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We, the magnanimous and ever terrible Society "of Bums, find it neceffary to reprefent to you, the "ancient and useful Society of Jack-Catches, that we are your only proper and lawfulGuards and Defenders "in the Execution of your Office; that we have, Time "out of Mind, enjoyed this Privilege, and have always proved a fufficient Guard for you, in all Cafes "where you were directed by our Patron, the Common "Law; but that of late we have often found you "furrounded by Parties of Men, who call themselves "Soldiers, unknown to the Common Law, your Pa**tron as well as ours This we look on as a great "Incroachment; and we look on it with the more

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Difdain, for that the Captains of thofe Parties, tho' they have ufurped and perform this the moft Ry "Part of our Office, yet they affume the Name of "Gentlemen; which is a Title we are not allowed "by any, except thofe of your Society.

We hope, Gentlemen, you do not look upon "thofe Captains, and their Followers, as bolder Men, 66 or a better Guard than us and our Followers; for you know that we are terrible to most Captains, " and have often made the boldest of them take to "their Heels: Nay, you know, that when we have a Mind to have a Trial of Skill with any of them, left they should not ftand the Engagement, we are obliged to difguife ourselves in the Habit of Taylors, "Barbers, or fome other fuch meek and innocent Drefs; " and in that Disguise have often attacked and conquered them, though armed with a fierce Cock, a "large Cockade, a long Sword, and a Volley of "Oaths.

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"Then as to our Fidelity, you know you may depend on it in all Cafes, where you act according "to the Direction of Law. 'Tis true, thofe Captains, "if they are well paid, will ferve you without any Regard to your acting according to, or against the "Direction of our Patron, the Law, and will prob

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E 2

"ably

ably ferve you moft faithfully when you act against kim; because they have long fince fubmitted to Martial Law, who has always been his most dangerous Rival.

"In fhort, Gentlemen, this new Guard will at last either trip you of all Employment, and take the whole to themfelves, or they will make you exe"cute thofe only who are the Friends of your ancient Patron; and will carefully preferve from your fatal Noofe thofe great Rogues to whom you have an "undoubted Right by the Rules of Common Jufic and the established Laws of the Kingdom; there "fore in Regard to yourfelves, as well as to us, we hope you will for the future make ufe of none but your old Friends and faithful Servants,

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The BUMS,

This Requeft we thought fo reafonable, that we had like to have paffed a Refolution not to execute our Office, if any other Guard fhould ever be appointed than what was established for us by Common Law; but when we were just a going to agree to the Refolution propofed, an ancient Member of our Society rose up, and told us, that as he did not think Common Law was able to protect us against his Rival, he was afraid, if ever we thould refufe to do the Duty of our Office, thofe who had been appointed as our Guard, would take up the Bufinefs, and would begin with hanging up every one of our Society.

This made us fufpend our Refolution, and, as we then thought our Intereft was not immediately at Stake, we refolved to leave our old Friends the Bums in the Lurch, which is a Piece of modern Wisdom often practifed by our Betters; but alas! we now find it is like to prove Foolishness in the End, as it ufually does ; for when Friends keep united, and tenaciously fupport the Interests of one another, their Enemies dare not at

tack

tack them; whereas, when each Particular Society minds only its own immediate Intereft, their Enemies are incouraged to affault, and they are generally devoured by Piece-meal.

Notwithstanding our thus having neglected the Intereft of our Friends, yet they were not unmindful of ours; for at our laft Anniversary Meeting they acquainted us by a Meffage, that there was a Project on Foot for laying us quite afide, and, in our stead, to appoint thofe Gentlemen called Soldiers, to be the Executioners in every Country, City, Borough, Town, and Village in Great Britain; nay, that they are to be intrufted with greater Powers than ever we had; for they are to be not only the Finishers, but the Judges of the Law, and are to have the Power of Convicting and Condemning, as well as Executing whomfoever they have a Mind. This has awakened us out of our Selfish Lethargy, and has produced the following Remonftrance, which we intreat you'll give a Place to in your Journal,

And your Petitioners fhall ever pray, &c.

