576 
preservation of the public peace 
should, know, and conscientiously 
pursue, the strict line of his duty. 
Your lordship’s distinguished loyal- 
ty, at all times, and on all occasions, 
leaves me no room to doubt that you 
will exert yourself to the best of 
your judgment for this important 
purpose; and the same distinguish- 
ed loyalty has, probably, marked 
out your lordship, as one to whom 
nothing could safely be uttered, 
tending to demonstrate any dispo- 
sition towards the rebellious out- 
rages, which of late produced such 
dreadful effects, and excited so much 
alarm, but I fear there have been 
teo many, in whose presence and 
hearing, demonstrations have been 
mnade, and words uttered, which 
ought to have alarmed the minds of 
loyal men; and induced them to 
eominunicate the ground for that 
alarm, to those in authority under 
the government, and especially to 
the justices of the peace in their se- 
veral districts; but who hare 
thought fit to retain the impression 
made in their minds within their own 
breasts ; and to leave the chance of 
discovery to othcr means, ‘The per- 
sons to whom [ allude have princi- 
pally been persons professing to hold 
the same religious faith with your 
lordship, and over whom I most sin- 
cerely hope your lordship’s high 
character may give you that influ- 
ence which justly belongs to it. 
It will be highly important, there- 
fore, that your lordship, in the dis- 
charge of your duty as a magistrate, 
should take every opportunity of 
clearly stating, and most strongly 
inculcating and enforcing, the great~ 
duty of allegiance ; and that that duty 
is not coniined to forbearance from 
epen rebellion, or even from acts 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 
1803. 
tending towards rebellion; that 
true allegiance is an active duty, re- 
quiring every man not only to sup- 
press rebellion when it shall shew it- 
self in violence, but to disclose to 
that government under which he 
lives, (whether he bea natural born 
subject of that government, or a'so- 
journer only under its proteétion,) 
every thing which can raise ground 
for such suspicion of disloyalty in 
others ; and it is particularly im- 
portant that your lordship should, 
as a magistrate, state and enforce, 
that persons knowing of a treason- 
able \purpose who do not disclose 
it, are guilty, in the eye of the law, 
of that crime which has been deno- 
minated misprision of treason’; and 
if they yield any kind of assent to 
the intended treason, they become 
traitors themselves. Your lord- 
ship’s enlarged and liberal mind, 
distinguishing clearly between spiri- 
tual. and temporal concerns, must 
feel that there can be no duty of re- 
ligion cOntrary to the duty of alle- 
giance ; and, indeed, no man, how- 
ever ignorant or prejudiced, can 
read the holy scriptures, without 
finding that the duty of allegiance 
to a Pagan government was strong- 
ly and repeatedly enforced by Christ 
and his apostles, and especially the. 
latter, who found the christians of 
their times, too much disposed to 
consider their faith in Christ as ab- 
solving them from their allegiance 
to the country in which they lived, 
I am truly sorry to say, that I fear, 
in this country, all who profess to 
be ministers of the gospel of Christ, 
do not teach Christ’s doctrine of al- 
legiance to their flocks; and I par- 
ticularly lament to find in the minds 
of men, who assume the highest 
rank amongst the ministers of the 
Romar 
