This then became a prieft-rid, pious nation, In parchment wrapp'd he came, all scribbled o'er DIALOGUE BETWEEN A FREEHOLDER AND HIS REPRESENTATIVE IN THE PARLIAMENT. Freeholder. HESE are mighty bad times. They grow worfe and worse. You are our Parliament-man, and I wish you would endeavour to mend them. Reprefentative. I am very defirous to mend them.What would you have me do? F. Do! why in the firft place I would have you vote for peace, and tell Mr. Pitt to play off no more of his fhuffling tricks, but to set about the work fincerely. R. Tell Mr. Pitt! If I were to defire Mr. Pitt to make peace in any other way than he pleafes, Mr. Wilberforce would accufe me of wishing to behead the. King. F. Then I am certain he would accufe you very falfely. R. But that is the ftile of argument now fet up, and an independent Member muft not fpeak, but as it pleases the Minister, otherwise he will be accufed of treafon ; and must be fenfible that no man likes to be accufed of treason. you F. I am very fenfible of that; but how the deuce can you be accused of treafon ? R. By R. By the new plan of argument. When Mr. Fox, judging by the acts and relying on the declarations of the Irish and British Government, warned. Minifters of the dangerous fituation of Ireland, he was accused by Mr. Wilberforce of making an inflammatory speech, tending to produce commotions in that country, and to invite the French to invade it; and Lord Dillon, following up Mr. Wilberforce's idea, has actually attributed the late attempt on Ireland to Mr. Fox's fpeeches. This is accufing Mr. Fox of treason; and although I think Mr. Fox fpoke nothing but truth, and gave very wholesome advice, yet Ĭ have not courage to encounter a charge of treason, though for the good of my country. F. Then if you cannot speak for peace, will you. demand that the war may be conducted with ability? R. I dare not. For according to Mr. Wilberforce's argument, exposing the incapacity of Minifters would be encouraging the enemy to continue hoftilities, and. even encouraging them to make a defcent on the Eng-lifh coaft. F. What won't you cenfure Lord Spencer, for allowing the French fleets to escape? Won't you tell his Lordship he may know fomething of old books, but he is totally unfit to direct our Admiralty? R. Oh! treasonable! Mr. Wilberforce would charge me point blank with inviting the French again to invade Ireland, by fhewing they had nothing to fear from our navy, the directors of it being either negli gent, ftupid, or ignorant blockheads. F. Well this is very hard. No redrefs! As you must not meddle with war or peace, furely you may endeavour to protect private property. I hold a good deal of India ftock, and you must know that I think Government ufe our Company very ill. Minifters will feize all into their own hands. They drag the Directors and bully the Proprietors into any measure they pleafe. They lord it over our property as if it were not our own, and make us give them juft what ever they chufe. They are alienating the affections of our army, and they will ruin our whole concern. Surely, you may interfere on this subject ? R. The moft dangerous of all. It would be infinuated that I have defigns againft the commercial pro-fperity of the country, and Mr. Wilberforce would fay I was defirous of alienating our valuable poffeffions in the East, by fowing difcontent among the Directors and Protectors at home, and difaffection among the Company's officers abroad. F. My eldest fon died lately in the Weft Indies of the yellow fever, and Tom is now on the eve of being fent off. Will you not endeavour to fave the thoufands of our brave countrymen, fent to conquer ruined plantations and useless islands, from a horrid and untimely grave? R. That would be with-holding the neceffary forces,. in order to allow the French to conquer our islands, im Mr. Wilberforce's opinion. F. But the money fent to the Emperor without the confent of Parliament. R. I dare not mention it. If I do, Mr. Wilberforce will fay I am fecretly paid by the French to difguft and alienate the Emperor from our alliance, that he may make peace with France, a measure which will. enable the French to invade this country. F. Then our enormous and accnmulating debt and taxes R, Would you have me charged with a defign of fowing difcontent, and making the people infenfible to. the bleffings of our prefent Administration. F. The infupportable dearnefs of provifions R. Stop! Mr. Wilberforce will turn up his eyes, and vow it is high treafon. to inflame the people, by mentioning that fubject. F. Well, then, the bills R. A thousand treafons! Would you allow thepeople to speak, when they can scarcely get food ?— Would you permit them to open their mouths, when they they have nothing with which to fill them? Mr. Wilberforce would move my committal to the Tower for ftirring up rebellion. F. He would? R. Yes, indeed, he would; and Lord Dillon, repeating Mr. Wilberforce's speeches, would fwear it was all true, that a Jacobin, a rebel, a regicide, &c. I would be attacked in the fame manner in which Mr.. Fox has been fo falfely calumniated. F. Then is it feditious to find fault with any meafure of Government? R. High treason! According to Mr. Wilberforce, it is high treason to presume to advise a heaven-born Minister, or io dare to say the people are discontented. F. Dare you not speak your mind in Parliament on any fubject? R. Oh yes! We debate with the utmost freedom, and may vote with the utmost independence on Canal bills. R. I am very forry for your fituation. times are particularly diftreffing to you. Canal bill of your's through the House, or little job to ferve you? I know the Can I help a do any other F. Oh! Lord, I never till now was convinced of the neceffity of a Parliamentary Reform. I [Morning Poft.] A NEW SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. MR. BALDWIN, (Exit.) OBSERVED lately, in fome of the papers, (whether in your's, or not, I do not at prefent remember) a kind of fatirical piece, in which a Frenchman recommends to the Parifians to feed their children with goat's milk, to render them expert and active dancers, dancing being to the French the whole duty of man.-But, Sir, as I am one of those who confider the pre fent fent generation as only apes of those which are past, I have difcovered that this advice, which is given in jeft, was formerly a matter of very ferious experience.-Father Verani, who published three huge volumes on education and morality, in the year 1710, gravely mentions a child, who having been nurfed with goat's milk, could not forbear leaping at all times, when he grew in years; and another, who, having been nurfed with fow's milk, took always great delight in wallowing in the mire. Now, Sir, as I confider this as very respectable authority, (for who can doubt the veracity of a man who who has writtten three folio volumes ?) I have been wondering that a scheme which promised to be very ufeful, could not have been extracted from the hints of Father Verani. The expence of keeping animals of all kinds is now very great, but if we can make men perform all the bufinefs of animals, how vaft a faving would it be? I do not mean that it would be proper to fatten men for the markets, because I am afraid we could not eafily overcome the prejudices we have against devouring one another. But, according to the plan hinted above, we might certainly find fubftitutes for those domestic animals, the keep of which is now a matter of very ferious expence. We might, for inftance, by nurfing a child upon mare's milk, give it, when grown up, fuch a portion of agility, as to fupply Newmarket with a kind of twolegged bits of blood, capable of running races, and deciding the bets of thofe wife men, who carry their fortunes to that celebrated place of barter. I would try the experiment firft with fome of the young jockies, and if there be truth in what Father Verani has afferted, I should not have the leaft doubt of qualifying them in the courfe of a few months to win the plate. Perhaps, it might be enough, if they could fupply the place of mail-coach horfes, or decide a bet of fifteen. miles in the hour on the Whitechapel road; but having performed that, it would be unreasonable to doubt of |