upon other men. By such imposition the present bill, which professes to repeal all former penal laws, is converted into a penal law itself; for those who do not subscribe the declaration still remain liable to all the old penalties. The truth contained in the declaration, viz. That the fcriptures are the revealed will of God, and the rule of faith and practice,' was indeed acknowledged by every proteftant. But suppofing the existence of any set of christians who should reject our canon of scripture, who should build their faith on the basis of tradition, or on the supposed illuminations of the spirit, would you, my lords, perfecute them for believing christianity upon arguments that suit their own understandings? Such men would undoubtedly be in error, but error in religion is the very ground and subject of toleration. The evils resulting from this declaration are not however confined to poffibilities. Many of the most eminent of the dissenting ministers-men highly deserving esteem for their science, their literature, their critical study of the scriptures, for their excellent writings in defence of chriftianity, as well as of the civil and religious rights of mankind;-men, whom it would be no difparagement to this Bench to acknowledge as friends and brethren, engaged in the same honorable and arduous task of instructing the world in the ways of happiness: -such men as these, my lords, if the clause in question be enacted and carried into execution, will not even be tolerated. Declaring, as they have invariably done, against all human authority in matters of religion, and holding it as a first principle of protestantism, that no church has a right to impose its own articles of faith upon others, they conceive that an acquiefcence in this declaration would imply a recognition of that claim which they are bound as christians and protestants to refift. It is the duty of magiftrates, it is indeed the very end of nagistracy, to protect all men in the enjoyment of their natural rights, of which the free exercise of their religion is one of the first and best. All history, my lords, is full of the mischiefs occafioned by the want of toleration;

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but no one has ever yet pretended to shew that any public evils have been occafioned by toleration. At a meeting of the right rev. bench, where I had the honor to be present, it was asked, whether the clause in question was ever intended to be put in execution?' It was answered, 'No, there was no such intention.' I asked then, and I ask now, <What was the use of making laws that were never to be executed? To make useless and insignificant laws, is not to exercise authority, but to degrade it; it is a vain, idle, and infolent parade of legiflation: and yet, my lords, would to GOD the four last shameful and miserable years had been employed in making such laws as these! this wretched country might still have been safe, and perhaps once more might have been happy. But, my lords, let us for a moment consider to whom this power of prescribing articles of faith is to be confided; undoubtedly this holy depofit cannot fail to be lodged where we have placed every thing else that is great and good-the honor, the interest, the strength, and revenues of the nation-ALL are placed in the keeping of the MINISTRY. Perhaps, my lords, there might be ministers, to whose management none who have the least value for their religion would choose to confide it. One might naturally ask a minifter for a good penfion, or a good contract, or a place at court; but hardly any one would think of making

interest with them for a place in HEAVEN. What I now fay applies only to future bad ministers, for of the present administration I most firmly believe that they are fully as capable of defining articles of faith as of directing the counsels of the state. The ruling party is always very liberal in bestowing the title of schismatic and heretic on those who dif fer from them in religion, and in reprefenting them as dangerous to the state. My lords, the contrary is the truth. Those who are uppermost, and have the power, are the men who do the mischief, while the schismatics only suffer and complain. Ask, who has brought the affairs of this country into the present calamitous state? Who are the men that have plundered

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plundered and depopulated Bengal? Who are they that have turned a whole continent, inhabited by friends and kindred, into our bitterest enemies? Yes! they who have shorn the strength and cut off the right arm of Britain, were all members of the ESTABLISHED CHURCH, all orthodox men. I am not afraid of those tender and scrupulous confciences who are over cautious of profeffing or believing too much: if they are fincerely in the wrong, I forgive their errors, and respect their integrity. The men I am afaid of, are the men who believe every thing, and subscribe every thing, and who VOTE for every thing." - Upon the whole, it appears but too evident, that the final success of the bill, from which the objectionable claufe was not fuffered to be expunged, must be attributed not to the candor and equity of the court, but to the general spirit and temper of the times, which were at this period happily and strongly at variance with the spirit of perfecution and intolerance.

