vereign, and to give him their best advice in what manner he ought to act. The privileges of the greatest and of the meaneft fubjects ftood upon the fame foundation; it was therefore their higheft intereft, as well as their bounden duty, to watch over and protect the rights of the people. The liberty of the fubject," faid he, " is invaded, my lords, not only in our diftant provinces, but at home. The people are loud in their complaints-they demand redress; and until the injuries they have received are redreffed, they will never return to a state of tranquillity; nor ought they; for in my judgment, my lords, and I speak it boldly, better were it for them to perifh in a glorious contention for their rights, than to purchase a flavish tranquillity at the expence of a single iota of the conftitution. Not being able to entertain the finalleft doubt that the prefent univerfal difcontent of the nation arifes from the proceedings of the house of commons upon the expulfion of Mr. Wilkes, I think that we ought in our address to state that matter to his majesty;" and with this design his lordship concluded his speech by moving the following amendment to the addrefs: "And for these great and effential purposes we will with all convenient speed take into our most serious confideration the caufes of the difcontents which prevail in fo many parts of your majefty's dominions, and particularly the late proceedings of the houfe of commons, touching the incapacity of John Wilkes, efq. expelled by that house, to be re-elected a member to ferve in this prefent parliament; thereby refufing, by a refolution of one branch of the legislature only, to the subject his common right, and depriving the electors of Middlefex of their free choice of a representative."

This amendment was very powerfully opposed by lord Mansfield, who began with affirming, "that he had never delivered any opinion upon the legality of the proceedings of the houfe of commons on the Middlesex election, nor fhould he now. He had locked it up in his own breast,

and

and it should die with him. He acknowledged the unhappy distracted state of the nation, but he was happy to affirm that he had in no degree contributed to it. Declarations of the law made by either house of parliament were," he afferted, “ always attended with bad effects; he had conftantly opposed them, whenever he had opportunity, and in his judicial capacity thought himself bound never to pay the leaft regard to them. But he made a wide diftinction between the general declarations of law, and the particular decifions which might be made by either houfe in their judicial capacity, upon a cafe coming regularly before them, and properly the subject of their jurifdiction-that for his own part, whenever the statute law was filent, he knew not where to look for the law of parliament, or for a definition of the privileges of either house, except in the proceedings and decifions of each house respectively—that a question touching the feat of a member in the lower house could only be determined by that house; there was no other court where it could be tried, nor to which there could be an appeal from their decifion--that wherever a court of juftice is fupreme, and their sentence final, the determination of that court must be submitted to as the law of the land. He admitted that judges might be corrupt, and their sentences erroneous; but these were cases for which, in refpect of fupreme courts, the conftitution had provided no remedy. If they wilfully determined wrong, it was iniquitous indeed, and in the highest degree detestable; but it was a crime of which no human tribunal could take cognizance. He avoided entering into the merits of the late decifion of the house of commons, because it was a fubject he was convinced their lordships had no right to difcufs; but he affirmed, that the amendment propofed manifeftly violated every form and ufage of parliament, and was a gross attack upon the privileges of the house of commons— that there never was an instance of the lords inquiring into the proceedings of that house with respect to their own mem

bers,

1

bers, much less of their taking upon them to cenfure fuch proceedings, or of their advising the crown to take notice of them. If indeed it be the purpofe of the amendment to provoke a quarrel with the house of commons, I confess, said his lordship, it will have that effect certainly and immediately. The lower house will undoubtedly affert their privileges, and give you vote for vote. I leave it therefore to your lordships to confider the fatal effects which in fuch a conjuncture as the present may arife from an open breach between the two houfes of parliament."

