that he could fee no difference, as the French conftitution, if they had any, was the confequence and effect of that revolution. So fond were gentlemen of this favourite topic, that whoever difapproved of the anarchy and confufion that had taken place in France, or could not foresee the benefits that were to arife out of it, were ftigmatifed as enemies to liberty, and to the British conftitution, charges that were falle, unfounded, mifapplied, and every way unfair. Doctrines of this kind, he thought, were extremely dangerous at all times, and much more fo, if they were to be fanctioned by fo great a name as that of the right honourable gentleman, who always put whatever he faid in the ftrongeft and moft forcible view that it could appear. Thus it had become common to fet the French conftitution up against the English conftitution, upon all occafions, when the comparifon could be introduced; and then he infifted, if the former was praifed, the latter must be proportionably depreciated. Here again he reverted to what he had been told had paffed on a former day, when he faid the right honourable gentleman had taken fire when the French conftitution was mentioned, and had termed it the moft glorious and ftupendous fabric that ever was reared by human wifdom. He fill infifted, that the difcuffion of the Quebec bill was a proper opportunity, after what had been faid, for entering upon a true and minute comparison of the French conflitution with that of England, though the diforderly rage for order that prevailed that day, feemed to be adopted for the purpofe of precluding every fair or proper difcuffion. He had that day been accused, among other breaches of friendship towards the right honourable gentleman, of having provoked this difcuffion, to give an advantage to the right honourable gentleman's enemies, aprinciple that he utterly difclaimed, and never thought that any fair or candid man could have brought; however, if any could have fuppofed fo before what they had heard from the oppofite fide of the Houfe, this day muft convince them of the contrary. In what he had repeatedly faid and written concerning the French revolution, he had been accused of ftating his opinions rafhly and without foundation, a charge which he was certainly anxious and able to refute, if he had been allowed; and at the very time when he was going to produce facts in fupport of what he had afferted, blended partly with private information and refpectable authorities, though he perhaps might have gone greater lengths than he wifhed, by difclofing communications which he ought to conceal, yet being fo particularly called upon, he would have done it; at this very moment, he was ftopped in the most unfair, and, notwithstanding, as he had already faid, the rage for order, the most disorderly manner and but for this VOL. XXIX.

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extraordinary conduct, he would have proved that the iffue of the French conftitution, or revolution, which they liked to call it, was not intended for, and never could be, for the cause of liberty, but, on the contrary, ever was, and ever would be, for the caufe of tyranny, oppreffion, injuftice, anarchy, and confufion. After what had been faid, nobody could impute to him interested or personal motives for his conduct; those with whom he had been conftantly in habits of friendfhip and agreement with him, were all against him, and from the other fide of the House he was not likely to have much fupport; yet, all he did, was no more than his duty. It was a ftruggle, not to fupport any man, or fet of men, but a ftruggle to fupport the British conftitution, in doing which he had incurred the displeasure of all about him, and thofe oppofite to him; and what was worst of all, he had induced the right honourable gentleman to rip up the whole course and tenure of his life, public and private, and that not without a confiderable degree of afperity. His failings and imperfections had been keenly expofed, and, in fhort, without the chance of gaining one new friend, he had made enemies, it appeared malignant enemies, of his old friends; but, after all, he esteemed his duty far beyond any friendship, any fame, or any other confideration whatever. He had ftated the danger which the British conftitution was daily in, from the doctrines and conduct of particular perfons; however, as neither fide of the House fupported him in this, but as both fides thought otherwife, he would not prefs that point upon them now in any stronger way than he had done; but he would ftill aver, that no affiftance which could either be given or refused to him, would ever bias him against the excellence of the British conftitution; nor lead him to think well of the French revolution, or the conftitution, as it was named, that was formed in its place. The right honourable gentleman, in the fpeech he had made, treated him in every fentence with uncommon har fhnefs. In the firft place, after being fatigued with skirmishes of order, which were wonderfully managed by his light troops, he then brought down the whole ftrength and heavy artillery of his own judgement, eloquence, and abilities, upon him, to crush him at once, by declaring a cenfure upon his whole life, conduct, and opinions. Notwithstanding this great and ferious, though, on his part, unmerited attack, and attempt to crufh him, he would not be difmayed; he was not yet afraid to ftate his fentiments in that House, or any where elfe, and he would tell all the world that the conftitution was in danger. And here he muft, in the moft folemn manner, exprefs his difapprobation of what was notorious to the country, and to the world. Are there not clubs in every quarter, who meet and vote refolutions,

folutions, the contents of which was it neceffary for him to enumerate? Do they not correfpond all over the country, and with other countries? Do they not preach in their pulpits doctrines that are dangerous, and celebrate at their anniverfary meetings, proceedings incompetent with the spirit of the British conftitution? Admitting thefe, and he believed nobody would fay his obfervations here were ill founded, would they hefitate a moment to pronounce fuch tranfactions dangerous to the conftitution, and extremely mifchievous in their nature; when added to this, infamous libels against the conftitution were circulated every where. The malignity with which the right honourable gentleman had fpoken his fenti ments with regard to Government, and the charge of inconfiftency in his political life and opinions, were neither fair nor true; for he denied that he ever had any different idea of Government from what he now entertained, and had upon mapy occafions ftated; he laid it down as a maxiin, that monarchy was the bafis of all good government, and that the nearer to monarchy that any government approached, the more perfect it was, and vice verfa; and he certainly, in his wideft moments, never had fo far forgotten the nature of Government, as to argue that we ought to wish for a conftitution that we could alter at pleafure and change like a dirty fhirt. He was by no means anxious for a Monarchy with a dash of a republicanism to correct it. But the French conftitution was the exact oppofite of the English in every thing, and nothing could be fo dangerous as to let it up to the view of the English, to miflead and debauch their minds. In carrying on this attack against him, the righ: honourable gentleman had been fupported by a corps of well difciplined iroops, expert in the r manouvres, and obedient to the word of their commander.-

[Mr. Grey here called Mr. Burke to order, conceiving that it was diforderly to mention gentlemen in that way, and to afcribe improper motives to them.]

