«HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
hot the firft, in violation of their 
oaths and of their allegiance, to head 
anarchy and rebellion; but men 
really feeling as citizens and fol- 
iers, patiently fubmitting to the in- 
‘falts of the populace, and, in fpite of 
| provocation, maintaining the laws 
_and acting under the conilituted au- 
thorities of the realm. 
On the gth of February, when 
“the military eftimates were reported 
from the committee, a further debate 
took place; in which Mr. Fox hav- 
ing again let fall fome expreffions of 
applaufe of the French revolution, 
‘Mr. Burke rofe, and after a few ob- 
fervations upon the general ftate of 
Europe, as it affected the queftion 
of encreafing or diminifhing the mi- 
_litary force of Great Britain; he 
_adverted, in a more particular man- 
_ner, to the fituation of France. That 
“country, he remarked, by the mere 
‘circumftance of its vicinity, ought 
to be the firft object of our vigilance, 
hot only with regard to her actual 
_ power, but alfo to her influence and 
example, which had once been, and 
might again become, more danger- 
ous to us than her worft hoftility. 
He inftanced the earlier part of the 
_Teign of Louis the Fourteenth, and 
the difficulty, with which the patriots 
of that day ftruggled in this country 
‘againft the influence of an example, 
* which, by its fplendor and fuccefs, 
ot only captivated our then fo- 
but gained fomething upon 
all ranks of people. ‘The danger, in 
the laft age, he obferved, was from 
_ anexample of defpotifm in govern- 
Ment, and of intolerance in reli- 
In the prefent the difeafe 
s altered, but it was fe ore 
ly to be contagious; it was on 
fide of religion, athe n, and, 
egard to government, anar- 
was the danger of being led 
on. 
s king Charles and king - 
Vig 
[57 
through an admiration of fuccefsful 
fraud and violence, to an imitation 
of the exceffes of an irrational, un- 
principled, profcribing, confifcating, 
plundering, ferocious, bloody; and 
tyrannical democracy. 
He then proceeded to obferve, 
that the very worit part of the ex- 
ample fet us in France was, in hig 
opinion, the late aflumption of citi- 
zenfhip by the army, As this opi- 
nion was in dire&t oppofition to the’ 
fentiments of Mr. Fox, Mr. Burke: 
exprefied the great regret he felt in 
differing from his right honourable 
friend; and after pronouncing a fine: 
panegyric upon his fuperior abili- 
ties, and bearing teftimony to the 
natural moderation, difinterefted- 
nefs, and benevolence of his difpofi- 
tion, he begged the houfe to judge 
from his coming forward to marls 
an exprefiion or two of his bett 
frierid, how anxious he was to keep 
the diitemper of France from the 
leaft countenance in England, whete, 
he was fure, fome wicked perfons had 
fhewn a ftrong difpofition to recom- 
mend an imitation of the French {pi- 
rit of reform; fo ftrengly, he faid, 
was he oppofed to any the leaft ten« 
dency towards the means of intro- 
ducing a democracy like theirs, as 
well as to the end itfelf, that he 
would abandon his beft friends, and 
join with his worft enemies, to op-— 
pofe either the means or the end. 
Mr. Burke then took a. concife 
view of what had been lately done 
in France. ‘That nation, he obferv= 
ed, had gloried (and foine people in 
England had thought fit to take 
fhare in that glory) in making a re- 
volution; as if revolutions were 
good things in themfelyes. All the 
horrors and all the crimes of the 
anarchy, which led to their revolu- 
tion, which attend its progrefs, and 
which may virtually attend it in its 
{£] 2 eftablifhment, 
