Ex Libris C. K. OGDEN ' THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPHICAL, LITERARY, AND POLITICAL ANECDOTES, OF SEVERAL OF THE MOST EMINENT PERSONS or THE PRESENT AGE. NEVER BEFORE PRINTED. WITH AN APPENDIX; CONSISTING OF ORIGINAL, EXPLANATORY, AND SCARCE PAPERS. HISTORIAM, OMNIUM SECRETORUM MEMOKlAM DICO. - IN THREE VOLUMES. VOLUME /. LONDON : PRINTED FOR T. N. LONGMAN, AND L. B. SEELEY, IN PATER-NOSTER-ROW. 1797. ... If,/ PREFACE. JL HE reputation and conduct of Great Men, who have filled high fituations in the State, muft always be interefting to the Nation. The Memoirs of fuch perfons can never be too frequently read and itudied. Nor can any injury happen, where Truth only is the guide of the Writer. Of thefe Anecdotes, the Editor begs leave to fay, that he is not confcious of having advanced a imgle untruth ; that very few of them have been printed before ; that it has been his wifh and care to avoid whatever is to be found in other books, except in two or three inftances, where he has been under the neccfsity of connecting the facts. There is no impropriety in the publica- tion ; bccaufe every part of it relates to public 1096751 it PREFACE. public men, and to public mcafures. It is not lefs juftice to the great characters themfelves, than it is to the Public, to communicate them. A faftidious fecrefy of meafures and motives* in matters of public concern, when the events and their confequences have totally ceafcd, Lord Bacon denominates a fupprefsion of truth, hiflory and character. The Appendix confifts of Papers ; fome of which are orignal, others are explana- tory of paflages in the Work, and all of them are now fo extremely fcarce, that it would be very difficult, if not impofsible, to procure them. London^ November 16, 1797. CONTENTS. CONTENTS. 3- The References in this Volume to the Appendix, the Reader will find, in the Contents of the Appendix. - Ir - - - - - CHAPTER I. THE DUKE OF GRAFTON. Apology. Public Intereft in Great Men. The Duke takes his Seat in Parliament. Joins the Minority. Lord Bute's Influence. The Duke made Secretary pf State. Refigns. Made Firft Lord "of the Treafury. His MefTage to Mr. Wilkes at Paris.. His Anfwer to Mr. Fitzherbeft 'concerning Mr. Wilkes. "His Menage to Mr. Wilkes by Mr. Fitzherbert and Mr. Garrick. Mr. Wilkes's Anfwer. Expulfion. Account of Junius. Account of his Writings. Of Mr. Bradfliaw. Death of Mr. Yorke. The Duke religns. Inconveniences of removing Lord Chan- cellors. The Duke made Privy Seal. DifmilTed. Valens's Letters. Difintereftednefs of the Duke. Page I. CHAPTER II. DUKE OF LEEDS. Character. Extraft from his Trail on the American War. Difapproves of that War. Made Secretary of State. His Reafons for refigning. Page 35. b CHAPTER CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. DUKE OF DORSET. Poems of die Sackville Family. Poems of Lord Nugenfc Papt*. CHAPTER IV. DUKE OF RUTLAND. i \ His Tra6b. Solicits Lord Lonfdale to bring Mr. Pitt into Parliament. Liberality of Lord Lonfdale. Obfervation. Page 43. CHAPTER V. HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. Account of two Political Tracts written by him. Lord Bute's Intention of taking away his, and other Patent Places. His Letter to his Conftituents. Page 45. M i ,.i. t, c y- i' .- * CHAPTER VI. .IKmfiirq;?..! .-\yn\tit\ >.?" -' S-R. JOHN BUTLER, LORD BISHOP OF HEREFORD. it His Addrefs to the Cocoa Tree. Confutation oil a Standing Army. Confiderations on Lord Butes's Administration. Account of Mr. Legge. Page 70. CHAPTER VII. THE RIGHT HONOURABLE CHARLES TOWNSHEND. His Defence of the Minority on the Queftion relating to General Warrants j affects Mr. Grenville. Defence of the Majority. Letters on Libels and Warrants. Reply to the Defence pf the Majority, by Sir William Meredith^ CONTENTS. vii Meredith. Other Trails written by Sir William Meredith. Mr. Townfhend's State of the Nation. Page*]*. CHAPTER VIII. MR. SERJEANT ADAIR. His Tract on the Difmiflion of General Conway ; and on the Cafe of the Duke of Portland. Pagt 83. CHAPTER IX. SIR GREY COOPER. His Two Trails. Made Secretary to the Treafury under Lord Rockingham. Secures a Penfion. Con- tinues Secretary to the Duke of Grafton, and to Lord North. Page 92. CHAPTER X. DR. THOMAS LEWIS o'BEIRNE, LORD BISHOP OF OSSORY. Chaplain to Lord Howe in America, during the Ame* rican War. His Defence of Lord Howe. His Poli- tical Papers, figned A Country Gentleman. Hiftory of Parliament. Confide rations on the Riots in the Year 1780. Defence of Admiral Lord Keppel. Made Secretary to Lord Fhzwilliam, and an Irilli Bifhop. Page 95. b 2 CHAPTER Tni CONTENTS. CHAPTER XI. SECRET AND TRUE HISTORY OF THE IRISH OCTENNIAL BILL. Irifli Ele&ors inftrucT; their Reprefentatives to bring in a Septennial Bill. Extraordinary Preamble to it, with a View to defeat it. Sent to England. Delayed. Remarks. Altered. Returned to Ireland. People of Dublin airemble in immenfe Numbers, and compel their Reprefentatives to pafs the Bill. Further Re- marks. Management of the Parliament of Ireland, and of the laft Parliament of Scotland. Anecdote of Lord William Gordon, Page 101, CHAPTER XII. SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. Affairs of Ireland. The firft Writer of Modern Debates from Memory and a real Attendance. His Manner of doing it. Motives for publifliing the Debates. Difcovery of Count Viri's Penfion. Title of his Traft on the Trade of Ireland. Lord Camden's Letter to him. Second Let- ter from Lord Camden. Lord Townmend's Letter to him. Second Letter from Lord Townfhend. Ex- Craft from his Trad concerning the Trade of Ireland. Page 120. CHAPTER CONTENTS. ir CHAPTER XIII. MEMOIRS OF GREAT BRITAIN, BY SIR JOHK DALRYMPLE. Hi Motives for this Publication. Indecent Arts made Ufe of to give it Confequence. Remarks. Detection of many Falfehoods contained in the Work. Ignorance of the Compiler. Ignorance of Barillon. Vindica- tion of Algernon Sydney. Strong Reafons for fuf- pecting Barillon's Veracity. Madame Sevigne's Ac- count of him. Obfervations. Vindication of Lord Ruflel. Obfervations. fage 182. CHAPTER XIV. LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, (Lord Chief Jujlice.) A Character fuppofed to be written by Sir John Willes. Anfwer to it, afcribed to Lord Mansfield. Several Particulars concerning Lord Mansfield. His Partiality in all Trials for Libels. The Declaratory Act of the Law of Libels made to correct his Doctrine. His Defign to take the Opinion of the twelve Judges upon it. His Defign in the Houfe of Lords on the fame Subject fruftrated by Lord Camden. Lord Mans- field makes a third Attack on the Rights of Juries, by reviving the Star-Chamber Mode of profecuting. Li- bels, by Attachment. Mr. Dunning's firft Splendour. Remarkable Cafe of a poor Woman, and fpirited Con- duct of Sir Fletcher Noiton upon it. Mr. Vaughan's 4 Attempt fcj CONTENT S. Attempt to Corrupt the Duke of Grafton, with the Duke's Affidavit and Papers, and Lord Mansfield's Opinion. Heads of a fmgular Trial concerning the Sale of Places. Letters on the fame Subject. Extra- ordinary Negociation in the Year 1778, concerning the Appointment of Lord Chief Juftice of the Court .of Common Pleas. Cafe at Surrey Affize. Lord Mansfield's Speech on the Duty of Four and an Half per Cent, on the Produce of Grenada. Lord Mans- field*s Conduct on the Queftion concerning Literary Property. His Ambition to be thought a Maecenas. Patronizes Sir J. Dalrymple and Mr. Lind. His Am- bition to be thought a Statefman. Speech againft Suf- pcnding Power. Declares Great Britain has pafled the Rubicon. Bon Mot on the Howes. Lord Sand- wich's Remark on the Howes. Lord Mansfield's two Jaft Charges to Juries in Trials for Libels on Mr. Pitt. Page 209. CHAPTER XV. THE LATE EARL CAMDEN, (Lord Chancellor.) His Opinion of the Rights of Juries, in Contradiction t6 Lord Mansfield's, firft (hewn in the Trial of Owen. Profecution of Dr. Shebbeare. Mr. Wilkes's Opinion of his Book. Lord Camden's Opinion on a deceafed King. Mr. Grenville's Obfervation upon it. Sheb- beare fentenced to the Pillory, but not put into it. Beardmore's Affidavit. Lord Mansfield's Obfervation n it. Dr. Shebbeare rewarded with a Penfion. Lord Camden attached to Lord Chatham. Appointed Chief Juftice. CONTENTS. xi 4 Juftice. Caufe of his being made a Peer. Oppofes the American Declaratory Bill. Mr. Grenville com- plains of his Speech. Lord Camden made Lord Chan- cellor. He defends the Sufpending Power. Lord Temple contrails his Declarations. Attacks Lord Temple fharply. Junius defends Lord Temple. Ob- fefvations on the Manner of pardoning M'Quirk. Curious Evidence of Mr. Bromfield. State of the Cafe of Peterfon v. Rolfe. Lord Camden's Remarks on the Difcretion of a Judge. Oppofes in the Ca- binet the expulfion of Mr. Wilkes. Turned out of his Poft as Lord Chancellor. Death of Mr. Yorke. Great Seal put into Commiffion. Decrees made by Lord Mansfield. Lord Apfiey made Chancellor. Sir Fletcher Norton's Bon Mot. Lord Camden retires. Supports the Libel Bill. Page 367. CHAPTER XVI. LATE EARL OF MARCHMONT. Origin of t;he prefent Manner of printing the Debates in Parliament. Page 403. BIOGRAPHICAL, AND POLITICAL ANECDOTES. CHAPTER I. THE DUKE OF GRAFTON. Apology. Public Intereft in Great Men. The Duke takes his Scat in Parliament. Joins the Minority. Lord Bute's Influence. The Duke made Secretary of State. Rejigns, Made Firjl Lord of the Treafury. His Meffage to Mr. Wilkes at Paris. His An- fiver to Mr. FitzJierbert concerning Mr. Wilkes. His Mejfiigc to Mr. Wilkes by Mr. Fitzherbert and Mr. Garrick. Mr. Wilkes*s Anjwer. Expuljion. Account t of Junius. Account of his Writings. Of Mr. Bradjhaw. Death of Mr. Yorke. The Duke refigns. Inconveniences of removing Lord Chancellors. The Duke made Privy Seal. Difmiffed. Valenss Letters. Dijin- tcrejlednefs of the Duke. IN an impartial hiftory of the times in which we live, if fuch a work fhould ever VOL. I. B be 2 THE DUKE OF GRAFTOtf. be written, the character and conduct of this noble Duke will appear not lefs re- fpectable than honourable, in the difcharge of his official -duties. Until fuch hiftory mall appear, a few traits of his Grace's character, which have not yet been ftated accurately to the pub- lic, it is prefumed will not be judged un- neceflary or improper. The nation has an intereft in the cha- racters of perfons of high rank. If the idea may be permitted, they might be called the property of the public. They are born to the great offices of the flate : and when- ever their talents are found adequate, and they are often fuperior, to the duties of thofe ftations, the prejudices of a King ought never to ftand'in the way of the pub- lic fervice. When his Grace had attained the age, prefcribed by law, for taking his feat in the hereditary council of the nation, he joined the body of great, popular, and dignified perfons, THE DUKE Ofr GRAFTON* pferfons, at that time called the minority, Which confifted of near two-thirds of the firft-rate families " of England ; who had aflbciated together, to oppofe the deftruo tive meafures df the King's favourite. No circumftande could be more honour- able to himfelf, than this early mark of his attachment to thofe principles, which had made the revolution neceflary, and the con- fequent introduction of the Hanoverian fuc- cefsion. He favv all thofe principles violated by the conduct of the Earl of Bute ; for it mufl not be forgot, that the Earl of Bute's fyllem of government, which has been con- tinued by other hands, and although it has fometimes been interrupted, yet it has al- ways revived, has been the true fource, and caufe, of all the diliurbanccs at home, and difgraces abroad, which have diftinguiflied the prefent reign. The diftincTion was never worth afcertaining, whether Lord Bute held tlie reins of government in his own hands, or in thofe of hjs delegates ; nor are the periods of his influence worth a figure in chronology, if they did not ferve to ihew B 2 the ^ THE DUKE OF GRAFTON*- the vanity of fome men, who thought them* felves minifters in thofe years, when he governed the clofet as abfolutely and en- tirely, as when he openly held the iirfl offices in the ilate ; and when he abdicated the government, he gave the key of his fecret influence, and the fyftem of his theory, to thofe perfons to whom he had given his confidence ; who may, indeed, be faid to have fometimes exercifed their power with more addrefs, but certainly not with lefs mifchief. In the adminiftration that was recom- mended by the Duke of Cumberland, in the year 1765, his Grace accepted the office of Secretary of State ; but finding towards the clofe of the fucceeding fefsion of par- liament, that the Earl of Chatham was be- come adverfe to that adminiflration, he re- figned his office. He had accepted the feal* under the hope and expectation of the mi- niftry's having the fupport of the Earl of Chatham. The difcovery of this mifcon- ception, determined his Grace to rcfign. He thought the minifby were not ftrong enough* THE DUKE OF GRAFTON. 5 enough, without Lord Chatham's afsiftance, to refift the influence of the Earl of Bute. In a mort time they experienced the fa6t : the Duke refigned in May, 1766", and at the end of July following they were all turned out. The next -adminiftration was arranged by Lord Chatham. In this arrangement his Grace had the poft of Firll Lord of the Trea- fury. The infirmities of the Earl of Chatham, which, in about four or frve months after the arrangements werb made, fell heavy upon him, gave to his Grace the entire exercife of the powers of government. The prominent feature of his administration is the cafe of Mr. Wilkes, concerning his elec- tion for the County of Middlefex. At the meeting of parliament in November, 1768, Mr. Wilkes was under execution of two judgments ; the manner of obtaining one was fufficiently bafe to have difgraced the Star Chamber the other was a party-trick Such are political profecutions ! The cir. B 3 cum- 6 THE DUKE OF GRAFTON. cumftances, and proceedings, concerning the Middlefex election, are well known : but thofe of the commencement, have either not been impartially ftated, or not properly attended to. While Mr. Wilkes was at Paris, the Duke of Grafton fent aflurances to him, by his brother, the late Lord Southampton, that Mr, Wilkes mould find him to be his real and fmcere friend ; ready to concur in doing him juftice ; but there were many particu- lars concerning him, which could not be communicated by letter, nor entrufted by the ppft, siJv .. V naiJciui'i'.i. Notwithftanding thefe circumftances, Mr, "Wilkes might have kept his feat in par- liament. The minifter did not wiih to deprive him of it. But Mr. Wilkes was < * determined to force himfelf upon parlia^ jnent, as he had done upon the Court of KingVBcnch. The outlawry was no bar to his feat in parliament ; the cafe of Sir Francis Goodwyn, in the year 1604, the late Lord Ravenfworth's brother, and feve- ral others, are full .to that point ; and his qtia- lifica- THE DtTKE OF GRAFTON. 9 lification being copyhold, was not affecled by the outlawry. In a public addrefs to the freeholders of the County of Middlefex, dated from the King's- Bench priion, on the third of November, 1768, he pledged hinifelf to prefent a petition to the Houfe of Commons, on the Hate of his cafe. This petition, the miniiter forefaw, would create great debates. It was opening a wide field which had been gone over many times. He earneflly wi/hed to avoid it. For this purpofe, he requested Mr. Fitzherbert to wait on Mr. Wilkes at the, King's-Bench, and to entreat Mr. Wilkes ; not to prefent his petition to the Houfe of Commons, for the confequence mull: be the lofs of his feat in parliament. Mr. Fitzherbert went to Mr. Wilkes on the 13th of November, 1768, accompanied by Mr. David Garrick. Mr. Fitzherbert aflured Mr. Wilkes, that if he would i>e quiet he might keep his feat ; but that if he pre- fented his intended petition, he would cer- tainly lofe it. He earneftly and ardently entreated Mr. Wilkes to lay alide his de- fign ; 10 THE DUKE OF GRAFTON. fign ; he defcribed to him the honour and advantage he would gain by fo doing. And he further declared, that he made thefe afTurances to Mr. Wilkes by the authority, and in the name of the minifter ; and that he had the minifter's pofitive commands to promife and engage, that if the petition was not prefented, no at- tempt mould be made in parliament againft Mr. Wilkes. And laftly, he hinted, that fome fmall fubmifsion to the King was all that woiild be expected to. accomplish his almoft immediate enlargement, -jo' Mr. Wilkes anfwered, that he mould be ever ready to make any fubmifsion tq the King, although he was not confcious of any '-intention to offend him; but that as to the petition (which contained no- thing more than a ihort ft ate of his cafe, from the time of his caption by the ge- neral warrant to his election for Middlefex) he thought it his duty to prefent it, and that on no terms whatever would he give it up. Next THE DUKE OF GRAFTON. 11 4 Next day the petition was prefented by Sir Jofeph Mawbey. The matter was thus forced upon parliament; and the firftitep was Mr. Wilkes's expulfion ; a meafure which the minifter had ibrefcen. The fubfe- quent meafures were fortuitous, and arofe out of the firft. The nation is already fo fully acquainted with them all, that any further mention of them here would be unneceffary ; except only to obferve, that they- can never be drawn into precedents, Mr. -Grenville's act for the trial of contro- verted elections having taken the power of determination, in all contended points, out of the Houfe of Commons, and placed it in a Committee who decide upon oath. The character of the Duke pf Grafton's administration fuffered much popular odium by thefe meafures. And he was feverely attacked from many quarters; particularly by a writer in the public prints, who figned his papers " Junius." The celebrity of them makes it not improper to take fome notice of them here. In the firft paper that was publiihed, which was on the 21ft of January, 1769, 'the writer,, after difcant- 12 THE DUKE OF GRAFTON. difcanting on the ilate of the country and miniltry, draws a character of the Marquis of Gran by, at that time com- mander in chief of the army, in terms of the keeneil fatire. This part of the paper fo highly provoked Sir William Draper, that he wrote an anfvver to it, and figncd it with his own name. This anfwer pro- duced a reply from " Junius ;" and the reply produced a rejoinder from Sir Wil- liam Draper, who always figned his name to his papers. This newfpaper controvcrfy, which lafted fome time, attached the pub- lic attention to the fignature of " Junius," who had greatly the advantage of his anta- gonift in language and argument. If this circumftance had not happened, it is more than probable, that thefe fugitive papers would have pafled into oblivion, like many others of confiderable merit, before and iince. The charge which " Junius" made againft the .Duke of Grafton, concerning the oaks in Whittlebury forefl, was totally unfounded. . John Pitt, Efq. at that time furveyor- THE DUKE Of GRAFTON. 15 Furvcyor-general of the King's woods, af- furcd the editor, that Junius's ftatement of that matter was erroneous throughout, that no blame whatever could attach to the Duke in that affair. The timber in Whittlebury fore ft is un- doubtedly vetted in the crown, and the right of felling it has repeatedly been exercifed. The right to the under- wood is as clearly veiled in the Duke of Grafton, as that to the herbage at the proper periods in the vicinage. In the attempt alluded to by Junius, to cut down the timber, the deputy furveyor was ftopped by an order from the treafury ; becaufe the felling of the timber, at that time, would have def- troyed all the under-wood, which would of courfe been a great injury to private property ; and would likewife have de- prived the neighbourhood of the right of commonage for nine or ten years. The timber was no longer with-held from the public fervice than was abfolutely neceflary. It had been preferved for that purpofe, with an attention and an integrity, perhaps 4 not 4f THE DUKE 0T GRAFTON. not equalled many other royal forefts. Atthe proper period (about nine or ten years after) the timber was felled, as each coppice came in the courfe of cutting, according to the rule and the practice all over England. $ '** " The furveyor-generaFs report, made in the year 1776, of the ftate of the inclo- fures an his Majefty's forefts, is a confir- mation of the care taken by the Duke of the timber for the public fervice. " That there have not been any inclo- fures, purpofely made for the growth and prefervation of timber for the ufe of his Majefty's navy, in any other of the King's forefts, but in thofe of Whittlebury, Salcey, Rockingham, and Whichwood ; there are a great many anciently inclofed coppices, wherein the King's trees are well pre- fer ved. " That many thoufand acres of land in his Majefty's forefts may be inclofed, and applied to railing pines. There are alfo, and will ever be, within the inclofures now f ' . * 2 in THE DUKE OF GRAFTON. 15 in being, and hereafter to be made therein,- fome parcels of ground, of a nature lefs fit for the growth of oaks, in which the faid furveyor-general of his Majefty's woods and forefls purpofes to plant the fort of pines fit for marts, yards, and bowfprits ; and nurferies are actually preparing for that pur- pofe ; and, from his obfervations and ex- periments, and the concurring opinion of very good judges, he thinks it highly pro- bable, that making inclofures purely for the lail mentioned ufe will be attended with fuccefs, and prove very advantageous to this kingdom. " J. PITT, furveyor-general of his " Majefty's woods and forefts." The bold afTertions and keen invectives with which the papers of " Junius" abounded throughout, contributed greatly to their po- pularity and fame. They were occafionally attributed to Lord Sackvilie, to the Right Hon. W.G. Hamilton, to the Right Hon. Ed- mund Burke, to John Dunning, Efq. and many others, but without the leail ground or foundation in truth. It is to be.ob- ferved 16 THE DUKE OF GRAFTOK. ferved of them, that all parties are attacked in them except the Grcnvilles. During their original publication, the writer lived in Norfolk-ftreet, in the Strand, not in affluent circumilances, but he did not write for pe- cuniary aid. He was a native of Ireland, of an honourable family, and of Trinity College, Dublin. He was at one time in- tended for the army, and at another for the bar ; but private circumftances prevented either .taking place. Perhaps no man pof- fcfTed a ftronger memory. He frequent- ly attended parliament, and the courts in Weftminfter-hall. And fometimes he com- mitted to paper the fpeeches he had heard. There are fome of Lord Chatham's fpeeches on the American war, printed in the " Anecdotes of Lord Chatham's Life," which were taken by him ; and they are allowed, by all thofe perfons who heard them, to be accurate, even to minutenefs. They want nothing but the dignified action, and eye of the noble Earl, to give them their original force and energy. When the public difcontents concerning the Middle- lex election, and other meafures had abated,, he THE DUKE OF GRASTOSr; 11 he ceafed to write ; which was aboiit the clofe of the year 1771. However, towards the end of the year 1779j he refumed his pen; and wrote a number of political eifays, or letters, which he entitled, " The Whig." They were printed in one of the public papers of that time. There were eighteen of them; But there being no Sir William Draper to call them into no- tice, they died, with the other papers of the day. In compofition, they are not inferior to his former papers. The reader will find fome extracts from them, in the Appendix, article A. In the year 1791, he went to Madras with Lord Macartney, to whom he had been known in Ireland ; and there he died. \ The circumftance of appointing Lord North Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the room of Mr. Townfhend, who died in 17<>7* was confidered, by many people, to be a proof of the continued influence of the Earl of Bute. But Mr* Bradfhaw* who was fecretary to the Duke of Grafton at that time, allured Mr. W. G Hamilton, upon VOL. I. C his 18 THE DUKE OF GRAFTONW his honour, that Lord Bute had no con- cern whatever in that appointment, nor in any other iheafure of adminiftration ; nor did he believe, he faid, that Lord Bute had interfered, in any manner, with any adminiftration, fmce the month of Sep- tember, 1163; when, as Mr. Bradfhaw faid, he fent a letter to. the King, ftating a refolution which, for the King's fervice, as well as for his own eafe, he had thought himfelf obliged to take ; which was, to quit London ; and to remove, if pofsible, all occasions of jealoufy, to remain at his houfe in Bedfordfhire during the whole of the enfuing winter. This letter, Mr. Brad- ihaw faid, the King conflrued into a de- fertion of him. The fact, as far as it re- lates to Mr. Bradmaw, is unquestionable ; the .editor was allured of it by Mr. Ha- milton, who made no fecret of it. But whether Mr. Bradfhaw was ftrictly correct, is not a matter quite fo clear; becaufe, fome time afterwards, when Lord Bute wanted a military promotion for his fon,, the miniftry refufcd to oblige him ; upon which he wrote to a greater perfon for it. it And the fact of his meeting the Duke of Bedford and Mr. Grenville at Lord Eglintoun's, and of his negociating during the winter following, with Lord Temple, through the medium of Carlton-houfe, are circumftances which ihew, that Mr. Brad- ihaw's opinion of Lord Bute's pretended dereliction was not well founded. H6w- ever, Air. Hamilton thought that he be- lieved w r hat he faid ; and if fo, he was the dupe of his own credulity. The Duke of Grafton was not fortunate in committing to him his entire confidence. Few Minif- ters have heen fo happy in their fecre^ tarics as Mr. Grenville was. Mr. Whate-^ ley and Mr. Lloyd were faithful to him. Lord Chatham ufed to fay, " guard me " from my friends; I'll guard myfelf from ** my enemies." j-j f --jiii ^rj^b-jflO- The Duke of Grafton was more 'unfor- tunate in having Mr. York'e 1 for his friend, and preferring his opinion to that of Lord Camden. Upon the death of Mr. Yorke, which happened in the month of January, 1770, the Duke of Grafton refigned his C 2 poft 20 pofl of Firfl Lord of the Treafury ; being, by that gentleman's death, difappointed in having the Lord Chancellor he wanted. The difmifsion of a Lord Chancellor, be- caufe he differs in opinion with the Mi- nifter, and the appointment of another, be- caufe he is flexible, may be conftitutional ; bjut cannot be, at all times, prudent ; efpe- cially when done on a fudden. There feems to be an error in making the higheft law officer a political, minifter ; for fetting afide the confideration of human pafsions, weakneffes, partialities, and the long train of' human frailties, of which every man has his ihare, either from his connections, or his education, not one of thefe alloys fhould, if pofsible, be permitted to difcolour the purity of a court of equity : how often does it happen, that after the fuitors in Chancery have, at a vaft expence, brought their caufe to a final hearing, the Lord Chancellor takes time to confider the mat- ter, before he makes his decree ; and that, while caufes are in this manner lying be- fore him, a change in the miniftry may take .place, including the Lord Chancellor (as THE DUKE OF GRAFTON, 21 /as in 1166) or he alone may be re- moved (as in, this cafe of Lord Camden) all fuch caufcs muft be reheard, the counfcl muft have refrefhing fees, frefh ftamps are wanted, much money is ex- pended, and much time is loft. This ought to be remedied. The Lord Chan- cellor might continue until all the caufes before him are finifhed ; or he might, like the Judges, be placed out of the reach of Minifters. Upon the removal of Lord Suffolk to the office of Secretary of State, in the month of June, 1771, the Duke of Grafton fucceeded his Lordfhip as Lord Privy Seal ; but was not of the cabinet. In this fitua- tion hjs Grace continued until the month of November, 1775 ; at which time Par- liament being met, and the affairs of i America become extremely critical, his Grace requefted information on this in- terefting fubjecT:, before he decided to fupport, or oppofe, the meafures of his colleagues in office. He therefore made a motion in Parliament for the produo C 3 tion 22 THE DUKE OF GRAFTON*. tion of the papers he wanted. The mo- tion was negatived, and his Grace was next day difmiffed from his office. The fudden and harfh manner of this difmifsion, ihews that his Grace had not been admitted to the fecrets of the in- terior cabinet ; and confequently was not, as Mr. Wilkes fuppofed, one of the tools of Lord Bute. At this time there was a feries of effays, or letters, publifhing in the London Evening Poll, diilinguinied by the fignature of " Valens," written by Mr. -William Burke [coufm to Mr. Edmund Burke, and fecre- tary to General Conway, when that gentle- man was Secretary of State] and by Mr. Richard Burke [brother to Mr. Edmund Burke] and they were occafionally af- fifted by Mr. Edmund Burke himfelf. Thefe letters did not obtain the atten- tion they deferved : perhaps they wanted a Sir William Draper alfo : but they throw much light on the period in which they were written. The difmifsion of the Duke ' ' of THE DUKE OF GRAFTON. of Grafton, is thus ftated in the paper publiihed on the eighteenth of November, 1775. " A perfon of the higheft rank in the ce kingdom, in an office of the higheft " rank in the State, very lately Firft Mi- " nifter of State, in great perfonal favour " with his Majefty, clofely connected by " the ftrongeft ties of affinity, inclination " and intereft, with a leading part of the " adminiftration, and a conftant and pow- " erful fupporter of their meafures. This " man, finding the Britifh Empire in " America in danger of being loft, at " laft prefumes to defire fome little infor- mation, in this perilous ftate of our af- fairs. He is immediately difmifled from his employment, with every pofsible " mark of difpleafure. The favourers of " administration are now acquainted with " the terms upon which they are to fup- " port Government. A great deal of the " fupport, not only of well wiiheris with- *' in doors, but even of the members of " both houfes of Parliament, muft be im- C 4 "plicit. 24 THE DUKE OF GRAFTON. " plicit. The advantage of having " of great rank, and intereft in their " Country, in high Rations, is this ; We " fuppofe they have a fpirit proportioned '* to their Ration ; that they look for fpme- " thing elfe in office, befides the falary ; " that they are intitled to information '* and explanation ; that they at leaft are *f deppfitaries of the real fecret. On this '.' prefumptipn, the fupport of fuch great perfons becomes a pledge tp the pub- lic, that the tfeps taken by the di^ reeling part of mjniftjy, are taken upon proper ground. When the people at large have reafon to believe this to be the cafe, they are apt patiently to ac- quiefce in the ruling wifdom. Their* *i confidence fubfifls unihakep, even among * difficulties which embarrafs their affairs, " and doubts that perplex their under* ^ ftanding. It hag been now, for the firft " time, thought proper to remove the ^ veij that was drawn between the peo- t* pie and the government. We are now ** informed, that the fupport of the greateft " xnep in thp kingdom, and in the higheft '* offices, THE DUKE OF GRAFTON. 25 ** offices, is to be as blind and uninformed " as that of a Cuftom-houfe officer, who, *' by order of tlie Treafury, votes at an 44 election for a Nabob. [The law pro- ** hibiting revenue officers voting at clec- * ? tions, was made after this time.] Ig? '* norant credulity, pafsive fubmifsion, " blind obedience, are virtues which po- " liticians have hitherto required, and " fometimes found in the mob. Until '* our happy days, thefe laudable di- '** petitions have not been thought qua- " lifications for the higheft offices in " a great Empire. At prefent jt is not ** enough to impofe upon the people. '* The purpofe for which one half of *t the miniftry fubfifls, is to impofe upon *' the other half. By this happy inven " tion it is, that a miniftry, compofed of 44 jarring principles and adverfe opinions, *' is to be rendered unanimous/' Notwitjiftanding the feveral offices the Dpke had filled, and the extenfive pa- tronage he had pofleflcd, yet at no time did he fecure for himfelf, nor for any of his 2C THE DUKE OF GRAFTON. his children, although he has a numerous family, any place, penfion, or reverfion, whatever. It is impofsible to prefent a more ho- nourable trait of this noble Duke's cha- racter, of his virtues as a patriot, or of his talents as a ftatefman, than an extract from his Grace's fpeech, in the Houfe of Lords, on the 30th of May> 1797, on the motion of the Duke of Bedford to remove the Minifters, as it frauds printed in the Parliamentary Regiilcr for J. Debrett. His Grace, after ftating the high and refpectable fitqation in which Great Britain Hood, at the time of the commencement of the war with France, demands, " What is now your Situation ? Great Britain is ftript of, or cleferted by, every ally on the Continent that could bring any effential aid: the lafl of whom, and an ally whofe exertions might fairly be boafted of, if report fays true, and this Houfe has no other information, is juft not 3 our THE DUKE OF GRAFTON; 27 our enemy. The Bank of England, owing to the moll unaccountable and fatal inat~ tention, or rather neglect, on the part of the Lords of the Treafury, of the ftate of the circulating fpecie of the kingdom, when many fchemes might hate been pro- pofed, probably to prevent, certainly to lefien, the alarming confequences which have followed This Bank of England has received a wound, even in fpite of the repeated reprefentations of the Directors on the mifchief which muft arife from the bullion exported, and the excefsivc Amount of the fums advanced to Govern- ment, together with a blot, which all the waters of Lethe will never be able to ex- punge, I mean by the effect of the Order of Council. The hand of power has ap- peared flretched out againil the Bank, where a fagacious flatefman, if driven to the meafure, would, at lean% have fo con? ducted it as to have anfwered the fame end, and have fpared this indelible flam on the character and nature of the Bank. . '. , ,'ii ., '/;! " Saint 28 THE DUKE OF GRAFTON, " Saint Domingo alone, without many conflicts, and no battle fought, befides the millions there laviihcd in the moft wild and unjiiftifiable of all attempts, has (what is flill more lamentable) proved to be a grave for the greater part of the troops fent thither, fo that the remnant is but the fkeleton of our once-noble army. The numbers, both of officers and men, who have fuccefsively fallen victims to dire dif- eafes in that horrid climate, exceed what would be credited. Their relatives have to thank the wild and weak project of a ram and incompetent Minifter, who may pofsibly ftill with infenfihility anfwer, that fuch is the chance of war. I do not dare acquaint your Lordfhips to what a fmall number is reduced the regular in- fantry in England. The Miniiter ought to be aware of it ; and I know what it is ; and I now mention it as a warning to the noble Lord in office, that he, with his col? leagues, may not be weakening this cflen* tial defence ftilj farther by employing them on more fatal projects ; when it is, and ought to be, the principal of all meafures DUKE OF GRAFTON. 