r T, uty of California hern Regional rary Facility ANECDOTES OF THE LIFE OF THE RIGHT HON. WILLIAM PITT, EARL OF CHATHAM. AND OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS OF HIS TIMR. WITH HIS SPEECHES IN PARLIAMENT, FROM THE YEAR 1736 TO THE YEAR 1778. SIT MIHI FAS AUDITA LOSDI V I RC I f, IN THREE VOLUMES, THE SIXTH EDITION, CORRECTED! VOLUME II. LONDON: PRINTED FOR L. B. SEELEY, No. 56, PATERNO5TER-ROV, 1797- Annex CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. Page CHAP. XXX. Lord Bute refolves to change the miniftry again. Difregards the Duke of Bedford. Tries to gain Lord Temple. Meeting at Lord Eg- lintouti's. Again tries to gain Lord Temple. Amufes Lord Temple. Lord Strange's affertion. Lord Rockingham's requeft, Affair of Dunkirk. Negotiation with Mr. Wilkes. Propofition for the government of Canada. Difapproved by the Chancellor, who advifes the King to fend for Mr. Pitt. - . t CHAP. XXXI. Lord Northington opens his nego- tiation with Mr. Pitt. Duke of Grafton refigns. Several perfons refufe places. An eighteen day's journal. Mr. Pitt fees the King. Lord Temple fent for, and goes to the King. Conference be- tween Mr. Pitt and Lord Temple at Hampftead. They differ and feparate. Lord Temple has an audience of the King. Returns to Stowe. Mr. Pitt created Earl of Chatham. His extraordinary Grants. Mr. Townfhend manager of the Houfe of Commons. Several perfons refufe places., Lord Rockingham refufes to fee Lord Chatham. Mr. Stuart Mackenzie reftored, Lord Chatham not united with Lord Bute CHAF. IV CONTENTS. CHAP. XXXII. Embargo on the exportation of Corn. State of Parties. Conference between Ld Chatham and the Duke of Bedford at Bath. Con- ference between Lord Chatham and Lord Edg- cumbe. Its confequences. The Admiralty offered tp Lord Gower. Conduft of the Court. Second conference with the Duke of Bedford. Breaks off 39 CAP. XXXIII. Further arrangements* Ld. Chat- ham regrets the !ofs of Lord Temple. Seized with the gout at Bath and at Marlborough. Comes to Hampflead. Another change meditated. Gene- ral Conway wifties to refign. Lord Northington wifhes to refign. King's meflage to Lord Chat- ham. Duke of Newcaftle is very anxious to pre- ferve the union of the propofition. Application to Lord Rockingham. Declaration of the Duke of Bedford, Lord Temple, and Mr. Grenville. Declaration of the Duke of Ncwcaftle. Confer- ence at Newcaftle Houfe. Breaks off. Import- ance of the minifler of the Houfe of Commons. America the true caufe. Second conference at Newcaftle Houie. Anecdotes of Mr. Lowndes's Tickets, and of the Judge's Tickets, Nabob of Arcot's Members. Judge Yates tamper'd with. Lord Rockingham waits on the King. Lord Hoi. land advifes the King. - jji CHAP. XXXIV. Mr. Townfend refolves to be mi- nifter. Dies. Lord North appointed. Lord Chat- ham goesinto Somerfetfhire. The Bedford intereft join the miniftiy. Duke of Bedford's apology to Mr. Grenville, and Mr. Grcnville'sanfwer. Lord Chatham returns to Hayes. French purchafe Cor- fiCa. Difference between the Duke of Bedford and Lord Shelbutne. Lord Rochfort refigns. Lord Shelburne refigns. Fine Diamond Ring prefented ., 6 K T E K T i T prefented to 1m Majcftv. Lord Rochfort made Secretary of State, with the reafons. Lord Chat- ham rctigns. Lord Bute goes abroad. LordTown- fhcnd continues in Ireland. - ""74 CHAP. XXXV, Reconciliation between Lord Chat- lijun and Lord Temple. Diftraftion of the country. Lord Chatham's ipeech on the addrefsatthe begin- ' ning of the year 1770. . - - 85 CHAP. XXXVI. Speeches of the Marquis of Rock- ingham, the Duke of Grafton, and Lord Chatham, on the ftate of the nation. Ur.ion of Lord Chat- ham with Lord Rockingham. Duke of Grafton iefi;jns - - - 126 CHAP. XXX VI L Lord Chatham's fpeech on the *lecifu>n of the Houfe of Commons on the Middle- iex Eleftion. His fpeech on fecret influence. On. the civil lift, and difrnifuon of Lord Camden. FaQ: concerning Queen Anne's civil lift. Mr. Gren- ville's election bill - 156 CHAP. XXXVIII. Lord Chatham'sbill ontheMid- dlefex Eleftion, and fpeech in fupport of the bill. Lord Chatham's motion and fpeech on the King's anfwer to a petition from the City of London. His motion for a diflblution of parliament. Some heads of a fpeech on rcprefentation. His Letter to Lord Temple on that fubjeft. Anecdote on the fame fubjcft from Lord Buchan. Goes into So- merfetfhire ... l8j CHAP. XXXIX. Thanks of the City of London to Lord Chatham, and his Lordfhip's anfwer. His fpeech on the feizure of Falkland's Iflands. Se- cret and interefhing hi ftory of that memorable ne- gociation. Refignation of Lord Hawke. Expla- natory Note. Double Cabinet. - 19^ CHAP. XL. Lord Chatham renews the difcuflionof tke Middlesex Eleciion. Attacks Lord Mansfield's Ulrin* tfl CONTZKTI. doftrine of libels. Interruption of the Duke of Manchefter. Violent difturbance made by the court party. The minority fececle. Motion re- fpefting Gibraltar. The Spanifh declaration. Re- marks by Lord Chatham. His qucfl'ons intended for the Judges. Lord Chatham's fpeech on the motion to refcind the refolution concerning the Middlefex Eleftion. Lord Chatham's motion to addrefs the King to diflblve the Parliament. His wifli to go to America. - 262 CHAP. XLI. Two interefting anecdotes of the ori- gin of the American War. Impofitions upon the people of England. Lord Chatham's fpeech again ft quartering troops in America. His fpeech againft the Quebec Bill. - 279 CHAP. XLII. Lord Chatham's motion to withdraw the troops frem Bofton. His bill for quieting the troubles in America. His bill rejected. Heceives the thanks of the city of London for his bill. 297 CHAP. XLIII. Duke of Grafton refigns. Lord Chatham's motion to difcontinue the American war, and fpeeches on the fame. - 336 CHAP. XLIV. Lord Chatham's fpeech on the ad- drefs, and his amendment. On the employment of the Indians in North America. On the re- turns of the army. On the capture of General Burgoyne's army* His motion on the employment of the Indians. His fpeech againfl the motion to adjourn. - o^g CHAP. XLV. Lord Chatham's zeal and anxiety re- fpefting America. His laft fpeech in Parliament. His laft plan to preferve America. His fudden illnefs in the Houfe of Lords. . AQJ CHAP. XLVI. Lord Chatham's Death: The con- duel of Parliament upon that event. Some traits of his chara&er. - . . -414 ANEC- ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES. CHAP. XXX. Lord Bute refolves to change the Miniflry again-** J) if regards the Duke of Bedford Tries to gain Lord Temple Meeting at Lord Eglintouris Again tries to gain Lord Temple Amufes Lord Temple Lord Strange s AJ/ertion Lord Rock- inghams requejl Affair of Dunkirk-^ Negoti- ation with Mr. Wilke^^Propofition for the Go- vernment of Canada D if approved by the Chan- cellor^ who aduifes the King to fend for Mr. Pitt. BEFORE the meeting of Parliament, the c H A p^ XXX. new mtniftry having (hewn an inclina- <^~*~* 1796. * lion to reverfe the fyftem purfued by their predeceffors : Lord Bute, who had been the Lrd relolvr author of that fyftem, took a refolution to chan g eth / . miniltry remove them. He was no longer terrified agauu by the threats of impeachment. The Duke 2j.*yJ{ of Bedford had connived fo long, his Grace could not now bring forward his menaced accufation upon any ground or pretence of public principle. He had moreover been VOL, II. B recently 2 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xx A x P ' recently ftigmatized by violent marks of ^-7^ popular odium*. His Grace was not at this time, in the judgment of the Favourite, an object of dread or refpeft. ^V ; Lord Bute's attention at this period, was jam Lord Temple, dircclcd to another nobleman. Since the reconciliation between Lord Temple and his brother Mr. Grcnville, there had commenced a coolnefs between his Lordfhip and Mr. Pitt, and between his Lordfhip and Mr. James Grenville. They imagined from feve- ral circumflances, that their brother had fup- planted them in his Lordfhip's favour and confidence. To diffolve all great connexions had been Lord Bute's favourite maxim, from the moment of his acceflion to power. Nothing, therefore, could be more favour- able to his project than this family divifion. He refolved to feize the opportunity which this circumftance feemed to offer. Accord- ingly, a few days after the meeting of Par- liament, when Mr. Pitt had given the deci- fion for the repeal of the Stamp Aft, by the preceding fpeech (See Appendix U.) which * By the Spitalfield weavers, who had aflembled in multitudes before his houfc. Several part'uans of Lord Bute were fcen amongft them, Mr, OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Mr. Grenviile had oppofed, he folicited an interview with Lord Temple and Mr. Gren- ville, for the purpofe of forming a new ad- miniftration. ' His fir ft application was to M , pt n?ae Lord Egh::toun, between whom and Lord Temple there fubfifted a very warm friend- fhip. Lord EgliMoun opened his commif- fion to Lord Temple at Lord Coventry's, where they dined on the firft Sunday after the meeting of parliament. The converfa- tion began upon the affairs of America, in which the three Lords agreed in opinion, that a repeal of the Stamp Aft would be a furrender of the authority of the Britifh le- giflature over the colonies. Lord Eglintoun finding that Lord Temple was of their opi- nion, faid to his Lordfhip, <{ Let us talk no more upon that fubjecl here, but let us go to your brother.- Has your Lordlhio re- ceived no.mefTage from him?" Lord Temple faid, he had not: and in a few minutes after they went to Mr. Grenviile s. This matter had been more explicitly opened to Mr. Grenviile, by Mr. Cadogan, now Lord Cado- gan, and Mr. Grenville had requefted Lord Suffolk to acquaint the Duke of Bedford with it. Upon feeing his brother, he in- ftantly told him, without being afked a B 2 queftion, ANECDOTES AND SPEECHRS C xxx ? " qu e fti n that an opening ha been made to * * - 1 him of an accommodation with Lord Bute. 1766. and that h? wanted to confult his Lordmip upon making the Duke of Bedford a party to the affair." Lord Temple replied, " that he might do as he pleafed, but that he, himf If. would have no concern in the matter." Agarics Another channel to Lord Temple was then to gam Lord Tem- purfued. This was by Mr. W. G. Hamilton, who was in the moft confidential intimacy with his Lordfhip, and who, from the time of the feparation of Mr. James Grenville, wag intended to be his Chancellor of the Exche- quer, if ever he accepted of the Treafury. But Mr. Hamilton, knowing his Lordfhip's temper and refolution, with refpecl to Lord Bute, did not warmly recommend the pro- pofition. i Next day (Monday) Lord Eglintoun went to Mr. Grenville 's f to defire him to meet Lord Bute at his houfe; but Mr. Gremille was gone to the Houfe of Commons ; upon which Lord Eglintoun went ther? to him ; but meeting with Mr. Stuart Mackenzie, he incautioufly told him of the intended meet- ing, OF T'JE EARL OF CHATHAM. ing, and that gentleman immediately in- C xxx ? ' formed Lord Holland, who feeing Lord ^~^~* Bute a few moments after, told his Lord- (hip, " That he was going to do a very foolifh thing; but .as he had gone fo far he mud not (lop; but give them the meeting, hear what they had to propoie, and then leave them." Lord Temple called upon his brother juft as he had returned from the Houfe of Com- . mons. In a minute or two afterwards. Lord Eglintoun came in; and being rejoiced to fee his Lordlhip, begged he would flay there ten minutes, while he went home. Lord Temple faid he could not ft< p fo long ; that he was going to the Houfe of Lords upon particular bufinefs, and it was growing late. Lord Eglintoun then defired he would Hay only five minutes. This was refufed: laftly, he requefted only three minutes; and this \vas refufed alfo. But in the expoftu- lation it came out, that it was to meet Lord Bute, whom Lord Eglintoun fuppofed was, by this time, waiting at his own houfe, and he wHhed to fetch him. At length, pref- fing the matter very earneitly, Lord Temple anfwered warmly, By Gd I will not; that B 3 was 5 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C x.vx. P ' wa<; his expreflion, and immediattly flepped t?66, into his cankige. The Duke of Bedford and Mr. Grenville met Lord Bute at Lord Eglin f inn's. The conference was very fhort: Lord Buff fol- lowed Lord Holland's advice- he heard them and then left them. He afterwards faid to L Rock . this explicit declaration from Lord Strange', and at his next audience of the King, he re- quefted the honour of his Majefty's opinion in writing ; which the King refufrd to give. Thiscircumftance was an indifputable proof, that notwithftanding the late negotiation had not fucceeded, yet his Majefly flill with- held his confidence from his prefent fer- vants. Another change oT minifters was doubtlefs in contemplation; although no B 4 frefh $ ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xxx P ' fr^ applications for thatpurpofe were yet However unfortunate thefe miniflers might be in the clofet, yet they rendered gieat and important fervices to the country. Their proceedings and conduct are well kn >wn ; they are to be found in the public accounts of the time ; but there is one mea- fure of tha* adrniniflration which has been very imperlectly Hated. It is concerning Dunkirk, Affair O f This Pi n tj of frequent and anxious dif* cu {fj ori; feems to have been miftaken by the Britifh minifters, prior and fubfequcnt to Lord Rockingliam. Fiom the peace of Utrecht, in the year 1713, to the month of September 1755, all our demands concern- ing the demolition of Dunkirk have origi- nated in a wrong principle, We have in- fifled upon levelling the ramparts, upon filling up the cunette, c. Thefe were im- material points to which the French Court confeme-), after fome aftecled hefitation. 1 he forth cat ons o.i t: e land fide are of no conie^uence to England. It was the har- bour alone that ought to have engaged our OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. our attention. Lord Rockingham faw this miftake; in his adminHtration only, was the demolition of the harbour ferioufly at- tempted : and had he remained a little longer in office, it mud have been accomplished. His demands were directed to the jettees which protect the channel to the harbour, and without which the harbour becomes totally unferviceable. Thefe jettees are two piers, which proje6t about three quarters of a mile from the harbour into the fea; and are about twelve feet high from low-water mark : between them is the channel into the harbour. His Lordfhip ordered a breach to be made in the eaflern jettee, near the mid- dle, fufficient to admit the lea. All Dun- kirk was inltantly filled with alarm. They faw the ruin of the harbour was inevitable. A few tides made the fact clear. Thefand was driven through the breach with fuch aftonifhing velocity, it was fully manifeft the channel mult be entirely choaked in a few days more. Had this breach been made larger, which was intended; and another made lower down towards the fea, which was alfo intended, the haibour muft have been fo effeftually rendered ufelefs, that jiothing larger than a row-boat, or a pilot, could o ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES 'xAr* could have got into it. The French im- ^-77^ mediately Hiw the effrcl of this finall breach. 4700. < and inftantly put a flop to the progrefs of the workmen. The reader is to obferve, that in all the ftipulations our Court has made with France, refpecting Dunkirk, a kind of childifh delufion has conftantly been admitted this was the French were to employ their own people to execute our de- mands, and we were to fend our furveyors to examine and report the ftate of their operation. Our furveyors had no controul over the workmen ; and if the French Go- vernor, at any time, choofe to put a flop to thrir labour, we could not oblige them to refume their work. The furveyors might retnrn to England, and, upon their report, the Britim AmbaOador at Paris was ufually inlt rutted to remonflrate ; which commonly produced an ev;five anfwer. The fur- veyors have be n frnt back, and the fame farce has been played over again. In this manner have the negociations concerning Dunkirk been continued, dropped, a: d re- vived, from i he year 1713. As a proof that Lord Rochr.gkam was right in this matter, we need only obferve the conduct of the French, in this particular, fince the treaty OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. lt treaty of 1782, by which was fur-rendered all claim and concern rel petting Dunkirk. Inftead of repairing tlse fortifications, on the demolition of which we formerly fo ftre- mioufly infifted, or opening the cunette, or paying any regard whatever to the land fide, their whole a tention has been directed to widening, deepening, and enlarging the harbour. They have madr it capacious, fafe, and convenient. Thole who think Dunkirk a place of no danger to the comrrerce of London/ may find their miflake in a future day. During this adrniniO ration. Mr. Wilkes tionwith returned from France to London; and there was fome communications betueen the mi- nifters and him. The following is Mr. H. Cotes's account of this affair ; tranfcribed "Verbatim from his own manufcript. '' Monday the 12th of May 1765, Mr. Wilkes arrived in town from France, with Mr. Mnckleane (formerly in partnerfhip with Mr. Stewart, in a druggilt's ftore at Philadelphia). He was very intimate with Mr. Burke, through whofe interefl he was made Governor of the Jfland of St. Martin. Mr. * ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xx A x P ' Mr. Wilkes had a lodging at Mr. Stewart's, *^fa* ln Holies (Ireet, Cavendifh-fquare. Mr. Cotes did not know of his Doming till he faw the account of his arrival in the Evening-Pod of Tuefday, at his houfe at Byfleet. He immedia'ely came to town, when he found a note from Mr. Wilkes t defiring to fee him. He went immediately ; when Mr. Wilkes acquainted him, that he was come to de- mand a performance of the repeated pro- mifes of the miniiters ; which he had in writing, viz. to give him a general pardon, five ihoufand pounds in cafh, in lieu of what he might receive from an aclion againft Lord Halifax, and fifteen hundred pounds per annum, for forty years, upon Ireland. He faid, he had feen feveral peo- ple from the' minifters ; they all expreffed great wrath againft Lord Temple for his ftrong oppofition to their meafures ; that he had told them, he had very many and iingular obligations to Lord Temple-, and if that was not the cafe, he had fo great a re- gard for Lord Temple's public and private virtues, that nothing under Heaven mould induce him to do any thing that would give that noble Lord a moment's uneafinefs. He delired me to communicate this to Lord OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Temple, and to affure him of his beft re- fpects ; that he would have waited upon him in perfon, but as he was in an interefl- ing negociation with the prcTent minifters, he hoped his Lordfhip would excufe him. I went immediately to Lord Temples bed- fide, and related the above to him. He feemed extremely fatisfied with Mr. Wilkes's conduct, and wifhed mod heartily that the minifters might be as good as their pro- mifes* He defired me to convey his kind compliments to Mr. Wilkes, and to aflure him of his friendfhip and approbation of his c6nducl upon the prefent occafion : at the fame time, he told me, that he was very certain that Lord Rockingham had not the lead intention of ferving Mr. Witkes, and feared they would deceive him. " I faw Mr. Wilkes next morning, and found Mr. 5. Luttrell* with him. I thought that a good omen for Mr, Wilkes, as I knew- Luttrdl to be a friend of Lord Bute and I knew, without that dictator's confent or approbation, nothing would be done for my poor friend. However, I found after- wards, that Luttrdl only came upon pri- * Afterward] Lrd Ctrkampttn. vate j^ ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C x*xx P ' vate bufinefs, Mr. Wilkes was extremely well fatisfied with Lord Temples anfVer to him, but feemed to thin^ he fhould fucceed with the minifters. He continued in the fame fentiments all that week ; though I often told him, from the bed and rnoft au- thentic information, that 1 heard they never had fpoke to the King about him, nor dared they do it. I went out of town, as ufual, on Saturday, and returned on Monday ; when I found my friend much lowered in his expectation ; but faid, he fhould fee Mr, Fitzherbert next day, and hoped things would go better. The next day he told me, he had got into a damrid fcrape, and believed he had been deceived, and that my information was true, viz. that the minifters did not intend doing any thing for him ; he faid Mr. Fitzherbert had afked him, in the name of Lord 'RdcKnghato, for a carte- blanche, to leave it to his Lordlhip to do as he thought proper. To which Mr* Wilkes anfwered, that he knew Mr. Fitzherbert to be a man of honour, and if the bufmefs was to pafs between them, he fhould have no fort of objection ; but wifhed Mr. Fitzher- bert to recolle6t, that he himfelf had told him the day before, that Lord Rockingham had OF THE E ARL OF CHATHAM. Bad broke his word with him ten times, and c x then wifhed Mr. fitzherbert to declare whe- ther he would truft him ? " The next day, (Wednefday), he Teemed to have fome more pleafing hopes, having feen Mr. Rofe Fuller*, Mr. G. Onflow, the late Speaker's fon, and Sir W. Baker. He then told me, that they had (aid the King was poflefTed with a notion, that the mini- flers had fe'nt for him, on purpofe to em- barrafs his affairs, and that it would take time to difabufe the royal ear. I immedi- ately made enquiry after the truth of this affertion, and found it totally void of truth, and that the name of Wiikes had never reached the royal ear, by any 'of his mini- flers. Of this I informed him. " I found this day (Friday*, that they had prefled him much to go back to France, but that he had abfolutely refufed them ; and * * It is an interefting anecdote of this gentleman, that he was violent in oppofition to fcveral minifters ; part'culai ly on all quef- tions concerning Britifh liberty, and American policy; and when he died, in the year 1777, it was difcovejed he had received a pen- fion from the Court for many years. His warmth, and apparent zeal, induced every oppofuioa to admit him into their con- fidence. defired, ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES defired, I would get him a private lodging in Surrey, near the Thames, to facilitate his efcape, in cafe of neceffity. I went next day to Mr. Jonathan Tyers, who very gen- teely offered his houfe at Dorking* but that was thought to be too far off. 1 went to Byfleet on Saturday, and left him to go on Sunday and fee a houfe Mr. 'Jytrs had pro- vided for him. I offered him Byfleet; but he objected, that it would be too public, and that it would be declaring againft the prefent miniiT.ers, as they knew my enmity to them. " On my return on Tuefday, I found he had given over all hopes of fuccefs from the miniflers, and defired I would fee Philips^ (his Solicitor), and Meffrs. Gtynn and Dun- ning, to confult what was proper to be done, previous to his furrender on the Friday fol- lowing (the firft day of Term), as he was firmly refolved to ftand all chances ; and faid, he had told Meffrs. Burke and Fitzher* bert, that he had taken that refolution, and that if they wanted to fee a (leadier man than him, they mufl go to Corfica to find one. OF THE EARL OP CHATHAM, " I appointed Philips to meet at Mr. IVilkes's next day, in the evening, and we went to Serjeant Glynn's houfe, in Bloomf- bury-fquare, .who was fo obliging as to ac- company us to Mr. Wiikes, and flayed there the whole evening. Our difcourfe ran upon the means to be taken, either to appear per- fonally, or by attorney, to reverfe the out- lawry; but ai the Serjeant had not con- fidered of the matter, the confultation was deferred until next morning, when Mr* Dunning was to meet. " I found Sir W. Baker and Mr. Fitzher~ bert at Mr. Wilkes's door, next morning, going into Sir Williams chariot ; who faid to me, " That he was going upon an em- bafly for my friend within doors." I found Meflrs. Glynn and Dunning in the dining- room with Mr. Wiikes and Philips, and a good deal of difcourfe upon the proceed- ings upon writs of error, &c. paffed ; but Mr. Wiikes was defirous to fufpend any re- folution being taken, until the return of Sir W. Baker and Mr. Fitzherbert, which happened in about two hours ; when after a long converfation with them, and Lord Rockingham's Secretary, Mr. Burke, who VOL. II, C came ^fS ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xxx P * came with them. Mr. Wilkes came up flair* i -^r- / and told us, that as he could not reverfe 1706. his outlawry, either by error, or appearance, until November Term, and as he did not chufe to furrender and lie in prifon all that time, he had determined to go abroad again. He told me, that they had not given him any money, nor would Lord Rockingham make him any promife ; and that he had f been forced to borrow one hundred pounds of Mr. Fitzherbert, as a private friend. He had received one hundred and thirty pounds before, from the fubfcription of one thou- fand pounds per annum promifed by the miniflry, of Mr. Fitzherbert: which made the whole received of this boafted affair, fix hundred and thirty pounds for the year 1765. Mr. Wilkes faid, he would certainly come in November, and take his chance. " Sir W. Baker afked Lord Rockingham what he intended to do for Mr. Wilkes? Lord Rockingham anfwered, Mr. Wilkes mlift truft to his honour. Sir IF. Baker faid, he would certainly have no objection to do that, but thought that fomething ftiould be mentioned of his intentions ; that if his Lordfhip would give his honour to inter- cede CHAP. XXX. OP THE EARL OF CHATHAM. cede with the King for his pardon, or do any thing elfe in his power for his fervice, * *~* he would acquaint Mr. Wilkes 9 who would be fatisfied with refpeft to time, &c. Bat as to trufling to his Lordfhip's honour at large, he would conflrue that as a neglect of Mr. Wilkes \ and mould acquaint him, that he had nothing to expect from his Lordfhip ; and that he fhould look upon this as a flight of himfelf. And defired that Mr. Burke might go with him to Mr. Wilkes, to whom he delivered the above meflage." In a few days afterwards, Mr. Wilkes re- Returns to turned to France. When the peace of the American colonies had been fettled, the Propofii. miniflry took into confideration the flate govern- * of Canada ; for which great province the cw..n proper meafures with fucceis ; and that he knew but one man \vho could g ; ve them that ftrength and folidity (mean.-ng Mr. PirrJ; that unr'< r him, lie fhould be willing to ferve i any i apaci y, no' onl\ as j Guieial Officer, but as a Pio- neer, and w ould uke up a bpade and a Mattock.' f Lr rd Shelbiirne refufed the Board of Trade, and Colonel Barrc, V c* I ieilurer ot Ireland. His on fh'p refu ed alfo the EmbafTy to Paris. Lord North refufed the Fxchequer, alfo Vice Treafurer of Ireland. Lord Tviurjlend refufed to fo to Paris or Madrid. Lord Egmont refilled the Seals religned by the Duke of Grufton. Lonl Hardiv'cke ref;fed them likewifc. Loid Lyttleton retufcd a cabinet fuuation. OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. fion, that a new adminiftration would in a fhort time be appointed, of which, each' man flattered himfelfwith becoming a part, under the idea of forming a more compre- henfive fyftem. Nobody doubted the ho* nour and integrity of Lord Rockwgham: it was even admitted, that his adminiflra- tion had been regulated, and condu6led on the purefl principles of patriotifm ; yet there was not virtue enough in the country to fupport him. Thofe who afTert that Lord Bute was not confulted, nor gave any advice upon this occafion, muft forget all the preceding facls lince the death of George the Second; and mult deny his nocturnal vifits, at this time, to the King's mother at Carlton Houfe *. C 4 Lord An eighteen days faithful Journal, ending a fe-iu days $re* vious to the min'-fter's Jbaking bands in the ytai 1766. Tuefday, June 24, 1766. From Audley-fireet, the Favourite let out about one o'cloc.^, in a poft coach and frur, for Lord Litcbffld's at Hampton Court, and came home again at ten at night ; went out direilly after in a chair to Mifs Panjtttart's t maid of honour to P. D. of W, in Sackville ftreet ; ftaid ther but a very little \vhile, and then went to Carlton -home, and re- turned lion e abo'it twelve o'clock. Wednefday 25. From Audley-ftreet, the Favourite fet out in a fhair at half part fix in the evening, went into Sackville-ftreet, as before. 24 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES c x " T P< Lord Northington did not indeed begin r- . u p^"-' negociation with Mr. Pitt, under the imme- diate before, ftaid there till part ten, then went to Carlton-houfe, and returned home about twelve. Tkurfday 26. From ditto, the Favourite fet out at half paft fix in the evening in a chair, went into Sackv lle-ftreet as before, fta-d there til. ten, then went to Carlton-houfe, and came home at twe've. Friday 27. At feven this morning the Favourite fet out from Audley-ftreer, for his feat in Bedford/hire. Sunday 29. The Earl returned from Bed ford mi re this day to dinner; fet out as before at a quarter paft fix for Sackvi lle-ftreet, fla'd 'here t il about t.n, then v\ent to Carlton houfe, and came home at twelve, Monday 30. From Audley ftreet, the Favourite fet out in a chair a qua ter paft fix, went i, to Sackville < J reet, (laid there till ab,.ut ten, then v, ent to Carhon-houfe, and canu home as ufual at twelve. Tuefd y, "July i. From ditto, at half jaft fix, in a chair to Sackv, ile ftreet, fl,aid there till ten, then to Carlton houfe, anil tlvnce home at twelve. Wednejday i. From d.tto, ditto, ditto, and ditto. Tburfday ?. At fix this morning, f he Favourite fet out from Audlev-ltret foi h>s feat in Beciiurufh.ie. Saturday 5 The Favourite returned ro Audley ftreet from ditt .> this day to dinner; at hnlf raft fix wen' to Sackville ftreet, ftaio theie as ufual till about icn, then to Carlton-houfe, and af- tenvar i> v a. in l,u:ne about ove.ve. Sunday 6. Ai haii' j.alt fix to SackviJle-ftreet as ufual, about ten to c ilto;i-lioufe. ana l-.o'ne .<\. twelve as before. Mmlty-j. Ac tliree q ur-ers palt fix to backvillc ftreet as lifti'l, a.c it ten to Cariton-h- ufe, and ho:ne at twelve. T-fJ-'av S A hilt' j-aft i.x to Sackville-itree., about ten to Car t n l~o e, and home at twelve. Wfun:jdj,y 9 At i -ah pa .-. iix t > iackville-ftreet, about ten t Ci.tviJ-iitJUie, and home at twelve. diate and perfonal dire&ions of Lord Bute, C xxxF.* but Lord Bute* influence pervaded through ^^f a higher channel. Lord Northington offered Mr. Pitt a Carte- blanche. Although Mr. Pitt did not difpute his Lordfhip's authority or veracity, in making this offer, yet he wifhed to have it confirmed by the King. Mr. Pitt was in* troduced to the King at Richmond. The conference was very fhort, His Majefty confirmed the offer made by his Chancellor ; and added, that he had no terms to propofe. He put himfelf into his (Mr. Pitt's) hands*. This Thurfday 10. This morning at feven the Favourite and his lady fet out from Audley-ftreet for Bedfordfti re. Saturday iz. Returned this day f-om Bedfordftiire to dinner, and, being Lord Mount Steuarfs birth-day, he went out at eight this evening to Sackville-ftreet, ftaid there till paft ten, then went to Carlton-houie, and returned home about twelve. Sunday 13. At half paft fix to Saekville-ftreet, ftaid there till paft ten, then to Carl ton- houle, and home at twelve. Monday 14. At half paft lix to Sadtville-ftreet, ftaid there till ten tiien to Curlton-houie, ftaid there till paft twelve, and then returned home. N. B, The curtains of the chair from Audley to Saekville-ftreet, were constantly drawn, and the chair taken into the home* * The King had fo often entreated Mr. Pitt to enter into his fervice, Mr. Pitt frankly acknowledged to Mr. Calcrafthe could reiift the entreaties no longer; and befides, he :aid, they were jjjade in a manner fo preffin^j and aftedting, no perlon fufceptible rf 5 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES *w C XXKI P ' This was on Saturday the 12th of July*. ^^ I fl tne evening Mr. Pitt had another con- ference with the Chancellor, and afterwards with General Convoy, with whom he fettled the principal arrangements. Next day (Sun- day) the Chancellor, by his Majefty's com- mand, fent for Lord Temple, who was at' Stowe, in Buckinghamfhire, His Lordfhip pjfclt m " came to town on the fourteenth. Nexr morning he waited upon the King at Rich- mond, before h faw Mr. Pitt. The King acquainted 1 is Lordfhip with the offer that had been made to Mr. Pitt; and added, that he expected his Lordfhip would attift Mr. Pitt in forming the arrange ents. Next day, which was the i6th, " t his Lordftiip of feeling for the diflrefs of the country, could remain obdurate. To this art Mr. Yorke alfo fell a faciifice, in the month of Janu ary, 1770. See Chapter xxxv. * Vide the dates, of the la t three days, of the preceding eighteen days journal. f This account of the conference between Mr. Pitt and Lord Temple at Hampflead, and the fubfequent audience of the King, arc taken from a pamphlet called An Enquiry, &c. Lord Ckejler- jfieU, in his lenen to his ion, fays, this pamphlet was written by Lord Temple. Bur his Lordfhip was mi<>aken. The pamphlet Was written by Mr. Humphry Cotes, aflilted by another perfon. It is, however true, that the particular fait , ftated n this account of the c inference and of the audience, were commun'cated by Lord Temple, in c.mver.atitjn, to Mr. Cotes; who, wi:hout Lord Temple's participation, caiued them to be publ.lhed. received OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. received a very affectionate letter from Mr. Pitt, then at North End, Hampftead, de- firing to fee his Lordfhip there, as his health would not permit him to come to town. His Lordfhip went ; and Mr. Pitt acquainted him, that his Majefty had been gracioufly pleafed to fend for him, to form an admini- flration ; and as he thought his Lordfhip < indifpenfobte; he defired his Majefty to e c n c n e f l fend for him, and put him at the head of puTS,* the Treafury ; and that he himfelf would pieat take the poft of Privy Seal. Mr. Pitt then ' produced a lift of feveral perfons, which he faid, he had fixed upon to go in with his Lordfhip ; and which, he added, was not to be altered. Lord Temple faid, that he. had had the honour of a conference with his Ma- jefty at Richmond the evening before, and that he did not underftand, from what patted between them, that Mr. Pitt was to be ab- folute mafter, and to form every part of the adminift ration; if he had, he fhould not have given himfelf the trouble of coming to Mr. Pitt upon that fubjecl, being determined to come in upon an equality with Mr. Pitt, in cafe he was to occupy the moft refponfi- ble place under government. And as Mr. Pitt had chofen only a Jide-place, without any 28 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES *xxxi? an y refponfibility annexed to it, he mould infift upon fome of his friends being in the cabinet offices with him, and in whom he could confide: which he thought Mr. Pitt could have no objection to, as he muft be fenfible he could not come in with honour, unlefs he had fuch nomination; nor did he deli re, but that Mr. Pitt mould have his (hare of the nomination of his friends. And his Lordmip added, that he made ajacrifice of his brother Mr. G. Grenville, who, not- withstanding his being entirely out of place, and excluded from all connection with the intended fyflem, would nevertheless give him (Lord Temple) all the afliftance and fupport in his power: that it was an idea to concili- ate all parties, which was the ground that had made Mr. Pitt's former administration fo refpeclable and glorious, and to form upon the folid bafis of 'union, an able and refponfible adminiftration ; to brace the re- laxed finews of government, retrieve the honour of the crown, and purfue the per- manent intereft of the public: but that if Mr. Pitt infilled upon a fuperior dictation, and did not chufe to join in a plan defigned for the refloration of that union, which at no time was ever fo neceflary, he defirecl the OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. *; 1 the conference might be broke off, and that c x " J, p 1766. Mr. Pitt would give himfelf no further trou- ble about him, for that he would not fubmit to the propofed conditions. " Mr. Pitt, however, infifled upon con- tinuing the conference; and afked, who thofe perfons were whom his Lordfhip intended for fome of the cabinet employments ? His Lordfhip anfwered, that one in particular was a noble Lord of approved character, and known abilities, who had lafl year rcfufed the very office now offered to him (Lord Temple) though preffed to it in the flrongeft manner, by the Duke of Cumberland and the Duke of Newcaflle ; and who being their common friend, he did not doubt Mr. Pitt himfelfhad in contemplation. This worthy and refpeftable perfon was Lord Lyttleton. At the concluuon of this lenience, Mr. Pitt faid, Good God! how can you compare him to the Duke of Graf ton, Lord Skelburne, and Mr. Conway? Befides, continued he, / have taken the Privy Seal, and he cannot have that. Lord Temple then mentioned the poft of Lord Prcfident: upon which Mr. Pitt faid, that could not be, for he had engaged the Presidency: but, fays he, Lord LyttU* ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES 9 Lyttleton may have a pen/ton. To which Lord Temple immediate ly anfwered, that would never do; nor would he ftain the bud of his adminiftration with an accumu- lation of penfions. It is true, Mr. Pitt vouchfafed to permit Lord Temple to nomi- nate his own Board; but at the fame time infifted, that if two perfons of that board (T. TownJIiend and G. Orfow, Efqrs.) were turned out, they (hould have a compenfa- tion, i.e. penfions. " Mr. Pitt next afked, what perfon his Lordfhip had in his thoughts for Secretary of State? His Lordfhip anfwered, Lord Gower; a noble lord of great alliance; and in whom he hoped to conciliate and unite a powerful party, in order to widen and ftrengthen the bottom of his administration, and to vacate even the idea of oppofition; thereby to reftore unanimity in Parliament, and in the public. To this his Lordfhip added, that he had imparted his deflgn to Lord Gower, nor did he know whether that noble Lord would accept of the place*; * Lord Temple afterwards wrote to Lord Cower, to excufe the mention he had made of his name. but OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. but he mentioned it now, only as a com- prehenfive meafu're, to attain the great end he wifhed, of refloring unanimity by a re- conciliation of parties; that the bufinefs of the nation might go on without interrup- tion, and become the only bufinefs of par- liament. But Mr. Pitt reje6led this pro- ey d pofal, evidently healing as it appeared, by faying, that he had determined Mr. Conway mould ftay in his prefent office, and that he had Lord Shelburneio propofe for the other office, then held by the Duke of Richmond; fo that there remained no room for Lord Gower. This Lord Temple faid, was com- ing to his firft propofition of being fole and abfolute dictator, to which no confideration mould ever induce hipi to fubmit. And therefore he infilled upon ending the con- ference ; which he did with faying, That if he had been firft called upon by the King he (liould have confulted Mr. Pitt's honour, with regard to the arrangement of minifters, and have given him an equal (hare in the nomination; and that he thought himfelf ill-treated by Mr. Pitt, in his not obferving the like condua." r A d race. Here the conference ended. Next g 2 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XXXL" Next day Lord Temfile Had an audience of v ^v^' the King in the clofet ; when his Lordfhip told his Majefty, in fubdance, " That Mr. Pitt's terms were of fuch a nature, he could notpoflibly accept of them confidently with his honour : that he had made a facrifice of his brother to Mr. Pitt's refentment, in or- der to accommodate with him; but that gentleman infilled upon bringing in a fet of men, fome of whom w r ere perfonal enemies to his Lordfhip, and with whom he had differed upon the mod edential points of government ; and would not permit him to name one friend for the cabinet, in whom he had an entire confidence: and had af- fumed a power to himfelf, to which his Lordfhip never could fubmit; for if he did, the world would fay, with great judice, that he went in like a child, to go out like a fool. That his widi was to retrieve the honour of the nation by an adminiflration formed upon a broad bottom, and compofed of men of the bed abilities, without refpecl: to party, which his principal view was to extinguidi; in order that the whole atten- tion of parliament might be confined to the great objecls of national concern. That lie had never been a fuitor to his Majedy either OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. either for himfelf or his friends, for any place of honour or emolument ; he did not even feek the prefent offer ; yet he was ex- tremely willing to facrifice his own peace and leifure, to thefervice of his Majefly and the country, provided he could do it with honour; but that, he added, was in his own difpofal, and he would not make a compli- ment of it to any man. " In the evening (of the fame day) the noble Lord told Lord Northington. that the farce was at an end, and the mafque was off; his Lordfhip need not have Tent for him from the country, for there was no real wifh or intention to have him in the adminiftration." Lord Temple- returned to Stowe. The Andrc - r turns to natural difpofition of this noble Lord, was Stowc * the moft amiable that can be conceived, to his friends; but when offended, his difap- probation was warm and confpicuous his language flowed fpontaneonfly from his feelings ; his heart and his voice always correfponded. With fuch a temper, it was not probable that the caufeof his feparation VOL. II, D from 4 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xxxi ? ' fr m Mr. Pitt would either be concealed, * NT-* or indifferently exprefled. 1766. Mr. Pitt having made choice of the office crtcd U of Privy Seal for himfelf, was neceffarily Chatham, created a peer This was announced to the public, in the London Gazette in the fol- lowing words e St. James s, July 30. The King has been pleafed to grant unto the Right Honourable William Pitt, and his heirs male, the dignity of a Vifcount and Earl of Great Britain, by the name, ftyle and title of Vifcount Pitt, of Burton- Pynfent, in the county of Somerfet, and Earl of Chatham, in Kent/ A lift of the perfons, to whom his Lordfhip diftributed the offices of State, may be feen at the end of the work *. Although he continued Mr. * But the following extraordinary grants are proper to be men- tioned here. Having made Lord Nortbingten Prefident of tlie Council, it was ftipulated, that whenever his Lordlhip mould refign that pott, he mould receive during his life a penfion of 4000!. Alfo tKe reverfion of the Hanaper was fecnred to him for two lives, after the deinife of the Duke of Cbandos; falary fuppofed to be per annum 1350!. The reverfitn of a Teller of the Exchequer for Lord Camden's fon. Salary about per annum 3 jool. A pen- OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM, Mr. Conway, in his pod of Secretary of State, yet he gave the management of the Houfe of Commons to Mr. Tozonfhtnd; and MrTown- Lord Granby was put at the head of the J army. Before Lord Chatham had finally ",| c fettled his arrangements, he made feverai offers to different perfons of great weight and connderation, with a view of flrength- ening his minidry, and of detaching them from their friends. But that fuperiority of mind, which had denied him the ufual habits of intercourfe with the world, gave an air of aufterity to his manners, and precluded the policy of a convenient conde- fcenfion to the minutiae of politenefs, and fafcinating powers of addrefs. He made an offer of Secretary of State to Lord Gower, whom he had refufed, when propofed for that office by his brother. He made offers A penfion to Lord Camden on the Irifh Eftablifhment, in cafe he fhould lofe his poft of Lord Chancellor before there is a va- cancy in the Exchequer for his fon; per annum 1500!. A penfion to Cel. Ligonier for life, on England ; per annum 1500!. A furrender of the borough of Orford to Lord Hertford Mr. Stanley appointed AmbaiTador to Ruflia, but never went Lord Briftol appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, but never went An additional penfion to Prince Ferdinand, on the Irifli Eflab. lifhment, per annum aoool. D 2 to 36 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xxxi Pi to Lord Scarborough, Mr. Dowdefwell and v -v / feveral others. But in fuch terms of hau- 1760. teur, as feemed to provoke, though unin- tentionally; the neceflhy ofrefufal*. They were all rejeled. He then waited npon Lord Rockingham, at his houfe in Grofvenor- Sevrrai fquare; but Lord Rockinvham. who was at perfons re- C fuf-piacr,. ] lome refufed to fee him. Thefe circum- JLQ. K. iCK- gfi-toJS fiances chagrined him confiderably. He ha d m. Chat " now found, for the firft time in his life, that fplendid talents alone were not fufficientto fupport the higheft lituations ; that the go- vernment of a party and the government of a nation, were as diftincl: in their features as in their principles. He now felt the lofs of . his brother, Lord Temple, whofe gracious affability procured him the efteem of all ranks of people, while the fplendor of his own talents commanded their admiration. Thefe two great men united, made a hod againft the world ; but when feparated, they became the inftruments of two factions; both of them without intending it, and for fome time without perceiving it : Lord * To the firft, an abrupt meflage was fent, That he might have an office if he would.' To the iecond, 'That fuch an office was ftill vacant.' To a third, ' That he mull take fuch an offic* or none. r Ckatham OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Chatham of the court, and Lord Temple of the oppofition. One of the firft afts of Lord Cfuthw's R n cftor adminiftration, was the restoration of Mr. ^ e Stuart Mackenzie. He did this in the hand- fomeft manner poffible. When Mr. Mac- kenzie was firft appointed to the Jinecure of Privy Seal for Scotland, he was ho- noured with the royal aflurance, that he fhould enjoy the place for his life. But the Duke of Bedford had obliged his Ma- jefty to break his promife in the year 1765, in .order to convince the nation, that he (the Duke) was not under the influence of Lord Bute. Lord Chatham thought this removal fuch a flagrant violation of the royal j>romife that he made this reparation of the King's private honour one of the firft acls of his miniftry without regarding the unpopularity of the meafure. This circumftance indifputably proves, that Lord. Chatham was not unfavourably difpofed to the King's friendlhips, nor even to his par- tialities. And if we reflecl a moment upon the great political talents of his Lordfhip, and the wonderful effecls of his return to office in the year 1757, we may lafely fay, D 3 that >8 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XXXL' tnat every public intereft, and every pri- * "fr-* vate attachment might have been at this 1766. period, as harmonioudy arranged, and would probably have been honoured with equal fuccefs, and fupported by fimilar una- nimity, had he found the fame fidelity in the clofet. The reftoration of Mr. *S. Mackenzie., the faft of his own peerage, and his fudden difference with Lord Temple, gave caufe and credit to a fufpicion, which all the minions of the court afliduoufly encouraged and circulated, and which in a (hort time pre- vailed throughout the kingdom That the Earl of Chatham had joined the Earl of Bute. id; chat- However flrong the appearances were, it is wfti d Lord certam ty true, that the fufpicion was un- Bute - founded, What was faid of Lord Rocking- ham, on a fimilar caufe of fufpicion might with equal veracity be faid of Lord Chat- ham ' That with the Earl of Bute he had no perfonal connection, nor correfpondence of council ; he neiiher courted him, nor perfecuted him, 5 * * By Mr. Burke, CHAP, OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 39 CHAP. XXXII. Embargo on the Exportation of Corn State of Parties Conference between Lord Chatham and the Duke of Bedford at Bath Conference between Lord Chatham and Lord EdgcumbeIts confe- quences The Admiralty offered to Lord Gower Condutt of the Court Second Conference with the Duke of Bedford Breaks off. THERE never was known in England CHAP. 9 XXXII. fo wet a fummer as that of this year. V -^ N O- - ' * 1700. From the month of March to the month of Auguft, there were not fuccefiively two fair days. This uncommon feafon injured the corn harveft prodigiouily. Towards the end of the fummer, when the extent of the in- jury was manifeft, minifters held feveral councils upon the fubjecl. At length they iffued a proclamation, commanding an em- bargo to be laid on the exportation of corn. Lord Chatham did not attend any of thefe councils. To the fecond council he fent his opinion in writing, which was in favour of the embargo. When Parliament met, minillers defended their conduct upon this D 4 parti- mation corn. A O ANECDQ.TES AND SPEECHES ^c\xiif particular point, by the (lime arguments, *- - 1 and avowed the fame do6lrines which had 4766. been u fed in the defence of fimilar arbitrary mrafires by the friends of the Stuarts. The conditution was very ably fupported by Lord Mansfield,*LoYd Temple, and Lord Lytlleton. And their arguments were after- wards publifhed in a pamphlet, entitled, A Speech again/I the juf pending and difpenfing Prerogative. Many people afcribed this fpeech to Lord Mansfald* But they were miftaken. The parrphlet was written under the eye of Lord Tempi?, by a gentleman at the bar, who was prefect at the debate, and who was alfo allifled in the compaction by Lo:d Lyttleton. A few days after the proclamations were ifiued re pecting the embargo*, Lord Chat" ha')i retired to Bath for the benefit of his heiihh. During bis flay at Bath, the Duke of BedfprdicAfm there for the iame reafon. L -):d . bi'- : i I.M f-'licitedan interview with statr of his Gr<)ce. ilis Lordlhip's view was, to d- a '; t'.ie Duke from Mr. GrenviUe. Lord (.huh tui was i.oi unacquainted, that a pow^ * They were dated September a6th, 1766. erful OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. \ crful and violent oppofnion was forming againfl him. It was menaced, that this oppofition would confifl of the late miniftry, whom, for diftinction's fake, and becaufe the Duke of Newcaftle was yet alive, was fome- times called the Pdhams\ of the relations of his own family, and their friends, who* though a minor party, were yet a growing- one ; and of the Bedford intereft, which at that time was refpeclable, firm and compact. The two laft interefts were united. His cle- fign was to feparate them ; and to ftrengthen. his adminiftration by an acquifition of the Duke of Bedford. He therefore opened his ^ n c n e fe b r ; conference with his Grace, by making the jjjjjj flrongeft aflurances, that he (hould be par- p u d k l c h jf ticularly happy to fee the King's adminiftra- tion countenanced and fupported by his Grace's approbation and intereft. The Duke making no reply to this exordium, t Lord Cfialhim proceeded, by faying, that he would frankly lay before his Grace the prin- cipal meafures he intended to purlue. Firft. He intended to keep the peace inviolate, and to keep a watchful eye over the Princes on thq Continent, that they did the fame. Secondly. At ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES t Secondly. He would enter into no conti- nental connections, nor make any fubfidiary treaty with any European power. Thirdly. He would obferve fuch a Uriel: and rigid ceconomy, as (hould command the approbation of the moft frugal member of Parliament. The Duke replied, that thefe were the very meafures for which he had always de- clared and contended. They were his mea- fures, and he would certainly fupport them, whethei 1 his friends were in, or out of office. Not a word was fpoken of America, nor of any arrangements. They parted in fimilar conceptions, that this interview was only a prelude to another. And this accounts for a great part of the Bedford inter eft being neuter at the meeting of Parliament. Lord Chatham's next flep was, an attempt to divide the Newcaftle interejl. He began with Mr. Shelly, the Duke's near relation. To him, he promifed the Staff of Treafurer of OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 4 g of the Houfhold; which at this time was in the hands of Lord Edgcumbe. In his expectations of accomplifhing his defign, he was too fanguine. It is true, he pro- cured the difmidion of Lord Edgcumbe, and the appointment of Mr. Shelly; but the dif- mifTion of Lord Edgcumbe was attended with confequences which rather weakened than ftrengthened his adminiftration; and fo far from dividing, or difmaying his oppo- nents, rather cemented their union, and provoked their refentment. The particulars of this difmiflion were as follows : * " About the 2Oth of November. 