proceedings with the colonies, and which they infidioufly interpreted as the effects of timidity, became thereby, in a great degree, productive of the prefent fatal confequences.

It was afferted, that the Americans had long been aiming at independency; and that as foon as they thought themselves able, and a pretence occurred, they infolently and openly avowed their eagerness to put the defign in execution; that it was our bufinefs and duty as Englishmen, at any price and at any hazard to prevent its completion; to crush the moniter in its birth; to bring them back, before it is too late, to a fenfe of their duty, their condition, and their obligations to us; to a proper remembrance, that their prefent potency, the excess of their greatnefs and riches, is the confequence of our favour; and that their very existence has been purchased by us at an immenfe expence of blood and treasure. That the danger was immediate and preffing; and that, regardless of confequences, we mult encounter it like men; that every moment's delay increafes the evil, and it would be highly criminal to our country, as well as an act of the most confummate bafenefs and cowardice, by a mean temporizing to fhift it off from ourselves, and leave it in all its accumulative bulk and weight, to drop upon the heads of our pofterity.

Many of the acts and refolutions of the continental congrefs, with paffages from their petition, and inftances from the general proceedings of the Americans, were brought to juftify the fentiments, corroborate the affertions, and enforce the arguments that were used upon this

occafion. The dangers from foreign powers fupporting the Americans was faid to be imaginary; befides the moft pacific affurances, thofe, of whom we might be with reafon most apprehenfive, were too much interested in colony matters, to give any fupport to a refiftance, which might in its example be fo ruinous to themfelves. It was ftill contended by feveral of thofe who opposed the motion, that an appearance of vigorous measures, with fome reinforcement to the troops at Boston, would prove fufficient to quell the difturbances in America, without the drawing of blood, or coming to any of thofe extremities, which had been so often predicted, and pathetically lamented on the other fide. They feemed ftill to fuppofe, that the friends of government were much ftronger and more numerous, than there is any reafon at prefent to think they really were; and that they were prevented from declaring themfelves, partly from the fudden violence of the difcontented, and partly from a want of mutual dependance, and knowledge of each others fentiments.

On the other fide, the addrefs was ftigmatized as cruel, fanguinary and unjust; that fuppofing fome acts to have been committed, which might have borne the conftruction of rebellion in the ftrict rigour of the law, it would ftill have been more humane, more politic, and more becoming the wisdom of the legislature, not to have feen them in that fenfe; to give paffion time to fubfide, and reafon to operate, than by fuch a rash, hafty, and violent meafure, to fet, themselves, the example of intemperance, and drive men headlong to defiance and defperation.

It was denied that the Americans had either fought or wifhed for independeney; though it was too much to be feared, from the prefent complexion of the times, that through our violence and our madness, we should at length urge them to that extremity. It was afked, from whence we could form any judgment of the thoughts and intentions of men, but from their actions and their words? By the first of thefe, which are indeed the tefts of the human difpofition, the Americans have given the ftrongeft and moft unequivocal demonftrations of their filial piety towards the mother-country; they have fought and bled by our fide. In the time of neceffity, they did not wait to be chilled by confulting the cold rules of prudence, as the meafure of the fupport and affiftance which they were to give us; with liberal hearts, they gave every thing; our journals, in the fame inftance, bear witness to our own jaftice, and to their liberality.

Nor are their words lefs unequivocal than their actions. Even in the midst of the prefent difturbances; when our minifters have excited innumerable fears and jealoufies, and by every provocation fcrewed their paffions up even to madness; yet in this ftate of difraction, they require no more for the restoration of harmony, than to be placed in the fame fituation that they were in at the clofe of the last war,

