the opinion of the members of the church, that it was thought right to reward his meritorious services by a bishopric. It could hardly, therefore, be the dread of Dr. Priestley's theological opinions that induced the clergy of the church of England to bestir themselves against him with such alacrity. Erroneous opinions advanced and refuted, so far from being injurious, have a powerful tendency to support and strengthen the cause which they were meant to overturn. Or, if there existed any latent suspicion that the refutation of Horsley was not so complete as had been alleged, surely persecution was not the best means of supporting weak arguments; and indeed it was rather calculated to draw the attention of mankind to the theological opinions of Priestley; as has in fact been the consequence. Neither can the persecutions which Dr. Priestley was subjected to be accounted for by his political opinions, even supposing it not to be true, that in a free country like Great Britain, any man is at liberty to maintain whatever theoretic opinions of government he thinks proper, provided he be a peaceable subject and obey rigorously all the laws of his country. Dr. Priestley was an advocate for the perfectibility of the human species, or at least its continually increasing tendency to improvement--a doctrine extremely pleasing in itself, and warmly supported by Franklin and Price; but which the wild principles of Condorcet, Godwin, and Beddoes at last brought into discredit. This doctrine was taught by Priestley in the outset of his Treatise on Civil Government, first published in 1768. It is a speculation of so very agreeable a nature, so congenial to our warmest wishes, and so flattering to the prejudices of humanity, that one feels much pain at being obliged to give it up. Perhaps it may be true, and I am willing to hope so, that improvements once made are never entirely lost, unless they are superseded by something much more advantageous, and that therefore the knowledge of the human race, upon the whole, is progressive. But political establishments, at least if we are to judge from the past history of mankind, have their uniform periods of progress and decay. Nations seem incapable of profiting by experience. Every nation seems destined to run the same career, and the history may be comprehended under the following heads: Poverty, liberty, industry, wealth, power, dissipation, anarchy, destruction. We have no example in history of a nation running through this career and again recovering its energy and importance. Greece ran through it more than two thousand years ago: she has been in a state of slavery ever since. An opportunity is now at last given her of recovering her importance: posterity will ascertain whether she will embrace it.