that the prefent fhould rather be a declaratory act, stating, that doubts had arifen concerning the conftruction of the high treafon ftatute of Edward the Third, than a new permanent act. He declared, that he was fully perfuaded in his own mind that the former laws were fufficient. He called the bill a fatire on the crown, and a libel on the loyalty of the people of England. Mr. fecretary Dundas contended, that if any good could come from felf-conftituted meetings, it would be by placing them under the eye of the legislature. Indeed he had flattered himself, that after the trials of Hardy and others, the good fenfe of the nation would have checked their further progrefs." But the meetings in St. George's fields, and at Copenhagen-houfe, had diffipated these hopes. Mr. Pitt, alderman Newnham, fir William Pulteney, and Mr. Jenkinfon, spoke in favour of the third reading. Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Weftern, Mr. Jekyll, and Mr. Fox, urged with additional energy fome of their former arguments against the bill. The bill was then read a third time, and paffed. On the third of December the bill for preventing feditious meetings was read a third time in the commons. Mr. Hardinge on this occafion made a fpeech of confiderrable length in fupport of the bill. Mr. Fox and Mr. Sheridan contended against its paffing into a law; but the arguments urged by the gentlemen on both fides of the queftion being nearly the fame as thofe we have already noticed in the former debates on the fubject, would be to indulge in an unnecef. fary prolixity to repeat them here. On the fame day Mr. Pitt took up the bill to the houfe of lords, when it was read a first time. On December 9th, upon the fe cond reading of the bill in the house of lords to prevent feditious meetings, lord Grenville rofe, and reminded the houfe that he had on a former day introduced a bill for the better fecurity of his majefty's perfon and government, which had met with their lordships' approbation. But that was only one of the measures which his majesty's minifters thought proper to bring forward to guard the conftitution, and protect the liberties of the country. The other meafure was the prefent bill, which had been received from the other houfe, and was then brought forward for their lordships' difcuffion. The prefent bill was to provide for what the other bill did not immediately regard, viz. to fecure the lives, the property, and the happiness of the people of England, for which important object it would be found that the exifting laws did not fuffi ciently provide. His lordship then went over the old ground, in depicting the tremendous evils which impended over this country from the correfponding fociety, and called upon the houfe to apply the remedy which this fituation required. The earl of Derby, the marquis of Lanfdowne, and the earl of Moira, contended strongly against the bill. They urged the right the people of this country had to free difcuffion. They contended that the power which would, by the bill, be invested in magiftrates, of feizing and carrying to punishment those who might be found in what were called unlawful affemies, would be to punish the offence without the cognizance of a jury; 52 in other words, would expofe the culprit to arbitrary punishment: that the bill went to destroy the bill of rights, and the principle of freedom: that though minifters might feel a horrid gratification in the contemplation of the effects which their measures might produce, they might triumph in their fuccefs, and it was the only triumph they had to boast; but nobody would envy them. That they had done their duty in oppofing the bill, and whatever might be the confequence they would fay Victrix caufa diis placuit, fed vičła Catoni. Minifters alone were the deities, however, to whom the victory would be acceptable. That Being who had created man for freedom, could never be gratified in feeing the purposes of his wifdom and goodness counteracted; nor could he fail to regard thofe with complacency, who had honeftly engaged in the caufe of liberty and truth. Notice was taken by the earl of Moira of an expreffion which had fallen from lord Weftmoreland, who had faid, "Send the people to the loom and the anvil, and there let them earn bread, inftead of wafting time at feditious meetings." Lord Moira could not believe, he faid, that the Almighty made any part of mankind merely to work and eat like beafts: he had endowed man with reafoning faculties, and given him leave to use them. Lord Thurlow urged feveral grave and weighty arguments, to prove that the confequences which had arifen from the propagation of jacobinical principles in France, afforded no juftification for the legiflature of this country to enact new laws, with a view to the prevention of fimilar effects here: he thought the members of that houfe 6 their their lives. This was in his mind an infuperable objection to the