(JlortteU Hmucraitg Hibrarg 
 
 Stitasa. ^tm ^atk 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 BENNO LOEWY LIBRARY 
 
 COLLECTED BY 
 
 BENNO LOEWY 
 
 1854-1919 
 BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 
Cornell University Library 
 DA 486.P68 1848 
 
 Speeches of the right honourable the ear 
 
 3 1924 028 016 149 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028016149 
 
THE 
 
 MODEEN ORATOR. 
 
THE 
 
 SPEECHES 
 
 OF 
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 THE EARL OF CHATHAM 
 
 IN THE HOUSES OF 
 
 LORDS AND COMMONS, 
 
 SSaitfi a aSiogtapSical JWemofr, anti EntroUucttons anU lExplanatorg 
 ■Notes to t&E S»pfw6«». 
 
 NEW EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 AYLOTT & JONES, 8, PATEENOSTER.RO W. 
 
 1848. 
 
LOMDON : 
 MIALL AND C0CK5HAW, PMNTEBS, HOHSE-SHOE COURT, LUDGATE-UILL. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Biographical Memoir . . ... . vii 
 
 1736. April 29. Motion for an Address on the Marriage of the Prince of 
 
 Wales ....... 1 
 
 1739. Mar. 6. The Spanish Convention ..... 2 
 
 1741. Mar. 6. Sir Charles Wager's Bill for the Increase of the Navy . 9 
 
 1742. Mar. 9. Lord Limerick's Motion for an Liquiry into the Conduct of 
 
 Public Affairs during the last Twenty Years . . 12 
 
 „ Mar. 23. Lord Limerick's Motion for an Inquiry into the Conduct of 
 the Earl of Orford during the last Ten Years of his Ad- 
 ministration ...... 26 
 
 „ Dec. 10. Debate on taking the Hanoverian Troops into British Pay 33 
 
 1743. Dec. 1. Debate on the Address of Thanks ... 38 
 
 1755. Dec. 5. TheAugmentationofthe Army. Apprehension of a French 
 
 Invasion ...... 52 
 
 1762. 5fo¥r-39r- The Preliminary Treaty of Peace with France and Spain 54 
 
 1763. Nov. 24. Proceedings respecting Mr. Wilkes . - .62 
 
 1766. Jan. 14. The American Stamp Act . . . .66 
 
 1770. Jan. 9. Debate in the Lords on the Address in Answer to the 
 
 Speech from the Throne . . . . 79 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 DATE. 
 
 1770. Jan. 22. The Marquis of Rockingham's Motion for Appointing a 
 
 Day to take into consideration the State of the Nation . 95* 
 
 „ Feh. 2. The Marquis of Rockingham's Motion respecting the Judi- 
 cature of the House of Commons in Matters of Election 105* 
 
 „ March 14. Debate in the Lords on the State of the Civil List . . 109* 
 
 „ Nov. 22. The Duke of Richmond's Motion respecting the Seizure of 
 
 Falkland's Island . . . . .111* 
 
 1774. May 27. Debate in the Lords on the Bill for Quartering Troops in 
 
 North America ...... 128* 
 
 1775. Jan. 20. Lord Chatham's Motion to withdraw the Troops from 
 
 Boston ....... 133* 
 
 „ Feb. 1. Lord Chatham's Bill for Settling the Troubles in America 139* 
 
 1777. May 30. Lord Chatham's Motion for an Address to the Crown to 
 
 put a Stop to Hostilities in America . . . 143* 
 
 „ Nov. 18. Debate in the Lords on the Address of Thanks . . 147* 
 
 „ Dec. 2. The Duke of Richmond's Motion for an Inquiry into the 
 
 State of the Nation. ..... 157* 
 
 „ Dec. 5. The Earl of Chatham's Motion for General Burgoyne's 
 
 Orders and Instructions ..... 161* 
 
 „ Dec. 11. The Earl of Oxford's Motion of Adjournment . . 166* 
 
BIOGEAPHICAL MEMOIK OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 
 
 William Pitt, first Earl of Chatham, was born on the 15th of No- 
 vember, 1708, in the parish of St. James, in the city of Westminster. 
 He was the second son of Robert Pitt, Esq., of Boconnoc, near Lostwithiel, 
 in the county of Cornwall ; and of Harriet Villiers, sister of the Earl of 
 Grandison, an Irish peer. His grandfather was Governor of Madras, and 
 subsequently of Jamaica, and sat during four Parliaments for Old Sarum 
 and Thirsk. This gentleman is more generally known as the possessor of 
 the celebrated diamond called the Pitt diamond, which was purchased by 
 the Regent Orleans for the King of France.* 
 
 William Pitt was sent to Eton at an early age, and placed upon the 
 foundation of that celebrated establishment.! Among others whose names 
 subsequently became distinguished, he there had for his contemporaries 
 George, afterwards Lord Lyttelton ; Henry Fox, afterwards Lord Holland ; 
 and Henry Fielding. After leaving Eton, Pitt went to Trinity College, 
 Oxford, where he devoted the principal portion of his time to the study of 
 history and the classical writers of antiquity. J An early attack of the gout 
 obliged him to quit the University without taking a degree. He then made 
 a tour through France and Italy, for the benefit of his health. On his return 
 to England, he obtained a commission in the Blues, and entered Parliament 
 
 * This diamond weighed 127 carats ; and at the beginning of the last centmy was 
 considered the largest in Europe. Mr. Pitt's grandfather purchased it for £20,400, 
 and sold it for £135,000. The workmanship, however, of the stone was valued at 
 £10,000. 
 
 t Mr. Pitt, when a hoy at Eton, was the pride and boast of the school. Dean 
 Bland, the master, valued himself on having so bright a scholar, and showed him to 
 his friends, and to everybody, as ^ prodigy. 
 
 J The foUowing extract from the register of Trinity College, Oxford, is given by Mr. 
 Thackeray, in his Hist, of the Earl of Chatham, p. 3, n. " Ego Gulielmus Pitt Filius 
 Robti Pitt armi : de Old Saium in comitatu "WUts, natus Lond™, in Par : Sancti 
 Jacobi annorum ciroiter octodecim, admissus sum primi ordinis commensalis, sub tuta- 
 mine Mag'^' Stockwell, Jam-ii. decimo die anno Domini 1726." 
 
viii BIOGEAPHICAI. MEMTOIK 
 
 in February 1 736, as one of the representatives for Old Sarum. He was gifted 
 in an eminent degree by nature with the external qualities (so to speak) of the 
 orator. He possessed a tall and manly figure, a dignified and graceful deport- 
 ment, a countenance singularly expressive, and an eye, the keenness of which 
 often struck terror into the most able and intrepid of his opponents. " His 
 voice was both full and clear ; his lowest whisper was distinctly heard ; his 
 middle tones were sweet, rich, and beautifully varied ; when he elevated his 
 voice to its highest pitch, the House was completely filled with the volume 
 of the sound. The effect was awful, except when he wished to cheer or 
 animate ; he then had spirit-stirring notes, which were perfectly irresistible. 
 He frequently rose on a sudden from a very low to a very high key, but it 
 seemed to be without efibrt."* 
 
 " All accounts concur in representing the efiects of his oratory to have 
 been prodigious. The spirit and vehemence which animated its greater 
 passages — their perfect application to the subject matter of debate — the 
 appositeness of his invective to the individual assailed — the boldness of 
 the feats which he ventured upon — the grandeur of the ideas which he 
 unfolded — the heart-stirring nature of his appeals — are all confessed by the 
 united testimony of his contemporaries." f 
 
 His maiden speech was delivered on Mr. Pulteney's motion, on the 29th 
 of April, 1736, for a congratulatory address to the King on the marriage of 
 the Prince of Wales J with the Princess of Saxe Gotha. This speech produced 
 a considerable sensation ; and is applauded by Tindal as " being more orna- 
 mented than the declamations of Demosthenes, and less diffuse than those of 
 Cicero." It was, however, particularly distasteful to the Court. This circum- 
 stance, coupled with Mr. Pitt's forming one of the opposition to Sir Robert 
 Walpole, procured for him his dismissal from the army within a very short 
 time afterwards ; for the vacancy made by the supercession of Cornet Pitt was 
 filled up on the 17th of May, 1736. § The Prince of Wales soon recom- 
 pensed him for this loss by appointing him one of the grooms of his 
 bedchamber; and Mr. Pitt now took a prominent part in opposition to Sir 
 Robert Walpole. 
 
 In 1744, the celebrated Duchess of Marlborough died, leaving him a 
 legacy " of £10,000, upon account of his merit in the noble defence he has 
 made of the laws of England, and to prevent the ruin of his country." 
 Upon this he resigned his situation in the household of the Prince of 
 Wales. 
 
 In the same year, Mr. Pitt was proposed by the Duke of Newcastle for 
 the office of Secretary at War; but the King's aversion to him, in conse- 
 
 * Butler's Reminiscences, vol. i. p. 139. 
 
 t Lord Brougham's Statesmen. Lord Chatham, 
 
 J Eldest son of George the Second, and father of George the Third. 
 
 § Quarterly Review, June 1840, art. " Life of Chatham." The first sound of Mr. 
 Pitt's voice terrified Sir Robert Walpole, and he immediately exclaimed, " We must 
 muzzle that terrible comet of horse." Sir Robert offered to promote Mr. Pitt's rise 
 in the army, provided he gave up his seat hi Parliament. 
 
OF THE EAKL OF CHATHAM. IX 
 
 quence of the opposition which he had offered to Hanoverian interests and 
 influence, was insurmountable, and, with much difficulty and reluctance, his 
 friends were persuaded to accept office without him, under an assurance 
 from the Minister that he should at no distant day be able to remove this 
 prejudice from his Majesty's mind. After unsuccessfully attempting to 
 remove the King's repugnance to Mr. Pitt's admission to office, the Duke of 
 Newcastle resigned on the 10th of February, 1746. A general resignation 
 of the other Ministers immediately ensued. Lord Bath* was then appointed 
 First Lord of the Treasury ; but he soon discovered his inability to form an 
 Administration, and his Majesty had no other resource than to solicit the re- 
 turn of his old servants. Mr. Pitt was included in the new arrangements ; but, 
 in consequence of the King's unabated dislike to him, he was obliged to put 
 up with the subordinate post of Vice-Treasurer of Ireland, to which he was 
 appointed on the 22nd of February, 1746. On the 6th of May following, 
 he was presented to the office of Paymaster of the Forces, and was at the 
 same time made a Privy Councillor. 
 
 Two circumstances connected with his tenure of the Paymastership of the 
 Forces evince his rare integrity and disinterestedness. Instead of appro- 
 priating to his own use the interest upon the public balances, which it 
 had been usual for Paymasters to retain in their hands, he at once paid 
 every sum belonging to his office into the Bank of England, without 
 appropriating a shilling to his private use. The other circumstance was his 
 refusing to accept a fee of one-half per cent, which foreign powers had 
 usually paid on the receipt of their subsidies, and which, from the frequent 
 subsidies raised in those days, formed one of the great emoluments of the 
 Pay Office. 
 
 In November 1754, Mr. Pitt strengthened his political connexions by his 
 marriage with Hester, daughter of Richard Grenville, Esq., of Wootten, in 
 the county of Buckingham, and sister of Viscount Cobham, afterwards first 
 Earl Temple,-!" and of George and James Grenville. 
 
 The situation of affairs in the summer of 1755 threatening an early 
 rupture between France and England, George the Second immediately set 
 out for Hanover with the view of taking measures for the defence of that 
 electorate. On his return to England, he brought with him a subsidiary 
 treaty with the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel for 13,000 men ; and, soon 
 after his arrival, another with the Empress of Russia for 40,000 men was 
 concluded. When those treaties were submitted to Parliament for ratifica- 
 tion, on the 13th of the ensuing November, Mr. Pitt and Mr. Legge, who 
 was at that time Chancellor of the Exchequer, opposed them ; and on the 
 20th of that month they both received intimations that his Majesty had no 
 
 * Formerly Mr. Pulteney. Vide post, p. 26, n. 
 
 t The first Earl Temple was the son of Mr. Richard Grenville, by a sister of the 
 celebrated Lord Cobham. This nobleman dying in September 1749, his titles and 
 estates devolved upon his sister, who was soon afterwards created Countess Temple, 
 when her son assumed the title of his uncle. 
 
X BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIE 
 
 further occasion for their services. Mr. Pitt's fortune being at this time 
 extremely small, he was prevailed upon to accept a pension of a thousand 
 pounds a year from the Duke of Nevycastle. This circumstance, however, 
 in no measure compromised his opposition, to that Minister. It probably 
 made him take a bolder and higher tone, in order to prevent all suspicion 
 of being influenced by such personal considerations. 
 
 In the course of the year 1756, the failure of Admiral Byng, the loss of Minorca, 
 the capture of Oswego in America, and of Calcutta in Asia, caused great dissa- 
 tisfaction with the conduct of public affairs ; and in order to strengthen the ad- 
 ministration, overtures were made to Mr. Pitt to join it. These he rejected ; 
 and the Duke of Newcastle finding it impossible to form an efficient Ministry, 
 resigned on the 11th of November, having held the offices of Secretary of 
 State and first Lord of the Treasury for thirty-two years.* A new Minis- 
 try was now formed, in which the office of first Lord of the Treasury was 
 given to the Duke of Devonshire. Mr. Pitt was appointed Secretary of 
 State, and was in fact Premier, and Mr. Legge received the appointment of 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 
 Nothing appalled at the embarrassed state of public afiairs on his accession 
 to office, nor at the serious disadvantage under which he lay of not possessing 
 the confidence of the Crown, Mr. Pitt immediately adopted the most vigorous 
 measures for repairing the disasters in which the country was involved. He 
 despatched squadrons of men of war to the East and West Indies ; sent a 
 successful expedition to the French settlements on the coast of Africa ; and 
 adopted the happy expedient of raising two battalions of Highlanders, which 
 had the efiect of tending to reconcile the Highland clans and Scotland in 
 general to the Hanoverian dynasty.f Under his auspices, likewise, a national 
 militia was raised and organized, to which the internal defence of the country 
 was committed on any menace of invasion or rebellion, instead of the foreign 
 troops which it had been of late usual to hire on such occasions. 
 
 But the new administration under the Duke of Portland was of short 
 duration. In consequence of Mr. Pitt's hostility to the war in Germany, 
 the Duke of Cumberland, who had been appointed to the command of the 
 army assembled for the protection of Hanover, refused to set out while Mr. 
 Pitt and his friends remained in power. The King, who had been unable 
 to overcome his aversion to Mr. Pitt, was easily persuaded to accede to 
 the request of the Duke of Cumberland, and Mr. Pitt, Lord Temple, and 
 Mr. Legge, were dismissed from office previous to the Duke's departure. 
 
 * The Duke of Newcastle was appointed Secretary of State in 1724, on the dismissal 
 of Lord Carteret. He held this situation until the death of his brother, Mr. Pelham, in 
 March 1754, when he became first Lord of the Treasury. 
 
 t Although this measure was adopted by Mr. Pitt, it did not originate with him. A 
 similar measure was first proposed in the year 1738, by Duncan Forbes, President of 
 the Coul-t of Session, and met with the approval of Sir Robert Walpole, but it was 
 opposed by all his colleagues, and the proposition therefore then fell to the ground. — 
 Smyth's Lect. on Modern Hist. vol. ii. p. 285. Vide post, pp. 70, 159*, where Mr. Pitt 
 alludes to his raising the Highland regiments. 
 
OF THE EAEL OF CHATHAM. XI 
 
 Such was the popularity of 'Mr. Pitt and Mr. Legge, that immediately upon 
 their dismissal, addresses of thanks, expressed in the warmest language, and 
 the freedom of the principal corporations throughout the kingdom, contained 
 in gold boxes, were presented to them. The country was now left for 
 upwards of two months without any responsible government ; and after 
 several ineffectual attempts to form an administration, the Duke of New- 
 castle, in June 1757, again became first Lord of the Treasury ; the seal of 
 Secretary of State, with the Premiership, was delivered to Mr. Pitt ; and Mr. 
 Fox was appointed Paymaster of the Forces. The fortunes of England were 
 now at the lowest ebb ; but the brilliant successes of Mr. Pitt's administra- 
 tion raised the country to a most dazzling height of splendour and respect. 
 No less than sixteen islands, settlements, and fortresses, were taken from 
 France in America, Africa, and Asia, including all her West Indian colo- 
 nies, except St. Domingo, and all her settlements in the East. The whole 
 of Canada was likewise conquered; and the Havannah was taken from 
 Spain. The French navy was nearly destroyed ; the Spanish was rendered 
 contemptible ; our empire of the sea was established ; and new sources were 
 opened for British commerce and manufactures. Nor is it a less glorious 
 result of Mr. Pitt's administration, that, owing to the liberal system of 
 policy pursued by him, a people hitherto torn by internal dissensions became 
 united ; and probably scarcely one person of the rank of a gentleman, 
 south of the Tweed, was found to dispute the right of the House of Bruns- 
 wick to the throne of Great Britain, after the year 1760.* 
 
 While the negotiations for a treaty of peace between France and England 
 were pending in the summer of 1761, they were abruptly terminated by 
 intelligence which Mr. Pitt had received, that the alliance called the 
 " Family Compact," had been secretly concluded between France and Spain. 
 Fully satisfied of the hostile intentions of Spain, he was anxious to begin the 
 attack; and at a cabinet council, held on the 18th of September, he ex- 
 pressed his decided opinion to his colleagues, that we ought, from prudence, 
 as well as from spirit, to strike the first blow, and proposed at once 
 seizing the Spanish fleets on their way to Europe. The cabinet came to no 
 decision on Mr. Pitt's proposition on that day, nor on a second occasion 
 when he introduced the subject. At length, early in October, all his col- 
 leagues, with the exception of Lord Temple, divided against him. Warmed 
 by this opposition, Mr. Pitt declared that if he could not prevail in this 
 instance, it would be the last time he would sit in that council. He thanked 
 them for their support ; said that he was called to the Ministry by the voice 
 of the people, to whom he considered himself accountable for his conduct ; 
 and that he would not remain in a situation which made him responsible for 
 measures he was no longer allowed to guide. He and Lord Temple then 
 tendered their advice in writing to his Majesty ; but it was rejected, and 
 
 * Hallam's Const. Hist. vol. iii. p. 340, u. 
 
Xll BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR 
 
 they both resigned, on the 5th of October.* When Mr. Pitt attended in the 
 royal closet upon his giving up the seals of office, George the Third 
 expressed concern for the loss of so able a servant, and offered him any 
 rewards which it was in the power of the Crown to bestow ; but intimated 
 his approval of the decision which had been come to by a majority of the 
 cabinet. Mr. Pitt was much affected by the kindness and condescension of 
 the reception which he met with from the King. "I confess. Sir," said he, 
 " I had too much reason to expect your Majesty's displeasure. I did not 
 come prepared for this exceeding goodness. Pardon me. Sir, it over- 
 powers, it oppresses me :" and he burst into tears.f On the following day 
 a pension of £3,000 a year was settled on himself, his wife, and his eldest 
 son ; and his wife was raised to the peerage by the title of Baroness Chatham, 
 with remainder to her issue. Mr. Pitt/incurred much odium by the aeceptr 
 ance of these favours ; but, in the course of a few weeks, he quite regained 
 his popularity.J 
 
 When the preliminaries of peace came on for discussion in the House of 
 Commons, in December 1762, Mr. Pitt, although he had been for some time 
 confined to his bed with a severe attack of the gout, attended in his place, 
 and opposed them in a speech of nearly three, hours' length. Being unable 
 to stand while addressiijg the House, he was allowed the unprecedented 
 indulgence of speaking from his seat. When he had concluded, he was 
 obliged at once to leave the House, without taking part in the division. 
 Notwithstanding his eloquence, the treaty proposed by Ministers was sanc- 
 tioned by the House ; and it was definitively signed on the 11th of February, 
 1763. 
 
 The reader is already aware of the, legacy left to Mr. Pitt by the Duchess 
 of Marlborough, and of the motive which actuated her in making that 
 bequest. In the early part of the year 1763, another token of a similar 
 nature was manifested of the general estimation in which he was held. In 
 the month of January of that year. Sir William Pynsent, a Somersetshire 
 baronet of ancient family, and an enthusiastic admirer of the public charac- 
 ter of Mr. Pitt, but without any personal acquaintance with him, died, 
 leaving him the estate of Burton Pynsent, in the county of Somerset, worth 
 nearly £3,000 a year. 
 
 * The Spanish negotiations turned out precisely as Lord Chatham had foreseen and 
 foretold ; and a declsffation of wai against Spain was issued on the 4th of January, 1762. 
 
 t Annual Eegister for 1761. 
 
 J "With regard to the pension and title," says Mr. Burke, " it is a shame that any 
 defence should be necessary. What eye cannot distinguish at the first glance between 
 this and the exceptionable case, of titles and pensions ? What Briton, with the smallest 
 sense of honour and gratitude, but must blush for his country, if such a man retired 
 unrewarded from the public service, let the motives of that retirement be what they 
 would ? It was not possible that his Sovereign could let his eminent services pass un- 
 requited ; and the quantum was rather regulated by the moderation of the great mind 
 that received it, than by the liberality of that which bestowed it." — Annual Register 
 for 1761. 
 
OF THE EASL OF CHATHAM. XUl 
 
 In the session of the same year, Mr. Pitt resisted, though ineffectually, the 
 measure for extending the excise laws to the manufacture and sale of cider ; 
 and, in the ensuing session, he took a conspicuous part in supporting, against 
 Ministers, the resolution which had been proposed, condemning the legality 
 of general warrants. 
 
 Since Mr. Pitt's resignation in the autumn of 1761, overtures had been 
 made to him on several occasions, with a view to procure his return to 
 power, but without avail. On the retirement of the Marquis of Rocking- 
 ham, however, having received his Majesty's personal commands to form an 
 administration on his own terms, he undertook the task ; and, after consider- 
 able difficulty, succeeded in framing that Ministry which Burke some years 
 afterwards so happily described as " such a piece of diversified Mosaic ; such 
 a tesselated pavement without cement ; here a bit of black stone, and there 
 a bit of white ; patriots and courtiers, King's friends and republicans ; Whigs 
 and Tories ; treacherous friends and open enemies ; that it was indeed a very 
 curious show; but utterly unsafe to touch and unsure to stand on."* His 
 health preventing his taking an active part in the business of the House of 
 Commons, Mr. Pitt, although retaining the lead in the cabinet, selected for 
 himself the office of Lord Privy Seal, which necessarily occasioned his ele- 
 vation to the peerage ; and on the 30th of July 1766, he was created Viscount 
 Pitt, of Burton Pynsent, in the county of Somerset, and Earl of Chatham, in 
 Kent. But scarcely had Lord Chatham completed his ministerial arrange- 
 ments, when he was seized with a distressing illness, which settled on his 
 nerves, and rendered him incapable of attending to any business, or even 
 (with one or two exceptions!) of seeing, or holding the least communication 
 with his colleagues. Mr. Charles Townshend now took the lead in the 
 cabinet; and, in the year 1767, reproduced the fatal scheme of taxing 
 America, by imposing duties on glass, paper, pasteboard, white and red lead, 
 painters' colours, and tea, payable on their importation from Great Britain 
 into the colonies. Unfortunately, Lord Chatham, by continuing to retain his 
 position in the cabinet, must be held, in some degree at least, responsible 
 for this measure, which immediately "broke in upon that mutual peace and 
 harmony which then so happily subsisted between the colonies and the 
 mother country,"! and led to that very result, the dismemberment of the 
 empire, against which we shall find him raising his last voice in the House 
 of Lords with all the energy of his eloquence, and as it were falling in the 
 struggle. Finding that his health still prevented his attending to public 
 affairs, he tendered his resignation through Lord Camden on the 15th of 
 October, 1768 ; having, as it must in justice be said, some months pre- 
 
 * Speech on American taxation. Vide post, p. 520. 
 
 + These exceptions, however, are sufficient to prove the falsehood of the stories that 
 were put abroad of his Lordship's insanity. It may be added that when his malady 
 was at its height, he wrote in his own handwriting to the King. See Chatham Cor- 
 respondence, vol. iv. p. 262, et seq. 
 
 X Vide post, p. 131 •. 
 
xiv BIOGKAPHICAL MEMOIB. 
 
 viously * expressed a wish to give up his office, but retaining it upon 
 the solicitations of his Majesty and his colleagues, who well knew the 
 importance even of his name to the Government. For some time after his 
 resignation he continued to live in retirement, and abstained from taking 
 any part in the business of Parliament ; but his health being iii a measure 
 restored, he again, at the commencement of the year 1770, appeared in his 
 place in the House of Lords, and condemned the proceedings of the Com- 
 mons relative to Mr. Wilkes's expulsion, and the subsequent elections for 
 Middlesex. During the contest with America, Lord Chatham exerted him- 
 self against the measures pursued by Ministers for its subjection with a 
 vigour of talent and brilliancy of genius equal to his best days ; and brought 
 forward, unsuccessfully, proposals for arranging the differences with the 
 colonists. His last appearance in the House of Lords took place on 
 the 7th of April, 1778, when the Duke of Richmond moved an address to 
 the Throne, setting forth the losses, expenses, and improper manage- 
 ment of the war, and advising his Majesty instantly to withdraw his fleets 
 and armies from the revolted provinces, to dismiss his Ministers, and to effect 
 a conciliation with the colonies. The Duke of Richmond had previously 
 communicated a draft of the motion to Lord Chatham, who, perceiving that 
 it acknowledged indirectly the principle of American independence, which 
 he regarded as the prelude to the degradation and ruin of his country, ap- 
 prised his Grace that " it was an unspeakable concern to him to find so very 
 wide a difference between them on the subject of the sovereignty or allegi- 
 ance of America, and that he despaired of bringing about successfully any 
 honourable issue. He was stiU. ill, but he hoped to be in Town to-morrow.f" 
 Accordingly, on that morrow he came to Town, and having arrived at West- 
 minster, remained in the Lord Chancellor's private room until he learned that 
 Parliamentary business was about to begin. He was then led into the 
 House of Peers by two friends. He was dressed in a rich suit of black vel- 
 vet, and covered up to the knees in flannel. Within his large wig, little 
 more of his countenance was to be seen than his aquiline nose and his pene- 
 trating eye, which retained all its native fire. He looked like a dying man ; 
 yet never was seen a figure of more dignity : he appeared like a being of a 
 superior species. The Lords stood up, and made a lane for him to pass to 
 his seat, whilst, with a gracefulness of deportment for which he was so 
 eminently distinguished, he bowed to them as he proceeded. Having taken 
 his seat on the bench of the Earls he listened to the speech of the Duke of 
 Richmond with the most profound attention. 
 
 After Lord Weymouth had spoken against the address, Lord Chatham rose 
 from his seat slowly and with difiiculty, leaning on his crutches, and sup- 
 ported by his two friends. Taking one hand from his crutch, he raised it, 
 and, casting his eyes towards Heaven, said, " I thank God that I have been 
 
 * In January, 1768. See Chatham Correspondence, vol, iii. p. 310, et seq. 
 t Chatham Correspondence, vol. iv. p. 618. 
 
OF THE EAKL OF CHATHAM. XV 
 
 enabled to come hei'e this day to perform my duty, and to speak on a subject 
 which has so deeply impressed my mind. I am old and infirm — have one 
 foot, more than one foot, in the grave — I have risen from my bed to stand up 
 in the cause of my country — perhaps never again to speak in this House !" 
 
 The reverence — the attention — the stillness of the House vpas most affect- 
 ing ; if any one had dropped a handkerchief the noise would have been 
 heard. At first Lord Chatham spoke in a very low and feeble tone ; but as 
 he grew warm, his voice rose, and became as harmonious as ever ; oratorical 
 and aflfecting, perhaps more than at any former period, both from his own 
 situation, and from the importance of the subject on which he spoke. He 
 gave the whole history of the American war ; of all the measures to which 
 he had objected ; and all the evil consequences which he had foretold ; add- 
 ing at the end of each period, " And so it proved." 
 
 In one part of his speech he ridiculed the apprehension of an invasion, and 
 then recalled the remembrance of former invasions — " A Spanish invasion, a 
 French invasion, a Dutch invasion, many noble Lords must have read of in 
 history ; and some Lords (looking keenly at one who sat near him), may 
 remember a Scotch invasion."* 
 
 " My Lords," continued he, " I rejoice that the grave has not closed upon 
 me ; that I am still alive to lift up my voice against the dismemberment of 
 this ancient and most noble monarchy ! Pressed down as I am by the hand 
 of infirmity, I am little able to assist my country in this most perilous con- 
 juncture; but, my Lords, while I have sense and memory, I will never con- 
 sent to deprive the royal offspring of the House of Brunswick, the heirs of 
 the Princess Sophia, of their fairest inheritance. Where is the man that will 
 dare to advise such a measure ? My Lords, his Majesty succeeded to an em- 
 pire as great in extent as its reputation was unsullied. Shall we tarnish the 
 lustre of this nation by an ignominious surrender of its rights and fairest 
 possessions ? Shall this great kingdom, that has survived, whole and entire, 
 the Danish depredations, the Scottish inroads, and the Norman conquest ; 
 that has stood the threatened invasion of the Spanish Armada, now fall pros- 
 trate before the House of Bourbon ? Surely, my Lords, this nation is no 
 longer what it was ! Shall a people, that seventeen years ago was the terror 
 of the world, now stoop so low as to tell its ancient inveterate enemy, take 
 all we have, only give us peace ? It is impossible ! 
 
 " I wage war with no man, or set of men. I wish for none of their em- 
 ployments ; nor would I co-operate with men who still persist in unretracted 
 error ; or who, instead of acting on a firm decisive line of conduct, halt be- 
 tween two opinions, where there is no middle path. In God's name, if it is 
 absolutely necessary to declare either for peace or war, and the former cannot 
 be preserved with honour, why is not the latter commenced without hesita- 
 tion ? I am not, I confess, well informed of the resources of this kingdom ; 
 but I trust it has still sufl5cient to maintain its just rights, though I know 
 
 * Seward's Anecdotes— Lord Chatham, vol. ii. p. 383, et seq. See also Thackeray's 
 Hist, of the Earl of Chatham, vol. ii. p. 376, ct sey. 
 
Xvi BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIK, ETC. 
 
 them not. My Lords, any state is better than despair. Let us at least make 
 one effort ; and if we must fall, let us fall like men ! " 
 
 When his Lordship sat down. Earl Temple said to him, " You forgot to 
 mention what we talked of— Shall I get up ?" Lord Chatham replied, " No, 
 no ; I will do it by and by." 
 
 The Duke of Richmond then replied ; and it is said that in the course of 
 his speech. Lord Chatham gave frequent indications of emotion and displea- 
 sure. When his Grace had concluded, Lord Chatham, anxious to answer 
 him, made several attempts to stand, but his strength failed him, and pressing 
 his hand to his heart, he fell backwards in convulsions . The House was im- 
 mediately thrown into a state of the greatest agitation, and an adjournment 
 was at once moved and carried. Lord Chatham was first taken to the house 
 of Mr. Sargent, in Downing-street ; and when he had in some measure 
 recovered, he was removed to his own residence at Hayes ; where, after lin- 
 gering for a few days, he expired on the 11th of May, in the seventieth year 
 of his age. On the evening of his death, the House of Commons, on the 
 motion of Colonel Barre, voted him a funeral and a monument in Westmin- 
 ster Abbey at the public fexpense. A few days afterwards, an annuity of 
 £4,000 was settled upon the heirs of the Earl of Chatham, to whom the title 
 should descend ;* and a public grant of £20,000 was made for the payment 
 of his debts. 
 
 Such is an outline of the public career of the great man, whose renown 
 for eloquence stands foremost amongst the orators of this country. But the 
 private life of Lord Chatham was no less amiable and exemplary than his 
 public life was illustrious. His letters to his nephew show that he felt 
 ardently the force of moral and religious duty, and that he united the finer 
 feelings and nicer principles of the mind with its stronger passions and 
 grander powers. To his family he was simple, kindly, and affectionate ; and 
 amidst the intrigues of Courts, and the excitement of the Senate, he still felt 
 inclination and found leisure to take part in the education of his children. 
 " When his health would permit," says Bishop Tomline, " he never suffered 
 a day to pass without giving instruction of some sort to his children ; and 
 seldom without reading a chapter of the Bible with them." Possessing 
 powers of conversation which were to be excelled only by his public eloquence, 
 he was one of the most delightful of companions. But admirably as he dis- 
 charged the relations ofdomestic life, and delightful as he was as a companion, 
 no sooner did he appear in his public capacity, than he assumed a proud and 
 imperious spirit, which rendered him extremely impatient of resistance 
 to his will, and impracticable in no ordinary degree as a colleague. By 
 his wife, who survived him until the year 1803, he had five children ; three 
 sons and two daughters. His second son was the celebrated William Pitt. 
 
 * Vide 18 Geo. III. c. Ixv. 
 
SPEECHES OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 
 
 Motion fob an Addbess on the Makeiage of the Peince of 
 Waxes. 
 
 1736. April 29. The marriage of Frederick, Prince of Wales, with 
 Augusta, Princess of Saxe Gotha, was solemnized on the 27th of April, 
 1736; and on the 29th of that month, Mr. Pulteney moved an address of 
 congratulation to the Throne. Upon this occasion Mr. Pitt made his first 
 speech in the House of Commons, and delivered himself to the following 
 efiect ; — 
 
 " I am unable, Sir, to ofier anything suitable to the dignity and import- 
 ance of the subject, which has not already been said by my honourable 
 friend who made the motion. But I am so afiected with the prospect of the 
 blessings to be derived by my country from this most desirable, this long 
 desired, measure — the marriage of his Koyal Highness the Prince of Wales, 
 that I cannot forbear troubling the House with a few words expressive of 
 my joy. I cannot help mingling my offering, inconsiderable as it is, with 
 this oblation of thanks and congratulation to his Majesty. 
 
 "However great. Sir, the joy of the public may be — and great un- 
 doubtedly it is — in receiving this benefit from his Majesty, it must yet be 
 inferior to that high satisfaction which he himself enjoys in bestowing it. 
 If I may be allowed to suppose that anything in a royal mind can transcend 
 the pleasure of gratifying the earnest wishes of a loyal people, it can only 
 be the tender, paternal delight of indulging the most dutiful application, 
 the most humble request, of a submissive and obedient son. I mention. 
 Sir, his Eoyal Highness's having asked a marriage, because something is 
 in justice due to him for having asked what we are so strongly bound, 
 ty all the ties of duty and gratitude, to return his Majesty our humble 
 acknowledgments for having granted. 
 
 " The marriage of a Prince of Wales, Sir, has at all times been a matter 
 of the highest importance to the public welfare, to present and to future 
 generations. But at no time (if a character at once amiable and respectable 
 can embellish, and even dignify, the elevated rank of a Prince of Wales) 
 has it been, a more important, a dearer, consideration than at this day. 
 
 TOL. I. ^ 
 
2 THE MODERN OEATOK. 
 
 Were it not a sort of presumption to follow so great a personage through 
 his hours of retirement, to view him in the milder light of domestic life, we 
 should find him engaged in the noble exercise of humanity, benevolence, and 
 every social virtue. But, Sir, however pleasing, however captivating, such 
 a scene may be, yet, as it is a private one, I fear I should ofiend the 
 delicacy of that virtue to which I so ardently desire to do justice, were I to 
 offer it to the consideration of this House. But, Sir, filial duty to his Royal 
 parents, a generous love of liberty, and a just reverence of the British 
 constitution — these are public virtues, and cannot escape the applause and 
 benedictions of the public. These are virtues. Sir, which render his Royal 
 Highness, not only a noble ornament, but a firm support, if any could 
 possibly be wanting, of that throne so greatly filled by his Royal father. 
 
 " I have been led to say thus much of his Royal Highness's character, 
 because it is the consideration of that character which, above all things, 
 enforces the justice and goodness of his Majesty in the measure now before 
 us — a measure which the nation thought could never be taken too soon, 
 because it brings with it the proniise of an additional strength to the 
 Protestant succession, in his Majesty's illustrious and Royal House. The 
 spirit of liberty dictated that succession ; the same spirit now rejoices in the 
 prospect of its being perpetuated to latest posterity. It rejoices in the wise 
 and happy choice which his Majesty has been pleased to make of a Princess 
 so amiably distinguished in herself, so illustrious in the merit of her family, 
 the glory of whose great ancestor it is to have sacrificed himself in the 
 noblest cause for which a prince can draw a sword — the cause of liberty 
 and the Protestant Religion. 
 
 " Such, Sir, is the marriage, for which our most humble acknowledg- 
 ments are due to his Majesty. May it afibrd the comfort of seeing the 
 Royal Family, numerous as, I thank God, it is, still growing and rising up 
 into a third generation ! A family. Sir, which I most earnestly hope may 
 be as immortal as those liberties and that constitution which they came to 
 maintain. Sir, I am heartily for the motion." 
 
 The motion was unanimously agreed to. 
 
 The Spanish CoiirTENiioN. 
 
 1739. For several years past, the British merchants engaged in the 
 South American trade had complained of the wrongs which they had sufiered 
 at the hands of the Spaniards ; and for several years past Sir Robert 
 Walpole had been charged with betraying pusillanimity in the measures 
 which he had adopted for their redress. Although many cases of violence 
 and injustice might be imputed to the Spaniards, the complaints of the 
 British traders were mainly founded in error, and were for the most part 
 attributable to their not having been suffered to carry on smuggling with 
 impunity. 
 
THE EARl OF CHATHAM. 3 
 
 By virtue of two treaties concluded in the years 1667 and 1670 between 
 England and Spain, the Spaniards claimed the right, which they frequently 
 exercised, of searching the British merchant-vessels which passed near their 
 American ports. The first treaty allowed a general freedom of navigation 
 and traffic between the two countries in all places where they had before 
 carried on trade with each other, but reserved the right of searching the 
 merchant-vessels sailing near the ports and in the seas belonging to the 
 respective countries, and of confiscating contraband goods. Much debate 
 arose on the construction of this treaty. On the one hand, it was 
 contended that its provisions extended to America ; while on the other 
 hand, this was denied, and it was further said that the power which it gave 
 of confiscating contraband goods was intended to prevent the English ships 
 from supplying the States of Barbary with military stores. The second 
 treaty, which was much more explicit than the first, related exclusively to 
 America, and regulated the commercial intercourse between the two 
 countries in that quarter of the globe. By this treaty the subjects of each 
 nation were prohibited from trading with the colonies of the other in 
 America, unless authorized so to do by a special license, to be granted for 
 that purpose by the sovereign to whom the colonies belonged. But liberty 
 was granted to the subjects of each power to seek shelter and protection in 
 the ports and harbours of the other, in case of being pursued by pirates, or 
 of distress by bad weather, or for refreshment. From the conclusion of 
 this treaty to the death of Charles the Second, King of Spain, a period 
 during which it suited the political interests of the Court of Madrid to be 
 on friendly terms with Great Britain, a large, although illicit, trade was 
 carried on by the British merchants with the Spanish colonies by the 
 connivance and indulgence of Spain. But no sooner was a prince of the 
 House of Bourbon firmly established on the Spanish throne, than he 
 directed his views to the American trade. Accordingly, the treaty of 
 commerce which was concluded at the Peace of Utrecht, between England 
 and Spain, altered in a material manner the intercourse between the two 
 countries. The privilege of trading with the license of the sovereign, 
 which had been granted by the treaty of 1670, was annulled; and the 
 contract called the Asiento Contract, for the supply of a certain number of 
 negroes to the Spanish dominions in America, was transferred to the South 
 Sea Company * for a period of thirty years, with the privilege of sending 
 annually a ship of 500 tons to Spanish America. In return for these 
 concessions, one-fourth of the profits of the negro trade and annual ship, 
 and five per cent, on the remaining three-fourths, were reserved to the King of 
 Spain. With the exception of these alterations, the treaties of 1667 and 1670 
 were confirmed. The provisions of the treaty of Utrecht were, however, soon 
 found capable of being evaded. The Asiento annual ship was followed by 
 several others, which moored at a distance, and, as it disposed of its cargo, 
 
 * This contract had been previously held by the French, to whom it had been 
 
 transferred from the Dutch. 
 
 B 2 
 
4 THE MODERN OKAIOB. 
 
 supplied it with fresh goods. By these means the fair of Panama, once the 
 most celebrated in the world' and to which the Spanish merchants resorted 
 to exchange their merchandize for gold and silver, became depreciated, and 
 the English obtained a monopoly of the commerce of the Spanish colonies. 
 In the prosecution of their endeavours to stop this illicit traffic, illegal 
 captures were frequently made by the Spanish guarda-costas (or guard- 
 ships), and occasional acts of violence and cruelty committed. The 
 merchants who had suffered succeeded, by the exaggerated accounts which 
 they gave of the treatment they had received from the Spaniards, in 
 exciting such deep feelings of resentment in the minds of the people of 
 England, that it was only with difficulty, and at the cost of much odium to 
 himself, that Sir Robert Walpole had continued so long to maintain amicable 
 relations with Spain. The same conciliatory spirit which had hitherto 
 guided the policy of that Minister induced him to open negotiations, with 
 a view to the adjustment of the differences existing between the two 
 countries. The result was, that the demands of the English merchants 
 upon Spain were fixed at £200,000 ; while, on the other hand, those of 
 Spain upon England were fixed at £60,000 ; * thus reducing the balance 
 due to this country to £140,000. Foreseeing the uncertainty of the pay- 
 ment of this sum by Spain, the English ministers agreed to make an 
 abatement from it of £45,000 for prompt payment. The claim of Great 
 Britain upon Spain was thereby reduced to the sum of £95,000. 
 
 While the subject of the depredations and injuries committed on the 
 English was under dispute, other differences arose between Spain and 
 England. The right of cutting logwood in the Bay of Campeachy, and of 
 gathering salt in the Island of Tortuga, was called in question ; and some 
 disputes took place respecting the limits of the settlements which the 
 English had lately formed in America, and which, in honour of the King and 
 Queen, had received the names of Georgia and Carolina. The Spaniards 
 claimed a part of those colonies contiguous to their province of Florida ; 
 and the demand was made in such violent terms, that England, apprehensive 
 of an attack on Georgia, ordered a battalion of troops to embark from 
 Gibraltar for America. 
 
 Such being the position of affairs between England and Spain, a Conven- 
 tion upon the following terms was concluded at Madrid on the 14th of 
 January, 1739, between the two countries; "that within six weeks, two 
 plenipotentiaries should meet at Madrid to regulate the respective preten- 
 sions of the two Crowns of England and Spain, with relation to the trade and 
 navigation in America and Europe, and to the limits of Florida and Carolina, 
 as well as the other points in dispute, according to the former treaties sub- 
 sisting between the two kingdoms : that the plenipotentiaries should finish 
 
 • This sum was intended as a, compensation for the ships taken by AdmirEil 
 Byng off the coast of Sicily in 1718. The right of Spain to compensation had been 
 acknowledged by the treaty of Madrid, as well as by the treaty of Seville ; but the 
 amount had not been before adjudged. 
 
THE EABL OP CHATHAM. 5 
 
 their conferences within eight months : that, in the mean time, no progress 
 should be made in the fortifications of Florida and Carolina : that his Catho- 
 lic Majesty should, within four months from the day of exchanging the rati- 
 fications, pay to the King of Great Britain the sum of £95,000, as a balance 
 due to Great Britain, after deducting the demands of Spain : that this sum 
 should be employed for the satisfaction, discharge, and payment, of the 
 demands of the British subjects upon the Crown of Spain : that this recipro- 
 cal discharge, however, should not extend or relate to the accounts and 
 diiFerences subsisting between the Crown of Spain and the South Sea Com- 
 pany, or to any particular or private contracts that might subsist between 
 either of th? two Crowns or their Ministers, with the subjects of the other ; 
 or between the subjects of each nation respectively." It must be admitted 
 that this Convention was inadequate to settle the differences between Eng- 
 land and Spain, since it left untouched the question of the rights of search, 
 which had occasioned the violent disputes that finally terminated in a war 
 with Spain. 
 
 When the Convention was on the very point of being signed, Don Sebas- 
 tian de la Quadra, the Spanish Minister at Madrid, insisted that the sum of 
 £68,000 was due to the King of Spain for his share of the profits realized by 
 the South Sea Company, and declared that his sovereign would suspend the 
 Asiento unless an assurance were given, that this sum should be paid 
 within a stipulated time. The British envoy was obliged to conclude the 
 negotiation under this condition. It will be seen that the claim of Eng- 
 land upon Spain was thus in efiect reduced to the sum of £27,000.* 
 
 March 6. This being the day appointed by the House of Commons for 
 taking the Convention with Spain into consideration, so great was the inter- 
 est excited by the subject, that four hundred members had taken their seats 
 before eight o'clock in the morning. The House having resolved itself into 
 a committee of the whole House, two days were employed in examining 
 witnesses and reading papers relative to the Convention. On the 8th of 
 March, Mr. Horace Walpole, after a long and able speech, in which he con- 
 sidered the various points involved by the Convention, concluded with 
 moving that " the House return thanks to his Majesty for the communica- 
 tion of the Convention ; for bringing the demands of his subjects to a final 
 determination ; and for procuring a speedy payment for the losses sustained 
 by the merchants ; declaring their satisfaction in the foundation laid for 
 preventing and removing similar abuses in future, and for preserving peace ; 
 to express a reliance on the King, that efiectual care would be taken for 
 securing and establishing the freedom of navigation in the American seas ; 
 that British subjects may enjoy, unmolested, their undoubted right of 
 navigating and trading to and from any part of his Majesty's dominions, 
 without being liable to be stopped, visited, or searched in the open seas, or 
 being subject to any other violation of the treaties subsisting; and that, in 
 
 * Coxe's Memoirs of Sir Kobert Walpole, cliap. ii., and Bouibon Kings of Spain, 
 chap. Xiiii. 
 
6 THE MODEBN OIIATOB. 
 
 settling the limits of his dominions in America, the greatest regard would be 
 had to the rights and possessions belonging to the Crown and subject ; and 
 to assure the King, that, in case his just expectations should not be 
 answered, the House would support him in taking such measures as might 
 be most conducive to vindicate the honour and dignity of his crown, and the 
 rights of his people." 
 
 This address went infinitely further than the Convention, and was calcu- 
 lated of itself to procure unanimity. But it was remembered that the Con- 
 vention itself, and not any address upon it, was the real subject of consider- 
 ation. After several members of the opposition had vehemently expressed 
 their objections to it, Mr. Pitt rose and delivered the following celebrated 
 speech :— 
 
 " Sir, there certainly has never been in Parliament a matter of more high 
 and national concern than the Convention referred to the consideration of 
 this committee ; and, give me leave to say, there cannot be a more indirect 
 manner of taking the sense of the committee upon it, than by the compli- 
 cated question that is now before you. 
 
 " We have here the soft name of an humble address to the Throne proposed, 
 and for no other end than to lead gentlemen into an approbation of the Con- 
 vention. Is this that full, deliberate examination, which we were with 
 defiance called upon to give to this Convention ? Is this cursory, blended 
 disquisition of matters of such variety and extent, all that we owe to our- 
 selves and to our country ? When trade is at stake, it is your last entrench- 
 ment ; you must defend it, or perish ; and whatever is to decide, that deserves 
 the most distinct consideration, and the most direct, undisguised sense 
 of Parliament. But how are we now proceeding ? Upon an artificial, 
 ministerial question ; — Here is all the confidence, here is the conscious sense 
 of the greatest service that ever was done to this country ;* to be compli- 
 cating questions, to be lumping sanction and approbation, like a commis- 
 sary's account ; to be covering and taking sanctuary in the Royal name, 
 instead of meeting openly, and standing fairly, the direct judgment and sen- 
 tence of Parliament upon the several articles of this Convention. 
 
 " You have been moved to vote an humble address of thanks to his 
 Majesty for a measure which (I will appeal to gentlemen's conversation in 
 the world) is odious throughout the kingdom. Such thanks are only due to 
 the fatal influence that framed it, as are due for that low, unallied condition 
 abroad which is now made a plea for this Convention. 
 
 " To what are gentlemen reduced in support of it ? They first try a little 
 to defend it upon its own merits ; if that is not tenable, they throw out 
 general terrors — the House of Bourbon is united, who knows the conse- 
 quence of a war ? Sir, Spain knows the consequence of a war in America ; 
 whoever gains, it must prove fatal to her ; she knows it, and must therefore 
 
 * Alluding to the extravagant terms of praise in which Mr. H. Walpole had 
 spoken of the Convention, and of those who framed it. 
 
THE EABX OF CHATHAM. 
 
 avoid it ; but she knows that England does not dare to make it. And what 
 is a delay, which is all this magnified Convention is sometimes called, to 
 produce ? Can it produce such conjunctures as those which you lost 
 while you were giving kingdoms to Spain, and all to bring her back again to 
 that great branch of the House of Bourbon, which is now held out to you 
 as an object of so much terror ? If this union be formidable, are we to delay 
 only till it becomes more formidable, by being carried further into execution, 
 and by being more strongly cemented ? But be it what it will, is this any 
 longer a nation ? Is this any longer an English Parliament, if with more 
 ships in your harbours than in all the navies of Europe ; with above two 
 millions of people in your American colonies, you will bear to hear of the 
 expediency of receiving from Spain an insecure, unsatisfactory, dishonourable 
 Convention ? Sir, I call it no more than it has been proved in this debate ; 
 it carries fallacy or downright subjection in almost every line. It has been 
 laid open and exposed in so many strong and glaring lights, that I cannot 
 pretend to add anything to the conviction and indignation which it has 
 raised. 
 
 " Sir, as to the great national objection, the searching your ships, that 
 favourite word, as it was called, is not, indeed, omitted in the preamble to 
 the Convention, but it stands there as the reproach of the whole, as the 
 strongest evidence of the fatal submission that follows. On the part of 
 Spain, an usurpation, an inhuman tyranny, claimed and exercised over the 
 American seas ; on the part of England, an undoubted right by treaties, and 
 from God and nature declared and asserted in the resolutions of Parliament, 
 are referred to the discussion of plenipotentiaries upon one and the same 
 equal footing. Sir, I say this undoubted right is to be discussed and to be 
 regulated. And if to regulate be to prescribe rules, (as in all construction it 
 is,) this right is, by the express words of this Convention, to be given up 
 and sacrificed ; for it must cease to be any thing from the moment it is sub- 
 mitted to limits. 
 
 " The Court of Spain has plainly told you, (as appears by papers upon the 
 table,) that you shall steer a due course, that you shall navigate by a line to 
 and from your plantations in America ; if you draw near to her coast, 
 (though from the circumstances of the navigation you are under an un- 
 avoidable necessity of doing so,) you shall be seized and confiscated. If, 
 then, upon these terms only she has consented to refer, what becomes at 
 once of aU the security we are flattered with, in consequence of this 
 reference ? Plenipotentiaries are to regulate finally the respective preten- 
 sions of the two Crowns with regard to trade and navigation in America ; 
 but does a man in Spain reason that these pretensions must be regulated to 
 the satisfaction and honour of England ? No, Sir, they conclude, and with 
 reason, from the high spirit of their administration, from the superiority 
 with which they have so long treated you, that this reference must end, as 
 it has begun, to their honour and advantage. 
 
 " But, gentlemen say, the treaties subsisting are to be the measure of this 
 
THE MODEBS" OKATOK. 
 
 regulation. Sir, as to treaties, I will take part of the words of Sir William 
 Temple, quoted by the honourable gentleman near me ; it is vain to negotiate 
 and to make treaties if there is not dignity and vigour sufficient to enforce their 
 observance. Under the misconstruction and misrepresentation of these very 
 ■ treaties subsisting, this intolerable grievance has arisen ; it has been growing 
 upon you, treaty after treaty, through twenty years of negotiation, and even 
 under the discussion of commissaries, to whom it was referred. You have 
 heard from Captain Vaughan, at your bar, at what time these injuries and 
 indignities were continued. As a kind of explanatory comment upon this 
 Convention which Spain has thought fit to grant you, as another insolent 
 protest, under the validity and force of which she has suffered this Conven- 
 tion to be proceeded upon, she seems to say, we will treat with you, but we 
 will search and take your ships ; we will sign a Convention, but we will 
 keep your subjects prisoners in Old Spain ; the West Indies are remote ; 
 Europe shall witness in what manner we use you. 
 
 " Sir, as to the inference of an admission of our right not to be searched, 
 drawn from a reparation made for ships unduly seized and confiscated, I 
 think that argument is very inconclusive. The right claimed by Spain to 
 search our ships is one thing, and the excesses admitted to have been com- 
 mitted in consequence of this pretended right, is another. But surely, Sir, 
 to reason from inference and implication only, is below the dignity of your 
 proceedings upon a right of this vast importance. What this reparation is, 
 what sort of composition for your losses, forced upon you by Spain, in an 
 instance that has come to light, where your own commissaries could not in 
 conscience decide against your claim, has fully appeared upon examination ; 
 and as for the payment of the sum stipulated, (all but seven and twenty 
 thousand pounds, and that too subject to a drawback,) it is evidently a feJla- 
 cious nominal payment only. I will not attempt to enter into the detail of a 
 dark, confused, and scarcely intelligible account ; I will only beg leave to 
 conclude with one word upon it, in the light of a submission, as well as of 
 an adequate reparation. Spain stipulates to pay to the Crown of England 
 ninety-five thousand pounds ; by a preliminary protest of the King of Spain, 
 the South Sea Company is at once to pay sixty -eight thousand of it : if they 
 refuse, Spain, I admit, is still to pay the ninety-five thousand pounds : but 
 how does it stand then ? The Asiento Contract is to be suspended. You 
 are to purchase this sum at the price of an exclusive trade, pursuant to a 
 national treaty, and of an immense debt, of God knows how many hundred 
 thousand pounds, due from Spain to the South Sea Company. Here, Sir, is 
 the submission of Spain by the payment of a stipulated sum ; a tax laid 
 upon subjects of England, under the severest penalties, with the reciprocal 
 accord of an English Minister as a preliminary that the Convention may be 
 signed ; a condition imposed by Spain in the most absolute, imperious man- 
 ner, and most tamely and abjectly received by the Ministers of England. 
 Can any verbal distinctions, any evasions whatever, possibly explain away 
 this public infamy ? To whom wofild we disguise it ? To ourselves and 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 
 
 to the nation. I wish we could hide it from the eyes of every court in 
 Europe. They see that Spain has talked to you like your master ; they see 
 this arbitrary fundamental condition, standing forth with a pre-eminence of 
 shame, as a part of this very Convention. 
 
 " This Convention, Sir, I think from my soul, is nothing but a stipulation 
 for national ignominy ; an illusory expedient to baffle the resentment of the 
 nation ; a truce, without a suspension of hostilities, on the part of Spain ; on 
 the part of England, a suspension, as to Georgia, of the first law of nature, 
 self-preservation and self-defence ; a surrender of the rights and trade of 
 England to the mercy of plenipotentiaries ; and, in this infinitely highest and 
 most sacred point — future security, not only inadequate, but directly repug- 
 nant to the resolutions of Parliament, and the gracious promise from the 
 Throne. The complaints of your despairing merchants, and the voice of 
 England, have condemned it. Be the guilt of it upon the head of the adviser: 
 God forbid that this committee should share the guilt by approving it !" 
 
 The motion for the address was carried by a majority of only 28 ; the 
 numbers being 260 against 232.* 
 
 SiE Charles Wager's Bill for the increase op the Nayy. 
 
 1741. Upon the 27th of January, Sir Charles Wager f introduced a bill 
 for the encouragement and increase of seamen, and for the better and 
 speedier manning of the navy. It was originally proposed by this measure 
 to empower justices of the peace, upon application being made to them by 
 any person authorized by his Majesty, under the Royal sign-manual, or by 
 the Lord High Admiral, or the Commissioners executing that office, to issue 
 warrants to all constables within their jurisdiction, to search either by day 
 or night for seamen ; and, for that purpose, to enter, and, if need were, to 
 force open the door of any house, or other place, in which any seamen 
 might be suspected of being concealed. 
 
 On the 2nd of March, the House resolved itself into a Committee of the 
 whole House upon the above bill, and, at the close of the adjourned debate, 
 which took place on the 6th of that month, upon the clauses relating to 
 search-warrants, Mr. Pitt spoke as follows : — 
 
 " Sir, the two honourable and learned gentlemen J who spoke in favour 
 
 * In spite of the efforts of Sir Robert Walpole, he was unable to preserve peace. 
 Spain faied to fulfil the terms of the Convention, and insisted, on the claim which 
 it asserted, of searching British ships in the American seas, being admitted as the 
 basis of future negotiations. A declaration of war against Spain was therefore 
 issued in London, on the 19th of October, 1739. 
 
 •|- First Lord of the Admiralty. 
 
 t The Attorney and Solicitor- General, Sir Dudley Ryder and Sir John Strange. 
 The former was subsequently Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench; and the 
 latter. Master of the Rolls. 
 
10 THE MODEEN OEATOE. 
 
 of this clause, were pleased to show that our seamen are half slaves already, 
 and now they modestly desire you should make them wholly so. Will this 
 increase your number of seamen ? or will it make those you have more will- 
 ing to serve you ? Can you expect that any man will make himself a slave 
 if he can avoid it ? Can you expect that any man wiU breed his child up to 
 be a slave ? Can you expect that seamen will venture their lives or their 
 limbs for a country that has made them slaves ? or can you expect that any 
 seaman will stay in the country, if he can by any means make his escape ? 
 Sir, if you pass this law, you must, in my opinion, do with your seamen as they 
 do with their galley-slaves in France — you must chain them to their ships, or 
 chain them in couples when they are ashore. But suppose this should both 
 increase the number of your seamen, and render them more willing to serve you, 
 it will render them incapable. It is a common observation, that when a man 
 becomes a slave, he loses half his virtue. What will it signify to have your 
 ships all manned to their full complement ? Your men will have neither the 
 courage nor the temptation to fight ; they will strike to the first enemy that 
 attacks them, because their condition cannot be made worse by a surrender. 
 Our seamen have always been famous for a matchless alacrity and intrepidity 
 in time of danger ; this has saved many a British ship, when other seamen 
 would have run below deck, and left the ship to the mercy of the waves, or, 
 perhaps, of a more cruel enemy, a pirate. For God's sake, Sir, let us not, 
 by our new projects, put our seamen into such a condition as must soon 
 make them worse than the cowardly slaves of France or Spain. 
 
 " The learned gentlemen were next pleased to show us, that the Govern- 
 ment was already possessed of such a power as is now desired ; and how did 
 they show it ? Why, Sir, by showing that this was the practice in the case 
 of felony, and in the case of those who are as bad as felons, I mean those 
 who rob the public, or dissipate the public money. Shall we, Sir, put our 
 brave sailors upon the same footing with felons and public robbers ? Shall 
 a brave, honest sailor be treated as a felon, for no other reason, but because 
 after a long voyage he has a mind to solace himself amongst his friends in 
 the country, and for that purpose absconds for a few weeks, in order to pre- 
 vent his being pressed upon a Spithead, or some such pacific expedition ? 
 For I dare answer for it, there is not a sailor in Britain, but would imme- 
 diately ofier his services, if he thought his country in any real danger, or 
 expected to be sent upon an expedition, where he might have a chance of 
 gaining riches to himself, and glory to his country. 1 am really ashamed. 
 Sir, to hear such arguments made use of in any case, where our seamen are 
 concerned. Can we expect that brave men will not resent such treatment ? 
 Could we expect they would stay with us, if we should make a law for 
 treating them in such a contemptible manner ? 
 
 " But suppose, Sir, we had no regard for our seamen, I hope we shall have 
 some regard for the rest of the people, and for ourselves in particular ; for I 
 think I do not in the least exaggerate, when I say, we are laying a trap for 
 the lives of all the men of spirit in the nation. Whether the law, when made, 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAK. 11 
 
 is to be carried into execution, I do not know ; but if it is, we are laying a 
 snare for our own lives. Every gentleman of this House must be supposed, 
 I hope justly, to be a man of spirit. Would any of you, gentlemen, allow 
 this law to be executed in its full extent ? If, at midnight, a petty constable 
 with a press-gang, should come thundering at the gates of your house in the 
 country, and should tell you he had a search warrant, and must search 
 your house for seamen, would you at that time of night allow your gates to 
 be opened ? I protest I would not. "What, then, would be the consequence ? 
 He has by this law a power to break them open. Would any of you patiently 
 submit to such an indignity ? Would not you fire upon him, if he attempted 
 to break open your gates ? I declare I would, let the consequence be never 
 so fatal ; and if you happened to be in the bad graces of a Minister, the con- 
 sequence would be, your being either killed in the fray, or hanged for killing 
 the constable or some of his gang. This, Sir, may be the case of even some 
 of us here ; and, upon my honour, I do not think it an exaggeration to sup- 
 pose it may. 
 
 " The honourable gentlemen say, no other remedy has been proposed. 
 Sir, there have been several other remedies proposed. Let us go into a 
 committee to consider of what has been, or may be, proposed. Suppose no 
 other remedy should be bffered : to tell us we must take this, because no 
 other remedy can be thought of, is the same with a physician's telling his 
 patient, ' Sir, there is no known remedy for your distemper, therefore you 
 shall take poison — I'll cram it down your throat.' I do not know how the 
 nation may treat its physicians ; but, I am sure, if my physician told nvp so, 
 I should order my servants to turn him out of doors. 
 
 " Such desperate remedies. Sir, are never to be applied but in cases of the 
 utmost extremity ; and how we come at present to be in such extremity I 
 cannot comprehend. In the time of Queen Elizabeth we were not thought 
 to be in any such extremity, though we were then threatened with the most 
 formidable invasion that was ever prepared against this nation. In our wars 
 with the Dutch, a more formidable maritime power than France and Spain 
 now would be, if they were united against us, we were not supposed to be in 
 any such extremity, either in the time of the Commonwealth, or of King 
 Charles the Second. In King William's war against France, when her 
 naval power was vastly superior to what it is at present, and when we had 
 more reason to be afraid of an invasion than we can have at present, we were 
 thought to be in no such extremity. In Queen Anne's time, when we were 
 engaged in a war both against France and Spain, and were obliged to make 
 great levies yearly for the land service, no such remedy was ever thought of, 
 except for one year only, and then it was found to be far from being 
 effectual. 
 
 " This, Sir, I am convinced would be the case now, as well as it was then. 
 It was at that time computed, that by means of such a law as this, there 
 were not above fourteen hundred seamen brought into the service of the 
 Government ; and considering the methods that have been already taken, and 
 
12 THE MODEKN OEATOK. 
 
 the reward proposed by this bill to be offered to volunteers, I am convinced 
 that the most strict and general search would not bring in half the number. 
 Shall we, then, for the sake of adding six or seven hundred, or even fourteen 
 hundred seamen to his Majesty's navy, expose our constitution to so much 
 danger, and every housekeeper in the kingdom to the danger of being dis- 
 turbed at all hours in the night ? 
 
 " But suppose this law were to have a great effect, it can be called 
 nothing but a temporary expedient; because it can no way contribute 
 towards increasing the number of our seamen, or towards rendering them 
 more willing to enter into his Majesty's service. It is an observation made 
 by Bacon upon the laws passed in Henry the Seventh's reign, that all of 
 them were calculated for futurity as well as the present time.* This showed 
 the wisdom of his councils : I wish I could say so of our present. We have 
 for some years thought of nothing but expedients for getting rid of some 
 present inconvenience by running ourselves into a greater. The ease or con- 
 venience of posterity was never less thought of, I believe, than it has been 
 of late years. I wish I could see an end of these temporary expedients ; for 
 we have been pursuing them so long, that we have almost undone our 
 country, and overturned our constitution. Therefore, Sir, I shall be for 
 leaving this clause out of the biU, and every other clause relating to it. The 
 bill will be of some service without them ; and when we have passed it, we 
 may then go into a committee to consider of some lasting methods for 
 increasing our stock of seamen, and for encouraging them upon all occasions 
 to enter into his Majesty's service." 
 
