cargo of wretchednefs and abomination, exhibited at once the extremes of human depravity and human mifery.

Mr. Pitt, who on various occafions has dropped the ftatefman to affume the nobler character of the philanthropift, declared with indignant eloquence," that if, as had been afferted by the members for Liverpool, the trade could not be carried on in any other manner, he would retract what he had faid on a former day, and, waving every farther difcuffion, give his inftant vote for the annihilation of a traffic thus fhocking to humanity. He trusted that the house, being now in poffeffion of fuch evidence as was never before exhibited, would endeavour to extricate themfelves from the guilt and remorfe which every man ought to feel for having fo long over-looked fuch cruelty and oppreffion." The bill was carried up June 18th to the house of lords, where it was fated to encounter the determined oppofition of lord Thurlow. His lordship faid, that the bill was full of inconfiftency and nonfenfe. The French had lately offered premiums to encourage the African trade, and the natural prefumption was, that we ought to do the fame. This meafure appeared to him very like a breach of parliamentary faith. As to himself, he fcrupled not to fay," that if the fit of philanthropy which had flept fo many years had been fuffered to fleep one fummer longer, it would have appeared to him more wife than to take up the fubject in this disjointed manner." The duke of Chandos ventured to predict a general infurrection of the negroes in the Weft indies in confequence of the agitation of the prefent question. And lord Sydney, who had once ranked amongst the friends of liberty, expreffed in warm terms his admiration of the fyftem of the flave laws established in Jamaica, and faw no room for any improvement. The bill was defended by the duke of Richmond and marquis Townshend in a manner which did honor to their understanding and feelings: and it finally paffed by a confiderable majority.

The

The king put an end to the feffion July 11, 1788, by a fpeech from the throne, in which he complimented the two houses on their attention and liberality. "His faithful fubjects had every reafon, as he affirmed, to expect the continuance of the bleffings of peace; and the engagements which he had recently formed with the king of Pruffia and the ftates general of the united provinces, would, he trufted, promote the fecurity and welfare of his own dominions, and contribute to the general tranquillity of Europe.'

Soon after the recefs of parliament, the king, who had been for fome time rather indifpofed, was advised by his phyficians to try the mineral waters of Cheltenham, which he was believed to drink in too profufe a quantity. His health appeared nevertheless, during his refidence there, greatly eftablished; and he amufed himfelf and gratified his people by, various excurfions in the vicinity of that place, difplaying on these occafions much condefcenfion and affability, and being every where received with loud acclamations.

On his return to Windfor, late in the fummer, his illnefs returned with new and alarming fymptoms. By the end of October, it could no longer be concealed that the malady of the king was of a nature peculiarly afflictive and dreadful. A mental derangement had taken place, which rendered him totally incapable of public bufinefs.

The parliament had been prorogued to the 20th of November; a few days previous to which, a circular letter was iffued by the minifters, in which the impracticability of a farther prorogation was fignified, and the attendance of the members earneftly requested. Parliament being accordingly affembled, the state of the king's health was formally notified to the house of peers by the lord chancellor, and to the commons by Mr. Pitt and as the feffion of parliament could not be opened in the regular mode, an adjournment of fourteen days was recommended; at the end

:

of

of which term, if the king's illness should unhappily continue, it would be incumbent upon them to enter into the immediate confideration of the ftate of public affairs. Upon the re-affembling of parliament, December the 4th, a report of the board of privy council was prefented to the two houfes, containing an examination of the royal phyficians; and it was properly fuggefted, that confidering the extreme delicacy of the fubject, and the dignity of the perfon concerned, parliament would do well to rest satisfied without any more direct and exprefs information, efpecially as the examinations of council had been taken upon oath, which the houfe of commons had no power to adminifter.

