the Major speaking so authoritatively upon a subject, of which indeed "he is not a master."

I have not the least desire to throw even a bramble in the Major's path to Heaven, knowing that he must calculate on being near St. Peter's gate: but I have a duty to perform in destroying as much of priestcraft, as possible, and I am as free to attack it in the Major as in any other person: in truth I think it a duty the more urgent, in consequence of finding it in such a character; as it is calculated to do more mischief in coming from him, than from any other man in the country.

I write this article to counteract the mischief the Major's book is calculated to propagate, and in no other spirit. The moment I read the advertisement of the book, I resolved to answer it; because, I knew from the subject, that it could not be free from a mass of nonsense, and that it must be calculated to distract the minds of the people, upon the subject of bringing about a moral reform. I knew, that whatever subject Paine had written upon, as far as he professed to go, he was always correct. It is possible to go farther in the question of reform than Paine has gone; but so clear was his mind on every subject that he touched, that I dare any one to attempt a refutation of what he has written in whole, in part, or in particle. The Major has acknowledged the correctness of much of what Paine has written; but he has refuted nothing; and, as I have before stated, the mere attempt to talk of refutation is a mean and paltry aristocratical shuffle.

I must quote a page of the book, to shew how weak and contemptible is the Major's reasoning on the subject of re-. ligion. I begin at page 390:

"With regard to that infirmity of mind which in some instances, causes a doubt of all things not capable of mathematical demonstration, and consequently a doubt of all Revelation, it might not be amiss, for the benefit of those who in other instances are only hard of belief, to notice a fact in geology which, so far as inquiry hath yet extended, seems agreed on. My allusion is to the discoveries which have been made, in rocks, in beds of chalk, and other strata, of the fossil bones of animals not now existing on earth; and in this Island, of animals not belonging to its climate; while no human bones have been so discovered.

"This among other things should seem to indicate, contrary to the Atheistical bypothesis, that Man hath not with all things else existed from eternity. If at a period subse

quent to the earth's creation, the creator made man, it may be difficult to show why subsequent to man's creation, the creator might not have aided his imperfect intellect and moral nature by revelation sufficient for removing the torture of never-ending doubt, by ascertaining to him his moral relation to, and his dependence, upon his maker."

I never knew any "Atheistical hypothesis" that asserted man to have existed with all things else from eternity. The Jew Books tell us that nothing is a week older than man, and Major Cartwright can call these stupid books divine revelation! The true Atheist, the true Sceptic, holds no hypothesis about the origin of man; nor is he ever in troubled doubt about that or any thing else. He reasons from what he knows and doubts about nothing; because, he does not assume opinions about what he does not know. His rejection of the dogmas of foolish imaginations are not worthy to be called doubts; he reasons upon them and throws them by, because he cannot discover that they have any physical relations. The Atheist is a man of a strong, a calm, and a serene mind, and perfectly free from that mental torture which the Major ascribes to scepticism. Whoever

understands the subject can see, that the Major is a child in philosophical discussions, aud ignorant of all the first principles upon which they are carried on. His geological fact, instead of being an argument against the Atheist, is one of the bulwarks of Atheism. A more ridiculous inference was never assumed than, that because, there are proofs presumptive of other animals having existed anterior to man, it is a probability of a revelation having been made to him, long subsequent to his creation! The Major may not be ashamedof Trinitarianism, after such an argument as this for divine revelation!

The Major boasts, that his ONE GOD is "no longer unknown' as among the accomplished Athenians." If so, as he professes to have produced the Constitution of this country, in refutation of Mr. Paine, I will now set him upon a more important search: I tell him that no such a God does exist as he writes about: and if he still persists in the assertion, I challenge him to produce it: that is, to unfold a knowledge of this God.

I could cut up every sentence the Major has written upon this subject; but I will content myself with giving him a further challenge; I tell him, that Unitarian Christianity is as contemptible, as mischievous, and as ill-founded as any other kind of Christianity. I tell him, that, there is no reNo. 1, Vol. VIII.

vealed religion, no true religion, no natural religion, no moral leligion. I tell him, that, there is no future life that shall be sensible of the present, any further than the pen with which I write is sensible that it was once a part of a living goose's wing. It is an insult to common sense, for any man, much more the Major, to put such trash upon paper, in the face of the philosophical experiments which are daily exposed and opposed to it. He may be too far advanced in years to have his spiritual notions and heavenly dreams driven out of him now; but I will, at least, take care, that they shall do no mischief to those that are younger. This is my duty, whomsoever it may offend.