 AU the clauses relative to the granting of search warrants were rejected.f 
 
 LoED Limekick's Motion toe an Inqitikt into the Conduct of 
 Public Aeeaiks bueing the last twenty tears. 
 
 On the assembling of a new Parliament in December, 1742, Sir Robert 
 Walpole found himself in repeated minorities, and was forced, reluctantly, 
 to retire from office. On the 9th February, 1741, he was created Earl of 
 Orford, and on the 11th he resigned. 
 
 1742. March 9. A motion was this day made in the House of Commons, 
 by Lord Limerick, for a committee to inquire into the conduct of affairs at 
 home and abroad, during the last twenty years. This motion was opposed 
 
 * "Certainly his (Henry tlie Seventh's) times for good commonwealth's laws did 
 excel, so as he may justly be celebrated for the best lawgiver to this nation, after 
 King Edward the Pirst ; for his laws, whoso marks them well, are deep, and not vul- 
 gar ; not made upon the spur of a particular occasion for the present, but out of pro- 
 vidence for the future, to make the estate of his people still more and more happy; 
 after the manner of the legislators in ancient and heroical times."— Bacon's Works, 
 vol. iii. p. 233, Edition 1834. 
 
 t A measure somewhat Similar, but more exceptionable, had been rejected in the 
 previous year. 
 
THE EAfiL OF CHATHAM. 13 
 
 by Mr. Pelham,* who, in the course of his speech, observed that " it would 
 very much shorten the debate, if gentlemen would keep close to the argu- 
 ment, and not run into long harangues or flowers of rhetoric, which might 
 be introduced upon any other subject as well as the present." 
 Mr. Pitt answered him thus : — 
 
 " What the gentlemen on the other side mean by long harangues or 
 flowers of rhetoric, I shall not pretend to determine, but if they make use 
 of nothing of the kind, it is no very good argument of their sincerity, 
 because a man who speaks from his heart, and is sincerely afiected with the 
 subject upon which he speaks, as every honest man must be when he 
 speaks in the cause of his country, such a man, I say, falls naturally into 
 expressions which may be called flowers of rhetoric, and, therefore, deserves 
 as little to be charged with affectation, as the most stupid serjeant-at-law 
 that ever spoke for a half-guinea fee. For my part, I have heard nothing 
 in favour of the question but what I think very proper, and -very much to 
 the purpose. What has been said, indeed, on the other side of the question; 
 especially the long justification that has been made of our late measures, I 
 cannot think so proper, because this motion is founded upon the present 
 melancholy situation of afiairs, and upon the general clamour without doorsy 
 against the conduct of our late public servants ; and either of these, with me, 
 shall always be a sufficient reason for agreeing to a parliamentary inquiry, 
 because, without such inquiry, I cannot, even in my own mind, enter into 
 the disquisition, whether our public measures have been right or not ; with- 
 out such inquiry I cannot be furnished with the necessary information. 
 
 " But the honourable gentlemen who oppose this motion, seem to 
 mistake, I do not say wilfully, the difierence between a motion for an 
 impeachment, and a motion for an inquiry. If any member of this House 
 were to stand up in his place, and move to impeach a minister, he would be 
 obliged to charge him with some particular crimes or misdemeanors, and 
 produce some proof, or declare that he was ready to prove the facts ; but 
 any gentleman may move for an inquiry, without any particular allegation, 
 and without offering any proof, or declaring what he is ready to prove ; 
 because the very design of an inquiry is to find out particular facts and par- 
 ticular proofs. The general circumstances of things, or general rumours 
 without doors, are a sufiicient foundation for such a motion, and for the 
 House agreeing to it when it is made. This, Sir, has always been the 
 practice, and has beeh the foundation of almost all the inquiries that have 
 ever been set on foot in this House, especially those that have been carried 
 on by secret and select committees. What other foundation was there for the 
 secret committee appointed in the year 1694 (to go no further back), to 
 inquire into, and inspect the books and accounts of the East India Com- 
 pany, and of the Chamberlain of London ? f Nothing but a general rumour 
 
 • Paymaster of the Forces. Mr. PeUiam had held the same office under Sir Eobert 
 AValpole. 
 
 t See Pari. Hist. vol. v. pp. 896 and 900. 
 
14 THE MODEKN OKATOK. 
 
 that some corrupt practices had been made use of. What was the founda- 
 tion of the inquiry in the year 1715 ?* Did the honourable gentleman who 
 moved the appointment of the secret committee upon the latter occasion, 
 charge the previous administration with any particular crimes ? Did he offer 
 any proofs, or declare that he was ready to prove anything ? It is said, the 
 measures pursued by that administration were condemned by a great 
 majority of the House of Commons. What, Sir! were those Ministers 
 condemned before they were heard ? Could any gentleman be so unjust as 
 to pass sentence, even in his own mind, upon a measure before he had 
 inquired into it ? He might, perhaps, dislike the Treaty of Utrecht, but, 
 upon inquiry, it might appear to be the best that could be obtained ; and it 
 has since been so far justified, that It appears at least as good, if not better, 
 than any treaty we have subsequently made. 
 
 " Sir, it was not the Treaty of Utrecht, nor any measure openly pursued by 
 the administration which negotiated it, that was the foundation or the cause 
 of an inquiry into their conduct. It was the loud complaints of a great 
 party against them, and the general suspicion of their having carried on 
 treasonable negotiations in favour of the Pretender, and for defeating the 
 Protestant succession. The inquiry was set on foot in order to detect those 
 practices, if any such existed, and to find proper evidence for convicting the 
 oflfenders. The same argument holds with regard to the inquiry into the 
 management of the South Sea Company in the year l721.f When that 
 affair was first moved in the House by Mr. Neville, he did not, he could not, 
 charge the directors of that Company, or any of them, with any particular 
 delinquencies : nor did he attempt to offer, or say that he was ready to offer, 
 any particular proofs. His motion was, ' That the directors of the South 
 Sea Company should forthwith lay before the House an account of their 
 proceedings,' and it was founded upon the general circumstances of things, 
 the distress brought upon the public credit of the nation, and the general and 
 loud complaints without doors. This motion, indeed, reasonable as it was, 
 we know was opposed by the Court party at the time, and, in particular, by 
 two doughty brothers, J who have been attached to the Court ever since ; but 
 their opposition raised such a warmth in the House, that they were glad to 
 give it up, and never after durst directly oppose that inquiry. I wish I 
 could now see the same zeal for public justice. The circumstances of affairs 
 I am sure deserve it. Our public credit was then, indeed, brought into 
 distress ; but now the nation itself, nay, not only this nation, but all our 
 friends upon the continent, are brought into the most imminent danger. 
 
 " This, Sir, is admitted even by those who oppose this motion ; and if 
 they have ever lately conversed with those that dare speak their minds, they 
 must admit, that the murmurs of the people against the conduct of the 
 administration are now as general and as loud as ever they were upon any 
 occasion. But the misfortune is, that gentlemen who are in office seldom 
 converse with any but such as either are, or want to be, in office ; and such 
 
 * See Pari. Hist. vol. vii. p. S3. t Ibid. p. 685. 
 J Sir Robert and Mr. Horace "Walpole. 
 
THE EAEL OF CHATHAM. 16 
 
 men, let them think as they will, will always applaud their superiors ; con- 
 sequently, gentlemen who are in administration, or in any office under it, 
 can rarely know the voice of the people. -The voice of this House was for- 
 merly, I grant, and always ought to be, the voice of the people. If new 
 Parliaments were more frequent, and few placemen, and no pensioners, 
 admitted, it would be so still ; but if long Parliaments be continued, and a 
 corrupt influence should prevail, not only at elections, but in this House, the 
 voice of this House will generally be very difierent from, nay, often directly 
 contrary to, the voice of the people. However, as this is not, I believe, the 
 case at present, I hope there is a majority of us who know what is the voice 
 of the people ; and if it be admitted by all that the nation is at present in the 
 utmost distress and danger, if it be admitted by a majority that the voice of 
 the people is loud against the conduct of our late administration, this motion 
 must be agreed to, because I have shown that these two circumstances, 
 without any particular charge, have been the foundation of almost every 
 parliamentary inquiry. 
 
 " I readily admit, Sir, that we have very little to do with the character or 
 reputation of a minister, but as it always does, and must affect our sove- 
 reign. But the people may become disaffected as well as discontented, when 
 they find the King continues obstinately to employ a minister who, they 
 think, oppresses them at home, and betrays them abroad. We are, there- 
 fore, in duty to our Sovereign, obliged to inquire into the conduct of a 
 minister when it becomes generally suspected by the people, in order that 
 we may vindicate his character if he be innocent of the charges brought 
 against him, or, if he be guilty, that we may obtain his removal from the 
 councils of our Sovereign, and also condign punishment on his crimes. 
 
 " After having said thus much. Sir, I need scarcely answer what has been 
 asserted, that no parliamentary inquiry ought ever to be instituted, unless 
 we are convinced that something has been done amiss. Sir, the very name 
 given to this House of Parliament proves the contrary. We are called The 
 Grand Inquest of the Nation ; and, as such, it is our duty to inquire into 
 every step of public management, both abroad and at home, in order to see 
 that nothing has been done amiss. It is not necessary, upon every occasion, 
 to establish a secret committee. This is never necessary but when the 
 affairs to be brought before it, or some of those affairs, are supposed to 
 be of such a nature as to require secrecy. But, as experience has shown 
 that nothing but a superficial inquiry is ever made by a general committee, 
 or a committee of the whole House, I wish that all estimates and accounts, 
 and many other affairs, were respectively referred to select committees. 
 Their inquiries would be more exact, and the receiving of their reports 
 would not occupy so much of our time as is represented ; but, if it did, 
 our duty being to make strict inquiries into everything relative to the 
 public, our assembling here being for that purpose, we must perform our 
 duty before we break up ; and his present Majesty, I am sure, will never 
 put an end to any session till that duty has been fully performed. 
 
16 THE MODEKN ORATOR. 
 
 " It is said by some gentlemen, that by this inquiry we shall be in danger 
 of discovering the secrets of our government to our enemies. This argu- 
 ment, Sir, by proving too much, proves nothing. If it were admitted, it 
 woiild always have been, and its admission for ever will be, an argument 
 against our inquiring into any affair in which our government can be 
 supposed to be concerned. Our inquiries would then be confined to the 
 conduct of our little companies, or of inferior custom-house oflBcers and 
 excisemen ; for if we should presume to inquire into the conduct of 
 commissioners or of great companies, it would be said the government had 
 a concern in their conduct, and the secrets of government must not be 
 divulged. Every gentleman must see that this would be the consequence of 
 admitting such an argument ; but, besides, it is false in fact, and contrary to 
 experience. We have had many parliamentary inquiries into the conduct of 
 Ministers of State, and yet I defy any one to show that any state affair 
 which ought to have been concealed was thereby discovered, or that our 
 affairs, either abroad or at home, ever suffered by any such discovery. 
 There are methods, Sir, of preventing papers of a very secret nature from 
 coming into the hands of the servants attending, or even of all the members 
 of a secret committee. If his Majesty should, by message, inform us, that 
 some of the papers sealed up, and laid before us, required the utmost secrecy, 
 we might refer them to our committee, instructing them to order only two or 
 three of their number to inspect such papers, and to report from them nothing 
 but what they thought might safely be communicated to the whole. By this 
 method, I presume, the danger of discovery would be effectually removed ; 
 this danger, therefore, is no good argument against a parliamentary inquiry. 
 
 " The other objection, Sir, is really surprising, because it is founded upon 
 a circumstance which, in all former times, has been admitted as a strong 
 argument in favour of an immediate inquiry. The honourable gentlemen are 
 so ingenuous as to confess that our affairs, both abroad and at home, are at 
 present in the utmost embarrassment ; but, say they, you ought to free 
 yourselves from this embarrassment before you inquire into the cause of it. 
 Sir, according to this way of arguing, a minister who has plundered and 
 betrayed his country, and fears being called to an account in Parliament, has 
 nothing to do but to involve his country in a dangerous war, or some other 
 great distress, in order to prevent an inquiry into his conduct ; because he 
 may be dead before that war is at an end, or that distress is surmounted. 
 Thus, like the most detestable of all thieves, after plundering the house, he 
 has but to set it on fire, that he maj' escape in the confusion. It is really 
 astonishing to hear such an argument seriously urged in this House ; but, 
 say these gentlemen, if you found yourself upon a precipice, would you 
 stand to inquire how you were led there, before you considered how to get 
 off? No, Sir ; but if a guide had led me there, I should very probably be 
 provoked to throw him over, before I thought of anything else ; at least I am 
 sure I should not trust to the same guide for bringing me off; and this, 
 Sir, is the strongest argument that can be used for an inquiry. 
 
THE EAKL or CHATHAM. l7 
 
 " We have been, for these twenty years, under the guidance, I may truly 
 say, of one man, of one single minister. We now, at last, find ourselves 
 upon a dangerous precipice. Ought we not then immediately to inquire 
 whether we have been led upon this precipice by his ignorance or wicked- 
 ness ; and if by either, to take care not to trust to his guidance for our 
 safety ? This is an additional and a stronger argument for this inquiry than 
 ever was urged for any former one, for if we do not inquire, we shall 
 probably remain under his guidance ; because, though he be removed from 
 the Treasury Board, he is not removed from the King's Court, nor will he 
 be, probably, unless it be by our advice, or unless we lodge him in a place 
 at the other end of the town, where he cannot so well injure his country. 
 Sir, our distress at home evidently proceeds from want of economy, and from 
 our having incurred many unnecessary expenses. Our distress and danger 
 abroad are evidently owing to the misconduct of the war with Spain, and to 
 the little confidence which our natural and ancient allies have reposed in 
 our councils. This is so evident, that I should not think it necessary to 
 enter into any particular explanation, if an honourable gentleman on the other 
 side had not attempted to justify most of our late measures both abroad 
 and at home. But as he has done so, though not, in my opinion, quite 
 to the purpose of the present debate, I hope I shall be allowed to 
 make some remarks upon what he has said on the subject ; beginning, 
 as he did, with the measures taken for punishing the South Sea Direc- 
 tors, and restoring public credit after the terrible shock it received in the 
 year 1720. 
 
 " As those measures. Sir, were among the first exploits of our late, (I fear 
 I must call him our present,) Prime Minister ; and as the committee 
 proposed, if agreed to, will probably consist of one and twenty members ; I 
 wish the motion had extended one year further back, that the number of 
 years might have corresponded with the number of .inquirers, and that it 
 might have comprehended the first of those measures to which I have before 
 alluded; as it now stands, it will not comprehend the methods taken for 
 punishing the directors, nor the first regulation made for restoring public 
 credit; and with regard to both, some practices might be discovered that 
 would deserve a much severer punishment than any of those directors 
 experienced. Considering the many frauds made use of by the directors 
 and their agents for luring people to their ruin, I am not a little surprised 
 to hear it now said, that their punishment was considered too severe. 
 Justice by the lump was an epithet given to it, not because it was thought 
 too severe, but because it was an artifice to screen the most heinous 
 ofienders, who, if they did not deserve death, deserved, at least, to partake 
 of that total ruin which they had brought upon many unthinking men. 
 They very ill deserved, Sir, those allowances which were made them by 
 
 parliament. 
 
 " Then, Sir, as to public credit, its speedy restoration was founded upon 
 the conduct of the nation, and not upon the wisdom or justice of the 
 
 VOIi. I. ° 
 
18 THE MODEEN OBATOE. 
 
 measures adopted. Was it a wise method to remit to the South Sea 
 Company the whole seven millions, or thereabouts, which they had 
 solemnly engaged to pay to the public? It might as well be said, that a 
 private man's giving away a great part of his estate to those who no way 
 deserved it, would be a wise method of reviving or establishing his credit. 
 If those seven millions had been distributed among the poor sort of 
 annuitants, it would have been both generous and charitable ; but to give 
 it among the proprietors in general was neither generous nor just, because 
 most of them deserved no favour from the public. As the proceedings of 
 the directors were authorized by general courts, those who were then the 
 proprietors were in some measure accessary to the frauds of the directors, 
 and therefore deserved to be punished rather than rewarded, as they really 
 were, because every one of them who continued to hold stock in that 
 company received nearly fifty per cent., added to his capital, most part of 
 which arose from the high price annuitants were, by act of Parliament, 
 obliged to take stock at, and was therefore a most flagrant piece of injustice 
 done to the annuitants. But we need not be at a loss for the true cause of 
 this act of injustice, when we consider that a certain gentleman had a great 
 many friends among the old stockholders, and few or none among the 
 annuitants. 
 
 " Another act of injustice, which I believe we may ascribe to the same 
 cause, relates to those who were engaged in heavy contracts for stock or 
 subscription, many of whom groan under the load to this very day ; for after 
 we had, by act of Parliament, quite altered the nature, though not the name, 
 of the stock they had bought, and made it much less valuable than it was 
 when they engaged to pay a high price for it, it was an act of public injustice 
 to leave them liable to be prosecuted at law for the whole money which they 
 had engaged to pay. I am sure this was not the method to restore that 
 private credit, upon which our trade and navigation so much depend. Had 
 the same regulation been here adopted which was observed towards those 
 who had borrowed money of the Company, or had a sort of uti possidetis been 
 enacted, by declaring all such contracts void so far as related to any future 
 payments, this would not have been unjust ; on the contrary, such a regula- 
 tion. Sir, was extremely necessary for qtdeting the minds of the people, for 
 preventing their ruining one another at law, and for restonng credit between 
 man and man. But there is reason to suppose that a certain gentleman had 
 many friends among the sellers in those contracts, and very few among the 
 buyers, which was the reason that the latter could obtain little or no relief or 
 mercy, by any public law or regulation. 
 
 " Then, Sir, with regard to the extraordinary grants made to the civil list, 
 the very reason given by the honourable gentleman for justifying those 
 grants is a strong reason for an immediate inquiry. If considerable charges 
 have arisen upon that revenue, let us see what they are ; let us examine 
 whether they were necessary. We have the more reason to do this, because 
 the revenue settled upon his late Majesty's civil list was at least as great as 
 
THE EAKL OF CHATHAM. 19 
 
 that which was settled upon King William or Queen Anne* Besides there 
 IS a general rumour without doors, that the civil list is now greatly in arrear, 
 which, if true, renders an inquiry absolutely necessary ; for it is inconsistent 
 with the honour and dignity of the Crown of these kingdoms to be in arrear 
 to its tradesmen and servants ; and it is the duty of this house to take care 
 that the revenue which we have settled for supporting the honour and 
 dignity of the Crown, shall not be squandered or misapplied. If former par- 
 liaments have failed in this respect, they must be censured, though they 
 cannot be punished ; but we ought now to atone for their neglect. 
 
 " I come now, in course, to the excise scheme, which the honourable 
 gentleman says ought to be forgiven, because it was easily given up.f Sir, 
 it was not easily given up. The promoter of that scheme did not easily give 
 it up ; he gave it up with sorrow, with tears in his eyes, when he saw, and 
 not until he saw, it was impossible to carry it through the House. Did not 
 his majority decrease upon every division? It was almost certain that if he 
 had pushed it further, his majority would have turned against him. His 
 sorrow showed his disappointment ; and his disappointment showed that his 
 design was deeper than simply to prevent frauds in the customs. He was, 
 
 * No specific sum was settled upon William m. in respect of tlie civil list ; but 
 certain taxes, producing, on an average of years, about £680,000 per annum, were 
 appropriated for that purpose. In the reign of Queen Anne, the civU list income 
 amounted to about £700,000 ; and on the accession of George I. this sum was granted 
 for the expenses of the civU government. In the last six years of the reign of George I., 
 during the whole of which period Sir Robert Walpole was prime minister, ^ants 
 amounting to the sum of £1,144,000 were made to the civil list, besides its being 
 freed from the payment of an annual sum of £36,000, payable in respect of pensions 
 and anntiities. In the year 1727, the entire revenue of the civU Ust, which produced 
 about £100,000 more than the sum granted to George I., was, upon the proposal of Sir 
 Robert "Walpole, settled upon George II. for life ; and in the year 1729, an extraordi- 
 nary grant of £116,000 was made to the civU list. Queen Anne, as stated by Mr. 
 Pitt, appropriated £100,000 per annum for the expenses of the war. — Sinclair's Hist, 
 of the Revenue, vol. u. pp. 38, 60, 59. Coxe's "Walpole, chap, xxxiu. Pail. Hist, 
 vol. xu. p. 462. 
 
 t The excise scheme of Sir Robert "Walpole was a project introduced by him in the 
 year 1733 for ultimately easing the landed interest of the whole land-tax, which had been 
 reduced in the previous year to one shilling in the pound, by converting the duties on 
 tobacco and wine, payable on importation, into inland duties, payable on taking them out 
 of warehouses for home consumption ; that is, changing the customs duties on those two 
 commodities into excise duties. It was computed, that, in consequence of the check 
 which the proposed change in the mode of ooUecting the duties on wine and tobacco 
 would give to smuggling, the revenue would derive an increase which, with the continu- 
 ance of the salt-tax, revived in the preceding year, would be amply sufficient to com- 
 pensate for the total abolition of the land-tax. The political opponents of Sir Robert 
 "Walpole, by representing his proposition as a scheme for a general excise, succeeded in 
 raising so violent a clamour against it, and in rendering it so highly unpopular, that, 
 much against his own inclination, he was obliged to abandon it. — Coxe's "Walpole, 
 chaps, xl. xli. Pari. Hist. vol. viii. p. 1232. For an interesting account of the pro- 
 ceedings relative to the excise scheme, see Lord Hervey's Memoirs of the Court of 
 George II. chaps, vui. and ix. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 THE MODERN OBATOR. 
 
 at that time, sensible of the influence of the excise-laws and excise-men with 
 regard to elections, and of the great occasion he should have for that sort of 
 influence at the approaching general election. His attempt, Sir, was most 
 flagrant against the constitution ; and he deserved the treatment he met with 
 from the people. It has been said, that there were none but what gentlemen 
 are pleased to call the mob concerned in burning him in effigy ; * but, as the 
 mob consists chiefly of children, journeymen, and servants, who speak the 
 sentiments of their parents and masters, we may thence judge of the senti- 
 ments of the higher classes of the people. 
 
 " The honourable gentleman has said, these were all the measures of a 
 domestic nature that could be found fault with, because none other have 
 been mentioned in this debate. Sir, he has already heard one reason 
 assigned why no other measures have been particularly mentioned and con- 
 demned in this debate. If it were necessary, many others might be men- 
 tioned and condemned. Is not the maintaining so numerous an army in 
 time of peace to be condemned ? Is not the fitting out so many expensive 
 and useless squadrons to be condemned ? Are not the encroachments made 
 upon the sinking fund ; f the reviving the salt duty ; the rejecting many 
 useful bills and motions in Parliament, and many other domestic measures, 
 to be condemned ? The weakness or the wickedness of these measures has 
 often been demonstrated. Their ill consequences were at the respective times 
 foretold, and those consequences are now become visible by our distress. 
 
 " Now, Sir, with regard to the foreign measures which the honourable 
 gentleman has attempted to justify. The Treaty of HanoverJ deserves to be 
 
 • See Lord Hervey's Memoirs of the Court of George II. vol. i. p. 203. 
 
 t In the yeai 1717, tlie surplus of the public income over tlie public expenditure 
 was converted into what was called The Sinking Fund, for the purpose of liquidating 
 the national debt. During the whole reign of George I., this fund was invariably 
 appropriated to the object for which it had been created ; and rather than encroach 
 upon it, money was borrowed upon new taxes, when the supplies in general might 
 have been raised by dedicating the surplus of the old taxes to the current services of 
 the year. The first direct encroachment upon the sinking fund took place in the year 
 1729, when the interest of a sum of £1,250,000, required for the current service of the 
 year, was charged on that fund, instead of any new taxes being imposed upon the 
 people to meet it. The second encroachment took place in theyear 1731, when the income 
 arising from certain duties which had been imposed in the reign of William HI. , for 
 paying the interest due to the East India Company, and which were now no longer 
 required for that purpose, in consequence of their interest being reduced, was made 
 use of in order to raise a sum of £1,200,000, instead of throwing such income into the 
 sinking fund, as ought properly to have been done. A third perversion of this fund 
 took place in the year 1733, before the introduction of the excise scheme. In the previous 
 year the land-tax hadbeen reduced to one shilling in the pound; and, in order to main- 
 tain it at the same rate, the sum of £500,000 was taken from the sinking fund, and ap- 
 plied to the services of the year. In 1734 the sum of £1,200,000, the whole produce of the 
 sinking fund, was taken from it; and in 1735 and 1736, it was anticipated and alienated. 
 — Sinclair's Hist, of the Revenue, vol. i. p. 484, et seq. Coxe's Walpole, chap. xl. 
 J The Treaty of Hanover, so called from having been signed at Hanover, was a 
 
THE EAKL OF CHATHAM. 21 
 
 first mentioned, because from thence springs the danger to which Europe is 
 now exposed; and it is impossible to assign a reason for our entering into that 
 treaty, without supposing that we then resolved to be revenged on the Em- 
 peror for refusing to grant us some favour in Germany. It is in vain now 
 to insist upon the secret engagements entered into by the Courts of Vienna 
 and Madrid, as the cause of that treaty. * Time has fully shown that there 
 never were any such engagements ; and his late Majesty's speech from the 
 throne cannot here be admitted as any evidence of the fact. Every one 
 knows that in Parliament the King's speech is considered as the speech of the 
 minister ; and surely a minister is not to be allowed to bring his own speech 
 as an evidence of a fact in his own justification. If it be pretended that his 
 late Majesty had some sort of information that such engagements had been 
 entered into, that very pretence furnishes an unanswerable argument for an 
 inquiry ; for, as the information now appears to have been groundless, we 
 
 defensive aUimce, bearing date tlie 3rd of September, 1725, between England, Prance, 
 and Prussia, to which the United Provinces, Sweden, and Denmark, afterwaids 
 acceded. Its real objects were the preservation of Gibraltar, tbe abolition of the 
 Ostend Company, which was considered by England and Holland as contrary to the 
 Treaty of Westphalia, and the frustration of the alleged plan for restoring tbe Preten- 
 der to the throne of Great Britam.— Coxe's Walpole, chap, xxviii. 
 
 , * An alliance consisting of three separate treaties was concluded at Vienna in 1725 
 between Austria and Spain. By the first, signed on the 30th of April, the two sove- 
 reigns confirmed the articles of the Quadi-uple AUiance ; the Emperor renounced his 
 pretensions to the Spanish throne, and Philip acknowledged the Emperor's right to 
 Naples and Sicily, the Milanese, and the Netherlands, and guaranteed the Pragmatic 
 Sanction, or the succession to the hereditary dominions of the house of Austria in the 
 female line. The second and third treaties were signed on the 1st of May. The 
 second, which was a treaty of commerce, opened the ports of Spain to the subjects of 
 the Emperor, sanctioned the establishment of the Ostend Company, and granted to the 
 Hanseatic towns the same privileges of trade as were enjoyed by the English and 
 Dutch. The third was a treaty of mutual defence, the two sovereigns agreeing to 
 support each other, should either be attacked. The large concessions which were 
 made by these treaties to the Emperor, immediately raised a suspicion that there had 
 been other and secret articles concluded in favour of Spain ; an'd these articles were 
 said to have been to the effect that the Emperor should give in marriage his daughters, 
 the two arch-duchesses, to Don Carlos and Don Philip, the two infants of Spain ; that 
 he should assist the King of Spain in obtaining by force the restitution of Gibraltar, if 
 good offices would not avail ; and that the two Courts should adopt measures to place 
 the Pretender on the throne of Great Britain, The fact of there having been a secret 
 treaty was placed beyond doubt by the Austrian ambassador at tie Court of London 
 having shown the article relating to Gibraltar in that treaty, in order to clear the 
 Emperor of having promised anything more than his good offices and mediation upon 
 that head. (Coxe's History of the House of Austria, chap, xxxvii.) With reference to 
 the stipulation for placing the Pretender on the throne of Great Britain, Mr. J. W. 
 Croker, in a note to Lord Hervey's Memoirs of the Court of George II. vol. i. p. 78, 
 says that its existence " is very probable ; " but that it is observable that Lord 
 Hervey, who revised his Memoirs some years after the 29th March, 1734, when Sir 
 
 Robert Walpole asserted in the House of Commons that there was such a document, 
 and who was so long in the full confidence of Walpole, speaks very doubtfully of it. 
 
22 THE MODEKN OKATOR. 
 
 ought to inquire into it, because, if it appears to be such information as 
 ought to have been believed, that minister ought to be punished who 
 advised his late Majesty to give credit to it, and who, in consequence, has 
 precipitated the nation into the most pernicious measures. 
 
 " At the time this treaty was entered into, we wanted nothing from the 
 Emperor upon our own account. The abolition of the Ostend Company was 
 a demand we had no right to make, nor was it essentially our interest to 
 insist upon it, because that Company would have been more hostile to the 
 interests both of the French and Dutch East India trades than to our own ; 
 and if it had been a point that concerned us much, we might probably have 
 gained it, by acceding to the Vienna treaty between the Emperor and Spain, 
 or by guaranteeing the Pragmatic Sanction,* which we afterwards did in the 
 most absolute manner, and without any conditions.f We wanted nothing 
 from Spain but a relinquishment of the pretence she had just begun, or, I 
 believe, hardly begun, to set up, in an express manner, with regard to 
 searching and seizing our ships in the American seas ; and this we did not 
 obtain, perhaps did not desire to obtain, by the Treaty of Seville. J By that 
 treaty we obtained nothing ; but we advanced another step towards that 
 danger in which Europe is now involved, by uniting the courts of France and 
 Spain, and by laying a foundation for a new breach between the courts of 
 Spain and Vienna. 
 
 * On the 2nd of August, 1718, Charles VI. promulgated a new law of succession for 
 the inheritance of the house of Austria, under the name of the Pragmatic Sanction. 
 By the family compact, framed by the Emperor Leopold, and confirmed by the Empe- 
 rors Joseph and Charles, the succession was entailed on the daughters of Joseph in 
 preference to the daughters of Charles, in case both of them should die without issue 
 male. When, however, Charles succeeded to the throne, he published a decree, 
 reversing the order of succession indicated by the family compact, and ordaining that, 
 in the event of his having no male issue, his own daughters should succeed to the 
 Austrian throne, in preference to the daughters of his elder brother ; and that such 
 succession should be regulated according to the order of primogeniture, so that the 
 elder should be preferred to the younger, and that she should inherit his entire 
 dominions. 
 
 t By the second Treaty of Vienna, concluded on the 16th of March, 1731, England 
 guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction, on the condition of the suppression of the Ostend 
 Company, and that the arch-duchess who succeeded to the Atistrian dominions should 
 not be married to a prince of the house of Bourbon, or to a prince so powerful as to 
 endanger the balance of Europe. — Coxe's House of Austria, chap. Ixxxviii. 
 
 I By the Treaty of SevUle, concluded between Great Britain, France, and Spain, 
 on the 9th of September, 1729, and shortly after acceded to by Holland, all former 
 treaties were confirmed, and the several contracting powers agreed to assist each other 
 in case of attack. The King of Spain revoked the privileges of trade which he had 
 granted to the subjects of Austria by the Treaty of Vienna, and commissioners were 
 to be appointed for the final adjustment of all commercial difficulties between Spain 
 and Great Britain. In order to secure the succession of Parma and Tuscany to the 
 Infant Don Carlos, it was agreed that 6,000 Spanish troops should be allowed to garri- 
 son Leghorn, Porto Ferrajo, Parma, and Placentia. This treaty passed over in total 
 silence the claim of Spain to Gibraltar. 
 
THE EAKL OF CHATHAM. 23 
 
 " I grant, Sir, that our Ministers appear to have been forward and diligent 
 enough in negotiating, and writing letters and memorials to the court of 
 Spain ; but, from all my inquiries, it appears that they never rightly under- 
 stood (perhaps they would not understand), the point, respecting which 
 they were negotiating. They suffered themselves to be amused with fair 
 promises, for ten long years ; and our merchants plundered, our trade inter- 
 rupted, now call aloud for inquiry. If it should appear that Ministers 
 allowed themselves to be amused with answers which no man of honour, 
 no man of common sense in such circumstances, would take, surely, Sir, 
 they must have had some secret motive for being thus grossly imposed on. 
 This secret motive we may perhaps discover by an inquiry ; and as it must 
 be a wicked one, if it can be discovered, the parties ought to be severely 
 punished. 
 
 " But, in excuse for their conduct, it is said that our Ministers had a 
 laudable repugnance in involving their country in a war. Sir, this repug- 
 nance could not proceed from any regard to their country. It was involved 
 in a war ; Spain was carrying on a war against our trade, and that in the 
 most insulting manner, during the whole time of their negotiations. It was 
 this very repugnance, at least it was the knowledge of it which Spain pos- 
 sessed, that at length made it absolutely necessary for us to commence the 
 war. If Ministers had at first insisted properly and peremptorily upon an 
 explicit answer, Spain would.have expressly abandoned her new and insolent 
 claims and pretensions. But by the long experience we allowed her, she 
 found the fruits of those pretensions so plentiful and so gratifying, that she 
 thought them worth the hazard of a war. Sir, the damage we had sus- 
 tained became so considerable, that it really was worth that hazard. Be- 
 sides, the court of Spain was convinced, whilst we were under such an 
 administration, that either nothing could provoke us to commence the war ; 
 or, that if we did, it would be conducted in a weak and miserable manner. 
 Have we not. Sir, since found that their opinion was correct? Nothing, 
 Sir, ever more demanded a parliamentary inquiry than our conduct in 
 the war. The only branch into which we have inquired, we have already 
 censured and condemned. Is not this a good reason for inquiring 
 into every other branch ? Disappointment and ill success have always, 
 till now, occasioned a parliamentary inquiry. Inactivity, of itself, is 
 a sufficient cause for inquiry. We have now all these reasons combined. 
 Our admirals abroad desire nothing more ; because they are conscious 
 that our inactivity and ill success will appear to proceed, not from their own 
 misconduct, but from, the misconduct of those by whom they were employed. 
 
 " I cannot conclude, Sir, without taking notice of the two other foreign 
 measures mentioned by the honourable gentleman. Our conduct in the year 
 1734, with regard to the war between the Emperor and France, maybe easily 
 accounted for, though not easily excused.* Ever since the last accession fo our 
 
 • Augustus the Second, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, having died in 
 February 1733, the kingdom of Poland was immediately exposed to the usual evils of 
 an elective monarchy. One faction called to the throne Stanislaus, who had once 
 
24 THE MODBKN OSATOR. 
 
 late Minister to power, we seem to have had an enmity to the house of Aus- 
 tria. Our guarantee of the Pragmatic Sanction was an effect of that enmity, 
 because we entered into it when, as hath since appeared, we had no intention 
 to perform our engagement ; and by that false guarantee we induced the 
 Emperor to admit the introduction of the Spanish troops into Italy, which he 
 would not otherwise have done. The preparations we made in that year, 
 the armies we raised, and the fleet we fitted out, were not to guard against 
 the event of the war abroad, but against the event of the ensuing elections 
 at home. The new commissions, the promotions, and the money laid out 
 in these preparations, were of admirable use at the time of a general election, 
 and in some measure atone for the loss of the excise scheme ; but France 
 and her allies were well convinced that we would in no event declare against 
 them, otherwise they would not then have dared to attack the Emperor ; for 
 Muscovy, Poland, Germany, and Britain, would have been by much an 
 over-match for them. It was not our preparations that set bounds to the 
 ambition of France, but her getting all she wanted at that time for herself, 
 and all she desired for her allies. Her own prudence suggested that it was 
 not then a proper time to push her views further ; because she did not know 
 but that the spirit of this nation might overcome (as it since has with regard 
 to Spain), the spirit of our administration ; and should this have happened, 
 the House of Austria was then in such a condition, that our assistance, even 
 though late, would have been of effectual service. 
 
 " I am surprised. Sir, to hear the honourable gentleman now say, that we 
 gave up nothing, or that we acquired anything, by the infamous Convention 
 with Spain. Did we not give up the freedom of our trade and navigation, 
 by submitting it to be regulated by plenipotentiaries ? Can freedom be 
 regulated without being confined, and consequently in some part destroyed? 
 Did we not give up Georgia, or some part of it, by submitting to have new 
 limits settled by plenipotentiaries ? Did we not give up all the reparation 
 of the damage we had suffered, amounting to five or six hundred thousand 
 pounds, for the paltry sum of twenty-seven thousand pounds ? This was all 
 that Spain promised to pay, after deducting the sixty-eight thousand pounds 
 which we, by the declaration annexed to that treaty, allowed her to insist 
 on having from our South Sea Company, under the penalty of stripping them 
 of the Asiento Contract, and all the privileges to which they were thereby 
 entitled. Even this sum of twenty-seven thousand pounds, or more, they had 
 
 reigned in Poland, whUe another proclaimed Augustus, son of the late king. The 
 former was supported by his son-in-law, Louis XV. of Frsince, the latter by Charles VI. 
 Emperor of Austria, and Anne, Empress of Russia. A large Russian army having 
 marched into Poland, Stanislaus was obliged to make his escape, and the Elector of 
 Saxony was crowned King of Poland on the 25th of December, 1733. Although Eng- 
 land remained neutral during the progress of these hostilities, she augmented her 
 naval and military forces, "in order," said Mr. Pelham, in the course of the above 
 debate, "to be ready to put a stop to the aims of the victorious side, in case their 
 ambition should lead them to push theu- conquests further than was consonant with 
 the balance of power in Europe." — Pari. Hist. vol. xii. p. 479. 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 25 
 
 before acknowledged to be due on account of ships they allowed to have 
 been unjustly taken, and for the restriction of which they had actually sent 
 orders : so that by this infamous treaty we acquired nothing whilst we gave 
 up everything ; therefore, in my opinion, the honour of this nation can 
 never be retrieved, unless the advisers and authors of it be censured 
 and punished. This, Sir, cannot regularly be done without a parliamentary 
 inquiry. 
 
 " By these, and similar weak, pusillanimous, and wicked measures, we 
 are become the ridicule of every court in Europe, and have lost the confi- 
 dence of all our ancient allies. By these measures we have encouraged 
 France to extend her ambitious views, and now at last to attempt carrying 
 them into execution. By bad economy, by extravagance in our domestic 
 measures, we have involved ourselves in such distress at home, that we are 
 almost wholly incapable of entering into a war ; whilst by weakness or 
 wickedness in our foreign measures, we have brought the afiairs of Europe 
 into such distress, that it is almost impossible for us to avoid it. Sir, we 
 have been brought upon a dangerous precipice. Here we now find our- 
 selves ; and shall we trust to be led safely off by the same guide who has 
 led us on ? Sir, it is impossible for him to lead us off. Sir, it is impossible 
 for us to get off, without first recovering that confidence with our ancient 
 allies which formerly we possessed. This we cannot do, so long as they 
 suppose that our councils are influenced by our late Minister ; and this they 
 will suppose so long as he has access to the King's closet; so long as his 
 conduct remains uninquired into, and uncensured. It is not, therefore, in 
 revenge for our past disasters, but from a desire to prevent them in future, 
 that I am now so zealous for this inquiry. The punishment of the Minister, 
 be it ever so severe, will be but a small atonement for the past. But his 
 impunity will be the source of many future miseries to Europe, as well as to 
 his country. Let us be as merciful as we will, as merciful as any man can 
 reasonably desire, when we come to pronounce sentence ; but sentence we 
 must pronounce. For this purpose, unless we are resolved to sacrifice our own 
 liberties, and the liberties of Europe, to the preservation of one guilty man, 
 we must make the inquiry." 
 
 The motion was rejected by a majority of only two. The numbers being : 
 for the motion, 242 ; against it, 244. 
 
 LoED Limeeick's Motion eok an Incitjiky into the Conduct of 
 
 THE EaBL op OeFOBD DURING THE LAST TeN YeARS OP HIS AD- 
 MINISTRATION. 
 
 March 23. The loss of Lord Limerick's motion on the 9th of March was 
 principally owing to the absence of Mr. Pulteney, occasioned by the dangerous 
 
26 THE MODEKN OBATOK. 
 
 illness of his daughter, and to his reported disapproval of the motion* 
 With a view to contradict this report, and to evince Mr. Pulteney's desire 
 for inquiry, Lord Limerick, at his request, moved, on the 23rd of March, 
 the appointment of a secret committee to inquire into the conduct of the Earl 
 of Orford during the last ten years of his administration-! 
 
 Mr. Pitt's speech on this occasion was in answer to Mr. George Cook, of 
 Harefield, a member who had very recently taken his seat in the House. It 
 was to the following effect : — ^ 
 
 " As the honourable gentleman who spoke last against the motion has not 
 been long in the House, it is but charitable to believe him sincere in profess- 
 ing that he is ready to agree to a parliamentary inquiry when he thinks the 
 occasion requires it. But if he knew how often such professions are made by 
 those who upon all occasions oppose inquiry, he would now avoid them, be- 
 cause they are generally believed to be insincere. He may, it is true, have 
 nothing to dread, on his own account, from inquiry ; but when a gentleman 
 has contracted, or any of his near relations have contracted, a friendship with 
 one who may be brought into danger, it is very natural to suppose that such 
 a gentleman's opposition to an inquiry does not entirely proceed from public 
 motives ; and if that gentleman follows the advice of some of his friends, I 
 very much question whether he will ever think that the occasion requires an 
 inquiry into the conduct of our public affairs. 
 
 " As a parliamentary inquiry must always be founded upon suspicions, as 
 well as upon facts or manifest crimes, reasons may always be found for 
 alleging those suspicions to be without foundation ; and upon the principle 
 that a parliamentary inquiry must necessarily lay open the secrets of Govern- 
 ment, no time can ever be proper or convenient for such inquiry, because it 
 is impossible to suppose a time when the Government has no secrets to 
 disclose. 
 
 " This, Sir, would be a most convenient doctrine for Ministers, because it 
 would put an end to all parliamentary inquiries into the conduct of- our 
 public affairs ; and, therefore, when I hear it urged, and so much insisted 
 on, by a certain set of gentlemen in this House, I must suppose their hopes 
 to be very extensive. I must suppose them to expect that they and their 
 posterity will for ever continue in office. Sir, this doctrine has been so often 
 contradicted by experience, that I am surprised to hear it advanced by 
 gentlemen now. This very session has afforded us a convincing proof that 
 very little foundation exists for asserting that a parliamentary inquiry must 
 necessarily reveal the secrets of the Government. Surely, in a war with 
 
 • TTpon the resignation of SirEobertWalpole, an admimstration was formed under 
 Mr, Pulteney, who refused to told any office, but appropriated to himself a seat in the 
 Cabinet. On the 14th of July, 1742, Mr. Pulteney was raised to the peerage by the 
 title of Earl of Bath. 
 
 t A motion once rejected cannot be brought forward again in the same session. 
 The term through which the proposed inquiry should extend, was therefore altered 
 from twenty years to the last ten. 
 
THE EAKL or CHATHAM. 27 
 
 Spain, which must be carried on principally by sea, if the Government have 
 secrets, the Lords of the Admiralty must be entrusted with the most 
 important of them. Yet, Sir, in this very session, we have, without any 
 secret committees, made inquiry into the conduct of the Lords Commissioners 
 of the Admiralty. We have not only inquired into their conduct, but we 
 have censured it in such a manner as to put an end to the trust which was 
 before reposed in them. Has that inquiry discovered any of the secrets of 
 our Government ? On the contrary, the committee found that there was no 
 occasion to probe into such secrets. They found cause enough for censure 
 without it; and none of the Commissioners pretended to justify their 
 conduct by the assertion that papers contained secrets which ought not to be 
 disclosed. 
 
 " This, Sir, is so recent, so strong, a proof that there is no necessary 
 connexion between a parliamentary inquiry and a discovery of secrets which 
 it behoves the nation to conceal, that I trust gentlemen will no longer insist 
 upon this danger as an argument against the inquiry. Sir, the First 
 Commissioner of the Treasury has nothing to do with the application of 
 secret service money. He is only to take care that it be regularly issued 
 from his office, and that no more be issued than the conjuncture of affairs 
 appears to demand. As to the particular application, it properly belongs to 
 the Secretary of State, or to such other persons as his Majesty employs ; so 
 that we cannot suppose the proposed inquiry will discover any secrets 
 relative to the application of that money, unless the noble lord has acted as 
 Secretary of State, as well as First Commissioner of the Treasury ; or unless 
 a great part of the money drawn out for secret service has been delivered to 
 himself or persons employed by him, and applied towards gaining a corrupt 
 influence in Parliament or at elections. Of both these practices he is most 
 grievously suspected, and both are secrets which it very much behoves him 
 to conceal. But, Sir, it equally behoves the nation to discover them. His 
 country and he are, in this cause, equally, although oppositely, concerned ; 
 for the safety or ruin of one or the other depends upon the fate of the 
 question; and the violent opposition which this question has experienced 
 adds great strength to the suspicion. 
 
 " I admit. Sir, that the noble lord, whose conduct is now proposed to be 
 inquired into, was one of his Majesty's most honourable Privy Council, and 
 consequently that he must have had a share at least in advising all the 
 measures which have been pursued both abroad and at home. But I cannot 
 from this admit, that an inquiry into his conduct must necessarily occasion a 
 discovery of any secrets of vital importance to the nation, because we are 
 not to inquire into the measures themselves. 
 
 " But, Sir, suspicions have gone abroad relative to his conduct as a Privy 
 Councillor, which, if true, are of the utmost consequence to be inquired into. 
 Ifhaj been strongly asserted that he was not only a Privy Councillor, but 
 that he usurped the whole and sole direction of his Majesty's Privy Council. 
 It has been asserted that he gave the Spanish Court the first hint of the 
 
28 THE MODERN OEATOS. 
 
 unjust claim they afterwards advanced against our South Sea Company, 
 which was one chief cause of the war between the two nations. And it has 
 been asserted that this very Minister has advised the French in what manner 
 to proceed in order to bring our Court into their measures ; particularly, 
 that he advised them as to the numerous army they have this last summer 
 sent into Westphalia. What truth there is in these assertions, I pretend not 
 to decide. The facts are of such a nature, and they must have been perpe- 
 trated with so much caution and secrecy, that it wUl be difficult to bring 
 them to light even by a parliamentary inquiry ; but the very suspicion is 
 ground enough for establishing such inquiry, and for carrying it on with the 
 utmost strictness and vigour. 
 
 " Whatever my opinion of past measures may be, I shall never be so vain, 
 or bigoted to that opinion, as to determine, without any inquiry, against the 
 majority of my countrymen. If I found the public measures generally con- 
 demned, let my private opinions of them be ever so favourable, I should be 
 for inquiry in order to convince the people of their error, or at least to 
 furnish myself with the most authentic arguments in favour of the opinion 
 I had embraced. The desire of bringing others into the same sentiments 
 with ourselves is so natural, that I shall always suspect the candour of those 
 who, in politics or religion, are opposed to free inquiry. Besides, Sir, when 
 the complaints of the people are general against an administration, or 
 against any particular minister, an inquiry is a duty which we owe both to 
 our Sovereign and the people. We meet here tb communicate to our 
 Sovereign the sentiments of his people. We meet here to redress the 
 grievances of the people. By performing our duty in both respects, we shall 
 always be enabled to establish the throne of our Sovereign in the hearts of 
 his people, and to hinder the people from being led into insurrection and 
 rebellion by misrepresentations or false surmises. When the people com- 
 plain, they must either be right or in error. If they be right, we are in duty 
 bound to inquire into the conduct of the Ministers, and to punish those who; 
 appear to have been most guilty. If they be in error, we ought still to 
 inquire into the conduct of our Ministers, in order to convince the people 
 that they have been misled. We ought not, therefore, in any question 
 relating to inquiry, to be governed by our own sentiments. We must be 
 governed by the sentiments of our consituents, if we are resolved to perform 
 our duty, both as true representatives of the people, or as faithful subjects 
 of our King. 
 
 " I perfectly agree with the honourable gentleman that if we are con- 
 vinced that the public measures are wrong, or that if we suspect them to 
 be so, we ought to make inquiry, although there is not much complaint 
 among the people ; but I wholly differ from him in thinking that notwith- 
 standing the administration and the Minister are the subjects of complaint 
 among the people, we ought not to make inquiry into his conduct unless we 
 are ourselves convinced that his measures have been wrong. Sir, we can no 
 more determine this question without inquiry, than a judge without a trial 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 29 
 
 can declare any man innocent of a crime laid to his charge. Common fame 
 is a sufficient ground for an inquisition at common law ; and for the same 
 reason, the general voice of the people of England ought always to be 
 regarded as a sufficient ground for a parliamentary inquiry. 
 
 " But, say gentlemen, of what is this Minister accused ? What crime is 
 laid to his charge ? For, unless some misfortune is said to have happened, 
 or some crime to have been committed, no inquiry ought to be set on foot. 
 Sir, the ill posture of our affairs both abroad and at home ; the melancholy 
 situation we are in ; the distresses to which we are now reduced, are 
 sufficient causes for an inquiry, even supposing the Minister accused of no 
 particular crime or misconduct. The nation lies bleeding, perhaps expiring. 
 The balance of power has been fatally disturbed. Shall we acknowledge 
 this to be the case, and shall we not inquire whether it has happened by 
 mischance, or by the misconduct, perhaps by the malice prepense, of the 
 Minister ? Before the Treaty of Utrecht, it was the general opinion that in a 
 few years of peace we should be able to pay off most of our debts. We have 
 now been very nearly thirty years in profound peace, at least we have never 
 been engaged in any war but what we unnecessarily brought upon ourselves, 
 and yet our debts are almost as great as they were when that treaty was 
 concluded.* Is not this a misfortune, and shall we not make inquiry into 
 its cause ? 
 
 " I am surprised to hear it said that no inquiry ought to be set on foot, 
 unless it is known that some public crime has been committed. Sir, the 
 suspicion that a crime has been committed has always been deemed a 
 sufficient reason for instituting an inquiry. And is there not now a suspicion 
 that the public money has been applied towards gaining a corrupt influence 
 at elections ^ Is it not become a common expression, 'The flood-gates of 
 the Treasury are opened against a general election ? ' I desire no more than 
 that every gentleman who is conscious that such practices have been resorted 
 to, either for or against him, should give his vote in favour of the motion. 
 Will any gentleman say that this is no crime, when even private corruption 
 has such high penalties, inflicted by express statute against it? Sir, a 
 Minister who commits this crime — who thus abuses the public money, 
 adds breach of trust to the crime of corruption ; and as the crime, when 
 committed by him, is of much more dangerous consequence than when 
 committed by a private man, it becomes more properly the object of a 
 parliamentary inquiry, and merits the severest punishment. The honourable 
 gentleman may with much more reason tell us that Porteous was never 
 murdered by the mob at Edinburgh, because, notwithstanding the high 
 
 * Debt on the accession of George the Pitst, in 1714 £64,145,363 
 
 Debt at the commencement of the Spanish war, in 1739 . . . £46,964,623 
 
 Decrease during the peace £7,190,740 
 
 — Pebrer on the Taxation of Great Britain, p. 245. 
 
30 THE MODERN ORATOB. 
 
 reward as well as pardon proffered, his murderers were never discovered,* 
 than tell us that we cannot suppose our Minister, either personally or by- 
 others, has ever corrupted an election, because no information has been 
 brought against him. Sir, nothing but a pardon, upon the conviction of the 
 offender, has ever yet been offered in this case ; and how could any informer 
 expect a pardon, and much less a reward, when he knew that the very man 
 against whom he was to inform, had not only the distribution of all public 
 rewards, but the packing of a jury or a Parliament against him ? Whilst such 
 a Minister preserves the favour of the Crown, and thereby the exercise of its 
 power, this information can never be expected. 
 
 " This shows. Sir, the impotence of the act, mentioned by the honourable 
 gentleman, respecting that sort of corruption which is called bribery. With 
 regard to the other sort of corruption, which consists in giving or taking 
 away those posts, pensions, or preferments, which depend upon the arbitrary 
 will of the Crown, the act is still more inefficient. Although it would be 
 considered most indecent in a minister to tell any man that he gave or with- 
 held a post, pension, or preferment, on account of his voting for or against 
 any ministerial measure in Parliament, or any ministerial candidate at an 
 election ; yet if he makes it his constant rule never to give a post, pension, 
 or preferment, but to those who vote for his measures and his candidates ; 
 if he makes a few examples of dismissing those who vote otherwise, it will 
 have the same effect as when he openly declares it.f Will any gentleman say 
 
 * Disturbances being apprehended at the execution of a smuggler, which, was 
 appointed to take place at Edinburgh, on the 14th of April, 1736, the attendance of 
 the City Guard, under the command of their Captain, John Porteous, was given with 
 a view to preserve the public peace. When the sentence of the law had been carried 
 into effect, the mob, who had hitherto remained peaceable, began to pelt the hangman 
 and soldiers with large stones ; whereupon Porteous, who was naturally of an irritable 
 disposition, snatched a musket &om one of the soldiers, and having discharged it, com- 
 manded his men to fire upon the crowd, by which several deaths were caused. For the 
 violence of his conduct, Porteous was brought to trial before the High Court of Jus- 
 ticiary, and condemned to death. "While the populace were assembled to witness his 
 execution, intelligence reached them that he had been reprieved. Indignation and 
 fury seized them. Determined to be avenged on Porteous, they broke into the place 
 of his confinement, carried him to the Grass-market, and themselves hanged him on 
 the spot where the victims of his own indiscretion and violence had faUen. A public 
 reward of £200 was offered for the apprehension and conviction of the persons con- 
 cerned in the murder of Porteous, but no clue could ever be obtained to any of them. In 
 consequence of the negligence of the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, in suppressing the 
 riots which led to the murder of Porteous, an act of Parliament, i George 11. c. 34, 
 was passed, disabling him from holding any office of magistracy in Scotland or else- 
 where, in Great Britain, and imposing a fine of £2,000 upon the Corporation of Edin- 
 burgh for the benefit of Porteous's widow. See Heart of Midlothian, chaps, ii. iii. iv, 
 and vi. 
 
 t It will be recollected that in consequence of his Parliamentary opposition to Sir 
 Robert Walpole, Mr. Pitt had been himself dismissed from the army. The Duke of 
 Bolton and Lord Cobham had also, for a simUar reason, been deprived of the command 
 of their regiments. 
 
THE EAKL OF CHATHAM. 31 
 
 that this has not been the practice of the Minister ? Has he not declared, in 
 the face of this House, that he will continue the practice ? And will not 
 this have the same effect as if he went separately to every particular man, 
 and told him in express terms, ' Sir, if you vote for such a measure or such a 
 candidate, you shall have the first preferment in the gift of the Crown ; if you 
 vote otherwise, you must not expect to keep what you have ? Gentlemen 
 may deny that the sun shines at noon-day ; but if they have eyes, and do 
 not wilfully shut them, or turn their backs, no man will believe them to be 
 ingenuous in what they say. I think, therefore, that the honourable gentle- 
 man was in the right who endeavoured to justify the practice. It was more 
 candid than to deny it — ^but as his arguments have already been fully 
 answered, I shall not farther discuss them. 
 
 " Gentlemen exclaim, ' What ! will you take from the Crown the power of 
 preferring or cashiering the officers of the army ? ' No, Sir, this is neither 
 the design, nor will it be the effect, of our agreeing to the motion. The 
 King at present possesses the absolute power to prefer or cashier the officers 
 of our army. It is a prerogative which he may employ for the benefit or 
 safety of the public ; but like other prerogatives, it may be abused, and when 
 it is so abused, the Minister is responsible to Parliament. When an officer 
 is preferred or cashiered for voting in favour of, or against any court measure 
 or candidate, it is an abuse of this prerogative, for which the Minister is 
 answerable. We may judge from circumstances or outward appearances — 
 from these we may condemn, and I hope we have still a power to punish a 
 Minister who dares to advise the King to prefer or cashier from such 
 motives ! Sir, whether this prerogative ought to remain as it is, without 
 any limitation, is a question foreign to this debate ; but I must observe, that 
 the argument employed for it might, with equal justice, be employed for 
 giving our King an absolute power over every man's property — ^because a 
 large property will always give the possessor a command over a great body 
 of men, whom he may arm and discipline if he pleases. I know of no law 
 to restrain him — I hope none will ever exist — I wish our gentlemen of 
 estates would make more use of this power than they do, because it would 
 tend to keep our domestic as well as our foreign enemies in awe. For my 
 part, I think that a gentleman who has earned his commission by his ser- 
 vices, (in his military capacity I mean,) or bought it with his money, has as 
 much a property in it as any man has in his estate, and ought to have it as 
 well secured by the laws of his country. Whilst it remains at the absolute 
 will of the Crown, he must, unless he has some other estate to depend on, 
 be a slave to the Minister; and if the officers of our army long continue 
 in that state of slavery in which they are at present, I am afraid it will make 
 slaves of us all. 
 
 " The only method to prevent this fatal consequence, as the law now 
 stands, is to make the best and most constant use of the power we possess 
 as members of this House, to prevent any minister from daring to advise the 
 King to make a bad use of his prerogative : as there is such a strong suspi- 
 
32 THE MODERN OBATOB. 
 
 cion that this Minister has done so, we ought certainly to inquire into it, not 
 only for the sake of punishing him if guilty, but as a terror to all future 
 ministers. 
 
 " This, Sir, may therefore be justly reckoned among the many other suffi- 
 cient causes for the inquiry proposed. — The suspicion that the civil list is 
 greatly in debt is another ; for if it is, it must either have been misapplied, 
 or profusely thrown away, which abuse it is our duty both to prevent and to 
 punish. It is inconsistent with the honour of this nation, that the King 
 should stand indebted to his servants or tradesmen, who may be ruined by 
 delay of payment. The Parliament has provided sufficiently to prevent this 
 dishonour from being brought upon the nation, and, if the provision we 
 have made should be lavished or misapplied, we must supply the deficiency ; 
 we ought to do it, whether the King makes any application for that purpose 
 or not ; and the reason is plain, because we ought first to inquire into the 
 management of that revenue, and punish those who have occasioned the 
 deficiency. They will certainly choose to leave the creditors of the Crown 
 and the honour of the nation in a state of suffering, rather than advise the 
 King to make an application which may bring censure upon their conduct, 
 and condign punishment upon themselves. Besides this, Sir, another and a 
 stronger reason exists for promoting an inquiry. There is a strong suspicion 
 that the public money has been applied towards corrupting voters at elec- 
 tions, and members when elected ; and if the civil list be in debt, it 
 afibrds reason to presume that some part of this revenue has, under 
 the pretence of secret service money, been applied to this infamous pur- 
 pose. 
 
 " I shall conclude. Sir, by making a few remarks upon the last argument 
 advanced against the proposed inquiry. It has been said that the Minister 
 delivered in his accounts annually ; that these accounts were annually past 
 and approved by Parliament ; and that therefore it would be unjust to call 
 him now to a general account, because the vouchers may be lost, or many 
 expensive transactions have escaped his memory. It is true. Sir, estimates 
 and accounts were annually delivered in. The forms of proceeding made 
 that necessary, but were any of these estimates and accounts properly 
 inquired into ? Were not all questions of that description rejected by the 
 Minister's friends in Parliament? Did not Parliament always take them 
 upon trust, and pass them without examination ? Can such a superficial 
 passing, to call it no worse, be deemed a reason for not calling him to a new 
 and general account ? If the steward to an infant's estate should annually, 
 for twenty years together, deliver in his accounts to the guardians ; and the 
 guardians, through negligence, or for a share of the plunder, should annually 
 pass his accounts without examination, or at least without objection ; 
 would that be a reason for saying that it would be unjust in the infant, 
 when he came of age, to call his steward to account ? Especially if that 
 steward had built and furnished sumptuous palaces, living, during the whole 
 time, at a much greater expense than his visible income warranted, and yet 
 
THE EAEL OP CHATHAM. 33 
 
 amassing great riehes ? The public. Sir, is always in a state of infancy ; 
 therefore no prescription can be pleaded against it — not even a general 
 release, if there is the least cause for supposing that it was surreptitiously 
 obtained. Public vouchers ought always to remain on record ; nor ought 
 any public expense to be incurred without a voucher — therefore the case of 
 the public is still stronger than that of an infant. Thus, Sir, the honourable 
 gentleman who made use of this objection must see how little it avails in the 
 case before us ; and therefore I trust we shall have his concurrence in the 
 question." 
 
 Lord Limerick's motion was carried by a majority of seven, the numbers 
 being 252 to 245 ; and a committee of secrecy, consisting of twenty-one 
 members, was appointed and selected by ballot. Of these all except two had 
 been the uniform opponents of Lord Orford. The committee having failed 
 to obtain the evidence of corruption which they had expected, Lord Lime- 
 rick, their chairman, introduced a bUl to indemnify such persons as should 
 make discoveries relating to the conduct of Lord Orford ; but this measure 
 was rejected by the House of Lords. The committee, nevertheless, made a 
 report, in which they charged Lord Orford, first, with the exercise of undue 
 influence at elections ; secondly, with having granted fraudulent contracts ; 
 and thirdly, with peculation and profusion in the expenditure of the secret 
 service money. No impeachment, however, was instituted against Lord 
 Orford in respect of these charges. Indeed Tindal, who was a contempo- 
 rary historian, says that the report was received by the public with con- 
 tempt. In the following session an attempt was made to renew the inquiry 
 into the public conduct of Lord Orford, but it was defeated by a majority of 
 253 to 186.* 
 
 Debate on taking the Hanotesian Tkoops into Bhitish Pat. 
 