29 to give fectirity at home. The melan- choly ftate of the navy affords a frem proof of the incapacity and want of faga- city of Adminiftration who was there, except themfelves, who did not fee the propriety and necefsity of afs^uHng, in fome fuitable way, the feamen, when, at the mo- ment of the high price of prdvifions, con- fiderable indulgencies were direcled for the foldiers? But it will pofsibly be afked, if thefe matters were fo palpable, how hap- pened it that thofe, who were of that opi- nion, were fo totally filent on the fubjecl ? for the plaineft of all reafons : becaufe the Lords in office, and their followers, would have been happy to have held fuch perfons out as the fomenters of mutiny and fedition. " As to Ireland : That kingdom muft be confidered to be in fo critical a ftate, that unlefs a reform, a temperate reform in Parliament, and a full emancipation of the Catholics, together with a total change of the men who now conduct the affairs in that country, take place, and directly, if it so it be not now too late, we fhall foon fe<* that Ireland added to the lift of Repub- lics, which the fatal meafures of our Mi- nifters have been the caufe of creeling i % and eftablifhing all over Europe : but with this difference, that if a Revolution takes place in Ireland, it will inevitably pro- duce a Revolution in Great Britain. Of no pofition in politics was I ever fo af- fured of as of this, I proteft : an axiom from which no arguments will ever be & able to withdraw my reafon. To prevent thefe greateft of evils extending hither, it will be wife to oppofe the only effective re- medy, which I earneflly recommend to the cool and difpafsionate confideration of all your Lordmips : I mean a temperate Parlia- mentary Reform in this country, without which the Conftitution will flip from under us; and that great and fagacious ftatefman, who delivered in another place that inimitable argument in favour of Par- liamentary Reform, might have added to the names of Montcfquleu and Machiavelj that ftill more revered for wifdom, the name of our Lord Bacon, than whom there was THE DUKE OP GRAFTON. SI .~f e ' was not a more flrenuous advocate for the frequent revifal and corrections of all national inftitutions, maintaining always, that every human fabric or eftablifhment was < fubjecl; to that decay and corrup- tion, which lapfe of time would neceffa- rily- produce. *' Thus have thefe Minifiers, who have hitherto been controlled in nothing, brought the nation from the upper ftep of its greatnefs down, by rapid degrees, to the lowefr, where we now ftand, and are leaking up with doubts,- whether we ftill poflefs virtue, public and private, fufficient to carry us up the fteep and rugged hill we have in view, and which muft be climbed. " Is there any one, to wnom it need be faid, that this c % ,hain of dif afters can no more have fallen out by chance, and the common fate of war, than the beautiful globe we walk on could have been pro- duced under an Epicurean fyflem, by a fortuitous concurrence of an- infinity of atoms ? 32 THE DUXE OF GRAFTON'. atoms? No, my Lords; let us not con* demn chance for our fitiiation, nor fof our fufferings : the Minifters are before you who brought you hither. Your Lord* ihips have tb this day given them your fupport : many of you, I doubt not, from laudable motives ; and, if you could di- veft yourfelves of falfe notions of deli- cacy, would, I am perfuaded, profefs that you had been mifled, and would haften the more to do all the good of which you are fo capable. The confidence that has hitherto been given, from whatever motives proceeding, has proved fatal Wif* dom is at no time more confpicuous, nor more amiable, than in the acknowledgment of error. But all fupport given to the fame Ministers, from this moment, the public has a right to confider to be given with open eyes, and therefore to involve the perfon equally with the Minifter, in the guilt of every future fatal project. ** ' H " As to myfelf, I folemnly proteft, that no confideration, that the world can offer, would ftand in competition with the com- fort THE DUKE OF GRAFTONy 35 fort I feel ; that fo far from having abetted the pernicious counfels which have brought on the downfal of the empire, I have, to the beft of my little ability, endeavoured by every constitutional means to prevent them. " Thus have I difcharged my duty to the King, to my Country, 'and to myfelf ; for I was early perfuaded that a perfeve- rance in thefe pernicious meafures would endanger the Crown itfelf, injure or over- throw the Conllitution. I .would Ifiave every man without excufe, who, forefeeing the gathering ftorm, did not exert him- m felf to avert the dreadful confequences. " If this motion is to be received, at this alarming period, with the fame cold indifference which has been mewn by the Houfe in days lefs difaftrous ; and, if I fee an imconftitutional confidence.,, become now by events infinitely more unconttitutional, ftill continued to the fame degree towards Minifters, after fo evident proof of their repeated mifufe of it for one, I fliall not .VOL. I. D think 34- TH^ DUKE OF GRAPTOW. think it neceflary for myfeif to trouble your Lord/hips, in that cafe, any more. Before I retire, to fortify my own mind again/I the calamities which are faft ap* proaching, and to prepare my family for that which they will probably have to un- dergo, I mall think it to be a duty incum- bent on me, to lay before my Sovereign the reafons for my conduct ; flattering my- felf that I mall be allowed that gracious hearing, which His Majefty has fo often given formerly to one, from whofe tongue he never heard but the dictates of the heart as fmcerely as they are now delivered to your Lord/hips." CHAPTER IL DUKE OF LEEDS. Character. Extract from his Tract on the American War. DiJ approves of that War. Made Secretary of State. His Eeafons for rejigning. VV ITH the moft amiable and accom- plifhed manners of a gentleman, his Grace has fhewn that he poffefles the talents of a writer and a politician. At the beginning of the American War, the Duke wrote a pamphlet entitled, " A " Short Hint, addrefTed to the candid and " difpafsionate, on both fides the Atlantic." The following mort extract will fufBciently mew the object of it. " The idea of a land war [with Ame- rica] feems to be impolitic, from the na- ture aaid extent of .the country ; and I conceive, though our troops may be fuc- D 2 cefsful, 36 DUKE OF LEEDS. cefsful, their victories cannot be rapid. The expence, at all events, mult be enor- mous ; the fuccefs I think doubtful. The navy, in my opinion, feems the only pro- per initrument to carry on the war with, if hoftilities inujl continue. " With regard to the great queftion of right, I am clearly of opinion, that colo- nies, from their nature, mufl be fubject to the mother country, and confcquently controllable by the great legiflative autho- rity of the- parent itate, in -whatever hands fuch authority may be lodged. And I conceive it a dangerous doctrine to ad- mit, that the Crown may claim the allegi- ance of millions of Britim fubjects, inde- pendent of, and unconnected with, the two other constituent parts of the legifla- ture. Such is my firm idea with regard to the legiflative authority of this country over its colonies. And I am no lefs fully convinced, that the meafure of levying taxes in fo diftant a part of the empire, contrary to the almoft unanimous opi- nion of the people propofed to be taxed, 2 was DUKE OF LEEDS. 37 was an ill-ad vifed, inexpedient, and moft impolitic ftcp on-the part of government. " Let the ableft men of both countries join in the purfuit of reformation ; let party for once give way to public good. If the Americans, coolly deliberating, pro- duce any grievances under which they la- bour, let them be remedied. Should a Hate of total independence' prove at lait their object, (which I flatter myfelf it is not) I s know no remedy : give them up. But if they wifli no more than a more eafy dependence on the mother country, indulge them with it ; the more eafy their fituation, the more beneficial muft they be to Great Britain.'* But although his Grace was for the war in the commencement of it, he after- wards changed his opinion. ' He faw the impracticability of carrying it on, and ho faw, with indignation, the mifconduct and imbecility of the Ministry. His Grace was appointed Chamberlain to the Queen in 1777, which he reiigned at the end of the D 3 year 38 DUKE OP LEEDS. year 1779, becaufe, as he himfelf ftated, he did not think it decent to hold a place when he found himfelf under the necefsity of oppofmg the meafures of government. In the debate in the Houfe of Lords, on the eighth of February 1780, his Grace Hated his reafons for refigning ; which were his difapprobation of the American war, and of the conduct of the Miniftry in carrying it on : the particulars of which the reader will find in the debates printed in the Parliamentary Regifter of that year* Upon the change of the Miniftry at the end of the year 1783, his Grace was appointed Secretary of State, for the fouthern, now called the foreign depart- ment ; but upon the difpute with Rufsia,. concerning Ockzacow, in the fpring of 1791, his Grace not approving of Mr. Pitt's conduct in that affair, refigned his employ- ment ; and ftated in the FJoufe of Lords, as he had done before, the caufes of his resignation. They were, briefly, thefe ; , In the negotiation for peace between Rufsia PUKE OF LEEDS. 39 .Rufsia and the Porte, the Britifh Miniftry had infilled, that Rufsia Ihould reftore Ockzacow to the Porte. The Court of Peterfburgh peremptorily refufed to ac- cede to this condition ; upon which the Britifh Miniftry ordered a fleet to be im- mediately equipped, in order "to compel Rufsia to a compliance with their demand. A war with Rufsia was on the eve of break- ing out. But after two months confidera- tion, the Miniftry abandoned the dif- pute concerning Ockzacow, and difarmed the fleet, which at that time was ready for fea. Upon this point, the Duke of Leeds differed and rcfigncd. The independence of his mind \vould not permit him to ac- commodate both ways ; or, as he himfelf ftated it, " If it was right to abandon " Ockzacow, it was wrong to arm- if it " was right to infill: upon Ockzacow, it * was wrong to difarm." The candid and open manner in which his Grace ftated the caufes of both his re- fignations, forms an honourable trait in his character. This laudable example ought D 4- to 40 DUKE OF LEEDS. to be followed by all the great Officers of State whenever they think proper to refign their employments. The nation has a right to know their reafons ; and when thofe reafons are declared by themfelves, as in the cafe of the Duke of Leeds, the declaration prevents the propagation of unfounded opinions, and the charge of fmifter motives. CHAPTER CHAPTER III. \ DUKE OF DORSET. Poems of the Sackville Family. Poems of Lord Nugent. m JL HIS noble Duke has more than once recommended the compilation of a work, that would undoubtedly reflect much ho- nour upon his anceftors ; which, however, no peribn has yet undertaken. This is a collection of the Poems written by the Sackville family. Thefe poems his Grace wiihed to fee divided into three books, viz. The firft book to contain the poems of' Lord Buckhurit. The fecond book to contain the poems of Charles Earl of Dorfet. The third book to contain the poems of the late Earl of Middlefex. Every 42 Dl/KE OF DORSET. Every perfon acquainted with the pro- grefs of political literature in England, will admit, that the work would exhibit a fine fcries of ancient, middle, and mo- dern poetry. The two firft books may be obtained with tolerable exac"tnefs from Cogan's and Lintot's editions of the Minor Poets ; but who can collect the lall ? They are fugitives, and tnuft be obtained from fuch individuals as happen to poilefs and to know them ; and who, perhaps, are not eafily difcovcred. The late Lord Nu- gent's poems, which are faid to breathe the true Horatian fire, lie in the fame itate ; and are at this time, probably, more than half unknown. The defcendants, or relatives, of thefe noble authors, are the only perfons competent to perform thefe acts of literary juftice. CHAPTER V : ',; : . ' '' ( 43 > ' CHAPTER IV. Z>OT OF RUTLAND. His Tracts. Solicits Lord Lonfdale to bring Mr. Pitt into Parliament. Liberality of Lord Lonfdalc. Observation. JL HIS noble Duke, while at Cambridge, wrote two pamphlets. One was called An Eilay on the Mortality of the Soul." The other was entitled " A Defence of u Modern Adultery." Neither of them were ingenious; but they are fufficicnt to rank his Grace ariiongft noble authors. The only circumitance of his juvenile merits (for he died while a young man) that can with propriety be noticed here, is, that his Grace was accidentally the ob- tainer of Mr. Pitt's firft feat in Parliament. When Mr. Pitt failed in his firft attempt upon the Univerfity of Cambridge, he had no profpecl: of fiicceeding elfewhere. A day or two after this failure, the Duke of 44- DUKE OF RUTLAND. of Rutland met the Earl of Lonfdale (then Sir James Lowther) in St. James's-ftreet, and immediately accofled him, with alk- ing his Lordfhip, as a favour, if he could pofsibly make room in any of his Boroughs to bring his young friend Mr. Pitt into Parliament, who had juft loft his election for Cambridge. Lord Lonfdale, who had always done thefe things in the molt li- beral manner, without itipulating any con- ditions in the manner of voting, (as with Governor Johnltone and others, whofe votes he never retrained) complied with the Duke's requelt, and brought in Mr. Pitt for Appleby, at the general election in the year 1780. If this accidental meeting in the pub- lick ftreet had not happened, it is pro- bable that Mr. Pitt had not been in Par^ liament, or at leafl not for fome time. And Mr. Pitt in return, made Sir James Lowther Earl of Lonfdale, and the Duke of Rutland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. CHAPTER ( 45 ) CHAPTER V. HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD Account of two Political Tracts written by him. Lord Bute's Intention of taking away his 9 and other Patent Places. His Letter to his Conftituents. <+:, JL HE only notice that can, with propriety, be taken in this work, of this literary and noble Lord, is concerning two political tracts, written by his Lordfhip. The firft tract was entitled, " The Oppo- " fition to the late Minifter vindicated." The pamphlet was written in the autumn of the year 1763. " The late Minifter," was the Earl of Bute. Being written in the hour of indignation it may be fuppofed to be animated ; and it may be remarked, that it is the molt fpirited of his Lordfhip's politi- cal productions. On this account, as the tract is very fcarce, the reader may not be difpleafed with an extract from it;" particu- larly 46 HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. larly of that part which relates to public meafures. The fir ft of thefe meafures was the peace of Paris, concluded in the month of February, 1763. The next was the extenfion of the excife laws to the makers of cyder and perry. As thefe were the prominent features of the Earl of Bute's adminiftration, the reader will not foe difpleafed with feeing the Earl of Orford's opinion of them. " The arguments, fays his Lordihip, againft the terms of the peace, lie in a very narrow compafs. The primary objecl: of the \var [Canada] had been in our hands three years before the peace was concluded. The enemy had obflinately protracted an unfuc- cefsful war, at an amazing expence to us. Might we not equitably hope to avail our- felves of fome of the fucccfles we have had ilnce the acquifition of Canada, and to re- imburfe ourf elves in part, by retaining one of HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. 47 of the valuable iflands, inflead ofreimburfing the enemy, by furrendering both, better con- ditioned than we found them, and after the fubjects of France had enriched themfelves, by maring in the benefits and privileges be- longing to the Britifli planters ? Was it the ob- ject of our counfels, and an employment fit for our arms, to conquer thofe iflands, in order to take the fubjects of France into our pro- tection, and iecure their trade againfl the Britilh men of war and privateers ? It was a queflion two or three years be- fore, whether Canada or Guadalupe fhould be retained by us, and the quellion was thought an embarrafsing one. Was not that queflion changed by the ilate of the war, as it flood lafl year, 1762 ? Were all the fubfe- quent conquells nothing ? and was it unjuji in the wifefl men of this nation, towards their Sovereign or their country, to expect that fomething like an indemnity Ihould arifc from the conquells made with lo much blood and treafure ? " The account between us and our ene- mies was very mort and intelligible, France took 4$ HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. took Minorca ; Spain took nothing. I am not difpofed to inflame my countrymen, by reciting all that we have taken. Our na- tional glory begins to be an obnoxious fub- je5l at home. The friends of the Miniflry forbear calling the laft a GLORIOUS war, which is its true defcription ; they chufe rather, in justification of the peace, to call it a bloody and cxpenfive war, which is no more defcriptive of this, than of any the moil ignominious war. ** The treaty of Utrecht has been com- plained of for many years, and very juftly. But what was the ftate of the -account be- tween us and the French at the time of that treaty, if compared with our late fupe- riority over that broken, difgraced, difpirited nation ? They could not have carried on the war longer without extreme difficulty ; and if they mould renew it fooner than their friend, our late Minifter, may expecl, will it not be with the ammunition which they have had the dexterity to draw from this treaty- of peace ? ." It is. a poor defence of the meafure, to charge HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. 4-9 charge the oppofition to it with undue and indirect motives, amidft fo many direct and honourable motives to influence the oppofers. Before the matter was confidered in Parlia^ ment, the general diflike of it was imputed to the private perfonal intereft which fome commercial men had in the war, and which would induce them to exclaim againfl any peace. There might be fuch men and fuch motives. But were there not many alfo, who had a private perfonal intereft in the fupport of the Minifter, and confequently in any peace ? And, after deducting the men under each of thefe defcriptions, was there not a large number of difmterefted men remaining, who judged upon the plain (late of the cafe between us and the enemy, that the national honour and intereft were not fufficiently confulted in the terms of peace ? " When the oppofition was made in Par- liament, there being no pretence for im- puting it to motives of immediale intereft, other motives equally dishonourable were afsigned, left the nation mould form the obvious judgment, that men of the firft VOL. I. E rank, 50 HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. rank* of the greateft understanding, of in- dependent wealth, and of known attach- ment to the family on the throne, as well as to the intereft of their country, oppofed the peace upon right motives. " They were called a FACTION, and the word has been trumpeted about the king- dom. But mere words are a feeble fupport to a public caufe ; and invectives are, in this cafe, the moft impotent of all words. If an ailbciation of wife and difmterefted men, for the purpofe of delivering the King and Conititution from the dangerous ambition of a fellow- fubjecl:, be a faction, then the op- pofers of 'the late Minifter deferve that name, and will be proud of it. But if a party, compofed of men of different views and principles, united by manifeft motives of intereft, and confpiring to aggrandize one man, againft the known intereft of the King, at the hazard of the Conftitution, and at the expence of public tranquillity, be a FACTION, the name will return naturally to its original proprietors, notwithstanding the virulence with which they caft it from thcm- felves upon other men. " The HORACE WALFOLE,. EAftL OF ORFOfcD. . 51 " The next article of impeachment againfl the oppoiition is j their having oppofed an> extcnfion of the- excife laws. The writer; [meaning the writer of a tract, entitled* " Confiderations on the prefent dangerous " Crilis, 1 * 'which was^iafcribed to Mr. Owen RuiThead, editor of the Statutes, and to which this tracl^ : by Lord Orford, was an anfwerj introduces it with confessing the tax upon cyder 1 to have been precipitate, iiii- politic., and inadequate ; pretty heavy charges againft a tax, 'which it has been ufual to contrive with deliberation, wifdoin, and a nice ejlimate of the fufficiency of it' for the pay- ments to which it is appropriated; " He confcflcs moreover, by referring us to the aft of William the Third, that this tax is an EXTENSION of the.excife laws; for that act taxes only the maker of cyder from bought fruit ; this taxes the maker in general. He would have it undcrftood, that there is but little difference in this. The Lnfmuation is very unbecoming a writer, who complains of want of candour and in- tegrity in the writers on the other fide. The difference is, that the makers from E 2 bought 52 HORACE WALFOLE, EARL OF ORTORtJ. bought fruit are very few in comparifon ; and the makers in general are, the Peers, Gentlemen, Freeholders, and Farmers of fix or feven counties. ^ .Jbsistcr. ?*** ^Miv^r*''!*'ii ; ?/J. ; " There is befides a material difference between the maker of cyder from bought fruit, and the farmer who grows it. The maker from bought fruit can chufe, whether he will buy fruit, and be a cyder-maker. He knows upon what terms and conditions he fubjecls himfelf to excife laws. Whereas the farmer, who grows it, is of courfe, and, without any choice of his own, become fub- jecl: to excife laws, or he mull forego the produce of his farm. " It was with this attention to liberty and equity, that the duty upon beer and ale was made payable only by him, who fells it. Every man may brew as little as he pleafes. Whereas the apple-grower muft make more cyder, than for his own confumption. The perlmable nature of his fruit leaves him no choice. It has been fuggefted, that this tax may create cyder-makers, who, by buying the apples, may ex- empt the farmer from the vifitation of 4 excife- HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. 53 excifemen. A blefTed effect indeed ! The farmer of a cyder farm is to have the alter- native, of > either fubjecting himfelf to an opprefsion, to which no other farmers are fubjecl:, or of difpofing of his peri/liable fruit to a monopolizing cyder-maker, who will be enabled, by the terrors of this tax, and of the mode of levying it, to bring the farmer to his own terms. " The excife upon, and compofition for, malt is no grievance, compared with this excife upon cyder. It is the maltfter's own free choice to fubject himfelf to it. He is under no necefsity to turn maltfter for the fake of his barley ; for the barley will not perifh immediately ; and if the demand for it at home mould not anfwer his expecta- tion, Jie has a chance of finding a demand for it abroad, and is encouraged to export it, by a bounty. Barley therefore is a marketable commodity ; apples are not till made into cyder. They are not fit for ex* portation, nor will they admit of delay in the fale. The maltfter has another chance. He may convert his barley into fpirits, and has in that cafe too the advantage of a pre- E 3 mium 54- HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. mium for exportation. Cyder may be con- verted into fpirits ; but thefrfc is no premium for the exportation of that fpecies of fpirits. So that every argument, which has been drawn from the cafe of beer and of malt, is foreign to the objections, which have been made to this excife upon cyder. - w3 : i'I- % '' il i i * r y. ' ' ' " Our author indeed acquaints us, that this is no new method of taxation ; for the duty on mead and other liquors is, by feveral acts, made payable by the maker generally. There would be fome weight in this plea, if he could name the farm, which produces nothing but honey, or if he could prove, that the inconveniences arifmg from the duty upon mead, and thofe other li- quors, are in any degree fo extenfive, as thofe arifmg from this new excife upon cyder, " The hiftory, which he gives us of the taxes on cyder, is a very indifferent apology for this new tax. The act of Charles the Second, he tells us, having laid a duty upon the retailer^ the act of William the Third, intrenched -farther on the liberty of the HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. 55 the fubjecT:, by laying the duty upon the maker of cycler from bought fruit for fale, Where then, fays he, is the new encroach- ment on liberty ? Where is the additional badge of fervitude ? It is ftrange, that he mould repeatedly fay, Tell me where, for he fees it in his next fentence. The duty is now payable by the maker generally, that is, by the Peers, Gentlemen, Freeholders and Farmers of fix or feven counties, who never were before, and are now fubjected to EXCISE laws. Great as the authority of our glorious deliverer is, it is here very invidi- oufly quoted. The friends to his memory are fo, becaufe they are friends to liberty, and are not fo implicitly devoted even to him, as to concur in fuperadding a new en- croachment on liberty, to a new encroach- ment of the fame kind in his reign , " The author feems to triumph, when he mentions the compofition of five ihillings per head, to exempt thofe, who make cyder for private confumption, from the viiitation of excife officers. But is it the cafe of any man, who rents a cyder farm, that he makes no more cyder, than for private con- E 4? ft imp- 6 HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. fumption ? We may judge from the quan- tities confumcd all over England, and the quantities exported, how fmall the private confumption of the farmer is, in proportion to the quantity of apples he grows. But to ihew the futility of this argument more glaringly, let us fuppofe the growers of wheat to be made liable to an excife for their wheat; would it be a remedy ade- quate to the evil, or any confolation to the farmers, to allow them a competition for the quantity of wheat confumed in their own families ? " After reafoning fo very anfwerably, in fupport of the excife upon cyder, our au- thor concludes, as might be expected, with an afTertion of his own, that there is no reafonable ground for the violent clamour made againil the mode of collection, unlefs cyder makers have a right to more liberty, than the makers of other liquors, I anfwer, with an appeal to truth and common fenfc, that apple-growers have a right to enjoy as much liberty, as barle) r -growers, and that they arc neceflarily cyder-makers, becaufc they are apple-growers ; whereas the barley- grower HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. 57 grower is not neceflarily a maltfter, or a brewer. *' But this is only a fmall fallacy of our author's ; he commits a greater, when he affirms, that the bill paffed, without any application from the counties aggrieved, or fuppofed to be aggrieved. It is well known with how much precipitation the bill pafTed ; with fo much, that this very advocate for it acknowleges it to have been precipitate. The counties aggrieved had not time to innrucl: their members in form, or to petition Par- liament. But if letters from the gentlemen and farmers in thofe counties, to Members of both Houfes, are any evidence, volumes of them might be produced to prove, how general the difcontent was, before the pafs- ing of the act ; and the thanks and innruc- tions, which fome gentlemen have received fmce, abundantly fhew, how early the op- pofition without doors began, and how vigorously it ftill fubfifts. " It may be candid to fuppofe thefe fal- lacies undefigned, or perhaps fallacies may be 58 HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. be considered as the privilege of an infirm caufe. But what ihall we fay to a \yriter of decency and of apparent authority, who ven- tures to alfert an abfolute falihood, -which this gentleman does, in faying, : that the bill palled through the Ho.ufe of Commons without a divifion. I would not in direcl terms charge him with a lalihood, if I could not appeal to every Member of that honour- able Houfe, whether there were not at leaft fix divisions upon it ? " The reader fees upon the whole, that this tax is a manifeil extenfioit of the excife laws, to perfons, who w r ere not fubjecfc to them before, and are by this law put upon a worfe footing, than their fellow fubjecls In other parts of the kingdom, to whom the excife laws do not yet extend. It was therefore liable to all the oppofition and clamour it has met with, even if we could fuppofe the Aminiftration, who projected it, to have been wife and favourable to liberty. " It is a feeble attempt to miflead the reader. HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. 59 reader, when, inftead of a folid manly de- fence of the tax, we are amufed with trite declamations about the malice of party, and with inflammatory invectives againft other taxes, which are paid without murmuring, and conftitute a confiderable part of the public revenue. " The tax upon beer, which thefe im- potent candidates for popularity tell us, in a florid way, is cruelly wrung from the briny Jweat of indujlry, was, at the time, the bell tax, that could be contrived. If I remem- ber rightly, the brewers intended to impofe it, if the Parliament had not. It operates fo infenfibly, that the people, who mur- mured at it, begin to be reconciled to it ; and it produces fo confiderable a revenue, that it is a great act of infidelity towards Government, to throw out, in a feemingly authorifed pamphlet, infinuations againft a burden, which it was neceflfary to impofe, and which the late Minifter had not fkill to remove, He had thoughts of purchasing popu- larity 60 HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD* larity by tlie facrifice of this piece of na- tional ftrength ; and, finding it impofsible, fhimblcd, in his reveries, upon a tax lefs profitable and more obnoxious. He made one bold effort for popularity, in pafsing this very bill, by profefsing an abhorrence of excife. His apologift in the pamphlet be- fore us imitates him. I am not afhamcd to repeat my words, that it is unfaithful, and unkind to Government, in a fervant of the Crown, to declaim againft the method of collecting the mod valuable branch of the revenue, unlefs he had a more unexception- able method to propofc ; and it was much too thin a veil to throw over this cyder bill, which extends the opprefsive part of that method of collection to aim oft every gen- tleman and farmer in fo considerable a part of England. " I fay of ENGLAND, for Scotland is not at all affected, by it. Moft of the counties HI South-Briton make fome cyder, though it is the peculiar produce of only fix or feven ; but SCOTLAND makes none. It .would have been too glaring an act of par- tiality. HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. 61. tiality, to have laid a general tax upon Great Britain, and by an exprefs provifo to have exempted Scotland from paying it. A wifer and more decent expedient was hit upon ; a heavy burden is laid on South-Bri- tain, which mail not reach to Scotland ; that happy land of Goihen mall not touch the burden with one finger, and mall be ex- empted from all the plagues and vexations, which fall upon her united fifter, both as to the load of the tax itfelf, and as to the opprefsive mode of collection, which aggra- vates the burthen infinitely beyond the na^ tural weight of it. <( Indeed the Scotch nation had a right O to this piece of partiality from their noble countryman, in compenfation for all the injury w r hich his ambition has done them. They had a juft claim to the affection of their fellow-fubjccls in the South, having behaved like Englishmen, in the courfe of this war; and their behaviour would have compleated the union, and have extin- guiihed all difference between Engliih and Scotch, had not his ambition unfeafonably inter- #2 HORACE WALPOLE, EARL ofr ORP'ORO* % interpofed, and excited jealoufies, which have put back the union for twenty years at lead. " Thefe were the principal of the late Mirtifter's meafures, which were oppofed in Parliament ; and that the opposition was not factious, appears from one circumftance, which deferves to be mentioned to the ho- nour of the oppofers. Their diflike of the whole of his Administration, of the foun- dation and the conduct of it, did not in- fluence them to oppofe the necerTary bufi- nefs of Government, as has been the prac- tice of former oppofitions. They were too well affected to his Majelly to do this ; and though it may be faid, that their fmall number would have rendered it ineffectual, yet that confideration did not weigh with them, when, impelled by the beft princi- ples, they oppofed the extravagant panegy- ric upon a peace, which they could not approve, and the opprefsive tax upon cyder." It was natural for his Lordmip to write with with a fpirit beyond his ufual equanimity, on thefe fubjects. He had feen the fweep- ing hand of the Earl of Bute, difcarding throughout every department, every friend of the late Whig Minifhy. And he mull have felt upon the occafion, as every other per fon did, who was a friend to the family on the throne. In the general fweep that was made by Lord Bute, this noble Lord was excepted, not by any partiality, but by a conftitutional interdiction to the power of the Miniiler. Lord Orford held his places by patent. . The patent places, which were held by different perfons, gave Lord Bute fome con- cern ; becaufe he found that he could not initantly take them away. And it is cer- tain, that he had an idea of committing an act of violation, in this matter. He con- fulted his friend Lord Mansfield upon it. And thus much we know, that Lord Mans- field did not indeed fay, that it was lawful to take away the places held by patent ; but he faid, that he [Lord Bute] might take them away, and if the right to do fo was 64? HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD* was difputed, the right might be tried \ which gave rife to Sir Fletcher Norton's ex* prefsion, " Do the thing firft, and juftify " it afterwards." The intended queilion was, whether the patents, granted by the late King, did not expire with the death of the King ? The queftion however was dropt. It is impofsible to -fay, whether fear or pru- dence was the caufe of it. ,T;j. r vjiial/'UK: ^y-;' Y^I'J-Utf ; btJ < v ''4\ J The fecond tracl: was entitled, " A Coun- <* ter Addrefs to the Public, on the late " difmifsion of a General Officer." The occafion of it was this : On the great quef- tion relating to General Warrants, which was debated in the Houfe of Commons in the month of February, 1764, General Con way voted againft the Miniftry ; for this vote he was dfmiiled from the army, and from his place of groom of the bed-chamber to the King. (See more upon this fubjecl: in Chapter VIII.) This coflducT: of the Mi- nifter was vindicated in a pamphlet called, " An Addrefs to the Public on the late dif- w mifsion of a General Officer." In aniwer to this pamphlet, Lord Orford wrote his " Counter HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. 