ESSAY XII. OF PASSIVE OBEDIENCE. N the former effay, we endeavored to refute the Speculative fyftems of politics, advanced in this nation; as well the religious fyftem of the one party, as the philofophical of the other. We come now to examine the practical confequences, deduced by each party, with regard to the measures of fubmiffion due to fovereigns. As the obligation to juftice is founded intirely on the interefts of fociety, which require mutual abftinence from property, in order to preferve peace among mankind; 'tis evident, that, when the execution of juftice would be attended with very pernicious confequences, that virtue muft be fufpended, and give place to public utility, in fuch extraordinary and fuch preffing emergencies. The maxim, fiat fuftitia & ruat Cælum, let juftice be performed, tho' the universe be destroyed, is apparently false, and by facrificing the end to the means, fhews a prepofterous idea of the fubordination of duties. What governor of a town makes any fcruple of burning the fuburbs, when they facilitate the advances of the enemy? Or what general abftains from plundering a neutral country, when the neceffities of war require it, and he cannot otherwife maintain his army? The cafe is the fame with the duty of allegiance; and common fenfe teaches us, that as government obliges to obedience only on account of its tendency to public utility, that duty must always, in extraordinary cafes, when public ruin would evidently attend obedience, yield to the primary and original obligation. Salus populi fuprema Lex, the fafety of the people is the fupreme law. This maxim is agreeable to the fentiments of mankind in all ages: Nor is any one, when he reads of the infurrections against a NERO, or a PHILIP, fo infatuated with party-systems, as not to wish success to the enterprize, and praise the undertakers. Even our high monarchical party, in fpite of their fublime theory, are forced, in fuch cases, to judge, and feel, and approve, in conformity to the rest of mankind. RESISTANCE, therefore, being admitted in extraordinary emergencies, the queftion can only be, among good reafoners, with regard to the degree of neceffity, which can juftify refiftance, and render it lawful or commendable. And here I must confefs, that I fhall always incline to their fide, who draw the bond of allegiance the clofeft poffible, and confider an infringement of it, as the laft refuge, in defperate cafes, when the public is in the higheft danger, from violence: and tyranny. For befides the mischiefs of a civil war, which commonly attends infurrection; 'tis certain, that where a difpofition to rebellion appears among any people, it is one chief caufe of tyranny in the rulers, and forces them into many violent measures, which they never would have embraced, had every one feemed inclined to fubmiffion and obedience. 'Tis thus the tyrannicide or affaffination, approved of by ancient maxims, inftead of keeping tyrants and ufurpers in awe, made them ten times more fierce and unrelenting; and is now justly, upon that account, abolished by the laws of nations, and univerfally condemned as a base and treacherous method of bringing to juftice thefe difturbers of fociety. BESIDES; BESIDES; we must confider, that as obedience is our duty in the common courfe of things, it ought chiefly to be inculcated; nor can any thing be more prepofterous than an anxious care and follicitude in ftating all the cafes, in which refiftance may be allowed. Thus, tho' a philofopher reasonably acknowleges, in the course of an argument, that the rules of juftice may be dispensed with in cafes of urgent neceffity; what fhould we think of a preacher or cafuift, who fhould make it his chief study to find out fuch cases, and enforce them with all the vehemence of argument and eloquence? Would he not be better employed in inculcating the general doctrine, than in difplaying the particular exceptions, which we are, perhaps, but too much inclined, of ourselves, to embrace, and to extend? THERE are, however, two reafons, which may be pleaded in defence of that party among us, who have, with fo much industry, propagated the maxims of refiftance; maxims, which, it must be confeft, are, in general, fo pernicious, and fo deftructive of civil fociety. The first is, that their antagonists carrying the doctrine of obedience to fuch an extravagant height, as not only never to mention the exceptions in extraordinary cafes (which might, perhaps, be excufable) but even pofitively to exclude them; it became neceffary to infift on these exceptions, and defend the rights of injured truth and liberty. The fecond, and, perhaps, better reafon, is founded on the nature of the BRITISH conftitution and form of government. 