Lord Chatham once more rose to complain that the scope and design of the amendment proposed by him had been totally mifreprefented. "The amendment contained a mere ftatement of facts, and cenfure was no farther implicated than as the facts themselves were illegal or unjustifiable. He made no fcruple however to declare, that the conftitution of the country had been invaded by the house of commons, and he now heard with astonishment that invafion defended upon principle. What, faid he, my lords, is this mysterious power, 'undefined by law, unknown to the subject, which we must not approach without awe, not speak of without reverence, which no man may question, and to which all men muft fubmit? When our kings were obliged to confefs that their title to the crown and the rule of their government had no other foundation than the known laws of the land, I never expected to hear a divine right or a divine infallibility attributed to any other branch of the legislature. Power without right is the most odious and deteftable object that can be offered to the human imagination. The noble lord affures us that the house of commons, when they act as judges, have no law to direct them but their own wifdom-that their decifion is law, and, if they determine wrong, the fubject has no appeal but to Heaven. What then, my lords, are all the generous efforts, the glorious contentions of our ancestors reduced to this conclufion, that, instead of the arbitrary power of a king, we must sub

mit to the arbitrary power of a house of commons? Tyranny, my lords, is in no fhape fo formidable as where it is af fumed and exercifed by a number of tyrants. But, my lords, this is not the conftitution; for we all know that the first principle of the conftitution is, that the fubject shall not be governed by the arbitrium of any one man or body of men, but by certain laws to which he has virtually given his af fent. That the decifion of the houfe of commons violates the fpirit of the conftitution is indifputable, but the noble lord affirms that this great grievance admits not of a remedy. My lords, I have better hopes of the conftitution, and a firmer confidence in the wisdom and authority of this house. It is poffible that the inquiry now recommended may lead us to advise his majesty to dissolve the present parliament, nor have I a doubt of our right to give that advice if we should think it neceffary, and his majefty will then determine whether he will yield to the united petitions of his people."

The amendment, after a vehement debate, was at length negatived; and it may be remarked upon the oppofite reafonings employed by these juftly celebrated noblemen, that the arguments of lord Mansfield are incontrovertible, on the fuppofition of the exiftence of a regular fyftem of government; and that the reafonings of lord Chatham, however abstractedly noble and juft, are applicable only to cafes which imply, if not an actual subverfion of government, at leaft the expediency of incurring the eventual rifque of such fubverfion. That the jurifdiction of the houfe of commons extended to the cafe of the Middlefex election, as well as all other elections, and that the validity of their decifion could not on any established judicial principles be difputed, is fufficiently apparent; and if it be admitted that this decifion was in fact unwife, or even unjust, it cannot without the utmoft extravagance be deemed fuch an inftance of oppreffion or mifrule as to justify a public or national resistance, or the adoption of any measures which evidently bore that complexion or tendency.

Lord

Lord Camden, having in the courfe of the debate condemned in decifive terms the proceedings of the house of commons, and actually dividing on this occafion with lord Chatham, was immediately compelled to relinquish the great feal; but such was the political confternation prevailing at this crifis, that no perfon competent to the office could be perfuaded to accept it. Mr. Yorke, attorney-general, fon of the late lord chancellor Hardwicke, a man of the highest profeffional ability, had given a pofitive affurance to the earl his brother, that he would not upon any terms listen to the offers of the court: but on being fent for by the king, and earnestly folicited, he at length in a fatal moment of weakness and guilt confented, and a patent was immediately ordered to be prepared for his elevation to the peerage, by the title of lord Morden. On repairing to the refidence of his brother, in order to explain to him the motives of his acceptance, he was refused admiffion; and in the agitation of his mind, unable to endure the torture of his own reflections, he in a few hours put a period to his exiftence. The great feal was after this catastrophe put into commiffion, and at length (January 1771) given to Mr. juftice Bathurst, only son of lord Bathurst, created baron Apfley, a nobleman by whose talents the fplendid reputation of lord Camden was in no danger of being eclipfed. The removal of that great magiftrate was followed by the refignations of the dukes of Beaufort and Manchefter; the earls of Coventry and Huntingdon, and lord Granby, commander in chief of the forces of Great Britain. The earl of Briftol choofing the tranquil and irresponsible post of first lord of the bedchamber, vacated by the earl of Huntingdon, the privy feal was delivered to the earl of Halifax.

On the 22d of January 1770, the marquis of Rockingham moved for fixing a day to take into confideration the ftate of the nation. His lordship infifted, " that the prefent unhappy condition of affairs, and the univerfal discontents of the people, did not arife from any immediate temporary

caufe,