admirers did not pretend to any ground for their confidence, except his having done nothing; a child just born had the fame advantages, yet might not be fit to be Minifter; but he was forry he could not confider the Minifter in fuch a harmlefs ftate of innocence.-Exclufive of his conduct towards this House, and the leading part he took in the late peace, there are acts by which he can be judged --Firft, the bill he brought in laft year for the regulation of trade between the American States and the fubjects of Great Britain; every claufe was altered; but the principle was fo bad, that at length the bill was dropt: It would have proved ruinous to our navy and commerce; and Parliament rather chofe to give an extraordinary temporary power to the King in council, of difpofing of laws, the continuance of which power, for a longer time, is now most unneceffarily demanded. Another tranfaction by which he is known is, the manner of circumventing the late Administration, perhaps the most capable and efficient this country has ever known; that subject required no illuftration. The third act by which he may be judged is, his late ineffectual Eaft-India bill; on which it is only neceffary to observe, that although many voted for it, as proceeding from the Minifter, it was not believed a fingle member fincerely approved it. His Lordship added, that so far from admitting the Minifter had yet done nothing, and therefore he fhould be tried, he thought him guilty of a high crime and misdemeanour, by making or keeping open a breach between the Crown and the reprefentatives of the people. It is not neceffary now to comment on the words he has put in the mouth of Majefty, but the time may come when the measures of the Crown or Minifters may not be popular; this House, degraded and made infignificant as it is, will not be in a fituation to ftep in between or fupport them, but in the mean time, because it is not fubfervient to every measure of the new Minifter, because it cannot change its principles and alter its proceedings as quick and as often as Adminiftrations are changed, it is to be diffolved; when that happens on fuch ground, there is an end of the Conftitution, and there can be no change for the worfe: but the young Chancellor of the Exchequer feems to fancy the exiftence of the empire depends on his continuing firft Minifter, when it is obvious to the world, that on his refignation of an office, for which he is fo unfit, order would immediately take place of our present miferable, helpless ftate, and much impending mischief would be prevented. He will however find that VOL. XIII. even The Sec. at even if he should have a majority in Parliament, he and his affociates would not be capable long to carry on the business of the country. His Lordship concluded by faying, that not having any other acts by which he could judge of the Minifter, those we knew fhould infpire every man with diftruft instead of confidence; and he was juftified in stating his reasons for not trufting him with the unneceffary and extraordinary powers now, demanded, efpecially when it was known he wishes to promote and establish, through it, the principle of that deftructive bill he introduced laft year, which would have ruined the marine of England, if this House had not refufed to adopt it. Sir Adam Ferguson, Sir P. J. Clerke, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer took part in the debate ; and nearly the faine arguments were brought forward as had been used on the former readings of the bill; after which the report was brought up and agreed to. The report from the Committee of the whole Houfe on Lord Mahon's bill, for preventing bribery and corruption at elections for members to ferve in Parliament, was brought up. Lord Mahon moved that the amendment be now read. Mr. Minchin oppofed the motion, and moved that fix months be inferted instead of now. After fome debate the House divided upon Mr. Minchin's motion. For it, 49; against it, 70. A claufe was then propofed by Mr. Huffey, for providing, that nothing in the act fhould be conftrued to extend to the preventing of candidates from defraying all neceffary expences of voters from their homes, to the place of voting, and back again; ftill keeping up the principle that the voter, nor any one for him fhould touch the money; but it should be paid to those who had carried and fed the voters. The -motion was afterwards modified; but the principle of it was carried, and the Houfe adjourned. March 22. The Secretary at War moved the order of the day, for going into a Committee of fupply, on the estimates for the extrordinaries of the army: the order was accordingly read, and the Secretary at War then moved, "that the Speaker do now leave the chair." Sir Sir Grey Cooper begged leave to fay a few words before the Sir Grey queftion was put. He faid it was now generally understood, Cooper. that the Parliament was to be diffolved: but fo daring and unwarrantable a measure would a diffolution be under the prefent circumftances of affairs that he could not conceive how ministers had ventured to refolve upon it. The House, it was true, had voted the army; but how was that army to be paid? He believed there was not a man in the House who would be bold enough to say that any money could be iffued for the pay of the army, after the refolution had been paffed to the con trary, until an appropriating act should have paffed: a speedy diffolution would prevent that, and the mere votes, both of the troops and pay, would be completely done away by either a prorogation or a diffolution. If therefore any money fhould be iffued for the pay of the army after the diffolution, and before the paffing of the appropriating act, he would not hefitate to say that fuch a measure would be an infraction of rights, inafmuch as it would cause to be kept up and paid an army without the confent of Parliament; and Minifters must recollect, that when a bill of rights was prefented to King William and Queen Mary, it was prefented as the condition by which they were to hold the Crown. Minifters might expect an act of indemnity; but they fhould beware how they eftablish the dangerous precedent of violating the Conftitution, with the hope of being able to have fuch a Parliament returned as would indemnify, them from the confequences of violation of the Conftitution. As to a diffolution in the middle of the feffion, while fo much bufinefs remained to be difpatched, it was a measure that had never been heard of. The diffolution in 1705, on account of the difpute between the two Houses in the Aylesbury caufe, was not a cafe in point; for almost all the public bufinefs had been difpatched, the army and navy voted, the supplies, and the appropriating act paffed, and the feffion very far advanced, before the Parliament was diffolved. Mr. Harrifon did not see the smallest pretence that Minifters Mr. Harriş had now for a diffolution. The gentlemen on his fide of the fon. House (the oppofition fide) had declared that they would not oppose the measures of Administration. Why therefore was not the public business brought forward? The reason was plain; Minifters knew that their popularity was founded only in delufion, and mifrepresentation, and that the revolution of a few weeks would put an end to it; and therefore, they trufted for fupport, not to their measures and their popularity, but to a new House of Commons. If this was not the cafe, they they would go through the bufinefs of the nation, propose their measures of finance, and then at the clofe 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 Sec. at The Secretary at War moved for the fum of 2,300,000l. to defray the extraordinaries of the army. War. Mr. George Onflow. Mr. Huffey. Mr. George Onflow lamented that the House had destroyed 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 course a militia would be abfolutely neceffary for the defence of the country against a sudden 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 stone about the neck of this country; for it had already coft it £5000,000; and to no purpose; 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 seen 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 understood that when a diffolution was expected, the orders were relaxed, and bills fuffered to proceed fooner, with the greatest dispatch. In that case, 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 queftion. The fupply was voted, and the House 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. 2 March March 23. Lord Mahon adverted to the proceedings of the upper Houfe 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. Eden. 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 present motion. The Minifter 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 justifiable 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 Houfe 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 bufinefs of the nation. There certainly was an appearance of an avidity to abuse the false 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, |