afterward say upon the whole debate, as it falls in before this honourable House; and therefore, in the further prosecution of what I have to say, I shall insist upon a few particulars, very necessary to be understood before we enter into the detail of so important a matter.

I shall therefore, in the first place, endeavour to encourage a free and full deliberation, without animosities and heats. In the next place, I shall endeavour to make an inquiry into the nature and source of the unnatural and dangerous divisions that are now on foot within this isle, with some motives showing that it is our interest to lay them aside at this time. And all this with all deference, and under the correction of this honourable House.

My Lord Chancellor, the greatest honour that was done unto a Roman was to allow him the glory of a triumph; the greatest and most dishonourable punishment was that of a parricide. He that was guilty of parricide was beaten with rods upon his naked body till the blood gushed out of all the veins of his body; then he was sewed up in a leathern sack called a culeus, with a cock, a viper, and an ape, and thrown headlong into the sea.

to undertake the most unpopular measure last. If his Grace succeed in this affair of a union, and that it prove for the happiness and welfare of the nation, then he justly merits to have a statue of gold erected for himself; but if it shall tend to the entire destruction and abolition of our nation, and that we, the nation's trustees, shall go into it, then I must say that a whip and a bell, a cock, a viper, and an ape, are but too small punishments for any such bold unnatural undertaking and complaisance.

1. That I may pave the way, my Lord, to a full, calm, and free reasoning upon this affair, which is of the last consequence unto this nation, I shall mind this honourable House that we are the successors of those noble ancestors who founded our monarchy, framed our laws, amended, altered, and corrected them from time to time, as the affairs and circumstances of the nation did require, without the assistance or advice of any foreign power or potentate, and who, during the time of two thousand years, have handed them down to us, a free independent nation, with the hazard of their lives and fortunes. Shall not we, then, argue for that which our progenitors have purchased for us at so dear a

In a triumph, my Lord, when the conqueror was riding in his triumphal chariot, crowned with laurels, adorned with trophies, and applauded with huzzas, there was a monitor appointed to stand behind him to warn him not to be high-minded nor puffed up with overweening thoughts of himself; and to his chariot were tied a whip and a bell, to remind him that, notwithstanding all his glory and grandeur, he was accountable to the people for his administration, and would be punished as other men if found guilty.

The greatest honour among us, my Lord, is to represent the sovereign's sacred person [as High Commissioner] in Parliament; and in one particular it appears to be greater than that of a triumph, because the whole legislative power seems to be entrusted with him. If he give the royal assent to an act of the estates, it becomes a law obligatory upon the subject, though contrary to or without any instructions from the sovereign. If he refuse the royal assent to a vote in Parliament, it cannot be a law, though he has the sovereign's particular and positive instructions for it.

His Grace the Duke of Queensberry, who now represents her Majesty in this session of Parliament, hath had the honour of that great trust as often, if not more, than any Scotchman ever had. He hath been the favourite of two successive sovereigns; and I cannot but commend his constancy and perseverance, that, notwithstanding his former difficulties and unsuccessful attempts, and maugre some other specialities not yet determined, his Grace has yet had the resolution

glory? God forbid! Shall the hazard of a father unbind the ligaments of a dumb son's tongue? and shall we hold our peace when our patria, our country, is in danger?* I say this, my Lord, that I may encourage every individual member of this House to speak his mind freely. There are many wise and prudent men among us who think it not worth their while to open their mouths; there are others who can speak very well, and to good purpose, who shelter themselves under the shameful cloak of silence, from a fear of the frowns of great men and parties. I have observed, my Lord, by my experience, the greatest number of speakers in the most trivial affairs; and it will always prove so while we come not to the right understanding of the oath de fideli, whereby we are bound not only to give our vote but our faithful advice in Parliament, as we should answer to God. And in our ancient laws the representatives of the honourable barons and the royal boroughs are termed "spokesmen." It lies upon your Lordships, therefore, particularly to take notice of such whose modesty makes them bashful to speak. Therefore I shall leave it upon you, and conclude this point with a very memorable saying of an honest private gentleman to a great queen, upon occasion of a state project, contrived by an able statesmen, and the favourite to a great king, against a peaceful obedient people, because of the diversity of their laws and constitutions: "If at this time thou hold thy peace, salvation shall come to the people from another

