moft vulgar profeffions, gave up a confiderable portion of their time and occupations in attending the numerous meetings that were called in every part of the kingdom, to the profeffed intent of counteracting this attempt of the miniftry.

The whig club, comprifing not a few individuals of the first rank and property in the kingdom, led the way in this celebrated oppofition. It met on the eleventh of November, and was prefided by the duke of Bedford. All the members of both houfes of parliament belonging to the club attended on this occafion. The fpeeches and opinions delivered were uncommonly fpirited and refolate. After mature deliberation, it was unanimoufly refolved, that they would give every aid to the civil magiftrate in detecting, and bringing to punishment, the perfons concerned in the daring attack made upon the king, in his paffage to parliament, on the first day of the feffion: that, lamenting, as they did, thi nefarious act, they faw, with the utmost concern, that it had been ufed as a pretext for introducing into parliament a bill, ftriking at the liberty of the prefs, and the freedom of public difcuffion, in fubftance and effect deftroying the right of the fubject to petition the branches of the legislature for redrefs of grievances, and utterly fubverfive of the genuine principles of the conftitution; and for propofing another meature, calculated to produce fimilar effects, by means ftill more exceptionable. That it was therefore highly expedient, that meetings of the people, in their refpective diftricts, fhould be immediately called, to confider this important fubject, and for the purpofe of petitioning parliament against the faid bill, or any other meafure which

10

might tend to infringe the juft rights of the people of Great Britain.

The correfponding fociety's numerous members, together with an immenfe multitude of their adherents and well-wishers, aflembled on the twelfth of November, in the fields near Copenhagen-houfe. Here they folemnly denied all intentions of railing commotions, and difproved, by the strongest arguments they could adduce, the charge brought against them by miniftry, of being concerned in the outrages committed against the king. They framed three petitions, one to the king, and the two others to the lords and commons; ftating them to be the unanimous petitions of nearly four hundred thoufand British fubjets, met together to communicate their fentiments, and exprefs them freely, as authorifed to do by the bill of rights, on the meafures of miniftry, which tended to invade the liberties vefted in them by the conftitution. They fupplicated, therefore, the king to exert his royal authority, in the prefervation of his people's rights, directly threatened by the two bills brought forward by his minifters; and they requested the two houfes to interfere in behalf of the public, against the minifterial attempt to procure their paffing.

The livery of London, the electors of Weltminfter, and the freeholders of Middlefex, agreed to remonftrances and petitions of the like nature, and were followed by a number of counties, and almost every town of note in the kingdom. In the public meetings, held for thofe purpofes, people were nearly unanimous in their oppofition to the bills: but they were fecretly counteracted by the agents of miniftry, who circulated clandestinely

counter

counter-addreffes in their favour. It was ftrongly afferted, at the time, that there were figned by none but minifterial dependents, fuch as officers of the cuftoms and excife, and military men. So great was the repugnance of the people at large afferted to have been, that the fignatures of youth at fchool was reforted to. But with all thefe exertions, the petitions, on the fide of the miniftry, did not exceed fixtyfour fubfcribed by about thirty thoufand individuals of the above defcription, while the addreffes against the bills, amounted to near one hundred, and the fubfcribers to upwards of one hundred and thirty thousand.

Among those who fignalized their adherence to miniftry, were the members of the affociation, formed, with the countenance and aid of government, by Mr. Reeves, at the close of 1792, and the commencement of 1793, against republicans and levellers. They ftood forward on this occafion, with extraordinary zeal, in fupport of the two bills, of which they expreffed, the higheft approbation in the addrefs which they prefented to the king.

But, notwithstanding the difproportion of numbers against them, miniftry perfifted, with unremitting refolution, in carrying forward their defigns. However, oppofed by the majority of the nation, they were fecure of a fupport in parliament, that would enable them to compafs the point propofed. The popular opinions were, in the mean time, reprefented by thofe who argued in defence of the bills, as the mere ebulitions of party zeal, and dictated to the people by the leaders of parliamentary oppofition, who hoped to excite fuch complaints and clamours against the conduct of government,

as might deter it from the profecution of its plans. Thefe, they afferted, were, in the opinion of the judicious and the more refpectable part of the community, neceflary for the internal tranquillity of the kingdom, and could only be difapproved by thofe factious and difaffected people, who fought, for malicious purpofes, to throw the country into confufion.

While the nation at large was thus agitated, its reprefentatives were taken up with no lefs violent debates on the petitions now prefented to them from every quarter. That from the correfponding fociety was laid before the houfe on the twenty-third of November, by Mr. Sturt, who warmly exculpated that fociety from the imputations of treafon or fedition. In order to fhew at the fame time, the malevolent intentions of miniftry, and its partizans, he produced a performance, attributed to Mr. Reeves, the framer and prefident of the affociations againft republicans and levellers, wherein it was unequivocally maintained, "that the government of England was a monarchy; that the monarch was the ancient ftock from which have fprung thofe goodly branches of the legitlature, the lords and commons; that thefe, however, were ftill only branches, and that they might be lopped off, and the tree be a tree ftill, fhorn indeed, of its honours, but not, like them, caft into the fire."

