Miscellanies in prose and verse on several occasions, by Claudero [i.e. James Wilson], son of Nimrod the Mighty Hunter. The Fourth Edition with large Additions |
 |
A Caution against Mobbing.
|
|
|
 | Miscellanies in prose and verse |  |
51
A Caution against Mobbing.
Ye Poets, be cautious what muse ye invoke,
Be careful too, Printers, and do not provoke
The guardians of justice, or laws of our land;
When you oppose either, 'gainst reason you stand.
To justify tumults, no man should pretend,
Else farewel to order, peace then's at an end:
The Scriptures divine, our good wholesome acts,
And rules that are social, forbid such attacks:
Tho' engrossing forestallers by these are condemn'd,
Let the legislature the oppressed defend.
'Tis the magistrate's duty these harpies to stop,
By ending their crimes, with their lives, in a rope.
These wicked loch-leeches, both here and elsewhere,
Should to justice be brought, all good people declare;
For why should they feed on the blood of the poor,
And starve a whole kingdom, the orphan devour?
Be careful too, Printers, and do not provoke
The guardians of justice, or laws of our land;
When you oppose either, 'gainst reason you stand.
To justify tumults, no man should pretend,
Else farewel to order, peace then's at an end:
The Scriptures divine, our good wholesome acts,
And rules that are social, forbid such attacks:
Tho' engrossing forestallers by these are condemn'd,
Let the legislature the oppressed defend.
'Tis the magistrate's duty these harpies to stop,
By ending their crimes, with their lives, in a rope.
These wicked loch-leeches, both here and elsewhere,
Should to justice be brought, all good people declare;
For why should they feed on the blood of the poor,
And starve a whole kingdom, the orphan devour?
O Royal Grand Sovereign, we beseech thee to hear,
The cry of thy subjects let come to thine ear:
Let no high connection such vermin defend,
But justice' sharp sword their malpractices end,
A proof by ten thousand, their guilt shall attest,
O grant us this proof, and thy people are blest:
By necessity urged, we are forced to cry,
To our king, as our father, to grant us supply;
For our Printers are seized, their labours are burnt,
And Poets dare scarcely resent the affront.
The cry of thy subjects let come to thine ear:
Let no high connection such vermin defend,
But justice' sharp sword their malpractices end,
A proof by ten thousand, their guilt shall attest,
O grant us this proof, and thy people are blest:
By necessity urged, we are forced to cry,
To our king, as our father, to grant us supply;
For our Printers are seized, their labours are burnt,
And Poets dare scarcely resent the affront.
No mob I encourage, nor rioters join,
Nor do I 'gainst law and the rulers combine;
I pity John Muat, who fell without blame,
Who suffer'd for others that he can well name:
I condole the fair traders, who were willing to sell
At a moderate price, when the mob on them fell,
And rifling their houses, did pillage their store,
And ruin'd whole fam'lies, whose case I deplore:
Then where is the justice the press to knock down?
Or why should the poet here suffer a frown?
Nor do I 'gainst law and the rulers combine;
I pity John Muat, who fell without blame,
Who suffer'd for others that he can well name:
I condole the fair traders, who were willing to sell
At a moderate price, when the mob on them fell,
And rifling their houses, did pillage their store,
And ruin'd whole fam'lies, whose case I deplore:
Then where is the justice the press to knock down?
Or why should the poet here suffer a frown?
52
Fair liberty, sure, will hear us complain,
Against those oppressors, who add to our pain,
And law on engrossers must surely take hold,
Which wou'd put an end to all mobbing, I'm told.
Then seize on the guilty, convict them in haste,
Till then, peace or plenty we never will taste;
For judges themselves, if starved to rage,
Would fight for their victuals, and swear it was sage.
I refer to my country both parts of my song,
I will humbly submit, if my judgment is wrong;
But if I am right, I freedom will plead,
For sighing the strains of poor people in need.
And to show all engrossers that I am a hero,
I'll boldly affix here the name of
Against those oppressors, who add to our pain,
And law on engrossers must surely take hold,
Which wou'd put an end to all mobbing, I'm told.
Then seize on the guilty, convict them in haste,
Till then, peace or plenty we never will taste;
For judges themselves, if starved to rage,
Would fight for their victuals, and swear it was sage.
I refer to my country both parts of my song,
I will humbly submit, if my judgment is wrong;
But if I am right, I freedom will plead,
For sighing the strains of poor people in need.
And to show all engrossers that I am a hero,
I'll boldly affix here the name of
Claudero.
P. S. Among the number of scurrilities in the North
Britons, there are also to be found a few very unlucky
facts; and too true it is, that the freedom of this country,
compared with that of its sister kingdom, will vanish
into arbitrary petty tyranny. Would an Englishman
believe, that it was practicable for two engrossers
to seize upon a Printer, and escort him under a strong
military guard, from Leith to the city of Edinburgh,
and then to have his papers burnt, merely because they
spoke to the same purpose as does the word of God,
and our acts of parliament, against engrossers and forestallers?
No!—Would he believe that a Scotsman
may be starved to death, with money in his pocket;
yea, many thousands of them; yet dare not for the
souls of them complain upon those who retain all the
victual in the country, till they have an exorbitant
price, more than the labours of the people can afford!
No.—For God's love, let not these, and many other
scandalous abuses of freedom, transpire to the
ears of Mr. Wilkes, or we must certainly be ashamed of
the contempt, justly poured upon us for our pusillanimity.
| Miscellanies in prose and verse | |