1765, ' ence be- the Minifter fent a note to Lord E. acquaint- e ;r ee ? Ld - Chatham ing his Lordftiip, " That a Great Perfon- gj age had determined upon making fome alterations in his fervants ; and that he [the Minifter] mould be glad to fee Lord E. in Bond-ftreet, or he would wait upon his Lordfhip in Upper Grofvenor-ftreet." Lord E. direftly waited upon the Minifter in Bond-ftreet. The Minifter began with t * From the Political Regifter, Vol. i, p. 275. com- 44 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES I if commending his Lordfhip's abilities, his ^ virtues, his integrity, and recited the con- tents of his letter. Then, after fome paufe, he faid, " He was very forry for it, was ex- tremely concerned it mould happen fo* but it was neceflary." Here Lord E. flopped him fhort, and bluntly demanded, " if his pofl was deflined for another." The Minifter, after a little paufe, acknow- ledged that it was, and that it had been fo for fome time. Lord E. then proceeded to remind him of the meafures of the late op- pofition; " that he had, four years, fteadily and uniformly fupported thofe meafures; meafures which he [the Minifler"] had ap- proved and adopted, and which were now happily effected: that he had never deferted any of the great queftions upon the fubjefts of the liberties and intereils of his country; and exprefled his aflonifhment that this treatment mould be the reward of a conduct that had manifeftly the approbation of, and was agreeable to, the fpirit and principles of the Minifler, while in oppofition." The force of thefe truths, and this conclufion, obvioufly made an imprefiion upon the Mi- nifler: and he faid, " that however unwilling a Great Perfonage was to increafe the num- ber OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. ber of his Lords of the Bedchamber, yet he [the Minifter] would neverthelefs ven- ture to place his Lordfhip upon that lift." Lord E. direftly made anfwer, " That how- ever willing he really was to hold fome place, in order that he might continue in office with his friends, and fupport the meafures of government, yet, after this ufage, he would not take any place, nor refign that which he held, to any but the Great Per- fonage himlelf." And added " that it was extremely impolitic thus to turn out perfons of rank; perfons of great parliamentary intereft." The Minifter burft out "Oh!" faid he, " if that be the cafe, Let me fed my- " j c tf- I defpife your parliamentary in^ *' tereft! I do not want your affiftance!" And added, " that he trufted to the upright- nefs of his meafures for the fupport and con- fidence of the K , and the favour and attachment of the people ; and a&ing upon thefe principles," faid he, " / dare look in the face the proudeft connexions of this coun- try!" They parted. " Two days after, Lord E. received a note fignifying a Great Perfon's defire of his ftafF. On Monday the 24th of November,- 1766, ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES > ne waited on the Great Perfon, who l ^ at ^ e was ver 7 f rr y to P art with his Lordfhip, of whofe fervices he had a very high opinion, as well as of his Lord- (hip's abilities, and attachment to his perfon, and efpecially becaufe his Lordfhip had no mixture of factious principles in his difpo- iition; But," fays he, ' My minifterstell me it muft be fo;" and added, " that the idea of the bed-chamber was purely his own." Lord E. returned the Great Perfon " his iincere and mod humble thanks for the good opinion he was pleafed to entertain of him ; and expreffed the great obligation he was under for it, and the more fo," added he, * 4 for not preffing the bed-chamber upon me ; all which more than pay me for the ill ufage of your miniilers." The ft aft" was given up, and Mr. Shelly appointed Trea- furer of the Houfhold. iu confe. " Next day the Earl of Befsborough, who was Qne Q f t j ie j j nt Poft-mafters, offered to make room for Lord E. by propofmg to re- (ign that poftin favour of his Lordfliip, and taking the bed-chamber, which had been offered to that Lord. But this obliging offer was rejected. Upon which the Duke of Port- OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Portland, the Earls of Bef thorough and Scar- borough, and Lord Monfon, religned the next day, which was Wednefday, November the 26th, 1766. And thefe relignations were immediately followed by thofe of Sir Charles Saunders, Sir William Meredith, Admiral Kcppcl, &c." In confequence of thefe refignations,Lord ^j Chatham refolved to renew his overtures to LdGoW8rj the Bedford intereft. The office of firft lord of the Admiralty, which Sir Charles Saunders had refigned, he immediately ten- dered to Lord Gower. But that Lord did not think proper to accept it (though he did not refufe it) without firft confulting' the Duke of Bedford, who at this time was at Wooburn. And having given this an- fwer to Lord Chatham, he went on the 28th to Wooburn to confult his Grace. Next day Lord Chatham had a long conference in the clofet. He laid open the plan of his in- tended alliance with the Bedford inter eft t to fill the vacancies occafioned by the late re- fignations. But the conduct of the great leader of this intereft, when lail in office, had created fo violent a prejudice againft him, Lord Chatham found the execution of his 48 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES to De impracticable in the whole extent that he defigned it; for he intended to have included the Duke himfelf in his new arrangement. But lie was intreated to abandon all thoughts of that nobleman. He was promifed the warmeft, the fulleft, moft fincere, and moft effectual fupport. He yielded to thefe affu ranees, or, as he faid afterwards, he could not refift them: and feveral vacant offices were filled be- fore Lord Cower returned from Wooburn. The names of the perfons appointed, will fufficiently diftinguifh the intereit which prevailed. Lord Le Defpencer, who had been Lord Bute's Chancellor of the Ex- chequer, was made Poftmafter ; Mr. Jen- kinfon, now Lord Liverpool, who had been Lord Bute's private fecretary, was made a Lord of the Admiralty. The reft the rea- der will find in the Lift of Changes at the end of the Work. By this arrangement, Lord Chatham feemed to be entirely united to the court. He certainly truiled to the promifes which had been made for his fup- port; and he gave them full credit, becaufe he believed them to be fincere. OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. On the firft of December Lord Gower re- turned from Wooburn, with the Duke of Bedford. . A few hours after their arrival in London, the Duke waited on Lord Chat- ham, in Bond-ftreet. The conference be- tween thefe two noble Peers was very fhort. Lord Chatham's purpofe was to conceal the engagement he had made with the court. The Duke's idea was, that the negociation begun at Bath, and continued with Lord Gower, was ftill open. His Grace there- fore requefted fome of the vacant offices for his friends, and an Englifh peerage for the Marquis of Lome, now Duke of Argyll. He afkcd nothing for himfelf ; but added, that the meafures which had been avowed at Bath, he expected were dill to be purfued. Lord Chatham began with putting a pofitive and unqualified negative on the peerage of Lord Lome. Then, as to the offices, he faid, there were very few vacant. He had beftowed the Adrnirahy upon Sir Edzvard Hawke, and given to Mr. Jenkinfon and Sir Piercy Brett the two vacant feats at that Board, and Lord Le Defpenccr was deflined for the Pott-office. And as to meafures, he obferved, he had never altered his opinion pf the peace, it was the fame that he had VOL. II. E declared *Q ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xxxn' declared in Parliament : And with refpefl *^~ to PrufTia, he was refolved to fnpport and maintain the alliance with that monarch. From thefe anfwers, the Duke was con- vinced, that all thoughts of negociation were at an end, and next morning his Grace re- turned to Wooburn, CHAP. OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. CHAP. XXXIII. further arrangements. Lord Chatham regets the Lofs of Lord Temple. Seized with the Gout at Bath, and at Marlborough Comes to Hcmp- Jlead. Another Change meditated. General Con-way wifJies to rejign. Lord Northingion zui/hes to refign. King's Mejfage to Lord Choi- ham. Duke of New c a/lie is vtry anxious to pre- ferve the Union of the Oppojit,ion. Application to Lord Rockingham. Declaration e/ the Duke of Bedford, Lord Temple and M>\ Grenuille. Declaration of the Duke of Newca/lle Con- ference at Newca/lle Houfe. Breaks off. Im- portance of the Minijler of the Houfe of Com- mons. America the Trine Caufe. Second Con- ference at Newcajlle Houfe. Anecdotes of Mr. Lowndss Tickets, and of the J edge's T ckets. Nabob of Arccfs Members. Jtidge Yates tam- pered with. Lord Rockingham waits on the King. Lord Holland advfes the King. WITH a view to de'ach fome of the CHAP. Duke of Bedford's friends from his Grace's intereft, Lord Chatham, in ten days . i r range- after the preceding negociation was clofed, cm. gave the fame peerage to the Marquis of E 2 Lome, ga ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxtn.' Lorns, which he had refufed to the requeft ^^7^ of tne Duke of Bedford. And at the fame time Mr. Nugent, who was placed at the head of the Board of Trade, was created Lord Clare. But the American bufinefs, ufually managed and tranfacled at that Board, was transferred to the office of the Southern Secretary of State ; and the Board itfelf was reduced to the (late of a board of reference only. As foon as Lord Chatham had made this alteration, and a few other lefler arrangements, he went intQ i Somerfetmire. Although the vacant offices were filled, yet he was far from being fatisfitd with the choice he had been obliged to make of feve- ral of the individuals, or with the union he hii?e- at ~ been obliged to accept. And he regretted, fo*of hc more than any other circum fiance, the lofs pi*'. T " of his brother Lord Temple lecaufe he felt that lofs more and more every day. He now felt the lofs of a repofitory of his confidence the folace of his hours of af- fiiftion. Grief, vexation, and difappoinN ment, preyed upon his nerves ; which, though in early life, naturally flrong, were now become weak, by age and infirmity. His OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. CHAP. XXXIII; His peerage had diminifhed his popularity. * A confiderable part of his miniftry, confift- " _^~ J ed of men who had been appointed through neceflity, not through choice ; and this cir- cumftance being notorious to thofe whom he had felected in the firft inftance, infpired them with a fpirit of envy and ambition, to become the rivals ofhisfituationand power. He was agitated by contending paflions a mind fometimes vigorous, and often de- prefled his body tortured by pain, and imprifoned by infirmity he fell into a pa- roxyfm of the gout at Bath, which feemed Scizcd to threaten his extinction. In the month of ith ' he Gout at February 1767, he attempted to return to Bath * London, but was unable to proceed fur- ij6 7 . ther than Marlborough ; where he lay un- An a at til March, and then nniftied his journey, rough. 1 " He retired to a houfe he had hired at Hampftead ; but was in fo feeble a ftate he Comct u could not attend to any public bufinefs. He. remained at Hampftead fome time, having fold his eftate at Hayes, in Kent. The air of Hampftead was too (harp for his diforder that of Hayes he thought fuited him better; therefore he wifhed to re-poffefs his former habitation ; which be- ing made known to Mr. Walpole, the pur- E 3 chafer, r^ ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxin'. chafer, he very politely gratified his Lord- v -v-^ (hip, notwithttanding he had bought the place for his own refidence. Another During his abfence, Mr. TownfJiend, in fome degree, affumed the reins of govern- ment. He fuppofed Lord Chatham's flate of health to be fuch as would totally, and for ever, preclude his return to public bu- fmefs. He therefore meditated the accom- plifhment of fome alliances, with a view of forming another adminiftration for the efta- blifhment of his own power. In this pro- ject he was joined by General Conway. They cultivated a favourable underftanding with Lord Rockingham. Their firft objeft was the removal of the Duke of Gr a/ton ; but Lord Chatham arriving in the vicinity of London, the defign was abandoned, and the Duke and Mr. TownJIiend became re- conciled *. During Lord Chatham's (lay at Hamp- {lead, the King fent frequent meilages to him, defiring him not to be concerned at his confinement, or abfence from public * They had differed upon the affairs of India. bufinefs ; OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. bufinefs ; for that he [the King] was re folved to fupport him. * " Early in the month of Tune, Gen. General . . Conway Conway declared to feveral of his friends, >. t that he had refolved to refign his office of Secrexary of State ; becaufe his fituation was of late become very difagreeable to him, not only from having been frequently over-ruled in his opinions refpecling mea- fures ; but from his being fenfible, that he was acling in oppofition to his friends, and particularly to thofe friends with whom he anxioufly wifhed to be re-united. And he made the fame declaration, or fomething not very unlike it, to the King ; but at the fame time faid, he would (lay till a fuc- ceffor was appointed* In confequence of this declaration, he ceafed to tranfa6l any bufmefs of his office, and circular letters were fent to the ambaffadors for four weeks together, fignifying that he was out of employment. Towards the end of June, Lord Nor- Lord Nor. thington declared to the King his refolution % * From the Political Regifter, (with feveral corrections and additions). Vol. I. page 301, &c. 4 to refigm 36 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxx A m. to refign, on account of his ill flate of v "^""' health, and real inability to attend the pub- lic bufmefs ; and advifed the King to fend for the Duke of Bedford, Lord Temple, and Mr. Grenville, whom he had before publicly declaied -were equal to their offices. This, though an expefted event, bore no relation to the .preceding declaration of Mr. Conway, nor were the two perfons in the (mailed degree connecled. King's A few days after the rifing of Parliament, xord which, was on the fecond day of July, the Chatham. J , , King wrote a letter with his own hand to Lord Chatham, who lay lick at Hampftead, acquainting him of his refolution to make fome alterations in his fervants, and defiring his afllltance or advice. Lord Chatham re- turned a verbal anfwer to this effect, " That fuch was his ill flate of health, that his Ma- jefly rnufl not expert from him any further advice or afliftance, in any arrangement whatever. ^ being now certain, that application rnuft be made to fome part of the oppofi- tion, the Duke of Newcafile, who dreaded nothing OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. nothing fo much, as a duifion of them, and therefore had for fome time ftronely re- ' commended a firm union among them, againft the fecret defigns of the Favourite, whom he fufpected would form fome new manoeuvre to divide them. His Grace con- verfed with the friends of all the leaders in the Qppofition ; and preifed with particular affiduity and extraordinary ardjur, the great and indifpenfible neceffity of a faith- ful and fteady adherence to each other. He (hewed the advantages which muft refult from fuch an union, and exhibited the wretched and ruined fituation into which any part of them muft inevitably fall, if they fuffer themfelves to be feduced from their friends. His Grace took infinite pains to unite the houles of Rujfd and Wentworth, ; left, by the fecret machinations of the Fa- vourite (againft whofe pernicious influence no adminifiration had hitherto been able to (land, the moment he chofe to become their enemy), either of them fhould be feduced upon a miftaken principle of duty ; when, in reality, it was a much more eflential duty, and a matter of ftricl juftice, to enquire after the author of the public grievances, , than to connive any longer at the protection afforded g ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES X"XII P I. afforded him. With a view to the final ' v' accomplifhment of this union, fo extremely interefting to the welfare of the country, the Lords Gower, Weymouth and Mr. Rigby, dined with his Grace at Claremont: and a few days afterwards (July 5, i?^), the Marquis of Rockingham, and feveral of his friends, dined likewife wiih his Grace at the fame place. At this period we will leave the Oppofi- tion, and turn to the proceedings of the Court. In confequence of the verbal anfwer re- ceived from Hampftead, the Favourite ap- plied to his former aflbciate, Lord Holland, who had fo materially afTifled him in pro- curing an approbation of the late peace, and other meafures. That perfon fent him his advice on Sunday morning, July the fifth ; foon after the receipt of which, the Favou- rite fet out for Richmond ; and it was re- markable, and much taken notice of at the time, that the King did not come to town that day. Whatever was the plan then adopted for a new arrangement of minifters is not exactly known. Certain it is, that that OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. that part of the Oppofition fuppofed to be the lead hoftile to the Favourite, was imme- drately applied to. The Duke of Grafton wrote a letter, by order of the Court, to the Marquis of Rockingham, " requefiing Rock his Lordihip's return to court, to aflift in the prefent critical fituation of affairs." This naturally brought on an interview between the Duke and the Marquis: when, among other things, his Grace faid, " That he was tired of his office, and wiflied his Lordfhip might be his fuccefTor." Lord 'Rocking/iam afked, " Whether his Grace faid this from his own, or the authority of an higher power." The Duke faid, " he could not anfwer that queflion." The conference broke off; but two days after was renewed ; when Lord Rockingham afl^ed the Duke, " Whether he was treating with the King's Minifter, or with the Duke of Grafton!' The Duke anfwered, " with the King's Minifter." Lord Rockingham then faid, " he would not conclude upon any thing with- out the advice and participation of his friends." Accordingly, on Saturday July 1 1, he fet out for Wooburn, the feat of the Duke of Bedford, 60 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES f.' Bedford, where he found Lord Albemarle t who had flopped there in his way to Bux- ton; when the above particulars being laid fn ec ot ra i before his Grace, he faid, " that as the Bedford. Great Perfonage had made choice of the Marquis of Rockihgham for his minifler, he fliould r; adily acquiefce in that nomination, for the fake of putting an end to' parties, and of refloring unanimity, fo peculiarly wanting at this time in the management of the public bufinefs : but though he re- nounced all pretenfions to any place or emo- lument for himfelf, yet he did not mean that his friends mould, for that reafon, be exclud- ed : on the contrary, he Ripulated, that they mould be confidered in the new arrange- ment; and upon that condition he cheerful- ly offered his fupportto the adminiilration; and added, that if the King had made choice of himfelf to treat with, he fliould have expected the fame kind of renunciation from his Lordmip, regarding himfelf perfon- ally, and his friends mould, in like manner, have been taken care of. However, his Grace faid, that all this was conditionally only, for that he and Lord Temple and Mr. Grenville were one. and that he would not proceed without confulting them. The infor- OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. information given concerning the plan was, that as to meafures, particularly American ' r / meafures, Lord Rocki gharri hoped they might be fettled to the joint fatis faction of the Duke of Bedford, Lord Temple,, and Mr. Grenville, and as to men. Lord Rock- incr/ia n declared for a wide and comprehen- live fvflem. The anfwer returned to this . , - on of Lord communication bv Lord Temple and Mr. Tcmpie ' * and Mr* Grenville was, that they concurred in the Grenville - idea of a comprehenfive adminiftration, as the likelied to be permanent, and that they were ready to fupport fuch an adminiilra- tion, though out of office (Mr. Grenville having before infifted, that his name fhould not b:: mentioned for any office, having de- termined long ago not to be obtruded on the King), provided they adopted fuch meafures as could fatisfy them, and par- ticularly i he capital meafure of afTertmg and eflablilhing the fovereignty of Great Britain over America; laftly. that if this were the cafe, though they did not mean to take places themfelves, they would ufe their beft offices with their friends to accept of honourable and becoming fjtuations in government. It 62 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxnr. It muft not be forgot, that the Duke of Newcnflle faid precifely the fame. Thus, e, tliefc four great and refpeciable perfons, of o h f acknowledged ability and great experience, agreed to facrifice themfelves in order to re- ftoretranquility to the public, unanimity to the King's councils, and to eftablifh an able and permanent adminiftnuion, compofed of men of talents, judicioufly felecled from all parties. Lord Rockingham imprefTed with this idea, and following, as he had done, in his conferences with the Duke of Bedford, the advice and direction of his friend Lord Albemarle, returned to London, with full power to treat upon the formation of a new adminiftration. upon a broad and comprehen- five fyjiem. The Duke of Graf ton was made acquainted with this, and defired to report it to the King, which he did on the 15th of July. His Majefty took two days to confider of it. On Friday the lyth, an anfwer was returned to the Duke of Graftal to this effecl, " That the King adopted and approved of the idea of a comprehenfive Jyf- tem, and hoped it was not rr.eant to exclude his friends, and thofe about his perfon , for the reft he entirely agreed/' This OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. This anfwer being given to Lord Rocking- ham, his Lordfhip fent for the Duke of Bed- ford, who came to London on Sunday evening, the igth of July. On Monday, July the 2Oth, it was agreed that there fhould be a meeting of the feveral perfons in town, at Newcaftle-houfe that day, and accordingly there came the Dukes of Bedford, Newcaftle, Richmond, and Port- land: the Marquis of Rockingham ; the Earl of Sandwic/i; Vifcount Weymouth; Mr. Dowdejwett, Mr. Rtgby, and Admiral KeppeL Mr. Rigby read a letter from Mr. Gren- viile, wherein that gentleman promifed his f p )ort to the new adminillration, out of cfft e, provided the dependance and obedi- , ence of the colonies were afferted and main- tained. Much altercation inftantly arofe upon reading this letter. The Marquis of Rockingham was warm: the Duke of Bed- ^ ford remarkably cool and temperate. At length, Lord Sandwich faid, " that it was rieedlefs to debate about that letter, for he was certain they all meant the fame thing; that their conduct refpefting the colonies inufl ence a f Ncwaftle Huuie. 64 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES m "ft be regulated by the future behaviour of the colonies, and not by any regard or rctrofpe6t to former tranfaclions. If the colonies, added his Lordfhip. are dutiful and loyal, there will be no occafion to exer- cife any extraordinary power over them; and if they fhould be otherwife, he did not doubt but all prefLnt, as well as their friends, would join in every proper and necrlTary meafure to enforce obedience. Trm realbn- ing being approved of, and all uniting in the fame fcntiment, Mr. Dowdefwell took up the letter, and (truck out the two words cfferted and maintained, and put in f up ported and eflabiijiud. Here all altercation upon this fubjefcl entirely ended. Mr. Rigby fold- ed up the letter, and put it into his pocket, and there was not another word uttered concerning it. They then came to the arrangement of men to the great offices; the fubjecl upon which they met. The Marquis of Rocking- ham propofed himfelf for the firft Lord of the Treafury ; with the powers ufually an- nexed to that poft, and Mr. Dowdejwell for his Chancellor of the Exchequer; to all which the Duke of Bedford agreed. The Marquis OF THE EARL OF' CHATHAM. fii Marquis next propofed Mr. Conway for Se- xxjun. cretary of State, and Mimjler of the Houfe I ~^ J of Commons. To which the Duke of Bed~ ford faid, " that he had for two felfions feen fufficient proofs of Mr. Conway' s inability in a civil capacity, ever to agree to that pro- pofal; that he thought the military was Mr. Conway's proper line; that he had always entertained a very high opinion of him as a military officer; that he had not the leaft objection to Mr. Comvay's being amply pro- vided for on the military eftablimment ; nay, to his being gratified to the utmoft of his wifhes/' The Marquis of Rockingham faid, " that it was a propofal from which he could not break1 off< recede ; and other words to the fame effecl;. Upon which Mr. Rigby faid, " that they itopt at the threfhold, and that it was need* lefs to go any further into the matter." Here the conference ended. -No other particulars or conditions were even men- tioned In a corrupt fyflem of government, the import- ance of the Minijler of the Houfc of Commons, or Mana- afteroi IT TT -r the Houfe VOL. II, K ger f 66 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxVm' er > asne is fometimes called, is the firfl efficient* minifler in the flate. His confe- quence ctrnot be more clearly (hewn than by the abrupt conclufion of the preceding conference. After fo many oppofite inte- refts had been reconciled, and fo many great facrifices had been made, to remove indivi- dual jealoufies, and to eftablifh public har- mony all thefe were but a phantom they all vanimed in a moment when the ap- pointment of this new Minijier came under difcuflion. Each party wifhed to nominate him. They differed, and feparated upon that point only not in a contention for places, but in a contention for power. Whoever is the minifler of the Houfe of Commons, has the power of fupporting the meafures of government. Lord Rocking- ham wanted Mr. Conway, becaufe he in- tended to perfevere in his own fyftem, with refpeft to America. The Duke of Bedford intended to have nominated Mr. Rigby, be- caufe he intended to purfue the Court fyf- tem, which Mr. Grenmllc had adopted, of * A diftin&ion firft made ule of by Lord Mansfield between fficieut and official between confidential and oftenfible. taxing OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 67 taxing America. America was therefore xx the true caufe of this conference breaking off. Subfequent events have proved, whole A policy was right. Had Lord Rockingham 1 & been minirter, America would flill, in all probability, have belonged to the crown of Great Britain. Or had this fyftem of ap- pointing a minifter of the Houfe of Com- mons been abandoned, that* and other im- portant benefits, would, no doubt, have continued ; becaufe the members would have been left to the free exercife of their own judgment. It is impoflible to difhilfs this point with- out a fhort apoPcrophe on the alarming flate of Britifh depravity. If the adminiflration of annual bribes to the Members of the Le- giflature, independent of the influence of places, public and private, is become fo ne- ceffary, and the practice fo mechanical as to comprife the moji effentiaL department of go- vernment is it not a matter of indelible difgrace on the nation, and on the conflitu- tion? There is no fpecies of corruption to be found in the ancient governments that equals it. It is a perfect parricide. The Britilh empire has been difmembered by it Fa -fp 68 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES XA.AI'L f fatally true is that maxim of Lord 'TTT*' Burleigli, " that England can never be un- done but by her Parliament* " Notwith- * Of the many FACTS which might be ftated, the following may ferve for a fpecimea : Towards the end of the felfion, the Secretary of the Treafury, Mr. Brad/lain, one day accofts Mr. Lo*wndes (Member for Bucks) with, Sir, you have 'voted -with us all the ivinter; fame return is ufually txpecJed upon tbefe occajions ; and as lue are much obliged to you for your c onjlant fupport, if you cbufe to accept of Moo hundred Lottery Tickets, at Ten Pounds each, they arc at yourferi/ice. Mr. Lcrwndes bowed, exprefled his great friendfhip for the Secretary, and accepted of the offer ; adding only, That as the feflion was juft upon the clofe, he fhould, as foon as it was finifhed, go into the country upon his private affairs; and begged the tickets might be fent to fuch a one, his banker; which the Secretary having promifed to comply with, they parted. Mr. Lowndfs went to Winflow. The tickets were delivered : none, however, were fent to Mr. Lo-icndes's banker. The reafon of which was, they had been distributed among that part of the Common Council who voted againd the Livery having the ufe of Guildhall. Mr. Loivndes, hearing nothing of the tickets, wrots to his banker, .who returned for anfwer, that he had not received nor heard of, any tickets. Mr. Loivndes next wrote to Mr. Jtradjbaiv, who in his anfwer, " begged a thoufand pardons ; that the matter had quite flipped his memory;, that the tickets were all difpofed of, except five-and-twenty, which were at his fervice." Mr. Lotundes meanly accepted of the twenty-five, and they were fent to his banker's. By thefe tickets he probably cleared about one hundred pounds. Sucli was his douceur fur votinf one feffion with the Duke of Graf ton. In a late Parliament; the Nabob of Arcot had nine members in his intereft Might not any European prince have twice that num- ber by the fame means ?^Do not thefe fa&s^peak ftronger than a thoufand arguments, the neceffity of a Parliamentary Reform > But OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. No.twithftanding the conference ended in the manner that has been already related, the But it is further remarkable, and in the breaft of every honed man it muft be matter of fmcere lanientati >n, that douceurs have been given even to the Judges. Sir Richard AJion, in part ; culir, was feen Celling his tickets in 'Change Alley; and when the fact was mentioned to him at the Old Bailey at dinner, he confefied it, and faid, he had as good a right to fell his tickets as Mr. Ju .ice Willet, or .any body elfe.. Is not this circumft .ce a full anfvvcr 1 to all the encomiums on the independence of the Judges ? But what Mr.' Alderman James Toivnfe nd laid in the Hoire of Commons, on the fixth day of December 1770, is, if poilible, of more importance than the preceding. " I am afraid," he faid, " that there is too gi\at a vicinity between Weftminfter-hall and St. James's. I fufj-ect, and the people fuipeft, that their correfpondence is too clofe and intimate. But why do I fay it is fulpecTed ? It is a known avowed fa^. A late J .dge, equally re- markable for his knowledge and in egrity, was tampered with by ^dminiftration. He was folicited to favour the Crown in certaia trials, which were then depending between the Crown and the iiibjecl. I hear fome gentlemen defiring me to name the Judge: but there is no neceiTuy for it. ( Sir JoJ'tph Yates was the 'Judge meant.) The fact is known to feveral me.ubers of this Houfe j and if I do not fpeak truth, let hofe who can, contradict me. I call upon them to rife, that the public may not be abufed but jail are filent, and can as little invalidate what 1 have faid, as what I am going to fay. This great, ihts honeft Judge, being thus folicited in vain, what was now to be dyne? What was the I aft refource of baflk.d injuitice ? that was learned from a Ihort con- venation which pa.Ted between h.m and lo^ie friends, a little be- fore his death. The lalt and moi* powerful engine was applied. A letter was fent him duecth from a Great Perfoi/age : but as he fufpecled it to contain iomething d.monourab e, he fent it back unopened. He could not die in peace 'till he had difclofed this fceneof iniquity! 1 * Fj An4 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES ' tne Earl f Sandwich having occafion to make a vifit to the Duke of Newcaflte, his Lordfhip went next morning (Tuefday, July 21), when the Duke took an oppor- tunity of refuming the fubje6i of the pre- ceding conference; " He earrieftly conjured his Lordfhip to exert his abilities, and em- ploy all his good offices in endeavouring to reconcile the parties who had differed ; he urged again, and again, the neceflity of their agreeing upon this important occafion: he trembled for the mifchiefs anddangers which iriuft arife from a divifinn of their ftrength and interefl; and concluded with repeatedly fupplicating in the ftfdngeft terms, that they might be brought together again at his houie that evening." Lord Sandwich, waited on the Duke of Bedford; and the Duke of New- caftle went himi'elf to the Marquis of Rock- ing/iam. Accordingly the following five And in a pamphlet, publifhed by Robert Mrr-V,Efq rf L.nco'n's Inn, entitled, A Letter to Sir Ritbard JJlon, ar. th e words, *' Wh.Kt the offence of libelling is treafed as the molt dun ,erous, hateful, aiui fl;'j'tious, the King is confuhed upon the revenge which lie would chu:e to take upon his admonilhers ; tor it was manifelt, from Mr. Juftice djlorfs, Speech, upon the iaf<- of one of the publifhers ( f Junius's Letters, [Profecution of Mr. A ^ that his Majefty was not quite out of the fecret of that pio.ecut tion." Page 37. OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM, .met at Newcaflle-houfe that evening, viz. the Dukes of Bedford and Newcafllc, the Marquis of Rocking/iam, Mr. Doiodefwctt, g d and Mr. Rizby. When the Marquis infift- inf chafe Corfica Diffe- rence between the Duke of Bedford and Lord Shelburne Lord Rochford rcfigns L n rd Shel- burne reJignsFine Diamond Ring prefented to' his Majejly Lord Rochford made Secretary of State ) with the Reafons Lord Chatham refigns Lord Bute goes abroad Lord TownfJiend conti- nued in Ireland. xxxiv A/I 1 *' TOWNSHEND obferving, that . JLVX no 'notice had been taken of him in the preceding; ne^ociations for a change of MrTown- . f aVfc been (irfl Lord of the Treafury before the en iuing feflion of Parliament; and Mr. Yo: ke wa , to have been his Chancellor. His death, which happened early in the month of September, threw both the Court and the Mini [fry into frem difficulties. Every effort had been made to form a newadminiftration in vain. Every party had been folicited, individuals feparately , and connections joint- ly, without fuccefs. But. there was one part of the Royal Family that had not publicly appeared in any of thefe negociations : this was the Princej's of Wales. Mr. Towti/hentPs place of Chancellor of the Exchequer was offered to feveral Gen- tlemen, who refufed to accept of it. At length jt was thought of giving it to Lord * He brought in the bill laying a duty upon tea in America, {See Appendix W.} Samngfon y ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xxxiv! Barrington, pro tempore. Lord Mansfield ^^ attempted to open a negociation with the Duke of Bedford. But his Grace refufed to enter into any feparate treaty. Lord North, who, during Mr. Grenvifle's adminiftration, had been entrufted with all the motions againft Mr. Wilkes, was defired to fucceed Mr. Tow* -fiend, but he declined it. The Princefs oj Wales went to the King. His Lordfhip was again entreated he took time jpp'onucd to confider of it he confulted his father. After hefitating three weeks, he yielded. The'. Princefis influence prevailed. Mr. Thomas Townjliend, now Lord Sydney, fuc- ceedcd Lord North at the Pay office, and Mr. Jtnkinfon, now Lord Liverpool, fuc- eeeded Mr; Townjkend at the Treafury. In making this arrangement, no commu- nication was had with Lord Chatham, by either the Court, or the Miniflry. As foon La. caat. as ^is health permitted, he retired into So^ S&SS. merfetfhire. His departure from the vici- nity of the metropolis, though he had not been confulted in any bufmefs whatever, 'was confidered by the Miniftry as a kind of dereliction of public bufinefs. However., he continued to hold the Privy Seal. The OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. The Duke of Graft&n, who fometime ago c XXXIV. y_ wifhed to refign. on account of Lord Chat- . ... kajn's infirmity*, now changed his opinion; but Lord Northington and General Conway ilill exprefling their dcfire to reHgn, hi s Grace refoived to try the friends c f the Duke of Bedford once more. If they had refufed, he mult have refigned. and a new admimlt ra- tion rnuft have been formed. But the per- fons to whom his Grace made his of ers, '-"^fe could not withfland the temptation any Mimar r- longer; they feparated from their friends and allies ; thereby preventing the appoint- ment of an able and powerful adminiilration, and bargained to fupport the prefent, which feemed to conlift of the remnants and re- fufe of all parties. Lord Gower was made Lord Prefident, in the room of Lord North- ington ; Lord Weymouth, Secretary of State, in the room of Mr. Conway ; Mr. Rigby, Vice-Treafurer of Ireland, in the room of Mr. OJwald, who had a large penfion and a lucrative reverfion. Lord Hill/borough was * Lord Brijlol gave the fame reafon for reHgning the Lieute- nancy of Ireland at the er.d of July, " That he had no hope of having the advice, direction, and alMance of Lord Chatham" Upon which Lord Townjbcnd was appointed. made an- 78 ANFCDOTES AND xx\1v P ' made Secretary of Sta*e for America*. Lord v "^p j Sandwich, made Pod-matter, &c. \Vr.ilethe r gociati' n forthe! changes was under con-* lideration, the Duke of Bedford laid to Mr. Grenville, ' That he hoped it would not be fbid'sfpl coi-.fid-- cd as a breach of good faith, if his loj;y - Eirruis thought themfelves at liberty to ac- crj.i of any offers which might be made to them of public employments.' Mr. Gren. Mr. Grenville replied, " That he left to ' . * pi his Grace s own judgment, whether, fetting every private compa6i and agreement afide, the acceflion of his friends to the prefent * The creation of this new office, and the character of the n be Lord who was a} pointed to it, were fuch ft rong marks of tlie defiijns, the plan, and the refoiution taken, with rel'peft to the "Coton'es, that an alarm inflantly went forth amongft them. No- ticing could more clearly (>inify, that thw Court weie preparing to make them the objects of ibme extiaordinary meafure lincc another Secretary of State, with a compleat eftabliftnnent of offi( e, lud been appointed feparately and diftinctly, for this de- partment at a time of great inconvenience to his Majefty when the Civil Lit was deeply in ar.ear. His Lordfhip's lirft impor- tant att of office ^ was fending Lord Bottetourt, Governor of Vir- gin a; and his apology for it was, That the nomination catnefron%> a higher authority. Lord Cbejlerfield fays in his Letters, that Lord Bute was back- wards and forwards at this time from Luton to London. Miniftry, OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Miniftry, was not a breach of good faith to themfelves; and to the public ?" Before thefe nesrociations were concluded, Lord Chathani Lord Chatkiim returned from Somerfetfhire ^ turnsta Hayes; to his old feat, at Hayes, in Kent ; but fo exceedingly il! and infirm, he was quite un- able to tranfacl any bufinefs. Early in the month of February 1768, the Privy Seal being officially neceflary, was put into com- miflion for a few weeks, but in the month" of March it was re-delivered to him. The Duke o/ Graf ton, who had been to him the molt obfequious of men, and was now pro- ceeding at the helm without that pilot* whom he lately deemed inchfpenfable, did not venture to turn him out, though Lord Briftol, and Lord Egmont were candidates for his place. Parliament met on the 24th of November 1767, and was diiTolved on the i2th of March 1768. Lord Chatham did not attend during the fdfion. A few weeks before the diflblution of Parliament, Mr. Wilkes returned again to England, and at the general eleclion was elected g ANECDOTES ANI> S^ RE"HE9 xxx*v.' ekfted Member for the county of Middle* ^? ft x. Ail the circumfiances of which have been amply related in feveral publications. During the I^ft year, the French Court purchafed of the G'"noe r Cj the claim of that republic to the ilUnd of Corf ca. And this year a French army landed on the ifland to take pofieflion of it. This was an unpre- ced-nted kind of pufchafe. The French might, with the fame propriety, have pur- chafed the Spanifli claim to the Netherlands, or Jam ica. This addition to the French monarchy, alarmed the courts of London and Turin. Mr. George Pitt, (afterwards Lord Rivers}, the Britifli Minifter at Turin, having refigned at the general election, on the promife of a peerage, the Minifiry were divided on the appointment of a fucceffor. Lord Lan/down, then Lord Shelburne, was f r Lord Tankervitie* , and the Duke of Bedford for Sir W. Lynch. The latter was Ld? shi appointed. But this was not the only in- (lance in which the Secretary of State had Jive Lords * His Lo'rdfliip was one of the five Lords who voted againft the of Ame- American Declaratory Bill in 1766. The other four were the rica. Lords Cornwallis*, Torrington, Shelburne, and Camden. * For this vote Lord Chatham made Dr. Cornwallis Archbimop of Canterbury, been OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Si been over-ruled, in the affair of Corfica. XXXLV. He confickred the accedion of Corfica to ' TT ' 1700. France, an objecl of importance to Great- Britain; and being deeply imprefied with this opinion, he inPttu6led Lord Rocfiford, the Britifh Minifterat the French Court, to remonflrate ftrongly againft this acquifition to France. The French Minifler treated the remonflrance with contempt. The facl: is, he knew the fentiments of the Britifh Court better than the Britifh Minifter. In a fliort time, Lord Rockford found that his inflruclions were difavowcd by his own court. Upon receiving this information, he refigned his diplomatic character, and re- turned to London. The Secretary of State flgn *' now difcovering the dupe he had been made, and the deceptions which had been Ipraclifed upon him, refigned alfo *. When burn* re-. figns. * But Sir John Macphcrfon, in his memorial '[printed in the anfiuer to the letter from Mahomet All Cban. Appendix, page xii.] fays, " the Earl of Skelburne wasd'imifTed at the injligation of tl\e Duke of Graf ton." We learn alfo from this memorial, That his Majefty was gracioufly pleated to receive from the Na- bob of Arcot, whofe forts are garrifoned by our troops, and whofe army is commanded by our officers, a fine diamond ring, through ' the hands of Governor Pa!k. The world is not-ignortnt of many other magnificent prefents from the Ealh But as the Governor was once in holy orders, the ceremony of inverting the roya'l finger with thismyftic fign of Chance, may be confidered as feme. thing divine. Yoi. II. G $ 2 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES c " A *. the court of Turin faw that the Britifh cabi- XX s i v . *~~?T J net were, indifferent to the aggrandizement of France, the King of Sardinia immediately attached hirnf. If to the houfe of Bourbon. Upon the refignation of Lord LanJ'down, Ld.Roch. Lord Rochford was made Secretary of ford made * State, in the month of Oftober 1768. But to relieve the French Minifler from the in- delicacy of correfponding with a perfori whole veracity he had difputed, Lord Wey- inouth, now Lord Bath, was removed from the Northern, and placed in the Southern Department, and Lord Rochford was made fucceflbr to Lord Weymoutli. the Lord Rochford was made Secretary of State through fear, not through friendmip. The chiefs of the interior Cabinet dreaded his laying open the fcene of negotiation a>t Paris. If he had laid this information be- fore Parliament, the whole machinery of the miniftry muft have fallen to pieces. The fyflem of a Double -Cabinet mufl have be- come fo apparent to the whole nation, and the hypocrify of the Court fo perfectly un- veiled, that it may be prefumed, from the ordinary feelings of mankind to repeated infults and indignities, that no man of the finalleft OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. $3 fmalleft fpark of honour, who was not xxxiv leagued with the Court, as party in fome cri- ^^' minal trarifadion, or deeply diftreffed for the means of fubiiRence, would continue one moment to uphold, or connive at, a fyftem, that had for its objeclsj the debafe- mentofthe Englim nobility, the extent! on of the power of the. Crown, and the humi- liation of the pride of the nation. But Lord ****** wanted another place, and m upon condition of his filence, he was grati- fied. Thus the French got Corfica. What they gave for it, the prudence of the par- ties has hitherto concealed*; * On the fir ft of Auguft 1761, (the anniverfary of the Hanove- ria fucceffion) Lord Bute, fet out for the Bareges In the South of Ld. Bute France. In the fucceeding winter, a violent difpute arifing be- f "/" t ween Lord To TJunJlend, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and feveral of the great Lords ot that kingdom, the miniftry conceived it nece/Tary to change the Lord Lieutenant; but they could not agree in the choice of a fucceflbr. The Duke of Bedford was for Lord Sand-wick, and the Duke bf Graf tan for Lord Harcouri. Tha difagreement occafioned the return of Lord Bute, in the autumn ot the year 1769. He fettled the difference between thefe Dukes, by not accepting the recommendation of either; but con- tinuing Lord Townjhend, who had been appointed under his own influence. Their Graces fubaiitted to his controul : and then he n,-' A* incuu con returned to the Continent. This accounts for Lord I'onvnjjjcnd l ' n ued in fraying m Ireland four years, being the time of die ufual refr.!ence ' 9 of two Lord Lieutenants. G a g 4 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES CHAP. Lord Chatham had for fome time enter- ^C A. J*v 1 V tained thoughts of refigning. This event decided him. The appointment of Lord Hill/borough, Secretary of State for the Co- lonies, was fuch an outrage of his American fyftem (fee appendix X.) and the atchieve- ment of Corfica, by France, xvas fuch an abandonment of his European policy, that they were the principal caufes of his re- fignation. He did not go to Court when he refigned, but fent the Privy Seal by Lord Ctimden. This was the laft place he held under the Crown. i His resignation was an event that had been long ex peeled, and therefore it occa- fioned no furpriie to the public, nor diftrefs to the miniftry. The Duke of Graf con having completed his alliance with the Bed- ford inter eft, efteemed himfelf fully adequate to all the difficulties and burthens of the ftate. Lord Camden attached himfelf to his Grace, and continued in office. OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. C H A P. XXXV. Reconciliation between Lord Chatham and Lord Temple. Dijlrattion of the. Country. Lord Chatham's Speech on the Addrefs at the beginning of the year 17 JO. LORD CHATHAM had unceafingly la- C xxxv* merited his difference with Lord Tern- ^^ST* pie, from the time it happened ; and being now emancipated from the connexions of office, and even from the fufpicion of a con- nexion with the Court, he fought the friend- fhip of his brother with anxiety and fin- cerity. On this occafion he made Mr. Cal- craft his confidant. He confeffed to him, that almofi every body elfe had betrayed him his brother, he faid, had indeed abufed him ; but it was in the warmth of his temper, and in the opcnnefs of his na- ture, which was fuperior to all hypocrify, or concealment of difapprobation. Mr- Calcraft approved himfelf a cordial and af- fiduous mediator. He accomplifhed their reconciliation : they 'had no more differences ? Ie aud . . La. chat- afterwards ; and they were, if poffible, more 5ifi G 3 affectionately gg ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xxxv,' affeftionately united than ever they had v ~-*-~ ' been. Mr. GrenviUe perfectly acceded to 1768. the union. Parliament met on the eighth of Novem* ber. A great part of the fHFion was occu- pied by the feveral expulfions of Mr. Wilkes, and queftions concerning the Middlefex election. Lord Chatham did not attend dur^ ing the felfion. Rell arid retirement he found were the befl prefervatives againlt the return ,of his diforder. But to his friends he declared, in the ftrongeft terms, his tho- rough deteftation of thofe meafures. Peti- Biftrac- tions from feveral counties, cities, and large tionofthc O country, towns, were pre{ented to the King, againir. them, but without any effect. The dearefl rights of the people were facrificed to per- fonal refcntment. The corruption of Par- liament is become a grievance of the hrft magnitude. When the Court can com- mand the Legiflature, the Conftitution is at an end. The cafe of the Middlefex elec- tion, is an indifputable evidence of this me- lancholy truth, f The felfion clofed on the ninth of May, 1769. The Oi- THE EARL OF CHATHAM. The refpite which Lord Chatham gave himfelf from all kinds of bufmefs, and the happinefs he enjoyed in the reconciliation of his relations, fo largely contributed to the refloration of his health, that, on the approach of the following fefiion, he found himfelf able to attend the labours of Parlia- ment. The next feilion was opened on the ninth day of January, 1770. The difcontents 1770- which pervaded the whole nation, itimulated him to the moft vigorous exertion of his talents. He confidered the conduct of the Houfe of Commons, on all the queilions concerning the Middlefex election, as wholly unconftitutional. He attended on the fir ft day. His fpeeches on that day have for- tunately met with a better fate than many of his former fpeeches ; for they were ac- curately taken by a gentleman of ftrong memory, now a member of the Houfe of Commons, and from his notes they are here printed, The motion for an Addrefs was made by the Duke of Anca/ler, and feconded by Lord Dunmore, G Earl $g ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xxxv? " E ai "l f Chatham, after fome compli- ment to the Duke of Ancafler, took notice _ * now na ppy it would have made him tq have been able to concur with the noble Duke in every part of an Addrefs, which was meant as a mark of refpedt and duty to the Crown profeffed perfonal obliga- tions to the King, and veneration for him; that, though he might differ from the noble Duke in form of expreifing his duty to the Crown, he hoped he Ihould give his Majefty a more fubflantial proof of his attachment than if he agreed with the motion. That, at his time of life, and loaded as he was with infirmities, he might, perhaps, have ftcod excufed if he had continued in his re- tirement, and never taken part again in public affairs. But that the alarming {late of the nation called upon him, forced him to come forward once more, and to execute that duty which he owed to God, to his fovereign, and to his country ; that he was determined to perform it, even at the hazard of his life. That there never was a period which called more forcibly than the prefent for the ferious attention and confideration of that houie; that as they were the grand hereditary OF THE ARL OF CHATHAM 4 hereditary Counfellors of the Crown, it was particularly their duty, at a crifis of fuch importance and danger, to lay before their Sovereign the true Hate and condition of his fubjetis, the difcontcnt which uni- verfalJy prevailed amongft them, the dif- trefles under which they laboured, the in^ juries they complained of, and the true caufes of this unhappy flate of affairs. " That he had heard with great concern of the diflemper among the cattle, and was very ready to give his approbation to thofe prudent meafures which the Council had taken for putting a ' flop to fo dreadful a calamity. That he was fatisfied there was a power in fome degree arbitrary, with which the Conftitution trufted the Crown, to be made ufe of under correction of the Legiflature, and at the hazard of the Mi- nifter, upon any fudden emergency, or un- forefeen calamity, which might threaten the welfare of the people, or the fafety of the {late. That on this principle he had him- felf advifed a meafure, which he knew was not ftriftly legal; but he had recommended t as a meafure of neceffity, to fave a ftarv- Q0 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES x xxxv*' * n & P e pk f rom famine, and had fubmitted v -; to the judgment of his country. " That he was extremely glad to hear what he owned he did not believe when he came into the Houie, that the King had rea- fon to expect that his endeavours to iecure the peace of this country would be fuccels- ful, for that certainly a peace was never fo neceflary as at a time when we were torn to pieces by diviiions and detractions in every part of. his Majefty's dominions. That he had always confidered the late peace, how- ever neceflary in the then exhaufted condi- tion of this country j as by no means equal in point of advantage to what he had a right to expect from the fucccfles of the war. and from the (till more exhaufted con- dition of our enemies. That having de- ferted our allies, we were left without alii- ances, and during a peace of (even years, had been every moment on the verge of a war: that, on the contrary. France had attentively cultivated her allies, particularly Spain, by every mark of cordiality and re- fpect. That if a war was unavoidable, we muft enter into it without a fingle ally, while; OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. while the whole Houfe of Bourbon was ( united within itfelf, and fupported'by the clofed connexions with the principal powers in Europe. That the fituation of our foreign affairs was undoubtedly a matter of moment, and highly worthy their Lordfhips* confideration; but that he declared with grief, there were other matters dill more important, and more urgently demanding their attention. He meant the didraclions and divifions which prevailed in every part of the empire. He lamented the unhappy meafure which had divided the colonies from the mother country, and which he feared had drawn them into exceffes which he could not judify. He owned his natural partiality to America, and was inclined to make allowance even for thofe exceffes. That they ought to be treated with tender- nefs; for in his fen fe they were ebullitions of liberty, which broke out upon the fkin, and were a fign, if not of perfect health, at lead of vigorous conduction, and mud not be driven in too fuddenly, led they mould drike to the heart. He profedcd himfelf entirely ignorant of the prefent date of America, therefore mould be cautious of giving any opinion of the meafures fit to be purfuecj qg ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xxxv' puiTued with refpecl to that country. That C ^^ J it was a maxim he had obferved through 1770, life, when he had loft way, to ftop fhort, left by proceeding without knowledge, and ad- vancing (as he feared a noble Duke had done) from one faife ftep to another, he fhould wind himfelf into an inextricable la- byrinth, and never be able to recover the right road again. That as the.Houfe had yet no materials before them, by which they might judge of the proceedings of the colo- nies, he ilrongly objected to their polling that heavy cenfure upon them, which was conveyed in the word unwarrantable, con- tained in the propofed addrefs. That it was paffing a fentence without hearing the caufe, or being acquainted with the facis, and might expofe the proceedings of the .Houfe tg be received abroad with indif- ference or difrefpeci. That if unicarrant- able meant any thing, it rnuft mean illegal ; and how could their Lordfhips decide that proceedings, .which had not been Rated to them in any ihape, were contrary to law ? That what he had heard of the combina- tions in America, and of their fuccefs in fupplying themfelves with goods of their own manufacture, had indeed alarmed him much OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. , 03 much for the commercial interefts of the c X xxv P " mother country ; but he could not conceive v ""?f / in what lenfe they could be calieci illegal, much lefs how a declaration of that Houfe could remove the^ evil. That they were dangerous indeed, and he greatly wifhed to have that word fubfiituted for unwarrant- able. That we muft look for other reme- dies. That the difcontent of two millions of people defer ved confideration; and the foundation of it ought to be removed. That this was the true way of putting a flop to combinations and manufacturers in that country ; but that he referved himfelf to give his opinion more particularly upon this fubjeCt, when authentic information of the (late of America fHbuld be laid be- fore the Houfe; declaring only for the pre- fent, that we ihould be cautious how we in- vade the liberties of any part of our fel- low fubjecis, however remote in fituation, or unable to make refinance. That liberty was a plant that deferved to be cherimed ; that he loved the tree, and wifhed well to every branch of it. That, like the vine in the Scripture, it had fpread from eaft to weft, had embraced whole nations with its branches, and flickered them under its leaves. That -* ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES 9* c HA P. That the Americans had purchafed their XXXV, -* liberty at a dear rate, fince they had quitted 77. J r ( c their native country, and gone m iearch or freedom to a defert. " That the parts of the addrefs which he had already touched upon, however im- portant in themfelves, bore no comparifort \vith that which ftill remained. That in* deed there never was a time, at which the Unanimity recommended to them by the King, was more neceffary than at prefent ; but he differed very much from the noble Duke, with refpect to die propriety or utility of thofe general affurances contain- ed in the latter part of the addrefs. That the moft perfect harmony in that Houfe would have but little effeft towards quiet- ing the minds of the people, and remov- ing their difcontent. That it was the duty of that Houfe to enquire into the caufes of the notorious diffatisfactron exprelfed by the whole Englifli nation, to (late thofe caufes to the Sovereign, and then to give him their befl advice in what manner he ought to act. That the privileges of the Houfe of Peers, however tranfcendant, however appropriated to them, flood in fact OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. facl upon the broad bottom of the people. They were no longer in the condition of the barons, their anceflors, who had fe- parate interefts and feparate ilrength to fupport them. The rights of the greateft and of the meaneft fubje6ls now flood upon the fame foundation: the fecurity of law, common to all. It was therefore dietf higher! intereft, as well as their duty, to watch over and guard the people ; for when the people had loft their rights, thof6 of the Peerage would foon become infigni- ficant. To argue from experience, he begged leave to refer their Lordfhips to a inoft important paffage in hiftory, defcribed by a man of great abilities, Mr. Robertfon. This writer, in his life of diaries the Fifth, (a great, ambitious, wicked man) informs us that the Peers of Caflile were fo far cajoled and feduced by him, as to join him in overturning that part of the Cortez, which reprefented the people. They were weak enough to adopt, and bafe enough to be flattered with an expectation, that by aHifting their matter in this iniquitous- puf- pofe, they mould encreafe their own flrehgth and importance. What was the confe- quence? They exchanged the conflituti- onal ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES v* ona ^ authority f P eers > f r tne titular vanity of Grandees. They were no longer a part of a Parliament, for that they had deftroyed; and when they pretended to have an opi- nion as Grandees, he told them he did not underftand it; and naturally enough, when they had furrendered their authority, treated their advice with contempt. The confe- qtfences did not (lop here. He made ufe of the people whom he had enflaved to enflave others, and employed the ftfength of the Caftilians to deflroy the rights of their free' neighbours of Arragon. e My Lords, let this example be a lefTori to us all. Let us be cautious how we admit an idea, that our rights fland on a footing different from thofe of the people. Let us be cautious how we invade the liberties of our fellow-fubjecls, however mean, how- ever remote; for be aflured, my Lords, that in whatever part of the empire you fuffer flavery to be eftablifhed, whether it be in America or in Ireland, or here at home, you will find it a difeafe which fpreads by contact, and foon reaches from the extremities to the heart. The man who has loft his own freedom, becomes from OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM, 07 from that moment an inftrument in the hands of an ambitious prince, to deftroy the freedom of others. Thefe reflections, my Lords, are but too applicable to our prefent fituation. The liberty of the fub- jecl is invaded, hot only in provinces, but here at home. The Englifh people are loud in their complaints: they proclaim with one voice the injuries they have re- ceived: they demand redrefs, and depend upon it, my Lords, that one way or other, they wiU have redrefs. They will never return to a (late of tranquillity until they arc redrafted; nor ought they, for in my judgement, my Lords;, and I fpeak it boldly, it were better for them to periih in a glori- ous contention for their rights, than to pur- chafe a flavifh tranquillity at the expence of a {ingle iota of the Constitution. Let me en- treat your Lordfhips, then, in the name of all the duties you owe to your Sovereign, to your country, and to yoUrfelves, to per- form that office to which you are called by the Conftitution-^ by informing his Majefty truly of the condition of his fubjefts, and of the real caufe of their diflatisfaftion. I have considered the matter with rhbft ferious attention ; and as I have not in my VOL. II. H own ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES own t> rea ft tne ftnalleft doubt that the pre- fent univerfal difcontent of the nation arifes 1770. from the proceedings of the Houfe of Com- mons upon the expulfion of Mr. Wilkes, I think that we ought, in our addrefs, to ftate that matter to the King, I have drawn up an amendment to the addrefs, which I beg kave to fubmit to the confideration of the Houfe : + " And for thefe great and eflential pur- pofes, we will with all convenient fpeed take into our moft ferious confideration, the caufes of the difcontents which prevail in fo many parts of your Majefty's dominions, and particularly the late proceedings of the Houfe of Commons, touching the incapa- city of John Wilkes, Efq. (expelled by that Houfe) to be elecled a member to ferve in this prefent Parliament, thereby refufing (by a refolution of one branch of the Legiflature only) to the fubjecl: his common right, and depriving the electors of Middlefex of their free choice of a reprefentative/' 6 The cautious and guarded terms m which this amendment is drawn up, will, I hope, reconcile every noble Lord who hears 1770. OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. hears me to my opinion ; and as I think no man can difpute the truth of the fals. fo I am perfuaded no man can difpute the propriety and neceflity of laying thofe fads before his Majefty.' * Lord Mansfield*. He began with af- ". Man*. . *~ . field's firming, that he had never delivered any opi- nion upon the legality of the proceedings of the Houfe of Commons on the Middle- lex ele&ion, nor mould he now, notwith- ilanding any thing that might be expected from him. That he had locked it up in his own breaft, and it mould die with him : that he wifhed to avoid fpeaking on the fubjecl ; but that the motion made by the noble Lord, was of a nature too ex- traordinary and too alarming, to fuffer him to be filent. He acknowledged the un- happy diltrafted ftate of the nation ; but he Was happy enough to affirm, with a fafe confcience, that he had no ways contributed to-it.. That, in his own opi- nion, declarations of the law made by * Tills noble Lord's anfwer (taken alfo from the fame Gen- tleman's notes) it is necefiary to infert, on account of Lord Vbatham's reply, \vhich follows it. H 2 either Y f 1OO ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxv P< either Houfe of Parliament -were always s ^" / attended with bad effecls : he had con- flantly oppof d them whenever he had an opportunity, and in his judicial capacity thought himfelf bound never to pay the lead regard to them. That although thoroughly convinced of the illegality of general wa; rants, which, indeed, naming no perfons, were no warrants at all, he was forry to fee the Houfe of Commons by their vote declare them to be illegal. That it looked like a legiflative aft, which yet had no force nor effeft as a law: for fuppofing die Houfe had declared them to be legal, the Courts in Weftminfter would never- thelefs have been bound to declare the contrary ; and confequently to throw a dif- refpecl upon the vote of the Houfe : but he made a wide di(liri61ion between the general declarations of law, and the par- ticular decifion which might be made by either Houfe, in their judicial capacity, upon a cafe coming regularly before them, and properly the fubjeft of their jurifdic- tion. That here they did not aft as Le- gifiators, pronouncing abftraclly and gene- rally what the law was, and for the di- rcclions of others ; but as Judges, drawing OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 1CH the law from the feveral fources from which VY^ P * it A A y . it ought to be drawn, for their own guidance ^OC^ in deciding the particular question before them, and applying it ftriclly to the decih'on of that queflion. That, for his own part, wherever the Statute law was fil nt, he knew not where to look for the law of Par- liament, or for a definition of the privileges of either Houfe, except in the proceedings and decifions of each Houfe refpetively. That he knew of no parliamentary code to judge of queftions depending upon the judi* cial authority of Parliament, but the prac- tice of each Houfe, moderated or extended according to the wifdom of the Houfe, and accommodated to the cafes before them. That a queilion touching the feat of a Member in the Lower Houfe, could only be determined by that Houfe ; there was no other Court where it could be tried, nor to which there could be an appeal from their decifion. That wherever a Court of Juflice is fupreme, and their fentence final (which he apprehended no man would difpute was the cafe in the Houfe of Commqns, in matters touchino- elections), the determination of that Court mult be received and fubmitted to as the law J02 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES c Jlvf' law of the land; for if there be no appeal .