propofing a feparation, which accordingly took place.

On this he had an invitation to join another connexion, in a business in which the fpirit of party could not have much affected him; but he declined it. And after he had been prefent at the affizes at Warwick, he conceived fuch an idea of this country, that I do not believe that any propofal, however advantageous, would have induced him to continue in it; fo much was he affected on perceiving his father treated as I had been.

Determining to go to America, where he had no. profpect but that of being a farmer, he wished to spend a short time with a person who has greatly dif tinguished himself in that way, and one who from his own general principles, and his friendship for myself, would have given him the best advice and affiftance in his power. He, however, declined it, and acknowledged some time after, that had it been known, as it must have been, to his landlord, that he had a fon of mine with him, he feared he should have been turned out of his farm.

My fecond fon, who was prefent both at the riot, and the affizes, felt more indignation still, and willingly liftened to a proposal to fettle in France; and there his reception was but too flattering. However,

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