Parliamentary History.

17 GEORGE THE THIRD, A. D. 1777.

FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT more than the petitioners have been en

not, therefore, think of proceeding in the same manner now, but would move, "That an humble Address be presented to his Majesty, that he will be pleased to give directions to the commissioners for trade and plantations, to enquire into, and prepare, in order to be laid before this House, a Report of the general State of the trade to Africa, the condition of the forts and settlements there belonging to the African company, and in what manner the several sums of money granted by parliament for maintaining and supporting the same, have been applied."

Mr. A. Bacon was of the same opinion, and that it was necessary that the grant should precede any inquiry in that House. Mr. Vyner said he well remembered the time alluded to by the noble lord, and the hon. gentleman. He recollected several curious particulars of the company sending out bricks or stones to erect the fortifications; yet, by the accounts, he was sorry to find, as well as by the petition, that the stones or bricks were so rotten, that instead of repairing the fortifications of Cape Coast Castle, they were in so ruinous a condition, that they must be pulled down, and rebuilt from the very foundation,

Mr. Gascoyne spoke against the conduct of the African company, and 'concluded that the grants of parliament answered no one substantial purpose, but that of establishing a monopoly.

The Address was agreed to.

having a matter of some importance to communicate to the House, he could wish their attention for a few minutes: it was upon a business which ought not to be detailed before so thin a House, but there would be several stages of the business which would give opportunity for ample discussion: the thing was this; there had been, during the present war in America, many prisoners made, who were in actual. commission of the crime of high treason; and, there were persons, at present, guilty of that crime, who might be taken, but perhaps for want of evidence could not be kept in gaol. That it had been customary upon similar occasions of rebellion, or danger of invasion, to enable the king to seize suspected persons: he would not be thought to hint at any necessity of trusting ministers at present with such a power in general; indeed, the times were different; we were very far from having any rebellion at home; and as to an invasion, we had not the least prospect of it: For these reasons, it was not meant to ask the full power, usual upon former occasions of rebellion. But as the law stood, they were well informed, that it was not possible at present officially to apprehend the most suspected person. Another circumstance was, that persons made prisoners from the rebels, and also in the act of piracy, on the high seas, at present, could be legally confined only in the common gaols, which would be entirely impracticable. It was necessary for the crown to have a power of confining them like other prisoners of war. He therefore moved,

empower his Majesty to secure and detain persons charged with, or suspected of, the crime of high treason committed in North America, or on the high seas, or the crime of piracy."-Leave was accordingly given.

A Bill for granting Letters of Marque and Reprisal passed.] February 6. A" That leave be given to bring in a Bill to Bill for enabling the commissioners for executing the office of lord high admiral of Great Britain to grant commissions, or letters of marque, to the commanders of private ships and vessels, to take and make prize of all ships or vessels, and their cargoes, belonging to or possessed by any of the inhabitants of the colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusett's Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the three lower counties on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, for a time to be limited, was passed in the Commons, and carried to the Lords. There were no debates on this Bill, in any stage of its passing.

Debate in the Commons on the Bill for suspending the Habeas Corpus Act.] February 6. Lord North said, that

Feb. 7. Lord G. Germaine presented to the House the following Bill: "A Bill to empower his Majesty to secure

and detain Persons charged with, or suspected of, the Crime of High Treason committed in North America, or on the High Seas, or the Crime of Piracy.

"Whereas a rebellion and war have been openly and traitorously levied and carried on in certain of his Majesty's colonies and plantations in America, and acts of treason and piracy have been committed upon the ships and goods of his

Majesty's subjects; and many persons | palladium of the British constitution, the have been seized and taken, who are expressly charged or strongly suspected of such treasons and felonies, and many more such persons may be hereafter so seized and taken :

Debate in the Commons on the Bill

What does this Bill say? No crime is imputable, no examination of innocence or criminality is to follow. The punishment is inflicted, in the first instance, on the ground of mere suspicion. A man may be suspected; any man may be suspected; but his guilt or innocence are entirely out of the question; no enquiry whatever is to be made into either, as long as the present Bill continues in force.

He confessed there were times, in which it had been found extremely necessary to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act; such, in particular, were the two late most unnatural and unprovoked rebellions in Scotland: but then there was a necessity stated. That necessity was not denied; it was, indeed, notorious: but would any man say, that was the case at present? Is there a rebellion within the kingdom? Is there a pretender claiming the crown as his legal and constitutional inheritance; and that at the expence of both our civil and religious rights-the very essence, as well as the form of our constitution? No such thing: the idea is ridiculous. Are we, on the other hand, afraid that the people of America will pass the Atlantic on a bridge, and come over and conquer us? and that their partisans lie in ambush about Brentford or Colnbrook? That, it may be presumed, will be hardly contended, even in the present rage for assertion without proof, and conclusion without argument. No: this Bill, I plainly perceive, has been manufactured for other purposes. It can be stretched, and twined, and twisted, by the ingenuity of my worthy and learned friend the Attorney General, or by some of his brethren, equally ingenious, to affect and reach men who never saw America, or, peradventure, the high seas, as efficaciously, for the mere temporary purposes of persecution and revenge, as if they had been caught in arms in open rebellion. If even ministers had contented themselves with this first ebullition of their fiery, irresistible zeal for persecution, the public might look on, with a mixture of contempt and astonishment, at the insolence and folly of the attempt; but when they go a step farther, and venture to couple it with a power untried in the annals of this country, a power, including in it the most bloody species of proscription, I confess I begin to feel sentiments of a very different nature. What does the clause say? After empowering the apprehension, on the mere grounds of suspicion, and directing the commitment to any common gaol, within

