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The Sec. at
War.

Mr. George
Onflow.

Mr. Huffey.

they would go through the bufinefs of the nation, propose their measures of finance, and then at the close of the feffion appeal to the people by a diffolution of Parliament.

The queftion for the Speaker's leaving the chair was put, and carried without any farther obfervations.

Mr. Ord took the chair of the Committee, and

The Secretary at War moved for the fum of 2,300,000l. to defray the extraordinaries of the army.

Mr. George Onslow lamented that the Houfe had deftroyed the finest army in the world-the militia, and was now going to vote an immenfe fum for another every way inferior to it : the former was the natural army of this country: and as France could at all times fit out a fleet at the breaking out of a war, much fooner than we could, fo of courfe a militia would be abfolutely neceffary for the defence of the country against a fudden attack. (He alluded to the refolution not to call out the militia this year.) He then faid that a faving might be made of the whole garrison, artillery, and government of Gibraltar, by a ceffion of that place, which by the enormous expence it occafioned, was a mill ftone about the neck of this country; for it had already coft it £5000,000; and to no purpofe; for the trade with Spain was against us; it was an infignificant trade for white-wine and pig-nuts; and of so little use was Gibraltar, that he would venture to prophecy, another British fleet would never be feen in its bay.

Mr. Huffey faid he did not like to ask an impertinent queftion, but he wifhed to know whether Parliament was to be diffolved this week. A friend of his had a bill, then on the table, which had been fent down from the Lords, and which could not, according to order, be read a fecond time before Friday next. He underflood that when a diffolution was expected, the orders were relaxed, and bills fuffered to proceed fooner, with the greatest difpatch. In that cafe, his friend's bill might be brought on to-morrow, and be got ready for the royal affent with the other bills: and this would be to his friend a faving of near 200l. which would be entirely loft, if the Parliament fhould be diffolved before his bill paffed. No answer was given to this question. The fupply was voted, and the Houfe refumed. Lord Mahon's bill against bribery was then put into the Speaker's hand, and on the motion for its being read a third time, the House divided; -Ayes, 45; Noes, 38.

The bill was then read a third time and paffed.

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March

March 23.

Lord Mahon adverted to the proceedings of the upper House Ld. Mahon. on his bribery bill, and particularly to the fpeech of Lord Mansfield, of which he complained.

Mr. Ord having brought up the report of the Committee of Supply on the army extraordinaries, and the Speaker having put the question, that the fame be read,

Mr. Eden faid, that he did not rife in the hope of having Mr. Edea. better fuccefs than fome of his friends had on the preceding day; but he was impelled by a sense of duty to state some remarks on the circumstances of the prefent motion. The Mis nifter of the day and his adherents might difregard or mifapprehend thofe circumftances, but the time would come when the forewarnings now given would be brought back to their recollection. He would not now enlarge upon the fingular conduct of voting fervices to the amount of near ten millions and finding fupplies for no more than a fourth part of that fum; if fuch votes were brought forward merely as a mode of amufing Parliament, he could only fay they were unneceffary, and therefore unbecoming and disrespectful: but if they were meant to give a fanction to the fubfequent conduct of Minifters, and to enable them to say that they were juftifi able in applying the public money to voted fervices, the reafoning was flimfy and fallacious; the votes of fuch services would be a mere nullity from the moment of the diffolution; they could derive no fanction from the prefent House of Commons; for that fame House of Commons had voted, that any payment of the army, made after a diffolution, and previous to an act of appropriation, would be criminal, and a breach of public truft, and illegal and unconftitutional. He would not however prefs the right honourable gentleman, either on this point or on other great confiderations refpecting the commerce, the revenue, and public credit of the kingdom, all which feemed to be gratuitoufly abandoned to confufion and ruin, at the very moment when both fides of the House concurred in giving every facility and dispatch to all the business of the nation. There certainly was an appearance of an avidity to abuse the falfe popularity of the moment to the purposes of creating a more fubfervient Parliament-but the day of trial would come, and he acknowledged it to be unfair to urge the right honourable gentleman to foretel his defence, and to make it before a judicature to which he was not to be refponfible. Mr. Eden added,

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added, that his prefent object was to mention two moft important confiderations, which Parliament had unanimoufly voted to merit the moft early attention, and in which he unworthily bore a principal truft. The first respected the illicit practices used in defrauding the revenue: it was his duty on that day to present the Third Report of the Committee: that Report comprehended all the means of prevention; it was of a nature to merit the most immediate difcuffion : his own duty, however, and the duty of the Committee would be discharged, by presenting the fruit of labours which had been performed with integrity and with induftry: he had only, therefore, to thank the Houfe for having placed him in a Committee with a set of gentlemen, to whofe candour, indulgence, perfeverance and abilities, he fhould ever bear teftimony with gratitude and respect. The next confideration was the business of the Eaft-India Committee; it was connected effentially with the leading feature of the prefent ftrange feffion of Parliament: the Committee had already gained informations of the moft interefting and moft urgent importance it would be impoffible to ftifle thofe informations there could not exist any where a wish to ftifle them but it was his wifh that they fhould be brought forward foon, and it would be a matter of proper attention, both to the public interefts and to the perfons employed in this branch of thofe interefts, to intimate, either openly or privately, whether there fhould be fufficient time for this Committee to form a report. He defired to be understood to ftate all this with the calmnefs which became a man who was ftanding at the fide of a death bed; in the expiring moments of the prefent Parliament. He was certainly forry for the intereft of fome individuals, and for the increafing diftreffes of the public; but in the choice of prefent evils, he was glad, that the diffolution, however contrary to credibility and common fenfe, was determined to take place; the kingdom, and all its dependencies, would fuffer grievously by fo wild a ftep; but the Constitution would be faved: the House of Commons would be annihilated, in the moft inexpedient moment; but it was better that it should be annihilated than difhonoured; it was better, that there fhould be a temporary diftrefs, than the mortal and fatal circumftance of a Miniftry continuing obftinately to exercise its functions in defiance of a vote of the representatives of the people.

