During his abfence, the minifters his alsociates, fuppofing him for ever incapacitated for public business, were engaged in a variety of hoftile political intrigues; Mr. Charles Townshend, chancellor of the exchequer, a man of afpiring views and deep designs, making, as it was affirmed, secret advances to the ex-minifter, lord Rockingham, for the removal of the duke of Grafton, with whom he had been for fome time on terms by no means the most cordial. Difappointed, but not discouraged, at the rejection of his overtures, this versatile and restless genius foon turned his attention to a different and opposite quarter, still preserving however the appearances of friendship to the duke.

During the course of the preceding summer, riots and tumults had in various parts of the kingdom taken place in consequence of the high price of provifions, and the magistrates were at length obliged to call in the military to the aid of the civil power. Many lives were loft, and a special commiffion was issued for the trial of the numerous rioters apprehended, who were nevertheless treated with every degree of lenity that the nature of the crime would permit. Few examples were made the fentence of the majority being mitigated to transportation, and many receiving a free pardon. The incessant rains which fell dur-ing the summer and harvest months afforded however a very alarming prospect of increasing scarcity; and it was thought expedient in the autumn, when the extreme deficiency of the crop was fully afcertained, to issue by virtue

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of the royal authority an embargo on the exportation of corn, though as yet below the fixed and legal standard *.

When the parliament met at the usual season, it was found indispensably requifite to bring in a bill of indemnity, in order to prevent any profecutions, in the courts of law, of the officers of the crown concerned in the execution of the act. • But it was remarked, that, though this bill provided for the indemnity of the executors of the proclamation, it made no mention of the ADVISERS. The amendment proposed in consequence of this omiffion occafioned some warm altercations. The lords Chatham and Camden, in their too eager vindication of the late exertion of prerogative, maintained "that no indemnity was wanting for those who had advised the crown to adopt this wife and necessary measure." Citing the words of LOCKE, they afserted, "that it was ridiculous VOL. I.

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to suppose any state without the power of providing for the public fafety in great emergencies." This power must in all focieties be lodged somewhere, and in ours it is lodged in the king. This doctrine their lordships concurred in af firming to be by no means fubverfive of the fecurity of the constitution, or contrary to the fpirit of liberty, as it can only be reduced to practice on occafions of extreme neceffity, when the parliament does not fit, and cannot be conveniently affembled. At any rate the evil cannot be very formidable, since at worst, faid lord Camden in the unguarded warmth of debate, IT IS BUT A FORTY DAYS TYRANNY; and there seems to be but little foundation for indemnifying thofe who have neglected the letter in order the better to preserve the spirit of the law.

In reply to these reasonings it was urged with great force by lord Mansfield, who distinguished himself in the debate, " that the law of England knew of no power of fufpenfion in the prerogative that if the plea of necessity is once admitted, and the crown allowed to be the fole judge of that neceffity, the power of the crown would be unlimited; for there is no case to which it might not be made to extend, and difcretion would quickly degenerate into depotism. For this reason the wisdom of the legislature has deprived the crown of all difcretionary power over positive laws. Though parliaments are not immortal, their acts never fleep; they are not to be evaded by flying into a fanctuary-no, not even that of neceffity. The LAW is above the king, and he as well as the subject is as much bound by it during the recefs as during the feffion of parliament; because no point of time or emergent circumstance can alter the conftitution, or create a right not antecedently inherent. These only draw forth into action the power which before existed, but was quief cent. If the crown has a legal right to fufpend or violate one law, it must have the fame right to violate another, and another, till the whole system of our jurifprudence is overturned. A just regard to the safety of the fovereign, and to the the LIBERTY of the SUBJECT, render it necessary for us to shut up every avenue to tyranny, that, as it has hitherto been, so it may continue to be, the distinguishing characteriftic of our kings, that their authority is the authority of the laws, and that they reign over freemen, and not over slaves*." Impressed by these considerations, the house passed the bill with the amendment; and lord Mansfield must be allowed for once the honor to have obtained the advantage over lord Chatham on a constitutional question, and this merely in the abstract, for that the measure was practically right no one pretended to dispute; but at this crifis the enemies of lord Chatham were eager to reprefent him as renouncing those principles to which he owed his fortune and his fame.

Affairs of far greater importance occupied the attention of parliament in a subsequent part of the feffion. Though in actual circumstances nothing could be more wife and feasonable than the repeal of the stamp act by the late minifters, it is not to be imagined that this was a measure attended with no political inconvenience; far from it:-but in the dilemma to which they were unfortunately reduced, they adopted that line of conduct which justice and policy marked out, and which appeared incomparably the least of the two difficulties. By an egregious want of prudence and penetration, the government of Great Britain had attempted to carry into effect an odious and arbitrary measure, which upon trial it was found impossible, without involving the whole empire in scenes of bloodshed and confufion, to enforce, But as political power exists only by opinion, this project, however ruinous and absurd, could not be relinquished without expofing

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fing the legislative authority of Great Britain to the risque of at least a temporal y degradation and diminution. By their success in this first instance of oppofition and resistance, the Americans would be encouraged and incited such is the nature of man to dispute the authority of the mother coun try when it happened to be in other instances exerted in a mode not agreeable to them, however neceffary to maintain the just and conftitutional fubordination of the colonies. This was remarkably exemplified in the conduct of the afsembly of the province of New York, who came to a resolution, that they would not regard the provisions of an act paffed in the last session, by which they were required to sup ply the troops ftationed in the province with necessaries in quarters.

When this instance of disobedience and contumacy was laid before parliament, very rigorous measures of vengeance were urged by those whose violent counsels had already been productive of so much mischief. But the present minifters, purposely avoiding all harsh and positive penalties, adopted a measure at once forcible and dignified, by enacting a law prohibiting the governor, council, and assembly of New York to pass any act till they had in every respect complied with the requifition of parliament. This in a short time produced the defired effect, and it afforded a demonftrative evidence, that the real and practical authority of Great Britain, wisely and temperately exerted, was fully equal to the purpose of maintaining that relation of fuperiority and dependence which indisputably ought to subsist between the head and the mem bers of a great and widely-extended empire.

Happy would it have been for the world, had the present minifters discovered in all other parts of their conduct the fame prudence and policy. But through fome unaccountable fatality, or more probably from the secret operations of that invisible and malignant influence which seemed perpetually to shed its poisonous and deadly dews over the political atmosphere,