and this, in the language of many, who, though violent affertors of the authority of the commons on a ñmilar occafion, but ten months before, profefed, on the prefent, an uncommon zeal for the prerogative of the crown, was reprefented as forcing the king's clofet, trampling on the monarchy, and taking the fccptre out of his majefty's hands but, on the other fide, thefe effects were faid to be the natural and inevitable confequences of that fyftem of policy, and thofe eftablished maxims of the conftitution, which had invariably, and fo happily, prevailed ever fince the acceffion of the prefent family to the throne; and by which the jarring theoretic rights of the feveral branches of the legislature could alone be fafely adjufted.

However this may be, there was no attempt at that moment to affert the prerogatives of the crown any further than in debate; and the leaders of the coalition confequently fucceeded, according to established practice, to the offices of their vanquished adverfanies.

We have already related the grounds on which his majefty difmiffed this miniftry (the fourth with in the year) from his fervice; the appointment of a fifth miniftry, the high offence which feveral circumfances attending those two meafures gave to the houfe of commons, and their addreifes to his majefty thereupon, for the removal of his new minifters. Some advantageous ground, which was at this time in poffeflion of the court, made it a favourable opportunity for attempting to refift the practice of difmilling a minifter at the requifition of the commons, which, if not actually trenching on the VOL. XXVII.

prerogative, was confidered as too deeply affecting the perfonal con. fequence of the fovereign. On the two former occafions, charges of a criminal nature either were or were ready to be brought forward againit the minifter, whofe removal was fought after; and it is probable, that the ready complianc, at thofe times, with the wishes of the commons, was chiefly owing to their fears of provoking an hoftile enquiry into their conduct. prefent, the minifter was new in his office, and confequently unimpeachable as to his conduct therein; and the king was therefore advifed, in answer to the requifitions of his parliament, to call for the specific charges, which were the grounds of thofe requifitions, as an eflential part of the proceeding; fagacioufly forefecing, that if this principle was once admitted, it would often throw infuperable difficulties in the way of all fuch parliamentary proceedings. The tranfactions of the last year furnithed two ftrong proofs of the truth of this fpeculation. It might well be doubted, for inftance, whether the houfe of commons could have been brought to adopt a charge against the minifter of the American war, in which they fo long and fo heartily fupported him, notwithstanding they were convinced that his removal was a measure neceffary for the falvation of the country? and, again, whether the maker of the late peace could have been formally charged and tried for that act, without endangering the public faith? The houfe of commons continuing fixed and unfhaken in the fupport of what they deemed their privileges and authority, recourfe was had to the lafi expedient which [K]

remained,

remained, that of a diffolution; the confequences of which we now proceed to lay before our readers.

The advantages which the minifterial party poffefs over their opponents, upon a premature diffolution of parliament, from their knowledge of the precife time when the writs for the new elections will be iffued, are known to be at all times very confiderable; but, on the prefent occafion, a variety of circumftances concurred, which tended to throw great additional weight into the fame fcale.

During the three preceding months, the majority in the house of commons feemed more anxious to prevent a diffolution, than to provide for their individual fecurity in cafe fuch an event fhould take place. They appear to have confined their views fo entirely to the objects for which they were contending in parliament, as to have totally neglected both their general interefts in the nation, and their particular connections as reprefentatives. They beheld ad. dreffes pour in from every quarter, without any, or at belt but feeble and ill concerted attempts either to oppose them in their pro refs, or invalidate them by counterpetitions. Thus, whatever motion there was in the country, being all on one fide, and in one direction, it appeared to be more general tan perhaps it really was. It acquired, nevertheless, by degrees, great firength and force, and not only drew within its vortex every thing that was light and afloat, but carried away even thote whole principles were imagined to be more deeply rooted. No ties, no attachments were able to bold againt b. addip gratitude, and even

dependency, gave way. Severa inftances occurred, during the en. fuing elections, in which the agents and fervants of great men were found acting openly and avowedly against the party of their employers.

