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of Mr. WILLET HICKS, an eminent merchant, a man of excellent character, a Quaker, and even, I believe, a Quaker Preacher. Mr. HICKS, a kind and liberal and rich man, visited Mr. PAINE in his illness, and, from his house, which was near that of Mr. PAINE, little nice things (as is the practice in America) were sometimes sent to him; of which this servant, friend Mary, was the bearer, and this was the way, in which the lying cant got into the room of Mr. Paine.

About two years ago, I, being then on Long Island, published my intention of writing an account of the life, labours, and death of Paine. Soon after this, a Quaker at New York, named Charles Collins, made many applications for an interview with me, which at last, he obtained. I found that his object was to persuade me, that Paine had recanted. I laughed at him, and sent him away. But, he returned again and again to the charge. He wanted me to promise that I would say "that it was said,” To "friend Mary," therefore, I that Paine recanted. "No :" said I; went, on the 26th of October, last, “but, I will say, that you say it, with friend Charley's paper in my and that you tell a lie unless you pocket. I found her in a lodging in prove the truth of what you say; a back-room up one pair of stairs. and, if you do that, I shall gladly I knew that I had no common cuninsert the fact." This posed "friend ning to set my wit against. I began Charley," whom I suspected to be a with all the art that I was master of. most consummate hypocrite. He had I had got a prodigiously broad-brima sodden face, a simper, and man- med hat on. I patted a little child ceuvred his features, precisely like that she had sitting beside her; I the most perfidious wretch that I have called her friend; and played all the known or ever read or heard of. He awkward tricks of an undisciplined was precisely the reverse of my wheedler. But, I was compelled to honest, open, and sincere Quaker come quickly to business. She asked, friends, the PAULS of Pennsylvania."what's thy name, friend?" and, Friend Charley plied me with remonstrances and reasonings; but, I always answered him. "Give me proof; name persons; state times; state precise words; or, I denouuce you as a liar." Thus put to his trumps, friend Charley resorted to the aid of a person of his own stamp; and, at last, he brought me a paper, containing matter, of which the above statement of Mr. BURKS is a garbled edition! This paper, very cautiously and craftily drawn up, contained only the initials of names. This would not do. I made him, at last, put down the full name and the address of the informer, "MARY HINSDALE, No.10, Anthony-street, New York." I go this from friend Charley, some time about June last; and had no opportunity of visiting the party till late in October, just before I sailed.

The nformer was a Quaker woman, who, at the time of Mr. PAINE's last illness, was a servant in the family

the moment I said William Cobbett, up went her mouth as tight as a purse! Sack-making appeared to be her occupation; and that I might not extract through her eyes that which she was resolved I should not get out of her mouth, she went and took up a sack, and began to sew: and not another look or glance could I get from her.

However, I took out my paper, read it, and, stopping at several points, asked her if it was true. Talk of the Jesuits, indeed! The whole tribe of LOYOLA, who have shaken so many kingdoms to their base, never possessel a millionth part of the cunning of this drab-coloured little woman, whose face simplicity and innocence seemed to have chosen as the place of their triumph! She shuffled; she evaded; she equivocated; she warded off; she affected not to understand me, not to understand the paper, not to remember: and all this with so much seem

ing simplicity and single-heartedness, ors, and many other gentlemen of and in a voice so mild, so soft, and so undoubted veracity had the same desweet, that, if the Devil had been sit-claration from his dying lips. Mr. ting where I was, he would certainly have jumped up and hugged her to his bosom!

WILLET HICKS visited him to nearly the last. This gentleman says, that there was no change of opinion intimated to him: and, will any man be

The result was that it was so long ago, that she could not speak posi-lieve, that PAINE would have witheld,

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tively to any part of the matter: that she would not say that any part of the paper was true: that she had never seen the paper: and, that she had never given "friend Charley" (for so she called him) authority to say any thing about the matter in her name. I pushed her closely upon the subject of the unhuppy French male." Asked her, whether she should know her again. Oh, no! friend: I tell thee, that I have no collection of any person or any thing that I saw at THOMAS PAINE'S house." The truth is, that the cunning little thing knew that the French lady was at hand; and that detection was easy, if she had said that she should know her upon sight!

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from Mr. Hicks, that which he was so forward to communicate to Mr. Hicks's servant girl?

