An essay on Government. By Philopatria (R. F. A. L.)

Front matter

ox GOVERNMENT. BY MRS. R. F. A. LEE. Ivoniioii x PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, ST T. OILIET, CROWN COURT. "f AND SOLD BY JOHN JOSEPH STOCKDALE, 41, PALL-MALL. 1S09. ON GOVERNMENT, HUMBLY DEDICATED TO THE BRITISH NATION. In dedicating this Essay to the British Nation, I only give a public proof of those sentiments of attachment to its cause, which have ever animated my heart ; sentiments which, had they not been thus ma nifested, would still have existed ; yet much as I revere the name of a country* that perhaps emerged from the waves, ere Thracia led her steeds to war, or proud Ionia gave * Albion. DEDICATION. laws to her senate, I would not (were such a condition offered) gain its favour by instilling into the people a narrow-minded policy, or a blind partiality, even to that soil which claims so ancient and illustrious an origin : I would not flatter them into a belief that they are the favourites of Heaven, and models of imitation for other nations, unless they were really thus characterized ; I would not suffer them to sacrifice even to Patriotism those sacred principles, which teach them that some of the most renowned among: their ancestors had the World for their country.

When we contemplate the deeds of former times, and the monuments on which the exploits of those who now lie in the dust are recorded, we DEDICATION. V experience an awful sense of morta lity, and the goal, at which all ri valry and enmity must cease, is al most involuntarily brought before our eyes ; but are we, therefore, to be chilled into a state of inactivity ? Is a proper degree of zeal for the interests of humanity, and even for those of our country, to yield to sor did prejudices ? Is the flame of bene volence to be suppressed, because the same final decree awaits all mankind ? or because some of those who are deceased, have been as much entitled to our regard as any living objects that claim our par ticular attention ? Such principles render torpid the best feelings of the heart, they are subversive of every thing great and good, they prevent those exertions in the cause ¥1 DEDICATION. of public and private happiness, which have a most salutary effect, by reminding men of their common origin : it is one of the chief objects of this Essay to oppose them ; and to draw a line between the rage of mere factions, and the fervour of that Spirit which supported the orient seat of Albion, when first she rose refulgent from the seas — the Spirit of Liberty.

On opening the pages of History, we are mortified at seeing a series of disputes for territory, for forms of religion, and for systems of go vernment ; the nature of reason as well as of laws, sometimes appears to have been forgotten, and the standards of Folly and Ignorance raised on high to mock their power ; Erxor seems to have pervaded, in DEDICATION. VU a triumphant manner, every corner of the globe, and with impious ma lice, like the vapour which obscures the splendour of the sun, to have opposed the light of Truth : yet the above mortifying facts do not prove the weakness of one nation, more than of another : some defects, perhaps, in the systems attached to all, may have contributed to the miseries of which each has com plained. After the destruction of cities and their inhabitants, the laws of the Universe are still the same ; the heavenly orbs still continue their accustomed course through immen sity : whether millions spring into existence, or are mingled with the dust, the harmony of Nature is un altered ; though stupendous moun- DEDICATION.

Preface

. X deaden its lustre, though it cannot lessen its value (which would be ascertained were it detached), so the purity of that motive, which has chiefly influenced me in presenting these pages to the public, cannot in reality be sullied by the one to which adventitious circumstances have given rise. To an enlightened nation, common place moral reflections can perhaps be of little use ; yet, when they tend to illustrate a simple truth, which the indulgence of my readers will, I doubt not, render important, they may be risked, almost without an apology. I therefore beg further to enforce, that the constitution of human things, for wise though hidden reasons, is such, that we tenderness f it offspring, and gratitude towards friends ; far silver, coppec, and any kind o£ exchange, has done the same.

PREFACE.

. can seldom, wholly and completely, enjoy the consciousness of a pure unmixed motive, either with reference to public or private actions : some principle of an in ferior kind, though it may not be vile or1 ignoble, mingles itself With those divine incentives, which, were our state of existence different, would entirely animate us. I will venture to apply the above reflections to the present occasion : I sin cerely believe, and may with truth assert, that the good of my fellow creatures was my chief object, when I began to prepare a political work for the press ; yet the wish to explain my politics, which had not, I apprehended, been perfectly under stood, also influenced me; this private' motive, however, will, I trust, on commori principles of equity, be deemed perfectly justifiable in itself, and even connected the public one that swayed my b x;a

PREFACE.

. mind ; but important as the vindication of myself on the point in question might be to my own happiness, I endeavoured to avoid employing any means of which I might afterwards disapprove. (I do not advert to the transient apprehensions to which temporary disappointment might give rise, but to rational and well-grounded objections.) I endeavoured to avoid the appearance of a dictatorial style, and have ventured also to give my opinions without reference to any particular principles, or set of men that might at the moment be most fashionable ; indeed, I did not in quire concerning them, but merely investigated the subjects of the Essay in an un biassed and philosophical manner :, couse-. quently I risked losing one of the objects* for which I have avowed that I writer but if I have erred,. I place .my,. -fate \\,\. thehands of a nation, which I. am confix

PREFACE.

." XIII ... dent will pass a lenient judgment in con sideration of the circumstances which have' been, and will be, submitted to their at tention. The Work was at first written in the form of a discourse or treatise, and gradu-" ally enlarged, but not divided into chapters, or systematically arranged, till the lat ter end of the vear 1807. It had been in nr r I Contemplation, though in a vague form, from an early period of Jife, and originally in tended to be presented to my country ; but had not circumstances of an extraordinary nature urged me to publish sooner than I intended, it would not perhaps have ap peared for some years, even from this pe riod ; and it would then have been offered to the public in a much more voluminous' form than that in which it now appears, and probably not with the same title, be-

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. cause my views were far more comprehensive than they seem to be in this work : These are truths ; and were they not so, I should be restrained by a more sacred principle than the fear of human censure, from mentioning them as such : from their singularity, they may deserve the attention of my readers. When I first resolved to publish a political Essay, I had in view Beccaria's " Essay on Crimes and Punishments ;" but I was of course under the necessity of enlarging on some subjects on which he has but slightly touched, and of introduc ing others wholly unnoticed by him: I also disregarded several which did not appear to be of much importance ; in short, though a similitude in our princi ples may often be discovered, yet little more than the form of his essay above-

PREFACE.

. XV mentioned («'. e. a simple division into chapters) exists. I think it necessary* to observe, that the Essay was seen, with my knowledge, will, or concurrence, only by a few (two or three) persons, before publication. It was nearly finished and sent to a lawyer and friend for inspection in January (1808), but some chapters were added, and seve ral alterations afterwards made by my self.f I have thought proper to subjoin two * The peculiarity of my situation for many years passed, renders this assertion necessary for my own satisfaction, and I doubt not that my readers will wholly exonerate me from the charge of presumption. + For the same reason which I have given in the above note, I also beg to inform my readers, that merely queries were made to a few passages in the MS. sent at the period above-mentioned ; none were absolutely and positively opposed : (hat it was finally, and in a general manner approved, I can scarcely doubf, from (he testimony even of strangers, on whom I had no other claims than those which their candid and unbiassed judgment might give me.

PREFACE.

. dates ; the former has a reference to the time when the MS. was first intended for publication ;* the latter to the time when this Edition will probably be published. PHILOPATRIA. Clarges-street, January 5, 1808. March 10, I8O9. * Some extraordinary circumstances delayed the. publication, and prevented me from attending to the revision, &c. of the MS.., and I now lament that I have not been able to bestow that degree of care and atten tion on it, which would perhaps be necessary in order to render it a worthy offering to the nation to which it is dedicated.