05 " Counter Addrefs." Both the pamphlets are printed in the " Collection of Scarce " Trads," for J. Debrett. In the year 17 54-, his Lordfhip wrote a few political papers in the London Evening- Poft ; and in the year 1766, a few in the Public Advertifer, At the general election in the year 1768, he declined his feat in Parliament. His letter to his conftituents upon that occafion, never having been printed in London, the reader will not be difpleafed to fee it here. Copy of a Letter fent by the Honourable Horace JValpole, to William Langley, Efq. Mayor of Lynn^ in Norfolk. * < A rlington-Jlrcct, March 13, 1767. which he en- titled, " An Addrefs to the Cocoa-Tree ; " from a Whig." The clofenefs of the ar- gument, the ftrength of the reasoning, the temper and elegance of the language, were all greatly admired. He (hewed the prin- ciples and conduct of the Whigs to be ftricHy conftitutional : and he vindicated the proceedings and opinions of his friends, in a manner fo excellent and mafterly, as to reflecl: not lefs honour upon his own talents, than upon their characters. It is printed in the firfl volume of Scarce Traces, for J. Debrett. His next tract was called, " A Confulta- " tion on the Subject of a Standing Army, " held at the King's Arms Tavern, on the " 28th of February, 1763." The argu- ments for and again ft the meafure are well drawn, and apply with peculiar propriety to the period of time in which it was written. F 4. In 72 DR. JOHN BUTLER, In the fame year he publifhed another tracl, which was entitled, " Serious Con- " fiderations on the Meafures of the pre- " fent Adminiftration." This was the Ad- miniftration of the Earl of Bute, while his Lordihip was Firft Lord of the Trea- fury. " One of the great outlines of the prefent Adminiftration, he fays, and which has been carried to a degree unknown fmce the reign of Charles the Second, is an open and declared profefsion of encreafing the power of the Crown, by creating influence and dependencies upon it in both Houfes of Parliament. In the year 1711, when the Tories were endeavouring to overturn the Whig Adminiftration, that had reduced the power of France fo low, and were project:, ing the infamous treaty of Utrecht, Burnet fays, * they finding the Houfe of Lords could not be brought to favour their defigns, rcfolved to make an experiment that none of our Princes had ventured upon in former times ; a resolution was taken of making twelve peers at once.' What was the con- LORD BrSHOP OF HEREFORD. 73 duct of the prefent Minifter under fimilar circumftances ? He advifed the creation of iixteen peers, not indeed at once, that would have been too explicit a declaration of his motives, but all in the fpace of two years ; and not content with this, he like- wife advifed the giving penfions to a great number of that Houfe, under the denomi- nation indeed of Lords of the Bedchamber ; but as the number of thofe Lords was en- creafed, during the prefent reign, from twelve to twenty-two, the fact is, that by whatever name they are called, the King has fo many more fervants in his pay, in that Houfe, and the Miniftcr has the rod of deprivation waving over their heads, which fell moft heavily upon thofe who prefumed to exercife their freedom of voting againft what he recommended. But in the other Houfe, and where it is more material, this meafure was carried much further : we are informed from hiftory, that, from the time of the Revolution, it has been the characteriftic mark of thofe who oppofed any increafe of power in the Crown, to con- trive by laws, and every other method, to prcvjen-t 74- DR. JOHN BUTLER, prevent the influence of the Crown in that Houfe. Several acls of Parliament have been pafled, to limit the number of officers, who received their places from the Crown, to have feats in the Houfc of Commons, and one particularly during the Whig Admini- ftration of Queen Ann ; which declares, that no perfon porTeired of an office, created after fuch a period, fhould be capable of having a feat in that Houfe : and this was afterwards enforced by another of the firJd of George I. that retrained perfons having penlions, during pleafure, from fitting in the Houfe of Commons. Thefe laws were paffed in order to be a reftraint on the Crown ; they are now in force, and mean to provide for the liberty of the people, by preventing the Crown from creating a de- pendence upon it in its reprefentativcs : but, like other human inftitutions, they were evaded : when a Miniiler ihall prefume to adxdfe, in the teeth of thefe acts of Par* liament, the creation of fuch a number of Grooms of the Bedchamber, Clerks of the Green-cloth, and other officers of the houf- hold, each with a falary of five hundred pounds LORD BISHOP OF HEREFORD. 75 pounds per annum, as to be double the number of thofe of his late Majefty ; and when fome gentlemen have been removed from thefe employments with pennons, to make room for Members of the Houfe of Commons, that the law might be only evaded, not openly violated ; and when we fee gentlemen of the firft fortunes, and who, through the two laft reigns, prided them- felves in their independency, eagerly and meanly thrufting themfelves into this piti- ful penfion lift ; I fay, when we confider thefe things, where is the fecurity of the laws, or upon what principles of the con* ftitution can thefe meafures be defended ? " I lhall now confider the very great in- tended encreafe of the army. At the con- clufion of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the whole force demanded by the Minifter, for the defence of this Ifland, Ireland, Gibral- tar, Minorca, the Weft-Indies, and the vaft tract of frontier in America, was only forty- nine regiments, befides the guards. What now is our fituation, compared with the prefent circumftances of France ? France is by the war reduced 76 DR. JOHN BUTLER, reduced to a very low ebb ; our pofTcfbionsj by the renunciations of the peace, are not materially encreafed, except in North Ame- rica, where the French are entirely ex- tirpated, and we have no other boundaries to our colonies, than uninhabited wilds and endlefs forefts What is the number of {landing forces now propofed r The whole of the prefent army for half a year ; and then to be reduced to jeventy-five regiments of foot, exclufive of the guards ; notwith- ftanding the addition of a militia of thirty thoufand men. What can the Minifter in- tend by fo large a force ? Security againft the French ? No. What then ? Is it to make an ill ufe of their power, and facrifice the liberty of this country to a ftanding army ? I abhor the thought ; his M. would never fuffer it ; the officers of the army would refufe to concur in it. What then re- mains, except that by the encreafe of Colonels, Lieutenant-Colonels, Majors, with all the other military terms of command, the Mi- nifter may create fuch an additional depen- dency upon the Crown, in the Members of the two Houfes of Parliament, that the meafures LORD BISHOP OP HEREFORD. 77 ineafures of Government may be conducted with greater eafe ; and no opposition think it worth their while to difturb the quiet of the Sovereign, or endanger the fecurity of his Minifter r" " His Lordihip's laft tract was, his ** count of the Character of the late Right Honourable Henry Bilfon Legge." Includ- ing his correfpondence, taken from Air. Legge's papers, with Mr. S. Martin, con- cerning the Hampfhire election, in the year 1759. This is alfo printed in the Scarce Tracts. CHAPTER CHAPTER VII. THE RIGHT HONOURABLE CHARLES TOWNSHEND. His Defence of the Minority on tJie Qucftion relating to General Warrants ; affects Mr. Grenville. Defence of the Majority. Letter on Libels and Warrants. Reply to the De- fence of the Majority, by Sir William Mere- dith. Other Tracts written by Sir William Meredith. Mr. TownJltfruT s State of the Nation. JL HIS Right Honourable Gentleman was the author of a fpirited and celebrated pamphlet, written in the year 17 64-, en- titled, " A Defence of the Minority in the " Houfe of Commons, on the Queftion rer lating to General Warrants," The fubr jecl; is fufficiently explained by the title. The pamphlet was univerfally read, and highly efteemed, not more for the im- portance of the queflion, than the elegance of the compofition. Mr. Grenville (the Mir nifler) observing the imprefsion it made uppn *' CHARLES TOWNSHEND. 79 upon the public, expreffed his wiih to fee it anfwered. This tafk was undertaken by Mr. Charles Lloyd, his 1 private fecretary ; whofe anfwer was called, " A Defence of " the Majority." The 'friends of the Mi- nifty were at no pains to conceal the mint from whence the anfwer ifTued. This an- fwer gave rife to one of the beft, mofl able, and mofl conftitutional legal tracts, that lias been written in the Engliih language, fmce the days of Lord Somers. It was en- titled, " A Letter concerning Libels, War- " rants, the Seizure of Papers, and Sureties " for the Peace or Behaviour ; with a View " to fome late Proceedings, and the Defence "of them by the Majority." The Mini- ftry did not attempt to anfwer this work. It was invincible. Lord Mansfield felt him- felf feverly hurt by it, and he profecuted the printer. [See more under the head of Lord Mansfield.] The York family were alfo much hurt by it, on account of the character given of Lord Hardwicke, and they publifhed fome letters in the newf- papers, in vindication of that Lord. [See the article in the appendix marked B.] This 80 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE This valuable law tract was very generally afcribed to Lord Camden, and Mr. Dun- ping ; fometimes diftinclly, -and fometimes united. But a learned and refpeclable Mailer in Chancery, was not entirely ig- norant of the composition. The defence of the Majority drew forth a reply from Sir William Meredith ; it was called, " A Reply to the Defence of the " Majority, . on the Queftion relating to *' General .Warrants." As this gentleman had been the original mover of the queftion in Parliament, this reply came with par- ticular propriety frpm him. He ftates his motives for bringing the queftion forward ; which were, for the fecurity and protection of the fubjedl. The motion was in thefe words, " That a General Warrant for appre^ " hending and feizing the authors, printers, * and publifhers of a (editions libel, together " with their papers, is not warranted by " law." If the queftion upon this motion had been carried, he fays he intended to, have followed it by another, viz. " That " fuch warrant, if executed, is a violation " of CHARLES TOWNSHEND. 81 ** of the rights of the fubjeft ; and in cafe " of a Member of this Houfe, is a breach " of the privilege of this Houfe." [A few years afterwards, Sir William Meredith brought a *ill into the Houfe of Commons, to repeal a claufe in the Nullum . Tempus acl. This was occafioned by the great caufe between the Duke of Portland and Sir James Lowther. One of the prin- cipal debates on the bill was on the 27th day of February, 1771 ; of this debate, Sir William Meredith, with the afsiftance of the Hon. Conftantine Phipps, and another gentleman, wrote a very accurate account ; which has fince been printed in the Parlia- mentary Debates of that year. His beft literary performance, and upon which he beftowed moil labour and attention, was a tract confilling of about twenty meets in quarto, entitled, " Hiftorical Remarks on " the Taxation of Free States.*' It was an anfwer to a tract that had been publifhed under the patronage of the Court and Mi- niftry, entitled, " An Hiftory of the Colo- " nization of the Free States of Antiquity/' VOL. I. Q 82 The point laboured at in the latter, was to- mew that Great Britain was fully juflified, by the precedents of antiquity, in her at- tempt to tax her colonies in America. Sir William refutes the whole of this aflertion, doclrine and argument ; and mews the author to be totally miflaken in all his pre- mifes. Candour xnuft allow, that the " Hif- " torical Remarks," is not only a very learned, but a very able composition. It was never published to the world; he printed only about thirty copies, which lie gave away.] '":.;;; .;*; fvi.; . : ;i: . 'V ..- -\ ; ; . The Right Hon. Charles Townfhend alfo wrote " The State of the Nation, in the " years 1766 and 1767," being the period that he was Chancellor of the Exchequer. It confifts merely of exacl: copies of the pub- lic accounts of tliofe years, CHAPTER MR. SERJEANT ADAIRi S3 CHAPTER VIII. MR. SERJEANT AD AIR. His Tract on the Difmifsion of General Con~ way ; and on the Cafe of the Duke of Port* land. ..." s 1 HIS Gentleman has been the Author of two tracts. The firft was entitled, " Thoughts on the Difmifsion of Officers, " civil and military, for their conduct in " Parliament." The learned Author admits that the Crown has a right to difmifs its fervants, but thinks that the comparifon which is often made, between this right of the Crown, and that which a mailer of a family pofTefTes of parting with his fervants whenever he pleafcs, is not juft; if the fervant of a fubject is difmifTed, he may get another place ; but if a fervant of the nation is difmirTed, where can he go to ? His fervices and his emoluments are extinct. " The matter of right," fays the learned Serjeant, " being taken as an un- controvertible principle, it may be. proper G 2 to 84 MR. SERJEAKT ADAIR. to enquire what kind of right this is ? For there are rights which are called fo only becaufe they are not in a ftricl; and legal fenfe, wrongs : rights which are confiflent with the violation of the moft tender and facred regards of the laws of equity, honour and humanity. If it fhould appear. that the right is of this kind, there is an ample field for difcufsion. It would be highly difrefpectful to the wifdom of Govern- ment, to fuppofe that offices of truft were ever beflowed on others than fuch as had gained a title to them by their part fer- vices, or were expected to be fcryiceable in future ; and if fo, they are not to be confidered as mere favours, as beflowed with- out regard to merit, and to be withdrawn at pleafure, without any reafon given, and without caufe or colour of complaint. It may be no violation of right, it may not be an unlawful a6r, fo to withdraw them ; but' it may be contrary to the rules of equity or prudence. Taking it for granted, that fuch exercifes of miniiterial power are not to be looked upon merely as acts of power; but that the propriety, and MR. SERJEANT ADAIR. 85 and even rectitude of them, are proper fubjects of debate, I proceed to the ex- amination of the following queftion Whe* ther it be equitable and politic to difplace an officer, civil or military, folely for his condu6t in Parliament ? The firft duty of every man who ferves his country as one of its reprefentativcs in Parliament, is to confult the public good. All private ob- ligations to a Miniiier, or even to his Sovereign, are of an inferior nature. To controul his exercife of private judgment, is to deprive him of that liberty without which he cannot difcharge the duties he owes to the public. To punim him for making ufe of fuch liberty, is an im- plied denial of that independency which the conititution fuppofes him to poflefs : it is to declare war againft the freedom of Parliament. The fear of being deprived of fuch emoluments as he enjoys from the Crown, in confequence of his oppo- fition to meafures which he thinks detrimen- tal to the public, reduces him to the difa- greeable dilemma of renouncing either his private intereft, or the intereit of his conn- G 3 try. 86 MR. SERJEANT APAIR. try. The infliction of this punifhmcnt can- not be juftified otherwife than by afTerting the oppofition to have proceeded from cor- rupt views; or at leaft from an error in judgment, that requires to be reclined by fo violent a remedy. But who has a right to aiTert this? Is the Minifler a proper judge, ' in a caufe where he himfelf is a party ? It may be faid, that the fame reafoning con- cludes equally againft a Minifler endeavour- ing to influence a member of parliament by any lucrative confideration at all. Indeed I am afraid it would be difficult to prove any. meafure of that kind ftrictly defenfible. But there is a wide difference between tempt- ing a man to be difhoneit, and puniibing him for being honefl. The above reafon- ing holds* with peculiar force, in the cafe of that man who enjoys no advantages but what he has earned in the fervice of his country. Every officer in the army or navy, who has been advanced in the courfe of fervice, has a right to enjoy the dignity and emoluments confequent on his advancement, till he hae forfeited them by feme breach of his military duty, or 2 fome MR. SERJEANT ADAIR. 87 fome crime lawfully proved. And if, without the allegation, or even pretence of any fuch mifbehaviour, he be degraded from his honour, and defpoilcd of his in- come ; his country, which is indebted to him for his fervices, and -has chearfully de- frayed the expence of his rewards, beholds with a juft indignation, a ftep that tends to quench the ardour, and check the emu- lation of all who are defirous of treading in the fame honourable fteps. It is a common thing for Miniilers to entrench themfelvcs behind the Royal Authority, to reprefent the oppoiition to them as an at- tack upon Government, and to brand all inftanccs of it with the odious titles of difloyalty and difaffecYion. But in fo doing, they are guilty of betraying the power that fupports them, and excite juft fufpi- cions of their fidelity to the trull repofed in them. If a Minifter lay claim to what even his Mailer has no right to, an un- limited acquiefcence ; his claim is uncon- ftitutional ; he has other views than the ferv- ing either his King or his country, and power is dangerous in his hands,*' G 4 The 88 MR. SERJEANT ADAIR. The other tract was entitled " Obferva- " tions on the Power of Alienation in the " Crown before the firft of Queen Anne ; " fupported by precedents, and the opinions " of many learned Judges. Together with " fome remarks on the conduct of Ad- " miniftration refpecting the cafe of the " Duke of Portland." This pamphlet arofe out of the cafe of the Duke of Portland with Sir James Lowther, now Lord Lonfdale. " Had this country," fays the learned Serjeant, " remained in the fame fituation it has been in for the laft fifty years ; had public affairs gone on in only the ufual courfe of Miniiterial corruption on the one hand, and felf-interefted op- pofition on the other, I might i egret in filence the depravity of the times, but mould never have troubled the public with my ideas in print. But when we have beheld our Sovereign ever fince his accefsion to the throne, in the hands of thofe who have done all in their power to alienate the affections of a loyal people from an amiable and virtuous King. When -we have feen a fuccefsful and glorious war, MR. SERJEANT ADAIR. 89 war, terminated by an inadequate and ig- nominious peace. When we haX r e feen the odious and opprefsive fyftem of the excife laws wantonly extended. When we have feen a Member of the Britim Parliament, who feditioufly dared to declare himfelf an advocate for the liberties of the people, driven into exile, and perfe- cuted to outlawry, for publifhing out of the Houfe fuch obfervations on the fpecch of the Minifter as have been a thoufand times uttered in the Houfe with impunity. When we have feen the liberty of the people invaded in the moil daring and outrageous manner, by iffuing general war- rants, by illegally arrefting the perfons of his Majefty's fubjecls, breaking open their moll private repofitories, ranfacking and carrying off their papers, and betraying their dcareft and moft important fecrets to a fet of lawlefs mefiengers. When we have feen, at a time in which the nation was loaded with one hundred and forty millions of debt, the public money fquan- dered in profecutions again ft the affertors of liberty, in places and penfions to our repre- 30 MR. SERJEANT ADAIR. reprcfenta lives to procure their fanclion to fuch meafures ; and in bribing our electors to re-elect fuch reprefentatives. In fine, when we have feen the bane- ful influence of a juftly hated favour- ite fpread its contagion through every fuceefsive Administration ; and we rtill fee -rf ' the fame influence giving birth to mea- fures as fubverfive of the true interefts of the Crown, as of the rights and liberties of the people ; I mould think inyfelf equally deficient in my duty to my So- vereign and the community, if I did not endeavour to contribute my mite towards fetting fuch meafures in a jiift light, and expofing the authors of them to the de- teftation they deferve. The only means I have to contribute to this end is, by fub- mitting to the public my ideas on the late moft flagrant inftance of the felfifh and arbitrary difpofition of the favourite. His taking away from the Duke of Port- land an eftate which has been feventy years in the pofTefsion of his family, and giving it to his own fon-in-law, Sir James Lowther, is a meafure which for feme- time MR. SERJEANT ADAIR. 91 time pad has very defervedly attracted the attention of the public; a meafure, indeed, of a very extraordinary and alarm- ing nature, and unexampled in the hif- tory of former times in this country." Thefe extracts fumciently ihew the learned Serjeant's regard for the conftitu- tion, and the correclnefs of his political opinions. But this is not the beft part of his character. He is an able lawyer, and an honefl man. CHAPTER CHAPTER IX. MR GREY COOPER. His two Tracts. Made Secretary to the Trea- Jury under Lord Rockingham* Secures a Pcnfion. Continues Secretary to the Duke of Graf ton, and to Lord North. JL HIS Gentleman, while refident in cham- bers in the Temple, had the f good fortune to efpoufe the diftincl: political views of that divifion of the oppofition, in the year 1765, which was known by the name of the Rockingham Party ; who fuc- ceeded to office in that year in confe- quence of the refufals of Mr. Pitt and Lord Temple, grounded in what they confidered the undiminimed influence of the Earl of Bute. When the negotiation for a change of Miniflers was concluded, Mr. Lloyd, who had been Mr. Grenville's private fecre- (.j r tary, wrote a fmall tract entitled " An " Honcrt SIR GREY COOPER. 93 *'~ lionefl Man's Reafons for declining to " take any Part in the New Adminiftra- " tion." To this pamphlet, Sir Grey (then Mr. Cooper) wrote an anfwer, which he called " A Pair of Spectacles for Short- " fighted Politicians." Mr. Lloyd had aflcrted the continued influence of Lord Bute. Mr. Cooper denied the aifertion. The new Miniftry read this vindication with pleafure, As foon as the arrangements were fettled, Mr. Cooper wrote a fecond tract, which he entitled " The Merits of the New Ad- " miniftration truly dated." This tract was more ingenious than the firft) and had the advantage of literary merit. But the befl merit of it was, that it was a prin- cipal caufe of recommending him to the fituation of Secretary to the Treafury. But which fituation, however, he did not accept without fccuring to himfelf an ade- quate pcniion in cafe of difmifsion. This conduct, if not abfolutely neceffary, was at leaft prudent ; having then quitted 4 the 94; SIR GREY COOPER. the bar for a political office, he could not with propriety, in cafe of difmifsion, re- turn to it. But this act of prudence fhews that he did not put much confidence in his own writing ; for in his *' Merits of *' the New Adminiflration" he argues at fome length upon the permanency of the new Miniflry. This permanency proved to be /no longer than one year. But al- though Lord Rockingham and the Mi- niftry were turned out, after being in office only one year, yet Mr. Cooper continued Secretary to the Duke of Grafton, and to Lord North, until the year 1782. CHAPTER X. DR. THOMAS LEWIS O' BEIRNE, LORD BISHOP OF OSSORY. Chaplain to Lord Howe in America, during the 4?nerican War. His Defence of Lord Howe. His Political Papers, ftgned A Country Gentleman. Hi/lory of Parlia- ment. Confederations on the Riots in the Year 178O. Defence of Admiral Lord Keppcl. Made Secretary to Lord Fitmil- Ham, and an IriJIi BiJIiop. DURING the Adminiftration of Lord North, this reverend prelate was the au- thor of feveral political pamphlets, and of a feries of political eflays in one of the public prints. He was chaplain to Ix>rd Howe in the time of the American war, and attended his Lorclihip on that fervice. Upon their return to England, Mr. O'Bcirne found that Lord Howe's character had been infamoully traduced in his abfence by the Miniilerial writers in all thofe newfpapers 6 DR. THOMAS LEWIS O'fiEIRNE, newfpapers which at that time were kept in the pay of the Miniftry. His firft literary compofition (at leaft the firil that is known) was the defence of his noble friend. It was entitled " A " candid and impartial Narrative of the " Tranfaclions of the Fleet under the " Command of Lord Howe, from the Ar- " rival of the Toulon Squadron, on the " Coail of America, to the Time of his " Lordfhjp's Departure for England." There is prefixed to it a plan of the ntuation of the French and Engliili fleets before New York at a very critical moment. The writer has certainly refcued Lord Howe's character from every obloquy that w r as attempted to be thrown upon it. From this true and accurate ftatement of Lord Howe's naval ikill, in the moft dif- ficult .and arduous circumflances, every naval gentleman has not lefs freely than warmly beflowed the highcft eulogium on every part of his Lorclmip's conduct throughout that fevere fervice, Undoubted- ly this matter reflects not lefs honour on the LORD BISHOP OF OSSORY. 91 the author, than on the principal and pa- tron. His next literary employment was a feries of eflays, or letters (which fuch pa- pers are more uiually called) in a daily newfpaper. The letters were figned " A " Country Gentleman." They were writ- ten and printed in the beginning of the year 1780, when Ihe whole nation was much agitated by county meetings, affo- ciations, and committees, on the fubjccls of the American war, the corruption of Parliament, and the influence of the Crown. The firfl fix letters were reprinted in the form of a pamphlet: of the others, the reader will find an abftract in the Appendix, marked C. Thefe petitions, and complaints, occa- fioned great debates in Parliament. A lit- tle time after the feision clofed, which was in the early part of July, Mr. O'Beirne wrote a very fpirited account of the pro- ceedings of that fefsion, which was en- titled " A Short Hiilory of the laft Sefsioii VOL. I. H " of 58 DR. THOMAS LEWIS O^BEIRNE, ". of Parliament, with Remarks." A mort extract from the fecond page will fhew the reader the ftile and fcope of it. " That " all"the calamities entailed upon this coun- " try, owe their origin and progrefs to the " corruption of Parliament, is a fact that " will hardly be controverted. Without that " blind and implicit obedience, which the " majority of the Houfe of Commons have " indiscriminately payed to every, adrnini- " fixation, under every ihifting of Govern- " ment, through every change and fluchia- " tion of contradictory meafu res for fo many " years pail, the nation could never have " fallen a facrifice, as it has done, to the " ignorance, incapacity and folly, of the " mbft profligate fet of men that ever en- " tailed ruin on the .nation they governed. " As the corruption of Parliament, there- f< fore, has been the fource of our calamities, " the redrefs of them can only be expected " from its reftoration to freedom and inde- " pendency." , The unfortunate riots, which happened in London, at the beginning of June 1780, LORD BISHOP OF OSSORY. 99 drew forth Mr. O'Beirne's pen. He wrote a pamphlet, on the fubjedt of thefe difturb- ances, which was much Admired. It was entitled " Confiderations on the late -Difturb- " ances, by a Confident Whig." It was generally attributed to Mr. Burke, but it was a miftaken opinion ; though it muft be confefTed that Mr. O'Beirne's (tile and argu- ment are very much in Mr. Burke's manner. His laft publication was on the fubject of the trials of Admiral Keppel, and Sir Hugh Pallifer; and is . efteemed by all naval people to be a very mallcrly perr formance. It is in behalf of Admiral Keppel ; and is entitled " Confiderations " on the Principles of Naval Difcipline, " and Naval Courts-Martial ; in which the " Doctrines laid down in the Houfe or* " Commons upon thofe Subjects are ex- " aminecl, and the Conduct of the Courts- " Martial on Admiral Keppel and Sir " Hugh Pallifer are compared." Upon the appointment of the Duke of Portland to the poft of Firft Lord of the Treafury in 1783, his Grace made Mr. H 2 O'Bcirne 100 DR. THOMAS LEWIS o'SEIRNE. O'Beirne his private fecretary. But the Miniftry- being again changed at the end of that year, he retired to France, and refidecl at Aubigney, the Duke of Rich- mond's eftate. When the troubles broke out in France, he returned to England. And when Earl Fitzwilliam was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, which was in the month of December, 1794, Mr. O'Beirne was appointed his Lordfhip's fe- cretary* During the noble Lord's rcfi- dence in Dublin, the bifhopric of Offory became vacant by the death of Dr. Beref- ford ; upon which Mr. O'Beirne was im- mediately promoted to that fee. CHAPTER CHAPTER XL SECRET AND TRUE HISTORY OF THE IRISH OCTENNIAL BILL. Irijli .Electors inftruct their Reprefenta fives to bring in a Septennial Bill. Extraordinary Preamble to it, with a View to defeat it. Sent to England. Delayed. Remarks. Altered. Returned to Ireland. People of Dublin ajfemble in immenfe Numbers, and compel their Reprcfentatives to pafs the Bill. Further Remarks.' Management of the Parliament of Ireland, and of the lajl Parliament of Scotland. Anecdote of Lord William Gordon. BEFORE the year 17(58, when this bill palled, the Parliament of Ireland was only determined by the King's life ; but now (according to this law) the Parliament of that kingdom is to be ehofen once in eight years. A fhort hiftory of this extraordinary event cannot be undcierving the reader's attention. H 3 No 102 SECRET AND TRUE HISTORY OF No blame attaches to the Lord Lieute- nant in this affair ; but a great deal of fomething worfe attaches to the fccret cabinet: at St. James's, whofe deiign was to have defeated the meafure, and to have transferred the odium of that defeat upon thofe, who, for other purpofes, they had encouraged to demand it. In the month of Auguft, 1767, Lord Townihend was appointed Lord Lieute- nant of Ireland. During the preceding year, a conficjerable majority of the elec- tors of Ireland inilructed their reprefen- tatives on the fubject, or, as they termed it, on the necefsity of bringing in, and pafsing, a bill, to limit the duration of Par- liament to /even years ; in like manner, as the Parliament of Great Britain is li- mited ; and fo warni and fo numerous were the electors, particularly all the lower clafs, in fupport of this meafure, that there was fcareely a town or county throughout the kingdom which did not inftrucl and infill upon their reprefenta- tives voting for fuch bill; and the electors Of THE IRISH OCTENNIAL BILL. 103 of fome places carried their cnthufiafm fo far, as to compel their Members to make oath they would vote for it. Accordingly, when the Iriih Parliament met in the month of November, 1767, the heads of a bill for limiting the duration of Parlia- ments to jevcn years were brought into the Houfe of Commons, and immediately parled. But, agreeable to the mode of enacting laws at that time in Ireland, thefe heads of the bill were tranfmitted to England, for the approbation of the King and Council, that being the next ftage of progrefs. And here it mull: be obferved, that the reafon of the Commons pafsing the bill, was not the pofitive com- mands of their Conftiluents, but the fanguine hopes which the Iriih Patriots themfelves entertained, that it \vould, without a doubt, be rejected in England. And therefore, in order to make this wiihed-for rejection as certain as pofsible, the preamble of the bill ftatcd, that, " Whereas it is the undoubted right of the " people of Ireland to a more frequent choice " of their representatives, &c," Thus they II 4- changed OF changed the requeft of a boon into a de- mand of a right ; which was certainly nei- ther a refpeclful nor a proper mode of foliciting the refignation of a power that had been held and exercifed hy the Crown during a long period of years ; for it implied, that the right had been with* held from the fubjedl all that time. In this ftate, and in the confident hope that the bill would be rejected in Eng- land, it parTed the Houfe of Commons in Ireland, and was fent to the Britifh Mi- niflry. Although the Miniftry were ap- prized of the bill, they did not expect it would have appeared in fo exceptionable a form. The bills which accompanied it, they returned ; but this bill they de- tained for fubfequent confideration. Thus this circum fiance became one of thofe political manoeuvres which are often known to occupy the whole attention of a ca- binet, while the deareft interefts of the nation are totally neglected. But whe- ther, in this in fiance, it is doing juftice to the penetration of the Britifh Cabinet, 2 to THE IRISH OCTENNIAL BILL. 105 to fay that they immediately difcovered the fincjfe of the Irifh Patriots ; or whe- ther their hesitation arofe from their ap- prehenfions of the turbulent fpirit which appeared among the people of Ireland upon this fubjecl:, perhaps is not eafily afcertained. They hefitated two months. The Britifh Miniitry knew that the Trim Patriots were not Jincere in their wifhcs. for the bill ; and, that a number of for- tuitous caufes had brought it forward fooner than was at firft intended ; but it was obvious, from the words of the pream- ble, that it was .defigned to throw the odium of rejecting it upon the Britifh Cabinet. The whole time of delay was, no doubt, employed in forming a ma- noeuvre to retort upon the enemy. By the advice of fome friends they obtained relief. Probably it was that of the Lord Lieu- tenant, whofe afsiftance they implored, but had not deferved ; for fcarcely any Lord Lieutenant was treated worfe. He- was appointed by the influence of one party, and received his inftruclions during the o influence of another. The Britifh Cabinet at 106* SECRET AND TRUE HISTORY OF at this time confifting of nothing but fao tion, intrigue," and hypocrify. He was often times left to be his own Pal in ur us, in his paflage between Scylla and Charibdis. After many confutations, the Britifh Cabi- net refolved, not to reject the bill totally, but to adopt a middle courfe ; and to offer to the patriots a fmiilar infult to that they had received ; this was, to alter a bill materially ; for it was ufually confidered at that time in Ireland, that the Council in England ought not to alter their bills, but to reject them, upon the fame principle, that the Lords in England are not permitted to alter a money-bill, but may reject it. During the whole time that the bill was under the confideration of the Miniiiry, the anxious representatives, and the anxious people of Ireland, were under the greateil apprehenfions ; the latter praying incef- fantly for the return of the bill ; and the former ardently wilhing, but not daring to avow their willies, that it might continue for ever under confideration. At length, in the month of January, 1778, THE IRIS X H OCTENNIAL BILL. 1O7 1778, the bill arrived in Dublin; but fuch tffential alterations were made in it, as clearly fhewed, that the Britifh Minifters had not only difcovercd the defign that had been formed to make them reject the bill, but had refolved to throw the imputation of its rejection upon thofe who were the original authors and promoters of it. The Britifh Miniftry were now as confident, as the Trim patriots had been, that the bill would be rejected. They made no doubt of the high fpirited patriots throwing it out with indig-* nation, The principal alterations were thefe : the tcYmjeven years, was changed into eight years. The preamble was ftruck out* en- tirely. And inftead of permitting the pre- fent Parliament to continue fevcn years longer, as was intended by the bill, 'it was infcrted in the bill, that the Parliament mould be difiblved at the end of the prefent fefsion. Thefe alterations were, in the judgment of the Britiih Cabinet, fufficient to fecurc the 108 SECRET AND TRUE HISTORY OF the total rejection of the bill by the Irifh Houfe of Commons. But it happened otherwise. The people put an end to the manoeuvres of both parties. As foon as it was known in Dublin that the bill was re- turned, and the people were informed, that they were to have a frequent choice of re- prefentatives, and a new election at the end of the prefent fefsion, they affembled in confiderable bodies, in different parts of that metropolis ; and having itrong fufpicions that all their own reprefentatives were not friendly to the bill, and that under colour of