diftribution of thofe favours, with the difpofal of which, for purposes widely different, it had been entrusted by the conftitution.

The nature of the fubject confined the debate on the other fide, in a great degree, to a general denial of the alledged partiality, and to a qualification or juftification of the particular articles of charge. The fecretary at war contended, that various noblemen and others, who had never been in fervice before, had raised regiments in the laft war, and had been appointed to their command. Being called upon to fpecify, he particularly mentioned General Frazer, and Gen. Morris. He produced a long lift of promotions in order to fhew, that the charge of partiality in favour of Scotch officers was unfounded. In regard to Colonel Fullarton, (whofe corps formed the great object of contention) after paffing the highest encomiums on the private character, and public fpirit of that gentleman, and particularly applauding the liberality of his offer to government, he contended, that when gentlemen of active minds, and of enterprizing fpirits, made a tender of their abilities, and directed them to particular fervices of the first import ance, it would be indefenfible in government to have refufed their offers; and more efpecially fo, when the conditions on which they tendered their regiments, were much cheaper to the public than thofe of others.

The noble American Secretary took the fame ground, and spoke in the highest terms of Colonel Fullarton's conduct and character. He faid, that he had been actuat

ed merely by pure fpirit and zeal on this occafion; as, to his know ledge, he had given up a much more lucrative employment, in order to ferve his country in this arduous and critical moment. No infult or injury had been of fered to the fervice by accepting of his offer to raise a regiment. It was wanted for a special purpose on a fudden; a very gallant and advantageous offer was made, and at that time there were no other offers, so that other men could not be preferred. Hints were alfo thrown out, that fome particulars had come to his knowledge, which ought to give him a preference in the fervice, to which he was particularly destined.

A general officer, on the other fide, obferved, that the appointment of Lieut. Gen. Frazer to a high command in the last war, was not a military, but a political measure. That the idea was a very wife one; and the effect of the measure equalled the wifdom of the defign. It was intended to wear away the inveterate prejudices, which feveral of the northern clans of Scotland had entertained against government; and it not only effectually rooted out thofe ancient animofities, but it converted the most difaffected and dangerous of thofe people, into excellent regiments of hardy foldiers, who inftead of being in ternal enemies, fought bravely in our fervice abroad.

Another general officer, of high military rank and reputation; who has not been engaged in any active fervice during the prefent war, and who once filled a very high civil department of the ftate, declared, that he should not oppose [L] 2

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the estimate in the grofs, as he had no objection to fome of the new corps but he muft oppofe that particular corps, the command of which was given to a gentleman, who had no military skill, and no military rank. For though he highly esteemed the private cha racter of Mr. Fullarton, he must think it an injury to the army that he fhould have the command of a regular regiment, when there were fo many veteran majors, who had the joint pretenfions, of wounds, experience, and fervice, to plead for preference. The military gentlemen on that fide, (who were thofe only that spoke at all upon the fubject) obferved in general, that it must be a ftrange object of enterprize, which a regiment of raw recruits, headed by a leader totally inexperienced in martial matters, were deemed the fittest inftruments for carrying through with effect.

The reafon given by the fecretary at war for the appointent of the new colonel, viz. his active and enterprizing fpirit, was reprobated on the other fide in rather fevere terms. It was faid to be a direct libel on the whole British army; it was no lefs than faying, that the men, who at prefent compofed the army, were deficient in thofe qualities of enterprize and fpirit; and were accordingly incapable through that defect, notwithstanding their military fill and experience, of undertaking the particular fervice for which that gentleman was deftined and qualified.It was likewife replied to the American fecretary, that it was fingular he should rife in vindication of a gentleman who had not been at

tacked, and fay nothing in defence of minifters, against whom the whole ftrength of the debate had gone.The reafon, indeed, he gave for the appointment was, they faid, curious. No other offers, he faid, were then madewas that a reafon for accepting this? No other offers for that particular provifion could be made, as the nature of the fervice was only known to the gentleman in queftion.