In the midst of this religious revery, the Major has complained of the "coarse controversialist, incapable of the sallies of an inoffensive wit." Now whether this be a slap at Paine or myself I do not know; but from the allusion to the "fine and imprisonment," I took it as a hint intended for me, and I would observe upon it, that the irritable Christian fancies every thing coarse that calls in question the foundation of his reveries: and at the same time, feels the divine right to launch his religious anathemas upon the unbeliever and the blasphemer of his stupidity! An impartial examiner would proclaim my writings to be mildness itself in comparison with those which have been sent forth against me: and if the persecution imposed on one side, and suffered on the other, was thrown into the scale, my opponents would appear as black as my ink, whilst I should be as white as the paper on which I write! For my part, I know no kind of wit that is offensive; the man who is offended at real wit is a fool for his pains; and inoffensive wit, I presume, would be as weak in its effects, as the Major's arguments for religion! I have before said, there can be no such thing as coarse controversy. If the words rightly apply to the subject, they cannot be coarse: if they do not apply, they do not constitute controversy. I thought there was a strange contrast in the Major's book, in the foul praise applied to the King of Portugal, and the coarse abuse heaped upon Mr. Canning! An old man cannot be too careful how he throws stones among those who can pick them up and throw them back.

After informing the reader, that the Major's book contains some excellent reasonings upon juries, which formed the foundation of my last article upon that subject, I will proceed, at once, to the elements of this pretended English Constitution, as the general dialogue exhibits but little more than an extensive reading of useless books. The reader will

bear in mind, that the ground on which I shall defend Mr. Paine is, that no such a constitution was ever known on this Island, as that of which the following are called the ele

ments.

"The Elements of England's Constitution.

"I. Those Principles of Truth and Morality on which Political Liberty and social order depend.

"II. A militia of all men capable of arms-bearing.

"III. A Wittenagemote annually elected by the people for enacting Laws.

"IV. Grand and Petit Juries of the People, fairly drawn, for applying the Laws.

"V. A Magistracy elected by the People for duly performing all executive duties.

"This, in the abstract, will be,

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"I. Principles.

"II. Arms-bearing.

"III. Legislation.
"IV. Judicature.

"V. Magistracy.

"Of these the first and fifth are essential, but general, whereas the second, third, and fourth repectively, are necessary to the immediate self-preservation of the community, as well as of the individual persons of whom that commuuity is the aggregate; together, constituting a body politic complete in all its members.

"Such my young friend, (the young aristocrat) I believe you will find to be the sacred, the unchangeable polity of our country; which, from its elements having been, by the divinity of nature, indelibly written on the hearts of its first unlearned founders, I presume was one cause why it was not by them committed to paper or parchment, in the manner of the present enlightened times."

In introducing these elements, the Major observes, that "prepared with answers to foreseen objections and cavils, you shall now have laid before you, that which, in its original existence, its genuine simplicity, and its unchangeable nature, I conceive to have at all times been, and still to be, the Polity of England."

The first of these pretended elements which defines principles, or those of truth and morality, means nothing at all, and cannot be an element of a constitution! A constitution can have no elements but those which are physical, and moral principle must be the result, not the element, the effect not the cause, in a social constitution! And it is perfectly preposterous to say, that our Saxon ancestors knew

any thing about truth, in its general sense. They were as barbarous and as ignorant, as any society or herd of men now existing on the African soil! The simplicity of their institutions was not the result of their superior knowledge, but of their ignorance and their very few wants, whilst living in a state not one remove from the cattle of the field. They knew nothing of lawyers on their first coming to this country; because they had no fixed laws: they knew nothing of priests; because they were too ignorant to think any thing about the physical arrangements of the universe, or the principle of life! They came to this country, as a military banditti of hired assassins, to drive out other savages, called the Picts and Scots, and to stay their ravages upon our timid, oppressed, sheep-like ancestors, the Britons: and after the Picts and Scots were driven out of what is now called England, the Saxons thought proper to remain as masters!

The Major has, all throughout, manufactured statements and deductions to suit his darling passion for our Saxon ancestors and their wonderful constitution, and has jumped over every obstacle or difficulty that presented itself! The brief and general history of the population of this country is this, as far as it is known:

We are all satisfied, that such a man as Julius Cæsar existed: we are all satisfied, to the extent of our knowledge, that he was among the first to discover this Island, and to make it known to the rest of Europe, and the Roman Provinces. It is asserted, that the Phenicians traded on the coasts of Devonshire and Cornwall, to carry off the tin and copper ores, with which those counties abound; but of this we have no satisfactory proof, nor have we any satisfactory proof of any thing, before the landing of Julius Cæsar and his troops upon the Kent and Sussex coasts. We know that he found the Island somewhat thickly peopled, resembling the people of the opposite European coasts, and under the government of the Druids, subject to a horrid species of priestcraft: of which, human sacrifice and divination by the reeking entrails of men and other animals formed a part! The inhabitants were a naked, savage people, who used to colour their bodies all over with all sorts of fantastical figures and colours. In short, they were what all men originally were, aud must have been, animals nothing superior to other animals, such as the Horse, the Ox, the Goat or the Sheep. They would fight in droves and under leaders! but they were not the only animals that would defend themselves in this manner. They were nothing supe