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France and Scotland, but by his munificence in stately buildings, and the revenues with which he endowed them for the purposes of learning, or charity, or piety, such as the abbey of Eastminster, near the Tower, a Nunnery at Dartford, the King's Hall at Cambridge, an Hospital at Calais, and St. Stephen's Chapel at Westminster.

On contrasting the history of these two Monarchs with that of our venerable Sovereign, you cannot fail to remark that his natural life already exceeds that of both his royal predecessors-that he came to the throne under circumstances far more agreeable to himself, and far more beneficial to his people-that he had to contend with none of the difficulties and dangers which usually attend the minority of princes-that he did not bring with him a dubious title, like that of Henry, whose cousin the princess Eleanor, and the lawful heiress, was living when he was crowned-that his accession was not disgraced by the turbulent and disastrous scenes which mark the beginning of Edward's reign from the machinations and debaucheries of the queen dowager, and her execrable accomplices in libertinism and oppression-that he was not impelled by any motives of self-defence, or ambition, to thwart the decisions of the laws by anticipating as Edward arbitrarily did the period of political maturity-and finally, that having begun to reign when he was legally of age, he has already performed the plenary and uncontrolled functions of majesty somewhat longer than any other English sovereign.

On circumstances so singular, so important, and et me add, so advantageous to the King and the country, the mind of every honest Englishman will dwell with satisfaction; and, though strange convulsions have disturbed the security, or destroyed the independence of other states, the shock has been seen rather than felt at home. Here the limits of obedience and authority are better defined by the laws, and better understood by the Monarch and the subject, than in any other European nation. Here substantially and visibly they have a common interest in discharging their several duties for the common good. Here each must find his own safety, and his own glory, in protecting the rights, and contributing to the happiness of the other.

As to the specific merits of the measures that have been adopted, or the comparative qualifications of the ministers who have been employed during a long and eventful reign-they are points very unfit to be discussed in a discourse from the pulpit, but very fit to be investigated impartially and seriously by every honest and enlightened well-wisher to our Sion, and equally fit to be recorded accurately, and explained copiously by future writers. Placed will they be in a situation where it will be incumbent upon them, and where it will be easy for them, to applaud without adulation-to condemn without rancour to speak of men without personal love or hatred, and to appreciate Kings without the hope of unjust gain, or the fear of unmerited persecution. To their testimony will every wise sovereign appeal, not as the willing or unwilling tools of any petty sect or fleet

ing party-not as the timid vassals of despotismnot as the profligate hirelings of corruption, but as the faithful expositors of facts, and the just dispensers of ultimate fame or infamy. It is for the historian, then, to develope the views of Sovereigns and their counsellors-to hold up their private and their public excellencies to imitation-and to trace the connection between cause and effect in their foreign and their domestic policy. It is for the moralist to expatiate on the intimate and unalterable relation that subsists between morals and politics; and to show that the stratagems of the cunning, and the outrages of the ambitious are counteracted by the righteous and irresistible will of the Deity. From the fidelity of their statements, and the justness of their remarks, future Sovereigns and future subjects may learn the perilous consequences of base craftiness and unfeeling violence on the one hand, and of perverse discontent and turbulent submission on the other.

In respect to myself, it is my office not to gratify your pride-not to cherish your prejudices -not to inflame your passions-but to point out plainly what I think the indisputable obligations which lie upon you to pray for Kings, and all that are in authority; and in your various callings to support by precept and example the noble form of society under which you live. He that endeavours to understand the genuine principles of our justly admired constitution-he that would preserve them from the encroachments of the venal, and vindicate them from the misrepresentations of

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the factious he that pays tribute where tribute is due, and honour where honour-he that contemplates the peculiar blessings granted to this kingdom, as issuing from the peculiar excellence and energy of those usages and institutions which have been transmitted to us by our forefathers, and which cannot be too diligently watched, too highly valued, or too firmly defended by ourselves-he that elevates his thoughts from these secular considerations to that Being, "from whom cometh every perfect gift"-such a man, in the real and indeed the only justifiable sense of the word, is a loyal subject. Connecting the interests of the present with those of a future world-obeying "not only forwrath, but for conscience sake"-exhorting others to obey-and discouraging, so far as in him lieth, every attempt to palliate the gradual but baneful progress of corruption, the insolent usurpations of regal ambition, and the turbulent extravagances of popular licentiousness-such a man deserves well of a Sovereign and his successor of countrymen and their posterity. While ministers disguise what may be wrongwhile courtiers exaggerate what is right-while ignorant bigots bluster-while mischievous incendiaries rail-while the rash and giddy multitude shout to-day in songs of triumph, and to-morrow upon any real, or any imaginary grievance, would turn their pruning-hooks into swords-such al man listens to the distinct and authoritative admonitions of his own well-informed and well-directed reason. He will praise with ardour-he will censure with reluctance-but he will strive to judge uprightlyand upon every proper occasion he will avow his judgment, and abide by it with moderation unfeigned, or with fortitude undismayed. Whatsoever offences may come, and whatsoever punishments may be reserved for those by whom they come, the purity of his honour will be unsullied, and the serenity of his mind will be undisturbed-he will love peace, and he will ensue it, both at home and abroad, so far as may be consistent with the sacred rules of justice, and the imperious claims of self-preservation. Whether he looks back to the dreadful changes which have subverted governments in other countries, or surveys the dangers which may be gathered around his own-whether he is called upon to stand forth as the advocate of constitutional freedom, or the champion of legitimate obediencewhether he communes with his own heart in the stillness of the chamber, or asserts his opinions amidst the noisy conflicts of party-whether, under a serious conviction of his own responsibility to God and man, in his public as well as his private conduct, he meditates on the hour of death, or prepares himself for the day of judgment-such a man, and such a man alone, may indulge the humble but earnest hope of final acceptance at the tribunal of GOD.

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