be fent to a Committee on Tuesday the 9th of March, it could
be fent time enough to the Lords for them to pass it before
the expiration of the prefent mutiny act, for he believed it
differed in very few particulars from former mutiny bills; it
might indeed be neceffary to make the new one shorter in its
duration; and he hoped that this one privilege was ftill left to
the Commons, that the mutiny bill, providing quarters for the
army, and confequently impofing burdens on their confti-
tuents, could not be altered by the Lords, after it should have
been fent up to them by the Commons. -With respect to
the delay of public business, he thought the charge came with
a very bad grace from the right honourable gentleman.
Seven weeks had paffed fince the meeting after the recefs, and
fix weeks, wanting a day, fince the only measure proposed by
the right honourable member was rejected. In the whole
course of that time he could lay at the door of oppofition a
delay of only four days, namely the adjournment from Wed-
nefday last to Monday laft. Por his part he approved of that
adjournment, and alfo of that which was this day propofed;
however in order to take away even a handle for mifrepre-
fentation, he would agree to meet to-morrow, provided it
were understood that the first question to be difcuffed should
be, whether the House fhould adjourn to Monday, or proceed
then to bufinefs.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer expreffed with a nod his approbation of the propofal.

Adjourned till to-morrow.

March 5.

man Saw.

Mr. Alderman Sawbridge afked the Chancellor of the Ex- Mr. Alder chequer, if he intended to bring on his plan of reform in bridge. the representation of the people this feffion.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer answered in the negative.

Mr. Alderman Sawbridge gave notive, that he should himself move the propofition.

The Secretary at War moved the order of the day, for The See, at going into a Committee on the Mutiny bill.

War.

Mr. Fox upon this immediately rofe: he faid, that as Mr. Fox. the Houfe had made to itself a rule to make every other business give way to the confideration of His Majesty's Anfwers, when they were clofely connected with the privileges of the Commons, it would not be decent either towards His Majesty or the House, to proceed on this day,

to

to fend the Mutiny bill to a Committee: and indeed when he confidered the nature of the bill, he found it to be one of the almoft innumerable acts which were done every feffions on a principle of confidence; and therefore until the Houfe fhould have taken fome ftep to fill up and confummate the measures which had lately been adopted, he did not think proper that fo very important a bill as was that for punishing mutiny and desertion, should be debated. Of all the acts by which confidence in a Minister could be expreffed, perhaps the paffing of a Mutiny bill was the moft ftriking: it was entrusting to the direction of a Minifter a standing army, of which this Conftitution is fo justly jealous. How then could a Minister, in whom the Houfe had already declared it could place no confidence, expect that at the moment, and without any previous deliberation, the Houfe would bestow upon him the very strongest mark of confidence? He begged, however, not to be understood to infinuate in the moft diftant degree, that a Mutiny bill ought not to pafs: he was fure there was not a man in the Houfe who had the most remote idea of oppofing it; a Mutiny bill was unquestionably neceffary; and the Houfe could not avoid paffing it; for a ftanding army, however contrary to the genius of this Conftitution, was now become an excrefcence that could not now be removed; but though a Mutiny bill muft of neceffity pass, it by no means followed that it must be in point of duration equal to all those mutiny acts that had preceded it; a bill for a month or fix weeks would keep the army together, without calling upon the House to furrender a right fo very neceffary at this moment for the preservation of its privileges. The delay from this to Monday or Tuesday, could be attended with no dangerous confequences. This was the 5th of March, and the prefent Mutiny act would not expire before the 24th or 25th, and confequently there would be full time for fending it to the Lords, and for them to pass it before the expiration of the present act. And here he obferved, that it was to be hoped the Lords would not attempt to make any alteration in a bill, which was to all intents and purposes a money bill. And he begged leave to conclude with an obfervation, that as the Houfe had last year paffed two or three fhort Mutiny bills, fo one of them was moved as late as the 14th of March, though it was to replace an act that was to expire on the 25th, and no one expreffed then an apprehenfion, that

being

being moved fo late, it could not be paffed in fo fhort a time as was neceffary; he requested therefore, that it might be remembered, that though the confideration of this year's Mutiny bill fhould be put off to Tuefday the 9th, ftill it would even then be moved for five days earlier than the Mutiny bill was moved for the laft year. He then moved, that the order of the day, for going into the confideration of the Mutiny bill, be adjourned to Monday next. He faid he fixed upon Monday, though he did not think there would be time for going into that bill on Monday, after the House should have taken His Majesty's answer into. confideration; but he did it to fhew, that he meant to bring it forward as foon as poffible, fo that it might stand the first in order for Tuesday.

The Secretary at War thought the bill ought not to be The Secreconfidered merely as a matter of confidence in Administra- tary at War, tion. It might more truly be reduced to this fimple queftion, Was the army to be kept together, or to be disbanded? Or, in other words, was the fafety of the country to give way to the gratification of a party?

.

