themselves. Had the friends of liberty been fewer in numbers and strength, than those bred up in Popery and Tory principles, during the reign of James the 2nd, that monarch had been absolute. It was an injured people firmly bound together that shewed strength sufficient to drive that tyrant from the throne, and secured to us those rights of mankind which adds dignity to human nature; under which the whole empire flourished; and till we are a divided people all kings will look upon our liberties with jealousy, but not with contempt. The shadow of a pretence was at last thrown out, that terms of peace had been offered (by lord Howe's proclamation) upon constitutional principles, but when the motion made by a noble lord (J. Cavendish) to ascertain the fact, was taken into parliamentary consideration, the mask of state hypocrisy was thrown off, and the Tory features of government's instruction to the commissioners fully exposed. The pretended delicacy of treating with the Congress, was equally an imposition upon men's understanding; for there are no proper persons to treat with, when you have nothing to offer! And surely if bribing a few, and condemning the rest to vassalage, upon pain of death, can be construed constitutional terms of peace, they were extracted from the Hessian, not the English laws.

I own, Sir, I feel for the Americans; if our boasted force of arms can drive them to look up to those ministers for mercy and redress, who have plundered and betrayed them, and whose first proof of integrity consists in declaring, they will not bind themselves to do one act of justice towards that country. Such, fairly stated, is implied by unconditional submission; terms not only unworthy the injured Americans to listen to, but such as ought to strike every Englishman with indignation; to hear a language held for our gracious sovereign, more becoming some conquering tyrant and usurper, than the father of his people, and the sworn assertor of the laws. I must observe, that the new titles and favours bestowed on the supporters of this war, are not marks to discern the well-wishers towards America; neither can much clemency and protection be expected from those members who have been most expert at teaching us that pleasantry is preferable to humanity; that loyalty consists in risking the loss of half an empire, by acts of violence and oppression; or have distinguished themselves by

jesting over scenes, which from their horrors and injustice, even the savage Indian may have shed a tear upon. Such men and such measures I have opposed, and trust that I have stated sufficient grounds of justification, for the strongest opposition to a war, which evidently appears to have for its principal object, arbitrary power, supported by private avarice, and ambition; not public spirit, I may add not loyalty; for though the language of tyranny may flatter the passions of a monarch, and gain some earldoms and some contracts, yet, Sir, the loyal language of a Briton to his sovereign ought to consist in the welfare and affections of his subjects, which cannot be separated from his views, without making life a burthen to himself as well as to them.

I shall always wish to address myself with proper respect towards every member here; conscious that were the same individuals assembled in any other house, than a house of parliament, no man would take his station amongst them with more humility than I would; but in this public cause, when the unjust massacre of thousands of fellow subjects, whose lives ought to have been held as sacred as our own, calls aloud for redress; and when the result of our unrelenting councils may be graven on the tombs of thousands more, it is a time to speak a plain and determined language; therefore if I should deviate a little from etiquette, I flatter myself the importance of the object will plead my excuse; that object is peace and commerce with America, which cannot be obtained by unconditional submission, nor by these detestable repeated acts of violence, hatred and oppression, but rather by dropping the point of the bloody sword, until America shall refuse the olive branch, placed on a constitutional code of laws, such as is neither unworthy the Americans to live under, nor of Great Britain to offer.

Mr. Serjeant Adair condemned the principle of the Bill, and congratulated the learned gentleman who moved the clause, on having caused the difference of opinion among the crown lawyers to be made manifest, the mask to be drawn aside, and the intentions of the framers of the Bill to be exposed in all their naked deformity.

Mr. T. Townshend said, it was no wonder that gentlemen should be staggered when the crown lawyers were known to have differed so materially in opinion. Men not bred to the profession of the law,

ought to consider seriously what they were about to do; when the very learned gentleman (Mr. Morton) who came with the best dispositions to support the measure, stopped short, and refused to go the length that other gentlemen, perhaps not less learned, but more sanguine, were willing to do. In such a diversity of opinion, he hoped the House would again consider the very unprecedented powers meant to be lodged in the hands of the crown; and if they should think the principle of the Bill necessary to be supported, that they would agree to the clause offered by his learned friend, at least to the amendment proposed by the hon. gentleman on the Treasury bench.

Mr. Vyner, when he considered the great importance of the question, could not content himself with giving a silent vote; he should, therefore, declare his entire approbation of the clause offered by Mr. Dunning. He was yet to learn on what plausible ground administration could refuse the clause, much less the amend

ment.

