can give testimony of. That there never was any parliament from which the learned gentlemen of the long robe were excluded, except that one, infamous to a proverb, in the appellation which it acquired of Parliamentum Indoctum: he therefore congratulated the gentleman on this happy and honourable precedent in favour of his argument. He then compared the benefit derived to society from the unactuated load of landed abilities, which descended from generation to generation, in the useless members of the community, and that which derived from the acquirements, improvements, and activity of mental abilities, and shewed that either might be pernicious, and yet that both were of real benefit wherever and whenever they mixed, but always more so when acting in mutual aid of each other. Thus far in answer to the occasional remark of the gentleman who spoke before him. He then went into a general description and detailed discussion of the several parts of the Bill, and of its regulations, and ended with a support of the whole in form and principle.

of

Mr. Attorney General De Grey supported the motion made of adjournment, on law grounds, as to the operation of the Bill in practice and going through the examination of the executive process it, shewed that the various regulations and provisions proposed were full of perplexity and impracticability on one hand, and on the other, of uncertainty and danger. He concluded with enforcing a caution, that while we sought to avoid an evil, which, in its fullest extent, we had endured for many years without any great hurt or damage, we should not involve ourselves in dangers that might prove of the most per nicious consequences, and even destructive; it was better to endure those evils of which we knew the extent, than, in a sudden start of disgust and humoursome passion, "Fly to other which we knew not

of."

Mr. Wedderburn rose, and taking up the line of reasoning used by the Attorney General, continued the quotation, and commenced his speech by saying,

"And thus the native hue of res lution

Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought;
And enterprises of great pith an moment,
With this regard, their currents turn away,
And lose the name of action,"

Thank God, this pale cast of thought hath not sicklied o'er the present House:

they see and have a right spirit in acknowledging the evils which exist; they dare to look to the remedy proposed; they see that it is enterprise of great pith and moment, and it will not lose the name of action.

Is this preaching to our fears the only resource which is left to the gentlemen who oppose this Bill? They acknowledge the dangers, they see the very brink of the precipice which crosses our present track, and had rather we should sit helpless and inactive, totally at a stop in all action, than that we should strike into any other path : they acknowledge that there are other paths, but wherever reason, justice, honor, point the way, there, in that very path, the most ingenious amongst them are employed to set bugbears and phantoms; not only of dangers that we know not of, but of dangers which do not, which cannot exist; of dangers which their ingenuity is at a loss even to describe.

He then turned to lord North and his friends, who were so engaged in the business of the state, and its concerns, as ministers, that they had not time to attend of parliament, and in a strain of irony apoto the business of legislature, as members logized for the minister and his friends. He then described how effectually and industriously they had for several months ment and for the benefit of the public; past laboured for the honor of governthat they had been engaged in the firmest and wisest councils, to prevent the preponderating of a balance which the ministo receive more than its due weight, by the ters of the day before them had suffered acquisition of Corsica to the French; that complained of by the people, in order to they had been studying the grievances take them up in such manner as might redress them; that the cabinet had been incessantly labouring to form and establish a of our colonies, and that the proper speproper plan of government for the affairs cial secretary of state had in the mean while been planning and smoothing the way by preparing the temper of the Americans to obedience, and a consequential acquiescence in their plans. That the minister and his colleagues had in petto the wisest, the most extensive, and most effectual plan for the settlement of our East India affairs, both as to trade, revenue, territory, and sovereignty. That they had been settling the government of Ireland upon a basis not to be shaken; that they had employed that most exten

sive knowledge to the most effectual purpose, in forming alliances on the continent. He went on describing their indefatigable industry; and said, that when all this was considered, how could it be expected that they could have time to attend to other people's plans and motions in things which they never dreamt of. He thought therefore they were very excusable; but thought a the same time, that it was happy for the country, that there were other gentlemen who had considered the matter now brought forward, and was only sorry that whatever honor might derive from this measure, the minister of the present day, and his friends, could have no share in it, as they felt this and did disclaim all such share. He hoped they would not, from envy. to others, who, God knows, have no other share but what pure honor gives, deprive them of the only reward they desired. As the House was pleased with the Bill, he hoped the minister would for once let them indulge their humour, especially as he must see that there would be some danger of a disgrace in crossing them.

Mr. Peter Burrell said, that if the motion might be permitted to take place, so that the consideration might be put off for the present, he would pledge himself to bring the matter forward next session. But this proposal met with a rejection on the first mention of it.

The House then divided on the motion of adjournment. The Yeas went forth.

So it passed in the negative. Then the Amendments made by the Committee to the Bill were agreed to by the House.

April 2. Mr. Grenville moved that the Bill do pass.

Lord North said, he did not intend to give any more opposition to the Bill, though he owned he did not like it; that perhaps the House would not thank him for this declaration, as it might appear to proceed from necessity, having been beat by so great a majority the day before.

