bill; but whatever might be its fate, he would be bold to affirm, that sooner or later the reform so repeatedly denied WOULD and MUST be given." Mr. Flood remarked, " that when his first bill of reform was presented to that house, the objection was, that it was presented on the point of a bayonet-the air drawn-dagger of Macbeth had appeared to the affrightened imagination and confcience of the house. These apprehenfions had at length subsided; a more favorable treatment might now therefore be reasonably expected. At least he called on the house to permit the printing of the bill, that the voice of the public might be heard respecting it; and not, like mutes in a feraglio, to strangle it on that day while in the act of challenging a fair and free trial and difcuffion." The bill was nevertheless with little ceremony rejected, on a division of 112 to 60 voices.

It is now proper to revert to the state of affairs in England, On the 24th of January (1785) the seffion was opened with a speech from the throne, the principal feature of which was the recommendation of the king to the two houses of parliament, " to apply their earnest attention to the adjustment of such points in the commercial intercourse between Great Britain and Ireland as are not yet finally arranged." The first business which attracted the notice of the house of commons was the state of the Westminster scrutiny, which had now existed for a period of eight months. In this time two parishes only had been scrutinized-the result was, that 105 votes had been struck off the poll of Mr. Fox, and 87 from that of fir Cecil Wray, the examination of which was not yet closed. Fifteen parishes more remained for future inveftigation, so that there existed but little apparent probability that the question relative to the return would be decided before the next general election. The miferable imbecility of what was now for the first time dignified by the appellation of the COURT OF SCRUTINY, was exposed

in

in the most sarcastic and contemptuous terms. The high bailiff had no power to fummon witnesses, to impose an oath, or to commit for contumacy. The scrutiny was evidently a mere personal act of revifion, and the high bailiff himself declared that he acted under the fole authority of the resolution of that house.

Mr. Pitt, however, condefcended to vindicate the proceedings of this mock judicature, and maintained with unaltered countenance, "that the expediency of the scrutiny was amply justified by the experiment." Mr. Fox, with generous and indignant warmth, replied, "that he well remembered the day when he congratulated the house on the acquisition of Mr. Pitt's splendid abilities; it had been his pride to fight in conjunction with him the battles of the constitution; he had been ever ready to recognize in the right hon. gentleman a formidable rival, who would leave him far behind in the pursuit of glory-but he had never expected that this rival would become his persecutor. He thought he had poffeffed an elevation of mind wholly incompatible with so low and grovelling a paffion. He confidered the present measure with regard to Westminster, as a fuccedaneum to expulfion. The case of the Middlesex election, so much reprobated, had at least the merit of being more manly; for the procedure now adopted accomplished the fame end of expulfion, without daring to exhibit any charge against the person expelled."

The motion of Mr. Welbore Ellis, "that the high bailiff do attend at the bar of this house," was at length negatived, February 9, (1785) by a majority of 174 to to 135 voices. This being fuch a majority as by no means difcouraged future efforts, a similar motion was foon after made by colonel Fitzpatrick; this was negatived by a majority of nine voices only. And on the 3d of March, being a third time repeated by Alderman Sawbridge it was carried in the affirmative, ayes 162, noes 124; leav

ing

ing the minister, and the veteran phalanx of courtiers and king's friends, in one of the most disgraceful minorities ever known in the British house of commons.

Mr. Fox now as member for Westminster moved to expunge the resolutions of the 8th of June last, relative - to this business, from the journals of the house; but the minister, now seriously alarmed, summoned all his strength to oppose this attempt to redeem the honor of the house thus willfully and wantonly degraded; and on a divifion it - was carried in the negative, ayes 139, noes 244. Fortunately for Mr. Pitt, the public attention was quickly turned to another and higher subject of political difcuffion, in which The appeared in a light far different-such indeed as tended to revive in his favor all the former flattering prepossefsions of those who viewed the late proceedings in parliament with inexpressible regret and astonishment.

