Wesley Corpus

To form a tolerable judgment of them requires, not only a good understanding, but more time than common tradesmen can spare, and better information than they can possibly procure. I think, therefore, that the encouraging them to pass their verdict on Ministers of State, yea, on King, Lords, and Commons, is not only putting them out of their way, but doing them more mischief than you are aware of. “But the remonstrance I Surely the King ought to have paid more regard to the remonstrance of the city of London.” Consider the case: The city had presented a petition which he could by no means approve of, as he judged it was designed not so much to inform him as to inflame his subjects. After he had rejected this, as mildly as could be done, whilst he viewed it in this light, they present a remonstrance to the same effect, and (as he judged) with the same design. What then could he do less than he did? Could he seem to approve what he did not approve? If not, how could he testify his full disapprobation in more inoffensive terms? As to the idle, shameless tale of his bursting out into laughter at the Magistrates, any who know His Majesty's temper would as soon believe that he spit in their faces, or struck them a box on the ear. His Majesty’s character, then, after all the pains which have been taken to make him odious, as well as contemptible, remains unimpeached; and therefore cannot be, in any degree, the cause of the present commotions. His whole conduct, both in public and private, ever since he began his reign, the uniform tenor of his behaviour, the general course both of his words and actions, has been worthy of an Englishman, worthy of a Christian, and worthy of a King. “Are not, then, the present commotions owing to his having extraordinary bad Ministers? Can you say that his Ministers are as blameless as himself?” I do not say this; I do not think so. But I think they are not one jot worse than those that went before them; nor than any set of Ministers who have been in place for at least thirty years last past.