To thefe obfervations it must be added, that the object, upon which the conteft between the house of commons and the court firt broke out, and the points which came afterwards to be difputed between them, were not of a kind fufficiently popular to make their own way amongit the people at large. The ftate of the British empire in the eaft was not at all felt, and but little heard of or understood by them The privileges of the houte of commons, tho' the foundation of the liberties of the people, do not appear at first fight to have a necellary connection with them; and fome pains had been taken, during the prefent reign, to render them odious, by fetting them up in oppofition to the claims of the people. Perhaps nothing requires greater management and addrefs, than the ufe of delegated authority. As fear is the paflion excited by inherent power, fo are envy and jealousy by that which is delegated. We cannot give away any power, even tho' we are not able to exercife it ourfelves, without regarding the perfon who receives it in the fame difagreeable light that the mifer does his heir.

On the other hand, adminiftration potleted many great and peculiar advantages. Being eated, by the prevalence of their adverfaries in parliament, of a confiderable part of the bur hen of their public duty, they found themfelves at fufficient leifure to prepare for an event,

at

which was fo cautioutly concealed as to have drawn on the minifter the imputation of a breach of faith. Indeed the novelty of the measure itself, the dangerous confequences that might arife from it, the an. fwer received from the king relative to the affairs of India, the affurances conveyed to the houfe from Mr. Pitt, the appointment of a committee to examine papers from the India house, which took place, with the approbation of the chancellor of the exchequer, but a few days before the diffolution, kept the minds of their opponents at leaft in a ftate of inactive fufpence, which caused the diffolution at length to burst upon them totally and univerfally unprepared.

Thefe advantages were not neglected, and power, activity, and popularity, were exerted on a field neglected and almott deferted by the adverfary. The event proved fuch as it was natural to expe&.Upwards of one hundred and fixty members loft their feats, and of thefe almoft the whole number were the friends of the late adminiftration. So complete a rout of what was looked upon as one of the ftrongest and moft powerful parties that ever exifted in Great Britain, is fcarcely to be credited.

Amongit the interefts which on this occation joined the court, that

India company and its fervants, were the moft confiderable.

On the 18th of May, both houfes being affembled with the ufual formalities, the house of commons proceeded to the choice of a speaker, when Mr. Cornwall was again placed in the chair. The day following, his majefty in a fpeech from the throne declared the caufes of his calling the parliament. He affured them of the fatisfaction be had in meeting them, after recurring, in fo important a moment, to the fenfe of his people; and of his reliance, that they were animated by the fame fentiments of loyalty and attachment to the constitution, which had been fo fully manifefted throughout the kingdom. He then directed their attention to the maintenance of the public redit, to the fupport of the cftablished revenues, and to the affairs of the Eaft India company; and, after warning them againft adopting any meafures for the regulation of thefe laft, which might affect the conftitution and our deareft interefts at home, concluded with expreffing his inclinations to fupport and maintain in their juft balance the rights and privileges of every branch of the legislature *.

The ftrong expreflions, inferted in the addreffes, of fatisfaction and gratitude to his majefty for having

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diffulted

diffolved the late parliament, occafioned a short debate. The neceffity of having recourse to that measure, in order to settle a firm and conftitutional administration, was ftrenuously urged on the one fide; and on the other, this neceflity was as ftrenuously denied, unless it could be proved that the existence of the prefent adminiftration was indifpenfably neceffary either to the fafety or the conftitution of the country.

With refpect to the fenfe of the people, which it was faid had appeared to be decifively in favour of the prefent administration, fome of thofe members, who had formerly taken an active part with Mr. Pitt in the attempt to introduce a more equal reprefentation in parliament, demanded on what grounds he could pretend that the genuine fenfe of the people had been collected in the new elections, fince he had himfelf enforced the neceflity of a reformation, on the very fuppofition that the people, as the law then ftood, had little or nothing to do with them.

An amendment was propofed, to leave out fuch parts of the addrefs as related to the above-mentioned points, but was rejected by a majo. rity of 168.