Observe, reader, that, in this tissue of falshoods, is included a most foul and venomous slander on a woman of virtue and, of spotless honour. But, hypocrites will stick at nothing. Ca Felumny is. their weapon, and a base press is the hand to wield it. Mr. BURKS of Norwich will not insert this article, nor will he acknowledge his error. He knows, that the calumny, which he has circulated, has done what he intended it to do; and he and the 'gentleman" for whose character ho pledges himself, will wholly disregard good men's contempt, so long as it does not diminish their gains.

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I had now nothing to do but to bring friend Charley's nose to the grindstone. But, Charley, who is a grocer, living in Cherry-street, near Pearl-street, though so pious a man, and, doubtless, in great raste to get to everlasting bliss, had moved out of the city for fear of the fever, not liking, apparently, to go off to the next' world in a yellow skin. thus he escaped me, who sailed from New York in four days afterwards: or, Charley should have found, that there was something else, on this side the grave, pretty nearly as trouble some and as dreadful as the Yellow

Fever.

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This is not at all a question of religion. It is a question of moral truth. Whether MR. PAINE's opinions were correct, or erroneous, has nothing to do with this matter.

WM. COBBETT.

TO THE KING.

London, January 31st, 1820. MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY,

I have this day witnessed the ceremony of proclaiming your Majesty King of the United King dom of Great Britain and Ireland; to which, had not unwise and evil councillors existed twer

years ago, would have been adthe title which your Royal Father ded the word France; a part of inherited from his predecessors, and which, in my opinion, ought never to have been given up, because, in the affairs of nations, particularly, honour ought to be

valued as highly as existence it-point out the whole of these

self.

To subjects of more immediate importance at this time, I take the liberty to endeavour to call your Majesty's attention; a liberty which I am compelled to take in this public manner, or to refrain from doing that which I regard as being my duty to do. Your Majesty ascends the Throne at a period of unexampled embarrassment, difficulty and distress. You become the King of a great nation, at a time when it is seriously doubted, by a great number of persons of sound heads, great experience, great information and very extensive views, whether this great nation be or be not destined to experience a decline of weight and of power such as very few nations, of which we have any knowledge, have ever experienced. Under such circumstances, an accession to the Throne would appear, at first sight, to be an elevation hardly to be envied. But if we rightly consider the matter, this is, perhaps, taking an entirely wrong view of it. As it is more glorious in an army to wear the laurels won on an occasion where there is every reason to expect its defeat so it will certainly be more glorious to your Majesty, if you should, so I pray GoD you may, see, during your reign, this harrassed and miserable nation restored to tranquillity and happiness, and to the enjoyment of that freedom, which our fathers enjoyed at the time when his late Majesty ascended the Throne.

In order, however, that this restoration may be effected, and that your reign may be happy and glorious, great changes must take place in the management of the afirs of this nation. Merely to

changes with sufficient clearness, and in language and manner suitable, on an occasion like the present, would be a task too voluminous to be attempted at this moment. Yet, there is one change or two, which, as they seem to present themselves with peculiar claims to attention, I shall endeavour to point out; and, as they relate to matters of somewhat a personal nature, I put in, beforehand, an earnest request, that my words may receive the most liberal interpretation.

I am sure I speak the sense of the people of this kingdom in general, when I say that our having, of late years, been deprived of the use of the right to Petition the King and the Regent, has produced great injury with regard to the feelings of the people towards the Sovereign; and also great injury with regard to the administering of the affairs of the country. No human institution can be perfect. Abuses will arise in every such institution. may be unjustly treated by a constable, by a justice of the peace, by a court of law. But, still he may petition the Parliament. The Parliament may turn a deaf ear to him. Some wrong, influence may prevail even there. Still, however, he has the King, to Pe tition; and it is the King, whose office it is at last to afford him redress.

A man

There is something so manifestly just and reasonable in, this, that I believe that there never, yet was a nation in which it was not the practice for any man to be able at any time to present a petition to the Chief Ruler of such a nation. In the Bill of Rights, this right of petitioning the King forms one of the items of the un

duct, or negligence of the Ministry, or of some person in power under them, it is obvious that there must be a natural disinclination on the part of the Ministry to suffer the petition to meet the eye of his master; and the more true and the more important the mat

alienable rights of Englishmen and, indeed, that a man should be held bound in ties of allegiance to one, to whom he is not permitted to put up even his prayers, is something too monstrous for common sense to conceive or common spirit to endure. Yet, may it please your Ma-ter of the petition may be, the jesty, it appears to me that this right, if not absolutely denied to us in words, has been so much abridged, and the performance of it reduced to so much uncertainty, that the great mass of your Majesty's subjects can with difficulty look upon themselves as enjoying it at all. According to a regulation, which has been adopted of late years, our petitions to the King are to be delivered to the Secretary of State: or given to his Majesty, or, in his behalf, to the Regent) at the levee. It is very well known that very few persons, indeed, comparatively speaking, can gain admission to a levee. The great body of the people are, indeed, wholly excluded from it. It is a thing of which they know nothing except by hearsay. And, therefore the Secretary of State is the only channel through which their petitions can pass.