Lord North rose to exculpate administration from having an intention of introducing any unconstitutional precedents, or of desiring any powers to be entrusted either to the crown or them, which could be employed to oppressive or bad purposes. He assured the House, that he had received no account of any foreign state having assisted America with arms, or any kind of naval or military stores. He believed the contrary to be the case, and must have heard if they had. Probably enough, the French and Dutch merchants, as objects of commercial profit, may have supplied the colonies, and been guilty of this species of prohibited commerce; but he imagined, he might say with certainty, that no traffic of this kind had been carried on under the sanction of either of the powers mentioned, or indeed by any other. He observed, that great objections had been made to the powers now intended to be delegated. He was sorry that such a jealousy should be entertained at any side of the House. He was certain that they fell considerably short of those granted on similar occasions; at all events, he imagined that the clause, as offered to be amended by his hon. friend near him, would completely remove every solid ground of objection.

Mr. Adam coincided intirely in opinion with the Attorney General, that the clause was not wanting, and that even without it,

the Bill did not go far enough; that the present critical state of affairs rendered it nccessary, that the most ample powers should be vested in the crown, in order to crush the unnatural and unprovoked rebellion now raging in America. He contended, that the powers now sought, should have been applied for much earlier, and affirmed, if they had, that the war we were now unhappily waging, with our own subjects, would have been long since extinguished. Indecisive measures, indecisively executed, were the leading characteristics of the present administration, at least, of some, who had influence enough, to counteract such as were firm and decisive; and he could not help observing and lamenting, that a greater curse could not befal a country, than fluctuating and divided councils. Divided as we were in cabinet and parliament, it was natural to expect that we must feel the fatal effects of such divisions, in the field, and every intermediate step that led to it.

General Conway said, that administration had not only gone far enough, but beyond far enough; they had not only been decisive, but he feared much too decisive. It was impossible for them to be more obstinate and unrelenting than they had already proved themselves to be; or to resort to harsher means than they had all along steadily pursued. The whole train of measures, from the commencement, was a succession of acts, all seeming to tend to one favourite object, that of driving America to despair; and from acts committed under the force of that despair, to gradually compel them from dutiful remonstrance to factious resolves, from these to the cruel necessity of taking up arms to defend their natural, chartered, and constitutional rights, and at length, in the height of political rage and desperation, to throw off and dissolve all bands of legal government, by leaving them no other alternative but rank slavery or independency. Those means of recovering America having hitherto proved unsuccessful, he was astonished that we still continued to adhere to them. He affirmed, that we were no nearer making a conquest of America, than we were twelve months ago; and that, probably, if we persisted another year, in the same system of po litics, France, when she found this country sufficiently exhausted, both in men and money, would take an occasion to break with us, and we should probably, in such an event, find ourselves engaged in a war

with the united powers of France, Spain, Naples, Sardinia, and the emperor, with out a single ally strong enough to counterbalance such a junction of all the great powers of the southern part of Europe. He could not sit down without observing, that after all that ministers had promised, nothing had yet been performed, in respect of the terms we were willing to grant to the colonies: how, then, was it possible to effect that favourite measure, of dividing and commanding? America must unconditionally submit, or agree to terms; no terms having been offered on our part; the alternative was evidently, simple despotism or simple conquest. It was, therefore, absurd to talk of dividing the Congress, or separating the people from the Congress, because by the present conduct of administration, they did not permit a second party to subsist in America. His opinion was not founded in a mere spirit of opposition, nor in any other improper motives. He was sure it was pure; he was certain it was uniform; and he had great reason to dread, that the final event of the present unnatural war, would prove that his fears and predictions were too well-founded.

Mr. Adam rose to explain the words 'far enough.' He did not mean to use that phrase in the loose, undefined manner, it had been construed by the hon. general. He meant substantially to say, that the measures now pursuing by government would have been more efficacious, in all probability, had they been taken up earlier; and when they were taken up, had they been carried into execution with more spirit and alacrity. No man was farther from approving of sanguinary measures than he was; and he always thought that the surest means in such cases, of preventing the effusion of blood, and all the dire calamities of a civil war, was by adopting vigorous measures in time, and executing them seasonably.

Mr. Dunning was glad to learn, that administration had in some measure deserted the Bill; he hoped they would desert the amendment too. However, divided as they were, if they should insist on both this night, it would produce a phanomenon in politics-a divided ministry carrying a question on which scarcely two of them were agreed, and which almost every individual of them had virtually deserted.

The Solicitor General said, the information given by Mr. Fox, and every argu

| ment drawn from it, furnished so many stronger motives for agreeing with the Bill, and rejecting both the clause and amendment: he had told the House (and who could doubt so good an authority?) that two of the members of the Congress were at Paris, and that they were received in a public character, in the light of envoys, or ministers, armed with full powers from an independent state, treating upon preliminaries for a permanent and solemn communication, and guarantee of their respective interests. He did not see any necessity for either the clause or amendment, yet he should not be against, nay he had no objection to it, if its friends had been contented with carrying it early in the day; but as the gentlemen who moved and supported it, had been indulged with an acquiescence on the part of administration, and still continued to debate the principle of the Bill, he should now most certainly vote against it.