The question before the com mittee, was, whether the fums allotted in the estimates for the raifing and fupport of the new corps fhould be agreed to. The queftion being refpectively put on Col. Holroyd's dragoons, Col. Humberstone's corps, was agreed to without a divifion. But with refpect to Col. Fullarton's corps, the committee divided, when the queftion was carried for granting the fum propofed in the eftimate, by a majority of 102 to 66.

But the fucceeding April 6th, day, was to diftinguish the present feffion from every other fince the revolution; and was likewife to lay the ground for thofe fubfequent events, which brought out fo much immediate bitterness of reproach, relative to the fluctuation of conduct or principle in no fmall number of members of the Houfe of Commons, and which have finally affixed a charge, at leaft, of inconfiftency, which will not foon be worn off, upon the character of that parlia. ment. That day was destined, by a previous order, to the taking into confideration the petitions of the people of England; amounting to about forty in number;

and conveying their fentiments and names in fuch an immenfe quantity of parchment, as feemed rather calculated to bury than to cover the fpeaker's table.

The bufinefs was opened, and the fubject delineated by Mr. Dunning. It feems almost needless to add, that the arrangement was clear, and the reprefentation ftrong and accurate. He obferved, that independent of all other great public objects recommended by the petitions to the care and attention of parliament, and which, according to the different ideas of the various claffes of petitioners, were of a various nature, there was, however, one great fundamental point on which they all hinged. This was, the fetting limits to the increased, dangerous, and unconftitutional influence of the crown, and an economical expenditure of the public money. For although thefe feemed to be feparate objects; yet they might be fairly confolidated into one great principle. For inftance, if the public money was faithfully applied, and frugally expended, that would, in its effect, reduce the undue influence of the crown; if, on the other hand, that influence was reftrained within its natural and conftitutional bounds, it would immediately reftore the loft energy of parliament, and once more give efficacy to the exercife of that great power, of feeing to the difpofal, and controuling the expenditure of the public money, with which the conftitution had particularly invested that house.

He took a fhort but accurate view of the feveral queftions which had hitherto been agitated upon the subject, with a critical

different

inveftigation of the grounds on which they were fupported and oppofed. Mr. Burke's fcheme of reform, held the first place in this courfe of examination; which he defcribed, with refpect to the labour and difficulty of the tafk, the number and magnitude of the various and complicated objects which it embraced, and the heterogeneous and difcordant nature of that chaos of matter, which he had separated, reduced, and by a new arrangement combined in fuch admirable light and order, as one of the firft efforts of human ability and genius; and as equally affording an inftance of uncommon zeal, unrivalled induftry, and of invincible perfeverance. He obferved, that this fcheme was partly upon the plan of the petitions; that if it did not embrace every thing that was defcribed or pointed to in the petitions, it contained nothing that was not confonant to their letter and fpirit; nor did it exclude or determine against a fyllable of their contents. The history

which he gave of the original reception of that fcheme; of the progrefs of the establishment bill, and of the various oppofition which it encountered, unto the late defeat, which he confidered as its final catastrophe, was highly curious, interefting, and full of keen political obfervation.

With refpect to the first article, Mr. Dunning drew a distinction, (not very honourable to thofe whom it affected) between the genuine fentiments of the house, when acting from their own immediate feelings and perceptions, and the impreffions afterwards made upon them from without. Το

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the first he attributed the univerfal applause and the high eulogiums, which Mr. Burke's propofitions received on their being first opened to the house. The temper and difpofition which afterwards appeared, he was convinced originated out of that houfe; and would never otherwise have prevailed within its walls.

For after fuch general approbation, the bill was let down foftly. First, it contained fome matter worthy of approbation, then, it was doubtful; at laft, it was fundamentally wrong and danger

ous.'