So flagrant a violation of the fundamental principles of the Englith conftitution, excited the indignation, not only of the oppofition, but of many of the members friendly to minifters. The public loudly proclaimed it, a ftab aimed at the vitals of the conftitution, and loaded the author with the most opprobri

ous

ous epithets. So univerfal was the deteftation of the principles contained in this performance, that it was judged requifite, in order to appeafe the public, formally to vote it a libel on the constitution, and to direct the attorney-general to profecute the author. But fo weak and faint was the profecution, in the opinion of the public, that they figmatifed the profecutors, as acting knowingly under the controul of directors, who certainly would not fuffer fo valuable an infirument of their defigns, to fuffer an injury for having acquitted himself fo much to

their fatisfaction.

On the twenty-fifth of Novemher, a motion was made, by Mr. Curwen, to poftpone, one week, the difcuffion of the two bills. He fpoke, with marked vehemence, against the bill for preventing feditious meetings, as tending, in its infallible effects, to change the whole conftitution. It was only in popular meetings, he obferved, that the real fentiments of the people could be manifefted; and thefe fentiments, thus freely expreffed, had hitherto, though affectedly flighted by minifters, proved an effectual reftraint on their power, and ftemmed that torrent of corruption with which they endeavoured to overwhelm all refiftance to their measures. Were this ftrongeft, and almoft only remaining, bulwark of the conftitution to be demolished, all oppofition must fall with it, both within, as well as without, the house; as the commons, when no longer fupported, by the concurring voice of the people, would quickly experience a diminution of their own confequence, which, they must be confcious, refted entirely on the confeq uence of the people, Were these to be filenced, how could their re

presentatives, confiftently, pretend to deliver the opinion of their constituents? The influence of the crown had, of late years, overweighed all the importance of the democratic part of the conftitution, by depriving it of fo alarming a proportion of its property, and annexing it to the aristocracy, through the creation of fuch a number of peers. If the remaining friends to the democracy valued its existence, and confidered it as the only folid foundation of liberty, a truth not to be denied, they would rally around it, without delay, and exert their whole ftrength to preserve it from the ruin with which it was now menaced, more obviously, and more dangerously, than ever.

In the courfe of the memorable fpeech, which he made on this day, Mr. Curwen took occafion to bring, to the recollection of the house, an expreffion that had fallen, two days before, from Mr. Windham, in a debate on the bill, for fecuring the king's perfon against popular infults. This gentleman, in answering a fpeech of Mr. Fox, had given him to understand, in explicit terms, that minifters were determined to exert a vigour beyond the law. So fingular an expreffion did not fail to ftrike the whole house with aftonifhment. By the enemies to miniftry, it was conftrued into an inadvertent avowal, that they were refolved to pay no regard to the laws in the execution of their projects, and would deftroy fuch as flood in their way; and it was, in fact, blamed by both fides of the house, as equally imprudent, and intemperate.

Mr. Curwen's animadverfions, on these words of Mr. Wyndham, were extremely fpirited and fevere. He rebuked him, forcibly, for prefum

ing, that the many men of intrepidity, with which the parliament and nation abounded, would tamely permit him, and his affociates, to trample on their rights, and fubmit to become the paffive inftruments of their violation. Mr. Wyndham replied only by a fmile. Mr. Curwen's motion was, nevertheless, outvoted by two hundred and fixty-nine against seventy.

On the twenty-feventh of November, the houfe went into a committee on the bill for preventing feditious meetings, when Mr. Fox, Mr. Grey, Mr. Whitbread, Mr. Lambton, and all the other members of the oppofition, Mr. Sheridan excepted, left the house. Even Mr. Sheridan declared, that he did not remain, for the end of propofing any alterations in the bill. To do juftice to the public, it ought, he faid, to be negatived in every part of its

contents.

The feceffion of the minority underwent a variety of difcuffions on its propriety Many were, indeed, of opinion, that well knowing their prefence could be no impediment to the paffing of the bill, a formal feceffion from an affembly, that was, in their judgement, refolved to deftroy the liberty of the nation, would make a greater impreffion upon the public, than if they were to continue fitting in the houfe, and oppofing the minifters, as ufual, to no purpofe. But many were of a different opinion, and thought, by their prefence and refiftance, notwithstanding that the bills would have paft, they must have been divested of much of the feverity with which they were accompanied, and that it became them, at all events, to difpute every inch of the ground, of which, by their retreat, the miniftry would now become undisturbed poffeffors.

The bill was, of course, carried through the houfe without oppofition, and without any other modifications than its fupporters thought neceflary to render it lefs odious to the public. It was propofed, by the folicitor-general, on reading the third claufe against the meeting of more than fifty perfons, that if twelve of them remained together, one hour after being ordered to difperfe, it fhould be adjudged death, without benefit of clergy. But an amendment was moved, making it only punishable as a mifdemeanour. This was feconded by Mr. Wilberforce, Mr. Stanley, Mr. Banks, and Sir W. Dolben: but the feverity of the folicitor-general prevailed, and his motion was carried by eighty votes againft only thirteen; fo completely. was the houfe devoted to the inexorable difpofition of the framers of this bill.

This was evinced no lefs glaring ly, on difcufling that claufe which empowered the magiftrate prefent at any popular meeting to diffolve it immediately, thould he be of opinion, that any fubject brought forward were unlawful, or of a fedi tious tendency. The claufe was confirmed, and the magiftrate alfo authorized to feize and commit the perfon whom he judged guilty of fuch offence.

The laft claufe refpected the duration of the bill. The folicitorgeneral, confiftently with the fevere fyftem he had embraced, moved that it fhould last three years. Mr. Stanley endeavoured to reduce it to one, or at moft to no more than two, but the majority continued immoveable in its compliance with the folicitor, and the term of three years was voted by forty-fix against only two.

The