 Upon the death of the Emperor Charles VI., on the 20th of October, 1740, 
 without leaving male issue, his eldest daughter, Maria Theresa, succeeded 
 to the inheritance of the Austrian dominions by virtue of the Pragmatic 
 Sanction. She was possessed of a commanding figure, great beauty, anima- 
 tion, and sweetness of countenance, a pleasing tone of voice, and fascinating 
 manners ; and united to every feminine grace a strength of understanding, 
 and an intrepidity above her sex. But she succeeded to the throne of 
 Austria under circumstances of great difficulty. The army was in an ineffi- 
 cient state, the finances were embarrassed, and a scarcity, almost amounting 
 to famine, pervaded many parts of her dominions. Immediately after her 
 accession, the King of Prussia, taking advantage of her youth and inex- 
 perience, as well as of the embarrassments of her position, revived an 
 
 * Coxe's Walpole, chaps. Ixi. Ixii. 
 TOL. I. D 
 
34 THE MODEEN OKATOE. 
 
 ancient claim to Silesia, and marched an army into that province. Alarmed 
 at this unexpected aggression, Maria Theresa appealed to England for the 
 aid which that country, as one of the guarantees of her succession, had 
 bound itself by treaty to grant to her. After having in vain endeavoured to 
 bring about an accommodation between Austria and Prussia, Great Britain, 
 in the month of April, 1741, granted a subsidy of £300,000 to the Queen of 
 Hungary. Besides the King of Prussia, other claimants on the Austrian 
 succession soon started up. The Elector of Bavaria pretended to be the 
 proper heir to the kingdom of Bohemia. Augustus II., Elector of Saxony 
 and King of Poland, having married the eldest daughter of the Emperor 
 Joseph I., elder brother of Charles VI., claimed the whole of the hereditary 
 dominions of Austria. The King of Spain did the same ; and the King of 
 Sardinia made pretensions to the duchy of Milan. Aided by France, these 
 various pretenders entered into a powerful confederacy for the partition 
 amongst them of the Austrian territories. Bohemia and Upper Austria were 
 allotted to the Elector of Bavaria ; Moravia and Upper Silesia to the 
 Elector of Saxony ; Lower SUesia and the county of Glatz to the King of 
 Prussia ; Austrian Lombardy to Spain ; and some territorial compensation 
 was to be made to the King of Sardinia. But Maria Theresa was not of a 
 spirit to be borne down even by such a storm as had now gathered around her, 
 and threatened the disruption of the Austrian empire. At the commence- 
 ment of her reign she had conciliated the affection of her Hungarian subjects, 
 by taking the oath which had been abolished by Leopold, for the confirma- 
 tion of their just rights, privileges, and ancient customs. She resolved, 
 therefore, to appeal to their fidelity and generosity in her present exigency ; 
 and accordingly repaired to Preshurgh. Having summoned the States of 
 the Diet of Hungary, she entered the hall of the castle, where they were 
 assembled, clad in deep mourning, and habited in the Hungarian dress, with 
 the crown of St. Stephen on her head, and the scimetar at her side, both 
 objects of high veneration among the natives. She traversed the apartment 
 with a slow and majestic step, ascended the tribune from which the Sove- 
 reigns had been accustomed to harangue the States, and, after the Chancellor 
 had detailed her distressed situation, she addressed them in Latin, a lan- 
 guage in familiar use among the Hungarians, and in which they preserved 
 the deliberations and the records of the kingdom. Impressed vrith the 
 youth, the beauty, and the extreme distress of Maria Theresa, who was then 
 pregnant, the deputies immediately responded to her appeal, and, drawing 
 their swords from their scabbards, exclaimed, with a shout that resounded 
 throughout the hall, " Our lives and our blood for your Majesty. We will 
 die for our King Maria Theresa."* Overcome with this display of zealous 
 enthusiasm and loyalty, the Queen, who had hitherto preserved a calm and 
 dignified deportment, burst into tears, and the members of the State, roused 
 
 * In Hungary the Sovereign is always styled King, the female title of Qnem being 
 applied only to Queens Consort. 
 
THE EABL OF CHATHAM. 35 
 
 almost to frenzy "by this proof of her sensibility, voted a liberal supply of 
 men and money. The resolutions to which the Diet, animated by the pre- 
 sence of their Sovereign, had come, were supported by the nation at large. 
 Croats, Pandours, and Sclavonians, crowded to the royal standard ; and by 
 their dress and arms, as well as by the ferocity of their manners and their 
 singular mode of warfare, struck terror into the disciplined troops of Prance 
 and Germany. Divisions now began to arise among the Queen's enemies ; 
 and the King of Prussia, jealous of the influence of Prance, was induced to 
 enter into negotiations for peace with Maria Theresa. At length, on the 
 11th June, .1742, a treaty was signed at Breslau between Austria and Prus- 
 sia, by which the Queen of Hungary ceded to the King of Prussia, in full 
 sovereignty, all Upper and Lower Silesia, with the county of Glatz, except 
 the towns of Troppau and Jagerndorf, and the high mountains beyond the 
 Oppan. The Elector of Saxony also agreed by this treaty to withdraw his 
 troops from the French army, and to acknowledge the Pragmatic Sanc- 
 tion.* 
 
 When Sir Robert Walpole retired from ofiSce, the martial spirit of 
 George II. prompted him to give a more decided support to the cause of 
 Maria Theresa than he had hitherto done by the mere grant of subsidies. 
 With this view, therefore, sixteen thousand British troops were despatched 
 in the month of April, 1 742, to Planders, and in the ensuing August, they 
 were joined by sixteen thousand Hanoverians, and six thousand Hessians^ 
 who were taken into British pay. These measures for the assistance 
 of the Queen of Hungary were by no means approved of by the 
 people of England ; and the complaint which had been so frequently raised 
 since the accession of the House of Hanover, of the interests of this 
 country being made subservient to, and, indeed, sacrificed to, those of that 
 electorate, was now heard. 
 
 On the 10th of December, 1742, a motion being made in the House of 
 Commons by Sir William Yonge,! " that the sum of £265,191 6«. S^d. be 
 granted to his Majesty for defraying the charge of 5,513 horse and 10,755 
 foot of the troops of Hanover, together with the general officers and the 
 train of artillery in the pay of Great Britain, from the 31st of August to the 
 25th of December, 1742, both inclusive," a long debate ensued, in which 
 many able speakers took part. Sir J. S. Aubin and Lord Quarendon opposed 
 the motion ; Mr. Bladen and Mr. Henry Fox supported it. The latter 
 gentleman having at the conclusion of his speech observed that " he shotdd 
 vote for the continuance of these measures till better should be proposed, 
 and should think that those troops ought to be retained, unless it could be 
 shown that others might be had who might be less dangerous or of greater 
 use," Mr. Pitt answered him thus : — 
 
 " Sir, if the honourable gentleman determines to abandon his present, 
 sentiments as soon as any better measures are proposed, the Ministry will 
 
 * Coxe's Austria. f Secretary at War. 
 
 D 2 
 
36 THE MODERN OKA.TOK. 
 
 quickly be deprived of one of their ablest defenders ; for I consider the 
 measures hitherto pursued so weak and so pernicious, that scarcely any 
 alteration can be proposed that will not be for the advantage of the nation. 
 
 " The honourable gentleman has already been informed that no necessity 
 existed for hiring auxiliary troops. It does not appear that either justice or 
 policy required us to engage in the quarrels of the continent; that there was 
 any need of forming an army in the Low Countries ; or that, in order to 
 form an army, auxiliaries were necessary. 
 
 " But, not to dwell upon disputable points, I think it may justly be con- 
 cluded that the measures of our Ministry have been ill concerted, because it 
 is undoubtedly wrong to squander the public money without effect, and to 
 pay armies, only to be a show to our friends and a scorn to our enemies. 
 
 " The troops of Hanover, whom we are now expected to pay, marched 
 into the Low Countries, Sir, where they still remain. They marched to the. 
 place most distant from the enemy, least in danger of an attack, and most 
 strongly fortified, had an attack been designed. They have, therefore, no 
 other claim to be paid, than that they left their own country for a place of 
 greater security. It is always reasonable to judge of the future by the past ; 
 and therefore it is probable that next year the services of these troops will 
 not be of equal importance with those for which they are now to be paid. I 
 shall not, therefore, be surprised, if, after such another glorious campaign, 
 the opponents of the Ministry be challenged to propose better men, and be 
 told that the money of this nation cannot be more properly employed than 
 in hiring Hanoverians to eat and sleep. 
 
 " But to prove yet more particularly that better measures may be taken — 
 that more useful troops may be retained — and that, therefore, the honourable 
 gentleman may be expected to quit those to whom he now adheres ; I shall 
 show that, in hiring the forces of Hanover, we have obstructed our own de- 
 signs ; that, instead of assisting the Queen of Hungary, we have withdrawn 
 from her a part of the allies, and have burthened the nation with troops from 
 which no service can reasonably be expected. 
 
 " The advocates of the Ministry have, on this occasion, affected to speak 
 of the balance of power, the Pragmatic Sanction, and the preservation of 
 the Queen of Hungary, not only as if they were to be the chief care of Great 
 Britain, which (although easily controvertible) might, in compliance with 
 long prejudices, be possibly admitted ; but as if they were to be the care of 
 Great Britain alone. These advocates, Sir, have spoken as if the power of 
 France were formidable to no other people than ourselves ; as if no other 
 part of the world would be injured by becoming a prey to an universal 
 monarchy, and subject to the arbitrary government of a French deputy; by 
 being drained of its inhabitants only to extend the conquests of its masters, 
 and to make other nations equally wretched ; and by being oppressed with 
 exorbitant taxes, levied by military executions, and employed only in 
 supporting the state of its oppressors. They dwell upon the importance of 
 public faith, and the necessity of an exact observation of treaties, as if the 
 
THE EAEL OF. CHATHAM. 37 
 
 Pragmatic Sanction had been signed by no other potentate than the King of 
 Great Britain ; as if the public faith were to be obligatory upon ourselves alone. 
 " That we should inviolably observe our treaties — observe them although 
 every other nation should disregard them ; that we should show an example 
 of fidelity to mankind, and stand firm in the practice of virtue, though we 
 should stand alone, I readily allow. I am, therefore, far from advising that 
 we should recede from our stipulations, whatever we may sufier in their 
 fulfilment ; or that we should neglect the support of the Pragmatic Sanc- 
 tion, however we maybe at present embarrassed, or however disadvantageous 
 may be its assertion. 
 
 " But surely. Sir, for the same reason that we observe our stipulations, we 
 ought to excite other powers also to observe their own ; at the least, Sir, 
 we ought not to assist in preventing them from doing so. But how is our 
 present conduct agreeable to these principles ? The Pragmatic Sanction 
 was guaranteed, not only by the King of Great Britain, but by the Elector of 
 Hanover also, who (if treaties constitute obligation), is thereby equally 
 obliged to defend the House of Austria against the attacks of any foreign 
 power, and to send his proportion of troops for the Queen of Hungary's 
 support. 
 
 " Whether these troops have been sent, those whose province obliges 
 them to possess some knowledge of foreign afiairs are better able to inform 
 the House than myself : but, since we have not heard them mentioned in 
 this debate, and since we know by experience that none of the merits of that 
 electorate are passed over in silence, it may, I think, be concluded that the 
 distresses of the Queen of Hungary have yet received no alleviation from 
 her alliance with Hanover ; that her complaints have excited no compassion 
 at that Court, and that the justice of her cause has obtained no attention. 
 
 " To what can be attributed this negligence of treaties, this disregard of 
 justice, this defect of compassion, but to the pernicious counsels of those 
 who have advised his Majesty to hire and to send elsewhere those troops 
 which should have been employed for the Queen of Hungary's assistance. 
 It is not to be imagined. Sir, that his Majesty has more or less regard to 
 justice as King of Great Britain, than as Elector of Hanover ; or that he 
 would not have sent his proportion of troops to the Austrian army, had not 
 the temptation of greater profit been laid industriously before him. But 
 this is not all that may be urged against such conduct. For, can we 
 imagine that the power, that the designs, of France are less formidable to 
 Hanover than Great Britain ? Is it less necessary for the security of 
 Hanover than of ourselves, that the House of Austria should be re- 
 established in its former splendour and influence, and enabled to support 
 the liberties of Europe against the enormous attempts at universal monarchy 
 by France ? 
 
 " If, therefore, our assistance to the Queen of Hungary be an act of 
 honesty, and granted in consequence of treaties, why may it not be equally 
 required of Hanover ? If it be an act of generosity, why should this country 
 
38 THE MOD:^aN OKATOE. 
 
 alone be obliged to sacrifice her interests for those of others? or why should 
 the Elector of Hanover exert his liberality at the expense of Great Britain ? 
 
 " It is now too apparent, Sir, that this great, this powerful, this mighty 
 nation, is considered only as a province to a despicable Electorate ; and that 
 in consequence of a scheme formed long ago, and invariably pursued, these 
 troops are hired only to drain this unhappy country of its money. That they 
 have hitherto been of no use to Great Britain or to Austria, is evident beyond 
 a doubt ; and therefore it is plain that they are retained only for the pur- 
 poses of Hanover. 
 
 " How much reason the transactions of almost every year have given for 
 suspecting this absurd, ungrateful, and perfidious partiality, it is not neces- 
 sary to declare. I doubt not that most of those who sit in this House can 
 recollect a great number of instances in point, from the purchase of part of 
 the Swedish dominions, to the contract which we are now called upon to 
 ratify. Few, I think, can have forgotten the memorable stipulation for the 
 Hessian troops : for the forces of the Duke of Wolfenbuttle, which we were 
 scarcely to march beyond the verge of their own country : or the ever 
 memorable trea.ty, the tendency of which is discovered in the name. A 
 treaty by which we disunited ourselves from Austria ; destroyed that 
 building which we now endeavour, perhaps in vain, to raise again ; and 
 weakened the only power to which it was our interest to give strength. 
 
 " To dwell on all the instances of partiality which have been shown, and 
 the yearly visits which have been paid to that delightful country ; to reckon 
 up all the sums that have been spent to aggrandize and enrich it, would be 
 an irksome and invidious task — invidious to those who are afraid to be told 
 the truth, and irksome to those who are unwilling to hear of the dishonour 
 and injuries of their country. I shall not dwell further on this unpleasing 
 subject than to express my hope that we shall no longer suffer ourselves to 
 be deceived and oppressed : that we shall at length perform our duty as 
 representatives of the people : and, by refusing to ratify this contract, show, 
 that however the interests of Hanover have been preferred by the Ministers, 
 the Parliament pays no regard but to the interests of Great Britain." 
 
 Sir William Yonge's motion was carried by a majority of 260 to 193. 
 
 Debate on the Addkess of Thanks. 
 
 The battle of Dettingen was fought on the 19th of June, 1743. His 
 Majesty King George the Second was present at this battle ; and during its 
 progress displayed great personal bravery, and several times led his cavalry 
 and infantry to the charge. Although the allies were victorious, they may 
 be considered to have had an unexpected and fortunate escape rather than 
 to have gained an important and decisive victory. It was, however, triumph- 
 antly celebrated, and the exploits of the King were compared with those of 
 
THE EARL Or CHATHAM. 89 
 
 Marlborough and Eugene. It was said that the partiality of his Majesty to 
 his Electoral subjects was so evident that he had worn the Hanoverian scarf 
 during the engagement ; that the advice of the English General had been 
 despised ; that the inactivity of the allies subsequent to the battle was owing 
 to the councils of Lord Carteret ; and that, through the cowardice of the 
 Hanoverian troops, they had well nigh sustained a defeat. These assertions 
 were for the most part unfounded, but they served the purposes of those who 
 uttered them, and inflamed the minds of the people to the highest pitch of 
 indignation. 
 
 1743, December 1. This day his Majesty opened the session of Parliament 
 in person. The address of the Commons in answer to the speech from the 
 Throne was moved by Mr. Coxe, and seconded by Mr. PhUip Yorke. The fol- 
 lowing is an extract from the address : — " We beg leave to congratulate your 
 Majesty on your safe and happy return into this kingdom ; and with hearts 
 full of gratitude, we acknowledge the goodness of Divine Providence to this 
 nation, in protecting your Majesty's sacred person amidst the imminent dan- 
 gers to which your invaluable life has been exposed, in defence of the common 
 cause, and of the liberties of Europe. Your Majesty's regard and attention 
 to the advice of your Parliament in exerting your endeavours for the preser- 
 vation of the House of Austria, require our warmest acknowledgments ; 
 and it is with the highest satisfaction we reflect on the success of your 
 Majesty's arms in the prosecution of this great and necessary work, with 
 so much glory to yourself, and honour to the nation." 
 
 After Mr. P. Yorke had addressed the House, Mr. Pitt rose and said : — 
 
 "From the proposition before the House, Sir, we may perceive, that 
 whatever alteration has been, or may be, produced with respect to foreign 
 measures, by the late change in administration, we can expect none with 
 regard to our domestic affairs. In foreign measures, indeed, a most extraor- 
 dinary change has taken place. From one extreme our administration have 
 run to the very verge of another. Our former Minister betrayed the interests 
 of his country by his pusillanimity; our present Minister would sacrifice 
 them by his Quixotism. Our former Minister was for negotiating with all 
 the world ; our present Minister is for fighting against all the world. Our 
 former Minister was for agreeing to every treaty, though never so dishonour- 
 able ; our present Minister will give ear to none, though never so reasonable. 
 Thus, whilst both appear to be extravagant, this difierence results from their 
 opposite conduct ; that the wild system of the one must subject the nation to 
 a much heavier expenditure than was ever incurred by the pusillanimity of 
 the other. The honourable gentleman who spoke last was correct in saying, 
 that in the beginning of the session we could know nothing, in a par- 
 liamentary way, of the measures that had been pursued. I believe, Sir, we 
 shall know as little, in that way, at the end of the session ; for our new 
 Minister, in this, as in every other step of his domestic conduct, will follow 
 the example of his predecessor, and put a negative upon every motion which 
 
40 THE MODEKN ORATOR. 
 
 may tend towards our requiring any parliamentary knowledge of our late 
 proceedings. But if we possess no knowledge of these proceedings, it is, 
 surely, as strong an argument for our not approving, as it can be for our not 
 condemning them. Sir, were nothing relating to our late measures proposed 
 to be inserted in our address upon this occasion, those measures would not 
 have been noticed by me ; but when an approbation is proposed, I am com- 
 pelled to employ the knowledge I possess, whether parliamentary or other- 
 wise, in order that I may join or not in the vote of approbation. What 
 though my knowledge of our late measures were derived from foreign and 
 domestic newspapers alone, even of that knowledge I must avail myself, 
 when obliged to express my opinion; and when from that knowledge I 
 apprehend them to be wrong, it is my duty, surely, to withhold my appro- 
 bation. I am bound to persist in thus withholding it till the Minister be 
 pleased to furnish me with such parliamentary knowledge as may convince 
 me that I have been misinformed. This would be my proper line of conduct 
 when, from the knowledge I possess, instead of approving any late measures, 
 I think it more reasonable to condemn them. But supposing. Sir, from the 
 knowledge within my reach, that I consider those measures to be sound, 
 even then I ought not to approve, unless such knowledge can warrant ap- 
 proval. Now, as no sort of knowledge but a parliamentary knowledge can 
 authorize a parliamentary approbation, for this reason alone I ought to refuse 
 it. If, therefore, that which is now proposed contain any sort of approbation, 
 my refusing to agree to it conveys no censure, but is a simple declaration 
 that we possess not such knowledge of past measures as affords sufficient 
 grounds for a parliamentary approbation. A parliamentary approbation. 
 Sir, extends not only to all that our Ministers have advised, but to the 
 acknowledgment of the truth of several facts which inquiry may show to be 
 false, of facts which, at least, have been asserted without authority and 
 proof. Suppose, Sir, it should appear that his Majesty was exposed to few 
 or no dangers abroad, but those to which he is daily liable at home, such as 
 the overturning of his coach, or the stumbling of his horse, would not the 
 address proposed, instead of being a compliment, be an affront and an insult 
 to the Sovereign ? Suppose it should appear that our Ministers have shown 
 no regard to the advice of Parliament ; that they have exerted their endea- 
 vours, not for the preservation of the House of Austria, but to involve that 
 House in dangers which otherwise it might have avoided, and which it is 
 scarcely possible for us now to avert ; suppose it should appear that a body 
 of Dutch troops, although they marched to the Rhine, have never joined 
 our army; suppose it should appear that the treaty with Sardinia is not yet 
 ratified by all the parties concerned, or that it is one with whose terms it is 
 impossible they should comply : if these things should appear on inquiry, would 
 not the address proposed be most ridiculously absurd ? Now, what 
 assurance have we that all these facts will not turn out as I have imagined. 
 
 " Upon the death of the late Emperor of Germany, it was the interest of 
 this nation, I grant, that the Queen of Hungary should be established in her 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 41 
 
 father's dominions, and that her husband, the Duke of Lorraine, should be 
 chosen Emperor. This was our interest, because it would have been the 
 best security for the preservation of the balance of power ; but we had no 
 other interest, and it was one which we had in common with all the powers 
 of Europe, excepting France. We were not, therefore, to take upon us the 
 sole support of this interest; and, therefore, when the King of Prussia 
 attacked Silesia, when the King of Spain, the King of Poland, and the Duke 
 of Bavaria laid claim to the late Emperor's succession, we might have seen 
 that the establishment of the Queen of Hungary in all her father's dominions 
 was impracticable, especially as the Dutch refused to interfere, excepting by 
 good offices. What then ought we to have done? Since we could not 
 preserve the whole, is it not evident that, in order to bring over some of 
 the claimants to our side, we ought to have advised her to yield up part ? 
 Upon this we ought to have insisted, and the claimant whom first we should 
 have considered was the King of Prussia, both because he was one of the . 
 most neutral, and one of the most powerful allies with whom we could treat. 
 For this reason it was certainly incumbent upon us to advise the Queen of 
 Hungary to accept the terms ofiered by the King of Prussia when he first 
 invaded Silesia. Nay, not only should we have advised, we should have 
 insisted upon this as the condition upon which we would assist her against 
 the claims of others. To this the Court of Vienna must have assented; and, 
 in this case, whatever protestations the other claimants might have made, I 
 am persuaded that the Queen of Hungary would to this day have remained 
 the undisturbed possessor of the rest of her father's dominions, and that 
 her husband, the Duke of Lorraine, would have been now seated on the 
 imperial throne. 
 
 " This salutary measure was not pursued. This appears. Sir, not only from 
 the Gazettes, but from our parliamentary knowledge : for from the papers 
 which have been either accidentally or necessarily laid before Parliament, it 
 appears, that instead of insisting that the Court of Vienna should agree to 
 the terms ofiered by Prussia, we rather encouraged the obstinacy of that 
 Court in rejecting them. We did this, Sir, not by our memorials alone, but 
 by his Majesty's speech to his Parliament, by the consequent addresses of 
 both Houses, and by speeches directed by our courtiers against the King of 
 Prussia. I allude, Sir, to his Majesty's speech on the 8th April, 1741, to 
 the celebrated addresses on that occasion for guaranteeing the dominions of 
 Hanover, and for granting £300,000 to enable his Majesty to support the 
 Queen of Hungary. The speeches made on that occasion by several of 
 our favourites at Court, and their refiectlons on the King of Prussia, must 
 be fresh in the memory of all. All must remember, too, that the Queen of 
 Hungary was not then, nor for some months after, attacked by any one 
 prince in Europe excepting the King of Prussia : she must, therefore, have 
 supposed that both the Court and nation of Great Britain were resolved 
 to support her, not only against the King of Prussia, but against aU the 
 world. We cannot, therefore, be surprised that the Court of Vienna 
 
42 THE MOBEKN OEATOB. 
 
 evinced an unwillingness to part with so plenteous a country as that claimed 
 by the King of Prussia — the lordship of Silesia. 
 
 " But, Sir, this was not all. Not only had we promised our assistance 
 to the Queen of Hungary, but we had actually commenced a negotiation 
 for a powerful alliance against the King of Prussia, and for dividing his 
 dominions amongst the allies. We had solicited, not only the Queen of 
 Hungary, but also the Muscovites and the Dutch, to form parts of this 
 dliance. We had taken both Danes and Hessians into our pay, in support 
 of this alliance. Nay, even Hanover had subjected herself to heavy expenses 
 on this occasion, by adding a force of nearly one-third to the army she had 
 already on foot. This, Sir, was, I believe, the first extraordinary expense 
 which Hanover had incurred since her fortunate conjunction with England ; 
 the first, I say, notwithstanding the great acquisitions she has made, and 
 the many heavy expenses in which England has been involved upon her sole 
 account. 
 
 " If, therefore, the Queen of Hungary was obstinate in regard to the 
 claims of Prussia, her obstinacy must be ascribed to ourselves. To us must 
 be imputed those misfortunes which she subsequently experienced. It was 
 easy to promise her our assistance whilst the French seemed determined 
 not to interfere with Germany. It was safe to engage in schemes for her 
 support, and for the enlargement of the Hanoverian dominions, because 
 Prussia could certainly not oppose an equal resistance to the Queen of 
 Hungary alone, much less so to that Queen when supported by Hanover and 
 the whole power of Great Britain. During this posture of affairs, it was 
 safe for us, I say, it was safe for Hanover, to promise assistance and to 
 concert schemes in support of the Queen of Hungary. But no sooner did 
 France come forward than our schemes were at an end, our promises for- 
 gotten. The safety of Hanover was then involved, and England, it seems, is 
 not to be bound by promises, nor engaged in schemes, which, by possibility, 
 may endanger or distress the Electorate. From this time. Sir, we thought 
 no more of assisting the Queen of Hungary, excepting by grants which 
 were made by Parliament. These, indeed, our Ministers did not oppose, 
 because they contrive to make a job of every parliamentary grant. But 
 from the miserable inactivity in which we allowed the Danish and Hessian 
 troops to remain, notwithstanding that they received our pay ; and from the 
 insult tamely submitted to by our squadron in the Mediterranean, we must 
 conclude that our Ministers, from the time the French interfered, resolved 
 not to assist the Queen of Hungary by land or sea. Thus, having drawn 
 that Princess forward on the ice by our promises, we left her to retreat as 
 she could. Thus it was. Sir, that the Duke of Bavaria became Emperor ; * 
 thus it was that the House of Austria was stripped of great part of its 
 dominions, and was in the utmost danger of being stripped of all, had France 
 been bent on its destruction. Sir, the House of Austria was saved by the 
 
 • The Duke of Bavaiia was elected Emperor on the 12tli of February, 1742. 
 
THE EABL OF CHATHAM. 43 
 
 policy of France, who wished to reduce, but not absolutely to destroy it. 
 Had Austria been ruined, the power of the Duke, of Bavaria, who had been 
 elected Emperor, would have risen higher than was consistent with the 
 interests of France. It was the object of France to foment divisions amongst 
 the princes of Germany, to reduce them by mutual strife, and then to 
 render the Houses of Bavaria, Austria, and Saxony, nearly equal by parti- 
 tions. 
 
 " It was this policy which restrained the French from sending so powerful 
 an army into Germany as they might otherwise have sent. And then, 
 through the bad conduct of their generals, and through the skill and bravery 
 of the officers and troops of the Queen of Hungary, a great improvement in 
 her affairs was effected. This occurred about the time of the late changes in 
 pur administration ; and this leads me to consider tKe origin of those mea- 
 sures which are now proceeding, and to the situation of Europe at that par- 
 ticular time, February, 1742. But, before I enter upon that consideration, 
 I must lay this down as a maxim to be ever observed by this nation, that, 
 although it be our own interest to preserve a balance of power in Europe, 
 yet, as we are the most remote from danger, we have the least reason to be 
 jealous as to, the adjustment of that balance; and should be the last to take 
 alarm on its account. Now the balance of power may be supported, either 
 by the existence of one single potentate capable of opposing and defeating 
 the ambitious designs of France, or by a well-connected confederacy ade- 
 quate to the same interit. Of these two methods, the first, when practicable, 
 is the most eligible, because on that method we may most safely rely ; but 
 when it cannot be resqrted to, the whole address of our Ministers and pleni- 
 potentiaries should tend to establish the second. 
 
 . " The wisdom of the maxim, Sir, to which I have adverted, must be 
 acknowledged by all who consider, that when the powers upon the continent 
 apply to us to join them in a war againpt France, we may take what shar? 
 in the war we think fit. When we, on the contrary, apply to them, they 
 will prescribe to us. However some gentlemen may affect to alarm them- 
 selves or others by alleging the dependency of all the European powers upon 
 France, of this we may rest assured, that when those powers are really 
 threatened with such dependency, they will unite among themselves, and 
 call upon us also to prevent it. Nay, Sir, should even that dependence 
 imperceptibly ensue ; so soon as they perceived it, they would unite amongst 
 themselves, and call us to join the confederacy by which it might, be shaken 
 off. Thus we can never be reduced to stand single in support of the balance 
 of power, nor can we be compelled to call upon our continental neighbours 
 for such purpose, unless when our Ministers have an interest in pretending 
 and asserting imaginary dangers. 
 
 " The posture of Europe since the time of the Komans is wonderfully 
 changed. In those times each country was divided into many sovereignties. 
 It was then impossible for the people of any one country to unite amongst 
 themselves, and much more impossible for two or three large countries to 
 
44 THE MODEaN OKATOR. 
 
 combine in a general confederacy against the enormous power of Rome. 
 But such confederacy is very practicable now, and may always be effected 
 whenever France, or any one of the powers of Europe, shall endeavour to 
 enslave the rest. I have said, Sir, that the balance of power in Europe may 
 be maintained as securely by a confederacy as it can be by opposing any 
 one rival power to the power of France. Now, let us examine to which of 
 these two methods we ought to have resorted in February 1742. The 
 imperial diadem was then fallen from the House of Austria ; and although 
 the troops of the Queen of Hungary had met with some success during the 
 winter, that Sovereign was still stript of great part of the Austrian dominions. 
 The power of that House was therefore greatly inferior to what it was at the 
 time of the late Emperor's death, and stUl more inferior to what it had been 
 in 1716, when we considered it necessary to add Naples and Sardinia to its 
 former acquisitions, in order to render it a match for France. Besides this, 
 there existed in 1742 a very powerful confederacy against the House of 
 Austria, whilst no jealousy was harboured by the powers of Europe against 
 the ambition of France. For France, although she had assisted in depress- 
 ing the House of Austria, had shown no design of increasing her own 
 dominions. On the other hand, the haughty demeanour of the Court of 
 Vienna, and the height to which that House had been raised, excited a spirit 
 of disgust and jealousy in the princes of Germany. That spirit first mani- 
 fested itself in the House of Hanover, and at this very time prevailed not 
 only there, but in most of the German sovereignties. Under such circum- 
 stances, however weak and erroneous our Ministers might be, they could not 
 possibly think of restoring the House of Austria to its former splendour and 
 power ; they could not possibly oppose that single house as a rival to France. 
 No power ia Europe would have cordially assisted them in that scheme : 
 they would have had to cope, not only with France and Spain, but 
 with all the princes of Germany and Italy, to whom Austria had become 
 obnoxious. 
 
 " In these circumstances, what was this nation to do ? What ought our 
 Ministers to have done ? Since it was impossible to establish the balance of 
 power in Europe upon the single power of the House of Austria, surely. 
 Sir, it was our business to think of restoring the peace of Germany as soon 
 as possible by our good offices, in order to establish a confederacy sufficient 
 to oppose France, should she afterwards discover any ambitious intentions. 
 It was now not so much our business to prevent the lessening the power of 
 the House of Austria, as it was to bring about a speedy reconciliation 
 between the princes of Germany ; to take care that France should get as 
 little by the treaty of peace as she said she expected by the war. This, I 
 say, should have been our chief concern, because the preservation of the 
 balance of power was now no longer to depend upon the House of Austria, but 
 upon the joint power of a confederacy then to be formedj and till the princes 
 of Germany were reconciled among themselves, there was scarcely a possi- 
 bility of forming such a confederacy. If we had made this our scheme, the 
 
THE BABL OF CHATHAM. 45 
 
 Dutch would have joined heartily in it. The Germanic body would have 
 joined in it; and the peace of Germany might have been restored without 
 putting this nation to any expense, or diverting us from the prosecution of 
 our just and necessary war against Spain, in case our differences with that 
 nation could not have been adjusted by the treaty for restoring the peace of 
 Germany. 
 
 " But our new Minister, as I have said, ran into an extreme quite opposite 
 to that of the old. Our former Minister thought of nothing but negotiating 
 when he ought to have thought of nothing but war ; the present Minister 
 has thought of nothing but war, or at least its resemblance, when he ought 
 to have thought of nothing but negotiation. 
 
 " A resolution was taken, and preparations were made, for sending a body 
 of troops to Flanders, even before we had any hopes of the King of Prussia's 
 deserting his alliance with France, and without our being called on to do so 
 by any one power in Europe. I say. Sir, by any one power in Europe ; for 
 I defy our Ministers to show that even the Queen of Hungary desired any 
 such thing before it was resolved on. I believe some of her ministers were 
 free enough to declare that the money those troops cost would have done 
 her much more service ; and I am sure we were so far from being called on 
 by the Dutch to* do so, that it was resolved on without their participation, 
 and the measures carried into execution, I believe, expressly contrary to 
 their advice. 
 
 " This resolution, Sir, was so far from having any influence on the King 
 of Prussia, that he continued firm to his alliance with France, and fought 
 the battle of Czaslau after he knew it was taken ; and if he had continued 
 firm in the same sentiments, I am very sure our troops neither would, nor 
 could, have been of the least service to the Queen of Hungary ; but the 
 battle of Czaslau fully convinced him that the French designed chiefly to 
 play one German prince against another, in order to weaken both ; and per- 
 haps he had before this discovered, that, according to the French scheme, 
 his share of Silesia was not to be so considerable as he expected. 
 These considerations, and not the eloquence or address of any of our Minis-, 
 ters, inclined him to come to an agreement with the Queen of Hungary ; 
 and as she was now convinced that she could not depend upon our promises, 
 she readily agreed to his terms, though his demands were now much more 
 extravagant than they were at first ; and what is worse, they were now unac- 
 companied with any one promise or consideration, except that of a neutrality ; 
 whereas his first demands were made palatable by the tender of a large sum 
 of money, and by the promise of his utmost assistance, not only in supporting 
 the Pragmatic Sanction, but in raising her husband, the Duke of Lorraine, to 
 the imperial throne. Nay, originally, he even insinuated that he would 
 embrace the first opportunity to assist in procuring her House an equivalent 
 for whatever part of Silesia she should resign to him. 
 
 " This accommodation between the Queen of Hungary and the King of 
 Prussia, and that which soon after followed between her and the Duke of 
 
46 THE MOfiSitN OBATOE. 
 
 Saxony, produced a very great alteration in the affairs of Europe ; but, as 
 these last powers promised nothing but a neutrality, and as the Dutch 
 absolutely refused to join, either with the Queen of Hungary or with 
 ourselves, in any offensive measures against France, it was still impossible 
 for us to think of restoring the House of Austria to such power as to render 
 it a match for the power of France ; we ought, therefore, still to have thought 
 only of negotiation, in order to restore the peace of Germany, by an accom- 
 modation between her and the Emperor. The distresses to which the 
 Bavarian and French armies in Germany were driven, furnished us with such 
 an opportunity : this we ought by all means to have embraced, and to have 
 insisted on the Queen of Hungary's doing the same, under the pain of being 
 entirely deserted by us. A peace was offered both by the Emperor and the 
 French, upon the moderate terms of uti possidetis, with respect to Germany ; 
 but, for what reason I cannot comprehend, we were so far from advising the 
 Queen of Hungary to accept, that I believe we advised her to reject it. 
 
 " This, Sir, was a conduct in our Ministers so very extraordinary, so 
 directly opposite to the interest of this nation, and the security of the balance 
 of power, that I can suggest to myself no one reason for it, but that they 
 were resolved to put this nation to the expense of maintaining sixteen 
 thousand Hanoverians ; and this I am afraid was the true motive with our 
 new Ministers for all the warlike measures they resolved on. Nothing would 
 now satisfy us but a conquest of Alsace and Lorraine in order to ^ve them to 
 the Queen of Hungary, as an equivalent for what she had lost ; and this we 
 resolved on, or at least pretended to resolve on, at a time when France and 
 Prussia were in close conjunction ; at a time when no one of the powers of 
 Europe could assist us ; at a time when none of them entertained a jealousy 
 of the ambitious designs of France ; and at a time when most of the princes 
 of Germany were so jealous of the power of the House of Austria, that we 
 had great reason to apprehend that the most considerable of these would 
 join against us, in case we should meet with any success. 
 
 " Sir, if our Ministers were really serious in this scheme, it was one of the 
 most romantic that ever entered the head of an Enghsh Quixote ; but if they 
 made it only a pretext for putting this nation to the expense of maintaining 
 sixteen thousand Hanoverians, or of acquiring some new territory for the 
 Electorate of Hanover, I am sure no British House of Commons can 
 approve their conduct. It is absurd. Sir, to say that we could not advise the 
 Queen of Hungary to accept of the terms offered by the Emperor and 
 France, at a time when their troops were cooped up in the city of Prague, 
 and when the terms were offered with a view only to get their troops at liberty 
 and to take the first opportunity to attack her with more vigour. This, I 
 say, is absurd, because had she accepted the terms proposed she might have 
 had them guaranteed by the Dutch, by the German body, and by all the 
 powerful princes of Germany, which would have brought all these powers- 
 into a confederacy with us against the Emperor and France, if they had 
 afterwards attacked her in Germany ; and all of them, but especially the 
 
THE EAEL OF CHATHAM. 47 
 
 Dutch, and the King of Prussia, would have been ready to join us, had the 
 French attacked her in Flanders. It is equally absurd to say that she could 
 not accept of these terms, because they contained nothing for the security of 
 her dominion in Italy ; for suppose the war had continued in Italy, if the 
 Queen of Hungary had been safe upon the side of Germany, she could have 
 poured such a number of troops into Italy, as would have been sufficient to 
 oppose and defeat all the armies that both the French and Spaniards could 
 send to, and maintain in that country; since we could, by our superior 
 fleets, have made it impossible for the French and Spaniards to maintain 
 great armies in that country. 
 
 " No other reason can therefore be assigned for the Queen of Hungary's 
 refusal of the terms proposed to her for restoring the tranquillity of Germany 
 than this alone, that we had promised to assist her so effectually as to enable 
 her to conquer a part of France, by way of equivalent for what she had lost 
 in Germany and Italy ; such assistance it was neither our interest nor in our 
 power to give, considering the circumstances of Europe. I am really 
 surprised that the Queen of Hungary came to trust a second time to our 
 promises ; for I may venture to prophesy that she will find herself again 
 deceived. We shaU put ourselves to a vast unnecessary expense, as we did 
 when she was first attacked by Prussia ; and without being able to raise a 
 jealousy in the other powers of Europe, we shaU give France a pretence for 
 conquering Flanders, which, otherwise, she would not have done. We may 
 bring the Queen of Hungary a second time to the verge of destruction, and 
 leave her there ; for that we certainly shall do, as soon as Hanover comes to 
 be a second time in danger. From all which I must conclude, that our 
 present scheme of politics is fundamentally wrong, and that the longer we 
 continue to build upon such a foundation, the more dangerous it will be for 
 us. The whole fabric will involve this unfortunate nation in its ruins. 
 
 " But now, Sir, let us see how we have prosecuted this scheme, bad as it 
 is, during the last campaign. As this nation must bear the chief part of the 
 expense, it was certainly our business to prosecute the war with all possible 
 vigour ; to come to action as soon as possible, and to push every advantage 
 to the utmost. Since we soon found that we could not attack the French 
 upon the side of Flanders, why were our troops so long marching into 
 Germany ? Or, indeed, I should ask, why our armies were not first assembled 
 in that country ? Why did they continue so long inactive upon the Maine ? 
 If our army was not numerous enough to attack the French, why were the 
 Hessians left behind for some time in Flanders ? Why did we not send over 
 twenty thousand of those regular troops that were lying idle here at home ? 
 How to answer all those questions I cannot tell ; but it is certain we never 
 thought of attacking the French army in our neighbourhood, and, I believe, ex- 
 pected very little to be attacked ourselves. Nay, I doubt much if any action 
 would have happened during the whole campaign, if the French had not, by 
 the misconduct of some one or other of our generals, caught our army in a 
 hose-net, from which it could not have escaped, had all the French generals 
 
48 THE MODERN OEATOE. 
 
 observed the direction of their commander-in-chief ; had they thought only 
 of guarding and fortifying themselves in the defile, and not of marching 
 up to attack our troops. Thank God, Sir, the courage of some of the 
 French generals got the better of their discretion, as well as of their 
 military discipline. This made them attack, instead of wajting to be at- 
 tacked, and then, by the bravery of the English foot, and the cowardice 
 of their own, they met with a severe repulse, which put their whole army 
 into confusion, and obliged them to retire with precipitation across the 
 Maine. Our army thus escaped the snare into which they had been led, and 
 was enabled to pursue its retreat to Hanau. 
 
 " This, Sir, was a signal advantage ; but was it followed up ? Did we 
 press upon the enemy in their precipitate retreat across a great river, where 
 many of them must have been lost had they been closely pursued ? Did 
 we endeavour to take the least advantage of the confusion into which their 
 unexpected repulse had thrown them ? No, Sir ; the ardour of the British 
 troops was restrained by the cowardice of the Hanoverians ; and instead of 
 pursuing the enemy, we ourselves ran away in the night with such haste 
 that we left all our wounded to the mercy and care of the enemy, who had 
 the honour of burying our dead as well as their own. This action may, 
 therefore, on our side, be called a fortunate escape; I shall never give my 
 consent to honour it with the name of victory. 
 
 " After this escape, Sir, our army was joined by a very large reinforce- 
 ment. Did this revive our courage, or urge us on to give battle ? Not in 
 the least, Sir ; though the French continued for some time upon the German 
 side of the Rhine, we never offered to attack them, or to give them the least 
 disturbance. At last, upon Prince Charles's approach with the Austrian 
 army, the French not only repassed the Rhine, but retired quite out of 
 Germany ; and as the Austrian army and the allied army might then have 
 joined, and might both have passed the Rhine without opposition at Mentz, 
 or almost anywhere in the Palatinate, it was expected that both armies 
 would have marched together into Lorraine, or in search of the French army, 
 in order to force them to a battle. Instead of this, Sir, Prince Charles 
 inarched up the German side of the Rhine — to do what ? To pass that 
 great river, in the sight of a French army equal in number to his own, 
 which, without some extraordinary neglect in the French, was impracticable j 
 and so it was found by experience. Thus the whole campaign upon that 
 side was consumed in often attempting what so often appeared to be 
 impracticable. 
 
 " On the other side — ^I mean that of the allied army — was there anything 
 of consequence performed? I know of nothing, Sir, but that of sending a 
 party of hussars into Lorraine with a manifesto. The army, indeed, passed 
 the Rhine at Mentz, and marched up to the French lines upon the frontier 
 of Alsace, but never offered to pass those lines until the French had 
 abandoned them, I believe with a design to draw our army into some snare ; 
 for, upon the return of the French towards those lines, we retired with much 
 
THE EAKL OF CHATHAM. 49 
 
 greater haste than we had advanced, though the Dutch auxiliairies were then 
 come up, and pretended, at least, to be ready to join our army. I have 
 heard, however, that they found a pretext for never coming into the line ; 
 and I doubt much if they would have marched with us to attack the French 
 army in their own territories, or to invest any of their fortified places ; for I 
 must observe, that the French lines upon the Queich were not all of them 
 within the territories of France. But suppose this Dutch detachment had 
 been ready to march with us to attack the French in their own territories, or 
 to invest some of their fortified places, I cannot join in any congratulation 
 upon that event ; for a small detachment of Dutch troops can never enable 
 us to execute the vast scheme we have undertaken. The whole force of that 
 republic would not be suflicient for the purpose, because we should have the 
 majority of the empire against us ; and, therefore, if the Dutch had joined 
 totis viribus in our scheme, instead of congratulating, I should have bemoaned 
 their running mad by our example, and at our instigation. 
 
 " Having now briefly examined our past conduct, from the few remarks I 
 have made, I believe, Sir, it will appear that, supposing our scheme to be in itself 
 possible and practicable, we have no reason to hope for success if it be not 
 prosecuted with more vigour and with better conduct than it was during the last 
 campaign While we continue in the prosecution of this scheme, whoever may 
 lose, the Hanoverians will be considerable gainers, because they will draw four 
 or five hundred thousand pounds yearly from this nation over and above what 
 they have annually drawn ever since they had the good fortune to be united 
 under the same sovereign with ourselves. But we ought to consider — even 
 the Hanoverians ought to consider — that this nation is not now in a 
 condition to carry on an expensive war for ten or twelve years, as it did in 
 the reign of Queen Anne. We may fund it out for one, two, or three years, 
 but the public debt is now so large, that, if we go on adding millions to it 
 every year, our credit wiU at last (sooner, I fear, than some amongst us may 
 imagine) certainly be undone ; and if this misfortune should occur, neither 
 Hanover nor any other foreign state would be able to draw another shilling 
 from the country. A stop to our public credit would put an end to ■ our 
 paper currency. An universal bankruptcy would ensue, and all the little 
 ready money left amongst us would be locked up in iron chests, or hid in bye- 
 corners by the happy possessors. It would then be impossible to raise our 
 taxes, and consequently impossible to maintain either fleets or armies. Our 
 troops abroad would be obliged to enter into the service of any prince that 
 could maintain them, and our troops at home would be obliged to live upon 
 free quarter. But this they could not do long ; for the farmer would neither 
 sow nor reap if he found his produce taken from him by the starving soldier. 
 In these circumstances I must desire the real friends of our present happy 
 establishment to consider what might be the consequence of the Pretender's 
 landing among us at the head of a French army. Would he not be looked 
 upon by most men as a saviour ? Would not the majority of the people 
 join with him, in order to rescue the nation from those that had brought it 
 vol. r. E 
 
50 THE MODEEN OEATOK. 
 
 into such confusion? This danger, Sir, is, I hope, imaginary, but I am sure 
 it is far from being so imaginary as that which has been held out in this 
 debate, the danger of all the powers of the continent of Europe being brought 
 under such a slavish dependence upon France, as to join with her in conquer- 
 ing this island, or in bringing it under the same slavish dependence with 
 themselves. 
 
 " I had almost forgotten, Sir, (I wish future nations may forget,) to men- 
 tion the Treaty of Worms* I wish that treaty could be erased from our 
 annals and our records, so as never to be mentioned hereafter : for that 
 treaty, with its appendix, the convention that followed, is one of the most 
 destructive, unjust, and absurd that was ever concluded. By that treaty we 
 have taken upon ourselves a burthen which I think it impossible for us to 
 support ; we have engaged in such an act of injustice towards Genoa as 
 must alarm all Europe, and give to the French a most signal advantage. 
 From this. Sir, all the princes of Europe will see what regard we have to 
 justice when we think that the power is on our side ; most of them, there- 
 fore, will probably join with France in curtailing our power, or, at least, in 
 preventing its increase. 
 
 " The alliance of Sardinia and its assistance may, I admit, be of great use 
 to us in defeating the designs of the Spaniards in Italy ; but gold itself may 
 be bought too dear ; and I fear we shall find the purchase we have made to 
 be but precarious, especially if Sardinia should be attacked by France as 
 well as by Spain, the almost certain consequence of our present scheme of 
 politics. For these reasons, Sir, I hope there is not any gentleman, nor 
 even any Minister, who expects that I should declare my satisfaction that 
 this treaty has been concluded. 
 
 * The Treaty of Worms was an offensive and defensive alliance, concluded on the 
 2nd of September, 1743, between England, Austria, and Sardinia. By it the Queen of 
 Hungary agreed to transfer to the King of Sardinia the city and paxt of the duchy of 
 Placentia, the Vigevauesoo, part of the duchy of Pavia, and the county of Anghiera, 
 as well as her claims to the marquisate of Finale, which had been ceded to the 
 Genoese by the late Emperor Charles VI., for the sum of 400,000 golden crowns, for which 
 it had been previously, mortgaged. The Queen of Hungary also eng^ed to maintain 
 30,000 men in Italy, to be commanded by the King of Sardinia. Great Britain agreed 
 to pay the sum of £300,000 for the cession of Finale, and to furnish an annual subsidy 
 of £200,000, on the condition that the King of Sardinia shoidd employ 45,000 men. 
 In addition to supplying these sums. Great Britain ^reed to send a strong squadron 
 into the Mediterranean, to act in concert with the allied forces. By a separate and 
 secret convention, agreed to at the same time and place as the treaty, but which was 
 never ratified nor publicly avowed, it was stipulated that Great Britain should pay to 
 the Queen of Hungary an annual subsidy of £300,000, not merely during the war, but 
 so long " as the necessity of her affairs should require." The terms of the Treaty of 
 "Wornis relative to the cession of the marquisate of Finale to Sardinia were particularly 
 unjust to the Genoese, since that territory had been guaranteed to them by the fourth 
 article of the Quadruple Alliance, concluded on the 2nd of August, 1718, between 
 Great Britain, France, Austria, and Holland. — Coxe's Austria, chap. civ. Lord 
 Mahon's Hist, of England, vol. iii. p. 231. Belsham's Hist, of England, vol. iv. p. 82, 
 et seq. 
 
THE EAKI, OF CHATHAM. 51 
 
 " It is very surprising, Sir, to hear gentlemen talk of the great advantages 
 of unanimity in our proceedings, when, at the time, they are doing all 
 they can to prevent unanimity. If the honourable gentleman had intended 
 that what he proposed should be unanimously agreed to, he would have 
 returned to the ancient custom of Parliament which some of his new friends 
 have, on former occasions, so often recommended. It is a new doctrine 
 to pretend that we ought in our address to return some sort of answer to 
 everything mentioned in his Majesty's speech. It is a doctrine that has 
 prevailed only since our Parliaments began to look more like French than 
 English Parliaments ; and now we pretend to be such enemies of France, I 
 supposed we should have laid aside a doctrine which the very method of 
 proceeding in Parliament must show to be false. His Majesty's speech is 
 not now so much as under our consideration, but upon a previous order for 
 that purpose ; therefore we cannot now properly take notice of its contents, 
 any further than to determine whether we ought to return thanks for it or not ; 
 even this we may refuse, without being guilty of any breach of duty to our 
 Sovereign ; but of this, I believe, no gentleman would have thought, had the 
 honourable gentleman who made this motion not attached to it a long and 
 fulsome panegyric upon the conduct of our Ministers. I am convinced 
 no gentleman would have objected to our expressing our duty to our Sove- 
 reign, and our zeal for his service, in the strongest and most affectionate 
 terms : nor would any gentleman have refused to congratulate his Majesty 
 upon any fortunate event happening to the royal family. The honourable 
 gentleman would have desired no more than this, had he intended that his 
 motion should be unanimously agreed to ; but Ministers are generally the 
 authors and drawers up of the motion, and they always have a greater 
 regard for themselves than for the service of their Sovereign ; that is 
 the true reason why such motions seldom meet with unanimous appro- 
 bation. 
 
 " As to the danger. Sir, of our returning or not returning, to our national 
 custom upon this occasion, I think it lies wholly upon the side of our not 
 returning. I have shown that the measures we are now pursuiiig are funda- 
 mentally wrong, and that the longer we pursue them, the heavier our 
 misfortunes will prove. Unless some signal providence interpose, experi- 
 ence, I am convinced, will confirm what I say. By the immediate inter- 
 vention of Providence, we may, it is true, succeed in the most improbable 
 schemes ; but Providence seems to be against us. The sooner, therefore, 
 we repent and amend, the better it will be for us ; and unless repentance 
 begins in this House, I shall no where expect it until dire experience has 
 convinced us of our errors. 
 
 For these reasons, Sir, I wish, I hope, that we may now begin to put a 
 stop to the further prosecution of these disastrous measures, by refusing 
 them our approbation. If we put a negative upon Jhis question, it may 
 awaken our Ministers from their deceitful dreams. If we agree to it, they 
 will dream on till they have dreamed Europe,^ their country, and themselves 
 
 E 2 
 
52 THE MODERN OKATOE. 
 
 into utter perdition. If they stop now, the nation may recover ; but if by 
 such a flattering address we encourage them to go on, it may soon become 
 impossible for them to retreat. For the sake of Europe, therefore, for the 
 sake of my country, I most heartily join in putting a negative upon the 
 question." 
 
 After a long debate, the address was carried by a majority of 278 to 149. 
 
 The ArGMENTATioN oe the Aemt. Apprehension oe a French 
 Invasion. 
 
 1 755. December. England was at this time thrown into a state of great 
 alarm by the apprehension of a French invasion. Warlike preparations, on 
 a most extensive scale, were carrying on throughout France. The fortifica- 
 tions of Dunkirk were put under repair ; an order was issued, requiring all 
 British subjects to quit the French territories ; and many English vessels 
 were seized in the difierent ports of France, and their crews sent to prison. 
 The French subjects were invited to equip privateers ; great numbers of 
 artificers and seamen were employed in fitting out a formidable squadron at 
 Brest ; large bodies of troops were marched down to the coasts, and a con- 
 siderable number of transports were being put into a state of preparation. 
 
 On the 5th December, the Secretary at War'^ made a motion in the House 
 of Commons for an army of thirty-four thousand two hundred and sixty- 
 three men, which was an augmentation of fifteen thousand men to the 
 force already Subsisting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Pitt ; and it 
 will be seen from the following animated speech, how warmly he could 
 support the Ministry when he deemed their plans conducive to the public 
 welfare. 
 
 Mr. Pitt observed, " That last year he had pronounced eighteen 
 thousand men not sufficient. Our whole force was necessary at this 
 dangerous and critical conjuncture. Other eflTorts were requisite, than 
 sending two miserable battalions as victims to America. Every step 
 since had tended to provoke a war, not to make it — and at last 
 the Crown itself was to be fought for, by an army so inefiective, and 
 so raw ! He hoped, by alarming the nation, to make the danger reach 
 the ears of his Majesty, who was likely, after so gracious a reign, to be 
 attacked in his venerable age! to see such a country exposed by the neglect 
 of his Ministers ! He could not avoid turning from the venerable age of the 
 King, to his amiable posterity, horn among us, yet given up by some unskil- 
 ful Minister or Ministers ! He meaned no invectives ; he made no accusa- 
 tion ; he spoke from his feeling. He then drew a striking and masterly 
 picture of a French invasion reaching London,, and of the hoixors ensuing, 
 
 • Viscount Barrington. 
 
THE EAKL OF CHATHAM. 63 
 
 whilst there was a formidable enemy within the capital itself, which was as 
 full of weakness as of multitude ; a flagitious rabble, ready for every nefarious 
 action ; of the consternation that would spread through the city, when the 
 noble, yet artificial and vulnerable fabric of public credit should crumble in 
 their hands ! How would Ministers be able to meet the aspect of so many 
 citizens dismayed ! How could men, so guilty, meet their countrymen ! 
 How could a British Parliament assemble without these considerations ! 
 The King's speech of last year had been calculated to lull us into a 
 fallacious dream of repose — or, had his Ministers not had understanding, 
 or foresight, or virtue — he repeated the words that he might not be mis- 
 quoted, had they had none of the qualifications to prompt them to lay 
 the danger before his Majesty ? Was it not a proof of his assertions, that 
 where his Majesty himself had a foresight even of fancied, not threatened, 
 danger, we knew what provision, what vast provision had been made ? Did 
 the subjects of the Crown want a feeling which the subjects of the Electorate 
 possessed in so quick a degree ? Did he live to see the day, when a British 
 Parliament had felt so inadequately ? There were but ten thousand men in 
 this part of the United Kingdom — not more than half would be left to defend 
 the royal family and the metropolis ; and half security is full and ample 
 danger. Accursed be the man, and he would have the malediction of his coun- 
 try, who did not do all he could to strengthen the King's hands ! He (Mr. 
 Pitt) would have him strengthened by laying open the weakness of his 
 councils. He would substitute reality for incapacity and futility, and for the 
 frivolous love of power. To times of relaxation should be left that fondness 
 for the disposal of places : wisdom ought to meet such rough times as 
 these. It was that little spirit of domination that had caused the decay of 
 this country, that ambition of being the only figure among cyphers : when that 
 image was first used, perhaps, it was prophecy, to day it was history. 
 Two hundred and eighty thousand pounds, the charge of this augmentation, 
 would, last year, have given us security. For that sum, our stocks would 
 fall, and hurry along with them the ruin of this city, vulnerable in proportion 
 to its opulence. In other countries, treasures remain where a city is not 
 sacked. But paper credit may be invaded even in Kent. It is like the sen- 
 sitive plant, it need not be cropped j extend but your hand, it withers and 
 dies. The danger had been as present last year to any eye made for public 
 councils ; for what is the first attribute of a wise Minister, but to leave as 
 little as possible to contingencies ? How do thoughtlessness, folly, and 
 ignorance, difi'er from wisdom and knowledge, but by want of foresight ? He 
 would not, like Lord Barrington, recur to the Romans for comparisons ; our 
 own days had produced examples as great. In 1746, thirteen regiments, 
 raised by noblemen, who, although they did not leave their plojBghs, left 
 their palaces, had saved this country ; he believed it. With what scorn, 
 depression, cruelty, as far as contempt is cruelty, were they treated by the 
 hour ! With what calumny ! He wished the Government would encourage 
 the nobility and gentry to form a militia, as a supplement to the army. He 
 
64 THE MODERN OKATOK. 
 
 wanted to call this country out of that enervated state, that twenty thousand 
 men from France could shake it. The maxims of our Government were 
 degenerated, not our natives. He wished to see that breed restored, which, 
 under our old principles, had carried our glory so high ! What would the 
 age think they deserved, who, after Washington was defeated, and our forts 
 taken ; who, after cgnnivance, if not collusion, had advised his Majesty to 
 trust to so slender a force ? On cool reflection, what would they deserve ? 
 He did not call for the sagacity of a Burleigh or a Richelieu to have foreseen 
 all that must happen — that may happen in two months. He had no vindic- 
 tive purpose, nor wanted to see penal judgments on their heads. Our 
 calamities were more owing to the weakness of their heads than of their 
 hearts."* 
 
 There was no division. 
 
 The Peeiiminaet Teeatt op Peace with Feance and Spain. 
 
 1762. In the summer of the year 1762, overtures for peace between 
 England and France were made by the mediation of the King of Sardinia ; 
 and on the 3rd of November, the preliminary treaty was signed.f By this 
 celebrated treaty of peace, France ceded to the English, in Europe, the 
 Island of Minorca ; in Africa, Senegal ; in the West, Cape Breton, with the 
 other islands in the gulf and river of St. Lawrence, Nova Scoti*, aU Canada, and 
 the islands of Grenada, the Grenadines, Dominica, St. Vincent, and Tobago. 
 France consented also to evacuate the conquests she had made in the Prus- 
 sian territory, and to keep the fortifications of Dunkirk in the state agreed 
 upon by the Treaty of Aix-la-ChapeUe. England, on the other hand, restored 
 to the French, in Europe, the Island of Belle Isle ; in Asia, aU the conquests 
 we had made ; in Africa, the Island of Goree; in the West Indies, the Islands 
 of Martinique, Guadaloupe, Mariegalante, Desirada, and St. Lucia. The 
 French were permitted, under certain restrictions, to fish on the banks of 
 Newfoundland ; the Islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon were granted to 
 them as a shelter for their fishermen, but without permission to raise fortifi- 
 cations ; and the Mississippi was fixed on as the boundary between the other 
 possessions of the two nations in North America — every thing on the left 
 or eastern bank of that river being given up to England, with the exception 
 only of the town of New Orleans, which was reserved to France. 
 
 With regard to Spain, she stipulated to restore to Portugal any places she 
 might have taken from that country, either in Europe or America ; to cede 
 to the English the province of Florida, with the fort of St. Augustine and 
 the Bay of Pensacola, as well as whatever Spain possessed on the continent 
 
 * Lord Orford's Memoirs of the last Ten Years of the Reign of George II. vol. i. 
 p. 437, et seq. 
 
 t See the Preliminary Treaty, Pari. Hist. vol. xv. p, 1241, et seg. 
 
THE EARL OP CHATHAM. 55 
 
 of North America to the east or south-east of the Mississippi, with the right 
 of cutting logwood in the Bay of Honduras. Spain also consented to relin- 
 quish her claim to fish on the banks of Newfoundland. On the part of 
 Great Britain, the Havannah and its dependencies were restored to Spain. 
 
 Parliament met on the 25th of November, 1762 . On the 29th, the pre- 
 liminary articles of peace with France and Spain were laid before both 
 Houses ; and on the 9th of Decemb er they were taken into consideration. 
 Mr. Fox now moved the Commons' address to the Crown, approving the 
 terms of the peace. 
 
 Although Mr. Pitt had been for some time confined to his bed by a severe 
 fit of the gout, he came down to the House of Commons and spoke for nearly 
 three hours in the debate. His speech was in answer to Mr. Fox, who made 
 the motion. 
 
 " Mr. Pitt began with lamenting his ill state of health, which had confined 
 him to his chamber; but although he was at this instant sufiering under the 
 most excruciating torture, yet he determined, at the hazard of his life, to 
 attend this day, to raise up his voice, his hand, and his arm, against the pre- 
 liminary articles of a treaty that obscured all the glories of the war, sur- 
 rendered the dearest interests of the nation, and sacrificed the public faith, 
 by an abandonment of our allies. He owned that the terms upon which he 
 had consented to conclude a peace had not been satisfactory to all persons ; 
 it was impossible to reconcile every interest ; but he had not," he said, " for 
 the mere attainment of peace, made a sacrifice of any conquest ; he had 
 neither broken Ae national faith, nor betrayed the allies of the Crown. He 
 was ready to enter into a discussion of the merits of the peace he had 
 ofiFered, comparatively with the present preliminaries. He called for the most 
 able casuist amongst the Minister's friends, who, he saw, were all mustered 
 and marshalled for duty, to refute him ; they had a most gallant appearance, 
 and there was no doubt of the victory on the main question. If the right 
 honourable gentleman (Mr. Fox), who took the lead in this debate, would 
 risk the argument of comparison, he would join issue with him, even under 
 all the disadvantages of his present situation. His motive was to stop 
 the torrent of misrepresentation which was poisoning the virtue of the 
 country." 
 
 No answer being made, Mr. Pitt proceeded : 
 
 " He perceived that the right honourable gentleman and his friends were 
 prepared for only the present question. He would, therefore, take a view of 
 the articles as they appeared upon the paper on the table." 
 
 Mr. Pitt now found himself so weak, and sufiering from such acute pain, 
 that he was allowed the indulgence, hitherto unprecedented, of delivering 
 his sentiments sitting. Up to this time he had been supported by two 
 friends. 
 
 " The first important article," continued Mr. Pitt, " was the fishery. The 
 terms in which this article was written, appeared to him to give to France a 
 
56 THE M.ODEKN ORAIOE. 
 
 grant of the whole fishery. There was an absolute, unconditional surrender 
 
 of the Islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, which, if France continued to be 
 
 as attentive to her own interest as we have hitherto found her, would enable 
 
 her to recover her marine. He considered this to be a most dangerous 
 
 article to the maritime strength and future power of Great Britain. In the 
 
 negotiation he had with M. de Bussy,* he had acquiesced in the cession of 
 
 St. Pierre only ; after having, he said, several times in vain contended for 
 
 the whole exclusive fishery; but he was overruled — ^he repeated he was 
 
 overruled — not by the foreign enemy, but by another enemy. After many 
 
 struggles, he obtained four limitations to the Island of St. Pierre ; they were 
 
 indispensable conditions, but they were omitted in the present treaty. If 
 
 they were necessary in the surrender of one island, they were doubly 
 
 necessary in the surrender of two. In the volumes of abuse which had been 
 
 so plentifully bestowed upon him, by the writers who were paid and 
 
 patronized by those who held great employments in the State, the cession of 
 
 St. Pierre only had been condemned in terms of acrimony. He had been 
 
 reminded that the Earl of Oxford was impeached for allowing the French 
 
 liberty to fish and dry fish on Newfoundland. He admitted the fact. But 
 
 that impeachment was a scandalous measure — was disapproved by every 
 
 impartial person. In one article (the seventeenth), the Minister is accused 
 
 of having advised the destructive expedition against Canada.-f Why was that 
 
 expedition called destructive ? Because it was not successful. Thus have 
 
 events been considered by Parliament as standards of political judgment. 
 
 Had the expedition to Canada, under General Wolfe, been unsuccessful, 
 
 there is no doubt it would also have been called destructive, and some of the 
 
 gentlemen now in office would this day have been caUing for vengeance upon 
 
 the Minister's head. 
 
 " Of Dunkirk he said but little. The French were more favoured in this 
 article of the present preliminaries than they had been by any former treaty. 
 He had made the treaty of Aix-la-ChapeUe his guide on this point; but in 
 the present treaty, even that requisition was disregarded. 
 
 " Of the dereliction of North America by the French he entirely approved. 
 