\.\AV' A 1 ^T^ from a judicial ientence. where (hall that fentence be questioned, or how can it be reverfed ? He admitted that Judges might be corrupt, and their fentences erroneous ; but thefe were cafes, for which, in refpeft to Supreme Courts, the Constitution had pro- vided no remedy. That if they wilfully determined wrong, it was iniquitous in- deed, and in the higheft degree deteflable. But it was a crime, of which no human tri- bunal could take cognizance, and it lay be- tween God and their confciences. That he avoided entering into the merits of the late decifion of the Houfe of Commons, becaufe it was afubjecl: he was convinced the Lords had no right to enquire into, or difcufs. That the amendment propofed by the noble Lord threatened the moil pernicious confe- quences to the nation, as it manifeftly violated every form and law of Parliament, was a grofs attack upon the privileges of the Houfe of Commons, and, inftead of pro- moting that harmony which the King had recommended, muft inevitably throw the whole country into a flame. That there never was an inftance of the Lords en- quiring into the proceedings of the Houfe of OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. of Commons with refpeft to their own Members ; much lefs of their taking upon them to cenfure fuch proceedings, or of their adviling the Crown to take notice of them. If, indeed, it be the noble Lord's defign to quarrel with the Houfe of Com- mons, I confefs it will have that effect, and immediately. The Lower Houfe will undoubtedly affert their privileges, and give you vote for vote. I leave it, there- fore, to your Lordmips, to confider the fatal effecls which m.ay arife in fuch a conjuncture as the prefent, either from an open breach between the two Houfes of Parliament, or between the King and the Houfe of Commons. But, my Lords, if I -could fuppofe it were even advifeable to promote a difagreement between the two Houfes, I would dill recommend it to you to take care to be in the right; whenever I am forced into a quarrel, I will always endeavour to have juftice on my fide. Now, my Lords, admitting the Houfe of Commons to* have done wrong, will it mend the matter for your Lordfhips to do ten times worfe? and that I am clearly convinced would be the cafe, if your Lordfhips were obliged to declare 04 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES x.^v r * an y P m i n of your own, or offer any ad- "v"-' vice to the Crown, on a matter in which, 1770. by the Conftitution of this country, you have no right whatever to interfere. I will go farther, my Lords ; I will affirm, that fuch a ftep would be as ineffectual as it would be irregular. Suppofe the King, in confequence of our advice, (hould diffolve the Parliament (for that, I prefume, is the true obje6l of the noble Lord's amendment), the next Houfe of Commons that meets, if they know any thing of their own privileges, or the laws of this country, will undoubt- edly, on the very firfl day of the feflion, take notice of our proceedings, and declare them to be a violation of the rights of the Com- mons. They muft do fo, my Lords ; or they will (hamefully betray their conftituents and themfelves. A noble Lord (Lord March- mont) near me, has propofed, that we {hould demand a conference with the other Houfe. It would be a more moderate ftep, I confefs, but equally ineffectual. The Com- mons would never fubmit to difcufs their own privileges with the Lords. They would not come to a conference upon fuch a fub- ject ; or if they did come, they would foon break it up with indignation. If, then, the Commons OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. * Commons have done wrong, I know of no remedy, but either that the fame power {hould urdo the mifchief they have done, or that the cafe (hould be provided for by an aft of the legiflature. That, indeed, might be effectual. But whether fuch a remedy be proper or neceffary in the prefent cafe, or whether, indeed, it be attainable, confi- dering that the other Houfe muft give their confent to it, is not a queftion now before us. If fuch a bill {hould be propofed, it will be regular and Parliamentary, and we may then, with propriety, enter into the legal merits of the decifion of the Houfe of Commons. As for the amendment pro- pofed by tl*e noble Lord, I object to it as irregular and unparliamentary. I am per- fuaded, that it will be attended with very r i pernicious conlequences to this country, and that it cannot poflibly produce a fingle good one. Earl of Chatham. ( My Lords, there is J one plain maxim, to which I have invari- M - s ably adhered through life : That in every queftion, in which my liberty, or my pro- perty were concerned, I fhould confult and be determined by the dictates of common *..,- fenfe. JO 5 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xxxv? fenfe- * confefs,- my Lords, that I am apt to diftruft the refinements of learning, becaufe I have feen the ableft and the mod learned men equally liable to deceive them- felves, and to miflead others. The condi- tion of human nature would be lamentable indeed, if nothing lefs than the greateft learning and talents, which fall to the fhare of fo fmall a number of men, were fufficient to direct our judgment and our conduct. But Providence has taken better care of our happinefs, and given us. in the fimplicity of common fenfe, a rule for our direction, by which we mail never be mifled. I con- fefs, my Lords, I had no other guide in drawing up the amendment, which I fub- mitied to your confideration ; and before I heard the opinion of the noble Lord who fpoke laft, I did not conceive that it was even within the limits of poffibility for the greateft human genius, the moft fubtle underftand- ing, or the acuteft wit, fo ftrangely to mifs reprefent my meaning, and to give it an in- terpretation fo entirely foreign from what J intended to exprefs, and from that fenfe which the very terms of the amendment plainly and diilinctly carry with them. If there be the fmalleft foundation for the cen- fure OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. fure thrown upon me by that noble Lord, if, either exprefsly, or by the moft diftant implication, I have faid or infinuated any part of what the noble Lord has charged me with, difcard my opinions for ever, di card the motion with contempt. - * My Lords, I muft beg the indulgence of the Houfe. Neither will rny health per* mit me, 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, nor has a greater refpeft for them, than I have. I have had the pleafure of fitting with him in the other Houfe, and always liftened to him with attention. I have not now loft a word of what he faid, NOR DID IEVER. Upon 'the prefent quef- tion I meet him without fear. The evi- dence which truth carries with it, is fuperior to all argument ; it neither wants the fup- port, nor dreads the oppofition of the greateft abilities. If there be a fingle word in the amendment to juftify the interpreta- tion which the noble Lord has been pleafed to give it, I am ready to renounce the whole: let it be read, rny Lords ; let it fpeak for itfelf. ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES In what inilanee does it interfere with the privileges of the Houfe 1770. r of Commons ? In what refpeft does it queilion their jurifdiction, or fuppofe an authority in this Houfe to arraign the juftice of their fentence ? I am fure that every Lord who hears me, will bear me witnefs, that I faid not one word touching the merits of the MicUHefex election; fo far from conveying any opinion upon that matter in the amendment, I did not even in difcourfe deliver my own fentiments upon it. I did not fay that the Houfe of Com- mons had done either right or w r rong ; but, when his Majefly was pleafed to recommend it to us to cultivate unanimity amongfl our- felves, I thought it the duty of this Houfe, as the great hereditary council of the Crown, to (late to his Majefly the diftra&ed condi- tion of his dominions, together with the events which had deftroyed unanimity among his fubjecls. But, my Lords, I flated thofe events merely as fafts, without the fmalleft addition either of cenfure or of opinion. They are facls, my Lords, which I am not only convinced are true, but which I know are indifputably true. For example, my Lords : will any man deny that difcon- tents OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM, 109 tents prevail in many parts of his Majefty's c x ! xxv? dominions? or that thofc difcontents arife ^ n * 1770. from the proceedings of the Houfe of Com- mons touching the declared incapacity of Mr. Wilkcs? Tis impoflible: no man can deny a truth fo notorious. Or will any man deny that thofe proceedings refufed, by a refolution of one branch of the Jegiflature only, to the fubjecl his common right? Is it not indifputably true, my Lords, that Mr. Wilkes hud a common right, and that he loft it no other way but by a refolution of the Houfe of Commons ? My Lords, I have been tender of mifreprefenting the Houfe of Commons: I have confulted their journals, and have taken the very words of their own refolution. Do they not tell us in fo many words, that Mr. Wilkes having been expelled, was thereby rendered incapable of ferving in that Parliament! and is it not their re- iblution alone, which refufes to the fubjecl his common right? The amendment fays farther, that the eleftors of Middlefex are deprived of their free choice of a reprefen- tative. Is this a falfe fa6l, my Lords ? or have I given an unfair reprefentation of it? Will any man prefume to affirm that Colo- nel Luttrell is the free choice of the electors of 11O ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C JIJ' of Middlefex ? We all know the contrary. .A A. XV. * * v ' We all know that Mr. Wilkes (whom I men- 77- tion without either praife or cenfure) was the favourite of the county, and chofen by a very great and acknowledged majority, to reprefent them in Parliament. If the noble Lord diflikes the manner in which thefe fads are dated, I (hall think myfelf happy in be- ing advifed by him how to alter it. I am very little anxious about terms, provided the Jubilances be preferved ; and thefe are facls, my Lords, which I am fure will always re- tain their weight and importance, in what- ever form of language they are defcribed. ' Now, my Lords, fmce I have been forced to enter into the explanation of an amendment, in which nothing lefs than the genius of penetration could have difcovered an obfcurity, and having, as I hope, re- deemed myfelf in the opinion of the Houfe, having redeemed my motion from the fevere reprefentation given of it by the noble Lord, I muft a little longer intreat your Lordfhips' indulgence. The conftitution of this coun- try has been openly invaded in fa6l ; and I have heard, with horror and aftonimment that very in-vaiion defended upon principle. What OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. HI What is this myfterious power, undefined by law, unknown to the fubjeft, which we mutt not approach without awe, nor fpeak of without reverence, which no man may queftion, and to which all men muft fubmit? My Lords, I thought the flavifh doftrine of paffive obedience had long fmce been ex- ploded: and, when our kings were obliged to confefs that their title to the crown, and the rule of their government, had no other foundation than the known laws of the land, I never expected to hear a divine right, or a divine infallibility, attributed to any other branch of the legiilature. My Lords, I beg to be understood, no man refpe&s the Houfe of Commons more than I do, or would contend more flrenuoufly than I would, to preferve them their juft and legal authority. Within the bounds prefcribed by the Constitution, that authority is necef- fary to the well-being of the people : be-' yond that line every exertion of power is arbitrary, is illegal ; it threatens tyranny to the people, and deftruclion to the ftate. Power without right is the moft odious and deteftable object that can be offered to the human imagination : it is not only pernicious to thofe who are fubjeft to it, but tends to its 112 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xxxv' i ts own deftrutlion. It is what my noble ^-^ friend (Lord Lyttlcton) has truly defcribed it, Res deteftabil'is et caduca. My Lords, I acknowledge the jult power, and reverence the conflitution of the Houfe of Commons. It is for their own fakes that I would pre* vent their arfuming a power which the con- flitution has denied them, left, by grafping at an authority they have no right to, they fhould forfeit that which they legally pof- fefs. My Lords, I affirm that they have betrayed their conftituents, and violated the conftitution. Under pretence of declaring the law, they have made a law, and united in the fame perfons the office of legiilator and of judge. s I (hall endeavour to adhere flriclly to the noble Lord's doftrine, which is in- deed impolhble to miilake, fo far as my memory will permit me to preferve his expreffions. He ftems fond of the word jurifdiclion; and I confefs, with the force and effect which he has given it, it is a word of copious meaning and wonderful extent. If his Lordfhip's doclrine be well founded, we muft renounce all thofe politi- cal maxims by which our understandings have OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. have hitherto been dire&edj and even the c X xxv P .' firft Clements of learning taught us in our fchools when we were fchool-boys. My Lords, we knew that jurifditlion was no- thing more than Jus dicere; we knew that Legemfacere and Legem dicere were powers dearly difiinguimect from each other iri the nature of things, and wifely feparated by the wifdom of the Englifh Conflitution ; but now, it feems, we mult adopt a new fyllem of thinking. The Houfe of Com- mons, we are told, have a fupreme jurif- diftion ; that there is no appeal from their fentence ; and that wherever they are com- petent' judges, their decifions muft be re- ceived and fubmitted to, as ipfofatto, the law of the land. My lords, I am a plain man, and have been brought up in a reli- gious reverence fbr the original fimplicity of the laws of England. By what fophiftry they have been perverted, by what artifices they hpvefeeen involved in obfcurity, is not for me to explain ; the principles, however, of the Englifh laws, are ftill fufficiently 'clear: they are founded in reafon, and are the mafter-piece of the human underfland- ing; but it is in the text that I would look for a direction to my judgment, hot in the! VOL. 1L I eommen- ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES commentaries of modern profeffors. Tne noble Lord a flu res us, that he knows not in what code the Jaw of Parliament is to be found; that the Hotife of Commons, when they a as judges, have no law to direft them but their own wifdom; that their de- qifion is law; and if they determine wrong, the fubjeci has no appeal but to Heaven. What then, my Lords, are all the generous efforts of our anceftors, are all thofe glori- ous contentions, by which they meant to fe- cure to themielves, and to tranfmit to their poflerity a known law, a certain rule of living; reduced to this conclufion, that in- ftead of the arbitrary power of a King, we mull fubmit to the arbitrary power of an Houfe of Commons? .If this be true, what benefit do we derive from the exchange ? Tyranny, my Lords, is deteftable in every fhape ; but in none fo formidable as when it is affumed and exercifed by a number of tyrants. But, my Lords, this is net the fafl, this is not the.coniiitution; we have a lav/ of Parliament, we have a code in which every honeft man may find it. We have Magna Charta, we have the Statute Book, and the'Bili of Rights. If OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 1 If a cafe (liquid arife unknown to thefe great authorities, we have (till that plain Englifli reafon left, which is the foundation of all our Englifh jurifprudence. That reafon tells us, that every Judicial Court, and every Political Society, mufl be vefled with thofe powers and privileges which are neceflary for performing the office to which they are appointed. It tells us alfo, that no Court of Juftice can have a power incon- fiftent with, or paramount to, the known laws of the land: that the people, when they choofe their reprefentatives, never mean to convey to them a power of invad- ing the rghts, or trampling upon the liber- ties of thofe whom they reprefent. What fecurity would they have for their rights, if once they admitted, that a Court of Judica- ture might determine every queflion that came before it, not by any known, pofitive law, but by the vague, indeterminate, arbi- trary rule, of what the noble Lord is pleafed to call the Wifdom of the Court? ^Vith re- fpecl to the decifion of the Courts of Jufticej I am far from denying them tfieir due:" weight and authority ; yet, placing them in 'the moft ^efpectable view, I flill confidcr them, not as law, but as an evidence of the I 2 lawj ug ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES c A P. J a w; and before they can arrive even at rfrL*\ A V * **- that degree of authority, it muft appear, that they are founded in, and confirmed by, reafon ; that they are fupported by prece- dents taken from good and moderate times ; that they do not contradict any pofitive law ; that they are ftibmitted to without re- luctance, by the people ; that they are un- . queflioned by the legiflature (which is equi- va'ent to a tacit confirmation) ; and, what, in my judgment is by far the mod impor- tant, that they do not violate the fpirit of the Conftitution, My Lords, this is not a vague or loofe expreffion : we all know what the Conflitution is, we all know, that the firft principle of it is, that the fubjeft {hall not be governed by the arbitriwn of any one man, or body of men (lefs than the whole legiflature), but by certain laws, to which he has virtually given his confent, which are open to him to examine, and not beyond his ability to underftand. Now, my Lords, I affirm, and am ready to main- tain, that the late decifion of the Houfe of Commons upon the Middlefex election, is deftitute of every one of thofe properties and conditions which I hold to be efTential to the legality of fuch a decifron. It is not founded OP THE EARL OF CHATHAM. founded in reafon; for it carries with it a contradiction, that the reprefentative (hould 1 perform the oRice of the constituent body. It is not fupported by a fingle precedent ; for the cafe of Sir R, Walpole is but a half precedent, and even that half is imperfect. Incapacity was indeed declared, but his crimes are ftated as the ground of the refo- lution, and his opponent was declared to be not duly elected, even after his incapacity was eftablilhed. It contradicts Magna C-iarta and the Bill of Rights, by which it is pro- vided, that no Subject (hall be deprived of Jiis freehold, unlefs by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land ; and that elec- tions of members to ferve in Parliament (hall be free ; and fo far is this decifion from being fubmitted to by the people, that they have taken the (trongeft m afures, and adopted the moil pofitive language to ex- prefs their discontent. Whether it will be queflioned by the Jegiflature, will depend upon your Lordfhips' refolution ; but that it violates the fpiritof the Conllitution, will, I think, be difputed by no man who has "heard this day's debate, and who wifhes well to the freedom of his country ; yet, if are to believe the noble Lord, this g'.eat ' ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xxxv' grievance, this manifeft violation of the fir ft: ^^TpT' principles of the Conflitution, will not ad- mit of a remedy; is not even capable of redrefs, unlefs we appeal at once to Heaven. My Lords, I have better hopes of the Con- flitution, and a firmer confidence in the wifdom and conftitutional authority of this Houfe. It, is to^tf^ranceflors, my Lords, it is to the Englifh Barons that we are indebted for the Laws and Conftitution we pofTefs. Their virtues were rude and uncultivated, but they were great and fmcere. Their understandings were as little polifhed as their manners, but they had hearts to dif- tinguifh right from wrong; they had heads to diftinguifh truth from falfehood ; they underflood the rights of humanity, and they had fpirit to maintain them. ' My Lords, I think, that hiftory has not done juflice to their conduct, when they obtained from their Sovereign, that great acknowledgment of national rights contain- ed in Ma'gna Charta : they did not confine it to themfelves alone, but delivered it as a common blcffing to the whole people. They did not fay, Thefe are the rights of the great Barons, or the feare the rights of the great Prelates : OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Prelates : No, my Lords; they faid, in the (imple Latin of the tim?s,nullus liber homo, - 1770 and provided as carefully for the meaneft fubjecl: as for the greateft. Thefe are un- couth words, and found but poorly in the ears of fcholars; neither are they addreffed to the criticifm of fcholars, but to the hearts of free men. Thefe three words, nullus liber homo, have a meaning which intereiis us all : they deferve to be remembered they deferve to be inculcated in our minds they are worth all the claflics. Let us not, then, degenerate from the glorious example of our anceftors. Thofe Iron Barons (for fo 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 & queftion of fuch importance as theprefent. A 'breach kas bee.n made in the Conftitution the battlements are difrnantled the citadel is open to the firfl invader the walls totter r the Conftitution is not tenable. What re- mains then, but for us to Hand foremofl in the breach, to repair it, or perifh in it ? f Great pains have been taken to alarm us \vitluhedreadfulconfequencesofadifference 1 4 between J8O % ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C v H vvv* between the two Houfes of Parliament-^ ./\ JV A V >*v' That the Houfe of Commons will refent our prefuming to take notice of their pro- ceedings ; that they will refent our daring to advife the Crown, and never forgive us for attempting to fave the State. My Lords, I am fenfible of the importance and difficulty of this great crifis: at a moment, fuch as this, we are called upon to our duty, without dreading the refentrnent of any man. But if apprehenfions of this kind are to arlecl us, let us confider which we ought to refpecl; moft the rcprefentative, or the collective body of the people. My Lords^ five hundred gentlemen are not ten mil- lions; and if we mujl have a contention, let us take care to have the Englifh nation on our fide. If this queflion be given up the freeholders of England are reduced to a condition bafer than the peafantry of Po- land. If they defert their own caufe, they deferve to be (laves ! My Lords, this is not merely the cold opinion of my underftand- ing, but the glowing exprellion of what J feel. It is my heart that fpeaks : I know I fpeak warmly, my Lords; but this warmth fhall neither betray my argument nor my temper. The kingdom is in a flame. As medi- OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. mediators between the King and people, it is our duty to reprefent to him the true condition and temper of his fubjecls. It is a duty which no particular refpecls mould hinder us from performing; and whenever his Majefty fliould demand our advice, it will then be our duty to enquire more mi- nutely into the caufes of the prefent dif- contents. Whenever that enquiry (hall come on, I pledge myfelf to the Houfe to prove, that lince the firft inftitution of the Houfe of Commons, not. a fingle precedent can be produced to juftify their late pro- ceedings. My noble and learned frien4 (the Lord Chancellor) has alfo pledged him- felf to the Hqufe, that he will fupportthat ^ (Ten ioq. ' My Lords, the character and circum- flances of Mr. Witkes have been very im- properly introduced into this queftion, not only here, but in that court of judicature where his caufe was tried : I mean the Houfe of Commons. With one party he was a patriot of the firft magnitude ; with the other the vileft. incendiary. For my own part, I confider him merely and indifferently as an Englifh fubject, pofTefied of certain rights 1t ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C x*x xv*' r *gh ts which the laws have given him, and which the laws alone can take from him. I am neither moved by his private vices, nor by his public merits. In his perfon, though he were the worft of men, I contend for the fafety arid fecurity of the bed ; and, God forbid, my Lords, that there fhould be a power in this country of meafuring the civil rights of the fubje6t by his moral cha- racter, or by any other rule but the fixed laws of the land ! I believe, my Lords, / (hall not be fufpecled of any perfonal par- tiality to this unhappy man : I am not very converfant in pamphlets or newfpapers; but, from what I have heard, and from the little I have read, I may venture to affirm, that I have had my (hare in the compliments which have come from that quarter; and as for motives of ambition (for I muft take to my-, felf a part of the noble Duke's i ifmuation), I believe, my Lords, there have been times in which I have had the honour of (landing in fuch favour in the clofet, that there muft have been fomething extravagantly unrea- fonable in my wimes if they might not all have been gratified; after nrglefting thofe opportunities, I am now fufpeded of coming forward in the decline of life, in the anxiou,s OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM.' 123 anxious purfuit of wealth and power, which jt is irnpoflible forme to enjoy. Be it fo ; there is one ambition at leaft which 1 ever will acknowledge, which I will not re- nounce but with my life. It is the ambi- tion of delivering to my pofierity thofe rights of freedom which I have received from my anccftors. I am not now pleading the caufc of an individual, but of every freeholder in England. In what manner this Houfe may conilitutionally interpofe in their defence, and what kind of redrefs this cafe will require and admit of, is not at prefrnt the fubjecl of our con federation. The amendment, if agreed to, will n'ltur lly lead us to fuch an enquiry. That enquiry may, perhaps, point out the necettity of an al of the legiflature, or it may lead us, per* haps, to defire a conference, with the other Houfe; whichone noble Lord affirms is the only parliamentary way of proceeding ; and which another noble Lord affures us the Houfe of Commons would not ei her come to, or would break off with indignation. Leaving their Lordfhips to reconcile that matter between th^mfelves, I {hi; 11 only fay, that before \ve have enquired, we can- not 'be provided with materials, confe- quenily 1770. we are not at prefent prepared for a conference. It is impoffible, my Lords, that the en-? quiry I fpeak of may lead us to advifehis Majefty to difiblve the prefent parliament ; nor have I any doubt of our right to give that advice, if we mould think it neceflary. His Majefty will then determine whether he will yield to the united petitions of the people of England, or maintain the Houfe of Commons in the exercife of a legiflative power, which heretofore abolifhed the Houfe of Lords, and overturned the monarchy, J willingly acquit the prefent Houfe of Com- mons of having actually formed fo detefta-* ble a defign ; but they cannot themfelves forefee to what exceflcs they may be carried hereafter ; and for my own part, I mould be lorry to trull to their future moderation, Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of thofe who poffefs it; and this I know, my Lords, that, where law ends, tyranny begins ! The amendment was negatived, But in confequence of this ftrong and public ar- raignment of the Mirn'ftry, feveral of them refigned, O'fr THE EARL OF CHATHAM fefigned. Lord Chatham's information of the proceedings of the Cabinet Council was fuppofed to have been derived from Lord Camden, who, at that time, was Lord Chan- cellor; and he having this day divided with Lord Chatham^ the Great Seal was immedi- ately taken from him. Mr. Yorke was prevailed upon by his Ma- jefty to accept the Seal; and in a few hours afterwards he put a period to his own cxiflence. Notwithftanding the feveral refignadons, fome of them of the firft families of the king- dom, which took plage at this time, not- withftanding the general difTatisfafticm and ferment which prevailed throughout the nation notwithftanding the circumftances of the recent and tragical death of Mr. Yorke flill the Court perfevered, and re- folved to perfevere in their meafures*. * The fuccefs of the Court in this perfeverance againft the pe- titions of the people of England, encouraged the Court in the fame perfeverance againft the petitions of the people of America) which followed foon after. But the Americans being farther re. moved from the fcene of corruption, were not debilitated by its They retained the vigour and virtue of their anceftors. CHAP. i2$ ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES CHAP. XXXVI. Speeches of the Marquis of Rockingham^ the Duke of Graf toil) and Lord ChatJidm, on the State of the Nation Union of Lord Chathim zuith Lord Rockmgham Duke of Grafton rfjigns. xxxvf' f^\^ ^ e tw enty-fecorid of January, the * ^ ' ^-^ Marquis of Rockingfiam moved for fixing a day to take into eontideration the fiate of the nation. obje6l of his Lor dfhip's fpeech * to fhew, that the prefect unhappy con-* dition of affairs, and the univerfal difeon-i tent of the people, did not arife from any immediate temporary caufe, but had grown upon us by degrees, from the moment of his Majefty's acceflion to the throne. That the perfons in whom his MajeRy then con- fided^ had introduced a total change in the This fpeech, the anfwer of the Duke of Grafton, and Lcrd Chatham's reply, are printed from the notes of the fame Gentle- man who communicated the three preceding fpeeches, made on the firft da, of the fefllon. They have none of ihsm been printed before. It was neceflary to infert Lord Rockingbam's and the Duke of Grafton^ fpeeches, becaufc they are introductory to Lord Chatham's. OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. \ old fyftem of Englifh Government that C X H X V P [, they had ardopted a maxim which muft ^? 7 7^ prove fatal to the liberties of this country, viz. " That the Royal Prerogative alone, was fufficient to fupport Government, to whatever hands the adrniniflration mould be committed;" and he could trace the ope- ration of this principle through every aft of Government fince the acceffion; in which thofe perfons could be fuppofed to have any influence. Their firft exertion of the pre- rogative was to make a peace contrary to the wifhes of the nation, and on terms totally difproportioned to the fuccefles of the war ; but as they felt themfelves une- qual to the conduct of a war, they thought a peace, on any conditions, necefTary for their own fecurity and permanence in Ad- miniftration. He then took notice of thole odious tyrannical acts of power, by which an approbation of the peace had been ob- tained. And he mentioned the general fweep through every branch and depart- ment of Adminiftration ; the removes not merely confined to the higher employments, but carried down, with the minuted cruelty to the lowed offices of the ftate ; and num- berlefs innocent families, which had fub* filled 12 g ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xxxv P i fift 6 ^ on Salaries from fifty to two hundred * ^ ' pounds a year, turned out to mifery and ruin, with as little regard to the rules of juftice, as to the common feelings of com- paffion. That their ideas of taxation were marked by the fame principle. Th~ argu- ment urgtdfor taxing ihe cyder counties; viz. " The equity of placing them on the fame footing with others, where malt li- quors were chiefly ufed," was too obvious to efcape the attention of former minifiers but former minifters paid more regard to the liberties of the people, than to the im- provement of the revenue. That the ob- ject of the cyder aft, or the effecT; of it; at leaft, was not fo much to increafe the revenue, as to extend the laws of excife, and open the doors of private men to the officers of the Crown^ * Without entering into the right of tax- ing America, it was evident, that finee the revenue expe6ted to arife from that meafure was allowed to be very inconfiderable, the real purpofe of government mufthave beerr to increafe the number of their officers in that country, and confequently the ftrength of the prerogative. OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 129 e He then took notice of the indecent xx manner with \vhich the debt upon the King's Civil Lift had been laid before, and provided for, by Parliament. No account offered No enquiry permitted to be made Not even the decent fatisfa&ion given to Parliament of an affurance that in future fuch extraordinary expences fhould be avoided, On the contrary, the King's fpeech on that occafion had been fo cauti- oufly worded, that, far from engaging to avoid fuch exceedings for the future, it inti- mated plainly that the expences of the King's civil government could not be con- fined within the revenue granted by Parlia- ment That as the nation was heavily bur- thened by the expence, they were no leis grofsly infulted by the manner in which that burthen was laid upon them. Thatj in certain grants lately made by the crown, the miniftry had adhered to their principle of carrying the prerogative to its utmoit extent* No right ofproperty no continu- ance of pofiefiion. had been confidered* But, if thefe had been weaker than they were, he thought fome refpecl; was due to the memory of the great Prince by whom thefe grants had been made; and, in com- VOL. II. K mon ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxvf' mon juftice to tne noble Duke*, whofe * ;p~' property had been invaded, the miniftry mould, at leafl, have avoided that hurry and precipitation, which had hardly left his Grace time to defend his rights ; and by which the miniftry themfelves feemed to confefs their meafures would not bear a more deliberate mode of proceeding. But the purpofes of an election were to be ferved; and the perfon, benefited by this meafure, was fuppofed to be a better friend to adminiflration than the noble Duke, whofe property had been arbitrarily transferred to another. And when, upon occafion of this extraordinary meafure, and to quiet the minds of the people, a bill had been brought into parliament for fccuring the property of the fubjecl, it had been rejected the firft year, and violently refifted the fecond ; but the juftice and neceffity of it had preyailed over the influence, and favourite maxims of the administration. That the affairs of the external part of the empire had been ma- naged with the fame want of wifdom, and had been brought into nearly the fame con- dition with thofe at home. In Ireland, he * puke of Portland. faw OF THE EAUL OF CHATHAM. Igt faw the parliament prorogued, (which pro- xxxvi, bably led to a diffolution) and the affairs of s ^^* > that kingdom' left unprovided for, and in the greateft confufion. That in America, meafures of violence had been adopted, and it had been the uniform language and doc- trine of the miniftry to force that country to fubmit. That, in his own opinion, vio- lence would not do there, and he hoped it would not do here. But even if a plan of force were advifeable, why had it not been adhered to ? Why did they not adopt and abide by fome one fyftem of conduct? That the King's fpeeches, and the language of the miniftry at home had denounced nothing but war and vengeance againft a rebellious people, whilft his Majefty's go- vernors abroad, were inftrucled to convey to them the gehtleft promifes of relief and fatisfaclion. His Lordfhip here referred to Lord Bottetort's fpeech to the affembly of 4 Virginia, in May 1769, out of which he recited a paffage in point. The paffage was this " / think my f elf peculiarly fortunate , to be able to inform you, that by a Letter, dated, May the 13 /A, 1 have been ajfuredby the Earl of Hill/borough,, that 'his Majejlys prefent adminiftration have at no time entertained a K 2 defign ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES 1J- CHAP. defign to propofe to parliament . to lay v v-* further taxes upon America for thz p'irpofe of raijmg a revenue, and that it is their in- tention to propofe, in the nextfejjion of par- liament, to take of the duties upon glafs, paber, and colours, upon confederation of fuck duties having been laid contrary to the true principles of commerce. See Appendix W. ( With refpect to foreign affairs, he thought it highly neceflary to enquire, why France had been permitted to make To con- fide rable an acquisition as the ifland of Corfica ? That no man could deny, that this ifland would prove a great addition to the ftrength of France, with refpeci to her marine; both from its harbours, and the timber it produced. He thought this at- tempt of France was not only unjuft in itfelf, but direlly contrary to certain ftipu- lations in the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, confirmed by that of 1763, by which it was determined and fettled, " That the repub- lic of Genoa mould be entirely re-eftabliihed and maintained in all its former dates and poffeffions ; and that, for the advantage and maintenance of the peace in general, for the tranquillity of Italy in particular, all things mould OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM, fhould remain there in the condition they were in before the war." His LordPnip added, 'That he had not dwelt fo lirongly as he might have done, upon that great invafion of the conflitution, which had now thrown this whole country into a flame : the people were fufficiently alarmed for their rights, and he did not doubt but that matters would be duly en- quired into. But he confidered it only as the point to which all the other meafures of the adminiftration had tended. That when the conflitution was violated, we fhould not content ourfelves with repairing the.fmgle breach, but look back into the caufes, and trace the principles which had produced it, in order, not merely to reflore the conflitution to prefent health, but, if poflible, make it invulnerable hereafter. ' Upon the whole, he recommended it ftrongly to their Lordfhips, to fix an early day for taking into their coniideration the flate of this country in all its relations and dependencies, foreign, 'provincial, and do- meflic; for we had been injured in them all. That confideration would, he hoped, lead K 3 their C XK\VJ ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES tne i r Lordfhips to advife the crown not only how to correct pall errors, but how to eftablifh a fyflem of government more wife, more permanent, better fuited to the genius of the people, and, at leaft, confident with the fpirit of the conftitution.' The Duke of Graf ton, who fpoke next, A MTs.' did not oppofe the motion ; on the contrary, ' he engaged to fecond it, and to meet the noble Lord upon the great queftion when- ever the Houle {hould think proper. For the prefent, he meant only to exculpate himfelf, from fome fevere reflections, which he thought were directed particularly and personally againft himfelf. That he was ready to juftify the meafures alluded to by the noble Lord, about every other part of his conduct ; and he did not doubt of being able to do fo to the fatisfaclion of the Houfe. That the refumption made by the Commiffioners of the Treafury, of a fup- poied grant of the crown land, had been inoft unfairly reprefeiued. He wifhed the noble Lord, i: (lead of the word property, had only ufed poffeffion; and then -he would have truly :ddqnbed the facl, and the ob- ject. That upon the application made to the OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. the board, by the perfon who had difcover- xxxvi P / ed the defe6t in the noble Duke's title, '- v * 1770* he could not confidently with his duty, as an officer of the crown, have rejected the claim made by that perfon. That if the noble Duke, inftead of being an opponent, had been the warmeft friend of an adminif- tration, the Treafury Board could not have afted otherwife than they did, without a flagrant violation of juftice; and as for that hurry and precipitation of which they were accufed, he took upon him to contra- dict the noble Lord in the moft pofitive man- ner, and offered* to prove at the bar of that Houfe, that they had proceeded, not only with temper and deliberation, but with the utmofl attention to the interefh> of the noble Duke, and every poflibie mark of refpecl to his perfon ; and had protracted their deci- iion to the very lafl moment, allowed by the rules of the Board. With refpeft to thq debt upon the Civil Lift, he neither had, nor could have, any perfonal motives for wifhing to conceal from Parliament the par- ticulars of the extraordinary expences, by which that debt had been incurred. That the perfons to whofe offices it belonged, {lad been conflantly employed in drawing up K 4 a ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxv?' a ft ate f l ^ at account an d that they had received every poffible light and information from the officers of the Crown, in order to fhorten and facilitate the bufmefs : but it was a work of infinite labour and extent; and, notwithftanding the utmoft diligence in the feveral public offices, could not yet be completed. * That in regard to foreign affairs, he be* lieved the conduci of the King's Miniflers would bear the flricleft examination, and would be found irreproachable. That, for his own part, he had never thought, nor had he ever affirmed, that the conditions of the late peace were fuch as the people had a right to expect. He had maintained that opinion in former times, and no change of fituation mould ever induce him to re- linquifh it. But that the peace being once made, and thole advantages, which we might have expected from a continuance of the war being now irrecoverable, he would never advife the King to engage in another war, as long as the dignity of the Crown and the real interefts of the nation could be preferved without it. That what we had iuffered already by foreign com eftions ought to warn us againft engaging lightly OF THE EARL OP CHATHAM, in quarrels, in which we had no immediate x concern, and to which we might probably facrifice our own mod effential interefls.' Earl of 'Chatham. ' My Lords, I meant ia. chat. ham's rc to have rifen immediately to fecond the P'JJ motion made by the noble Lord. The charge which the noble Duke feemed to think affecied himfelf particularly, did un- doubtedly demand an earl/ anfwer ; it was proper he mould fpeak before me, and I am as ready as any man to applaud the decency and~ propriety with which he has expreffed himfelf. * I entirely agree with the noble Lord, both in the necefliity of your Lordlhips concurring with the motion, and in the principles and arguments by which he has very judicioufly Supported it. I fee clearly, that the complexion of our Government has been materially altered; and lean trace the origin of the alteration up to a period, which ought to have been an aera of hap- pinefs and profperity to this country. f My Lords, I (hall give you my reafons for concurring with the motion, not me- thodically, ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xxxvi thodically, but as they occur to my mind, * v ' I may wander, perhaps, from the exacl: par- 1770. liarnentary debate ; but I hope I fhalj fay nothing but what may deferve your atten- tion, and what, if not ftridily proper at pre- fent, would be fit to be faid, when the flate of the nation (hall come to be confidered. My uncertain ftate of health mud plead my excufe. I am now in fome pain, and very probably may not be able to attend my duty when I defire it moft, in this Houfe. I thank God 5 my Lords, for having thus long preferved, fo inconfiderable a being as I am, to tajce a part upon this great occafion, and to contribute my endeavours, fuch as they are, to reftore, to fave, to confirm the Conftitution, * My Lords, I need not look abroad for grievances. The grand capital mifchief is fixed at home. It corrupts the very foun- dation of our political exigence, and preys upon the vitals of the State. The Confli- tution has been grofsly violated' THE CON- STITUTION AT THIS MOMENT STANDS VIOLATED. Until that wound be healed a until the grievance be redrefled, it is in vain to recommend union to Parliament; in vain to OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. to promote concord among the people. If c x ^xvi we mea i ferioufly to unite the nation within ^^ itfelf, we muft convince them that their pom plaints are regarded, that their inquiries (hall be redreffed. On that foundation I would take the lead in recommending peace and harmony to the people. On any other, I would never wifh to fee them united again. If the breach in the Constitution be effeclu- ally repaired, the people will of themfelves return to a ftate of tranquillity If not - MAY DISCORD PREVAIL FOR EVER. I ]cnow to what point this doclrine and this language will appear dire6ted. But I feel the principles of an Englifhman, and I utter them without apprehenfion or referve. The crifis is indeed alarming: fo much the more does it require a prudent relaxation on the part of Government. If ihe King's fervants will not permit a conftitutional queftion to })e decided on, according to the forms, and and on the principles of the Conftitution, it rnuft then be decided in fome other man- ner; and rather than it (hould be given up, rather than the nation mould furrender their birth- right to a defpotic Minifter, I hope, my Lords, old as I am, I fliaUJee the brought to tffue, and j airly tried between ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxvi between the people and the government. My 1-1 v^ Lord, this is not the language of faclion ; >77 ' . let it be tried by that criterion, by \\ hich alone we can diftinguifh what is factious, from what is not by the principles of the Englifh Conftitution. I have been bred up in thefe principles ; and know, that when the liberty of the fubje6t is invaded, and all redrefs denied him, refiftance ii> juflified. If I had a doubt upon the matter, I mould follow the example let us by the moil reve- rend bench, with whom I believe it is a maxim, when any doubt in point of faith arifes, or any queftion of controverfy is ftarted, to appeal at once to the greateft fource and evidence of our religion I mean the Holy Bible : the Conftitution has its Political Bible, by which, if it be fairly con- fulted, every political queftion may, an4 ought to be determined. Magna Charta, the Petition of Rights and the Bill of Rights, form that code which, I call the Bible of the Engliffi Conftitution. Had fome of his Majefty's unhappy predecefTors trufted lefs to the comments of their Minifters, had they been better read in the text itfelf, the glorious Revolution would have remained only poffible in theory, and would not now have have exifted upon record a formidable ex- xxxvi ample to their fuccefibrs. 