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    ried on th 6 education of the human race . It has , at leatt , taught men the necessity of self-government . It has shewn them their mutual dependence . It has bound them together by common interests ; and , if it has itself comitritted injustice on a large scale , it has for its own present safety enforced upon its subjects the observance of justice in their several relations , and thus has , unconsciously , made them advance some steps towards a knowledge of the proper use of government , that is , to enforce such restraints , and such only , as are necessary for the public good .

    By its attempts to establish and consolidate its power , tyranny has also sometimes hastened the development of the principle , that men have a right to enjoy , not the least degree of liberty which they can wring from their op pressors , but the greatest freedom from restraint that is compatible with the public good . It snatches their liberties from them for a time , when , perhaps , anarchy would he the consequence of their possession ; but , without intention , teaches them the proper time and method for their

    resumption ; nay , itself / Creates the opportunities when they inaybe seized with advantage . This has remarkably been the case with the tyranny that William the Conqueror established in this country 7 . Having seized on the kingdom by force , according to the custom of feudal times , reserving some portion for the supply of his own necessities and those of his immediate followers and retainers , he divided the rest among the baroris who had

    assisted him in reducing the country under his dominion , only demanding in return that when he should make war , they should follow him with a certain number of their vassals , and horses , arms , and accoutrements , according to the value of the possession with which they were invested . In other respects they were almost independent of him , exercising their authority over their vassals as absolute masters of their lives and property . Thus a double tyranny was established in the land . But this double tyranny

    proved the salvation of the nation . The king and the nobles became a check upon each other . They were mutually jealous of each other ' s power ; and when either thought the other becoming too mighty and insolent , they made a stand against further encroachment ; and , in order to strengthen themselves , each in turn sought the alliance of the people , and obtained for them the recognition of some rights which they had not before enjoyed .

    In this way were obtained Magna Charta , Trial by Jury , and the Com- * mons House of Parliament . And when these were established , Eriglishmen began la feel that they were free , and to thirst after the further extension of thdr freedom . The spirit was stirred within thein , and from that time to the present , they have been gradually opening their eyes to the perception of the proper nature and use of a national government .

    Another instance frorn the history of our own country may be adduced , in which tyranny itself has directed the light of men ' s understandings to the discovery of its monstrous iniquities . In the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII ., the despotism of the Church of Rome appeared to be as firmly fixed in England as in the very city of the great Pontiff ; and , as is well known , Henry wrote a book in defence of it , which procured him froth the

    Pope the gracious title of •* Defender of the Faith . " But the tyrant king quarreled with the tyrant priest about a shameful divorce , which was su £ d for under hypocritical pretences on the one side , and denied on the other , after much tergiversation and delay , on political expediency , and " the defender of the faith" shook off his allegiance to the Pope , declared himself head of the Church as well as of the State , in the plenitude of his as-

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    On the Proper Use of Government . 60 S

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    2 u 2

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1830, page 603, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2588/page/19/