 * In March, 1761, negotiations for peace were opened between England and France, 
 Mr. Stanley having been despatched to Paris, and the Count de Bussy to London, to 
 arrange the preliminaries. WhUe the negotiations were pending, France proposed 
 that Spain should guarantee the projected treaty, and that the differences existing 
 between the latter country and England, both of which then preserved ami- 
 cable relations with each other, should be adjusted by it. Mr. Pitt, however 
 declared that he would not suffer the irregularity of a belligerent power introducing 
 into a negotiation for the termination of its own hostilities proposals for the adjustment 
 of disputes between nations at peace, and returned the memorial relating to Spain as 
 r inadmissible. An explanation was tendered on the part of the French Ministers and 
 apparently accepted ; but Mr. Pitt, hearing of the conclusion of the Family Compact 
 between France and Spain, broke off the negotiations. — See the papers relating to this 
 negotiation, Pail. Hist. vol. xv. p. 1018, et aeq. 
 t See Pari. Hist. vol. vii. p. 114. 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 57 
 
 But the negotiators had no trouble in obtaining this acquisiton. It had been 
 the uti possidetis in his own negotiation, to which the French had readily 
 consented. But Florida, he said, was no compensation for the Havannah ; 
 the Havannah was an important conquest. He had designed to make it, 
 and would have done it some months . earlier, had he been permitted to 
 execute his own plans. From the moment the Havannah was taken, all the 
 Spanish treasures and riches in America lay at our mercy. Spain had pur- 
 chased the security of all these, and the restoration of Cuba also, with the 
 cession of Florida only. It was no equivalent. There had been a bargain, 
 but the terms were inadequate. They were inadequate in every point where 
 the principle of reciprocity was affected to be introduced.* 
 
 " He had been blamed for consenting to give up Guadaloupe. That 
 cession had been a question in another place. He wished to have kept the 
 island ; he had been overruled in that point also — he could not help it — he 
 had been overruled many times, on many occasions ; he had acquiesced — he 
 had submitted; but at length he saw that all his measures, all his senti- 
 ments, were inimical to the new system — to those persons to whom his 
 Majesty had given his confidence. But to Guadaloupe these persons had 
 added the cession of Martinique. Why did they permit the forces to conquer 
 Martinique, if they were resolved to restore it ? Was it because the prepara- 
 tions for that conquest were so far advanced, they were afraid to countermand 
 them ? And to the cession of the Islands of Cuba, Guadaloupe, and Marti- 
 nique, there is added the Island of St. Lucia, the only valuable one of the 
 neutral islands. ^It is impossible, said he, to form any judgment of the 
 motives which can have influenced his Majesty's servants to make these 
 important sacrifices. They seem to have lost sight of the great fundamental 
 principle, that France is chiefly, if not solely, to be dreaded by us in the light 
 of a maritime and commercial power ; and, therefore, by restoring to her all 
 the valuable West India islands, and by our concessions in the Newfoundland 
 fishery, we had given to her the means of recovering her prodigious losses, 
 and of becoming once more formidable to us at sea. The fishery trained up 
 an innumerable multitude of young seamen, and the West India trade 
 employed them when they were trained. After the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 
 France gained a decided superiority over us in this lucrative branch of com- 
 merce, and supplied almost all Europe with the rich commodities which are 
 
 * Intelligence of the conquest of the Havannah reached England on the 29th of 
 September, 1762, while the negotiations for peace were pending. Lord Bute wished 
 to conclude the peace in the same manner as if this conquest had never been made, 
 and, advised that it should only be mentioned in the proposed treaty as one of the 
 places to be restored. The necessity, however, of demanding some equivalent for the 
 Savannah having been urged by his colleeigues, Mr. Grenville and Lord Egremont, 
 Lord Bute was obliged in some measure to give way ; and, on the 26th of October, 
 instructions were sent to the Buke of Bedford, the English plenipotentiary at Paris, 
 desiring him to insist on the cession either of Florida or Porto Rico, in return for the 
 Havannah. 
 
58 THE MODEBN OKATOR. 
 
 produced only in that part of the world. By this commerce she enriched her 
 merchants and augmented her finances. The state of the existing trade in 
 the conquests in North America is extremely low ; the speculations as to the 
 future trade are precarious, and the prospect, at the very best, is rempte. We 
 stand in need of supplies which will have an efiect certain, speedy, and con- 
 siderable. The retaining both, or even one, of the considerable French 
 islands, Martinique or Guadaloupe, wiU, and nothing else can, effectually 
 answer this triple purpose. The advantage is immediate. It is a matter 
 not of conjecture, but of account. The trade with these conquests is of the 
 most lucrative nature, and of the most considerable extent ; the number of 
 ships employed by it are a great resource to our maritime power ; and, what 
 is of equal weight, all that we gain on this system is made fourfold to us by 
 the loss which ensues to France. But our conquests in North America are 
 of very little detriment to the commerce of France. On the West Indian 
 scheme of acquisition, our gain and her loss go hand in hand. He insisted 
 upon the obvious connexion of this trade with that of the colonies in North 
 America, and with our commerce to the coast of Africa. The African trade 
 would be augmented, which, with that of North America, would all centre 
 in Great Britain. But if the islands are all restored, a great part of the 
 benefit of ' the colony trade must redound to those who were lately our 
 enemies, and will always be our rivals. Though we had retained either 
 Martinique or Guadaloupe, or even both these islands, our conquests were 
 such that there was stiU abundant matter left to display our moderation. 
 
 " Goree, he said, is also surrendered, without the least apparent necessity, 
 notwithstanding it had been agreed, in the negotiation with M. de Bussy, 
 that it should remain with the British Crown, because it was essential to the 
 security of Senegal. 
 
 " In the East Indies there was an engagement for mutual restitution of 
 conquests. He asked, what were the conquests which France had to re- 
 store ? He declared that she had none. All the conquests which France 
 had made had been retaken, and were in our own possession, as were likewise 
 all the French settlements and factories. Therefore the restitution was all 
 from one side. We retained nothing, although we had conquered every thing. 
 " Of the restitution of Minorca he approved ; and that, he said, was the 
 only conquest which France had to restore ; and for this island we had given 
 the East Indies, the West Indies, and Africa. The purchase was made at a 
 price that was fifty times more than it was worth. Belle Isle alone, he 
 afiSrmed, was a sufficient equivalent for Minorca. 
 
 " As to Germany, he said, it was a wide field — a tedious and lengthened 
 consideration — ^including the interests of many hostile powers, some of them 
 immediately, and others eventually, connected with Great Britain. There 
 might sometimes be policy in the construction of our measures, to consult 
 our insular situation only. But while we had France for our enemy, it was a 
 scene to employ and to baffle her arms. Had the armies of France not 
 been employed in Germany, they would have been transported to America, 
 
THE EAKL OF CHATHAM. 59 
 
 where we should have found it more difficult to have conquered them ; and 
 if we had succeeded, the expense would have been greater. Let any one, he 
 said, make a fair estimate of the expense of transports and provisions to that 
 distant climate, and he will find, in the article of expense, the war in Germany 
 to be infinitely less than in the wilds of America. Upon this principle he 
 affirmed that the conquests made in America had been owing to the employ- 
 ment of the French army in Germany. He said, with an emphasis, that 
 America had been conquered in Germany. 
 
 " He owned that several objections had been made to the German war. 
 He thought them frivolous and puerile, factious and malicious. It had been 
 said, that during twelve months after the Marathon of Minden, not a 
 squadron of ships had been sent to make any British conquests. If this be 
 true, will any man say that France would, the day before the battle of 
 Minden, have Inade those humiliating concessions she afterwards did make ? 
 To what but her ill success in the German war was it owing, that she sub- 
 mitted to the most mortifying terms in the late negotiation with M. de 
 Bussy ? These facts speak for themselves ; and from them it appears, that 
 the cessions ofiered by France, during the late negotiation, which will always 
 be remembered with glory to Great Britain, were owing to our perseverance 
 in the German war, and to our observing good faith towards our Protestant 
 allies on the continent. 
 
 " Other objections had been made, and whUe he was upon the subject he 
 would take notice of them. It had been said, that the French subsidies do 
 not amount to half what we pay. The subsidies which the French actually 
 pay may not, but what they promise amount to double. They subsidize 
 Sweden, Russia, and the Swisses, several Italian states, and, if we are to 
 believe their own writers, even the Danes ; those subsidies are most, or all 
 of them, for negative services. They have got nothing by the Swedes ; they 
 have got nothing by the Empress of Russia, though she has got a great deal 
 for herself; they have got far less by the Empress Queen, if we except the 
 honour of having buried above one hundred and fifty thousand of their best 
 troops in Germany. The Wertemburghers, it is well known, have refused to 
 serve them, the Swiss and Italian states cannot serve them, and the Danes 
 give them — a neutrality. 
 
 " The subsidy to Hesse had been arraigned, and falsehood had been added 
 to malignity. But it ought to be remembered, that the treaty with Hesse 
 was made before he came into office. An imputation of crime to him, for 
 not breaking that alliance, came with a very ill grace from them who made 
 it. They blamed him for consenting to pay the Prince of Hesse a sum of 
 money for the damage done by the French in his dominions. He was 
 astonished that any set of men, who arrogated to themselves the distinction 
 of friends to his present Majesty, should represent this circumstance as a 
 crime. Can a people, he asked, who impeached the Tory Ministry of Queen 
 Anne, for not supporting the Catalans at an expense that would have cost 
 some millions, against their King, merely because they were our allies — can 
 
60 THE MODEKN OSATOE. 
 
 a people, who unanimously gave one hundred thousand pounds as a relief to 
 the Portuguese, when under the inflicting hand of Heaven, merely because 
 they were our allies — can a people, who indemnify their American subjects, 
 whom at the same time they protect in their possessions, and even give 
 damages to their own publicans when they suffer, though in pursuance of 
 our own Acts of Parliament — can such a people cry aloud against the mode- 
 rate relief to a Prince, the ally and son-in-law of Great Britain, who is 
 embarked in the same cause with Great Britain, who is sufiering for her, 
 who for her sake is driven from his dominions, where he is unable to raise 
 one shilling of his revenue, and with his wife, the daughter of our late 
 venerable monarch, is reduced to a state of exile and indigence ? Surely 
 they cannot. Let our munificence, therefore, to such a Prince be never 
 again brought forward. 
 
 " It had been exultingly said, that the present German war had overturned 
 that balance of power which we had sought for in the reigns of King William 
 and Queen Anne. This assertion was so far from having the smallest 
 foundation in truth, that he believed the most superficial observers of 
 public affairs scarcely stood in need of being told, that that balance was 
 overturned long before this war had existence. It was overturned by the 
 Dutch before the end of the late war. When the French saw that they had 
 nothing to apprehend from the Dutch, they blew up that barrier for which 
 our Nassaus and Marlboroughs had fought. The Louvestein faction again 
 got the ascendency in Holland ; the French monarchy again took the Dutch 
 republic under its wings, and the brood it has hatched has — ^bat let us for- 
 bear serpentine expressions. Since the time that the grand confederacy 
 against France took place, the military power of the Dutch by sea and land 
 has been in a manner extinguished, while another power, then scarcely 
 thought of in Europe, has started up — that of Russia, and moves in its own 
 orbit extrinsically of all other systems ; but gravitating to each according to 
 the mass of attracting interests it contains. — Another power, against all 
 human expectations, was raised in Europe in the House of Brandenburgh, 
 and the rapid successes of his Prussian Majesty prove him to be born to be 
 the natural asserter of Germanic liberties against the House of Austria. We 
 have been accustomed to look up with reverence to that House, and the 
 phenomenon of another great power in Germany was so very new to us, that 
 for some time he was obliged to attach himself to France. France and 
 Austria united, and Great Britain and Prussia coalesced. Such are the great 
 events by which the balance of power in Europe has been entirely altered 
 since the time of the grand alliance against France. 
 
 " His late Majesty so passionately endeavoured to maintain or revive the 
 ancient balance, that he encountered at home, on that account, opposition to 
 his Government, and, abroad, danger to his person, but he could not reani- 
 mate the Dutch with the love of liberty, nor inspire the Empress Queen with 
 sentiments of moderation. They talk at random, therefore, who impute the 
 present situation of Germany to the conduct of Great Britain; Great Britain 
 
THE EA.BI. OF CHATHAM. 61 
 
 was out of the question ; nor could she have interposed in it without taking 
 a much greater share than she did. To represent France as an object of 
 terror, not only to Great Britain but Europe, and that we had mistaken our 
 interest in not reviving the grand alliance against her, was mere declamation. 
 Her ruined armies now returning from Germany, without being able, through 
 the opposition of a handful of British troops, to effect any material object, is 
 the strongest proof of the expediency of the German war. 
 
 " The German war prevented the French from succouring their colonies 
 and islands in America, in Asia, and in Africa. Our successes were uniform, 
 because our measures were vigorous. 
 
 " He had been blamed for continuing the expense of a great marine, after 
 the defeat of M. Conflans. This was a charge that did not surprise him, 
 after the many others which had been made, and which were equally un- 
 founded and malignant. It was said, that the French marine after that 
 defeat was in so ruinous a condition, that there wSs not the least occasion 
 for our keeping so formidable a force to watch its motions. It was true, he 
 said, that the French marine was ruined, no man doubted it^they had not 
 ten ships of the line fit for service, but could we imagine that Spain, who in a 
 Very short time gave him but too much reason to be convinced that his sus- 
 picions were well founded, was not in a common interest with France ; and 
 that the Swedes, the Genoese, and even the Dutch, would not have lent 
 their ships for hire ? 
 
 " He begged pardon of the House for detaining them so long, he would 
 detain them but a few minutes longer. 
 
 " The desertion of the King of Prussia, whom he styled the most mag- 
 nanimous ally this country ever had, in the preliminary articles on the table, 
 he reprobated in the strongest terms. He called it insidious, tricking, base, 
 and treacherous. After amusing that great and wonderful Prince during four 
 months, with promises of the subsidy, he had been deceived and disappointed. 
 But to mark the inveteracy and treachery of the cabinet stUl stronger, he is 
 selected from our other allies, by a malicious and scandalous distinction in 
 the present articles. In behalf of the other allies of Great Britain, we |had 
 stipulated, that all the places belonging to them which had been conquered 
 should be evacuated and restored. But with respect to the places which 
 the French had conquered belonging to the King of Prussia, there was 
 stipulated evacuation only. Thus the French might keep those places until 
 the Austrian troops were ready to take possession of them. All the places 
 which the French possessed belonging to the Elector of Hanover, the Duke 
 of Brunswick, the Landgrave of Hesse, &c., did not amount to more than ten 
 villages, or about a hundred acres of land ; but the places belonging to the 
 King of Prussia they were in possession of were, Cleves, Wesel, Guel- 
 dres, &c. 
 
 " Upon the whole, the terms of the proposed treaty met with his most 
 hearty disapprobation. He saw in them the seeds of a future war. The 
 peace was insecure, because it restored the enemy to her former greatness. 
 
62 THE MODERN OKATOE. 
 
 The peace was inadequate, because the places gained were no equiralent for 
 the places surrendered." 
 
 Towards the conclusion of his speech Mr. Pitt was so ill and faint that he 
 could scarcely be heard. It was his intention to have spoken on the articles 
 relative to Spain, but he was unable to do so. 
 
 The motion was carried by a majority of 319 to 65 ; and on the 10th of 
 February, 1763, the definitive treaty was signed at Paris between Great 
 Britain, France, and Spain. 
 
 Proceedings kespecting Me. Wilkes. 
 
 1763. In the forty-fifth number of a weekly paper called The North 
 Briton, of which John Wilkes, the member for Aylesbury, was the avowed 
 author, his Majesty was oharged with uttering a falsehood in his speech from 
 the Throne ;* upon which a general warrant for apprehending the authors, 
 printers, and publishers, of the above seditious and treasonable libel, was 
 issued by the Earl of Halifax, one of the principal Secretaries' of State. By 
 virtue of this warrant, Mr. Wilkes was taken into custody, and committed to 
 the Tower ; but on being brought before the Court of Common Pleas by a 
 writ of habeas corpus. Lord Chief Justice Pratt,t in delivering the judgment 
 of the Court, said, that Mr. Wilkes was entitled by his privilege as a member 
 of Parliament to be free from arrest in all cases, except treason, felony, and 
 actual breach of the peace ; and that he ought therefore to be discharged 
 from imprisonment without bail.J Mr. WUkes was thereupon released from 
 custody ; but criminal proceedings were immediately commenced against him 
 by the Attorney-General. § 
 
 Upon the meeting of Parliament on the 15th of November, as soon as the 
 Commons had returned to their own house after hearing the speech from the 
 Throne, Mr. George Grenville, who, on the retirement of the Earl of Bute on 
 the 8th of April preceding, had succeeded to the office of Prime Minister, 
 said that he was commanded by the King to inform them that his Majesty, 
 having received information that John Wilkes, Esq., a member of that 
 House, was the author of a most seditious and dangerous libel, published 
 since the last session of Parliament, had caused him to be apprehended and 
 secured, in order that he might be tried for the same by due course of law ; 
 
 • The forty-fifth number of The North Briton appeared on the 23rd of April, 1763, 
 and the speech from the Throne which it attacked was delivered by the £^g at the 
 close of the session on the 19th of that month. 
 
 f Afterwards Earl Camden, and Lord Chancellor, 
 
 + Wilson's C. P. Reports, vol. ii.p. 159. 
 
 § Two prosecutions were instituted against Mr. Wilkes ; one in respect of the libel 
 on the King in the forty-fifth number of The North Briton, and the other in respect of 
 an obscene and impious publication, entitled An Essay on Woman. Mr. Wilkes 
 was convicted on both prosecutions ; but, when called on to receive the judgment of 
 the Court, he refused to appear, and he was outlawed. 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. b3 
 
 but that Mr. Wilkes had been discharged out of custody by the Court of 
 Common Pleas, upon account of his privilege as a member of that Houses 
 Mr. Grenville concluded by laying on the table the libel, with the examina- 
 tion upon which Mr. Wilkes had been apprehended. On the same day, after the 
 address in answer to the speech from the Throne had been voted, the House 
 resolved, by a majority of 273 to 111, that the paper intituled The North 
 Briton, No. 45, was a false, scandalous, and. seditious libel, containing 
 expressions of the most unexampled insolence and contumely towards his 
 Majesty, the grossest aspersions upon both Houses of Parliament, and the 
 most audacious defiance of the authority of the whole legislature ; and that 
 it should be burned by the hands of the common hangman. Mr. Wilkes 
 having complained of the proceedings which had been taken against him 
 by the Government, the further consideration of the question which the 
 King's message and Mr. Wilkes's complaint involved, was adjourned to the 
 23rd of November, when the following motion was made : " That the privi- 
 lege of Parliament does not extend to the case of writing and publishing 
 seditious libels, nor ought it to be allowed to obstruct the ordinary course of 
 the laws in the speedy and efiectual prosecution of so heinous and dangerous 
 an offence." The debate which arose upon this motion was adjourned to 
 the next day. 
 
 November 24. Mr. Pitt attended upon this occasion, although so severely 
 aiHicted with the gout that he was obliged to be supported to his seat. 
 
 " He spoke strongly against this surrender of the privileges of Par- 
 liament, as highly dangerous to the freedom of Parliament, and an 
 infringement on the rights of the people. No man," he said, " could 
 condemn the paper or libel more than he did ; but he would come at the 
 author fairly, not by an open breach of the constitution, and a contempt of 
 all restraint. This proposed sacrifice of privilege was putting every member 
 of Parliament, who did not vote 'with the Ministry, under a perpetual terror 
 of imprisonment. To talk of an abuse of privilege, was to talk against the 
 constitution, against the very being and life of Parliament. It was an 
 arraignment of the justice and honour of Parliament, to suppose that they 
 would protect any criminal whatever. Whenever a complaint was made against 
 any member, the House could give him up. This privilege had never been 
 abused ; it had been reposed in Parliament for ages. But take away this 
 privilege, ?.nd the whole Parliament is laid at the mercy of the Crown. — 
 This privilege having never been abused, why then is it to be voted away? 
 Parliament had no right to vote away its privileges. They were the inherent 
 rights of the succeeding members of that House, as well as of the present ; and 
 he doubted whether the sacrifice proposed to be made by that House would 
 be valid and conclusive against the claim of a future Parliament. With respect 
 to the paper itself, or the libel which had given pretence for this request to 
 surrender the privileges of Parliament, the House had already voted it a 
 libel — he joined in that vote. He condemned the whole series of North 
 
64 THE MODERN OKATOE. 
 
 Britons ; he called them illiberal, unmanly, and detestable. He' abhorred all 
 national reflections. The King's subjects were one people. Whoever 
 divided them was guilty of sedition.* His Majesty's complaint was well- 
 founded, it was just, it was necessary. The author did not deserve to be 
 ranked among the human species — ^he was the blasphemer of his God, and 
 the libeller of his King. He had no connexion with him. He had no con- 
 nexion with any such writer. He neither associated nor communicated with 
 any such. It was true that he had friendships, and warm ones ; he had 
 obligations, and great ones ; but no friendships, no obligations, could induce 
 him to approve what he firmly condemned. It might be supposed that he 
 alluded to his noble relation (Lord Temple).f He was proud to call him his 
 relation ; he was his friend, his bosom friend, whose fidelity was as unshaken 
 as his virtue. They went into ofiice together, and they came out together ; 
 they had lived together, and would die together. He knew nothing of any 
 connexion with the writer of the libel. If there subsisted any, he was 
 totally unacquainted with it. The dignity, the honour of Parliament had 
 been called upon to support and protect the purity of his Majesty's charac- 
 ter ; and this they had done, by a strong and decisive condemnation of the 
 libel, which his Majesty had submitted to the consideration of the House. 
 But having done this, it was neither consistent with the honour and safety 
 of Parliament, nor with the rights and interests of the people, to go one step 
 further. The rest belonged to the courts below." 
 
 When Mr. Pitt had finished speaking, he left the House, being unable to 
 remain until the division. The motion was carried by a majority of 258 to 133. 
 
 Mr. Wilkes shortly afterwards withdrew into France ; and on the 20th 
 January, 1 764, he was expelled the House of Commons, for having written 
 and published the libel on the King contained in the forty-fifth number of 
 The North Briton, and a new writ was issued for Aylesbury. 
 
 On the 14th February it was moved by Sir W. Meredith " that a 
 general warrant for apprehending and seizing the authors, printers, and pub- 
 lishers of a seditious libel, together with their papers, is not warranted by 
 law." The House having sat until about seven o'clock in the morning of 
 the ]5th,t the question to adjourn till the 17th was put, and carried by a 
 majority of 208 to 184. On the I7th, an amendment to Sir W.Meredith's 
 
 * " In his real politics," says Mr. Butler, who was on terms of great intimacy with 
 Mr. WiUces for several years, " he was an aristocrat, and wouldmuch rather have been 
 a favoured courtier at Versailles, than the most commanding orator at St. Stephen's 
 Chapel. His distresses threw him into politics." — Beminiscences, vii. 
 
 ■f- Lord Temple, Mr. Pitt's brother-in-law, was the avowed supporter and patron of 
 Mr. Wilkes. When the King deprived Mr. Wilkes of his commission as colonel of the 
 Buckinghamshire militia, his Xiordship announced the resolution with such expressions 
 of regret, and spoke in such complimentary terms of Mr. Wilkes, that his name was 
 struck off the list of privy-councillors, and he was dismissed from the lord-lieutenancy 
 of Buckinghamshire. 
 
 X Horace Walpole, in a letter dated February 15th, 1764, says, " It was half-an-hour 
 after seven this morning before I was at home." — Letters, vol. iv. p. 366. 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 65 
 
 motion for the insertion of the words " and treasonable '' after " seditious," '^ 
 having been agreed to, another amendment was made to this effect, " al- 
 though such warrant has been issued according to the usage of office, and 
 has been frequently produced to, and, so far as appears to this House, the 
 validity thereof has never been debated in, the Court of King's Bench, but 
 the parties thereupon have been frequently bailed by the said Court." The 
 motion, thus amended, was the one which the House eventually adopted as 
 the question to be discussed. 
 
 In justification of the measures which the Ministry had adopted in the 
 apprehension of Mr. Wilkes, much stress was laid on precedents, and Mr. 
 Pitt's administration was instanced as having sanctioned the principle upon 
 which they had proceeded. The impropriety, also, of deciding a subject 
 which was yet to be discussed in the Courts below, was urged. 
 
 Mr. Pitt began with observing, " That all which the Crown had desired, all 
 which Ministers had wished, was accomplished in the conviction and expul- 
 sion of Mr. Wilkes ; it was now the duty of the House to do justice to the 
 nation, to the constitution, and to the law. Ministers had refused to lay 
 the warrant before the House, because they were conscious of its illegality. 
 And yet these Ministers," he said, "who affect so much regard for liberty 
 and the constitution, are ardently desirous of retaining for themselves and 
 for their successors, a power to do an illegal act. Neither the law officers of 
 the Crown, nor the Minister himself, had attempted to defend the legality of 
 this warrant. Whenever goaded upon the point, they had evaded it. He 
 therefore did not hesitate to say, that there was not a man to be found of 
 sufficient profligacy to defend this warrant, upon the principle of legality. It 
 was no justification," he said, " that general warrants had been issued. 
 Amongst the warrants which were laid before the House, to show the practice 
 of office, there were two which had been issued by himself ; but they were 
 not against libels. One was, for the seizure of a number of persons on 
 board a ship going to France ; the other for apprehending the Count 
 de St. Germain, a suspected foreigner ; and both in a time of war with 
 France. Upon issuing the latter warrant, he consulted his friend the 
 Attorney-General,* who told him the warrant would be illegal, and 
 if he issued it, he must take the consequences ; nevertheless, pre- 
 ferring the general safety, in time of war and public danger, to every 
 personal consideration, he ran the risk, as he would of his head, had 
 that been the forfeit, upon the like motive, and did an extraordinary act, 
 against a suspicious foreigner, just come from France ; and who was 
 concealed, at different times, in different houses. The real exigency of 
 the case, of the time, and the apparent necessity of the thing, would, in 
 his opinion, always justify a Secretary of State in every extraordinary 
 act of power. In the present case there was no necessity for a general 
 warrant. Ministers knew all the parties. The plea of necessity could not 
 
 * Mr. Pratt, afterwards Lord Camden, 
 vol. I. F 
 
66 THE MODERN ORATOE. 
 
 be urged ; there was no pretence for it. The nation was in perfect tran- 
 quillity. The safety of the state was in no danger. The charge was the 
 writing and publishing a libel. What was there in this crime so heinous 
 and terrible as to require this formidable instrument ; which, like an inun- 
 dation of water, bore down all the barriers and fences of happiness and 
 security ? Parliament had voted away its own privilege, and laid the per- 
 sonal freedom of every representative of the nation at the mercy of his 
 Majesty's Attorney-General. Did Parliament see the extent of this sur- 
 render which they had made ? Did Parliament see that they had decided 
 upon the unalienable rights of the people, by subjecting their representa- 
 tives to a restraint of their persons, whenever the Ministers or the Attorney- 
 General thought proper? The extraordinary and wanton exercise of an iUegal 
 power, in this case, admits of no justification, or even palliation. It was the 
 indulgence of a personal resentment against a particular person : and the 
 condemnation of it is evaded by a pretence that it is false, a mockery of 
 justice, and an imposition on the House. They were told that this warrant 
 was pendente lite ; that it would come under judicial decision, in the deter- 
 minations of the Court on the bills of exceptions ; and, therefore, that Par- 
 liament ought not to declare any judgment upon the subject. In answer to 
 this, he said, that whenever the bills of exceptions came to be argued, it 
 would be found that they turned upon other points. Upon other points, he 
 repeated. He was confident in his assertion. He concluded with saying, 
 that, if the House negatived the motion, they would be the disgrace of the 
 present age, and the reproach of posterity ; who, after sacrificing their own 
 privileges, had abandoned the liberty of the subject, upon a pretence that 
 was wilfully founded in error, and manifestly urged for the purpose of 
 delusion." 
 
 After some other members had spoken, a motion to adjourn the debate 
 was carried by a majority of 234 to 220. 
 
 The American Stamp Act. 
 
 The large increase which had been made to the national debt during the 
 last widely-extended war being found to press heavily upon England, it was 
 proposed by Mr. George Grenville to relieve that country, by making the 
 colonies contribute to the revenue.* It was contended that the national 
 
 * The project of taxing America had been proposed to Sir Kobert Walpole many 
 years before this period, but that statesman replied, that it was a measure too hazardous 
 for him to venture upon, and that he would leave it to some daring successor in office 
 to make tie experiment. It was revived in 175i, but the differences then existing 
 between England and France in relation to America, rendered it unsafe to irritate 
 the feelings of the colonists by carrying it into execution. — ^Belsham, vol. v. p. 112, 
 Smyth's Lectures on Mod. Hist. vol. ii. p, 406, 
 
THE'EAEL or CHATHAM. 67 
 
 debt had been contracted in support of the Government of the Revolution ; 
 — a Government to which all the colonies of America owed their liberty, 
 their security, and their prosperity ; that it had been incurred in defence, 
 not of Great Britain alone, but of all the different provinces of the empire ; 
 that the last war, and the one before that, during each of which a large 
 increase to the national debt had been made, had been undertaken chiefly 
 for the protection and support of the colonists themselves ;* that they ought 
 therefore to bear a share of the national burdens ; and that the Parliament 
 of Great Britain, as the supreme power, was constitutionally vested with an 
 authority to lay taxes on every part of the empire. The colonists, however, 
 asserted that taxation and representation were inseparable, and that they 
 could be neither free nor happy if their property could be taken from them 
 without their consent. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1 764, the House of Commons, on the proposal of 
 Mr. Grenville, passed a series of resolutions for imposing new duties on 
 foreign articles imported into America. The thirteenth and fourteenth reso- 
 lutions, upon the latter of which the Stamp Act was founded, were in the 
 following terms : — " That it is the opinion of this committee that the pro- 
 duce of all the said duties, and also of the duties which shall, from and after 
 the said 29th day of September, 1764, be raised by virtue of the said act, 
 made in the sixth year of the reign of his late Majesty King George II., be 
 paid into the receipt of his Majesty's Exchequer, and there received, to be 
 from time to time disposed of by Parliament, towards defraying the expenses 
 of defending, protecting, and securing the British colonies and plantations in 
 America.'' " That towards defraying the said expenses, it may be proper to 
 charge certain stamp duties in the said colonies and plantations." In order 
 that the colonists might have an opportunity of proposing some other expe- 
 dient for raising money, less objectionable than the one now proposed, it was 
 not intended to introduce any measure upon the latter of the above resolu- 
 tions until the ensuing session. In the meantime, however, none of the 
 provinces authorized their agents in England either to consent to a tax on 
 stamps, or to propose any substitute for it ; while some of them had actually 
 transmitted petitions to the King, and to the two Houses of Parliament, 
 openly chaJlenging the right of the British Legislature to impose any bur- 
 dens upon them. Nevertheless, on the 7th of February, 1765, Mr. Grenville 
 introduced the famous Stamp Act, and on the 22nd of March it received the 
 
 • Debt at the commencement of the Spanish war in 1739 £46,964,623 
 
 Increase during the war 31,338,689 
 
 Debt at the end of the war in 1748 78,293,312 
 
 Decrease during the peace , 3,721,472 
 
 Debt at the commencement of the last war in 1766 74,571,840 
 
 Increase during the seven years' war 72,111,004 
 
 Debt at the conclusion of the war in 1763 £146,682,844 
 
 — Pebrer on the Taxation of Great Britain, p. 245. 
 
 f2 
 
68 THE MOBEKN OEATOE. 
 
 royal assent, having passed the two Houses of Parliament with very little 
 opposition* When the intelligence of the passing of that measure reached 
 America,! a general feeling of indignation was excited amongst the colonists. 
 In the Assembly of Virginia, which met in the following May, resolutions 
 were passed, denying the right of the British legislature, or of any other 
 body except themselves, to legislate touching their affairs.^ The other 
 states so far concurred as to pronounce the Stamp Act unconstitutional, and 
 a direct violation of their privileges. The Assembly of Massachusetts Bay, 
 who had taken a prominent part in this opposition, now projected a general 
 concert amongst all the plantations. With this view they proposed a meeting 
 of a congress, consisting of deputies from the several Assemblies, in order to 
 consult on their common grievances, and to propose an address to the Sove- 
 reign, and the Houses of Parliament.! Meanwhile, the people passed reso- 
 lutions against the importation of British manufactures until the act should 
 be repealed ; and to preclude the use of stamps, proceedings in the courts of 
 justice were suspended, and earnest endeavours were made to settle all dif- 
 ferences by reference to arbitration. Although the most determined resist- 
 ance was offered to the Stamp Act, no actual disturbances took place in the 
 colonies until the month of August, 1765. The storm which had long beea 
 gathering then burst with violence. At Boston, in Massachusetts Bay, the 
 fury of the populace was principally directed against several persons in offi- 
 cial situations, who were supposed to be favourable to the ministerial plan 
 of taxing the colonies. Private houses and public offices were broken into, 
 and the documents of the one, and the furniture of the other, committed to 
 the flames. The proceedings of the populace in the other provinces, although 
 
 * Vide 5 Geo. III. c. 12. "As to the fact of a strenuous opposition to the Stamp 
 Act, I sat as a stranger in your gallery when the act was under consideration. 
 Far from anything inflammatory, I never heard a more languid debate in this 
 House. No more than two or three gentlemen, as I remember, spoke against the 
 act, and that with great reserve and remarkable temper. There was but one divi- 
 sion in the whole progress of this bill; and the minority did not reach to more 
 than thirty-nine or forty. In the House of Lords I do not recollect that there 
 was any debate or division at all. I am sure there was no protest. In fact, the 
 affair passed with so very, very little noise, that in town they scaicely knew the 
 nature of what you were doing. The opposition to the bUl in England never 
 could have done this mischiefi because there scarcely ever was less opposition to a 
 bill of consequence." — Mr. Burke's Speech on American Taxation, vide post, 
 p. 518. 
 
 t The act was to come into operation on the 1st of November, 1765. 
 
 J In conformity with this suggestion, a congress was held at New York, to which all 
 the provinces, with the exception of New Hampshii-e, Virginia, North Carolina, and 
 Georgia, sent deputies. The last three were prevented from doing so, because their 
 Assemblies were not sitting when the proposal from Massachusetts Bay arrived, and 
 the Governors prevented their meeting until the day for holding the congress had 
 passed. The Assembly of New Hampshire approved of the proposed plan, and pro- 
 mised to concur in any petition which sliould be agreed on by the representatives of 
 the other Assemblies, but did not itself appoint deputies. 
 
THE EABL OF CHATHAM. 69 
 
 less violent than at Boston, were so alarming as to occasion the resignation 
 of those who were appointed to distribute the stamps. In consequence of 
 such resignations, the custody of these stamps, upon their arrival from Eng- 
 land in September and October, was consigned to the Governors of the 
 respective provinces. Notwithstanding the utmost vigilance to preserve 
 them, the stamped papers were, in some colonies, seized and destroyed by 
 the populace ; and none were found so courageous as to undertake their dis- 
 tribution. 
 
 Such was the distressing intelligence received from America when Parlia- 
 ment assembled on the 1 7th o f December. Upon this occasion his Majesty 
 addressed the two Houses from the throne in the following speech : — 
 
 " My Lokds and Gentlemen, — The present general state of tranquil- 
 lity in Europe gave me hopes that it would not have been necessary to 
 assemble my Parliament sooner than is usual in times of peace. 
 
 " But, as matters of importance have occurred in some of my colonies in 
 America, which will demand the most serious attention of Parliament ; and 
 as further information is daily expected from different parts of that country, 
 of which I shall order the fullest accounts to be prepared for your considera- 
 tion, I have thought fit to call you now together, in order that opportunity 
 may thereby be given to issue the necessary writs on the many vacancies 
 that have happened in the House of Commons since the last session ; so 
 that the Parliament may be fuU to proceed, immediately after the usual 
 recess, on the consideration of such weighty matters as will then come before 
 you." 
 
 The two Houses having voted an address in answer to the speech from the 
 throne, and received his Majesty's answer, adjourned for the Christmas 
 recess. On the re-assembling of Parliament on the 1 4th of Janua ry, the ( 
 King went to the House of Lords, and addressed the two Houses, adverting 
 particularly to the disturbances in America, and stating that no time had 
 been lost, on the first advice of them, to issue orders to the Governors of the 
 provinces and the commanders of the forces in America, for the exertion of 
 all the powers of government in the suppression of riots and tumults, and in 
 the effectual support of lawful authority. Whatever remained to be done 
 was committed to the wisdom of the legislature. The address of the Com- 
 mons having been moved by Lord Villiers, Mr. Nugent, afterwards Earl of 
 Clare, " insisted, that the honour and dignity of the kingdom obliged us to 
 compel the execution of the Stamp Act, unless the right of Parliament was 
 acknowledged, and the repeal solicited as a favour. He computed that the 
 expense of the troops now employed in America for the defence of the colo- 
 nists, amounted to nine-pence in the pound of our land-tax, whilst the pro- 
 duce of the Stamp Act would not raise a shilling a head on the inhabitants 
 of America; but a pepper-corn, in acknowledgment of the right, was, he 
 said, of more value than millions without it." Mr. Pitt spoke next in the 
 debate. He commenced in a low tone of voice, which, together with the 
 agitation of the House upon his first rising to address them, prevented the 
 
70 THE MODKBN OBAXOK. 
 
 introduction of this celebrated speech from being distinctly heard. Mr. Pitt 
 proceeded to say : — 
 
 " Sir, I came to town but to-day, I was a stranger to the tenor of his 
 Majesty's speech and the proposed address, till I heard them read in this 
 House. Unconnected and unconsulted, I have not the means of information ; 
 I am fearful of oflFending through mistake, and therefore beg to be indulged 
 with a second reading of the proposed address." The address being read, Mr. 
 Pitt went on : " He commended the King's speech, approved of the address in 
 answer, as it decided nothing, every gentleman being left at perfect liberty 
 to take such a part concerning America as he might afterwards see fit. One 
 word only he could not approve of; an early is a word that does not belong 
 to the notice the Ministry have given to Parliament of the troubles in 
 America. In a matter of such importance, the communication ought to 
 have been immediate ; I speak not with respect to parties ; I stand up in this 
 place single and unconnected. As to the late Ministry, (turning himself to 
 Mr. Grenville,* who sat within one of him,) every capital measure they 
 took was — entirely wrong ! 
 
 "As to the present gentlemen, those, at least, whom I have in my eye — 
 (looking at the bench on which Mr. Conway f sat with the Lords of the 
 Treasury) — I have no objection ; I have never been made a sacrifice by any of 
 them. Their characters are fair ; and I am always glad when men of fair 
 character engage in his Majesty's service. Some of them have done me 
 the honour to ask my poor opinion before they would engage. These will 
 do me the justice to own, I advised them to engage, but notwithstand- 
 ing — for I love to be explicit — I cannot give them my confidence ; pardon 
 me, gentlemen, (bowing to the , Ministry), confidence is a plant of slow 
 growth in an aged bosom, youth is the season of credulity ; by comparing 
 events with each other, reasoning from effects to causes, methinks I plainly 
 discover the traces of an overruling infiuence. 
 
 " There is a clause in the Act of Settlement obliging every Minister to sign 
 his name to the advice which he gives his Sovereign.J Would it were 
 observed ! — I have had the honour to serve the Crown, and if I could have 
 submitted to influence I might stUl have continued to serve ; but I would not 
 be responsible for others. I have no local attachments. It is indifferent to 
 me whether a man was rocked in his cradle on this or that side of the 
 Tweed. I sought for merit wherever it was to be found. It is my boast, 
 that I was the first minister who looked for it, and found it in the mountains 
 of the North. I called it forth, and drew into your service a hardy and 
 
 * In July 1765, Mr. George Grenville resigned, and was succeeded as first Lord 
 of the Treasury by the Marquis of Rockingham. 
 
 t Secretary of State. 
 
 t This provision of the Act of Settlement, 12 and 13 Wm, III, cap. 2, was repealed 
 by i and 5 Anne, cap. 8, sec. 25. 
 
THE EARL or CHATHAM. 71 
 
 intrepid race of men ; men who, when left by your jealousy became a prey 
 to the artifices of your enemies, and had gone nigh to overturn the state in 
 the war before the last. These men, in the last war, were brought to 
 combat on your side ; they served with fidelity, as they fought with valour, 
 and conquered for you in every part of the world ; detested be the national 
 reflections against them ! they are unjust, groundless, illiberal, unmanly. 
 — "When I ceased to serve his Majesty as a Minister, it was not the country 
 of the man* by which I was moved, but the man of that country wanted 
 wisdom, and held principles incompatible with freedom. 
 
 " It is a long time, Mr. Speaker, since I have attended in Parliament. 
 When the resolution was taken in this House to tax America, I was ill in bed. 
 If I could have endured to have been carried in my bed, so great was the 
 agitation of my mind for the consequences, I would have solicited some kind 
 hand to have laid me down on this floor, to have borne my testimony against 
 it ! It is now an act that has passed — I would speak with decency of every 
 act of this House, but I must beg the indulgence of the House to speak of it 
 with freedom. 
 
 " I hope the day may be soon appointed to consider the state of the nation 
 with respect to America — I hope gentlemen will come to this debate with all 
 the temper and impartiality that his Majesty recommends, and the importance 
 of the subject requires. A subject of greater importance than ever engaged 
 the attention of this House ! that subject only excepted, when, near a cen- 
 tury ago, it was the question whether you yourselves were to be bond or 
 free. In the mean time, as I cannot depend upon health for any future day, 
 such is the nature of my infirmities, I will beg to say a few words at present, 
 leaving the justice, the equity, the policy, the expediency of the act to 
 another time. I will only speak to one point, a point which seems not to 
 have been generally understood — I mean to the right. Some gentlemen, 
 (alluding to Mr. Nugent,) seem to have considered it as a point of honour. 
 If gentlemen consider it in that light, they leave all measures of right and 
 wrong to follow a delusion that may lead to destruction. It is my opinion, 
 that this kingdom has no right to lay a tax upon the colonies. At the same 
 time I assert the authority of this kingdom over the colonies to be sovereign 
 and supreme in every circumstance of Government and legislation whatsoever. 
 The colonists are the subjects of this kingdom, equally entitled with your- 
 selves to all the natural rights of mankind and the peculiar privileges of 
 Englishmen : equally bound by its laws, and equally participating in the 
 constitution of this free country. The Americans are the sons, not the 
 bastards, of England. Taxation is no part of the governing or legislative 
 power. The taxes are the voluntary gift and grant of the Commons alone. 
 In legislation the three estates of the realm are alike concerned, but the con- 
 currence of the Peers and the Crown to a tax is only necessary to clothe it 
 with the form of a law. The gift and grant is of the Commons alone. In 
 
 * Lord Bute, 
 
72 THE MODEKN OKATOE. 
 
 ancient days, the Crown, the Barons, and the Clergy possessed the lands. In 
 those days, the Barons and the Clergy gave and granted to the Crown. 
 They gave and granted what was their o\vn. At present, since the discoveiy 
 of America, and other circumstances permitting, the Commons are become 
 the proprietors of the land. The Church, (God bless it !) has but a pittance. 
 The property of the Lords, compared with that of the Commons, is as a drop 
 of water in the ocean ; and this House represents those Commons, the pro- 
 prietors of the lands, and those proprietors virtually represent the rest of the 
 inhabitants. When, therefore, in this House we give and grant, we give 
 and grant what is our own. But in an American tax, what do we do ? We, 
 your Majesty's Commons for Great Britain, give and grant to your Majesty, 
 — what? Our own property ? — ^No ! "We give and grant to your Majesty, 
 the property of your Majesty's Commons of America. — It is an absurdity in 
 terms. 
 
 " The distinction between legislation and taxation is essentially necessary 
 to liberty. The Crown, the Peers, are equally legislative powers with the 
 Commons. If taxation be a part of simple legislation, the Crown and the Peers 
 have rights in taxation as well as yourselves ; rights which they claim, 
 which they will exercise, whenever the principle can be supported by 
 power. 
 
 " There is an idea in some, that the colonies are virtually represented in 
 this House. I would fain know by whom an American is represented here. 
 Is he represented by any knight of the shire, in any county in this kingdom ? 
 Would to God that respectable representation were augmented to a greater 
 number ! Or will you tell him that he is represented by any representative 
 of a borough ? — a borough which perhaps its own representatives never saw. — 
 This is what is called the rotten part of the constitution. It cannot continue a 
 century. If it does not drop, it must be amputated.* The idea of a virtual 
 representation of America in this House is the most contemptible that ever 
 entered into the head of man : it does not deserve a serious refutation. 
 
 " The Commoners of America, represented in their several a'ssemblies, have 
 ever been in possession of the exercise of this their constitutional right, of 
 giving and granting their own money. They would have been slaves if they 
 had not enjoyed it. At the same time this kingdom, as the supreme govern- 
 ing and legislative power, has always bound the colonies by her laws, by her 
 regulations and restrictions in trade, in navigation, in manufactures — in 
 
 • A few years afterwards, Lord Chatham reproduced this image, but with a change 
 in his opinion. In his speech, Jan. 22, 1770, he says : " The boroughs of this country 
 have properly enough been called the rotten parts of the constitution, andj without 
 entering into any invidious particularity, I have seen enough to justify the appellation. 
 But, in my judgment, my Lords, these boroughs, coiTupt as they are, must be considered 
 as the natural infirmity of the constitution. Like the infirmities of the body, we must 
 bear them with patience, and submit to carry thorn about with us. The limb is mor- 
 tified, but the amputation might be death." 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 73 
 
 every thing except that of taking their money out of their pockets without 
 their consent. 
 
 " Here I would draw the line, 
 
 ' Quam ultra citraque nequit oonsistere rectum.' " 
 
 Mr. Pitt concluded with a familiar voice and tone, but so low that it was 
 not easy to distinguish what he said. A considerable pause ensued after 
 Mr. Pitt had done speaking. 
 
 Mr. Conway at length rose. He said, " he had been waiting to see 
 whether any answer would be given to what had been advanced by the 
 Right Honourable Gentleman, reserving himself for the reply : but as none 
 had been given, he had only to declare, that his own sentiments were 
 entirely conformable to those of the right honourable gentleman. — That 
 they are so conformable, he said, is a circumstance that affects me with 
 the most sensible pleasure, and confers upon me the greatest honour. But 
 two things feU from that gentleman which give me pain, as whatever falls 
 from that gentleman, falls from so great a height as to make a deep 
 impression. — I must endeavour to remove it. — It was objected, that the 
 notice given to Parliament of the troubles in America was not early. I 
 can assure the House, the first accounts were too vague and imperfect 
 to be worth the notice of Parliament. It is only of late that they have been 
 precise and fuU. An overruling influence has also been hinted at. I see 
 nothing of it — I feel nothing of it — I disclaim it for myself, and, (as far as 
 my discernment can reach,) for all the rest of his Majesty's Ministers." 
 
 Mr. Pitt said, in answer to Mr. Conway, " The excuse is a valid one, if it 
 is a just one. That must appear from the papers now before the House.' ' 
 
 Mr. Grenville next stood up. " He began with censuring the Ministry 
 very severely for delaying to give earlier notice to Parliament of the distur- 
 bances in America. He said, they began in July, and now we are in the 
 middle of January : lately they were only occurrences, they are now grown 
 to disturbances, to tumults and riots. I doubt they border on open rebellion ; 
 aiid, if the doctrines I have heard this day be confirmed, I fear they wdll lose 
 that name, to take that of revolution. The government over them being 
 dissolved, a revolution will take place in America. I cannot understand the 
 difference between external and internal taxes. They are the same in effect, 
 and differ only in name. That this kingdom has the sovereign, the supreme 
 legislative power over America, is granted. It cannot be denied ; and taxa- 
 tion is a part of that sovereign power. It is one branch of the legislation. 
 It is, it has been, exercised over those who are not, who never were repre- 
 sented. It is exercised over the East India Company, the merchants of 
 London, the proprietors of the stocks, and over many great manufacturing 
 towns. It was exercised over the Palatinate of Chester, and the Bishopric 
 of Durham, before they sent any representatives to Parliament. I appeal, 
 for proof, to the preambles of the acts which gave them representatives ; the 
 one in the reign of Henry the Eighth, the other in that of Charles the 
 
74 THE MODEKN ORATOR. 
 
 Second."* Mr. Grenville then quoted the acts, and desired that they might 
 be read : which being done, he continued : " When I proposed to tax America, 
 I asked the House if any gentleman would object to the right ; I repeatedly 
 asked it, and no man would attempt to deny it. Protection and obedience 
 are reciprocal. Great Britain protects America ; America is bound to yield 
 
 7 obedience. If not, tell me when the Americans were emancipated ? When 
 they want the protection of this kingdom, they are always very ready to ask 
 it. That protection has always been afforded to them in the most full and 
 ample manner. The nation has run itself into an immense debt to give them 
 its protection ; and, now they are called upon to contribute a small share 
 towards the public expense, an expense arising from themselves, they 
 renounce your authority, insult your officers, and break out, I might almost 
 say, into open rebellion. The seditious spirit of the colonies owes its birth 
 V to the factions in this House. Gentlemen are careless of the consequences 
 of what they say, provided it answers the purposes of opposition. We were 
 told we trod on tender ground ; we were bid to expect disobedience. What 
 was this bu,t telling the Americans to stand out against the law, to encourage 
 their obstinacy with the expectation of support from hence ? Let us only 
 hold out a little, they would say, our friends will soon be in power. Un- 
 
 •v' grateful people of America ! Bounties have been extended to them. When 
 I had the honour of serving the Crovyn, while you yourselves were loaded 
 with an enormous debt, you gave bounties on their lumber, on their iron, 
 their hemp, and many other articles. You have relaxed, in their favour, the 
 Act of Navigation, that palladium of British commerce ; and yet I have been 
 abused in all the public papers as an enemy to the trade of America ! I have 
 been particularly charged with giving orders and instructions to prevent the 
 Spanish trade, and thereby stopping the channel by which alone North 
 America used to be supplied with cash for remittances to this country ! I 
 defy any man to produce any such orders or in"structions. I discouraged no 
 trade but what was illicit, what was prohibited by Act of Parliament. I 
 desire that a West India merchant, well known in the city, (Mr. Long,) a 
 gentleman of character, may be examined. He will tell you that I offered 
 
 ■J to do every thing in my power to advance the trade of America. I was 
 above giving an answer to anonymous calumnies ; but in this place it becomes 
 me to wipe off the aspersion." 
 
 Here Mr. Grenville ceased. Several Members then rose to speak, amongst 
 whom was the illustrious commoner ; the House was then so clamorous for 
 Mr. Pitt, Mr. Pitt, that the Speaker was obliged to call to order. 
 
 After some degree of order was enforced, Mr. Pitt began with informing 
 the House, " that he did not mean to have gone any further into the subject 
 that day ; he had only designed to throw out a few hints, which gentlemen, 
 who were so confident of the right of this kingdom to send taxes to America, 
 
 * I'oui representatives were given to the county and city of Chester, by 34 Henrj- 
 VIII. cap. 13 ; and four to the county and city of Dwham, by 25 Car. .II. c. fl. 
 
THE EAllL OF CHATHAM. 75 
 
 might consider ; they might then, perhaps, in a cooler moment, find that the 
 right was, at least, equivocal. But since the gentleman who spoke last had 
 not stopped on that ground, but had gone into the whole ; into the justice, 
 the equity, the policy, the expediency of the Stamp Act, as well as into the 
 right, he would follow him through the whole field, and combat his argu- 
 ments on every point." 
 
 He was going on, when Lord Strange rose, and called both gentlemen, 
 Mr. Pitt and Mr. Grenville, to order. He said, " they had both departed 
 from the matter before the House, which was the King's speech ; and that 
 Mr. Pitt was going to speak twice in the same debate, although the House 
 was not in a committee." 
 
 Mr. George Onslow* answered, " that they were both in order, as nothing 
 had been said but what was fairly deducible from the King's speech ;" and 
 appealed to the Speaker. The Speaker decided in Mr. Onslow's favour. 
 
 Mr. Pitt said, " I do not apprehend that I am speaking twice : I did 
 expressly reserve a part of my subject, in order to save the time of this 
 House, but I am compelled to proceed in it. I do not speak twice ; I only 
 finish what I designedly left imperfect. But if the House is of a difierent 
 opinion, far be it from me to indulge a wish of transgression against order. | 
 I am content, if it be your pleasure, to be silent." — Here he paused. — The 
 House resounding with " Go on," " go on," he proceeded : 
 
 " Gentlemen, Sir, (to the Speaker,) have been charged with giving birth 
 to sedition in America. Several have spoken their sentiments with freedom 
 against this unhappy act, and that freedom has become their crime. Sorry 
 I am to hear the liberty of speech in this House imputed as a crime. But 
 the imputation shall not discourage me. It is a liberty I mean to exercise. 
 No gentlemen ought to be afraid to exercise it. It is a liberty by which the 
 gentleman who calumniates it might have profited. He ought to have pro- 
 fited. He ought to have desisted from his project. The gentleman tells us, 
 America is obstinate ; America is almost in open rebellion. I rejoice that ■/ 
 America has resisted. Three millions of people so dead to all the feelings of 
 liberty, as voluntarily to let themselves be made slaves, would have been fit 
 instruments to make slaves of all the rest. I come not here armed at all 
 points with law cases and acts of Parliament, with the statute-book doubled 
 down in dogs' ears, to defend the cause of liberty : if I had, I myself would 
 have cited the two cases of Chester and Durham. I would have cited them 
 to show that, even under arbitrary reigns, Parhaments were ashamed of 
 taxing a people, without their consent, and allowed them representatives. 
 Why did the gentleman confine himself to Chester and Durham ? he might , 
 have taken a higher example in Wales ; Wales, that never was taxed by 
 Parliament until it was incorporated. I would not debate a particular point 
 of law with the gentleman : I know his abilities. I have been obliged to his 
 diligent researches. But, for the defence of liberty, upon a general principle, 
 
 * Afterwards Lord Onslow. 
 
76 THE MODERN ORATOK. 
 
 upon a constitutional principle, it is a ground on which I stand firm ; on 
 which I dare meet any man. The gentleman tells us of many who are taxed, 
 and are not represented — the India Company, merchants, stockholders, 
 manufacturers. Surely many of these are represented, in other capacities, as 
 owners of land, or as freemen of boroughs. It is a misfortune that more are 
 not actually represented. But they are all inhabitants of this kingdom, and 
 as such, are they not virtually represented ? Many have it in their option to 
 be actually represented. They have connexions with those that elect, and 
 they have influence over them. The gentleman mentioned the stockholders : 
 I hope he does not reckon the debts of the nation as a part of the national 
 estate. Since the accession of King "William, many Ministers, some of great, 
 others of moderate abilities, have taken the lead of Government." 
 
 He then went through the list of them, bringing it down till he came to 
 himself, giving a short sketch of the characters of each of them. " None of 
 these," he said, " thought, or even dreamed, of robbing' the colonies of their 
 constitutional rights. That was reserved to mark the era of the late 
 administration : not that there were wanting some, when I had the honour 
 to serve his Majesty, to propose to me to burn my fingers with an American 
 Stamp Act. With the enemy at their back, with our bayonets at their breasts, 
 in the day of their distress, perhaps the Americans would have submitted to 
 the imposition ; but it would have been taking an ungenerous and unjust 
 advantage. The gentleman boasts of his bounties to America ! Are not 
 those bounties intended finally for the benefit of this kingdom ? If 
 they are not, he has misapplied the national treasures. I am no courtier 
 
 v* of America — I stand up for this kingdom. I maintain that the Parlia- 
 ment has a right to bind, to restrain America. Our legislative power 
 over the colonies is sovereign and supreme. When it ceases to be 
 sovereign and supreme, I would advise every gentleman to sell his land, if he 
 can, and embark for that country. When two countries are connected, like 
 England and her colonies, without being incorporated, the one must neces- 
 sarily govern ; the greater must rule the less ; but so rule it, as not to con- 
 tradict the fundamental principles that are common to both. 
 
 " If the gentleman does not understand the difierenoe between internal, 
 and external taxes, I cannot help it ; but there is a plain distinction between 
 taxes levied for the purposes of raising a revenue, and duties imposed for the 
 regulation of trade, for the accommodation of the subject ; although in the 
 consequences, some revenue might incidentally arise from the latter. 
 
 ^' " The gentleman asks. When were the colonies emancipated ? I desire to 
 know when they were made slaves ? But I dwell not upon words. When 
 I had the honour of serving his Majesty, I availed myself of the means of 
 information which I derived from my office : I speak, therefore, from know- 
 ledge. My materials were good ; I was at pains to collect, to digest, to 
 consider them ; and I will be bold to affirm, that the profits of Great 
 
 J Britain from the trade of the colonies, through all its branches, are two 
 millions a year. This is the fund that carried you triumphantly through the 
 
THE EABL OF CHATHAM. 77 
 
 last war. The estates that were rented at two thousand pounds a year, 
 threescore years ago, are at three thousand pounds at present. Those 
 estates sold then for from fifteen to eighteen years' purchase ; the same may 
 now be sold for thirty. You owe this to America. This is the price \/ 
 America pays for her protection. And shall a miserable financier come with 
 a boast, that he can fetch a peppercorn into the Exchequer, by the loss of 
 millions to the nation ! * I dare not say how much higher these profits may 
 be augmented. Omitting the immense increase of people by natural popu- 
 lation, in the northern colonies, and the emigration from every part of 
 Europe, I am convinced that the whole commercial system of America may V 
 be altered to advantage. You have prohibited where you ought to have 
 encouraged ; and you have encouraged where you ought to have prohibited. 
 Improper restraints have been laid on the continent in favour of the islands. 
 You have but two nations to trade with in America. Would you had twenty ! 
 Let acts of Parliament in consequence of treaties remain, but let not an Eng- 
 lish minister become a custom-house officer for Spain, or for any foreign power. 
 Much is wrong — much may be amended for the general good of the whole. 
 
 " Does the gentleman complain 'that he has been misrepresented in the 
 public prints ? It is a common misfortune. In the Spanish affair of last 
 war, I was abused in all the newspapers for having advised his Majesty to 
 violate the law of nations with regard to Spain. The abuse was industriously 
 circulated even in handbills. If administration did not propagate the abuse, 
 administration never contradicted it. I will not say what advice I did give 
 to the King. My advice is in writing signed by myself, in the possession of 
 the Crown. But I will say what advice I did not give to the King : I did 
 not advise him to violate any of the laws of nations. 
 
 " As to the report of the gentleman's preventing in some way the trade for 
 bullion with the Spaniards, it was spoken of so confidently, that I own I am 
 one of those who did believe it to be true. 
 
 " The gentleman must not wonder that he was not contradicted, when, as 
 the Minister, he asserted the right of Parliament to tax America. I know v 
 not how it is, but there is a modesty in this House which does not choose to 
 contradict a minister. Even that chair. Sir, sometimes looks towards 
 St. James's. I wish gentlemen would get the better of this modesty. If 
 they do not, perhaps, the collective body may begin to abate- of its respect 
 for the representative. Lord Bacon had told me that a great question would 
 not fail of being agitated at one time or another. I was willing to agitate 
 that question at the proper season — the German war ; my German war they 
 called it. Every session I called out, Has anybody any objections to the 
 German war ? Nobody would object to it, one gentleman only excepted, 
 since removed to the Upper House, by succession to an ancient barony ; f he 
 
 * In the course of his speech Mr. Nugent said, that a peppercorn in acknowledg- 
 ment of the right to tax America was of more value than millions without it. — Vide 
 ante, p. 69. 
 
 t Lord Le Despencer, formerly Sir Francis Dashwood. 
 
V 
 
 78 THE MODERN OKATOB. 
 
 told me he did not like a German war. I honoured the man for it, and was 
 sorry when he was turned out of his post. 
 
 " A great deal has been said without doors of the power, of the sti-ength, 
 of America. It is a topic that ought to be cautiously meddled with. In a 
 / good cause, on a sound bottom, the force of this country can crush America 
 to atoms. I know the valour of your troops ; I know the skill of your 
 officers. There is not a company of foot that has served in America, out of 
 which you may not pick a man of sufficient knowledge and experience to 
 make a governor of a colony there. But on this ground — on the Stamp Act 
 — when so many here will think it a crying injustice, I am one who will lift 
 up my hands against it. 
 
 " In such a cause even your success would be hazardous. America, if she 
 fell, would fall like the strong man. She would embrace the pillars of the 
 State, and pull down the constitution along with her. Is this your boasted 
 peace ? To sheathe the sword, not in its scabbard, but in the bowels of your 
 countrymen ? Will you quarrel with yourselves now the whole House of 
 Bourbon is united against you ? While France disturbs your fisheries in 
 Newfoundland, embarrasses your slave-trade to Africa, and withholds from 
 your subjects in Canada their property stipulated by treaty ; while the 
 ransom for the Manillas is denied by Spain, and its gallant conqueror basely 
 traduced into a mean plunderer — a gentleman * whose noble and generous 
 spirit would do honour to the proudest grandee of the country. The 
 Americans have not acted in all things with prudence and temper. The 
 Americans have been wronged. They have been driven to madness by in- 
 justice. Will you punish them for the madness which you have occasioned ? 
 Rather let prudence and temper come first from this side. I will undertake 
 for America that she will follow the example. There are two lines in a ballad 
 of Prior's, of a man's behaviour to his wife, so applicable to you and your 
 colonies that I cannot help repeating them : — 
 
 ' Be to her faults a little blind ; 
 Be to her virtues very kind.' 
 
 " Upon the whole, I will beg leave to tell the House what is really my 
 opinion. It is, that the Stamp Act be repealed absolutely, totally, and imme- 
 diately. That the reason for the repeal be assigned, because it was founded 
 on an erroneous principle. At the same time, let the sovereign authority of 
 this country over the colonies be asserted in as strong terms as can be 
 
 * In the month of October, 1762, the capital of the Manillas surrendered to Colonel 
 Draper, and it was agreed that the sum of four millions of dollars should he paid as a 
 ransom for the private property in the town. This stipidation, however, was so 
 completely disregarded by Spain, that the tune of paying the Manilla ransom became 
 in popular language equivalent to the term, " ad Kalendas Griscas." It was at one 
 time proposed to accept a composition from Spain ; but the Court of Madrid disdained 
 such an arrangement, and more heroically paid nothing at all. — Adolph. Hist, of the 
 Eeign of George III. vol. i. p. 91. 
 
THE EATIL OF CHATHAM 79 
 
 devised, and be made to extend to every point of legislation whatsoever. 
 We may bind their trade, confine their manufactures, and exercise every 
 power whatsoever, except that of taking their money out of their pockets 
 without their consent." 
 
 The motion for an address was carried without a division.* On the 26th 
 of February, a bill to repeal the Stamp Act was introduced, and received the 
 Royal assent on the 18th of March. Together with the bill to repeal the 
 Stamp Act was introduced another, called the Declaratory Act, asserting the 
 undoubted power and authority of the King, with the consent of the Lords 
 and Commons in Parliament assembled, to make laws of sufficient force to 
 bind the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever. This bill 
 also received the Royal assent on the 18th of March. f 
 
 Debate in the Lokds on the Address in Answer to the Speech 
 
 FKOM the ThKONE. 
 
 1770. Amidst the many subjects of complaint which existed at the present 
 time, the two which most engaged public attention were the proceedings 
 relative to Mr. Wilkes's election for Middlesex, and the disturbances in 
 America. 
 