Sir Adam Ferguson faid, he could not reconcile, with Sir Adam confiftency, the argument he had heard in fupport of the Ferguson. motion. A right honourable member faid it was decent, with refpect to the Crown, that His Majefty's aufwer fhould be taken into confideration before any other business: but the House could not have forgot how little the decency or respect due to the Crown weighed with the right honourable member fome time ago, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the first day he took his feat, after his appointment, begged he might be permitted to deliver to the House a meffage from his Majesty, on a subject which could not create any debate or delay (relative to the Heffians being detained in England by the froft) and yet the right honourable member would not give way, or fuffer the meffage to be delivered till the morning, after a long debate had taken place on another fubject. It had been faid fome time ago, that delay of public bufinefs had been occafioned, to the very great detriment of the nation: he admitted the fact; but at whofe door did the blame lie? Surely at the door of those who day after day moved to poftpone and procraftinate bufinefs. With refpect to the Mutiny act, he was not without an opinion, that though it fhould be fuffered to expire, ftill the King might keep the army together, for the Houfe had already voted the VOL. XIII.

L 1

men,

Mr. Eden.

The Chan.

army

to pay

them :

there

men, and it had alfo voted the money
wanted therefore nothing more than the consent of the
Lords to be obtained; and then the Crown might have an
in the country, with the confent of Parliament.
Mr. Eden was greatly furprised to hear fuch a doctrine
from a gentleman of eminence at the bar, and confequently
from whom he might have expected to have heard doctrines
much more confonant to the genius and spirit of this Con-
ftitution. Did not the honourable Baronet know that the
army could not be kept together without difcipline? And
that military difcipline could not be enforced without a
Mutiny act, because nothing fhort of an exprefs law could
deprive a foldier of the right of a subject,—a trial by a jury
of his peers. If the doctrines of the honourable Baronet
had surprised him, he had reafon alfe to be surprised at the
charge brought by him against oppofition, of delaying pub-
lic bufinefs. Twelve weeks had nearly elapfed fince the
Chancellor of the Exchequer had been appointed to his
office; and yet during all that time, he had taken a part in
only two measures of public nature; one of which he him-
felf propofed, the fecond India bill; the other, the bill for
enforcing the Receipt tax: what other matter of business
had he brought forward or propofed to the Houfe? Not
one; and confequently the delay of public business, could
not with even a fhadow of justice be charged to the account
of the majority of the Houfe. The fupply indeed of the
ordnance had been delayed for forty-eight hours; but it
was afterwards voted without oppofition. The navy efti-
mates had been put off by the Minifter himself for forty-
eight hours; and therefore it was matter of astonishment
how any member could lay the delay of public business at
the door of oppofition. Why had not the Minister brought
forward his measures for restoring public credit? Why
had he not mentioned and propofed the means for provid-
ing for the unfunded debt and navy, and other bills, amount-
ing to thirty millions? Had he done all this, and found
himself thwarted and opposed, and his measures defeated,
then he might complain of delay occafioned by oppofition;
but to charge it with delay at prefent, was to charge it with
his own faults.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied, that it was pretty cellor of the fingular to find that gentlemen were day after day putting Exchequer off the bufinefs of the nation, and yet were apprehenfive

that

that this putting off might be conftrued to mean delay. The public furely could not hesitate to fay that the delay refted with those who daily voted for putting business off, and who endeavoured to avail themfelves of the advantages that might derive to their party from procrastination, and at the fame time to deprecate the natural imputation of delay. He was afked, why he had not brought forward public bufinefs; his anfwer was, that in the present fituation of affairs, when there was a majority against him, it would be in vain for him to do it. (Here there was a tremendous fhout of hear, hear, from the oppofition fide of the House, which meant that under fuch circumstances, being totally unable to carry on the business of the nation, he ought to refign.) With refpect to a short Mutiny bill, he would not at this moment enter into that question, which was not then regularly before the Houfe; but he would make a few remarks in reply to fomething that had dropped on the other fide, relative to a fhort mutiny bill.It had been faid, that a bill had paffed last year for fix weeks but this made nothing in favour of the plan at present in agitation; for the Houfe would recollect that the bill last year fhort as it was, was co-extensive in point of duration, with the army which it was to govern; for the army was not voted for the year, but until it could be known when the troops would arrive from abroad, and confequently when they could be reduced to a peace eftablishment; the army was voted from fix weeks to fix weeks; and Mutiny bills of the fame duration were paffed; but that would not apply to the prefent cafe, for this year the army. had been voted not for a few weeks, but for the whole year. And here he could not help obferving, that if a fhort bill fhould be fent up to the Lords, it would not appear very furprising to him, if the Lords fhould alter it fo far as to bring it back to the ftandard of former Mutiny bills, and make it co-extenfive with the duration of the army. If then fuch an alteration should be made by the Lords, and the bill fo altered fhould be returned to the Commons, what would be the confequence, if the latter, adhering to their order, and the practice of their proceedings, fhould reject fuch a bill? If fuch an event was to take place long before the expiration of the prefent Mutiny act, the confequences might not be dangerous; but when even at prefent there was fcarcely a fingle day to be loft, even fuppofing the Mutiny bill fhould be fent up to the Lords in its ufual form, and

L1 2

paffed