Mr. Burke explained, and went on. He faid he had formerly stated, that he believed those who fomented what he dreaded as dangerous to the conftitution, to be a very fmall number indeed; it was not from their numbers now, but if the fpirit was fuffered to ferment, who could tell what might happen? Let it be remembered there were 300,000 men in arms in France, who at the proper moment might affist that fpirit; and though there might be no immediate danger threatening the British conftitution, yet a time of scarcity or umult might come, and in fuch a cafe it was certainly fafer and wifer to prevent the confequences, than to remedy the evil. He recurred to 1780, and mentioned the dreadful confequences of the riots occafioned by Lord George Gordon.

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Had he at that time cautioned the House to beware of the Proteftant Affociation, and other caballing meetings, he fuppofed his cautions would have been treated in the fame way as thofe he offered now; but he trufted no perfon would wish again to fee fuch deftruction and diforder; the houfes of fome of the greatest and best men that ever adorned the country, the Marquis of Rockingham and Sir George Saville, befet by the mob, and obliged to be defended by armed force; they furely could not defire again to behold camps in all our fquares, and garrifons in our palaces. As to the prefent ftate of this country, he defcribed the King as in full power in all his functions, that his Minifters were refponfible for all their conduct; that the country was bleffed with an oppofition of ftrong force, and that the common people were united with the gentlemen in a column of prudence. From all which he argued, that the prefent was the moment for crufhing this diabolical fpirit, and every trivial attempt to fubvert the principles of the conftitution ought to be watched with the greatest jealoufy and circumfpection; when he fpok of our conftitution as valuable, he fpoke of the whole complete, and not of any particular or predominant part; and therefore thought it wifer to be prepared for any attack that might be made upon it, than to trust that we could preTerve it, even after the attack was made. Having dwelt for fome time upon this point, he next began to recapitulate the political queftions upon which he had differed with the right honourable gentleman upon former occafions, particularly the feveral attempts that had been made for a parliamentary reform, the Diffenters bill, and the Royal Marriage act; perhaps, too, in other inftances; but in all thefe, in the courfe of their acquaintance and intimacy, no one difference of political opinion had ever for a moment interrupted or affected their friendship. It certainly was indifcretion, at any period, but much greater at his time of life, to provoke enenies, or give his friends caufe to defert him; yet if that was to be the cafe, by adhering to the British constitution, he would risk all, and, as public duty and public prudence taught him, in his laft words. exclaim, "Fly from the French conftitution." [It was whifpered by Mr. Fox, there was no lofs of friends.] Mr. Burke faid, yes, there was a lofs of friends, he knew the price of his conduct; he had done his duty at the price of his friend; their friendfhip was at an end. He had been told, that it was much better to defend the English conftitution, by praising its own excellence, than by abufing other conflitutions, and certainly the task of praising was much more pleafant than that of abufing; but he contended that the only fair way of arguing the merits of any conftitution, was by comparing it with others, and he could not

fpeak

fpeak with propriety of the excellence of the English conftitution, without comparing it with the deformity and injuftice of the French, which was the fhade that brought its colours forward in the brighteft point of view; and omitting to do it, would be like prefenting a picture without a fhade. He fhould warn the right honourable gentlemen who were the great rivals in that Houfe, that whether they fhould in future move in the political hemifphere as two flaming meteors, or walk together as brethren, that they fhould preferve and cherish the Britifh conftitution; that they fhould guard against innovation, and fave it from the danger of these new theories. In a rapturous apoftrophe to the infinite and unfpeakable power of the Deity, who, with his arm, hurled a comet like a projectile out of its courfe-who enabled it to endure the fun's heat, and the pitchy darkness of the chilly night; he faid, that to the Deity muft be left the talk of infinite perfection, while to us poor, weak, incapable mortals, there was no rule of conduct fo fafe as experience. He concluded with moving an amendment, that all the words of the motion, after "Differtations on the French conftitution, fhould be omitted, and the following be inferted in their room-tending to fhew that examples may be drawn there"from; and to prove that they are infufficient for any good

purpofes, and that they lead to anarchy and confufion, "and are confequently unfit to be introduced into fchemes "of Government, are improper to be referred to on a motion "for reading the Quebec bill paragraph by paragraph."

In the courfe of the preceding fpeech, Mr. Burke having faid that Mr. Fox had of late years forborne that friendly intercourse with him, by vifits, &c., which he had formerly preferved, the latter, in reply, faid, that the omiffion complained of, was purely accidental; that men, at different periods, fell into different habits; and without any intentional neglect, it frequently happened that they did not fee their friends fo often as they might have done in preceding years: but at the fame time, that their friendship was as warm and as fincere as ever.

Mr. Burke, likewife, while in one of the parts of it, where he was reafoning with great warmth, checked himfelf, and addreffing himself to the Chair, faid, "I am not mad, most "noble Feftus, but fpeak the words of truth and fobernefs." Mr. Fox rofe to reply, but his mind was fo much agitated Mr. Fox. and his heart fo much affected by what had fallen from Mr. Burke, that it was fome minutes before he could proceed. Tears trickled down his cheeks, and he ftrove in vain to give utterance to feelings that dignified and exalted his nature. In justice to the Houfe, it must be faid, that the fenfibility of every one prefent feemed to be uncommonly ex