HISTORY OF THE REIGN

OF

GEORGE THE THIRD.

CHAPTER XI.

THE sensations excited by the American contest communicated to Ireland, and the spirit of opposition to the measures of government, which had so long prevailed in the city of London, extended in some measure to Dublin. In both capitals the party favourable to congress appeared on the increase, and the affairs of America becoming more unpromising, the perplexities of ministers, harassed by the unceasing efforts of opposition, were daily augmented. The first important discussion in Parliament, after the recess, arose from the following circumstance. The Earl of Harcourt, lord-lieutenant of Ireland, had sent a written message to the House of Commons, containing a requisition, in the King's name, of 4000 troops from thence for the American service, not to be paid by the Irish establishment during their absence, and, if desired by them, to be replaced by an equal number of foreign Protestant troops, the charges of which should be defrayed without any expense to Ireland. The Commons granted 4000 men, but rejected the offer of foreign troops, rather

wishing to embody the militia for their internal defence. This liberty of disposing of the public money without the knowledge of the British House of Commons, was considered by some as a stretch of power which ought not to be passed over in silence, and on the 15th of February, Mr. Thomas Townsend moved "that the Earl of Harcourt was herein chargeable with a breach of privilege, and had acted in derogation of the authority of the British House of Commons; and that a committee be appointed to inquire into the same." It was stated, on the other hand, that the measure was in exact conformity to that ancient and acknowledged prerogative, by which the crown, upon any emergency, raised troops of its own will, and then applied to Parliament for the payment, or entered into treaties for the same purpose with foreign princes, and pledged the national faith for a due performance of the articles. The motion for a committee to inquire into the matter of complaint was rejected by a majority of 224 to 106; and some other motions for laying the votes of the Irish Parliament, relative to this business, before the House, and for passing a censure on the lord-lieutenant's conduct, were negatived without a division.

The treaties entered into with the Duke of Brunswick, the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, and the Count of Hanau, for hiring about 17,000 of their troops for the American service, were laid before Parliament by Lord North, who moved, on the 29th of February, to refer these compacts to the committee of supply, which occasioned a long and warm debate. The opposition contended that nothing could be more disgraceful to Great Britain, than to be obliged to apply to the petty princes of Germany for succours to enable her to subdue her own subjects, and insisted

on the danger of the measure, the expense attending the troops, and the little probability of their success. On the tendency of the example to induce the Americans to form alliances with foreign powers, it was strongly urged, that the colonists had hitherto ventured to commit themselves singly in this arduous contest, but it could not be doubted, that in future they would think themselves fully justified, both by our example and the laws of self-preservation, to engage foreigners to assist them in opposing those mercenaries, whom we were about to transport for their destruction. Nor was it doubtful that, in case of their application, European powers, of a rank far superior to that of those petty princes to whom we so abjectly sued for aid, would consider themselves to be equally entitled to interfere in the quarrel between us and our colonies. With regard to the expense in particular, it was said, that the German princes had set no bounds to their extortions: they were to have levy money at the rate of above 77. a man; the troops were to enter into pay before they began to march; the princes had even the modesty to demand a double subsidy, which, in one instance, was to be continued for two years after the return of the troops to their respective countries. The ministry, in reply, entered fully into the defence of the measure, arguing that the terms were substantially the same as those of former treaties, by which Great Britain had obtained foreign troops for purposes of infinitely less national importance than the present; that the suddenness of the requisition, with the disagreeable circumstances attending this service, would have warranted higher demands and that even supposing such a number of forces could have been speedily raised at home, it could not be expected that raw and undisciplined troops, who had

never seen any service, and who were not yet hardened to any change of food, climate, or habits of life, could answer the purpose so well as tried veterans, whose constitutional and military habits were already formed. The inconvenience and loss of withdrawing so many useful hands from husbandry and manufactures were also urged, adding, that the expense in that case would not end with the war, but that the nation would be saddled with the heavy and lasting incumbrance of the half-pay establishment of near thirty battalions: so that, in every point of view, those treaties would be found equally prudent and necessary. The debate continued till two o'clock next morning, when the question being put on the minister's motion, it was carried by a majority of 242 to 88. In the course of debate the general principle of letting out subjects on hire, to fight in the cause of foreigners, was severely censured. Lord Irnham observed, "I shall say little to the feelings of those princes who can sell their subjects for such purposes. We have read of the humourist Sancho's wish, that if he were a prince, all his subjects should be black-a-moors, as he could, by the sale of them, easily turn them into ready money; but that wish, however it may appear ridiculous, and unbecoming a sovereign, is much more innocent than a prince's availing himself of his vassals for the purpose of sacrificing them in such a destructive war, where he has the additional crime of making them destroy much better and nobler beings than themselves.' The subject was again agitated on receiving the report from the committee of supply on the 4th of March; and with still greater vehemence next day in the House of Lords, where the Duke of Richmond moved for an address to his Majesty, which,

"

besides several observations relative to the treaties, took in a comprehensive view of the situation of American affairs, and the consequences of a perseverance in the present measures, all tending to give. weight to a request, that his Majesty would be pleased to countermand the march of those foreign troops, and likewise give directions for an immediate suspension of hostilities in America, in order to lay a foundation for a happy and permanent reconciliation between the contending parts of the empire. The duke's motion being rejected by a majority of 100 to 32, the proposed address was entered on the journals in an unusual form, with the signatures of ten of the minority protesting against its rejection, but assigning no reason.

Among the various estimates and accounts which were referred to the committee of supply, the opposition directed their attacks particularly to that for defraying extraordinary expenses of the land forces, and other services incurred between the 9th of March, 1775, and the 31st of January, 1776, which amounted to 845,1657. Colonel Barré and Mr. Burke exerted all the powers of their eloquence, all the force of their wit and ridicule, in contrasting the most brilliant campaigns in English history with the exploits of the army at Boston: Marlborough's victories in the year 1704, and the conquest of Canada in 1760, were painted in glowing colours: Blenheim and the heights of Abraham were opposed to Lexington and Bunker's Hill; and the river Mystic was ludicrously placed in the same view with the Rhine and the Danube: the salvation of the German empire, the ruin of an ambitious power which had been for half a century the Scourge and terror of Europe, the security and enlargement of the British dominions in North America,