PETITION FOR PEACE. Mr. Grey prefented a Petition figned by the Common Officer of the Guildery of Dunfermline, against the war. Mr. Grey then faid, that he should move for this Petition being laid on the table with other petitions; which, in his opinion, called for the immediate attention of the Houfe. An Hon. Gentleman had given notice of his intention of bringing forward, before the end of this feflion, a motion on the fubject to which this petition referred. Mr. Grey faid, he fhould rather see that subject in that Gentleman's hands; but if he did not bring it forward, Mr. Grey faid he fhould bring it forward himself. The Petition was then ordered to be laid on the table. "When I had the honour to make a motion in the House this day three weeks relative to the books written by Mr. Brothers, it cannot be fuppofed that the actual fituation of the author was out of my mind-very far from it: I had, indeed, on that day defigned to bring forward the fubject in the form and manner in which I now prefent it, but altered my plan in confequence of a defire from an Hon. Member, my particular friend, and whofe opinion has always great weight with me. When I had fo deviated from my original idea, I had the misfortune to be told by the most respectable and most respected authority in this Houfe, that the motion I was about to make was exceedingly objectionable in point of matter. In this fituation, which way can I turn myself? What rule shall I adopt for my conduct?-None; none but my own fenfe of duty; a confcientious difcharge of those functions which the British Conftitution, fo juftly venerated by all of us, has configned to that branch of the Legiflature, of which I form an unworthy part, muft and fhall be my guide. Independent on principle, and attached to no party, I will not flinch from the talk imposed on me by the hand of Providence. But I will certainly, by every conciliatory argument, endeavour to diveft difapprobation of its frown, and difarm prejudice of its feverity. "Sir, the papers which, according to my notice of yefterday, I fhall this day move to be laid on your table, are the Warrant from the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by which Richard Brothers was arrefted on the 4th of last month, on fufpicion of treafonable practices, together with the information on which the warrant was founded; and thirdly, the minutes of the whole proceedings, held at 3 the the King's Head Tavern in Palace-yard, on a writ de lunatico inquirendo, together with the verdict of the jury there impannelled. If any one of those papers are granted, on them I mean to ground a motion for the House to refolve itself into a Committee, to take the whole matter into confideration, and that the House may afterwards give fuch relief thereon, as to its wisdom fhall feem requifite; and as to-morrow is an open day, I hope I fhall be indulged with fo favourable an opportunity for my purpose. "When I reflect on the fubject of my motion, on the 31st of March, I own I am both furprised and concerned that it fhould have experienced fo little attention. For it must have been demonftrably evident that I could have no private or perfonal views in the bufinefs, even if I had not fo pointedly difclaimed them; and that the difregard, diflike, contempt, and abhorrence with which I have heard the books alluded to, occafionally branded, are either juft or reasonable, I am still fo ignorant or fo obftinate as not to comprehend. But when I confider the exceeding variety of tempers, difpofitions, characters, and purfuits, neceflarily exifting among fo many different perfons, that I fhould not have found one gentleman to fecond me, is, I confefs, a fubject of extreme aftonishment. For when a topic, pregnant with religious allufions, and profeffedly (even if we fuppofe it mistaken) founded on the grand bafis of Christianity, claimed nothing more than a deliberate difcuffion, where were the promoters of the Sunday Reform Bill? When the cause of a suffering and perfecuted individual preffed (though obliquely and by infinuation only) on the notice of the Houfe, where were the meritorious defenders of Muir and Palmer? When dangers, however visionary, were announced as threatening that Parliament and this nation, where were the indefatigable detectors of the affiliated democratic focieties? When imputed infanity was offered for confideration, where were the invincible bulwarks that preferved regal delirium from an intrufive regency? Alas! alas! they must all have been fick or fleeping, or peradventure on a journey. "Well, Sir, thus my motion of that day did thus furpri fingly fall to the ground; I moft implicitly truft it did not wholly fail of its intended effect. Many Gentlemen, I am convinced, did read Mr. Brothers's book during the interval of the recefs, and fome I knew to have applied for, and received them from the author himself, previously to that period. Wherefore, though by my former ill fuccefs I am precluded from direct application to the contents of those books, I am perfectly warrantable in alluding to them as of public notoriety; and indeed few compofitions fince printing was first invented have excited more general attention. "Any man who confiders my former motion must at once difcover that it led to thofe which I fhall presume to offer this day; and I fhould have thought myself unpardonably negli gent of my duty, whether as a legiflator or a Christian, if I had fuffered the business to evaporate, after once taking it up, without, at least, ftraining every nerve to procure fome fubftantial redress for the perfecuted individual, who is known to have been the ultimate object of my exertions. "Had I in the former cafe fucceeded, it would have been very natural, Sir, that Ifhould beg of the House at large to point out any paffages in the books I have mentioned, from whence the flightest tendency of a treasonable intention could be inferred. I myself know of none. That alone which had been hinted to me, or which I had any reafon to suspect, as in the remoteft degree liable to fuch an imputation, I clearly explained upon the former occafion. And the more pointedly to evince my perfect conviction of the innocence of these books, as far as treafon is concerned, I here, in the face of the Houfe, adopt the whole of them as my own; I fubfcribe to every affertion in them, from the first to the laft; I make myfelf a confcious, a willing accomplice to all the guilt contained in them-" Habetis confitentem reum," and I defire