aws, nor the furious spirit of the house
of Bedford; no, sir; when this respectable minister interposed his
authority between the magistrate and the people, and signed the mandate
on which, for aught he knew, the lives of thousands depended, he did it
from the deliberate motion of his heart, supported by the best of his
judgment.[K]

It has lately been a fashion to pay a compliment to the bravery and
generosity of the Commander-in-chief [the Marquess of Granby] at the
expense of his understanding. They who love him least make no question
of his courage, while his friends dwell chiefly on the facility of his
disposition. Admitting him to be as brave as a total absence of all
feeling and reflection can make him, let us see what sort of merit he
derives from the remainder of his character. If it be generosity to
accumulate in his own person and family a number of lucrative
employments; to provide, at the public expense, for every creature that
bears the name of Manners; and, neglecting the merit and services of the
rest of the army, to heap promotions upon his favorites and dependents,
the present Commander-in-chief is the most generous man alive. Nature
has been sparing of her gifts to this noble lord; but where birth and
fortune are united, we expect the noble pride and independence of a man
of spirit, not the servile, humiliating complaisance of a courtier. As
to the goodness of his heart, if a proof of it be taken from the
facility of never refusing, what conclusion shall we draw from the
indecency of never performing? And if the discipline of the army be in
any degree preserved, what thanks are due to a man whose cares,
notoriously confined to filling up vacancies, have degraded the office
of Commander-in-chief into [that of] a broker of commissions.[L]

With respect to the navy, I shall only say that this country is so
highly indebted to Sir Edward Hawke, that no expense should be spared to
secure him an honorable and affluent retreat.

The pure and impartial administration of justice is perhaps the firmest
bond to secure a cheerful submission of the people, and to engage their
affections to government. It is not sufficient that questions of private
right or wrong are justly decided, nor that judges are superior to the
vileness of pecuniary corruption. Jeffries himself, when the court had
no interest, was an upright judge. A court of justice may be subject to
another sort of bias, more important and pernicious, as