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XVII. Lord North, in a strain of allusive pleasantry declared, "That, while some with Lear, demanded an hundred knights, and others with Goneril, were fatisfied with fifty, he with Regan exclaimed, No, not ONE." His lordship, entering into a graver and more argumentative vein, proceeded to deny, " that the house of commons had not its full and proper weight in the scale of government; his political life was a proof that it had. It was parliament that made him a minister. He came amongst them without connection. It was to them he was indebted for his rife, and they had pulled him down; he had been the creature of their opinion, and of their power; his political career was confequently a proof of their independence; the voice of the commons was fufficient to remove whatever was displeasing to the sentiments and wishes of the country; and in fuch a situation to parade about a reform was idle, unnecessary, inexpedient, and dangerous."

XVIII. Mr. Fox, whose opinion on this great national question, was totally irreconcileable with that of his brother secretary's; very honorably for himself, preferred the confiftency of public character to every confide. ration, either of private friendship, or parliamentary attachments. " In his opinion the constitution required innovation and renovation. Its nature exposed it to change; and its beauty did not confist in theory but in practice. The contrary opinion he knew to be common; but he was not the less attached to his sentiments, because they were sometimes fingular. He thought the English constitution admirable in practice, and very faulty in theory; and he regarded it as one of its chief excellencies, that it was capable of renewed improvements by involving in itself a renovating principle. It might thus be gradually carried to perfection."

XIX. While the difcuffion of this important subject exposed the absurdity of one coalition; it is very remarkable that it paved the way for another in every view certainly as fingular and extraordinary. The Lord Advocate for Scotland, who had all along distinguished himfelf

himself by his zeal for high prerogative, suspended upon the present occasion his natural fentiments, became at once a convert to the doctrine of reform, and afferted his entire approbation of Mr. Pitt's resolutions. He stood up boldly the advocate of the people, and affirmed, " that the yielding to their wishes would be the happiest means of putting an end to their complaints; and would certainly give a fresh infusion of fine blood into the conftitution of the house of commons." Though the lord advocate and Mr. Pitt had been in office together during the short-lived Shelburne administration, they had continued until now rather shy than familiar, but this unexpected fupport and patriotic effusion effected a cordial and lasting union between those two celebrated characters. But after all the support Mr. Pitt's motion and resolutions met with, they were loft by a majerity of 293 to 149.

XX. Whatever may be the language or views of party, it must be evident to every impartial mind interested in the welfare of Britain, that the house of commons is far from answering all the falutary ends of its institution. If on the one hand, we contemplate the extent of power delegated to the representative; and on the other, survey the termptations to abuse that power, to which he is confefsedly exposed; the defects of the present system will appear obvious, and the neceffity of placing in the hands of the people an additional check, and a more effectual controul over his parliamentary conduct, must be felt and acknowledged. While it is admitted that most of the boroughs are the property of individuals, who can only look to the crown for honors and emoluments; the minister must

: poffefs a power in the house of commons incompatible with the general interests of the people. No political truth has been more completely afcertained by experience than this; and the bold affertion of lord North " that his administration was a proof of the independence of the house of commons" might perhaps have had fome degree of weight, could it be loft to the public recollection,

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tion, that the noble lord was originally advanced to the premiership by the fiat of the executive power, and was continued in office, during the first and last years of his administration at least, by the influence of the fame power, in daring contrariety to the clear, unanimous, and decided sense of the nation. His lordship's compulsive resignation at last, proved only that there are limits, beyond which, even the complaisance of the representative body does not extend.

