time tranfports had been got in readiness to carry them över to Germany; and they would put to fea as foon as news fhould arrive that the Wefer was no longer bound by the froft. Mr. Banks spoke against the motion, and directed his speech Mr. Banks, principally against Mr. Powys, who, he faid, could not, with a very good grace, mention the word confiftency in that houfe. This called up Mr. Powys, who faid, that his confiftency was certainly Mr. Powys, not that which many men would call confiftency; his was a confiftency of principle, which made him difregard men, and advert only to measures. Others having once voted on a particular fide, thought themselves bound always to vote on that fide, and this they called confiftency; but guided as he was by principle, he could without inconfiftency vote this day with a man, and to morrow against him, if in the mean time the nature of the question had changed. Thus he opposed the firft refolutions that were carried against the right honourable gentleman; but when once carried, it became the dignity of the Houfe to maintain them: like an officer, who in a council of war ftrenuously oppofes a propofition for attacking the enemy, but finding himself over-ruled and outvoted, it becomes his duty to exert his fkill and bravery to maintain the honour of his army, and render it, if poffible, victorious. He was not afraid to appeal to thofe to whom he was refponfible for his political conduct; and he was full of hope that his appeal would meet with fuccefs. Mr. Rigby was aftonifhed that a gentleman in office fhould Mr. Rigby. feel hurt, becaufe a member of Parliament had afked why foreign troops were kept in the kingdom. The father of the prefent Minifter ufed frequently to rail at the idea of foreign troops being, not in the kingdom, but even in the pay of England, though in foreign countries. How then would he have felt, if he had received a reprimand from a Secretary at War, if, in the discharge of his duty, he had asked why foreign. troops were kept in the kingdom? But every thing was new in the present days: never before had a Minifter the audacity to remain in office, with a majority of the Houfe of Commons against him. The true political and conftitutional method was, that private opinions ought to give way to the fenfe of majorities; and fo convinced was the father of the present Minifter of the truth of this doctrine, that he made ufe of a very ftrange expreffion in that Houfe, which from its fingularity VOL. XIII. M m had. had made a deep impreffion on his memory: this expreffion was, "that be bad borrowed a majority;" for at the very time, when he was carrying this country to the higheft pitch of glory, the majority was known to be with the Duke of Newcaftle; but fo convinced was that great man of the neceffity of a majority, that, to use his own expreffion, he borrowed that majority. Lord Granville, who was in the greatest confidence with the old King, finding that the majority of the Houfe of Commons was against him, immediately refigned, because he could not have ferved either King or country with effect, while he had not the confidence of the Commons. It was reserved for the prefent days for a Minifter to disregard this, and fay, "I care not for your majority; the King has appointed me, and you have nothing to do with the bufinefs." For his part, he would reply to this, that the confidence of the House was indifpenfably neceffary to a Minifter, and that the Commons might or might not give that confidence, just as they pleafed; and if they withheld it, the Minifter ought to retire; and therefore he argued that it was by no means neceffary the Houfe fhould point out any fault in, or lay any charge against him: this he maintained to be found conftitutional doctrine. As to the mutiny bill, it was now become the duty of the Houfe to pass it only for a fhort time; and he declared his blood boiled in him, when he heard the very mention of the idea of an army being kept up in this country without a mutiny bill. If the Lords fhould venture to alter the duration of a money bill, the confequence of the Commons would be at an end, if they fubmitted to the alteration. But who would dare advise the keeping up of an army without an act of Parliament? For his part, if the mutiny act was fuffered to expire, he would fay to every foldier he met, "Why don't you go about your bufinefs? You are as free as air; for there is no law in this country to compel you to ferve any longer :" -Who even would entertain foldiers, if the act was expired? -Would the publicans fubmit without compulfion to what they feel now as a heavy grievance? Where then could the foldiers find fhelter ?- Would the Grocers' Company take them in ?-After having proceeded fome time in this ftrain, he faid he would not dwell any longer on the fubject, because he could not think of it with patience, or speak of it with temper. He concluded therefore, by obferving that fo jealous had the House been always of the mutiny bill, that Mr. Onflow, when Speaker, ufed to call the attention of the House to every clause of it, while it was under confideration, that a bill fo foreign from the genius and nature of the Conftitution might be be watched with a jealous eye. Would the Houfe then all at once forget that conftitutional jealoufy, and fuffer to be fo much as hinted, that an army might be kept up without an act of Parliament? or that the Lords might alter at their pleasure fo confequential a money bill, as was that for compelling fome of their conftituents to provide quarters for a body of men, who had always been objects of national jealousy ? Lord Mulgrave replied to Mr. Rigby; but he directed his Lord Mulej fpeech principally to Mr. Powys, and mentioned a Sir Ben- grave, jamin Wright, an honeft country gentleman, who fat in the long Parliament, who was fond of feeing himself in print, and who had been led by the malignant party to make a number of motions, which were carried, but which would have been rejected, had they been made by any malignants. But as they came from an honeft country gentleman of large eftate, the other country gentlemen followed him; and thus both he and they were dupes to the defigning party that led them on. C. Mar The Honourable Charles Marfham defended the conduct and The Hon character of Mr. Powys. He knew he acted from the dic- fham. tates of his own judgment, and was not prompted by any perfon upon earth and he would go farther and fay, that both his