the alterations they would throw it out ; a kind of refolve entered fpontaneoufly, in- dividually, and without any previous con- fultation, into every man's mind, to af- fume, what they conceived to be, their original and inherent right. No fyllem, or plan, was formed by them. Only one opi- nion prevailed inftantly amongft them ; and that was, that the bill muji and Jliall be paffed into a law. For this purpofc, on the day appointed for taking the bill into con- fideraUon in Parliament, the people arTem- bled in aftomihing great numbers in feveral parts THE IRISH OCTENNIAL BILL. 109 parts of the city ; College-green was crowd- ed ; the Parliament Houfe was furrounded ; and all the avenues of it were filled : fuch a general riling in Dublin had not happened in the memory of the oldeft perfon then living. Upwards of twenty thoufand were reckoned to he affembled at the Parliament Houfe. Through thefe immenfe multitudes the Members were obliged to pafs. Each Member was diftinclly feized upon, and compel le.d to promife, and many to fwear, that they would vote for pafsing the bill. Thofe who fecretly did not approve of the bill, feeing the frowning and terrific afpect of the public fpirit, which themfelves had contributed to raife, and not chufing to rifle their lives and properties upon a queftion of rejection, immediately thought it mod pru- dent to affect to defpife the affront offered to them, by the alterations ; and a/Turned a chcarful difpoiition to pafs the bill. The bill was pafled unanimoufly ; and the Houfe of Commons concluded this " eventful hif- itory," with an addrefs of thanks for their own cliiTolution. A few 110 - SECRET AND TRUE HISTORY OF A few remarks may not be improper : Neither the Britim nor Irifh parties feenf to have had a correct comprehenfion of the natural confequences of this bill. All their confultations feem to have been confined to the contrivance of ftratagems for the mo- ment ; inftead of looking forward to the great circumftances which the bill dictated. The patrons of boroughs, inftead of felling their feats in Parliament, and the electors, inftead of felling their votes, only upon the death of a King, or the death of a Member, were both, by this bill, at liberty to make a new bargain and fale, every eight years. So that the powers of intereft and corrup- tion were not weakened, but flrengthened by this law ; were not limited, but extended by it. And after what we have feen of the management of the Parliament of Ireland, no man will deny, that the Parliament of that kingdom has not been as fuccefsfully conducted as any other Parliament has been. Even Lord Fitzwilliam admits the fact, in his firft letter to Lord Carlifle, written in the year 1795, upon the fubject of his in- tended THE JRISH OCTENNIAL BILL. Ill tended emancipation of the Irifh Catholics. He fays, the Catholics being refolved to bring forward the fubjecl:, had put their petition into the hands of his friend Mr. Grattan ; " I therefore defired Mr. Grattan " to take poflefsion of the bufinefs, that I " might be fur e of my f elf having controul 'over " the management of the bill" But Mr- Fox is more open and explicit upon this fubjecl:, in his fpeech in the Britifh Houfe of Commons, upon the flate of Ireland, on the 23d of March, 1797. " The advantages " which the form of a free constitution " feemed to promife to Ireland, have been " counteracted by the influence of the Exe- " cutive Government, and o^" the Britiih " Cabinet. It would be fortunate if this " were merely the language of difconlent ; " it would be fortunate if this were an opi- " nion not fupported by that unequivocal " conlirmation it has derived from the " meafures of Government ; it would be " fortunate if the fyftem which has been uniformly acled upon, did not give to the complaint io much countenance and validity. Without going into particular " details, " 112 SECRET AND TRUE HISTORY OP " details, it is hripofsible not to mention a " few of the moft ftriking events which " eftablifti its truth. At the time of the " unfortunate event of his Majcfty's indif- " petition, (1788) the Legiflature of Ire- " land took a very decided part ; the Par- " liament of Ireland did cenfure the Lord " Lieutenant for the conducl he had pur- " fued, and expreffed a decided opinion on " the ftate of public affairs at that period. " Immediately after this, and during the " Adminiftration of the fame Lord Lieu- " tenant, a great aecefsion of influence was " gained by the Crown, and the Parlia- " mcnt was prevailed upon to unfay all " they had faid, and to retracl: every opi- ^ nion they had given. It is even matter " of notoriety, that a regular fyftem was " then devifed for enflaving Ireland. A " pcrfon of high conticleration was known " to fay, that five hundred thoufand " pounds had been expended to quell an " oppotition in Ireland, and that as much " more muft be expended to bring the " Legijlature of that country to a proper " temper. This fyfteniatic plan of corrup- " tion THE IRISH OCTENNIAL BILL. 113 4 > tion upon principle, was followed up by " a fuitable fyftem of meafures. It was " afferted, and offered to be proved in the ** Irifh Parliament, by men of the fir.ft cha- " rafter and the higheft talents, and when *' I mention the name of Mr. Grattan, I " need add nothing more, that it had been " the fyftem of Government, by the fale of " peerages, to raife a purfe to purchafe the " reprefentation, or rather the mifreprefenta- " tion of the people of Ireland. The charge " was brought by men of as great abilities, ** of as unimpeachcd honour, of as high " public character and private virtue, /as " ever appeared either in that country or " in this. It was offered to be proved, that " an equality, or even a majority of the " Houfe of Commons, were creatures of the " Crown. Another proof of this fubjlantial " dependence upon the Executive Govern- " ment, was evinced in the manner in " which the demands of the Catholics had " at different times been treated. Their " firft petition merely prayed for a remedy '* to fome of the moft opprefsive grievances " under which they laboured, and in the VOL. I. I " humblell 114 " humbleft ftile folicited indulgence and " concefsion. An immenfe majority of the ' Houfe of Commons were not content witji " refufing the de-fire of the petition, but " they refolved to fix upon it a mark of " particular infult, by voting its rejection* " In this haughty and infulting vote, every " Member under the influence of Government " concurred. The very next fefsion, how* " ever, when the war was begun, and when " a more conciliatory conduct, was deemed " prudent, a petition, comprehending claims " much more extenlive, obtained a recep* " tion very different from their former " modeft prctcnfions. The Crown recom- " mended the claim, and the fame Minifters " -who had caufed it to be indignantly re* " jecled, * now carried the vote by which " pretenfions far more important were fanc- " tioned. How can fuch contrariety of con- " duct be accounted for, but upon the " concluiion, that the influence of the E.\e- " cut we Government is the caufe from which " it proceeds r when Earl Fitzwillian\went " to Ireland in the capacity of Lord Licu- " tenant, it was understood that he left " London with the approbation of Minifters, * iu THE IRISH OCTENNIAL BILL* 115 u in favour of the complete emancipation " of the Catholics; but after the hopes " which had been raifed, after the known preparation of Parliament to vote complete emancipation to the Catholics, he is fud- dcnly difmifTed, the whole fyftem is re- " verfed, and the qucftion which a few " weeks before would have been carried " with unanimity, is rejected by a Vaft itia- " jority. What was this but the moft in- " fulting difplay of the dependance of the " Irifli Legislature ? w r as it not a proof " beyond a thoufand demonftrations, that Ireland had gained nothing, that flic T v^s " placed in a Hate of degradation beyond " any former period ?" This ftate-fccrct of managing a Parli- dment, is in no inftance more palpable than in that of Scotland, at the time of the Union. The Earl of Glafgow was appointed manager upon that occafion ; he was Treafurer- depute of Scotland. The Earl of Godolphin, who was Lord Treafurer of England, fcnt, in the year 1705, upwards of twenty thoufand pounds to Scot- land, to be diitributed to the left advantage I 2 by " 116 SECRET AND TRUE HISTORY OP by the Earl of Glafgow. Five years after- wards, upon the great change of the Mini- ninry, a committee of the Houfe of Com- mons being appointed to enquire into the expenditure of the public money, the Earl of Glafgow was examined upon oath before this committee. In this examination he ftated, that he had diftributed the money, fent by the Earl of Godolphin, ia the fol- lowing manner : <. s. d. To the Duke of Queenfbeny, and as Lord Commifsioner for Equipage and daily Allowance - -, . - - 12,325 O To the Duke of Athol 1000 O Marquis of Tweedale 1000 Earl of Marchmont 1,104 15 7 Lord Cefnock, after- wards Pol warth * 500 O Earl of Belcarris - 500 Earl of Roxburgh - 500 Earl of Scafield - ^ 490 Earl of Cromarty 300 Lord Anftruther - 300 O Mr. Stuart, of Caflle-ftuart 300 O Sir William Sharp - 300 O Duke THE IRISH OCTENNIAL BIL.- 117 . 200 Q Mr. John Campbell - - 200 O Earl of Glencairne - 100 O EarlofForfar 100 Lord Frazer - - - 100 Sir Kenneth Mackenzie 100 C X O John Muir (Provoft of Aire) - - - - 100 O O Major Cunningham, of Eckatt - - - - 100 Lord Forbes - - - 50 O Lord Elibank - - 50 6 Patrick Coultrain (Pro- voft of Wigtoun) - 25 Mr. Alexander Wedder- burn - - - - - 75 6 [The Houfe of Commons ordered the re- port of the committee to be printed, but it never was printed.'] 13 It 118 SECRET AND TRUE HISTORY OF It is neceflary to obfervc, that there were three parties in the Scottish Parliament at this time. The Whigs, who were for the Union. The Cavaliers, or Jacobites, who were againll it, And a neutral party, who were called the Squa drone :, from which has probably been derived the modern appella- tion of Flying Squadron : at the head of this party were the Marquis of Tweedale, the Earls of Marchmont, Roxburgh, &c. Biihop Burnet fays, in book .feven of the Hiftory of his own Times, ' That they kept them- 44 felves very clofe and united : When they V, were {poke to by the Ministry , they 44 anfwered cpjdjy, they were between % twenty and thirty in. number. If they V had fet themfelves againft the Union, the *? defign. mull: have mifcarried." How they were managed, the Earl of Glafgpw fully explains. In later tirnes..another kind of influence has been introduced. We have one authen- tic inftance of it. Upon the death of Lqrd Cathcart, in the year 1,7 7(>, his office or' Firft Lord of Police was given to Lord ^larch. THE IJUStf OCTENNIAL BILL. 119 March, now Duke of Queenfberry ; who refigned his place of Vice- Admiral of Scot- land ; the Duke of Gordon applied for the latter place for his brother, Lord William Gordon, who" was not in Parliament. Lord North, who was at that time Minifter, anfwered, that he had no objection, pro- vided Lord William could obtain a feat :in Parliament. An opportunity of that kind did not then occur ; upon which Lord North fuggefted, that Lord George Gordon might vacate for his brother. This Lprd George refufed to do ; and mentionecj the facl in the Houfe of Commons, on the 13th of April, 1778. The place was given to Lord Breadalbane. Lord North vindicated himfelf by faying (not in Parliament) " That he had a right to expect, that an " office worth a thoufand pounds per annum " mould beget a vote in Parliament,*' I 4 CHAPTER ( 120 ) ' .. :>,fuU CHAPTER XII. SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. AFFAIRS OF IRELAND. ,. ,'foijy-Jijlo 0f .. . The firft Writer of Modern Debates frvm Memory and a real Attendance. His Man* ner of doing it. Motives for publijhing the Debates. Difcoveri/ of Count Viris Pen- Jion. Title of his Tract on the Trade of Ireland. Lord Camdcn's Letter to him. Second Letter from Lord Camden. Lord TownJJiend's Letter to him. Second Letter from Lord Townjhend. Extract from his Tract concerning the Trade of Ireland. 1 HIS Gentleman has the honour to ftand foremoft in the modern hiftory of Parlia- mentary Literature. He was the firfl per- fon who wrote a regular feries of Parliamen- tary Debates, from memory and a real atten- dance. Thefe debates are of the Houfe of Commons of Ireland, in the firft fefsion after the treaty of peace in 1763. Thefe 2 debates SJR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. debates are not only written in excellent language, but are. allowed to be very cor- rect. His manner, of taking them will be beft ftated in his own words. " By thefe debates, carried on with the deepefl penetration, the moil extenfive knowledge, and the moft forcible eloquence, I was fo imprefled, that, after I had left the Houfe, the voice of the fpeaker was ftill in my ears, and the Sentiments I had heard excluded all others from my mind. I was impelled, as it were, by an irrefifta- ble impulfe, to commit to paper what was thus forcibly retained by my memory, br fore it fliould be mixed with other ideas, or in any degree obliterated by them ; when I made the attempt, I found the tafk ftill eafier than I had imagined, my attention was more fixed, and the deliberate recol- le<5Kon which writing made neceifary, brought back the ideas in a flow but regular fuccefsion, and generally in the very words which had been ufed to exprefs them. When I had fucceeded in recording thefe fpeecheSj much to my own fatisfaclidn, I could 122 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. I could not help wiihing to communicate the pleafure I had received. I confidered, that nothing could be a more interefting object of curiofity, than the fentiments of thofe who have been felecled by the fuf- frages of their country to compofe the fu- preme council of the nation, with refpecl to the laws which are there formed for its government ; and that it mud afford the higheft fatisfaetion to every individual to fee the reafon and foundation of thofe a<5ts on which property, liberty, and life depend. I confidered alfo, that, except fome faint and imperfect attempts in England, this fervice had never yet been rendered to the public ; a defire therefore of obtaining honour to m^fejf, concurring with that of benefiting others, determined me to make them public. I flatter myfelf that thefe debates will difcover abilities in the fpeakers that would do honour to any age, and to any nation ; and that their fpeeches will not fuffer by a comparifon even with thofo of the Senate of Great Britain." What Sir James fays of the publication of SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 123' of the debates in Great Britain is certainly true. They were very imperfectly printed, until about the eve of the American war. About that time, the public began to con- ceive, that they had a right to fome in- formation of the proceedings of Parliament ; and both Houfes have connived at the pub- lication of their debates, which have been given in the daily prints with very tolerable accuracy. From thefe debates, by Sir James Calcl* well, the public were iirft informed of the penfion given to the Minifter of the King of Sardinia for ncgociating the peace of 17(53, between England and France. The difcovery was made by Edmund Sexton Pery, Efq; now Lord Pery, who informed the Houfe of Commons of the fact, on the 24-th of November, 1763, in thefe words, " I think one of the greatest difadvantagcs arifing from the grant of penfions, is the enriching aliens with the treafure of our country. I mail communicate a fact to this Houfe, from which it will appear, that the grant of penfions to aliens is fuppofed to 1*24- SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. to be contrary to the fenfe of the nation, even by the advifers of fuch grant, and therefore not avowed, though made. There is a pension granted nominally to one George Charles, but really to Monfieur de Verois, the Sardinian Minifter, for negociating the peace that has been concluded with the Minifter of France. I muft confefs, that in my opinion, this fervice deferved no fuch recompence, at leaft on our part ;. fo that, in this cafe, our money is not only granted to an alien, but to an alien who has no merit to plead. If it is thought a defenfible meafure, I ihould be glad to know why it was not avowed ; and why, if it is proper we fhoulcl pay a thoufand pounds a year^to Monfieur Verois, we mould be made to believe that we pay it to George Charles ? In fhort, as penfions are indifcriminately given for all purpofes, upon all occafions, and to all perfons, both for lives and for years, I think it is a duty incumbent upon this Houfe, to addrefs his Majefty on the occafion." [He moved an addrefs, but it was negatived.] In SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 195 In the year 1779, Sir James had an idea of republifhing a tracl concerning Ireland, which he had publifhed in the year 1763, entitled, " An Enquiry how far the Reftric- tions laid upon the Trade of Ireland, by Britiih A6ts of Parliament, are a Benefit or Difadvantaofe to the Britiih Dominions in o general, and to England in particular, for whofe feparate Advantage they were in- tended." And he communicated his defign to fome very refpeclable perfons who ap- proved of it. Lord Camden and Lord Townfhend honoured his communication with the following letters. Lord Camden fays, " I think myfelf very much obliged to you for putting into my hands that tracl that relates to the re/fric- tions laid by England upon the Irifh trade. The fubject is treated with fo much know- ledge and good fenfe, that no difuiterefted perfon can read it without immediate cori- viclion ; and I am very happy to find my own fentiments fo perfectly concur with yours. Our Parliament are very bufy at prefent in reviewing their trade-acts that refpecl: Ireland, and propofe to grant fome indul- SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART* indulgences to your country* How far they will go I cannot tell> but I am fure they will not go far enough ; for the falfe opinion of felf-intereft is fo prevalent in the minds of our country gentlemen, that I clefpair of their ever giving up the monopoly of the cloth manufacture ; fo that Ireland will ftill remain a poor country. And yet even this relaxation which they propofe, will be worth acceptance ; and will be fo far ufeful, as it will, in fomc fort, open and enlarge the minds of our narrow politicians, and teach them, from what has happened in America, that their own welfare is more united with the propriety of their foreign dominions, than they ufed to imagine. I am a friend to Ireland, for the fake of England ; upon which principle, me may dtpcnd upon my poor endeavours to releafe her from all in- judicious reilriclions, and to unfetter all her pqrta. But, alas ! I am but one infig- nificant individual. " I have the honour to be, " With the greatefl refpecl, " Your moil obedient faithful fervant, " April 13, 1778, " CAMDEN." New Burlington-facet. SECOND SIR JAMES CALDXVELL, BART, 127 SECOND LETTER FROM LORD CAMDEtf*. "SIR, a I am indebted to your obliging corre- fpondence for many letters, and a great deal of interefting intelligence, during the alarm- ing period when the nation was aftonimcd at the appearance of the combined fleet off Plymouth. But I doubt whether I fhall eafily obtain your pardon for having waited fo long before I acknowledged your fevcral favours. It was fome time before I knew how to direct to you, ..for Sid mouth was no market-town ; and till I received your lad letter, I did not know it was near Honiton. Belides, as your letters contained only in- telligence, I wimccl for an opportunity of paying you in kind, by fome informa- tion from this fide of" the country, if I could have obtained it ; but now, fincc the fleets have difappeared, and the common opinion is, that we fhall hear no more of them this year, I fhall wait no longer, but return my belt thanks for your, communi- cation, and beg you will cxcufe my tardi- nefs, and impute it to any other cauie, than neglect or indifference. I wilh your bufi- 128 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. bufinefs, or the health of your family, or any other caufe, had called you near Lon- don, to have given me an opportunity of a perfonal acquaintance, inftcad of this diflant converfation, by means of an imperfect cor- refpondence ; and to have known more fully your fentiments upon the political Hate of Ireland, which I prefume will make an important part of our bufinefs next fefsion. Do you intend to publifh that tract upon the commerce of that country, that you favoured me with the fight of? I think it would be feafonable and ufeful. I am happy to concur with all your ideas upon that fubject ; and that makes me very de- firous of further inftruction ; for he who has for fo many years applied his thoughts to one great object, muft be the beft judge of what meafures are the likelieft to attain it. If I have the happinefs to hear from you, I promife to thank you for the favour, by a fpeedy anfwer ; and in the mean time beg leave to aflure you that I am, with the greateft refpect, " Your moft obedient faithful fervant, "Sept. 19, 1779, CAMDEN." Camden-place. EXTRACT SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. EXTRACT FROM LORD TOWNSHEND's LETTER. " Portman-fquarc, \ft July, 1779. " The critical fituation of Ireland, at this period, feems to require the exertion of every friend to both countries ; be it to act, to write, and in fhort, to animate the minds of men to the fame falutary purpofe, which may fave, perhaps recover, the Britifh em- pire. I am forry to fay, how few I find impreffed with a due fenfe of the prefent dangers." EXTRACT FROM ANOTHER LETTER FROM LORD TOWNSHEND. " Portman-fquare, Dec. 1779. " SIR, " I am happy to hear, that your En- quiry is foon to appear ; and that the inter- efting lights it will convey to the public, have been applied fo opportunely." From the reader's perufal of thefe letters, it is perfectly natural to fuppofe, that he VOL. I. K will 130 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, fiART. will have a clefire to fee the tracl fo fre- quently mentioned in them ; or at leaf! fuch extracts from it, as mall contain the moft eflential parts of it. After fuch tefti- monies, it may be prefumed that no apology is neceffary for fubjoining fuch extracts in this place. -,rf. i*.hfmw;Y rtei *"i bi tfii) **>-,.; " Trade naturally refults from the efta- bliihment of civil fociety, and the gradual difcovery of arts ; and is abfolutely necef- fary to the fubfiftence, profperity, and de- fence of fuch fociety, as will appear from the following propofitions. " It is eflentially necelfary to the well- being of every nation, formed of civil fo- ciety, that there mould be a fupply of the neceflaries of life, with plenty and con- veniency, and an ability to defend thefe ad- vantages from being feized by others. " The mere necefTaries of life depend on the cultivation of land, and the breeding of cattle, and may therefore be fupplicd to many by the labour of a few. " As SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 131 " As wherever there is property, it muft of necefsity be unequally divided, at leaft after a very fhort time, the poor will furnifh neceflaries to the rich, and the rich will fubfift them for their labour. " But as the rich will always be the few, and as the furniihing them with the necerlaries of life will by no means em- ploy the many, a great proportion of the poor muft be without employment ; and, confequently, without fubfiftence, if their labour can be applied to no other pur- pofcs. " Thofe, therefore, whofe labour fur- nifhes the neceflaries of life, and thofe who mare them without labour, are all that can fubfift in any fociety where ar- tificial wants are not introduced ; for how fhould thofe who have not property, and who are not employed for the accommo- dation of others that have property, pro- cure fubfiftence ? " A community from which thefe ufe- K 2 lefs 132 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. lefs hands mould be ejected, might, per- haps, be as happy, pofsibly happier than a community in which artificial wants ihould be introduced ; but it muft necef- farily be fmall, and, confequently, weak. Its happinefs, therefore, cannot be perma- nent, as it will be liable to be fubdiied and enilaved at the caprice of any flrongef power by which it can be invaded. ivvrfoyi ;r R- i'/ftKS(t "jit vo[q " As it is therefore neceflfary for national defence, that the nation ihould coniift of more than thofe whofe labour fupplies the mere neceflaries of life, and thofe who ihare them without labour : it follows, that more muil be employed, for without employment they cannot fubiift. " Thus it becomes neceiTary to intro- duce artificial wants, the fupplying which will procure neceflaries and conveniences to the multitudes whom the fupply of mere natural wants would leave unem- ployed, and whom a fociety in which na- tural wants only are fupplied, muft necef- farily exclude. " Luxuries, SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 133 " Luxuries, therefore, are necefTary, not for the fake of the pleafure which they bring to thofe for whom they are furniihed, but for the fake of fubfifting thofe who furnim them, in order to fecure the peaceable polTefsion of neccfTaries, with plenty and conveniency to the commu- nity. " But populoufnefs alone is not always fufficient for national defence ; a confidera- ble number of the people muft be fo em- ployed as to be peculiarly fitted for mi- litary operations. " A maritime nation, and in particular an iiland, muft be defended principally by a marine ; it is therefore neceflary that the trade of fuch a nation, or the inter- courfe by which artificial wants are mu- tually fupplied, mould be extended to foreign countries, that it may employ much ihipping. " When fuch a tracje is eftabliihed in any country, as will fully employ all its K 3 inha- SlU JAMES CALDWELL, BART. inhabitants, and would furnifh employment to ilill more, the number 'will naturally increafe. " When the trade of any country will not employ all its inhabitants, the num- ber will naturally and neceflarily decrcafe. " When the trade of any nation is fuch as to render it populous, by finding employment for as many inhabitants as it has, and as many more as it can produce ; and, if a maritime nation, with a fuffi- cient number employed in ihipping ; fuch a nation, with refpecl to trade, is in the rnoft profperous ftate, and derives all the advantage from trade that trade can pro- duce. " The acquisition of wealth by fuch trade, the great end to which it has been generally directed, and the great advantage fuppofed to have been derived from it, is fo far from being a benefit, that it is an evil, and is fo far from fupporting trade, that it fub verts it, tt If SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 135 "If any nation by trade acquires more money, whether nominal or real, than other nations, labour will be proportion- ably dearer than in other nations ; and, therefore, the trade of that nation, with refpecl: to fuch manufactures as other na-. tions can carry to the fame market, will befelo de Je; it will be deftroyed by itfelf ; or, which is the fame thing, by the wealth that it has produced. " It feems, therefore, to be a funda- mental, though an univcrfal errSr, that with rcfpe6t to Great Britain, trade is only advantageous in proportion as the ba- lance is in her favour ; that is, in pro- portion as ihe procures her imports imme- diately by .labour, and fells her exports for money. For if this ihould be univerfally the cafe, Great Britain would be undone by the very thing that is fuppofed to con- ftitute her profperity and power, the per- petual accumulation of money. It is our intereft, fay writers on trade, to pay for our exports rather with labour than money, becaufe money employs no hands. This, K 4. how- 136 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. however, is a miftake ; for Great Britain having no mines of gold and filver, can have no moiiey but what me procures by labour. All, therefore, that me purchafes, is ultimately purchafed by labour ; and if her labour is firfl changed into money with one country, and in this form changed into commodities with another, it is la- bour ftill ; and indufhy will be equally bufied to procure more money at one market to carry to another, as to fend away product or manufacture in kind, to the very market to which they are now fent converted into money, with this ad- vantage, that the money which a balance of trade with one nation brings home, not being retained among us, the value oL labour will not rife fo as gradually to fub- vert our manufactures, confequently our trade, by enabling our neighbours to un- derfel us at the foreign markets. " The value of money is wholly re- lative to thofe things which it is to pur- chafe, and when money, by great plenty, becomes cheap, other things will necefla- rily SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 137 rily become dear in the fame proportion. When one hundred pound is equivalent to fix pounds a year for ever, it will go jufl as far as two hundred pounds, when one hundred pounds is equivalent only te three pounds a year for ever: arid he that porTefles one hundred pounds when it is equivalent to fix pounds a year for ever, is juft as rich as he that poflefles two hun- dred pounds when money has loft half its value by the very fame caufe whicl^ doubled his property. " With refpecl to trade, Ireland and England feem to futfer fimilar evils from oppoiite caufes. Ireland fuffers by re- nri6Uons and prohibitions which deprive its inhabitants of employment, and confe- quently leilen their numbers, both by pre* venting propagation, and driving many out of the kingdom who cannot procure fub- fiftence in it. And England fuffers by aa excefsive accumulation of mcney, whether* nominal or real; in confequence of which, its value being lefs, more is neceffary to balance any given quantity of necefTaries, and 138 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. and the price of labour is proportionably increafed, fo that the manufacturer is un- employed, becaufc the foreign market is fupplied by thofe who can work cheaper. ti> i- .'' : -.'. . U 1 .: *- .', t " Times of particular fcarcity and plenty there will be in every country ; but this is wholly independant of the relation between the price of provifions and labour, and the value of money. The value of money will be proportioned to its fcarcity or plenty, and the price of provifions and la- bour will always be in proportion to the value of money ; yet it does not follow, that the inhabitants of any country will, with refpecl to each other, be richer when money is plenty, or poorer when money is fcarce ; nor that when the plenty of money has advanced the price of provi- fions and labour, they will be procured with more difficulty, than when the fcarcity of money rendered the price low ; for the very caufe that makes provifions and la- bour come for a little money is, there being but little money to procure them, and vice verfa. Plenty and fcarcity, with ref-< pec~t SIR JAME'S CALDWELL, BART. 139 peft to the neceffaries of life, or their dearnefs or cheapnefs to the inhabitants of any particular country, does not de- pend upon their value in proportion to the value of money, upon their felling for much or for little, in confequence of money's being cither plenty or fcarce ; but upon the proportion between the worth of labour or art, in any country, and the worth or price of nccefTaries. ' In a country where the labour of an artificer is worth two iliillings a day, and meat is four pence a pound, meat may be faid to be as cheap, as in a country where the labour of an artificer is worth but one ihilling a day, and meat is two pence a pound ; but if in one of thefe countries, meat by an accidental fcarcity, rifes to five pence a pound, and in the other to three pence, while the price of work or labour continues the fame, meat may theri juftly be faid to be dear. Thus provi- fions are dear and cheap, not in propor- tion to the fum they coft, but in pro- portion as they balance the worth of la- baur ; when they Icls than balance it, they 140 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. they are cheap, when they more than ba- lance it, they are dear* " I mall now endeavour to mew, that England and Ireland being one aggregate, what diltrefTes Ireland, muft, irr the pro- portion that Jreland bears to England, dif- trefs the whole ; becaufe England, con- ficlered as an individual diftincr, from Ire- land, does not derive the benefit me pro- pofed from thofe reftriclions w r hich dif- trefs her lifter-country ; and I fhall en- deavour to fhew farther, that his Majefty's dominions, including both England and Ireland, fuffer by the diftrefTes of Ireland, in confequence of the reftriclions upon her trade, more than in the proportion which Ireland, as a part, bears to the whole ; and that the difadvantages of Ire- land in this refpecl: are eventually difad- vantages to England, in the fame, if not in a greater degree. " The principal articles in which the trade of Ireland is reftrained, with a view to the particular advantage of England^ are SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. are provisions of various kinds, manu- fa&ured wool, fugar, and molailes. " By a flatute pafled in the eighteenth year of Charles the Second, the exporta- tion of cattle, butter, and other neceflaries from Ireland to England was prohibited, with a view to keep up the value of Englifh land, by encouraging home con- fumption. The fatal effects of this prohi- bition to Ireland are manifeft ; and it has produced effects little lefs fatal to Eng- land, inftead of the advantage me pro- pofed. " Firft, It has concurred with the caufe already afsigned to increafe the price of provifions in England, by giving a mono-, poly to a few breeding counties to exacl a price for cattle ftill higher than in proportion to the value of money and the expence of breeding ; in confequence of which, it has raifed the price of la- bour, and incrcafed the expence of freight ; in both which particulars it has injured our, trade ; for when the manufacturer is 2 paid SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. paid a high price for his labour, and the ihip that fhould carry the commodity he makes to a foreign market is victualled at an increafed ex pence, we cannot fell our commodities fo cheap as our rivals, and consequently muft at length he fup- planted hy them. As this monopoly, with refpedt to the people, is unjuft, and with refpect to the trader deftruclive, fo the advantage to the landholder is only ima- ginary. " In confequence of the flatutc againft importing provifions from Ireland, the Eng- lilh grazier fells Englifh cattle at a higher price, and pays his landlord an advanced rent ; but what then ? Both the grazier and the landlord lofc more than they gain. As provifions are thus made dearer to the manufacturer, the manufacturer will in his turn make labour dearer, and dear la- bour will make dear goods of every kind. Even unmanufactured commodities will always be fold dear in the fame pro- portion as provifions are dearly bought, as has been proved, to a demonftration, by SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 143 by the great Mr. Locke, and in almoft every treatife upon taxes that has been written ; where every duty has been ihewn to fall ultimately on the landholders ; upon thofe who cannot encreafe their re- venue in proportion as government en- creafes their expence ; which traders of every kind do, by railing the price of the commodities they fell in confequence of a tax, whether they be the very com- modities on which the tax is laid or not. So that if the grazier and landlord, after felling cattle at an exorbitant price, and receiving an exorbitant rent,, pay