A strong Ash-Wednesday Paper 1774

SIR, The following Curses are by God
denounced in Holy Writ: Cursed is he ytthat
curses Father or Mother; cursed is he that
that removeth his Neighbour’s Land-Mark;
cursed are the unmerciful, covetous Per-
sons &and Extortioners. Now,

As to the first, surely, that Man must lie
under that Curse, who by Force drives his
Father from his Possession, &and hires People
with his Father’s Money to murder him.

This Day eighty-four Years, just at the
very Time the Curses of God were by his
lawful Ministers pronouncing in almost
every Church in England, Scotland &and Ire- 2007(2007)
land, an Herald was proclaiming two
undutiful Children1 K——[ing] &and Q——[ueen] of Eng-
land, &andc. But Peace be to their Manes:
They, in a short Time afterwards, were
obliged to appear where Rebellion, per-
jury, Fraud, Cunning &and Deceit would stand
in no good stead.

But let us see &and consider the Advantages
the Subjects gained by that glorious Day’s
Work. Before that Period, the Subjects
were not incumberedencumbered with so much as One
Penny National Debt; &and the whole of all
their Taxes, united together, scarcely amount-
ed to Three-pence in the Pound.

Now, take all our Taxes together of every
Sort united, to ^they amount to about Fifteen
Shillings in the Pound, three Parts of our
whole property (the undoubted Cause of
Provisions being dear) &and as the K—[ing] goes on,
the remaining Fourth must soon follow; and
suppose the National Debt to be One Hundred
&and Forty Millions, which funded &and unfund-
ed, I believe, will amount to that Sum,
then for every Single Day since the R—[evolution]
we have been blessed with an accumulat-
ing Sum Debt, amounting to upwards of
Four Thousand, Five Hundred, Sixty-two
pounds, Nine Shillings &and Eight pence
Three Farthings per Day; a Blessing on
us &and our Posterity for ever, so sure as the
R——[evolution] was a Blessing, if otherwise, a
Curse &and BurthenBurden on us &and our latest poste-
rity; &and all the aforesaid Millions were
expended to make the poor &and distressed
States of Holland become rich, high &and
mighty, the poor Electorate of Hanover
rich &and wealthy, &and the Subjects of Great
Britain &and Ireland in Poverty, Distress &and 2008 (2008)
Slavery; &and since the aforesaid Period our
Governors have coaxed us us to part with yethe
Major part of our Money they did not take
by Force, &and in the Room thereof to give
us Bits of paper; so that the major Part
of our remaining Wealth is now in their
Hands; by which Means they keep up yethe
following Standing Armies to keep yethe Sub-
ject in Awe, poverty, Distress, &and Slavery: A
Standing Army of great Placemen, a Standing
Army of Excisemen, Permit-Men, Custom-house
Officers, with the other innumerable Compa-
ny of little Placemen, a Standing Army of
devouring Locusts, called Pensioners, and a
Standing Army of Soldiers; by all which
Means our Liberties are become barely no-
minal, &and our Paper Property of every Sort,
whenever the —— pleases, can ^be wiped out
with a SpungeSponge.

If we consider Religion, the Church of Eng-
land flourished before that Period; but since
that Time Popery &and Fanaticism have increas-
ed, especially of late Years, to such a Degree,
that, without the Spirit of Prophecy, we
may foretell, that in a few Years yethe Church of
England will be extinct, unless God in his
great Mercy preserves us.

If we look into Morality, our Governors,
since that Period, by their wicked Exam-
ples of Bribery, Corruption, Dissipation, Gam-
ing, &and every Species of Wickedness that
can be committed, have so debauched yethe
Morals of the People, that Morality is
in the same deplorable Condition of Liberty,
Property, &and Religion, viz, almost vanished
from these once happy Isles! On yethe whole,
if a Tree is to be known by its Fruits,
who 2009 (2009)
who dare say the Rebellion against K—[ing]
James was not a g——[oriou]s R——[evolutio]n?
I am,
A SOUTH BRITON.