The Writings Of Thomas Paine Volume III Part 6

In this hopeless state of things, the First Part of the Rights of Man made its appearance. It had to combat with a strange mixture of prejudice and indifference; it stood exposed to every species of newspaper abuse; and besides this, it had to remove the obstructions which Mr. Burke's rude and outrageous attack on the French Revolution had artfully raised.

1 The Royal Proclamation issued against seditious writings, May 21st. This pamphlet, the proof of which was read in Paris (see P. S. of preceding chapter), was published at 1s.

6d. by H. D. Symonds, Paternoster Row, and Thomas Clio Rickman, 7 Upper Marylebone Street (where it was written), both pub-Ushers being soon after prosecuted.--_Editor_.

But how easy does even the most illiterate reader distinguish the spontaneous sensations of the heart, from the laboured productions of the brain. Truth, whenever it can fully appear, is a thing so naturally familiar to the mind, that an acquaintance commences at first sight.

No artificial light, yet discovered, can display all the properties of daylight; so neither can the best invented fiction fill the mind with every conviction which truth begets.

To overthrow Mr. Burke's fallacious book was scarcely the operation of a day. Even the phalanx of Placemen and Pensioners, who had given the tone to the mult.i.tude, by clamouring forth his political fame, became suddenly silent; and the final event to himself has been, that as he rose like a rocket, he fell like the stick.

It seldom happens, that the mind rests satisfied with the simple detection of error or imposition. Once put in motion, _that_ motion soon becomes accelerated; where it had intended to stop, it discovers new reasons to proceed, and renews and continues the pursuit far beyond the limits it first prescribed to itself. Thus it has happened to the people of England. From a detection of Mr. Burke's incoherent rhapsodies, and distorted facts, they began an enquiry into the first principles of Government, whilst himself, like an object left far behind, became invisible and forgotten.

Much as the First Part of RIGHTS OF Man impressed at its first appearance, the progressive mind soon discovered that it did not go far enough. It detected errors; it exposed absurdities; it shook the fabric of political superst.i.tion; it generated new ideas; but it did not produce a regular system of principles in the room of those which it displaced. And, if I may guess at the mind of the Government-party, they beheld it as an unexpected gale that would soon blow over, and they forbore, like sailors in threatening weather, to whistle, lest they should encrease(sic) the wind. Every thing, on their part, was profound silence.

When the Second Part of _Rights of Man, combining Principle and Practice_, was preparing to appear, they affected, for a while, to act with the same policy as before; but finding their silence had no more influence in stifling the progress of the work, than it would have in stopping the progress of time, they changed their plan, and affected to treat it with clamorous contempt. The Speech-making Placemen and Pensioners, and Place-expectants, in both Houses of Parliament, the _Outs_ as well as the _Ins_, represented it as a silly, insignificant performance; as a work incapable of producing any effect; as something which they were sure the good sense of the people would either despise or indignantly spurn; but such was the overstrained awkwardness with which they harangued and encouraged each other, that in the very act of declaring their confidence they betrayed their fears.

As most of the rotten Borough Addressers are obscured in holes and corners throughout the country, and to whom a newspaper arrives as rarely as an almanac, they most probably have not had the opportunity of knowing how far this part of the farce (the original prelude to all the Addresses) has been acted. For _their_ information, I will suspend a while the more serious purpose of my Letter, and entertain them with two or three Speeches in the last Session of Parliament, which will serve them for politics till Parliament meets again.

You must know, Gentlemen, that the Second Part of the Rights of Man (the book against which you have been presenting Addresses, though it is most probable that many of you did not know it) was to have come out precisely at the time that Parliament last met. It happened not to be published till a few days after. But as it was very well known that the book would shortly appear, the parliamentary Orators entered into a very cordial coalition to cry the book down, and they began their attack by crying up the _blessings_ of the Const.i.tution.

Had it been your fate to have been there, you could not but have been moved at the heart-and-pocket-felt congratulations that pa.s.sed between all the parties on this subject of _blessings_; for the _Outs_ enjoy places and pensions and sinecures as well as the _Ins_, and are as devoutly attached to the firm of the house.

One of the most conspicuous of this motley groupe, is the Clerk of the Court of King's Bench, who calls himself Lord Stormont. He is also called Justice General of Scotland, and Keeper of Sc.o.o.n, (an opposition man,) and he draws from the public for these nominal offices, not less, as I am informed, than six thousand pounds a-year, and he is, most probably, at the trouble of counting the money, and signing a receipt, to shew, perhaps, that he is qualified to be Clerk as well as Justice.

