grievances, upon their making proper application, should be redressed."

Several of the professional Members of the House affected to speak with the utmost contempt of the military prowess of the Americans; and one modern Alexander declared *, " that, at the head of five regiments of infantry, he would undertake to traverse the whole country, and drive the inhabitants from one end of the continent to the other."

An amendment to the address was at length proposed by Mr. Fox, who had been in the course of the preceding feffion dismissed from his feat on the Treasury-bench for a spirit not fufficiently fubmiffive, with circumftances of peculiar rudeness and indignity. Leaving out all but the preliminary words of the address, he moved to fubstitute after them the following: " But deploring that the information which the papers laid before them had afforded, served only to convince the House that the measures taken by his Majesty's servants tended rather to widen than to heal the unhappy differences between Great Britain and America, and praying an alteration in the fame." Upon a divifion, the amendment was rejected by 304 voices against 105, which was, however, a larger minority that had hitherto appeared on any question. Nor was it yet fuffered to pass quietlyfor, on receiving the report, Lord John Cavendish, a nobleman whose principles were such as might be supposed affociated with, and were calculated to sustain, the high honors of his name, moved for its re-commitment; on which a second debate, not less vehement than the former, took place. Ministers were warned that a future and bitter day of retribution would inevitably come, when they must answer to the JUSTICE of their Country for the mischiefs they had already done, and for the irretrievable ruin into which they were plunging the nation. "My head and my heart," said the Noble Mover, " join in deprecating the horrors of a Civil War, which will be rendered still more dreadful by its involving in its certain confequences a foreign one with the combined forces of great and powerful nations." On the division the minority appeared to have gained some little ground, the numbers being 288 to 106.

The next day a conference was, at the request of the Commons, held with the Lords, to propose their Lordships' joining in this address; and the President, Lord Gower, having made the report, the Earl of Dartmouth moved, that the blank which was left open in the address should be filled up by the infertion of the words " the Lords Spiritual and Temporal." A debate equally violent with that in the House of Commons now ensued; a very wide scope of invective, no less than of argument, was taken by the speakers on both both fides; and in the heat of controverfial recri mination, affertion, denial, arraignment, and defiance, were, in a mode very unusual in that House, dealt in unsparing and paffionate terms. To the astonishment of the Houfe, Lord Mansfield, who had ever appeared to harbor an inveterate enmity to America, declared, "that the impofition of the port-duties of 1767 was a meafure the most absurd and pernicious that could be devised, and the cause of all our present and impending evils." On which Lord Shelburne, at that time Secretary of State, Lord Camden, then Lord Chancellor, and the Duke of Grafton, then at the head of the Treasury, and now Lord Privy Seal, severally declared, that they had no share in that meafure, and had never given it their approbation. A general fentiment of amazement and indignation feemed for a moment to pervade the minds of the House, that a measure of fuch unparalleled importance should be carried into effect by the force of a fecret and overruling influence, contrary to the advice and judgment of the principal Ministers of the Crown, who were alone responsible for the measures of Government. The Marquis of Rockingham, who had petitions from the American and West India Merchants to present to the House, at length moved the previous question, in order that the allegations of the merchants might be heard before

any

any decisive step was taken; but on the division it was negatived by 104 voices to 29; after which the original motion of Lord Dartmouth was put, and agreed to by the House: but on both queftions strong protests were entered on the Journals of the Houfe.

On the 10th of February, Lord North moved for a bill to restrain the trade and commerce of the New-England provinces, and to prohibit them from carrying on the fisheries on the Banks of Newfoundland. This bill excited fresh debates. It was faid, " that though a rebellion was declared only in one province, three more were included in the fame punishment; that the Newfoundland fishery was neceffary to the subsistence of the people of New-England; and that, by the operations of this cruel act, half a million of people, including friends and foes, innocent and guilty, were condemned to perish by famine for the fupposed offences of an inconfiderable number *. The Minifters contented themselves with alleging the political neceffity of this measure, and it was carried through both Houses by the usual majorities. While this bill was pending, the friends of the Minifter, no less than the Parliament, and

* This notable project for starving the Americans into fubmiffion, was planned by the Solicitor General, who, in confequence, acquired the ludicrous characteristic appellation of "Starvation Wedderburne."

the

:

the Nation at large, were thrown into sudden af tonishment by his Lordfhip's announcing to the House A CONCILIATORY PROPOSITION. This famous motion, which was introduced by a long and elaborate fpeech, the Minifter affirmed to be founded on that passage of the late address, which declared, that whenever any of the Colonies shall make a proper application to Parliament, we shall be ready to afford them every just and reasonable indulgence. The proposition itself, which wears an ambiguous and enigmatical appearance, was precisely as follows:-" That when the Governor, Council, and Affembly, or General Court of his Majesty's Provinces, or Colonies, shall propose to make provifion according to their respective conditions, circumstances, and fituations, for contributing their proportion to the common defence, such proportion to be raised under the authority of the General Court, or General Affembly of fuch Province, or Colony, and disposable by Parliament; and shall engage to make provifion alfo for the support of the civil government, and the adminiftration of justice in such Province, or Colony; it will be proper, if such proposal should be abproved of by his Majesty in Parliament, and for fo long as fuch provision shall be made accordingly, to forbear, in respect of fuch Province or Colony, to levy any duties, tax, or assessment, or to propose any further duty, tax, or affefsiment, except only fuch