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the first he attributed the univerfal applaufe and the high culogiums, which Mr. Burke's propofitions received on their being first opened to the house. The temper and difpofition which af terwards 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, notwith landing the dexterity ufed 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 first claufe of that, bill, for abolishing the office of a third fecretary of state, 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 fuch as it was ftated to be in argument, was conftitutional and neceffary: and it had alfo been afferted, that the other point infifted on in the petitions, the enquiry into the expenditure of the Civil Lift Revenue, was a business not competent to that houfe. After taking notice how the minifter fhrunk from the conteft, when it was ftrenuously endeayoured on his fide, to bring the queftion forward to abide the deci

fion of the houfe; he observed that the claufe was, however, loft, under pretence that the office was not useless, or if it was, that na evidence of its being useless appeared.

The next clause, 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 claufe of the establishment bill, Mr. Dunning obferved, was openly oppofed 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: useless places which related to the functions of the ftate, they held, might be abolished; but the king's revenue, for the fupport of his houfhold, was his own personal 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 obferved, made in purfuance of the petitions, or in compliance with the wishes 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 irksome and unpleasant to himself, defeated the defign, by running a race with his honour able friend for the bill, and foatching 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 bufineis, both as it respected him in the character of a gentleman, and in that of his public capacity: Der did he lets condemn his fubftituted 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 effening the influence of the crown in that houfe. The One was Sir George Saville's motion for the production of the penfion lit; which was excellently calculated for anfwering that purpofe; but which he had the mortification 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 be. ing carried through that houfe.

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 truggles within the houfe, amounted only to a fingle claufe in the establishment bill, which flanding naked, as it did, could be

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confidered of little or no importance; to the minifter's runaway bill, which was as direct an infult to that houfe, as it was a bare-faced mockery of their conftituents; and to the contractor's bill, which the friends of adminiftration predict will till mifcarry; or if that hope fhould fail, openly boat, that Tuch means are contrived as will defeat all its purposes. Such, he faid, was the manner in which the dutiful petitions of the people of England had hitherto been treated.

He then ftated, 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 trust to, and whether their petitions were adopted or rejected. To bring both the points contefted between the petitioners and minitters fairly to iffue, he fhould frame propofitions, abftracted from the petitions on the table, and take the fenfe of the committee upon them. He meánt, that they should be thort, and as fimple as poffible, fo as to draw forth a direct affirmative or negative.

He then moved his first propo, fition, "That the influence of the crown has increafed, is increafing, 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

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queftion, he faid, must be decided by the confciences of thofe, who as a jury were called upon to determine, what was or was not within their knowledge. He obferved, however, as a collateral circumftance of evidence, that nothing less than the moft alarming and corrupt influence, could induce a number of gentlemen in that houfe, to fupport the minifter by their votes in thofe meafures within doors, which they condemned and reprobated without. That this was the cafe, and within his own immediate knowledge, he declared upon his honour; and added, that though he was not himfelf very fqueamish, nor over-delicate, in giving his opinion upon the meafures of adminiftration, he had never indulged himself in throw ing upon them fuch fevere epithets, as had fallen in his prefence from the mouths of members abroad, who, notwithstanding, fupported them within thofe walls; nor was the number fmall, for, but that the talk would be too invidious, he could mention no lefs than fifty members of that house, who had held that language and conduc.

On the other hand, the minifters and their friends contended, that the refolution now moved was clearly an abfiract propofition.The learned gentleman had declared, that he would not inform the house what further meafures he intended to graft upon his intended refolutions; this afforded to them all the properties, and even the exact definition of an abftract queftion. There were, to be fure, inftances in the records of parliament, in which abftract queftions were moved and agreed to;

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but they were very improper ext amples to be followed'; and in general, even in thofe cafes, they related to fome previous proceedings in the house, fome difputed point, some subject of controverfy under difcuffion, in which the fenfe of the house was particularly called for. When this happened not to be the cafe, the person who propofed to the houfe to vote an abftra&t queftion, having a profpective view to meatures which were to be engrafted in it, was bound by the nature of the requifition, to explain what thofe meafures were intended to be; otherwife, one of thofe two things might happen, either that the houfe fhould vote an abtract queftion to no manner of purpose, or that after having agreed to the leading propofition, they might, notwithlanding, be under a neceflity of rejecting the measure to be engrafted on it, although that meafure might well bear a strong seeming relation to the antecedent re folution; a circumftance which would throw a difgraceful appearance of inconfiftency and abfurdity upon their proceedings

The propofed refolution, they faid, came fully within these predicaments. It was purely abstract̃, as not being connected with any one meafure whatever; it pointed to no remedy, nor was it apparently defigned to avert any evil. Many gentlemen in that house might poffibly think, that the influence of the crown was really increafing; others, that it was in creased; and fome, perhaps, that it ought to be diminished. Thefe, through their ignorance of what was to follow, might vote for the abftract propofition fimply as it

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food and yet might afterwards admitted, much less established by

totally difapprove of the measure with which the learned gentleman intended to follow it up; whereas, if the measure of correction had accompanied the fact of abuse, they would, from a knowledge of its tendency, have rejected the quef tion in the abstract.