He spoke as follows.(*)

"That we shall all be unanimous in expressing our attachment to the const.i.tution of these realms, I am confident. It is a subject upon which there can be no divided opinion in this house. I do not pretend to be deep read in the knowledge of the Const.i.tution, but I take upon me to say, that from the extent of my knowledge [_for I have so many thousands a year for nothing_] it appears to me, that from the period of the Revolution, for it was by no means created then, it has been, both in theory and practice, the wisest system that ever was formed. I never was [he means he never was till now] a dealer in political cant. My life has not been occupied in that way, but the speculations of late years seem to have taken a turn, for which I cannot account. When I came into public life, the political pamphlets of the time, however they might be charged with the heat and violence of parties, were agreed in extolling the radical beauties of the Const.i.tution itself. I remember [_he means he has forgotten_] a most captivating eulogium on its charms, by Lord Bolingbroke, where he recommends his readers to contemplate it in all its aspects, with the a.s.surance that it would be found more estimable the more it was seen, I do not recollect his precise words, but I wish that men who write upon these subjects would take this for their model, instead of the political pamphlets, which, I am told, are now in circulation, [_such, I suppose, as Rights of Man,_] pamphlets which I have not read, and whose purport I know only by report, [_he means, perhaps, by the noise they make_.] This, however, I am sure, that pamphlets tending to unsettle the public reverence for the const.i.tution, will have very little influence. They can do very little harm--for [_by the bye, he is no dealer in political cant_] the English are a sober-thinking people, and are more intelligent, more solid, more steady in their opinions, than any people I ever had the fortune to see. [_This is pretty well laid on, though, for a new beginner_.] But if there should ever come a time when the propagation of those doctrines should agitate the public mind, I am sure for every one of your Lords.h.i.+ps, that no attack will be made on the const.i.tution, from which it is truly said that we derive all our prosperity, without raising every one of your Lords.h.i.+ps to its support It will then be found that there is no difference among us, but that we are all determined to stand or fall together, in defence of the inestimable system "--[_of places and pensions_].

* See his speech in the Morning Chronicle of Feb. 1.-- Author.

After Stormont, on the opposition side, sat down, up rose another n.o.ble Lord, on the ministerial side, Grenville. This man ought to be as strong in the back as a mule, or the sire of a mule, or it would crack with the weight of places and offices. He rose, however, without feeling any inc.u.mbrance, full master of his weight; and thus said this n.o.ble Lord to t'other n.o.ble Lord!

"The patriotic and manly manner in which the n.o.ble Lord has declared his sentiments on the subject of the const.i.tution, demands my cordial approbation. The n.o.ble Viscount has proved, that however we may differ on particular measures, amidst all the jars and dissonance of parties, we are unanimous in principle. There is a perfect and entire consent [_between us_] in the love and maintenance of the const.i.tution as happily subsisting. It must undoubtedly give your Lords.h.i.+ps concern, to find that the time is come [heigh ho!] when there is propriety in the expressions of regard to [o! o! o!] the const.i.tution. And that there are men [confound--their--po-li-tics] who disseminate doctrines hostile to the genuine spirit of our well balanced system, [_it is certainly well balanced when both sides hold places and pensions at once._] I agree with the n.o.ble viscount that they have not [I hope] much success. I am convinced that there is no danger to be apprehended from their attempts: but it is truly important and consolatory [to us placemen, I suppose] to know, that if ever there should arise a serious alarm, there is but one spirit, one sense, [_and that sense I presume is not common sense_]

and one determination in this house "--which undoubtedly is to hold all their places and pensions as long as they can.

Both those speeches (except the parts enclosed in parenthesis, which are added for the purpose of ill.u.s.tration) are copied verbatim from the Morning Chronicle of the 1st of February last; and when the situation of the speakers is considered, the one in the opposition, and the other in the ministry, and both of them living at the public expence, by sinecure, or nominal places and offices, it required a very unblus.h.i.+ng front to be able to deliver them. Can those men seriously suppose any nation to be so completely blind as not to see through them? Can Stormont imagine that the political _cant_, with which he has larded his harangue, will conceal the craft? Does he not know that there never was a cover large enough to hide _itself_? Or can Grenvilie believe that his credit with the public encreases with his avarice for places?

But, if these orators will accept a service from me, in return for the allusions they have made to the _Rights of Man_, I will make a speech for either of them to deliver, on the excellence of the const.i.tution, that shall be as much to the purpose as what they have spoken, or as _Bolingbroke's captivating eulogium_. Here it is.

"That we shall all be unanimous in expressing our attachment to the const.i.tution, I am confident. It is, my Lords, incomprehensibly good: but the great wonder of all is the wisdom; for it is, my lords, _the wisest system that ever was formed_.