honourable friend and himself would never fuffer themselves to be intimidated from doing what they conceived to be right, by any misrepresentation of their conduct to the public. He conceived the dignity, the very existence of the Commons, to be at ftake; and he wifhed to rescue them from that ruin, into which the obftinacy of Minifters feemed to be hurrying them. Nothing could be farther from his intention than to delay the business of the nation: he called upon the Minifter to bring forward his loan and his taxes; he defired him to state by what means he intended to raise public credit, and provide for the unfunded debts, and the deficiencies of the taxes. If he could approve, he would fupport him; if he could not approve, ftill he would not divide against him; he would not divide at all; and thus the right honourable member might be faid in some measure to derive ftrength from his own weakness. Sir P. Clarke and General Conway faid a few words in favour of the motion; and Governor Johnstone spoke against it, as did alfo Sir William Dolben, who clofed the debate. The Houfe divided at half after eight o'clock, on the motion for adjouring the order of the day; when there appeared for it, 171; against it, 162. Majority against the Mi nifter, 9. Sir James Mr. Fox. March 8. The expectations of the public were fo uncommonly excited to hear the important proceedings of the House on this day, that members took the trouble of going down with their friends to procure them admiffion to the gallery at ten o'clock in the morning. By eleven the place alloted for ftrangers was crowded, and the gentlemen fat, with the utmost patience, from that hour till four in the afternoon without any bufinefs; at that time counfel was heard on Nifbett's Divorce bill; and just as the Houfe was proceeding to the important bufiness for which the relations and friends of the 'members had undergone fo much fatigue, 1 2 Sir James Lowther rofe, and complained that on bringing down his friend, the brother of the member for St. Alban's, he found it impoffible to procure a feat in the gallery for him, though it was only at half paft three; and this being the cafe, and also because he had reason to believe that there might be ftrangers in the gallery not introduced by members, he infifted upan carrying into force the ftanding order of the House, and defired that all frangers be ordered to withdraw. Many members interfered, and with great earneftnefs folicited the honourable baronet to recede from his order; but Sir James had faid it, and the gallery was accordingly cleared. By this means it is not in our power to enter into the detail of the debate; we collected fome account of it from a member. After a laudable effort on the part of the country gentlemen yet to moderate the fpirit of the times, and to procure a hort adjournment, had been oppofed by minifters, Mr. Fox after a brilliant preface, containing an expofition of the curious and uncommon circumftances of the time, and of his own fituation, ftated a number of general axioms for the government of a free ftate, full of the moft elevated policy. It was not, he faid, right that, the Minifters of the country fhould be fo immediately dependent on the Crown, as it feemed now the fashion to affert they ought to be: if their ftudy was to please the Crown, then Minifters, it seemed, were fafe; but if they dared to do their duty, their own ruin was the certain confequence: it well became the House of Commons, therefore, not to fuffer men to be difgraced and forfaken who had been thus ftrenuous in their duty: it was better, he faid, to be a courtier in France than in England, for there the King's favour was the fole object; but here the courtier muft play a double part; for he muft alfo delude or enflave enflave the House of Commons into obedience to the Crown and its fecret advisers. As for the King's anfwer, he could not have thought it poffible for any Minifter to put into the mouth of Majefty fuch contradictions and fuch fcandalous duplicity there were paffages in it big with danger to the freedom of this Conftitution; he could not have believed that the right honourable gentleman had fo detefted this Conftitution, he could not have believed that he would have dared fo to infult the House of Commons, as again to afk for the reafons of their refolutions. Every beggar, in every arbitrary country, had a right to petition his King, ftating the reafons of his petition and this forfooth, was the whole mighty privilege, that by that fpeech the King was advised to allow the British House of Commons-the Houfe of Commons had often addreffed, without ftating their reafons. He then defired the clerk to read the addrefs in the cafe of the American war, which defired His Majefty to put an end to an offenfive war on that Continent; as the withdrawing of the troops from thence would give us advantage over the French in other quarters, and would tend to conciliate the Americans. Thus, he faid, the House there gave only a general reafon, in the fame manner as in their late addrefs. The House, in the one inftance, had defired the King to withdraw his troops, for the fake of making peace with America: in the prefent cafe they defired the King to difmifs his Minifters, for the fake of making an united and extended Adminiftration.-It was true, that in the inftance of the American war, the King returned an answer, declaring, indeed, his approbation of the end they fought, but not explicitly promifing his concurrence in the means; upon which the House instantly came to a resolution, that he should be an enemy to his country, who fhould advise His Majefty to profecute an offenfive war in America. Upon exactly fimilar ground the Houfe of Commons, in the present inftance, ought to be admitted as the best judges both of the means and of the end; and he fhould be perfectly warranted by this precedent to move a refolution, "that he was an ene my to his country, who fhould advise His Majefty to continue his prefent Adminiftration;" by the earneft advice of fome friends, however, he did not mean to propofe fuch a refolution what he fhould move would not be an addrefs, but an humble representation to His Majefty, for, to that no answer was cuftomary; and he wifhed for no answer, because nothing was fo unfeemly, nothing could difgrace us more in the eyes of Europe and the world, than to fee the King of England and his Parliament wrangling about words, and engaged in a contro verfy |