They objected to the total want of evidence to fupport the facts; and could for themfelves answer that they were wholly unfounded. The flightest view of the state of public affairs would directly over throw the whole fuppofition. Was it a time when America was loft! it was feared irretrievably loft! when that lofs was fucceeded by a war with France, and another with Spain; was it a time, after fo long a series of disappointments, untoward events, ill fuccefs and loffes, and all the unpopular confequences incident to fuch a state of things, to fuppofe that the influence of the crown was increafed? The people were heavily burthened; they forefaw an increase of those burthens daily approaching; they felt the lofs of America; they were difappointed and out of temper; in fuch circumftances to talk of the influence of the crown, was abfurd and prepofterous.

It was befides argued to be unfair and unjust with refpect to the prefent adminiftration. It would appear, they faid, if the prefent refolution was adopted, at leaft to the people without doors, that this influence had originated, and was daily increafing, under the prefent adminiftration. This implied, a cenfure of fo fevere a nature, as called for the most found and fubftantial proof before it should be

a vote of parliament. For if any, fuch influence exifted at all, it muft have exifted before the prefent minifters were born; but the charge was not accompanied or fupported by a fingle argument, which could diftinguish this administration even from any other during the prefent reign.

They farther, urged, that the prefent mode of carrying on the government of this country had continued the fame exactly from the revolution downwards; and unlefs fome proof were fhewn that an influence, whatever that might be, exifted at prefent, different from that which was fuppofed to exift in former times, the present vote would be replete with danger to the conftitution; for it would tend to alter that fyftem of government, which had been eftablifhed by our forefathers; and which had been approved of, continued, and confirmed, by feveral fucceeding generations.

The affertion, as to the reprobation of the measures of minitters without doors, by thofe who had fupported them within, was bit terly refented. The fact itself feemed to be doubted, as much as propriety would admit of, and a court lord, after every poffible degree of execration of fuch men, if they really exifted, called upon them to quit his fide of the house, and to go over to the other, em-* phatically crying out, "Go, you' worft of men, be your hearts and motives ever so corrupt, preferve fome appearance of principle and decency, and fupport those prin ciples in public, which you approve of, and fecretly avow, in private."

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The fpeaker, on this day, took a decided part in fupport of the motion. He obferved, that however irksome it was to him to take any part in their debates, and however cautious he was, and ought to be, of obtruding his own private opinions on the houfe, there were cafes, and he confidered the prefent as one of them, in which it would be criminal in him to remain filent. The queftion before them, he faid, was of infinite confequence to that houfe, and to the people at large; both were under the greatest obligation to the learned gentleman who had brought it under difcuffion; and however it might be determined, he was happy in the opportunity which it aforded him of discharging his duty, as a member of that house, both to his constituents, and to his country in general,

He denied that the question was in any degree abftract; it was a question of fact. What were the facts? It defired the house to refolve in the first initance, that the influence of the crown was increafed; who would doubt the truth of that fact?That it is increafing; could any man doubt of that either? He believed not. If there was any fuch perfon prefent, he was fure that he was not himfelf that perfon. He had feen fo many instances of both fince he had the honour of a feat in that houfe, as fufficiently jullified him in faying, that the influence of the crown had increased, and was increafing. The petitions on the table averred the fact; it was the duty of that houfe to fay whether it was or was not fo. It was an allegation which called for noproofs; it did not indeed admit of

any. It could only be known to the members of that houfe, and they were the only perfons competent to refolve it; for fuch were the circumftances of the affair, that if it were even proved by evidence, they only could know whether the evidence was true or falfe. They were bound as jurors, by the conviction arifing in their own minds, and were obliged to determine accordingly.

He appealed to the feelings and experience of gentlemen who heard him, if the influence of the crown had not increased, was not daily increafing, and whether it was not the duty of that house to limit it? He profeffed himself a friend to the legal conftitutional prerogatives of the crown; but he contended that thefe afforded the only legitimate influence, which it could have, or ought to exercise; and asked, whether it was not a very vain and idle thing to limit or mete out the prerogatives of the crown, while they permitted another, and much more dangerous, becaufe a concealed influence, to operate in their flead.

He further obferved, that the fpecies of government established in this country, under its true and proper definition of a monarchy li mited by law, he was free to fay, required no other affittance for the exercife of its functions, than what it derived from the constitution and the laws. That the powers vested in the executive part of government, and in his opinion wifely placed there. were ample and fufficient for all the purposes of good government, and without any further aid, were much too ample for the purposes of bad govern ment; and he thought himfelf

bound

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