"With respect to us, n.o.ble Lords, though the world does not know it, it is very well known to us, that we have more wisdom than we know what to do with; and what is still better, my Lords, we have it all in stock. I defy your Lords.h.i.+ps to prove, that a t.i.ttle of it has been used yet; and if we but go on, my Lords, with the frugality we have hitherto done, we shall leave to our heirs and successors, when we go out of the world, the whole stock of wisdom, _untouched_, that we brought in; and there is no doubt but they will follow our example. This, my lords, is one of the blessed effects of the hereditary system; for we can never be without wisdom so long as we keep it by us, and do not use it.

"But, my Lords, as all this wisdom is hereditary property, for the sole benefit of us and our heirs, and it is necessary that the people should know where to get a supply for their own use, the excellence of our const.i.tution has provided us a King for this very purpose, and for _no other_. But, my Lords, I perceive a defect to which the const.i.tution is subject, and which I propose to remedy by bringing a bill into Parliament for that purpose.

"The const.i.tution, my Lords, out of delicacy, I presume, has left it as a matter of _choice_ to a King whether he will be wise or not. It has not, I mean, my Lords, insisted upon it as a const.i.tutional point, which, I conceive it ought to have done; for I pledge myself to your Lords.h.i.+ps to prove, and that with _true patriotic boldness_, that he has _no choice in the matter_. This bill, my Lords, which I shall bring in, will be to declare, that the const.i.tution, according to the true intent and meaning thereof, does not invest the King with this choice; our ancestors were too wise to do that; and, in order to prevent any doubts that might otherwise arise, I shall prepare, my Lords, an enacting clause, to fix the wisdom of Kings by act of Parliament; and then, my Lords our Const.i.tution will be the wonder of the world!

"Wisdom, my lords, is the one thing needful: but that there may be no mistake in this matter, and that we may proceed consistently with the true wisdom of the const.i.tution, I shall propose a _certain criterion_ whereby the _exact quant.i.ty of wisdom_ necessary for a King may be known. [Here should be a cry of, Hear him! Hear him!]

"It is recorded, my Lords, in the Statutes at Large of the Jews, 'a book, my Lords, which I have not read, and whose purport I know only by report,' _but perhaps the bench of Bishops can recollect something about it_, that Saul gave the most convincing proofs of royal wisdom before he was made a King, _for he was sent to seek his father's a.s.ses and he could not find them_.

"Here, my Lords, we have, most happily for us, a case in point: This precedent ought to be established by act of Parliament; and every King, before he be crowned, should be sent to seek his father's a.s.ses, and if he cannot find them, he shall be declared wise enough to be King, according to the true meaning of our excellent const.i.tution. All, therefore, my Lords, that will be necessary to be done by the enacting clause that I shall bring in, will be to invest the King beforehand with the quant.i.ty of wisdom necessary for this purpose, lest he should happen not to possess it; and this, my Lords, we can do without making use of any of our own.

"We further read, my Lords, in the said Statutes at Large of the Jews, that Samuel, who certainly was as mad as any Man-of-Rights-Man now-a-days (hear him! hear him!), was highly displeased, and even exasperated, at the proposal of the Jews to have a King, and he warned them against it with all that a.s.surance and impudence of which he was master. I have been, my Lords, at the trouble of going all the way to _Paternoster-row_, to procure an extract from the printed copy. I was told that I should meet with it there, or in _Amen-eorner_, for I was then going, my Lords, to rummage for it among the curiosities of the _Antiquarian Society_. I will read the extracts to your Lords.h.i.+ps, to shew how little Samuel knew of the matter.

"The extract, my Lords, is from 1 Sam. chap. viii.:

"'And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a King.

"'And he said, this will be the manner of the King that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his hors.e.m.e.n; and some shall run before his chariots.

"'And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties, and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

"'And he will take your daughters to be confectionnes, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

"'And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive-yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

"'And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers and to his servants.

"'And he will take your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your goodliest young men, and your a.s.ses, and put them to his work.

"'And he will take the tenth of your sheep, and ye shall be his servants.

"'And ye shall cry out in that day, because of your King, which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.'

"Now, my Lords, what can we think of this man Samuel? Is there a word of truth, or any thing like truth, in all that he has said? He pretended to be a prophet, or a wise man, but has not the event proved him to be a fool, or an incendiary? Look around, my Lords, and see if any thing has happened that he pretended to foretell! Has not the most profound peace reigned throughout the world ever since Kings were in fas.h.i.+on? Are not, for example, the present Kings of Europe the most peaceable of mankind, and the Empress of Russia the very milk of human kindness? It would not be worth having Kings, my Lords, if it were not that they never go to war.

