,')4S 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1804. 



terval between tlip, bias of sincere 

 conviclion, and the dislionesty of 

 intentional misrepresentation. 



Clarendon was, unquestionably, 

 a lover of tnitli, and a sincere friend 

 to tlie free constitution of his coun- 

 fry. lie defended tliat constitution 

 in parlianiei\t, witli /eal and energy, 

 against the encroacinncnts of prero- 

 gative, and concurred in the esta- 

 blishment of new securities, neces- 

 sary for its protection. He did, in- 

 deed, when these had been obtain- 

 ed, oppose with equal deLerniina- 

 tion tliose continually increasing de- 

 mands of parliament, wliich appear- 

 ed to hiui to threaten the existence 

 of tlie monarchy itself ; desirous, if 

 possible, to conciliate the mainte- 

 nance of public liberty with the pre- 

 servation of ilomestic peace, and to 

 turn aside from his country all the 

 evils, to which those demands imme- 

 diately and manifestly tended. 



The MMsh was honourable and vir- 

 tuous, but it was already become 

 imprac^licable. The purposes of ir- 

 reconciieable ambition, entertained 

 by both the contending parties, were 

 utterly inconsistent w ith the re-csta- 

 blishment of mutual confidence. 

 The parliamentary leaders opeidy 

 grasped at the exclusive possession 

 of all civil and all military au- 

 thoritj- : and, on the other hand, 

 the perfidy with which the king had 

 violated his past engagement, still 

 rankled in the hearts of his people, 

 wliose just suspicions of his since- 

 rity were cfjntinualiy renewed by 

 the unsteadiness of iiis conduct, evea 

 in the very moments of fresh coa- 

 ci\'^';ioii : while, amongst a large pro- 

 portion of the community, every 

 circumstance of civil injury or op- 

 pression was inflamed and aggra- 

 vated by the utmost violence of re- 

 ligious anitnoeity. 



In tliis unhappy state, tlie cala- 

 mities of civil war could no longer 

 be averted ; but the miseries by 

 whicli the contest was attended, and 

 the miiilary tyranny to which it so 

 naturally led, justilied all the fears' 

 of tliose who had from the begin- 

 ning moht dreaded that terrible ex- 

 tremity. 



At the restoration, the same vir- 

 tuous statesman protected the con- 

 stitution against the blind or inte- 

 rested /eal of excessive loyalty : and, 

 if JNlonk had the glory of restoring 

 the monarchy of England, to Cla-. 

 rcndon is ascribed the merit of re- 

 establishing her laws and liberties,- 

 a service no less advantageous to 

 tlic .crown than honourable to him-- 

 self ; but which was numbered 

 aniong the chief of thotc offences 

 for \^hich he was afterwards aban- 

 doned, sacrificed, and persecuted, 

 by his unfeeling, corrupt, and pro- 

 fligate master. 



'J'hese observations rcspefling one 

 of the most upright characters of 

 our history, are here delivered with 

 freedom, though in some degree op- 

 posed to so high an authority. The 

 habit of forming such opinions for 

 ourselves, instead of receiving them 

 from other, is not the least among 

 the advantages of such a course of 

 ■reading and rcllection, as lo;d Cha- 

 tham recommends. 



It will be obvious to every rea. 

 dor, on the slightest perusal of the 

 following letters, that they were 

 never intended to comprise a per- 

 feil system of education, even for 

 the short portion of time to which 

 they relate. Many points in which 

 they will be found deficient, were 

 undoubtedly supplied by frequent 

 opportunities of personal inter- 

 course, arid much was left to the 

 general rules of study established at 



an 