pro- portionably more for every article they confume, the balance mult certainly be againlt them at the year's end. " As every prohibition on the trade of Ireland produces a monopoly in Eng- land, every fuch prohibition muft of ne- cefsity hurt the trade of England ; for a monopoly always adds an artificial value to the commodity, and consequently mull prevent the exportation of it to foreign parts, whither the fame commodity is fent from SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. from countries in which it bears only its natural value. How would a Dutchman or a Frenchman laugh, fays Decker, to hear the wifdom of our laws extolled for preventing the importation of cattle from Ireland, and corn from any country, ex- cept it firfl bears an immoderate price at home, when he reflects that in his coun- try, the poor, getting provifions from any place where they can be had cheapefl, are enabled to work at prices which an Englimman could not live by? " The fame falfe policy, however, that firfl prohibited the exportation of provi- fions from Ireland to England, continued the prohibition. The people of Ireland therefore, applied themfelves to the breed- ing of fheep, rather than cattle, with a view to raife a growth of wool ; nor did they flop here, manufactures were foon eftablimed, and their wool was wrought into {luffs of various kinds, which turned to good account. " But this was no fooner effected than England SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 145 England took the alarm ; fhe knew that labour was cheaper on the other fide of the water, and feared that the Iriih would fupplant her in foreign markets by felling the fame commodities at a lower price ; with a view therefore to encourage her own manufactories, and fecure them againft fo dangerous a rival, me, by an Acl: of the tenth and eleventh of William III. prohibited the exportation of wool from Ireland, after it ihould be manufactured, except only to England and Wales. " But this meafure was fo far from be- nefiting England at the expence of Ire- land, that, with refpecl to the trade in queftion, it has involved both in the fame ruin. " That it was a fatal ftroke to the ma- nufacture of Ireland, in its moll; eflential article, needs no proof; to mew that it was equally fatal to the manufacture of England, in an article that to her alfo was of the greateft importance, it is ne- c'eflary to confider the fubjedt in an ex- ten five view. VOL. I. L " It 146 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. " It is of infinite importance to every nation that depends for profperity and de- fence upon foreign trade, to have fome manufacture or commodity peculiar to it- fclf, fuch as no other can fupply the foreign market with, and, confequently, fuch as may be fold at the molt advan- tageous price. A nation that has fuch a commodity, or manufacture, in an article of great and univerfal confumption, has an advantage fuperior to every other. " Such a national advantage to Great Britain and Ireland is wool. " I ft. As manufactured wool is of uni- verfal confumption, it employs many hands. " 2dly. As it is a principal article of fo- reign trade, it employs much Shipping. " 3dly. As we can manufacture our wool without the wool of other countries ; and as other countries cannot manu- facture their wool, to the fame advantage, without ours, wool is a peculiar of thefe king- JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 14-7 kingdoms, which will enable us to com- mand a foreign market, even though la- bour mould be dearer with us than with others. " The wool of the fouthern nations, particularly of Spain, is fo tender and fine, that it cannot be woven into ftrong, thick, clofe cloth, fuch as is fit for general ufe. The wool of the northern countries is fo eoarfe, and harm, that it cannot be ma- nufactured into cloth fufficiently foft and fine for general confumption : But either, being mixed with our wool, which, like a middle quality, reduces both extremes, may be made into excellent cloth, that will rival our own, and if more cheaply manufactured, fupplant it at the foreign market, by felling at a lefs price. " It is therefore of the utmoft impor- tance to prevent the exportation of our wool unwrought, or, 'as the traders and manufacturers call it, raw ; and many laws were made for that purpofe, both in Eng- land and Ireland. L 2 " But 14-8 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. " But it being found, that feveral fla- tutcs made in Ireland for that purpofe were become pbfolete, the Parliament of England parTed an Act, in the twelfth vear of Charles the Second, which pro- hibits Ireland from exporting wool to any country but England and Wales, under the feverell penalties. " The importance of this Act may be fairly inferred from the Act itfelf ; for it is to- -be prefumed, that abfolute necefsity only would have induced a Britifh Parlia- ment to break through a rule upon which the liberty of a Britiih fubject depends ; " that every country ought to be governed by laws of its own making,'* and to vio- late the conftitution by f objecting Ireland to laws made in another kingdom. " This law, fo long as Ireland was per- mitted to export her wool manufactured, effectually reftraincd her from exporting it raw ; and though a few obfcure perfons fct thcmfclvcs to acquire an unlawful gain, by fmuggling away, raw wool, yet, 2 it SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 14-9 if being the intereft of the majority, in- deed of the country in general, to prevent it,." in order to fecure the advantage of the, trade carried on by the woollen manu- facture, they were diligently watched, and feldom efcapcd detection and punifh- ment : Thefe fmugglers were confequently few, and the injury they did to the ge- neral trade both of England and Ireland, was proportionally fmall. " But when Ireland was reftraincd from exporting her woollen manufactures, the exportation of raw wool became the buli- nefs not of a few, but of many ; it was no man's intereft, merely as a native of Ireland, to prevent it; it was therefore not only connived at, but encouraged ; and thofe who did not unlawfully export raw wool for a pecuniary advantage to them- felves, were well plealed to fee it donq by others, from a principle of rcfentment and indignation agairtft thofe who had fubjefted them to what they could not but confider as a cruel and opprclsive law, which had not only impoverifhed many L 3 in- 150 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. individuals, whofe wealth was a common benefit, but cut off bread from the mouths of innumerable induftrious poor, and, con* f 9 * fequcntly, produced national impotence and poverty. ** But the number that derive immediate advantage from this practice is very great : The perfons who graze the fheep, and who are called Flock-mafters, fell the wool at a greater price than it would fetch if it was not fmuggled away, and it paflfes through feveral hands, three at leaft, and fometimes four, before it comes into the poffefsion of thofe who privately fliip it> all of whom have a profit upon the trade, 66 As the wool fmuggled away to foreign countries, is taken by them at a very high rate, the price of that commodity is fo much increafed, that the natives of Ireland can fcarce afford to manufacture it, even for home confumption ; fo that as the act for prohibiting the exportation of manufactured wool from Ireland, put a flop to all the looms that were employed for foreign trade, the SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 151 the fmuggling of wool raw, which was the confequcnce of that a<5l, has flopped alfo, in a very great degree, the exportation to England and Wales. " The number of hands that are thus de- prived of employment, and, consequently, of mouths that are deprived of bread, is very great; and I. find it recorded, upon good authority, that when the woollen manufactory in Ireland was deftroyed, by the prohibition to export the work of the loom, no lefs than twenty thoufand induf- 'trious artifans left the kingdom at once. " But the evil does not Hop even here : The great price obtained for wool clandef- tinely exported, is an encouragement to all owners and occupiers of land to put their ground under fheep, fo that the poor, who, in default of manufactures, would be em- ployed in agriculture, are alfo cut off from that refource, and the number that cannot fubfiil in their native country, is thus greatly increafed. Nor is this an aggravated rcprc- fentation, exhibited to anfwer a particular L 4 pur- 152 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. purpefe : The want of employment fof the poor of Ireland at home, is fo notorious, that it is well known two thirds of the country are uninhabited, while there are no lefs than fifteen thoufand of them incor- porated as mercenaries in foreign armies. The number employed abroad in other capacities muft be ftill greater, as this is certainly the leaft eligible, and is the re- fource of thofe only, who can get employ- ment in no other. Numbers are ftill con- tinuing to go out of the Ifland at all oppor- tunities, and bread being rendered dear, by the great quantity of land ufed for the graz- ing fheep, at the fame time that the labour of the peafant is precluded, the wretches that remain have fcarcely the appearance of human creatures. In England there is no fuch thing as poverty, in comparifon of what is to be found in every part of Ireland, except the cities and principal towns. , j'.i'j 5.,-ji .; *i*ir; v' : - < -^'^ - >-* * - *' Nor do the inhabitants of the cities and principal towns efcape the evils produced by the contraband exportation of wool. The returns of this illicit trade are always in goods SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 153 goods fmuggled in by the fame hands that fmussle the wool out. The vefleis con- OO ccrned in this trade cannot wait for any regular freight, but muft take what they can get; yet any thing is better than French Currency, for that is worth fo much lefs in Ireland than in France, that it would pro- duce a very confiderable lofs. The goods then brought in return for our wool, are foreign fpirits, and other commodities, upon which the King has a high duty ; and thefe being fmuggled on more, a new train of evils is the confluence ; the iair trader is injured ; and the revenue falling thort, by the non-payment of the duties that iliould fupport it, new taxes become neceflary, and thus the fmuggler's profit come? out of the honeil man's pocket, whether he is a trader or not. " The fmuggling wool, therefore, with refpedl to Ireland, depopulates and im- poverilhes the country, at the fame time that it increafes the taxes, and raifes the price of bread. It deprives the poor of em- ployment, dlfcouragcs induftry, promotes idle- 154? SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. idlcnefs and debauchery, difpofes the com? mon people to infult government, fows the feeds of rebellion, and quenches humanity, by making violence, and, in fome cafes, murder, neceflary to felf-defence. " Thofe who imagine that this practice can be prevented by any laws, however feverc, or by any diligence in the execu- tion of them, while the temptations to con- tinue it remain, know very little of human, nature. The anguifh of diftrefs, and the fenfe of injury on one fide to urge, the profpect of relief, and revenge on the other to invite, will furnim motives that no hu- man power can controul. It is as cruel and as vain to expect that the people of Ireland fhould abftain from fmuggling wool, becaufe it is forbidden by thofe who have already forbidden them to eat, by pro- hibiting the exportation of it manufactured, as to expect that a man mould drown con- tentedly becaufe he cannot come on more, without trefpafsing upon the ground of him that thruft him into the water. " A^hatever is an injury to Ireland, is cer- Sift JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 155 certainly contrary to /he general ihtereft of that dominion of which Ireland is a part ; and the general difadvantages fuftained by the opprefsion of Ireland is great, in pro- portion to the advantages that might be de- rived from that kingdom, if it was in a flourifhing Hate : Thefe advantages are im- menfe, and, confequently, the mere inter- ception of them, exclusive of the pofitive evils that accrue, is an immenfe lofs and detriment to the Britiih dominions in ge- neral, as will appear on the molt curfory view of Ireland, with refpect to its fituation and natural fuperiority over other countries. That the natives are naturally induftrious, appears by the readinefs, . and even zeal, with which they came into the linen manu- factory that has lately been cfhibliihed among them. That, if they could procure fubfiitence, they would multiply greatly, appears by their fruitfulnefs, where no im- pediments reftrain it. The country, there- fore, would be fully peopled, if proper methods were taken to fubiiil its inhabi- tants ; or rather, if they were fuffered, with- out moleftation, tp exert their o\yn efforts to 156 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 10 fubfift themfelves : and Ireland, if fully peopled, would be fuperior in wealth, power, and influence, to any country .-of the fame extent in Europe, for no country has fo wholefome a climate, fo fine, fertile, and improveable a foil, fuch general and commodious inland navigation, nor fea- ports and harbours fo admirably adapted to a foreign trade. " But the prohibition laid upon the ex- ports of Ireland, frith refpect to the woollen manufactures, and the fmuggling raw wool t6 France from thence, its inevitable con- fequence, produce the molt important mif- chief to England, independent of the dif- advantages 'which they produce to that kingdom, and of the lofs England fuftoins in confequence of thofe difad vantages. " It cannot be pretended that England encreafes her inhabitants in proportion as flie depopulates Ireland. If the number of people then is the true ftrength of a flate, the depopulation of Ireland is a neat lofs; in SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. f57 in the moil important article, to the Britiik dominions. " But England is a lofer, even in the very article of trade which Ireland has been thus facrificed to fecure and increafe. Every pack of Iriih wool will work up at lead two packs of French wool, none of which could be wrought up without it, into any fluff that would rival us at market. For every pack, therefore, of wool, wrought into any fuch fluff, that would have rivalled us in a foreign market from Ireland, if her ports had been opened, there are now three packs, fo manufactured. The difadvantage, there- fore, to England, arifmg from the fale of one pack of Iriih, raw wool to France, is greater, as three to one, than the difadvan- tage which me would have fuffcred if Ire- land had exported the fame quantity wrought into cloth ; with this aggravation, that France, our rival and enemy, gains what we lofc, in (lead of Ireland, a filler kingdom, fubjccl: to the fame Prince, and united by the fame interefl. Thus do we put a foreign and hoilile ftate into poflefsion of 153 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. of the advantages which we forego, which is juft doubling our lofs, and their gain. Nor are thefe evils the creatures of mere fpeculative deduction and theoretical argu- ment ; they are evinced by facls too notori- ous to be doubted, for England has already loft the woollen trade to the Levant intirely, her trade to other parts is decreafing, and in many places the woollen trade is carried on wholly by other nations, who could have fiiared a very inconfiderable part of it only, if we had not furniihed them with ma- terials. " The truth is, that while an exorbitant currency, heavy taxes; and innumerable monopolies, efpecially that arifmg from the prohibition of provifions from Ireland and other parts beyond the fea, make labour dearer in England than in Ireland or France, either France or Ireland muft have the woollen manufacture. The French have it now, but Ireland might ftill recover it out of her hands, for even now fhe tranfports clandeftinely a few camblets lo Lifbon, where fhe und^rfels the French : and will Eng- SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 159 England ftill continue to compliment the French with a trade that ihe denies to Ireland ? " The third article in which the trade of Ireland is reftrained for the fuppofed benefit of England, confifts of fugar and molailes. The reilraint was once extended to other commodities from the plantations, which were by law forbidden to be carried frpm thence to Ireland, without being firii en- tered and landed in England. After both England and Ireland had fuffercd by this re- tlriclion more than half a century, it was taken off, except with refpect to fome com- modities that were particularly enumerated in the act of repeal, the principal of which were molaiTcs and fugar. But there is the fame reafon for taking off the reilricUon with refpecl: to thefe articles that there was for taking it off from the others. While the rcftriction was general, the price of various commodities, particularly pitch and tar, was fo raifed to the confumers in Ireland, who received them from the Plantations through England, by the delay and expence of this double 160 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. double navigation, that the fame commodi- ties could be procured cheaper from other countries, and the confequence was, that Ireland paid one hundred thoufand pounds a year, one year with another, to foreign nations for commodities which me might have had from our own Colonies, and which, fince the prohibition to import theie articles without landing them in England has been taken off, me has from our Plantations again. " Why then mould the reftriction be con- tinued upon molafles and'fugar? Ireland, to avoid the coft, danger, and delay that necef- farily attend the only method in which me can receive thefe commodities from the Britiih Colonies, procures brandy and fugars from France, for which me pays no lefs than one hundred and fifty thoufand pounds per annum. " By the trade with France into which England has driven her lifter nation, me has drawn upon herfclf two very considerable difadvantages ; in the firft place, me has inter- IR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 161 Intercepted one hundred and fifty thoufand pounds a year, which would otherwife have gone to her Colonies, and in the fecond place, ihe has encreafed the power of France to fupplant her trade ; for France, in return for brandy and fugar, takes Iriih beef, againil which England has fhut her own ports; this provifipn being procured at a low price, French freight is made cheap in proportion ; thus the French victual their mips upon better terms than England, can do from her own cpaft, and ihe not only fuffers it, but makes it neccilary. Without Iriih beef, fays Decker, the French could not well victual their mips at all, and this fupply of Irifli beef actually enables the French to underfel England in the fugar trade in Europe. " If England would effectually prevent Ireland from interfering with her trade as a rival, me ihould rather endeavour to enrich than to impoveriih her, in confequence of which, the price of labour \vbuld rife; at the fame time, England, by availing herfelf VOL. I. M of SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. of Irifh plenty, might reduce the price of labour at home. " If England was to open her ports for Irifh provifions, and fuffer Ireland to export her manufactures, the price of labour in both countries would be brought nearer to a balance : and Ireland would confequently be lefs able to fupplant England in the foreign market. Befides, if Ireland was al- lowed to export her wool manufactured, and' the fmuggling away her raw wool was thus prevented, the whole foreign market would r be fccured to us, which England muft of necefsity furnifh with two parts in three o? the woollen goods fold there, for the fol^ lowing manifcft reafon. One thoufand ftone of Irifh wool produces three thoufand ftone of manufacture. If the Irifh therefore worked up their wool, they could manufac- ture but one third of that quantity, but as the demand for cloth abroad would be the fijlme, there muft then remain two thirds m the demand unfatisfied ; this demand foreigners cannot fupply from the nature of their SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 163 their wool, and confequently England mufl;:- into whofe hands two thirds of the prefcnt woollen manufacture of France would there- fore necefTarily fall ; thus not only England in general would be benefited, but even the growers and manufacturers of wool, by i- repeal of the very law that has oppreffed Ireland with a view to their advantage. " But if England could not mare this trade with Ireland, it would be her intereft to let Ireland enjoy it alone, becaufe ihe has no alternative but to transfer it to France. If England ihould be in diftrefs me will find a refource in Ireland for relief. If me ihould part with a proportion of her flrength to Ireland, it will ftill be exerted in her behalf, for her advantage and defence ; but if ihe parts with it to France, it will be employed againil her, to her difad vantage and ruin. " As England and Ireland are one domi- nion, though two kingdoms, it is the greateit abfurdity imaginable to fuppofe, that what injures a part, can benefit the whole ; that M 2 a mea- 164? SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. a; meafure which enfeebles, depopulates, and dcprefles one third, can render the ag-- gregate ftrong, populous, and flourilhing.v* " Public happinefs, and public wealth, are terms under which mankind in general feem not to have conceived any definite and diftiiict idea. Happinefs, in a political view, and as far as it can be produced and fecured by civil inftitution, is the enjoyment which arifes from the gratification of natural wants, and fuch wants as univerfal habit has fuper* induced, with plenty and conveniency : A$ the public is nothing more than an aggre-; gate of individuals, public happinefs muft be in proportion to the number of individuals- who pollcfs thefe advantages, and the degree in which they are pofTelled. Public wealth is a general ability to procure thefe advan, tages ; and trade is the caufe and medium of public wealth, (i. e.*) it is that which produces and circulates it. Public happi- nefs therefore, does not conflft in any of the fplendid and expenfive vanities, which in the nature of things, can be poficiled . but by a few ; nor is public wealth in propor- tion SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 165 tion to the quantity of money brought into and left in the country from abroad. There may be great national wealth, in this fenfe, without a general ability to procure the necerTaries of life with plenty and conveni- ence ; nay, this ability will be lefs general in proportion as national wealth, in this popular but fallacious fenfe of the word, becomes greater ; poor and rich being rela- tive terms, the poor mult always be poor, in the fame degree that the rich are rich ; but the rich do not gain by wealth in the fame proportion as the poor fuffer by in- digence : He that has been long ufed to dine upon plate, is no happier than if he dined upon pewter ; but he that cannot fatisfy hunger, is certainly much lefs happy than he that has plenty of wliolefome food. Neither indeed are thofe who are compara- tively rich gainers by that increafc of pro- perty which rifcs from the incrcafe of money brought into the nation and left in it by trade, for the rea'fon that has been afsigned already ; the fame caufe that en- creafes their property, proportionally en- creafcs their expence. Nothing, for in- M 3 Jhmce, 166 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. fiance, can encreafe the value of land, that will not proportionately encreafe the price of whatever the rent received for fuch land can buy. Of this truth the writers upon trade feem fometimes to have had a glimpfe, and then to have loft fight of it again ; for it is common to find the fame advocate for trade, when he is recommending it as a general benefit, make court to the country gentleman by telling him that it will en- creafe the value of his land ; and when any method is propdfed to encreafe the value of land, which he thinks hurtful to general trade, he is very ready to remind his old friend, that by fuch encreafe he can gain nothing. '\ ' * jf -^ ~. . ... " Trade is the medium of public wealth, in the true fenfe of the word, only when it produces a general ability to procure fuch things as are become generally neceflary, whether by nature or habit. To do this, the trade of every country muft be fuch as fully to employ all its inhabitants. In a country where all are employed, none can fuffer by indigence ; where few are cm- ployed, SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 167 ployed, the few are too many ; where many are employed, the many are too few. " Every meafure, therefore, which lef- fens employment in one part of a kingdom, that thofe who are employed in another part of it may get more money, is not lefs abfurd than cruel ; thofe who are left idle muft ftarve, thofe whom a monopoly enables to fet a factitious value upon any manufac- ture or commodity will get money indeed, but cannot be rich, for every monopoly neccfTarily encreafes the expence of life. " It isrinanifeft, therefore, that the laws which leave the inhabitants of Ireland with- out employment, have an immediate and necellary tendency to diminifh the ilrength, happinefs, and profperity of the whole Bri- tilh dominions, and are hurtful even to England herfelf. " It muft be remembered, that as the inhabitants of every country, where all arc fully employed, will neceflarily increafe, the ilrength of fuch country muft encreafe M 4 alfo : 168 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. alfo : and national ilrength will not only fe- cure advantages already poifeffed, but compel others ; as it will render the attempts of an enemy unfuccefsful, it will alfo prevent them ; and thus the fame eaufe that circu- lates the blefsings of peace, will prevent' the calamities of war. 66 If power, therefore, is advantageous to a ftate, fo is extent of dominion ; for -the fame number of people cannot live upon ten acres of ground that can live upon twenty. It muit then be admitted, that if the number of acres in England was doubled, and the whole was fully peopled,, and the people fully employed, the aggregate of happincfs and itrength would be great in proportion* Will not Ireland, therefore, fecure to us all the advantages arifing from increafe of territory, if England does not depopulate it, by cutting off employment, and confequently bread, from its inhabi- tants? And can England procure any par- tial benefit by treatment fo injurious and ci'iiel, in proportion to the lofs of fuch ter- ritory and its advantages ? Though the fea ; divides SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 169 divides England from Ii eland, both are fub- j eel: to the fame Sovereign, parts of the fame dominion, have the fame friends and the fame enemies, are connected by a com- mon intcrcft, and produce the fame articles of commerce. England, in making laws to make Ireland poor, fays Sir Francis Brew- fter, in his Ejfay on Trade and Navigation, acts juft like a man who mould let his houfe on fire that he might burn his neigh- bour's. " Is Ireland a diftincl k ingclom ? So was York i hire in the time of the Heptarchy ? Is Ireland diftant from England ? . Several counties in England are ftill more diftant from each other, and the communication between them is not fo eafy, with rcfpecl to commerce, as the communication be- tween England and Ireland. Ireland is more adyantageoufly fituated for the Weft- India trade than England. Is v that a reafon why the Weft-India trade fhould be con- Jined to England ? It is the general intereft to direct trade where it can be beft carried an( l n t tp make the facility of carrying it -170 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. it on at one place, a reafon for transferring 1 it to another. Briftol is better fituated for the Iriih trade than London, mould Lon- don, therefore, petition that the port of Briftol fhould he locked up ? ("V <-: *-. ; t r ">t < . " Suppofe England itfelf was divided into two kingdoms, one comprehending all the South, the other all the North fide of the Thames, and there were hoftile prohibitions againft importing certain forts of goods from London to South wark, and from South wark to London, and high duties upon all the reft ; would nqt the community manifeftly fufter ? and is not the cafe exaelly parallel with refpecl; to the two parts of the Britifh dominions that lie on oppoiite fides of the Iriih Channel. " Poftlethwaite, a fenfible writer, juftly obferves, that every argument which can be formed to prove that any certain branch of trade mould be confined to one part of the Britifh dominions, which might be car- ried on with equal convenience at another, againft rival nations, will prove, that fueh part SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 171 part ftiould itfelf be divided. If England argues that Ireland ihould have no trade in manufactured wool, it may be argued againft York/hire, by the relt of England, that this county mould be excluded too ; by purfuing this argument, the manufacture may be hunted down into one county, thence into one town, nay even to one houfe, and in that houfe to one manufac- turer. The general interest will fuffer by the cxclufion in the fame proportion that the part excluded bears to the whole. " As it is manifeil, for the reafons al- ready afsigned, that England can fecure no advantage to the Britiih dominions in ge- neral, nor to herfelf in particular, by re- ftraining the trade of Ireland, it is natural to enquire whether the advantages -which" me propofcd by this meafure can be ffrot- cured any other way. " It has been ihewn, that the prohi- bition of Irilh cattle was intended to increafe the value of Englifh land, and that railing the value of Englim land is no advantage to 172 SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. to England in whatever degree it may be effected. " It has alfo been fhewn, that the prohi- bition to export manufactured wool from Ireland, was laid on, that the manufac- turers of England might have a monopoly in that article ; that England manufactures lefs wool fince this meafure than before; and that me has given to France all that me has taken from Ireland, inftead of fecuring it to herfelf. ^ X -.'* As to molafies and fugar, it has been proved, that inftead of procuring any ad- vantage from the firft landing fuch of thefe commodities in England, as were to be con- fumed in Ireland, England has fent Ire- land from her own plantations to another " And it is plain that thefe meafurcs were originally fuggefted by the great dif- ference between the price of labour and necefTaries in Ireland and England'; to bring the price of labour and neceilhries nearly to an S.IR JAMES CALDWELL, BART. 173 an equality in both countries, is, therefore, the .only means of procuring the ad vantages, which were intended by retraining the. trade of Ireland, and which retraining that ; trade can never produce, ^j;^ ., f jf ' 7 * i . '..'' (fji .'; li "J' i ( j 'I ; i, j jj ( ' ''{'&" " Many methods of doing, this have been j " ".<& 'iii fuggefted. Poillethwaite advifes tlie cul- tivation of more land ;. otl}er,s, , the abolition of taxes. A critical examination of this { ' T[ 'iiiTvi.i fubjecl cannot be expe6ted here, but it is not altogether foreign to the dqfign of this tract, to mew that one very,. confiderablfc caufe of the dearnefs of labour, and the. neceflaries of life in England, rcfults from the methods ihe has taken to procure thofc very advantages which the high price o labour and -neeeflaries preclude, and par- ticularly from the innumerable monopolies which me has ellabliihed with a view to en- grofs trade, and increafc money. " In Sir Matthew, Decker's. EiFay ,011 the. Caufes of the Decline of foreign T rade> he- has obferved that the Dutch, though more taxed in the. neceflaries of life, than any other 17* SIR JAMES CALDWELL, BAftT. other people in the world, beat us out of our trade, by fabricating the fame manu- factures for lefs money; and to mew ho\v this happens, he exhibits the following ftate of the difadvantages f an Englifh woollen manufacturer, in comparifon with the woollen manufacturer of Holland. " The difadvantages of the Englifli manu- facturer, are, " 1ft. He muft buy bread made of Eng- lifh corn, though dearer than foreign. Thus the farmer has a monopoly againft the manu- facturer, and all monopolies enhance the price of goods. '* ec 2dly. He has no drawback upon his corn. " 3dly. He has no drawback on his malt. " 4thly, He bas no drawback on his leather. " 5thly. He pays a duty on his coals of 10s. SIR JAMES CALDWELLj B'ART. 175 10s. a chaldron in London, and 5s. a chal- dron in the out ports. " Gthly. He muft buy Engliih beef, pork, mutton, lamb, and butted, though he can have IRISH CHEAPER. This gives the' grazier a monopoly againft him to make his meat dear. " 7thly. He muft buy fifh caught by Britifh veflels (except a few ports) though he ; can have it cheaper from .the Dutch and FVettch. This gives the nflaerman a. mono- poly againft him to make his fifh dear. We flflufl not ;buy foreign hats, cloths, ftuffs, ftockings, or any coarfe wool- len goods for his own ufc that arc cheaj>cr thari Englifh, even though he could fell his own to greater advantage than wearing them liimfelf. Thefe feveral branches, therefore, have a monopoly againft him, and the reft of the nation, to make all forts of cloathing dear. " Jtthly. He muft not buy French linen C 2 for Slit JAMES CALDWELL, BART. for his own ufe, however cheap, by which the linen countries hav.e ^,, ^monopoly againft him to make his linen dear. ~* lOthly. He mufl not buy, for his own life, foreign meermen's iheers, iron, or tin wares, however -cheap, . which gives the manufacturers of thofe wares. i& .monopoly againft him, to make his utenfils of iron and tin dear. :fgm>d) ^)TOCJ v/;i /; ^q3^zf>} .-f'ntiv ff; " 117 He>muft ndt procure fe verbal forts of 'goods, which 5 are 'imported for his u fe, at the- "cheapeft market, but only at the ufual ports of Shipping ; thus particular ports have a monopoly againft him to: make th^fc goods dear. wit f'> jwi;|f!$ ailf/.awo ^i ' with SIR JAMES 'CALDWELL, BART. 181 with France is only fufpended ; no one can fuppofe that it is cut off for ever. After the conclufion of war, and peace is per- fectly fettled, the connection will revive, and perhaps be greater than ever ; therefore it can do no harm to keep the argument in memory.] N 3 CHAPTER ( 182 ) CHAPTER XIII. MEMOIRS OF GREAT BRITAIN, BY SIR JOHN DALRYMPLE. ;}/;;.- Motives for this Publication. Indecent Arts made Ufe of to give it Confequence. Re- marks. Detection of many falsehoods con- tained in the Work. Ignorance of the Compiler. Ignorance of Barillon. Vindi- cation of Algernon Sydney. Strong Rca- fons for fufpecting Barilloifs Veracity. Madame Sevigne's Account of him. Ob- fervations. Vindication of Lord RuJfiL Obfer vat ions* IN the literary Anecdotes of the times, this work (jeferves to be noticed, not more for the bafencfs of its defign, than the falfehood of its contents. It was generally underftood and believed, that the . work was countenanced, and the writer pa- tronized, by the Earl of Mansfield ; and when the great influence is recollected, which the Earl of Mansfield poflefTed in 4- the MEMOIRS O? GREAT BRITAIN. 