'TUaT' f My Lords, I cannot agree with the noble Duke, that nothing lefs than an immediate attack upon the honour or intereft of this nation, can authorife us to interpofe in de- fence of weaker ftates, and in "(lopping the enterprizes of an ambitious neighbour. Whenever that narrow, felfim policy, has prevailed in our councils, we have con- ftantly experienced the fatal effefts of it* By fuffering our natural enemies to opprefo the powers, lefs able than we are to make a refinance, we have permitted them to en- creafe their ftrength, we have loft the mod favourable opportunities of opporing them with fuccefs ; and found ourfelves at lad obliged to run every hazard, in making that caufe our own, in which we were not wile enough to take part, while the expence and danger might have been fupported by others. With refpect to Corfica I (hall only fay, that France has obtained a more ufe- ful and important acquifition in one Pacific Campaign, than in any oF her Belligerent Campaigns; at leafl while I had the honour of adminiftering the war againft her. The word 14* ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxvi' worf i mi y, perhaps, be thought fingular: * v ' I mean only while I was the Minifter, chiefly entrufted with the conducl of the war. I remember, my Lords, the time when Lor- rain was united to the Crown of France^ that too was, in fome meafure, a pacific con- queft ; and there were people who talked of it, as the noble Duke now fpeaks of Corfica. France was permitted to take and keep pof- feifion of a noble province ; and. according to his Grace's ideas, v;e did right in not oppofing it. The effecl of thefe acquifi- tions, is, I confefs, not immediate ; but they tmite with the main body by degrees, and^ in time, make a part of the national itrength. I fear, my Lords, it is too much the temper of this country to be infenlible of the ap- proach of danger, until it comes with accu- mulated terror upon us* ' My Lords, the condition of his Majefly's affairs in Ireland, and the (late of that kingdom within itfelf, will undoubtedly make a very material part of your Lord- fhip's enquiry. I am not fufficiently in- formed to enter into the fubjel fo fully as I could wifh; but by what appears to the public, and from my own obfervation, I confefs OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. confefs I cannot give the miniftry much crc- dit for the fpirit or prudence of their con- dud. I fee, that even where their mea fares are well chofen. they are incapable of car- rying them through without fome unhappy mixture of weaknefs or imprudence. They are incapable of doing entirely right. My Lords, I do, from my confcience, and from the belt weighed principles of my un- derftanding, applaud the augmentation of the army. As a military plan, I believe it has been judicioufly arranged. In a poli- tical view, I am convinced it was for the Welfare, for the fafety of the whole empire* But, my Lords, with all thefe advantages, with all thefe recommendations, if I had the honour of advifing his Majefly, I would never have confenttd to his accepting the augmentation, with that abfurd dimonour- abk condition, which the miniftry have fub- mitted to annex to it. My Lords, I revere thejuft prerogative of the crown, and would contend for it as warmly as for the rights of the people. They are linked together, and naturally fupport each other. I would not touch a feather of the prerogative. The expreffion, perhaps, is too light; ,but fince I have made ufe of it, let me add, that ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxvi. that the intire command and power of ^^ reeling the local difpofition of the army is the royal prerogative, as the matter-feather in the eagle's wing; and if I were permitted to carry the allufion a little farther, I would fay, they have dilarmed the imperial bird, the " Miniftrum Fulmims Alitem" The army is the thunder of the crown. The miniftry have tied up the hand which mould direcl the bolt* e My Lords, I remember that Minorca was loft for want of four battalions. They could not be fpared from hence ; and there was a delicacy about taking them from Ire- land. I was one of thofe, who promoted an enquiry into that matter in the other houfe; and I was convinced v;e had not regular troops fufficient for the neceflary fervice of the nation. Since the moment the plan of augmentation was iirft talked of, I have con- ilantly and warmly fupported it among my friends: I have recommended it to feveral members of the Irilh Houfe of Commons, and exhorted them to fupport it with their utmoft intereft in parliament. I did not forefee, nor could I conceive it poflible, the miniftry would accept of it, with a condition that OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM, G x P xxvi that makes the plan itfelf ineffectual, and, as Far as it operates, defeats every ufeful pur- pofe of maintaining a ftanding military force. His Majefty is now fo confined, by his pro- mife,that he muft leave twelve thoufand men locked up in Ireland, let the fituation of his affairs abroad, or the approach of danger to this country, be ever fo alarming, unlefs there be ah aftual rebellion, or invafion, iri Great Britain. Even in the two cafes ex- cepted by the king's promife, the mifchief muft have already begun to operate, muft have already taken effe6l, before his Majes- ty can be authorifed to fend for the affift- ance of his Irifh army. He has not left himfelf the power of taking any preventa- tive meafures, let his intelligence be ever fo certain, let his apprehenlions of invafion or rebellion be ever fo well-founded : unlefs the traitor be adlually in arms ; unlefs the enemy be in the heart of your country, he cannot move a fingle man from Ireland*. * The following is an extraft of the Lord Lieutenant's meflage to the Houie of Commons of Ireland upon this occafioi|: " Town SH END. Gentlemen, " I am commanded, by his ** Majefty, to acquaint you, that his Majefty, upon the moft ma- " tare confideration of the ftate and circumltances of this kingdom ** judges itabfolutely neceflary, that a number of troops, not lefs tbsttl VOL. It 14 /'ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES' ' I feel myfelf compelled, my Lords, i$ 1 return to that fuhject which occupies and in- terefts me mod; I mean the internal diforder of the conflitution, and the remedy it de- mands. But rirlt, I would obfervc, there is one point upon which I think the noble Duke has not explained himfelf. I do not. mean to catch at word-;, but, if pofTible, to pollefs the fenfe of what I hear. I would treat every man with candour, and fhould expe6t the fame candour in return. For the noble Duke, in particular, I have every per- " than twelve thoufand men, comniifTioned and non.commiflioned ' officers incladed, fhouldhe kept therein, tor the better defence of " the fame; and (hat his Majelly, finding that, confident with the *' general public fcrvice, the number before-mentioned cannot be " coaftantly continued in Ireland, unLfs his, army upon the Irifh " eflablifhment be augmented to 15,235 men in the whole, com- " miiiioned and non-commiiliona* officers included : His Majefty '" earneiily recommends it to his faithful Commons to concur in a. f f meafurc, which his Majefly has extremely at lieart, as neix-;!V.ry " not only lor, the honour and dignity of his crown, but the peace ' and fecurity of this kingdom. And I have his iviajefly's ipecia! " command to allure you cxprcitly, in his Majefty's name, thu-t it 44 is his determined refulution, tl.at upon fucli augmentation, a num- J< bc-r of efledtive troops, not lefs than 12,000 men, commiilioned " and non-commiflioned officers included, mall, at all times, except " in cafes of invafion or rebellion in Great Brila:in, be kept within " this kingdom, for the better defence thereof." Lord CHAT- HAM'S reaibning on the prefent meflage, is certainly rigJit, for if ^nglifh mimftry were to determine upon the neceility of fending for troops from Ireland, according to th-ir own apprelienfions or intelligence, the condition, with refpeft to Ireland, would be migatory. fonal OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. fonal refpe6land regard. I never defireto c X xxv P /, underftand him. but as he wifhes to be un- ' v ** 1770. derftood. His Grace, I think, has laid much ftrefs upon the diligence of the feveral pub- lic offices, and the adi fiance given them by the Adminiftration, in preparing a ftate of the expences of his Majefty's civil govern- ment, for the information of Parliament, and for the fatisfa&ion of the public. He has given us a number of plaufible reafons for their not having yet been able to finifh the account ; but, as far as I am able torecolle6t, he has not yet given us the fm ailed reafon to hope, that it ever will be fmifhed ; or that it ever will be laid before Parliament. ' My Lords, I am not unpraftifed in bufi- nefsj and ifj with all that apparent diligence, and all that afliftance, which the noble Duke fpeaks of, the accounts in queftion have not yet been made up, I am convinced there mutt be a defecl in fome of the public offices, which ought to be flriclly enquired into, and feverely punifhed* But; my Lords, the wafte of the public money is not ofitfelffo impor- tant as the pernicious purpofe to which we have reafon to fufpecl that money has been applied* For fome years paft, there has L 2 been ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES Deen an influx of wealth into this country, which has been attended with many fatal con- > ' fequences. becaufe it has not been the regu- lar, natural produce of labour and induftry. The riches of Afia have been poured in up- on us, and have brought with them not only Afiatic luxury, but, I fear. Afiatic principles of government. Without connections, with- out any natural interelt in the foil, the im- porters of foreign gold have forced their way into Parliament, by fuch a torrent of private corruption, as no private hereditary fortune could refifl. My Lords, not faying but what is within the knowledge of us all, the corruption of the people is the great ori- ginal caufe of the difcontents of the people themfelves, of the enterprife of the Crown, and the notorious decay of the internal vi- gour of the Constitution. For this great evil fome immediate remedy mufl be provi- ded; and I confefs, my Lords, I did hope, that his Majedy's fervants would not have fuffered fo many years of peace to relapfe, without paying fome attention to an obje6t, which ought to engage and intereft us all. I flattered myfelf I mould fee fome barriers thrown up in defence of the Constitution, fome impediment formed to flop the rapid progrefs Or THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 149 progrefs of corruption. I doubt not we all agree that fomething muft be done. I fhail offer my thoughts, fuch as they are, to the confideration of the Houfe; and I wifli that every noble Lord who hears me, would be as ready as I am to contribute his opinion to this important fervice. I will not call my own fentiments crude and indigefted; it would be unfit forme tooffer any thing to your Lordfhips, which I had not well confi- dered ; and this fubjecl, I own, has not long occupied my thoughts. I will now give them to your LordQiips without referve. f Whoever underftands the theory of the Englifh Conftitution, and will compare it with the fact, muft fee at once how widely they differ. We muft reconcile them to each other, if we wifh to fave the liberties of this country ; we muft reduce our political prac- tice, as nearly as poftible. to our principles. The Conftitution intended that there mould be a permanent relation between the c -nfti- tuent and reprefentative body of the people. Will any man affirm, that, as the Houfe of Commons is now formed, that relation is in any degree preferved? My Lords, it is not preferved, it is deftroyed. Let us be cautious L 3 however, ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES v A?' however, how we have recourfe to violent Jv .X. X V ! expedients. 1770. ' The boroughs of this country have pro- perly enough been called the rotten parts of the Conftitution. I have lived in Cornwall, and without entering into any invidious particularity, have feen enough to jufiify the appellation. ' But in my judgement, my Lords, thefe boroughs, corrupt as they are, muft be confidered as the natural infirmity of the Conftitution. Like the infirmities of the body, we muft bear them with patience, and fubmit to carry them about with us. The limb is mortified, but the amputation might be death. c Let us try, my Lords, whether fome gen- tler remedies may not be difcovered. Since we cannot cure the diforder, let us endea- vour to infnfe fuch a portion of new health into the Conftitution, as may enable it to fuppqrt its moft inveterate difeafes. ' The representation of the counties is. I think, ftill preferved pure and uncorrupted. That of the greateft cities is upon a footing equally refpeclable ; and there are many of the or THE EARL OF CHATHAM. the larger trading town?, which dill preferve x"xvi dieir independence. The infufion ofhealth ^TXT which I now allude to, would be to permit every county to ele6l one member more, in addition to their prefem reprefentation,. The knights of the (hires approach neareft to the Conflitutional reprefentation of the country, becaufe they reprefent the foil. It is not in the little dependent boroughs, it is the great cities and counties that the ftrength and vi-~ gour of the Conftitution reticles, and by them alone, if an unhappy queflion (hould ever rife, will the Conftmuion be honeilly and firmly defended. It would increafe that ftrength, becaufe I think it is the only fecu- rity we have againft the profligacy of the times, the corruption of the people, and the ambition of the crown. * I think 1 have weighed every poflible ob- jeclion that can be raifed againft a plan of this nature; and I confefs I fee but one, which, to me, carries any appea ranees ol fo- lidity. It may be faid. perhaps, that when the acl paffed for uniting the two kingdoms, the number of perfons who were to reprefent the whole nation in Parliament was propor^ tioned and fixed on for ever 1 hat this L 4 limitation ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES limitation is a fundamental article, and can- not be altered without hazarding a diflblu- tion of the Union. ' My Lords, no man who hears me can have a greater reverence for that wife and important aft, than I have. I revere the memory of that great Prince who firft form- ed the plan, and of thofe illuftrious patriots who carried it into execution. As a con- traft, every article of it fhould be inviolable ; as the common bafis of the ftrength anc} happinefs of two nations, every article of it fhould be facred. I hope I cannot be fuf- pefted of conceiving a thought fo deteftable, as to propofe an advantage to one of the contrafting parties at the expence of the other. No, my Lords, I mean that the be- nefit fhould be univerfal. and the content to. receive it unanimous. Nothing lefs than a moft urgent and important occafion fhould perfuade me to vary even from the letter of the aft; but there is no occasion, however urgent, however important, that fhould ever induce me to depart from the fpirit of it. Let that fpirit be religioufly preferved. Let us follow the principle upon which the re- prefentation of the two countries, was pro- portioned" OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. portioned at the Union ; and when we in- xxx\ni* creafe the number of repr fentatives for the *~~* . '77 Englifh counties, let the (hires of Scotland be allowed an equal privilege. On thefe terms, and while the proportion limited by the Union is preferved by the two nations, I apprehend that no man who is a friend to either, will object to an alteration,fo necefla- ry for the fecurity of both. I do not fpeak of the authority of the Legiflature to carry fuch a meafuje into effect, becaufe I imagine no man will difpute it. But I would not wifh the Legiflature to interpofe by an exer- tion of its power alone, without the chearful concurrence of all parties. My objecl is the happinefs and fecurity of the two nations, and I would not wifh to obtain it without iheir mutual confent. * My Lords, befides my warm approba- union of tion of the motion made by the noble Lord, ham with I have a natural and perfonal pleafure in ing'ham. rifmg up to fecond it. I confider my fe- conding his Lordfhip's motion, and I would wifh it to be confidered by others, as a public (lemonftration of that cordial union, which I am happy to affirm, fubfifls between us of my attachment to thofe principles ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxv i P * p r i nc ipl es which he has fo well defended, * ** and of my refpeft for his perfon. There 1770. * .* has been a time, my Lords, when thofe who wiflaed well to neither of us, who wifhed to fee us feparated for ever, found a fufficient gratification for their malignity againft us both. But that time is happily at an end. The friends of this country will, I doubt not/ hear with pleafure, that the noble Lord and his friends are now united with me and mine, upon a principle which, I truit, will make our union indiffo- luble. It is not to poflefs, or divide, the emoluments of government; but, ifpoffible, to fave the ftate. Upon this ground we met upon this ground we (land, firm and infeparable. No miniflerial artifices, no private offers, no fecret feduclion, can divide us. United as we are, we can fet the pror founded policy of the pn .Tent miniflry, their grand, their only arcanum of govern-, ment, their divide ct wiper a, at defiance. 1 I hope an early day will be agreed to for confidering the ftate of the nation. My infirmities muft fall heavily upon me indeed, if I do not attend my duty that day, \Vhen I confider my age, and unhappy ftate of OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 455 of health, I feel how little I am perfonally C x 5xvu interefled in the event of any political V "7^T > queftion : But I look forward to others, an4 am determined, as far as my poor ability extends, to convey to thole who come after me, the bleffings which I cannot long hope to enjoy myfelf.' . The Houfe agreed to fixing the twenty* fourth day of January, for taking into con- (ideration the {hue of the nation. But at that time there being no Lord Chancellor, the motion was adjourned to the fecond of February. On the twenty-ninth of Janu* ary, four days previous to the next debate, the Duke of Graf ton refigned. The want of a Lord Chancellor determined his Grace to quit his fituation. Even this refigna- tion, added to the many others which had preceded it, had no effecl upon the Court. The refolution of the private, or confiden- tial cabinet, was ftill to p erf ever e to rely upon the power of the Crown and if that was npt fufBcienl, to depend upon the army. The Duke of Graftons place was given to Lord Noifih: he was now Firft Lord of the Treafury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Minifter of the Houfe of Commons. The Great ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES CHAP. Great Seal was put into commiflion, bavins: 'XXXVII u^~-/ been refufed by Lord Mansfield and Sir John Eardly Wilnwt. The latter lefuied on account of his age. The former, be- caufe his pod of Chief Juftice of the Court of King's Bench afforded a more permanent, emolument. CHAR XXXVII. Chatham's Speech on the decijion of the Houfe of Commons on the Middlefex Election His Speech on Secret Influence On the Civil Lifty and difmiffion of Lord Camden Fatt con- cerning Queen Anne's Civil Lijl >Mr. Grenvillc's Election Rill. ON the fecond day of February, 1770, the Houfe of Lords being in com- mittee on the ftate of the nation, Lord Rockingham moved, That the Houfe of Commons, in the exercife of its judicature in matters of eleclion, is bound to judge according to the law of the land, and the known and eftabliihed law and cuftom of parliament, which is part thereof. The OP THE EARL OF CHATHAM. The Earl of Sandwich oppofed the mo- e H A p lion; and Lord Chatham replied to Lord Sandwich. J 57 A P. xxxvii. Lord Chatham began with obferving, that Speech e* the Mid- the noble Lord had been very adroit in *\ f < Eletion, referring to the Journals, and in collecting every circumftance that might aflift his ar- gument. Though my long and almost continued infirmities, faid he, have denied me the hour of eafe to obtain thefe benefits, yet, without the alfi fiance of the journals, or other collaterals, I can reply to both the precedents which his Lordfhip has produced. ' I will readily allow the facls to be as the noble Earl has ftated them, viz. That Lionel, Earl of Middlesex, as well as Lord Bacon, were both, for certain crimes and mif- demeanors, expelled this houfe, and incapa- citated from ever fitting here; without oc- cafioning any interference from the other branches of the Legiflature. ' Neither of thefe cafes bear any analogy to the prefent cafe. They affected only themfelves. The rights of no conftituem body tl ^8 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxvfi. body were affected by them. It is not the? *"7 ~ pcrfon f Mr. H 7 ?/^ that is complained of; as an individual, he is perfonally oiit of the difpute. The caufe of c mplaint the great ca ,fe, is, that the inherent rights and fran- chifes of the people are, in this cafe, invaded, trampled upon, and annihilated. Lord Bacon and Lord Mtddieftx reprefented no county, or city. The rights of no free- holder, the franchifes of no eleclor, were deftroyed by their expulfion. The cafes are as widely different as north from ibuih. But I will allow the noble Earl a fucceda- neum to his argument, which, probably, he has not as yet thought of. I will luppofe he urges, " That whatever authority gives a feat to a Peer, it is, at leaft equally as re- fpectable as to a Commoner, and that, both in expulfion and incapacitation, the injury is directly the fame :" Granted ; and I will further allow, that if Mr. Witkes had not been re-eleded by the people, the firll ex- pulfion, I believe, would be efficient. There- fore, my Lords, this comparifon ceafcs; for, except thefe noble Lords mentioned, had received a frefli title, either by birth or patent, they could not poflibly have any claim after the firil expulfion. The noble Lord OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Lord afks, " How came this doclrine to be broached?" And adds. " Who (hould 1770. be more tenacious of their liberties and privileges than the members themfeives ?" In refpecl to the latter part of this queftion, I agree none mould be fo proper as them- feives to prote6t their own rights and pri- vileges; and I fincereiy lament that they have, by their recent conducl, fo far for- got what thofe privileges are, that they have added to the long lift of venality from Efau to the prefent day. In regard to the firft part, (i How came this doctrine to be broached?"' I mult te ; l die noble Lord it is as old as the Conftitution itfelf ; the liber- ties of the people, in the original diftribu- tion of government, being the firft thing provided for; and in the cafe of Mr. Wiikes. though we have not inftances as numerous as in other cafes, yet it is, by no means, the lefsconfiituiional ; -like a comet in the fir- mament, which, however it may dazzle and furprife the vulgar and untutored, by unfre- quency of its appearance, the philosopher, verfed in afironomic fcience, it arFe6ls no more than any other common proccfs of nature, being perfectly iimple, and to him perfectly intelligible. Need I remind you my ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xx*xvi P i. m Y Lords, at this period, of that commorf ^^ fchool-boy pofition, " that the conflitu- tion of this country depends upon King, Lords, and Commons, that each by its pow- er is a balance to the other." If this is not the cafe, why were the three eftates con- flituted ? Why fhould it be neceffary before an aft of parliament takes place, that their mutual concurrence fhould be had. My Lords, I am afhamed to trudge in this com- mon track of argument; and have no apo- logy to make, but that I have been drawn into it by the noble Lord's averting, " We had no right to interfere with the privileges of the other Houfe." e The noble Earl has been very exaft iri his calculation of the proportion of perfons who have petitioned; and did the affair reft, merely, on this calculation, his ar- gument would be unanfwerable; but will he confider what numbers, whofe private fentiments felt all the rigour of parliament- ary proceedings, but for want of a few prin- cipals to call them together, and colleft their opinions, have never reached the ear of their fbvereign. If we add to this num- ber, the intereit made ufe of on the fide of govern- OF THE fcARL OF CHATHAM. government, to fupprefs all petitions, with the authority that placemen have neceffarily . over their dependants, it is yery fur* pnfing, that out of forty counties, thirteen had fpirit and independence fufficient to item fuch a tide of venality. But I will fuppofe that this was not the cafe, that no undue influence was made ufd of, and that hence but one third of the people think themfelves aggrieved. Are numbers to con- ftitute right? Are not the laws of the land fixed and unalterable ? And is not this pro- ceeding complained of, or any other, (fup- poated even but by one), to be tried and adjudged by thefe laws? Therefore, how- ever the noble Lord may excel in the doc- trine of calculation as a fpeculative matter, it can by no means ferve him. urged in the courfe of argument. ( Let Us hot then, my Lords, be deaf to the alarms of the people, when thefe alarms are founded on the infringement of their rights. Let us not fit neuter and inattentive to the proceedings of the other Houfe* We are, equally with thatHoufe, entrufled with the people's rights, and we cannot confcientioufly difcharge our duties without VOL. II. M our ANECDOTES AND SPEECHF.S xxxvfit our interference, whenever we find thofe l ^ ' rights, in any part of the conflitution, 1770. o > J I trampled on. s I have, my Lords, trefpafTed on your patience at this late hour of the night, \vhen the length of this debate rnuft have fatigued your Lordfhips confiderably. But I cannot apologize in a caie fo deeply inte- refling to the nation no time can be too long no time can be loft no hardfhips can be complained of. ' He condemned the conduct of the Houfc of Commons in terms of afperity. He de- nominated the vote of that Houfe, which had made Colonel Luttrel reprefentative for Middlefex, a grofs invafion of the Rights of Elelion a dangerous violation of the Englifh Conflitution a treacherous furrender of the invaluable privilege of a freehold, and a corrupt facrifice of their own honour. They had ftript the flatute book of its brighteft ornaments, to gild the wings, not of prerogative, but of unprinci- pled faclion and lawlefs domination. To gratify the refentments of fome individuals, the laws had been defpifed, trampled upon, and OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. and deftroyed thofe laws, which had been made by the flern virtue of their anceftors, the iron barons of old, to whom we were indebted for all the blefTmgs of our prefent Conftitution ; to whofe virtue and whofe blood, to whofe fpirit in the hour of con- teft, and to whofe ten dernefs in the triumph of viclory, the filken barons of this day^ owe their honours and their feats, and both Houfes of Parliament owe their continu- ance. Thefe meafures, he faid, made a part of that unhappy fyftem, which had been formed in the prefent reign, with a view to new-model the Conftitution, as well as the Government. Thefe meafures ori- ginated, he would not fay, with his Ma- jefty's knowledge, but in his Majefty's Councils. The Commons had flavifhly obeyed the commands of his Majefty's fer- vants, and had thereby exhibited, and prov- ed to the conviction of every man, what might have been only matter of fufpiciori before that Miniflers held a corrupt influ- ence in Parliament it was demo-nftrable it was indifputable. It was therefore parti- cularly neceffary for their Lordfhips, at this critical and alarming period, fo full of jealoufy and apprehenfion, to ftep forwards^ M 2 an4 S^ ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxv n* an( ^ oppfe themfelves, on the one hand, to '~- J the jufllv incenfed, and perhaps fpeedy in- temperate rage of the people; and on the other, to the criminal and malignant con- du6t of his Majefty's Miniflers: that they might prevent licentioufnefs on the one fide, and depredation on the other. Their Lord- fhips were the conftitutional barrier between the extremes of liberty and prerogative.' The Houfe being in a Committee, the queftion was put, Whether the Speaker mould refume the chair? which was decided in the affirmative by a great majority. The queftiyn being now got rid of, and notwithftanding it was paft twelve o'clock., the Earl of Marchmont made the following motion: " That any refolution of this Houfe, direclly or indirectly impeaching a judg- ment of the Houfe of Commons in a matter where their jurifdiftion is competent, final, and conclunve, would be a violation of the conflitutional right of the Commons, tends to make a breach between the two Houfes of Parliament, and leads to a general con- fufion." * "It OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 165 * It mould fecm that the Scotch kept this motion in their pockets ; x and that they referved thernfelves fork; as neither the Earl of MdrckmantftifajQ made it, nor Lord Mansfield, who fupported it, opened their mouths till now ; when they both fpoke with great vigour. The Earl of Marchmant threw out, by way of menace to the Oppo- fition, that if they went one flep further, they would juftify the neceffity of calling in foreign afliftance. The Duke of Rich- mond called him to order, and afked for an explanation of the words foreign afjifl- 1 */ {.' Jis -/ ance. But \\ejhuffled it off. Lord Mans- field, in a long fpeech infifted, that their Lordfhips had no right to interfere in any determination of the Commons. The Earl of Egmont faid, the late petitions were highly cenfurable ; the people had no right, nor even claim of right, to prefent fuch peti- tions'they were treafonablc, This harm denunciation of the petitions, EI of r . Chatham. brought up the Earl of Chatham. His Lordfhip declared, " that however indig- nant he might feel upon fuch a dreadful * From the London Mufeum, vol. i, page 190. It is not known that any other account of this debate was taken. M 3 fentence jgS ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxv Fi. ^ntence upon the petitioners, he hoped *~~* ' they would only fmile when they heard it. He thanked Lord Marchmont for his Jenity, in permitting the petitieners to have their. heads on one day longer : and faid the peti- tions were laudable and tfonftitutional ; and the right of the people, to prefent them, undoubted. He then replied to Lord Mansfield, and (hewed the neceffity of the / Houfe of Lords interfering, in cafe of an invafion of the people's liberties, or an un- conftitutional determination of the Houfe of Commons; and he affirmed, that the cafe of the county of Middlefex fell under both thofe denominations. Then he con- jured them, by the noble blood which had run for fo many ages in their veins, and by the noble ftruggles of their anceftors in be- half of liberty, not to behold with indiffer- ence a tranfaclionfo alarming; and modeftly .faid of himfelf, for his own part, he was hardly warm in his feat. He quoted Lord Somers and Chief Juftice Holt, in fupport of his law : and drew their characters very finely. He called them hone/I men, who knew and loved the Englifli Conftitution. Then turning to Lord Mansfield, he faid, (with afneer) I vow to God i think the noble Lord OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 167 Lord equals them both in abilities. To-_5.xxvff. wards the conclufion he complained drongly *~7"~J J of the motion's being fudden, and made at midnight, and prefled the neceifity of an adjournment of only two days. He faid, among other things, if the Conftitution muft be wounded, let it not receive its mor- tal dab at this dark and midnight hour, when honed men are afleep in their beds,* and when only felons and ailadins are fee king for prey.' At half pad one in the morning the queftion was put, and decided in the affir- mative. . On the feccnd day of March 1770, a mo- tion was made in the Houfe of Lords by Lord Craven, for an Addrefs to the King, requeuing his Majefly would put his Royal Navy on fuch a footing as to fecure refpe61 to his Crown, and protection to the.trade of his fubjecls. , The Earl of Chatham fupported this mo- c Xam' S tion. ' He condemned the conducl of the l h i n miniftry in every particular, concerning the U M. C S* f^avy. Having gone through great part of M4 the * ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxvif. ^he fabjeft, he took occafion to fpeak of L ~p r ^ the Secret Influence, which had pervaded the counfels of the prefent reign. He de-r fcribed this influence as having fubfifled from the firft moment of his Majefly's ac- ceflion. He called it dangerous, bafe, un^ conftitutional and wicked. It had under, mined and overturned every adminift ration, however conflituted or fupported, He fpoke he faid, of an inviiible, unrefponfible influ- ence of the pernicious counfels of a favou- rite, who had occafioned all the unhappi- nefs and difturbances in the nation, and whofe agents had extended his pernicious politics and principles to the government and terror of the colonies ; from all which he deprecated the word of misfortunes, That although this favourite was at the pre^ fent abroad, yet, his influence, by his con- fidential agents, was as potent as if he were 'prefent. Who does not know the Mazari- nadt of France that Mazarine abfent, was Mazarine ft ill'. 3 Vhat is there, he afked, to diilinguifh the two cafes ? The Iran/ac- tion of the late peace was a great proof, amongtl many others, of his influence that me.afure was his. Others participated in the guilt, but he was the principal. Then OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Then railing his voice, heaflerted in a man- Jy and dignified tone, That this Country WAS SOLD at the Late fieace ; that we were SOLD by the Court of Turin to the Court of France : What more perfons were concern- ed he would not at prefent ftate; but what }ie had flated was an indifputable FACT, ' He himfelf had been duped by this fe- cret influence at the moment when he lead fufpe&ed treachery; when the profpecl: was fair, and when the appearances of confidence were flrong; in particular, at the time when he was taken ill, and obliged to go to Bath for a (hort week; he had before he fet out, formed, with great pains, attention and de- liberation, fome plans, which as he con- ceived, were highly interefting and of the utmoft importance to this country; which had been approved in Council, and to which the King himfelf had given his approbation. But when he returned, he found his plans were all vanilhed into thin air, 4 When I was earneftly called upon for the public fervice, I came from Somerfetmire with wings of zeal. I confented to preferve apeace which I abominated; a peace I would not ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES not make, but would nreferve when made. I undertook to fupport a Government by *77- law ; but to fhield no man from public juftice. Thefe terms were accepted, I thought with fincerity accepted. I own I was credulous, I was duped, I was deceived ; for I foon found that there was no ORIGINAL Admi- niftration to be fuffered in this country. The fame fecrrt invifible influence ftill pre- vailed, which had put an end to all the fuc- celfive adminift rations, as foon as they op- pofed or declined to a6t under it.' Here the Duke of Grafton rofe and faid, I rife to defend the King; though, if I underfland rightly the words which have been fpoken, they are only the effecls of a diflempered mind, brooding over its own , difcontent. To which Lord Chatham replied, ' I rife neither to deny, to retracl, nor to explain away the words I have fpoken. As for his Majefly, I always fourid every thing graci- ous and amiable in the Clofet ; fo amiably condefcending as apromife, in every repeat- ed audience, not only to forgive, but to fup- ply the defects of health by his chearful fup- port, OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. port, and by the ready afliftance of all his xxxvn*. immediate dependants, &c. Inftead of this, v -v ' all the obflacles and difficulties which attend- ed every great and public meafure, did not arife from thofe out of Government: they were fuggefted, nou rimed and fupported by that fecret influence I have mentioned, and by the induftry of thofe very dependants : firft by fecret treachery ; then by official in- fluence ; afterwards in public Councils. A long train of thefe practices has at length unwillingly convinced me, that there is fome- thing behind the Throne greater than the King himfelf. As to the noble Duke, there was in his conduct, from the time of my be- ing taken ill, a gradual deviation from every thing that had been fettled and foiemnly agreed to by his Grace, both as to meafures and men ; till at lalt there were not left two planks together of the (hip which had been originally launched. As to a diflempered mind, I have a drawer full of proofs that my principles have never given way to any difeafe ; and that I have always had fufhci- ent vigour of mind remaining to fupport them, and confequently to avoid all thofe fnares, which from time to time have been fo artfully laid to take advantage of my ftate of ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxvn of health: his Grace can witnefs better than ** ^ ' any other man, becaufe he has himfelfthe 1770. / letters which fufficiently prove it.*' The motion \vas negatived. On the fixteenth day of March, a motion was made, to appoint a Committee to en- quire into the (late and expenditure of the Civil Lift, s eech on Lord Chatham fpoke in fupport of the ft, c i v d motion, ' He faid the Civil Lift was appro* of f i! r ia n priated, in thefirft inftance, to the fupport lden> of the Civil Government ; and in the next to the Jionour and dignity of the Crown, In every other refpeft, the minute and par- ticular' expences of the Civil Lift are as open to Parliamentary examination and en- quiry, in regard to the application and abufe as any other grant of the people, to any o- ther purpofe: and the Minifters are equally of more culpable for incurring an unprovid- ed ex pence, and arrears in this fervice, as for any other. The preamble of the Civil * The latter part of this fpeech is copied from the London Mufeum, vol. j. page 248. Lift OF THE EARL OP CHATHAM. 173 Liftafts prove this: and none but novices, xxxvff will ever aft without proper regard to them : t ~"^ J and therefore, I can never con Pent to encreafe fraudulently the Civil Eftablrfhment, under pretence of making up deficiencies; nor will I bid fo high for Royal favor : and the Mi- nifter who is bold enough to fpend the peo- ple's money, before it is granted (even though it were not for the purpofe of corrupting their reprefentatives), and thereby leaving the people of England no other alternative, but either to difgrace their Sovereign, by not paying his debts, or to become the prey ofevery unthrifty or corrupt Minifler fuch Minuter deferves death. * The late good old King had fomething of humanity, and amongft other royal and manly virtues, he pofTeffed juftice, truth, and fincerity, in an eminent degree; fo that he had fomething about him, by which it was poffible to know whether he liked you or difliked you.* * It is proper to obferve, that when Lord Chatham was forced out of office in October 1761, the King's Civil Lift not only flood cle^r of all incumbrances, but there was a balance at that time in the exchequer due to the crown, of upwards of one hundred and twenty thoufand pounds. See Secret Service in Chap. xxn. * I have 174 xxxvn', ' * have k een to 'd that I have a penfion, u v ' and that I have recommended others to pen- 1770. (ions. It is true ; and here is a lid of them : you will find there the names of General Amkerjl, Sir Edward Hawke, and feveral o- thers of the fame nature; they were given as rewards for real fervices, and as encourage- ments to other gallant heroes. They were honourably earned in a different fort of cam- paigns than thofe at Wellminfter ; they were gained by actions, full of danger to them- felves, of glory and benefit to this nation ; not by corrupt votes of bafenefs to the de- Ilru6lion of their country. ' You will find no fecret fervices there, and you will find, that when the warrior was recompenfed, the Member of Parlia- ment was left free. You will likewife find a penfion of 1500!. a year to Lord Camden. I recommended his Lordmip to be Chancel- lor; his public and private virtues were ac- knowledged by all ; they made his flation more precarious. I could not reafonably expect fiom him, that he would quit the Chief Jufticefhip of the Common Pleas, which he held for life, and put himfelf in the power of thofe who were not to be trufled, to OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. to be difmifled from the Chancery, perhaps xxxvn. the day after his appointment. The pub- V 7T~ - ' lie has not been deceived by his conduct. My .fufpicions have been juftified. His in- tegrity has made him once more a poor and a private man ; he was difmiffed for the opi- nion he gave in favour of the right of elec- tion in the people." Here Lord MARCH MONT, who lately talked of foreign force, called Lord CHAT- HAM to order. Some Lords called out " to the bar, to the bar!" Lord MARCHMONT moved, that Lord CHATHAM'S words mould betaken down. Lord CHATHAM feconded the motion and added, e I neither deny, retracl, nor explain thefe words. I do re-affirm the fact, and I defire to meet the fenfe of the Houfe; I appeal to the honour of every Lord in this Houfe, whether he has not the fame conviclion." Lord ROCKINGH AM, Lord TEMPLE, and many other Lords, did upon their honour affirm the fame. Lord ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES ; xxxvn. Lord SANDWICH and Lord WE YMOtf TH ^-^ ' would have withdrawn the motion ; but Lord MARCHMONT, encouraged by Lord MANSFIELD, perfiited, and moved, that nothing had appeared to juftify iuch an aflertion* Lord CHATHAM, ( My words remain un* retraced, unexplained, and re-affirmed. I defire to know whether I am condemned, or acquitted; and whether I may ftill pre- fume to hold up my head as high as the noble Lord, who moved to have my words taken down.' To this no anfwer was given. Lord CHATHAM was reproached with having recommended the Duke of GRAF- TON; and that he had forced his Grace on the King as his firfl Minifter. Lord CHATHAM replied, ' I advifed his Majefty to take the Duke of GRAF TON as firfl Lord of the Treafury, but there isfuch a thing as time as well as tide; and the con- duel of the noble Duke has convinced me, that I am as likely to be deceived as any other OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 177 bther man, and as fallible as my betters, xxxvn. It was an expreffion.of that great Miniller Sir R. WALPOLE, upon a debate on the army in the year 1737, " thofe who gave the power of blood, gave blood." I will beg leave to parodize the expreflion, arid fay, thofe who gave the means of corrup- tion, gave corruption. I will trujl no So- vereign in the world with the means of pur thafing the liberties of the people. When I had the honour of being the confidential keeper of the King's intention, he aflured me, that 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 perfonal diflipation in the King, at a time when there are no marks of any confiderable fums having' been expended to procure the fecrets of our ene- mies ; that a requeft of ari enquiry into the expenditure of the Civil Lift fhould be; refufed, is to me mbft extraordinary ; Does the King of England want to build a palace equal to his rank and dignity? Does he want to encourage the polite and ufeful arts? Does he mean to reward the hardy veteran, who has defended his quarrel in many a rough campaign 3 whofe falary does not equal Vol. II, N that 1 g ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES x-xvn * v^ ' he mean, by drawing the purfe-ftrings of his fubjecls, to fpread corruption through the people, to procure a Parliament, a- packed jury, ready to acquit his Minifters at all adventures. I do not lay, my Lords, that corruption lies fare, or that corruption lies there ; but if any gentleman in England were to afk me, whether I thought both Houfes of Parliament were bribed, IJkould laugh in his face, and fay, " Sir, it is not " fo." My Lords, from all that has been faid, I think it mud appear, that an en- quiry into the ftate and expenditure of the Civil Lift revenue is expedient, proper and juft ; -a refufal of it at this time will only add ridicule to difgrace, and folly to enor- mity.' The motion was negatived. this fubjed of the Civil Lift, it can- 1 Llft * not be improper to {hew the falfity of a compliment paid by Boycr, Tindal, Smollet, Goldjmith, and other writers, and even by fome Members of former Parliaments, in their fpeeches, when it has fuited their pur- pofe, to the late Oueen ANNE. They fay, that OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM, that for four years, (he gave one hundred xxxvn* thoufand pounds per annum, out of her ^^ Civil Lift, towards carrying on the war againft France; and from hence they deduce an argument in proof of the ceconomy and patriotifm of that Princefs. If the affertion had been true, the argument might have pafled without notice. But when a compli- ment of this fort is paid, not only without foundation, but at the expence of truth, and of the nation^ it is prefumed that it will not be thought improper to ftate the Facl, for the information of thofe, who hav not the Journals of Parliament, and other documents in their pofleflion; In facl, this pretended generality was one of the mod fcandalous aclions that the Crown ever committed by any Adminiftra- tion. It was a manifeft and grofs cheat upon the Public, who were extravagant lofers by it; for fome time after, viz. upori the 25th of June, 1713, the Queen ac- quainted the Houle of Commons, by mef- fage, that (he had C6ntra6ted a very large debt upon her Civil Lift revenues, which (he was unable to pay, and therefore de- fired to make them good; and fuch was N 2 the ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxvfi- l ^ e complaifance of a Tory Parliament, that N -^7r' notwithstanding the deteftation which muft have arifen in every honeft breaft, upon the detection of this cl'umfey juggle, and though Mr. SMITH, one of the Tellers of the Ex- chequer*, honeftly informed the Houfe, that the eftimate of this debt was aftonifh- ing to him, being made to amount to Auguft 1710, to 400,000!. Whereas, he was able to affirm from his own knowledge, that it amounted at that time to little more than ioo,oool. and though many others under- took to prove, that the funds given for 700,000!. had, in reality, amounted to 8oo,oool. and though thefe gentlemen had prevailed fo far as to procure an addrefs to the Crown for an account of the Civil Lift debt at Midfummer, 1713, and for a yearly account of the net produce of the Civil Lilt revenue, no regard was paid to this information, nor to this addrefs ; none of thefe accounts were ever permitted to be laid before the Houfe, and upon the very next day they voted no lefs a fum than 500,000!. for this fervice. This is the truth, * The Tellers of the Exchequer were at that time Members of Parliament. They were excluded'by Lord Bath's Aft, 1743. and OF THE EAL OF CHATHAM. and the whole truth, of that generous ex- X C X " V A U P ploit of the daughter of King JAMES II. It Sl f ! ! w was a mean trick, by which the natioti was cheated of 400,000!. This Queen had as many private vices, and as few public virtues, as any Prince or Princefs of her family. On the fifth day of April, Mr. GREN- VILLE'S Bill for trying Controverted Elec- tions, was brought from the Houfe of Com- mons by Mr. GIENVILLE^ attended by one hundred Members, Lord CHATHAM fupported the Bill, and paffed fome very elegant encomiums upon it. He then faid, That as he had begun his life out of a Court, he hoped he mould end it out of a Court. He had no view of intereft. All he meant was to roufe his country to a juft fenfe of the bleffings of this Conftitution. Then he defired that the Houfe might be fummoned after the Holidays, for he defigned to bring in a Bill to reverfe the proceedings of the Houfe of Commons on the Middlefex Election. He declared that his intention by this Bill, was to give the people a ftrong and tho- N 3 . ' rough Eleftion Bill. ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxvni rotl gh frnfe of the great violation of the *7J^ Conftirution, by thofe unjuft and arbitrary proceedings. CHAP. XXXVIII. Lord Chatham's Bill on the Middlefex Eleclion^ and Speech in fupport of the Bill Lord Chat- hams Motion, and Speech^ on the King's Anfwer to a Petition from the City oj London His Motion Jor a Diffolution oj Parliament Some. Heads of a Speech on Representation M< Letter to Lord Temple on that Subjecl Anecdote on the fame Subject from Lord Buckan Goes into Somerfetflnre. ON the firft day of May, 1770, the Earl of CHATHAM prefented to the Houfe a Bill, intituled, A Bill for reverting the adjudications of the Houfe of Commons, whereby JOHN WILKES, Efq; has been adjudged incapa- ble of b"-ng elelt d a Member to ferve in this prefent Parliament, and the freeholders of the county of Middlefex have been de- prived of one of their legal reprelentatives. The faid Bill was read the firft time. The OF THE EARL OP CHATHAM. The following is an accurate copy of the X A Pi Bill. A Bill for reverjing the adjudications of the Houfe of Commons, -whereby John Wilkes. Ejq; has been adjudged inca- pable of being elecled a Member tojervc. in this prejent Parliament, and the Freeholders of the County of Middle ft x have been deprived of one of their legal Reprefentatives. WHEREAS the capacity of being ele6t- ed a Reprefentative of the Commons in Parliament (is under known limitations of law) an original inherent right of the fubjecl; and forafmuch as to deprive the fubjecl; of this high franchife and birth-right, other- wife than by a judgment according to the Jaw of the land, and the conftant ellab- Jifhed ufage of Parliament conformaole thereto, and part thereof, is direftly con- trary to the fundamental laws and freedom of this realm, and in particular to the aft-, ^ declaring the rights and liberties of the * 6 fubjecl, and fettling the fucceiTion of the <" crown/' at the ever-memorable period orf N4 the g^ ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxvm l ^ e Revolution; when free ele&ion of Mem* i --v--' bers of Parliament was exprefsly vindicated *77 * J and fecured. And whereas JOHN WILKES, Efq: having been duly elected and returned a knight of the (hire to ferve in this prefent Parlia- ment for the county of Middlefex, was, on the lyth of February, 1769, without being heard, adjudged incapable of being elecled a Member to ferve in this prefent Parlja* ment, by a refolutionof the tjoufe of Com- mons, as follows : " Refolved, " That JOHN WILKES, Efq; having been in this fefiion of Parliament expelled this Houfe, was and is incapable of being elected a Member to ferve in this prefent * Parliament." 1 And whereas on the fame day the faid Houle of Commons farther refolved as follows : " That the late eleftion of a knight of the fhire to ferve in this prefent Parlia- ment for the county of Middlefex is a voict eleclion:" And OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. And whereas the faid JOHN WILKES, xxxvni Efq; having been again duly elected and '" v' ; returned a knight of the {hire to ferve in this prefent Parliament for the county of Middlefex, the faid Houfe of Commons did, on the 17th of March, 1769, refblve in the words following fe That the election and return of JOHN^ WILKES, Efq; who hath been by this Houfe adjudged incapable of being elefted a Member to ferve in this pre^ fent Parliament, are null and void ; And whereas the faid JOHN WILKES, Efq; having been again duly elecled and returned a knight, of the {hire to ferve in the prefent Parliament for the county of Middlefex aforefaid, and having on the original poll-books, eleven hundred and forty- three votes in his favour, againft two hundred and ninety-fix, in [favour of HENRY LAWES LUTTRELL, Efq; the Houfe of Commons did, on the 15th of April, 1769, without a hearing of parties, and in manifeft violation of the indubitable right of the Freeholders of the county of Middlefex to chufe their reprefentatives in Parliament, refolve as follows : That ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxvm That HENRY LAWES LUTTRELL, Efq; 1 ' ought to have been returned a knight of 1770. . . . the (hire to ferve in this prefent Parliament for the county of Middlefex, and thereupon ordered the faid return to be amended ac- cordingly ; And whereas, by another refolution, of the 8th of May, 1762, the faid Houfe of Commons did, upon hearing the matter of the petition of the Freeholders of the coun- ty of Middlefex, as far as the fame related to the election of HENRY LAWES LUT- TRELL, farther refolve as follows ; " That HENRY LAWES LUTTRELL, Efq; is duly elecled a knight of the mire to ferve in this prefent Parliament for the county of Middlefex." And forafmuchas all the refolutions afore- faid, cutting off the fubjedl from his indubi- table birth-right, by a vote of one Houfe of Parliament exercifmg difcretioriary power and legiflative authority, under colour of a jurifdittion in elections, are moft arbitrary, illegal, and dangerous, Be OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Be it therefore declared and enabled, by X xxvni the King's moft excellent Majefty, by and v-y- ' with the advice and confent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons in this prefe it Parliament aflembled, and by- the authority of the fame, " That all the " adjudications contained in the above - " mentioned feveral refolutions are arbitra- se ry and illegal, and the fame are and '* (hall be hereby reverfed, annulled, and to confider this a little more attentively: ' Firft, Dijrefpedful to him/dj? How is a King to know this? Is he a judge what is difrefpeclful to him ? No, my Lords; the laws are to determine this for him, thejuil interpreters of offences. e Injurious to my Parliament /' How injurious to Parliament? when the very nature or part of the Peti- tion, refers to that Freedom of Election in the People, by which they became a Houfe of Judicature ; ( irreconcileablc to the Prin- ciples of the Conjlit'iition,' when the very eflence of the Conftitution, not only permits but requires petitioning the Throne, and what the Stuarts never dared to prevent in the zenith of their power. I repeat again, my Lords, the King could never give fuch an anfwer from himfelf; and. indeed, my VOL. II. O Lords, ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES- kords, poor as my opinion is x)f admini- ftration, I can hardly think it was a joint official advice, but the opinion of one, or a confidential few ; for it is impoifible, but if there were many, who were confulted upon this meafure, fome of them mult fee the abfurdity of it. ' When I mentioned the Livery of Lon- don, I thought I faw a fneer upon fome faces : but let me tell you, my Lords, though I have the honour to lit in this Houfe, as a Peer of the Realm, coinciding with thefe honeft Citizens in opinion, I am proud of the honour of afibciating my name with theirs. And let me tell the nobleft of ( you all, it would be an honour to you. The Livery of London, my Lords, were refpetable long before the reformation: the Lord Mayor of London was a Principal among the twenty-five Barons who received MagnaCharta from King John, and they have ever fmce been confidered to have a principal weight in all the affairs of govern- ment. How then have thefe refpeclable charadlers been treated? They have been fent away fore ajflitted from his Majefty's prefence, OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. prefence, and reprimanded for purfuing xxxvm their undoubted rights/ 1770. The motion was negatived. On the fourteenth of May, Lord Chat- ^ t; , 9ft ^ / * diHolvethe kam made a motion for an addrefs to the p liamcn * King, to defire he would difTolve the prefent Parliament. ' He ftated the public difcon- tents in England, Ireland, and America : affirmed that the people had no confidence in the prefent Houfe of Commons, who had betrayed their trull; and (hewed, from the fituation of public affairs, the great necelfity of having a Parliament in whom the people Could place a proper confidence ! Inflead of i . . r . r . . fenUtion. depriving a county or its repreientative, he faid that one or more members ought to be added to the reprefentation of the counties ; in order to operate as a balance, againft the weight of the feveral corrupt and venal bo- roughs, which perhaps could not be lopped off entirely, without the hazard of a public convulfion.' This was no crude fuggeftion: he repeated it afterwards in a letter to Lord TEMPLE : and as his opinion on this fubjel has been doubted, it will not be improper to ftate, in a note, the public ufe that was O 2 made 196 CHAP. XXXVIII 1770- ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES of this letter *. All arguments were in vain. The Court Lords called for the Queflion! Anecdote^ of Lord Chatham by Lord Buchaa. * KEHNET MAYOR. A Common Council holden in the Chamber of the Guildhall of the city of London, on Friday the feventh day of April, 1780: A Member prefented to this Court an extract of a letter from the late Earl of Chatham to the late Earl TEMPLE, dated April 17, 1771, which was read, and ordered to be entered iu the Journals of this Court, as follows : ^ Allow a /peculator, in a great chair, to add, that a plan for more equal Reprefentation, by additional Knights of the Sbirc t feems highly feafonable ; and to fhorten the duration of Parlia- ment not lefs fo. If your Lordfliip ftiould approve, could Lord LYTTLETON'S caution be brought to tafte tbofe ideas, we mould take pofiefllon of ftrong ground, let who will decline to follo.v u^. One line of men, I am allured, will zcaloufly fupport, and a re- fpeftable weight of law. Si quidno*vljU rcclim ijiis candidus im- perti." Signed by order of the Court. RIX. There is another anecdote of Lord CHATHAM upon this fubjefl which deferves a place here. It is given by the Earl of BUCHAN, in his character of Thomibn, the poet. " The higheft encomium of Thomfon is to be given him on account of his attachment to the cr.ufe of civil and political liberty. A free Conftitution of Government, or what I would beg leave to call the autocracy of the people is the panacea of moral dileafes; and after having been fought for in va n forages, has been dilco- vered in the bofom cf truth, and at the feet of philofophy ? the printing-prefs has been the difpenfary, and half the world have been voluntary patients of the healing remedy. < Eighteen years after Thomfon's death, the late Lord CHAT- HAM agreed with me in making this remark; and wlieir I faid, ' But, Sir, what will become of poor England, tljat doats on the imperfections of her pretended Conftitution ?' he replied, My dear Lord, the gout will difpofe of me foon enough* to prevent me from feeling the confequences of this infatuation. But before the OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Queftion f the Ouejlion ! and put a negative it. The feflion ended on the igth of May. Lord CHATHAM retired into Somerfet- Ihire during the fummer *. the end of this century either the Parliament will reform itfelf from within, or be reformed with a vengeance from without.' ** Pythonick fpeech, fpeedily to be verified." * In the month of June the Princefs of Wales went to Germa- ny, and returned in October following. At Canterbury, and other places, /he met with many infults from the people, CHAP. XXXIX. Thanks of the City of London to Lord Chatham^ and his Lord/It ip's Anfwer His Speech on the Seizure of Falkland's JJlands Secret and i.nter- cjling Hijlory of that memorable Negotiation Rejignation of Lord Haw ke-^ Explanatory Note Double Cabinet. L ORD CHATHAM'S Parliamentary CHAP, XXXIX conduft during the laft feflion of Par- liament, was highly approved by the nation. The teftimony of the approbation of the City of London, at this time deferves to be particularly noticed. It was as follows. 