 At the general election, which took place early in the year 1768, Mr. 
 Wilkes, who had recently returned from the continent, declared himself a 
 candidate to represent the City of London in Parliament. Having failed in 
 his , election for London, he immediately offered himself for the county of 
 Middlesex; and, in opposition to the established interest of two gentlemen 
 who had represented it for years, he was returned by a large majority.^ 
 
 On the 8th of June, 1768, the sentence of outlawry which had been pro- 
 nounced against Mr. Wilkes was reversed ;§ but the verdicts which had been 
 given against him were affirmed ; and he was sentenced to be imprisoned for 
 two periods of ten and twelve months, to pay two fines of £500 each, and 
 to find two sureties of £500 each for his good behaviour for seven years to 
 be computed from the expiration of the terms of his imprisonment. 
 
 On the 4th of November in the same year, shortly after the opening of the 
 second session of the new Parliament, a petition was presented to the House 
 of Commons from Mr. Wilkes, setting forth the proceedings that had been 
 taken against him in the courts of law, and claiming redress for his grievances 
 
 * In tlie course of this debate Mr. Burke made his first speech in ■ the House of 
 Commons, which drew from Mr, Pitt the most marked praise. No report, however, 
 remains of Mr. Burke's speech. 
 
 t Vide 6 Geo. III. u. 11 & 12. 
 
 + The numbers were, "Wilkes 1292 ; Cooke 827 ; Sir William B. Proctor 807. 
 
 § Vide ante, p. 62, n. 
 
80 THE MODEEN OEATOK. 
 
 from the House. This petition gave rise to a great deal of discussion. At 
 length, on the 3rd of February, 1769, the Commons resolved that Mr. 
 Wilkes, having been convicted of publishing a libel on the King, and the 
 Essay on Woman, for which offences he was then under sentence of imprison- 
 ment by the Court of King's Bench, should be expelled the House. A new 
 writ was then issued for Middlesex ; and on the 16th of February, Mr. 
 Wilkes was unanimously re-elected. On the following day, however, the 
 House resolved, " that John Wilkes, Esq.,, having been, in this session of 
 Parliament, expelled this House, was, and is incapable of being elected a 
 member to serve in the present Parliament."* Another election took place 
 for Middlesex, and Mr. Wilkes was again declared duly elected ; his intended 
 opponent, Mr. Dingley, having been driven out of the field before the nonu- 
 nation by the violent treatment which he had received from the mob. On 
 the I7th of March, the House, on the motion of Lord North, then Chancel- 
 lor of the Exchequer, declared Mr. Wilkes's election null and void. The 
 Government now determined, by putting forward a candidate in opposition 
 to Mr. Wilkes, to terminate a contest of which otherwise there would proba- 
 bly have been a long continuance; and Colonel Luttrell, having vacated his 
 seat for the borough of Bossiney, in Cornwall, by the acceptance of the 
 Chiltern Hundreds, became their nominee. At this election Mr. Wilkes 
 obtained a majority of 847,f and was declared duly elected by the returning 
 officer; but on a petition from Colonel Luttrell, the House, on the 17th of 
 April, 1769, by a majority of 197 to 143, ordered the return to be altered by 
 the erasure of Mr. Wilkes's name and the insertion of that of his opponent.:^ 
 The second subject which now particularly engaged public attention 
 related, as has been stated, to the disturbances in the colonies. In the year 
 1767,duringthe Ulness and inefficiency of Lord Chatham, who was the apparent 
 head of the administration then in existence, the legislative sanction was 
 given to a measure introduced by Mr. Charles Townshend, for renewing the 
 scheme of taxing America by the imposition of duties on glass, paper, white 
 and red lead, painters' colours, pasteboard, and tea, on their importation 
 from Great Britain into the colonies, and appropriating the proceeds of these 
 duties, in the first instance, towards the support of their civil Government, 
 and in the next towards defraying the necessary expenses of defending and 
 protecting thera.g The repose which had taken place in America upon the 
 
 * Commons' Journals. 
 
 t The numbers were, for Mr. Wilkes 1143; for Luttrell, 296. 
 
 X Notwithstanding his repeated expulsions &om the House of Commons, Mr. "Wilkes 
 eventually succeeded in defeating that body. On the 3rd of May, 1782, it was resolved, 
 by a majority of 116 to 47, that the resolution of the 17th of February, 1769, should be 
 expunged &om the journals of the House, as being subversive of the rights of the 
 whole body of electors of this kingdom : and, at the same time, it was ordered, that all 
 the declarations, orders, and resolutions, respecting the election of John Wilkes, Es(i., 
 for the county of Middlesex, should be expunged.— Commons' Journals. 
 
 § Vide 7 Geo. HI. c. 46. 
 
THE EAB.I. OF CHATHAM. 81 
 
 repeal of the Stamp Act was soon disturbed ; confusion again befel the 
 affairs of that country ; and consequences highly prejudicial to the commer- 
 cial interests of Great Britain ensued. The people of Massachusetts Bay were 
 the first amongst the colonists whose jealousy was awakened by Mr. Towns- 
 hend's scheme, and they immediately adopted measures to defeat it. The 
 inhabitants of Boston, at a public meeting, came to the resolution, subse- 
 quently adopted in the other provinces, of not purchasing any commodities 
 from the mother country that could be procured in any of the colonies ; and 
 the Assembly of Massachusetts Bay addressed a circular letter to the other As- 
 semblies, calling upon them to co-operate with them in the pursuit of aU legal 
 measures to procure the repeal of the late act of Parliament. Being required 
 by the Earl of Hillsborough, Secretary of State, to revoke their circular letter, 
 they refused to do so, and were immediately dissolved. Several of the 
 other Assemblies which did not betray an accommodating spirit to the 
 Government shared a similar fate. The people of Boston then determined to 
 convene a meeting of deputies from the several towns and districts in the 
 province ; and accordingly, ninety-six towns and eight districts sent deputies. 
 Having assembled at Boston, the Convention acted with great moderation. 
 It disclaimed all intention of influencing any of the powers of Government ; 
 and a report stating the cause of its meeting, and the subjects which it had 
 taken into consideration, having been drawn up, a petition to the King was 
 framed, and the deputies dissolved the Convention. In the mean time, 
 resistance having been offered to the revenue ofiicers in the discharge of their 
 duty at Boston, by which riots and tumults of a dangerous nature were 
 occasioned, four regiments were ordered to be stationed in that town. These 
 arrived the day after the dissolution of the Convention, and for a time 
 restrained the inhabitants within the bounds of order. 
 
 The disturbances in Boston created great alarm in England, and were 
 particularly noticed in his Majesty's speech from the throne at the opening 
 of the session of Parliament in November 1768. In a joint address to the 
 King from the two Houses, the proceedings which had been taken by the 
 House of Assembly of Massachusetts Bay, and the inhabitants of Boston, 
 were severely censured, and his Majesty was recommended to enforce an 
 almost obsolete statute of Henry the Eighth,* by which it is enacted that 
 treasons committed out of England shall be tried before the Court of King's 
 Bench, or in such county within the realm as the Sovereign shall by commis- 
 sion appoint. The threatened revival of this measure, by stimulating and 
 confirming the feelings of the discontented among the colonists, and tending 
 much to weaken and alienate the affections of the loyal and well-disposed, 
 was productive of the worst consequences in America. 
 
 1770. On the 9th of January, his Majesty opened the session of Parlia- 
 ment in person. The address of the Lords in answer to the speech from the 
 Throne was moved by the Duke of Ancaster, and seconded by Lord Dunmore. 
 
 » 35 Hen. VIII. c. 2. 
 
 VOL. i. G 
 
82 THE MODERN OBATOU. 
 
 The Earl of Chatham, after paying some compliments to the Duke of 
 Ancaster, said, 
 
 "That he should have been happy to be able to concur with the 
 noble Duke in every part of an address which was meant as a mark of 
 respect and duty to the Crown ; he professed personal obligations to the 
 King, and veneration for him ; but though he might differ from the noble 
 Duke in the form of expressing his duty to the Crown, he hoped he should 
 give his Majesty a more substantial proof of his attachment than if he 
 agreed to the motion. At his time of life, and loaded as he was with 
 infirmities, he might perhaps have stood excused had he continued in his 
 retirement, and never taken part again in public affairs. But the alarming 
 state of the nation called upon him, forced him, to comg forward once more, 
 and to execute that duty which he owed to God, to his Sovereign, and to his 
 country : he was determined to perform it, even at the hazard of his life. 
 There never was a period which called more forcibly than the present for 
 the serious attention and consideration of that House ; and as they were the 
 grand hereditary counsellors of the Crown, it was particularly their duty, at 
 a crisis of such importance and danger, to lay before their Sovereign the 
 true state and condition of his subjects, the discontent which univer- 
 sally prevailed amongst them, the distresses under which they laboured, the 
 injuries they complained of, and the true causes of this unhappy state of affairs. 
 
 " He had heard with great concern of the distemper among the cattle,* 
 and was very ready to give his approbation to those prudent measures which 
 the Council had taken for putting a stop to so dreadful a calamity. He was 
 satisfied there was a power, in some degree arbitrary, with which the consti- 
 tution trusted the Crown, to be made use of under correction of the legisla- 
 ture, and at the hazard of the Minister, upon any sudden emergency, or un- 
 foreseen calamity which might threaten the welfare of the people or the 
 safety of the state. Upon this principle he had himself advised a measure 
 which he knew was not strictly legal ; but he had recommended it as a 
 measure of necessity, to save a starving people from famine, and had sub- 
 mitted to the judgment of his country .■[■ 
 
 " He was extremely glad to hear, what he owned he did not believe when 
 he came into the House, that the King had reason to expect that his endea- 
 vours to secure the peace of this country would be successful, for certainly 
 
 * The speech from the Throne hegan with informing the Houses of Parliament that 
 the distemper had lately broken out among the horned cattle. Hence this session was 
 called " The Homed Cattle Session." 
 
 t In consequence of the high price of wheat, and of apprehensions of a scarcity, the 
 Government of which Lord Chatham was at the head, issued an order in council on the 
 26th of September, 1766, directing an embargo to be laid on the exportation of wheat. 
 As it had not, however, then reached the utmost price within which its exportation 
 was permitted by 16 Car. II. c. 7, an act of Parliament, 7 Geo. HI. c. 7, was passed, 
 indemnifying all persons concerned in issuing or executing the above order in 
 council. 
 
THE EASl OF CHATHAM. 83 
 
 a peace was never so necessary as at a time when we were torn to pieces by 
 diyisions and distractions in every part of his Majesty's dominions. He had 
 always considered the terms of the late peace, however excusable in the then 
 exhausted condition of this country, as by no means equal, in point of advan- 
 tage, to what we had a right to expect from the successes of the war, and 
 from the stUl more exhausted condition of our enemies. Having deserted 
 our allies, we were left without alliances, and, during a peace of seven years, ^ 
 had been every moment on the verge of war. France, on the contrary, had 
 attentively cultivated her allies, particularly Spain, by every mark of cor- 
 diality and respect. If a war were unavoidable, we must enter into it with- 
 out a single ally, while the whole House of Bourbon was united within 
 itself, and supported by the closest connexions with the principal powers of 
 Europe. The situation of our foreign affairs was undoubtedly a matter of 
 moment, and highly worth their Lordship's consideration ; but he declared 
 with grief there were other matters still more important, and more urgently 
 demanding their attention — he meant the distractions and divisions which 
 prevailed in every part of the empire. He lamented the unhappy measure ^ 
 which had divided the colonies from the mother country, and which he 
 feared had drawn them into excesses which he could not justify. He owned 
 his natural partiality to America, and was inclined to make allowances even 
 for those excesses. They ought to be treated with tenderness ; for in his 
 sense they were ebullitions of liberty, which broke out upon the skin, and 
 were a sign, if not of perfect health, at least of a vigorous constitution, and 
 must not be driven in too suddenly, lest they should strike to the heart. He 
 professed himself entirely ignorant of the present state of America, and should 
 therefore be cautious of giving any opinion of the measures fit to be pursued, 
 with respect to that country. It was a maxim he had observed through 
 life, when he had lost his way, to stop short, lest, by proceeding without 
 knowledge, and advancing (as he feared a noble Duke* had done) from one 
 false step to another, he should wind himself into an inextricable labyrinth, 
 and never be able to recover the right road again. As the House had yet no 
 materials before them by which they might judge of the proceedings of the 
 colonies, he strongly objected to their passing that heavy censure upon them, 
 which was conveyed in the word unwarrantable, contained in the proposed 
 address. It was passing a sentence without hearing the cause, or being 
 acquainted with the facts, and might expo.se the.,proceedings of the House 
 to be received abroad with indifference and disrespect, If unwarrantable 
 meant anything, it must mean illegal ; and how could their Lordships decide 
 that proceedings which had not been stated to them in any shape, were con- 
 trary to law ? What he had heard of the combinations of the Americans, 
 and of their success in supplying themselves with goods of their own manu- ^^ 
 facture, had indeed alarmed him much for the commercial interests of the 
 mother country; but he could not conceive in what sense they could be 
 
 * The Duke of Grafton. 
 
84 THE MODERN ORATOK. 
 
 called illegal, much less how a declaration of that House could remove the 
 evil. They were dangerous, indeed, and he greatly wished to have that 
 word suhstituted for unwarrantable. We must look for other remedies. 
 The discontent of two millions of people deserved consideration ; and the 
 foundation of it ought to be removed. This was the true way of putting a 
 stop to combinations and manufactures in that country. But he reserved 
 himself to give his opinion more particularly upon this subject, when authen- 
 tic information of the state of America should be laid before the House ; 
 declaring only for the present, that we should be cautious how we invaded 
 the liberties of any part of our fellow-subjects, however remote in situation, 
 or unable to make resistance. Liberty was a plant that deserved to be che- 
 rished ; he loved the tree, and wished well to every branch of it. Like the 
 vine in the Scripture, it had spread from east to west, had embraced whole 
 nations with its branches, and sheltered them under its leaves. The Ameri- 
 cans had purchased their liberty at a dear rate, since they had quitted their 
 native country, and gone in search of freedom to a desert. 
 
 " The parts of the address which he had already touched upon, however 
 important in themselves, bore no comparison to that which still remained. 
 Indeed there never was a time at which the unanimity recommended to them 
 by the King was more necessary than at present ; but he differed very much 
 from the noble Duke with respect to the propriety or utility of those general 
 assurances contained in the latter part of the address. The most perfect 
 harmony in that House would have but little effect towards quieting the 
 minds of the people, and removing their discontent. It was the duty of that 
 House to inquire into the causes of the notorious dissatisfaction expressed by 
 the whole English nation, to state those causes to their Sovereign, and then 
 to give him their best advice as to the manner in which he ought to act. 
 The privileges of the House of Peers, however transcendent, however appro- 
 priated to them, stood, in fact, upon the same broad bottom as the rights of 
 the people. They were no longer in the condition of the barons their ances- 
 tors, who had separate interests and separate strength to support them. 
 The rights of the greatest and of the meanest subjects now stood upon the 
 same foundation — the security of law, common to all. It was, therefore, 
 their highest interest, as well as their duty, to watch over and guard the 
 people ; for when the people had lost their rights, those of the peerage 
 would soon become insignificant. To argue from experience, he begged 
 leave to refer their Lordships to a most important passage in history, de- 
 scribed by a man of great abilities, Mr. Robertson. This writer, in his life 
 of Charles the Fifth (a great, ambitious, and wicked man,) informs us, that 
 the peers of Castile were so far cajoled and seduced by him, as to join him in 
 overturning that part of the Cortes which represented the people.* They 
 were weak enough to adopt, and base enough to be flattered with an expecta- 
 tion, that, by assisting their master in this iniquitous purpose, they should 
 
 * Hist, of Charles V. b. iii. & vi. 
 
/ 
 
 THE EAHL OF CHATHAM. 86 
 
 increase their own strength and importance. What was the consequence ? 
 They exchanged the constitutional authority of peers for the titular vanity of 
 grandees. They were no longer a part of a parliament, for that they had 
 destroyed ; and when they pretended to have an opinion as grandees, he told 
 them he did not understand it ; and, naturally enough, when they had sur- 
 rendered their authority, treated their advice with contempt. The conse- 
 quences did not stop here. He made use of the people whom he had en- 
 slaved to enslave others, and employed the strength of the Castilians to 
 destroy the rights of their free neighbours of Arragon. 
 
 " My Lords, let this example be a lesson to us all. Let us be cautious how 
 we admit an idea that our rights stand on a footing different from those of the 
 people. Let us be cautious how we invade the liberties of our fellow-sub- 
 jects, however mean, however remote : for be assured, my Lords, that in 
 whatever part of the empire you suffer slavery to be established, whether it 
 be in America, or in Ireland, or here at home, you will find it a disease 
 which spreads by contact, and soon reaches from the extremities to the 
 heart. The man who has lost his own freedom, becomes from that moment 
 an instrument in the hands of an ambitious prince, to destroy the freedom of 
 others. These reflections, my Lords, are but too applicable to our present 
 situation. The liberty of the subject is invaded, not only in the provinces, ^ 
 but here at home. The English people are loud in their complaints ; they 
 proclaim with one voice the injuries they have received ; they demand 
 redress, and depend upon it, my Lords, that one way or other they will have 
 redress. They will never return to a state of tranquillity until they are 
 redressed ; nor ought they ; for in my judgment, my Lords, and I speak it 
 boldly, it were better for them to perish in a glorious contention for their , 
 rights, than to purchase a slavish tranquillity at the expense of a single iota 
 of the constitution. Let me entreat your Lordships, then, in the name of all 
 the duties you owe to your Sovereign, to the country, and to yourselves, to 
 perform that office to which you are called by the constitution, by informing 
 his Majesty truly of the condition of his subjects, and of the real cause of 
 their dissatisfaction. I have considered the matter with most serious atten- 
 tion, and as I have not in my own breast the smallest doubt that the present 
 universal discontent of the nation arises from the proceedings of the House ^ 
 of Commons upon the expulsion of Mr. Wilkes, I think that we ought, in 
 our address, to state that matter to the King. I have drawn up an amend- 
 ment to the address, which I beg leave to submit to the consideration of the 
 House : 
 
 " ' And for these great and essential purposes we will, with all convenient 
 speed, take into our most serious consideration the causes of the discontents 
 which prevail in so many parts of your Majesty's dominions, and particularly 
 the late proceedings of the House of Commons, touching the incapability of 
 John Wilkes, Esq. (expelled by that House), to be elected a member to 
 serve in this present Parliament, thereby refusing (by a resolution of one 
 branch of the Legislature only) to the subject his common right, and 
 
86 THE MODERN OKATOK. 
 
 depriving the electors of Middlesex of their free choice of a representa- 
 tive.' 
 
 " The cautious and guarded terms in which the amendment is drawn up 
 will, I hope, reconcile every noble Lord who hears me to my opinion ; and as 
 I think that no man can dispute the truth of the facts, so, I am persuaded, 
 no man can dispute the propriety and necessity of laying those facts before 
 his Majesty." 
 
 Lord Mansfield began with afiirming, " thafhe had never delivered any 
 / opinion upon the legality of the proceedings of the House of Commons on 
 the Middlesex election, nor should he now, notwithstanding anything that 
 might be expected from him. He had locked it up in his own breast, and 
 it should die with him : he wished to avoid speaking on the subject ; but 
 the motion made by the noble Lord was of a nature too extraordinary and 
 too alarming to suffer him to be silent. In his own opinion, declarations of the 
 law made by either House of Parliament were always attended with bad 
 effects ; he had constantly opposed them whenever he had an opportunity, 
 and, in his judicial capacity, thought himself bound never to pay the least 
 legard to them. Although thoroughly convinced of the illegality of general 
 warrants, which, indeed, naming no persons, were no warrants at all, he was 
 sorry to see the House of Commons, by their vote, declare them to be Ulegal. 
 It looked like a legislative act, which yet had no force or effect as a law ; 
 for, supposing the House had declared them to be legal, the courts in West- 
 minster would nevertheless have been bound to declare the contrary ; and, 
 consequently, to throw a disrespect upon the vote of the House : but he 
 made a wide distinction between general declarations of law, and a particular 
 decision which might be made by either House, in their judicial capacity, 
 upon a case coming regularly before them, and properly the subject of their 
 jurisdiction. Here they did not act as legislators, pronouncing abstractedly 
 and generally what the law was, and for the direction of others; but as 
 judges, drawing the law from the several sources from which it ought to be 
 drawn, for their own guidance in deciding the particular question before 
 them, and applying it strictly to the decision of that question. For his own 
 part, wherever the statute law was silent, 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 decisions of each House respectively. He 
 knew of no parliamentary code to judge of questions depending upon 
 the judicial authority of Parliament, but the practice of each House, 
 moderated or extended according to the wisdom of the House, and accom- 
 modated to the cases before them. A question touching the seat of a 
 V member in the Lower House could only be determined by that House : 
 there was no other court where it could be tried, or to which there could be 
 an appeal from their decision. Wherever a court of justice is supreme, and 
 their sentence final (which he apprehended no man would dispute was the 
 case in the House of Commons in matters touching elections), the determi- 
 nation of that court must be received and submitted to as the law of the 
 
THE EABL OF CHATHAM. 87 
 
 land ; for if there be no appeal from a judicial sentence, where shall that 
 sentence be questioned, or how can it be reversed ? He admitted that judges 
 might be corrupt, and their sentences erroneous; but these were cases 
 for which, in respect to supreme courts, the constitution 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 tribu- 
 nal could take cognizance, and it lay between God and their consciences. 
 He avoided entering into the merits of the late decision of the House of 
 Commons, because it was a subject he was convinced the Lords had no right 
 to inquire into or discuss. The amendment proposed by the noble Lord 
 threatened the most pernicious consequences to the nation, as it manifestly 
 violated every form and law of Parliament, was a gross attack upon the pri- 
 vileges of the House of Commons, and, instead of promoting that harmony 
 which the King had recommended, must inevitably throw the whole country 
 into a flame. There never was an instance of the Lords inquiring into the 
 proceedings of the House of Commons with respect to their own members ; 
 much less of their taking upon them to censure such proceedings, or of their 
 advising the Crown to take notice of them. He objected to the amendment 
 proposed by the noble Lord, as irregular and unparliamentary. He was 
 persuaded that it would be attended with very pernicious consequences 
 to this country, and that it could not possibly produce a single good one." 
 
 T he Earl of Chatham . — " My Lords, there is one plain maxim, to which I 
 have invariably adhered through life. That in every question, in which my 
 liberty or my property were concerned, I should consult, and be determined 
 by, the dictates of common sense. I confess, my Lords, that I am apt to 
 distrust the refinements of learning, because I have seen the ablest and the 
 most learned men equally liable to deceive themselves, and to mislead others. 
 The condition of human nature would be lamentable indeed, if nothing less 
 than the greatest learning and talents, which fall to the share of so small a 
 number of men, were sufficient to direct our judgment and our conduct. But 
 Providence has taken better care of our happiness, and given us, in the 
 simplicity of common sense, a rule for our direction, by which we shall never 
 be misled. I confess, my Lords, I had no other guide in drawing up the 
 amendment which I submitted to your consideration ; and before I heard the 
 opinion of the noble Lord who spoke last, I did not conceive that it was even 
 within the limits of possibility for the greatest human genius, the most subtle 
 understanding, or the acutest wit, so strangely to represent my meaning, and 
 to give to it an interpretation so entirely foreign to what I intended to express, 
 and from that sense which the very terms of the amendment plainly and 
 distinctly carry with them. If there be the smallest foundation for the 
 censure thrown upon me by that noble Lord, if either expressly or by the 
 most distant implication I have said or insinuated any part of what the 
 noble Lord has charged me with, discard my opinions for ever, discard the 
 motion with contempt. 
 
 " My Lords, I must beg the indulgence of the House. Neither will my 
 
88 THE MODEKN ORATOB. 
 
 health permit tne, nor do I pretend to be qualified to follow that learned 
 Lord minutely through the whole of his argument. No man is better 
 acquainted with his abilities and learning than I am, or has a greater respect 
 for them than 1 have. I have had the pleasure of sitting with him in the 
 other House, and I always listened to him with attention. I have not now 
 lost a word of what he said, nor did I ever. Upon the present question, I 
 meet him without fear. The evidence which truth carries with it, is superior 
 
 1/ to all argument, it neither wants the support nor dreads the opposition of the 
 greatest abilities. If there be a single word in the amendment to justify the 
 interpretation which the noble Lord has been pleased to give it, I am ready 
 to renounce the whole ; let it be read, my Lords, let it speak for itself. [It 
 was read.] — In what instance does it interfere with the privileges of the 
 
 / House of Commons ? In what respect does it question their juri^sdiction, or 
 suppose an authority in this House to arraign the justice of their sentence ? 
 I am sure that every Lord who hears me wiU bear me witness, that I said 
 not one word touching the merits of the Middlesex election ; so far from 
 conveying any opinion upon that matter in the amendment, I did not even in 
 discourse deliver my own sentiments upon it, I did not say that the House of 
 Commons had done either right or wrong ; but when his Majesty was pleased 
 to recommend it to us to cultivate unanimity amongst ourselves, I thought it 
 the duty of this House, as the great hereditary council of the Crown, to state 
 to his Majesty the distracted condition of his dominions, together with the 
 events which had destroyed unanimity among his subjects. But, my Lords, 
 I stated those events merely as facts, without the smallest addition either of 
 censure or of opinion. They are facts, my Lords, which I am not only 
 convinced are true, but which I know are indisputably true. For example, 
 my Lords, will any man deny that discontents prevail in many parts of his 
 Majesty's dominions ? or that those discontents arise from the proceedings of 
 the House of Commons touching the declared incapacity of Mr. Wilkes ? It 
 is impossible ; no man can deny a truth so notorious. Or will any man 
 deny that those proceedings refused, by a resolution of one branch of the 
 Legislature only, to the subject his common right ? Is it not indisputably 
 true, my Lords, that Mr. Wilkes had a common right, and that he lost it no 
 other way than by a resolution of the House of Commons ? My Lords, I 
 have been tender of misrepresenting the House of Commons ; I have 
 consulted their journals and have taken the very words of their own resolu- 
 tion. Do they not tell us in so many words that Mr. Wilkes, having being 
 expelled, was thereby rendered incapable of serving in that Parliament ? and 
 is it not their resolution alone which refuses to the subject his common 
 right ? The amendment says further, that the electors of Middlesex are 
 deprived of their free choice of a representative. Is this a. false statement, 
 my Lords, or have I given an unfair representation of it ? Will any man 
 presume to affirm that Colonel Luttrell is the free choice of the electors of 
 Middlesex ? We all know the contrary. We all know that Mr. Wilkes, 
 (whom I mention without either praise or censure,) was the favourite of the 
 
THE EAKL OT CHATHAM. 89 
 
 county, and chosen by a very great and acknowledged majority, to represent 
 them in Parliament. If the noble Lord dislikes the manner in which these 
 facts are stated, I shall think myself happy in being advised by him how to 
 alter it. I am very little anxious about terms, provided the substances be 
 preserved ; and these are facts, my Lords, which I am sure will always retain 
 their weight and importance in whatever form of language they may be 
 described. 
 
 " Now, my Lords, since I have been forced to enter into the explanation 
 of an amendment, in which nothing less than the genius of penetration could 
 have discovered an obscurity, and having, as I hope, redeemed myself in the 
 opinitb of the House, having redeemed my motion from the severe represen- 
 tation given of it by the noble Lord, I must a little longer entreat your Lord- 
 ships' indulgence. The constitution of this country has been openly invaded 
 in fact ; and I have heard, with horror and astonishment, that very invasion 
 defended upon principle. What is this mysterious power, undefined by law, 
 unknown to the subject, which we must not approach without awe, or speak 
 of without reverence, which no man may question, and to which all men 
 must submit ? My Lords, I thought the slavish doctrine of passive obe- 
 dience had long since been exploded ; and when our Kings were obliged to 
 confess 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. My Lords, I beg to be understood : no man respects the 
 House of Commons more than I do, or would contend more strenuously than 
 I would to preserve to them their just and legal authority. Within the 
 bounds prescribed by the constitution, that authority is necessary to the well- 
 being of the people ; beyond that line every exertion of power is arbitrary, 
 is illegal ; it threatens tyranny to the people, and destruction to the State. 
 Power without right is the most odious and detestable object that can be 
 offered to the human imagination ; it is not only pernicious to those who are 
 subject to it, but tends to its own destruction. It is what my noble friend, 
 (Lord Lyttelton,) has truly described it, Hes detestahilis et caduca. My 
 Lords, I acknowledge the just power, and I reverence the constitution of the 
 House of Commons. It is for their own sakes that I would prevent their 
 assuming a power which the constitution has denied them, lest, by grasping 
 at an authority to which they have no right, they should forfeit that which 
 they legally possess. My Lords, I afiirm that they have betrayed their con- 
 stituents, and violated the constitution. Under pretence of declaring the 
 law, they have made a law — a law for their own case, and have united in the 
 same persons the oflSces of legislator, party, and judge. 
 
 " I shall endeavour to adhere strictly to the noble Lord's doctrine, which 
 it is indeed impossible to mistake, so far as my memory will permit me to 
 preserve his expressions. He seems fond of the word jurisdiction, and I 
 confess with the force and eiFect which he has given it, it is a word of 
 copious meaning and wonderful extent. If his Lordship's doctrine be well 
 
90* THE MODEKN OEATOB. 
 
 founded, we must renounce all those political maxims by which our under- 
 standings have hitherto been directed, and even the first elements of learning 
 taught us in our schools when we were school-boys. My Lords, we knew 
 that jurisdiction was nothing more tha-njus dicere; we knew that legem, facere 
 and legem, dicere were powers clearly distinguished from each other in the 
 nature of things, and wisely separated by the wisdom of the English consti- 
 tution ; but now it seems we must adopt a new system of thinking. The 
 
 •J House of Commons, we are told, have a supreme jurisdiction : that there is 
 no appeal from their sentence ; and that wherever they are competent judges, 
 their decision must be received and submitted to, as, ipso facto, the law of 
 the land. My Lords, I am a plain man, and have been brought ftp in 
 ■^ religious reverence for the original simplicity of the laws of England. By 
 what sophistry they have been perverted, by what artifices they have been 
 involved in obscurity, is not for me to explain ; the principles, however, of 
 the English laws are sufl5.ciently clear : they are founded in reason, and are 
 the masterpiece of the human understanding ; but it is in the text that I 
 would look for a direction to my judgment, not in the commentaries of 
 modern professors. The noble Lord assures us, that he knows not in what 
 code the law of Parliament is to be found ; that the House of Commons, 
 when they act as judges, have no law to direct them but their own wisdom; 
 that their decision is law ; and that if they determine wrong, the subject has 
 no appeal but to Heaven. What then, my Lords, are all the generous efibrts 
 
 J of our ancestors, are all those glorious contentions, by which they meant to 
 secure to themselves, and to transmit to their posterity, a known law, a cer- 
 tain rule of living, reduced to this conclusion, that instead of the arbitrary 
 power of a King, we must submit to the arbitrary power of a House of Com- 
 mons ? If this be true, what benefit do we derive from the exchange ? 
 Tyranny, my Lords, is detestable in every shape ; but in none is it so formid- 
 able as where it is assumed and exercised by a number of tyrants. But, my 
 Lords, this is not the fact, this is not the constitution ; we have a law of 
 
 ^ Parliament, we have a code in which every honest man may find it. We 
 have Magna Charta, we have the Statute-book, and we have the Bill of 
 Rights. 
 
 " If a case should arise unknown to these great authorities, we have still 
 
 V that plain English reason left, which is the foundation of all our English 
 jurisprudence. That reason tells us, that every judicial court and every 
 political society must be vested with those powers and privileges which are 
 necessary for performing the office to which they are appointed. It teUs us 
 also that no court of justice can have a power inconsistent with, or para- 
 mount to, the known laws of the land : that the people, when they choose 
 their representatives, never mean to convey to them the power of invading 
 the rights, or trampling on the liberties, of those whom they represent. 
 What security would they have for their rights, if once they admitted that a 
 court of judicature might determine every question that came before it, not 
 by any known, positive law, but by the vague, indeterminate, arbitrary rule. 
 
'/ 
 
 THE EAEL OF CHATHAM. 91* 
 
 of what the noble Lord is pleased to call the wisdom of the court ? With 
 respect to the decisions of courts of justice, I am far from denying them 
 their due weight and authority ; yet placing them in the most respectable 
 point of view, I still consider them, not as law, but as evidences of the law; 
 and before they can arrive even at that degree of authority, it must appear 
 that they are founded in, and confirmed by, reason ; that they are supported 
 by precedents taken from good and moderate times ; that they do not contra- 
 dict any positive law ; that they are submitted to without reluctance by the 
 people ; that they are unquestioned by the legislature (which is equivalent 
 to a tacit confirmation) ; and, what in my judgment is by far the most 
 important, that they do not violate the spirit of the constitution. My Lords, 
 this is not a vague or loose expression : we all know what the constitution 
 is ; we all know that the first principle of it is, that the subject shall not be 
 governed by the arhitrium of any one man, or body of men, (less than the 
 whole legislature,) but by certain laws, to which he has virtually given his 
 consent, which are open to him to examine, and not beyond his ability to 
 understand. — Now, my Lords, I afiirm, and am ready to maintain, that the 
 late decision of the House of Commons upon the Middlesex election is desti- / 
 tute of every one of those properties and conditions which I hold to be 
 essential to the legality of such a decision. It is not founded in reason ; for 
 it carries with it a contradiction, that the representative should perform the 
 ofiice of the constituent body. It is not supported by a single precedent ; 
 for the case of Sir R. Walpole is but half a precedent, and even that half is 
 imperfect. Incapacity was indeed declared, but his crimes are stated as the 
 ground of the resolution, and his opponent was declared to be not duly 
 elected, even after his incapacity was established.* It contradicts Magna 
 
 * On the 17th of January, 1712, the Commons resolved that Robert Walpole, Esq., 
 (afterwards Sir Robert Walpole) be committed to the Tower and expelled the House 
 for a high breach of trust and notorious corruption when Secretary at War. Having 
 refused to make any concession which wovdd imply a consciousness of guilt, Mr. Wal- 
 pole remained a prisoner until the prorogation. In the mean time, a new writ having 
 been issued for Lyim, for which borough he had sat, he was re-elected ; but upon a 
 petition against the return by the opposing candidate, the Commons resolved, — first, 
 that Mr. Walpole having been, during tlie then present session of Parliament, com- 
 mitted to the Tower and expelled the House, for a high breach of trust and notorious 
 corruption when Secretary at War, was incapable of beiug elected a Member to servein 
 that Parliament ; secondly, that the opposing candidate was not duly elected for Lynn ; 
 thirdly, that the late election for that borough was void : and thereupon a new writ 
 for Lynn was ordered to be issued. Mr. Walpole did not again offer himself for elec- 
 tion as a Member to serve in the Parliament from which he had been expailed ; but in 
 the new Parliament, which met inPebruary, 1714, he was re-elected, and sat, for Lynn. 
 TJpon reference to the Commons' Journals (April 15, 1769), it wiU. be seen that the 
 House in deciding the case of Mr. Wilkes, in relation to his contest with Colonel Lut- 
 trell, had in view not only the case of Sir Robert Walpole, but also two others which 
 occurred in the years 1715 and 1727 ; and which determined that a candidate who had 
 not been returned as duly elected in consequence of the improper substitution in the 
 return of the name of a disqualified person should be held to be duly elected. In the 
 
92* THE MOBEBN OKATOK. 
 
 Charta and the Bill of Rights, by which it is provided, that no subject shall 
 be deprived of his freehold, unless by the judgment of his Peers, or the law 
 of the land ; and that elections of members to serve in Parliament shall be 
 free ; and so far is this decision from being submitted to by the people, that 
 they have taken the strongest measures and adopted the most positive 
 language to express their discontent. Whether it will be questioned by the 
 legislature, will depend upon your Lordships' resolution ; but that it violates 
 the spirit of the constitution, will, I think, be disputed by no man who has 
 heard this day's debate, and who wishes well to the freedom of his country ; 
 
 / yet, if we are to believe the noble Lord, this great grievance, this manifest 
 violation of the first principles of the constitution, will not admit of a *medy ; 
 is not even capable of redress, unless we appeal at once to Heaven. My 
 Lords, I have better hopes of the constitution, and a firmer confidence in the 
 wisdom and constitutional authority of this House. It is to your ancestors, 
 
 J my Lords, it is to the English barons that we are indebted for the laws and 
 constitution we possess. Their virtues were rude and uncultivated, but 
 they were great and sincere. Their understandings were as little polished 
 as their manners, but they had hearts to distinguish right from vnrong ; they 
 had heads to distinguish truth from falsehood ; they xmderstood the rights of 
 humanity, and they had spirit to maintain them. 
 
 " My Lords, I think that history has not done justice to their conduct, 
 when they obtained from their Sovereign that great acknowledgment of 
 national rights contained in Magna Charta : they did not confine it to them- 
 selves alone, but delivered it as a common blessing to the whole people. 
 They did not say, These are the rights of the great Barons, or these are the 
 rights of the great Prelates ; — No, my Lords ; they said, in the simple Latin 
 of the times, nullus liber homo, and provided as carefully for the meanest 
 subject as for the greatest. These are uncouth words, and sound but poorly 
 in the ears of scholars ; neither are they addressed to the criticism of scholars, 
 but to the hearts of freemen. These three words, nullus liber homo, have a 
 meaning which interests us all ; they deserve to be remembered — they are 
 worth all the classics. Let us not, then, degenerate from the glorious 
 
 >/ example of our ancestors. Those Iron Barons, (for so I may call them when 
 compared with the Silken Barons of modern days,) were the guardians of the 
 people ; yet their virtues, my Lords, were never engaged in a question of 
 such importance as the present. A breach has been made in the constitu- 
 tion — the battlements are dismantled — the citadel is open to the first invader 
 — the walls totter — the place is no longer tenable. — What then remains 
 
 • 
 first of these two latter cases, the House resolved, (May 20, 1715,) that the election of 
 Seijeant Comyn, who had been retviined for the borough of Maldon, but who had 
 refused to take the oath of qualification, directed by 9 Ann. c. 6, was void ; and 
 declared the candidate next upon the poU to be duly elected. In the other case the 
 House resolved, (April 16, 1727,) that a candidate was duly elected, though he had 
 not obtained so many votes by 225 as another candidate who was disqualified by hold- 
 ing the office of Commissioner of Stamps. — Commons' Journals. 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 93* 
 
 for US but to stand foremost in the breach, to repair it, or to perish 
 in it? 
 
 " Great pains have been taken to alarm us with the dreadful consequences 
 of a difference between the two Houses of Parliament — that the House of 
 Commons will resent our presuming to take notice of their proceedings ; 
 that they will resent our daring to advise the Crown, and never forgive us 
 for attempting to save the State. — My Lords, I am sensible of the importance 
 and difficulty of this great crisis : at a moment such as this we are called 
 upon to do our duty without dreading the resentment of any man. But if 
 apprehensions of this kind are to affect us, let us consider which we ought to 
 respect most — the representative or the collective body of the people. My 
 Lords, five hundred gentlemen are not ten millions ; and, if we must have a 
 contention, let us take care to have the English nation on our side. If this \/ 
 question be given up, the freeholders of England are reduced to a condition 
 baser than the peasantry of Poland. If they desert their own cause they 
 deserve to be slaves ! — My Lords, this is not merely the cold opinion of my 
 understanding, but the glowing expression of what I feel. It is my heart 
 that speaks : I know I speaki warmly, my Lords, but this warmth shall never 
 betray my argument nor my temper. The kingdom is in a fiame. As me- 
 diators between the King and the people, it is our duty to represent to the 
 Sovereign the true condition and temper of his subjects. It is a duty which 
 no particular respects should hinder us from performing ; and, whenever his 
 Majesty shall demand our advice, it will then be our duty to inquire more 
 minutely into the causes of the present discontents. Whenever that inquiry 
 shall come on, I pledge myself to the House to prove, that, since the first 
 institution of the House of Commons, not a single precedent can be produced 
 to justify their late proceedings. My noble and learned friend (the Lord 
 Chancellor), has also pledged himself to the House that he will support that 
 assertion. 
 
 " My Lords, the character and circumstances of Mr. Wilkes have been 
 very improperly introduced into this question, not only here, but in that '^ 
 court of judicature where his cause was tried: I mean the House of Com- 
 mons. With one party he was a patriot of the first magnitude ; with the 
 other the vilest incendiary. For my own part, I consider him merely and 
 indifferently as an English subject, possessed of certain rights which the laws 
 have given him, and which the laws alone can take from him. I am moved 
 neither by his private vices, nor by his public merits. In his person, though 
 he were the worst, I contend for the safety and security of the best ; and 
 God forbid, my Lords, that there should be a power in this country of mea- \/ 
 suring the civil rights of the subject by his moral character, or by any other 
 rule than the fixed laws of the land ! I believe, my Lords, I shall not be 
 suspected of any personal partiality to this unhappy man : I am not very 
 conversant in pamphlets or newspapers ; but from what I have heard, and 
 from the little I have read, I may venture to affirm that I have had my share 
 in the compliments which have come from that quarter ; and as for motives 
 
94* THE MODERN OKATOR. 
 
 of ambition (for I must take to myself a part of the noble Duke's insinuation), 
 I believe, my Lords, there have been times in which I have had the honour 
 of standing in such favour in the closet, that there must have been some- 
 thing extravagantly unreasonable in my wishes if they might not all have 
 been gratified. After neglecting those opportunities, I am now suspected of 
 coming forward, in the decline of life, in the anxious pursuit of wealth and 
 power, which it is impossible for me to enjoy. Be it so ; there is one ambi- 
 tion at least which I ever will acknowledge, which I will not renounce but 
 with my life — ^it is the ambition of delivering to my posterity those rights of 
 freedom which I have received from my ancestors. I am not now pleading 
 the cause of an individual, but of every freeholder in England. In what 
 manner this House may constitutionally interpose in their defence, and what 
 kind of redress this case will require and admit of, is not at present the 
 subject of our consideration. The amendment, if agreed to, will naturally 
 lead us to such an inquiry. That inquiry may, perhaps, point out the neces- 
 sity of an act of the Legislature, or it may lead us, perhaps, to desire a con- 
 ference with the other House ; which one noble Lord * affirms is the only 
 parliamentary way of proceeding ; and which another noble Lord assures us 
 the House of Commons would either not come to, or would break off with 
 indignation. Leaving their Lordships to reconcile that matter between 
 themselves, I shall only say, that before we have inquired we cannot be pro- 
 vided with materials, consequently we are not at present prepared for a con- 
 ference. 1, 
 
 " It is^impossible, my Lords, that the inquiry I speak of may lead us to 
 advise his Majesty to dissolve the present Parliament — not that I have any 
 doubt of our right to give that advice if we should think it necessary. His 
 Majesty will then determine whether he will yield to the united petitions of 
 the people of England, or maintain the House of Commons in the exercise of 
 a legislative power, which heretofore abolished the House of Lords, and 
 overturned the monarchy. I willingly acquit the present House of Com- 
 mons of having actually formed so detestable a design ; but they cannot 
 themselves foresee to what excesses they may be carried hereafter; and, 
 for my own part, I should be sorry to trust to their future moderation. 
 Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it; 
 and this I know, my Lords, that where law ends, there tyranny begins." 
 
 The amendment having been negatived, the original motion was 
 carried by a majority of 203 to 36. Lord Camden, then Lord Chancellor, 
 was one of the minority, and on the I7th of January was dismissed from 
 office. 
 
 * Lord Marclunont. 
 
THE EAEL OF CHATHAM. 95* 
 
 The MAnaris of Kockingham's Motion fob Appointing a Day 
 
 TO TAKE into CoN SIDEKATION THE StATE OF THE NATION. 
 
 January 22. The Marquis of Rockingham rose, and moved, " That 
 this House will take into its consideration the state of the nation on Thurs- 
 day, the 24th instant." 
 
 The object of his Lordship's speech was to show that the present unhappy- 
 condition of affairs, and the universal discontent of the people, did not arise 
 from any immediate temporary cause, but had grown upon us by degrees, 
 from the moment of his Majesty's accession to the throne. The persons in 
 whom his Majesty then confided had introduced a total change in the old 
 system of English government — they had adopted a maxim which must 
 prove fatal to the liberties of this country, viz. , that the royal prerogative 
 alone was sufficient to support Government, to whatever hands the adminis- 
 tration should be committed ; and the Marquis, reviewing the acts of Minis- 
 ters from the beginning of the reign, traced them all to the prevalence of 
 that principle. Having expressed his disapprobation of many early transac- 
 tions, he came to those of more recent occurrence. He censured with great 
 severity the manner in which the arrears of the civU list* had been discharged ; 
 reprobated the grant of Inglewood Forest, in which he said the Ministry had 
 adhered to their principle of carrying the prerogative to the utmost extent ; 
 condemned the indecent hurry and precipitation with which that affair 
 had been concluded, to prevent the Duke of Portland from vindicating 
 his title ; and accused the Ministry of opposing the Nullum Tempus bill.f 
 
 • On the 28th of February, 1769, a message from the Throne was delivered to the 
 House of Commons, anuouncing that the expenses of the civil government having 
 exceeded the revenue settled on his Majesty by Parliament, a debt of more than five 
 himdred thousand pounds had been incurred, and requesting the House to make such 
 provision as would enable birn to discharge it. A motion having been made for papers 
 to account for the arrear, they were promised, but on condition that a compliance with 
 the King's request should not be delayed, as the papers could not be readily prepared. 
 On the 2nd of March, the sum of £613,611 was granted, to discharge the arrears and 
 debts due and owing on the civil list on the 5th of January, 1769. 
 
 thThe Duke of Portland and his ancestors, in consequence of a grant from WiUiam 
 in. to the first earl of that fajnily of the honour of Penrith, in the county of Cumber- 
 land, with the appurterumcea, had been, for a period of about seventy years, in the pos- 
 session of the forest of Inglewood, and the soccage of the castle of Carlisle. Sir James 
 Lowther, son-in-law of the Earl of Bute, conceiving these hereditaments not to be in- 
 cluded in the terms of the grant, applied to the Crown for a lease of them, which was 
 accordingly granted at a reserved rent of fifty pounds per annum for the soccage of 
 Carlisle, and thirteen shillings and four-pence for the forest of Inglewood, and a third 
 of the rent of such lands and hereditaments in either place as Sir James should recover. 
 No official intimation of the grant of the new lease was given to the Duke of Portland ; 
 but having gained indirect inteUigence of it, he unmediately entered his caveat against 
 it in due form. The Treasury, notwithstanding, passed the grant to Sir James Low- 
 ther. It was, however, subsequently set aside, as contrary to the statute of Queen 
 Anne, which enacts, that upon every grant, lease, or assurance from the Crown, the 
 
96* THE MODERN ORATOR. 
 
 The external affairs of the empire had been managed with the same want 
 of wisdom, and had been brought into nearly the same condition with those 
 at home. In Ireland the Parliament was prorogued, which probably led to 
 a dissolution, and the affairs of that kingdom were left unprovided for, and 
 in the greatest confusion. In America measures of violence had been 
 adopted, and it had been the uniform language and doctrine of the Ministry 
 to force that country to submit. In his own opinion, violence would not do 
 there, and he hoped it would not do here. But, even if a plan of force were 
 advisable, why had it not been adhered to ? Why did th^y not adopt and 
 abide by some one system of conduct ? The King's speeches, and the lan- 
 guage of the Ministry at home, had denounced nothing but war and ven- 
 geance against a rebellious people, whilst his Majesty's governors abroad were 
 instructed to convey to them the gentlest promises, of relief and satisfaction. 
 After condemning the supineness of the Ministry in permitting France to 
 obtain so valuable a possession as Corsica, he said that he had not dwelt so 
 strongly as he might have done upon that great invasion of the constitution, 
 which had now thrown this noble country into a flame.* When the consti- 
 tution was violated, we should not content ourselves with repairing the single 
 breach, but look back into the causes, and trace the principles which had 
 produced it, in order not merely to restore the constitution to present 
 health, but, if possible, render it invulnerable hereafter. Upon the 
 whole, he recommended it strongly to their Lordships to fix an early 
 day for taking into their consideration the state of this country, in all 
 its relations and dependencies, foreign, provincial, and domestic. That 
 consideration would, he hoped, lead their Lordships to advise the Crown not 
 only how to correct past errors, but how to establish a system of govern- 
 ment more wise, more permanent, better suited to the genius of the people, 
 and, at least, consistent with the spirit of the constitution. 
 
 The Duke of Grafton , who spoke next, said he did not intend to oppose 
 the motion ; on the contrary, he engaged to second it, and to meet the 
 noble Lord upon the great question whenever the House should think proper. 
 For the present, he meant only to exculpate himself from some severe 
 reflections, which he thought were directed particularly and personally 
 against himself. He vindicated the resumption of the supposed grant of 
 crown lands, which had been most unfairly represented, and said that if the 
 Duke of Portland, instead of being an opponent, had been the warmest 
 
 reserved rent shall not be less than one-third of the clear yearly value of the lands or 
 hereditamefts oontaiiied in such lease or grant. The proceedings relative to the contest 
 between the Duke of Portland and Sir James Lowther, gave rise to the passing of 
 9 Geo. m. c. 16, by which the Crown is disabled from taking £iny proceedings at law 
 or in equity for the recovery of any lands or hereditaments, where the right has not 
 accrued within sixty years next before the period of commencing any such pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
 * The proceedings of the Commons relating to the Middlesex election. 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 97* 
 
 friend of the administration, the Treasury-Board could not have acted other- 
 wise than they did, without a flagrant violation of justice. "With respect to 
 the debt upon the civil list, he nfeither had, nor could have, any personal 
 motives for wishing to conceal from Parliament the particulars of the extra- 
 ordinary expenses by which that debt had been incurred. The persons to 
 whose offices it belonged, had been constantly employed in drawing up a 
 state of that account, and they had received every possible light and informa- 
 tion from the officers of the Crown, in order to shorten and facilitate the busi- 
 ness ; but it was a work of infinite labour and extent ; and, notwithstanding 
 the utmost diligence in the several public offices, could not yet be completed. 
 In regard to foreign afiairs, he believed the conduct of the King's Minis- 
 ters would bear the strictest examination, and would be found irreproachable. 
 For his own part, he had never thought, nor had he ever affirmed, that the 
 conditions of the late peace were such as the people had a right to expect. 
 He had maintained that opinion in former times, and no change of situation 
 should ever induce him to relinquish it. But the peace being once made, 
 and those advantages which we might have expected from a continuance of 
 the war, being now irrecoverable, he would never advise the King to engage 
 in another war, as long as the dignity of the Crown, and the real interests of 
 the nation, could be preserved without it. What we had suffered already 
 by foreign connexions, ought to warn us against engaging lightly in quarrels, 
 in which we had no immediate concern, and to which we might probably 
 sacrifice our own most essential interests. 
 
 The Earl of Chatham. — " My Lords, I meant to have risen immediately, to 
 second the motion made by the noble Lord. The charge which the noble 
 Duke seemed to think affected himself particularly did undoubtedly demand 
 an early answer ; it was proper he should speak before me, and I am as ready 
 as any man to applaud the decency and propriety with which he has 
 expressed himself. 
 
 " I entirely agree with the noble Lord, both in the necessity of your Lord- 
 ships concurring with the motion, and in the principles and arguments by 
 which he has very judiciously supported it. I see clearly that the com- 
 plexion of our Government has been materially altered ; and I can trace the 
 origin of the alteration up to a period which ought to have been an era of 
 happiness and prosperity to this country. 
 
 " My Lords, I shall give you my reasons for concurring with the motion, 
 not methodically, but as they occur to my mind. I may wander, perhaps, 
 from the exact Parliamentary debate ; but I hope I shall say nothing but 
 what may deserve your attention, and what, if not strictly proper at present, 
 would be fit to be said, when the state of the nation shall come to be con- 
 sidered. My uncertain state of health must plead my excuse. I am now in 
 some pain, and very probably shall not be able to attend my duty, when I 
 desire it most, in this House. I thank God, my Lords, for having thus long 
 preserved me, inconsiderable as I am, to take a part upon this great occasion, 
 
 VOL. r. H 
 
/ 
 
 98* THE MODERN OBATOB. 
 
 and to contribute my endeavours, such as they are, to restorej to save, to 
 confirm the constitution. 
 
 " My Lords, I need not look abroad for (grievances. The grand capital 
 mischief is fixed at "home. It corrupts the very foundation of our political 
 existence, and preys upon the vitals of the state. The constitution at this 
 ■>/ moment stands violated. Until that wound be healed, until the grievance 
 be redressed, it is in vain to recommend union to Parliament, in vain to pro- 
 mote concord among the people. If we mean seriously to unite the nation 
 within itself, we must convince the people that their complaints are regarded, 
 that their injuries shall be redressed. On that foundation, I would take the 
 lead in recommending peace and harmony to them. On any other, I would 
 never wish to see them united again. If the breach in the constitcition be 
 efiectually repaked, the people will of themselves return to a state of tran- 
 quillity. If not — MAT DisooBD PKEVAii, FOE ETEK. I know to what point 
 this doctrine and this lEmguage will appear directed. But I have the prinra- 
 ples of an Englishman, and I utter them without aj^rehension or reserve. 
 
 , The crisis is indeed alarming ; — so much the more does it require a prudent 
 relaxation on the part of Government. If the King's servants will not per- 
 mit a constitutional question to be decided on according to the forms and on 
 the principles of the constitution, it then must be decided in some other man- 
 ner ; and rather, than it should be tamely given up, rather than the nation 
 should surrender their birth-right to a despotic Minister, I hope, my Lords, 
 old as I am, that I shall see the question brought to an issue, and faiiiy 
 tried between the people and the Government. My Lords, this is not the 
 language- of faction ; let it be tried by that criterion, by which alone we can 
 distinguish what is factious, from what is not — by the principles' of the Eng- 
 lish constitution. I have been bred up in these principles, and I know that 
 when the liberty of the, subject: is invaded, and all redress denied him, resist- 
 ance is justifiable. If I had a doubt upon the matter, I should follow the 
 example set us by the most reverend bench, with whom I believe it i?- a 
 maxim when any doubt in point of faith arises, or any question of controversy 
 is started, to appeal at once to the greatest source and evidence of our leUgion 
 — I mean the Holy Bible ; the constitution has its political Bible, by which 
 if it be fairly consulted, every political question may, and ought to be deter- 
 
 . mined. Magna Charta, the Petition of Rights and the Bill of Rights, form 
 that code which I call the Bible of the EngUsh eonsUtuiion. Had some of his 
 Majesty's unhappy predecessors trusted less to the commentary of their 
 Ministers, and been better read in the text itself, the glorious Revolution 
 might have remained only possible in theory, and their fate would not now 
 have stood upon record, a formidable example to all their successors. 
 
 " My Lords, I cannot agree with the noble Duke, that nothing less than 
 an immediate attack upon the honour or interest of this nation can authorize 
 us to interpose in defence of weaker states, and in stopping the enterprises 
 of an ambitious neighbour. Whenever that narrow, selfish policy has pre- 
 vailed in our councils, we h^ve constantly experienced the fatal effects of it; 
 
THE EAEL OP CHATJIAM. 99* 
 
 By suffering our natural enemies to oppress the powers h^ able than we 
 are to make a resistance, we have permitted them to increase their strength ; 
 we have lost the most favourable opportunities of opposing them with suc- 
 cess ; and found ourselves at last obliged to run every hazard, in malting that 
 cause our own, in which we were not wise enough to take part, while the 
 expense and danger might have been supported by others. — ^With respect to 
 Corsica, I shall only say, that France has obtained a more us^ul and 
 important acquisition in one pacific csunpaign, than in any of her belligerent 
 campaigns ; at least whilst I had the honour of administering the war against 
 her.* The word may perhaps be thought singular ; I mean only whilst I 
 was the Minister, chiefly entrusted with the conduct of the war. I remem- 
 ber, my Lords, the time when Lorraine was united to the Crown of France if 
 th^t too was, in some measure, a pacific conquest ; and there were people 
 who talked of it, as the noble Duke now speaks of Corsica. France was 
 peRiiitted to take and keep possession of a noble province, and according to 
 hig Grace's ideas, we did right in not opposing it. The effect of these 
 acquisitions is, I confess, not immediate ; but they unite with the main body 
 by degrees, and in time make a part of the national strength. I fear, 
 my Lords, it is too much the temper of this country to be ijis.ensible 
 of the approa,ch of dauger, until it comes with accumulated tenor 
 upon us. 
 
 " My Lords, the condition of his Majesty's affair? in Irel3,jid, and the sta,te 
 of that kingdom within itself, will iiindoubt.edly make a very material part of 
 your Lordships' inquiry. I am not sufficiently informed to enter into the 
 subject so fully as I could wish ; but by what appears to the public, and from 
 my own observatipii, I confers I cannot give the Ministry much credit for the 
 spirit or prH,deAce of th^ir conduct. I see that even where their measures 
 are well chosen, they are in<;,^pahle of carrying them through without some 
 unhappy mixture of weakness or imprudence. They are incapable ojf doing 
 entirely right. My Lords, I do from my conscience, and from the best 
 
 f In tke year 1768, Corsica was added to the French dominions. For a long series 
 of years past the Corsican^ h^d resis^ted the oppressions of the Oenpiesg, yfha, at l^t, 
 became conyiaced of the impossibility of subduing the island, and took the resolution 
 of surrendering it to the Crown of France by a treaty which was concluded at Ver- 
 sailles on the 16th of May, 1768. The Corsicans, under the command of their General, 
 the heroic Pascal Paoli, offered a brave resistance to this transfer of their territory ; 
 but they were at length overpowered, and the French obtained fuE possession of the 
 island,. Through the mas.terly policy of Choiseul, this measure, which was expected to 
 haye produced much opposition, was carried out without interrupting the general peace 
 of Europe. 
 
 f By a treaty concluded between France and the Austrian Empire in the year 1735, 
 the duchies of Lorraine and Bar were ceded to Stanislaus, ex-King of Poland, and father- 
 in-law of Louis XV. of France, and it was agreed that upon the de^th of Stanislaus 
 they should be united to France. Stanislaus died on the 28ih of February, 1766, when 
 Lorrauie and Bar were incorporated with France, to which they have ever since re- 
 mained attaehed. 
 
 a 2 
 
V 
 
 100* THE MODERN ORATOK. 
 
 weighed principles of my understanding, applaud the augmentation of the 
 army. As a military plan, I believe it has been judiciously arranged. In a 
 political view, I am convinced it was for the welfare, for the safety of the 
 whole empire. But, my Lords, with all these advantages, with all these 
 recommendations, if I had had the honour of advising his Majesty, I would 
 never have consented to his accepting the augmentation with that absurd, 
 dishonourable condition, which the Ministry have submitted to annex to it. 
 My Lords, I revere the just prerogative of the Crown, and would contend for 
 it as warmly as for the rights of the people. They are linked together, and 
 naturally support each other. I would not touch a feather of the prerogative. 
 The expression, perhaps, is too light ; but, since I have made use of it, let 
 me add, that the entire command and power of directing the local disposition 
 of the army is the royal prerogative, is the master-feather in the eagle's 
 wing ; and, if I were permitted to carry the allusion a little farther, I would 
 say, they have disarmed the imperial bird, the ' Ministrum, FvJminis Alitem.'' 
 The army is the thunder of the Crown. The Ministry have tied up the hand 
 which should direct the bolt. 
 
 " My Lords, I remember that Minorca was lost for want of four battalions.* 
 They could not be spared from hence ; and there was a delicacy about 
 taking them from Ireland. I was one of those who promoted an inquiry 
 into that matter in the other House ; and I was convinced that we had not 
 regular troops sufficient for the necessary service of the nation. Since the 
 moment the plan of augmentation was first talked of, I have constantly and 
 warmly supported it among my friends : I have recommended it to several 
 members of the Irish House of Commons, and exhorted them to support it 
 with their utmost interest in Parliament. I did not foresee, nor could I 
 conceive it possible, the ministry would accept of it, with a condition that 
 makes the plan itself ineffectual, and, so far as it operates, defeats every 
 useful purpose of maintaining a standing military force. His Majesty is now 
 so confined by his promise, that he must leave twelve thousand men locked 
 up in Ireland, let the situation of his affairs abroad, or the approach of 
 danger to this country, be ever so alarming, unless there be an actual rebel- 
 lion or invasion in Great Britain. Even in the two cases excepted by the 
 King's promise, the mischief must have already begun to operate, must have 
 already taken effect before his Majesty can be authorized to send for the 
 assistance of his Irish army. He has not left himself the power of taking 
 any preventive measures; let his intelligence be ever so certain, let his appre- 
 hensions of invasion or rebellion be ever so well founded, unless the traitor 
 be actually in arms, unless the enemy be in the heart of your country, he 
 cannot move a single man from Ireland.f 
 
 • In 1756. 
 
 t In the year 1767, Lord Townsheud, then Lord-lieutenant of Ireland, deUvered a 
 message &om George lU. to the Irish House of Commons, recommending them to 
 concur in the augmentation of the army upon that establishment, and assuring them 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. tOl* 
 
 " I feel myself compelled, my Lords, to return to that subject which occu- 
 pies and interests me most — I mean the internal disorder of the constitution, 
 and the remedy it demands. But first, I would observe, that there is one 
 point upon which I think the noble Duke has not explained himself. I do 
 not mean to catch at words, but, if possible, to possess the sense of what I 
 hear. I would treat every man with candour, and should expect the same 
 candour in return. For the noble Duke in particular I have every personal 
 respect and regard, I never desire to understand him but as he wishes to be 
 understood. His Grace, I think, has laid much stress upon the diligence 
 of the several public offices, and the assistance given them by the administra- 
 tion in preparing a statement of the expense of his Majesty's civil government 
 for the information of Parliament, and for the satisfaction of the public. He 
 has given us a number of plausible reasons for their not having yet been able 
 to finish the account ; but, as far as I am able to recollect, he has not yet 
 given us the smallest reason to hope that it ever will be finished, or that it 
 ever will be laid before Parliament. 
 
 " My Lords, I am not unpractised in business, and if, with all that appa- 
 rent diligence, and all that assistance which the noble Duke speaks of, the 
 accounts in question have not yet been made up, I am convinced there must 
 be a defect in some of the public offices, which ought to be strictly inquired 
 into, and severely punished. But, my Lords, the waste of the public money 
 is not of itself so important as the pernicious purpose to which we have 
 reason to suspect that money has been applied. For some years past there 
 has been an influx of wealth into this country, which has been attended with 
 many fatal consequences, because it has not been the regular natural pro- 
 duce of labour and industry. The riches of Asia have been poured in upon 
 us, and have brought with them not only Asiatic luxury, but, I fear, Asiatic 
 principles of government. Without connexions, without any natural interest 
 in the soil, the importers of foreign gold have forced their way into Parlia- 
 ment by such a torrent of private corruption as no private hereditary fortune 
 can resist. My Lords, I am but saying that which is within the knowledge 
 of us all ; the corruption of the people is the great original cause of the dis- 
 contents of the people themselves, of the enterprises of the Crown, and the 
 notorious decay of the internal vigour of the constitution. For this great 
 evil some immediate remedy must be provided ; and I confess, my Lords, 
 I did hope that his Majesty's servants would not have sufiered so many 
 years of peace to elapse without paying some attention to an object which 
 ought to engage and interest us all. I flattered myself I should see some 
 barriers thrown up in defence of the constitution, some impediment formed 
 to stop the rapid progress of corruption. I doubt not we all agree that 
 
 that it was " his determined resolution, that upon such augmentation, a number of 
 effective troops, not less than 12,000 men, commissioned and non-commissioned officers 
 included, should at all times, except in cases of invasion and rebellion in Greiit Britain, 
 be kept in Ireland for its better defence." 
 