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his Majesty's dominions, are not we next told, or to any other place of confinement, specially appointed for that purpose, by warrant under his Majesty's sign manual, by any magistrate, having competent authority in that behalf (who is hereby authorized to commit such persons to the place so to be appointed) ?" Is not this evidently a power, not only to punish the them as an honest mind must revolt at, innocent, but to inflict such pains upon and contemplate with horror? The magistrate may take up and commit, on suspicion, to the common gaol, and by the sign manual, to any other place especially appointed; and is further authorized to commit according to such special appointment. What is this but to authorize the mode, measure, and place of confinement, at the pleasure of the minister, which, besides, manifestly includes in it the power of temporary banishment, as well as confinement, to any part, or to the most remote, unhealthy, and pestiferous climate, within the wide circuit of his Majesty's dominions, in the four qnarters of the globe? If this be the intention of and learned friend, and his no less honourmy hon. able employers, in God's name let him speak out; let us know, let the public know, what they are to expect. Let him and his friends no longer amuse us with a formal circumstantial story of America and the high seas, or of the crime of piracy; such tales may be amusing to some people, and they may answer certain purposes out of doors, and in some particular places: but to talk of them seriously within these walls, will not, I believe, be attempted. The power endeavoured to be vested in the crown by this Bill, is most evidently a dictatorial power, or similar to that exercised by the Roman dictators. We all know the motives for granting such a power. It will hardly be contended, that any such motives exist at present. We all know the frequent abuse of it, and the horrid purposes towards the latter period of the common-wealth, to which it was employed; and I presume there is not a school-boy of three years standing, who is ignorant that that mighty republic was overthrown by a dictator. Such will althrough ignorance, wantonness, and deways be the case, when powers are granted sign. If the present Bill was to have no other evil effect than establishing a precedent for future ministers to come to parliament on the same errand, I should be against it: but when I behold it in the

to parliament, and desired an immediate suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, in so many words; they would have accompanied such a request with their motives, and have stated the grounds of necessity. But the present Bill was framed totally on another plan; it was meant to prevent mischief, not with a view to rigorous punishments, much less to persecutions. No innocent man had any thing to fear, the guilty man had every thing; and whatever harsh epithets gentlemen who disapproved of the Bill, might think proper to bestow on it, he should, for his part, always think, that that was the mildest, wisest, and most lenient government, which directed its attention, and devised modes of prevention, instead of endeavouring to deter by rigorous and sanguinary punishments. His hon. and learned friend

light I do, I must deem it a most formidable, dangerous, and, I fear, fatal attack, upon the liberty of this country. It seems directed at its very vitals, and, in my opinion, threatens its total destruction, if not a dissolution of the constitution. Before I conclude, I must observe, if any thing were wanting to shew the true complexion of this Bill, the words high seas and piracy' will fully explain it; these words apply to the seas contiguous to Great Britain and Ireland. It is, indeed, plainly perceivable, whatever the title of the Bill may be, it is not an American, so much as it is a British suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. It may overtake any man, any where. It authorises a discretionary punishment, without a colour of legal proof, or even a probable ground of suspicion. It makes no distinction between the dreams of a sick man, the rav-founded his prime objection on a supposiings of a demoniac, and the malice of a secret or declared enemy. No man is exempt from punishment, because innocence is no longer a protection. It will generate spies, informers, and false accusers beyond number; and furnish the means of gratification, emolument, and satiety, to the most profligate of the species; while it will let loose with impunity, the blackest, and most horrid vices, which disgrace the human mind. In fine, it will realise what has hitherto been looked upon to be the creature of poetic fiction: it will scatter over the land more ills and curses, than were ever supposed to flow from Pandora's box. Justice will be bound, as well as blind; and it will be in the power of every revengeful minister, or mercenary villain, to satiate his revenge, or fill his pockets, at the expence of the best, and most virtuous men in the commonwealth. Mr. Attorney General Thurlow said, that nothing more was meant by the Bill, than to apprehend, commit, and confine persons actually charged, or suspected of committing, the crime of high treason in America, or on the high seas, or of piracy. It was absurd and preposterous to the last degree, to suppose it was framed intentionally to reach or overtake persons presumed to be disaffected to this government, within this realm. He was certain the kingdom contained no such description of men. Treason and rebellion were properly and peculiarly the native growth of America. If government feared any such disposition in the people of this country, their application would have been fair, open, and direct; they would have come

tion that the Bill might be construed to extend to persons who had committed crimes within the realm. This was an objection, he solemnly believed, of the first impression. Be that as it might, this was not the proper stage of the Bill to debate that question; supposing that the Bill were to operate precisely as his learned friend had stated it, he could not see even a colourable pretext for finding fault with it. Imagining the king's death, his justices, his treasurer, &c. was high treason; so was levying war within the realm, or appearing in arms against the sovereign, or adhering to, or corresponding with, bis enemies; now, if it should be discovered, that any person in this country bad assisted the rebels with arms, or warlike stores of any kind, or that they had been assisted by his subjects, in any part of his dominions, with money, or implements of war, &c. he could not pretend to say, how far such an assistance, or adherence, might be construed to come within the description of high treason, as laid down. by the 25th Edw. the 3d. The committee was the proper place to come to the explanations so earnestly pressed by his learned friend; he should, therefore, be for the second reading of the Bill, and trust for the perfect formation of the Bill to that stage.

Mr. Fox said, that the present Bill served as a kind of key, or index, to the design that ministers had been some years manifestly forming, the objects of which they rendered visible from time to time, as opportunity served, as circumstances proved favourable, or as protection increased,