Category: Sovereignty

Saturday, April 8. 1704.

Numb. 10.
[53]

THE General Head I am upon, is the wonderful Benefit of Arbitrary Power; and methinks I need not make an Apology here, and tell the Reader again, that I do not mean the Benefit to the Subject; but that I distinguish between the Greatness of the Monarch as a King, and the Greatness of a Nation as a People: But such is the Iniquity of the Times, that ’tis Dangerous to walk on the Brink of a tender Point.

I dare not say, that all our good Friends who are so very full of the Word Arbitrary Government, understand the Meaning of it; and possibly their want of rightly Understanding it, may have been the Reason of their Mistaking the just Power of a lawful Prince, for the Real Bug-bear we speak of; and the People who are of this sort, generally are for allowing their Governours little or no Power at all, and perhaps in the end, would be for no Governours at all.

I am far from giving Arbitrary Power a Character to recommend it to the Subject: But without doubt, That Prince, whose Designs center in his own Projects, enlarging his Dominions, and in the Conquest of his Neighbours; there is nothing can contribute more to this end, than a Despotick Arbitrary Dominion over his Subjects, whereby he obliges them, without any Reserve, to Comply with whatever he demands; to give what he asks; to go where he sends; and to do what he directs.

When a Prince must court his Subjects to give him leave to raise an Army, and when that’s done, tell him when he must disband them; That if he wants Money, must Assemble the States of his Country, and not only give them good words to get it, and tell them what ’tis for, but give them an Account how it is expended, before he calls for more. The Subjects in such a Government are certainly Happy, in having their Properties and Privileges secur’d; but if I were of his Privy-Council, I would advise such a Prince to content himself within the Compass of his own Government, and never think of Invading his Neighbours, or Increasing his Dominions: For Subjects, who Stipulate with their Princes, and make Conditions of Government, who Claim to be Govern’d by Laws, and make those Laws themselves; who need not pay their Money, but when they see Cause, and may refuse to pay it when demanded, without their Consent; such Subjects will never Empty their Purses upon Foreign Wars, for enlarging the Glory of their Sovereign. If [54] such People are free to Fight, or Pay, it is always for the Defence and Security of their own, not for the Conquests and Glories of their Prince. Continue reading Saturday, April 8. 1704.

Saturday, March 18. 1704.

Numb. 5.
[33]

A DIGRESSION to the READER.

IT is not for want of Matter wherewith to Entertain the World, that this Paper is thus reduc’d from a whole to half a Sheet, the vast Extent of the Subject we have Entred upon, rather gives us Cause to fear Life will hardly Extend to Finish the Undertaking, and at the slow Rate of now and then a Paper, this Age will hardly come to the End of the History.

But the Necessities of Trade, not Improperly call’d the Iniquity of the Times, compel us to this Alteration, the Publishers of this Paper honestly Declaring, that while they make it a whole Sheet they get nothing by it; and tho’ the Author is very Free to give the World his Labour for God’s sake, they don’t find it for their Convenience to give their Paper and Print away.

But this is not all, the common Sellers of News, from the unusual Size, and general Success of this Paper, took Occasion to Impose upon the World and Sell it for Two Pence; which; which as it was raising a Tax without a Legal Power was thought Scandalous by the Club, and accordingly is thus effectually suppress’d.

And to convince the World, these are the true Reasons, they will find, That we have by the help of a smaller Print, and a larger Page, taken Care to put as much into this half Sheet as was in the former, and so the whole of the Matter is only the Injury done to the Eye-sight, in obliging the Gentlemen to read it in a smaller Character; and if we find the Subject grow too fast upon us, we shall help it by bringing the Paper out twice a Week.At this point in the Review the print shrinks, the layout shifts from single column to two columns, and the move from printing a full sheet to a half sheet reduces the pages from eight to four. All of these moves, as Defoe mentions in the first paragraphs of this number, were in response to booksellers charging two pennies for the paper because of its larger than usual size. Continue reading Saturday, March 18. 1704.