102* THE MODEKN ORATOR. 
 
 something must be done. I shall offer hiy thoughts, such as they ate, to 
 the consideration of the Hbuse ; and I Wish that eve* y iioble Lord who heats 
 «ie would be as ready as I am t6 contribute his oJ)iriion on this iihjjortairit 
 service. I will not call my own sentiinehts crude and undigested ; it would 
 be unfit for me to offer anything to ;^our Lordships which I had ixoi well 
 considered ; arid this subject, I oWn, has long occupied my thoughts. I will 
 now give them to your LordsMps without reserve. 
 
 " Whoever understands the theory of the English eoftsjtitutittii, and Will 
 compare it with the fact, iriust see at once how widely tlfey differ. We 
 must reconcile them to each other, if We wish to save the liberties of this 
 country ; we mu§t reduce our political p'raietiee as neatly as possible to our 
 principles. The constitution intended thalt there should be a permainent 
 ^ relation between the constituent and representative body of the people. 
 Will any man afiirrii, that, as the House of Commons is now formed, that 
 relation is, in any degree, preserved ? My Lords, it is not preserved ; it is 
 destroyed. Let us be cautious, however, how We have recourse to violent 
 expedients. 
 
 " The bofoughs of this country have, properly enough, been called the 
 rotten parts of the constitution. I have lived in Cornwall, and, without 
 entering into an invidious particularity, have seen enough to justify the appel- 
 lation. But, in my judgnaent, my Lords, these boroughs, corrupt as they 
 V are, must be considered as the natural infirmity of the constitution. Like the 
 infirmities of the body, we must bear them with patieiice, arid submit to 
 carry them about with us. The limb is mortified ; bnt the amputatiou might 
 be death ! * 
 
 " Let us try, my Lords, whether some gentler remedies niay riot be dis- 
 covered. Since we cannot cure the disorder, let us erideavbtir to infuse such 
 a portion of new health into the constitution, as may enable it to support its 
 most inveterate diseased. 
 
 " The reptesentatiori of the counties is, I think, still preserved pure arid 
 uncorrupted. That of the greatest cities is upon a footing equally respecta- 
 able ; and there are many of the larger trading towns which still preserve 
 their independence. The infusion of health which I riow allude to, wOuld be 
 \/ to permit every county to elect one member more, in additiori to their present 
 representation. The knights of the shires approach nearest to the constitu- 
 tional representatiori of the country, because they represent the soil. It is 
 not in the little dependent boroughs, it is in the great cities and counties that 
 the strength and vigour of the tenstitution tesides, and by them alone, if an 
 unhappy question should ever rise, will the constitution be honestly and 
 firmly defended. I would increase that strength, because I think it is the 
 v/ only security we have against the profligacy of the times, the corruption of 
 the people, and the ambition of the Crown. 
 
 "I think I have weighed every possible objection that can be raised against 
 
 • Vide ante, p. 72. 
 
THE EABL OF CHATHAM. 103* 
 
 a plan of this nature ; and I confess I see but one, which, to me, carries any 
 appearance of solidity. It may be said, perhaps, that when the act passed 
 for uniting the two kingdoms, the number of persons who were to represent 
 the whole nation in Parliament was proportioned, and fixed on for ever ; that 
 this limitation is a fundamental article, and cannot be altered without hazard- 
 ing a dissolution of the union. 
 
 " My Lords, no man who hears me can have a greater reverence for that 
 wise and important act than I have. I revere the memory of that great 
 Prince-who first formed the plan^ and of those illustrious patriots who car- 
 ried it into execution. As a contract, every article of it should be inviolable; 
 as the Common basis of the Strength and happiness of the two nations, every 
 article of it should be sacred. I hope I cannot be suspected of conceiving a 
 thought so detestable, as to propose an advantage to one of the contracting 
 parties at the expense of the other. Noj my Lords, I mean that the benefit 
 should be universalj and the consent to receive it unanimous. Nothing less 
 than a most urgent and important occasion should persuade me to deviate 
 even from the letter of the act ; but there is no occasion, however urgent, 
 however important, that should ever induce me to depart from the spirit of 
 it. Let that spirit be religiously preserved. Let us follow the principle 
 Upon which the representation of the two countries was proportioned at the 
 Union 5 and when we increase the number of representatives for the English / 
 counties, let the shires of Scotland be allowed an equal privilege. On these 
 terms, and while the proportion, limited by the Union, is preserved between 
 the -two nations, I apprehend that no man, who is a friend to either, will 
 object to an alteration so necessary for the security of both. I do not speak 
 of the authority of the legislature to carry such a measure into efiect, because 
 I imagine no man will dispute it. But I would not wish the legislature to 
 interpose by an exertion of its power alone, without the cheerful concurrence 
 of all parties. My object is the happiness and security of the two nations, >/ 
 and I would not wish to obtaia it without their mutual consent.* 
 
 " My Lords, besides my warm approbation of the motion made by the 
 noble Lord, 1 have a natural and personal pleasure in rising up to second it. 
 
 * The whole number of the cities and boroughs in England and Wales which, pre- 
 viously to the passiag of the Reform Act, sent representatives toParUament, amounted 
 to 208, returning collectively 415 members. By that Act, those towns were selected 
 for extinction as Parliamentary boroughs the population of whifch, acfeording to the 
 returns of 1831, was less than 2,000 ; and 66 English boroughs returiung collectively 
 111 members, were accordingly entirely disfranchised. Boroughs, the population of 
 which, according to the same returns, was under 4,000, and which, before the passing 
 of the above Act, sent two members to Parliament, now send only one member. 30 
 English representatives were deducted from this class. The borough of "Weymouth 
 and Melcombe Begis, in Dorsetshire, which formerly -sent four members to Parlia- 
 ment, now sends only two. Of the 143 members thus taken away from the old 
 borough representation, 65 were given to English and Welsh counties ; 64 to 42 new 
 English boroughs, of which 22 return two members, andr20, one member each; one to 
 
•104* THE MOSERK OKATOB. 
 
 I consider my seconding his Lordship's motion, and I would wish it to be 
 J considered by others, as a public demonstration of that cordial union, which, 
 I am happy to affirm, subsists between us — of my attachment to those princi- 
 ples which he has so well defended, and of my respect for his person. There 
 has been a time, my Lords, when those who wished well to neither of us, 
 who wished to see us separated for ever, found a sufficient gratification for 
 their malignity against us both. But that time is happily at an end. The 
 friends of this country will, I doubt not, hear with pleasure that the noble 
 Lord and his friends are now united with me and mine, upon a principle 
 which I trust will make our union indissoluble. It is not to possess, or 
 "^ divide, the emoluments of Government ; but if possible to save the State. 
 Upon this ground we meet — upon this ground we stand, firm and insepara- 
 ble. No ministerial artifices, no private offers, no secret seduction, can divide 
 us. United as we are, we can set the profoundest policy of the present 
 Ministry, their grand, their only arcanum of Government, their divide et 
 impera, at defiance. 
 
 " I hope an early day will be agreed upon for considering the state of the 
 nation. My infirmities must indeed, fall heavily upon me, if I do not attend 
 to my duty on that day. When I consider my age, and unhappy state of 
 health, I feel how little I am personally interested in the event of any political 
 question. But I look forward to others, and am determined, as far as my 
 poor ability extends, to convey to those who come after me, the blessings 
 which I cannot hope long to enjoy myself." 
 
 The 24th of January was fixed upon by the House as the day for taking 
 into consideration the state of the nation ; but as no Lord Chancellor had 
 
 the new Welsh borough of Swansea ; 8 to the Scotch burghs, thereby increasing the 
 number sent by them to the British Parliament &om 15 to 23 ; 4 to the Irish borot^hs ; 
 and one to the tTniveTsity of Dublin. The following is a statement of the entire repre- 
 sentation of the three Kingdoms now composing the House of Commons : — 
 
 ENOLAND Ann WALES. 
 
 For Counties 159 
 
 Cities and Boroughs 337 
 
 English Universities i 
 
 500 
 
 SCOTLANTI. 
 
 Tor Counties 30 
 
 Burghs 23 
 
 — 53 
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 Tor Counties 64 
 
 Boroughs 39 
 
 University of Dublin 2 
 
 105 
 
 Total, United Kingdom .... 668 
 
THE EAKL OF CHATHAM. 105* 
 
 been appointed in the place of Lord Camden, who had been dismissed from 
 office on the 17th of that month, the motion was adjourned until the 2nd of 
 February. In the mean time, the Duke of Grrafton, very much to the 
 astonishment of the nation, resigned his office of first Lord of the Treasury. 
 His Grace was succeeded by Lord North, who was already Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer. Mr. Charles James Fox now entered upon office for the first 
 time, having receiyed the appointment of a junior Lord of the Admiralty. 
 
 The Makquis of Rockingham's Motion kespecting the Judica- 
 
 TUBE OF THE HoiTSE OF CojUMONS IN MatTEKS OF ELECTION. 
 
 The proceedings of the House of Commons, relative to the Middlesex 
 election, being loudly complained of on the part of the public, they became 
 the subject of discussion in Parliament. 
 
 On the 2nd of February, the House of Lords being in a committee upon 
 the state of the nation, the Marquis of Eockinghani moved, " That the House 
 of Commons, in the exercise of its judicature in matters of election, is bound 
 to judge according to the law of the land, and to the known and established 
 law and custom of Parliament, which is part thereof."* 
 
 The motion was opposed by the Earl of Sandwich. When the noble Earl 
 had concluded. 
 
 Lord Chatham began with observing, that the noble Lord had been very 
 adroit in referring to the journals, and in collecting every circumstance that 
 might assist his argument. " Though my long and almost continued infir- 
 mities," said he, " have denied me the hour of ease to obtain these benefits, 
 yet without the assistance of the journals, or other collaterals, I can reply to 
 both the precedents which his Lordship has produced. 
 
 " I will readily aUow the facts to be as the noble Earl has stated them, 
 viz. That Lionel, Earl of Middlesex,* as well as Lord Bacon,f were both, for 
 certain crimes and misdemeanors, expelled this House, and incapacitated 
 
 * The Earl of Middlesex, who had been raised to the o£5ce of Lord Treasurer of 
 England, in the reign of James the First, through the influence of the Duke of Buck- 
 ingham, was likewise through his influence impeached by the Commons for bribery, 
 oppression, and neglect of duty. Having been foimd guilty of four of the charges 
 brought against him, he was sentenced (May IS, 1624) to pay a fine of £50,000, to 
 be imprisoned in the Tower during the King's pleasure, to be for ever incapable of 
 holding any office, and never again to sit in Parliament, or come within the verge of 
 the Court. 
 
 t Bacon was impeached by the House of Commons for having taken bribes from the 
 Suitors in Chancery when he was at the head of that Court. He acknowledged his 
 guilt, and was sentenced (May 3, 1621) to pay a fine of £40,000, and to suffer all the 
 other penalties imposed on the Earl of Middlesex. 
 
106* THE MODERN OSATOR. 
 
 from ever sitting here, without occasioning any interference on the part of the 
 other branches of the legislature. 
 
 " Neither of these cases bears any analogy to the present case. They 
 affected Only themselves. The rights of no constituent body were affected 
 by them. It is not the person of Mr. Wilkes that is complained of; as an 
 individual, he is personally out of the dispute. The cause of complaiat, the 
 great cause is, that the inherent rights and franchises of the people are, in 
 this case, invaded, trampled upon, and annihilated. Lord Bacon and Lord 
 Middlesex represented no county or city. The rights of no freeholder, the 
 franchises of no elector, were destroyed by their expulsion. The cases are as 
 widely different as north from south. But I will allow the noble Earl a 
 swcedaneum, to his argument, which probably he has not as yet thought of. 
 I will suppose he urges, that whatever authority gives a seat to a Peer, is, at 
 least, equally respectable with that which gives one to a Commoner, and that 
 both in expulsion and incapacitation, the injury is directly the same: — 
 granted ; and I will further allow, that if Mr. Wilkes had not been re-elected 
 by the people, the first expulsion, I believe, would have been efficient. 
 Therefore, my Lords, this comparison ceases ; for except these noble Lords 
 mentioned, had received a fresh title, either by birth or patent, they could 
 not possibly have any claim after the first. expulsion. The noble Lord asks. 
 How came this doctrine to be broached ? And adds. Who should be more 
 tenacious of their liberties and privileges than the members themselves ? In 
 respect to the latter part of this question, I agree none should be so proper 
 as themselves to protect their own rights and privileges, and I sincerely 
 lament that they have, by their recent conduct, so far forgotten what those 
 privileges are, that they have added to the long list of venality from £!sau to 
 the present day. In regard to the first part, how came this doctrine to be 
 broached ? I must tell the noble Lord it is as old as the constitution itself; 
 the liberties of the people, in the original distribution of Government, being 
 the first thing provided for ; and in the case of Mr. Wilkes, though we have 
 not instances as numerous as in other cases, yet it is by no means the less 
 constitutional. Like a comet in the firmament, which, however it may 
 dazzle and surprise the vulgar jmd untutored, by the infrequency of its 
 appearance, affects the philosopher, versed in astronomic science, no more 
 than any other common process of nature, being perfectly simple, and to him 
 perfectly intelligible. Need 1 remind yoii, my Lords, at this period, of that 
 common schoolboy position, that the constitution of this country depends 
 upon King, Lords, and Commons ; that eadi by its power is a balance to 
 the others ? If this is not the case, why were the three estates constituted ? 
 Why should it be necessary before an act of Parliament can be passed, that 
 their mutual concurrence should be had ? My Lords, I ana ashamed to 
 trudge in this common track of argument ; and have no apology to make, but 
 that I have been drawn into it by the noble Lord's asserting, that we had no 
 right to interfere with the privileges of the other House. 
 
 " The noble Earl has been very exact in his calculation of the proportion 
 
THE EARL or CHATHAM. 107* 
 
 of persons who have petitioned ; and did the affair rest merely on this calcula- 
 tion, his argument would be unanswerable; but has he considered the numbers 
 whose real sentiments are most decidedly against the rigor of Parliamentary 
 proceedings, but which, for want of a few principals to call them together, and 
 collect their Opinions, haVe never reached the ear of their Sovereign ? If to 
 this oonsidferation we add, the interest made use of on the side 6f Government 
 to suppress all petitions, with the authority that placemen necessarily have 
 over theit dependents, it is very surprising, that out of forty counties, even 
 thirteen should haVe had spirit and independence sufficient to stem such a 
 tide of Vendity. But I will suppose that this was not the case, that no 
 undue influence was made use of, and that hence but one-third of the people 
 think themselves aggrieved. Are numbers to constitute right ? are not the 
 laws of the land fixed and unalterable ? and is not the proceeding complained 
 of, or any other, (supported even but by One,) to be tried, and adjudged by 
 these laws ? Therefore, however the noble Lord may excel in the doctrine 
 of calculation as a speculative matter, it can by no means serve him when 
 urged in the course of argument. 
 
 " Let us not then, my Lords, be deaf to the alarms of the people, when 
 those alarms are founded on the infringement of their rights. Let us not sit 
 neuter ^nd inattentive to the proceedings of the other House. We are, 
 ec[Ually with that HOuse, entrusted With the rights of the pebple, and we can- 
 not conscientiously disgrace our duties without interfering whenever we find 
 those rights trampled upon by any part of the Constitution. 
 
 '' i haVe, my Lords, trespassed on your patience at this late hoiir of the 
 night, when the length of the debate must have fatigued your Lordships 
 considerably. But I cannot apologize in a case so deeply interestmg to the 
 nation — no time can be too long^— no time can be lost — mo hardships can be 
 complained of. 
 
 " His Lordship then condenlned the conduct of the House of Commons in 
 terms of asperity; He denominated the vote of that House, which had made 
 Colonel Luttrell the representative fot Middlesex, a gross invasion of the 
 rights* of election— a dangerous violation of the Enghsh constitution— a 
 treacherous surrender of the invaluable privilege of a freehold, and a corrupt 
 sacrifice of their own honour. They had stript the statute-book of its 
 brightest ornaments, to gild the wings, not of jireiogative, but of unprincipled 
 faction and lawless doniination. To gratify the resentments of some indi- 
 vidueih, the laws had been despised, trampled upbn, jtnd destroyed' — those 
 laws, which had been made by the stern virtues of their ancestors, the iron 
 Barons of old, to whom we were indebted for all the blessings of our present 
 constitution ; to Whose virtue tad whose blodd, to whose spirit in the hour 
 of contest, and to Mrhose tenderness in the triumph of victory, the silken 
 Barons of this day owed their honours and their seats, and both Houses of 
 Parliament owed their continuance. Thesfe measures made a part of that 
 unhappy system, which had been formed in the present reign, with a 
 view to new -model the constitution, as well as the Government. They 
 
108* THE MODERN QRATOK. 
 
 originated, he would not say, with his Majesty's knowledge, but in his 
 Majesty's councils. The Commons had slavishly obeyed the commands of 
 his Majesty's servants, and had thereby exhibited, and proved to the convic- 
 tion of every man, what might have been only matter of suspicion before — 
 that Ministers held a corrupt influence in Parliament; it was demonstrable- 
 it was indisputable. It was therefore particularly necessary for their Lord- 
 ships, at this critical and alarming period, so full of jealousy and apprehen- 
 sion, to stand forward, and oppose themselves, on the one hand, to the justly 
 incensed, and perhaps speedy, intemperate rage of the people ; and on the 
 other, to the criminal and malignant conduct of his Majesty's Ministers : 
 that they might prevent licentiousness on the one side, and depredation on 
 the other. Their Lordships were the constitutional barrier between the 
 extremes of liberty and prerogative." 
 
 The House being in a committee, the question was put. Whether the 
 speaker should resume the chair ? This was decided in the affirmative by a 
 majority of 96 to 47. 
 
 The question being thus disposed of, the Earl of Marchmont, although it 
 was past midnight, made the following motion : " That any resolution of 
 this House, directly or indirectly impeaching a judgment of the House of 
 Commons in a matter where their jurisdiction is competent, final, and 
 conclusive, would be a violation of the constitutional right of the Commons, 
 tending to make a breach between the two Houses of Parliament, and 
 tending to general confusion." 
 
 Lord Marchmont, in recommending his motion to the House, said, that if 
 the opposition went one step further, their conduct would justify the necessity 
 of calling in foreign assistance. He was here called to order by the Duke 
 of Richmond, who desired to know what was meant by the words foreign 
 assistance. Lord Marchmont's explanation was neither clear nor satisfactory. 
 Lord Mansfield, in a long speech, insisted that their Lordships had no 
 right to interfere in any decision of the House of Commons. 
 
 The Earl of Egmont said, that the late petitions which had been laid 
 before the King were highly censurable — the people had no right to present 
 such petitions — they were treasonable. 
 
 The Earl of Chatham thanked the noble Lord for his lenity, in permitting 
 the petitioners to have their heads on one day longer : and said, the peti- 
 tions were laudable and constitutional ; and the right of the people to present 
 them, undoubted. He then replied to Lord Mansfield, and argued the 
 justice and necessity of the interference of the House of Lords in cases 
 where the liberties of the people had been invaded, or in those of uncon- 
 stitutional determinations by the House of Commons. He affirmed, that 
 the case of the county of Middlesex fell under both those denominations. 
 He then conjured them, by the noble blood which had run for so many ages 
 in their veins, and by the noble struggles of their ancestors in behedf of 
 liberty, not to behold with indifference a transaction so alarming ; for his own 
 part, he modestly said, he was hardly warm in his seat. He quoted Lord 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM, 109* 
 
 Somers and Chief Justice Holt in support of his law, and drew their 
 characters very finely. He called them honest men, who knew and loved 
 the English constitution. Then, turning to Lord Mansfield, he said, " I 
 vow to God I think the noble Lord equals them both — in abilities." Towards 
 the conclusion of his speech he complained strongly of the suddenness of 
 the motion ; that it was made at midnight, and pressed the necessity of- an 
 adjournment of only two days. " If," said he, " the constitution must be 
 wounded, let it not receive its mortal stab at this dark and midnight hour, 
 when honest men are asleep in their beds, and when only felons and assassins 
 are seeking for prey." 
 
 The question was carried in the affirmative. 
 
 Debate in the Lords on the State of the Civil List. 
 
 March 14. It was moved, " That an humble address be presented to 
 his Majesty, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions that there 
 ■be laid before this House an account of all the civil list expenses, which 
 were incurred or became due between the 5th of January, 1769, and the 
 5th of January, 1770, according to the establishment and other appointments 
 then in use." 
 
 Lord Chatham spoke in support of the motion. " He said the civil list is 
 appropriated, in the first instance, to the support of civil government ; and 
 in the next to the honour and dignity of the Crown. In every other respect, 
 the minute and particular expenses of the civil list are as open to parlia- 
 mentary examination and inquiry, in regard to the application and abuse, as 
 any other grant of the people, to any other purpose ; and Ministers are 
 equally or more culpable for incurring an unprovided expense, and for 
 running in arrears with regard to this service, as for any other. The 
 preambles of the civil list acts prove this ; and none but children, novices, 
 or ignorant persons will ever act without proper regard to them ; and 
 therefore I can never consent to increase fraudulently the civil establish- 
 ment, under pretence of making up deficiencies, nor will I bid so high 
 for Royal favour. The minister who is bold enough to spend the people's 
 money before it is granted (even though it were not for the purpose of 
 corrupting their representatives), and thereby leave the people of England 
 no other alternative, but either to disgrace their Sovereign by not paying his 
 debts, or to become the prey of every unthrifty or corrupt minister — such 
 a minister deserves death. 
 
 •' The late good old King had much of humanity, and amongst other 
 royal and manly virtues, he possessed justice, truth, and sincerity, in an 
 eminent degree ; so that he had something about him by which it was 
 possible for you to know whether he liked you or disliked you. 
 
 " I have been told that I have a pension, and that I have recommended 
 
110* THE MODEEN OKATOK. 
 
 others for pensions. It is true, and here is a list of them ; you will fjiere 
 find the names of General Amherst, Sir Edward Hawke, and several others 
 of the same nature ; they were given as rewards for real services, and as 
 encouragements to other gallant heroes. They were honourably earned in 
 campaigns very different from those at Westminster ; they were gained by 
 actions, full of danger to themselves, of glory and benefaction to this nation ; 
 not by corrupt votes of baseness and destruction to their country. 
 
 " You will find no secret services there, and you will find that when the 
 warrior was recompensed, the member of Parliament was left free. You will 
 likewise find a pension of fifteen hundred pounds a year to Lord Camden. 
 I recommended his Lordship to be Chancellor ; his public and private virtues 
 were acknowledged by all ; they made his station more precarious. I could 
 not reasonably expect that he would quit the Chief-justiceship of the Common 
 Pleas, which he held for Ufe, and put himself in the power of those who were 
 not to be trusted^ to be dismissed from the Chancery, perhaps the day after 
 his appointment. The public has not been deceived by his conduct. My 
 suspicions have been justified. His integrity has made him once more a poor 
 and a private man ; he was dismissed for the vote he gave in favour of the 
 right of election in the people." 
 
 Here Lord Marchmont called Lord Chatham to order. Some Lords called 
 out " to the bar, to the bar ! " Lord Marchmont moved, " That Lord 
 Chatham's words should be taken down." 
 
 Lord Chatham seconded the motion, and added, " I either deny, Retract, 
 nor explain these words. I do reaffirm the fact, and I desire to meet the 
 sense of the House ; I appeal to the honour of every Lord in this House, 
 whether he has not the s?ime conv),ction." 
 
 Lpr4 Kockingh,am, Lprd T^Vt.'ple, and many other Lords, upon their honour, 
 affirmed the same. 
 
 Lord Sandwich and Lord Weymouth would have withdrawn the motion, 
 but Lord Marchmont, encouraged by Lord Mansfield, persisted, and moved 
 that nothing h^'d appeared to justify such an asse;rtion. 
 
 The !Earl of Chatham.—" ]NIy words remain unretracted, unexplained, and 
 reafiarmed. I desire to ^^oyr whetha I am cond,emned or a,cquitted; and 
 whether I may still presume to hold up my head as high as the noble Lord, 
 who viove,^ toJlis^ve my words taken down."* 
 
 To this no answer \yas given. 
 
 * " In the course of the debate, the Earl of Chatham in his speech having said, ' that 
 the late Lord Chancellor was dismissed for giving his vote in this House ;' which 
 words the House tajiing exception to ; and it bejng moj^ed, ' that the said words mighit 
 be read:' it was moved, 'to adjourn.' Which being objected to, after debate, the said 
 motion for adjourning was, by leave of the House, withdrajvn. — Then the words spoken 
 by the Earl of Chatham were read by the clerk, and are as follow ; ' That the late Lord 
 Chancellor Was dismissed for giving his vote in this House.' Then it was moved, • to 
 resolve that nothing has appeared to this House to justify that assertion.' Which being 
 objected to, after debate, the question was put thereupon; it was resolved in the 
 affinu^tiye." — JiOrds' Joumsds, March 14, 1770. 
 
THE EAEL OF CHATHAM. Ill* 
 
 It was then objected to Lord Chatham, that he himself had recommended 
 the Duke of Grafton ; and that he had forced his Grace on the King as his 
 first Minister. 
 
 Lord Chatham replied, " I advised his Majesty to take the Duke of Grj^ifton 
 as first Lord of the Treasury, but there is such a thing as time, as w^U as 
 tide ; and the conduct of the noble Duke has convinced me, that I am as 
 likely to be deceived as any other man, and as fallible as my betters, It was 
 an expression of that great Minister, Sir E. Walpole, upon a debate on the 
 army in the year 1737, ' those who gave the power of blood, gave blood,? 
 I will beg leave to parody the expression, and say, those who gave the means 
 of corruption, gave corruption. I will trust no sovereign in the world with 
 the means of purchasing the liberties of the people. When I had the honour 
 of being the confidential keeper of the King's intention, he assured me, th^t 
 he never intended to exceed the allowance which was made by Parliament ; 
 and therefore, my Lords, at a time when there are no marks of personal 
 dissipation in our King, at a time when there are no marks of any considerable 
 sums having been expended to procure the secrets of our enemies, that a 
 request of an inquiry into the expenditure of the civil list should be refused, 
 is. to me most extraordinary. Does the King of England want to buUd a 
 palace equal to his rank and dignity ? Does he -want to encourage the polite 
 and useful arts ? Does he mean to reward the hardy veteran, who has 
 defended his quarrel in many a rough campaign, whose salary do^s not equal 
 that of some of your servants ? Or does he mean by drawing the purse- 
 strings of his subjects, to spread corruption through the people, to procure a 
 Parliament, like a packed jury, ready to acquit his Ministers at all adventures ? 
 I do not say^ my Lords, that corruption lies here, or that corruption lies there ; 
 but if any gentleman in England were to ask me whether I thought both 
 Houses of Parliament were bribed^ I should l^ugh in his face and say, ' Sir, 
 it is not so.' My Lords, from all that has been said, I think it must appear, 
 that an inquiry into the state and expenditure of the civil list revenue i^ 
 expedient, proper, and just; a refusal of it .at this time will not add dignity 
 to disgrace ; but will only serve to convince the people that we are governed 
 by a set of abjects, who possess the peculiar talent pf making even cal^imity 
 ridiculpus." 
 
 The motion was negatived- 
 
 The Duke op Kichmond's Moijoisr kespectiitg the Seizube o^ 
 Faxkland's Island. 
 
 The expulsion of the English &om the Falkland Islands by a Spanish force 
 in the year 1769, caused serious apprehensions to be entertained of a rupture 
 between Spain and Great BritaJa. 
 
 The Falkland Islands are situate in about ^If dpgrees of southern latitude, 
 and about one hundred leagues from the eastern entrance to the Starts of 
 
112* THE MODERN ORATOR. 
 
 Magellan. They consist of two large, and a great number of small islands ; 
 the large ones being divided by a sound or strait of considerable length. 
 They are supposed to have been first discovered in the year 1592, by Captain 
 Davies, who, was the associate of the brave but unfortunate Cavendish, and 
 was afterwards parted from him, or basely deserted him. In consequence of 
 stress of weather, Davies was prevented from making any observation on 
 them, nor did he even name them. This was reserved for Sir Richard Haw- 
 kins, who two years afterwards discovered them, and called them, in honour 
 of Queen Elizabeth, Hawkins' Maiden Land. No settlement being made on 
 them, when the Dutch navigator, Sebald de Wert, touched at them in the 
 year- 1598, he imagined himself to be the first discoverer of them, and desig- 
 nated them the Sebaldine Islands. We hear nothing more of these islands 
 until the reign of William the Third, when one Strong fell in with them, 
 and is supposed to have given them their present English name, which being 
 also adopted by Halley, was inserted in our maps. 
 
 Lord Anson was the first who was impressed with the importance of form- 
 ing a British settlement on the Falkland Islands ; and accordingly, soon after 
 the peace of Aix la ChapeUe, when he was at the head of the Admiralty, 
 preparations were made for sending out some frigates to make discoveries in 
 the South Seas, and particularly to examine, with precision, the state and 
 condition of the islands in question. But the Court of Spain gained intelli- 
 gence of this project, and made such representations against it, that it was 
 for the time laid aside, and continued dormant until the conduct of naval 
 afiairs was entrusted to the Earl of Egmont. Under the directions of this 
 nobleman. Commodore Byron was sent out, in the year 1764, to make a set- 
 tlement on the Falkland Islands, and in the beginning of the following year 
 he took formal possession of them in the name of the King of Great Britain. 
 About the same, or perhaps at an earlier period, the French, animated by a 
 desire to retrieve the great national losses which they had sustained during 
 the late war, formed a plan of making discoveries in the South Seas. The 
 low state of their finances prevented this scheme from being undertaken at 
 the public expense ; and it was left to the enterprise of a private individual, 
 M. de Bouganville, to carry it out at his own and his friends' risk. He fitted 
 out an expedition at St. Malo, whence these islands were called by the 
 French Les Malouines, and having arrived at them, he formed a settlement 
 which he designated Port Louis, and built a fort. The British settlement, 
 which was called Port Egmont, in honour of the first Lord of the Admiralty, 
 under whose auspices it was made, lay on the larger and more western of 
 the two principal islands ; and the French settlement on the eastern and 
 lesser of them. The King of Spain asserting an exclusive right to all the 
 Magellanic regions, procured a cession of the French settlement, and changed 
 its name from Port Louis to that of Port Solidad. 
 
 In the year 1769, Captain Hunt, the commander of a frigate, which with 
 the Swift, a sloop of sixteen guns, was stationed at Port Egmont, being on a 
 cruise off the islands observed a Spanish schooner taking a survey of them. 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 113* 
 
 Captain Hunt immediately sent a message to the Spanish commander, 
 requiring him to depart. This requisition was for the time complied with, 
 but two days afterwards the schooner returned with letters for Captain Hunt 
 from the Governor of Port Solidad, complaining that the former had sent an 
 imperious message to the Spaniards in the King of Spain's own dominions. 
 In reply, Captain Hunt warned the Spaniards from the island in the name of 
 the King, as belonging to the English by right of discovery in the first 
 instance, and of settlement in the second. 
 
 On the 10th of December, the oificer sent by the Governor of Port Solidad 
 made three protests against the conduct of Captain Hunt ; for threatening 
 to fire upon him ; for opposing his entrance into Port Egmont ; and for 
 entering himself into Port Solidad. On the 12th the Governor of Port 
 Solidad formally warned Captain Hunt to leave Port Egmont, and to forbear 
 the navigation of those seas, without permission from the King of Spain. To 
 this. Captain Hunt replied by repeating his former claim ; by declaring that 
 his orders were to keep possession ; and by once more warning the Spaniards 
 to depart. More protests and more replies of a similar nature ensued. But 
 two months afterwards, measures took place which indicated a determination 
 on the part of the Spaniards to support by force the claim which they had 
 advanced. On the 20th February, 1770, two Spanish frigates of considerable 
 force arrived at Port Egmont under pretence of wanting water. The com- 
 modore expressed his astonishment at seeing the British flag flying in the 
 dominions of his Catholic Majesty, but, at the same time, declared that he 
 would abstain from any other manner of proceeding until he had received 
 further instructions from Spain. As these transactions seemed indicative of 
 the consequences which ensued. Captain Hunt sailed without further delay 
 for England. Upon the departure of Captain Hunt, his place had been sup- 
 plied by Captain Maltby, in command of the Favourite, a sloop of sixteen 
 guns, which, in consequence of the recent loss of the Swift in the Straits of 
 Magellan, now formed the whole British force off' Port Egmont. Early in 
 June, a naval and military armament of considerable strength was despatched 
 by Don Francisco Buccarelli, the Governor of Buenos Ayres, with orders to 
 take possession of the Falkland Islands in the name of the Catholic King. 
 The English at first made preparations to defend the settlement, but soon 
 seeing the impossibility of offering any effectual resistance to the greatly 
 superior force of the Spaniards, they determined to capitulate. By one of the 
 articles of capitulation, it was provided that the English should not take their 
 departure until twenty days after the sailing of a Spanish frigate, by which it 
 was intended to forward to the Court of Spain intelligence of the seizure of the 
 island. In order to enforce this stipulation, the rudder of the Favourite was 
 taken off, and detained on shore for twenty days. 
 
 The first intelligence which was received in this country of the claim 
 which had been made by Spain was brought by Captain Hunt, who arrived 
 at Plymouth on the 3rd of June ; but it was treated with indifference by the 
 Government. In August, the British Minister at Madrid informed Lord 
 
 TOL. I. I 
 
114* THE MODEEN OKATOE. 
 
 Weyraoutli that an account had been brought to Cadiz, from Buenos Ayres, 
 of an expedition having been fitted out from that place, with a view to dis- 
 lodge the English from Port Egmont; and, in the ensuing month, the 
 Spanish Ambassador in London acknowledged that the English had been 
 forcibly expelled from Falkland's Island by Buccarelli, the Governor of 
 Buenos Ayres, without any particular orders from the King of Spain. But 
 being asked whether, in his master's name, he disowned the violence of 
 Buccarelli, he refused to answer without instructions from his Court.* 
 Orders were now, therefore, issued from the Admiralty for preparing guard- 
 ships ; and when the Favourite arrived, bounties to seamen were offered by 
 Koyal proclamation ; ships were put into commission, and the usual measures 
 adopted for making formidable and efficient naval preparations.! 
 
 Parliament assembled on the 13th November. The following is that part 
 of his Majesty's speech which relates to the recent outrage committed by 
 the Spaniards : — " By the act of the Governor of Buenos Ayres, in seizing 
 by force one of my possessions, the honour of my crown, and the secxirity of 
 my people's rights, were deeply affected. Under these circumstances I did 
 not fail to make an immediate demand from the Court of Spain of such 
 satisfaction as I had a right to expect for the injury I had received. I 
 directed also the necessary preparations to be made, without loss of time, for 
 enabling me to do myself justice, in case my requisition to the Court of 
 Spain should fail of procuring it for me, and these preparations, you may be 
 assured, I shall not think it expedient to discontinue, until I shall have 
 received proper reparation for the injury, as well as satisfactory proof that 
 other powers are equally sincere with myself in the resolution to preserve 
 the general tranquillity of Europe." 
 
 On the 22nd November, the Duke of Richmond made the following 
 motion in the House of Lords : — " That an humble address be presented to 
 his Majesty, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions that there 
 be laid before that assembly copies, or extracts, of all letters and other 
 paperscont aining any intelligence received by any of his Majesty's principal 
 Secretaries of State, the Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High 
 Admiral of Great Britain, or any other of his Majesty's Ministers, between 
 the 12th September, 1769, and the 12th September, 1770, touching any 
 hostilities commenced, or designed to be commenced, by the Crown of Spain, 
 or any of its officers, against any part of his Majesty's dominions, expressing 
 the times at which such intelligence was received." 
 
 * See Dr. Johnson's " Thoughts on the late Transactions respecting Falkland's 
 Island," and the Annual Register for 1771. 
 
 t Towards the close of the previous session, in the debate on the motion for aug- 
 menting the number of seamen, Lord Chatham said, " I do now pledge myself to this 
 honourable House for the truth of what I am going to assert : that at this very hour, 
 that we are sitting together, a blow of hostility has been struck against us by our old 
 inveterate enemies in some quarter of the world." This assertion shows either 
 Lord Chatham's political sagacity, or the accurate information which he possessed 
 of the movements of foreign powers. 
 
THE EABL OF CHATHAM. 115* 
 
 Lord Weymouth opposed the motion upon the general ground of the impro- 
 priety of calling for such papers whilst the matter in question was the suhject of 
 a negotiation with the Spanish Ambassador. His Lordship carefully avoided 
 giving the least information whatever concerning the actual state or progress 
 of such negotiation, and expressed himself with much caution and reserve. 
 He concluded by moving, that the previous question might be put. 
 
 Lord Hillsborough took up the argument upon the same footing with Lord 
 Weymouth, but carried it much further than the latter had done. He in- 
 formed the House that he knew the contents of the papers called for, there- 
 fore could assert upon his own knowledge, that the production of them at 
 that time would tend greatly to embarrass a negotiation already in a prosper- 
 ous train, and which promised a happy conclusion. He insisted much upon 
 the delicacy of Spanish honour ; — that it was their natural characteristic ; — 
 that infinite regard and tenderness ought to be shown to the punctilios of 
 that Court, — and begged of the noble Lords to consider how far those 
 punctilios might unavoidably retard and embarrass a treaty of this nature. 
 
 The Earl of Chatham. — " I rise to give my hearty assent to the motion 
 made by the noble Duke ; by his Grace's favour, I have been permitted to 
 see it, before it was ofiiered to the House. I have fully considered the neces- 
 sity of obtaining from the King's servants a communication of the papers 
 described in the motion, and I am persuaded that the alarming state of facts, 
 as well as the strength of reasoning, with which the noble Duke has urged, 
 and enforced that necessity, must have been powerfully felt by your Lord- 
 ships ; — what I mean to say, upon this occasion, may seem, perhaps, to 
 extend beyond the limits of the motion before us. But I flatter myself, my 
 Lords, that if I am honoured with your attention, it will appear that the 
 meaning and object of this question are naturally connected with considera- 
 tions of the most extensive national importance. For entering into such 
 considerations, no season is improper; no occasion should be neglected. 
 Something must be done, my Lords, and immediately, to save an injured, 
 insulted, undone country. If not to save the State, my Lords, at least to 
 mark out, and drag to public justice those servants of the Crown, by whose 
 ignorance, neglect, or treachery, this once great, flourishing people are reduced 
 to a condition as deploraible at home, as it is despicable abroad. Examples 
 are wanted, my Lords, and should be given to the world, for the instruction 
 of future times, even though they be useless to ourselves. I do not mean, 
 my Lords, nor is it intended by the motion, to impede, or embarrass a nego- 
 tiation, which we have been told is now in a prosperous train, and promises 
 a happy conclusion." 
 
 Lord Weymouth. — " I beg pardon for interrupting the noble Lord, but I 
 think it necessary to remark to your Lordships, that I have not said a single 
 word tending to convey to your Lordships any information, or opinion, with 
 regard to the state, or progress of the negotiation — I did, with the utmost 
 caution, avoid giving to your Lordships the least intimation upon that matter." 
 
 I 2 
 
116* THE MODEKN OEATOK. 
 
 The Earl of Chatham. — " I perfectly agree with the noble Lord. I did 
 not mean to refer to any thing said by his Lordship. He expressed himself, 
 as he always does, with moderation, and reserve, and with the greatest pro- 
 priety ; — it was another noble Lord, very high in office, who told us he 
 understood that the negotiation was in a favourable train." 
 
 The Earl of Hillsborough. — " I did not make use of the word train. I 
 know the meaning of the word too well. In the language from which it was 
 derived, it signifies protraction, and delay, which I could never mean to apply 
 to the present negotiation." 
 
 The Earl of Chatham. — " This is the second time that I have been inter- 
 rupted. I submit it to your Lordships whether this be fair and candid 
 treatment. I am sure it is contrary to the orders of the House, and a gross 
 violation of decency and politeness. I listen to every noble Lord in this 
 House with attention and respect. The noble Lord's design in interrupting 
 me is as mean and unworthy, as the manner in which he has done it is 
 irregular and disorderly. He flatters himself that, by breaking the thread 
 of my discourse, he shall confuse me in my argument. But, ray Lords, I 
 will not submit to this treatment. I will not be interrupted. When I have 
 concluded, let him answer me if he can. As to the word, which he has 
 denied, I still affirm that it was the one he made use of ; but if he had used 
 any other, I am sure every noble Lord will agree with me, that his meaning 
 was exactly what I had expressed it. Whether he said course or train is 
 indifferent, — he told your Lordships that the negotiation was in a way that 
 promised a happy, and honourable conclusion. His distinctions are mean, 
 frivolous, and puerile. My Lords, I do not understand the exalted tone 
 assumed by that noble Lord. In the distress and weakness of this country, 
 my Lords, and conscious as the Ministry ought to be how 'much they have 
 contributed to that distress and weakness, I think a tone of modesty, of 
 submission, of humility, would become them better ; qutedam causte mo- 
 destiam desiderant. Before this country they stand as the greatest criminals. 
 Such I shall prove them to be ; for I do not doubt of proving, to your Lord- 
 ships' satisfaction, that since they have been entrusted with the conduct of 
 the King's affairs, they have done every thing that they ought not to have 
 done, and hardly anything that they ought to have done. 
 
 " The noble Lord talks of Spanish punctilios in the lofty style and idiom 
 of a Spaniard. We are to be wonderfully tender of the Spanish point of 
 honour, as if they had been the complainants, as if they had received the 
 injury. I think he would have done better to have told us what care had 
 been taken of the English honour. My Lords, I am well acquainted with the 
 character of that nation, at least as far as it is represented by their Court and 
 Ministry, and should think this country dishonoured by a comparison of the 
 English good faith with the punctilios of a Spaniard. My Lords, the 
 English are a candid, an ingenuous people;' the Spaniards are as mean and 
 crafty as they are proud and insolent. The integrity of the English merchant, 
 the generous spirit of our naval and military officers, would be degraded by 
 
THE EAB.L OF CHATHAM. 117* 
 
 a comparison with their merchants or officers. With their ministers I have 
 often been obliged to negotiate, and never met with an instance of candour or 
 dignity in their proceedings ; nothing but low cunning, artifice, and trick- 
 After long experience of their want of candour and good faith, I found myself 
 compelled to talk to them in a peremptory, decisive tone. On this principle 
 I submitted my advice to a trembling council for an immediate declaration of 
 a war with Spain. Your Lordships well know what were the consequences 
 of not following that advice. Since, however, for reasons unknown to me, 
 it has been thought advisable to negotiate with the Court of Spain, I should 
 have conceived that the great and single object of such a negotiation would 
 have been, to obtain complete satisfaction for the injury done to the Crown 
 and people of England. But, if I understand the noble Lord, the only 
 object of the present negotiation is to find a salvo for the punctiHous honour 
 of the Spaniards. The absurdity of such an idea is of itself insupportable. 
 But, my Lords, I object to our negotiating at all, in our present circumstances. 
 We are not in that situation in which a great and powerful nation is per- 
 mitted to negotiate. A foreign power has forcibly robbed his Majesty of 
 part of his dominions. Is the island restored ? Are you replaced in statu 
 quo f If that had been done, it might then perhaps have been justifiable to 
 treat with the aggressor upon the satisfaction he ought to make for the insult 
 offered to the Crown of England. But will you descend so low? will you 
 so shamefully betray the King's honour, as to make it matter of negotiation 
 whether his Majesty's possessions shall be restored to him or not ? I doubt 
 not, my Lords, that there are some important mysteries in the conduct of this 
 affair, which, whenever they are explained, will account for the profound 
 silence now observed by the King's servants. The time will come, my Lords, 
 when they shall be dragged from their concealments. There are some ques- 
 tions which, sooner or later, must be answered. The Ministry, I find, without 
 declaring themselves explicitly, have taken pains to possess the public with 
 an opinion, that the Spanish Court have constantly disavowed the proceedings 
 of their Governor ; and some persons, I see, have been shameless and daring 
 enough to advise his Majesty to support and countenance this opinion in his 
 speech from the throne. Certainly, my Lords, there never was a more odious, 
 a more infamous falsehood imposed on a great nation — it degrades the King's 
 honour — it is an insult to Parliament. His Majesty hasbeen advised to confirm 
 and give currency to an absolute falsehood. I beg your Lordships' attention, 
 and I hope I shall be understood, when I repeat, that the Court of Spain's 
 having disavowed the act of their Governor is an absolute, a palpable faliie- 
 hood. Let me ask, my Lords, when the first communication was made by 
 the Court of Madrid of their being apprised of their taking Falkland's 
 Island, was it accompanied with an offer of instant restitution, of immediate 
 satisfaction, and the punishment of the Spanish Governor ? If it was not, 
 they havfi adopted the act as their own, and the very mention of a disavowal 
 is an impudent insult offered to the King's dignity. The King of Spain 
 disowns the thief while he leaves him unpunished, and profits by the theft ; 
 
118* THE MODERN ORATOR. 
 
 in vulgar English, he is the receiver of stolen goods, and ought to be treated 
 accordingly. 
 
 " If your Lordships will look back to a period of the English history, in 
 which the circumstances are reversed, in which the Spaniards were the 
 complainants, you will see how differently they succeeded : you will see one 
 of the ablest men, one of the bravest oflScers whom this or any other country 
 ever produced (it is hardly necessary to mention the name of Sir Walter 
 Raleigh), sacrificed by the meanest prince that ever sat upon the throne, to 
 the vindictive jealousy of that haughty Court. James the First was base 
 enough, at the instance of Gondomar, to suffer a sentence against Sir Walter 
 Raleigh, for another supposed offence, to be carried into execution almost 
 twelve years after it had been passed. This was the pretence. His real 
 crime was, that he had mortally offended the Spaniards, whilst he acted by 
 the King's express orders, and under his commission.* 
 
 " My Lords, the pretended disavowal by the Court of Spain is as ridiculous 
 as it is false. If your Lordships want any other proof, call for our own 
 ofiicers who were stationed at Falkland's Island. Ask the oflScer who com- 
 manded the garrison whether, when he was summoned to surrender, the 
 demand was made in the name of the Governor of Buenos Ayres, or of his 
 Catholic Majesty ? Was the island said to belong to Don Francisco 
 Buccarelli, or to the King of Spain ? If I am not mistaken, we have been 
 in possession of these islands since the year 1764 or 1765. Will the Ministry 
 assert, that in all that time, the Spanish Court have never once claimed them ? 
 that their right to them has-never been urged, or mentioned to our Ministry? 
 If it has, the act of the Governor of Buenos Ayres is plainly the consequence 
 of our refusal to acknowledge and submit to the Spanish claims. For five 
 years they negotiate ; when that fails, they take the island by force. If that 
 measure had arisen out of the general instructions constantly given to the 
 
 * The suspicions of the Spanish ambassador, Gondomar, having been awakened by 
 the warlike nature of the preparations which were in progress for Raleigh's expedition, 
 he expressed his apprehensions to the King that hostilities against Spain were contem- 
 plated ; but B,Edeigh strongly asserted his pacific intentions, and said that the 
 armaments were only provided for his safe convoy ; while James declared that Raleigh 
 durst not, upon peril of his head, commit any aggression on Spain. James also sent 
 a tuU account of Raleigh's force, with the place of its destination, to the King of Spain. 
 Moreover, upon Raleigh's own confession, it is clear that he deceived James. " It is 
 true," he says, "that though I acquainted his Majesty with my intent to land in 
 Guiana, yet I never made it known to his Majesty that the Spaniards had any footing 
 there. Neither had I any authority by patent to remove them from thence ; and, 
 therefore, his Majesty had no interest in the attempt of St. Thomas, by any fore- 
 knowledge." It is to be observed also, that the commission which James granted to 
 Raleigh, empowered him to trade only to such " South or other parts of America, as 
 should be possessed and inhabited by heathen and savage people." Raleigh was con- 
 demned to death in November 1603 ; his commission was dated August 26, 1616; and 
 he was executed on the 29th of October, 1618. — Southey's British Admirals, vol. iv. 
 p. 383, et aeq. Rymer's Foedera, vol. xvi. p. 789. Edinb. Rev. for April, 1840, art. 
 " Six Walter Raleigh." 
 
THE £ABL OF CHATHAM. 119* 
 
 Governor of Buenos Ayres, why should the execution of it have been 
 deferred so long ? 
 
 " My Lords, if the falsehood of this pretended disavowal had been confined 
 to the Court of Spain, I should have admitted it without concern. I should 
 have been content that they themselves had left a door open for excuse and 
 accommodation. The King of England's honour is not touched till he adopts 
 the falsehood, delivers it to his Parliament, and makes it his own. I cannot 
 quit this subject without comparing the conduct of the present Ministry with 
 that of a gentleman * now no more. The occasions were similar. The 
 French had taken a little island from us called Turk's Island.f The Minister, 
 then at the head of the Treasury, took the business upon himself, but he 
 did not negotiate : he sent for the French ambassador and made a peremptory 
 demand. A courier was despatched to Paris, and returned in a few days 
 with orders for instant restitution, not only of the island, but of every thing 
 that the English subjects had lost. 
 
 " Such, then, my Lords, are the circumstances of our difference with 
 Spain ; and, in this situation, we are told thjit a negotiation has been entered 
 into, that this negotiation, which must have commenced nearly three months 
 ago, is still depending, and that any insight into the actual state of it will 
 impede the conclusion. My Lords, I am not, for my own part, very anxious 
 to draw from the Ministry the information which they take so much care to 
 conceal from us. I very well know where this honourable negotiation will 
 end, where it must end. We may, perhaps, be able to patch up an accom- 
 modation for the present, but we shall have a Spanish war in six months. 
 Some of your Lordships may, perhaps, remember the Convention. For 
 several successive years our merchants had been plundered — ^no protection 
 given them — no redress obtained for them ; — during all that time we were 
 contented to complain and to negotiate ; — the Court of Madrid were then 
 as ready to disown their officers, and as unwilling to punish them, as they are 
 at present. Whatever violence happened was always laid to the charge of 
 one or other of their West India Governors. To-day it was Governor of 
 Cuba, to-morrow of Porto Rico, Carthagena, or Porto Bello. If in a par- 
 ticular instance redress was promised, how was that promise kept ? The 
 merchant who had been robbed of his property was sent to the West Indies, to 
 get it, if he could, out of an empty chest. At last the Convention was made ; 
 but, though approved by a majority of both Houses, was received by the 
 nation with universal discontent. J I myself heard that wise man (Sir Robert 
 Walpole) say in the House of Commons, ' 'Tis true we have got a Convention 
 and a vote of Parliament ; but what signifies it, we shall have a Spanish war 
 upon the back of our Convention.' Here, my Lords, I cannot help mentioning 
 
 * Mr. George GreuvUle. He died on the I3th of November, the day of the meeting 
 of Parliament. 
 
 t In the year 1764. 
 
 I See the speech of his Lordship (then Mr. Pitt) upon the Spanish Convention, 
 delivered in the year 1739, ante, p. 2. 
 
120* THE MODEKN OKATOB. 
 
 a very striking observation made to me by a noble Lord * since dead. His 
 abilities did honour to this House and to this nation. In the upper depart- 
 ments of government he had not his equal ; and I feel a pride in declaring, 
 that to his friendship and instruction I owe whatever I am. This great 
 man has often observed to me that, in all the negotiations which preceded 
 the Convention, our Ministers never found out that there was no ground or 
 subject for any negotiation. That the Spaniards had not a right to search 
 our ships, and when they attempted to regulate that right by treaty, they 
 were regulating a thing which did not exist. This I take to be something 
 like the case of the Ministry. The Spaniards have seized an, island to which 
 they have no right, and his Majesty's servants make it matter of negotiation, 
 whether his dominions shall be restored to him or not. 
 
 " From what I have said, my Lords, I do not doubt but it will be under- 
 stood by many Lords, and given out to the public, that I am for hurrying 
 the nation, at all events, into a war with Spain. My Lords, I disclaim such 
 counsels, and I beg that this declaration may be remembered — Let us have 
 peace, my Lords, but let it be honourable, let it be secure. A patched-up 
 peace will not do. It will not satisfy the nation, though it may be approved 
 of by Parliament. I distinguish widely between a solid peace and the 
 disgraceful expedients by which a war may be deferred, but cannot be 
 avoided. I am as tender of the effusion of human blood as the noble Lord 
 who dwelt so long upon the miseries of war. If the bloody politics of some 
 noble Lords had been followed, England, and every quarter of his Majesty's 
 dominions, would have been glutted with blood — the blood of our own 
 countrymen. 
 
 " My Lords, I have better reasons, perhaps, than many of your Lordships 
 for desiring peace upon the terms I have described. I know the strength 
 and preparation of the House of Bourbon : I know the defenceless, unpre- 
 pared condition of this country. I know not by what mismanagement we 
 are reduced to this situation ; and when I consider who are the men by 
 whom a war, at the outset at least, must be conducted, can I but wish for 
 peace ? Let them not screen themselves behind the want of intelligence — 
 they had intelligence: I know they had. If they had not, they are criminal; and 
 their excuse is their crime. But I will tell these young Ministers the true 
 source of intelligence. It is sagacity. Sagacity to compare causes and effects; 
 to judge of the present state of things, and discern the future by a careful re- 
 view of the past. Oliver Cromwell, who astonished mankind by his intelli- 
 gence, did not derive it from spies in the cabinet of every Prince in Europe; he 
 drew it from the cabinet of his own sagacious mind. He observed facts, and 
 traced them forward to their consequences. From what was, he concluded 
 what must be, and he never was deceived. In the present situation of affairs, 
 I think it would be treachery to the nation to conceal from them their real 
 circumstances ; and with respect to a foreign enemy, I know that all con- 
 cealments are vain and useless. They are as well acquainted with the actual 
 
 * Lord Granville. 
 
IHE EARL OF CHATHAM. 121* 
 
 force and weakness of this country, as any of the King's servants. This is 
 no time for silence, or reserve. I charge the Ministers with the highest 
 crimes that men in their stations can be guilty of. I charge them with 
 having destroyed all content and unanimity at home, by a series of oppressive, 
 unconstitutional measures ; and with having betrayed and delivered up the 
 nation defenceless to a foreign enemy. 
 
 " Their utmost vigour has reached no further than a fruitless, protracted 
 negotiation. When they should have acted, they have contented themselves 
 with talking about it. Goddess, and about it — If we do not stand forth, and 
 do our duty in the present crisis, the nation is irretrievably undone. I 
 despise the little policy of concealments. You ought to know the whole of 
 your situation. If the information be new to the Ministry, let them take 
 care to profit by it. I mean to arouse, to alarm the whole nation — to rouse 
 the Ministry, if possible, who seem awake to nothing but the preservation 
 of their places — to awaken the King. 
 
 " Early in the last spring, a motion was made in Parliament for inquiring 
 into the state of the navy, and an augmentation of six thousand seamen was 
 offered to the Ministry. They refused to give us any insight into the condi- 
 tion of the navy, and rejected the augmentation. Early in June they 
 received advice of a commencement of hostilities by a Spanish armament, 
 which had warned the King's garrison to quit an island belonging to his 
 Majesty. From that time to the 12th September, as if nothing had hap- 
 pened, they lay dormant. Not a man was raised, not a single ship put into 
 commission. From the 12th September, when they heard of the first blow 
 being actually struck, we are to date the beginning of their preparations for 
 defence. Let us now inquire, my Lords, what expedition they have used, 
 what vigour they have exerted. We have heard wonders of the diligence 
 employed in impressing, of the large bounties offered, and the number of 
 ships put into commission. These have been, for some time past, the con- 
 stant topics of Ministerial boast and triumph. Without regarding the 
 description, let us look to the substance. I tell your Lordships that, with all 
 this vigour and expedition, they have not, in a period of considerably more 
 than two months, raised ten thousand seamen. I mention that number, 
 meaning to speak largely, though in my own breast I am convinced that the 
 number does not exceed eight thousand. But it is said they have ordered 
 forty ships of the line into commission. My Lords, upon this subject I can 
 speak with knowledge — I have been conversant in these matters, and draw 
 my information from the greatest and most respectable naval authority that 
 ever existed in this country — I mean the late Lord Anson. The merits of 
 that great man are not so universally known, nor his memory so warmly 
 respected, as he deserved. To his wisdom, to his experience, and care (and 
 I speak it with pleasure), the nation owes the glorious naval successes of the 
 last war. The state of facts laid before Parliament in the year 1756 so 
 entirely convinced me of the injustice done to his character, that in spite of 
 ■ the popular clamours raised against him, in direct opposition to the com- 
 
122* THE MODERN OEA.TOK. 
 
 plaints of the merchants, and of the whole city (whose favour I am supposed 
 to court upon all occasions), I replaced him at the head of the Admiralty ; 
 and I thank God that I had resolution enough to do so. Instructed by this 
 great seaman, I do affirm that forty ships of the line, with their necessary 
 attendant frigates, to be properly manned, require forty thousand seamen. If 
 your Lordships are surprised at this assertion, you will be more so, when I 
 assure you, that in the last war, this country maintained eighty-five thousand 
 seamen, and employed them all. Now, my Lords, the peace establishment 
 of your navy, supposing it complete and efiective (which by the bye ought to 
 be known), is sixteen thousand men. Add to these the number newly 
 raised, and you have about twenty-five thousand men to man your fleet. I 
 shall come presently to the application of this force, such as it is, and com- 
 pare it vrith the services which I know are indispensable. But first, my 
 Lords, let us have done with the boasted vigour of the Ministry. Let us 
 hear no more of their activity. If your Lordships will recall to your minds 
 the state of this country when Mahon was taken, and compare what was done 
 by the Government at that time with the efforts now made in very similar 
 circumstances, you will be able to determine what praise is due to the vigor- 
 ous operations of the present Ministry. Upon the first intelligence of the 
 invasion of Minorca, a great fleet was equipped, and sent out ; and near 
 double the number of seamen collected in half the time taken to fit out the 
 present force, which pitiful as it is, is not yet, if the occasion were ever so 
 pressing, in a condition to go to sea. Consult the returns which were laid 
 before Parliament in the year 1756. I was one of those who urged a Parlia- 
 mentary inquiry into the conduct of the Ministry. That Ministry, my Lords, 
 in the midst of universal censure and reproach, had honour and virtue enough 
 to promote the inquiry themselves. They scorned to evade it by the mean 
 expedient of putting a previous question. Upon the strictest inquiry it 
 appeared, that the diligence they had used in sending a squadron to the 
 Mediterranean, and in their other naval preparations, was beyond all 
 example. 
 
 " My Lords, the subject on which I am speaking seems to call upon me, 
 and I willingly take this occasion, to declare my opinion upon a question on 
 which much wicked pains have been employed to disturb the minds of the 
 people, and to distress Government. My opinion may not be very popular ; 
 neither am I running the race of popularity. I am myself clearly convinced, 
 and I believe every man who knows anything of the English navy will 
 acknowledge, that without impressing it is impossible to equip a respectable 
 fleet within the time in which such armaments are usually wanted. If this 
 fact be admitted, and if the necessity of arming upon a sudden emergency 
 should appear incontrovertible, what shall we think of those men, who, in 
 the moment of danger, would stop the great defence of their country ? Upon 
 whatever principle they may act, the act itself is more than faction — it is 
 labouring to cut off the right hand of the community. I wholly condemn 
 their conduct, and am ready to support any motion that may be made for 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 123* 
 
 bringing those aldermen, who have endeaTOured to stop the execution of the 
 Admiralty warrants, to the bar of this House. My Lords, I do not rest my 
 opinion merely upon necessity. I am satisfied that the power of impressing 
 is founded upon uninterrupted usage. It is the consuetttdo regni, and part of 
 the common-law prerogative of the Crown. When I condemn the proceed- 
 ings of some persons upon this occasion, let me do justice to a man whose 
 character and conduct have been infamously traduced ; I mean the late Lord 
 Mayor, Mr. Trecothick. In the midst of reproach and clamour, he had firm- 
 ness enough to persevere in doing his duty. I do not know in oflHce a more 
 upright magistrate, nor in private life a worthier man. 
 
 " Permit me now, my Lords, to state to your Lordships the extent and 
 variety of the service which must be provided for, and to compare them with 
 our apparent resources. A due attention to, and provision for, these ser- 
 vices, is prudence in time of peace ; in war it is necessity. Preventive policy, 
 my Lords, which obviates or avoids the injury, is far preferable to that vin- 
 dictive policy which aims at reparation, or has no object but revenge. The 
 precaution that meets the disorder is cheap and easy ; the remedy which fol- 
 lows it, bloody and expensive. The first great and acknowledged object of 
 national defence, in this country, is to maintain such a superior naval force 
 at home, that even the united fleets of France and Spain may never be mas- 
 ters of the Channel. If that should ever happen, what is there to hinder 
 their landing in Ireland, or even upon our own coast? They have often 
 made the attempt : in King William's time it succeeded. King James em- 
 barked on board a French fleet, and landed with a French army in Ireland. 
 In the mean time the French were masters of the Channel, and continued so 
 until their fleet was destroyed by Admiral Kussel. As to the probable con- 
 sequences of a foreign army landing either in Great Britain or Ireland, I 
 shall offer your Lordships my opinion when I speak of the actual condition 
 of our standing army. 
 
 " The second naval object with an English Minister should be to maintain 
 at all times a powerful western squadron. In the profoundest peace it should 
 be respectable ; in war it should be formidable. Without it, the colonies, 
 the commerce, the navigation of Great Britain, lie at the mercy of the House 
 of Bourbon. While /had the honour of acting with Lord Anson, that able 
 ofiScer never ceased to inculcate upon the minds of his Majesty's servants the 
 necessity of constantly maintaining a strong western squadron ; and I must 
 vouch for him, that while he was at the head of the marine it was never 
 neglected. 
 
 " The third object indispensable, as I conceive, in the distribution of our 
 navy, is to maintain such a force in the Bay of Gibraltar as may be sufficient 
 to cover that garrison, to watch the motions of the Spaniards, and to keep 
 open the communication with Minorca. The Ministry will not betray such 
 want of information as to dispute the truth of any of these propositions. But 
 how will your Lordships be astonished, when I inform you in what manner 
 they have provided for these great, these essential objects ! As to the first, 
 
124* THE MODEBN OBATOB. 
 
 I mean the defence of the Channel, I take upon myself to affirm to your 
 Lordships, that, at this hour (and I beg that the date may be taken down 
 and observed), we cannot send out eleven ships of the line so manned and 
 equipped that any officer of rank and credit in the service shall accept of the 
 command and stake his reputation upon it. We have one ship of the line at 
 Jamaica, one at the Leeward Islands, and one at Gibraltar ; yet, at this very 
 moment, for aught the Ministry know, both Jamaica and Gibraltar may be 
 attacked ; and if they are attacked, (which God forbid !) they must fall. 
 Nothing can prevent it but the appearance of a superior squadron. It is true 
 that, some two months ago, four ships of the line were ordered from Ports- 
 mouth, and one from Plymouth, to carry a relief from Ireland to Gibraltar. 
 These ships, my Lords, a week ago were still in port. If, upon their arrival 
 at Gibraltar, they should find the Bay possessed by a superior squadron, the 
 relief cannot be landed ; and if it could be landed, of what force do your 
 Lordships think it consists ? Two regiments, of four hundred men each, at 
 a time like this, are sent to secure a place of such importance as Gibraltar ! 
 a place which it is universally agreed cannot hold against a vigorous attack 
 from the sea, if once the enemy should be so far masters of the Bay as to 
 make good a landing even with a moderate force. The indispensable service 
 of the lines requires at least four thousand men. The present garrison con- 
 sists of about two thousEind three hundred ; so that, if the relief should be 
 fortunate enough to get on shore, they will want eight hundred men of their 
 necessary complement. 
 