* In allusion to the story of Croesus and his dumb child, as related by Herodotus.

place, but thou and thy house shall perish." I leave the application to each particular member of this House.*

2. My Lord, I come now to consider our divisions. We are under the happy reign, blessed be God, of the best of queens, who has no evil design against the meanest of her subjects; who loves all her people, and is equally beloved by them again; and yet, that under the happy influence of our most excellent Queen, there should be such divisions and factions, more dangerous and threatening to her dominions than if we were under an arbitrary government, is most strange and unaccountable. Under an arbitrary prince all are willing to serve, because all are under a necessity to obey, whether they will or not. He chooses, therefore, whom he will, without respect to either parties or factions; and if he think fit to take the advice of his councils or parliaments, every man speaks his mind freely, and the prince receives the faithful advice of his people, without the mixture of self-designs. If he prove a good prince, the government is easy; if bad, either death or a revolution brings a deliverance, whereas here, my Lord, there appears no end of our misery, if not prevented in time. Factions are now become independent, and have got footing in councils, in parliaments, in treaties, in armies, in incorporations, in families, among kindred; yea, man and wife are not free from their political jars.

It remains, therefore, my Lord, that I inquire into the nature of these things; and since the names give us not the right idea of the thing, I am afraid I shall have difficulty to make myself well understood.

a piece of some mixed drugget of different threads; some finer, some coarser, which, after all, make a comely appearance and an agreeable suit. Tory is like a piece of loyal home-made English cloth, the true staple of the nation, all of a thread; yet if we look narrowly into it, we shall perceive a diversity of colours, which, according to the various situations and positions, make various appearances. Sometimes Tory is like the moon in its full; as appeared in the affair of the Bill of Occasional Conformity. Upon other occasions, it appears to be under a cloud, and as if it were eclipsed by a greater body; as it did in the design of calling over the illustrious Princess Sophia. However, by this we may see their designs are to outshoot Whig in his own bow.

Whig, in Scotland, is a true blue Presbyterian, who, without considering time or power, will venture his all for the Kirk, but something less for the State. The greatest difficulty is how to describe a Scotch Tory. Of old, when I knew them first, Tory was an honest-hearted, comradish fellow, who, provided he was maintained and protected in his benefices, titles, and dignities, by the State, was the less anxious who had the government of the Church. But now, what he is since jure divino came in fashion, and that Christianity, and by consequence salvation, comes to depend upon Episcopal ordination, I profess I know not what to make of him; only this I must say for him, that he endeavours to do by opposition that which his brother in England endeavours by a more prudent and less scrupulous method.

Now, my Lord, from these divisions there has got up a kind of aristocracy, something like the famous triumvirate at Rome. They are a kind of undertakers and pragmatic statesmen, who, finding their power and strength great, and answerable to their designs, will make bargains

"An appeal is here made, not merely to those members of Parliament who were at first awed into silence by the authority of the Court, but to the Squadroné Volanté, or Flying Squadron, a party headed by the Marquis of Tweeddale, who held the balance of power, and were accustomed to throw themselves, during the progress of a debate, on that side where they could gain most. This party had thus far maintained a cautious silence, and the object of Lord Belhaven was to urge them, under the pressure of a general and indignant public sentiment, to declare themselves at once on the popular side, before the influence of the Court had time to operate through patronage or bribery."-C. A. Goodrich,

faithfully, but upon their own terms; they must have their own instruments, their own measures. This man must be turned out, and that man put in, and then they will make her the most glorious queen in Europe.

