this subject, in particular, Mr. Fox expatiated with infinite wit and felicity of thought and expreflion.

The minifter fupported his nomination, by obferving, that as the accounts of the army would form a great and principal object of examination and enquiry with the commiflioners, he thought it a matter of great moment, that a general officer, of Sir Guy Carleton's high character, great experience, and confequent knowledge in fuch fubjects, fhould be placed at the head of the commiffion. That he fhould act upon the fame principle in the nomination of others; fome of the gentlemen he intended to propofe being drawn from the law, and others from the mercantile profeflion. The former were, for the greater part, mafters in chancery. Thefe the minifter fupported, as from their knowledge in ftating and fettling accounts, being particularly fuited to the bufinefs. The oppofition exceedingly ridiculed this idea, and afked, whether their remarkable quickness in bringing private accounts to a fettlement was what recommended them to that office ?

The next nomination made by the minifter was a gentleman in office, although placemen were exprefsly excluded by a provifion in the bill. This threw the oppofition, who were fufficiently diliatif fied before, into a violent flame, and a motion was immediately made for the chairman's quitting the chair. After much heat and debate, the question was put, and rejected, upon a clofe divifion, the numbers being 195, to 173. Though it was then two o'clock, the debate was continued till be

tween three and four; when nothing being concluded, it was put off to another day. The illue of the bufinefs was, that the bill was finally carried through both houses, and received the royal aflent. All that the oppofition got by their ftruggle, was the exclufion of the gentleman in office, to whofe perfonal character they had not the smallest objećtion.

The extraordinaries of the army coming under confideration, in the committee of fupply, on the following day but one, Colonel Barré, who had taken great pains in inveftigating that fubject, after ftating the refult of his enquiries, with his obfervations on them, to the committee, moved refolutions to the following purport:-That the fum of 1,588,0271. 2s. is ftated in the papers prefented to this houfe, to have been applied to the fervice of the land forces in North America, from the 31st of January, 1779, to the ift of February, 1780, of which fum no account whatsoever has been laid before parliament. The faid fum being over and above the pay, cloathing, provifions, with the expence of freight and armament attending them, ordnance, tranfport fervice, oats, blankets, expence of Indians, pay of certain general and staff officers, pay of feveral commiffaries, and other allowances for the faid forces.

That the fum of 3,796,543 1. has been applied to the fervice of the land forces in North America, in the year 1775, 1776, 1777, 1778, of which fum no fatisfactory account has been laid before parliament. The faid fum being over and above the fums ftated in the accounts for pay, &c. including, with the addition of rum, all those

con

contingents which we have stated in the former refolution. That it is the opinion of this committee, that the practice of incurring and paying extraordinaries of the army, to fo large an amount, without either explanation or fatisfactory account, and without the authority of parliament, is not warranted by precedent, is a dange rous invafion of the rights of this houfe, and one of the grofs abufes in the expenditure of the public money, complained of in the petitions of the people.-That it is the opinion of this committee, that the creation of new, unneceffary, or finecure offices in the army, with confiderable emoluments, is a profufion of the public money, and the more alarming, as it tends to increase the unconftitutional influence of the crown.

Thefe motions, fupported with the greatest ability, and moft perfect knowledge of the fubject, by the mover, drew out the ufual courfe of debate, and upon the fame ground which we have heretofore seen taken, on other attempts of enquiry into the expences of the American war. The first refolution was rejected, upon a divifion, by a majority of more than two to one; the numbers being 123, to 57.-The fecond and third refolutions received a negative without any divifion; and the fourth was withdrawn. The debates lafted till between one and two in the morning. The mover received great applaufe from fome of the petitioning bodies, as well for the motions themfelves, as for the labour and perfeverance with which he had furmounted, the numerous difficulties that had obftructed the courfe of his enquiries.