3 On M / ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES *xxxix' On the firft day of June, a Committee of c -^-' the Corporation of the City of London J 77 waited on his Lordfhip in Pall-Mall, when Sir William Stephenfon, in the name of the Committee, addrefled his Lordfhip to this effea: MY LORD, " We have the pleafmg fatisfaftion to Thanks of . thecityof deliver to your Lordfhip the grateful thanks iondonto J t- o f the citizens of London, for your Lord- fhip's moft eminent public fervices; and we fincerely congratulate your Lordfhip on being equally diftinguifhed in the direction of a glorious war, and in your endeavours to reftore the principles of our moft excel- lent Conftitution." And then he prefented the thanks of the Corporation 1 " which are as follow: BECKFORD, MAYOR. A Common Council, holden in the Chamber of the Guildhall of the City of London, on Monday, the \^th of May, 1770. A motion was made, and queflion put, 9 That the grateful thanks of this Court be prefented to the Right Hon f William Earl of OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. of Chatham, for the zeal he has (hewn in fiipport of thofe mod valuable and facred 1770. privileges, the right of election, and the right of petition; and for his wifhes and declaration, that his endeavours {hall here- after be ufed, that Parliaments may be re- ftored to their original parity, by fhortening their duration, and introducing a more full and equal reprefentation ; an aft which will render his name more honoured by pof- terity, than the memorable fuccefTes of the glorious war he conducted.' The fame was refolved in the affirmative, and ordered accordingly. It is ordered, That the faid refolution be fairly tranfcribed, and figned by the Town Clerk, and prefented to his Lordfhip by Sir Wm. Stephenfon, Knt. Barlow Trecothick, Brafs Crofby, Efqrs. Aldermen, and James Townfend, Efq. Alderman, and one of the Sheriffs of this City ; George Bellas, Efq. Mr. Deputy Thomas Cockfedge, Mr. De- puty William Judd, Samuel Freeman, Efq. Mr. Arthur Beardmore, Mr. James Sharp, Mr. Deputy Richard Townfend, and Mr. John Anderfon, Commoners. HODGES. 04 To xxxix To which his LordQiip was pleafed im * ^ ' mediately to reply: " GENTLEMEN, " It is not eafy for me to give exprellion fwr. to a jj i f ee ] } on t h e extraordinary honour done to my public conduct by the City of London; a body fo highly refpeclable on every account ; but above all, for their conflant aflertions of the birth-rights of Englifhmen, in every great crifis of the Conflitution. " In our prefent unhappy fituation, my duty (hall be on all proper occafions, to add the zealous endeavours of an individual to thofe legal exertions of ConfHtutional rights which, to their everlafting honour, the City of London has made in defence of freedom of election, and freedom of petition, and for obtaining effectual reparation to the electors of Great Britain. " As to one point among the declarations which I am underftood to have made, of my wifhes for the public, permit me to fay there has been fome mifapprehenfion; for with OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM, 2O1 with all my deference to the fentiments of the City, I am bound to declare, that I can- . . not recommend triennial Parliaments as a remedy againfl that canker in the Conflitu- tion, venality in eleclions; ready to fubmit my opinion to better judgment, if the with for that meafure (hall become prevalent in the kingdom. " Purity of Parliament is the corner-ftone in the common-wealth; and as one obvious means towards this necefiary end is to flrengthen and extend the natural relation between the constituents and the elecled, I have, in this view, publicly exprefled my earned wifhes for a more full and equal re* prelentation, by the addition of one knight of the mire in a county, as a farther balance to the mercenary boroughs. I have thrown out this idea with the juft diffidence of a private man, when he prefumes to fuggefl any thing new on a high matter. Animated by your approbation, I mall with better hope continue humbly to fubmit it to the public wifdom, as an objefl to be mod de- liberately weighed, accurately examined, and maturely digefted. " Having 402 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES *xxxix! " Having many times, when in the fer- * '" ' vice of the Crown, and when retired from *77 it, experienced, with gratitude, the favour of my fellow-citizens, I am now particu- larly fortunate that, with their good liking, I can offer any thing towards upholding this wifely-combined frame of mixed Go- vernment againfl the decays of time, and the deviations incident to all human infti- tutions; and I (hall efleem my life honoured indeed, if the City of London can vouch- fafe to think that my endeavours have not been wanting to maintain the national ho- nour, to defend the colonies, and extend the commercial gieatnefs of my country, as well as to preferve from violation the law of the land; and the eflential rights of the Co^ftitution." On the thirteenth day of November 1770, Parliament met. \ iiotion of About two months previous to the meeN Falkhnd'i mg ot .Parliament, an account arrived, or the Spaniards having feized upon Falkland's Iflands. This aft of hollility gave rife to a motion made by the Duke of Richmond, on the twenty-f. cond day of November, To prefect OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM, prefent an addrefs to his Majefly, requeft- ing his Majefly would be gracioufly pleafed to give orders, that there be laid before the Houfe copies or extracts of all letters and papers received by the Miniftry between the 12th of September, 1769, and the i2th of September 1770, containing any intelligence of hoflilities commenced or intended to be commenced by the Court of Spain, or any pf their officers, againfl any of his Majef. ty's dominions ; and the times at which fuch intelligence was received. The motion was oppofed by Lord Wey~ w- We f< mouthy upon the general ground of the impropriety of calling for fuch papers while the matter in queflion was the fubjecl; of a negotiation with the Spanifh AmbafTador. His Lordfhip carefully avoided giving the lead light, or intimation whatfoever con- cerning the aclual Rate, or progrefs of that negotiation, and exprefled himfelf with caution and referve. He concluded with moving, That the previous queftion might be put. The Duke of Richmond fupported his motion by a train of fatts, for the truth of Richraond which ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES which he repeatedly appealed to the Minif- try themfelves, and by a (Irength, and clear- ne(s of argument, which none of the other party even attempted to weaken or oppofe. The main flrefs of his difcourfe feemed to reft upon the following fats ; that on the third of laft June, the Tamur (loop arrived at Plymouth, and brought an account, that aSpanifh fquadron had appeared off Falk- land ifland, and ordered our people to de- part ; that this was a clear commencement of hoftilities : that from the third of June, to the 12th of September, (above three months) when our garrifon arrived on board the Favourite, it did not appear, that the MiniRry had taken any flep whatfoever for obtaining redrefs ? or to put the nation in a ftate of defence ; that the firft orders for equipping a fleet, were given on or after the 12th of September; that this arma- ment, fuch as it was, had not yet produced one viiible effecl; that fince the 12th of September, near three months had elapfed, and ftill they were told, " that the affair was in 'negotiation, the negotiation was Jiill de- pending-, in that time three mefiengers had arrived from Madrid, and particularly one Jail Monday ; and although three days had fince OF THfc EARL OF CHATHAM. fince pafled, no communication had yet been made to Parliament of the intelligence he brought, or what was the final anfwer of O ' the Court of Spain. That the terms of the motion plainly obviated the objetion made by Lord Weymouth, of its tending to impede a negotiation now depending; fince it did not call for any papers of a date fub- fequent to the notice received by the Mi- niftry of the hoflility being actually com- mitted: confeqiiently could not reach to any letters written, or received, or to any nego- tiation entered into, after the receipt of that notice; that he meant only to obtain for the Houfe, fome accurate information of cir- cumftances, leading to, and accounting for a facl. which was itfelf notorious and un- difputed. His Grace went largely into the confideration of the difgrace and infamy of fuffering the honour of the Crown, and the rights of the people of England to be fo long the fubjecl of negotiation; the folly or treachery of the King's fervants in not accepting of the augmentation of feamen propofed and urged by the Lords in Oppo- fition, early in the laft feffion, when a pro- pofal for ftrengthening the hands of Go- vernment had been rejected merely becaufe it C xxxix i fc came fr m tna t quarter ; -their fupine^ U ^ J nefs or treachery, in not arming early in June, when they heard of our people being warned to quit the ifland, by a military force threatenining compulfion ; and Jaflly, the feeblenefs and flow progrefs of the ar- mament they had made, and the difgraceful iituation of the King, who 'flood with a public affront, and diflicnour fixed upon his Crown, and without any attempt made, in the courfe of almoft fix months, to wipe it away. His Grace obferved. 'that the hof- tile intentions of Spain were not only de- clared by the open hoflility itfelf, but con- firmed by two extraordinary fafts,v which he flated to the Houfe, and which, after re- peated appeals, flood uncontraditled by the miniftry. He faid, that after the Spaniards had taken pofleilion of Port Egmont, they did not fuffer the Garrifon to depart imme- diately, but took away the rudder of his Majefty's fhip, and detained her by force for the fpace of twenty days ; that fup- pofing they had a claim to the ifland, they had none to the King's (hip; and detaining her was an exprefs violation of treaty, by which, even in the cafe of an open rupture, fix months are allowed to the fubjefts of each OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. chch nation to remove their perfons and c H A F * 2O/ A P. XXXIX,, property from the dominions of the other v -v The other fa6l leeraed, and was urged as ftill more important. He aliened, that he had intelligence not to be doubted, that at this moment, there are in the feveral Spanifh prifons not lefs than three thoufand Britifh feamen, (particularly at Ceuta on the coaft of Africa) who had been taken out of our merchant mips by Spanifli Guarda Coftas, and condemned to perpetual flavery, or confinement. He then quoted a itrong in- flance fince the peace, and read the original letters relating to it, where five of our fea- men had been demanded by one of our Ad- mirals, and had been refufed by a Spanifh Admiral and Governor, who exprefled a willingnefs to oblige him, but alledged that it would be a breach of their orders and inflruclions. Thefe were the principal materials of his Grace's fpeech. The feveral parts were filled up with judicious and pointed obfer- vations, exprefled in a clear, nervous lan- guage, and delivered with plainnefs and dignity. Lord ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES Lord Hill/borough took up the argti* ment upon the fame footing \vith Lord id. jwif- Weymouth, but carried it much farther rough. ^ an j,j- s L orc [{hip had done. He informed the Houfe that he knew the contents of the papers called for, therefore could affert upon his own knowledge, that the produc- tion of them at that time would tend greatly to embarrafs a negotiation already in a profperous train, and which promifed an happy conclufion; He infilled much upon the delicacy of Spanifh honour ; that it was their natural characleriftic ; that infi- nite regard and tendernefs, ought to be Ihewn to the punctilios of that court, and begged of the noble Lords to conlider how far thefe punctilios might unavoidably re- tard and embarrafs a treaty of this nature ; that, as the Meffenger only arrived on Mon- day morning, the Spanifh AmbafTador pro- bably had not time to make himfelf matter of his difpatches, nor to determine upon the form and manner in which he (hould execute his in ft ructions. The remainder of his fpeech, which was delivered in very high terms, and with a tone elevated above the pomp of tragedy, turned entirely upon the flourifhing ftate of this country, and the prudence, 6fr THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 309 prudence, vigour and- vigilance of liis "xix!' Majelly's fervantSi, * ^ Earl of Chatham. ' I rife to give my lord J Chatham, hearty affent to the motion made by the no- ble Duke; by his Grace's favour, I have been permitted to fee it, before it was offered to the Houfe. I Jiave fully confidered the ne- ce-flity of obtaining from the King's fervants a communication of the papers defcribed in the motion, and I am perfuaded that the a- larming (late of facts^ as well as the ftrength of reafoning, with which the noble Duke has urged, and inforced that neceflity, muft have been powerfully felt by your Lord- fhips ; what I mean to fay, upon this oc- cafiofy may feem perhaps to extend beyond the limits of the motion before us. But I flatter myfelf, my Lords, that if I am ho- noured with your attention, it will appear that the meaning and object of this queftion are naturally connected with, considerations of the moft extenfiive, national importance* , For entering into fuch confederations, no feafon is improper; no occafion mould be neglected. Something muft be done, my Lords and immediately, to fave an injured, infuked, undone country. If not to fave VOL. II. P the ANECDOTES AtfD SPEECHES xxxlx! l ^ e State, my Lords, at leaft to mark out, t *~^ J and drag to public juftice thofe fervants of the crown, by whofe ignorance, negleft, or treachery, this once great flourifning people are reduced to a condition as deplorable at home, as it is defpicable abroad. Exam- ples are wanted, my Lords, and mould be given to the world, for the inftru&ion of future times, even though they be ufelefs to ourfelves. I do not mean, my Lords, nor is it intended by the motion, to impede, or embarrafs a negotiation, which we have been told is now in a profperous train, and pro- mifes a happy conclufion/ Lord Weymouth. I beg pardon for interrupting the noble Lord, but I think it iieceflary to remark to your Lordfhips, that I have not faid a fingle word tending to convey to your Lordfhips any information, or opinion, with regard to the ftate, or pro- grefs of the negotiation I did, with the utmoft caution, avoid giving to your Lord- fhips the leaft intimation upon that matter* Earl of Chatham. *I perfectly agree with the noble Lord. I did not mean to refer to any thing faid by his Lordfhip. He OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. He expreffed himfelf, as he always does, with moderation, and referve, and with the greater! propriety; it was another noble Lord, very high in office, who told us he underftood that the negotiation was in a favourable train.' Earl of Hillfborouek. I did not make L. nine. ufe of the word Train. I know the mean- ing of the word too well. In the lan- guage from which it was derived, it fignifies protraction, and delay, which I could ne- ver mean to apply to the prefent nego- tiation. Earl of Chatham. ' This is the fecond time that I have been interrupted. I fub- mit it to your Lordmips whether this be fair, and candid treatment. I am fure it is contrary to the orders of the Houfe, and a grofs violation of decency, and politenefs. I liften to every noble Lord^ in this Houfe with attention, and refpecl. The noble Lord's defign in interrupting me, is as mean^ and unworthy, as the manner in which he has done it is irregular and diforderly. He" flatters himfelf that, by breaking the thread of my difcourfe, he {hall confufe me in my" P a argument* 412 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxix' argument. But, my Lords, I will not fab- *-^ > ~' mitto this treatment. I will not be inter- iy ; w. rupted. When I have concluded let him anfwer me if he can. As to the word, which he has denied, I flill affirm that it was the word he made ufe of; but if he had ufed any other, I am fure every noble Lord will agree with me, that his meaning was ex- aclly what I had expreffed it. Whether he faid c'ourfe or train is indifferent He told your Lordfliips that the negotiation was in a way that promifed a happy, and honour- able conclusion;* 1 His didinftions are mean, frivolous, and puerile. My Lords, I do not underftand the exalted tone aflumed by that noble Lord. In the dinrefs, and weak- nefs of this country, my Lords, and confci- ous as the miniftry ought to be how much they have contributed to that diftrefs and weaknefs, I think a tone of modefty, of fub- miffion, of humility, would become them better; qucedam caufiz modcjliam dejiderant. Before this country they fland as the great- eft criminals. Such I (hall prove them to be ; for I do not doubt of proving, to your Lord- fhips fatisfaclion, that fince they have been entrufted with the conduft of the King's affairs they have done every thing that they ought OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. ought not to have done, and hardly any thing that they ought to have done The noble Lord talks of Spanifh punctilios in the lofty ftyle and idiom of a Spaniard. We are to be wonderfully tender of the SpaniOi point of honour, as if they had been the com- plainants, 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 Englifh honour. My Lords, I am well ac- quainted with the character of that nation, at lead .as far it is reprefented by their court and miniftry, and mould ^ink this country difhonoured -by a coraparijjpn 01 the Englifh good faith with the puncffiios of a Spaniard. My Lords, the Englifh are a candid, an in- genuous people.; the Spaniards are as mean and crafty, as they are proud and infolent. The integrity of the Engliih merchant, the generous fpirit of our naval and military officers, would be degraded by a compan- ion with their merchants or officers. With their miniflers I have often been obliged to negotiate, and never met with an inflance of candour or dignity in their proceedings; no- thing but low cunning, trick, and artifice. After a longexpe 1 .- nour, as to make it matter of negotiation. whether his Majefly's pofieilions (hall be re*- ftored to him or not ? I doubt not, my Lords, that there are fome important myiie- ries in the conduct of this affair, which, whenever they are explained, will account for the profound filence now obferved by the King's fervants. The time will come, my Lords, when they {hall be dragged from their concealments. Ther^re fome quefti- ons, which, fooner or la|er, mufl be an- fwered. The Miniftry. I rind, without de- claring themfelves explicitly, have taken pains to poffefs the public with an opinion, that the Spanifh Court have constantly dif- avowed the proceedings of their governor ; and fome perfons, I fee, have been (hamelefs and daring enough to advife his Majefty to fupport and countenance this opinion in his fpeech from the throne. Certainly, my Lords, there never was a more odious, a more infamous falfhood impofed on a great nation It degrades the King's honour It- js an infult to parliament. His Majefty has been advifed to confirm and give currency P 4 HQ ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES Sxxrx. to an Sbjbtvix faljhood. I beg yonr v ^-' fhip's attention, and I hope I (hall be under- ftood, when I repeat, that the Court of Spain's having difavowed the aft of their governor is an abfolute, a palpable faljhood. Let me afk, my Lords, when the iirfl com- munication was made by the Court of Ma- drid, of their being apprifed of their taking of Falkland's Iflands, was it accompanied with an offer of inftant reftitution, of imme- diate fatisfaftion, and the punifnment of the Spanifh governor? If it was not, they have adopted tri^ acros their own, and the very mention of a difo^owal is an impudent infult offered to the King's dignity. The King of Spain difowns the thief, while he leaves him unpunimed, and profits by the theft; in vul- gar Englifh,he is the receiver of flolen goods a and ought to be Created accordingly. e If your Lordfhips will look back to a period of the Ehglifh hiftory, in which the circumftances are reverfed, in which the Spaniards were the complainants, you will fee how differently they fucceeded : you will fee one of the ableit men, one of the bra- TeR officers this or any other country ever produced (it is hardly neceflary to mention OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 21 / the name of Sir Walter Raleigh) facrificed xxxix." by the meanell prince that ever fat upon the ^""v throne, to the vindictive jealoufy of tliat haughty court. James the Firlt was bafe enough, at the inflance of Gondomar, to fuffera fentence againit Sir Walter Raleigh, for another fuppofed offence, to be carried into execution almofl twelve years after it had been paffed. This was the pretence. His real crime was, that he had mortally of- fended the Spaniards, while he afted by the King's exprefs orders, and under his ccm- Tniflion, ' My Lords, the pretended difavowal by the court of Spain is as ridiculous as it is falfe. If your Lordfhips want any other proof, call for your own officers, who were ftationed at Falkland Ifland. Afk the officer who commanded the garrifon, whether, when he was fummoned to furrender, the demand was made in name of the governor of Buenos Ayres,orofhis Catholic Majefty? Was the ifland faid to belong to Don Fran- eifco Bucarelli, or to the King of Spain? If I am not miftaken, we have been in pofTef- fion of thefe iflands -fince the year 1764, or Will the miniftry aflert, that, in all ftl g ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxi> P .' tnafc time, the Spanifh court have never once * ^ * claimed them? that their right to them has 8770. o never been urged, or mentioned to our mi- niftry? If it has, the act of the governor of Buenos Ayres is plainly the confequence of our refufal to acknowledge and fubmit to the Spanifh claims. For five years they negoti- ate; when that fails, they take the iilarid by force. If that meafure had arilen out of the general inftruclions, conflantly given to the governor of Buenos Ayres, why iliould the execution of it have been deferred fo Ions:? o ' My Lords, if the falfnood of this pre- tended difavowal had been confined to the Court of Spain, I mould have admitted it without concern. I mould have been con- tent that they themfelves had left a door open for excufe, and accommodation. The King of England's honour is not touched till he adopts the falfhood. delivers it to his Parliament, and makes it his own. * I cannot quit this fubjeft without com- paring the conducl of the prefent Miniflry ivith that of a Gentleman (Mr. GEORGE GRENVILLE,) who is now no more. The occafions OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. pccafions were fimilar. The French had taken a little ifland from us called Turk's iiland. The Minifter then at the head of theTreafury, took the bufmefs upon himfelf; but he did not negotiate : he fent for the French AmbafTador and made a peremptory demand. A courier was difpatched to Paris f and returned in a few days, with orders for inftant reftitution, not only of the ifland, but of every thing that the Englifh fubjefts had loft*. 'Such f * The ftate of the fact \vas as follows: When the advice ar- flved in England of the French having feized Turk's Ifland, in the year 1764* a debate arofe in the Britifh Council upon the; mealures neceflary to be taken with France upon that occa- fion. The whole Council, one only excepted, were for a remon- flrance to the French Court, a;,d they founded their opinion upon an apprelienfion, left a fpirited conducl might induce that Court to break the peace, and by fome unforefeen means, precipitate us into meafures which might terminate in a lupture between thq two nations. The one who ventured to differ from all the reft vas the Right Hon. GEORGE GB.ENVILLK. He urged the ne- celfity of a Ipirited conducl: as the only means of preferving the peace. That France, who was unable to continue the late war, \vas equally incapable of beginning another. That if we did not immediately fhew a fpirited and warm refentment to her behaviour en this occafion, (he would certainly repeat her inutlts, and accom- pany them with language that her pride would oblige her to fun. port, and thus filence or tamenefs on our fide would infallibly lead to a rupture. Upon this, the two Secretaries of State (at that time Lord HALIFAX and Lord SAKDWICH) committed the wholq negotiation to Mr. GRENVILLE. He undertook it, and fent for Count GUEHCHT, who was at that time the French Arabaflador ISO ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxix', ' Such then, my Lords, are the circum ^"^ fiances of our difference with Spain ; and 177 * in this fituation, we are told that a negoti- at the Eritifli Court. In a fliort eonverfatiorr which immediately enfued upon this fubjeft, Mr. GRENVII I,E told tlie Ambafludor in plain terms, that the French forces who had invaded and ie:z> ed Turk's Ifland mull immediately evacuate the lame, and reiiore it to the quiet poITeliion of the En^Lfh. The Ambaila-Jor faid in excufe for the conduct of his Court, that the King, his rr.afier, had claims upon that ifland, and tftat he was ready te enter into a negotiation upon them. To which the Engliili Minuter peremp- torily anfwered, whatever claims you have, fet thorn up, we will Jiear them. But firtt, tlie ifland nmfl and ihall be reftored. We will not liear of any c!a ; ms or negotiation while the ifland is in the hands of the French King. It is abfurd to ieize tlie ifland, and then talk of a negotiation about claims. When the ifland isi re- ftored to his Britannic Majifty, tlien, and not till then, v, ill a fingle word abotit claims be heard or admitted. He concluded in a firm and determined mannrr to this eftecl. Sir, I will wait nine days for your anfyver, in which time you may fend and receive advice from your Court, whether the King will immediately order his forces to evacuate Turk's Ifland, and refiore it to the full and quiet polleflion of the Evoljfh, or not : and if I do not receive your an- fwer at the end of nine days, the fleet that is now lying at Portf- jnouth [ there was a fleet then at Portimouth, waiting for failing orders] fh ill fail diretftlyto the ifland and reinftate it in the poilefiu on of the King of Great Britain. The Ambaflador went away, and foon after returned to Ihew the Britifh JVTinifter the difpatches he had prepared uppn the occalion. Mr. GRENVILLE gave him leave to infert the converfation that had palled between them, On the fixth day, a copy of the orders ligned by the French King, for reftoring the ifland to the Englifli, arrived. A fimilar meafure of fpirit was adopted by the fame Minifter with the Spaniards, who had drove our fettlers from Honduras, to whom fourteen days had been allowed : upon which all was jgltuntly and amicably adjufled.. atiqri Ofr THE EARL OF CHATHAM, 22t ation has been entered into, that this nego- xxx/x. nation, which mud have commenced near ' +~* ^jo- th ree months ago, is {till depending, and that any infight into the actual (late of it will impede the conclufion. My Lords, I am not, for my own part, very anxious to draw from the Miniftry the information which they take fo much care to conceal from us. I very well know where this honourable ne- gotiation will end ; where it imift end. We may, perhaps, be able to patch up an accom- modation for the prefent, but we (hall have a Spanifh war in fix months. Some of you? Lordfhips may, perhaps, remember the con- vention. For feveral fucceilive years our merchants had been plundered no protec- tion given them no redrefs obtained for them ; during all that time we were content- ed to complain, and to negotiate ; the Court of Madrid were then as ready to dif- own their officers, and as unwilling to punifb them, as they are at prefent. Whatever vi- olence happened was always laid to the charge of one &r other of their Weft India Governors. To-day it was the Governor of of Cuba, to-morrow of Porto Rico, Cartha- geua, or Porto Bello. If in a particular in- fiance, redrefs was promifed, how was that promile ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxi xl promife kept? The merchant, who had beert * v' robbed of his property, was fent to the Weft y?o. . r r / ' Indies, to get it, if he could out of an empty cheft. At laft the convention was made ; but, though approved by a majority of both Houfes,was received by the nation with uni- verfal difcontent. I myfelf heard that wife man (Sir Robert Watpole) fay in the Houfe of Commons, " 'Tis true we have got a convention and a vote of Parliament ; but what fignifies it, we (hall have a Spanim war upon the back of our convention." { Here, my Lords, I cannot help mentioning a very ftriking obfervation made to me by a noble Lordj (the late Lord Granville) iince dead. His abilities did honour to this Houfe, 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 patronage, to his friendmip, and inftruclion, I owe whatever I am. This great man has often obferved to me that, in all the nego- tiations which preceded the convention, our Minifters never found out that there was no ground, or fubjecl: for any negotiation. That the Spaniards had not a right to fearch our fhips, and when they attempted to regulate that right by treaty, they were regulating a thing OP THE EARL OF CHATHAM, thing which did not exift. This I take to xxxix be fomething like the cafe of the Miniflry. ^^^ The Spaniards have feized an ifland they have no right to, and his Majefty's fervants make it matter of negotiation, whether his dominions fhall be reflored to him or not. ' From what I have laid, my Lords, I do not doubt but it will be underftood by ma- ny 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 dif- claim fuch councils, and I beg that this de- claration may be remembered Let us have peace, my Lords, but let it be honourable, let it be fecure. A patched up peace will not do. It will not fatisfy the nation, though it may be approved of by Parliament. I diftinguifh widely between a folid peace, and the difgraceful expedients, by which a war may be deferred, but cannot be avoided. 1 am as tender of the effufion of human blood, as the noble Lord who dwelt fo long upon the miferies of the war. If the bloody poli- tics of fome noble Lords had been followed, England, and every quarter of his Majefty's dominions would have been glutted with blood the blood of our own countrymen. ' My -224 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xvxrxi ' kfy Lords,! have better reafons, perhap.^ ^^Tr' tnan man y of your Lordfhips for defiring peace upon the terms I have defcribed. I know the ftrength and preparation of the Houfe of Bourbon ; I know the defenceless, unprepared condition of this country. 1 know not by what mifmanagement we are reduced to this fituation ; and when I con- fider, who are the men by whom a war, in the outfet at lead, muftbe conducled, can I but wifh for peace? Let them not fcreen themfelves behind the want of intelligence 1 they had intelligence : I know they had. If they had not, they are criminal ; and their excufe is their crime. But I will tell thefe young Miniflers thetrae fource of intelli- gence. It is fagacity. Sagacity to compare caufes and effects ; to judge of the prefent flate of things, and difcern the future by a careful review of the pad. Oliver Cromwell, xvho aftonifhed mankind by his intelligence, did not derive it from fpies in the Cabinet of every Prince in Europe : he drew it from the cabinet of his own fagacious mind. He obferved facls and traced them forward to their confequences. From what was, he concluded what muft be, and he never was deceived. In the prefent fituation of affairs, I think bF-THE EARL OF CHATHAM. i think it would be treachery to the nation to conceal from them their real circumftan- ces, and with refpecl to a foreign enemy, I know that all concealments are vain and ufe- lefs. They are as well acquainted with the attual force and weaknefs of this country, as any of the King's fervants. This is no time for filence, or referve. I charge the Minifters witJi the higheft crimes that men in their ftations can be guilty of. I charge them with having deftroyed all content and unanimity at home, by a feries of oppreffive, unconftitutional meafures ; and with having betrayed, and delivered up the nation de- fencelefs to a foreign enemy* * Their utmoft vigour has reached no far- ther than to afruitlefs, protracled negotia- tion; When they mould have acled, they have contented themfelves with ta Iking about it, Goddejs) and about it^ If we do not ftand forth* and do our duty in the prefent crifis, the nation is irretrievably undone. I defpife the little policy of concealments. You, ought to know the whole of your fituation. If the information be new to the Miniftry, let them take care to profit by it. I mean to roufe, to alarm the whole nation to roufe VOL, II. Q the 226 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES * xxxix.' ^ e Miniftry, if poflfible, who feem to awake * v ' to nothing but the prefer vation of their plac- es to awaken the King. ' Early in the laft fpring, a motion was made in Parliament, for enquiring into the ftate of the Navy, and an augmentation of fix thoufand feamen was offered to the Mi- niftry. They refufed to give us any infight into the condition of the Navy, and rejected the augmentation. Early in June they received advice of a commencement of hoftilities by a Spanifh armament, which had warned the King's garrifon to quit an illand belonging to his Majefty. From that to the 1 2th of September, as if nothing had happened, they lay dormant. Not a man was raifed, not a fingle (hip was put into commiffion. From the 12th of September, when they heard of the firft blow being actually ftruck, we are to date the be- ginning of their preparations for defence. Let us now enquire, my Lords, what expe- dition they have ufed. what vigour they have exerted. AVe have heard wonders of the di- ligence employed in imprefling, of the large bounties offered, and the number of fhips put into commifTion. Thefe have been, for fome time OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. time paft, the conilant topics of Minifterwi boaft and triumph. Without regarding the defcription, let us look to, the fubftance. I tell your Lordfhips that, with all this vigour and expedition, they have not, in a period of conliderably more than two months, faif- ed ten thoufand feamen; I mention that number, meaning to fpeak largely, though in my own fcreail, I am convinced that the number does not exceed eight thoufand. But it is faid they have ordered forty fhips of the line into commnTion. My Lords, upon this fubject I can fpeak with knowledge I have been converfant in thefe matters^ and draw my information from the greatest and moft refpeclable naval authority that ever exifted in this country I mean the late Lord Anfon. The merits of that great man are not fo univerfally known, nor his memo- ry fo warmly refpe&ed as he deferved. To his wifdom, to his experience, and care> (and I fpeak it with pleafure) trie nation owes the glorious naval fuccefles of the Jaft war. The (late of fais laid before Parlia- ment in the year 1756, fo entirely convinced me of the injuflice done to his character, that in fpite of the popular clamours raifed againit him, in dire6t oppofition to the com* Q 2 plaints 2 2 3 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES XXMX pl amts F the merchants, and of the whole ' ^ ' city, (whole favour I am fuppofed to court upon all occaftons) I replaced him at the head of the Admiralty-, and I thank God that I had n folution enough to do fo. In- flrucled by this great feaman, I do affirm, that forty fhips of the line, with their neceffary attendant frigates, to be properly manned, require forty thoufand feamen. If your Lordfhips are furprifed at this affertion, you will be more fo, when I affure you, that in the laft war, this country maintained 85.000 feamen, and employed them all. Now, my Lords, the peace eftablimment of your na- vy, fuppofing it complete, and effective, (which by the by ought to be known) is fix- teen thoufand men. Add to thefe the num- ber newly raifed, and you have about twen- ty-five thoufand men to man your fleet. I {hall come prefently to the application of this force, fuch as it is, and compare it with the fervices, which I know are indifpenfable. But firft, my Lords, let us have done with the boafled vigour of the Miniftry. Let us hear no more of their activity. If your Lordfhips will recal to your minds the ftate of this country when Mahon was taken, and compare what was done by Government at that OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. that time, with the efforts now made in very fimiJar circumlhmces, you will be able to determine what praife is due to the vigorous operations of the prefent Miniliry. Upon the firft intelligence of the invafion of Mi- norca, a great fleet was equipped, and fent out; and near double the number of teamen collected in half the time taken to fit out the prefent force, which pitiful as it is, is not yet, if the occafion were ever fo prefling, in a condition to go to fea. Confult the returns, which were laid before Parliament in the year 1756. I was one of thofe who urged a Parliamentary inquiry into thecondu61of the Miniftry. That Miniftry, my Lords, in the midft of univerfal cenfure and reproach, had honour and virtue enough to promote the inquiry themfelves. They fcorned to evade it by the mean expedient of putting a pre- vious queftion, Upon the ftnttelt inquiry it appeared, that the diligence they had ufed in fending a Squadron to the Mediterranean, and in their other naval preparations, was beyond all example. ' My Lords, the fubje6l on which I am fpeak- ing, feems to call upon me, and I willing- ly take this occafion to declare my opinion Q 3 upon ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES x"x A ix! u po n a quell ion, on which much wicked pains have been employed to difturb the minds of the people, and to diflrefs Govern- ment. My opinion may not be very popu- lar ; neither am I running the race of popu- larity, lam myfelf clearly convinced, and I believe every man who knows any thing of theEnglifh navy will acknowledge, that without imprefling, it is impoffible to equip a refpeclable flet within the time in which fuch armaments are ufually wanted. If this fati be admitied, and if the neceifity of arm- ing upon a fudden emergency mould appear incontrovertible, what (hall we think of thofe men, who in the moment of danger, would flop the great defence of their country. Upon whatever principle they may aft, the at itfelf is more than fa&ion it is labouring to cut oft' the right hand of the community. I wholly condemn their conduct, and am ready to fupport any motion that may be made, for bringing thofe aldermen, who have endeavoured to ftop the execution of the Admiralty warrants, to the bar of this Houfe. My Lords, I do not reft my opini- on merely upon neceflity. I am iatisfied that the power of impreffing is founded upon uninterrupted ufage. It is the conjue- tudo OP THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 231 tudo Regni, and part of the common law ^x\ix! prerogative of the crown. When I con- * ^"^ 1770. Upon that part of the community, which Rands moft in need of, and beft deferves the care and protection of legiflature. To me, my Lords, whether they be miferable job* bers of 'Change-alley, or the lofty Afiatic plunderers of Leadenhall-flreet, they are all equally deteftable. I care but little whether a man walks on foot, or is drawn by eight hor fes or fix horfes; if his luxury be fupported by the plunder of his country, I defpife and deteft him. My Lords^ while I had the ho* nour of ferving his Majefty, I never ven- VOL. II. R tured ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES Sxxix.' tured to Iook at the Treafury but at a v ^- > diftance; it is a bufmefs I am unfit for, and to which I never could have fubmitted. The little I know of it has not ferved to raife my opinion of what is vulgarly called the momed inter eft; I mean that blood-fucker, that muckworm, which calls itfelf the friend of government that pretends to ferve this or that adminiftration, and may be purchafed, on the fame terms, by any adminiftration that advances money to government, and takes fpecial care of its own emoluments. Under this defcription I include the whole race of commiffiaries, jobbers, contra6tors, clothiers, and remitters. Yet I do not deny that, even with thefe creatures fome ma- nagement may be neceflary. I hope my Lords, that nothing I have faid will be un- derilood to extend to the honeft, induilri- OU9 tradesman, who holds the middle rank, and has given repeated proofs, that he pre- fers law and liberty to gold. I love that clafs of men. Much lefs would I be thought to reflect upon the fair merchant, whofe liberal commerce is the prime fource of national wealth. I efleem his occupation, and refpeft his chara&e r. OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. rfdt i/-v XXXIX. My Lords, if the general reprefentation, c H A p * Which I have had the honour to lay before you of the fituation of public affairs, has, in any meafure, engaged your attention; your Lordfhips. I am lure, will agree with me, that the feafon calls for more than common prudence and vigour in the direction of our Councils. The difficulty of the crifis de- mands a wife, a firm and a popular admi- niftration. The dishonourable traffic of places has engaged us too long* Upon this fubjeclj my Lords> I fpeak without interefl or enmity. I have no perfonal objection to any of the King's iervants. I {hall never be minifier; certainly not without full pow- er to cut away all the rotten branches of Government. Yet, unconcerned as I truly am for myfelf, I Cannot avoid feeing fome Capital errors in the diftribution of the royal Favour; There are men, my Lords* who, if their own fervices were forgotten, ought to have an hereditary merit with the Houfe of Hanover ; whofe anceftors flood forth in the day of trouble, oppofed their perfons and fortunes to treachery and rebellion, and fe- cured to his Majefty's family this fplendid power of rewarding. There are other men, any Lords, ( looking fternly at Lord Mansfield) R a ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES' to fpeak tenderly of them, were not quite fo forward in the demonflrations of their zeal to the reigning family ; there was another caufe, my Lords, and a partiality to it, which fome perfons had not, at all times, difcretion enough to conceal. I know I fhall be accufed of attempting to revive diftinclions. My Lords, if it were poffible,, I would abolifh all diftinciions. I would not "wifh the favours of the Crown to flow inva- riable in one channel. But there are fome diftintions, which are inherent in the nature of things. There is a diftinclion between right and wrong, between Whig and Tory. , * When I fpeak of an ad minift ration, fuch as the neceffity of the feafon calls for, my views are large and eomprehenfive. It muft be popular, that it may begin with reputation. It muft be ftrong within itfelf, that it may proceed with vigour and decifion. An ad- miniftration, formed upon an exclufive fyf- tem of family connexions, or private friend- fhips, cannot, I am convinced, be long fup- ported in this country. Yet, my Lords, no man refpefts, or values more than I do, that honourable connection, which arifes frQm OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM- from a difinterefted concurrence in opinion xxx A ix! upon public meafures, or from the facred *~^^ J bond of private friendmip and elleem. What I mean is, that no {ingle man's private friend- fhips, or connexions, however extenfive, are fufficient of themfelves, either to form or overturn an adminiflration. With refpecl: to the miniftry I believe, they have fewer rivals than they imagine. No prudent man will covet a fituation fo befet with difficulty and danger, * I mall trouble your Lordfhips with but a few words more. His Majefly tells us in his fpeech, that he will call upon us for our advice, if it mould be neceflary in the farther progrefs of this affair. It is not eafy to fay whether or no the miniftry are ferious in this declaration ; nor what is meant by the progrefs of an affair, "which refts upon one fixed point, Hitherto we have not been called upon. But though we are not con- fulted, it is our right and duty as the King's great, hereditary Council, to offer him our advice. The papers, mentioned in the no- ble Duke's motion, will enable us to form a juftand accurate opinion of the condu6t of his Majefiy's fervants, though not of the R 3 a&uaj ANECDOTE:? AND SPEECHES r xxxYxl aftual ftate of their honourable negotiations. The miniftry too, feem to want advice upon fome points, in which their own fafety is immediately concerned. They are now ba- lancing between a war which they ought to have forefeen, but for which they have made no provifion, and an ignominious compro- mife. Let me warn them of their danger, If they are forced into a war, they fland it at the hazard of their heads. If, by an ignominious compromife, they mould (lain the honour of the crown, or facrifice the rights of the people, let them look to the Confequences and confider whether they \vill be able to walk the flreets in fafety.' The motion was Regatiyed by the previ-. ous question. There are many interefting Facls in the negotiation concerning Falkland's Iflands, which not being related in the papers laid before Parliament, nor to be found in the public accounts of this tranfaclion, it is prefumed, they may, without impropriety, be given in this place. The dates of the public facls, the reader will find in the note*. The "* On the 20th of February, 1770, two Spanifh frigates arrived $t Port gmont j and, in the name of the Kiny of Spin, ordered "ft OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 247 The negotiation began on the 12th day xxx A ix* of September, 1770. On that day the Bri- ' v ', tifh I7?Q " til our people to evacuate the vfland. But Captain Hunt, who v.as the Englifli commanding officer there, refuied to obey; upon which the Spaniards took pofTeflion of the ifland in the name of his Catholic Majefty, and gave the Englifli notice, in form, to ^ ort ^ tJ" each man, in, and for, his own de- partment e/y. This was fuch a refinement of refponfibility, as thofe who had framed the fafe-guards of the Conflitution, at the time of the Revolution, bad never conceived. In this mode of executing official duty, there fcemed to be a refponfibility, and yet there was none ; for the crown being the executive power, the meafures were decided and adopted, according to the opinion of \\\efecrct advifers. It is fcarcely poffible for jealoiify itfelf, to imagine a pantiemcnium more dangerous than this. In approba- tion of this '"yftem, and this praaice, a number of perfons, who vrere favourites at Court, and who diltinguifhed themfelves by the appellation of King's Friends, promulgated, in language quit* Unreferved, "Jbat His Majefy voas altuajs bis o-iun minijier. Th belt comment upon this text is, the diminution of the Britilh em- pire, ia conference of the war with America, It was to thi OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. $ -* Minifter, who had ever been fo honoured, "xix? In a free converfation with one of his En- v -^~-' 1770. lifh viiitors, (General 'John Burgoyne) he candidly informed him of one part of his plan againft Great Britain, if the war had commenced, which he intended It was to have landed an army in EiTex; to have proceeded with the utmolt rapidity to Lon- don, where they were to have burned the Bank and the Tower, particularly the firft; but to have committed no other depredation whatever, and then to have returned with the fame expedition. The troops were to have had no other baggage or incurnbrance, than their knapfacks. His principal object \vas, to annihilate the Public Credit of Great Britain, which he conceived the de- ftruclion of the Bank in London, would perfectly accomplifh. It mud be owned the fcheme is feaiible, and, perhaps not imprac- ticable. There are always veflels enough at Calais and Dunkirk for fuch an expedi- tion ; and the vicinity of the garrifoned towns facilitates the affembling of an army, without creating an alarm. The anecdote fyftem -that Lord Chatham alluded, in his fpeech on the fecond ly of March, 1770, infertcd in chapter 37. may ANECDOTES AND SJ>EF,C^ES' ma y f erve to P ut future minifters on ffuard; for, at that time, we had no force 1770. in any fituation, to impede the operation^ had it been attempted; On the twenty-feventh day of December, 1770, the King of Spain held a grand Council ; the refult of which was, nothing more than a repetition, in different wordsj of the ultimatum which Lord Weymouth had rejected. This refult was fent to Paris^ to be firfl communicated to M. de Choifeul* and then to be forwarded to London; but that Minifter being difmiffed, the difpatches came into the King's own hands* on the fe- condday of January 1771. The King read^ and retained the difpatches; and immedi- ately fent advice to the Catholic King, that he had been totally ignorant of the corref- pondence, and defign of his Minifter ; and that he was refolved not to enter into the war : at the fame time, offering his media- tion in the prefervation of peace. The Ca tholic King in his anfwer, put himfelf en- tirely into thepoffeffionof the King of France he laid no reftraint on his brother King, " but to preferve his honour" he referred the whole cafe to him. Information of all thefe OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. ihefe circumftances was regularly fent to M. Francois at London. He, and not the Ambafiador, was made the Confident. But, in confequence of the Catholic King's re- ference to the King of France, full powers to treat, were fcnt to the Count de Gidnes the French Minifter at London, with an aflii ranee, that further powers would be fent to Prince. Mafferano. Thefe difpatches arrived in London on the fourteenth day of January 1771. The Spanifh Ambafla- dor, however, refufed to concur in any negotiation, declaring his reafon to be, that as Mr. Harris was recalled, he could not negotiate upon any terms, expecting that his own recall would be the immediate con- fequence-. Five mefTengers were then fent to Mr. Harris, by different ways, to order him back to Madrid*. VOL. IL S While * This explains Lord Rochfirtfs letter to Mr. Harris, which bthcrwhe appears inexplicable. s's, January it t 1771, S I R, THE KING having reafon, from the information he has re fceived, to believe that Prince de Mafferano has orders to make freih proportions of fatisfa&ion for the injury done to his Majefty at Falkland's Iflands, I am tofigir.fy to you his Majefty's pleafure that you return to the Court of Madrid, in order that you may be read/ 5 5 Q ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES xxxlx.' While Lord Rochford was negotiating * v ' with Prince Mafferano, Mr. Stuart Mac- 1770. *> kenzie was negotiating with Monf. Francois. At length, about an hour before the meeting of Parliament, on the twenty-fecond of Ja- nuary 1771, a, declaration was figned by the Spanilh Ambaffador, und-er French orders . and a French indemnification, for the refli- tutionof Falkland's Iflands to his Britannic Majefty ; but the important condition, upon which this declaration was obtained, was not mentioned in the declaration. This con- dition was, That the Britifh forces mould evacuate Falkland's Iflands as foon as con- venient after they were put in pofTeflion of Port and Fort Egmont. And the Britifh / Miniflry engaged, as a pledge of their fin- ready to hear any thing, which the Minif.ers of his Catholic Ma- jefty may have in charge to lay to you, on ihe fame iubjecl, and to* carry on tlieufual intercourfe between the two Courts, in cafe the -above-mentioned propofitions fhould prove iatisfuctory, and as in the prefent circumjlances your appearance at Madrid is 'very mate- rial,. it is h : s Majefiy's pleafure, that you Jfjould not Icfe any time in your journey, on account of private affairs or inconvenience j and that you fliould remain there till his Majefty fhall think proper to fill your place by a Minifter of higher character. I am, SK. ROCHFORD. cerity OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Verity to keep that promifci that they would be the firfh to difarm*. Two days after the Spanifh Ambafiador had finned the declaration, he received or- ders of recall ; but his fate was like that of Mr. Harris, in a fhort time afterwards he received orders to remain. 1779. During the month of February 1771, Spanifh Minifter at Madrid, hinted to Mr. Harris, the intention of the Spanifti Court, to require of the Britifh Miniflry, a per- feffiion of engagements*, as they were mutually underftood. Mr. Harris's difpatch, con- taining this hint, was received by the Mi- hiftry on the fourth of March. Three days afterwards, a Spanifh meflenger arrived^ with orders to Prince Mafferano, to make a pofitive demand of the ceffion of Falk- land's Klands, to the King of Spain. The * Thefe fafts are confirmed by Count de Guines, in his memo* Hal againft Mdfieurs Tort, Roger and Depelcb, who had charged him with gambling in the Englifh fund's. Colonel Bar re declared in the Houfe of Commons, that Mon- ileur Francois realized upwards of half a million fterling, by ^ gambling in the Englifti funds, during the period of this nego- tiation. xxix. Spanith AmbafTador firft communicated his i ' information of thefe orders to the French 1770. AmbafTador, with a view of knowing if he would concur with him in making the de- mand. On the fourteenth they held a con- ference with Lord Rochford on the fubjeel:. His Lordfhip's anfwer was confonant to the fpirit he had uniformly (hewn. In confe- quence of this anfwer, meffengers were fent vo Paris and Madrid. The reply from Trance was civil, but mentioned the Family Cornpacl. The anfwer from Spain did not reach London till the twentieth of April. In the mean time, the Minifters held fe- veral conferences with Mr. Stuart Macken- zie The refult of the whole was, the Eng- lifh fet the example to difarni ; and Falk- land's Iflands were totally evacuated and abandoned in a (hort time afterwards ; and have ever lince been in the poffeflion of the Spaniards. The Britifh armament coft the nation between three and four millions of money, befides the expence and inconveni- ence to individuals. It is impoflible to quit this fubjeft, with- Cabinet. . .... ' i r n out offering an oblervation upon the lyitem of maintaining a DOUBLE CABINET at this time OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 3$! time in the Britifh Court ; equally notorious, unconftitutional, difgraceful, and injurious, as well to the honour of the Crown, as to the intereil of the country. No perfon will hefitate to fay, that one of thefe cabinets was always under a. parti* cular influence. The whole feries of this chapter, as well as the long note in it, con- cerning the refignation of Lord Hawke,and the fubfequent explanation of the Court- Syjlem in the fame note, indifputably an- nounce, that there was ePcablimed in the Britifh Court, a fyftem of government, that can be 'explained only by the mailer-key ofjecret influence. And when we look over the names of thofe, who have rifen, in a few years, from fituations of indigence to thofe of affluence and the peerage, (the commis of Lord Bute for example, as well as others) we are not to wonder at circum- flances, which, prima facias, are inexplica- ble ; without the recollection of collateral events. Lord Bute gave upwards of one hundred thoufands for his eftate in Bedford- (hire, very foon after the peace of 1763, See the extraci from ''the effays of Anti- Sejanus, in a note in chapter xxii. A de- S 3 fcriptio fcription more explicit would be called a, libel. To this- bow-firing the truth of hif- tory is often facrificed. CHAP. XL. Lord Chatham renews the DifcuJJion of the Middle- fex Election Attacks Lord Mansfield's doctrine. of Lib eh Interruption of the Duke of Manchef- ter Violent diftwbance made by the Court Party The Minority fecede Motion refpecling Gib- raltar The Spanijli Declaration Remarks by Lord Chatham His Queftions intended for the Judges Lord Chatham's Speech on the Motion to refcind'the Resolution concerning the Middhfex JLhclion Lord Chatham's Motion to addrefs the King to djjjolve the Parliament His wijli to go. to America. ON'the 28th of Nov. 1770, Lord Chat- ham moved, " That the capacity to - be chofen a reprefentative of the Commons ews the in Parliament, beinsf under known reftric- diicuffion _ | ..'.