183 the King's clofet at this time, no one can be furprifed that the royal name was made ufe of to give the book im- portance and circulation. And the fol- lowing fentencc in the preface, that " His " Majefty gave orders that he [Sir John " Dalpymple] mould have accefs to the " cabinet of King William's private pa- " pers at Kenfington," gave fomething more than colour to the ufe that was made, in the way of report, of his Ma- jefty 's approbation, and encouragement of the work. Not the lead attempt was ma$e to contradict or conceal this pretended participation in the complement ; but on the contrary, the moll full, free, and even indecent exprefsions accompanied the many afTertions of it; in order to give the work w r eight and authority with the public. The contents of the work, and the cir- cumflances attending the publication of it, naturally gave fome affliction to the defcendants and relations of thofe great men, whofe characters were calumniated in it; and the nation, in general, received N 4 the 184- MEMOIRS OF GREAT BRITAIN, the flander with indignation. The feel- ings, the opinions, the prejudices of all thofe perfons were mocked who approved of the juftice and necefsity of the Revolution in 1588. They could not, and did not, for fome time at leaft, give credit to the confident aflertions of a great perfon's ap- probation of this attack ; becaufe they con- ceived it to be impofsible for any man to give his countenance to a book in which the friends of his family were r " Full of the tatterdernallioii honour of the man of quality, forfooth ! of his own country, he ufed to infult the Engliih fuitors in harangues of virulence and abufe. He had no perfuafion in his manner, fweetncfs in his voice, nor energy in his exprefsion ; no variety of turn in tone and cadencr, adapted to the purport of the matter he treated, but was curft with a loud clamorous monotony, and a difagrceable dilcordance in his LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 213 his accents, as ftruck fo harfli upon the ear, that lie feemed rather to fcrcam than plead, and from thence was called Orator Strix, or the Caledonian Screccher. [7/i ornithology, Strix means the Grey Owl. See Forftcrs Account of Birds from Hudfon's Bay, in the PJiilofophical Transactions, Vol. C2.] He was as indelicate in his words, as his uncleanly countryman Sawney in the play. So that he deformed the amiable brow of oratory and beauty of debate, with abii- five Scottifcims and obfcene language ; in- fomuch, that the faireft caufe in his hands, was fure to carry out of it a tindture of foul- nefs. He afTumed a bullying audacity in his manner, and feemed, by a pertinacious importunity, to overbear, rather than gain, the bench. This faculty however recom- mended him to the notice of fuch folicitors as dealt among the canaille; which, being much the major part of the profefsiqn, fup- plied him with a competence of bufmefs, at the fame time as he treated thefe ab- jccts (and indeed very juftly too) with haugbtinefs and contempt ; for thefe fel- P 3 lows, 214 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, lows, like fpaniels, or termagant wives over- powered, fawn under correction. " Though learning was very cheap in his country, as it might be had for a groat a quarter, fo that a lad only Went two or three miles of a morning to fetch it, and it is very common to fee there a boy of quality lug along his books to fchool, and a fcrip of oatmeal for his dinner, with a pair of brogues on his feet, pofleriors expofed, and nothing upon his legs : I fay, notwithftand- ing thefe advantages, he did not appear to be a man of more learning than one of our 1 ds or country fquires, nor to underftand the elegance of fine writing ; and yet had the good fortune to make an alliance by marriage with an Englifh family of dif-* tin6tion, which procured him not only a much higher preferment in his own way than he deferred, or in the utmofl flretch of his hopes could expect, but had like to have pufhed him up to the fummit of the bench ; if a perfon of real merit, and a genius in bufmefs, had not ftepped in between and cried LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 215 cried out firft oars. But an accident fuf- pended the occafion, and very well it did, if Strix had been the perfon to be preferred; fince it would have proved an indelible re- flection upon us to fee a Scot in fo high a ftation, when fo many of our own country- men were infinitely better qualified, and more deferving of preference. But 'tis re- markable our orator Strix ever fince funk gradually in his reputation and bufinefs, and became defpifed in his turn, by the very praclifers he had maletreated before. " 'Tis faid (continued my old friend) Strix's ill-manners drew upon him fo fevere a fcourge, from a hand he little expected, that he had reafon to repent of hiring out his lungs to calumny and abufe. Though he ufed to boafl he was above the reach of reprifals, either from words retorted upon him in his court, which I apprehended was that of the Quarter Sefsions) or from a bitter pen from without : As he pretended to be in both cafes, equally under the protection of his profefsion ; and that confequently an author muft inevitably incur the penalty of P 4* a con- LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, a contempt of his fefsiojis-bench, however cautiouily or -perhaps innocently, he may have. wrote or fcreened himfelf under an unintelligible word, obfcured by a dafh from the initial letter to the laft : Since he would fain infinuate his fefe ions-court, being in fuch a. cafe, fubjecl: to no jury, had a right to put fuch conftructions upon words as it fhould think fit, and would therefore puniih accordingly. This was a new doc- trine, and a moil dangerous one too, if it had prevailed this fide the Tweed ; which, at the fame time that it mewed the value we ought to put upon juries, and the habeas corpus acl, proved plainly what was to be expected from this Scot, if he mould ever afcend the bench ; or from any other per* fon, who fhould indifcreetly proclaim him- felf fo dangerous an enemy to Britifh li- berty. Attend, to this, Oh ! ye Southern Bri- tons, and MARK HIM FOR EVER. " A gentleman denying pur Scot's pofi- tion, infilled that in fuch a cafe, our fitua- tion here muft be as bad as that under a inquifition ; and that his bench could do LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 217 do more than our King, or the law itfelf ; which he apprehended could not take away a man's liberty, till he had been tried by a jury ; except in the cafe of fome notorious miibehaviour in open court : And that as man is a fallible creature, THE CHAIRMAN upon the bench is confequently no more ; and therefore might miftake the purport of words fo fupplied, and wreft them to the lofs of a man's liberty, than which nothing is more valuable to an Englifhman. He urged alfo, that no word ought to be ex- plained into one certain meaning to a man's difadvantage, if it could bear a different explanation as well in another way ; as for infbnce ; fuppofe I have a law-fuit with a lady about her cart, and that I fight the weapons of law through in my defence, on which me writes to me thus, Sir, I will complain to the court of you : I underwrite, and return her letter with thefe words, Damn your C t, Madam. Would it not be very hard that this imperfect word iliould be conftrued court, fince it can be as well made out by more monofyllables than one, every bit as pertinent to the matter, but 218 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, but particularly by the word cart ? Orator Strix became for once confounded, and utterly incapable of defending his pofition ; fo that 'tis plain, that nothing can be more abfurd and arbitrary in a CHAIRMAN, than to aflume a right to annex meanings and conltructions to imperfect words, to the depriving any Engliih fubject of his li- berty." This paper provoked Lord Mansfield, then Mr. Murray, exceedingly ; and he wrote an anfwer to it, which he entitled, " The Thiftie." As this paper alfo is very fcarce, the reader will not be difpleafed with feeing an extract from it alfo ; at leaft from fuch part of it as is in reply to the preceding extract. " There are fome few Englim gentle- men, and but few, at the Englifh bar ; and there are ftill fewer on the bench. But without thofe few, how unequal would both be, how degenerated from the dignity of the profefsion ! Yet though good beha- viour and politenefs be generally fruits of age- LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 219 a generous birth, we do not find it always productive of fuperior oratorial talents. The prefent Englifh bar is a pregnant infiance of this remark. For had it not been for the few Scotch there, particularly two gentlemen of that nation, who fupport oratory as far as the ftated jargon, and limited pedantry of the bar will permit, ftanders-by would be puzzled to know what was intended by the pleadings there. -i " But thefe gentlemen, no lefs confpicu- ous for knowledge and virtue, than for po- litenefs of manners and a noble extraction, have gone great lengths, the few years they have honoured the bar with their attend- ance, not only to have reformed its lan- guage, but to inftruct their fellow-barrifters in the methods, forms, and connections of an argument, of which the Englilh generally are moft ihamefully deftitute. Even the furred nodders on the bench have benefited by liftening to the orderly and nervous dif- courfes of thefe young Scottifh pleaders. Yet are they become the envy of both bench and bar. Of the latter, bccaufe they out- 220 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, outfhine all that fill it, and of the former becaufe they are able, and do daily, inftruct thofe who fit upon it. " Hence, and becaufe you dread a refor- mation in the modern fcandalous practice of the profefsion, mould an upright difcern- ing Scotch lawyer come to prefide on the bench, is one of. thofe diftinguifhed Scotch barrifters become the objecl; of your fcandal and obloquy, of your virulence and even aver/ion. You purpofely flep out of your way to abufe him, as if your whole journal was levelled at him, and the principal view of your fcribbling was to injure and deftroy, one who is no lefs an ornament to the Eng- Jifh fenate and bar, than to his family and country. " If Mr. M y, or Strix, as you inju- dicioufly call the moil poignant and harmo- nious orator of the age, be ally'd by mar- riage to an Englifh family of diftinclion, he- has, brought into it the higheft perfonal merit, and the noble blood of all the ancient nobility of Scotland : A nobility known all over LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 221 over Europe, and diftinguifhed for hofpita- lity, valour and patriotifm, long before the name of Englifhman was heard of. " No nation in Europe can boaft of a more ancient nobility than the Scotch ; nor any that has fo little reafon to plume themfelves on ancient blood and honours as the Englifh. " Therefore, though Mr. M y has married; into a family as diftinguilhed and ancient, as mofl Englifh families are or can be, yet perfuade not yourfelf that he has acquired any new honours by the alliance. In fo venal, undilcerning an age as the prefent* perhaps his high merit in his pro- fefsion had been unheeded without in- tereft at Court. But, neither his alliance nor merit, as an advocate, nor his other uncommon excellencies and virtues, were fufficient to balance the malice and envy of thofe of his own profcfsion, and par- ticularly of a lecherous, little elf in fur, or he had been already raifed- to a fummit whence lie could injoin by precept thole' virtuous 222 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, virtuous maxims which he can now in culcate by example only. " But, you fay, an accident fufpcnded " the occafion (of Strix's being raifed to " the fummit of the bench) and very well it " did, if Strix had been the perfon to be " preferred ; fince it would have proved an " indelible reflection upon us to fee a Scot " in fo high a ilation, when fo many of our " own countrymen were infinitely better " qualified, and more deferving of pre* " ferment." " But why mould it be an indelible re- flection on Englifhmen that a Scot, with more merit and virtue than any of his cotem- porary pleaders, mould be placed in a high flation. The Union gives him an equal right with the Englifh profefTors of the law, and fame has fet him far before all thofe of his (landing. " I remember a late eminent Englifli lawyer, pufhed up by fortune to the fum- mit of his profefsion, who could never bear LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 223 bear an Iriihman, becaufe, in his younger days, he had been ufed, as he deferved, by a gentleman of Ireland, whom he had afperfed to a lady they both courted. " 'Tis peculiarly remarkable that the prejudice to the Scotch and Iriih in Eng- land, is confined to the males only ; the Engliih fair being too difcerning and ge- nerous to indulge a native, interefted,^ un- juil prejudice to all who are not born among themfelves. But this is not the only in- ftance of the fuperiority of the Englifh fair over Englifhmen. The firfl are as open, frank, generous, gay, vacant, fpright- ly, polite, compafsionate and humane, as the latter are dark, fullen, niggardly, but to indulge their own pafsions, dull, ihipid, vain, prejudiced, cruel and mercilefs. Fo- reigners obferve, and jultly, that the men and women of England differ as much from each other, in humour, fentimcnt and comportment, as any two nations of Europe. 46 I have kept you company thus far in 4 a dirty 224? LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, a dirty road into which you led me, much againft my inclination, being much more delighted in praifmg than fatyrizing. But it is high time that we part; you, if you have any fhamc, to repent and atone pub- lickly for your fcandalous general libel, on a brave, faithful, ancient nation, and your particular defamatory attempt on the cha- racter of a gentleman, whofe virtue and eloquence would do honour to ancient Greece and Rome: and I, to take pride to myfelf for holding up the mirror to you, which I hope will bring you to a fenfe of your duty, as a fellow-fubject, a neighbour, and a gentleman. " If I have not drawn your country- men as amiable and comely as they fajicy themfelves to be, are they not obliged to you, on one hand, who forced the pen into my hand, and to truth on the other, which obliged me to render them jujtice? Am not I warranted from the known cha- racter of your countrymen, and from your writings particularly, who are but the echo of Engliihmen, to produce them un- ileady, LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 225 fteady, prejudiced, ungrateful, vain, fordid, cruel, and immoral ? Would not all the connoifTeurs think me either an ignorant, or a cringing, fawning, flattering painter, if I had drawn Engliihmen lefs natural and deformed ? Should I not be deemed a fpaniei cur, a time-ferver, an unnatural member of a fociety of as brave a people as the fun mines on, if I did flatter a na- tion that treat my country and country- men arrogantly, infultingly, ungratefully, and unjuftly ? " There are certain bounds beyond which pafsivenefs becomes a fault inflead of being a virtue ; and you have driven my patience to that critical point by the licentioufnefs of your pen : therefore fuch quarters as you gave you ihould not mur- mur at receiving ; and the rather, that you fpoke the language of prejudice, envy, and malice, I fpeak that of truth only." There was another character of Lord Mansfield, fuppofed to have been written by a fubfequent Lord Chief Juftice of the Common Pleas (Lord Camden) in the VOL. I. Q well 223 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, well known trad:, entitled " A Letter on " Libels and Warrants, &c." But as that tract is in many hands, and in the " Col- " lection of Scarce Tracts," it is not nc- cefTary to fay more of it in this place. Every perfon can refer to it. The admirers of Lord Mansfield have al- ways fhewn themfelves diflatisfied with any ftatemerit of fuch parts of his con- duct as tended to the diminution of his celebrity. They affert his impartiality, his wifdom, his penetration and patience. On the contrary, thofe perfons who have declared his Lordfhip capable of com- mitting every enormity whenever he had opportunity to advance the power of the Crown, or trefpafs on the liberty of the fubject, have been offended whenever he has been complimented with the titles of a Great Lawyer, and an Upright Judge. They arraign his principles of law, and deny his impartiality. ~, \ * ; Between thefe extremes, Lord Manf- field's A LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 227 field's true character will not be ealily nor perhaps accurately denned. That it lay between them is true ; but to which it moft inclined, may, in the opinion of fome perfons, be difficult to afcertain. In the year 1738, Lord Mansfield having married one of Lord Winchelfea's daughters, attached himfelf to the Whigs. In the year 174*2 he was made Solicitor General, and brought into Parliament for Boroughbridge. In the year 1754- he was made Attorney- General, and in 1755. Chief Juftice, and created Lord Mansfield. During the whole Adminiftration of the Pelham's, he adhered to the Whigs, and particularly to Mr. Pelham, whofe con- fidence he obtained much in the fame way that his friend Mr. Stone obtained that of the Duke of Newcaftle. They, (Stone and Murray) were accufed of being Jacobites, and the accufation was brought before the Houfe of Lords. But they had dexterity and influence fuffi- cient to flop the progrefs of the enquiry. Mr. Stone then being fub-governor to the Q 2 Prince 228 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, Prince (the prefent King) was fuppofecl, by fome people, to conduct himfelf in the capacity of a double fpy. He owed his appointment to the Duke of New- caftle, for the purpofe (as was conjectured) of giving the Duke information of the proceedings and tranfactions of Leiceiter- houfe, and preferred his intereft at Lei- cefter-houfe by giving information to Lord Bute of the defigns and tranfactions of the Miniftry, in which he was afsifted by his friend Lord Mansfield, then Mr. Murray. Whether thefe opinions are finely correct or not, it is certain that Lord Bute had authentic information of all the projects and meafures of the Mi- niftry, even at the time when the politics of St. James's and Leicefter-houfe differed moft. It has been the great felicity of Lord Mansfield's reputation, that his conduct has generally been viewed on the favour- able fide only. And that fuch detached parts of it as reflected moft to his honour have been principally thofe which have been held up to public view. If the whole LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 229 whole of his conduct had been fairly and impartially examined, it would in many points have brought to our remembrance the conduct of thofe learned chiefs, Tre- fylian, Keyling, Scroggs, Jefferyes, and fome others. There is an anecdote of the great Lord Bacon, and it is well authenticated, which cannot be improper to mention in this place. It is in a paragraph or two in an excellent book of a very eminent and wor- thy judge, which is much commended by thofe who do not belong to the pro- fefsion, as a collection of good principles; and if any thing could be a warning to the intemperate zeal of Political Judges, perhaps fome advantage might redound from a frequent repetition of this anecdote. Mr. Juftice Fofter, in his difcourfe upon high treafon, has the following pafiage, which may be ufefully read by any per- fon, and at any time, without regard to the particular fubjecl and occafion of it, p. 199. " This cafe therefore weigheth Q 3 very 230 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, very little, and no great regard hath been paid to it ever fmce." " And, perhaps, ftill lefs regard will be paid to it, if it be confidered that the King, who appeareth to have had the fuc- cefs of the profecution much at heart, and took a part in it unbecoming the Majefly 'of the Crown, condefcended to inftrucl his Attorney-General with regard to the proper meafures to be taken in the ex- amination of the defendant. That the Attorney, at his Majefty's command, fub- mitted to the drudgery of SOUNDING THE OPINIONS OF THE JUDGES, upon the point of law, before it was thought advifeable to rifque it at an open trial. That the judges were to be fifted feparately and foon, before they could have an opportu- nity of conferring together. And that for this purpofe four gentlemen of the pro- fefsion, in the fcrvice of the Crown, were immediately difpatched, one to each of the judges ; Mr. Attorney himfelf underi- taking to praclife upon the Chief Juftice, Qf LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 231 of whom fome doubt was then enter- tained. " Is it pofsiblc, that a gentleman of Bacon's great talents, could fubmit to a fervice fo much below his rank and cha- racter ! But he did fubmit to it, and ac- quitted himfelf notably in it. " AVARICE, I think, was not his ruling pafsion. But whenever a falfe ambition, ever reftlefs and craving, overheated in pur- fuit of the honours which the Crown alone can confer, happeneth to ftimulate an heart otherwife formed for great and noble purfuits, it hath frequently betrayed it into meafures full as mean, as Avarice itfelf could have fuggeited to the wretchecl animals who live and die under her do- minion. For thefe pafsions, however they may feem to be at variance, have ordina- rily produced the fame effects. Both de- grade the man ; both contract his views into the little point of felf- interest, and equally Iteel the heart againlt the rebukes of confciencc, or the fenfe of true honour. Q 4- " BACON 232 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, - " BACON having undertaken the fer- vice, inform eth his Majefty, in a letter addrefled to him, that with regard to ' O three of the judges whom he nameth, he had fmall doubt of their concurrence, * Neither, fayeth he, am I wholly out of hope that my Lord Coke himfelf, when I have in fome dark manner put him in doubt that he mall be left alone, will not continue fmgular." > : ,' * * . Thefe are plain naked facts ; they need no comment. Every reader will make his own reflections upon them. I have but one to make in this place. This method of foreftalling the judgment of a court in a cafe of blood, then depending, at a time too when the judges were removeable at the pleafure of the Crown, doth no honour to the memory of the perfons concerned in a tranfaction fo inlidious and unconftitutional ; and at the fame time, greatly weakeneth the authority of the judgment." (See Bacon's letters, in the 4to edition of LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 233 of his works, 174-0, Lett. Ill, 112, 114, lie, 117. Others of his letters fhew that the fame kind of intercourfe was kept up between the King and his Attorney-Ge- neral, with regard to many cafes then depending in judgment ; particularly in the cafe of one Owen executed for trea- fonable words : in that of Mr. Oliver St, John touching the benevolence, in the difputes between the Courts of King's Bench and Chancery in the cafe of the pramunire : and in the proceedings againft' the Countefs of Somerfet." It is generally allowed, that in moft cafes between fubjecl: and fubjecl, he fhewed great penetration and judgment. He pof- fefTed a talent, if it may be called fo, of difcovering the merits of a caufe before it was half heard. This quickncfs, how- ever, fometimes betrayed him into too early a propenfion in favour of one of the parties. And in this precipitation he was more than once or twice unjuft. So difficult it is, for the moft acute under- finding, at all times,- to difcover hidden' truths ; 234- LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, truths; and fo dangerous it is, to enter-, tain a conceit of poffefsing, by intuition, a talent fuperior to the reil of mankind. Yet this is perfectly true of Lord Manf- field. Some lawyers have occafionally af- fumed a courfe of imitation ; but the at- tempt has been fo clumfy and inade- quate, it fcarcely deferves the name of a caricature. rn- . f K'.-< In all thofe political caufes concerning the prefs, in which the Crown was party, he was partial in the extreme. His rule of law uniformly was, that the Crown was never wrong in thofe caufes. To the li- berty of the prefs he was a fmcere and implacable enemy. His definition of this liberty was, a permifsion to print without a Ijcenfe, what formerly could only be printed with one. In trials for libels, he has been heard to deliver fuch language from the bench, as ought to have flufhed the jury with indignation. In thofe trials, his invariable practice was, in his charge to the jury, to make a laboured reply to the defendant's connfel. Will any candid perfon LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 235 perfon fay this was proper conduct in a judge who ought to be ftrictly impartial ? This is not the language of prejudice for the truth of it an appeal may fafely be made to all thofe perfons who are yet alive, who heard him upon thofe occa- fions. But a ftronger proof cannot be given of Lord Mansfield's general mifconduct and mif-directions to juries, in cafes of libels, than the late declaratory act of Parliament of the 7'iglits of juries, which was brought forward by Mr. Fox and Mr. Erfkine, and was fupported by a confiderable part of the Miniflry. The artful and dangerous practices of Lord Mansfield (in thefe poli- tical trials, fo interefting to public liberty) to which he had through life mod tena- cioufly adhered, and had ardently main- tained to be law, were totally annihilated and done away. Juries were reftored to their conflitutional rights, which fixes upon his memory and character a more indeli- ble ftigma, than could have been inflicted foy an article of impeachment. The many tran f- LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, tranfgrefsions he had committed on law, juftice and humanity, rendered this act of Parliament abfolutely necefTary. Lord Cam- den, though far advanced in years, vigo- roufly fupported the bill in the Houfe of Lords, and condemned all Lord Manf- ficld's doclrines in terms of jult afperity. There is a facl not lefs refpecling Lord Mansfield's favourite opinion, than his great defign upon the rights of juries, in all quef- tlons concerning the liberty of the prefs, which diftinguifhes him to have been from principle, as well as ftudy, perhaps, the moft dangerous enemy to the conftitutional rights of juries, that ever fat in a court of juftice, fince the time of the ftar-cham- ber. The fact here alluded to, happened on the trial of John Williams, in the month of July, 1764, for re-publhliing the North Briton in volumes. Serjeant Glynn, who was counfel for Williams, faid, with a ftrong cmphafis, " That in the matter of libel, u they were the proper judges of the law, " as LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 237 " as well as the fact; that they had the " full right to determine, whether the " defendant had publifhed the North Briton " with the intent as laid in the Attorney-ge- " neral's information." Lord Mansfield flop- ped him mort, and declared in a very ftrong and menacing manner, " That if Serjeant " Glynn afTerted that doctrine again, he " (Lowl Mansfield) would take the opinion of " the twelve judges upon it." The learned fcrjeant inftantly faw the fnare, and the dcfign that was concealed under it. He was fenfible of the danger to public li-, bcrty, in fubmitting a queftion which was to be worded by Lord Mansfield upon the rights of juries, to the opinions of the twelve judges at that time. No one could doubt that a confiderable majority of the twelve judges would confirm all Lord Mansfield's doctrine concerning libels ? and particularly all his Lordfhip's limitations of the rights of juries. The learned fer- jeant therefore, with great prudence, and a great regard for the rights of juries, faw that it was more proper to fubmit, than to give Lord Mansfield an opportu- nity 238 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, nity of obtaining an authoritative confir* mation of his innovations in the conftitu- tion. Thus, by a device of Lord Manf- field, the rights of juries upon this great point hung as it were upon a fingle thread. Well might Judge Willes fay, " mark him /" Had Lord Mansfield's pro- ject taken effect ; and had the majority of the judges acquiefced, of which it is more than probable Jie had no doubt, it muft have been extremely difficult, and next to- an impofsibility ever to have recovered the rights of juries, which Lord Mansfield had ufurped, and which ufurpation had been confirmed by the judges. .,.-." . Upon another occafion, Lord Mansfield attempted the fame device, but the weak- nefs of his nerves prevented the defign being carried into effect. This was in the year 1770, when he gave a paper to the clerk of the Houfe of Lords, containing the opinion of the Court of King's-Bench, upon one of the trials of Junius's letters. The Houfe of Lords was fummoned at the LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 239 the requcft of Lord Mansfield, on Mon- day the eleventh day of December. Great expectations were raifed. Lord Manf- field's doclrines concerning libels had been much can vailed in the Houfe of Com- mons, in confequence of a motion made by Serjeant Glynn ; it was therefore fup- pofed and believed, that his Lordmip in- tended to bring the fubject before the Houfe of Lords. And, probably, that was his original intention. But when the Houfe met (on the eleventh of December) his Lordmip only faid, that he had left a paper containing the opinion of the Court of KingVBench with the clerk ; and that their Lordfhips might read it^ and take copies of it. [The paper, and Lord Camden's anfwer, are printed in all the Parliamentary Debates.] It is fcarcely pofsible to conceive any thing more ridiculous than this was. He certainly mult have changed his inten- tion, for no perfon ..will credit that he Jiad the Houfe fummoned for the paltry purpofe of telling their Lordihips he had left 240 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, left a paper with the clerk. Lord Camden afked him, if he meant to have his paper entered upon the Journals ? " No ! No ! faid Lord Mansfield, only to leave it with the clerk." Next day, Lord Camden attacked Lord Mansfield pretty iharply on the fubjecl; of his paper, and put feveral queftions to him concerning the fenfe of it. Lord Mansfield faid it was taking him by fur- prife, and that he would not anfwer in- terrogatories. Lord Camden defired that a day might be fixed for his Lordfhip to give his anfwers ; but Lord Mansfield would not confent. As far as this attack upon Lord Manf- field went, it was perfectly judicious ; and it would have been imprudent to have pufhed the matter further ; becaufe an at- tempt of that fort might, and moft probably would, have brought the fubjecl: into gene- ral debate ; and thereby have been the caufe of eftablifhinsr Lord Mansfield's doc- o trine irreverfibly, and cloathing it with 4 all . LORD CHIEF JUSTICE* 241 all the folemn graces and fan6tions which a certain well known crafty influence can cafily procure. The next attack that Lord Mansfield made on the rights of juries, was not lefs interfiling, hut it was open and avowed. The judges of his own court fupported his defign without, perhaps, perceiving the nature and extent of it ; at leaft it may be candid to admit the pofsible fuppo- fition, for Lord Mansfield's art was ufually the heft of art ; it was the art to conceal itfelf : but this attempt was attended with an advantage to the public that Lord Manf- field did not forefee. It brought forth the ftrong admired talents, and great legal abilities of Mr. Dunning, afterwards Lord Aihburton. It - has been already mentioned, under the head of the Duke of Grafton, that Lord Mansfield was exceedingly hurt by a tract of great celebrity, entitled " A Letter on Libels and Warrants, &c." He therein faw his doctrines of law, and his conduct VOL. I. R as 24-2 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, as a judge, treated in a manner that was no way favourable to his views. But, al- though he was ardent to punifh the printer, he did not choofe to trull a jury with .the caufe. He therefore contrived a new mode, or rather revived a very obfolete one from the ilar-chamber. This was to connect the matter of libel with the pri- vate conduct of the judge, and then to maintain, that a (tatement of the private conducl of a judge at chambers, or at his own houfe, was a contempt of the court. It would not be very difficult, to an artful bad man, to conllrue moil libels into a contempt of court. Mr. Dunning faw the extent of the manoeuvre. The cafe was this. Lord Mansfield had altered the record in the cafe of Mr. Wilkes at his own private houfe* Amongft the many parts of .Lord Manf- field's conduct which were cenfured in the Letter on Libels and Warrants, was this fact, of his altering the record. The writer's ftatement of this fact, Lord Manf- field called a contempt of the court. The pro- LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 243 procefs upon a contempt, which is always fomc clear indifputable fact, and generally againft the officers of the court, attornics or evidence, is by iffuing a writ of at- tachment, and the defendant anfwering upon oath fuch interrogatories as fhall he put to him. If he purges himfelf (as it is called) of the charge, he is acquitted ; if not, the court inflict fuch punimment as they think proper. There is no other trial, nor any jury called in. Whether what Lord Mansfield had done was right or wrong, could not by this procefs become a matter of enquiry, nor even of animadverfion. If Lord Mansfield had proceeded in any of the ufual ways againft libels, by action, information, or indictment, there would have been lati- tude for the difplay of the ingenuity and ability of counfel. He took this for the more prudent and certain way. But his attempt was oppofed with a degree of intrepidity and firmnefs he did not ex- pect. Jl 2 Upon LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, Upon'the rule for mewing caufe why the writ of attachment mould not iflue, Air. Dunning burfl out with aftoniming fplen- dour, which gave rife to the report that he was the author of the tract. By many peo- ple the tract was fuppofed to be written by Lord Camden. It certainly contained the whole of his Lordmip's doctrine concerning libels. There was a third gentleman con- cerned. The defendant's counfel (Serjeant Glynti and Mr. Dunning) exerted themfelves with great energy and force of reafoning againft this mode of proceeding. They acknow- ledged that the procefs by attachment, .was, in certain cafes, and upon particular .occa- fions, perfectly legal ; but they earneftly contended that the matter before the court was not one of thofe cafes. They cited precedents to prove that a chief juftice, of the moil indifputable abilities, had declined the life of this mode of proceeding. This was the great Lord Coke. They obferved, that the caufe now depending is the moft important, and the moft eflcntially intereft- ing LORD ; CHIEF JUSTICE. 