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Sweden upon the old fubfidy treaty to the amount of fix millions of livres; a fum of great importance to the limited monarch of a country not abounding in gold and filver; but in the prefent particular circumstances, was an object of ftill greater confequence. The court of Versailles fettled this matter with its ufual addrefs, and much to the fatisfaction of the new King. One fourth of the money was immediately paid, and the remainder of the debt is to be liquidated by three fucceffive yearly payments; at the fame time the treaty was renewed, without its being clogged with the requifition of any new conditions, or made difagreeable by hesitation or doubts. A conduct which carried an appearance of candour, good faith, and difintereftedness, naturally pleafing to a young prince.

The King upon the arrival of the diploma, which notified his acceffion to the throne, immediately wrote a declaraMarch 15. tion from Paris to the fenate, in which he gave the ftrongest and most folemn affurances, that at the price of his life and his blood he would maintain the purity of their doctrine, and defend their rights and liberties; declared his abhorrence of all violence, and by the folemn affurances he had already given, and upon his word as a King, that he would not only in the government of his kingdom fulfill in all points whatever the laws and the conftitution prefcribed, and conformably to the form of regency of the year 1720, to which he had already fworn; but that he would Look upon as the declared enemies of his perfon and kingdom, and as the most notorious traytors to

the country, all thofe who fecretly or openly, on any pretence whatfoever, fhould feek to introduce again an unlimited authority, or what is called fovereignty. This declaration was concluded with the adjuration of fo help me God." and figned Gustavus.

The Swedish King paffed fome days with his uncle the King of Pruffia upon his return May 30. home, and having at length arrived at Stockholm was received by the people with the greatest appearances of joy. At his first appearance in the Senate he again renewed his affurances of governing according to the laws, and of endeavouring in every manner to make the people happy. He feemed alfo to apply himself affiduously to the acquiring of popularity, and having fet apart three days in the week for giving audience to the people, he received without distinction all who prefented themselves. Upon thefe occafions he laid by the trappings of royalty, and all appearance of ftate; heard the complaints of the people with the greatest temper and patience, and entered into the minuteft details with them upon every thing that related to the fubject. Befides redreffing their grievances, and doing them all the acts of justice in his power, he informed himself of their private affairs, and converfed familiarly upon them, in the language and character of a father and friend; fo that those who received no benefit, departed fatisfied, and all were equally charmed with the King's condefcenfion and manner, Such a conduct, if perfevered in, cannot fail of producing the defired effect.

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The Swedes are divided, as we are in England, into two great parties, who are diftinguished by the peculiar names of hats and caps, the former being those who efpoufe the intereft of the court, and the latter, the country or patriotic party. The principles of one are to extend the power of the crown, and of the other, to confine it ftrictly within the limits prefcribed by the capitulations of the year 1720; at the time the ftates prefented the government of the kingdom to the hereditary Prince of Heffe.

Great exertions were made by both parties in the elections for the enfuing diet, which took place during the King's abfence, and in which the caps, contrary to expectation, were thought to have much the fuperiority. This was the lefs to be expected, as befides the many circumftances favourable to his intereft which generally attend the acceffion of a new, and particularly of a young Prince, the prefent King had alfo the advantage of being a native of Sweden, a matter of the greater importance, as both his immediate predeceffors were foreigners.

The King made a June 25. fpeech at the opening of the diet, which has been much admired, especially in thofe countries, where from the nature of the government, addreffes of fuch a kind, from the Prince to the people, are not cuftomary. It certainly contained feveral noble and generous fentiments. Among other profeffions, he declared, that born and educated among them, he had learned from his earliest youth to love his country; that he confidered it as the greatest happiness

to be a Swede, and as the greatest glory, to be the first citizen of a free country; that to fee it happy was the first object of his wishes; and to govern it free and independent the laft object of his ambition; and concluded by defiring in the most endearing terms, that these may not be confidered as empty profeffions, belied perhaps by the fecret motions of his heart; but as the faithful expreffions of what that heart felt; which was too upright not to be fincere, and too haughty ever to be falfe to its engage

ments.

The happy effects of concord and union, and the fatal confequences of divifions among themfelves, were much dwelt upon in this fpeech; the evident drift of which was, to reconcile, as far as it could be done, the contending parties; and at leaft, by leffening their animofity, and removing all jealoufies of the crown, to foften the temper of oppofition in fuch a manner, as that fome favourite points which were in view, might be gained in the courfe of the Diet. The fpeech gave univerfal fatisfaction to both parties, and a grand deputatation was appointed next day to return thanks for it, and to request that it might be printed.

Nothwithstanding these favoura ble appearances, the oppofition in the Diet was too ftrong to be overcome, and too firm to be cajolled. They knew that Princes are too generally as little fcrupulous of breaking through their profeffions, when they find themselves poffeffed of fufficient power to enable them to do it with fafety, as they are free in making them, in order to attain that power. The great ob

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ject of the court party, was to obtain a relaxation of those capitulations, which every king at his coronation is obliged to fubscribe to, and to confirm by his oath as well as his fignature. These capitulations are a kind of bond or obligation from the king to the people, which confift of a great number of articles, and reftrict the power of the crown within very narrow limits indeed. The wifdom of Sweden, has not left thofe rewards in the hands of the crown, which might have infured fuccefs to an attempt of this nature. Being thus left to their natural and undifguifed fentiments, the jealoufy of the Swedes got the better of their complaifance to the crown, and of the favourable opinion they entertained of the reigning Prince. This matter however prevented the coronation from taking place until the enfuing year.