To the premier Projector of Great Britain, and the other eminent and bufy Members of the numerous Society of British Projectors, first established by the famous Empfon and Dudly, in the Reign of our parfimonious King Henry the 7th, and greatly increafed and improved by the late happy Union between the two Kingdoms.

The humble Remonftrance of the ancient and useful Society of Jack-Catches.

"

Right Worthy, &c. &c.

B

Y the Laws of this, as well as every other Country, Killing in Self-Defence is allowed to "be practifed by every Man: Whoever is affaulted by a Perfon armed with any mortal Weapon, may E 3

kill

kill the Perfon who affaults him, if he cannot otherwife avoid this Danger. But to kill a Man or Wo"man who neither affaults you, nor is armed with "any dangerous Weapon for that Purpose, is a Privilege which has never been granted, till of late, to "any but thofe of our Society. We have, indeed, from Time immemorial, enjoyed this Privilege un**der proper Restrictions; and it is well known, that we were the only Perfons in this Ifland who were intrusted with it. Tis true, as the Slaughters we ❝commit by Means of this Privilege, are not attend "ed with any Danger, we never thereby gain the "Character of Heroes or Killing Captains, nor acquire

any Honour; but, on the contrary, are always look"ed on as Pultrons, and held in the greatest Contempt: However, as our Imployment is attended with "Profit, and often brings us a good Dinner without Labour or Danger, we imitate greater Scoundrels, by indulging ourselves in Luxury, and defpifing the "Opinion of Mankind.

For this Reafon we are fond of preferving our Privilege, and would gladly enjoy it without a Rival. But, to our great Sorrow, the Gentlemen called Soldiers, have fome time fince affumed a Pri"vilege of executing one another; and in order, as we

fuppofe, to avoid being called Jack Catches, have "invented a new Method of exercising this Privilege, which they call booting; but as we can find no *Difference between pointing a Musket to a defendless

Man's Breaft, and putting a Noofe about his Neck, "and as the Performers upon fuch Occafions are never "in any more Danger than we are in performing the "Duty of our Office, notwithstanding their boafted Courage and. Honour, we muft look upon them as * our Brethren.

Though this be certainly an Incroachment upon * our Privilege, yet we fhould not have complained, *** if the Gentlemen had contented themfelves with Shoot

"fbooting one another only; but they are, we hear, for "affuming a Power over all other Perfons in the King

dom, and as the Priests of old, by a certain Form of "conjuring Words, delivered Men over to the Devil to "be buffetted, fo we have now a modern fort of Priefts, "who, though they are certainly no Conjurers in any "other Refpect, nor have the leaft Pretence to that "indelible Character which other Priests lay claim to, "have a Power, by a certain Form of Words, to deliver "at once a Multitude of Men, Women, and Children 66 over to the Soldiers to be foot; by which Livery ❝those Gentlemen become feized of a legal Power to "execute, without Judge or Jury, as many of them "as they pleafe, though no one of the Perfons has "committed the leaft Affault upon them, nor is arm*ed with any Thing that can properly be called a "mortal Weapon.

"What others may think of this modern sort of Ex“communication, we do not know; but there is not 66. one of our Society who would not chufe to be deliver"ed into the Power of the Devil, rather than to be

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delivered, in fuch a manner, into the Power of the "Soldiers, especially if they fhould be rendered a little Tefly by a Child's throwing fome Kennel Dirt into one of their Faces; for though the Devil feldom or never made use of the Power which was given him "by the ancient Priefts, yet the Soldiers will hardly "fail to make use of the Power given them by this

modern fort of Priefts. Whether this proceeds from "their having a greater Regard for this modern fort of Priefts than the Devil had for the Priests of ancient "Times, or from their having a greater Inclination to do Mifchief, we shall not pretend to determine; but "we apprehend that the Words will no fooner be out "of the Prieft's Mouth, than the Soldiers must begin "the Execution, without any Regard to Age, Sex, or "Condition; and without Enquiry whether those they execute be the Perfons guilty or not.