Ld. North. Lord North; after a momentary pause rose and said, that curiofity which was fo natural for his right honourable

friend,

friend, and for the Houfe in general, to feel upon the prefent occafion, he felt in common with, them; and had hoped the Chancellor of the Exchequer would have deigned to have uttered a single fyllable by way of fatisfaction on a point that fo materially concerned them all. The report that they were at the point of death was in every body's mouth; but he was yet willing to believe that it was untrue, and that because no one public reafon could be affigned in juftification of fuch a measure. Indeed a variety of circumftances made it appear to him to be impoffible that Minifters could mean to diffolve Parliament under the prefent circumftances of the country. The two Committees that his right honourable friend had just referred to, alone afforded fufficient grounds to warrant the opinion he entertained upon the fubject. Each of those Committees had bufinefs before them, not only of great importance, but fuch as required the immediate attention of Parliament. That upon fmuggling concerned the revenue fo nearly, that he could not fuppofe any Minifter who regarded the interefts of his country, could poffibly be brought to accede to a diffolution of Parliament, before fomething was done in confequence of the Reports of the Smuggling Committee. Again, the Committee on the ftate of the EaftIndia Company's affairs was employed in a matter of too interesting a nature to be difregarded, nay, the right honourable gentleman himself had declared on a former occafion, that fuch was the urgency of the Eaft-India Company's affairs, that the fubject would admit of no delay; that it must be taken into immediate confideration, and that if any time was loft, the difficulty and the danger arifing to the country in general from the present state of the Eaft-India Company's affairs would be increased. Το diffolve the Parliament, therefore, after such a declaration, and without there exifting a poffibility for one public rea fon to be affigned for fuch a measure, would be not only unwarrantable, but in his mind highly criminal. The fide of the House on which he ftood had been charged with a defign to ftop the supplies, and to impede the progrefs of the public bufinefs; had not that charge received the ampleft refutation? Did they impede the public bufinefs, or had they stopped the fupplies? On the contrary, had they not voted all that had been asked; and was it not fufficiently well known, that they had no intention to throw any impediment in the way of the public bufinefs? Another

charge

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He

charge that had been brought against them had been, that
they had established a fyftem of procrastination.
begged to afk where the procraftination and where the de-
lay was most truly imputable? They were ready, and had
been ready for many days paft, to go on with the public bu-
finefs, to attend it fedulously, and to forward it with all
neceffary dispatch. To whom, then, was delay imputable,
and what was to be thought of the confiftency of the
right honourable gentleman, who had formerly recom-
mended dispatch, if he now confented to advise His Ma-
jefty to diffolve the Parliament, and by that means create,
without any one public reafon, additional delay, and put
that Houfe, with fo much bufinefs before it, into a total
ftate of inaction for two months? His Lordfhip reminded
gentlemen of the language of their Addrefs to the Throne,
deprecating a diffolution, and the language of the Royal
anfwer. In both, the business then before the House had
been mentioned, by the House it had been pointed out as
bufinefs of great importance, and as business that required
difpatch; and in the King's anfwer it had been admitted to
be business that was urgent, and dispatch had been earnest-
ly recommended to the Houfe. From thefe confiderations
he thought the idea of a diffolution in the course of the
week an idea which it was impoffible for Minifters to have
entertained, much lefs to have embraced and refolved to
carry into execution. He would not, he faid, put any
queftion to Minifters upon the subject, because they were
to answer for their conduct in that particular to another
tribunal, should it hereafter appear that they had given His
Majefty any fuch advice as to diffolve his Parliament un-
der the prefent circumstances of public bufinefs. This,
however, he proceeded to defcribe as a matter impoffible to
be intended. He mentioned the vote of upwards of two
millions of the preceeding day, and faid, he had freely
affented to that grant, and that he fhould be ready, in like
manner, to give his vote for any other grant that the pub-
lic fervice required; but that vote convinced him that a
diffolution of Parliament was not at hand, because, for
Ministers to come gravely to that Houfe and afk large
grants of fupplies, without having any intention to provide
adequate ways and means, and to complete the business
by following it with a bill of appropriation, but on the
contrary, meaning almoft immediately afterwards to dif-
folve Parliament, would be to do an unhandfome thing in

the

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