 " Let us now, my Lords, turn our eyes homewards. When the defence of 
 Great Britain or Ireland is in question, it is no longer a point of honour ; it 
 is not the security of foreign commerce, or foreign possessions ; we are to 
 contend for the very being of the State. I have good authority to assure 
 your Lordships that the Spaniards have now a fleet at Ferrol, completely 
 manned and ready to sail, which we are in no condition to meet. We could 
 not this day send out eleven ships of the line properly equipped, and to- 
 morrow the enemy may be masters of the Channel. It is unnecessary to press 
 the consequences of these facts upon your Lordships' minds. If the enemy 
 were to land in full force, either upon this coast or in Ireland, where is your 
 army ? where is your defence ? My Lords, if the House of Bourbon make a 
 wise and vigorous use of the actual advantages they have over us, it is more 
 than probable that on this day month we may not be a nation. What mili- 
 tary force can the Ministry show to answer any sudden demand ? I do not 
 speak of foreign expeditions or ofiensive operations. I speak of the inte- 
 rior defence of Ireland, and of this country. You have a nominal army of 
 seventy battalions, besides guards and cavalry. But what is the establish- 
 ment of these battalions ? Supposing they were complete to the numbers 
 allowed (which I know they are not), each regiment would consist of some- 
 thing less than four hundred men, rank and file. Are these battalions com- 
 plete ? Have any orders been given for an augmentation, or do the Minstry 
 mean to continue them upon their present low establishment? When 
 
IHE EABl OF CHATHAM. 125* 
 
 America, the West Indies, Gibraltar, and Minorca, are taken care of, consider, 
 my Lords, -what part of this army will remain to defend Ireland and Great 
 Britain ? This subject, my Lords, leads me to considerations of foreign 
 policy and foreign alliance. It is more connected with them than your Lord- 
 ships may at first imagine. When I compare the numbers of our people, 
 estimated highly at seven millions, with the population of France and Spain, 
 usually computed at twenty-five millions, I see a clear self-evident impossi- 
 bility for this country to contend with the united power of the House of 
 Bourbon, merely upon the strength of its own resources. They who talk of 
 confining a great war to naval operations only, speak without knowledge or 
 experience. We can no more command the disposition than the events of a 
 war. Wherever we are attacked, there we must defend. 
 
 " I have been much abused, my Lords, for supporting a war, which it has 
 been the fashion to call my German war. But I can affirm, with a clear 
 conscience, that that abuse has been thrown upon me by men who were either 
 unacquainted with facts, or had an interest in misrepresenting them. I shall 
 speak plainly and frankly to your Lordships upon this, as I do upon every 
 occasion. That I did in Parliament oppose, to the utmost of my power, our 
 engaging in a German war, is most true ; and if the same circumstance were 
 to recur, I would act the same part, and oppose it again. But when I was 
 called upon to take a share in the administration, that measm-e was already 
 decided. Before I was appointed Secretary of State, the first treaty with 
 the King of Prussia* was signed, and not only ratified by the Crown, but 
 approved of and confirmed by a resolution of both Houses of Parliament. It 
 was a weight fastened upon my neck. By that treaty, the honour of the 
 Crown and the honour of our nation were equally engaged. How I could 
 recede from such an engagement ; how I could advise the Crown to desert a 
 great prince in the midst of those diflSculties, in which a reliance upon the 
 good faith of this country had contributed to involve him, are questions I 
 willingly submit to your Lordships' candour. That wonderful man might, 
 perhaps, have extricated himself from his difficulties without our assistance. 
 *He has talents, which, in every thing that touches the human capacity, do 
 honour to the human mind. But how would England have supported that 
 reputation of credit and good faith, by which we have been distinguished in 
 Europe ? What other foreign power would have sought our friendship ? 
 What other foreign power would have accepted of an alliance with us ? 
 
 " But, my Lords, though I wholly condemn our entering into any engage- 
 ments which tend to involve us in a continental war, I do not admit that 
 alliances with some of the German princes are either detrimental or useless. 
 They may he, my Lords, not only useful, but necessary. I hope, indeed, I 
 shall never see an army of foreign auxiliaries in Great Britain ; we do not 
 want it. If our people are united ; if they are attached to the King and 
 place a confidence in his Government, we have an internal strength sufficient 
 
 * Frederick the Great. 
 
126* THE MODERN ORATOR. 
 
 to repel any foreign invasion. With respect to Ireland, my Lords, I am not 
 of the same opinion. If a powerful foreign army were landed in that king- 
 dom, with arms ready to he put into the hands of the Roman Catholics, I 
 declare freely to your Lordships that I should heartily wish it were possible 
 to collect twenty thousand German Protestants, whether from Hesse, or 
 Brunswick, or Wolfenbuttle, or even the unpopular Hanover, and land 
 them in Ireland. I wish it, my Lords, because I am convinced that, when- 
 ever the case happens, we shall have no English army to spare. 
 
 " I have taken a wide circuit, my Lords, and trespassed, I fear, too long 
 upon your Lordships' patience. Yet I cannot conclude without endeavour- 
 ing to bring home your thoughts to an object more immediately interesting 
 to us than any I have yet considered ; I mean the internal condition of this 
 country. We may look abroad for wealth, or triumphs, or luxury ; but Eng- 
 land, my Lords, is the main stay, the last resort of the whole empire. To 
 this point every scheme of policy, whether foreign or domestic, should ulti- 
 mately refer. Have any measures been taken to satisfy or to unite the peo- 
 ple ? Are the grievances they have so long complained of removed ? or do 
 they stand not only unredressed, but aggravated ? Is the right of free elec- 
 tion restored to the elective body ? My Lords, I myself am one of the people. 
 I esteem that security and independence, which is the original birthright of 
 an Englishman, far beyond the privileges, however splendid, which are 
 annexed to the Peerage. I myself am by birth an English elector, and join 
 with the freeholders of England as in a common cause. Believe me, my 
 Lords, we mistake our real interests as much as our duly, when we separate 
 ourselves from the mass of the people. Can it be expected that Englishmen 
 will unite heartily in defence of a Government, by which they feel themselves 
 insulted and oppressed ? Restore them to their rights ; that is the true way 
 to make them unanimous. It is not a ceremonious recommendation from the 
 Throne that can bring back peace and harmony to a discontented people. 
 That insipid annual opiate has been administered so long, that it has lost its 
 effect. Something substantial, something effectual must be done. 
 
 " The public credit of the nation stands next in degree to the rights of the 
 constitution ; it calls loudly for the interposition of Parliament. There is a 
 set of men, my Lords, in the City of London, who are known to live in riot 
 and luxury, upon the plunder of the ignorant, the innocent, the helpless — 
 upon that part of the community which stands most in need of, and best 
 deserves the care and protection of legislature. To me, my Lords, whether 
 they be miserable jobbers of 'Change-alley, or the lofty Asiatic plunderers 
 of Leadenhall-street, they are all equally detestable. I care but little whe- 
 ther a man walks on foot, or is drawn by eight horses or six horses ; if his 
 luxury be supported by the plunder of his country, I despise and detest him. 
 My Lords, while I had the honour of serving his Majesty, I never ventured 
 to look at the Treasury but at a distance ; it is a business I am unfit for, and 
 to which I never could have submitted. The little I know of it has not 
 served to raise my opinion of what is vulgarly called the monied interest ; I 
 
THE EARl OF CHATHAM. 127* 
 
 mean that blood-sucker, that muckworm, which calls itself the friend of 
 Government — that pretends to serve this or that administration, and 
 may be purchased on the same terms by any administration — that ad- 
 vances money to Government, and takes special care of its own emolu- 
 ments. Under this description I include the whole race of commissaries, 
 jobbers, contractors, clothiers, and remitters. Yet I do not deny that, even 
 with these creatures some management may be necessary. I hope, my 
 Lords, that nothing I have said will be understood to extend to the honest, 
 industrious tradesman, who holds the middle rank, and has given repeated 
 proofs that he prefers law and liberty to gold. I love that class of men. 
 Much less would I be thought to reflect upon the fair merchant, whose liberal 
 commerce is the prime source of national wealth. I esteem his occupation 
 and respect his character. 
 
 " My Lords, if the general representation which I have had the honour to 
 lay before you of the situation of public affairs, has, in any measure, engaged 
 your attention, your Lordships, I am sure, will agree with me, that the sea- 
 son calls for more than common prudence and vigour in the direction of our 
 councils. The difficulty of the crisis demands a wise, a firm, and a popular 
 administration. The dishonourable traffic of places has engaged us too long. 
 Upon this subject, my Lords, I speak without interest or enmity. I have 
 no personal objection to any of the King's servants. I shall neverbe Minis- 
 ter ; certainly not without full power to cut away all the rotten branches of 
 Government. Yet, unconcerned as I truly am for myself, I cannot avoid 
 seeing some capital errors in the distribution of the royal favour. There are 
 men, my Lords, who, if their own services were forgotten, ought to have an 
 hereditary merit with the House of Hanover, whose ancestors stood forth 
 in the day of trouble, opposed their persons and fortunes to treachery and 
 rebellion, and secured to his Majesty's family this splendid power of reward- 
 ing. There are other men, my Lords (looking sternly at lard Mansfield,) 
 who, to speak tenderly of them, were not quite so forward in the demonstra- 
 tions of their zeal to the reigning family ; there was another cause, my Lords, 
 and a partiality to it, which some persons had not, at all times, discretion 
 enough to conceal. I know I shall be accused of attempting to revive dis- 
 tinctions. My Lords, if it were possible I would abolish all distinc- 
 tions. I would not wish the favours of the Crown to flow invariably in 
 one channel. But there are some distinctions which' are inherent in the 
 nature of things. There is a distinction between right and wrong — ^between 
 Whig and Tory. 
 
 " When I speak of an administration, such as the necessity of the season 
 calls for, my views are large and comprehensive. It must be popular, that 
 it may begin with reputation. It must be strong within itself, that it may 
 proceed with vigour and decisioiii An administration formed upon an exclu- 
 sive system of family connexions or private friendships, cannot, I am con- 
 vinced, be long supported in this country. Yet, my Lords, no man respects 
 or values more than I do, that honourable connexion which arises from a 
 
128* THE MODERN OKATOE. 
 
 disinterested concurrence in opinion upon public measures, or from the sacred 
 bond of private friendship and esteem. What I mean is, that no single man's 
 private friendships or connexions, however extensive, are sufficient of them- 
 selves either to form or overturn an administration. With respect to the 
 Ministry, I believe that they have fewer rivals than they imagine. No pru- 
 dent man will covet a situation so beset with difficulty and danger. 
 
 " I shall trouble your Lordships with but a few words more. His Majesty 
 tells us in his speech, that he will call upon us for our advice, if it should be 
 necessary in the further progress of this affair. It is not easy to say whether 
 or no the Ministry are serious in this declaration ; nor what is meant by the 
 progress of an affair which rests upon one fixed point. Hitherto we have 
 not been called upon. But, though we are not consulted, it is our right and 
 duty, as the King's great hereditary council, to offer him our advice. The 
 papers mentioned in the noble Duke's motion, will enable us to form a just 
 and accurate opinion of the conduct of his Majesty's servants, though not of 
 the actual state of their honourable negotiations. The Ministry too seem to 
 want advice upon some points, in which their own safety is immediately 
 concerned. They are now balancing between a war which they ought to 
 have foreseen, but for which theyhave made no provision, and an ignominious 
 compromise. Let me warn them of their danger. — If they are forped into a 
 war, they stand it at the hazard of their heads. If, by an ignominious com- 
 promise, they should stain the honour of the Crown, or sacrifice the rights of 
 the people, let them look to their consciences, and consider whether they will 
 be able to walk the streets in safety." 
 
 The Duke of Eichmond's motion was negatived by a majority of 65 
 to 21. 
 
 The repugnance of Louis the Fifteenth to involve himself in a fresh war 
 induced the King of Spain to comply with the requisitions of the British 
 Government ; to disown the conduct of Buccarelli, and to restore the island. 
 It was however evacuated, three years afterwards, by the British. 
 
 Debate in the Lords on the Biei foe Quartering Troops in 
 North America. 
 
 In the year 1770, the duties on paper, pasteboards, painters' colours, and 
 white and red lead, were taken off ; * while that of threepence per pound 
 on tea was retained in order to evidence the right of the mother country 
 to tax the colonies. Since the non-importation agreements, the Ameri- 
 cans had been principally supplied with tea smuggled from Holland. 
 This had so much reduced the exportation of that article from this 
 country, that about seventeen millions of pounds had accumulated in the 
 
 • Vide 10 Geo. HI. c. xvii. 
 
THE EAEL OF CHATHAM. 129* 
 
 warehouses of the East India Company. With a view to furnish a market for 
 this large stock, and thereby to relieve the financial position of the 
 Company, which was at this time very much embarrassed, Lord North, in 
 the year 1773, introduced a measure for permitting them to export tea, duty 
 free, to all parts of the world.* By this regulation, though it was loaded on 
 its importation into America with an exceptional duty of three pence in 
 the pound, it would come cheaper to the colonies than before it had been made 
 a source of revenue ; for the duty which had been taken ofi' on its exportation 
 from Great Britain amounted to one shilling per pound. The colonists 
 having gained intelligence of the intention of the East India Company to 
 exercise the power with which they had been invested by the legislature, and 
 to freight vessels with tea to the several ports of America, determined to 
 resist this attempt of Great Britain to tax them ; and meetings were accord- 
 ingly held in the capitals of the different provinces, and combinations formed 
 to obstruct the sales of the tea which was expected to be sent by the East India 
 Company. The captains of the vessels which had arrived at New York and 
 Philadelphia, laden with that commodity, being apprised of the resolutions of 
 the people, and fearing the consequences of landing an article charged with 
 an odious duty, in opposition to their declared public sentiments, determined 
 on returning to Great Britain, without making an entry at the Custom-house. 
 It was otherwise however at Boston. Three ships laden with tea having 
 arrived at that port, the captains, who had been compelled to bring them to 
 the wharf, were terrified into a concession, that if they were permitted by the 
 consignees, the Board of Customs, and the fort of Castle William, they would 
 return with their cargoes to England. These promises could not be fulfilled ; 
 the consignees refused to discharge the captains from the obligations under 
 which they were chartered for the delivery of their cargoes ; the Custom- 
 house refused them a clearance for their return without the previous payment 
 of the duties ; and the Governor to grant them a passport to clear the fort 
 without a certificate from the Custom-house. In this state of things, it 
 appeared to the people of Boston that the only alternative left for them in 
 order to prevent the tea from being landed and sold, with the obnoxious duty 
 attached to it, was at once to destroy it. About seventeen men, therefore, 
 under the disguise of Mohawk Indians, boarded the ships, and in a few hours 
 discharged their whole cargoes into the sea, without doing any other damage, 
 or offering any violence to the captains or crews. It was remarkable that 
 the authorities at Boston were totally inactive upon this occasion, and made 
 no attempt to prevent the destruction of the cargoes. 
 
 When intelligence of the outrages which had been committed at Boston, 
 on board the three ships laden with tea, reached this country, it was made 
 the subject of a message from the Throne to both Houses of Parhament ; 
 and a bill was shortly afterwards introduced, and received the sanction of the 
 legislature, for shutting up the port of Boston, until full satisfaction should 
 
 * Vide 13 Geo. m. i;. xliv. 
 VOL. I. K 
 
130* THE MODBEN ORATOE. 
 
 be made to the East India Company for the loss of their tea.* While this 
 bill was before Parliament, two -others, which likewise subsequently became 
 law, were introduced. By the former of th^se measures,! the charter of 
 Massachusetts Bay was entirely subverted, and the nomination of councillors, 
 magistrates, and all civil officers, vested in the Crown ; and by the latterj 
 it was provided, that if any person were indicted in the province of Massa- 
 chusetts Bay for murder, or any other capital offence, and it should appear ' 
 to the Governor, by information on oath, that the fact was committed in the 
 exercise or aid of the magistracy in suppressing tumults and riots, and that a 
 fair trial could not be had in the province, he should send the person so 
 indicted to any other colony, or to Great Britain, for trial. 
 
 1774. May 27. Lord Chatham's state of health during the two preceding 
 sessions had precluded him from making any considerable parliamentary 
 exertions, and he had rarely attended in his place in the House of Lords ; 
 but finding himself at this period somewhat relieved from the pressure of his 
 complaints, he took the opportunity, on the third reading of the bUl for 
 quartering troops in America, to lay before the House and the country his 
 thoughts on this bill, and on American affairs in general, in the following 
 speech. He said : 
 
 " My Lords, the unfavourable state of health under which I have long la- 
 boured, could not prevent me from laying before your Lordships my thoughts 
 on the bUl now upon the table, and on the American affairs in general. ■ 
 
 " If we take a transient view of those motives which induced the ancestors 
 of our fellow-subjects in America to leave their native country, to encounter 
 the innumerable difficulties of the unexplored regions of the western world, 
 our astonishment at the present conduct of their descendants wiU naturally 
 subside. There was no corner of the world into which men of their free 
 and enterprising spirit would not fly with alacrity, rather than submit to the 
 slavish and tyraimical principles which prevailed at that period in their 
 native country. And shall we wonder, my Lords, if the descendants of 
 such Ulustrious characters spurn with contempt the hand of unconstitutional 
 power, that would snatch from them such dear-bought privileges as they now 
 contend for ? Had the British colonies been planted by any other kingdom 
 than our own, the inhabitants would have carried with them the chains of 
 slavery, and spirit of despotism ; but as they are, they ought to be remem- 
 bered as great instances to instruct the world what great exertions mankind 
 will naturally make when they are left to the free exercise of their own 
 powers. And, my Lords, notwithstanding my intention to give my hearty 
 negative to the question now before you, I cannot help condemning, in the 
 
 * 14 Geo. m. c. xix. The tea was destroyed at Boston on the 18th of December, 
 1773, and the message from the Throne delivered on the 7th of March, 1774. The 
 value of the tea destroyed was estimated at £18,000. 
 
 t 14 Geo. m. c. xxxix, 
 
 } 14 Geo. HI, c. xliv. 
 
THE EAEL OF CHATHAM. 131* 
 
 severest manner, the late turbulent and unwarrantable conduct of the 
 Americans in some instances, particularly in the late riots of Boston. But, 
 my Lords, the mode which has been pursued to bring them back to a sense 
 of their duty to their parent state, has been so diametrically opposite to the 
 fundamental principles of sound policy, that individuals, possessed of common 
 understanding, must be astonished at such proceedings. . By blocking up the 
 harbour of Boston, you have involved the innocent trader in the same punish- 
 ment with the guilty profligates who destroyed your merchandise ; and 
 instead of making a well-concerted effort to secure the real offenders, you 
 clap a naval and military extinguisher over their harbour, and punish the 
 whole body of the inhabitants for the crime of a few lawless depredators and 
 their abettors. 
 
 " My Lords, this country is little obliged to the framers and promoters of 
 this tea tax. The Americans had almost forgot, in their excess of gratitude 
 for the repeal of the Stamp Act, any interest but that of the mother country ; 
 there seemed an emulation among the different provinces who should be 
 most dutiful and forward in their expressions of loyalty to their real 
 benefactor ; as you will readily perceive by the following letter from Governor 
 Bernard to a noble Lord then in office. 
 
 " ' The House of Representatives (says he), from the time of opening the 
 session to this day, has shown a disposition to avoid all dispute with me ; 
 every thing having passed with as much good humour as I could desire. 
 They have acted, in all things, with temper and moderation ; they have 
 avoided some subjects of dispute, and have laid a foundation for removing 
 some causes of former altercation.' 
 
 " This, my Lords, was the temper of the Americans ; and it would have 
 continued, had it not been interrupted by your fruitless endeavours to tax 
 them without their consent : but the moment they perceived your intention 
 was renewed to tax them, under a pretence of serving the East India 
 Company, their resentment got the ascendant of their moderation, and 
 hurried them into actions contrary to law, which, in their cooler hours, they 
 would have thought on with horror ; for I sincerely believe the destroying 
 of the tea was the effect of despair. 
 
 "But, my Lords, from the complexion of the whole of the proceedings, I think 
 that Administration has purposely irritated them into those late violent acts, 
 for which they now so severely smart ; purposely to be revenged on them for 
 the victory they gained by the repeal of the Stamp Act ; a measure in which 
 they seemingly acquiesced, but to which at the bottom they were real 
 enemies. For what other motive could induce them to dress taxation, that 
 father of American sedition, in the robes of an East India Director, but to 
 break in upon that mutual peace and harmony which then so happily subsisted 
 between them and the mother country ? 
 
 " My Lords, I am an old man, and would. advise the noble Lords in office 
 to adopt a more gentle method of governing America : for the day is not far 
 distant when America may vie with these kingdoms, not only in arms, but 
 
 K 2 
 
132* THE MODERN OBATOK. 
 
 in arts also. It is an established fact, that the principal towns in America 
 are learned and polite, and understand the constitution of the empire as well 
 as the noble Lords who are now in office ; and, consequently, they will have 
 a watchful eye over their liberties, to prevent the least encroachment on their 
 hereditary rights. 
 
 " This observation has been so recently exemplified in an excellent 
 pamphlet, which comes from the pen of an American gentleman, that I shall 
 take the liberty of reading to your Lordships his thoughts on the competency 
 of the British Parliament to tax America, which, in my opinion, puts this 
 interesting matter in the clearest view. 
 
 " ' The High Court of Parliament,' says he, ' is the supreme legislative 
 power over the whole empire ; in all free states the constitution is fixed ; 
 and as the supreme legislature derives its power and authority from the con- 
 stitution, it cannot overleap the bounds of it, without destroying its own 
 foundation. The constitution ascertains and limits both sovereignty and 
 allegiance : and therefore his Majesty's American subjects, who acknowledge 
 themselves bound by the ties of allegiance, have an equitable claim to the 
 full enjoyment of the fundamental rules of the English constitution ; and 
 that it is an essential unalterable right in nature, ingrafted into the British 
 constitution as a fundamental law, and ever held sacred and irrevocable by 
 the subjects within the realm — that what a man has honestly acquired, is 
 absolutely his own ; which he may freely give, but which cannot be taken 
 from him without his consent.' 
 
 " This, my Lords, though no new doctrine, has always been my received 
 and unalterable opinion, and I will carry it to my grave, that this country 
 had no right under heaven to tax America. It is contrary to all the prin- 
 ciples of justice and civil policy, which neither the exigencies of the state, 
 nor even an acquiescence in the taxes, could justify upon any occasion what- 
 ever. Such proceedings will never meet with their wished-for success ; and, 
 instead of 'adding to their miseries, as the bill now before you most undoubt- 
 edly does, adopt some lenient measures, which may lure them to their duty ; 
 act like a kind and affectionate parent towards a child whom he tenderly 
 loves ; and, instead of those harsh and severe proceedings, pass an amnesty 
 on all their youthful errors ; clasp them once more in your fond and affec- 
 tionate arms ; and, I will venture to affirm, you will find them children 
 worthy of their sire. But should their turbulence exist after your proffered 
 terms of forgiveness, which I hope and expect this House will immediately 
 adopt, I will be among the foremost of your Lordships to move for such 
 measures as will effectually prevent a future relapse, and make them feel 
 what it is to provoke a fond and forgiving parent ! a parent, my Lords, whose 
 welfare has ever been my greatest and most pleasing consolation. This 
 declaration may seem unnecessary ; but I will venture to declare, the period 
 is not far distant when she will want the assistance of her most distant 
 friends : but should the all-disposing hand of Providence prevent me from 
 affording her my poor assistance, my prayers shall be ever for her welfare. 
 
THE EAEL OF CHATHAM. 133* 
 
 Length of days be in her right hand, and in her left riches and honour ; may 
 her ways be ways of pleasantness, and all her paths be peace !" 
 The bill passed by a majority of 57 to 16. 
 
 LoBD Chatham's Motion to withdraw the Troops feom Boston. 
 
 1775. January 20. By his Majesty's command, Lord Dartmouth, Secretary 
 of State for the Colonies, presented to the House of Lords the papers re- 
 lating to the disturbances in North America.* Upon this occassion, the 
 Earl of Chatham delivered the following speech : — 
 
 " He began with inveighing against the dilatoriness of administration, but, 
 said he, as I have not the honour of access to his Majesty, I will endeavour 
 to transmit to him, through the constitutional channel of this House, my 
 ideas of America, to rescue him from the mis-advice of his present Ministers. 
 I congratulate your Lordships that the business is at last entered upon, by 
 the noble Lord's laying the papers before you. As I suppose your Lordships 
 too well apprised of their contents, I hope I am not premature in submitting 
 to you my present motion, — 
 
 " ' That an humble address be presented to his Majesty, humbly to desire 
 and beseech his Majesty, that in order to open the way towards a happy 
 settlement of the dangerous troubles in America, by beginning to allay fer- 
 ments and soften animosities there ; and above all, for preventing in the 
 meantime any sudden and fatal catastrophe at Boston, now suifering under 
 the daily irritation of an army before their eyes, posted in their town ; it may 
 graciously please his Majesty that immediate orders be despatched to General 
 Gage, for removing his Majesty's forces from the town of Boston, as soon as 
 the rigour of the season, and other circumstances indispensable to the safety 
 and accommodation of the said troops, may render the same practicable.' 
 
 " I wish, my Lords, not to lose a day in this urgent, pressing crisis ; an 
 hournowlostin allaying ferments in America, may produce years of calamity: 
 for my own part, I will not desert, for a moment, the conduct of this weighty 
 business, from the first to the last ; unless nailed to my bed by the extremity 
 of sickness, I will give it unremitted attention ; I will knock at the door of 
 this sleeping and confounded Ministry, and will rouse them to a sense of 
 their important danger. 
 
 " When I state the importance of the colonies to this country, and the 
 magnitude of the danger hanging over this country, from the present plan of 
 mis-administration practised against them, I desire not to be understood to 
 argue for a reciprocity of indulgence between England and America. I con- 
 tend not for indulgence, but for justice to America; and I shall ever contend, 
 that the Americans justly owe obedience to us in a limited degree-»-they owe 
 
 * See these Papers, Pari. Hist, vol. xviii. p. 74, et seq. 
 
134* THE MODEEN OEA.XOK. 
 
 obedience to our ordinances of trade and navigation ; but let the line be 
 skilfully drawn between the objects of those ordinances, and their private, 
 internal property ; let the sacredness of their property remain inviolate ; let 
 it be taxable only by their own consent, given itt their provincial assemblies, 
 else it toill cease to be property. As to the metaphysical refinements, attempt- 
 ing to show that the Americans are equally free from obedience and com- 
 mercial restraints, as from taxation for revenue, as being unrepresented here ; 
 I pronounce them futile, frivolous, and groundless. 
 
 " When I urge this measure of recalling the troops from Boston, I urge it 
 on this pressing principle, that it is necessarily preparatory to the restoration 
 of your peace, and the establishment of your prosperity. It will then appear 
 that you are disposed to treat amicably and equitably ; and to consider, revise, 
 and repeal, if it should be found necessary, as I affirm it will, those violent 
 acts and declarations which have disseminated confusion throughout your 
 empire. 
 
 " Kesistance to your acts was necessary as it was just ; and your vain 
 declarations of the omnipotence of Parliament, and your imperious doctrines 
 of the necessity of submission, will be found equally impotent to convince 
 or to enslave your fellow-subjects in America, who feel that tyranny, whether 
 amhitioned by an individual part of the legislature, or the bodies who compose 
 it, is equally intolerable to British subjects. 
 
 " The means of enforcing this thraldom are found to be as ridiculous and 
 weak in practice as they are unjust in principle. Indeed I cannot but feel 
 the most anxious sensibility for the situation of General Gage, and the troops 
 imder his command ; thinking him, as I do, a man of humanity and under- 
 standing ; and entertaining, as I ever wUl, the highest respect, the warmest 
 love, for the British troops. Their situation is truly unworthy ; penned up 
 pining in inglorious inactivity. They are an army of impotence. You may 
 call them an army of safety and of guard ; but they are in truth an .army of 
 impotence and contempt : and, to make the foUy equal to the disgrace, they 
 are an army of irritation and vexation. 
 
 " But I find a report creeping abroad, that Ministers censure General 
 Gage's inactivity : let them censure him — it becomes them — ^it becomes their 
 justice and their honour. — I mean not to censure his inactivity ; it is a prudent 
 and necessary inaction. But what a miserable condition is that, where dis- 
 grace is prudence, and where it is necessary to be contemptible ! This tame- 
 ness, however contemptible, cannot be censured ; for the first drop of blood 
 shed in civil and unnatural war might be immedicaUle vulnxis. 
 
 " I therefore urge and conjure your Lordships immediately to adopt this 
 conciliating measure: I wUl pledge myself for its immediately producing 
 conciliatory efiects, by its being thus well-timed ; but if you delay till your 
 vain hope shall be accomplished, of triumphantly dictating reconciliation, you 
 delay for ever. But, admitting that this hope, which in truth is desperate, 
 should be accomplished, what do you gain by the imposition of your victo- 
 rious amity ? — you will be untrusted and unthanked. Adopt, then, the grace. 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 135* 
 
 while you have the opportunity of reconcilement, or at least prepare the way. 
 Allay the ferment prevailing in America, by removing the obnoxious, hostile 
 causer-obnoxious and unserviceable, for their merit can be only in inaction : 
 Non dimicare est vincere, — their victory can never be by exertions. Their 
 force would be most disproportionately exerted against a brave, generous, and 
 united people, with arms in their hands, and courage in their hearts : — three 
 millions of people, the genuine descendants of a valiant and pious ancestry, 
 driven to those deserts by the narrow maxims of a superstitious tyranny. 
 And is the spirit of persecution never to be appeased ? Are the brave sons 
 of those brave forefathers to inherit the sufferings, as they have inherited 
 their virtues ? Are they to sustain the infliction of the most oppressive and 
 unexampled severity, beyond the accounts of history, or description of poetry : 
 Rhadamanthus hahet durissima regna, castigatque, auditque. So says the 
 wisest poet, and perhaps the wisest statesman and politician of antiquity. 
 But our Ministers say, the Americans must not he heard. They have been 
 condemned unheard; the discriminating hand of vengeance has lumped 
 together innocent and guilty ; with all the formalities of hostility, has blocked 
 up the town,* and reduced to beggary and famine thirty thousand inhabitants. 
 " But his Majesty is advised, that the union in America cannot last ! 
 Ministers have more eyes than I, and should have more ears ; but, with all 
 the information I have been able to procure, I can pronounce it — an union 
 solid, permanent, and effectual. Ministers may satisfy themselves, and 
 delude the public, with the report of what they call commercial bodies in 
 America : they are not commercial ; they are your packers and factors : they 
 live upon nothing — for I call commission nothing. I mean the Ministerial 
 authority for this American intelligence ; the runners for Government, who are 
 paid for their intelligence. But these are not the men, nor this the influence, 
 to be considered in America, when we estimate the firmness of their union : 
 even to extend the question, and to take in the really mercantile circle, will 
 be totally inadequate to the consideration. Trade, indeed, increases the 
 wealth and glory of a country ; but its real strength and stamina are to be 
 looked for among the cultivators of the land : in their simplicity of life is 
 found the simpleness of virtue — the integrity and courage of freedom. 
 These true, genuine sons of the earth are invincible : and they surround and 
 hem in the mercantile bodies : even if these bodies, which supposition I 
 totally disclaim, could be supposed disaffected to the cause of liberty. Of this 
 general spirit existing in the British nation — (for so I wish to distinguish the 
 real and genuine Americans from the pseudo-traders I have described) — of 
 this spirit of independence, animating the nation of America, I have the most 
 authentic information. It is not new among them ; it is, and has ever been, 
 their established principle — their confirmed persuasion ; it is theu' nature and 
 
 their doctrine. 
 
 *' I remember, some years ago, when the repeal of the Stamp Act was in 
 
 * Boston. 
 
138* THE MODERN OBAXOS. 
 
 adversary prisoner, as lie was often very near him ; ' J'ai peur,' replied Conde, 
 very honestly, ' J'ai peur qu'il ne me prenne ;' — I'm afraid Mil take me. 
 
 " When your Lordships look at the papers transmitted to us from America ; 
 when you consider their decency, firmness, and wisdom, you cannot but 
 respect their cause, and wish to make it your own. For myself, I must 
 declare and avow, that in all my reading and observation — and it has been 
 my favourite study — I have read Thucydides, and have studied and admired 
 the master-states of the world — that for solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity, 
 and wisdom of conclusion, under such a complication of difficult circum- 
 stances, no nation, or body of men, can stand in preference to the General 
 Congress of Philadelphia. I trust it is obvious to your Lordships, that all 
 attempts to impose servitude upon such men, to estabUsh despotism over 
 such a mighty continental nation, must be vain, must be fatal. We shall be 
 forced idtimately to retract ; let us retract while we can, not when we must 
 I say we must necessarily undo these violent oppressive acts :* they must be 
 repealed ;— ryou will repeal them ; I pledge myself for it, that you will in the 
 end repeal them ; I stake my reputation on it : — I will consent to be taken 
 for an idiot if they are not finally repealed.f Avoid, then, this humiliating, 
 this disgraceful necessity. With a dignity becoming your exalted situation, 
 make the first advances to concord, to peace, and to happiness : for 
 that is your true dignity, to act with prudence and justice. That yow 
 should first concede is obvious, from sound and rational policy. Conces- 
 sion comes with better grace and more salutary efiect from the superior 
 power ; it reconciles superiority of power with the feelings of men ; and 
 establishes solid confidence on the foundations of affection and gratitude. 
 
 " So thought a wise poet and a wise man in political sagacity ; the friend 
 of Mecaenas, and the eulogist of Augustus. To him, the adopted son and 
 successor of the first Csesar ; to him, the master of the world, he wisely 
 urged this conduct of prudence and dignity : 
 
 " ' Tuque prior, tu parce ; genus qvii ducis Olympo ; 
 Projice tela manu.' 
 
 " Every motive, therefore, of justice and of policy, of dignity and of pru- 
 dence^ urges you to allay the ferment in America — ^by a removal of your 
 troops from Boston — ^by a repeal of your acts of Parliament, and by demon- 
 stration of amicable dispositions towards your colonies. On the other hand, 
 every danger and every hazard impend, to deter you from perseverance in your 
 present ruiaous measures : — foreign war hanging over your heads by a slight 
 and brittle thread — France and Spain watching your conduct, and waiting 
 
 • Tlie acts of Parliament passed in the preceding session, for shutting up the port 
 of Boston, for altering the charter of Massachusetts Bay, and for removing, if necessary, 
 the trial of capital offenders from that province to any other colony, or to Great Britain. 
 
 t Lord Chatham's prediction was strictly verified ; the repeal of these acts was at last, 
 after three years' fruitless war, sent out as a peace-offering to the Congress of America, 
 by whom it was treated with contempt. 
 
Missing Page 
 
Missing Page 
 
THE EAKL OF CHATHAM. 139* 
 
 for the maturity of your errors, with a vigilant eye to America, and the 
 temper of your colonies, more than to their own concerns, be they what they 
 may. 
 
 " To conclude, my Lords : if the Ministers thus persevere in misadvising 
 and misleading the King, I will not say that they can alienate the affections 
 of his subjects from his crown ; but I will affirm that they will make the 
 crown not worth his wearing : I will not say that the King is betrayed ; but 
 I will pronounce that ilie kingdom is undone." 
 
 After a debate of more than ordinary length, the question was rejected by 
 a majority of 68 to 18. The division was remarkable by the appearance 
 of the Duke of Cumberland, third brother of George the Third, in the 
 
 minority.* 
 
 LoKD Chatham's Bili, foe Settling the Tbotjbles in America. 
 
 February 1. The large majority by which Lord Chatham's motion for the 
 recall of the troops from Boston had been negatived, did not discourage him 
 from persisting in his exertions to conciliate the differences between the 
 colonies and Great Britain; and on the first of February, 1775, he offered 
 to the House of Peers a bill for that purpose, entitled, " A provisional Act 
 for settling the Troubles in America, and for asserting the supreme legislative 
 Authority and superintending Power of Great Britain over the Colonies." 
 
 It declared, that the colonies of America were of right dependent upon 
 the Imperial Crown of Great Britain and Ireland, and that Parliament had 
 full power and authority to make laws and statutes of sufficient force and 
 validity to bind the people of the British colonies in America, in all matters 
 touching the general weal of the whole dominion of the Imperial Crown, and 
 beyond the competency of the local representative of a distinct colony ; and, 
 most especially, an indubitable and indispensable right to make and ordain 
 
 * Dr. Franklin, in commenting upon this detate, during which he was present 
 through the personal introduction of Lord Chatham, says, " I was quite charmed with 
 Lord Chatham's speech in support of his motion. He impressed me with the highest 
 
 idea of him as a great and most able statesman Full of the high esteem 
 
 I had imbibed for Lord Chatham, I wrote back to Lord Stanhope the following note : — 
 
 " ' Dr. Franklin presents his best respects to Lord Stanhope, with many thanks to 
 his Lordship and Lord Chathtim for the communication of so authentic a copy of the 
 motion. Dr. F. is filled with admiration of that truly great man. He has seen in the 
 course of his life, sometimes eloquence without wisdom, and often wisdom without 
 eloquence ; in the present instance he sees both united, and both, as he thinks, in the 
 highest degree possible. 
 
 " ' Craven-street, Jan. 23, 1775." 
 — Memoirs of BeDJamin Franklin — Works, vol. i. pp. 493, 494, edit. 1833. 
 
140* THE MODEEN OKATOK. 
 
 laws for regulating navigation and trade ; and that all subjects in the colonies 
 were bound in duty and allegiance duly to recognise and obey the supreme 
 legislative authority and superintending power of Parliament. In order to 
 quiet and dispel groundless jealousies and fears respecting a standing army, 
 it was declared, That no military force, however raised, and kept according 
 to law, could be lawfully employed to violate and destroy the just rights of 
 the people. No tallage, tax, or other charge for his Majesty's revenue, was 
 to be levied in America, without common consent, by act of Provisional 
 Assembly there, duly convened for that purpose. The delegates from the 
 respective provinces, lately assembled in general congress at Philadelphia, 
 were again to meet, on the 9th day of May next ensuing, in order to take into 
 consideratioiuthe making due recognition of the supreme legislative authority 
 and superintending power of Parliament over the colonies ; and also a free 
 grant to the King, his heirs and successors, of a certain perpetual revenue, 
 subject to the disposition of Parliament, towards the alleviation of the 
 national debt, which, in no inconsiderable part, had been willingly incurred 
 for the defence, extension, and prosperity of the colonies. The General Con- 
 gress was to adjust and fix the proportions and quotas of the several charges 
 to' be borne by each province respectively, towards the above free grant. 
 This act was not to have any force or operation until the delegates had duly 
 recognised the supreme legislative authority and superintending power of the 
 Parliament of Great Britain over the colonies ; but the free grant required 
 and expected from the colonies was not to be considered as a condition of 
 redress, but as a just testimony of their afiection. The powers of Admiralty 
 and Vice-Admiralty Courts in America were to be restrained within their 
 ancient limits, and the trial by jury in all civil cases, where the same had 
 been abolished, restored : and no subject in America was, in capital cases, to 
 be liable to be indicted and tried for the same, in any place out of the province 
 wherein such ofience should have been alleged to have been committed, nor 
 deprived of a trial by his peers of the vicinage ; nor should it be lawful to 
 send persons, indicted for murder in any province of America, to another 
 colony, or to Great Britain, for trial. All the acts, from the fourth year of 
 the reign of George the Third, to those of the last session of Parliament, 
 including the three acts for stopping the port and blocking up the harbour 
 of Boston ; for altering the charter and government of Massachusetts Bay ; 
 and for removing, if necessary, the trial of capital offenders from that 
 province to any other colony, or tb Great Britain ; and also the act for regu- 
 lating the government of Quebec, and the act passed in the same session 
 relating to the quarters of soldiers, were thereby suspended, and not to have 
 effect or execution from the date of this act. And all the above acts were to 
 be finally repealed and annulled from the day that the new recognition of the 
 supreme legislative authority and superintending power of Parliament over 
 the colonies was made by them. And for the better securing due and 
 impartial administration of justice, the judges in the courts of law in 
 the colonies were to hold their oifices and salaries as his Majesty's 
 
THE EARL or CHATHAM. 141* 
 
 judges in England, quatndiu se bene gesserint. And it was further de- 
 clared that the colonies were justly entitled to the privileges, franchises, 
 and immunities granted hy their several charters or constitutions ; and that 
 the said charters or constitution? ought not to be invaded or resumed, 
 unless for misuser, or some legal ground of forfeiture. The bill con- 
 cluded with these words : — " So shall true reconcilement avert impending 
 calamities, and this solemn national accord between Great Britain and her 
 colonies stand an everlasting monument of clemency and magnanimity in 
 the benignant father of his people, of wisdom and moderation in this great 
 nation, famed for humanity as for valour, and of fidelity and grateful afiection 
 from brave and loyal colonies to their parent kingdom, which will ever pro- 
 tect and cherish them." m 
 In introducing the above bill to the House, 
 
 The Earl of Chatham said, " that he oifered it as a basis for averting the 
 dangers which now threatened the British empire ; and he hoped, he said, 
 that it would meet with the approbation of every side of the House. He 
 proceeded to state the urgent necessity of such a plan : as, perhaps, the delay 
 of a few hours might for ever defeat the possibility of any such conciliatory 
 intervention. He represented Great Britain and America as drawn up in 
 martial array, waiting for the signal to engage in a contest, in which it was 
 little matter for whom victory declared, as ruin and destruction must be the 
 inevitable consequences to both parties. He wished, he said, from a principle 
 of duty and afiection, to act the part of a mediator. He said, however, that 
 no regard for popularity, no predilection for his country, not the high esteem 
 he entertained for America on the one hand, nor the unalterable, steady 
 regard he entertained for the dignity of Great Britain on the other, should at 
 all influence his conduct ; for though he loved the Americans, as men prizing 
 and setting the just value on that inestimable blessing. Liberty ; yet, if he 
 could once bring himself to be persuaded that they entertained the most 
 distant intentions of throwing ofi' the legislative supremacy and great con- 
 stitutional superintending power and control of the British legislature, he 
 should be the very person himself who would be the first and most zealous 
 mover for securing and enforcing that power by every possible exertion this 
 country was capable of making. He recurred to his former arguments on 
 the great constitutional question of taxation and representation ; insisted 
 they were inseparable, and planted so deeply in the vital principles of the 
 constitution, as never to be torn up, without destroying and pulling asunder 
 every band of legal government and good faith, which formed the cement 
 that united its several constituent parts together. He entreated the assistance 
 of the House to digest the crude materials which he presumed to lay before 
 it, and to reduce his bill to that form which was suited to the dignity and 
 the importance of the subject, and to the great ends to which it was ulti- 
 mately directed. He called on them to exercise their candour on the present 
 occasion, and deprecated the eflfeots of party or prejudice; of factious spleen 
 
142* THE MOBEKIf OKATOK. 
 
 or blind predilection. He avowed himself to be actuated by no narrow 
 principle or personal consideration whatever; for though the present bill 
 might be looked upon as a bill of concession, it was impossible but to confess 
 at the same time that it was a bill of assertion." 
 
 The Earl of Sandwich moved the rejection of this bill, in which he was 
 supported by the Duke of Grafton, Earl Gower, and the Earl of Hills- 
 borough. The Duke of Grafton stigmatized the manner in -which the bUl 
 ■was hurried into the House as unparliamentary. He had had, he said, the 
 honour of sitting in that House longer than the noble Earl, and he remem- 
 bered no similar instance of precipitation. 
 
 The Earl of Chatham replied to the several objections which had been 
 urged to his #an. He descanted with equal humour and severity npon the 
 very extraordmary logic employed by the noble Duke, his quondam colleague 
 in office, and very humble servant. " The noble Duke," said his Lordship, " is 
 extremely angry with me, that I did not previously consult him on the bring- 
 ing in the present bill : I would ask the noble Duke, does he consult me ? 
 or do I desire to be previously told of any motions or measures he thinks fit 
 to propose to this House ? His Grace seems to be much oflFended at the 
 manner this bUl has been hurried. I am certain he could not be serious, if 
 he gave himself a minute to consider how the case really stands. Here we 
 are told that America is in a state of actual rebellion, and we are now got to 
 the 1st of February, and no one step is taken to crush this supposed rebellion : 
 yet, such being the case, I am charged with hurrying matters ; but whether 
 my conduct may be more justly charged with hurrying this business into, or 
 his Grace with hurrying it out of, the House, I believe requires no great 
 depth of penetration to discover. As to the other general objections, I pre- 
 sume it will be recollected, that the last day I submitted the proposition about 
 withdrawing the troops, I then gave notice that I would present, in a few 
 days, a plan of general reconciliation. Eleven days have since elapsed, and 
 nothing has been offered by the King's servants. Under such circumstances 
 of emergency on one side, when, perhaps, a single day may determine the 
 fate of this great empire ; and such a shameful negligence, total inattention, 
 and want of ability on the other, what was to be done ? No other alternative, 
 in my opinion, remained, but either to abandon the interests of my country, 
 and relinquish my duty, or to propose some plan, when Ministry, by their 
 inaction and silence, owned themselves incapable of proposing any. But 
 even now let them speak out, and tell me that they have a plan to lay before 
 us, and I will give them an example of candour they are by no means deserving 
 of, by instantly withdrawing the present bill. The indecent attempt to stifle 
 this measure in embryo may promise consequences the very reverse of what 
 I am certain will be the case. The friends of the present motion may flatter 
 themselves that the contents of the bill will sink into silence and be forgotten, 
 but I believe they will find the contrary. This bill, though rejected here, 
 will make its way to the public, to the nation, to the remotest wilds of 
 America ; it will, in such a course, undergo a deal of cool observation and 
 
THE EAKL OF CHATHAM. 143* 
 
 investigation ; and whatever its merits or demerits may be, it will rise or fall 
 by tbem alone ; it will, I trust, remain a monument of my poor endeavours 
 to serve my country ; and however faulty or defective, will at least manifest 
 how zealous I have been to avert the impending storms which seem ready to 
 burst on it, and for ever overwhelm it in ruin. Yet, when I consider the 
 whole case as it lies before me, I am not much astonished, I am not surprised, 
 that men who hate Hberty should detest those that prize it ; or that those 
 who want virtue themselves should endeavour to persecute those who pos- 
 sess it. Were I disposed to pursue this theme to the extent that truth 
 would fully bear me out in, I could demonstrate that the whole of your 
 political conduct has been one continued series of weakness, temerity, 
 despotism, ignorance, futility, negligence, and the most notorious servility, 
 incapacity, and corruption. On reconsideration, I must allow you one merit, 
 a strict attention to your own interests : in that view you appear sound states- 
 men and able politicians. You well know, if the present measure should 
 prevail, that you must instantly relinquish your places. I doubt much 
 whether you will be able to keep them on any terms : but sure I am, such 
 are your weU-known characters and abilities, that any plan of reconciliation, 
 however moderate, wise, and feasible, must fail in your hands. Such, then, 
 being your precarious situations, who should wonder that you can put a 
 negative on any measure which must annihilate your power, deprive you of 
 your emoluments, and at once reduce you to that state of insignificance for 
 which God and Nature designed you ?" 
 
 The motion being put, the bill was rejected by a majority of sixty-one 
 against thirty-two. His Koyal Highness the Duke of Cumberland again 
 voted in the minority. 
 
 LoED Chatham's Motion fob an Addeess to the Ckown to put 
 A Stop to Hostilities in Ameeica. 
 
 1777. On the 30th of May, Lord Chatham, the state of whose health had 
 prevented him from attending in his place in Parliament since the 1st of 
 February, 1775, appeared in the House of Lords, wrapped in flannels, and 
 supported upon crutches, and moved an address, advising his Majesty to take 
 speedy and efiectual measures for putting a stop to the unnatural war with 
 the colonies, upon the only just and solid foundation, the removal of accu- 
 mulated grievances. He spoke as follows : — 
 
 " My Lords, this is a flying moment ; perhaps but six weeks left to arrest 
 the dangers that surround us. The gathering storm may break; it has 
 already opened, and in part burst. It is difiicult for Government, after all 
 that has passed, to shake hands with defiers of the King, deflers of the Par- 
 liament, defiers of the people. I am a defier of nobody ; but if an end is not 
 
144* THE MODEEIf OBATOH. 
 
 put to this war, there is an end to this country. I do not trust my judgment 
 in my present state of health : this is the judgment of my better days — the 
 result of forty years' attention to America. They are rebels ; but for what? 
 Surely not for defending their unquestionable rights! What have these 
 rebels done heretofore ? I remember when they raised four regiments on 
 their own bottom, and took Louisbourg from the Teteran troops of France. 
 But their excesses have been great : I do not mean their panegyric ; but must 
 observe, in attenuation, the erroneous and infatuated coimsels which have 
 prevailed — the door to mercy and justice has been shut against them ; but 
 they may still be taken up upon the grounds of their former submission. 
 [^Referring to their Petition.'] I state to you the importance of America : it is 
 a double market — the market of consumption, and the market of supply. 
 This double market for millions, with naval stores, you are giving to your 
 hereditary rival. America has carried you through, four wars, and will now 
 carry you to your death, if you don't take things in time. In the sports- 
 man's phrase, when you have found yourselves at fault, you must try back. 
 You have ransacked every corner of Lower Saxony ; but forty thousand Ger- 
 man boors- never can conquer ten times the number of British freemen. You 
 may ravage — you cannot conquer ; it is impossible : you cannot conquer the 
 Americans. You talk, my Lords, of your numerous friends among them to 
 annihilate the Congress, and of your powerful forces to disperse their army : 
 I might as well talk of driving them before me with this crutch ! But what 
 would you conquer — the map of America ? I am ready to meet any general 
 officer. on the subject. [Looking at Lord Amherst.] What will you do out 
 of the protection of your fleet ? In the winter, if together, they are starved ; 
 and if dispersed, they are taken oflT in detail. I am experienced in spring 
 hopes and vernal promises : I know what Ministers throw out ; but at last 
 wiU come your equinoctial disappointment. You have got nothing in 
 America but stations. You have been three years teaching them the art of 
 war : they are apt scholars, and I will venture to tell your Lordships, that 
 the American gentry will make ofScers enough, fit to command the troops of 
 all the European powers. What you have sent there, are too many to make 
 peace — too few to make war. If you conquer them, what then ? You can- 
 not make them respect you ; you cannot make them wear your cloth : you 
 will plant an invincible hatred in their breasts against you. Coming from the 
 stock they do, they can never respect you. If Ministers are founded in saying 
 there is no sort of treaty with France, there is still a moment left ; the point 
 of honour is still safe. France must be as self-destroying as England, to 
 make a treaty while you are giving her America, at the expense of twelve 
 millions a year : the intercourse has produced every thing to France ; and 
 England, Old England, must pay for all. I have, at different times, made 
 different propositions, adapted to the circumstances in which they were 
 offered. The plan contained in the former bill is now impracticable : the 
 present motion wiU tell you where you are, and what you have now to 
 depend upon. It may produce a respectable division in America, and una- 
 
THE EARL OP CHATHAM. 145* 
 
 nimity at home : it will give America an option ; she has yet made no option. 
 You have said, lay down your arms ; and she has given you the Spartan 
 answer : ' Come, take.' " [Here he read his motion.] " ' That an humble 
 address be presented to his Majesty, most dutifully representing to his royal 
 wisdom, that this House is deeply penetrated with the view of impending 
 ruin to the kingdom, from the continuation of an unnatural war against the 
 British colonies in America ; and most humbly to advise his Majesty to take 
 the most speedy and effectual measures for putting a stop to such fatal hostili- 
 ties, upon the only just and solid foundation, namely, the removal of accumu- 
 lated grievances; and to assure his Majesty that this House will enter upon 
 this great and necessary work with cheerfulness and despatch, in order to 
 open to his Majesty the only means of regaining the affections of the British 
 colonies, and of securing to Great Britain the commercial advantages of 
 these valuable possessions ; fully persuaded that to heal and to redress will 
 be more congenial to the goodness and magnanimity of his Majesty, and 
 more prevalent over the hearts of generous and freeborn subjects, than the 
 rigours of chastisement and the horrors of a civil war, which hitherto have 
 served only to sharpen resentments and consolidate union, and, if continued, 
 must end in finally dissolving all ties between Great Britain and the 
 colonies.' " 
 
 His Lordship rose again. " The proposal," he said, " is specific. I 
 thought this so clear, that I did not enlarge upon it. I mean the redress of 
 all their grievances, and the right of disposing of their own money. This is 
 to be done instantaneously. I will get out of my bed to move it on Monday. 
 This will be the herald of peace ; this will open the way for treaty ; this will 
 show Parliament sincerely disposed. Yet still much must be left to treaty. 
 Should you conquer this people, you conquer under the cannon of France ; 
 under a masked battery then ready to open. The moment a treaty with 
 France appears, you must declare war, though you had only five ships of the 
 line in England ; but France will defer a treaty as long as possible. You are 
 now at the mercy of every little German chancery ; and the pretensions of 
 France will increase daily, so as to become an avowed party in either peace 
 or war. We have tried for unconditional submission : try what can be 
 gained by unconditional redress. Less dignity will be lost in the repeal, 
 than in submitting to the demands of German chanceries. We are the 
 aggressors. We have invaded them. We have invaded them as much as 
 the Spanish Armada invaded England. Mercy cannot do harm ; it will seat the 
 King where he ought to be, throned on the hearts of his people; and millions 
 at home and abroad, now employed in obloquy or revolt, would pray for him. 
 
 "In making his motion for addressing the King, he insisted frequently 
 and strongly on the absolute necessity of immediately making peace with 
 America. Now, he said, was the crisis, before France was a party to the 
 treaty. This was the only moment left before the fate of this country was 
 decided. The French Court, he observed, was too wise to lose the opportu- 
 nity of effectually separating America from the dominions of this kingdom. 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
146* THE 3I0DEHN 0BAT03S. 
 
 War between France and Great Britain, he said, was not less probable 
 because it had not yet been declared : it would be folly in France to declare 
 it now, while America gave full employment to our arms, and was pouring 
 into her lap her wealth and produce ; the benefit of which she was enjoying 
 in peace. He enlarged much on the importance of America to this country, 
 which, in peace and in war, he observed, he ever considered as the great 
 source of all our wealth and power. He then added (raising his voice), 
 "Your trade languishes, your taxes increase, your revenues diminish. 
 France at this moment is securing and drawing to herself that commerce 
 which created your seamen, fed your islands, &c. He reprobated the 
 measures which produced, and which had been pursued in the conduct of the 
 civil war, in the severest language ; infatuated measures giving rise, and still 
 continuing a cruel, unnatural, self-destroying war. Success, it is said, is 
 hoped for in this campaign. Why ? Because our army will be as strong 
 this year as it was last, when it was not strong enough. The notion of con- 
 quering America he treated with the greatest contempt." 
 
 After an animated debate, in which the motion was opposed by Lords 
 Gower, Lyttelton, Mansfield, and Weymouth, and the Archbishop of York ; 
 and supported by the Dukes of Grafton and Manchester, Lord Camden and 
 Shelburne, and the Bishop of Peterborough, 
 
 The Earl of Chatham again rose, and in reply to what had fallen 
 from Lord Weymouth, said : " My Lords, I perceive the noble Lord 
 neither apprehends my meaning, nor the explanation given by me to 
 the noble Earl * in the blue ribbon, who spoke early in the debate. 
 I will, therefore, with your Lordships' permission, state shortly what I meant. 
 My Lords, my motion was stated generally, that I might leave the question 
 at large to be amended by your Lordships. I did not dare to point out the 
 specific means. I drew the motion up to the best of my poor abilities ; but 
 I intended it only as the herald of conciliation, as the harbinger of peace to 
 our afilicted colonies. But as the noble Lord seems to wish for something 
 more specific on the subject, and through that medium seeks my particular 
 sentiments, I will tell your Lordships very fairly what I wish for. I wish for 
 a repeal of every oppressive act which your Lordships have passed since 1763. 
 I would put our brethren in America precisely on the same footing they stood 
 at that period. I would expect, that being left at liberty to tax themselves, 
 and dispose of their own property, they would, in return, contribute to the 
 common burthens, according to their means and abilities. I will move your 
 Lordships for a bill of repeal, as the only means left to arrest that approach- 
 ing destruction which threatens to overwhelm us. My Lords, I shall no 
 doubt hear it objected, ' Why should we submit or concede ? Has America 
 done any thing on her part to induce us to agree to so large a ground of 
 concession ?' I will tell you, my Lords, why I think you should. You have 
 been the aggressors from the beginning. I shall not trouble your Lordships 
 
 * Earl GoTver. 
 
THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 147* 
 
 with the particulars ; they have been stated and enforced by the noble and 
 learned Lord who spoke last but one (Lord Camden), in a much more able 
 and distinct manner than I could pretend to state them. If, then, we are 
 the aggressors, it is your Lordships' business to make the first overture. I 
 say again, this country has been the aggressor. You have made descents 
 upon their coasts ; )'ou have burnt their towns, plundered their country, 
 made war upon the inhabitants, confiscated their property, proscribed and 
 imprisoned their persons. I do therefore afiirm, my Lords, that instead of 
 exacting unconditional submission from the colonies, we should grant them 
 unconditional redress. We have injured them ; we have endeavoured to 
 enslave and oppress them. Upon this ground, my Lords, instead of chas- 
 tisement, they are entitled to redress. A repeal of those laws, of which 
 they complain, will be the first step to that redress. The people of America 
 look upon Parliament as the authors of their miseries ; their afiections are 
 estranged from their Sovereign. Let, then, reparation come from the hands 
 that infiicted the injuries ; let conciliation succeed chastisement ; and I do 
 maintain, that Parliament will again recover its authority ; that his Majesty 
 will he once more enthroned in the hearts of his American subjects ; and 
 that your Lordships, as contributing to so great, glorious, salutary, and be- 
 nignant a work, will receive the prayers and benedictions of every part of the 
 British empire." 
 
 The House divided : for the motion, 28 ; against it, 99. It was therefore 
 lost by a majority of 71. 
 
 Debate in the Lokds on the Address of Thanks. 
 
 Novemher 18. His Majesty opened the session with the following 
 speech : — " My Lords and Gentlemen, it is a great satisfaction to me that I 
 can have recourse to the wisdom and support of my Parliament in this con- 
 juncture, when the continuance of the rebellion in North America demands •J 
 our most serious attention. The powers which you have entrusted me with, 
 for the suppression of this revolt, have been faithfully exerted ; and I have 
 a just confidence that the conduct and courage of my ofiicers, and the spirit 
 and intrepidity of my forces, both by sea and land, will, under the blessing 
 of Divine Providence, be attended with important success : but as I am 
 persuaded that you will see the necessity of preparing for such further 
 operations as the contingencies of the war and the obstinacy of the rebels 
 may render expedient, I am, for that purpose, pursuing the proper measures 
 for keeping my land forces complete to their present establishment ; and if 
 I should have occasion to increase them, by contracting any new engage- 
 ments, I rely on your zeal and public spirit to enable me to make them 
 good. 
 
 L 2 
 
148* THE MODEBN OEATOE. 
 
 " I receive repeated assurances from foreign powers of their pacific dispo- 
 sitions. My own cannot be doubted : but, at this time, when the armaments 
 in the ports of France and Spain continue, I have thought it advisable to 
 make a considerable augmentation to my naval force, as well to keep my 
 dominions in a respectable state of security, as to provide an adequate pro- 
 tection for the extensive commerce of my subjects ; and as on the one hand 
 I am determined that the peace of Europe shall not be disturbed by me, so 
 on the other I will always be a faithful guardian of the honour of the Crown 
 of Great Britain. 
 
 " Gentlemen of the House of Commons, I have ordered the estimates for 
 the ensuing year to be laid before you. The various services which I have 
 mentioned to you will unavoidably require large supplies, and nothing could 
 relieve my mind from the concern which I feel for the heavy charge which 
 they must bring on my faithful people, but the perfect conviction that they 
 are necessary for the welfare and the essential interests of my kingdom. 
 
 " My Lords and Gentlemen, I will steadily pursue the measures in which 
 ■we are engaged for the re-establishment of that constitutional subordination, 
 which, with the blessing of God, I will maintain through the several parts of 
 my dominions ; but I shall ever be watchful for an opportunity of putting a 
 stop to the efiusion of the blood of my subjects, and the calamities which are 
 inseparable from a state of war. And I still hope that the deluded and 
 unhappy multitude will return to their allegiance ; and that the remembrance 
 of what they once enjoyed, the regret for what they have lost, and the 
 feelings of what they now suffer under the arbitrary tyranny of their leaders, 
 will rekindle in their hearts a spirit of loyalty to their Sovereign, and of 
 attachment to their mother-country ; and that they will enable me, with the 
 concurrence and support of ray Parliament, to accomplish what I shall con- 
 sider as the greatest happiness of my life, and the greatest glory of my 
 reign — the restoration of peace, order, and confidence to my American 
 colonies." 
 
 Earl Percy having moved the Address, the Earl of Chatham, soon after-' 
 wards, rose and delivered the following speech : — 
 
 " I rise, my Lords," he said, " to declare my sentiments on this most so- 
 lemn and serious subject. It has imposed a load upon my mind, which, I 
 fear, nothing can remove ; but which impels me to endeavour its alleviation, 
 by a free and unreserved communication of my sentiments. 
 
 " In the first part of the Address, I have the honour of heartily'concurring 
 with the noble Earl who moved it. No man feels sincerer joy than I do ; 
 none can offer more genuine congratulation on every accession of strength to 
 the Protestant succession : I therefore join in every congratulation on the 
 birth of- another Princess, and the happy recovery of her Majesty. But I 
 must stop here ; my courtly complaisance will carry me no further : I will 
 not join in congratulation on misfortune and disgrace : I cannot concur in a 
 blind and servile Address, which approves, and endeavours to sanctify, the 
 
THE EASL OF CHATHAM. 149* 
 
 monstrous measures that have heaped disgrace and misfortuhe upon us — that 
 have hrought ruin to our doors. This, my Lords, is a perilous and a tre- 
 mendous moment ! It is no time for adulation. The smoothness of flattery 
 cannot now avail — cannot save us in this rugged and awful crisis. It is now- 
 necessary to instruct the Throne in the language of truth. We must dispel 
 the delusion and the darkness which envelope it ; and display, in its full 
 danger and true colours, the ruin that is brought to our doors. 
 
 " This, my Lords, is our duty ; it is the proper function of this noble 
 assembly, sitting, as we do, upon our honours in this House, the hereditary 
 council of the Crown ; and who is the minister — where is the minister, that 
 has dared to suggest to the Throne the contrary unconstitutional language, 
 this day delivered from it ? The accustomed language from the Throne has 
 been application to Parliament for advice, and a reliance on its constitutional 
 advice and assistance : as it is the right of Parliament to give, so it is the 
 duty of the Crown to ask it. But on this day, and in this extreme mo- 
 mentous exigency, no reliance is reposed on our constitutional counsels ! no 
 advice is asked from the sober and enlightened care of Parliament ! But the 
 Crown, from itself, and by itself, declares an unalterable determination to 
 pursue measures — and what measures, my Lords ? The measures that have 
 produced the imminent perils that threaten us : the measures that have 
 brought ruin to our doors. 
 