On the 14th of June, the attention of the house was again called to this important fubject by Mr. Burke, in a speech of great length, in which he examined with great freedom the dangerous principles upon which that act of power was both executed and defended by go

vernment.

He remarked, that the queftion might not appear at that time of very great confequence to fome gentlemen, but to him it appeared of the utmost magnitude and im

portance; and he was not afhamed to confefs, that his whole mind and foul were full of it. A parliament had been fentenced, condemned, and executed, and no notice had yet been taken of 'fo great and extraordinary an event! if the meaneft fubject in the land had died suddenly or by violent means, an inqueft would have taken cognizance of the cafe, and enquired into the caufes of his death: but the parliament of Great Britain had been

put to a violent death; and no coroner had yet held an inqueft on the body! no enquiry had been made whether it had been felo de fe, or murdered, or jure cæfus!Did the people then think the fudden death of parliament was a fubject too trifling for enquiry? or did they think that all which might have been apprehended from fuch a death, had perifhed with the parliament? He feared that the fatal confequences of it would long furvive it, and be entailed on future parliaments.

Much had been faid of the fenfe of the people, as the grounds on which minifters might reft their defence of the late diffolution; and on this head he was ready to confefs, that the fenfe of the people, however erroneous at times, muft always govern the legiflature of this country; but it was difficult to collect that fenfe and it was fometimes the duty of the better informed and more enlightened part of the community to relift the fenfe of the people, when it appeared that the people were deceived or mifled. For his part, he did not think that the wifer part of the public approved of the dif folution of the late parliament, or difapproved of the meafures which avowedly were the occafions of that

event. The people might be divided into three claffes, one compfed of perfons who, dazzled with the luftre of the crown, can never bring themselves to think that government may be in the wrong; they were the political highflyers, who made it a point to fupport the crown à tort et à travers. This clafs, he faid, was very numerous; and in it, he was forry to add, were to be found many very refpectable characters. In the second class, he placed those who, the fworn enemies to the crown, were ever ready to fall upon the house of commons, because they conceived that houfe to be the conftitutional guardians and defenders of that fpecies of monarchy which in this country had ever been thought neceffary for the well-being of government. These two bodies of men, he faid, generally united in running down the house of commons, tho' with the most oppofite views. The third clafs confifted of all those perfons who did not enter into the other two: they were the moderate and impartial, who, alike friends to the crown and to the democratic part of the conftitution, wished to maintain both in the full enjoyment of their respective prerogatives and privileges. Of these, he would not hefitate to fay, full three fourths went heart and hand with the late houfe of commons; the other fourth part, be believed, had been driven, by mifrepresentations, into a confederacy with two claffes of men, whofe principles they equally detefted, the lovers of abfolute mo. narch, and the fworn enemies of every fpecies of regal government. He trufted, indeed, that many of them had lately been undeceived: it was the duty of the houfe of

commons to warn the remainder of the dangers to which they expofed their liberties, through the delufion under which they.acted.

He feared, he said, there was a fettled plan to destroy, not the form, but the effence and efficacy of the house of commons. Doctrines big with danger to the conftitution had been broached within the last two years, firft by a noble lord who was at the head of the adminiftration before the last (the Earl of Shelburne) and lately revived by the minifier who had received his po litical education at the feet of Gamaliel. In a speech from the throne, at the opening of the feffion before the laft, the king was made to fay by that minifter, that "the people expected."

This affumption of the tribunitian power by the fovereign was truly alarming. When Auguftus Cæfar modeftly confented to become the tribune of the people, Rome gave up into the hands of that prince the only remaining fhield fhe had to protect her liberty.

The tribunitian power in this country, as in antient Rome, was wifely kept diftinct and feparate from the executive power. In this government, it is conftitutionally lodged in the house of commons; and to that houfe the people ought firft to carry their complaints, even when they were directed against the measures of the house itfelf; but now the people were taught to pafs by the door of the house of commons, and fupplicate the throne for the protection of their liberties. He warned the members to beware of this double house of commons, which minifters were erecting on the foundation of their delufion; the commons of England in parlia

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