bill; and he therefore voted against it. He was anfwered by the lord chancellor in a speech of confiderable length, but nearly upon the fame ground of argument made ufe of by the ministerial fide in the house of commons, when the fame bill was introduced into that houfe. Upon the question for the bill's going into a committee, there were contents, 109, non-contents, 21. On the 11th of December the house of lords went into a committee upon the bill for preventing feditious affemblies. In the limitation clause, the duke of Norfolk moved that, instead of "three years," the words " one year" should be fubftituted. This amendment was fupported by lords Darnley, Scarborough, Radnor, and Romney; and oppofed by lords Grenville, Spencer, and Mulgrave. On a divifion, there appeared for the amendment, contents, 8, non-contents, 45. Upon the 14th of December the bill was read a third time in the houfe of lords and paffed. Thus we have given a very brief sketch of the interefting difcuffions which took place on these extraordinary bills; for to have entered at length into the arguments employed by the feveral fpeakers would have occupied nearly the whole portion of this work which is devoted to hiftorical detail *. That a measure of this nature was in the contemplation of ministry long previous to the outrages on his majefty, is evident, not only from the unguarded declaration of Mr. Dundas, but from the general te nour of the debates, and still more from the debates, which, in the preceding feffion, took place upon the ftate trials. Yet it would be uncandid to impute to ministers a fettled plan to overthrow the conftitution of England.-Their meafures, on the contrary, have never appeared in any inftance to have been formed upon any deep-laid defign, upon any thing like an extended fyftem; they are to be confidered in general as temporary expedients, and, according to their own favourite idea, adapted in all cafes to exifling circumftances. While we frankly concede thus much in their favour, it is not easy to believe that the terror excited in miniftry by a few infignificant mechanics in the metropolis, under the name of a Correfponding Society, could be fo great as they affected to feel. We cannot fuppofe them so weak and ignorant; we must do juftice to their understandings, in fuppofing them actuated by different motives: and the fimpleft folution of their conduct in this inftance appears to be this-They felt that they had rafhly and incautiously involved the nation in a war which had disappointed all their projects, and baffled all their hopes; they must have felt that the ftorms of public indignation were filently gathering, as taxes and mifery increafed; and a meafure of the nature of thefe bills, aided by the increase of the military force, they apprehended to be the most certain rampart which they could raise for their own protection. In the event there is reafon to believe they have been dif appointed. The general outcry which was raised throughout the nation against this flagrant innova * See the proceedings at length, with an accurate account of all the public meetings, in a "Hiftory of Two Acts, &c." published in 1796. The prefatory "Remarks on the State of Parties, &c." prefixed to that work, is one of the best and most candid political difquifitions that ever appeared. D 3 tion tion on the ancient laws and conftitution of the realm, could not fail to convince them that the measure was impracticable; and they probably would have retracted, could they have done it with a becoming grace. The alterations which they admitted in the bills, the limitation in one of them as to the time of its continuing in force, and the moderate tone affumed by their fupporters without doors, particularly by the affociated merchants and bankers of London, leave little room to doubt of this fact. A still stronger circumstance is their having never yet dared to trust a jury with a fingle decifion upon there new acts, though cafes have certainly occurred in which indictments might have been framed upon them. The acts remain, therefore, as was predicted (we think by lord Thurlow), a dead letter upon the ftatute-book; and will undoubtedly be brushed away as ufelefs lumber, on any change of administration. CHAP. II. Abfract of his Majesty's Speech at the Opening of the Seffion. Debates on the Addrefs-In the Commons-In the Lords. Committee on the high Price of Corn. Bill renewed for allowing a free Importation. Motions of the Chancellor of the Exchequer refpe&ting the Corn Laws, &c. Debate on thefe Motions. Report of the Committee on the high Price of Grain. Bounty on Importation of Corn moved for by Mr. Pitt. Bill enabling Overfeers to extend Relief to the Poor at their own Hovfes. Mr. Whitbread's Motion for raifing the Wages of Labourers. Negatived by the Interference and Influence of Mr. Pitt. Engagement entered into by feveral Members of both Houses to reduce the Confumption of