On the subject of Johnson's political opinions, it would be unjust to the small degree of liberality that is to be found in them, to omit the notice of his good wishes in fa vour of Catholic emancipation. Without inquiring too strictly how far his Toryism might have given him this bias as much as his sense of justice, it should be recorded to his honour, that his views on this subject were humane and liberal, and anticipated those winch are gradually gain ing ground against the receding prejudices of modern bar barism. He had great compassion, says Mr. Boswell, for the miseries and distresses of the Irish nation, particularly the Papists, and sevet cly reprobated the barbarous debili tating policy of the lit itish government, which he said was the most detestable mode of persecution. To a gentleman who hinted that such policy might be necessary to support the authority of the English government, be replied by say ing, " Let the authority of the English government perish, rather than be maintained by iniquity. Better would it be to restrain the turbulence of the natives by the authority of the sword, and to make them amenable to law and jus tice by an effectual and vigorous police, than, by an unre lenting persecution, to beggar and starve them." In 1771, he published another political pamphlet, enti tlzd Thoughts on the late Transactions resPecting Falk land's Islands, in which, upon materials furnished to him by ministry, and upon general topics, expanded in his rich style, he successfully endeavoured to persuade the nation that it was wise and laudable to suffer the question of right to remain undecided, rather than involve our country in any war. It has been suggested by sonic, that lie rated the importance of these islands to Great Britain too low. How ever this may be, his earnestness to avert the calamities of war, and his eloquent description of its miseries, cannot be over-praised.
Mr. Strahan the printer, who was himself a member of Parliament, and who loved much to be employed in politi cal negotiation, thought he should do eminent service both to government and to Johnson, if he could be the means of his getting a seat in the House of Commons. With this view he wrote a strong recommendation of our author to one of the secretaries of the Treasury ; but, for reasons that are not well known, the ministry did not take up his suggestion. It was much agitated among his friends and admirers, whether, if he had obtained a seat in Pal liament, he would have distinguished himself in debate. Had lie entered the house at an early period of life, there can hard ly be a doubt that his knowledge and eloquence would have commanded in the legislature a similar esteem to that which they possessed in literature, but his own acknow ledgment that lie had tried several times to speak in the So ciety of Arts and Sciences, but that all his flowers of orato ry forsook him, render it probable that he was too far ad vanced in age to commence the practice of public oratory. Eminence in parliamentary eloquence, in the ablest indivi duals, has been almost in all instances gradual, and the re sult of training and experience.
His pamphlet, entitled the Patriot, in 1774, was compos ed on the eve of a general election, in order to indispose the people against the oppositionists ; but the strongest dis play of his political bigotry was reserved for his produc tion, entitled Taxation no Tyranny, which was meant as an answer to the declaration of the American congress, rela tive to the claims of Great Britain. Long before this time lie had indulged most unfavourable sentiments of our fel low subjects in America. " They are a race of convicts,"
he said to Dr. John Campbell, " and ought to have been thankful for any thing we allow them short of In this pamphlet on the right of Britain to tax America, there is not even acuteness of sophistry, far less any thing deserving the name of argument. Positive assertion, sal. casucal severity, and extravagant ridicule, which he him sell reprobated as a test, composed the rhapsody. Minis ters themselves thought it decent to retrench some of the absurdities which he put to press in defence of their cause. They struck out, by his own confession, one passage to the following effect : " That the colonies could with no solidi ty argue from their not having been taxed while in their in fancy, that they should not now be taxed ; we do not put a calf into the plough, ire wait until he is an ox." Ile said, " they struck it out either critically as too ludicrous, or po litically as too exasperating ; I care not which. It was their business." Dr. Johnson here speaks of his labours in a light that is not far from 1 enal.
A tour to the Western Islands of Scotland in 1773, ir which be was accompanied by Mr. Boswell, forms a re markable and entertaining incident in his life. His stay in Scotland was from the 18th of August, in which lie arrived, till the 22d of November, when he set out on his return to London. Ile came by way of Berwick-upon-Tweed to Edinburgh, where he remained a few days, and then went by St. Andcew's, Aberdeen, Inverness, and Fort Augustus, to the Hebrides, the principal object of his tour. lle vi sited the isles of Sky, Raasay, Coll, Mull, Inchkenneth, and Icolnikill. Ile then travelled through Ayrshire by lure rary, and from thence by Lochlomond and Dumbarton to Glasgow, then by Loudon to Auchinleck, in A vrshirc, the seat of Boswell's family, and by Hamilton back to Edin burgh, where he again spent sonic. time. Ile thus saw the four universities of Scotland, its three principal cities, and as much of the Highland and insular life as was sufficient for his philosophical contemplation.—Among his prejudi ces, a strong antipathy to the natives of Scotland in genet al had long been conspicuous, and this journey exhibited ma ny instances of his contempt for their learning and abhor rence of their religion. When he published, however, the account of his tour, two years afterwards, more candour and impartiality was found in it than had been expected ; and to the praise which is due to the elegance and vivacity of his descriptions, it may be added, that the Scotch were indebted to him, in some instances, for his reprehen sion of customs and peculiarities from which they have since departed. Prejudiced as he w as, he often made a fair war upon Scottish prejudices ; and though a sloven, he made sonic just remarks on the sloth and discomforts that retard civilization. Ou one subject be gave mole offence to the national feelings than truth and candour will permi: us to sympathize with. Our Celtic scholars have never proved the authenticity of the poems ascribed to Ossian, and Johnson sturdily denied them to be authentic. If the advocates for the authenticity of the Gaelic poems had con fined their pretensions to a few fragments, or to any mode rate ideas of their antiquity, the cause 'right have admit ted of a dispute ; but when they supported Macpherson's imaginary date of the third century, and the existence of an entire epic poem, the sarcasms of Johnson's incredulity had their full force.