He obferved, that in the course of the very important conteft on different parts of the establishment bill, notwithstanding the dexterity used on the other fide, fome matters of great public concern were brought unwillingly out; and which indeed were the caufe for his entering at prefent upon the fubject. Particularly, in the difcuffion of the firft claufe of that bill, for abolishing the office of a third fecretary of ftate, two fundamental points were brought into 'controverfy. It had been affirmed, that the influence of the crown was not too great. It had been afferted, that the influence of the crown, even such as it was ftated to be in argument, was conftitutional and neceffary and it had also been afferted, that the other point infifted on in the petitions, the enquiry into the expenditure of the Civil Lift Revenue, was a bufinefs not competent to that houfe. After taking notice how the minifter fhrunk from the conteft, when it was ftrenuously endeavoured on his fide, to bring the queftion forward to abide the deci

fion of the houfe; he observed that the claufe was, however, lost, under pretence that the office was not ufelefs, or if it was, that no evidence of its being useless appeared.

The next claufe, he said, relative to the abolition of the board of trade, was oppofed on the fame oftenfible ground of its not being useless. The minifter, however, befides the oftenfible ground, maintained both the other doctrines, that the influence of the crown was not too much, and that parliament had no right to controul the Civil Lift Expenditure; but the house was not to be drove.— The house revolted, and the claufe for abolishing the board of trade was carried by a small majority.

The next clause of the establishment bill, Mr. Dunning obferved, was openly opposed on principle; and that principle fupported, in one fhape or other, by a great majority of that houfe. The king's houfhold was deemed facred; it was not to be touched; a diftinction was made by fome of those who gave the minifter that majority: ufelefs places which related to the functions of the state, they held, might be abolished; but the king's revenue, for the fupport of his houfhold, was his own perfonal revenue, with which parliament neither had, nor could have any thing to do.- That decifion he confidered as giving the deathwound to his friend's bill.

The next attempt, he observed, made in pursuance of the petitions, or in compliance with the wifhes of the people, was that by Col. Barre, for inftituting a committee of accounts. But the noble minifter, he faid, after freely pro

mifing his full affiftance to the measure, well foreseeing, that it would bring out many things extremely irkfome and unpleafant to himself, defeated the defign, by running a race with his honour able friend for the bill, and fnatching it out of his hands, where it had been placed, by the unanimous voice and approbation of that houfe. He heavily cenfured the manœuvre of the minifter in this bufinefs, both as it refpected him in the character of a gentleman, and in that of his public capacity: nor did he lefs condemn his fubitituted bill for a commiffion of accounts, which he defcribed as being totally unprofitable, if not

worse.

Two other efforts, he obferved, were made towards anfwering one of the principal objects of the petitioners, by leffening the influence of the crown in that house. The one was Sir George Saville's mo tion for the production of the penfion lift; which was excellently calculated for answering that purpofe; but which he had the mor. tification of feeing defeated like the foregoing. The other was Sir Philip Jennings Clerke's bill for the exclufion of contractors; which had the good fortune of being carried through that house.

Thus, the whole of what had been obtained, in confequence of that pile of parchment before them, containing the fentiments, the prayers, and the petitions of above one hundred thousand electors, and through fuch laudable efforts, fuch late and frequent difcuffion, and fo many arduous ftruggles within the house, amounted only to a fingle claufe in the establishment bill, which ftand ing naked, as it did, could be

He then stated, that as every other means had failed of producing any effect adequate to the prayer of the petitions, he thought it his duty, and it was the duty of the houfe, to take fome determinate measure, by which the people might know, without equivocation, what they had to truft to, and whether their petitions were adopted or rejected. To bring both the points contefted between the petitioners and minifters fairly to iffue, he fhould frame two propofitions, abstracted from the petitions on the table, and take the fenfe of the committee upon them. He meant, that they should be fhort, and as fimple as poffible, fo as to draw forth a direct affirmative or negative.

He then moved his firft propofition, "That the influence of the crown has increased, is increaf-` ing, and ought to be diminished."

He fupported his motion principally upon the public notoriety of the fact; and difclaimed feeking for that kind of explicit proofs, which, as they were neceffary, were likewife eafily obtained in other cafes; but which, in this being impracticable, it was of courfe ridiculous to require. The queftion,