An ineffectual attempt was

made by General Conway, to 5th. bring in a bill for reftoring peace with America. The bill did not come fully up to the ideas of oppofition, although it went beyond thofe of adminiftration; but fo eager were the former, as they declared themfelves, for taking up any measure which at all tended to that defirable event, and likewife confidering that it might be moulded in its progrefs to fuch a form as they conceived would be more adapted to its purpose, that it brought out confiderable debates; and upon a motion to get rid of it, without a direct negative, by calling the order of the day, they brought the queftion to a divifion, in which it was carried against them by a majority of 123, to 81.

Information having fome time before been received by the oppofition, that on the day of a great meeting of the electors of Weftminfter, upon public affairs, at Weftminfter-hall, and where feveral perfons of the first rank and diftinction in the kingdom attended, private orders had been given for a large body of the military, particularly the whole, or a part of the 3d regiment of guards, to be armed and in readinefs, who were likewife unufually provided with a confiderable quantity of powder and ball, it had been more than once taken notice of in the House of Commons, and brought out no fmall degree of warmth and fharpnefs of obfervation. On the other fide, the fact was at firit denied, and it was afferted that no fuch orders had been given; but afterwards, it was partly acknowledged, and attributed to the bufy,

or

or impertinent application of a Weftminster juftice. As that defcription of men were not held in the highest eftimation, fuch an authority was not at all acknowledged, as any juftification of fo extraordinary a measure. The fubject was however of a nature, which rendered the obtaining of any evidence on which to proceed exceedingly difficult,

This difficulty being at 8th. length overcome by Sir William Meredith, he made a motion, for the proper officer to lay before the houfe, a copy of any requifitions made by the civil magiftrates, and by whom, for any of the foot or horfe guards, to be in readiness from the 5th to the 7th of April laft. This motion brought out fome exceedingly warm animadverfion, and ftrong language; (which at this time became more common than ever) and it was openly declared, that if the people, legally and conftitutionally affembled upon their own affairs, were to be furrounded by bodies of armed men, and thofe too of a defcription particularly inimical and dangerous to the conftitution and them, it was become neceflary, that the people fhould provide for their own fecurity, by going effec. tually armed to fuch meetings.The ground of argument on the other fide, was the right of the civil magifirate to call in the aid of the military under any apprehenfion of riot, and the neceflity of that power for the prefervation of the public peace. The motion was rejected on a divifion, by a majority of 133, to 91.

The house now began to be very badly attended, as will appear from the fate of divifions.

18th.

The committee on the remaining claufes of Mr. Burke's establishment bill being refumed, that for abolishing the offices of mafter of the buckhounds, fox-hounds, and harriers, was rejected upon a division, by a majority of 75 to 49.

The claufe for enacting, that the places of lieutenant and enfign, and all other inferior offices belonging to the body of yeomen of the guards, after the determination of thefe offices in the prefent poffeffors, and alfo, all commiflion and other offices belonging to the band of gentlemen penfioners, fhould not be fold, but filled by officers of the army and navy on half pay, and of fifteen years fervice; was agreed to.

The claufe for abolishing the office of paymafter of the penfions, and its dependencies, was rejected on a divifion, by a majority of 79, to 64.

The claufe against the private payment of the penfions during pleasure, was better attended, and of courfe rejected by a greater majority; the numbers, upon a divifion, being 115, to 79.

The claufe for limiting the fecret fervice money, was rejected without a divifion.

The claufe for regulating the order in which payments were- to be made to the civil officers of the ftate, including all the orders of the houfhold, was rejected, upon a divifion, by a majority of 110 to 58.

The claufe for enabling certain specified great officers, to call the feveral public accountants before them, in a fummary way, and to examine and audit their accounts, was rejected by 68 to 31.

Mr. Burke then declared, that he would not divide the houfe up. on any of the remaining claufes, but defired that they might be read over and negatived as expe. ditiously as poffible, in order that the committee might be diffolved, and his bill no longer remain either an eye-fore to his adverfaries, nor an object for demanding the tirefome and fruitless attendance of his friends. About half of the members immediately quitted the houfe upon this notice; but one folitary claufe, relative to the exchequer, having the fortune to attract the regards of the minifter, he wished it might be poftponed to another day; for though he liked the object extremely, it was not dreffed entirely to his tafte; upon which account, he proposed that the chairman fhould report a progrefs, in order to keep the committee open.

