The Virginia Gazette

From the PUBLIC LEDGER:

To
the
KING.

O W long, generous Sir, shall we, thy loving subjects, complain that thou hast turned a deaf ear to our petitions?
How long shall we deplore the loss of thy affectionate regard? How long, with grief, must we behold thee, as it were, utterly estranged from all the sincere friends and firm supporters of thine illustrious House? How long, with surprise, must we view thee in the hands of those who were inimical to thy predecessors, and strove to dispossess them of the crown of the realms?

Thou canst not, O King, suppose those men thy foes, who have risked both their lives and fortunes to preserve thy family on the Throne! Nor could we have thought it possible, had not fatal experience convinced us, that the friends of the Brunswick line should meet thy frowns, whilst traitors to thy predecessors enjoy the sunshine of royal favour and munificence. Thy favours are thine own, and who shall say they ever are abused? Yet, may we not, in silent grief, deplore an infatuation so injurious to thy faithful people, so prejudicial to thine own interests? The riches of a King consist in the affections of his people, nor can that Prince want aught who enjoys the love of his subjects.

Times, circumstances, early habits, and the prejudices of education, strangely bias the mind of man; nor are Kings exempt from common frailties: Yet, now that thy judgment is ripened into maturity, let not the base suggestions of those who have, on every occasion, shewn themselves sworn foes to thine august House, lead thee astray; they have made several unsuccessful efforts to wrest the Crown from the brow of thine ancestors; they now profess themselves warmly attached to thee. Let thy gratitude be evinced, but let not thy real friends be excluded from a share in thy favours. Be assured that the persons who infuse into thy mind notions of absolute sway are thy most inveterate foes, and secretly wish thy ruin. Recollect, Sir, the various calamities which befell those Princes who attempted despotic rule; call to mind that you owe your Crown to the defeat of such attempts; forget not that the people of this country are a high spirited people; and though the Ministry may have spread corruption as a pestilence through the land, yet the many, whom it is impossible from their numbers to corrupt, in times of public discontent, are what will always decide the difference. Suffer not yourself, Sir, to be deceived by imaginary expectation, nor give into views repugnant to the ideas of the people. Bad men, who wish to exclude your family from the Throne, may advise tyranny, but your study should be to establish the Throne, and to reign in the hearts of your people.

The common mode of acting amongst mankind should never be adopted by Kings; their beneficence should be diffusive as their power (when founded on injustice) is boundless. They should shew no predilection for a chosen few; like the parents of a numerous offspring, all should share in common their blessings and protection. Listen not, therefore, most gracious Prince, to those who attempted to inflame your mind against your American subjects. Remember, that in the reigns of George I. and II. there scarcely was a man throughout the continent but what would have shed his blood in support of your family's title to the Throne.

Let then the loyalty of the fathers plead in favour of their children, nor drive into desperation a people who deserve more grateful treatment. Have some pity, if not on the Americans, at least on the industrious poor of this kingdom. Recall the bloody doom denounced against trade and commerce. Deprive not the wretched Americans of gifts the God of nature hath bestowed, nor permit your Ministers to add excess of cruelty to excess of outrage.

The mode of executing the late unmerciful acts depends in a great measure on thee; it is in thy power to moderate the rigours of punishment; thou canst mitigate calamities unworthy the King of a free people to inflict, and quite unworthy a free people to endure. Let not thy indulgence be solely confined to thy Popish subjects of Quebec; as thy superabundant favour hath extended to them, so alleviate the miseries thy protestant subjects are doomed to suffer. Let mercy beam with radiance from thy breast; thou hast now an opportunity, which never King of Great Britain had before, that of manifesting thyself the only commiserating part of the legislature: For pity, alas, is not the characteristic of the other branches.

O King, never forget that it is in the mercy of the Almighty we place all our hopes of happiness hereafter. Mercy is the darling attribute of Heaven; imitate then a perfection so divine, and be what God deigned the distributor of universal happiness; so shall thy days be many, and when hoary time shall have ripened thee for the grave, thou shalt sleep in peace, then rise to the fruition of celestial pleasure.

That you may experience this is the sincere and ardent wish of
your only faithful subjects,
THE WHIGS.