-. r . . . oftheMid- tions and limitations or law, an original m- olefex Cerent right of the fubjeci, may be cogniz- able by law, and is a matter wherein the jurifdiftion of the Houfe of Commons (though unappealable as to the feat of their OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. member) is not final or conclufive." ( His Lordfhip was very difpaflionate, clear, and ftrong; enlarging oa all the points of the Middlefex election. He urged the necefTity of diflblving the Parliament, as a meafure that would give univerfal fatisfaction. That as to the impropriety of the two Houfes of Parliament quarrelling, it would be of no worfe confequence than in 1704, and it is a point that ought to be fettled : the liberty of the fubjeft, the right of election, were invaded by an arbitrary vote of the other Houfe, which, though only one branch of the legislature, had affumedthe power of the whole. The people neither had, nor could have any confidence in a Houfe of Com- mons which had committed fo flagrant a violation of , their deareft right. The pre- fent Houie^Commons were become odious in the eye of the prefent age, and their me- mory would be detelted by pofterity. Their having fubftituted Col. Luttrdl for Mr. WUkes, he infifted, demanded the fevereft punifhrnent required a diffolution, c Towards the end of his fpeech he made Ld."" a digreilion, to introduce another grievance, t fi ruf e o d f which, he faid, he was informed prevailed in ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES courts f l aw > reTpe&ing juries in the cafe'of libels, and the judgment of the Court > . which followed. He conceived the direc- tion of the Judge, not formerly, but lately given to juries, to be dangerous and uncon- ftitutional, and the judgment of the court, in many cafes, to have been cruel and vin- diclive. The matter of libel of public libel was generally apolitical matter; and the queftion, whether a paper was a libel or not, was not a queflion of law, but a quef- tion of politics, in which Minifters indulged their paffion of revenge, and the courts of law became their inftruments of gratifica- tion. See Appendix T, Lord Mansfield, after many compliments to Lord Chatham, maintained his doctrine refpecling libels, Lord Cb'athawt replied, - that if he con- ceived the noble Lord on the wool fack right, Iris doctrine was, " That a libel, or not a libel, was a matter of law, and was to be decided by the Bench ; and the quePiion to be left to the jury to determine, was only the fact of printing and pubiiOiing : : ' to v/hich Lord Mtf'Waflented. His Lord- OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. fhip then exprefled his aftonifhment, declar- c ** jnar, ' that he had never underftood that to ^~~ v ~ 3 1770. be the law of England, and exprefled his wifh, " that a day might be appointed for an enquiry into the conducl " of the Judges, who had advanced fuch a doctrine." ' His Lordfhip obferved, that in a late cafe, it was declared from the Bench, that if the verdicl, jnflead of guilty of printing and publiming only, had been guilty of printing and pub- lifhing, without the word qnly, the officer pf the court would have entered it on the record guilty.' Lord Chatham's obfervations on the courts pf law, refpecling libels, occafioned Lore} Mansfield, to move, that the Houfe might be fummoned on Monday the nth of De- cember, It was univerfally fuppofed that Lord Mansfield was refolved to enter fully into the fubjeft on that day ; but when the time arrived, Lord Mansfield only told their Lordfhips that he had left a paper with the clerk for their perufal. This brought up ' Lord Chatham, who faid, that the ver- dift of the jury, in the cafe to which the paper alluded, was " guilty of printing and ptiblifhing ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XL. P ' publishing only ;" that two motions had u ~ % ' been made in the court upon this verdift; 1770- one, inarreftof "judgment, by the defendant; grounded upon the ambiguity of the verdict the other by the counfel of the crown, to enter up the verdict according to the legal import. On both motions a rule to (hew caufe was granted, and in a fhort time after the matter was argued before the Court. The noble Judge, when he delivered the opinion of the Court upon the verdicl, went regularly through the whole of the pro- ceedings at Nifi Prius, as well the evidence that had been given as his own charge to the jury. This proceeding would have been very proper, had a motion been made from either Iide for a new trial; becaufe either a verdict given contrary to evidence, or an improper charge by the Judge at Nifi Prius, is held to be a fufficient ground for granting a new trial : but when a motion is made in arreft of judgment, or for eftablifhing the verdift by entering it up according to the legal import of the words, it muft be on the ground of Tomething appearing on the record; and the Court, in confidering whether the verdict (hall be eftablifhed or not, are fo Confined to the record, that they cannot take OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. take notice of any thing that does not ap- pear on the face of it; to make ufe of the legal phrafr-, they cannot travel out of the record. The noble Judge did travel out of the record. I affirm, therefore, that his conducl was IRREGULAR,, EXTR AJUDICIAL and UNPRECEDENTED; and I am fure there is not a lawyer in England that will con- tradict me. His real motive for doing what he knew to be wrong, was, that he mi^ht have an opportunity of telling the public cxtrajudi dally, that the other three Judges agreed with him in the doctrine laid down? in the charge,' Lord Camden afkcd, if Lord Mansfield meant to have his paper entered upon the Journals. To which Lord Mansfield an- fwered, No ! No ! only to leave it with t/is Clerk. After this bufinefs was over, the Duke of J^ Manckcfler rofe. His Grace began with Manege. defcribing the flate of the nation, and parti- cularly the ftate of Gibraltar and Minorca; the former of which,- he faid, was utterly de- fencelefs Here his Grace was interrupted by Lord Gowcr, who defired that the Houfe might ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES might be cleared of all but thofe who had a risjht to fit there. There was a (landing 1770. order of the Houfe, he faid, that none but Peers fhould come there. Violent The {landing order of the Houfe was then eitfturb- rea d, when the Duke of Richmond got up, an( j defended what the Duke of Mancbefler had laid, obferving, that though it was very true any Lord had a right to order the Houfe to be cleared, yet that their doing it now would alarm the people, who would imme-? diately fuppofe they were afraid their pro- ceedings fhould be known. Immediately a violent outcry arofe, and all became noife, clamour, and confufion. Clear the HouJ'e ! Clear the Houfe! was echoed from fide to fide. The Lords Denbigh and -Marchmont particularly diftinguimed themfelves in pufh- ing out the Members of the Houfe of Com- mons, as well as ftrangers. The Duke of Richmond attempted to fpeak, but his voice was drowned in the clamour. Lord Chat- kar/i, mocked at the indecency of fuch a proceeding, rofe, hoping that his ago, his fervices, his character, would obtain atten- tion; but thefe were not the charms to foothe that great affembly. Hands, voices, legs, were OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 369 were all employed to prevent the noble c Lord fwhofe feat in that Houfe was the . . reward of having faved the nation) from being heard at this moment. Lord Chatham continued fpeaking, with- out being heard, for fome time. He fent the Duke of Richmond to the Speaker (Lord Mansfield) to acquaint his Lordfhip that he wanted to fpeak to the conftrutlion of the - {landing Order. But he could not be*heard. The tafte was evidently for Lord Denbigh's and Lord Marchmont's eloquence. Lord Chatham, at length wearied out with infult, declared, that if he was not to have the pri- vilege of a Lord of Parliament, and to be allowed the exercife of free debate, it was needlefs and idle for him to attend Parlia- ment. He left the Houfe; and about eigh- Minority & feccde. teen Lords had dignity enough to feel their own difgrace in the infult offered to him, and left the Houfe to its own madnefs. No fooner were thefe noble perfons re- tired, than, as if the defign of the Miniftry had been to tell the world, that the prefence of thofe noble Lords was the only circum- ilance that prevented their committing the moft 2 70 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES p ' mod violent abfurdities, they loft all difcre- tion, and infifted on the Members of the Houfe of Commons being turned out in the crowd. Some of the Members of the Houfe of Commons reprefented that they were in the act of their duty, attending with a Bill ; they were, however, forced to with- draw till the mefiage was delivered, and they then attended their Bill in a pretty large body. They had no fooner delivered the 'Bill, than the outcry began again ; time was not given them to fee whether they would return of thtir own accord, but they were, in an unworthy, unprecedented man* ner, literally driven out of the Houfe. Next day (December 12) the Duke of Manchcftcr made the motion he was prevent- ed making the day before, and which was, to defire his Majefty would be pleafed to fend a proper force to Gibraltar, and the iflands of Minorca and Jamaica, for their neceiTary and fufficient defence at this time. He (hewed the naked ftate of all our poffefTi- ons abroad, and our defencelefs (late at home; and all this was owing, he faid, to the incapacity and puhllanimity of the King's Minifters, who were abhorred at home and defpifed abroad. Lord OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 'Lord Chatham confirmed this melafi- , c ^ t A p choly (late of our affairs ; and added, that v ~v ' 1770. he had received intelligence of a plan hems' Lord 7 7 ^ ; , , Chatham. Jormed to attack, Gibraltar. Lord Sandwich faid, there might be fucli a plan; and what then? Gibraltar, he faid, was open to the fea, and we could retake it, if .we pleafed ; though, upon the whole, he did not think it was of much importance. The motion was negatived. On the 2$th day of January, 1771, the Motion Spanifh Ambaffador's Declaration concern- ll/spa- ing Falkland's Illands being laid before Par- eiawtion 1771. liament, the Duke of Manchefl.er moved, that the papers refpefcling the negotiation beallb laid before the Houfe. Lord Rochford moved an amendment, re- flraining the motion to the fubjecl of Falk- land Iflands. Lord Sandwich moved ano- ther amendment, which, the Duke of Ricfi- mond faid, narrowed the motion. Lord Sandwich faid, his amendment, inllead of narrowing, enlarged the motion; upon which, Lord 2 y 2 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES c ", A p - ' Lord Chatham remarked, that this gene- ^~ y ^*' rolity, in giving more than was afked, was Lori vei T fufpicious; that if Administration had no objection to what was allied, why not give it without making any alteration in the motion? People would fufpeQ that fome- thing was meant to be concealed; He faid he would not go into the matter of the De- claration; but that, upon the face of it, it appeared an ignominious compromife. It was no fatis faction no reparation. The right was not fee u red, and even the reftitution was incomplete ; : that Port Egmont alone was reflored, not Falkland's Iflands.' The amendments being negatived, the Duke of Richmond moved, That the letters which paffed between the Britifh and French Minifters on this fubjecl be laid before the Houfe. Lord Rochford faid he knew of none. Lord Chatham fupported the Duke of Richmond's motion. ' He faid, their Lord- fhips ought never to take the word of a mi- nifler : that the refuting this motion mew- ed that fome trarifaffiion with France had patted O? THE EARL OF CHATHAM. patted, perhaps not papers or memorials. As Lord Rock ford faid none had parTed, he believed him ; but that France had interfered^ he {"aid, he knew to be a fact that could not be denied.' This motion was negatived. On the 5th day of February, Lord Chat- ham moved, that the following queflions be put to the Judges : " i ft. Whether, in confideration of law, the Imperial Crown of this realm can hold any territories, or poileflions, thereunto be- longing, otherwife than in fovereignty. i " 2dly. Whether the Declaration, or in- ftrument for the reftitution of the port and fort called Egmont, to be made by the Catholic King to his Majefty, under a refer- vation of difputed right of fovereignty ex- prefled in the Declaration or inftrument 'ftipulating fuch reflitution, can be accepted or carried into execution, without derogat- ing from the maxim of law before referred to, touching the inherent and effential dignity of the crown of Great Britain.'* The motion was negatived. VOL. II. T On ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES On the 13th day of February, Lord Chat" ham fpoke aerainft a motion for an addrefs 1770. 1 to the King on the Convention with Spain. But the Editor has not been informed that any notes of either of thefe fpeeches were taken. On the 3oth day of April, 1771, the Duke Motion to of Richmond n\ade a motion to refcind the refcind a reibiuuon. refolution of the Houle reipecling the Middlefex Eleclion. 6 Lord Chatham Supported this motion in lord L Chatham, the Ilrongcft and warmeft terms. He enter, ed largely into the consideration of the ftate of the country; the depraved fyftem of go- vernment, which had, in a very few years, reduced us from a moft flouriFning to a moft miferable condition. He went through the whole proceedings of the Houfe of Com- mons in the late bufincfs of the Printers, and arraigned every part of it in the Ilrong- eft terms. He warmly defended the City Magifl rates in the confcientious difcharge of their duty ; that the Houfe, in committing them to the Tower, without hearing their defence upon the point of privilege, had been guilty of a grofs and palpable act of tyranny ; that Otf THE EARL OF CHATHAM 1 . that they had heard the proftituted eleclors c of Shoreham in defence of an agreement to fell a borough by auclion, and had refufed to hear the Lord Mayor of London in de- fence of the laws of England ; that their ex- punging, by force, the entry of a recogni- zance, Was the act of a mob, not of a Parlia- ment ; that their daring to affume a power of Hopping all profecutions by their vote,ftruck at once at the whole fyflem of the laws: that it was folely to the rneafures of government^ equally violent and abfurd, that Mr; Wilkei bwed all his importance ; that the King'g Minifters, fupported by the flavifh concur- rence of the Houfe of Commons, had made him a perfon of the greateft confequence iii the kingdom; that they had made him an Al- derman of the city of London, and Reprefen- tative of the county of Middlefex; and now they will make him Sheriff, and, in due couf fe, Lord Mayor of London ; that the proceedings of the Houfe of Commons, in regard to this gentleman made the very name of Parliament ridiculous; that after repeated refolutions, by which they had de- clared him amenable to their jurifdiclioh, they had fhamefully abandoned the point at lad ; and, in the face of the world, ac T 2 knowledge^ ANECDOTES AND SREECHES C *XL. P " knowledged him to be their mailer. That there remained but one poilible remedy for the dilbrder, with which the Government of this country was notorioufly infected; that to fave the name and inflitution of Parlia- ments from contempt, this Houfe of Com- mons mud bexiiflblved. This, he hoped, might reflore good government on one fide good humour and tranquillity on the other; yet that this was rather a hope in him than any fanguine expectation. He feared that it might prove only a temporary and partial remedy; that to refifl the enormous influenc of the Crown, fome flronger barri- ers mufl be creeled in defence of the confti- tution. That formerly the inconveniencies of fhorteningthe duration of Parliaments had great weight with him; but now it was no longer a queflion of convenience ; the Summa Rerum is at flake ; your whole conflitution is giving way; and, therefore, with the moft deliberate and folemn conviction of his un- derftanding, he now declared himfelf a Convert to Triennial Parliaments. His Lord- fhip concluded with defiring that the Houfe might be fummoned for next day, declaring his intention to move an Addrefs for the diffolution OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. difTolution of the prefent Parliament/ The CI F ' motion was negatived. I77> Accordingly, on Wednefday the firfl of & ' ' -\ . Chatham', May, which was next day. his Lordfhip mouo:if i 7 an addrefs moved. " That an humble Addrefs be pre- ta ^ e Kins to difiblve feiited to his Majefty, moft dutifully and eanieilly bcfeeching his Majefty, that under" the late violations of the rights of the Elec- tors of Great Britain, in the election for Middlefex, ftill unredrefted, and in the pre- Jent conflict which has fo unhappily arifen between the claims of the Houfe of Com- mons on one fide, and thofe of the people on the other, his Majefty will, in his pater- nal \\ ifdom, deign to open the way to com- pofe this alarming warfare-^ and that, in or- der to prevent the faid Houfe, and the Na- tion, from being involved in intemperate difcuflions of undefined powers, which in the extreme may endanger the conftitution, and tend to make the tranquillity of the kingdom, his Majefty will be gracioufly pleafed to recur to the recent fenfe of his people, by diilblving, after the end of this fellion, the prefent Parliament, and calling with convenient difpatch, a new Parliament. 1 He $7& ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XL. P ' ^ e went through all the arguments which '"p"*' had been formerly uled on this fubjecl; and towards the conclufion of his fpeech, he faid, ' that though no man prided himfelf more on his attachment to his native counr try, yet the proceedings of thofe people who called themfelves its governors, had render- ed it fo difagreeable to him, that was he but ten years younger, he would ipend the re-r mainder of his days in a country (meaning America) which had already given the moft brilliant proofs of its independent fpirit; nor mould my advanced age (continued he^ even now prevent me, did not c on fi derations, of the laft confequence (my bodily infirmi-j tics) interfere.'- The motion was negatived, The feiTion ended on the 8th of Ma v, 1 / / C H A P. OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. C II A P. XLI. Ttt;'o inter e fling Anecdotes of the origin of the American War Impojitions upon the People of ngJand Lord Chatham's Speech again/I quar- tering Troops iy America His Sketch again/I the Quebec Btll f DURING the two fucceeding feffions c * Lord Chatham did not attend Parlia- ' ' 1773* ment. Recent experience had convinced * 3773. h m, that his eloquence, his fagacity, his character, were of no eitimation, in an af- fembly. where arguments more tangible than words, had made fo deep an impreflion up- on the majority, that no language, no fenfeof. honour or of danger, had power to awaken them to a jufl conception of their own dif- grace and insignificancy. In the year 1774, the affairs of America brought him forward again. Nothing elfe could. He refolved to make every attempt he was able, to avert the deitruclion, which he faw was infeparably attached to the mea- -fures the Miniftry were puifuing. T The ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES The Hiftory of the rife and progrefs of the American war, has been given in feveral books. But there are two Facts, refpefting its origin, which feem to have efcaped the obfervation their importance deferves. Anecdote The firft is refpeftmg the Eaft India Com- pany. When the duties to be paid in Ame- rica on paper, paint, and glafs, were repeal- ed, it was pretended, that the Tea duty (which had been impofed by the fame Act of Parliament) was left {landing, to/erye the Company, But this was not the faci. The tax was left unrepealed to preferve the right, as it was called, to tax the Colonies. That was the true motive. The fermce. of the Eafl India Company made no part of the confi deration. The tea fent to Bofton was that fort called Bohea, which was confer- ring no favour on the Company, but the reverfe; for that fort of tea was no burden to the Company. It v;as the fort called . Singlo, which lay heavy on their hands, and of which all their warehoufes v;cre full. But the refblution was agreed to in a/;n; Committee, when only three perfons were prefent: Mr. Bolton\vas chairman. A mat- Ver of fuch importance ought to have been agitate d OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM, 2 8l agitated in a full Committee, which confifts of eleven. The truth is, the Bohea was more faleable than the Single ; it was there- fore, the refolution of the Cabinet to fend the mod faleable : prefuming that the temp* tation to purchafe being greater by the of- fer of good tea, than bv the offer of an infe- O ' J rior fort, fome of the Americans might be thereby induced to barter liberty for luxury, and, perhaps, a fchifm might be created a- mong them. Had the queftion of deter- mining the kind of tea to be fent to Ame- rica, been agitated in a full Committee, it is more than probable, that the interefts of the Company would have prevailed over the views of the cabinet at St. James's. When the Direclors were informed of the conducl of the Committee, they explained this dif- tinftion of the tea to the Miniflry, and wifh- j ' ed to have the Single fubftituted. But the Miniftry would not confent. It was again objected to, at the Minifler's houfe. To the laft application, Lord North, being perhaps wearied with reprefentations on the fubjecT:, faid " It was to no purpofe making objcdi- ons, for the -would have it Jo" Thefe \vere fris jLordfliip's words: and he added, That ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xi A i. P * "That the meant to try the queflion *-*"* ' with America*' 1 774- The * The Author of Hijlorical Remarks on the Taxation of free States, formerly a refpeftable Member of Parliament*, written in the year 1778, relates an anecdote of Englilh taxation, which, a* the book is in few hands, it may not be improper to infert here. (The author printed only fifty copies. 3 " It was told me, fays the Author, by an intelligent and mott fefpeclable Member of the lall Parliament (Mr. White, of Retford). That worthy old gentleman lived ip friend fliip with Sir Robert , t^a/polc, and I believe is the only man of that defcription, wri9 never took an emolument from the Minijter. He gave me this account of his giving up the Excife-fcheme. The bill, having been oppofed in every ftage, was ordered to be reported. The queftion for its being reported, was carried by a majority of fixty. The nation was in a ferment, and there had been fom$ Dangerous riots, * On the evening before the report, Sir Robert fummoned a meeting of the principal Members, who had fupported the Bill, ft was very largely attended. He referved his own opinion to the laft: But perieverance was the unanimqus voice. It was faid 'all taxes were obnoxious, and there would be an end of fupplies, jf mobs were to controul the Legiflature in the manner of railing them. When Sir Robert had heard them all, he affured them, " How confcious he was of having meant well ; but in the prefent inflamed temper of the people, the aft could not be carried into execution without an armed force. That there would be an end of the liberty of England, if fupplies were to be raifed by the fword. If, therefore, the refolution was, to go on with the Bill, he would immediately wait upon the King and defire his Majefty's permifiion fo refign his office ; for he would not be the Miniftcr to enforce, taies, at the expence of blood. '* * For Liverpool. * No perfon appearing defirous of taking that office upon hira- fe'.f, Sir Robert gave notice, that he would adjourn the report for fix months : which he did the r.ejtt day. " Tyranny is known, not by the foil, but by the fruits. And the hardeft flaveries have been fuffered in thofe dates, where the forms of a free conftitution remain 5 but where a fpirit of jultice, liberty and virtue exifts no more." p.p. 80 and Si. And in another place, he tranflates thefe words from Ariftotle*, " Tyrants, therefore, love to be ferved by the word of men; they delight in fervility ; and their meafures require an implicit ^beuience, to which men of liberal fpirit cannot ftoop." lance, OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. The other anecdote is refpecling the pro- c ^ A p < eeedings at BoRon. The tea was configned to the Governor's fon at Bofton. When the veifels with the tea arrived there, the people aflembled on the wharfs in great multitudes, in order to prevent the tea being landed. Several merchants, and other perfons of the firR confequence in BoRon, folemnly offured Captains of the veflels, that the in- habitants of the town were unanimoufly re- iblved not to fuffer the tea to be landed. The Captains finding this oppofition, foli- cited the Governor's permiflion to return to England ; for the King's (hips were Rationed in fuch a pofuion at the mouth of the har-. hour, ^hat no veflel could efcape their vigi- ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES c "i\ Pt lance. The Governor anfwered, that he **~'~ J Qould not permit them tc depart, until they had obtained proper clearances. The offi- cers of the Cuftoms refufed to grant clear- ances until their caroes were landed. This legal precifion was not obferved at the other ports in America, where the Captains find- ing they could not land their cargoes of tea, were permitted to return to Europe, without breaking bulk. But Bofton feems to have been the place fixed upon to try the queflion. If the Governor had adlfled the Captains, the tea might have been landed without much difficulty: it might have been put into the barges of the men of war, then lying there, and being efcorted by the marines, it might have been fafely lodged in the King's warehoufes. But the defign was otherwife. The Captains were obliged to connive at the deftruclion of the tea, in order to obtain their clearances, to return to England. The town was afterwards pu- nHhed for this acl of neccflity, which might have been avoided. Thus the civil war >vas created to try the queflion * ' And * Nothing can more ftron^iy fhcvv the fixed refolution of the Court on this point than the v/ords of his Majdty's anfwers, to th* OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 2 g8 the Governor (Hutchinfon) was afterwards rewarded with a large penfion. There were many other provocations given to the Ame- ricans, befides the Tea Act ; all uniformly tending to exafperate them to refinance. Upon this occafion the Miniftrv reforted . ons upon to the fame methods to deceive the nation, which had been fo fuccefsfully piaclifed by their predeceiforSj and during the Adminif- tration of the Earl of Bute ; viz. Hiring a number of writer s^ hiring a number of newf- papers, and printing an immenfe number of pamphlets, which were fent free of poftage and expence, to every part of the kingdom. At the fame time, all thofe writers and printers, who prefumed to arraign the con- duct of Minillers, were profecuted in the Court of King's Bench. Addreffes, highly flattering to Minifters in their contert with America, were procured from every venal borough and town. By the hired pens of Dr. S. John/on, Meflrs. Dalrymple, Mac- ' pherfon, Stewart, Lind, Knox, Nauduil, &c. and other artifices, the .nation was again the many petitions which were prefented to him, befeeching and imploring him, repeatedly, to prdeiv his dominions. The. rea- der willfind tliem in the Appendix, 2. deluded 886 ANECDOTES Afob C xu p ' Deluded and duped. Upon this particuld* * ta ^-' fubjecl, to impofe on the people, and recon- cile them to this war of felony and filicide^ Minifters had the aflittance of another de- fcription of mert, who were not Ids zealous^ and, if poffible, more dangerous. Thefe were the American refugees who were dri- ven out of their own country, becaufe they were traitors to it. Thefe uriceafingly prac- ticed the mod diabolical irrlpofitions, through the channels of all the minifterial newfpa- pers; and by pamphlets, arraigning the" conducl of the Britim ofiicers, in the bafeft terms; and pofTeffing a geographical know- ledge of the country, they were enabled to give a fpecious appearance of veracity, to the mod infamous fallhoods. It is neceffary to mention thefe impofitions, for although every material circumftance relating to this conteft, has been publiflied in fome (hape or other, yet it will require a nice difcriminat* ing eye, and a correft judgment, to diftin* guifh, on many points, the true from the falfe, reprefentation fo artful and plaufi- ble, fometimes is the lafL Id. Chat- + sTecha ^ n l " e 2 7 " a y ^ ~ a y 1 774 J Lord "n ftquar " Chatham attended the Houfe of Lords, ori Troops in OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. the third reading of a bill for quartering foldiers in America. He faid ' My Lords, the unfavourable ftate of health under which I have long laboured, could not pre- vent me from laying before your Lordfhips my thoughts on the bill now upon the table, and on the American affairs in general. If we take a tranfient view of thofe mo- tives which induced the anceflors of our fellow-fubjecls in America to leave their na- tive country, to encounter the innumerable difficulties of the unexplored regions of the weftern world, our aftoniihment at the pre- fent conduct of their defcendants will natu- rally fubfide. There was no corner of the world into which men of their free and enter- prifing fpirit would not fly with alacrity, rather than fubmit to the flavim and tyran- nical principles, which prevailed a"t that pe- riod in their native country. And (hall we wonder, my Lords, if the defcendants of fuch illuflrious characters fpurn, with con- tempt, the hand of unconditional power, that would match from them fuch dear- bought privileges as they now contend for ? Had the Britifti Colonies been planted by any other kingdom than our own, the inha- bitants ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xLi P * kitants would have carried with them the 1 **-* chains of flavery, and fpirit of defpotifm ; but as they are, they ought to be remem- bered as great inflances to inllruct the world, what great exertions mankind will naturally make, when they are left to the free exer- cife of their own powers. And, my Lords, notwith [landing my intention to give my hearty negative to the quefUon now before you, I cannot help condemning, in the fe- vereft manner, the late turbulent and un warrantable conducl of the Americans in fome inflances, particularly in the late riots of Bofton. But, my Lords, the mode which has been purfued to bring them back to a fenfe of their duty to their parent ftate, has been fo diametrically oppofite to the fundamental principles of found policy, that individuals, poiTeffed of common un- derfianding, muft be ailonimed at fuch prc- ceedings. By blocking up the harbour of Bofton, you have involved the innocent trader in the fame punimment with the guilty profligates who deflroyed your merchan- dize ; and inflead of making a well con- certed effort to fee ure the real offenders, you clap a naval and military extinguifher over their harbour, and punilh the crime of a few OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. & Few lawlefs depredators and their abettors, tipon the whole body of the inhabitants. c My Lords, this country is little obliged to the framers and promoters of this tea- tax. The Americans had almoft forgot, in their excefs of gratitude for the repeal of the (lamp acl, any intereft but that of the mother country; there feemed an emula. tion among the different provinces, who fhould be moft dutiful and forward in their expreffions of loyalty to their real benefac- tor ; as you will readily perceive .by the ^following letter from Governor Bernard td a noble Lord then in office; " The Houfe of Reprefentatives, (fays he) from the time bf opening the feffion to this day, has fhewri d. difpofuiori to avoid all difpute" with me; every thing having pa(fed with as much good humour as I could defire. They have acied, in all things, with temper and moderation; they have avoided fome fubjecls of difpute, and have laid a foundation for removing fome caufes of for- mer altercation. VOL; II. U This ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xi A i. F< e This, my Lords, was the temper of the* ^r-* Americans; and would have continued To. *774 had it not been interrupted by your fruitlefs endeavours to tax them without their con- fent: but the moment they perceived your intention was renewed to tax them, under a pretence of fcrving the Ealt India Company, their refentment got the afcendant 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 fincerely believe, the deilroying of the tea was the effecl of defpair. ' But, my Lords, from the complexion of the whole of the proceedings, I think that Adminiflration has purpofely irritated them into thofe late violent acts, for which they now fo feverely imart ; purpofely to be revenged on them for the victory they gained by the repeal of the ftamp aft ; a meafure to which they feemingly acquiefced, but at the bottom they were its real enemies. For what other motive could induce them to drefs taxation, that father of American iedition, in the robes of an Eaft India Di- rector, but to break in upon that mutual peace OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. peace and harmony, which then fo happily C x L t. P * lubfifted between them and the mother country. ' My Lords, I am an old man, and would advife the noble Lords in office to adopt a more gentle mode of governing America ; for the day is not far diftant, when America may vie with thefe kingdoms, hot only iri arms, but in arts alfo. It is an eftablifhed fad, that the principal towns in America are learned and polite, and uriderftand the cortftitution of the empire as well as the no- ble Lords who are now in office ; and con- fequently , they will have a watchful eye over their liberties, to prevent the leaft encroach^ ment on their hereditary rights. ' This bbfervation is fo recently exem- plified in an excellent pamphlet, which comes from the rjen of ah American gentle- man, that I (hall take the liberty of reading to your Lordfhips his thoughts on the com- petency of the Britifh Parliament to tax Ame- rica, which, in my opinion, puts this inter- efting matter in the cleared view. U 2 si The 202 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES X c ^ p - " The High Court of Parliament (fays he) is the fupreme legiflat,ive power over the whole empire ; in all free Hates the con- 1 7 ftitution is fixed ; and as the fupreme legifla- ture derives its power and authority from the conilitution, it cannot overleap the bounds of it, without deflroying its own foundation. The conftitution afcertains and limits both fovereignty and allegiance: and then fore his Majefty's American fubjecls, who acknowledge themfelves bound by the ties of allegiance, have an equitable claim to the full enjoyment of the fundamental rules of the EnglHh conftitution ; and that it is an efTential unalterable right in nature, ingrafted into the Britim conftitution as a fundamental law, and ever held facred and irrevocable by the fubjecls within this realm that what a man has honeftly acquired, is ablolutely his own; which he may freely give, but which cannot be taken from him without his confent." ' This, my Lords, though no new doc- trine, has always been my received and un- alterable 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 OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM, 293 the principles of juftice and civil polity, c which 'neither the exigencies of the -ftate, O ' nor even an acquiefcencein the taxes, could l ' n juftify upon any occafion whatever. Such proceedings will never meet their wifhed-fbr fuccefs; and, inRead of adding to their mi- fcrics, as the bill now before you molt un- doubtedly does, adopt fome lenient mea- fures, which may lure them to their duty ; proceed like a kind and affectionate parent over a child whom he tenderly loves; and, jndead of thofe harm and fevere proceed- ings, pals an amnefty on all their youthful errors; clafp them once more in your fond and affe6tionate arms; and I will venture to affirm you will find them children worthy of their fire. But mould their turbulence ex id after your preferred terms of forgive* " nefs. which I hope and expe6t this houfe will immediately adopt, I will be among the foremoft of your Lordfhips to move for fuch meafures as will effelually prevent a future relapfe, and make them feel what it is to provoke a forjd and forgiving parent! a parent, my Lords, whole welfare has ever been my grcateft and mod pleaiing confola- tion. This declaration may feem unnecef- fary ; but I will venture to declare, the period U3 is 294 ANECDOTES AND .SPEECHES C XLI. ? ' * s not f ar diftant, when (he will want the * " ' afliftance of hen moft diftant friends : but .. *?74* . fhould the all-difpofing hand of Providence prevent me from affording her my poor af- fiftance, my prayers (hall be ever for her welfare Length of days be in her right hand, and in her left riches and honour ; may her ways be the ways of pleafantnefs, and all her. paths be peace! The bill paffed. Lord Chatham alfo attended on the feven- teenth day of June 1774, on the reading of the Quebec Bill, which he likewife oppofed. His ..fpcech jj e [aid, j t would involve a Jar^e pro- agamit the , , o 1 vmce m a thoufand difficulties, and in the worft of defpotifm, and put the whole peo- ple under arbitrary power ; that it v/a's a moil cruel, oppreilive, and odious meafure, tearing up juftice and every good principle by the roots'; that by abolifhing the trial by Jury, together v/ith the Habeas Corpus, he iuppofed the framers of the bill thought that mode of proceeding mofl fatisfa6tory ; whilft every true Englifliman was ready to lay OP THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Jay down his life fooner than lofe thofe two / bulwarks of his perfonal fecurity and pro- perty. The merely fuppofing that the Ca- nadians would not be able to feel the good effects of law and freedom, becaufe they had been ufed to arbitrary power, was an idea as ridiculous as falfe. He faid, the bill ef- tablimed a defpotic government in that country, to which the royal proclamation of 1763 promifed the protection of the Eng- lifh laws. Here the noble Lord read part of the proclamation; and then entered into the power vefled in the Governor and Coun- cil; the whole mode of which, he faid, was tyrannical and defpotic. He was particu- larly fevere on the bad confequences that would attend the great extenfion of that province. , The whole of the bill appeared to him to be deftruclive of that liberty, which ought to be the ground- work of every con- ftitution. Ten thoufarui objections, he was confident, might be made to the bill ; but the extinclion of the mode of trial above mentioned was a very alarming circum- fiance, and he would pronounce him a bold man whopropofedfuch apian. U 4 When ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XLI. P ' f Whcjihis Lordlliip came to the reiigi- *-p7~ J ous part of the bill/he directed his difcourfe to the Bench of Bifhops, telling them, that as by the bill the Catholic religion was made the eftabhfhed religion of that vaft conti- nent, it was impoflible they coukl be filent on the occafion. He called the bill a child of inordinate power; and defired and afked if any of that Reverend Bench would hold it out for baptifm. He touched again on the unlimited power of the Governor in ap- pointing all the members, and who might confift of Roman Catholics only. c He alfo took notice of an amendment "which had been made in the Houfe of Com- rnons, which was a new claufe, repealing Ib much of the Act of Reformation of the ill of -Elizabeth as relates to. the Oath of Su- premacy, and f lib Piitu ting a common oath of allegiance in its place. This act of Eli- zabeth, he faid, had always been looked up- on as one that the legislature had no more right to repeal, than the Great Charter, or the Bill of Rights' But in this he was greatly miftaken ; for though feveral of the Reverend Bench were prefent, not one of them OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. them made the fmalleft objection to the claufe they all divided with the Miniftry. The Duke ofGfaucefter divided with Lord Chatham againft the Bill,, but they were in a minority. The feffion ended on the twenty-fecond day of June, and on the laft day of Sep. tember the Parliament was fuddenly dif- folved*. CHAP. XLII. Lord Chatham's motion to withdraw the Troops, Jrom Bojlon His Bill for quieting the troubles in America His Bill rejected Receives the Thanks of tlie City of London for his Bill. O N the 2Cjth day of November, 1774, the new Parliament met. On the 2oth day of January, 1775, Lord Dartmouth, then Secretary of State, &c. produced the official American papers. * During the fummer, Lord Mansfield \vent to Paris. At this time the Court of Great Britain may be laid to have had three ambafladors at the Court of France Lord Stormont, the official; JM[r. Forth, the confidential j and Lord Mansfield, the efficient. The 298 ANECDOTES AND SPEECH).- xAi? The Earl of Chatham, after ftrongly con- L *^7 J demning the dilatorinefs of Adminiitration, *775* ' Sec. proceeded as follows ; l * But as I have not the honour of accefs to his Majefty, I will endeavour to thctroo^* tranfmit to him, through the Conftitutional $a. channel of this Houfe, my ideas of America, to refcue him from the mifadvice of his prefent Miniftefs. I congratulate your Lord- (hips, that the bufmefs is at loft entered up- on by the noble Lord's i laying the papers, before you. As I fuppofe your Lordfhips too well apprized of their contents, I hope I am not premature, in fubmitting to you my prefent motion : w That an humble addrefs be prefented to his Majefty, humbly to defire and befeech his Majefty, that in order to open the way towards a happy fettlement of the dangerous troubles in America 5 by beginning to allay fer* merits and foften animofittes there ; and above all, for preventing in the mean time any fud- * This fpeech, and that of the iSth of November, 1777, were taken by the fame gentleman ; and it has been affirmed by leveral perfons who heard the noble Lord on both days, that they contain very ftrong and peculiar marks of accuracy. | Lord Dartmouth den OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. den and fatal cataftrophe at Bollon, now fuf- c fering under the daily irritation of an army before our eyes, polled in their town; it may gracioufly pleafe his Majefty that immediate orders be difpatched to General Gage, for removing his Majefly's forces from the town of Bofton, as foon as the rigour of the fea- fon, and other circumftances indifpenfable to the fafety and accommodation of the fai4 troops, may render the fame practicable." ' I wifh, my Lords, not to lofe a day in. this urgent, preffing crifis ; an hour now loft in allaying ferments in America, may pro- perty remain inviolate; let it be taxable on- ly by their own confent, given in their pro vincial affemblies, elfe it will ceafe to be pro- perty. As to the metaphyfical refinements, attempting to fhew that the Americans are equally free from obedience and commer- cial reftraints, as from taxation for revenue,, as being unreprefented here, I pronounce them futile, frivolous, and groundlefs. < When I urge this meafure of recalling the troops from Boflon, I urge it on this, preffing principle, that it is necelfarily pre- paratory to the refloration of your peace, and the eftablimment of your profperity. It will then appear that you are difpofed to. treat amicably and equitably; and to confi- OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. der, revife, and repeal, if it fhould be found necefFary, as I affirm it will, thole violent acis and declarations which have diflemiria- ted confulion throughout your empire. ' Refi (lance to your acls was necefTary as it wasjuft; and your vain declarations of the omnipotence of Parliament, and your impe- rious doclrines of the neceffity of fubmimon, will be found equally impotent to convince, or to enflaveyour fellow- fubjecls in America, who feel that tyranny, whether ambitioned by an individual part of the legiflature, or the * bodies who compofe it, is equally in- tolerable to BritiQi fubjects. c The means of enforcing this thraldom are found to be as ridiculous and weak in practice, as they are unjufl in principle. In- "* A favourite idea prevailed, and was often urged in argument by Adminittration, " that abfolnte patfive obedience is due to all tl acts of the legiilature, which muft not in any cafe Mr. Fox virged, with h s ufual ability, what he conceived to be Whig principles; principles consulting the good of the^^- *verned t rather than the governors \ principles jealoufly fecuring the rights of the people againft every encroachment of power : and thefe, he thought, had fome relation to the caufe and conduft i America. What OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. What {hall oppofe this fpirit, aided by the C " L V' congenial flame glowing in the breads of v --v ' every Whig in England, to the amount, I hope, of double the American numbers? Ireland they have to a man. In that coun- try, joined as it is with the caufe of Colo- nies, and placed at their head, the diftinc- tion I contend for is and muft be observed. This country fuperintends and controuls their trade and navigation ; but they tax them" o j felves. And this diftinftion between exter- nal and internal controul is facred and in- furmountable ; it is involved in the abftracl nature of -things. Property is private, indi- vidual, abfolute. Trade is an extend-ed and complicated consideration : it reaches as far as (hips can fail or winds can blow; it is a great and various machine. To regulate the numberlefs movements of its feverai parts, and combine them into effecl, for the good of the w,ho!e, requires the fuperin- tending wifdom and energy of the fupreme power in the empire. But this fupreme pow- er has no effect towards internal taxation ; for it does not exiil in that relation ; there is no fuch thing, no fuck idea in this conjli- tution. as a fupreme power operating upon property. J^et this diftin6tion then remain X 3 for 10 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES ^XLI/' for ever afcertained; taxation is theirs, com - ^T^T' mercial regulation is ours. As an Ameri- can I would recognize to England her fu- preme right of regulating commerce and navigation : as an Englifhman by birth and principle, I recognize to the Americans their fupreme unalienable right in their property; aright which they are" j unified in the de- fence of to the lafl extremity. To maintain this principle is the commpn caufe of the, Whigs on the other fide of the Atlantic, and on this. " 'Tis liberty to liberty engaged,", that they will defend themfelves, their fami- lies, and their country. In this great caufe they are immoveably allied: it is the alliance; of God and nature immutable, eternal fixed as the firmament of heaven. ' To fuch united force, what force fhal} be pppofed? What, my Lords? A few regiments in America, and feventeen or eighteen thoufand men at home! The idea is too ridiculous to take up a moment of your Lord {hips' time. Nor can inch a na- tional and principled union be rehfted by the tricks of office, or Minifte.rial manoeu- vre. Laying of papers on your table, or Counting numbers on a divifion, will not avert OP THE EAllL OF CHATHAM. avert or poftpone the hour of danger: it muft arrive, my Lords, unlefs thefe fatal acts t?74 . are done away; it muft arrive in all its hor- rors, and then thefe boaftful Minifters, fpite of all their confidence, and all their manoeu- vres, (hall, be forced to hide their heads. They (hall be forced to a difgraceful aban- donment of their prefent meai'ures and prin ciples, which they avow, but cannot 4efend ; mealures which they prefume to attempt, but cannot hope to effectuate. They can- not my Lords, they cannot flir a ftep ; they }iave not a move* left ; they are check mated, f But it is not repealing this a6l of Parlia- ment, it is not repealing a piece of parch* went, that can reftore America to ourbofom; * An allufion'to the game of Chefs. The tfing is the objeft f the game ; and therefore the mod valuable, though not the moft powerful, piece on the board. Check-mate is that (ituatioa where he is 10 weakly iupported by his pieces, or fo entangled by their injudicious difppfition, that he cannot efcape. This danger is often incurred by expofing himfelf too much, and taking too a&ive a part in the game. Vide Philidor. It is certainly a nuble and royal paftime. CHARLES I. was actually playing at it in the Scots camp, when intelligence was brought to him of their final refolution to betray him. Indue praile of the royal fteadinefs, the hiftorian obferves, that " he continued his game without in- terruption." bee Hume's Hift. of England : or, as Lord Chat- once called it, his a^oh^y for the Houle of Stuart," X 4 you ' C xui P> y ou mu ^ re P ea l ner f ears and her refent : ? v ' ments: and you may then hope for her love, *775 and gratitude. But now, infulted with an armed forcp, pofte4 at Bolion; irritated with an hoftile array before her eyes, her. conceffiqns, if you could force them, would be fufpic.ious and infecure ; they will be irato animo; they will not be the found honour- able pafllons of freemen, they will be the dictates of fear, and extortions of force. But it is more than evident, that you can- not force them, united as they are, to your, unworthy terms of fubmiflion it is imppfli- ble : and when I hear General Gage cenfured for inactivity, I mud retort with indignation, on thofe, whofe intemperate meafures an4 improvident councils have betrayed him intq his prefent fituation. His fituation reminds me, my Lords, of the anfwer of a French General in the civil wars of France Mon- iieur Conde oppofed to Monfieur Turenne: he was afked, how it happened that he did not take his adverfary prifoner, as he was often very near him: " J'ai peur." replied fondle, very honefiy, " J'ai peur qu'il ne me prenne ; :J I'm afraid lull take me, 'When OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. f When your Lordfhips look at the pa- c " pers tranfmitted us from America ; when you confider their decency, ftrmnefs, and wifdorn, you cannot but refpecl their caufe; and wifh to make it your own. For my- felf, I mud declare and avow, that in all my reading and obfervation and it has been jny favourite ftudy I have read Thucidydes and have ftudied and admiredthe mafter ? ftates of the world that for folidity of rea- foning, force of fagacity, and wifdom of conclufion, under fuch a complication of difficult circumftances, no nation, or body of men, can (land in preference to the gene- ral Congrefs at Philadelphia. I truft it is pbvious to your Lordlhips, that all attempts to impofe fervitude upon fuch men, to eftablifh defpotifm over fuch a mighty con- tinental nation, mult be vain, mull be fatal. We mail be forced ultimately to retrad; let us retract while we can, not when we mufl. I fay we muft neceffarily undo thefe violent oppreffive ads * they muft be repealed you, * Als of Parliament patted in the "preceding fefllon, for {hut- ting up the port of Boiton, altering the charter f Malfachufett's Bay, &c. The noble fpeaker's prediction was liriclly verified ; the repeal of thefe acts was at lafl, after three years fruitless war, fent out as a peace-offering to the Congrefs of America ; by whom it was treated with contempt. ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xin P ' witt repeal them ; I pledge my feif for it. that ' * ^ you -will in tlie end repeal them; I Jlake my 'reputation on it : / will con/en t to be taken Jbran idiot, if they cr? not finally repealed. Avoid, then, this humiliating, difgraceful jieceifity. With a dignity becoming your exalted liquation, make the firft advances to concord, to peace, and happinefs : for ihat is your true dignity, to act with prudence and juftice. That you fhould firft concede, is pbvious, from found and rational policy. Conceflion comes with better grace and jnore falutary effecl from fuperior power; it recpnciles fuperiority of power with the feelings of men; and eftablimes folid con^ lidence on the foundations of affection and gratitude. f So thought a wife poet and a wife man in political fagacity ; the friend of Mecacnas, and the eulo : - ift of Auguflus. To him, the adopted fon and fuccefibr. the firft Cefar s to him, the mafter of the world, he wifely ur- ged this condu6t of prudence and dignity ; " Tuque prior, tu parce ; projice tela yianu* 1 Every motive, therefore, of juftice and p : f policy, of dignity and of prudence, urges vou PF THE EARL OF CHATHAM, 315 you to allay the ferment in America by a C x L fi P ' removal of your troops from Bofton by a Nyrv " v - / 1775* repeal of your afts of Parliament- and by demonflration of amicable difpofitions to- wards your Colonies. On the other hand, every danger and every hazard impend, to deter you from perfeverance in your prefent ruinous meafures. Foreign war hanging o- ver your heads by a flight and brittle thread: France and Spain watching your condu6t, and waiting for the maturity of your errors ; with a vigilant eye to America, and the temper of your Colonies, more than to their pwn concerns, be they what they may. ? To conclude, my Lords; If the Miniflers thus perfevere in mifadvifing and mifleading the King, I ^ill not fay, that they can alien- ate the affe6tions of his fubjecls from his crown; but I will affirm, that they will make the crown not worth his wearing ; I will not fay that the King is betrayed ; but I will pronounce, that the. kingdom is undone* i Here it will not be improper to offer a few explanatory obfervations, particularly pn the preceding fpeech. The ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XLH P * The rca der w iM recollect, that the motion * > ' which accompanied the preceding fpeech, for removing his Majefty's troops from Bo- ton, was urged by the noble Speaker ex- prefsly on the ground of peaceably accom- modating the difpute with America. He will remember that the only ground of dif- pute then, was the taxation of that country claimed by this ; the attempted exercife of which, had produced a riot at Bofton. The Independence of America was not then in contemplation : unlefs in the reveries of a reverend writer* on the fubjecl:, who main- tained a propofition, memorable only for its Jingularity, " that the independence of America would be a beneficial event to En- gland." To the Americans it never oc- curred, unlefs for the refutation of fame in- jurious fufpicions, by the moll folemn, ab- folute, and exprefs difavowal. The noble Lord's motion wa?, however, rejected: and hoftilities commenced at Lex- ington, on the 19th of the following April. It is unneceffary to particularize the fub- fequent events. They are too well known, Dr. Tucker. and OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM; and have been too feverely felt, by every friend of his country*. " Years of Cala- J " mity" fatally fulfil the prophecy of Lord Chatham. The Britifh Empire has fuftain- ed the " immedicabile vulnus" which his wif- dom would have averted. How he would have corrected the diforder at its crifijs, be- fore it attained its defperate malignity, will be feen in his Lordfhip's fpeech, on the eighteenth of November, 1777. His Ma- jelly's fpeech on that day exprefled the " Con- Jidence" and " Hopes'' of his Minifters; and they may fairly {land in contrafl with the opinions of Lord Chatham, Let hiflory form the comment. nca, On the firflday of February 1775, Lord ^^h Chatham offered to the Houfe of Lords a JSwS bill for quieting the troubles in America, " which he introduced with faying, * that he offered it as a bafis for averting the dangers which now threatened the Britifh empire ; and he hoped, he faid, that it would meet * The aftonifhing number of taxes laid upon the people of Great Britain, from the year 1 775 to the year 178^ may be juftly imput- ed to the American war. with ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C x*Ln. P ' w i tn * ne approbation of every fide of the? *~~rr~' Houfe. He proceeded to fiate the urgent neceffity of fuch a plan : as, perhaps, the de- lay of a few hours might for ever defeat the poflibilitv of any fuch conciliatory interven- tion. Hfe reprefented Great Britain and America as drawn up in martial array, wait- ing for the fignal to engage in a conteft, in which it was little matter for whom vidloiy declared, as ruin arid deftruclion muft be the inevitable confequence to both parties. He \vifhed, he faid, from a principle of du- ty and affeclion, to a6i the part of a media- tor. He faid, however, that no regard for popularity, no predilection for his coun- try, not the high eiteem he entertained for America on the one haiid, nor the unaltera- ble fteady regard he entertained for the dignity of Great-Britain on the other, mould at all influence his conduct ; for though he loved the Americans, as men prizing and fetting the juft value on that ineftimable bleffing, Liberty; yet if he could once bring himfelf to be perfuaded,that they entertained the moil: diflant intentions of throwing off the legHlat-ivefupremacy and great conftitutional fuperintending power and controul of the Britifh legiflature, he fhould be the very perfon t>F THE EARL OF CHATHAM. . perfon himfelf, who would be the firfl and moft zealous mover for fecuring and en- forcing that power by every poffible exer- tion this country was capable of making. He recurred to his former arguments, on the great conftitutional queftion of taxation and reprefentation ; infiftcd they were infepara- ble, and planted ib deeply in the vital prin* ciples of the conftitmion, as never to be torn up, without deftroying and pulling afunder every band of legal government and good faith, which formed the cement that united its feveral condiment parts together. He intreated the afliftance of the Houfe to di- geit the crude materials which he prefumed to lay before it, and to reduce his bill to that form which was fuited to the dignity and the importance of that fubje6l, and to the great ends to which it was ultimately di reeled. He called on them to exercife their candour on the prefent occafion, and depre- cated the effecls of party, or prejudice; of factious fpleen, or blind predilection. He avowed himfelf to be a6luated by no narrow principle, or perfonal confideration what- ever; for though the prefent bill might be looked upon as a bill of conceflion, it was impoffible ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES impoflible but to confefs at the fame tim that it was a bill of aflertion.' The following is an authentic copy of the propofed bill: '* A provifwnal acl for fettling the troubles in America, and for ajferting the Jupr erne le- giflative authority and fuperintcnding pow- er of Great Britain j)ver the Colonies. "Whereas by an aft 6 Geo. III. it is de- clared, that Parliament has full power and authority to make laws and flatutes to bind the people of the Colonies, in all caies what- foever ; and whereas reiterated complaints and moft dangerous diforders have grown; touching the right of taxation claimed and exercifed over America, to the difturbance of peace and good order there, and to the aclual interruption of the due intercourfe from Great Britain and Ireland to the Colo- nies, deeply affecting the navigation, trade, and manufactures of this kingdom and of Ireland, and announcing farther an inter- ruption of all exports from the faid Colo- nies to great Britain, Ireland, and the Bri- tifh Iflands in America ; Now, for prevention Of OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. of thefe ruinous mifchiefs, and in order to an equitable, honourable, and lading fettlement of claims not fufficiently afcer- . tained and circumfcribed^May itpleafeyour mod Excellent Majedy, that it may be de- clared, and be it declared by the King's mod Excellent Majefty, by and with the advice and confent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in this prefent Parliament aflembled, and by the authority of the fame, that the Colonies of America have been, are, and of right ought to be, dependent upon the Imperial Crown of Great-Britain, and fubordinate unto the Bntiih Parliament^ and that the King's mod Excellent Majedy, by and \vitli the advice and confent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in Parliament af- fembled, had, hath, and of right ought to have, lull power and authority to make laws and datutes of fufficient force and validity to bind the people of the Britim Colonies in America, in all matters touching the ge- neral weal of the whole dominion of the Imperial Crown of Great Britain, and be- yond the competency of the local reprefen- tative of a didincl colony ; and mod efpeci- ally an indubitable and indifpenfible right VOL. II. Y to 322 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XLII P ' to make and ordain laws for regulating na- '*~~^ J vigation and trade throughout the compli- cated fyftem of Britifh commerce; the deep policy of fuch prudent acls upholding the guardian navy of the whole Britifh empire; and that all fubjefts in the Colonies are bound in duty and allegiance duly to recognize and obey (and they are hereby required fo to do) the fupreme legiflative authority and fuperintending power of the. Parliament of Great Britain, as aforefaid. And whereas, in a petition from America to his Majefly, it has been reprefented, that the keeping a {landing army within any of the Colonies, in time of peace, without confent of the re- fpeclive Provincial Aflembly there, is againfl law: Be it declared by the King's moft Ex- cellent Majefty, by and with the confent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Com- mons in this prefent Parliament afleinbled, that the Declaration of Right, at the ever- glorious Revolution, namely, f: That the railing and keeping a (landing army within the kingdom, in time of peace, unlefs it be by the confent of Parliament, is againfl: law," having reference only to the confent of the Parliament of Great Britain, the legal, con- flitudonal, and hitherto unqueftioned pre- rogative 5P THE EARL OF CHATHAM, fdgative of the Crown, to fend any part of fuch army, fo lawfully kept, to any of the Britifh dominions and poffeflions, whether in America or elfewhere, as his Majefty, in the due care of his fubjects, may judge ne- ceffary for the fecurity and protection of the fame, cannot be rendered dependent upon the confent of a Provincial Alfembly in the Colonies, without a mod dangerous irmo- " o Vation, and derogation from the dignity of the Imperial Crown of Great Britain. Ne- Vertheiefs, in order to quiet and difpel groundlefs jealoufies and fears, be it hereby declaredj That no military force, however railed, and kept according to law, can ever be lawfully employed to violate and deftroy the juft rights of the people. Moreover, in order to remove for ever all caufes of per- nicious difcord, and in due contemplation of the vaft increafe of pofieflions and popu- lation in the Colonies; and having a heart to render the condition of fo great a body of induftrious fubjecls there more and more happy, by the facrednefs of property and of perfonal liberty, of more extenfive and laft- ing utility to the parent kingdom, by indif- foluble ties of mutual affeclion, confidence, trade, and reciprocal benefits, Be it declared Y 2 323 [A Pi XLII. ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES and enabled, by the King's moft Excel- lent Majeftv. by and with the advice and 1775. _ j j - j confent of the Lords Spiritual and Tempo- ral and Commons in this prefent Parliament aflembled. and it is hereby declared and en- afted by the authority of the fame, That no tallage, tax, or other charge for his Majcf- - ty's revenue, (hall be commanded or levied, from Britifh freemen in America, without common conlent, by acl; of, Provincial Af- fembly there, duly convened for that pur- pofe. Ana it is hereby further declared and enacled, by the King's mcft Excellent Ma- jefly, by and with the advice and confent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Com- mons in this prefent Parliament aifembled, and by the authority of the fame, That it (hall and may be lawful for delegates from the refpeclive provinces, lately afiembled at Philadelphia, to meet in general Congreis at the fa id city of Philadelphia, on, the gth day of May next enfuing, in order then and there to take into confederation the making due recognition of the fupreme legiflative authority and fuperintending power of Par- liament over the Colonies as aforefaid. And moreover, may it pleaie your moil Excel- lent Majefly, that the faid Delegates, to be in OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. in Congrefs affembled in manner aforefaid, may be required, and the fame are hereby required, by the King's Majefty fitting in his Parliament, to take into confideration (over and above the ufual charge for Tup- port of civil government in the refpeclive Colonies) the making a free grant to the King, his heirs, and fucceflbrs, of a certain perpetual revenue, fubjefcl to the difpofition of the Britifh Parliament, to be by them appropriated as they in their wifdom (hall judge fit, to the alleviation of the national debt : no doubt being had but this juft, free aid, will be in fuch honourable proportion as may feem meet and becoming from great and flourifhing colonies towards a parent country .labouring under the heavieft bur- dens, which, in no inconfiderable part, have been willingly t k^.n upon ourfelves a ?d pof- terity, for the defence, extenfion, and prof- perity of the Colonies. And to this great end, be it farther hereby declared and en- a&ed, that the general Congrefs (to meet at Philadelphia as aforefaid) (hall be. and is hereby authorized and empowered (the De- legates compofing the fame being firftfufri- ciently furnimed with powers from their refpeclive provinces for this purpofe) to ad- YS 326 - ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES XLII P ' J 11 ^ an ^ fix the proportions and quotas of the feveral charges to be borne by each pro- vince refpe6iively, towards the general con- tributory fupply ; and this in fuch fair and equitable meafure, as may beft fuit the abi- lities and due convenience of all : Provided always, that the powers for fixing the faid quotas, hereby given to the delegates from the old provinces compofmg the Congrefs, (hall not extend to the new provinces of Eail and Weft Florida, Georgia, Nova Scotia, St. John's, and Canada; the circumftances and abilities of the laid provinces being re- ferved for the wifdom of Parliament in their due time. And in order to afford neceflfary time for mature deliberation in America, be it hereby declared, That the provifions for afcertaining and fixing the exercife of the fight uf taxation in the Colonies, as agreed and expreffed by this prefent acl, (hall not be in force, or have any operation, until the delegates to be in Congrefs afiembled, fuffi- ciently authorifed and empowered by their refpeclive provinces to this end, fliall, as an indifpenfable condition, have duly re-- cognifed the fupreme legillative authority and fuperintending power of the Parliament of Great Britain over the Colonies afore- faid ; OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 327 faid: Always underftood, That the free c ,? T t T p - / ^\ JL 11* grant of an aid, as heretofore required and expected from the Colonies, is not to be confidered as a condition of redrefs, but as, a juft teflimony of their affeclion. And whereas, divers acts of Parliament have been humbly reprefented, in a petition to his Ma- jefty from America, to have been found grievous, in whole or in part, to the fubjecls of the Colonies, be it hereby declared by the King's moll; Excellent Majeily, by and with the advice and confent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in this preient Parliament aflembled, and by the authority of the fame, That the powers of Admiralty and Vice- Admiralty Courts in America (hall be redrained within their an- cient limits, and the Trial by Jury, in all civil cafes, where the fame may be abolilhed, reftored: And that no fubjeci in America _{hall, in capital cafes, be liable to be indicled and tried for the lame, in any place out of the province wherein fuch offence fhall be alledged to have been committed, nor be deprived of a trial by his peers of the vici- nage; nor (hall it be lawful to fend perfons indicled for murder in any province of Amc rjca, to another colony, or to Great Britain, 4 for ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES f r ^ial. And be it hereby declared and enafted, by the authority aforefaid, That all and every the faid acls, or fo much there- of as are reprefemed to have been found grievous, namely, the feveral a6ts of the 4th Geo. III. ch. 15. and ch. 34. 5th Geo. III. ch. 25. 6th Geo. Ill, ch. 52. yth Geo. III. ch. 41. and ch. 46. 8th Geo. III. ch. 22*. 12th Geo. III. ch. 24. with the three afts for flopping the port, and blocking up the harbour of Bofton ; for altering the charter and government of Maflachufetts Bay ; and that entitled, An a6l for the better adminiflration of juftide, &c.; alfo the a6l for regulating the government of Quebec, and the a6t palled in the fame feflion relating to the quarters of foldiers, (hall be, and are hereby fufpended, and not to have effect or execution, from the date of this acl. And be it moreover hereby declared afnd enacled, by the authority aforefaid, That all and every the before-recited als, or the parts thereof complained of, (hall be and are, in virtue of this prefent aft 5J finally repealed -and annulled, from ihe day that the new re- cognition of the fupreme legiilative autho- rity and fuperintending power of Parliament over OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. over the Colonies, (hall have been made on the part of the faid Colonies. And for the better fecuring due and im. partial adminiftration of jufiice in the Co- lonies, be it declared and ena6led by the King's mofl Excellent Majefty, by and with the advice and confent of the Lords Spiri- tual and Temporal and Commons in this prefent Parliament aflembled, That his Ma- jefty 's Judges in Courts of Law in the Co- lonies of America, to be appointed with fa- iaries by the Crown, (hall hold their offices and falaries as his Majefty 's Judges in Eng- land, quamdiu fe bene gejjerint. And it is hereby further declared, by the authority aforcfaid, that the Colonies in America are juftly entitled to the privileges, franchifes, and immunities granted by their feveral Charters or Conftitutions ; and that the faid Charters or Conftitutions ought not to be invaded or refumed, unlefs for mifufer, or fo me legal ground of forfeiture. So (hall true reconcilement avert impending calami- ties, and this folemn national accord between Great Britain and her Colonies (land an everlafting monument of clemency and mag- nanimity in the benignant father of his peo- ple, ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES of wifdom and moderation in this great nation, famed for humanity as for valour, and of fidelity and grateful affection from brave and .loyal Colonies to their parent kingdom, which will ever protect and che- rim them." Lord Sandwich moved to rejetl the Bill. Lord Gozcer reprobated the Bill with extra- ordinary afperity. The Duke of Graf ton faid the Bill was unparliamentary. Lord ' Lord Chatham replied to the feveral ob- j e ^j ons w hich were made by the Lords in Adminiflration ; he defcanted with equal humour and feverity upon the very extra- ordinary logic employed by the noble Duke, his quondam colleague in office, and very humble fervant. The noble Duke, fays his Lordfhip, is extremely angry with me, that I did not previoufly confult him on the bringing in the prefent bill; I would afk the noble Duke, does he confult me ? or do I deiire to be previoufly told of any motions or meafures he thinks fit to propofe to this Houfe? His Grace feems to be much of- fended at the manner this bill has been hur-> ried. I am certain he could not be ferious, if OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. if he gave himfelf a minute to confider how c the cafe really /lands. Here we are told, . that America is in a (late of aclual rebel- lion, and we are now advanced to the ift of February, and no one flep is taken to crufh this fuppofed rebellion : yet, fuch being the cafe, I am charged with hurrying matters; but whether my conduct may be more juitly charged with hurrying this bufinefs into, or his Grace with hurrying it out of the Houfe s I believe requires no great depth of pene^ tration to difcover. As to the other gene- ral objections, I prefume it will be recol- lecled, that wh^n I fubmitted my motion for withdrawing the troops from Bofton, I then gave notice that I would prefent in a few days, a plan of general reconciliation. Eleven days have fmce elapfed, and nothing has been offered by the King's fervants. Under fuch circumftances of emergency on one fide, when, perhaps, a (ingle day may determine the fate of this great empire; and fuch a fhameful negligence, total inat- tention, and want of ability on the other, what was to be done ? No other alternative, in my opinion remained, but either to aban- don the interests of my country, and relin- quilh my duty, or to propofe fome plan, when AN EC DO when MiniftrVs by their inaclion anrl owned themfelves incapable of propofing any. But even now let them (peak out, and tell me, that they have a plan to lay before us, and I will give them an example of can- dour they are by no means deferring of, by inftantly withdrawing the prcfent Bill. The indecent attempt to flifle this meafure in embrio, may promife cbnfequences the very reverfe of what I am certain will be the cafe if the bill is admitted. The friends of the prefent motion may flatter themfelves. that the contents of the Bill will link into filence and be forgotten, but I believe they will find the contrary. This Bill, though rejected here, wijl make its way to the public, to the nation, to the remoteil wilds of America ; it will, in fuch a courfe undergo a deal of cool obfervation and inveftigation ; and whatever its merits or demerits may be, it will (land or fall by them alone; it will, I truft, remain an evidence of rny poor endea- vours to ferve my country ; and however faulty or defective, will at leaft manifefl how zealous I have been to avert the impending florms which feem ready to burft on it, and for ever Overwhelm it in ruin. Yet, when I confider the whole cafe as it lies before me, lam, OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. I am not much aRonifhed, I am not far- prifed, that men who hate liberty, mould ' deteflthofe that prize it; or that thofe.whd want virtue themfelves, mould endeavour to perfecute thofe who poflefs it. Were I dif- pofed to purfue this theme to the extent that truth would fully bear me out in, I could demonstrate, that the who'e of your political condu6r, has been one continued ieries of weaknefs, temerity, defpotiim, ig- norance, futility, negligence, and the moll notorious feryility, incapacity,' and corrup- tion. On reconiideration, I muft allow you one merit, a ftricl attention to your own in- terefts : in that view you appear found flatef- men, and able politicians. You well know, if the prefe'nt meafure fhould prevail, that you muft inllantly relinquifli your places. I doubt much whether you will be able to keep them on any terms: but lure I am, that fuch is your well-known characters and abi- lities, any plan of reconciliation, however moderate, wife, and fcalible, muft fail in your hands. Such then being your preca- rious fituations, who fliould wonder that you can put a negative on any meafure which muft annihilate your power, deprive you of your emoluments, and at once reduce you to ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XLII P ' to ^at ^ ate ofinfigntfieance, for which God ^^ ' and Nature defiant d you?' 1775- J The Bill was rejected. and not differed i to lie upon the table. Although the Bill met with a fate fo un- juft in Parliament, it was very differently received by the Public. On the tenth day of February, the Corporation of the City of London came to the following refolution. " That the thanks of this Court be given to the Right Hon. the Earl of Chatham for having offered to the Houfe of Lords apian for conciliating the differences which unfor- tunately fubfiil between the Admimflration in this country and its American Colonies ; and to all thofe who fupptmed that noble Lord in fo humane a meafure." The Town Clerk having waited on Lord Chatham with the above refolution, his Lordfhip returned the following anfwer: " Lord Chatham defires the favour of Mr* Town Clerk to offer my Lord Mayor, the Aldermen, and Commons, in Common Council OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Council aflembled, his mod refpe&ful and grateful acknowledgements for the fignal honour they have been pleafed to confer on the mere difchargeof his duty, in a moment of impending calamity. * " Under deep impreffions of former marks of favourable conftru&ion of his conducl, during the evil hour of a dangerous foreign war, lie now deems himfelf too fortunate to find his efforts for preventing J:he ruin and horrors of a civil war, approved, honoured, and ft rengthened by the firfl Corporate bo- dy in the kingdom." During the remainder of the feffion, which ended on the 26th of May, 1775, Lord Chatham did not attend; nor during the f ucceeding felTion, which began on the 26th of O6i. 1775, and ended on the 23d of May 1776. His health declined fo faft, he was not able. CHAP, ANECDOTES AND SI'fECHfcti C H A P. XLIII. Duke of Grafton refigns Lord Chatham's mctivr, to discontinue, the. American War ; an d Speeches on the fame. AT the meeting of Parliament towards the end of October, 1775. the Duke of Graf ton beinor convinced of the hollile ./ o meafufes of the Cabinet againft America, declared that his conscience foibade him fupporting thofe meafures in Parliament, and. therefore, he refigned the Privy Seal; .which was thereupon given to Lord Dart- mouth, and, Lord George Germame fucceeded his Lord (hip as Secretary of State for America. '777- Cn the thirteenth day of May, 1777, Lord Chatham attended the Houfe of Lords, again, to make another motion, deprecating hoftilitics with America. He bes;an Lords, this is a flying moment; per- diSomu na P s but fix weeks left to arreft the dangers mTrkan " that furround us. The gathering florm may seeches" break; it has already opened, and in part on the burit. OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. burft. It is difficult for Government, after all that has pafled, to (hake hands with de- . fiers of the King, defiers of the Parliament, defiers of the people. I am a defier of no- body ; but if an end is no't put to this war, there is an end to this country. I do not truft my judgment in my prefent (late of health; this is the judgment of my better days ; the refult of forty years attention to America. They are rebels ; but what 'are they rebels for ? Surely not for defending their unqueliionable rights! What have thefe rebels done heretofore ? I remember when they raifed four regiments on their own bottom, and took Louifbourg from the veteran troops of France; But their excef- fes have been great. I do not mean to be their panegyric ; but muft obferve in attenu- ation, the erroneous and infatuated counfels, which have prevailed the door to mercy and jufHce has been (hut againft them. But they may dill be taken up upon the Grounds of their former fubmiffion. [Refer- ring to their petition."^ I (late to you the im- portance of America ; it is a double-market; the market of confumption, and the market of fupply. This double-market for millions, with naval ftores, you are giving to your VOL. II. Z hereditary 338 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES CHAP, hereditary rival. America has carried you **~^ J through former wars, and will now carry you to your death, if you don't take things in time. In the fportfman's phrafe, when you have found yourfelves at fault, you muft try back. You have raniacked every corner of Lower Saxony; 011140,000 German boors never can conquer ten times the number ofBritifh freemen: they may ravage; they cannot conquer. But you would conquer, you fay ! Why, what woul'dyou conquer the map of America ? I am ready to meet any General Officer on the fubjecl. [Look- ing at Lord AmherjT\ What will you do out of the protection of your fleet ? In the win- ter, if together, they are ftarved ; and if dif- perfed they are taken off in detail. I am experienced in fpring hopes and vernal pro- mifes ; I know what Minifters throw out ; but at lafl will come your equinoctial difap- pointment. You have got nothing in A- inerica but Rations. You have been three years teaching them the art of war. They are apt fcholars, and I will venture to tell your Lordfhips, that the American gentry ' will make officers enough fit to command the troops of all the European powers. What you have fent there, are too many to make peace, OF THE EARL Of CHATHAM. f>eace, too few to make war. If you conquer c x H L nj' them, what then ? You cannot make them v < refpecl you ; you cannot make them wear your cloth. You' will plant an invincible hatred in their breafts againft you. Coming from the ftock they do, they can never ref- pe6l you. If Minifters are founded in fay- ing there is no' fort of treaty with France, there is flill a moment left ; the point of honour is (till fafe* France rnuft be as felf- deflroying^ as England, to make a treaty while you are giving her America at the ex- pence of twelve millions a yean The in- tercourfe has produced every thing to France ; and England, old England, muft pay for all. I have at different times made dif- ferent propofitions, adapted to the circum- itances in which they were offered. The plan contained in the former bill, is now im- praclicable; the preTent motion will tell you where you are, and what you have now to depend upon. It may produce at refpecla- ble divifion in America, and unanimity at home* It will give America an Option; (he has yet made no option. You have faid, lay down your arms, and (he has given you the Spartan anfwer, " come take." \_Here he read his motion ;] Z 2 " THAT 240 ANECDOTES AND SPEECH RS " THAT an humble addrefsbe prefented to his Majefty, mod dutifully reprefenting to his royal wifdom,that this Houfe is deeply penetrated with the vifew of impending ruin to the kingdom, from the continuation of an unnatural war againil the Britifn Colonies in America; and mod humbly to advife his Majefty to take the molt fpeedy and effec- tual meafures for putting a (lop to fuch fatal hoftilities, upon the only juft and folid foundation, namely the removal of accumu- lated grievances; and to allure his Majefty, that this Houfe will enter upon this great and neceffary work with chearfulnefs and difpatch, in order to open to his Majefty the only means of regaining the affections of the Britifh Colonies, and of fecuring to Great Britain the commercial advantages of thefe valuable poff'efnons ; fully pei fuaded, that to heal and to redrefs, will be more congenial to the goodnefs and magnanimity of his Majefty, and more prevalent over the hearts of generous and free-born fub- jecls, than the rigours of chaftifement, and the horrors of a civil war, which hitherto have ferved only to fharpen refentments, and confolidate union, and, if continued, mud end OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 34! jpnd in finally diflblving all ties between Great Britain and the Colonies." Lord Chatham rofe again. ' The prppo- fal he faid, isTpecific. I though, it fo clear, that I did not enlarge upon it. I mean the redrefs of all their grievances, and the right of difpofing of their own money. This is to be done inltantaneoufly. 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 mew Parliament fincerely difpofed. Yet Hill much muft be left to treaty. Should you conquer this people, you conquer under the cannon of France; under a mafked battery then ready to open. The moment a treaty with France appears, you muft declare war, though you had only five fhips of the line in England ; but France will defer a treaty as long as pomble. You are now at the mercy of every little German chancery; and the pre- tenfions of France will incrcafe daily, fo as to become an avowed party in either peace or war. We have tried for unconditional fubmiflion: try what can be gained by un- conditional redrefs. Lefs dignity will be loft in the repeal, than in fubinitting to the Z Q demands ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES Demands of German chanceries. We are the aggreflbrs. We have invaded them. We have invaded them as much as the Spanifh armada invaded England. Mercy cannot do harm ; it will feat 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, wou!4 pray for him. In making his motion for addrelling the King, he infilled frequently and flrongly on the abfolute neceffity of immediately making peace with America. Now, he faid, ' was the crifis, before France was a party to the treaty. This was the only moment left be- fore the fate of this, country was decided. The French court, he obferved, was too wife to lofe the opportunity of effectually feparating America from the dominions of this kingdom. War between France an4 Great Britain, he faid, was not lefs probable becaufe 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 (he was enjoying in peace. He enlarged much p THE EARL OF CHATHAM. much on the importance of America to this country, which, in peace and in war he ob- ferved,he ever confidered as the great fource of all our wealth and power. And then ^dded [raifing his voice] " Your trade lan- guifhes, your taxes increafe. your revenues diminifh ; France, at this moment, is fecuring and drawing to herfelf that commerce, which created your feamen, fed your iflands &c." ' He reprobated the meafures which produced, and which have been purfued in the condu6t of the civil war, in the fevereft language; infatuated meafures giving rife, and ftill continuing a cruel, unnatural, felf deflroying war. Succefs, it is faid, is hoped for in this campaign. Why ? Becaufe our army will be as flrong this year as it was laft, when it was not flrong enough. The notion of conquering America he treated with thegreateft contempt/ Lord Gower, and other Lords in Admi- niftration, condemned the motion in the fe- vereft terms: and Lord Hillfiorough affect- ing not to underftand it, Lord Chatham rofe * fecond time, and faid, ' I will, with your Lordfhip's permiflion, {late mortly what I meant. My Lords, my Z motion ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES motion was dated generally, that I might leave the quedion at lar^e to be amended by 1777. 1 B / your Lordfhips. I did not dare to point out the fpecific means. I'drew the motion up to the bed of my poor abilities; but I in- tended it only as the herald of conciliation, ;as the harbinger of peace to our adlicled Colonies. But as the noble Lord feems to wifh for fomething more fpecific on the fub jecl, and through that medium feeks my particular fentiments, I will tell your Lord- fhips very fairly what I wifh for. I wifh for a repeal of every oppredive a6t which your Lordihips have^aded fince 1763. I would put our brethren in America precifely on the fame footing they flood at that period. I would expect, that being left at liberty to tax themlelves, and difpofe of their own property, they would' in return contribute to the common burthens, according to their means and abilities. I will move your Lord- fhips for a bill of repeal, as the only means left to aneft that approaching dedruclion which threatens to overwhelm us. My Lords, I fhall no doubt hear it objecled, Why fhould we fu bruit or concede? Has A- merica done any thing ^on her part to in- duce us to agree to fo large a ground of con- cedion ? OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. ceffion? I will tell you, my Lords, why I think you {hould. You have been the ag- greflbrs' from the beginning. I (hall not trouble your Lordfhips with the particulars; they have been dated and enforced by the noble and learned Lord, who fpoke laft but one, (Lord Camden,) in a much more able and diftincl; manner than I could pretend to ftate them. If, then, we are the aggreflbrs, it is your Lordfhips bufinefs to make the firft overture. I fay again, this country has been the aggreffor. You have made defcents up- on their coafls : you have burnt their towns, plundered their country, made war upon the inhabitants, confifcated their property, pro- {bribed and imprifoned their periods. I do therefore afBrm, my Lords, that inftead of exacting unconditional fubmiflion from the Colonies, we {hould grant them unconditi- onal redrefs. We have injured them; we have endeavoured to enflave and opprefs them. Upon this ground, my Lords, inftead of chaftifernent, they are entitled to redrefs. A repeal of thofe laws, of which they com- plain, will be the firft ftep to that redrefs. The people of America look upon Parlia- ment as the author of their miferies; their ffelions arceftrangcd from their Sovereign. Let ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XL fif' ^ et: > then, re P arat i n come from the hands * -v ' that inflicted the injuries; let conciliation 1777. fucceed chaftifement ; and I do maintain, that Parliament will again recover its au- thority ; that his Majefly will be once more enthroned in the hearts of his American fub- jecis; and that your Lordmips, as contrib- uting to fo great, glorious, falutary, and be- nignant a work, will receive the prayers and benedictions of every part of the Britifh empire.' The motion was negatived. The feflion ended on the fixth day of June 1777. CHAP. XLIV. % Lord Chatham's Speech on the Addrefs, and his amendment on the employment of the Indians in North America on the Returns of the Army on the Capture of General Burgoyne's Army His motion on the employment of the Indians His Speech againjl the motion to adjourn. ARLIAMENT met on the i8th day of v/ H A * m_^P November 1777. The war with Ame- rica becoming every day more critical, Lord Chatham, though he had fcarcely ftrength tcr OF TH EARL OF CHATHAM. to move, forefeeing the fatal confequences of it, was exceedingly ardent in his wifh to arrefl the evil, in every ftage of its progrefs. He therefore attended on the firfl day of the SefTion. Lord Percy having moved the Addrefs, Lord Chatham rofe in a little time after. * I rife, my Lords/ he faid*, f to declare Lord my fentiments on this moft folemn and feri- speech on the Ad- pUS fubjeft. It has impofed a load upon my mind, which, I fear, nothing can remove; but which impels me to endeavour its alle- viation, by a free and unreferved communi- ation of my fentiments, 'In the firfl; part of the Addrefs, I have the honour of heartily concurring with the noble Earl who moved it. No man feels fmcerer joy than I do ; none can offer more genuine congratulation on every acceffion of ftrength to the Proteflant fucceilion: I there- fore join in every congratulation on the birth of another prmcefs, and the happy recovery * This fpeech *yas taken by the fame gentleman who took that pf the 20th of January 1775, and has been equally efteemed for its accuracy. Of 348 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES XL?V P : of her Majefty. But I muft flop here ; my courtly complaifance will carry me no fur- ther: I 'will not join in congratulation on misfortune and difgrace: I cannot concur in a blind and fervile addrefs, which approves, and endeavours to fanciify, the monRrous meafures which have heaped difgrace and misfortune upon us which have brought ruin to our doors. This, my Lords, is a pe- rilous and tremendous moment! It is not a time for adulation. The fmoothnefs of flattery cannot now avail cannot fave us in this rugged and awful crifis. It is now ne- ceffary to inftrucl the Throne in the lan- guage of truth. We mult difpel the delufi- on and the darknefs which envelope it ; and difplay, in its full danger and true colours, the ruin that is brought to our dq.ors, ' This, my Lords, is our duty; it is the proper function of this noble affembly, (it- ting, as we do, upon our honours in this houfe, the hereditary council of the crown : And who is the minifler where is the minif- ter, that has dared to fuggeft to the Throne the contrary, unconftitutional language this day delivered from it? The ac- cullomed language from the Throne has been OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. been application to Parliament for advice, and a reliance on its conftitutional advice and amllance: as it is the right of Parliament to give, fo it is the duty of the crown'to afk it. But on this day, and in this extreme momentous exigency, no reliance is repofed on our conftitutional counfels! no advice is afked from the fober and enlightened care of Parliament! But the Crown, from itfelf, and by itfelf, declares an unalterable deter- mination to purfue meafures and what meafures., my Lords ?---The meafures that have produced the imminent perils that threaten us ; the meafures that have brought ruin to our doors. ' Can the minifter of the day now pre- iume to ex peel a continuance of fupport, in this ruinous infatuation? Can Parliament be fo dead to its dignity and its duty, as to be thus deluded into the lofs of the one, and the violation of the other? To give an unlimited credit and fupport for the fleady perfcverance in meafures ; that is the word and the conduct propofed for our par- liamentary advice, but dictated and forced upon us in meafures, I fay, my Lords, which have reduced this late flourifliing em- pire ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES pire to ruin and contempt ! " But yeflerda^ and England might have flood againjl the world: now none Jo poor to do her reverence" I ufe the words of a poet ; but though it be poetry, it is no fiction. It is a mameful truth, that not only the power and ftrength of this country are wafting away and expir- ing ; but her well-earned glories, her true V honour, and fubftantial dignity, are facri- ficed. France, my Lords, has infulted you; fhe has encouraged and fuftained America ; and whether America be wrong or right, the dignity of this country ought to fpurn at the officious infult of French interference. The miniflers and ambafladors of thofe who are called rebels and enemies, are in Paris; iri Paris they tranfacl the reciprocal interefts of America and France. Can there be a more mortifying infult ? Can even our minifters fuftain a more humiliating diigrace ? Do they dare to refent it ? Do they prefume even to hint a vindication of their honour^ and the dignity of the ftate, by requiring the difmiffion of the plenipotentiaries of America ? Such is the degradation to which they have reduced the glories of England! The people whom they affeft to call con- temptible rebels, but whofe growing power has OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. has at laft obtained the name of enemies ; the people with whom they have engaged this country in war, and againft whom they now command our implicit fupport in every meafure of defperate hoftility : this people, defpifed as rebels, or acknowledged as ene- mies, are abetted againft you, fupplied with every military (lore, their interefts confulted, and their ambafladors entertained, by your inveterate enemv! and our minifters dare not interpofe with dignity or efteft. Is this the honour of a great kingdom? Is this the indignant fpirit of England, who, " but yefterday," gave law to the Houfe of Bour- bon? My Lords, the dignity of nations de- mands a decifive conduct in a fituation like this. Even when the greateft prince that perhaps this country ever faw, filled our throne,, the requifition of a Spanim general, on a fimilar fubject., was attended to, and complied with ; for, on the fpirited remon- ilrance of the duke of Alva, Elizabeth found herfelf obliged to deny the. Flemifh exiles all countenance, fupport, or even entrance into her dominions ; and the Count le Mar- que, with his few defperate followers, was expelled the kingdom. Happening to arrive at the Brille, and finding it weak in defence, they 352 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES they madethemfelves matters of the place: and this was the foundation of the United Provinces. ' My Lords, this ruinous and ignomini- ous fituation, where we cannot act with fuc- cefs, nor fuffer with honour, calls upon us to remonttrate in the (Irongeft and lotideft language of truth, to refcue the ear of Ma- jefly from the delufions which liirround it. The defperate {fate of our arms abroad is in part known: no man thinks more highly of them than I do : I love and honour the Eng- lifli troops : I know their virtues and their valour : I know they can achieve any thing except impoffibilities ; and I know that the conquett of Englifh America is an impoffi- bility. You cannot, I venture to fay it, YOU CANNOT conquer America. Your armies Jaft war effected every thing that could be effected; and what was it? It cofl a nume- rous army, under the command of a moft able general *, -now a noble Lord in this houfe. a long and laborious campaign, to expel five thoufand Frenchmen from French America. My Lords, you cannot conquer * Sir Jeffcry (now Lord) Amlerjl. America, OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. America. What is your prefent fituation there? We do not know the word; but we 1777 know, that in three campaigns we have done nothing and differed much. Betides the fuf- ferings, perhaps total lojs, of the Northern force*; the beft appointed army that ever took the field commanded by Sir William Howe, has retired from the American lines; he was obliged to relinquim his attempt, and with great delay and danger, to adopt a new and diftant plan of operation*. We (hall foon know, and in any event have reafon to lament, what may have happened fince. As to conqueft, therefore, my Lords, I repeat, it is impomble. - You may I well every ex- pence, and every effort, ftill more extrava- gantly ; pile and accumulate every affiflance you can buy or borrow ; traffic and barter with every little pitiful German prince, that fells and fends his fubjecls to the fhambles of a foreign prince ; your efforts are for ever vain and impotent doubly fo from this mer- cenary aid on which y'ou ely ; for it irritates, * General Burgoyne*s army. The hiftory cf it is fiiort Mod of us braveft officers fell ; and about half its numbers; the REST furrendered to the enemy on the xyth of October, 1777. See the Gazettes. The account of this total loft, as the noble fpeaker's prefcience exprefled it on the i8th of November, arrived in Eng- land in the beginning of December. VOL. . II, A a to 354 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XLIV!' to an incurable refentment, the minds of v *r-* your enemies to over-run them with the 1777. *_ mercenary fons of rapine and plunder ; de- voting them and their pofleflions to the ra- pacity of hireling cruelty ! If I were an American, as I am an Englifhman, while a foreign troop was landed in my country, I never would lay down my arms never never never. ' Your own army is infecled with the con- tagion of thefe illiberal allies. The fpirit of plunder and of rapine is gone forth among them. I know it and notwithfland- ing what the noble Earl *, who moved the addrefs, has given as his opinion of our American army, I know from authentic in- formation, and the moft experienced officers, that ourdifcipline is deeply wounded. Whilfl this is notorioufly our finking fituation, Ame- rica grows and flourimes: whilft our ftrength and difcipline are lowered, theirs are rifing and improving. c But, my Lords, who is the man, that in addition to thefe difgraces and mifchiefs of .* * Lord Percy. our OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. bur army, has dared to authorife and afTo- ciate to our arms the tomahawk and fcaln- 1777 ing-knife of the favage ? To call into ci- vilized alliance, the wild and inhuman fa- vage of the woods ; to delegate to the mer- cilefs Indian, the defence of difputed rights, and to wage the horrors of his barbarous war againft our brethren ? My Lords, thefe enormities cry aloud for redrefs and punifh- ment; unlefs thoroughly done away, it will be a (lain on the national character it is a violation of the Conflitution I believe it is againfl law. It is not the leafl of our na- tional misfortunes, that the ftrength and cha- racter of our army are thus impaired ; in- fecled with the mercenary fpirit of robbery and rapine familiarized to the horrid fcenes of favage cruelty, it can no longer boaft of the noble and generous principles which dignify a foldier ; no longer fympathize with the dignity of the royal banner, nor feel the pride, pomp, and circumftance of glorious war, " that make ambition virtue!'* What makes ambition virtue ? the fenfe of ho- nour. But is the fenfe of honour confiftent with a fpirit of plunder, or the pradice of murder ? Can it flow from mercenary mo- tives, or can it prompt to cruel deeds ? Be- A a 2 fides 356 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XLIV P> fid es thefe murderers and plunderers, let me * v ' afk our Minifters, what other allies have they acquired? What other powers have they afc fociated to their caufe ? Have they entered into alliance with the king of the gyp fie s ? Nothing, my Lords, is too low or too ludi- crous to be con(irlent with their counfels. * The independent views of America have been Hated and aflerted as the foundation of this addrefs. My Lords, no man wifhes for the due dependence of America on this country more than I do. To preferve it, and not confirm that ftate of independ- ence into which your meafures hitherto have driven them, is the object which we ought to unite in attaining. The Americans, con- tending for their rights againft the arbitrary exaclions, I love and admire ; it is the ftrug- gle of free and virtuous patriots : but con- tending for independency and total difcon- nection from England, as an Englilhman, I cannot wifh them fuccefs ; for, in a due con- flitutional dependency, including the anci- ent fupremacy of this country in regulating their commerce and navigation, confifts the mutual happinefs and profperity both of England and America. She derived aflift- ance OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. ance and ptoteftion from us ; and we reaped c x " L f v p * from her the mod important advantages : ' v She was, indeed, the fountain of our wealth, the nerve of our ftrength, the nurfery and bafis of our naval power. It is out duty, therefore, my Lords, if we with to fave our country, mofl ferioufly to endeavour the re- covery of thefe moll beneficial fubjefts : and in this perilous crifis, perhaps the pre- fent moment may be the only one in which we can hope for fuccefs : for in their nego- tiations with France, they have, or think they have, reafon to complain : though it be notorious that they have received from that power, important fupplies and afliftance of various kinds, yet it is certain they ex peeled it in a more deciiive and immediate degree. America is in ill humour with France, on fome points that have not entirely anfwered her expectations : let us wifely take advan- tage of every poffible moment of reconcili- ation. Befides, the natural difpofition of America herfelf Hill leans towards England ; to the old habits of conne6Hon and mutual intereft that united both countries. This -was the eftablifhed fentiment of all the Con- tinent; and dill, my Lords, in the great and principal par^ the found part of America, A a 3 this org . ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XLIV P ' t^ s W ^ e an ^ affectionate difpofition pre- L '~" J vails ; and there is a very confiderable part of America yet found the middle and the fouthern provinces ; fome parts may be fac- tious and blind to their true interefts ; but if we exprefs a wife and benevolent difpofi- tion to communicate with them thofe immut- able rights of nature, and thofe conftitu, tional liberties, to which they are equally en- titled with ourfelves; by a conduct fo juft and humane; we fhall confirm the favour- able, and conciliate the adverfe. I fay, my Lords, the rights and liberties to which they are equally entitled, with . ourfelves, but no more. I would participate to them every enjoyment and freedom which the coloniz- ing fubjefts of a free (late can poflefs, or wifh to poflefs ; and I do not fee why they (hould not enjoy every fundamental right , in their property, and every original fub- flantial liberty, which Devonfnire or Surry, or the county I liye in, or any other county in England, can claim ; referving always, as the facred right of the mother country, the due conlhtutional dependency of the Colo- nies. The inherent fupremacy of the flate in regulating and protecting the navigation and commerce of all her fubjecjs,is neceffary for OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. \. for the mutual benefit and prefervation of every part, to conftitute and preferve the profperous arrangement of the whole em- pire. ' The found parts of America, of which I have fpoken, muft be fenfible of thefe great truths, and of their real interefts. America is not in that (late of defperate and contemptible rebellion, which this country has been deluded to believe. It is not a wild and lawlefs banditti, who, having nothing to lofe, might hope to ihatch fomething from public convulfions; many of their leaders and great men have a great ftajce in this great conteft: the gentleman who conduces their armies, I am told, has an eftate of four or five thoufand pounds a year: and when I confider thefe things, I cannot but lament the inconfiderate violence of our penal als, our declarations of treafon and rebellion, with all the fatal effe6ls of attainder and confifcation. ' As to the difpofition of foreign powers, which is afferted to be pacific* and friendly, * In the King's Speech. A a 4 let ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES us J uc ^ e > m y Lords, rather by their actions and' the nature of things, than by interefted aflertions. The uniform afliftance, fupplied to America by France, fuggefts a different conclulion: The moft important interefts of France, in aggrandizing and en- riching herfelf with what (he mod wants, fupplies of every naval ,'ftore from America, muft infpire her with different fentiments. The extraordinary preparations of theHoufe of Bourbon, by land and by fea, from Dun- kirk to the Streights, equally ready and wil- ling to overwhelm thele defencelefs iflands, (hould roufe us to a fenfe of their real dif- pofition, and our own danger. Not five thoufand troops in England ! hardly three thoufand in Ireland! What can we oppofe to the combined force of our enemies? Scarcely twenty mips of the line fully or fufficiently manned, that any Admiral's re- putation would permit him to take the com- mand of*. The river of Lifbon in, the pof- feffion * In reply to the noble fpeaker's aflertion, relative to the num- ber of fhips, &c. the firft Lord of the Admiralty role in his place, and gave their Lordihips ofiicial alTurance, " that thirty five fhips of the line were then (Nov. i8th, 1777) completely ready: that feven more would be ready in a lew weeks ; in allforty-tnvo : and that an Admiral of the moft acknpwledged merit (he then faid) and OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. feflion of our enemies! The feas fwept by American privateers : Our channel trade torn to pieces by them! In this complicated crifis of danger, wcaknefs at home, and ca- lamity abroad, -terrified and mfulted by the neighbouring powers, unable to a6l in America, or afting only to be deftroyed ; where is the man with the forehead to pro- mife or hope for fucceft in fuch a iituation? or, from perfeyerance in the meafures that have driven us to it? Who has the forehead to do fo? Where is that man? I fliould be glad to fee his face. ' You cannot conciliate America by your prefent meafures you cannot fubdue her by your prefent, or by any meafures. What, then, can you do? You cannot con- quer, you cannot gain, but you can addrefs ; and of the highcft reputation, Admiral Keppel, was ready to take the command." In March, 1778, Admiral Keppd went to Portfmouth to take the command. He found " but fix Jl:pi ready," and thofe mill condition. See Defence of Admiral Kep- pel. " On the 3oth of June, twenty (hips of the line were ready, with which Admiral Kcppcl 'ailed. Thirty-two fhips of the line then lay in Breft-water, befides an incredible number of frigates." // a s Chriflian-men^o proteft againft fuch * r-- ' notions {landing near the throne, polluting; - >777. the ear of Majefty. " 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 fuch abominable principles are equally abhorrent to religion and humanity. What ! to attribute the fa- cred fanclion of God and nature to the maffacres of the Indian fcalping knife to the cannibal favage torturing, murdering, roafting, and eating ; literally, my Lords, eating the mangled viciims of his barbarous battles ! Such horrible notions (hock every precept of religion, divine or natural, and every generous feeling of humanity. And, my Lords, they mock every fentiment of honour ; they (hock me as a lover of ho- nourable war, and a detefter of murderous barbarity. * Thefe abominable principles, and this more abominable avowal of them, demand the moft decilive indignation. I call upon that Right Reverend Bench, thofe holy mi- nifters of the gofpel, and pious paftors of our church ; I conjure them to join in the holy work, and vindicate the religion of their OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. their God : I appeal to the wifdom and the law of this learned Bench, to defend and fupport the iuftice of their country : I call Upon the Bifliops, to interpofe the unfullied {ahftity of their lawn; upon the learned Judges, to interpofe the purity of their er- mine, to fave us from this pollution : I call upon the honour of your Lordfhips, to re- verence the dignity of your anceflors, and to maintain your own : I call upon the fpirit and humanity of my country, to vindicate the national character ; I invoke the genius of the conftitution. From the tapeftry that adorns thefe walls, the immortal anceflor of this noble Lord * frowns with indignation at the difgrace of his country. In vain he led your victorious fleets againfl the boafled Armada of Spain ; in vain he defended and eflablifhed the honour, the liberties, the re- ligion, the Prottjlaiit religion, of this coun- try, againfl the arbitrary cruelties of Popery and the Inquifition, if thefe more than po- pifh cruelties and inquifitorial practices are let loofe among us ; to turn forth into our * Lord Effingham. Lord Effingham Howard was Lord High Admiral of England againfl the Spaniih armada ; the deftru&ion of which is reprefented in the tapeftry VOL. II, B b fettlementSj 1777- ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES f%ttl/am^r1 XL IV. c ii A P. fettlements, among our ancient connexions,, friends, and relations, the mercilefs cannibal, thirfting for the blood of man. woman, and child! to fend forth the infidel -favage a^ainil whom ? a^ainft your Proteftant bre- O J thren; to lay wafte their country, to defolate their dwellings, and extirpate their race and name, with thefe horrible hell-hounds of fa- vage war!- hell-hounds,- 1 fay, of favage Wdr. Spain armed herfelf with blood-hounds to extirpate the wretched natives of Ameri- ca ; and we improve on the inhuman exam- ple even of Spanifh cruelty we turn loofe thefe favage hell-hounds againft our bre- thren and countrymen in America, of the fame language, laws, liberties, and religion; endeared to us by every tye that mould fanftify humanity. 'My Lords, this awful fubjecl, fo impor- tant to our honour, our conftitution, an'd our religion, demands the mod folemn and effeLiual enquiry. And I again call upon your Lordihips, and the united powers of the ftate, to examine it thoroughly and de- cifively, and to ftamp upon it an indelible itigma of the public abhorrence. And I again implore thofe holy prelates of our re- ligion, OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. ligion,to doaway thefe iniquites from among Us. Let them perform a 1 nitration : let them 1777.