A far more doubtful and difficult subject of discussion presented itself, in contemplating the state political and commercial of the kingdom of Ireland; which, by the continuance of the present ruinous war, was now reduced to the most extreme and urgent distress. Lord Newhaven, in concert with various other respectable members particularly connected with that kingdom, attempted to revive the propofitions of the last year with some new modifications, but without effect. At length it was carried by a small majority to repeal that clause in the act of Navigation in favor of Ireland, by which ships coming from the West Indies were compelled to bring their cargoes directly to England. But this indulgence being oppofed by the commercial cities of England, on a subsequent motion for the house to resolve itself into a committee, the minister declared himself adverse to the measure, and it was finally loft by a majority of four voices.

A third motion by Mr. Fox, " for the removal of the earl of Sandwich from his majesty's person and councils VOL. I.

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for ever, was negatived by 221 voices to 118. The HOWES, impatient of the obloquy thrown upon them by the partisans of the court, had earnestly folicited a parliamentary enquiry into their conduct in America; to which the minister at length very reluctantly afsented. A multitude of papers were in consequence laid upon the table; and the house resolving itself into a committee of enquiry, lord Cornwallis, fir Charles Gray, fir Guy Carleton, and various other officers of high reputation who had ferved in America, were examined at the bar of the house; and the refult of a long and tedious investigation was in general, "That the force sent to America was at no time equal to the fubjugation of that continent; that the people of America were almost unanimous in their enmity and resistance to Great Britain; that the nature of the country was beyond any other difficult and impracticable for military operations; and that there was no fairer prospect of fuccess, in any fubfequent attempt at conquest, than in those which had been already made." On the 29th of June 1779, the committee was suddenly dissolved without coming to a fingle resolution on any part of the business.

In the house of lords, the earl of Bristol moved an address to the king, fimilar to that of Mr. Fox, for the removal of the earl of Sandwich. His lordship supported this motion in a speech, containing a very extensive difplay of political and professional knowledge. This nobleman affirmed, " that about seven millions more money had been allotted for the fupport and increase of our navy during the last seven years, than in any former equal period; and that, during this time, the decrease and decline of the navy had been in an inverse ratio to the excess of the expenditure. While such has been the unbounded liberality of parliament; what, exclaimed the noble lord, is become of our navy? or, if there is no navy, what is become of our money?" The motion was rejected by 78 voices to 39. Notwithstanding these repeated acquittals,

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the reputation of lord Sandwich suffered not a little, by this fucceffion of attacks, in the estimation of the public. A short time before the prorogation, a royal message was fomewhat unexpectedly delivered to both houses, on a fubject of the highest importance, informing them, that a manifesto had been presented to his majesty by the count d'Almodovar, ambaffador of the king of Spain, containing a declaration of hoftility on the part of the Catholic king, who had in consequence ordered his ambaffador to depart without taking leave. The disclosure of this alarming event, so long predicted by the minority, called forth all their powers of eloquence and invective. The minifters were reminded of this subject-of the contempt with which they had treated every warning of danger-and of their repeated and triumphant declarations " that Spain could have no interest in joining our enemies-Spain had colonies of her own, and would not set so bad an example as to afford aid or fuccor to our rebellious colonies. The honor, fincerity, and fidelity of the court of Spain were held up as facred, and thus were parliament and the nation kept in a constant state of delusion until they were awakened from their dream by the imminence of the impending ruin." The address, however, containing the fullest assurances of support, was unanimously agreed to. But a subsequent motion of lord John Cavendish, for the withdrawment of the troops from America, was evaded by a question of adjournment.

In consequence of the acknowledged neceffity of new and unprecedented exertions, a plan was formed by the minifter for augmenting the militia to double the actual number: and a bill for that purpose passed the commons without difficulty, but met with an unexpected opposition with the lords, and on a division the compulsory claufe was thrown out by a majority of 39 to 22 voices; the lord president lord Gower, and both the secretaries of state, giving their voices against it. A folitary provision for raifing

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