70) 
tain that he was not wrong in fo do- 
ing. But he hoped that no perfon 
would thence infer, either that he 
was a friend to democracy, or ap- 
proved of the exceffes which had 
been committed in France. With 
refpect to the former point, he de- 
clared himfelf equally the enemy of 
all abfolute forms of government, 
wether an abfolute monarchy, an 
abfolute ariitocracy, or an abfolute 
democracy, and approved only of a 
inixed government, like our own. 
But though he fhould never lend 
himfelf to fupport any cabal or 
{cheme, formed in order to intro 
duce dangerous innovations into our 
excellent conftitution; he would 
not, however, run the length of de- 
claring, that he was an enemy to 
every {pecies of innovation, becaufe 
that conftitution, which we all -re- 
vered, owed its perfection to inno- 
vation. He differed greatly from 
Mr. Burke in his opinion of the re- 
volution cf 1688, 1n which he con- 
ecived that many innovations had 
taken place, and he thought that cafe 
was certainly more parallel to- the 
revolution in France than his right 
honourable friend feemed willing to 
allow. With regard to the fcenes of 
bloodfhed and cruelty which had 
-been agted in France, no man could 
have heard of them without lament- 
ing them; but {till when the fevere 
gy: under which that people 
ad fo long groaned, was confidered, 
the exccfles which they committed, 
in their endeavour to fhake off the 
yoke of defpotifm, might, he thought, | 
be fpoken of with fome degree of 
compafion; and.he was perfuaded 
that, unfettled as their prefent flate 
appeared, it was preferable to their 
former condition, and that ultimate- 
ly it would be for the advantage of 
that country. 
1 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. 
a perfon of fuch principles, or for | 
After a fhort explanation from — 
Mr. Burke, Mr. Sheridan rofe and 
faid, that the very reafons ‘which 
Mr. Burke had given for exprefling 
the fentiments, which he had thatday ~ 
uttered, namely, an apprehenfion of | 
being {fuppoled to acquiefce in the © 
opinions of thofe, for whom he en- — 
tertained the higheft regard and 
with whom he had uniformly a€ted, 7 
operated alfo on his mind, and made ~ 
him feel it a duty to declare, that he | 
differed decidedly from that right. ~ 
honourable gentleman in  almoft 
every word that he had uttered re- 
{pecting the French revolution. 7 
Mr. Sheridan added fome warm | 
compliments to Mr. Burke’s general — 
principles; but faid, that he could — 
not conceive how it was poftible for || 
any man who valued our own con- | 
ftitution, and revered the revolution — 
that obtained. it for us, to unite with — 
fuch feelings an indignant and un= | 
qualified abhorrence of all the .pro- — 
ceedings of the- patriotic party in — 
France. j Fi 
He conceived, he faid, theirs to — 
be as juft a revolution as ours, pro- — 
ceeding upon as found a principle ~ 
and a greater provocation, and ve-— 
hemently defended the generalviews 
and conduct of the national affem- | 
bly. He joined with Mr. Burke in — 
abhorring the cruelties that had been — 
committed; but what, he faid, was 
the awful leffoh that was to be ga 
thered from the outrages of the po. 
pulace? What, but an abhorrence 
5 
of that accurfed fyftem of defpotic 
gevernment, which fets an example — 
of depravity to the flaves it rules 
over: and if a day of power comes 
cy) 
to the wretched populace, is it to be’ 
vere at, however it is to be 
regretted, that they aét without an 
of thofe feelings of juftice or hu- 
manity, 