It is manifest that, under such circumstances, no person will consider this mode of petitioning as coming up to what is properly called the exercise of the Right of Petition. The petitioner is by no means certain that his petition will ever reach the King. He knows very well that his petition will first be read and well examined by the Secretary of State: this Secretary is one of the Ministry; and, as every petition will be likely to contain a complaint of some grievance or some wrong, arising from the miscon

less likely it is that the Secretary should be disposed to lay it before the King; nay, the Secretary now seems to be relieved from all chances of inconveniences on this score; for according to a recent letter of his, it appears that, whether he shall lay before the King or not, depends wholly upon his own discretion. So that, it would appear that to this it is come, at last; an Englishman's right to petition the King; a right, which, at the revolution, was declared to be inherent and unalienable, is now reduced to a right to petition the Secretary of State: though it may happen that this Englishman's complaint, as contained in his petition, relates to some grievous oppression experienced at the hands of that Secretary himself.

Petitions are not, like some other modes of application, answered. No answer is given to them, or, at least, no acknowledgment of their being right; and no immediate assurance that the prayer of them will be granted.The petitioner is, in all cases, left to entertain the supposition that his petition will receive due attention and have its just weight.When the prayer of it is not granted, no positive refusal is given; and this, as far as relates to petitions to the King, is the most dignified and most gracious mode of proceeding. All that the petitioner can reasonably require in the first instance, is to know for a certainty, that his petition

has been received by the King; something to do. For a King to but this he cannot now know; and say to his subjects, what this protherefore, he is as completely cut hibition, if fully expressed, seems off from all hope of redress,. to be to say, would certainly be very received from the crown, as if little calculated to gain or to prethere was no crown in existence. serve the affections of any people, One injurious effect of this re- and particularly of a people, who, gulation, so new to Englishmen, in spite of every thing that has and so contrary to all their settled been done, or that can be done, notions of liberty and justice, is to lower them in their own esa diminution in the warmth of teem, are still a proud people, and their attachment towards the so- a people always prone to resent vereign himself, whom they cease, every act and every word which by degrees, to regard as their last seems to imply contempt or dishold of safety. They have enough dain. As I am very well satisfied to remind them of his power and that this prohibition never did of their obedience to his authority. originate in the mind of your MaThey do not fail duly to receive jesty, and has not been continued his commands and to hear his in- by any particular desire of yours, junctions not to resist those com. I do not impute it to you; but, mands. They are warned upon certain I am that its effect upon occasions frequent enough, of the the minds of the people of this honour that they are to do him; country has been very injurious, and they know well how numer- and that every day of its continuous and how great are the punish-ance, especially now, will add to ments inflicted in his name. And, an evil already gone to an extent if they are to be deprived, though far beyond what your Majesty can under the most grievous oppres- possibly imagine. sion, to make known to him the wrongs which they suffer, it is to expect more than human nature allows us to expect not to believe that they will entertain towards the King less warmth of attachment than they would entertain, if they could, at their pleasure, ap-There may be persons quite unpeal to his own justice for redress. God himself, if he were only a God of terror, would not be adored, except by beings wholly unworthy to live.

But there is another great evil attending this prohibition. There are grievances to be prevented as well as grievances to be redressed. Ministers, and other persons in authority may be guilty of sins of omission as well as of commission.

known to your Majesty, whose zeal and ability, though voluntarily exerted, may, upon particular occasions, be of infinite utility to the King, as well as to the nation. Yet such persons, for want of the power to make their

This prohibition to present petitions in person to the King has the further disadvantage belong-representations to the King, may, ing to it, that (whatever may be with regard to him, and to the the fact) it is looked upon as a country, uselessly possess such prohibition coming from the King zeal and such ability. Many have himself, and, coming so closely been the occasions when I could in contact with his very person, have rendered great service to the it must be supposed to be a mat-country, had the channel of petiter with which he has personally tion been open to me: of two

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