- purify this Houfe, and this country, from this fin. e My Lords, I arti old and weak, and at {jrefent unable to lay more; but my feelings and indignation were too ftrbng to have faid Icfs. I could not have flept this night in my bed, nor repofed my head on my pillow, without giving this vent to my eternal ab- horrence of fueh pre'pofterbus and enormous principles/ This fpeech had no effeft. The Addrefs Was agreed to. o On the 2d day of December 1777, the duke of Richmond moved for the returns of f the army and navy in Ireland and America. Upon this occafidn, Lord Chatham faid, ' I moft cheerfully teflify my approbation Onthe of the motions now made by the noble J" e ur Duke ; and am firmly perfuaded, that they have originated in the moft exalted motives; nor am I lefs p leafed with the very candid reception they have met with from your B b 2 Lordlhips, - ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES Lordfhips. I think they \vill draw forth a J777 . great mafs of ufeful information; but as to thofe refpecling the ftate of our military ftrength, there appears fdmething yet want- ing to render them complete. Nothing has been offered which may lead to inform us of the aciual flate of the garrifons of Gibraltar and Minorca, thofe two very important for- treffes, which have hitherto enabled us to maintain 'our fuperiority in the Mediterra- nean, and one of them (Gibraltar) fituated on the very continent of Spain, the beft proof of our naval power, and the only fo- lid check on that of the Houfe of Bourbon ; yet thofe two important fortreffes are left to chance, and the pacific difpofitions of France arid Spain, as the only protection; we hold them but by fufferance. I know them to be in a defencelefs flate. None of your Lordfnips are ignorant that we loll Mahon at the commencement of the lafl war. It was indeed a fatal difafter, as it expofed the trade and commerce of the Mediterranean to the ravages of our inveterate and then power- ful enemies. My Lords, fuch was the light the acquisition of that fortrefs was looked upon when it was firft taken, that the Duke of Marlborough, who was no great penman, but OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 373 but who employed a fecretary to draw up XLIV. P his difpatches, in anfwer to the letter from ^^ the able general and confummate ftatefman who conquered it (the father of my noble relation now in my eye, Earl Stanhope) trufted the difpatch to the fecretary, but ad- ded a poftfcript in his own hand-writing, where he recommended particularly to the victorious general, by no means to neglecl putting that fortrefs in the beft poflible ftate of defence, and to garrifon it with natives, and not foreigners. When I had the ho- nour, foon after it fell into the hands of the French, to be called into the councils of the late King, I never loft fight of that circum- ftance. Gibraltar flill remained in our hands; and the war in Germany, which Par- liament thought fit to engage in, and bind themfelves to, before I came into office ; though we were carrying on the moft exten- five operations in America; though the coaft of Africa,and the Weft India iflands, requir- ed a fuitable force to prote6l them; and though thefe kingdoms called for a propor- tionate army, not only to acl defenfively, but orFenfively on the coaft s of our enemies; notwithftanding all thole prefting fervices, jny Lords 3 having the counfel of that great B b 3 g74 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES XLIV P ' man conflantly in view, it determined me, ^~~ v ' that whatever demands, or how much fo- 1777, ever fuch troops might be wanting elfewhere, that Gibraltar mould never want a full and adequate defence. I never had, my Lords, lefs than eight battalions to defend it. I think a battalion was then about eight hun- dred flrong. So that, my Lords, I affirm, that Gibraltar was never trufted to a garrifon of lefs than fix thoufand men. My Lords, this force was, as it were, locked up in that fortrels during the whole of the late war; nor Could any appearance of the mod urgent neceffny induce me to weaken it. My Lords, I know that the very weak and de- fencelefs (late of thefe iflands does not feem to admit of any troops being (pared from the home defence ; but, my Lords, give me leave to fay, that whatever reluclance or difguft there may have appeared in feveral veteran and able Generals to the fervice, where the tomahawk and fcalping knife were to be the warlike inftruments employed as the engines of deftru&ion, I am convinced there are many, fome of whom I have in my eye [fuppofed to mean Lords Towni- hend and AmherfV] who would with ardour alacrity, accept of any command, where the OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 075 the true honour, intereft, and fafety of their country were concerned. My Lords, the moment is arrived when this fpirit f liquid be exerted. Gibraltar is garrifoncd by Han- overians. I am told, if any accident (hould happen to the prefent commanding officer there, that the care of the fortrefs, and the command 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 mud take it *for granted. I am well authorifed to fay, my Lords, that fuch is the prefent defencelefs flate of Gibraltar, that there is not a fecond jelief in cafe of an attack ; not men fufficient to man the works, while thofe fatigued with fervice and watching, go to refreih, eat, or fleep ; though Germany and the wilds of A- merica have been ranfacked for the purpofe. * My Lords, we fliould not want men in a goodcaufe; and nothing ought to be left untried to procure them. I remember, foon after the period I (hall take the liberty to remind your Lordmips of, after an unnatu- ral rebellion had been extinguifhed in the northern part of this ii^and, men not fighting for liberty, or the conltitution of their coun- B b 4 try, gy6 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xuv R tr y* Dut profeffedly to annihilate both, as ^^ advocates for popery, flavery. and arbitrary power ; not like our brethren in America, Whigs in principle, and heroes in cond'j6i : I remember, I fay, my Lords, that I employ- ed thefe -very rebels in the fervice and de- fence of their country. They were reclaim- ed by this means; they fought our battles; they- cheerfully bled in defence of thofe li- berties which they attempted to overthrow- but a few years before. What, then, does your Lordfnips imagine would be the effect of a fimilar conduct towards the W T higsand 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 fuperior to all your fo- reign enemies; they would bear your arms triumphant to every quarter of the globe. You have, I fear, loft the affection, the good will of this people, by employing mercenary Germans to butcher them; by fpiriting up the favages of America to fcalp them with the tomahawk. My Lords, I would have you confider, ihould this war be puihed to extremities, the pollible confequences. It is no farther from America to England than from OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. from England to America. If conquefl is c to be the ifTue, we mud trufl to that ifTue, . and fairly abide by it. , f The noble Earl at the head of the miralty, the lad night I had the honour to addrefs your Lordfhips, contradicted me when I afferted we had not above twenty fhips of the line fit to proceed to fea (on ac- tual fervice) at a fhort warning. I again re % peat the affertion, though I gave it up at that time, on account of the plaufibility and con- fidence with which the facl was afferted. I now fay, there are not above twenty (hips of the line, on v;hich any naval officer of eminence and (kill in his profeffion would flake his credit. The noble Earl in office faid, there were thirty-five fhips of the line fit for fea; but acknowledged, that there was a deficiency of near three thoufand of the complements neeeffary to proceed upon ac- tual fervice. How did the noble Earl propofe to fill up that deficiency? By fupernume- raries, by transfers, by recruits, &c. Will the noble Earl fay, that twenty-one thoufand is a full war complement for thirty -five fhips of the line? or will he undertake to affure J:his Houfe (even allowing for thofe odds and endsj ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES ends) that the ihips will be properly man- ned by the numbers" now actually on board ? But if every particular fact, Hated by the noble Earl, be precifely. as he would per- fuade your Lordfhips to believe; will his Lordftiip pretend to affirm, that thirty-five fhips of the line, or even forty-two (the highefl that his Lordihip ventured to go) would, in cafe of a rupture with the Houfe of Bourbon, be fufficient for all the purpofes of offence, defence and protection ? I am fure his Lordfhip will not A fleet in the Chan- nel ; one in the Weflern fea ; another in the Weft Indies ; and one in the Mediterranean ; befides convoys and cruizers, to protect our commerce and annoy our enemies. I fay, my Lords, that thirty-five fliips of the line would be neceffary for the prote6tion of our trade and fortreffes in the Mediterranean alone. We muft be equal to the combined force of France and Spain in that fea, or we need not fend a fingle {hip there. Ships muft be ftationed to command refpecl from the powers on the coaft of Barbary, and to pre- vent their piracies on our merchant vellels. We muft have a fuperior fleet in the Wef- tern fea likewife,aud we muft have one in the Channel OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Channel equal to the defence of our own ' coaft. , * ' Thefe were the ideas which prevailed, when I had the honour of allifting in the Britifh councils, and at all other preceding periods of naval hoitility fmce the Revolu- tion. My Lords, if Lord Anfon was capa-r ble of the high office the noble Earl now prefides in, the noble Earl is certainly mif- taken in faying, that thirty-five or fifty-five (hips of the line are equal to the feveral fer- vices now enumerated. That great naval commander gave in a lift, at one time, of eighty-four thoufandfeamen actually on the books. It is well worthy your Lordfhip's inquiry, to know what are the prefent num- ber. The motion made by the noble Duke leads to that inquiry, and meets my warm- eft approbation; but that we may have evfc- ry neceffary information, I recommend to my noble friend to amend his motion by extending it to Gibraltar and Mahon. I do not wifh to have any thing difclofed at pre- fent, which may tend to expofe the weak {late of thofe fortreffes; but I think it incum- benton yourLordfhips tolearntheir ftrength, jn point of numbers of men; and to know how ^ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xuv/ h w the ' feft ftands, relative to the pofTi- '^ ' bility of the command of Gibraltar devolv- 1777. } ing on a foreigner, in cafe of any accident happening to the officer who now commands there/ The motion was agreed to. othe Q n t h e fifth c ] a y o f December, in confe- capture or * jilSoync's quence of intelligence having arrived of the rmy * capture of General Burgoynes army, Lord Chatham went to the Houfe of Lords to make a motion upon that fubjecl, which he introduced with remarking, ' That the King's "fpeech at the opening of the feflion conveyed a general information of the mea- fures intended to be purfued ; and looked forward to the probable occurrences which might be fuppoied to happen. Kehad that fpeech now in his hand, and a deep fenfe of the public calamity in his heart. They would both co-operate to inforce and juOify the meafure he meant to propofe. He was forry to fay, the fpeech contained a very unfaithful pifture of the ftate of public af- fairs. This aflertion was unqueftionable ; not a noble Lord in Admirnftration would dare rife, and even fo much as controvert the OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. the facl:. The fpeech held out a fpec ; ous outlide was full of hopes; yet it was rnani- feft, that every thing within and without, foreign and domeilic, was full of danger, and calculated to infpire the moft melan- choly forebodings. His Lordfhip hoped, that this fudden call for their Lordfiiips" attention, would be imputed to its true mo- tive, a defire of obtaining their alfiftance in fuch a feafon of difficulty ^md danger; a feafon :n which, he would be bold to main- tain, a {ingle moment was not to be loft. It was cuftomary, he faid, for that Houfe to offer an addrefs of condolance to his Ma- jefly upon any public misfortune, as well as one of congratulation, on any public fuccefs. t If this was the ufage of Parliament, he never recollecled a period, at which, fuch an addrefs became more feafonable or necef- fary than at prefent. If what was acknow- ledged in the other Houfe was true, he was adonifhed, that fome public notice was not taken of the fad, the melancholy difafter. The report was, the fact was acknowledged by perfons in high authority, [Lords Ger- main and North,] that General Burgoyne and his army were furrounded, and obliged to furrender themfelves prifoners of war to the 382 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XLIV P ' l ^ e Provincials. He fhould take the account * ^ ' of this calamitous event, as now flated,and *777- argue upon it as a matter umverfally allowed to be truer He then lamented the fate of Mr. Burgoyne in the mod pathetic terms; and faid, that gentleman's character, the glory of the Britifh arms, and the deareft interefts of this undone, difgraced country had been all facrificed to the ignorance, te- merity, and incapacity of Minifters. Ap- pearances, he obferved, were indeed dread- ful; he was not fufficiently informed to de- cide on the extent of the numerous evils with which we were furrounded ; but they were clearly fufficient to give juft caufe of alarm to the mod confident or callous heart. He fpoke with great candour of General Burgoyne: lie 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 mould he condemn Minifters; they might have in- ftrufted him wifely ; he might have executed his inflruttions faithfully and judicioufly, and yet he might have mifcarried. There are many events which the greatefl human forefight- cannot provide againft; it was on that OP THfi EARL OF CHATHAM. that ground, therefore, he meant to frame his motion. The facl was acknowledged: 6 the General had mifcarried. It might not have been his fault; it might not be that of his employers or inflruclors. To know where the fault lay, he was defirous of hav- ing the orders given to General Burgoyne, laid before the Houfe. So much of the plan, at home, had, however, tranfpired, as jufti- fied him in affirming that the meafures were founded in weaknefs, barbarity and inhu- manity. Savages, had been employed to carry ruin and devaluation among our fub- jecls in America. The tomahawk and fcalp- ing-knife were put into the hands of the moft brutal and ferocious of the human fpe- cics. 'Was this honourable war? Was it the means which God and Nature [alluding to what had fallen from Lord Suffolk on the opening of the feffiorf] put into the hands of Englifhmen, to after t their rights over our colonies, and to procure their obedience, and conciliate their affection? His Lordfhip fpoke in the moft pointed terms* of the fyf- tern introduced within the laft fifteen years at St. James's: of -breaking all public and family connection, of extinguishing all pub- lic and private principle. A few men had got 384 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES XLIV.' g ot an ascendency, where no man mould ^? have a perfonal afcendency; by the execu- tive powers of the State being at their com- mand, they had been furnimed with the means of creating divifions. This brought pliable men. not capable men, into the highefl and moll refponfible fituations: and to fuch men was the government of this once glorious empire now entrufted. The fpirit of delufion had gone forth ; the Mi- niflers had irnpofed on the people; Parlia- ment had been induced to fanclify the im- pofition; falfe lights had been held out to the country gentlemen : they had been fe- duced into the fupport of a mofl definitive war, under the impreffion, that the Land Tax would be diminilhcd, by the means of an American revenue. The \ ifionary phan- tom, thus conjured up for the bafefl of all purpofes, that of deception, was now about to vaniih. He condemned the contents of the fpeech in the bitterefl terms of reproach. He faid it abounded with abfurdity and con- tradiction. In one part it recommended vigorous meafures, pointing to conqueft, or unconditional fubmiflion ; while in another, it pretended to fay, that peace was the real objeft, as foon as the deluded multitude fiiould OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. fiiould return to their allegiance. This, his Lordfhip contended, was the groffeft and mod infolent delufion. It was by this flrange mixture of firmnefs, and pretended candour, of cruelty and mercy, juftice and iniquity, that this infatuated nation had been all along milled. e His Lordfhip returned to the fituatiori of General Burgoyne, and paid him, indeed, very high compliments. He. faid, his abili- ties .were confefled; his perfonal bravery not furpatted ; his zeal 'in the fervice un- queftionable. He experienced no peftilence, nor fuffered any of the accidents which fometimes fuperfede the moft wife and fpi- rited exertions of human induftry. What then, fays his Lordfhip, is the great caufe of his misfortune? Want of wifdom in our Council, want of ability in our Minifters, His Lordihip laid the whole blame on Mi- nifters : it was their duty to fhield that ill- treated officer from the temporary obloquy lie muftfuffer under, till he had an oppor- tunity to jufdfy himfelf in perfon. His motion bore no perfonal relation to the con- duel: of that able, but abuled officer ; it was meant to be folely pointed to draw forth VOL. II. Cc thofe ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xuv P ' thofe inftruclions, which were the caufe of v ^- 1 his defeat and captivity. General Burgoyne was fubjecl to the events of war; lo 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 fup- port and becoming countenance in his power. ' His Lordfhip condemned the plan of operations, which he iniided was fent from hence; that of penetrating into the Colonies from Canada. It was a mod wild, uncom^ bined, and mad project ; it was full of dif- ficulty; and though fuccefs had declared in our favour, would have been a wanton wade of blood and treafure. He next animad- verted on the -mode of carrying on the war, which he faid was the mod bloody, barba- rous, and ferocious, recorded in the annals of mankind. He contrafled the fame and renown we gained the lad war with the feats and difgraces of the prefent ; then, he faid, \ve arrived at the highed pinnacle of glory ; now we had fullied and tarnifhed the arms of Britain for ever, by employing favages in OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. In bur fervice, by drawing them up in a Britifh line, and mixing the fcalping-knife and tomahawk with the {word and firelock. The horror he felt was fo great, that had it fallen to his lot to ferve in an army where fuch cruelty was permitted, he believed in his confcience he would fooner mutiny than content to ferve with fuch barbarians. Such a mode of warfare was, in his opinion, a contamination, a pollution of our national character, a fligma which all the water of the rivers Delaware and Hudfon would ne- ver wafli away ; it would rankle in the breaft. of America, and fink fo deep into it, that he was almoft certain they would never for- get nor forgive the horrid injury. ' s His Lordfhip obferved, that fimilar iri- flruftions relative to the Indians had been imputed to him. He difclaimed the leaft recolle6tion of having given any fuch in- ftrulions ; and in order to afcertain the matter, fo as to remove any ground of fu- ture altercation on the fabjeci. he called Up- on Adminiftration to produce the orders, if any fuch had been given* C c 2 1777- ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES ' We had, he faid, fwept every corner of Germany for men : \ve had fearched the darker! wilds of America for the fcalping- knife. But thofe bloody meafures being as weak as they were wicked, he recommended that inftant orders might be fent to call home the firft, and difband the other indeed, to withdraw our troops entirely; for peace, he was certain, would never be effected, as long as the German .bayonet and Indian fcalp- ing-knife were threatened to be buried in the bowels of our American brethren. Such an e^e&ation was abfurd, mad, and foolifh. The Colonies mufl confider us as friends, before they will ever confent to treat with us : a formal acknowledgment of our errors, and a renunciation of our unjuft, ill-founded, and oppreffive claims, rnuft pre- cede every the leaft attempt to conciliate. He declared himfelf an avowed enemy to American independency. He was a Whig ; and though he utterly from his heart ab- horred the fyflem of government endea voured to be carried into execution in Ame- rica, he as earneftly and zealoufly contended for a Whig government, and a Whig con- nection between both countries, founded in 389 A P. XLIII. OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. in a conflitutional dependence and fubor- c H A Pt dination. e His Lordfhip recurred to the melan- choly momentous (ituation of public affairs in general. He faid, America wa:. .^c, even by the accounts which Adminiftration in the Gazette had thought proper to impart. Ge- neral Wajhington proved himfelf three times an abler general than Sir William Hozue ; for, with a force much inferior in number, and infinitely inferior in'every other refpect, as aflerted from an authority not to be quettioned (Lord Germaine) he had been able to baffle every attempt of ours, and left us in fuch a fituation, that if not afhfted by our fleet, our troops in the neighbour- hood of Philadelphia muft probably {hare the fame unhappy fate with thofe under General Burgoyne. He condemned the mo- tives of the war in the moil pointed and energetic expreflions, and the conduct of it in ilill Wronger; and compared the fitua- tion of this country to that brought on his dominions by the Duke of Burgundy, fur- named the Bold. A Princeof the Houfe of Savoy had his property feized by him ; the injured Prince would notfubmit; war was C c 3 deter- ggO ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xLrVf' determined on ; and the object ftrongly re- **~^ / ~~ J fern bled the paltry pretence on which we had armed, and had carried fire, fword, and devallation, through every corner of America. The feizure was about a cargo of {kins; he would have them, but the Prince of Saumur would not fubmit. The Duke was conjured not to go to war; but heperfifted; " he was determined Readily to purfue the fame meafures:" he marched againft " the deluded multitue:" but at laft gave one inflance of his magnanimity, by imputing his misfortunes to his own obfti- nacy ; *< becaufe," faid he, " this was owing to my not fubmitting to be well advifed.'* The cafe of the Duke of Burgundy was ap- plicable to England. Minifters had under- taken a rafh enterprize, without wifdom to plan, or ability to execute. * What had occafioned fmce laft war, the rife in the value of Englifh eftates? America, which he now feared was for ever loft. She had been the great fupport of this country; ftie had produced millions ; (he afforded fol- diers and failors ; (he had given our manu- facturers employment, and enriched our jnerchants. The gentlemen of landed pro- perty OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. perty would probably, feel this ; for, when commerce fails, when new burdens are in- curred, when the means by which thofe bur- dens were lightened are no more, the land owner will feel the double prefiure of heavy taxes : he will find them doubled in the firft inftance, and his rents proportionably Yle- creafed. But what had we facrificed all thofe advantages for? In purfuit of a pep- per-corn ! And how did we treat America ? Petitions rejected complaints unanfwered dutiful reprefentatio.ns treated with con- tempt an attempt to eftablifh defpotifm on the ruins of conftitutional liberty meafures * to enforce taxation by the point of the fword. Minifters had infidioufly betrayed us into a war; and what were the fruits of it? Let the fad cataftrophe which had befallen Mr. Burgoyne (peak the fuccefs. ' In the courfe of his fpeech, he adverted to the language and Tory dotirine held in print, and in that houfe, by a moft reverend Prelate : and, he traded, he (hould yet fee the day, when thofe pernicious do6irines would be deemed libellous, and treated as fuch. They were the doclrines of Atterbury *md Sacheverel. As a Whig, he fhould never C c endure 392 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xLrV. ?; endure them ; and doubted not, the author '"7^7' or authors would fuffer that degree of cen- fure and punifhment they were juftly enti- tled to. 6 After recommending meafures of peace inftead of meafures of blood, and promif- ing to co-operate in every meafure that might promife to put a flop to the effufion of the one, and to promote the other, which might flill prove the means of once more uniting our Colonies to us, his Lordfhip moved, " That an humble Addrefs be pre- fented to his jViajefty, moft humbly befeech- ing his Majefly that he will be gracioufly plcafed to order the proper officers to lay before this Houfe copies of all orders and inflruftions to Lieutenant General Burgoyne relative to that part of his Majefty's forces Jn America under his command/ HIS Mod. T^ motion was negatived. After which on on the ^Pj e y f " Lord Chatham moved, ' That an humble *. Indi addrefs be prefented to his Majefly, moft humbly befeeching his Majefly that he would be gracioufly pleafed to order the proper officers to lay before this Houfe all orders and treaties relative to the employ- OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM, inent of Indians in conjun&ion with the Britifh troops againft the inhabitants of the Britifh Colonies in North America, with a copy of the inftru6lions given by General Burgoyne to Colonel St. Leger." Lord Gower having oppofed this motion with vehemence and acrimony, Lord Chat- ham rofe, ' and reproached the noble Lord with petulance and malignant mifreprelenta- tion . He denied that Indians had ever been employed by him ; they might have crept into the fervice, from the utility which the officers found in them when they were en- gaged in fome particular enterprifes in un- explored places; but they were -never em- ployed by the late King (GEORGE II.) who, he faid had too much regard for the military dignity of his people, and alib too much humanity, to agree to fuch a propofal, had it ever been made to him. And he called upon Lord Amherft to declare the truth.' Lord Amherft reluctantly owned, that In- dians had been employed on both fides ; the French employed them firft, he faid, and we followed the example, On ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES On the nth day of December 1777, a motion was made to adjourn to the 2Oth of 1777. > January 1 778. This k>ng adjournment was oppofed by Lord Chatham. He laid, Hisfprech t j t j s not ^\\h lefs ?rief than aftoniih- agamit the O rnent I hear the motion now made by the noble Earl, at a time when the affairs of this country preient, on every fide, prof- pecls full of awe, terror, and impending danger; when, I will be bold to fay, events of a mofl alarming tendency, little expeled or forefeen, will fhortly happen ; when a cloud, that may crufli this nation, and bury it in deilruition for ever, is ready to burlt and overwhelm us in ruin. At fo tremen- dous a feafon, it does not become your Lordfhips, the great hereditrary council of the nation, to neglect your duty; to retire to your country feats for fix weeks, in queft of joy and merriment, while the real flate of public affairs calls for grief, mourning, and lamentation, at leaft, for the fulleft ex- ertions of your wifdom. It is your duty, my Lords, as the grand hereditary council of the nation, to advife your Sovereign to be the protestors of your country- 1 to feel vour own weight and authority. As here,* OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. hereditary counfellors, as members of this houfe, you Rand between the crown and the people ; you are nearer the throne than the other branch of the legiflature, it is your duty to furround and protect, to counfel and fupplicate it; you hold the balance, your duty is to fee that the weights are pro- perly poifed, that the balance remains even, that neither may encroach on the other; and that the executive power may be pre- vented, by an unconftitutional exertion of even conftitutional authority, from bringing the nation to deftruclion. My Lords, I fear we are arrived at the yery brink of that ftate; and I am perfuaded, that nothing fhort of a fpirited interpofition on your part, in giving fpeedy and wholefome advice to your Sovereign, can prevent the people from feeling beyond remedy the full effects of that ruin which MinHters have brought upon us. Thefe are the calamitous circum- fiances, Miniflers have been the caufe of; and mall we, in Rich a Male of things, v. hen every moment teems with events productive of the moil fatal narratives (hall we truft, during an adjournment of fix to thofe men who have brought tho; iii- ijes upon us, when, perhaps, our uttei ; r- ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XL?V!' throw is plotting, nay, ripe for execution, ""^TT!""' without almoft a poflibility of prevention? Ten thoufand brave men have fallen vic- tims to ignorance and rafhnefs. The only army you have in America may, by this time, be no more. This very nation remains no longer fafe than its enemies think proper to permit. I do not augur ill. Events of a mod critical nature may take place before our next meeting. Will your Lordfhips, then, in fuch a (late of things, truft to the guidance of men, who, in every (ingle ftep of this cruel, this wicked war, from the very beginning, have proved themfelves weak, ignorant, and miftaken ? I will not fay, my Lords, nor do I mean any thing perfonal, or that they have brought preme- ditated ruin on this country. I will not fup- pofe that they forefaw what has fince hap- pened; but I do contend, my Lords, that their guilt (I will not fuppofe it guilt), but their want of wifdom, their incapacity, their temerity in depending on their own judg- ment, or their bafe compliances with the orders and dictates of others, perhaps caufed by the influence of one or two individuals, have rendered them totally unworthy of yourLordfhips' confidence, of the'confidence of OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. fcf Parliament, and of thofe whofe rights they are the conftiuuional guardians of, the people at large. A remonft ranee, my Lords, mould be carried to the throne. The King has been deluded by his Miniflers. They have been impofed upon by falfe informa- tion, or have, from motives bell known to themfelves, given apparent credit to what they were convinced in their hearts was un- true. The nation has been betrayed into the ruinous meafure of an American war, by the arts of impolition, by their own cre- dulity, through the means of falfe hopes, falfe pride, and promifed advantages, of the mod romantic and improbable nature. My Lords, I do not wifh to call your attention entirely to that point. I would fairly ap- peal to your ownfentiments, whether I can be juftly charged with arrogance or pre- fumption, if I faid, great and able as Mi- nifters think themfelves, that all the wifdom ' of the nation is confined to the narrow cir- cle of the petty cabinet. I might, I think, without prefumption, fay, that your Lord- mips, as one of the branches of the legifla- ture, may be as capable of advifing your Sovereign, in the moment of difficulty and danger, as any lefler council, compofed of a fewer g8 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES ^xuV' a f ewer number ; and who. being already "^7~' fo fatally trufted, have betrayed a want of of honefty, or a want of talents. Is it, my Lords, within the utmofl ftretch of the moft fanguine expectation, that the fame men who have plunged you into your prefent perilous and calamitous fituation, are the proper perfons to refcue you from it? No, my Lords, fuch an CxXpeftation would be prepofterous and abfurd. 1 fay, my Lords, you are now fpecially called upon to inter- pofe. It is your duty to forego every call of bufmefs and pleafure ; to give up your whole time to inquire into paft mifcondu6t; to provide remedies for the prefent ; to pre- vent future evils; to reft on your arms, if I may ufe the expreflion, to watch for the public fafety; to defend and fupport the throne ; and, if fate mould fo ordain it, to fall with becoming fortitude with the reft of your fellow-fubjecls in the general ruin. I fear this laft muft be the event of this mad, unjuft, and cruel war. It is your Lord- fhips duty to do every thing in your power that it (hall not ; but, if it muft be fo, I truft your Lordfhips and the nation will fall glorioufly. OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. 399 e My Lords, as the firfl and mofl imme- C X LIV. P " diate objecl of your enquiry, I would re- commend to you to confider the true (late of our home defence. We have heard much from a noble Lord in this Houfe, of the ftate of our navy. I cannot give an implicit be- lief to what I have heard on that important fubjecl:. I (till retain my former opinion relative to the number of line of battle mips; but as an enquiry into the real ftate of the navy is deftined to be the fubjecl; of a future confederation, I do not wifh to hear more about it, till that period arrives. I allow, in argument, that we have thirty-five mips of the line fit for aclual fervice. I doubt much whether fuch a force would give us a full command of the Channel. I am certain, if it did, every other part of our pofleflions muft lie naked and defencelefs, in every quarter of the globe. I fear our utter de- ftruclion is at hand. j^Here and in many other parts of his fpeech, his Lordfhip broadly hinted, that the Houfe of Bourbon was meditating fome important and decifive blow near home.] What, my Lords, is the ftate of our military defence? I would not wifh to expofe our prefent \\~^ in hiffh confidence with their Sovereign 1777. ^ would induce us to fuppofe, is this nation to be entirely dripped? And if it ihould, would every foldier now in Britain be fuffi- cient to give us an equality to the force in America ? 1 will maintain they would not* Where, then, will men be procured ? Re- cruits are not to be had in this country. Germany will give no more. I have read in the newfpapers of this day, and I have reafon to believe it to be true, that the head of the Germanic body has remonftrated againfl it, and has taken meafures accord- ingly to prevent it. Minifters have, I hear, applied to the Swifs Cantons. The idea is prepofterous ! The Swifs never permit their troops to go beyond fea. But, my Lords, if even men were to be procured in Germany, how will you march them to the water- fide? Have not our Minifters applied for the port of Embden, and has it not been refufed ? I fay, you will not be able to procure men even for your home-defence, if fome immediate ileps be not taken. I remember during the laft war, it was thought. advifeable to levy independent companies : they were, when completed, formed into batta- OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM; 4 O1 battalions, and proved of great fervice. I G Juv.* love the army, I know its ufe; but I mu.ft 17771 s heverthelefs own, that I Was a great friend to the rneafure of eilablifhing a national militia. I remember the Jail war, that there , were three camps formed of that corps, at once in this kingdom. I faw them myfelf; one at Winchefter, 'another in the Weft at Plymouth; and a third, if I recollect right, at Chatham. [Told he was right]. Whe- ther the militia is at prefent in fuch a (late as to anfwer the valuable purpofcs it did then, or is capable of being rendered ibj I will not pretend to fay; but I fee no rea^ ,fori, why in fuch a critical ft ate of affairs, the experiment (hould not be made ; and \vhy it may not be put again on the form- fer reipeftable footing. I remember, all the circumftances confidered, when appearan- ces were not nearly fo 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 ifland. e My Lords, I contend, that we have not, nor can procure, any force fufficient to fub- diie America. It is monftrousto think of ju VOL. II. D d There 402 AXECDOTES AND SPEECHES- C XIAV' Their are feveral noble Lords prefent, well ' * * acquainted with military affairs. I call up- ^ *'77 on any one of them to rife and pledge him- felf, that the military force now within the kingdom is adequate to ks defence, or that any poffihle force to be procured from Ger- many, Switzerland, or elfewhere, will be e- qual to the conqued of America. I am too perfectly perfuaded of their abilities and in- tegrity, to expect any fuch a durance from them. Oil ! but if America is not to be con- quered, (he is to be treated with. Concili- ation is at length thought of; terms are to be offered. Who are the perfons that are to* treat on the part of this afflitled and deluded country? The very men who have been the authors of our misfortunes: the very men who have endeavoured, by the moit pernici- ous policy, the higheft injuftice and oppref- fion, the mod cruel and devastating war, to enflave thofe people; they would conciliate to gain the confidence and affeclion of thofe, who have furvived the Indian tomahawk, and the German bayonet. Can your Lord- fhips entertain the mod diftant profpe6l of fuccefs from fuch a treaty, and fuch negoti- ators? No, my Lords, the Americans have virtue, and they mud deted the principles of OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. c - ' bf fuch men; they have understanding, and loo much wifdom, to trust to the cunning ' . i?77 and narrow politics which must caufe fuch overtures on the part of their mercilefs per- fecutors. My Lords, I maintain, that they would (hurt, with a mixture of prudence and deteftation, any proportion coming from that quarter: They would receive terms from fuch men, as fnares to allure and be- tray. They wOufd dread them as ropes,- meant to be put about their legs to entangle' and overthrow (hem in certain ruin. '* My Lords, fup.pofing that our domestic danger, if at all, is far difta'nt; that our ene- mies will leave us at liberty to profecute this war with the utmoft of our ability ; fuppofe your Lordfhips mould grant a fleet one day, an army another; all thc.fe, I do affirm, wilt avail nothing, unlefs you accompany it with advice. Ministers ha've been in error; ex- perience has proved it; and what is worfe, they continue in it. They told you in the beginning, that 15,00 men would traverfe America, without fcarcely the appearance of interruption; two campaigns have paffed fmce they gave us this affurance. Treble that number has been employed; and one D d 2 of 404 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xuv P ' of your armies, which compofed two-thirds V ~^ / ~"~ J of the force by which America was to be fubdued, has been totally deftroyed, and is now led captive through thofe provinces you call rebellious. Thofe men whom you called cowards, paltroons, runaways, and knaves, are become victorious over your veteran troops; and in the midft ofviclory,, and flufii of conqueft, have fet Mmiflers the example of'moderation and of magnanimity worthy imitation. ( My Lords, no time fhould be loft which may promife to improve this difpofition in America ; unlefs, by an obRinacy founded in madnefs, w r e wifh to flifle thofc embers of affeftion which, after all our favage treat- ment, do notfeem as yet to have been en- tirely extinguifhed. While on one fide we mufi lament the unhappy fate of that fpirit- ed officer, Mr, Burgoyne, and the gallant troops under his command, who were facri- ficed to the wanton temerity and ignorance of Mini ft ers, we are asilrongly impelled on the other to- admire and applaud the gene- rous, magnanimous conduct, the noble friendmip. brotherly affection and humanity of the viftors, who eondefcendingto impute the OF HIE EARL OF CHATHAM. 405 HAP, XLIV. the horrid orders of maffacre and devafta- ( H A p * lion to tlrcir true authors, fuppofed, that as Ibldiers and Engliffimen, thofe cruel exc'clles could not have originated with the General, nor were confonant to the brave and humane fpirit of a Britifli foldier, if not -compelled to it as an a 61 of duty. They traced the firft caiife of thofe diabolical orders to their Iburce; and, by that wife and generous in- terpretation. granted their profefTed deflroy- ers terms of capitulation, which they could be only entitled to as the makers of fair and honourable war. e My Lords, I fhould not have p relumed to trouble you, if the tremendous flate of this nation did not, in my opinion, make it neceliary. Such as I have this day defcribed it to be, I do maintain it is. The fame mea- fures are dill penifted in ; and Miriifters, becaufe your Lordfhips have been deluded, deceived and mifled,prefume, that whenever the .word comes, they will be enabled "to (helter themfelves behind Parliament. This, my Lords, cannot be the cafe: they have committed themfelves and their mea- fures to the fate of war, and they muft abide the ifTue. I tremble for this country; I am P d 3 almoft ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES *XLIV P ' alrnoft led to defpair, that we (hall ever be ^7^ able to extricate oprfelyes. Whetheror not, the day of retribution is at hand, when the vengeance of a much injured and afflicl? ed people will, 'I trull, fall heavily on the authors of their ruin; and I arn ftrongly in- clined to believe, that before the day to which the propofed adjournment {hall ar- rive, the noble Earl who moved it will have juft caufe to repent of his motion.' The motion of adjournment was agreed to, j . . . . , ' - Q CHAP. F THE EASL ..OF CHATHAM. C H A P. XLV, Lord Chatham's zeal and anxiety rcfpefiing Ame- rica Us lajt Speech in Parliament His la ft flan to prefirvc America His j'udden illnefs in the ILou/e oj Lords* N OTWITHSTANDINGa negative CHAT. X LV. had been put upon every pr-opoiiiion u-s^j and motion made byLord Chat/icim, concern- * 77 ing America, yet he refolved to pcr/evere cjiim'i in the fame line of conduct To his zeaj in this caufe he facrih'ced his life. He had not Strength of conflitution iliflicient to bear the exertions he made. He was now advanced in the Seventieth year of his age; had for many years {"uttered the fevereft pains of the gout ; but poIIeHing talents Superior to molt men, he felt with the {harpeft fenHbility, the progrefs of events, which paffed with indifierence before the eyes of other men, who had not his pene- tration : although debilitated by infirmity, and enervated by anguifh of body and mind, ftill he refufed to yield to the calls of his (liforder, or to mitigate his torture, by the J) d 4 indulgence ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES indulgence of a bed while his country was 8 bleeding at every pore, he felt for her, not for himfelf. Her honour and fplendour had been his glory and his pride her debafe- ment and adverfity were now the only fub- jecls of his concern and anxiety*. HU,hft On the 7th day of April 1778, the Duke Speech . ' ' inpariia- o f Richmond having moved to prefent an raent. Addreft to the King on the fubjecl: of the fbte of the nation, in which the ncccjjity of admitting the Independence of America was infinuated, Lord Chatham rofe to fpeak again on this fubjecl. He began by lamenting that his bodily infirmities had fo long, and efpecially at fo important a crifis. prevented his attendance on the duties of Parliament. He declared that he had made an effort alaioft beyond the powers of his conflitution to come down to the Houfe on this day (perhaps the lad time ' he (hould ever be able to enter its walls) to * At, or near, the beginning of this year, a very extraordinary negotiation was attempted to be opened with Lord Chatham, through the Channels of Sir James Wright and Dr. Addington ; the particulars of which the reader will find in the Appendix A A. exprefs OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. exprefs the indignation he felt at an idea which he underfiood was gone forth, of yield- ing up the fovereigmy of America ! * My Lords, continued he, I rejoice that the grave has not clofed upon me ; that I am (till alive to lift up my voice againft the difmernberment of this ancient and'moft noble monarchy ! Preffed down as I am by the hand of infirmity, I am little able to afiift my country in this mod perilous con- juncture; but, my Lords, while I have fenfe and memory, I will never confent to deprive the royal offspring of the Houfe of Brunf- wick, the heirs of the Princefs Sophia, of their faireit inheritance. Where is the man that will dare to aclvife fuch a meafure? My Lords, his Majefty fucceeded to an empire as great in extent as its reputation was un- fullied. Shall we tarnifh the luflre of this nation by an ignominious furrender of its rights and faireil polfcffions? Shall this great kingdom, that has furvived whole and en- tire the Danifh depredations, the Scottifh inroads, and the Norman conqueft ; that has flood the threatened invafion of the Spanifli armada, now fall proftrate before the Houfe pf Bourbon? Surely, my Lords, this nation is ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES CHAP, is no longer what it was! Shall a people, i V*M/ that feventeen years ago was the terror of the world, now (loop fo low as to tell its ancient inveterate enemy, take all we have, only give us peace? It is impoffible! ' I wage war with no man, or fet of men. I wifh for none of their employments; nor would I co-operate with men who ilill per- fift in unretra6ied error; or who, inftead of acling on a firm decifive line of conduct, halt between two opinions, where there is po middle path. In God's name, if it is ab<- folutely neeeflary, to declare either for peace or war, and the former cannot be preferved with honour, why is not the latter commenced without hefitation? lam not, I confefs, well informed of the refources of this kingdom ; but I truft it has ftill fuffici- ent to maintain its jufl rights, though I know them not. But, my Lords, any Itate is better than defpair. Let us at lead make one effort ; and if we mufl fall, let us fall Jike men!' When his Lordmip fat down, Lord Tem- ple faid to him, " You have forgot to men- uon what we have been talking about-^- Shall OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Shall I get up?" Lord Chatham replied, ' No, no; I will do it by and by." The converfation to which Lord Tem&le L Ld - c ^ ' ham's laft alluded, related to the principle features of pla " to prclenre a plan, which Lord Chatham had formed with a view to effect the recovery of Ame- rica. The firft part of the plan was, to re- Commend to his Majefty, to take Duke Ferdinand of Brunfwick immediately into his fervice. Lord Chatham 's defuin in this Cx meafure, was to make an imprellion, upon France on the Continent, in Older to pre- vent her fending that affiftance to the A- iperjcans, which he knew the French Court had promifed. Another part of the plari was, to recommend a Treaty of Union with the Americans that America mould make peace and war in concert with Great Bri- tain ; that {lie mould hoili the Britifh flag, and ufe the King's name in her Courts of Juftice. His ideas went no further in this converfation. But he conceived an opinion, that when America faw the impolfibility of deriving any aHiftance from France, the Congrefs would accept of thefe terms. The ANECDOTES AND SPEEC. C xivf* The rea der cannot but obferve, that this * ^r' plan is perfedlv confonant with his Lord- 177 . , fhip's former plan, which proved fo eminent- ly fucceisf ill in the late warof conquer- ing America by making a vigorous impref- fion upon France in Europe. He faw, that a war with France was' become unavoida- ble: therefore, with his ul'ual penetration and fpirit, he wifhed to commence that war immediately, upon his own principles. He detefled that procrailination, which gave the enemy power, not only of chufing the pe- riod of his conveniency, but the fiiil fcenes of operation*, Hitrndden The Duke of Richmond having fpoken iJlneTs in the Houfe m aniwer to fome parts of Lord Chatham's tfLyids, * The war which France carried on in America in conjunction, with the United Slates, was infinitely moreexpenfive and injurious to England, than a war againft Frai.ee in Europe, would have been. That this is not an aflertion founded in conjecture, may be feen by comparing the charges of the German war, during the years 1758, 17591 1760, and 1761, with the charges of the Ame- rican war, during the years 1778, 1779, J l*3> !7 Sl exclusive of the arrears at the conciufion of each war. See this point men- tioned in Chap. XVI. It was a faying of Prefident Henault t author of the Hiftory of France, that if there had been a fuccef- lion of fuch Minifters as the Duke of Sully, nothing could have withftood the power of France. In imitation of which, it may be faid, with equal truth, that if there had been a fucceflion of fuch Minifteis a^ Lord Chatham, nothing could have withftood the power of Great Britain. OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. fpeech, his Lordfhip attemped to rife, to C XLV. P " reply to his Grace; but after two or three unfuccefsful efforts to (land, he fainted and fell down on his feat. The Duke of Cum- berland, Lord Temple, Lord Stamford, and the other Lords near him, caught him in their arms. The Houfe was immediately cleared, and the windows were opened. Dr. Brockle/by being in the Houfe, his amft- ance was inftantly obtained. His Lordfhip was carried into an adjoining room, and ihe Houfe directly adjourned. This unhappy circumftance proved the melancholy prelude of his death. As foon as poiTible, his Lordlhip was conveyed to his favourite villa at Hayes: in Kent; where he was attended by his confidential phyfi- cian, Dr. Addmg-ton. . CHAP. 4 i 4 ANECDOTES ANP SPEECHES C' H A P. XLVL Lord Chatham's Death The cortduEl of Parlia- ment upon that event Some traits of his Cha~ fc xlvr P ' T ORD CHATHAM'S infirm and ema- Vl 'v--' -*-^ ciated ftate of body baffled every effort that fkill and medicine could afford. The exertions he had lately made, had exhaufled his frame and confthution. He languifhed La; chat, at Hayes until the eleventh day of May, ham's J - 1778, when he" died ; to the fificefe regret of every Bf itifh fiibjecl/ and of every perform who had a juft fenfe of human dignity and virtue. Such a 5 man appears but feldofti. - Lord Chathairi Was a man of fnch extraor- dinary talents, that he would have made a. fhining figure in any ftation. Had he con- tinued in the army^ there is no doubt he' would have died at the head of his corps, or have advanced to the head of his profeffion, He was not bom for fubordination. Intelligence O1? THE fcARL OF CHATHAM. Intelligence of his death being fent to London, Colonel Barre^ the moment he heard it. haflened to the Houfe of Commons, \vho were then fitting, and communicated the melancholy information. Although it was an event, that had, in fome meafure, been expected for feveral days, yet the Houfe were affecled with the deepett fenfibility. Even the adherents of the Court joined in the general forrow, which was apparent in every countenance. The old Members in- dulged a fond remembrance of the energy and melody of his voice ; his commanding eye, liis graceful a6lion. The new Members lamented, they fhould hear no more the pre- cepts of his experience, nor feel the powers of his eloquence. A deep grief prevailed. The public lofs was acknowledged on all fides. Every one bore tefHmony to the abi- lities and virtues of the deceafed. On this occafion all appearance of party was extin- guilhed. There was but one lenfe through out the Houfe. Colonel Barre moved, "That an hum- ble Addrefs be prefenied to his Majefty, re- quefting that his Majefly will be gracioufly pleafed to give directions that the remains of 416 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xL\T.' Pitt, Earl of Chatham, be interred public expence; and that a mo- nument be erefted in the collegiate church of St. Peter, Weftminlter, to the memory of that great and excellent Statefman, and an infcription exprefiive of the fentiments of the people on fo great and irreparable a lols ; and to aflure his Majedy that this Houfe would make good the expence attending the fame/' While this Motion was reading, Lord North came into the Houfe, and as fcon as he was informed of the bufmefs, he gave it his moft hearty concurrence ; lamenting that he had not come in fooner, that he might have had the honour to have made the motion himfelf. The motion was agreed to unanimoufly. On the thirteenth day of May Lord -North aflured the Houfe, that his Majefty had rea- dily agreed to theiraddrefs, refpettingthe in- terment of the Earl of Chatham, and to the ereclion of a monument to his memory. Lord John Cavendiflt faid, that he hoped OF THE EARL OP CHATHAM. ^ the public gratitude would not flop here. As that invaluable man, 'had, whilft in the nation's fervice. neglecled his own affairs, and though he had the greateft op- portunity of enriching himfelf, had never made any provifion for his family, he hoped an ample provifion would be made for the defendants of fo honerl and able a Minifler. Lord North coincided warmly in the noble Lord's wifh ; and Lord Nugent, Mr. Fox, Mr. Montagu, Mr. Byng, and feveral other Gentlemen, exprelfed the moft fin- cere affeclion for the deceafed Peer, and pronounced the highefl eulogiums on his virtue and talents; adding, that he had negleled his private interefts by direcl- ing his whole attention to national objects. Mr. T. Townfhend, now Lord Sydney, moved, That an humble addrefs be pre- fented to the King, expreffing the wifhes of the Houfe, that his Majefiy would confer fome fignal and lading mark of his royal favour on the family of the deceafed Earl, and that whatever bounty he mould think proper to beflow, the Houfe would chear- fully make good the fame. The motion was agreed to unanimoufly. VOL. II. Ee On 4i 8 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C xi.v*' On tne twenty-firfr, Lord North delivered ^^ to the Houfe the following mefTage from the King. GEORGE R. " His Majefly having confidered the Ad- drefs of this Houfe, that he will be gracioufly pleafed to confer fome fignal and lafling mark of his royal favour on the family of the late William Pitt, Earl of Chatham and being defirous to comply as fpee- dily as pollible with the requefl of his faithful Commons, has given directions for granting to the prefent Earl of Chatham, and to the heirs of the body of the late William Pitt, to whom the Earldom of Chatham may defcend, an annuity of four thoufand pounds per annum, payable out of the Civil Lift revenue; but his Majefty not having it in his power to extend the effecl of the faid grant beyond the term of his own life, recommends it to the Houfe to confider of a proper method of extending, fecuring and annexing the fame to the Earl- dom of Chatham in fuch a manner as (hall be mod effeclual for the benefit of the fa- mily of the faid William Pitt, Earl of Chat- ham GEORGE R. The OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. The mefTage was referred to the Commit- tee of Supply; it was unanimoufly agreed to ; upon. which a Bill was brought in, and it patted unanimoufly alfo. On the twenty fecond day of May, the Houfe agreed to prefent another Addrefs to the King, requeuing his Majefly to give orders, that twenty thoufand pounds be iflued, for the payment of the debts of the' late Right Hon. William Pitt, Earl of Chat" ham ; and to aflure his Majefly, that the Houfe would make good the fame. The requefl was complied with, and included in the current fervices of the year. The particulars of the public funeral, and other circumftances connected with it, as well as a number of papers concerning his Lordfhip's family, his character, the public monuments, c. the reader will find in the Appendix B B. There are fome traits of his character, which are proper to be felected from the general eulogies, which are alfo in the Ap- pendix. - 1 The 420 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES C XLV The Hiftory of the Seven Years War, is 1 *-* the Hiftory of his Adminiftration. The I 7 o ' of ISJd* dread f his name, and the fame of his fpi- ciixham. r i tj m f u f e d alarm and vigour into all the bel- ligerent powers. He contended, therefore with all their force. The American Congrefs of 1774, in their Addrefs to the People of Great Britain, faid, " This war was rendered glorious by the " abilities and integrity of a Minifter, to " whofe efforts the Britifh empire owes its ts fafety and its fame." The treaty of peace, which terminated that war, was a meafure, which equally in the period of its execution, as well as in the terms of its conftruction met with his fincere and unalterable dif- approbation His grand and his favou- rite plans for humbling the whole Houfe of Bourbon, for carrying the fplendour and opulence of Great Britain to the higheft de- gree of fame and wealth were thereby fruf- trated and annihilated. The glory of the Minifter, the honour of the Crown, the inte- reft of the country, were all facrificed to the revenge of a faction; which Teemed to ac- quire protection from the court, and increafe of numbers from the profligate, in propor- tion OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. tion to the increafe of the enormity, and perfidy of their crimes. His efforts to preferve America, even to latefl moments of his life, indifputably his high opinion of the importance of that great continent. In more than one converfation he faid, America would prove a ftaffto fupportthe aged arm of Britain the Oak upon which me might hereafter re- cline, (haded and protected by filial duty and affection. But his Majefty's confiden- tial advifers wanted to cut down this Oak, and to plant their favourite weed, uncondi- tional Jubmiff ion, in its place. In another age it may be admitted, that the Patriot was prophetic ; that the Parricide was apparent, He was the firfl Englifh Minifler who armed the hardy race of the North. It is immaterial, whether he adopted the recom- mendation from the plan given in Chapter XIV ; the meafure fliewed the liberal and comprehenfive judgment of the Statefman. The North has ever been propitious to con- queft. The world has feen it in the prefent day, in the inftance of Ruflia lately pour- Ing her legions againft the luxurious South like 422 ANECDOTES AND SPEECHES ^LVI. P ' like the Goths againft the Romans. He ^^ faw the advantage intuitively ; and there- fore brought this martial race of men from their cold abodes in the northern extremi- ties of the ifland, and directed their ardour and fiercenefs againft the enemies of his country. In theexercife of his duty as a Minifler, he was affiduous and inceffant. He gave no hours to private or domeflic interefts. He had no levees, nor evening engage- ments : he devoted himfelf to the Public ; and the nation poflefled him entirely. His virtue and integrity were proverbial. His whole fludy, his whole employment, his only attention, were the exaltation of his country, by the humiliation of her enemies* He grieved at the prohibition laid on the execution of his plans; and he died in an effort to preferve the dominion of a Conti- nent, he had in part acquired, and would have wholly fecured to the Britiih name for ver. END OF VOLUME II. 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