Mr. Fox said, he admired the candour and condescension of his learned friend, in granting the favour of permitting the clause to make part of the Bill, if the terms in which the favour had been asked had been accompanied with that degree of gratitude and submission the granting so high a boon deserved; if the debate had not been prolonged to this late hour, when it might be supposed the learned gentleman's presence might be more useful, and more eagerly sought. Yet, upon consideration, nice as the learned gentleman's feelings were, eager as he was to get out of the crowd, careless as he was of his duty in that House, and indifferent as he seemed to the consequences of the Bill; in either or any event, he imagined his resentments against conquered America, his native hatred of rebellion, his zeal for government, and his personal loyalty to the family on the throne, might have been in some degree gratified, without pushing this Bill to the extent he seemed to desire. It might allay the learned gentleman's thirst for public chastisement, and exemplary punishment, when he could satisfy himself with the pleasing reflection that seven rebels were shoved into a room at New York, and there burnt to death; or if that was not sufficient, another gentleman, still, if possible, more zealous and loyal, (Mr. Adam) might feast himself with contemplating the glorious deed daily and hourly achieved in our southern colonies and back settlements, where the savages came down in great numbers (if the

accounts received by administration themselves from that country were to be depended on) and massacred the innocent settlers in cold blood; and the slaves were meritoriously employed in the murder of their unprepared, unsuspicious masters, through the encouragement of an administration which had been this day so unjustly arraigned, as sluggish and inert, as wanting spirit and alacrity, in the glorious work of blood and carnage; of planning nothing but tame, indecisive measures, still more tamely and indecisively executed.

The question was put on Mr. Dunning's motion, as amended by Mr. Cornwall, and agreed to without a division.

Mr. Fox wished the House much joy, and felicitated the nation in general on the escape they had from, at least, a state of temporary tyrannic dominion, which perhaps, all in good time, was meant to be rendered perpetual. He congratulated the minority in particular, on their success this day; who, he said, had corrected this very reprehensible Bill; though a minority, they had accomplished this alteration; the ministers were not only convinced, but ashamed, and had accepted of the alteration. It was no compliment to their friends the majority, for they were ready to pass the Bill as it was brought in. It was the minority, he repeated, who, though a minority, had corrected this Bill, which the noble lord had brought in crude and indigested, imperfect and erroneous. The noble lord was obliged to his friends the minority, for digesting, altering, and correcting his Bill, not to his friends the majority, who were ready to swallow it with all its original crudities, cruelties and errors. He then enlarged in a humorous, ironical strain, on the power of the learned Solictor General, who threatened to damn the clause totally, and blow it out of the House, if he was longer teased with the noise and nonsense of his opponents, and detained from his social enjoyments half or a quarter of an hour beyond his time; and painted his own fears very humorously, lest some of the over-zealous friends of the clause should rise, and provoke the learned gentleman to carry his threats into execution. He was two or three times rising to speak, he said, but happily repressed his feelings, as he watched the countenance of the learned gentleman, and imagined he could perceive a glow of honest zeal, and determined resentment overspread it, which denoted the most inevitable destruction to [VOL. XIX.]

the clause, and terror, dismay and defeat to all its supporters. He said, he must seriously congratulate the House, and the nation at large, on the preservation of the constitutional freedom of this country, from the stab that had been predetermined, and covertly aimed at its inmost vitals, by the Bill as it stood before the clause was agreed to; for if it had passed in that form, he could with confidence affirm, that no Englishman, as long as it remained in force, and God knew how long that might be, would have had the shadow of liberty left, or could be a minute secure against the most cruel attacks of public oppression, or private malice and revenge. He then argued against the principle of the Bill, and said it was a dangerous and unnecessary Bill, even in its amended state; that still any man, who for pleasure or business happened to be out of the realm, lay at the mercy of ministers, of his private enemies, or of public informers. On the whole, his fears being at an end respecting the clause, he was now at liberty to express his sentiments freely; and under that sanction he totally disapproved of the principle of the Bill and of the clause; he looked upon the Bill as a dangerous precedent; and learning the true disposition and design of administration, from their conduct throughout, he should give it a most hearty negative.

The Solicitor General denied the interpretation that had been put on his words by the hon. gentleman. He gave him credit for his wit, his humour, and flow of imagery and expression; but very little for his arguments or facts. What he had said imported no more than this, that the learned gentleman who moved the clause seemed to be contented, at least tolerably satisfied, with the amendment moved by his hon. friend; that the explanation given, was seemingly the proper object of debate; yet, after the explanation so given and approved of by the learned gentleman who moved the clause, gentlemen continued to debate upon other matters totally foreign to the question before the House, and continued to urge arguments against the Bill. As this seemed to be the prevailing opinion of those who opposed the Bill, and that for his part it was his opinion, as well as that of most of his friends, that no such clause, mended or unamended, was necessary; he thought and he' believed very justly, that as the hon. gen tleman and his friends disliked and opposed the whole Bill, the question might [E]