Sir William Bagott looking on himself and the country gentlemen to have been

violently traduced in a speech of Mr. Burke's the day before, made a long and vehement invective against him, calling him a Black Jesuit, educated at St. Omer's, fit to be secretary to an Inquisition for burning heretics.

Mr. Burke answered him well; and in

his speech led on a sort of political creed, which he professed himself to follow; and in consequence of which, many other genfluence was hinted at a good deal. Mr. tlemen delivered their creeds: secret inDowdeswell, Mr. Grenville, &c. disclaimed the being governed by it whilst in power, but owned they had felt the effects of it. Lord North declared, he would he remained in power; others congratunever yield to any such influence whilst lated the House on this declaration. The Bill was then passed.

Lords by Mr. Grenville, attended by one April 5. The Bill was carried up to the hundred members.

The Earl of Chatham supported the Bill, and passed some very elegant encomiums upon it. He then said, that as he had begun his life out of a court, he hoped he should end it out of a court. He had no view of interest. All he meant was to rouse his country to a just sense of the blessings of this constitution. Then he desired that the House might be summoned after the holidays, for he designed to bring in a Bill to reverse the proceedings of the House of Commons on the Middlesex election. He declared that his intention by this Bill was to give the people a strong and thorough sense of the great violation of the constitution, by those unjust and arbitrary proceedings.

Mr. Grenville's Bill passed the Lords without opposition, and received the royal assent on the 12th.

Motion in the Commons respecting the Civil List.] April 2. The House resolved itself into a Committee on the State of the Nation.

Mr. Dowdeswell observed, that as the King had not in his Speech last year given any hopes that his expences would be bounded by his Civil List revenue, it was the duty parliament owed to its constituents, to desire some assurances of that

* For a Character of Mr. George Grenville, see Mr. Burke's celebrated Speech on Ameri can Taxation, April 19, 1774.

notwithstanding the promises of the minis- | ter, fresh pensions had been granted very lately; this he thought very blameable, if true; he did not mean to ask for long accounts, and would therefore only move, "That there be laid before this House an account of all grants and Pensions, and increased salaries, made since the commencement of this present parliament, and payable out of any part of his Majesty's revenues in Great Britain or Ireland, or any other part of his Majesty's dominions, distinguishing the times at which, and the persons to whom, such grants were made."

Mr. Conolly (also a member of the Irish parliament) seconded the motion. He observed, that Ireland was mentioned in the motion, and as, by the sudden prorogation of the Irish parliament,. no measures could there be taken to make such necessary enquiry, he should promote its being made here; that the pensions on the Irish establishment had amounted, in the late king's time, to between 40 and 50,000l. a year, and were now increased to upwards of 70,000; that the King's ministers in Ireland had given a promise there that no pension should for the future be granted for lives or terms of years but on the utmost necessity, and that in consequence of this promise, the Irish had increased their army at a large expence, and yet the promise of granting no more pensions had been recently violated.

Lord North said there was no reason at present to call for this list of pensions; that he should not have objected if particular pensions had been pointed at, as he would venture to say, none had lately been granted which he could not defend; that the pension granted to his friend (Dyson) was no more than a decent provision for an old servant of the crown, who had long laboured in a painful and not profitable office-his private character unexceptionable. The other pension (Bradshaw's) was also granted to one whose merits richly deserved such recompence; that the Civil List being granted to his Majesty's use, it was not proper to demand any account of the expenditure of it, unless money had been demanded of parliament to pay any debts on it; and that the present motion was unprecedented and improper.

General Conway observed, that the present motion was by no means unprecedented, and that it was certainly a proper measure for parliament, who were the only proper power to enquire into the expen

So it was resolved in the affirmative. Sir E. Astley's motion was consequently lost.

Motion to repeal the American Tea-Duty Bill.] April 9. Mr. Trecothick made a motion for leave to bring in a Bill to repeal the American Duty on Tea. The Ministry disputed the propriety of this motion, as being contradictory to a well known rule of the House, namely, that any thing which has received a negative, shall not be brought on again the same sessions; they observed, that when a motion was made some time since to repeal the other American duties, an amendment had been proposed, by adding the words " and on tea;" that on this amendment, the measure had been fully debated, and resolved in the negative by a great majority; that this present motion was the same question in effect, as it tended to do in a Bill, what before was attempted in the amendment.

The Opposition allowed the rule, yet said this particular did not come under it; that the reason of the rule was plainly that it might not appear on the Journals; that the same question had received two different receptions in the same session: in this case, this could not appear, as it might be very improper to do that in the former Bill, which might now be very necessary; that if a negative put on an amendment hindered the subject of that amendment to be brought on in any other shape, it might be very easy to prevent almost any thing, by adding the matter of it to a Money Bill, and then the whole would be rejected; or, by rejecting the amendment, the matter be put an end to for the session: for instance, in the Bill