XXI. Mr. Pitt having failed in his attempt to improve the constitution of the house of commons, the inflexible patriot Mr. alderman Sawbridge brought forward, May 16, his motion for shortening the duration of parliaments. He observed " that he had heard the British constitution characterized on a former day, as the most glorious fabric, the work of ages, and the wonder of the world. To him fuch a description appeared most abfurd; and he was happy that no foreigners had been present at the time, as they might have been too much diverted at the expence of the member who had indulged himself so extravagantly in panegyric. It was his rooted perfuafion, that the British constitution, till the decollation of that tyrant Charles the first, was a system of the most wretched despotism. No gleam of liberty had ever shone out till after that æra. Antecedently to the domination of Charles, the country had been a monarchial tyranny, or an aristocratical tyranny. Under both these defcriptions it was miferable; and the people were no better than flaves. In antient times there had indeed, existed violent contentions and feuds; but these were experiments for power between the king and the barons; between the crown and the great men of the realm. The people took no real interest in them. They never felt their dignity, never inquired into their rights, and never afferted them; till they were thrown into combustion by the atrocious tyranny of the first Charles. It was of consequence, in late times only, that the flame of public liberty illuminated the constitution. It was in late times only that our constitution had become the

15 the wonder of the world. To talk of it as having been so for ages, was to falfify records and history." The motion of Mr. Sawbridge was seconded by Mr. alderman Bull, and warmly supported by the earl of Surrey and others, but was loft by a majority of 123 to 56.

XXII. A bill for regulating the trade of the African company, being introduced towards the close of the session, with a clause prohibiting the officers of the company from exporting negroes, that humane, intelligent, and respectable class of citizens, known by the appellation of quakers, convened in their annual af sembly in the metropolis, embraced this favourable occasion to petition the house of commons, "That the clause in question might be extended to all persons whatfoever, profeffing themselves deeply affected with the confideration of the rapine, oppreffion, and blood attending this traffic: under the countenance of the laws of this country, say the petitioners, many thousands of these our fellow-creatures, entitled to the natural rights of mankind, are held as personal property in cruel bondage. Your petitioners regret, that a nation profeffing the chriftian faith should so far counteract the priciples of humanity and justice." This petition awakened in a remarkable degree, the compassion of the house, and of the public, for those unhappy beings to whose wretched lot it has fallen, "to plough the winter's wave and reap despair;" and laid the foundation of the subsequent noble and generous, though hitherto unsuccessful efforts, to effect a total abolition of this detestable and inhuman

commerce.

XXIII. A variety of business comprehending details not fufficiently important to claim a place in hiftory, having been completed; the parliament was at length prorogued, July 16, by a fpeech, in which his Majesty declared his intention of calling them together at an early period, in order to resume the confideration of the affairs of the East-Indies, which would demand their most serious and unintermitted attention.

XXIV. In the course of the summer, few material

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events

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events occurred deserving of particular notice. The king, by virtue of an act paffed for that for that purpose, iffued an order in council, limiting the commerce between the continent of America and the British West-India islands, to ships British built. This was conformable to the grand principle on which the act of navigation was originally founded; and though this restriction gave extreme offence to the inhabitants of the United States; they had certainly no just reason to complain, as they could have no possible right to claim the advantages of dependence and independence at one and the fame time.

XXV. On the 3d of September the definitive treaties of peace with France, Spain, and America, were with some alteration signed; and also preliminaries of peace with the States General, by which all the conquests of England were restored, except the town of Negapatnam on the cost of Coromandel, which their High Mightinesses were at last most reluctantly compelled to cede.

XXVI. The unexpected and uncommon events connected with the history of the ensuing session, require for their better elucidation, a short characteristic sketch of the state of parties at the convening of parliament. The coalition administration was universally acknowledged to be able, powerful, and active. All men agreed to look up to them for fomething bold, enterprifing, and decisive. It certainly embraced a happy combination of native genius and matured experience, of spirited adventure and fagacious hefitation. Nor were these qualities unattended with that circumstance, without which, no qualities can avail in fuch a situation, a just mass of weight, connexion, and interest. Their friends therefore thought, that fuch an administration comprised in it all that was requifite, to heal the wounds, reftore the profperity, and recover the honor of Britain.

XXVII. But the very faine confiderations that inspired their advocates with hope, were regarded by their opponents, as the fruitful fources of terror and misfortune. Their ability would be found only an ability to plan the deftruction of their country; their m fluence

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