It was faid, that waving all queftions upon the right of taxation, wife governments had ever paid a respect even to prejudices of a long flanding, when they were established among great bodies of the people; that the Americans had been nurfed up in a long feries of years,

in ideas of certain rights, of which, the electing of their own reprefentatives, and the difpofal of their money for the public fervice only through them, were among the principal. That if this was an error, the crown and parliament were equally faulty with the Americans, having in their whole conduct conftantly nourished the delufion. That at the time of the repeal of the stamp act, two of the first names of this kingdom, for ability, as well as for legal knowledge, befides many others, utterly denied the right of taxation; yet inftead of any ftigma for the holding of thofe opinions, which are now to be construed into rebellion, the Americans faw, immediately after, one of thofe great men not only placed at the head of public affairs, but the framer of a whole administration, and the other appointed to the highest civil office under the crown, and what is emphatically called the keeper of the king's confcience. Was it then to be wondered at, that the Americans, with fuch authorities on their fide, fhould be tenacious of a right fo invaluable in its nature, which has been at all times confidered as the diflinction between freemen and flaves, which had been confirmed by fo long a prefcription, and upon which, to this inftant, the wifest and honefteft men, even in the mother country, are divided in opinion.

It was further urged, that if conqueft was determined, the force intended, which the minifter rated at about ten thousand men, was totally inadequate to the end. But that waving that point, and fuppofing we should fucceed in conquering the Americans, the colonies muft of courfe

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be ruined in the conflict, the vaft and profitable trade, which depended upon them loit, and as no future means could be devised for their government, without the continual intervention of a large military force, this nation would ever after be faddled with a very great and certain expence, while the refources that fhould provide for it were wantonly cut off. But if we imagined that the powers of Europe would fit ftill during this contest, we mat fuppofe a fyftem of policy now to prevail, or rather an extenfion of folly, all over Europe, which never before was known in any period of its existence.

It was remarkable in this debate, that a gentleman high in of fice declared, that his ideas upon the fubject differed totally from those which in the prefent debate feemed to be adopted by the noble lord at the head of adminiftration; that he could not give his affent to a measure, at the very thoughts of which his foul fhuddered; that he difapproved of the whole fyftem with respect to America; and with ed it to be reconfidered in every point of view, left wrong and oppreffion fhould render relittance juftifiable. He obferved, that though fome perfons leis refponfible had uniformly perfevered in a ftyle of the mott inflexible rigour, that noble perfon at the head of the finances had frequently changed his language, and feemed to uffer under great occafional depreffion; that he even declared at times, that he did not mean to tax America; and feeming befides 10 speak but flightly of the right of taxation, and giving fome intimation even of con enting to a repeal of the tea duty, that we were

then contending only about words and quiddities, and entering into a ruinous war without an object.

Much il temper appeared in every part of the Houle, in the courfe of both theie debates. The minifters were charged with acting uniformly and fyftematically upon Tory and arbitrary principles, which were fubverfive of the conftitution, deftructive of the rights of the people, and had thrown the whole empire into a state of con fufion and diftraction. That by a pursuance of thefe difgraceful and ruinous meafures, they had tarnifhed the luftre of the crown, alienated the affections of the people, and funk the nation, from the highest pinnacle of power and glory, to a degree of contempt in

the estimation of the reft of Europe, which, only a few years ago, it would have been deemed impoffible for the accumulated misfortunes and difgraces of an age to have accomplished. But that in the true fpirit of a Tory adminiftration, they had facrificed the honour and intereft of the nation in all tranfactions with foreigners, and ref rved all the fpirit, the pride, the diguity, and the force of government, to be played off againft the liberties of the people at home. They were repeatedly told, that a bitter day of retribution would inevitably come, when they muft answer to the juftice of their country, for the mischiefs they had already done, and for the irretrievable ruin into which they were plunging the nation. In a word, it was faid, that the short and fimple queftion before the Houfe was, whether we should lose cur colonies, or give up our mini

On the other fide, all the evils and disturbances in America, were by charge or implication attributed to the oppofition. Much was faid about faction at home, a republican fpirit and principles, and that the Americans were fpirited up to their violence and rebellion, by incendiary writers and fpeakers in England. In the course of this violence and heat, a gentleman, having fpoken fomething of Catalines at home, who ought to be dragged forth to public disgrace and punishment, was called to from the other fide to point them out; and told, that the imputation was undoubt. edly right, but he feemed to mifplace it; that if he meant by Catalines, those who were involving their country in all the horrors and miseries of a civil war, they could be easily found; but it would be on that fide where he did not with the fearch to be made.

After a debate which continued till half an hour past two o'clock in the morning, the queftion being at length put, the motion for the recommitment of the addrefs was rejected by nearly the former majority, the numbers upon the divifion being 288 againft, to 105, who fupported the motion.

