frankly to give up the Offenders; and make them anfwer for their Actions in that Place, to which the Conftitution has entrusted the Enquiry into, and Punishment of fuch Offences. A Prince fhould never fuffer any thing that is corrupt or venal in his Palace. We have a very remarkable Instance of this in Conftantine: An Inftance never to be forgotten, either by a good King or a free People. He, without ftaying for Addrefles or Petitions from the feveral Cities and Provinces of the Empire, proceeded, of his own Accord, to remedy the Disorders crept into the Government by a rapacious Ministry. He thought it below him to protect and screen a Minion or Favourite for any Reafon whatsoever, but corrected Rapine, Oppreffion, and Bribery, in the minifterial Parts of the Government, by a folemn EDICT, inviting all forts of People, to accufe fuch of his Ministers and Ŏfficers as had been corrupt. I know, says a celebrated Author, many Obftacles will be thrown in the Way, to baffle fuch a Reformation. But a wife and refolute Prince, will eafily furmount all Oppofition. The Cabals of a Party, the Difficulties fome may pretend to bring upon his Affairs; no, nor the vast Sums of Money, at first fraudulently gotten, and now laid out to prevent Enquiry; neither them, nor a thousand other Obftacles, will ever terrify or discourage such a one, bent to reform the State, who has the Love of his People, and whose Interest is one and the fame with theirs. Much less need he apprehend the mercenary and unconstant Crew of Place-Hunters, whofe Defigns are always feen through, who are despised as soon as known, and who only lead one another. We have never yet heard of a Tumult raised to rescue a Minister, whom his Mafter defired to bring to a fair Account; on the contrary, to fee a few enriched with the Spoils of a Country, has been the Occafion of many popular Seditions, which wife Kings have appeafed, by a juft and timely Sacrifice. To conclude: If a King be fevere in looking into his Accounts, if he be careful of the public Money, if he examine into the Corruption of his Officers, if he enquire into the fudden and exorbitant Wealth of those B 3 who who have had the handling of his Treasure, if he ri gorously punish fuch as, in breach of their Truft, and contrary to their Oaths, have converted to their own Use what belongs to the State; if he abandon and refigns into the Hands of Juftice such as have robbed him and the Public; and if he take back what was too great to give, and much too great to be asked, it is with the univerfal Applause of the People, whom this Care relieves from frequent and heavy Taxes, he will be juftified by the Voices of all Mankind, in pursuing the Ends for which he was called by the People, and his Name will be great to all future Generations. Nemo eft tam ftultus qai non intelligat, fi dormierimus hoc tempore, non modo crudelem & fuperbam Dominationen nobis fed & ignominiofam & flagitiofam effe ferendam. A compleat History of the late Septennial Parliament; wherein all their Proceedings are particularly enquired into, and faithfully related; with proper Remarks, and many Secret Memoirs interfperfed, concerning the late Times. To which is prefixed, Honeft Advice to the Freeholders of Great-Britain. T By THOMAS GORDON, Efq; PREFACE. HIS Preface, to my Hiftory of the Septennial Parliament, is principally defigned for the Freeholders of England. And I hope, after what I have communicated to the Public, there will be very little Occafion for much to be faid, to biafs Them in the Choice of proper Reprefentatives, at the approaching Election. I think that they ought, in Juftice to Themselves, to be very cautious in the Electing many of our late Represen tatives; I would have them well confider of their past Behaviour, before they venture to chufe them again; they have already done Mischief fufficient, and more than their Children, or even their Grand-children, will ever fee remedied. But as feveral Members of the laft Parliament were made by the worst of Means; by double and false Returns, by Bribery, and every Thing else that could promife and foretel Miferies to the Subject, what could we expect bit extraordinary and unprecedented Proceedings from Them? If in the prefent Election, the like Meafures fhould be taken, our future Parliament, inftead of retrieving the late Mifconducts, will undoubtedly compleat the Ruin their Brethren not only begun, but made such a Progress in: I must B 4 there therefore warn all our Freeholders of this juft Apprehenfion; and endeavour to rouse them from a Negligence and Supineness which may be otherwise fatal to thefe King doms. I am to tell them, That if they put themselves on the Footing of Slavery, by felling themselves, they must expect nothing less than Slavery, and then to be abject Slaves: That the Members of Parliament do not Buy without an Intention of Selling them; and that, by Means of Bribery and Corruption, they may fell their lateft Pofterity (and many others) as well as themselves. This fould be well weighed and confidered: And further, if they accept of Bribes, through the Neceffity of the Times, this will, in a very short Space, encrease their Neceffities, because the Times will inevitably grow worse, by the Management of corrupt Members; and none but corrupt Members will offer them Bribes. And if Elections are publickly bought in a certain Alley, may not our Liberties be as publickly fold in a more noted Place? A great many ill Men will endeavour to squeeze themfelves into Boroughs, in the prefent Election, to be thereby kreened from the juft Refentment of an injured People. I hope our Electors will be upon their Guard against these Men, who are Enemies to the Public. It will be a Step to public Juftice to oppose them, and a Justice to themfelves to spew them out with Contempt and Ignominy. Our Electors are in the reverfe Condition to the Wife of Lot: They have the last Neceffity of looking back, at the fame time they look forward; and they muft not, like Watermen, look one Way and row another; if they do, they will not, like them, efcape the Rocks and Dangers in their Paloge. They must be fteady and indefatigable in purfuit of what alone can make us a happy People; in the Pursuit of Honefty and Integrity. They must not be tempted by the golden Apple; nor their Wives and Partners of their Cares be milled, to influence them, by the Intrigues of Men, who will spouse them only till their Election is fure. I fhall wind up all with this short Advice to our Freeholders, and other Electors, Let not fuch Members be chofen, for the future Parliament, who are fufpected of being Penfioners to a Court, or who are capable of being bribed bribed into Silence. Let none that advanced the Septennial Law, have your Votes and Interefts; the Mischiefs from hence are but too apparent. Thofe worthy Gentlemen who had provided us Barracs, and themselves Palaces, are by all Means to be excluded: So are likewife our SouthSea Scheme-men, and the Setters up of Bubbles; the Rejectors of good Laws, and the Enactors of bad ones. Let not thofe be elected, who are the Skreeners of Villains, aud Plunderers of the Public. Chufe fuch for your Reprefentatives, who are fit to reprefent you; fuch as are just, honest, and uncorrupted; fuch as have Eftates and Poffeffions amongst you, too great to be loft; fuch as will attend the Bufinefs of the Kingdom, upon all Occafions; and fuch as will repeal the bad Laws the last Parliament enacted, and enact the good ones they rejected. Then will you acquit yourselves, like Englishmen; like Lovers of your Country, and of yourselves; and fecure to Pofterity thofe Blefings, that will make your Names and Memories venerable to future Ages. A true History of the Septennial Parlia W ment, &c. HENEVER any Thing has happened, in any Age or Country, that is memorable and extraordinary, whether it has a Tendency either to Good or Evil, it is no more than what is common for fome bold and faithful Historian to transmit it to Pofterity. That we have in our Times, had great and extraordinary Events, none will be fo bold as to deny : We have feen, and that fatally too, that every Thing may be in Danger under the plaufible Appearance of doing Good; that Men of all Ranks and Degrees have,without Diftinction, plundered one another; that the Widow and the Orphan have been totally defpoiled, to add to the Grandeur of public Robbers (for fuch I must term the Authors of our Miseries) that Honour and Honefty, in moft Parts of the Globe, have nothing remaining but B 5 their * |