 " Can the Minister of the day now presume to expect a continuance of 
 support, and in this ruinous infatuation ? Can Parliament be so dead to its 
 dignity and its duty as to be thus deluded into the loss of the one, and the 
 violation of the other? — To give an unlimited credit and support for the 
 steady perseverance in measures — that is the word and the conduct — proposed 
 for our Parliamentary advice, but dictated and forced upon us — in measures, 
 I say, my Lords, which have reduced this late flourishing empire to ruin and 
 contempt! — But yesterday, and 'Eia^ai.uA. might have stood against the world: 
 now none so poor to do her reverence. I use the words of a poet ; but though 
 it be poetry, it is no fiction. It is a shameful truth, that not only the power 
 and strength of this country are wasting away and expiring ; but that her 
 well-earned glories, her true honour, and substantial dignity, are sacrificed. 
 France, my Lords, has insulted you ; she has encouraged and sustained 
 America ; and whether America be wrong or right, the dignity of this coun- 
 try ought to spurn at the ofiicious insult of French interference. The 
 Ministers and Ambassadors of those who are called rebels and enemies are 
 in Paris ; in Paris they transact the reciprocal interests of America and 
 France. Can there be a more mortifying insult ? Can even our Ministers 
 sustain a more humiliating disgrace ? Do they dare to resent it ? Do they 
 presume even to hint a vindication of their honour, and the dignity of the 
 State, by requiring the dismissal of the plenipotentiaries of America ? Such 
 is the degradation to which they have reduced the glories of England ! The 
 people, whom they afiect to call contemptible rebels, but whose growing 
 power has at last obtained the name of enemies ; the people with whom they 
 
150* THE MODERN OBATOK. 
 
 have engaged this country in war, and against whom they now command our 
 implicit support in every measure of desperate hostility : this people, despised 
 as rebels, or acknowledged as enemies, are abetted against you, supplied 
 with every military store, their interests consulted, and their Ambassadors 
 entertained, by your inveterate enemy ! and our Ministers dare not interpose 
 with dignity or effect. Is this the honour of a great kingdom ? Is this the 
 indignant spirit of England, who, ' but yesterday,' gave law to the House of 
 Bourbon ? My Lords, the dignity of nations demands a decisive conduct in a 
 situation like this. Even when the greatest Prince that perhaps this country 
 ever saw, filled our throne, the requisition of a Spanish General, on a similar 
 subject, was attended to, and complied with ; for, on the spirited remon- 
 strance of the Duke of Alva, Elizabeth found herself obliged to deny the 
 Flemish exiles all countenance, support, or even entrance into her dominions ; 
 and the Count le Marque, with his few desperate followers, was expelled the 
 kingdom. Happening to arrive at the Brille, and finding it weak in defence, 
 they made themselves masters of the place : and this was the foundation of 
 the United Provinces. 
 
 " My Lords, this ruinous and ignominious situation, where we cannot act 
 with success, nor suffer with honour, calls upon us to remonstrate in the 
 strongest and loudest language of truth, to rescue the ear of Majesty from 
 the delusions which surround it. The desperate state of our arms abroad is 
 in part known : no man thinks more highly of them than I do : I love and 
 honour the English troops : I know their virtues and their valour : I know they 
 can achieve any thing except impossibilities ; and I know that the conquest 
 •J of English Alherica is an impossibility. You cannot, I venture to say it, you 
 CANNOT conquer America. Your armies last war effected every thing that 
 could be effected ; and what was it ? It cost a numerous army, under the 
 command of a most able general,* now a noble Lord in this House, a long 
 and laborious campaign, to expel five thousand Frenchmen from French 
 America. My Lords, you cannot conquer America. What is j'our present 
 situation there ? We do not know the worst ; but we know, that in three 
 campaigns we have done nothing, and suffered much. Besides the suffer- 
 ings, perhaps total loss, of the Northern force ;-|- the best appointed army 
 that ever took the field, commanded by Sir William Howe, has retired from 
 the American lines ; he ivas obliged to relinquish his attempt, and, with great 
 delay and danger, to adopt a new and distant plan of operations. We shall 
 soon know, and in any event have reason to lament, what may have happened 
 since. As to conquest, therefore, my Lords, I repeat, it is impossible. You 
 
 * Lord Amherst. 
 
 t TJnder General Burgoyne. This prediction of the total loss of General Bourgoyne's 
 army was too faithfully verified. While advancing from Canada to support the opera- 
 tions of General Howe, who was maicliing on Philadelphia, he was compelled by the 
 Ameiicans, under General Gates, to surrender his whole aimy, by a convention con- 
 cluded at Saratoga, October 16, 1777. The intelligence of this defeat did not reach 
 England until the beginning of December. 
 
/ 
 
 THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 151* 
 
 may swell every expense, and every effort, still more extravagantly ; pile and 
 accumulate every assistance you can buy or borrow ; traffic and barter with 
 every little pitiful German Prince, that sells and sends his subjects to the 
 shambles of a foreign country ; your efforts are for ever vain and impotent — 
 doubly so from this mercenary aid on which you rely ; for it irritates, to an 
 incurable resentment, the minds of your enemies — to overrun them with the 
 sordid sons of rapine and of plunder ; devoting them and their possessions to 
 the rapacity of hireling cruelty ! If I were an American, as I am an English- 
 man, while a foreign troop was landed in my country, I never would lay 
 down my arms, never ! never ! never ! 
 
 " Your own army is infected with the contagion of these illiberal allies. 
 The spirit of plunder and of rapine is gone forth among them. I know it — 
 and notwithstanding what the noble Earl, who moved the Address, has given 
 as his opinion of our American army, I know from authentic information, 
 and the most experienced officers, that our discipline is deeply wounded. -/ 
 Whilst this is notoriously our sinking situation, America grows and 
 flourishes ; whilst our strength and discipline are lowered, theirs are rising 
 and improving. 
 
 " But, my Lords, who is the man that, in addition to these disgraces and 
 mischiefs of our army, has dared to authorize and associate to our arms the 
 tomahawk and scalping-knife of the savage ? To call into civilized alliance '^ 
 the wild and inhuman savage of the woods ; to delegate to the merciless 
 Indian the defence of disputed rights ; and to wage the horrors of his bar- 
 barous war against our brethren ? My Lords, these enormities cry aloud for 
 redress and punishment : and unless thoroughly done away, they will be an 
 indelible stain on the national character. It is a violation of the constitution. 
 I believe it is against law. It is not the least of our national misfortunes, 
 that the strength and character of our army are thus impaired : infected with 
 the mercenary spirit of robbery and rapine — familiarized to horrid scenes of 
 savage cruelty, it can no longer boast the noble and generous principles 
 which dignify a soldier ; no longer sympathize with the dignity of the royal 
 banner, nor feel ' the pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war, that 
 make ambition virtue !' What makes ambition virtue ? The sense of ; 
 honour. But is the sense of honour consistent with a spirit of plunder, or 
 the practice of murder ? Can it flow from mercenary motives, or can it 
 prompt to cruel deeds ? Besides these murderers and plunderers, let me ask 
 our Ministers — what other allies have they acquired ? What other powers 
 have they associated to their cause ? Have they entered into alliance with 
 the King of the Gypsies ? Nothing, my Lords, is too low or too ludicrous to 
 be consistent with their counsels. 
 
 " The independent views of America have been stated and asserted as the 
 foundation of this Address. My Lords, no man wishes more for the due 
 dependence of America on this country than I do : to preserve it, and not 
 confirm that state of independence into which your measures hitherto have 
 driven them, is the object which we ought to unite in attaining. The 
 
152* THE MODEBN OEATOK. 
 
 Americans, contending for tlieir rights against arbitrary exactions, I love and 
 admire ; it is the struggle of free and Tirtuous patriots : but, contending for 
 independency and total disconnexion from England, as an Englishman, I 
 cannot wish them success ; for, in a due constitutional dependency, including 
 the ancient supremacy of this country in regulating their commerce and 
 navigation, consists the mutual happiness and prosperity both of England and 
 America. She derived assistance and protection from us, afid we reaped 
 from her the most important advantages : she was, indeed, the fountain of 
 our wealth, the nerve of our strength, the nursery and basis of our naval 
 power. It is our duty, therefore, my Lords, if we wish to save our country, 
 most seriously to endeavour the recovery of these most beneficial subjects : 
 and in this perilous crisis, perhaps the present moment may be the only one 
 in which we can hope for success ; for, in their negotiations with France, 
 they have, or think they have, reason to complain : though it be notorious 
 that they have received from that power important supplies and assistance of 
 various kinds, yet it is certain they expected it in a more decisive and imme- 
 diate degree. America is in ill humour with France, on some points that 
 have not entirely answered her expectations : let us wisely take advantage of 
 every possible moment of reconciliation. Besides, the natural disposition of 
 America herself still leans towards England — to the old habits of connexion 
 and mutual interest that united both countries. This was the established 
 sentiment of all the Continent ; and still, my Lords, in the great and principal 
 part — the sound part of America, this wise and affectionate disposition pre- 
 vails ; and there is a very considerable part of America yet sound — the middle 
 and the southern provinces : some parts may be factious and blind to their 
 true interests ; but if we express a wise and benevolent disposition to commu- 
 nicate with them those immutable rights of nature, and those constitutional 
 liberties, to which they are equally entitled with ourselves, by a conduct so 
 just and humane, we shall confirm the favourable, and conciliate the adverse. 
 I say, my Lords, the rights and liberties to which they are equally entitled 
 with ourselves, but no more. I would participate to them every enjoyment 
 and freedom which the colonizing subjects of a free state can possess, or wish 
 to possess ; and I do not see why they should not enjoy every fundamental 
 right in their property, and every original substantial liberty, which Devon- 
 shire or Surrey, or the county I live in, or any other county in England, can 
 claim ; reserving always, as the sacred right of the mother-country, the due 
 constitutional dependency of the colonies. The inherent supremacy of the 
 State, in regulating and protecting the navigation and commerce of all her 
 subjects, is necessary for the mutual benefit and preservation of every part, to 
 constitute and preserve the prosperous arrangement of the whole empire. 
 
 " The sound parts of America, of which I have spoken, must be sensible 
 of these great truths, and of their real interests. America is not in that 
 state of desperate and contemptible rebellion which this country has been 
 deluded to believe. It is not a wild and lawless banditti, who, having nothing 
 to lose, might hope to snatch something from public convulsions ; many of 
 
THE EAKL OP CHATHAk. 153* 
 
 their leaders and great men have a great stake in this great contest : — the , 
 gentleman who conducts their armies, I am told, has an estate, of four or five 
 thousand pounds a year ; and when I consider these things, I cannot hut 
 lament the inconsiderate violence of our penal acts — our declarations of trea- 
 son and rebellion, with all the fatal effects of attainder and confiscation. 
 
 " As to the disposition of foreign powers, which is asserted to be pacific 
 and friendly, let us judge, my Lords, rather by their actions and the nature 
 of things, than by interested assertions. The uniform assistance supplied 
 to America by France, suggests a different conclusion : — The most important 
 interests of France, in aggrandizing and enriching herself with what she 
 most wants, supplies of every naval store from America, must inspire her 
 with different sentiments. The extraordinary preparations of the House of / 
 Bourbon, by land and by sea, from Dunkirk to the Streights, equally ready 
 and willing to overwhelm these defenceless islands, should rouse us to a sense 
 of their real disposition, and our own danger. Not five thousand troops in 
 England ! — hardly three thousand in Ireland ! What can we oppose to the 
 combined force of our enemies ? Scarcely twenty ships of the line fully or 
 sufficiently manned, that any Admiral's reputation would permit him to take 
 the command of ! The river of Lisbon in the possession of our enemies ! 
 The seas swept by American privateers ! Our channel torn to pieces by 
 them ! In this complicated crisis of danger, weakness at home, and calamity 
 abroad, terrified and insulted by the neighbouring powers, — unable to act in 
 America, or acting only to be destroyed ; — where is the man with the fore- 
 head to promise or hope for success in such a situation ? or, from perseverance 
 in the measures that have driven us to it ? Who has the forehead to do so ? 
 Where is that man ? I should be glad to see his face. 
 
 " You cannot conciliate America by your present measures ; you cannot v'' 
 subdue her by your present, or by any measures. . What, then, can you do ? 
 You cannot conquer, you cannot gain, but you can address; you can lull the 
 fears and anxieties of the moment into an ignorance of the danger that should 
 produce them. But, my Lords, the time demands the language of truth : 
 we must not now apply the fiattering unction of servile compliance, or blind 
 complaisance. In a just and necessary war, to maintain the rights or honour 
 of my country, I would strip the shirt from my back to support it. But in 
 such a war as this, unjust in its principle, impracticable in its means, and 
 ruinous in its consequences, I would not contribute a single effort, nor a 
 single shilling. I do not call for vengeance on the heads of those who have 
 been guilty ; I only recommend them to make their retreat ; let them walk 
 off,; and let them make haste, or they may be assured that speedy and con- 
 dign punishment will overtake them. 
 
 " My Lords, I have submitted to you, with the freedom and truth which 
 I think my duty, my sentiments on your present awful situation. I have laid '' 
 before you the ruin of your power, the disgrace of your reputation, the pol- 
 lution of your discipline, the contamination of your morals, the complication 
 of calamities, foreign and domestic, that overwhelm your sinking country. 
 
154* THE MODERN OKATOK. 
 
 Your dearest interests, your own liberties, the constitution itself, totters to 
 the foundation. All this disgraceful danger, this multitude of misery, is the 
 monstrous offspring of this unnatural war. We have been deceived and 
 
 / deluded too long : let us now stop short : this is the crisis — may be the only 
 crisis, of time and situation, to give us a possibility of escape from the fatal 
 effects of our delusions. But if, in an obstinate and infatuated perseverance in 
 folly, we meanly echo back the peremptory words this day presented to us, 
 nothing can save this devoted country from complete and final ruin. We 
 madly rush into multiplied miseries and ' confusion worse confounded.' 
 " Is it possible, can it be believed, that Ministers are yet blind to this im- 
 
 v' pending destruction ? — I did hope, that instead of this false and empty vanity, 
 this overweening pride, engendering high conceits, and presumptuous imagi- 
 nations — that Ministers would have humbled themselves in their errors, 
 would have confessed and retracted them, and by an active, though a late 
 repentance, have endeavoured to redeem them. But, my Lords, since they 
 had neither sagacity to foresee, nor justice nor humanity to shun, these 
 oppressive calamities ; since not even severe experience can make them feel, 
 nor the imminent ruin of their country awaken them from their stupefaction, 
 the guardian care of Parliament must interpose. I shall therefore, my Lords, 
 
 •J propose to you an amendment to the Address to his Majesty, to be inserted 
 immediately after the two first paragraphs of congratulation on the birth of 
 a Princess : to recommend an immediate cessation of hostilities, and the 
 commencement of a treaty to restore peace and liberty to America, strength 
 and happiness to England, security and permanent prosperity to both 
 countries. This, my Lords, is yet in our power : and let not the wisdom and 
 justice of your Lordships neglect the happy, and, perhaps, the only oppor- 
 tunity. By the establishment of irrevocable law, founded on mutual rights, 
 and ascertained by treaty, these glorious enjoyments may be firmly perpe- 
 tuated. And let me repeat to your Lordships, that the strong bias of 
 America, at least of the wiser and sounder parts of it, naturally inclines to 
 this happy and constitutional reconnexion with you. Notwithstanding the 
 temporary intrigues with France, we may still be assured of their ancient 
 and confirmed partiality to us. America and France cannot be congenial ; 
 
 V there is something decisive and confirmed in the honest American, that will 
 not assimilate to the futility and levity of Frenchmen. 
 
 "My Lords, to encourage and confirm that innate inclination to this 
 country, founded on every principle of affection, as well as consideration of 
 interest — to restore that favourable disposition into a permanent and powerful 
 reunion with this country — to revive the mutual strength of the empire ; — 
 again, to awe the House of Bourbon, instead of meanly truckling, as our 
 present calamities compel us, to every insult of French caprice and Spanish 
 punctilio — to re-establish our commerce — to re-assert our rights and our 
 honour — to confirm our interests, and renew our glories for ever, (a consum- 
 mation most devoutly to be endeavoured ! and which, I trust, may yet arise 
 from reconciliation with America,) — I have the honour of submitting to you 
 
THE EAEL OP CHATHAM. 155* 
 
 the following amendment ; which I move to be inserted after the two first 
 paragraphs of the Address : — 
 
 " ' And that this House does most humbly advise and supplicate his 
 Majesty to be pleased to cause the most speedy and effectual measures to 
 be taken for restoring peace in America ; and that no time may be lost in 
 proposing an immediate cessation of hostilities there, in order to the opening 
 a treaty for the final settlement of the tranquillity of these invaluable pro- 
 vinces, by a removal of the unhappy causes of this ruinous civil war ; and by 
 a just and adequate security against the return of the like calamities in times 
 to come. And this House desire to offer the most dutiful assurances to his 
 Majesty, that they will, in due time, cheerfully co-operate with the magna- 
 nimity and tender goodness of his Majesty for the preservation of his people, 
 by such explicit and most solemn declarations, and provisions of fundamental 
 and irrevocable laws, as may be judged necessary for the ascertaining and 
 fixing for ever the respective rights of Great Britain and her colonies.' " ^^ 
 In the course of the debate, the Earl of Suffolk, Secretary of State for the 
 Northern department, undertook to defend the employment of the Indians in 
 the war. His Lordship contended, that, besides its policy and necessity, the 
 measure was also allowable on principle ; for that " it was perfectly justifiable 
 to use all the means that God and nature put into our hands." 
 
 The Earl of Chatham again rose: "I am astonished!" exclaimed his 
 Lordship, as he rose from his seat, " shocked ! to hear such principles con- 
 fessed, to hear them avowed in this House, or even in this country ; principles 
 equally unconstitutional, inhuman, and unchristian ! 
 
 " My Lords, I did not intend to have trespassed again upon your attention, 
 but I cannot repress my indignation — I feel myself impelled by every duty. 
 My Lords, we are called upon as members of this House, as men, as Christian 
 men, to protest against such notions, standing near the throne, polluting the 
 ear of Majesty. 'That God and nature put into our hands !' I know not 
 what ideas that Lord may entertain of God and nature ; but I know, that 
 such abominable principles are equally abhorrent to religion and humanity. 
 — What ! attribute the sacred sanction of God and nature to the massacres 
 of the Indian scalping-knife — to the cannibal savage, torturing, murdering, 
 roasting, and eating; literally, my Lords, eating the mangled victims of 
 his barbarous battles ! Such horrible notions shock every precept of religion, 
 revealed or natural, and every generous feeling of humanity ; and, my Lords, 
 they shock every sentiment of honour ; they shock me as a lover of honour- 
 able war, and a detester of murderous barbarity. 
 
 " These abominable principles, and this more abominable avowal of them, 
 demand most decisive indignation. I call upon that Right Reverend Bench, 
 those holy ministers of the gospel, and pious pastors of our Church ; I conjure 
 them to join in the holy work, and to vindicate the religion of their God. I 
 appeal to the wisdom and the law of this Learned Bench to defend and 
 support the justice of their country. I call upon the Bishops to interpose 
 the unsullied sanctity of their lawn ; upon the learned Judges to interpose 
 
156* THE MODERN OBATOK. 
 
 the purity of their ermine, to save us from this pollution. I call upon the 
 honour of your Lordships to reverence the dignity of your ancestors, and to 
 maintain your own. I call upon the spirit and humanity of my country to 
 '^ vindicate the national character. I invoke the genius of the constitution. 
 From the tapestry that adorns these walls, the immortal ancestor* of this 
 nohle Lord frowns with indignation at the disgeace of his cotrNTKY ! 
 In vain he led your victorious fleets against the boasted Armada of Spain ; 
 in vain he defended and established the honour, the liberties, the religion, 
 the Protestant religion of his country, against the arbitrary cruelties of Popery 
 and the Inquisition, if these more than popish cruelties and inquisitorial 
 practices are let loose amongst us, to turn forth into our settlements, 
 among our ancient connexions, friends, and relations, the merciless cannibal, 
 thirsting for the blood of man, woman, and child — to send forth the infidel 
 savage — agains? whom ? Against your Protestant brethren ; to lay waste 
 their country, to desolate their dwellings, and extirpate their race and name 
 with these horrible hell-hounds of savage war ! — hell-hounds, I say, of savage 
 war! Spain armed herself with blood-hounds to extirpate the wretched 
 natives of America; and we improve on the inhuman example of even 
 Spanish cruelty : we turn loose these savage hell-hounds against our brethren 
 and countrymen in America, of the same language, laws, liberties, and 
 religion ; endeared to us by every tie that should sanctify humanity. 
 
 " My Lords, this awful subject, so important to our honour, our con- 
 stitution, and our religion, demands the most solemn and effectual inquiry. 
 And I again call upon your Lordships, and the united powers of the State, to 
 examine it thoroughly and decisively, and to stamp upon it an indelible 
 stigma of the public abhorrence. And I again implore those holy prelates of 
 our religion to do away these iniquities from among us. Let them perform 
 a lustration ; let them purify this House and this country from this sin. 
 
 " My Lords, I am old and weak, and at present unable to say more ; but 
 
 my feelings and my indignation were too strong to have said less. I could 
 
 not have slept this night in my bed, or have reposed my head on my pillow, 
 
 \/ without giving this vent to my eternal abhorrence of such preposterous and 
 
 enormous principles." 
 
 The amendment was rejected by 97 to 28.* 
 
 * Lord Howard of Effingham, who commanded the English fleet opposed to the 
 Spanish Armada, and &om whom the Earl of Suffolk was descended. The tapestry 
 in the House of Lords represented the defeat and dispersion of the Spanish Armada 
 in 1588. This nohle trophy was wrought in HoUand, at the expense of Lord Howard 
 of Effingham, afterwards created Earl of Nottingham ; hut it was not tiU 1660, 
 during the Commonwealth, that it was ordered to be hung up in the House of Lords 
 at that time used for Committees of the House of Commons. In October 1834 
 the' tapestry fell a, sacri&oe to the fire which destroyed the two Houses of Parlia- 
 ment. 
 
 t In the course of the above debate, Earl Gower charged Lord Chatham with con- 
 demning what he had himself formerly authorized, and added, that Indians had been 
 
THE EAKt OF CHATHAM. 157* 
 
 The Dtjke op Richmond's Motion toe an iNQiriET into the 
 State op the Nation. 
 
 On the 2nd of December, the Duke of Richmond moved for an inquiry 
 into the state of the nation. In times like those, he said, the country had a 
 right to be informed of the true state of affairs, and it was the duty of 
 Parliament to afford such information. He wished that the country should 
 be apprised of what the war, so far as it had gone, had cost us in blood and 
 treasure. He wished to inquire into the conduct of that war, and the 
 measures which had been taken for the restoration of peace. For these 
 purposes he should move that several accounts and papers be laid before the 
 House. And that there might be time to weigh them, he now moved their 
 Lordships to resolve that the House should take into consideration the state 
 of the nation on Monday, the 2nd of February next. 
 
 After some observations from the Earl of Suffolk, the Duke of Richmond 
 said that he wished for no information involving disclosures dangerous to the 
 country. His proposed motions were of a retrospective nature, calculated to 
 call forth matter which was already known to our enemies. His Gfrace then 
 moved for the returns of the Army and Navy in Ireland and America. 
 
 These motions being all agreed to, the Earl of Chatham rose and said : — 
 
 " I most cheerfully testify my approbation of the motions now made by 
 the noble Duke : and am firmly persuaded that they have originated in the 
 most exalted motives ; nor am I less pleased with the very candid reception 
 
 employed by us during the last war in America. Lord Chatliam admitted that he 
 knew of their employment ; but denied that any act of his had sanctioned their being 
 engaged, except for the necessary purposes of war. Lord Amherst, on being appealed 
 to by Lord Chatham, confessed that they had been employed by the !Prench and by 
 oixrselves. (Pari. Hist. vol. xix. pp. 410, 411. But see Lord Brougham's Sketches of 
 Statesmen, vol, i. Appendix IE.) In a despatch from Sir Wm. Johnson, dated 
 October 24, 1760j in which he details his personal services, and expresses a desire to 
 be relieved from his fatiguing duties, as agent and superintendent of the Northern 
 Lidians, he says, " After General Prideaux's death, the command devolving on me, 
 I did my utmost to employ the Indiaois in gaining me such intelligence as was of the 
 greatest service, having prevented our being surprised ; the consequence of which was 
 the Fort of Niagara capitulated." And again, after stating that the intrigues of the 
 French had caused many of the Indians to leave, he says, " There stiU remained 
 enough to answer bur piu^iose, and bring us constant intelligence'' And Lord Chatham, 
 (then Mr. Pitt), writing to General Amherst, on the same day, desires him "to 
 acquaint his Majesty's faithful Indian allies, under Sir William Johnson, with the just 
 sense the King entertained of the spirit and perseverance they had exerted on all 
 occasions in his service, and that his Majesty had learnt, with sensible pleasure, that 
 by the good order kept by Sir William Johnson among the Indians, no act of cruelty 
 had stained the lustre of the British arms. — Chatham Correspondence, vol. iv. p. 477. 
 Thackeray's History of the Earl of Chatham, vol. i. p. 482. Vide post, pp. 165», 166», 
 and note f. 
 
158* THE MOBEEN OEATOE. 
 
 they have met with from your Lordships. I think they will draw forth a 
 great mass of useful information ; hut as to those respecting the state of our 
 military strength, there appears something yet wanting to render them com- 
 plete. Nothing has been offered which may lead to inform us of the actual 
 state of the garrisons of Gibraltar and Minorca, those two very important 
 fortresses, which have hitherto enabled us to maintain our superiority in the 
 Mediten'anean, and one of them (Gibraltar), situated on the very continent 
 of Spain, the best proof of our naval power, and the only solid check on that 
 of the House of Bourbon ; yet those two important fortresses are left to 
 chance, and the pacific dispositions of France and Spain, as the only pro- 
 tection ; we hold them but by sufferance. I know them to be in a defence- 
 less state. None of your Lordships are ignorant that we lost Mahon at the 
 commencement of the last war. It was indeed a fatal disaster, as it exposed 
 the trade and commerce of the Mediterranean to the ravages of our inveterate 
 and then powerful enemies. My Lords, such was the light the acquisition of 
 that fortress was looked upon when it was first taken, that the Duke of 
 Marlborough, who was no great penman, but who employed a secretary to 
 draw up his despatches, in answer to the letter from the able general and 
 consummate statesman who conquered it, (the father of my noble relation 
 now in my eye, Earl Stanhope,*) trusted the despatch to the secretary, but 
 added a postscript in his own handwriting, where he recommended parti- 
 cularly to the victorious general, to by no means neglect putting that fortress 
 in the best possible state of defence, and to garrison it with natives, and not 
 foreigners. When I had the honour, soon after it fell into the hands of the 
 French, to be called into the councils of the late King, I never lost sight of 
 that circumstance. Gibraltar still remained in our hands : and the war in 
 Germany, which Parliament thought fit to engage in, and bind themselves to, 
 before I came into office ; though we were carrying on the most extensive 
 operations in America ; though the coast of Africa, and the West India Islands, 
 required a suitable force to protect them ; and though these kingdoms called 
 for a proportionate army, not only to act defensively, but offensively on the 
 coasts of our enemies ; notwithstanding all those pressing services, my Lords, 
 having the counsel of that great man constantly in view, it determined me, 
 that whatever demands, or how much soever such troops might be wanting 
 elsewhere, that Gibraltar should never want a full and adequate defence. I 
 never had, my Lords, less than eight battalions to defend it. I think a bat- 
 talion was then about eight hundred strong. So that, my Lords, I affirm 
 that Gibraltar was never trusted to a garrison of less than six thousand men. 
 My Lords, this force was, as it were, locked up in that fortress during the 
 whole of the late war ; nor could any appearance of the most urgent neces- 
 sity induce me to weaken it. My Lords, I know that the very weak and 
 defenceless state of these islands does not seem to admit of any troops being 
 spared from the home defence ; but, my Lords, give me leave to say, that 
 
 * Minorca was taken on the 18th of September, 1708, by General Stanhope. 
 
THE EAKL or CHATHAM. 159* 
 
 whatever reluctance or disgust there may have appeared in several veteran 
 and able Generals to the service, where the tomahawk and scalping-knife 
 were to be the warlike instruments employed as the engines of destruction, 
 I am convinced there are many, some of whom I have in my eye,* who 
 would, with ardour and alacrity, accept of any command, where the true 
 honour, interest, and safety of their country were concerned. My Lords, 
 the moment is arrived when this spirit should be exerted. Gibraltar is ,, 
 garrisoned by Hanoverians. I am told, if any accident should happen to the 
 present commanding officer there, that the care of the fortress, and the com- 
 mand of the troops, would devolve on a foreigner. I do not recollect his 
 name, but this is my information ; and if I do not hear it contradicted, 
 I must take it for granted. I am well authorized to say, my Lords, that such 
 is the present defenceless state of Gibraltar, that there is not a second relief 
 in case of an attack ; not men sufficient to man the works, while those 
 fatigued with service and watching go to refresh, eat, or sleep ; though 
 Germany and the wilds of America have been ransacked for the purpose. 
 
 " My Lords, we should not want men in a good cause ; and nothing ought 
 to be left untried to procure them. I remember, soon after the period I shall 
 take the liberty to remind your Lordships of, after an unnatural rebellion had 
 been extinguished in the northern part of this island, men not fighting for 
 liberty, or the constitution of their country, but professedly to annihilate 
 both, as advocates for popery, slavery, and arbitrary power ; not like our 
 brethren in America, Whigs in principle, and heroes in conduct : I remember, 
 I say, my Lords, that I employed these very rebels in the service and defence 
 of their country. They were reclaimed by this means ; they fought our 
 battles ; they cheerfully bled in defence of those liberties which they attempted 
 to overthrow but a few years before. "What, then, do your Lordships imagine 
 would be the effect of a similar conduct towards the Whigs and freemen of 
 America, whom you call rebels ? Would it not, think you, operate in like 
 manner ? They would fight your battles ; they would cheerfully bleed for 
 you ; they would render you superior to all your foreign enemies ; they would 
 bear your arms triumphant to every quarter of the globe. You have, I fear, 
 lost the affection, the good-will of this people, by employing mercenary ^ 
 Germans to butcher them ; by spiriting up the savages of America to scalp 
 them with a tomahawk. My Lords, I would have you consider, should this 
 war be pushed to extremities, the possible consequences. It is no further 
 from America to England than from England to America. If conquest is to / 
 be the issue, we must trust to that issue, and fairly abide by it. 
 
 " The noble Earl at the head of the Admiralty, the last night I had the 
 honour to address your Lordships, contradicted me when I asserted we had 
 not above twenty ships of the line fit to proceed to sea (on actual service), 
 at a short warning. I again repeat the assertion, though I gave it up at that 
 time, on account of the plausibility and confidence with which the fact was 
 
 * His Lordship was supposed to allude to the Lords Townshend and Amherst. 
 
160* THE MODERN OEATOK. 
 
 asserted. I now say, there are not above twenty ships of the line, on which 
 any naval officer of eminence and skill in his profession would stake his 
 credit. The noble Earl in office said, there were thirty-five ships of the line 
 fit for sea ; but acknowledged that there was a deficiency of near three 
 thousand of the complements necessary to proceed upon actual service. How 
 did the noble Earl propose to fill up that deficiency ? By supemumeries, by 
 transfers, by recruits, &c. Will the noble Earl say, that twenty, one thousand 
 is a full war complement for thirty-five ships of the line ? or will he under- 
 take to assure this House (even allowing for those odds and ends), that the 
 ships will be properly manned by the numbers now actually on board ? But 
 if every particular fact, stated by the noble Earl, be precisely as he would 
 persuade your Lordships to believe ; will his Lordship pretend to affirm that 
 thirty-five ships of the line, or even forty-two, (the highest number that his 
 Lordship ventured to affirm,) would, in case of a rupture with the House of 
 Bourbon, be sufficient for all the purposes of ofience, defence, and protection ? 
 I am sure his Lordship wUl not. A fleet in the Channel ; one in the Western 
 Sea ; another in the West Indies ; and one in the Mediterranean ; besides 
 convoys and cruisers, to protect our commerce and annoy our enemies. I say, 
 my Lords, that thirty-five ships of the line would be necessary for the pro- 
 tection of our trade and fortresses in the Mediterranean alone. We must be 
 equal to the combined force of France and Spain in that sea, or we need not 
 send a single ship there. Ships must be stationed to command respect from the 
 powers on the coast of Barbary, and to prevent their piracies on our merchant 
 vessels. We must have a superior fleet in the Western Sea likewise, and we 
 must have one in the Channel equal to the defence of our own coast. 
 
 " These were the ideas which prevailed when I had the honour of assisting 
 in the British councils, and at all other preceding periods of naval hostility 
 since the Revolution. My Lords, if Lord Anson was capable of the high 
 office the noble Earl now presides in, the noble Earl is certainly mistaken in 
 saying that thirty-five or fifty-five ships of the line are equal to the several 
 services now enumerated. That great naval commander gave in a list, at one 
 time, of eighty-four thousand seamen actually on the books. It is well 
 worthy your Lordships' inquiry, to know what are the present number. The 
 motion made by the noble Duke leads to that inquiry, and meets my warmest 
 approbation ; but that we may have every necessary information, I recom- 
 mend to my noble friend to amend his motion by extending it to Gibraltar 
 and Mahon. I do not wish to have anything disclosed at present which may 
 tend to expose the weak state of those fortresses ; but I think it is incumbent 
 on your Lordships to learn their strength, in point of numbers of men ; and 
 to know how the fact stands relative to the possibility of the command of 
 Gibraltar devolving on a foreigner, in case of any accident happening to the 
 officer who now commands there." 
 
 After the Earl of SandwicTi and Viscount Townshend had spoken in 
 answer to Lord Chatham, the Duke of Richmond, adopting the recommenda- 
 tion of his Lordship, moved for " Copies of the last monthly returns of his 
 
THE EAHL OF CHATHAM. 161* 
 
 Majesty's forces, as well foreign as Britisli, in Gibraltar and Minorca." This 
 renewed the debate, which, after a fresh motion had been brought forward 
 and withdrawn by the Duke of Bolton, ended in the concurrence of the Peers 
 in a motion of the Duke of Grafton for " Such papers as relate to the fulfil- 
 ling that part of the Capture Act, so far as it empowered certain persons to 
 declare any colony, province, city, town, precinct, port or place, at the peace 
 of his Majesty : with a return of such colony, &c., which, since the passing of 
 the above act, may be declared at the peace of his Majesty." 
 
 V 
 
 The Eaei of Chatham's Motion foe Geneual BtTKGOTNE's Orders 
 AND Instkuctions. 
 
 December 5. The Earl of Chatham rose. His Lordship began with 
 remarking that " the King's speech at the opening of the session conveyed 
 a general information of the measures intended to be pursued ; and looked 
 forward to the probable occurrences which might be supposed to happen and 
 affect the great bodies to whom they were addressed : and, of course, the 
 nation at large, who were finally interested. He had the last speech from 
 the Throne now in his hand, and a deep sense of the public calamity in his 
 heart. They would both co-operate to enforce and justify the measure he 
 meant to propose. He was sorry to say, the speech contained a very unfaith- 
 ful picture of the state of public affairs. This assertion was unquestionable ; 
 not a noble Lord in administration would dare rise, and even so much as 
 controvert the fact. The speech held out a specious outside — was full of 
 hopes ; yet it was manifest, that every thing within and without, foreign and 
 domestic, was full of danger, and calculated to inspire the most melancholy 
 forebodings. His Lordship hoped that this sudden call for their Lordships' 
 attention would be imputed to its true motive, a desire of obtaining their 
 assistance in such a season of difficulty and danger ; a season in which, he 
 would be bold to maintain, a single moment was not to be lost. It was cus- 
 tomary, he said, for that House to offer an address of condolence to his ^ 
 Majesty upon any public misfortune, as well as one of congratulation on any 
 public success. If this was the usage of Parliament, he never recollected a 
 period at which such an address became more seasonable or necessary than 
 at present. If what was acknowledged in the other House was true, he was 
 astonished that some public notice was not taken of the sad, the melancholy 
 disaster. The report was, the fact was acknowledged by persons in high / 
 authority,* that General Burgoyne and his army were surrounded, and 
 obliged to surrender themselves prisoners of war to the Provincials. He 
 should take the account of this calamitous event, as now stated, and argue 
 upon it as a matter universally allowed to be true. He then lamented the 
 fate of Mr. Burgoyne in the most pathetic terms ; and said, that gentleman's 
 
 * Lords Germaine and North, in the House of Commons, on the 3rd of December, 
 admitted that intelligence had been received from Quebec, although not of an official 
 character, of the surrender of General Burgoyne's army. 
 
 vol.. I. M 
 
162* THE MODEEN OEATOK. 
 
 character, the glory of the British arms, and the dearest interests of this un- 
 done, disgraced country, had been all sacrificed to the ignorance, temerity, 
 and incapacity of Ministers. Appearances, he observed, were indeed dread- 
 ful ; he was not sufficiently informed to decide on the extent of the numerous 
 evils with which we were surrounded, but they were clearly sufficient to give 
 just cause of alarm to the most confident or callous heart. He spoke with 
 great candour of General Burgoyne ; he might, or might not, be an able officer ; 
 but by every thing .he could learn, his fate was not proportioned to his merit : ■ 
 
 ^ he might have received orders it was not in his power to execute. Neither 
 should he condemn Ministers ; they might have instructed him wisely ; he 
 might have executed his instructions faithfully and judiciously, and yet he 
 might have miscarried. There are many events which the greatest human 
 foresight cannot provide against ; it was on that ground, therefore, he meant 
 to frame his motion. The fact was acknowledged ; the General had mis- 
 carried. It might not have been his fault ; it might not be that of his em- 
 ployers or instructors. To know where the fault lay, he was desirous of 
 
 ~^ having the orders given to General Burgoyne laid before the House. So 
 much of the plan at home had, however, transpired, as justified him in 
 affirming that the measures were founded in weakness, barbarity, and inhu- 
 manity. Savages had been employed to carry ruin and devastation among 
 
 *' our subjects in America. The tomahawk and scalping-knife were put into 
 the hands of the most brutal and ferocious of the human species. Was this 
 honourable war ? Was it the means which God and nature [alluding to 
 what had fallen from Lord Sufiblk on the opening of the session], put into 
 the hands of Englishmen, to assert their rights over our colonies, and to 
 procure their obedience, and conciliate their afiection ? His Lordship spoke 
 in the most pointed terms of the system introduced within the last fifteen 
 years at St. James's ; of breaking all connexion, of extinguishing all principle. 
 A few men had got an ascendency, where no man should have a personal 
 ascendency, by the executive powers of the State being at their command ; 
 they had been furnished with the means of creating divisions. This brought 
 pliable men, not capable men, into the highest and most responsible situa- 
 tions ; and to such men was the Government of this once glorious empire 
 now entrusted. The spirit of delusion had gone forth ; the Ministers had 
 imposed on the people ; Parliament had been induced to sanctify the imposi- 
 tion; false lights had been held out to the country gentlemen : they had been 
 
 ■' seduced into the support of a most destructive war, under the impression 
 
 that the Land-tax would be diminished, by the means of an American 
 
 revenue. The visionary phantom, thus conjured up for the basest of all 
 
 , purposes, that of deception, was now about to vanish. He condemned the 
 
 V contents of the speech in the bitterest terms of reproach. He said it abounded 
 with absurdity and contradiction. In one part it recommended vigorous 
 measures, pointing to conquest, or unconditional submission ; while in 
 another, it pretended to say, that peace was the real object, as soon as the 
 deluded multitude should return to their allegiance. This, his Lordship con- 
 tended, was the grossest and most insolent delusion. It was by this strange 
 
THE EAHl OF CHATHAM. 163* 
 
 mixture of firmness and pretended candour, of cruelty and mercy, justice and 
 iniquity, that this infatuated nation had been all along misled. 
 
 " His Lordship returned to the situation of General Burgoyne,- and paid 
 him, indeed, very high compliments. He said, his abilities were confessed ; 
 his personal bravery not surpassed ; his zeal in the service unquestionable. 
 He experienced no pestilence, nor suffered any of the accidents which some- 
 times supersede the most wise and spirited exertions of human industry. 
 What then, says his Lordship, is the great cause of his misfortune ? Want 
 of wisdom in our council, want of ability in our Ministers. His Lordship / 
 laid the whole blame on Ministers : it was their duty to shield that ill-treated 
 officer from the temporary obloquy he must suffer under, till he had an 
 opportunity to justify himself in person. His motion bore no personal rela- 
 tion to the conduct of that able but abused officer ; it was meant to be solely 
 pointed to draw forth those instructions, which were the cause of his defeat 
 and captivity. General Burgoyne was subject to the events of war ; so was 
 every other man who bore a command in time of war ; for his part, when he 
 was in office, he never attempted to cover his own incapacity, by throwing the 
 blame on others ; on the contrary, he gave them every support and becoming 
 countenance in his power. 
 
 " His Lordship condemned the plan of operations, which he insisted was \' 
 sent from hence, that of penetrating into the colonies from Canada. It was 
 a most wild, uncombined, and mad project ; it was full of difficulty ; and 
 though success had declared in our favour, would have been a wanton waste 
 of blood and treasure. He next animadverted upon the mode of carrying on j 
 the war, which he said was the most bloody, barbarous, and ferocious, re- 
 corded in the annals of mankind. He contrasted the fame and renown we 
 gained the last war, with the feats and disgraces of the present ; " then," he 
 said, " we arrived at the highest pinnacle of glory ; now we had sullied and 
 tarnished the arms of Britain for ever, by employing savages in our service, 
 by drawing them up in a British line, and mixing the scalping-knife and 
 tomahawk with the sword and firelock. The horror he felt was so great, 
 that, had it fallen to his lot to serve in an army where such cruelty was per- 
 mitted, he believed, in his conscience, he would sooner mutiny than consent 
 to serve with such barbarians. Such a mode of warfare was, in his opinion, 
 a contamination — a pollution, of our national character ; a stigma which all 
 the water of the rivers Delaware and Hudson would never wash away : it 
 would rankle in the breast of America, and sink so deep into it, that he was 
 almost certain they would never forget nor forgive the horrid injury." 
 
 His Lordship observed, " that similar instructions relative to the Indians ^ 
 had been imputed to him. He disclaimed the least recollection of having "* 
 given any such instructions ; and in order to ascertain the matter, so as to 
 remove any ground of future altercation on the subject, he called upon the 
 Administration to produce the orders, if any such had been given. 
 
 " We had," he said, " swept every corner of Germany for men : we had 
 searched the darkest wilds of America for the scalping-knife; but those 
 
 t ii 2 
 
164* THE MODERN ORATOE. 
 
 bloody measures being as weak as they were wicked, he recommended that 
 instant orders might be sent to call home the first, and disband the other — 
 J indeed, to withdraw our troops entirely ; for peace, he was certain, would 
 never be efiepted as long as the German bayonet and Indian scalping-knife 
 were threatened to be buried in the bowels of our American brethren. Such 
 an expectation was foolish, absurd, and mad. The colonies must consider us 
 as friends, before they will ever consent to treat with us : a formal acknow- 
 ledgment of our errors, and a renunciation of our unjust, ill-founded, and 
 oppressive claims, must precede every the least attempt to conciliate. He 
 declared himself an avowed enemy to American independency : he was a 
 Whig ; and though he utterly, from his heart, abhorred the system of govern- 
 ment attempted to be carried into execution in America, he as earnestly and 
 zealously contended for a Whig government, and a Whig connexion between 
 both countries, founded in a constitutional dependence and subordination. 
 
 His Lordship recurred to the melancholy momentous situation of public 
 afiairs in general. He said, " America was lost, even by the accounts which 
 Administration in the Gazette had thought proper to impart. General 
 -^. Washington proved himself three times an abler general than Sir William 
 Howe ; for, with a force much inferior in number, and infinitely inferior in 
 every other respect, as asserted from an authority not to be questioned 
 [Lord G. Germaine], he had been able to bafiie every attempt of ours, and 
 left us in such a situation, that, if not assisted by our fieet, our troops in the 
 neighbourhood of Philadelphia must probably share the same unhappy fate 
 with those under General Burgoyne. He condemned the motives and the 
 ■J conduct of the war in terms the most pointed and energetic ; and compared 
 the situation of this country to that brought on his dominions by the Duke 
 of Burgundy, surnamed the Bold : — a Prince of the House of Savoy had his 
 property seized by the former ; the injured Prince would not submit ; war 
 was determined on ; and the object strongly resembled the paltry pretence 
 on which we had armed, and had carried fire, sword, and devastation through 
 every corner of America. The seizure was about a cargo of skins ; he would 
 have them, but the Prince of Saumur would not submit. The Duke was 
 conjured not to go to war, but he persisted ; 'Ae was determined steadily to 
 pursue the same measures ;' he marched against ' the deluded multitude,^ * but 
 at last gave one instance of his magnanimity, by imputing his misfortunes to 
 his own obstinacy ; ' because,' said he, ' this was owing to my not submitting 
 to be well advised.' The case of the Duke of Burgundy was applicable 
 to England : Ministers had undertaken a rash enterprise, without wisdom to 
 plan, or ability to execute. 
 
 " What had occasioned, since last war, the rise in the value of English 
 "* estates ? America, which he now feared was for ever lost. She had been 
 the great support of this country ; she had produced millions ; she afibrded 
 soldiers and sailors ; she had given our manufacturers employment, and en- 
 riched our merchants. The gentlemen of landed property would probably 
 feel this ; for, when commerce fails — when new burdens are incurred — when 
 * Alluding to expfessions in the King's speech. 
 
THE BAEL OF CHATHAM. 165* 
 
 the means by which those burdens were lightened are no more, the land- 
 owner will feel the double pressure of heavy taxes ; he will find them doubled 
 m the first instance, and his rents proportionably decreased. But for what 
 had we sacrificed all those advantages ? The pursuit of a pepper-corn ! * '' 
 And how did we treat America ? Petitions rejected — complaints unanswered 
 — dutiful representations treated with contempt — an attempt to establish 
 despotism on the ruins of constitutional liberty; measures to enforce taxation 
 by the point of the sword. Ministers had insidiously betrayed us into a war ; 
 and what were its fruits ? Let the sad catastrophe which had befallen Mr. 
 Burgoyne speak the success. 
 
 " In the course of his speech he adverted to the language and Tory 
 doctrine held in print, and in that House, by a most reverend prelate : f and 
 he trusted he should yet see the day when those pernicious doctrines would 
 be deeemed libellous, and treated as such. They were the doctrines of 
 Atterbury and Sacheverel. As a Whig, he should never endure them ; and 
 he doubted not the author or authors would sufier that degree of censure 
 and punishment which they so justly deserved. 
 
 "After recommending measures of peace instead of measures of blood, and 
 promising to co-operate in every proposition calculated to put a stop to the effu- 
 sion of the one, and to promote the other, his Lordship moved, ' That an humble 
 address be presented to his Majesty, most humbly beseeching his Majesty 
 that he will be graciously pleased to order the proper oflScers to lay before this 
 House copies of all orders and instructions to Lieutenant-General Burgoyne, 
 relative to that part of his Majesty's forces in America under his command.' "^ 
 
 The motion was negatived by 40 to 19. After which Lord Chatham 
 moved for copies of all orders and instructions to Lieutenant-General Bur- ^' 
 goyne, for employing any of the Indian savage nations against the inhabitants 
 of the British colonies in North America. 
 
 Earl Gower could not avoid mentioning one thing, which was the wonderful 
 inconsistency in the conduct of the noble mover. In a previous debate, the 
 noble Earl had acknowledged that Indians were employed in the King's 
 service in America during his administration,! ^^^ ^°^ ^® reprehended the 
 practice as derogatory to the honour of the nation. 
 
 The Earl of Chatham then rose, and reproached the noble Lord with 
 petulance and malignant misrepresentation. The observation he made in the 
 debate alluded to was, that Indians had, indeed, crept into the service, from 
 the utility which the officers found them of in several of their enterprises ; 
 but that their employment had never been sanctioned by him in his official 
 capacity. He believed his late Majesty had too much regard for the military ,> 
 dignity of his people, and also too much humanity, to agree to such a 
 proposal, had it ever been made to him. And he called upon Lord Amherst 
 to declare the truth. 
 
 Lord Amherst reluctantly confessed that Indians had been employed on 
 
 * Vide ante, pp. 69, 77, n. 
 
 t Dr. Markam, the Archbishop of York. See Pari. Hist. vol. six. p. 348. 
 
 t Vide ante, p. 156», n. f 
 
166* THE MODEKN OBATOR. 
 
 both sides ; the French employed them first, he said, and we followed the 
 example. He added that he should not have ventured to do so, if he had 
 not received orders to that purpose.* 
 
 The motion of Lord Chatham was rejected by the same majority as the 
 preceding one.f 
 
 The Eael of Oxfoed's Motion oe Adjottenment. 
 
 On the 11th of December a motion was made by the Earl of Oxford to 
 adjourn to the 20th January, 1778. This long adjournment was opposed 
 by the Earl of Chatham, who said : 
 
 " My Lords, it is not with less grief than astonishment that I hear the 
 motion now made by the noble Earl, at a time when the afiairs of this 
 country present, on every side, prospects of awe, terror, and impending 
 danger ; when, I will be bold to say, events of a most alarming tendency, 
 little expected or foreseen, will shortly happen ; when a cloud, that may 
 crush this nation, and bury it in destruction for ever, is ready to burst and 
 overwhelm us. At so tremendous a season, it does not become your Lord- 
 ships, the great hereditary council of the nation, to neglect your duty ; to 
 retire to your country seats for six weeks, in quest of joy and merriment,- 
 while the real state of public afiairs calls for grief, mourning, and lamentation, 
 at least, for the fullest exertions of your wisdom. It is your duty, my Lords, 
 as the grand hereditary council of the nation, to advise your Sovereign — to 
 be the protectors of your country — to feel your own weight and authority. 
 As hereditary counsellors, as members of this House, you stand between the 
 Crown and the people ; you are nearer the Throne than the other branch of 
 the legislature, and it is your duty to supplicate and counsel, to surround and 
 protect it : you hold the balance, your duty is to see that the weights are 
 properly poised, that the balance remains even, that neither may encroach on 
 
 • See Pari. Hist. vol. xix. p. 507, et seq. 
 
 f The instructions for which. Lord Chatham moved were afterwards supplied to 
 him. From these it appeared that Major-General Amherst had been desired by Lord 
 Chatham, when Mr. Pitt, to cultivate the hest harmony and friendship possible with 
 the several governors of our colonies and provinces, and likewise with the chiefs of the 
 Indian tribes ; also to keep a constant correspondence with the Indians, and to 
 endeavour " to engage them to take part and act with our forces, in all operations, as he 
 should Judge most expedient." These words undeniably invested Lord Amherst with a 
 large discretion ; and would seem to justify the charge made against Lord Chatham 
 by Earl Grower on the 18th of November. Vide ante, p. 156», n. In the Aimual 
 Register for 1778 (p. 77), it is said, that the Lords of the minority, in the course of the 
 above debate, drew a distinction between employing the Indians against the French, 
 and employing them against the Americans : the distinction being, that iu the former 
 case they went into the field against foreign foes, while in the latter case they fought 
 against our fellow-subjects. But even this distinction does not protect Lord Chatham 
 fcom the recoil of his own eloquence. Lord Brougham justly observes, that " there 
 hangs much doubt [and may it not be added, contradiction ?] upon the charge brought 
 against Lord Chatham of having himself employed the Indians in the former war." 
 
THE EAEL OP CHATHAM. 167* 
 
 the other ; and that the executive power may be prevented, by an unconsti- 
 tutional exertion of even constitutional authority, from bringing the nation to 
 destruction. My Lords, I fear we are arrived at the very brink of that state ; 
 and I am persuaded that nothing short of a spirited interposition on your , 
 part, in giving speedy and wholesome advice to your Sovereign, can prevent 
 the people from feeling beyond remedy the full effects of that ruin which 
 Ministers have brought upon us. These are the calamitous circumstances 
 Ministers have been the cause of : and shall we, in such a state of things, 
 when every moment teems with events productive of the most fatal narratives 
 — shall we trust, during an adjournment of six weeks, to those men who 
 have brought those calamities upon us, when, perhaps, our utter overthrow is 
 plotting, nay, ripe for execution, without almost a possibility of prevention ? 
 Ten thousand brave men have fallen victims to ignorance and rashness. The V 
 only army you have in America may, by this time, be no more. This very 
 nation remains safe no longer than its enemies think proper to permit. I do 
 not augur ill. Events of a most critical nature may take place before our 
 next meeting. Will your Lordships, then, in such a state of things, trust to 
 the guidance of men, who, in every single step of this cruel, this wicked war, 
 from the very beginning, have proved themselves weak, ignorant, and mis- 
 taken ? I will not say, my Lords, nor do I mean anything personal, or that 
 they have brought premeditated ruin on this country. I will not suppose 
 that they foresaw what has since happened ; but I do contend, my Lords, 
 that their guilt, (I will not even suppose it guilt, but) their want of wisdom, v 
 their incapacity, their temerity in depending on their own judgment, or their 
 base compliances with the orders and dictates of others, perhaps caused by 
 the influence of one or two individuals, have rendered them totally unworthy 
 of your Lordships' confidence, of the confidence of Parliament, and those of 
 whose rights they are the constitutional guardians — the people at large. A 
 remonstrance, my Lords, should be carried to the Throne. The King hasi 
 been deluded by his Ministers. Either they have been imposed upon by false 
 information, or, from motives best known to themselves, they have given 
 apparent credit to what they were convinced in their hearts was untrue. The 
 nation has been betrayed into the ruinous measure of an Americaii war, by '^ 
 the arts of imposition, by their own credulity, through the means of false 
 hopes, false pride, and promised advantages, of the most romantic and im- 
 probable nature. My Lords, I do not wish to call your attention entirely to 
 that point. I would fairly appeal to your own sentiments, whether I can be 
 justly charged with arrogance or presumption, if I said, great and able as 
 Ministers think themselves, that all the wisdom of the nation is confined to 
 the narrow circle of the petty cabinet. I might, I think, without presump- 
 tion, say, that your Lordships, as one of the branches of the legislature, may 
 be as capable of advising your Sovereign, in the moment of difficulty and 
 danger, as any lesser council, composed of a fewer number: and who, being 
 already so fatally trusted, have betrayed a want of honesty, or a want of 
 abilities. Is it, my Lords, within the utmost stretch of the most sanguine 
 expectation, that the same men who have plunged you into your present 
 
168* THE MODBKN OBAIOB. 
 
 perilous and calamitous situation, are the proper persons to rescue you from 
 it ? No, my Lords, such an expectation would be preposterous and absurd. 
 I say, my Lords, you are now specially called upon to interpose. It is your 
 duty to forego every call of business and pleasure ; to give up your whole 
 time to inquire into past misconduct ; to provide remedies for the present ; to 
 prevent future evils ; to rest on your arms, if I may use the expression, to 
 watch for the public safety ; to defend and support the Throne ; or, if fate 
 should so ordain it, to fall with becoming fortitude with the rest of your 
 fellow-subjects in the general ruin. I fear the last alternative must be the 
 event of this mad, unjust, and cruel war. It is your Lordships' duty to do 
 every thing in your power that it shall not ; but, if it must be so, I trust your 
 Lordships and the nation will fall gloriously. 
 
 " My Lords, as the first and most immediate object of your inquiry, I 
 would recommend to you to consider the true state of our home-defence. 
 We have heard much from a noble Lord in this House of the state of our 
 navy. I cannot give an implicit belief to what I have heard on that important 
 subject. I still retain my former opinion relative to the number of line-of- 
 battle ships ; but as an inquiry into the real state of the navy is destined to 
 be the subject of a future consideration, I do not wish to hear more about it 
 tin that period arrives. I allow, in argument, that we have thirty-five ships 
 of the line fit for actual service. I doubt much whether such a force would 
 give us a full command of the Channel. I am certain, if it did, every other 
 part of our possessions must lie naked and defenceless, in every quarter of 
 the globe. I fear our utter destruction is at hand. [Here, and in many other 
 parts of his speech, his Lordship broadly hinted that the House of Bourbon was 
 meditating some important and decisive blow near home. J What, my Lords, is 
 the state of our military defence ? I would not wish to expose our present 
 weakness ; but weak as we are, if this war should be continued, as the public 
 declaration of persons in high confidence with their Sovereign would induce 
 us to suppose, is this nation to be entirely stripped ? And if it should, would 
 every soldier now in Britain be sufficient to give us an equality to the force 
 in America ? I will maintain they would not. Where, then, will men be 
 procured? Recruits are not to be had in this country. Germany will give 
 no more. I have read in the newspapers of this day, and I have reason to 
 believe it true, that the head of the Germanic body has remonstrated against 
 it, and has taken measures accordingly to prevent it. Ministers have, I hear, 
 applied to the Swiss Cantons. The idea is preposterous ! The Swiss never 
 permit their troops to go beyond sea. But, my Lords, if even men were to 
 be procured in Germany, how will you march them to the water-side ? Have 
 not our Ministers applied for the port of Emden, and has it not been refused? 
 I say, you wiU not fee able to procure men even for your home-defence, if 
 some immediate steps be not taken. I remember during the last war, it was 
 thought advisable to levy independent companies : they were, when com- 
 pleted, formed into battalions, and proved of great service. I love the army ; 
 I know its use ; but I must nevertheless own, that I was a great friend to the 
 measure of establishing a national militia. I remember during the last war. 
 
THE EAEL OF CHATHAM. 169* 
 
 that there were three camps formed of that corps at once in this kingdom. I 
 saw them myself; one at Winchester ; another in the west, at Plymouth ; and 
 a third, if I recollect right, at Chatham. [Here he was told that he was right.] 
 Whether the militia is at present in such a state as to answer the -valuahle 
 purposes it did then, or is capable of being rendered so, I will not pretend to 
 say ; but I see no reason why, in such a critical state of affairs, the experi- 
 ment should not be made ; and why it may not again be placed on its former 
 respectable footing. I remember, all the circumstances considered, when 
 appearances were not nearly so melancholy and alarming as they now are, 
 that there were more troops in the county of Kent alone, for the defence of 
 that county, than there are now in the whole island. 
 
 " My Lords, I contend that we have not procured, nor can we procure, any ^ 
 force sufficient to subdue America ; it is monstrous to think of it. There 
 are several noble Lords present well acquainted with military affairs : I call 
 upon any one of them to rise and pledge himself, that the military force now 
 within the kingdom is adequate to its defence, or that any possible force to 
 be procured from Germany, Switzerland, or elsewhere, will be equal to the 
 contest with America. I am too perfectly persuaded of their abilities and 
 integrity to expect any such assurance from them. Oh ! but if America is 
 not to be conquered, she is to be treated with : conciliation is at length 
 thought of ; terms are to be offered ! Who are the persons that are to treat 
 on the part of this afflicted and deluded country ? The very men who have 
 been the authors of our misfortunes ; the very men who have endeavoured, by 
 the most pernicious policy, the highest injustice and oppression — the most 
 cruel and devastating war, to enslave those people ; they would conciliate, to 
 gain the confidence and affection of those who have survived the Indian 
 tomahawk, and the German bayonet! Can your Lordships entertain the 
 most distant prospect of success from such a treaty, and such negotiators ? 
 No, my Lords, the Americans have virtue, and must detest the principles of 
 such men : they have too much understanding and wisdom to trust to that 
 cunning and those narrow politics from which such overtures proceed. My 
 Lords, I maintain that they would shun, with a mixture of prudence and 
 detestation, any proposition coming from that quarter. They would receive 
 terms from such men, as snares to allure and betray ; they would dread them 
 as ropes, meant to be put about their legs, to entangle and overthrow them. 
 
 " My Lords, supposing that our domestic danger, if at all, is far distant ; 
 that our enemies will leave us at liberty to prosecute this war with the utmost 
 of our ability : supposing that your Lordships should grant a fleet one day, 
 an army another ; all these, I do affirm, will avaU nothing, unless you accom- 
 pany it with advice. Ministers have been in error; experience has proved it ; \/ 
 and, what is, worse — in that error they persist. They told you in the begin- 
 ning, that fifteen thousand men would traverse America, with scarcely the 
 appearance of interruption. Two campaigns have passed since they gave 
 us this assurance ; treble that number has been employed ; and one of your 
 armies, which composed two-thirds of the force by which America was to be 
 subdued, has been totally destroyed, and is now led captive through those 
 
170* THE MODEEN OKATOK. 
 
 provinces you call rebellious. Those men whom you called cowards, pol- 
 troons, runaways, and knaves, are become victorious over your veteran 
 troops ; and, in the midst of victory, and the flush of conquest, have set 
 Ministers an example of moderation and magnanimity.* 
 
 " My Lords, no time should be lost which may promise to improve this dis- 
 position in America, unless, by an obstinacy founded in madness, we wish to 
 stifle those embers of affection which, after all our savage treatment, do not 
 seem as yet to be entirely extinguished. While, on one side, we must lament 
 the unhappy fate of that spirited officer, Mr. Burgoyne, and the gallant 
 troops under his command, who were sacrificed to the wanton temerity and 
 ignorance of Ministers, we are as strongly impelled, on the other, to admire 
 and applaud the generous, magnanimous conduct — the noble friendship, bro- 
 therly affection, and humanity of the victors, who, condescending to impute 
 the horrid orders of massacre and devastation to their true authors, supposed 
 that, as soldiers and Englishmen, those cruel excesses could not have origi- 
 nated with the general, nor were consonant to the brave and humane spirit of 
 a British soldier, if not compelled to it as an act of duty. They traced the 
 first cause of those diabolical orders to their source ; and, by that wise and 
 generous interpretation,granted their professed destroyers terms of capitulation, 
 which they could be only entitled to as the makers of fair and honourable war. 
 
 " My Lords, I should not have presumed to trouble you, if the tremendous 
 state of this nation did not, in my opinion, make it necessary. Such as I 
 have this day described it, I do maintain it to be : the same measures are still 
 persisted in ; and Ministers, because your Lordships have been deluded, 
 deceived, and misled, presume, that whenever the worst comes, they will be 
 enabled to shelter themselves behind Parliament. This, my Lords, cannot 
 be the case : they have committed themselves and their measures to the fate 
 of war, and they must abide the issue. I tremble for this country ; I am 
 almost led to despair, that we shall ever be able to extricate ourselves. 
 Whether or not the day of retribution is at hand, when the vengeance of a 
 much-injured and afflicted people vnll fall heavily on the authors of their 
 ruin, I am strongly inclined to believe, that before the day to which the pro- 
 posed adjournment shall arrive, the noble Earl who moved it will have just 
 cause to repent of his motion." 
 
 Upon a division, the adjournment was carried by a majority of 47 to 17. 
 
 * Vide ante, p. 150*. By the terms of the Convention, concluded at Saratoga, the 
 troops under General Burgoyne were permitted to march out of their camp with all 
 the honours of war, to a certain distance, where the arms and artillery were to be left ; 
 and a free passage from Boston to Great Britain was granted to them, on condition of 
 their not serving again in North America during the war. See the Convention, An- 
 nual Register for 1777, p. 301. 
 
tPMtWiU 
 
 i^lliililll