JAMES THE SECOND.

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which a murderer can be punished, by which the right to an chap.estate can be decided, by which the effects of a bankrupt TossT"can be distributed. His last act has been to free thousandsof armed men from the restraints of military discipline, andto place them in such a situation that they must plunder orstarve. Yet a few hours, and every man’s hand will beagainst his neighbour. Life, property, female honour, willbe at the mercy of every lawless spirit. We are at . thismoment actually in that state of nature about which theoristshave written so much; and in that state we have been placed,not by our fault, but by the voluntary defection of him whoought to have been our protector. His defection may bejustly called voluntary: for neither his life nor his liberty wasin danger. His enemies had just consented to treat with himon a basis proposed by himself, and had offered immediatelyto suspend all hostile operations, on conditions which hecould not deny to be liberal. In such circumstances it isthat he has abandoned his trust. We retract nothing. Weare in nothing inconsistent. We still assert our old doctrineswithout qualification. We still hold thUt it is in all casessinful to resist the magistrate: but we say that there is nolonger any magistrate to resist. He who was the magistrate,after long abusing his powers, has at last abdicated them.

The abuse did not give us aright to depose him: but the ab-dication gives us a right to consider how we may best supplyhis place.

It was on these grounds that the Prince’s party was nowswollen by many adherents who had previously stood alooffrom it. Never, within the memory of man, had there beenso near an approach to entire concord among all intelligentEnglishmen as at this conjuncture: and never had concordbeen more needed. Legitimate authority there was none.

All those evil passions which it is the office of government torestrain, and which the best governments restrain but imper-fectly, were on a sudden emancipated from control; avarice,licentiousness, revenge, the hatred of sect to sect, the hatredof nation to nation. On such occasions it will ever be foundthat the human vermin which, neglected by ministers of state

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