The noble efforts of (that faithful repository of the laws, and remembrancer of the ancient rights of the people) the parliament of Paris, in the cause of liberty and mankind, have fatally terminated in its own final diffolution. Its fall was not more glorious from the cause in which it was engaged, than from the circumftances that attended it; feveral of the other parliaments having become voluntary facrifices at its funeral pire.

That ancient fpirit from which the Franks derive their name, though ftill gloriously alive in the breafts of a few, no longer exifts in the bulk of the people. Long dazzled with the fplendor of a magnificent and voluptuous court, with the glare of a vaft military power, and with the glory of Tome great monarchs, they cannot now, in the grave light of

the fhade, behold things in their natural ftate. Nor can thofe who have been long ufed to fubmit without enquiry to every act of power, who have been fuccefsfully encouraged in diffipation, and taught to trifle with the moft important fubjects, fuddenly acquire that ftrength and tenor of mind, which is alone capable of forming great refolutions, and of undertaking arduous and dangerous tasks. Thus has this great revolu tion in the history and government of France, taken place without the smallest commotion, or with. out the oppofition, that in other periods would have attended, an infraction of the heretable jurif❤ diction of a petty vaffal.

The parliament of Paris hav ing perfifted in its refufal, towards the clofe of the laft year, to regifter an edict of the king's, by which they were to acknowledge as a law of the state, the indifpenfible obligation of all the fovereign courts to register any edicts he addressed to them, even though in oppofition to their own remonftrances, if he thought proper to perfift in enforcing the execution of his will they were at length fummoned to attend a bed of juftice at Verfailles, where the King acted in perfon, and the edict Dec. 7. was obliged to be regiftered. The parliament had previously entered protests, against every thing that fhould be done at the bed of justice, as the effect of a force which they could not refift, but which they neither ought, nor could affent to, being contrary to the laws, which they were fworn to defend, and under which, alone, they had any right to act.

1770.

The

The Swedes are divided, as we are in England, into two great parties, who are diftinguished by the peculiar names of hats and caps, the former being those who efpoufe the intereft of the court, and the latter, the country or patriotic party. The principles of one are to extend the power of the crown, and of the other, to confine it ftrictly within the limits prescribed by the capitulations of the year 1720; at the time the ftates prefented the government of the kingdom to the hereditary Prince of Heffe.

Great exertions were made by both parties in the elections for the enfuing diet, which took place during the King's abfence, and in which the caps, contrary to expectation, were thought to have much the fuperiority. This was the lefs to be expected, as befides the many circumftances favourable to his intereft which generally attend the acceffion of a new, and particularly of a young Prince, the prefent King had alfo the ad vantage of being a native of Sweden, a matter of the greater importance, as both his immediate predeceffors were foreigners.

The King made a June 25. fpeech at the opening of the diet, which has been much admired, especially in thofe countries, where from the nature of the government, addreffes of fuch a kind, from the Prince to the people, are not cuftomary. It certainly contained feveral noble and generous fentiments, Among other profeffions, he declared, that born and educated among them, he had learned from his earliest youth to love his country; that he confidered it as the greatest happiness

to be a Swede, and as the greatest glory, to be the first citizen of a free country; that to fee it happy was the first object of his wifhes; and to govern it free and independent the last object of his ambition; and concluded by defiring in the most endearing terms, that thefe may not be confidered as empty profeffions, belied perhaps by the fecret motions of his heart; but as the faithful expreffions of what that heart felt; which was too upright. not to be fincere, and too haughty ever to be falfe to its engage

ments.

The happy effects of concord and union, and the fatal confequences of divifions among themfelves, were much dwelt upon in this fpeech; the evident drift of which was, to reconcile, as far as it could be done, the contending parties; and at least, by leffening their animofity, and removing all jealoufies of the crown, to foften the temper of oppofition in fuch a manner, as that fome favourite points which were in view, might be gained in the courfe of the Diet. The fpeech gave univerfal fatisfaction to both parties, and a grand deputatation was appointed next day to return thanks for it, and to request that it might be printed.

Nothwithstanding thefe favourable appearances, the oppofition in the Diet was too strong to be overcome, and too firm to be cajolled, They knew that Princes are too generally as little fcrupulous of breaking through their profeffions, when they find themfelves poffeffed of fufficient power to enable them to do it with fafety, as they are free in making them, in order to attain that power. The great ob

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the fhade, behold things in their natural ftate. Nor can those who. have been long used to fubmit without enquiry to every act of power, who have been fuccefsfully encouraged in diffipation, and taught to trifle with the moft important fubjects, fuddenly acquire. that ftrength and tenor of mind, which is alone capable of forming great refolutions, and of undertaking arduous and dangerous tasks. Thus has this great revolu tion in the history and government of France, taken place without the smallest commotion, or with. out the oppofition, that in other, periods would have attended, an infraction of the heretable jurif diction of a petty vaffal.

The parliament of Paris hav ing perfifted in its refufal, towards the clofe of the laft year, to regifter an edict of the king's, by which they were to acknowledge as a law of the state, the indifpenfible obligation of all the fovereign courts to register any edicts he addreffed to them, even though in oppofition. to their own remonftrances, if he thought proper to perfift in enforcing the execution of his will; they were at length fummoned to attend a bed of justice at Verfailles, where the King acted in perfon, and the edict was obliged to be regiftered. The parliament

Dec. 7.

1770.

had previously entered protests against every thing that fhould be done at the bed of justice, as the effect of a force which they could not refift, but which they neither ought, nor could affent to, being contrary to the laws, which they were fworn to defend, and under which, alone, they had any right, to act.

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