was folemnized, his certificate that the faid parties were at fuch a time and place joined-together in holy matrimony, legitimo matrimonio copulati; which certificate, I prefume, would not be granted to the Quaker's wife. And still lefs does our law allow the validity of marriages performed according to the ceremonies of the Mahometan religion, or any other religion lefs known to Englishmen. Yet it is certain, that all perfons who are permitted to live in England, ought to be permitted to marry there; and it is likewife certain, that, according to the principles of the Proteftant religion, marriage is not a facrament, but a civil contract. It feems, therefore, to be reasonable that an act of Parliament fhould be paffed to this effect, to wit, 1ft, To make all the marriages celebrated in the meeting-houses, or chapels, of Proteftant diffenters, (duly licensed according to the Toleration-act) lawful: and 2ndly, To declare all marriages celebrated by Quakers, in their meeting-houses, and by Jews in their fynagogues, to be alfo lawful: and, 3dly, To declare that all marriages that fhall be entered-into before the Juftices of the Peace of any county, at their Quarter-feffions, or other general feffions, and perhaps, even before any two Juftices of the Peace, fhall alfo be lawful. This would accommodate perfons of all religions, and of all different fects of religion, and prevent such grievances as thofe which Mr. Courtenay proposes to relieve. In the mean while, it must be observed, that the Ecclefiaftical courts are not to be blamed for their conduct in this unfortunate bufinefs, as they have only done their duty with respect to the persons brought before them upon a charge of Incontinence, upon the principles of the Law, as it now ftands.

I am your

CONSTANT READER.
F. M.

REASONS WHY THE WAR WITH FRANCE COULD NOT BE AVOIDED.

To the PRINTER of the PUBLIC ADVERTISER.

SIR,

Sept. 28, 1793.

I AM one of those who lament the war we are now engaged in with France as a very great evil, but think it is an evil of neceffity, that could not have been avoided, and therefore must be fubmitted-to with patience, and carriedon (as it has been) with vigour.

My reafon for thinking it could not have been avoided is, that it seems to have been a fixed principle of the new republican governours of France (though not of the makers of the former Conftitutional Monarchy, as it is called) to extend their new mode of government to other nations. Their refolutions of the 15th and 30th of laft December, 1792, prove this beyond a doubt; and their bold and wanton Declarations of war against both Spain and GreatBritain at the fame time, and their invafion of Holland by laying fiege to Williamstadt, and taking poffeffion of Breda, are notorious confirmations of it.-And lately Mr. Mallet du Pau, the bold and upright author of the valuable French periodical paper, called Le Mercure de France, which was published every week (if I mistake not) from the first meeting of the States General of France in May, 1789, to the beginning of August, 1792, when Monarchy and the Liberty of the Prefs were abolished together, and the practice of

affaffination,

affaffination and of fummary trial and condemnation by the mob, or, as they are called, the fovereign people, acting in their own perfons, and not by their reprefentatives, was adopted, and, at leaft, connived-at by the Convention—I fay, this Mr. Mallet du Pan has lately given us an extract from a letter of Monfieur Briffot (a great leader of the republican party in France) written in confidence to one of his friends, (who was a Member of the French Convention, and deputed by them to fuperintend the Generals of their armies,) which exprefly avows this most dangerous and hoftile principle. The words of Monfieur Briffot are as follows: "Il faut incendier les quatre coins de l'Europe: Notre falut eft là :" That is, "We muft fet the four corners of Europe on fire: Our fafety lies in that."-This paffage of Mr. Briffot's letter is contained in the 37th page of a pamphlet of Mr. Mallet du Pan, lately published, which is entitled, "Confidérations fur la Nature de la Révolution de France, et fur les Caufes qui en prolongent la durée," and contains much curious and important information. Mr. Mallet likewife informs us (in page 32 of the fame pamphlet, note 1), that this fame Monfieur Briffot, about laft September, 1792, when the mob of Paris was plundering and beheading the editors of news-papers of a contrary party to himself (who is alfo a publisher of a news-paper), excufed all thefe enormities by faying, "That "it was proper to yield to the peculiar circumftances of "the times, and to let the laws fleep a little with respect "to the perpetrators of them ;" and he further informs us, that the fame Monfieur Briffot publickly and folemnly boafted, "That he had been the caufe of the French "Government's declaring war against the Auftrians in April, "1792, with a view to find an opportunity, on the first "failure of fuccefs of the French arms, of throwing the blame "of fuch failure upon the King, and accufing him of collud

"ing with the enemy, and betraying the caufe of France, "and, by means of fuch accufations, of driving him from "the throne."

Mr. Mallet du Pan informs us of another curious fact, which fhews us how much the prefent rulers of France are loft to all fenfe of juftice or humanity.

There are now in France many bloody Tribunals, lately erected for trying crimes against the State, which are called Revolutionary Tribunals, befides the principal one, which is at Paris, and by which fo many unhappy perfons have been put to death. One of thefe is for the Department of the river Ain, and the prifon belonging to it is at a place called Bourg. Many prifoners of different ranks and conditions were confined in this prifon of Bourg for pretended State-crimes. But, as there were no proofs of their guilt, the Judges of the revolutionary Tribunal of that Department did not condemn them to die. This regard to justice was confidered by the Commiffioners from the Convention, who were fent to fuperintend their proceedings, as a criminal flackness and neglect of their duty, and the Commiflioners upbraided them on account of it; to which when they answered, "that they could not find in their hearts to "condemn to death a crowd of citizens of all forts and "conditions that were then in the prifons, without having "proofs of their guilt”—the Commiffioners replied sharply, and with countenances full of anger, Why! if we had σε thought it neceffary to proceed only upon proofs, could we ever have condemned Lewis Capet?" Such are the perfons who now govern the French nation.

Before I conclude this letter, I will juft mention what I take to be the grand mistake of the French nation, and of the political writers whofe fentiments they have adopted, within the last four or five years. It is, "that civil government fhould be adminifter'd by the people at large." Now

this is totally impracticable in a large country, fuch as England or France, and very abfurd and inexpedient in a finall country, fuch as one of the fmaller Swifs Cantons, or the Republic of Geneva. On the contrary, it is in all cafes expedient to delegate the power of Government to a select part of the fociety that is to be governed; whether, to one perfon, (which makes an Abfolute Monarchy) or to one perfon with an affembly of representatives chofen by the people, or by the land-holders or houfe-holders of the country (which would make a Limited Monarchy fimilar to the late Conftitutional Monarchy of France,) or to one perfon with two affemblies, the one confifting of the richer part of the fociety, either holding their feats by Inheritance, to make them independent of the King, or appointed by the King for life, but with certain neceflary qualifications of large property or high offices; and the other chofen by the people, or by the land-holders or householders among the people, (which would make a Limited Monarchy, fuch as that of England) or to one or two felect affemblies, without a fingle perfon, which would make a Common-wealth, or Republick. Thefe and other fuch modifications of the publick power, delegated by the whole fociety to a felect part of it, are practicable schemes, and may produce a tolerable fyftem of Government, under which a civil fociety may flourish and be happy.

But for the whole people to retain the power of the Government in their own hands, and exercise it themselves, is the height of all abfurdity, and was never attempted before the prefent experiment in France; of which we see, and feel, and lament, the horrid effects!

In all the ancient republicks of Greece and Italy, the majority of the people were flaves. In Athens (which is often mentioned as a noble democracy, in which the people governed themselves,) there were only 20,000 free citizens, and 400,000 flaves; that is, twenty parts out of twenty-one were governed by the remaining twenty-first part.