'Tis almoft peculiar to our conftitution to establish a first magistrate with such high pre-eminence and dignity, that, tho' limited by the laws, he is, in a manner, fo far as regards his own perfon, above the laws, and can neither be queftioned nor punished for any injury or wrong, which may be committed by him. His minifters alone, or thofe who act by his commiffion, are obnoxious to juftice; and while the prince is thus allured, by the profpect of perfonal fafety, to give the laws their free courfe, an equal fecurity is, in effect, obtained, by the punishment of leffer offenders, and at the fame time a civil war is avoided, which would be the infallible confequence, were an attack, at every turn, made directly upon the fovereign. But tho' the conftitution pays this falutary compliment to the prince, it can never reasonably be understood, by that maxim, to have determined its own deftruction, or to have established a tame fubmiffion, where he protects his minifters, perfeveres in injustice, and ufurps the whole power of the commonwealth. This cafe, indeed, is never exprefsly put by the laws; because it is impossible for them, in their ordinary course, to provide a remedy for it, or establish any magiftrate, with fuperior authority, to chastise the exorbitancies of the prince. But as a right without a remedy would be the greatest of all abfurdities; the remedy, in this cafe, is the extraordinary one of refiftance, when affairs come to that extremity, that the conftitution can be defended by it alone. Refiftance, therefore, muft, of courfe, become more frequent in the BRITISH government, than in others, which are fimpler, and confift of fewer parts and movements. Where the king is an abfolute fovereign, he has little temptation to commit fuch enormous tyranny as may justly provoke rebellion: But where he is limited, his imprudent ambition, without any great vices, may run him into that perillous fituation. This was evidently the cafe with CHARLES the Firft; and if we may now speak truth, after animofities are laid, this was alfo the cafe with JAMES the Second. These were harmless, if not, not, in their private character, good men ; but mistaking the nature of our conftitution, and engroffing the whole legislative power, it became neceffary to oppofe them with fome vehemence; and even to deprive the latter formally of that authority, which he had ufed with fuch imprudence and indifcretion. ESS SSAY XIII. OF THE PROTESTANT SUCCESSION. I SUPPOSE, that a member of parliament, in the reign of King WILLIAM or Queen ANNE, while the establishment of the Proteftant Succeffion was yet uncertain, were deliberating concerning the party he would choose in that important queftion, and weighing, with impartiality, the advantages and difadvantages on each fide. I believe the following particulars would have entered into his confideration. He would easily perceive the great advantages refulting from the restoration of the STUART family; by which we should preferve the fucceffion clear and undif puted, free from a pretender, with fuch a fpecious title as that of blood, which, with the multitude, is always the claim, the strongest and most easily comprehended. 'Tis in vain to fay, as many have done, that the queftion with regard to governors, independent of government, is frivolous, and little worth difputing, much lefs fighting about. The generality of mankind never will enter into these fentiments; and 'tis much happier, I believe, for fociety, that they do not, but ra. ther continue in their natural prejudices and prepoffeffions. How could stability be preserved in any monarchical government, (which, tho' perhaps, not the best, is, and always has been, the most common of any) unless men had fo paffionate a regard for the true heir of their royal family; and even tho' weak in understanding, or infirm in years, gave him fo great a preference above perfons the most accomplifhed in fhining talents, or celebrated for great atchievements? Would not every popular leader put in his claim at every vacancy, or even without any vacancy; and the kingdom become the theatre of perpetual wars and convulfions? The condition of the ROMAN empire, furely, was not, in this refpect, much to be envied; nor is that of the Eastern nations, who pay little regard to the title of their fovereigns, but facrifice them, every day, to the caprice or momentary humor of the populace or foldiery. 'Tis but a foolish wisdom, which is fo carefully difplayed, in undervaluing princes, and placing them on a level with the meaneft of mankind. To be fure, an anatomift finds no more in the greatest monarch than in the lowest peasant or day-laborer; and a moralift may, perhaps, frequently find lefs. But what do all these reflections tend to? We, all of us, ftill retain thefe prejudices in favor of birth and family; and neither in our serious occupations, nor most carelefs amusements, can we ever get entirely rid of them. A tragedy, that would represent the adventures of failors, or porters, or even of private gentlemen, would presently disgust us; but one that introduces kings and princes, acquires in our eyes an air of importance and dignity. Or fhould a man be able, by his fuperior wisdom, 266 to get entirely above fuch prepoffeffions, he would foon, by means of the fame wifdom, again bring himself down to them, for the fake of fociety, whofe welfare he would perceive to be intimately connected with them. Far from endea voring to undeceive the people in this particular, he would cherish fuch fentiments of reverence to their princes; as requifite to preserve a due fubordination in fociety. And tho' the lives of twenty thousand men be often facrificed to maintain a king in poffeffion of his throne, or preferve the right of fucceffion undifturbed, he entertains no indignation at the lofs, on pretence that every individual of thefe was, perhaps, in himself, as valuable as the prince he ferved. He confiders the confequences of violating the hereditary rights of kings: Confequences, which may be felt for many centuries; while the lofs of feveral thousand men brings fo little prejudice to a large kingdom, that it may not be perceived a few years afterwards. pro THE advantages of the HANOVER fucceffion are of an oppofite nature, and arife from this very circumstance, that it violates hereditary right; and places on the throne a prince, to whom birth gave no title to that dignity. 