245 ing to the liberty of the fubjcct, of airy that ever had been brought before that judicature. That the method of trial by a jury is the in- herent, the native, the peculiar privilege and glory of Eriglifhmen ; that this mode of procefs was originally founded on the beft and the moil folid principles, and that the wifdom of it had been approved by a long fuccefsion of ages ; that whenever it ihould be deemed expedient to alter it, and to adopt any other mode of proceeding, the legiilature, as it is the moil proper judge of this expediency, fo it would be the only proper authority to enforce the fubj eel's obedience. They contended that the pam- phlet did not at all fuit the party alluded to. That it appeared from the affidavits on behalf of the profecution, that the facYs were not as ilated in the pamphlet ; and if fo, there was an end. of the caufe for the particular mode of proceeding contended for.. That it was impofsiblc the character drawn in the pamphlet ihould be the por- trait of an original, it deviated fo far from the likenefs of any chief julrice, particu- larly the prefent one of the court of King's- R 3 bench. LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, bench. That it was only in anfwer, by v*ay of argument, to another pamphlet, that had advanced doctrines not agreeable to the notions of the author of The Letter on Libels. They likewife urged, that fup- pofing a pamphlet to be a reflection upon the party alluded to, yet that an attachment was an improper mode of proceeding in this cafe; for that if the chief juftice of the court was alluded to, he had feveral methods jto do himfelf juftice, without taking this unconftitutional one ; he was a member of a mofl illuftrious body, who would never fuf- fer the flighteft reflection on the character of any of their members to pafs unnoticed or uncenfured ; that as a peer of the realm, he was entitled to his action of fcandalum magnatum, wherein he need not fear but that a jury would give him a proper fatis- faclion for. any injury he ihould prove to them he had received. 1 1\ . :*t.. i'j ' -'iiJ '*.'' '"' That an attachment (the procefs of con- tempt) was originally inftituted for the benefit of the fubject ; it was eftablimed to enforce obedience to the commands of 2 courts LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 247 courts of juftice ; it was founded in necef- fity, for, if the courts of juftice were not poiiefTed of fuch a power, their proceedings would be vague and nugatory ; and there- fore, as the cafe before them, was not at- tended with any of the peculiar circum- ftances neceflfary to fupport an application of this fort, it would be too much for the court to extend it beyond its original limits. That a. contempt mufl be a pofitive fact ; muft be an acl: done and committed. A conftmctive contempt was a thing never heard of: it would be fuch a comprehen- five encreafe of power, that no perfon would be fafe one moment wherever it was per- mitted. That even the practice of granting in- formations, which went a great way, would be nothing if the prefent motion were granted. The method to apply for an information is this, the party, who conceives himfelf R 4 injured, LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, injured, annexes the paper, in which he thinks himfelf alluded to, to his own affi- davit, wherein he fwears that he believes the writer, printer, or publifher, (as the cafe may happen to be) intended to reflect on him ; whereupon the court grants the information, but the defendant is always tried, and the fact proved to the fatisfaclion of a jury ; but in this cafe, if the attach- ment goes, the court exercife the diftinct and peculiar provinces, of party, judge, evi^ dence, and jury, They obferved, that it was no contempt to difobey the order of a judge at niji prius, at the Old Bailey, or at chambers, till made rules of court ; which was generally done of courfe, from the refpecl the court paid to the perfons who made fuch orders ; how- ever, as the order in queftion never was made a rule of court, it wa.s no con- tempt. They inftanced the late Lord Ferrers's cafe, in which an habeas corpus had irTued ijvthe vacation to bring his countefs before a judge, ,'UXORD CHIEF JUSTICE. tv judge, which the earl not doing, a motion was made the enfuing term for an attach- ment, for a contempt in not obeying the writ ; but the court was of opinion it was no contempt of court, the writ. not having iiTued by virtue of a rule of the court, and the motion was denied, and a rule granted for another habeas corpus. Another cafe they inftanced was, a mo- tion for an attachment againft the publifher of The Moderator, in which lord chief juf- tice Pratt's determination, for difcharging Mr. Wilkes ; from his commitment, was called precipitate and inconfiderate, injudicious and erroneous ; yet the rule was never made abfolute. The Attorney General, (Sir Fletcher Nor- ton) after expatiating very largely upon the 'heinoufnefs of the offence, took, occafion to fay, that if the defendant had, at the time that the motion for the rule was made, (which was in January, 17 Co,) flopped the circulation of the book, and had come per- .fonally before the court, and . made fome kind 250 LATE ARL OF MANSFIELD, kind of fubmifsion, he had no doubt that iuch a conduct would have had its proper weight ; and for his own part he mould have been fo thoroughly fatisfied with it, he would not have profecuted the matter any further. But inftead of that, his con- duel had been the reverfe : he had printed the libel feveral times fince the prefent pro- ceedings had commenced ; he had circu- lated it all over the kingdom, all over Eu- rope he believed. The Solicitor General (De Grey) after- wards Lord Walfingham, faid but little. Mr. Morton was very ftrong for fevere punimment ; to which Mr. Wallace agreed. Mr. Serjeant Glynn replied. After which Sir J. E. Wilmot, who prefided in the abfence of Lord Mansfield, (who left the bench the moment the counfel began) ob- ferved, that the arguments had been fo ftrong, and the cafe was fo important, the court would take time to confider of both ; and tORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 251 and would give notice to the counfel, when they were ready with their opinions. Nothing further was done during that term. A few days after the commencement of the next term (Trinity) the defendant gained information, that the judges having had a confultation upon the fubjecl, had difcovered an ERROR in the proceedings, which error they had faid was fatal ; but it might he amended with the confent of the defendant's counfel, and without fuch confent it could not. The error was in the firft procefs. It was in the rule granted in January to mew caufe. It was therein called, the King again/I John Wilkes. Whereas it ought to have been, the King again/I Defendant. The defendant communicated his infor- mation to his counfei. Neither of the gens tlemen gave any credit to it. They were confident there was no truth in it. [The error 252 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, error had efcaped the obfcrvation of ^all the counfel.] However, next day, to their aftonifh- ment, the facl appeared. For about two o'clock, juft as the court of king's-bench was fuppofed to be rifing .(the court of com- mon pleas was up) Lord Mansfield fud- denly left the bench, and Sir J. E. Wilmot inftantly called for the defendant's counfel. Mr. Dunning happened to be in the court, and a meffenger was fent for Mr. Serjeant Glynn, who having left the court of common pleas, was overtaken at the hall gate, jufl as he was ftepping into his carriage. When the ferjeant came into the court, Mr. jufticc Wilmot faid, he had a matter to propofe to them, in the affair of the attachment, to which he mould defire their concurrence ; viz. in the rule granted laft January, there was found to be a material mifbke, it was called the King againjl John Wilkes, inftead of the King againft the Defendant. His defire was, that the defendant's counfel would give their confcnt to amend the error by 4- ftriking LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 253 (taking out Mr. Wilkes's name, and infert- ing the defendant's. Mr. Dunning faid, that if it meant to o extend the charge of contempt to other parts of the pamphlet, the defendant would be adjudged unheard ; for all the arguments of his counfel had been confined to the para- graph which had been fuppofed to allude to the alteration of the information in the particular cafe of Mr. Wilkes ; which tranfa6tion not being an acl of the court, but of a fmgle judge at his own houfe, or chambers, was not, as he and the learned ferjeant had contended, and did ftill con~ tend, nor could not by any fair and liberal conftruclion, be called a Contempt of the court. Now if it is intended, faid he, to Jliift the ground of acctifation, it mull be by a frcfh rule, and frcih affidavits. Mr. Serjeant Glynn faid, the propofal had furprized him a good deal. He was totally unprepared. It was not -the practice of the court to make fuch applications. He could not content to it. 254 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, Mr. Juftice Yatcs faid, the error had come to his knowledge only a day or two ago ; that there was other matter in the pamphlet, which was of the higheft confequence to the court ; and though it was not the practice of the court to make fuch alterations, yet, in this very extraordinary cafe, he thought the defired alteration both perfectly right and neceflary. Sir Richard Afton admitted, that it was not the practice ; but this was a very par- ticular cafe, in which the honour of the court was deeply concerned. Sir J. E. Wilmot very earneftly and warmly folicited Mr. Serjeant Glynn and Mr. Dunning, to give their confent to the pro- pofed alteration. He made ufe of a variety of arguments, fuch as accelerating the courfe of juftice ; the difreputable idea of a fuf- picioji to tho contrary, &c. At length Mr. Serjeant Glynn moved to difcharge the rule. The court refufed to agree to the motion. The Attorney-general faid he would confent to the motion to dif- charge LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 255 charge the rule, if the learned ferjeant would add to his motion, that it was io confequence of the miftake. Mr. Dunning faid, he would not agree to that, becaufe it left, by ftrong implica- tion, ground for a freih rule. Notwithftanding every thing was urged from the bench, that great abilities could fuggeft, and enforce, ftill Mr. Serjeant Glynn and Mr. Dunning continued firm in their refufal. At length the judge (Wilmot) afked Mr. Serjeant Glynn, as a gentleman, to give his confent. The judge and the ferjeant lived upon terms of intimacy, and this requcft being made to him, as from one gentleman to ano- ther, piqued the ferjeant a good deal, who, with fome warmth, replied, That as a man of honour he could not confent ; for that his client had been with him the day before, had told him of the error, and the intention of the propofed amendment, which at that time he did not give credit to ; and had in- Itruclcd 256 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELfi, ftructed him particularly not to confent to the amendment, if it was propofed. This altercation, which , had lafted above two hours, now ceafed ; and another applica- tion was made from the bench. This was a requeft, that they would move for a rule to mew caufe, why the prefent rule ihould not be discharged ? Mr. Dunning, who had alfo been a good deal irritated, ihar'ply faid, What ! a rule upon a rule ! It is contrary to all practice. This requeft was alfo re- fufed. Next day, Mr. Philip Carteret Webb, folicitor of the treafury, prepared a frefh aceufation, from a confiderable quantity of freih matter, extracted from the pamphlet, with frcih affidavits of the publication, &c. all which were read in court ; and a motion made for a new rule, againft the defendant, to mew caufe why a writ of attachment ihould not irTue againft him for his con- tempt. i The rule was granted. But the defendant being gone into the country (apprehending the LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 257 the bufmefs to be finifhed) the officers could not make a perfonal fervice of the rule ; and cdniplaint of 4 this circumftance being made to the Court, the following third rule was iflued. Saturday next, after fifteen days from the day of the Holy Trinity, in the fifth year of King George the Third. ENGLAND. Upon reading the feveral affidavits of John Topham and another, and a rule of this court thereto annexed ; and of Robert Mafon, and a duplicate of the fame rule thereto annexed, it is ordered that Tuefday next be given to the defen- dant, to mew caufe why a writ of attach- ment mould not iffue againft him for his contempt. And it is further ordered, that leaving a copy of this rule with, and JJiewing the original to any of the family of the faid defendant, at the dwelling houfe of him the faid defe?idant, Jliall be deemed good fervice of this rule. On the motion of Mr. Wallace, By the Court. VOL. I. S On 258 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, On the day appointed by the laft rule fot Shewing caufe, Mr. Dunning ftated to the court, the fhortnefs of time that had been allpwed the defendant to make a defence to the great length of frefh matter, which had been felected ; and afTerted, that it was impofsible to confider of a proper defence, in a cafe of fuch importance, which had engaged the attention of perfons of all ranks, without longer time. And, after Very forcibly reprefenting the harfhnefs, and feeming perfecution in the cafe, moved to enlarge the time for Ihewing caufe, until the next term. The motion was granted. Next month (July 1765) the miniftry were changed. And a total revolution in politics took place. Mr. Yorke, who had been appointed Attorney-general, was de- firous of continuing this profecution ; but the Marquis of Rockingham, who was then Minifter, interpofed, and prevented any farther proceedings. In the month of November, 1768, a wo- man CHIEF JUSTICE* Irian hating appeared before two of his Majefty's juftices of peacej to fwear a child againft the fecretary to Count Bruhl, the Saxon Minifter ; the Count interfered* and the jufUces were afraid to proceed* The woman applied to Sir Fletcher Norton, who advifed that a motion Ihould be rriade in the court of KingVbench for a peremptory mandamus to the juftices to proceed in that filiation. The motion Was accordingly madfc by Mn Mansfield* The Lord Chief JufHce Mansfield re* ceived it with marks of anger and furprife J he faid he did not underftand what was meant by fuch collufive motions, unlefs it was to draw from that court an opinion upon the privileges of foreign rhinifters, which they had no right to meddle with ; that the mo- tion was abfolutely improper ; that he wondered who advifed it, and that he cer* tainly fhould not grant the mandamus. Sir Fletcher Norton then got tip* . and faid, that the party was his client ; that 'hid Majefty's fubjedts, when injured, had a S 2 right 260 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, right to redrefs fomevvhere or other ; and that he knew of no place where fuch re- drefs could he legally applied for or obtain- ed, hut in the court of King's-bench ; that therefore he had advifed the motion. Lord Mansfield, upon this, began to flourifh, in his ufual ftile, upon the facred privileges of ambafTadors, the law of nations, &c. &c. repeated fomcthing about collu- five motions, and took notice that the ap- plication for redrefs ought regularly to have been made to Count Bruhl, or to his Ma- jefty 's 'Attorney-general. .*> Mr. Juftice Afton laid, deliberately, that he agreed entirely with the Lord Chief Juftice, and that the motion ought not to be granted. ' . if *t'i 'f* Sir Fletcher Norton then faid, that, after he had declared himfelf the advifer of the motion, he did not expect to have heard it again called collufive ; that he defpifed and abhorred, all ideas of collufion as much as any man in that court ; that it was the iirft , *< '..! I <7 . ;^T)il \ 2 time, LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 261 time, .and he hoped it would be the laft, that he fhould hear the court of KingV bench refer an injured fubject of England to & Foreign- Mini/ler, or to an Attorney-general for redrefs ; that the laws of this country had not; left , his Majefty's fubjecls, com- plaining 'D injury, without a legal and cer- tain protection ;,tliat their claim was a claim of right, -upon, ! which the court of King's- bench had .full authority: to inquire, and vmft. determine ; .'that if his clients were in-, jured, he fhould always bring them to that court for redrefs, let who would have com- mitted the injury* and he would take care that that court J/iould do them juftice ; that his [motion was proper, land Jltould not be withdrawn.. Judge Yates then faid, that the reafons offered by Sir Fletcher Norton had clearly convinced him, that he had not the leafl doubt of the authority of the court to pro- tect his Majefty's fubjecls ; and that, for his part, he fhould never refer them either to a Foreign Minifter, or to an officer of the crown ; that he thought the motion per- S 3 fectly feclly regular, and that it ought tq granted. Judge Afton then began to recant. He faid, that he was always glad to be con-r viaced of a miftake, and happy in having an early opportunity of acknowledging it ; that from what his brother Yates and Sir Fletcher Norton had faid, he faw clearly that his firfl opinion had been erroneous, and that he agreed the motion ought to be granted. Lord Mansfield then, in great confufion, faid, that he foould take time to cowfider of it. To this Sir Fletchej: Norton replied, that, as two of the three judges were of the fame opinion, the motion miift be granted ; but that, for his part, if his Lordihip wanted any time to confider, whether, when a fub- jecl applied to the court of King's-bench for redrefs, he was or was not to be referred tv& Foreign Mini/ler, or to an Attorney '-general, he had no objection to allowing him all the time he wanted. LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 2G3 Thus wickednefs and folly were defeated, and the unhappy Foreign Miniftcr, in fpite of the law of nations, was obliged to comply with the law of nature, and to provide for his child. The following Affidavits, filed in Michaelmas Term 9 1769, are taken from the Office Copies. IN THE KING'S BENCH. Augu ft Henry, Duke of Grafton, maketh oath, " That on or about the 10th day of June laft, he received, inclofed in a cover, or covers, directed to this deponent, the three feveral papers or writings hereunto annexed, feverally marked with the letters A, B, and C, refpectivcly. The faid paper;' marked A, purporting to be a letter, dated Mincing-lane, 10th June, 1769, from Samuel Vanghan, to this deponent ; the faid thcr paper marked with the letter B, pur- porting to be an affidavit made by Samuel Vaughan, of London, merchant, on the 23d of March, 17G9, before Samuel Turner, Efq; then Lord Mayor of the city of Lon- don ; and the faid paper writing marked S <4 with LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, with the letter C, purporting to be a cafe relating to the clerk of the court's office in the ifland of Jamaica. And which faid three feveral papers fo inclofed in the faid cover, or covers, and directed to this de- ponent as aforefaid, were, as this, deponent has been informed and believes, on or about the faid 10th day of June, brought to this deponent's houfe in Arlington-ftreet, in the parifh of St. James's, within the liberty of "Weftminfter, in the county of Middlesex, by fome perfon unknown to this deponent, and left with this deponent's porter, or fome of his fervants there, Am} this depoqent faith, that the faid cover, or covers, in which the faid three other papers were in- clofed, are loft or miflaid, fo as that this deponent cannpt find the fame, nor does he know where the fame are. And this de- ponent further faith, that he is informed, and believes, that the faid paper writing marked with the letter (A) and the name Samuel Vaijghan fubfcribed thereto, and the addrefs or direction to this deponent fet at the foot thereof, is all of the hand writing pf Samuel Vaughan, of Mincing-lane, Lon- don, LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 265 don, merchant. And this deponent further faith, that he is informed and believes, that the faid paper or writing, marked with the letter B, purporting to be an affidavit, as afore faid ; and likewife the N. B. or words wrote underneath the fame, are all of the hand writing of the faid Samuel Vaughan, of Mincing-lane, London, 'mer* chant, except the name or words [Samuel Turner, Mayor] fet or fubfcribed to th jurat of the faid affidavit, which this depo- nent is informed and believes, are of the hand writing of the. faid Samuel Turner, then Lord Mayor of the city of London. And this deponent faith, he is informed and believes, that the words indorfed on the faid paper or writing marked (C,) that is to fay [Cafe to be perufed at leifure] are of the proper hand writing of the faid Samuel Vaughan, of Mincing-lane, Lon- don, merchant ; hut the body of the faid paper or writing marked (C,) is of the hand writing of fome other perfon, as this depo- nent believes, who is unknown to this de- ponent. And this deponent further faith, that ^t the time this deponent received the fuid 266 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, faid feveral paper writings hereunto annexe ed, as aforefaid, and before, he, this de- ponent, was, and ftill is, one of his Ma- jefty's moft honourable privy council, and alfo the firft commifsioner named in, and appointed by his Majefry's commifsion un- der the great feal of Great Britain, for exe- cuting the office of Treafurer of his Majefty's Exchequer. And this deponent further faith, that by the words [Clerk of the court's office in the ifland of Jamaica] men- tioned and contained in the faid paper marked with the letter (B,) and alfo by the words [To clerk of the fupreme court in the ifland of Jamaica] wrote at the foot of the fame paper, was, and is meant and in- tended, The office of chief clerk to attend the fupreme court refiding in the town of St. Jago de la Vega, otherwife Vaga, within his Majefty's ifland of Jamaica, in America, as this deponent apprehends and verily be- lieves ; and which office, as this deponent is informed and believes, is, and hath been, granted by the crown, by letters patent under the feal of Great Britain ; and is an office of a public nature and truft, and of LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 267 of considerable profit, and concerns the ad- miniftration and execution of juftice in the faid ifland of Jamaica. And this deponent further faith, that he verily believes the faid letter and affidavit, were written and fent to this deponent by the faid Samuel Vaughan, with a view to tempt and corrupt this de- ponent for a gift or reward of five thoufand pounds, to procure his Majefty to grant the aforefaid office in the manner mentioned in the aforefaid affidavit. And this deponent further faith, that he hath been informed by Mr. Henry Newcome, of Hackney, in the county of Middlefex, that the faid Samuel Vaughan had applied to him, to convey a propofal to the effect contained in the faid affidavit, to this deponent ; which the faid Mr. Newcome had refufed to do ; and which information this deponent be- lieves to be true. And this deponent faith, he hath lately caufed an application to be made to the faid Henry Newcome, to make an affidavit of what he knew relative to the above matter, who returned for anfwer, that he had rather appear in court, and give an Account, viva voce, of what he knows rela- tive 268 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, , live to the affair, than give an affidavit, or to that effect, as this deponent has been crediby informed, and verily, i be- lieves." GRAFTON. Sworn this 1 6th day of Nov. 1769, at my houfe in .LincolnVinn- fields, before me, E. WILLES, fM<le.. The nature of the thing, without authority from Hawkins^ ihcw^ why thefe things were, urged by the defen- dant's counfel ; for, if a man fells lawfully what he has a right to -feW-, there is nothing fcandalous or dimonourable ; but, if a man,. Handing under the relation of an officer under LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 27-5 under the King, or of a perfort in tfhefii the King puts Confidence, or of a Minifte?, if he takes money for the ufe of that Cott^ iidence the King puts in him, he bafefy betrays the King,, he bafely betrays his truft -it may tlien be called. fcandaloias 1 and dilhonourablc (if thofe epithets are to be chofen, iriftead of the epithet, criminal.) The mifchief alfo that may arife to the public in buying the gfant from the crown (which the wifdom of the constitution in^- trufts the King in difpofing of, on account of the bufmefs to be executed by them.) If honours, if bimopricks, if preferments, if pardons, if every thing is to be put up to fale, fee the terrible eonfequence that will refult there-from to the public. If the cafe is fo circumftaneed, for this court, upon that ground, to rcfufc the information, which does effectually bar every indict- ment ; (for no grand jury would grant an indictment after this court had, upon point of law, debarred an information) that it is no crime in law to commit fuch a fact ; it would be highly improper for this court to do it in a fummary way, which would T 2 be 276 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, be liable to no review,* if the matter was ever fo doubtful. Unlefs, therefore, I was clearer than the light of the fun at noon- day, that it had been fettled and eftablifh- ed, that fo mifchievous a practice ihould not be punifhable by the laws in being, I fhould agree for making this rule abfolute. .The defendant may demur to it, or move an arreft of judgment after trial ; and, if he is not fatisfied by this court, he may have the opinion of the High Judicature, afsifted by all the judges of England. And, when the queftion comes to be folemnly adjudged, it ,will be for their confideration, if they ihould think there mould be no law in be- ing to guard againfl the mifchievous con- fequences. I own, at prefent, I am not fatisfied with any of the arguments that have been ufed to raife a doubt, whether this is, in the language of the law, a mif- demeanor, and punimable as fuch. I think, the natural genius of a man's own mind, judges better of it, than all the labour and ingenuity that has been ufed, to make it not criminal ; when I fay criminal, I mean criminal as a niifdemeanor. I will fay lit- tle ,- LORD CHIEF JUSTICE;- 277- tie upon that, i bccaufe, whatever opinion I may be of now, it is without prejudice.. I will hear the argument upon a demurrer, i there is one, or upon an arreft of judg- ment, if there is one, juft as open as if. nothing had patted. Therefore, I fliall pur- , pofely avoid faying any thing on tlie argu- ment, with a view of prejudicing, as little as pofsible, any future argument, if that is thought fit upon the occafion. In the firft place, as to the ilatute of Richard the Se- cond, and Edward the Sixth, I do agree with the Solicitor-general, the quefKon does not turn upon them, whether they do or do not extend to Jamaica; hut the argu- ment made ufe of, does not at all go to the queition, whether they do not extend to this cafe ; for this office is granted by letters patent, under the great feal of England r all letters patent that are granted by the King, under the great feal, are governed by the law of England. The colonies them- felves have their own particular laws, and the argument is very colourable, which Mr. Wedderburn mentioned, if it is in the report. To be fure, no act of parliament T 3 made 278 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, made in England, binds Ireland, or a colo- ny, actually fettled, without naming them; but it is held, all the laws of England, both common and flatute, go to a colony new fettled, which were in being at the time of fettlement, with this reftricHon : Provided that they be laws fuited to their iituation and condition ; and therefore, with that restriction, to be fure, a hundreth part of the flatutes of England don't go to the colonies : but they do go, if they are appo- fite, and adapted to their fituation and con- dition, for, as they carry the ftatute law, fo they carry the common laws, that are applicable. The fituation of Jamaica dif- fers indeed, becaufe, being a conquered country, it retains its own laws, till the conqueror alters them, and they are retain- ed in fo far as they are not altered.; and, unlefs they are totally altered, they retain their own laws ; therefore, the argument is very ftrong, as to the nature of Jamaica, that thefe poiitive laws mall not extend to them ; and, I know, in experience, a great many acls have been adjudged not to ex- tend to Jamaica ; as for inflance, the flatute # of LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. of frauds, and feveral others, (though it Avas conquered in Cromwell's time) that and feveral others were made before the ufurpation. It is quite a different confide*- ration, and you will find that in the cafe of the Ifle of Man, I think it is in the fe- cond or third inftitute ; you will find it there the chief juftice, I think, or two or three of the judges attending with coun- fel, they might defccnd according to the laws of England, the letters patent being the law of England, they being entitled to dower under the law of England, and in that cafe they held, that the eftate was to defcend to the daughter of therefore, if that was necerTaiy, it would not reach to the cafe of letters patent under the great feal, muft be go- verned by the grand law of England, be they for commifsions abroad, or whatever they may be. But, it does not feem to me, that this matter turns upon the ftatute of Richard the Second, or Edward the Sixth, but upon the common law. The firft great confideration is, whether a privy* counfellor, and an officer at the head of T 4 the LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, the King's treafury, and in confidence with the King, felling that office, /. e. felling his intereil with the King, for the grant of that office ; whether this is a mifdemeanor or not at common law ? For you mufl take the fact, which there is no controverfy about. ee what the fact is. This is an office in the gift of the King alone by leU ters patent ; it is not in the gift of any fub- ject whatever ; there is no right of office to recommend whatever ; but it is the King's own grant, and it is the King's grant which mufl pafs ex gratia fpeciali mera madi ex gratia fcientii. And if the King fold it by his letters patent, it would be acting contrary to the trufl the conftitution hath xepofed in him, for the difpofal of thofe offices. The conftitution don't intend the crown mould fell thofe offices, to raife a revenue out of thofe offices. This being the nature of thofe offices, what is the ap- plication ? The Duke of Grafton has fworn tlius-r- he has fworn that this offer was made him, with a view to tempt and corrupt him, for a gift or reward of 50001. to pror cure his Majcfty to grant the aforefaid office in. LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 281 in the manner mentioned : that, the Duke \ has fworn, Mr. Vaughan does not deny it, therefore, it is admitted, this was the view to procure this office from his Majefty not barely to give it himfelf, but to procure the office. Is it pofsible to hefitate, whe- ther this would not be criminal in the Duke of Graf ton, contrary to his duty as a privy-counfellor, contrary to his duty as a Minifler, contrary to his duty as a. iub'jecl: ? If a man in no office has in- tereft with the King, and comes to recom- mend a perfon to him, under the influ- ence of a bribe, it is different what the perfon, who defires to be patentee, does, I have looked into no cafe upon it, but from my memory, I do think, if you look back to the impeachments of the Houfe of Commons for two hundred years, *of Minirters, that, true or falfe, (very often ihere are falfe charges, and fometimes true ) there hardly ever is an impeach- ment againft a Miniiter, where the charge is not for receiving money for procuring $, grant from the King. I am fatisficd jt was fo with the Duke of Buckingham; and LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, and I am fatisfied it was fo with the Lord Clarendon, though he was a very honeit man. Mr. Weddcrbuni. That was upon the ground of monopoly. Lord Mansfield. It is the fum of money makes a charge. If it is criminal in mi^ nifters or privy-counfellors to do this, I take it to be a very neceflary confequence, that,* wherever it is a crime to take mo- ney, it is a crime to give it ; becaufe the corruption is reciprocal. It is corrupt in the receiver, it is corrupt in the tempter and giver. I take it in all circumftances to be reciprocal, where the receiver is guilty, the giver is alfo. But it is faid, this is not the giver, it was refufed That at- tempts to the crime are not the crime, is certainly true, where there is an attempt to commit a crime, which of itfelf is not the crime. But there are many cafes where the attempt is the crime ; and, in all cafes of corruption by bribery, the attempt is complete with regard to the offerer. His crime has had its full completion, whether the other refufes it, or takes it, does what 4 he LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 283 he was bribed to do or not ; from the na- ture of the thing it is fo. There are many cafes. Mr. Lee, very fairly, though it was againfl him, looked into the authority of Lord Coke He fays, if you offer a bribe to a judge, no matter whether he take it or not ; though he refufes it, the bribe is complete with him that offers it : as in the cafes that have been mentioned of bribery at common law, of money at an election for a man to take a bribe for his vote. If it rcfpecls a place of public trull, the constitution intends it mail be free How does that hold with the advice given by a Minifter to the King? Upon the fame principles ; his advice mould be free according to his judgment. It is the duty of his office he has fworn to it; therefore, in thofe cafes Mr. Wallace al- luded to (I remember the two laft) it was taken for granted, that an offer tp bribe at election of Members of Parlia- ment, or of a magiftrate at a borough, though the perfon did not vote, yet againft the offerer the crime was complete. So it was in the cafe of Lee againfi Plimpton. Mr. 284 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, Mr. Lee was candid enough to cite this, though againft him. I am very far from being fatisfied that thefe arguments raife a doubt, that this is not a mifdemeanor. If it was a doubtful matter, I mould be " of opinion to have it determined in that way, where it could not be concluded by the opinion of this court, but might go farther. Mr. Juftice Yates. The counfel for the defendant have very ingeniously, and with great ability, endeavoured to lead off the attention of the court from trying the queftion, to that which is not the quef- tion. With this view they have learnedly debated, whether the flatute of Edward the Sixth extends to Jamaica; whether a fale of office is an offence at common law, or not? When, after all, this has not the lead femblance of a fale of of- fice, nay, the defendant don't afliime the character of a purchafer ; for, by his own affidavit and offer, it is for fuch perfons as ihall have procured the reversion for him. Now, in all purchases, the contract- ing parties muft be deemed to have a power to fulfil the contract. That, in this LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 285 this cafe, fuppofes the office faleable; that it mould be an office within the power of the Duke of Grafton him- felf to grant, the defendant does not look upon it in that light ; but there is a fum of money offered for the procuring this office, which the defendant tells us, is in the gift of the Crown. Another thing too, when fair purchafes are made, they don't come cloaked up in an affida. vit of fecrecy, but a frank, open, and in- genuous offer, if the heart means honeflly. In this cafe there is an affidavit of the utmoft feefecy, the letter fays, that the propofal requires the utmofl fecrecy ; and, to anfwer the explanation given of this affi- davit of fecrecy, it is faid, that the defendant might be confidered in the light of an indiffe- rent perfon. I fee, in this letter, he defires, that if the offer be not received, that he may then have the affidavit back, in order to deitroy it ; when, if all his apprehen- fion was, left the Duke mould fufpect he meant to entrap him, if the offer was re- jected ; where was that trap that ihould make it wcceilary, after the affair was over, to 286 -LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, to deftroy the affidavit? This is the true queilion ; and I am fony that ever fuch a .queflion fhould be made a queftion Whether a bribery to obtain an office, ihall be an offrnce or no ? It is itated by the defendant himfelf, to. be an office of great trad and profit. The method ufed to obtain it, is to influence a privy- counfellor to induce, or to warp the judg- ment of the King to give an office of fo much confequence, merely from the mo- tive offered in this cafe to the Duke, the motive of a reward to procure his intereft. But, however, as this matter will frill be open for the defendant to debate hereafter, I mall think it wrong to go into the queftion too much now. The light the Solicitor-general put it in at lair, is right ; and even if it was but queftion- able, it would be right to go into it; it would be wrong for us to anticipate the final decifion of that queilion, which he will be afterwards at liberty, to make by demurrer. I ihall reftrain myfelf from making further obfervations now ; but it is certainly a matter fit for an enquiry* and CHIEF JUSTICE. 