"If we look at home, my Lords, do we not see the same things here as are seen every where else? Are our young men taken to be hors.e.m.e.n, or foot soldiers, any more than in Germany or in Prussia, or in Hanover or in Hesse? Are not our sailors as safe at land as at sea? Are they ever dragged from their homes, like oxen to the slaughter-house, to serve on board s.h.i.+ps of war? When they return from the perils of a long voyage with the merchandize of distant countries, does not every man sit down under his own vine and his own fig-tree, in perfect security? Is the tenth of our seed taken by tax-gatherers, or is any part of it given to the King's servants? In short, _is not everything as free from taxes as the light from Heaven!_ (1)

"Ah! my Lords, do we not see the blessed effect of having Kings in every thing we look at? Is not the G. R., or the broad R., stampt upon every thing? Even the shoes, the gloves, and the hats that we wear, are enriched with the impression, and all our candles blaze a burnt-offering.

"Besides these blessings, my Lords, that cover us from the sole of the foot to the crown of the head, do we not see a race of youths growing up to be Kings, who are the very paragons of virtue? There is not one of them, my Lords, but might be trusted with untold gold, as safely as the other. Are they not '_more sober, intelligent, more solid, more steady_,' and withal, _more learned, more wise, more every thing, than any youths we '_ever had the fortune to see.' Ah! my Lords, they are a _hopeful family_.

"The blessed prospect of succession, which the nation has at this moment before its eyes, is a most undeniable proof of the excellence of our const.i.tution, and of the blessed hereditary system; for nothing, my Lords, but a const.i.tution founded on the truest and purest wisdom could admit such heaven-born and heaven-taught characters into the government.--Permit me now, my Lords, to recal your attention to the libellous chapter I have just read about Kings. I mention this, my Lords, because it is my intention to move for a bill to be brought into parliament to expunge that chapter from the Bible, and that the Lord Chancellor, with the a.s.sistance of the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, and the Duke of Clarence, be requested to write a chapter in the room of it; and that Mr. Burke do see that it be truly canonical, and faithfully inserted."--Finis.

1 Allusion to the window-tax.--Editor,

If the Clerk of the Court of King's Bench should chuse to be the orator of this luminous encomium on the const.i.tution, I hope he will get it well by heart before he attempts to deliver it, and not have to apologize to Parliament, as he did in the case of Bolingbroke's encomium, for forgetting his lesson; and, with this admonition I leave him.

Having thus informed the Addressers of what pa.s.sed at the meeting of Parliament, I return to take up the subject at the part where I broke off in order to introduce the preceding speeches.

I was then stating, that the first policy of the Government party was silence, and the next, clamorous contempt; but as people generally choose to read and judge for themselves, the work still went on, and the affectation of contempt, like the silence that preceded it, pa.s.sed for nothing.

Thus foiled in their second scheme, their evil genius, like a will-with-a-wisp, led them to a third; when all at once, as if it had been unfolded to them by a fortune-teller, or Mr. Dundas had discovered it by second sight, this once harmless, insignificant book, without undergoing the alteration of a single letter, became a most wicked and dangerous Libel. The whole Cabinet, like a s.h.i.+p's crew, became alarmed; all hands were piped upon deck, as if a conspiracy of elements was forming around them, and out came the Proclamation and the Prosecution; and Addresses supplied the place of prayers.

Ye silly swains, thought I to myself, why do you torment yourselves thus? The Rights OF Man is a book calmly and rationally written; why then are you so disturbed? Did you see how little or how suspicious such conduct makes you appear, even cunning alone, had you no other faculty, would hush you into prudence. The plans, principles, and arguments, contained in that work, are placed before the eyes of the nation, and of the world, in a fair, open, and manly manner, and nothing more is necessary than to refute them. Do this, and the whole is done; but if ye cannot, so neither can ye suppress the reading, nor convict the author; for the Law, in the opinion of all good men, would convict itself, that should condemn what cannot be refuted.

Having now shown the Addressers the several stages of the business, prior to their being called upon, like Caesar in the Tyber, crying to Ca.s.sius, "_help, Ca.s.sius, or I sink_!" I next come to remark on the policy of the Government, in promoting Addresses; on the consequences naturally resulting therefrom; and on the conduct of the persons concerned.

With respect to the policy, it evidently carries with it every mark and feature of disguised fear. And it will hereafter be placed in the history of extraordinary things, that a pamphlet should be produced by an individual, unconnected with any sect or party, and not seeking to make any, and almost a stranger in the land, that should compleatly frighten a whole Government, and that in the midst of its most triumphant security. Such a circ.u.mstance cannot fail to prove, that either the pamphlet has irresistible powers, or the Government very extraordinary defects, or both. The nation exhibits no signs of fear at the Rights of Man; why then should the Government, unless the interest of the two are really opposite to each other, and the secret is beginning to be known? That there are two distinct cla.s.ses of men in the nation, those who pay taxes, and those who receive and live upon the taxes, is evident at first sight; and when taxation is carried to excess, it cannot fail to disunite those two, and something of this kind is now beginning to appear.