Wheat Flour in their Families. Motion of Sir John Sinclair for the Cultivation of vafte Lands. IN N the preceding chapter, the meeting of parliament, on the 29th of October, was noticed, as well as the extraordinary circumftances which attended his majesty's progrefs to and from the houfe of lords. The fpeech from the throne opened by ftating his majesty's fatisfaction that the general fituation of affairs, notwithstanding many events unfavourable to the common caufe, was materially improved. The French had in Italy been driven back, and were checked on the fide of Germany. Their fucceffes, and the treaties of peace they had entered into, were far from compenfating the evils they fuffered from the continuance of war; and the unparalleled embarraffinent and diftrefs of their internal fituation appeared to have produced in them an impreffion, that their only relief must refult from peace and a fettled government. The crifis in which they now were, muft probably produce confequences important to the interefts of Europe. If this crifis terminated in any thing affording a reasonable expectation of fecurity in any treaty, the appearance of a difpofition to treat for peace on juft and fuitable terms would, his majesty added, be met on his part with an earneft defire to give it the speedieft effect. The acceleration of this defirable end required, however, that we should prove our ability to profecute the war, till we could conclude it in a peace fuited to the juftice of our caufe, and the fituation of the ene my. my. To this end the moft vigor ous naval preparations were making for fecuring our fuperiority, and carrying on our exertions in the Weft Indies. The hoftilities committed by the United Provinces had, his majefty obferved, obliged him to treat them as at war with this country. The northern fleet had received the most active affiftance from the emprefs of Ruffia. Treaties of defenfive alliance had been entered into with the two imperial courts, and the American treaty of commerce had been exchanged. The commons were informed, that, "further additions to the heavy burdens which had been unavoidably impofed on the people," would be neceffary. But this preffure would be alleviated by the flourishing state of commerce and manufactures, and our expences being leffened by the prefent circumftances of the war. The addrefs to both houfes of parliament concluded with a fhort view, of the measures neceffary to be taken refpecting the deficiency of grain. 55 important. The finances and the energy of France were ftated by Mr. Stewart to be nearly exhaufted; their expences fo enormous, as not long to be fupported; and their means of raifing fupplies to the difburfements, exactly in the ratio of feventy to one. The fyftem of terror he confidered as no longer exifting under the prefent government of France. Our last campaign had not been indeed attended by brilliant fuccefs; but our exertions had been useful in forcing the enemy to adopt unjuftifiable means for the fupport of an unjustifiable fyftem, which neceffarily tended to its own deftruction, and to weaken them by the victories it enabled them to obtain! Their incapacity to injure was our beft guarantee; and to this point we were reducing them! He next defcanted, in most extraordinary terms, upon the unimpaired fituation of our refources. No where were our people deprived of the comforts of life by the effects of war! Monied men were ready to lend the fums neceffary for the exigencies of government. There were still many good objects of taxation for the prefent year; and the existing taxes, together with the national debt, were in a fate of liquidation! While he lamented the defection of fome of our allies from the general cause, fome argument might be used in their juftification; they had not made peace till France had abandoned her fyftem of interference in foreign ftates. Clofe to the frontiers of an enemy on one hand, and with a fufpicious friend on the other, their existence was endangered. This had been the fituation of Hanover: the different fituation of that country from this, required a different fyftem of policy. Fortune, not the arms of France, had conquered Holland; and the From the bufinefs which, immediately after the delivery of his majefty's fpeech, took place in the houfe of lords, refpecting the outrages he had that day received, the debate on the address first took place in the commons. The addrefs was moved by lord Dalkeith, and feconded by the honourable Mr. Stewart. Thefe gentlemen concurred with the fpeech of his majefty refpecting the improved fituation of public affairs. The advantages gained by the enemy on the continent were, they conceived, pretty equally balanced by their loffes in other quarters. And though, in the Weft Indies, our profperity had not been eminently confpicuous, yet the profpect there was promifing; and in the Eaft Indies eur fucceffes had been uniform and D 4 flow |