TORIES. 



Keai't of man, fays our author, is made to reconcile contra- 

 diAions ; and this conlradiftion is not greater than that 

 between " paffive obedience," and the reilftance employed 

 at the Revolution. A Tory, therefore, fince the Re- 

 volution, may be defined in a few words to be " a lover 

 of monarchy, though without abandoning liberty ; and a 

 partizan of the family of Stuart ;" as a Whig may be de- 

 fined to be " a lover of liberty, though without renouncing 

 monarchy ; and a friend to the fettlement in the Proteftant 

 line." 



Some, who will not venture to aflert, that the real 

 difference between Whig and Tory was loll: at the Revolu- 

 tion, feem inclined to think, that the difference is now 

 abolidied, and that affairs are fo far returned to their natural 

 ftate, that there are at prefent no other parties among us 

 but Court and Country ; that is, men who, by interell or 

 principle, are attached either to monarchy or liberty. The 

 Tories have been fo long obliged to talk in the republican 

 llyle, that they feem to have made converts of thenifelves 

 by their hypocrify, and to have embraced the fentiments, 

 as well as language of their adverfaries. There are, liow- 

 ever, very confiderable remains of that party in England, 

 with all their old prejudices. 



The precife difference, fays an anonymous writer (Edinb. 

 Rev. N'^ L.), between a moderate Tory and a moderate 

 Whig is, " that a Tory is more influenced by loyalty, and 

 a Whig by the love of liberty ; that a Tory confiders 

 liberty as the fecond interell of fociety, while a Whig re- 

 gards it as the firft." Loyalty is denominated by Mr. Hume 

 " that noble and generous principle, inferior only in excel- 

 lence to the more enlightened affeftion towards a legal con- 

 llitution." 



We fhould here confine ourfelves to the Tories ; and for 

 what regards the IFIiigs, refer to that article ; but fince, 

 by comparing and confronting the two parties together, 

 both the one and the other will appear in the ftronger 

 light, it would be imprudent to feparate them ; fo that we 

 rather choofe to fay the lefs under the word Whigs, and 

 refer thence hither. 



The fadlions we are fpeaking of, may be confidered 

 either with regard to the Jiate, or to religion. The Jlate 

 Tories are either violent or moderate : the tirll would have 

 the fovereign to be abfolute in England, as in other coun- 

 tries, and his will to be a law. This party, which is not 

 very numerous, has yet been confiderable. I. On account 

 of its leaders, who have been lords of the firft rank, and 

 generally minifters and favourites. 2. In that, being thus 

 in the minillry, it engaged the church Tories to maintain 

 iliffly the doftrine of paffive obedience. 3. Becaufe they 

 liave been frequently fupported by the crown. 



The moderate Tories would not fufi^r the king to lofe 

 any of his prerogatives ; but neither would they facrifice 

 thofe of the people. 



The Jlate Whigs, again, are republican or moderate : the 

 firft, according to our author, are the remains of the Long 

 parliament, who took in hand to change the monarchy into 

 a commonwealth ; thefe make fo flender a figure, that they 

 only ferve to ftrengthen the party of the other Whigs. 

 The Tories would perfuade the world, that all the Whigs 

 are of this kind ; as the Whigs would make us beheve, 

 that all the Tories are violent. 



The moderate ftate Whigs are much in the fame fenti- 

 ments as the moderate Tories ; and defire the government 

 may be maintained on its ancient foundation, and that the 

 king may be reduced to an incapacity of abufing his power, 

 by leaving him the pofleffion of his juft rights : all the 

 difference is, that the moderate Tories lean a little more 



to the fide of the king, and the moderate Whigs to that of- 

 the pai-liament and people. 



Before we confider our two parties with regard to Teh- 

 gion, it muft be obferved, that the Reformation, as carried 

 on to a greater or lefs length, divided the Englifh into 

 Epifcopalians and Prefbyterians or Puritans : the firft con- 

 tended, that the epifcopal jurifdiftion fliould be continued 

 on the fame footing, and the church in the fame form, as 

 before the Reformation : the latter maintained, that all 

 minifters or priefts had equal authority ; and that the church 

 ought to be governed by prefbyteries, or confiftories of 

 priefts and lay-elders. See Puritans. 



After long difputes, the more moderate of each party 

 relaxed a little of their ftiffnefs ; and thus formed two 

 branches of moderate Whigs, and moderate Tories, with 

 regard to religion ; but there were others who k^pt to their 

 principles with inconceivable firmnefs : and thefe confti- 

 tuted two branches of rigid Epifcopalians and Preftjy- 

 terians, comprifed under the general names of Whigs and 

 Tories ; in regard, the firft join the Tories, and the latter 

 the Whigs. 



The former confifted of rigid churchmen, who were 

 againft the leaft change in the difcipline of the church, while 

 the more moderate among the eccleiiaftical Tories were lefs 

 fcrupulous and obftinate, and may be called the low or 

 moderate churchmen. See High Church and Non- 

 jurors. 



The latter were the rigid Prefbyterians, who would be 

 contented with nothing lefs than the deftruftion of the 

 hierarchy, while the more moderate among them would 

 have been fatisfied with much lefs, and put up, fays Mr. 

 Rapin, with a bare toleration. 



From what has been obferved, we may conclude, that as 

 the names Tory and Whig have a regard to two different 

 objefts, they are equivocal, and of confequence ought never 

 to be applied without expreffing in which fenfe it is don? ; 

 for the fame perfon may be, in different refpefts, both 

 Whig and Tory. 



For the reft, the general motives that have formed and 

 kept up the two parties, appear in the main to be no other 

 than the private motives of particular perfons : felf-intere/l 

 is the primum mobile of their aftions : ever fince the rife 

 of thefe faftions, each has ftruggled earneftly to get the 

 advantage over the other ; inafmuch as from fuch fuperiority 

 accrue places, and honours, and promotions, &c. which the 

 prevailing party ufually diftributes among its own members, 

 exclufive of the contrary party. 



There are, however, men belonging to each of thefe 

 parties, though the diftinftion is almoft worn out, who aft 

 from conviftion ; fome of whom are for the extenfion, and 

 others for the Umitation of royal prerogative, with a view 

 to the good of the ftate, as their principles lead them to 

 form different notions of the moft effeftual method of pro- 

 moting it. The names, it is true, are almoft funk into 

 oblivion ; but the operation of the diftinguiftiing fenti- 

 ments of Whigs and Tories is difcoverable in every period 

 of the Enghfh hiftory : and the true intereft of a limited 

 monarchy, always infeparably connefted with the rights of 

 the people, renders the diftinftion of importance, and ftiould 

 prevent its ever being difregarded. 



It is with the Whigs and Tories on thofe points, which 

 have difcriminated the two parties, fays Dr. Gregory 

 Sharpe, as it is with all other fefts of men under the agita- 

 tion of hope and fear, ambition and intereft ; they tighten 

 or relax their principles as fuits beft their convenience. 

 When the Tories have had the exercife of the powers of 

 the prerogative, they have been eager to extend thofe powers ; 

 G 2 when 