Where will this end, my Lord? Is not her Majesty in danger by such a method? Is not the monarchy in danger? Is not the nation's peace and tranquillity in danger? Will a change of parties make the nation more happy? No, my Lord. The seed is sown that is like to afford us a perpetual increase. It is not an annual herb, it takes deep root; it seeds and breeds; and if not timely prevented by her Majesty's royal endeavours, will split the whole island in

two.

3. My Lord, I think, considering our present circumstances at this time, the Almighty God has reserved this great work for us. We may bruise this hydra of division, and crush this cockatrice's egg. Our neighbours in England

ours are either subjected to new regulations, or annihilated for ever! And for what? Only that we may have the honour to pay their old debts; and may have some few persons present [in Parliament] as witnesses to the validity of the deed, when they are pleased to contract more!

Good God! What? Is this an entire surrender? My Lord, I find my heart so full of grief and indignation, that I must beg pardon not to finish the last part of my discourse: but pause that I may drop a tear as the prelude to so sad a story !*

MAY 11, 1723.+

LET me speak, my Lords (always, I hope, with that modesty which becomes an accused person, but yet) with the freedom of an Englishman. Had nothing been opened to you concerning this man's character and secret transactions, could you possibly have believed the romantic tales he has told? Could this pretender to secrets have had, or shall he still have, any weight with your Lordships, who threw away his life rather than venture to stand to the truth of what he had said? Shall this man do more mischief by his death than he could have done if living? for then he could have been confronted, puzzled, and confounded; shame and consciousness might have made him unsay what he had said. But a dead man can retract nothing. What he has written he has written; the accusation must stand just as it is; and we are deprived of the advantages of those confessions, which truth and remorse had once extorted, and would again have extorted from him.

However, I should have been glad to have all that even this witness said, and would have hoped that, by a comparison of the several parts of the story he at several times told, some light might have been gained that is now wanting, particularly by the knowledge of what he said freely and voluntarily, and in good humour, before his rough usage upon his return from Deal had frightened him into new confession. But I think we have the evidence only of a few of the last days of his life. All the preceding time, when he was most in favour and confidence *“This fervent appeal had no effect. The Treaty of

Union was ratified by a majority of thirty-three out of two hundred and one members. That it was carried by bribery is now matter of history. Documents have been brought to light, showing that the sum of £20,000 was sent to Queensberry for this purpose by the English ministers; and the names of those to whom the money was paid, belonging chiefly to the Squadroné,

are given in full.”—C. A. Goodrich.

† Atterbury had been apprehended and committed to the Tower on suspicion of being concerned in a plot to restore the Pretender, and the above is part of an eloquent speech in his own defence.

of it; and yet, it is said, he underwent frequent examinations during that time. But they were not, it seems, so maturely weighed and digested as to be thought worth being committed to writing.

But he is gone to his place, and has answered for what he has said at another tribunal. I desire not to blemish his character any further than is absolutely necessary to my own just defence.

Our law has taken care that there should be a more clear and full proof of treason than of any other crime whatsoever. And reasonable it is, that a crime, attended with the highest penalties, should be made out by the clearest and fullest evidence. And yet here is a charge of high treason brought against me, not only without full evidence, but without any evidence at all, i.e., any such evidence as the law of the land knows and allows. And what is not evidence at law (pardon me for what I am going to say) can never be made such, in order to punish what is past, but by a violation of the law. For the law, which prescribes the nature of the proof required, is as much the law of the land as that which declares the crime; and both must join to convict a man of guilt. And it seems equally unjust to declare any sort of proof legal, which was not so before a prosecution commenced for any act done, as it would be to declare the act itself ex post facto to be criminal.

Now there never was a charge of so high a nature so strongly pressed, and so weakly supported--supported, not by any living or dead witness, speaking from his own knowledge, but by mere hearsays and reports from others, contradicted by the very persons from whom they are said to be derived-supported not by any one criminal deed proved to have been done, not by any one criminal line proved to have been either written or received, not even by any one criminal word proved to have been spoken by me; but by intercepted letters in a correspondence, to which it appears not that I was, and to which it is certain that I was not privy; some of these letters shewn to have been contrived with a design of fastening them upon me, as a