nothing more than to be proceeded against legally, and up to final judgment and sentence upon thofe grounds. If now there be treafon lurking in thefe publications, I am committed beyond all evafion, and Gentlemen know what to think of me. But I am firmly convinced no fuch accufation can be thought to attach, and that I am in no danger. And as I trust that hitherto, and up to the very inftant of thefe affertions, I have ever maintained the character of a faithful fubject, and true to my oath of allegiance, I fhall, for the prefent, venture to affume it as a fact, that the writings in queftion, as far as they go, are not treasonable. Their author, then, must have incurred this dreadful imputation from fome other circumftance. Is it offenfive, is it indecent, is it unparliamentary to inquire of what nature that damning circumstance may be? -for I neither know nor have heard, nor can poffibly conjecture any one. "Laft year, when various perfons were taken up by fimilar interference of the Executive Power, we were fairly and candidly told the grounds of their arreft. The formation of a connexion with popular focieties, formed on principles refembling thofe of the Jacobin clubs in France, and deemed to to be equally fubverfive of all regular government, were the oftenfible plea of their imprisonment. "Here is a ground to ftand upon. Here is a fact held up to the warning of every one: To be a member of a club, or at least of a certain defcription of club, fubjects a man to the fufpicion of treafonable practices. Was Mr. Brothers the inftitutor of any fuch club? was he even member of any club at all? I anfwer authoritatively-No. "Well, but it may be faid if a number of perfons be collected together, even without the form or name of a club, treafon may still be diffeminated at fuch affembly. If the names of Prefident, or Chairman and Secretary, be commuted for thofe of Minifter and Clerk, the mifchief may be no lefs ferious and no lefs apparent. For do we not know that Oliver Cromwell was himself a preacher, and fubverted the conftitutional government of the country by means of field-preachers? I answer, Mr. Brothers was no preacher, he never affembled nor thought of affembling any congregation whatever. He never took the lead, or named the topic of discourse, and he had neither more intention nor more appearance of calling an affembly for feditious purposes, or for any purpofe whatever, beyond that of general converfation, more than you, Sir, have at your levee, or the President of the Royal Society at breakfast. "Mr. Brothers was generally at home a few hours in the morning. Inclination, curiosity, example, occafional belief in his predictions, induced other perfons to call upon him, and he was never denied to them. Members of Parliament and ladies of quality have met there without blame and without offence. Sometimes he was civilly treated, and very often connived at, and not feldom abused; but he was uniform, calm, obliging, moderate, and confiftent withal. In this part, therefore, of his conduct, I am totally at a lofs to difcover any outline of the traitor; and if others more quickfighted than myself, have feen deeper into particulars, I hope it will be communicated to the Houfe this day for general information. Arguing, however, from deep perfonal knowledge of him as far as it goes, I affert with no lefs boldness of his way of living than of his books, that no treason whatever can be detected in either. "It follows that if there can be no treafon there must be much infanity about him; for fomething undoubtedly we muit affume of the caufe originally of his arreft, and hitherto of his imprisonment. Now, Sir, by what telt fhall we try him on this head? I fincerely hope not by the investigation at the King's Arms Tavern, for if the proceedings which I mean mean to move for are fairly brought forwards, as, doubtlefs, they have been, I am fure I fhall prove the evidence on that head to have been completely infufficient and nugatory. "Now, Sir, if the books I formerly moved for lay at prefent upon your table, I fhould defire neither more nor better evidence than common confent to evince to the fatisfaction of every reasonable man, that the writer leave not the lightest tincture of infanity about him. "I would afk, what is the object profeffedly propofed by thofe books?-the restoration of peace. From one end to the other, in every page, and in every fentence, we may' vifibly trace this one grand prominent feature. Sometimes it is urged on the fcore of political advantage-sometimes on principles of religious duty. Here it is recommended by a triking picture of its beneficial confequences there contrafted by a terrific difplay of the calamities of war. The author fhifts his arguments, and diverfifies his reprefentations, to fuit every fpecies of understanding, and accommodate himfelf to all the various claffes of his readers - and is this mad nefs? Is that verfatility of thought and fentiment, which in all other writers is deemed one of the first effentials of genius, to be wantonly and unfeelingly misconftrued, as the wanderings of deranged intellect, because it may not exactly fuit the temper of the times? Forbid it every principle of virtue and juftice-forbid it every fpark of humanity and philanthropy! In proof of what I have here faintly attempted to defcribe, I might appeal to a thoufand paffages, fcattered over every part of Mr. Brothers's works; but I will produce only one. It is in the 41ft page of the fecond book, and a more striking example of found abilities, and correct imagination, I am well perfuaded could no where be felected from Demofthenes, or Cicero, or any other of the best human authors, ancient or modern. This is a comment on the 27th verfe, 7th chapter, of Daniel. "In what I have taken the liberty to ftate to the House' on the prefent occafion, I hope, Sir, I fhall not be fo widely mifunderstood, as if I endeavoured to throw an odium, or fet up an accufation against any of the members of Adminiftration, or any other perfons of respectability whatever. I have no fuch intention. If fpies and informers, bafely ftabbing a man's fair fame in the dark, have misled the candid and unfufpecting minds of liberal Gentlemen, let us unmask their hypocrify, and refcue their victim from unmerited punifhment. If medical pretenders, relying on vifionary theories, or with a deep-laid plot of fyftematic villany, have confpired to cry down a man's intellect, and to rob him of heaVOL. III. H ven's |