It is not my present purpose to enter into any thing like a general comparison of the morals of the ninth, and the nineteenth century; or to expatiate on the distinction between those of this country, and such as pervade the inhabitants of other regions; for, I believe the strictest scrutiny would end in a conclusion that human nature is much the same, in whatever part of the world geography can lead us; I will, therefore, briefly pursue the avowed purpose of this address, which is both local and temporary, calculated to remedy a species of iniquity, which stalks with gigantic strides, to the very threshold of the most salutary Police that human wisdom is capable of establishing. It is astonishing, and no less so is it lamentable, that the laws of the wisest legislator, in all ages and countries, never did, or ever will, wholly subdue the predominant passions inherent in human nature; hence the wisdom and ingenuity of the laws, both antient and modern, aided by the intrepidity and vigilance of the Magistrates, have sunk under every attempt, to conquer the two most destructive vices which afflict mankind;—it is almost needless to say, that I mean duelling and gaming; vices that have triumphed over, and bid defiance to, all human ordinances, from the earliest period of civilization, to the present moment. But as I have selected the prevalency of gaming and its baneful effects, for the subject of your consideration, I shall not clog my animadversions with any extraneous observations. If the information I mean to convey in this letter, was to reach no farther than the closets of men as well informed as yourselves, I should have spared myself the trouble of writing, and relieved you from the task of reading, at least two thirds of the subject now before you; for to tell men of erudition and legal knowledge, what were the laws and customs, vices and virtues, of the most celebrated antients, would be almost as futile and presumptuous, as to tell Sir Richard Ford, that the office he presides at, is in the parish of St. Paul, Covent Garden; but as this letter may get into the hands of men of a very opposite description, to them it may convey both information and admonition, as salutary to themselves, as beneficial to the community; or at least, should it fail, I have the satisfaction of a good intention, free from any apprehension of encountering the disapprobation of men whose good opinion is worth acquiring or preserving. The prejudice of vulgar errors over the minds of Englishmen perhaps is more prevalent than in any other people, the major part of whom have as little idea that gaming exists in any other country as that _roast beef_ can be met with in France or Italy.