The fituation of affairs was at this period fingularly cri tical. The prince of Wales, into whofe hands the government of the country was foon likely to fall, retained a deep refentment against the prefent minifters for their recent conduct refpecting him, and took no pains to conceal his decided predilection for the perfon and politics of Mr. Fox. This diftinguifhed leader, on the earliest intelligence of the king's indifpofition, had returned from a fummer excurfion to the Continent with incredible expedition; and in contemplation of an approaching change, a new arrangement of adminiftration was already believed to be formed, confifting of the principal members of the former coalition ministry, lord North only excepted, and of which the duke of Portland was to be once more the oftenfible head. The policy of oppofition feemed evidently repugnant to every idea of unneceffary delay. Yet doubts were unaccountably started by Mr. Fox, Mr. Burke, and others of the fame party, whether parliament could in this momentous cafe difpenfe with that fort of evidence on which they had been accustomed to proceed. The validity of the objection was very faintly contefted, and a committee of twenty-one perfons in each houfe, after no long debate, appointed to examine and report the fentiments of VOL. II. CC

the

the royal phyficians. The report of the committee was laid upon the table of the house of commons on the 10th of December; when a motion was made by Mr. Pitt, for the appointment of another committee to infpect the journals for precedents of fuch proceedings as had been adopted in former inftances, when the fovereign authority was fufpended by fickness, infirmity, or any other cause.

Mr. Fox, fenfible perhaps of his former error, now oppofed with energy the prefent motion, as calculated only for delay. With refpect to precedents, there were, he faid, notorioufly none which applied to the present inftance; and he affirmed, that all which was requifite to their ultimate decifion, had been obtained by the report now lying upon their table. By that report they had af certained the incapacity of the fovereign. And he advanced as a propofition deducible from the principles of the conftitution, and the analogy of the law of hereditary fuc-* ceffion, that whenever the fovereign was incapable of exercifing the functions of his high office, the heir apparent, if of full age and capacity, had as indisputable a claim to the exercife of the executive authority, in the name and on the behalf of the fovereign, during his incapacity, as in the cafe of his natural demife."

Mr. Pitt, eager to feize any occafion of poftponing, by the intervention of extraneous queftions, the ultimate decifion, immediately rofe with much apparent warmth, and declared, “that the affertion which had been made by Mr. Fox was little fhort of TREASON against the CONSTITUTION. And he pledged himfelf to prove, that the heir apparent, in the inftances in queftion, had no more right to the exercise of the executive power than ANY OTHER PERSON' and that it belonged entirely to the two remaining branches of the legislature, to make fuch a provision for fupplying the temporary deficiency as they might think proper." Thus was this famous queftion at iffue between thefe two great political rivals; in which it was remarka

ble,

ble, that Mr. Fox, the great advocate of the rights of the people, became the defender of prerogative; and Mr. Pitt, who had been loudly accused of deserting the principles of liberty, appeared in the advantageous light of their intrepid and zealous affertor. All thofe popular arguments and primary axioms of government, on which the friends of freedom fo juftly delight to dwell, were upon this occafion urged by Mr. Pitt with the greatest fuccefs. "When the regular exercise of the powers of govern、ment was from any caufe fufpended, to whom could the right of providing a remedy for the exifting defect devolve but to the people, from whom all the powers of government originated? To affert an inherent right in the prince of Wales to affume the government, was virtually to revive thofe exploded ideas of the divine and indefeafible authority of princes, which had so justly funk into contempt and almost into oblivion. Kings and princes derive their power from the people, and to the people alone, through the organ of their reprefentatives, did it appertain to decide in cafes for which the conftitution had made no fpecific or pofitive provifion." In vain was every effort attempted to ftem the tide of popular opinion, which ran with no lefs violence at this crifis in favor of Mr. Pitt, than at the commencement of his minifterial career. In vain was it urged, that the primary principles of government were not the fubjects of the prefent controversy. The queftion was fimply, to determine what the analogy of the conftitution required in a cafe wherein no recourse could be had to authoritative precedents or to legal decifions. The conftitutional authority of parliament to provide for the fafety of the nation, in an exigency like the prefent, must be univerfally acknowledged. But the doubt was, whether, in the appointment of a regent, they were to exercise a judicial or an elective authority. If the former, the bufinefs was at an end; for they must neceffarily adjudge the regency to the prince. But if they were Cc 2

to