On the 18th of April (1785) Mr. Pitt brought forward his final plan for a reform in the representation, in some degree varying from his preceding attempts, and in all respects guarded, temperate, and judicious. "He rose, he said, with hopes infinitely more sanguine than he had ventured to entertain at any former period. There never was a moment when the minds of men were more enlightened on this interesting topic, or more prepared for its discussion. He declared his present plan of reform to be perfectly coincident with the spirit of those changes which had taken place in the exercise of the elective franchise from the earliest ages, and not in the least allied to the spirit of innovation. So far back as the reign of Edward I. before which the component orders of the representative body could not be distinctly traced, the franchise of election had been constantly fluctuating. As one borough decayed and another flourished, the first was abolished and the second invested with the right. Even the representation of the counties had not been uniform. King James I. in his first proclamation for calling a parliament, liament, directed that the sheriffs should not call upon such decayed and ruined boroughs to fend members to that parliament. For this difcretion, as vefted in the crown, he was certainly no advocate; but he wished to establish a permanent rule to operate like the difcretion out of which the constitution had sprung-that the principle on which it was founded should be rescued from the accident and caprice in which it was unhappily involved. He wished to bring forward a plan that should be complete, gradual, and permanent; a plan that not only corrected the inequalities of the present system, but which would be competent to preserve the purity it restored, and give to the constitution not only confistency, but, if possible, immortality. It was his design that the actual number of the house of commons should be preserved inviolate. His immediate object was to felect a certain number of the decayed and rotten boroughs, the right of representation attached to thirty-fix of which should be transferred to the counties, in such proportions as the wisdom of parliament might prescribe; and that all unneceffary harshness might be avoided, he recommended the appropriation of a fund of one million to be applied to the purchasing of the franchise of fuch boroughs, on their voluntary application to parliament. When this was effected, he proposed to extend the bill to the purchasing the franchise of other boroughs, befides the original thirty-fix; and to transfer the right of returning members to large towns, hitherto unrepresented, upon their petiting parliament to be indulged with this privilege."

The other most important particulars of Mr. Pitt's plan were the admitting of copyholders to an equality with freeholders, and the extending the franchise in populous towns, where the electors were few, to the inhabitants in general. The result of this plan was to give one hundred members to the popular interest in the kingdom, and to extend the right of election to one hundred thoufand sand perfons, who, by the existing provisions of the law, were excluded from it. This was a very wife and excellently digested plan, which did great honor to the framer; and the eloquence, ability, and vigor, with which it was supported, left no reasonable ground of doubt as to the fincerity with which it was brought forward.

The most important animadversion in the course of the debate to which this motion gave rife, was made by Mr. Fox, who, justly remarking "that government was not a property, but a trust," strongly objected to the idea of purchasing franchises of boroughs, which from their infignificance were no longer entitled to send members to parliament-" whatever was given for constitutional purposes should be refumed when those purposes were no longer answered." With this and some other less important exceptions, Mr. Fox bestowed upon the plan of the minister a very just and liberal tribute of praise; and it yet remains a doubt, whether, upon the ground of expediency, Mr. Pitt was not fully justified in propofing that regulation which the more unaccommodating and decided policy of Mr. Fox disdained to approve.

On the other hand, the whole plan was reprobated and ridiculed by Mr. Powys, as " the mere knight-errantry of a political Quixote. It was an example, a precedent, an incitement, to the wildest and most paradoxical nostrums that speculative theorists could devise. They got by it what Archimedes wanted-a foundation for their inventions-a fulcrum from which they could throw the parliament and constitution of England into the air. He could not contemplate it with any degree of patience. He should not treat it, therefore, with the ceremony of calling for the order of the day; but as its purposes were fo hoftile to the constitution, so menacing and unqualified, he would meet the question in front by giving it a direct and unequivocal contradiction. It cannot be supposed, owing to the fuperior force of such arguments as these, that on a division,