A PARAPHRASE ON A PASSAGE IN A SERMON PREACHED BY THE MOST REVEREND DR. WILLIAM MARKHAM, ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, BEFORE THE SOCIETY FOR PROPAGATING THE GOSPEL, ON THE 21st OF FEBRU ARY, 1777;

WHEN IT WAS EXPECTED BY THE PERSONS WHO HAD ADVISED

THE AMERICAN WAR, THAT THE REVOLTED COLONIES IN AMERICA WOULD SOON BE INTIRELY SUBDUED, AND REDUCED TO THE OBEDIENCE OF THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT.

THE paffage itfelf, which is here intended to be paraphrased, is in these words. "Our profpects indeed have * been long dark. We may now, perhaps, discover a ray "of brightness. But for the continuance and increase of it <6 we must rely on the wisdom of our Governours; in confil "dence that Neceffity will at last provide_those_remedies

which Forefight did not; that the dependance of the! "colonies may be no longer nominal. And, for our Spiris "tual interefts, we hope the reasoning which was fo just in "the cafe of Canada, “ That, if you allowed their religion,

you must allow a maintenance for their Clergy," will be "thought at least equally frong when it pleads for our own

Church: that thofe who are difpofed to worship God in "peace and charity, may be thought entitled to a regular " and decent fupport for their minifters ;-that they may not " continue to want the important office of Confirmation ; without the benefit of which even a Toleration is not compleat;

and that thofe who bave a call to the miniftry may not "be obliged to feek Ordination at an expence which is very

grievous, and with the bazards of a long voyage, which "bas been already fatal to many of them. We have furely a right to expect, that the only Established Church Should "not, against all example, remain in a flate of oppreffion,

" and

and that, whatever encouragements may be afforded "they should rather be for the profeffing it than against

* it.

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As to what relates to the delinquents, we, for our parts, fhould wish to fay, "Go, and fin no more. But "the Interests of great States require fecurities that are not precarious."

This paffage is expreffed in smooth and plaufible language: but it contains a variety of moft bitter propofitions. I prefume it may be fairly paraphrased in the following man

ner.

"Our profpects of reducing the rebel Americans to an "unconditiona! fubmiffion to the authority of the mother"country, fince the breaking out of the prefent troubles, have, till lately, been but gloomy. Their armies had in"vaded and reduced all Canada to their obedience, in the "winter of the year 1775, except the fingle town of Que“beck ;—and had blocked-up General Howe, with all the "British troops that were then in New-England, within "the town of Bofton during the fame winter, and had at

laft obliged him to abandon it in the month of March of "the following year 1776, and fly with his army to Halifax "in Nova Scotia ;-and they had repulfed the British fleet "and army under the command of General Clinton and "Sir Peter Parker, in an attempt they made in the fame year to poffefs themfelves of Charles-Town in South "Carolina :-infomuch that, about half a year ago, neither his Majefty's troops, nor those fubjects of his

6:

Majesty in America who had preferved their allegiance "to him, poffeffed a fingle foot of land throughout all the "thirteen revolted colonies. But now of late the for

tune of the war has begun to change. A ray of bright"nefs has broke-forth in the fucceffes of the army under "Sir William Howe in New-York and New-Jerfey, and

" of

" of that under General Burgoyne and General Carleton "in Canada. The fiege of Quebeck has been raised, and "the whole of that extenfive province recovered by the " latter generals; and the principal army of the rebel "Americans has been defeated by General Howe in Long "Ifland; and they have been fince driven from their forti"fied pofts at New-York and King's Bridge, and from "their forts near Hudfon's river; and great part of the "provinces of New-York and New-Jersey has been redu"ced to the obedience of the British Crown:-And, from "the precipitate manner in which the American army "has every where fled before the British troops, there is good ground to hope that, in the courfe of one more "campaign, the whole appearance of refiftance to the authority of Great-Britain in America will be at an end. "Then will be the time for confirming and rivetting the "dominion of the Mother-country over thofe turbulent " and ungrateful dependencies, by making such wife and "effectual civil regulations as fhall prevent a return of the

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present disturbances ;-regulations which ought to have "been made long ago by the government of Great-Bri"tain, if that government had had a proper degree of fore"fight and attention to the feditious and republican prin"ciples that had long prevailed in those colonies, and to "the mischiefs which thofe principles were likely one day "to produce. They will, however, be now made at laft, "fince the want of them has been fo fatally experienced, "The dependance of thofe colonies on Great-Britain will "be no longer nominal, but real and firong and permanent, "in confequence of these new regulations which Neceflity "will have taught the British government at length to " establish.

"What these regulations will be, cannot yet be known "with certainty. But, from the measures which the wif

"dom of Parliament has already adopted with refpect to "fome parts of North-America, we may conjecture that "they will not be very different from thofe that follow.

"In the first place, the democratical charters of Con"necticut and Rhode-Island (which veft in the people of "those provinces the right of annually choofing their own "Governors, Councils, and Affemblies without any inter"ference of the crown,) will be either totally abolished, as "abfurd and incompatible with the genius of the British "government, (which, though in fome refpects limited, is,

in its effence and principle, monarchical,) or will be "greatly altered by the wifdom of the British legiflature, and rendered more dependant on the crown; as the char "ter of that other, and most turbulent, province of New

England, the Maffachusett's Bay, (though lefs democrati"cal than the two former,) was in the year 1774, by the "advice of thofe eminent ftatefmen, Lord North and Lord "George Germaine*.

"In the fecond place, the proprietary governments of Penfylvania and Maryland will, moft probab'y, be alfo "corrected by the fame wife and fupreme legislature; and "the powers of government which are vefted by the char"ters of thofe colonies in the heirs of William Penn and "Lord Baltimore, (the founders of them,) will be resumed "into the king's bands, upon reafonable compenfations in "honour and profit made to the faid heirs for the lofs of "those hereditary jurifdictions, and will be annexed perpetu"ally to the crown, from which they ought never to have "been separated. This measure we may confider as almost "fure of being adopted in the new regulation of the Ame

See Almon's Parliamentary Debates for the year 1774, pages 116-122.

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"rican colonies that is now in contemplation, on account "of its indifpenfable importance towards establishing that dependance of thofe colonies on Great-Britain which is "fo much the object of our wishes.

"And, thirdly, we may fuppofe that in the faid province "of Penfylvania, (in which, hitherto, can you believe it? "there has been no council to balance and controul the "affembly elected by the people,) the wifdom of parlia"ment will think it neceffary to eftablish a council that "fhall be composed of perfons of the greatest weight and "dignity in the province, to be nominated by the Crown, "and who fhall also be removeable at the pleasure of the "Crown. And it feems probable, alfo, that the number of "counsellors fo to be appointed will be made variable at the "pleasure of the Crown between the numbers of twelve "counsellors and thirty-fix, or fome other pretty distant "limits; fo that the king, in his royal wifdom, may, at "any time, either add to, or take from, the faid coun"cil a great number of members, whenever he fhall think "the members already belonging to it not fufficiently at"tentive to the maintenance of his royal prerogative. "For this has been already done with refpect to the new "council established in the Maffachufett's Bay by the late "judicious act for amending their charter, which was "paffed in the year 1774 by the advice of the aforefaid great ftatefmen.

"In the fourth place, we may hope that all the judges " and sheriffs, and other officers of juftice in the feveral "provinces in America, will be made compleatly depen

dant on the Crown, fo as to be both nominated by the "king, and removeable by him at his pleasure, instead of "either being elected by the people, (as they now are in "fome of the colonies by virtue of their unfortunate char

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ters,) or of being appointed by the crown in a permanent