'Tis evident to any one who confiders the hiftory of this ifland, that the privileges of the people have, during the two laft centuries, been continually upon the increafe, by the divifion of the church-lands, by the alienations of the barons eftates, by the grefs of trade, and above all, by the happiness of our fituation, which, for a long time, gave us fufficient fecurity, without any ftanding army or military establishment. On the contrary, public liberty has, almoft in every other nation of EuROPE, been, during the fame period, extremely upon the decline; while the people were difgufted at the hardships of the old GOTHIC militia, and chofe rather to intruft their prince with mercenary armies, which he easily turned against themfelves. It was nothing extraordinary, therefore, that fome of our BRITISH fovereigns miftook the nature of the conftitution, and genius of the people; and as they embraced all the favorable precedents left them by their ancestors, they overlooked all those which were contrary, and which fuppofed a limitation in our government. They were encouraged in this mistake, by the example of all the neighboring princes, who, bearing the fame title or appellation, and being adorned with the fame enfigns of authority, naturally led them to claim the fame above powers and prerogatives. The flattery of courtiers farther blinded them; and It appears from the fpeeches, and proclama tions, and whole train of King JAMES I.'s actions, as well as his fon's, that they confidered the ENGLISH government as a fimple monarchy, and never imagined that any confiderable part of their fubjects entertained a contrary idea. This made them discover their pretenfions, without preparing any force to fupport them; and even without referve or difguife, which are always employed by thofe, who enter upon any new project, or endea vor to innovate in any government. King JAMES told his parliament plainly, when they meddled in ftate affairs, Ne futor ultra crepidam. He used alo, at his table, in promifcuous companies, to advance his notions, in a manner ftill more undif ufed guifed: As we may learn from a ftory told in the When Mr. WALLER Was life of Mr. WALLER, and which that poet frequently to repeat. young, he had the curiofity to go to court; and he stood in the circle, and faw King JAMES dine, where, amongst other company, there fat at table two bishops. The King, openly and aloud, propofed this question, Whether he might not take his Jubjects money, when he had occafion for it, without all this formality of parliament ? The one bishop readily replied, God forbid you should not: For you are the breath of our noftrils. The other bifhop declined anfwering, and faid he was not skilled in parliamentary cafes: But upon the King's urging him, and faying he would admit of no evasion, his Lord above all, that of the clergy, who from feveral paffages of fcripture, and these wrefted too, had erected a regular and avowed fyftem of tyranny and defpotic power. The only method of deftroying, at once, all these exorbitant claims and pretenfions, was to depart from the true hereditary line, and chufe a prince, who, being plainly a creature of the public, and receiving the crown on conditions, expreffed and avowed, found his authority established on the fame bottom with the privileges of the people. By electing him in the royal line, we cut off all hopes of ambitious fubjects, who might, in future emergencies, difturb the government by their cabals and pretenfions: By rendering the crown hereditary in his family, we avoided all the inconveniencies of elective monarchy: And by excluding the lineal heir, we fecured all our conftitutional limitations, and rendered our government uniform and of a piece. The people cherish monarchy, because protected by it: The monarch favors liberty, because created by it. And thus every advantage is obtained by the new establishment, as far as human skill and wifdom can extend itself. THESE are the feparate advantages of fixing the fucceffion, either in the house of STUART, or in that of HANOVER. There are alfo difadvantages in each eftablishment, which an impartial patriot would ponder and examine, in order to form a just judgment upon the whole. THE difadvantages of the Proteftant fucceffion confift in the foreign dominions, which are poffeffed by the princes of the HANOVER line, and which, it might be fuppofed, would engage us in the intrigues and wars of the continent, and lofe us, in fome measure, the ineftimable advantage we poffefs, of being furrounded and guarded by the fea, which we command. The difadvantages of recalling the abdicated family confift chiefly in their religion, which is more prejudicial to fociety than that established amongst us, is contrary to it, and affords no toleration or peace or fecurity to any other religion. It appears to me, that all these advantages and difadvantages are allowed on both fides; at least, by every one, who is at all fufceptible of argument or reasoning. No fubject, however loyal, pretends to deny, that the difputed title and foreign dominions of the prefent royal family are a lofs; nor is there any partizan of the STUART family, but will confefs, that the claim of hereditary, indefeasible right, and the Roman Catholic religion, are also disadvantages in that family. It belongs, therefore, to a philofopher alone, who is of neither party, to put all these circumftances in the scale, and affign to each of them its proper Lord hip replyed very pleafantly, Why, then, I 46 |