afterwards raife discontents. I am willing to hope that neither my temper nor my fituation in life will be thought naturally to urge me to promote mifery, difcord, or confufion, or to exult in the fubverfion of order, or the ruin of property. Trust not, however, to my report: reflect, compare, and judge for yourselves. But under all these disheartening circumstances, I could yet entertain a cheerful hope, and undertake again the commiffion with alacrity as well as zeal, if I could fee any effectual steps taken to remove the original cause of the mischief: THEN THERE WOULD BE A HOPE. Till the purity of the constituent body, and thereby that of the representative, be restored, THERE IS NONE. I look upon restoring election and representation in fome degree-for I expect no miracles-to their orginal purity, to be that without which all other efforts will be vain and ridiculous."

For the accomplishment of this most important purpose, he concludes with expreffing his earnest wish, "that whatever is thought of may be pursued with that true spirit of firmness and moderation which belongs to the cause of justice; and above all, that by every means that can be devised, a good understanding and union may be infured amongst respectable men of all ranks and defcriptions, who agree in the main principles of liberty, whatever differences may fubfift in smaller points, or in matters not calling for immediate difcuffion."

At the meeting of the new parliament, Mr. Cornwall was, for reafons which require no comment, chosen speaker of the house of commons in the room of fir Fletcher Norton, on a division of 203 voices to 134. The KING, in his opening speech, declared "his fatisfaction in having an opportunity, by the recent election, of receiving the most certain information of the difpofition and wishes of his people, to which he was ALWAYS inclined to pay the UTMOST ATTENTION! He acknowledged the arduous situation of public affairs; but the late fignal successes of his arms in VOL. II. Georgia

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Georgia and Carolina would, he trusted, have important consequences, in bringing the war to a happy conclufion." An amendment to the address, consisting in the omiffion of several complimentary paragraphs, was moved in the houfe of commons by Mr. Thomas Grenville.

The BLESSINGS of his majesty's reign being recognised in the proposed addrefs, in high-flown terms, as inspiring sentiments of reverence and gratitude, Mr. Fox declared, " that in this part of the address he could not concur, as he was yet to learn what those BLESSINGs were. The present reign had been one continued tissue of disgrace, misfortune and calamity. As to the honourable mention made of the late successes in America, and of the gallant officers by whom they had been obtained, he should answer, that he would not concur in applauding his own brother, who was now serving in America, for any success he might obtain. He never had joined, and as long as he lived he never would join, in a vote of thanks to any officer, whose laurels were gathered in the American war; for he regarded that war as the fountain-head of all the mischief and mifery under which this country now labored: and he was well convinced that the ministerial profpects of fuccess, however transiently flattering, would be closed in disappointment and delusion." The address, as originally moved, was at length carried by a majority of 69 voices, which when compared with the majorities of foriner times afforded some faint gleam of hope that better days were gradually, though flowly approaching.

Nothing meriting specific notice passed in either house previous to the recess of parliament; but on the 25th of January 1781, two days only after they had re-affembled, lord North delivered to the house of commons a message from the king, in which his majesty acquainted them, "that, during the recess of parliament, he had been obliged to direct letters of marque and general reprisal to be issued against the states general of the united provinces.

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For the caufes and motives of his conduct he referred to his public manifesto, which, with various other papers, he had ordered to be laid before the house." At the close of a long speech, justificatory of the late measures of government, lord North moved, "That an address be presented to his majesty, assuring him that the house would, with a firm and determined resolution, support the juft and neceffary war against Holland, for the maintenance of the honor of his crown, and the rights and interests of his people." This motion was seconded by lord Lewisham; but it was not carried without a long and animated debate, in which Mr. Thomas Townshend, afterwards created lord Sydney, particularly distinguished himself. He feverely censured "the late long adjournment, which was only calculated to free the executive government from the control and inspection of parliament, who had now only to ratify what the rafhness of ministers had most unadvifedly done. In this manner had the house been led into the American war, that fatal fource of all our calamities. In this manner had the French rescript been announced; and afterwards the Spanish refcript; and at length the declaration of war against Holland, our antient and natural ally. Year after year had the minister acquainted the house with a new enemy, but never had he yet brought them the welcome information of a new friend. Much had been faid of the provocations we had received from Holland, and the predominance of a French interest in that country-but had Holland received no provocation from us? The infolence of the British memorial presented to the states in 1777, contributed more than any thing else to the prevalence of the French faction in Holland. It had been stated, as a ferious ground of offence, that Holland had not complied with the requifition of troops, which, by treaty, she had engaged to furnish. But it was notorious, that, in the event of this compliance, Holland would have been immediately invaded by France; and, in conformity

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conformity with the fame treaties, we must then have sent a much greater aid to the assistance of the republic. If the Dutch at the present period had changed their political system respecting this country, it was owing to the criminal conduct of an administration, who had precipitated us into a war, whence all our misfortunes had arifen. In consequence of that war, our American commerce was lost; and could it be a matter of surprise that the Dutch, a people who existed by commerce, should be defirous to fecure a share of it? We were abandoned not by the Dutch only, but by all the powers of Europe, who were all equally convinced, that, under the present wretched administration of affairs, whoever became the ally of Great Britain would only share in her disgrace and her misfortunes."

In the house of lords, the duke of Richmond, lord Shelburne, and lord Camden inculcated the fame ideas with great animation and ability. "As to what was called the treaty between Holland and America," lord Camden said, " it was the mere unauthorised act of Van Berkel, and betrayed neither directly nor indirectly any intention in the states general of an hoftile nature. It did not even appear that they knew any thing of this man or his colleagues; and much less that they had determined to ratify this pretended treaty, or project of a treaty, by which no one was bound, and no one could be injured."

His lordship contrasted the conduct of the prefent minifters to the states general, with that of lord Chatham, who, in the zenith of his victories, had never deviated from the line of respect and moderation. "He was too wife and magnanimous, whatever might be the causes of complaint, to adopt the style and language of that provoking, arrogant, and indecent memorial, to which, more than to any other circumstance whatever, the fubfequent conduct of the republic might be attributed. His lordship was of opinion, that the manifesto against Holland ought not to receive the fanction of their lordships, till stronger evidence evidence were produced of the neceffity, justice, and policy of that measure: and, if no better grounds of hoftility should be the result of a more particular enquiry, parliament would be bound to order immediate reparation and fatisfaction to be given for the injury already sustained by Holland; and an end would be of course put to the farther profecution of hoftilities."

In both houses, nevertheless, the addresses were carried by great majorities; but the dissentient peers recorded their objections in a strong and vigorous protest. Their lordships declare, " that they can never believe a rupture so contrary to the uniform and approved policy of our ableft statefmen can have become neceffary, on our part, without gross mismanagement in our councils; and that honest and able ministers might have prevented this, amongst other wretched confequences of the unfortunate American war." The states general themselves, in their countermemorial, affirm, " that the plan or project of a treaty with America, which had excited, to such a degree, the difpleasure of the king of England, although it depended altogether on the anterior recognition of American independence, had been, however, without hesitation, difayowed by them. But the punishment insisted upon was not within their power, and they could not affent to it, without striking at the root of the fundamental conftitution of the state. That, obliged by what is held most facred to defend the rights and privileges of their subjects, the republic could not forget itself so far as to submit to the will of his Britannic majesty, by attempting to overturn those rights and privileges, and exceeding the limits prescribed by the fundamental laws of its government. Those laws required the intervention of the judicial department, and those were the means which the states of Holland, to whose peculiar cognizance it belonged, had refolved to use, by requiring on this subject the advice of the court of justice established in their province. Of this the cheva