Feb. 7th. the A conference was held the next day with the lords, at the request of the commons, to propofe their joining in the addrefs. In the mean time, a petition from the merchants of London, concerned in the commerce to North America; and another from the Weft India merchants and planters, were prefented to the Marquis of Rockingbam, to be laid before the lords by that nobleman, previous to their entering upon American affairs.

Whether the eafe with which petitions had been rendered fruitless in the other houfe, had encouraged a fimilar difpofition to render them equally ineffectual here, we shall not pretend to fay, but however it was, or from whatever cause it proceeded, this period feemed particularly fatal to that mode of application for redrefs.

The lords being returned from the conference, and the prefident having made the report and read the addrefs, the Marquis of Rockingham ftood up to introduce and prefent the petitions; but the noble Earl at the head of the American department having rifen to speak at the fame time, a great difpute arose who should be the first heard. In this ftate of confufion, the lord keeper, inftead of deciding by his own eye or opinion, put the queftion, whether the lord in adminiftration fhould be then heard? This proceeding called up a noble Duke on the other fide, who infifted, that it was a moft flavish pofition, and unworthy their rank and character, that any lord in that house, fhould have a preference to any other; and ftill more fo, to render that preference the act of the house, by putting it to the queftion. The difpute was now brought into the form of a regular debate, in which, on one fide, the importance and nature of the fubject which the marquis had to propose, was faid, independent of any other causes, to entitle it to a preference; and the neceffity and justice of their accepting the merchants petitions, and hearing their allegations, before they entered into any refolutions upon American affairs, were strongly urged. It was alledged, that they not only fat there in their legislative,

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legiflative, but in their judicial capacity, and were therefore bound by all the ties of juftice, as well as of official duty, to obtain every poffible light and information upon the fubject before them. That the pretence of delay, or lofs of time, could not avail in this inftance, as there was nothing dependent, on the addrefs, which required any fudden refolution. But if there even were, a matter which involved in its confequences, not only the juftice of the Houfe, but the interefts and fafety of the nation, fhould not be haftily nor unadvifedly decided upon, nor fhould a mere attention to forms, fuppofing them to be established or authenticated, be deemed a fufficient caufe for cutting off the means of information.

On the other fide, the method of ftating and propofing the queftion was juftified by fome precedents, most of which were brought from the houfe of commons; and it was contended, that the chairman in either house, had a right, either to decide immediately upon the queftion, or to ftate it in fuch manner, and to propose such party as he pleased; that the propofed mode of proceeding on the petitions, while the other bufinefs was before them, was unufual and unparliamentary; and that independent of all other causes, the preference upon this occafion fhould be given to the noble lord in administration, as a mark of the refpect owing to the other branch of the legislature. The queftion being at length put, the motion was carried without a divifion.

Upon this decifion, the nobleman in whofe favour it was carried, made the usual motion, mere

ly for the fake of fecuring the occupancy of the ground, viz. That the blank which was left open in the addrefs prefented by the Commons, fhould be filled up by the infertion of those words "The Lords Spiritual and Temporal," &c. which were to render that inftrument the joint act of both Houses.

The Marquis then acquainted the Houfe with the nature and great importance of the petitions which he had to prefent; that they were immediately relative to the bufinefs under confideration; and were well worthy of arrefting any determination of theirs, for at least one day, being certain, that within that fhort period, information of infinite confequence would be laid before them; perhaps fufficient to alter, or at least to soften the rigour of thofe meafures, which they were now madly, haftily, and blindly proceeding to adopt. That to remove every doubt of their being intended, either to gain time, or to caufe delay, he was authorized by the Weft India merchants to inform them, that if neceffitated fo to do, they were ready, without counfel or further preparation, inftantly to offer evidence to prove, that feveral of the Weft-India iflands could not be able to fubfift after the operation of the proposed addrefs in America. He then faid, that as a queftion was now before the Houfe, which must be first difpofed of, before the matter of the petitions could come regularly under their cognizance, and as he ftill hoped they would be willing to hear the petitioners, as men fuffering under the heaviest misfortunes, none of which could be attributed to their own mifconduct,

he