The framer of the bill replied, that his patience and his fpirits were both exhaufted; and he requefted of the noble lord to be fo kind and merciful, as to put an end to his fufferings, and negative this, as he had done the preceding claufes. His plan, if adopted on the large scale on which he had laid it down, would, he faid, have faved to the nation, directly and in its confequences, above a million per annum; and it was fcarcely worth his lordship's while to keep him any longer on the torture, under the preffure of this unfortunate claufe, for any trifling faving which it might prodace. Both fides being obftinate, the queftion was brought to a divifion, which being carried by the minifter, the committee was ftill kept open.

On the following day, the Recorder of London moved a refolution in favour of the petitioners, amounting in fubftance, to the not granting of any farther fums of money for the public fervices, until the grievances ftated in the petitions of the people were redreffed. Although he fupported his motion very ably, in a fpeech of confiderable length, and feeined to be very attentively liftened to by the house, it brought out no manner of debate; for juft as the minitter had rifen to reply, the queftion was fo inceffantly called for by the court party, that it was accordingly put; and the motion was rejected, upon a division, by a majority of 89, to 54.

The laft effort in behalf of the petitioners, though going only a fmall way indeed to meet their expectations, was a motion by Mr. Dunning, in the committee of the whole May 26th. houfe on the confideration of the petitions, that their own two refolutions of the 10th of April, fhould be then reported. This brought out very warm debates, in which moft of the principal speakers on both fides took a part. A motion was immediately made on the other fide, for the chairman to quit the chair, amounting to a diffolution of the committee.

The queftion being put, the chairman was voted to quit the chair, by a majority of 177, to 134.

While thefe matters were agitated with fo much warmth in and out of parliament, and with so many extraordinary turns of fortune, an affair totally feparate was at the fame time carried on, for a long time, with little notice;

but

but which, in due feafon, broke out with fo much fury and violence, as entirely to bear down all defigns, either for reforming, or for ftrengthening government; and at once overwhelmed and bore away before it both majority and minority, with an irrefiftible torrent of popular fanaticiim and phrenzy.

Every body knows the cireumftances, as well as the event, of this fhameful and unhappy affair *; and that Lord George Gordon, who had been early placed at the head of the Scotch Affociation for the fupport of the Proteftant religion, was likewife appointed prefident to an affociation in London, formed in imitation or emulation of the former. The public fummons in the new-papers, by which he affembled fifty or fixty thousand men in St. George's Fields, under an idea of defending the religion of the country against imaginary danger, by accompanying the prefentment, and enforcing the matter, of a peti

to parliament, demanding the repeal of the late law, which afforded fome relaxation of the penal flatutes against popery, are likewife fresh in every body's me.

matters relative to religion and the danger of popery, as the caprice with which he divided the house upon queftions, wherein he ftood nearly or entirely alone, were paffed over, along with other fingularities in his drefs and manner, rather as fubjects of pleafantry, than of ferious notice or reprehenfion. Even when he involved matters of ftate with thofe of religion in a ftrange kind of language, boafting that he was at the head of 120,000 able men in Scotland, who would quickly remedy their own grievances if they were not otherwife redreffed, and little less than holding out deftruction to the crown and government, unless full fecurity was given to the affociations in both countries, against thofe imminent imminent dangers with which they were immediately threatened by popery. Such things, and others, if poffible, ftill more extraordinary, were only treated merely as objects of laughter, It is, however, poffible, that this careleffness, or complacence in the houfe, was at length carried too far.

Befides the advertisements and refolutions, the inflammatory harangue of the prefident at the preceding meeting of the Proteftant Affociation, was published in the news-papers, and was full of matter which might well have excited the most inftant attention and alarm. In that piece, the prefident informs his enthufiaftic adherents, among other extraordinary matter, That, for his part, he would run all hazards with the

people;