287 and the defendant and profecutor will have time to confider the matter more fully. Mr. JiLJlicc AJlon. I am of the fame opi- nion. Mr. Jujlice Willes. I am alfo of the fame opinion. The rule was made abfolute ; which the Duke considered a fufficicnt vindication of his character. Perfecution was not his defire. His Grace thought Mr. Vaughan was more a fool than a rogue. And here the matter ended. On the fecond day of February, 177 3, there appeared in the London Evening Port, a letter under the fignature of Alfred, charging Lord Sandwich, who at that time was Firft Lord of the Admiralty, with having expofed to fale the office of a commifsioner of the navy, for the fum of two thoufand pounds, and employing Mr. Corte, agent, to negotiate the affair. Lord Sandwich brought an aclion againii the printer for this fcandalunC magnatum. The 288 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, The printer, in his plea, put himfelf upon his country to prove the truth of the charge. From this conduct of the printer, the caufe became a matter of great expectation ; for although it is generally believed, that places under government have frequently been fold, yet it is very difficult to af- certain the fact. But this offer, to prove the truth of a charge of this importance againft a peer, in the higheft criminal court of juftice, was a refolution that no man then living had ever witneiTed. < If the jury found for the defendant (whofe name was Miller) the verdict was a re- cord of Lord Sandwich's guilt, and he mud have been impeached upon it. On the contrary, if the jury found for the plaintiff, the ruin of the defendant was the certain confequence. The public at- tention was very much excited by it. v ; On the .eighth day of July, 1773, the trial came LORD CHIEF JUSTICE* came oil before Lord Mansfield, and a fpecial jury. The accounts which were given of the trial at the time, were very loofe and imperfect. The following extracts are made from the fhort-hand writer's notes, and may be depended upon. / After proving the publication of the newfpaper in the ufual way, by the officers of the ftamp revenue (a practice that is not very decent, becaufe the officers of the revenue fhould not, officially, be- come informers in any thing that does not belong to the revenue ; and it is be- lieved was firft introduced by Lord Manf- field) and that Thomas Hanway, Efq. who was a commifsioner of the navy office, died in the month of October, 1772; that Charles Marfh, Efq. was removed from the victualling office to fill Mr. Hanway's place at the navy board ; and that Wil- liam Gordon, Efq. was appointed to fill VOL. I. U Mr 5290- LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, Mr. MaruVs place in the victualling of- fice. Mr. Serjeant Adair, at that time Re- corder of the City of London, opened the defendant's cafe. After a ihort exordium he faid, fj'tt* & i' " That he had grounds to fupport him in fubmitting to the jury that this was not a groundlefs charge ; that it was not conceived in malice without any foundation whatever. The defendant fubmits it to you [the jury] that there is matter to difclofe to you in this place, that juftifics him in having publimed what he has done. The charge is, That a meffcngcr was fent to Captain Luttrell, with an offer of a va- cant place of commifsioner of the navy, in; cafe he would advance 2000/. a vacant place of truft in the naval department; the noble Lord being at the head of that department, is called upon therefore in the public papers, to vindicate hiinfelf from an inference that might arife from fuch a 7iegociation as he had en- 2 tered tered into, or was fuppofed to have entered into, upon the fubject, which it was only in his power ever to make good ; the in- ference that arofe from that, affecling the noble Lord's character, muft undoubtedly affecT: the mind of the writer, and muft affecl every perfon till anfwered. There- fore, this being the charge, the anfwcr to it is, That there was fuck a transaction ; that a mcfjenger was J'ent ; that that mejjenger came with this offer, and if he came with the offer, if the perfon had not the authority to make that offer good, he was deceiving the perfon to whom he made the offer, but in a more A/ f confiderable degree abufing the name and character of the noble Lord he was alluding to. Gentlemen, this is our anfwer to it ; we have juftified in this way, that a mefien- ger was fent, the paper goes no further, the paper charges no more than a mef- fenger was fent in the dead of night ; what comment that affords you will judge ; it is fufficient for me to fay, and I am autho- rized from my inftruclions to fay, that was the truth ; a meflenger was fent to tender this place upon fuch terms to Captain U 2 Lut- 292 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, Luttrell ; that Captain Luttrell did, as he ought to do, reject the offer ; the perfon that made this offer, was a navy agent too. Captain Luttrell's objection was, that he would not obtain that by corruption, which fhould be the reward of honourable fervices. If that had not reftrained him from entering into the negociation, with whom would any body fuppofe he was to compleat the negociation ? not with Corte, the agent, who had no authority to fell for himfelf, nor will any body prefume otherwife than that he was the agent for the noble Lord that prefided in the navy department, and who alone had the offering of that* place. After this offer was made, this paper appeared ; the noble Lord was apprized of it, the report was fpread abroad, however long antecedent to the appearance of this paper, and gained general ground ; was the converfation of companies in general ; and I truft anr has any au- 3l8 LATE~'EARL OF MANSFIELD, authority whatever from him Why then,, what is implied from the evidence ? If he had been the known agent of Lord Sand- wich, or the fecretary of Lord Sandwich, nothing at all could have been faid about it ; but it comes out otherwife, becaufe Luttrell fays he is his agent that his firft bufinefs was to talk about fome money concerns, not relative to this matter. Lut- trell fays, he don't know that he is, or ever was the agent of Lord Sandwich. What is the next circumftance they go to ? Luttrell having given his account to Corte, it was natural to talk about it ; and he faid how came you to be alked about it ? The anfwer is, Why the Rev. Mr. Parry faid fo and fo about it. Then Mr. Parry is called Parry tells you a Mrs. Brooke, a clergyman's wife in London, had fome intcreft with fomebody, and de- fired he would look out for any perfon that would give money, or would make it worth her while to make ufe of that intereft with this fomebody for any place, without diftinguifhing it. The firft thing that occurred to him was a commifsioner's place LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 319 place of the navy, being like to be vacant upon Hanway's death, to coniicler whe- ther that place would do He talks with Corte, and afks him what might be paid by an eligible perfon for it. Corte thinks an eligible perfon would not give more for it than 20001. Then Mr. Parry is preffed to know who this perfon is, with whom Mrs. Brooke had intereft ? At firfl he boggled, then he faid fome German gentleman that had connections in the Queen's family He was prefled ftill, and properly and rightly, to fpeak out, as there mould be no boggle in a court of juilice, but all ihould be explained then he fays he believes it was one Friedenburgh, but he is not fure that is the name. Then they afk him, Do you know Lord Sandwich ? He fays no. Thus Hands the juftification. Gentle- men, the next, and only remaining point I have to Hate to you, is with regard to the evidence* of printing and publifhing this libel Now with regard to that, un-: lefs the witneffes you have heard fivore falfe., you have very full evidence to fatisfy you 520 LATE EARL GF MANSPIELD, you both one way and the other. They prove by the officers of the Stamp-Office he is the printer of this paper, and they have proved he was the printer of this very number of the 30th of January to the 2d of February, by an allowance al- ways given by the Stamp-Office for thofe papers that remain unfold ; and they have proved that there was an allowance made to him for the unfold numbers of this very paper from the 30th of January to the 2d of February. Then the Vintner Wartel proves he has been employed un- der the mefienger of the prefs, who buys iiewfpapers to furniih the offices with, and he has bought at this place the papers fo printed about two years and a half. - He fwears he bought it of a fervant of the houfe, and the paper itfelf fo pub- Jifhed and fold by his fervant, is faid to be printed by him, and unlefs you can fuppofe that evidence is falfe, it is very full evidence. You will therefore, gentlemen, find for the plaintiff. I will not fay one word to you about the damages. I am fure no obfervations on any fide can oc- cur LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 321 cur to any man, which you are not capa- ble of making yourfelves. You will take the paper out with you, and will confider all the circum fiances of the cafe of a pri* vate or public nature. The jury withdrew, and after being out of court one hour and three quarters, they returned, and found a verdict for the plaintiff, with two thoufand pounds da- mages. That places in many public offices have fre- quently been fold, is a matter that has been very generally believed. Thofe who fet on foot thefe negotiations, and money tranfac- tions, have more fenfe, as well as prudence, than to fuffer the bufmefs to be brought home to their own doors; and to cover, this more certainly, other names are fome- times ufed. See the Letters in the Ap- pendix marked E. On the twenty-third day of May, 1778, the following flatement appeared in the public prints, and was not contradicted. VOL. I. Y "A treaty LATE EARL or MANSFIELD, -iiq'*: A ..treaty lias been lately on foot be- tween Mr. W . , and Sir William D - , for giving up the office of G. J - of C. .P r~-. Sir William inijfted, as one of the conditions of the refignation, that he ihould referve to himfclf the next nomination of the Prothonotary. 'Mr. W - - faid he ihould not chufe to come into n mortgaged place, but afked how much the above- mentioned appointment would probably be fold for. Sir William replied, for 70001. Very well, added Mr. W. I am com- manded by Lord N. to fay, you ihall be paid that fum, provided you will refign. You are to have a* Peerage beiides, and a penfion of 35001. a year, which is 500L a year more than was ever given to any C. J: whatever.' Thefe terms were accepted, but the C - r refufed to put the great fea'l to the appointment." Whether the preceding account is ftriclly and literally correcl, is perhaps impofsi- ble to afcertain. But the current opinion , of the time was, that fuch a negotiation ;was on the tapis. If the fa6t be, as above CHIEF JUSTICE^ ; t I 323 above ftattfd, it mews that a Miniftef can tratiiek in Weftminfler Ilall^ as well as ia- St. Stephen's: ChapeL .! A! VK Bg? :;>& There was ail anfwer given by fome lienHt; judges in the reign of Queen Eli- zabeth) which is not unworthy of notice. The Queen, had commanded them to ad- mit a perion whom ihe had appointed to an ofB'cc, upon which they told her Ma- jeity, in plain terms, " That her Majeity had taken her oath for the due execu- tion of juftiee -^according to law; and they did not dou[)t, but when her Majeity was informed it w r as againft law r , ihe would act therein as became her. For their own parts, they had taken an oath to God, to her, and the commonwealth ; and there- fore, if the fear of God were, not fufticient, they told her the puniihment that was intticled upon their predeceilbrs for breach of their oaths might be a furBcient warn- O ing to them." Whereupon the Queen, hearing thefe reafons, was fatisfied ; and the faid judges heard no more of this bufmefs. This quotation is from a tracl, Y 2 entitled 324 tATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, entitled, " The Triumph of Juftice over corrupt Judges ;" in which are the name-- of the forty-four Judges, condemned to die, in the reign of Alfred. The following is an account of Lord Mans- field's conduct in the trial of art' action Meares and Shepley againil: Anfell at the fummer afsizes in the year 1771, for the county of Surrey ; as it was given by a gentleman who Was in court. :)tfb 'wtr-i^t {teo nil The action was brought for trefpafies com- mitted in the plaintiffs clofes, called Bore- man's Mead and Mill Croft. The defendant pleaded two pleas, firft, Not guilty* Second- ly, That the defendant committed the tref- paffes by the licence of the plaintiffs. At the trial, the trefpafTes were clearly proved, with this aggravating circumftance, that they were committed after repeated dif- charges, and that the defendant had au- thorized his fervants wantonly to trample down the plaintiffs grafs when it was a foot high, and laid up for mowing. There was not the kail tittle f proof of any licence givea LORD CHIEF JUSTICE.-; 325 given by the plaintiffs ; but it was urged on the part of the defendant, that the de- fendant was in poiTefsion of the clofe called Boreman's Mead, and therefore the plain-* tiffs, as to that clofe, could not maintain an ajtion of trefpafs, it being a poffefTary action. To counteract which objcclion the plaintiffs counfel called one Mr. Hifcox, to produce a written agreement made between the plaintiffs and the defendant in the year 1765, and one Jofeph Matthews, who was a fubfcribing witnefs to the fame, to prove the execution of it. The agreement was produced by Hifcox, after which it was taken out of his hands, and a moft daring attempt made by fome perfons on the behalf of the defendant to fupprefs and itifle it. The Chief Juitice by this time, for reafons known only to himfclf, had fet his face againft the caufe, to the wonder and afto- nifhment of the whole court. It was never fiifpecled that any Judge could carry pri- vate refentments with him to the bench. The Chief Juftice beheld this moft aftonifh- ing attempt to fupprefs evidence with the utmoft compofure, untU the general Y 3 aitonifh- 326 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, aftonimment of the court called upon him to exert his authority ; he 'then compelled the production of the agreement. -The agreement, when produced, purported to be an agreement between the plaintiffs and defendant and his partner, for the formers letting the latter have the * produce of hay' (for that was the very exprefsion) of Bore- man's Mead,- in exchange for a bit of ground of the defendant's. There was not a fyllable in the agreement about Mill Croft. The trefpafTes complained of in Boreman's Mead were for digging and opening large ditches, and converting it, into a caliico ground, and it was thought there could not be the Icaft colour of pre- tence to fay that the words f produce of hay' gave the defendant an authority to do that. However, the Chief Juftice faid, the very thing the defendant had attempted to fup- prcfs made the defence. Matthews the wit- nefs, emboldened by this extraordinary de- claration, addreflcd the Chief Jullice, and delired to give a hiftory of the' tranfaction ; nnd being permitted to do fo, he then fwo.rc that although 1 the agreement only exprcfled produce LORD CHIEF" JUSTICE. 32? produce of hay of Boreman's Mead, it was meant and underftood, that the defendant ihould have the general occupation, not only of Boreman's Mead, hut Mill Croft alfo. Mr. Hifcox confirmed the fame. Lord Mansfield received and admitted this evidence, and fummed it up to the jury with all the force he could, and thereupon they found a verdict for the defendant. '" L ' '.'' The Court of Common Pleas, in Michael- mas term 1771, was moved by the plain- tiffs for a new trial, for the mifdirection of the Judge. The Judge, was called upon for his report, which he could not make with- out fending to the plaintiffs attorney for his affidavit of the traniaction. lie made his report at laii, to which he fubjoined, that he was perfectly fatislicd with the verdict of the jury. The Court of Common Pleas was clearly of opinion, that Lord Mansfield had acted contrary to every principle of evidence both in law and equity, in ad- mitting Matthews and Hifcox to give parole evidence, contrary to a clear explicit agree- ment in writing, which they had attciled ; \ 4 and 328 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, and that, if fuch a practice was to obtain, it would go a great way towards fubverting the ilatute of frauds and perjuries, and would be a moft dangerous inlet to perjury, and a means of rendering mens properties very precarious and infecure. The court therefore fet afide the verdict, and ordered a new trial ; and it appeared to the court to be fo grofs a mifdirection, that it difpcnfed with the ufual terms of payment of coils. Although Lord Mansfield, in his direction to the jury, reprefented the trefpafTes as fmall and infignificant, and the action as litigious, the Court of Common Pleas faid the trefpaiTcs were obftinate, wilful, and malicious. , Mr. Rowlinfon, an eminent attorney of the Temple, employed by the plaintiffs in the above caufe, was fo difgufted with the conduct of Lord Mansfield, that he caufed 9, motion to be made in the court of King's- bench, that he might be Itruck off the rolls of that court, which (after fome exprcfsions of aftonifhment) was granted ; and Mr, Rowlinfon was immediately afterwards ad- mitted LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 329 mitted of his Majefty's Court of Common Pleas. A correct Copy of Lord Mansfield's Speech on the 25th day of November, 1774, In giving the judgment of the Court of King's-bench, in the caufe of Campbell^* againft Hall, refpecling the King's Let- ters Patent, on the 20th of July, 1764; for railing a duty of four and an half per cent, on all exports from the Ifland of Grenada. This cafe of Alexander Campbell againil William Hall, is an action that was brought by the plaintiff, who is a natural-born fub- jecl of this kingdom, and who, upon the 3d of March, 17G3, purchafed a plantation in the Ifland of Grenada ; and it is brought againft the defendant, Hall, who was col- lector for his Majcfty of a duty of four and an half per cent, upon goods or fugars exported from the Ifland of Grenada ; and the aclion is brought to recover back a fum of money which was paid as this duty of four and an Jialf per cent,, upon fugars that were ex- ported 530 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, ported fronv the Ifland of Grenada, by and on account of the plaintiff ; and the action is for money had and received ; and brought upon this ground : That the money was paid to the defendant without any con- fideration for the duty for which, and in rcfpecl: of which, he received it, not hav- ing been impofed by lawful or fufficient authority to warrant the fame. And it is ftated by the fpecial verdict, that that money ftill remains in the defendant's hands, riot paid over by him to the ufe of the King, but' continued in his hands, and fo continues with the privity and con- fent of his Majefty's Attorney-general, for the exprefs purpofe of trying the queftion as to the validity of impofmg this duty. It came on to be tried at Guildhall, and of courfc, from the nature of the queftion, both fides came prepared to have a fpecial verdict ; a fpecial verdict was found, which ftates : That the Ifland of Grenada was taken by the Britifh arms, in open war, from the French king. That LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 331 That the Ifland of Grenada furrendered upon capitulation ; and the capitulation upon which it furrendered, was hy reference to the capitulation upon which the Ifland of Martinico had hefore furrendered. The fpecial verdicl: dates fome articles of that capitulation ; and particularly the fifth article, by which it is agreed : " That Grenada mall continue to be go- *' vcrned by their prefcnt laws, until his u Majefty's pleafure be known." They likewife take the fixth article, where, to a demand of the inhabitants of Grenada, that they mould be maintained in their property and effects, moveable and immove- able, of what nature foever, and that they mould be preferred in their privilege?, rights, honours, and exemptions ; the an- fwer is, " The inhabitants, being fubjecls of " Great Britain, will enjoy their properties, *' and the fame privileges as any other of " his Majefty's Leeward Iflands ;" So that the anfwer is, That they will have the con- fequences 333 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, fequences oi' their being fubjecls; and they will be as much fubjects as any of the other Leeward If lands, ic L. : ; .o? Then they ftate another article of capi- tulation, the feventh, and by that article they demand " They fhall pay no other " duty than they paid to the French King; " that the capitation-tax ihall be the fame; " and then the expences of courts of jqf- " tice, and the adminiftration of govern- " ment, ihall be, paid out of the King's *' domain, and other articles of that kind ;" in anfwer to which they are referred to the anfwer I have juft ftated, given to the foregoing articles : That is, " being fubjectSy. " they will be entitled to all the rights, li- " berties, and properties, with a reference to *f the fubjecl: then before their eyes, in the ** . JLeeward The next thing ftated in the fpecial ver- dict. is the treaty of peace, figncd the 10th of February, 1763 ; and they Hate the par- ties to the treaty of peace, by whk-h th' Illand LORD CHIKfr JUSTICE. 333 Ifland of Grenada is ceded ; and fome claufes of it which are not at all material for me particularly to itate. The next inftrument that they ftate is a proclamation under the great feal, bearing date the 7th of October, 1763, wherein, among other things, it is faid :- i- .!/;': h>i' i L;j;f'iuo " Whereas it will greatly contribute to ** the fpeedy fettlement of our faid govern- " ments, of which Grenada is one, that " our loving fubjects mould be informed of " our paternal care for the fecurity of the " liberties and properties of thofe who are, " and mall become, inhabitants thereof ; " we have thought fit to publifh and de- " clarc, by this our proclamation, that we " have, in the letters patents under our " great feal of Great Britain, by which the " faid governments are conftituted, given " exprefs power and dircclion to our go* ** vc^rnors of the faid colonies refpeclively, * fc That as foon as the ftate and circum- " ftanccs of , the faid colonies will admit ** thereof, they ihail, with the advice and 4 " confent LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, ** confent of the Members .-of our Council, ft ifummon and call general aiTemblies " within the faid governments rcfpecHvely* " MI fuch manner and form as is ufed in ?.' thofe colonies and provinces in America, . Vvhich arc under our immediate govern- " -.ments : And; we have alia given power to " the faid governors, with the confent. of " our faid governors and reprefentatives of t*?the people, to be fummoncd as aforeiaid, ,*'jto make, . c.onftitute, and ordain laws, * ftatutes, and ordinances for the public " peace, welfare, and good government. of *Vi9 ur faid colonies, and inhabitants thereof, ?, as. near as may be agreeable to the laws " of England, and under fuch regulations, " and, reltriclions as are ufed in our colo- * ** nies/* The next inurnment dated in the fpecial verdict, is the letters patents under the. great fcal, or rather a proclamation under the great fcal, bearing date the 26th of March, 1764, where the King recites a futvey and divifion of the ceded iilands. " That he had ordered them to be divided 2 "into LORD- CHIEF JUSTICE. 335 Ck into allotments, as an invitation for all " purchafers to come in and purcliafe upon " terms and conditions fpecified in that ". proclamation.'* The next inilrumcnt Hated, is tlie let- ters patents under the great feal, bearing date the 9th of April, 1764- ; and in thofe letters patents there is a commifsion and authority to Governor Melville, who was appointed governor of this Illand, to fum- mon an affemhly as foon as the Hate and circuinftances of the Ifland will admit ; and with the confent of the governor and coun- cil, make laws in all the ufual forms, towards which there is a reference to the manner of other affemblics of the King's provinces in America. The governor arrived in Grenada the 14-th of December, 1764, and before the end of the year 1765, the aifembly actually met in the Ifland of Grenada ; but between, the arrival of the governor at Grenada, in- deed before his departure from London, there is another inftrument, upon the vali- dity 336 LATE EARt OF MANSFIELfc, dity of which the whole queftion turns, that is ilated in the fpecial verdict ; the letters patents under the great feal, bearing date the 20th of July, 1764-, reciting, "That " in Barbadocs, and all the Britiih Leeward *' Iflands, there was a duty of four and an " half per cent, paid upon the export of " goods," and reciting in thefe words ; " Whereas it is reafonable and expedient, and " of importance to our other fugar colonies, " that the like duty mould take place in " our faid Ifland of Grenada, we have " thought fit, and our royal will and plea- " fure is, and we do hereby, by virtue of Of his Lordmip's political opinions and conduct, if^ would have been happy for his country if they had been founded in thofe juft principles of all government, which make the honour of the flate and the in- terefts of the people perfectly the fame. His political ideas were like thofe of Lord Bute ; they were contracted, fplcnetic, and tyrannical. No better proof need be given than his memorable apourophe in the Houfe of Lords, in the year 1774, upon tlie Bof- A a 3 ton 358 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, ton Port Bill, in reply to Lord Dartmouth, .at that time Secretary of State for the Colo- nies. His Lordiliip faid, " the fword was drawn and the fcabbard thrown away. We had palled the Rubicon ;" alluding to Coefar's march to Rome. This was not lefs a pro- phetic and dreadful denunciation to the in- terefts of Great Britain, than the infcription on the bridge over the Rubicon was to the fate of Casfar, and the liberties of Rome. Montefquieu, in confidcring the caufes of the grandeur and declenfion of the Ro- mans, obferves, that " policy had not per- mitted armies to be ftationed near Rome, for this reafon considerable forces were kept in Cifalpine Gaul ; but to fecure the city of Rome again ft thofe troops, the celebrated Smatus ConJ'ultwn was made, (till to be feen engraven on the way from Rimini to Cefena ; by which they devoted to the infernal gods, and declared to be guilty of facrilege and parricide, thofe who ihould with a legion, with an army, or with a cohort, pafs the Rubicon." Montanus gives the infcription at length, which is ftronger than Montef- quieu LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 359 quieu ftates, and fays that Aldus Manutius, in the year 1565, in his way from Venice to Rome, faw this inscription, and carefully tranfcribed it. When Caefar, in his march for Rome, had advanced; to the Rubicon, he paufecl a few moments at this inscription, hut his amhition prevailing, he pafifed over the bridge and thch exclaimed, " the lot is call, let the gods do the reft !" Whoever knows Lord Mansfield's influence in the Britifh Cabinet, will fay this was the die of America. See more of Lord Manf- field's politics in the Appendix marked F and G, written by Mefsieurs Burkes. In the progrefs of the American war, Lord and .General Howe had not the fuccefs which his Lordihip expected, and he could not help cxprefsing his difappointment at dinner at one of the Surrey afsizes ; the fub- je6l of converfation being the American war, Lord Mansfield faicl, " the Howes had no heads ;" to which Sir Clayton neatly replied, " then what will become of the heads of thofe who fent them r" A a 4 Lord 360 X,AT EARL OF MANSFIELD, Lord Sandwich did not approve of the joint-appointment of Lord and General Howe. He faid, he liked them very well feparately ; but thought that fending them together was injudicious, and impolitic. The two laft trials for libels, which Lord Mansfield tried, were in the month of Febru- ary, 1786; upon actions brought by the Right Honorable William Pitt, Firft Lord of the Treafury, &c. againft the printers of the General Advertifer, and the Morning Herald; for having faid in their papers, that he had gambled in the flocks. The trial of the General Advertifer came on firfr. Lord Mansfield's charge to the jury was as follows : Gentlemen of the jury, you have had a very ingenious fpeech, (from the Hon. Mr. Erfkine, who was counfel for the defen- dant,) but up>n a falfe foundation ; the fpeech is to prove that a man of the faireft chara6ter may be with the greater impunity traduced from defamation the law implies a damage, and the proof of actual damages is not neceffary to fuftain an action ; it is. LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 351 {aid if it was a man of fo fair a character as not to fuller by calumny, he would bring no action at all, but the law implies the damage, it is the province of the jury in their difcretion to affefs it, and in doing that they are to take into confideration the cha- racter and fituation of the plaintiff, the malice and malignity of the libel, the nature of the example, and in ihort every other confidera- tion to induce them to affefs what damages they mould imply for that foul offence.. My Lord Sandwich proved no fpecial da- mage that he had fultained by the libel he brought an action for ; the jury gave him 20001. damages : and the other day when a libel in defamation of Lady Saiiibury was tried before me, me fuftained no particular damage, there was no pretence to proVe it, the jury gave her 5001. no man alive ever thought the jury did wrong. In thefe cafes you are to confider the malignity, the falfe tendency, and all the other circumftances in the cafe. And in this cafe I think the plaintiff deferves the thanks of the public for bringing fuch a particular attack upon Jiis character under the opinion of a jury. Gentle- LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, Gentlemen, you fee what fenfe they would put upon fuch conduct, the aflertion is certainly a very foul one, Hock-jobbing is gaming in the ftocks, and gaming upon the fpeculation of the future contingency of the rife or fall of the ftocks. Now I agree with Mr, Bearcroft, (counfel for Mr. Pitt,) it is fcandalous in a private man who knows the events of politics which another does not, and deals with a man with that fupcrior knowledge and advantage, it is not a fair bargain, for you know what the price is and the other does not know, therefore you take an undue advantage of him ; but in a Mi- nifter it is every way infamous and fcanda- lous, becaufe if you confider for a moment, iuppofe a negociation for a peace, and the Miniiler engages for a peace, there will be -a rife in the funds, he is bribed by that confideration to bring that peace about at any rate, it is as much a bribe upon his conduct as if it was given him by a foreign court, fo that upon a Miniiler it is a ftrong charge of defamation ; here it is a fpecific fact, it is printed in the newfpapers, it is circulated all over the kingdom, it is circu- lated all over foreign countries, and how do LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. 363 -do they know whether it may not be true; to be fure many Miniiters have done it, fome have been known to do it, fome have been fufpected, others have flood clear, but when you carry it to all the different parts of the kingdom, and carry it to the continent, how do they know there may not be fuch a negotiation, when in a nevvfpaper in the capital, fuch a report and fuch an idea has got out, that there is a dealing, and there- fore the plaintiff has done right in a fact that might be true or might be falfe, to bring his profecution in the ihapc of an ac- tion, becaufe you are truly told the de- fendant may in that mape of profecution juftify, and if he had jultiried the plaintiff ought not to recover in this aclion ; to be fure example is a confideration likewife mixed in it, and mod undoubtedly we all know and feel the terrible mifchief that arifes from thcfc diurnal publications : in thofe periodical publications nobody is fpared, no Miniftcr, no private man, no lady, no foreign minifter, no perfon, foreign or domeftic. The aflefsing of damages is entirely in your province. I fhall not fay a word LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD, a word upon it, you will confider them un- der all the circumftances. of the cafe, the malignity and the intent, and, for the fake of example, you will give thofe damages you think proper. The jury went out, and ftaid near an hour, when they returned with a verdict for the plaintiff, 1501. The trial of the Morning Herald immedi- ately fucceeded, when Lord Mansfield gave the following charge to the jury. Gentlemen of the jury, it is a very feri- ousand important matter that is before you; it is a quefHon in which all the King's fub- jecls are concerned, whether there mould be a protection to the reputations of men, either in public or private life ; therefore it is very ferious ; if men are indemnified for the diffufmg fcandal, they muft take the con- fequence for thofe behind the curtain. If they do it without being indemnified, or without having a protection, or from malice of their own, either way, innocence fhould be LORD CHIEF JUSflCfi. 365 be protected. I will give you thcfe three papers out with you for you to confider of yourfelves, and exercife your own j udgmcnt upon them. They feem to be more malig- nant and aggravating than the other ; it is aggravated by this ftrong circumftance, the dates are the 7th and 14th of October, and the firft paper of- the General Advertifer, is not till the 20th of October ; fo that this paper, as between them, is the forger of the lye, and the other may have copied it from that paper ; he is not excufable for having copied it, but the iirft inventor is the moil mifchievous. Another confideration between them is, it is wrapped up in language to convey the truth of it, and to allure the plaintiff it is now difcovcred by his friends, who were making an excufe for him ; but his friends now admit of it, and begin to believe -it themfelves; and with particular circum- iiances, that he concealed the preliminaries of the Dutch peace, that he might gamble in the (locks, in contemplation of the rife. God forbid I mould ever fubfcribe to a doc- trine, $66 LATE EARL OF MANSFIELD* trine, that the fairer a man's character is* the lefs reparation mould be given for de- famation. I think the contrary; and that the fairer the character is, the more unjuft is the defamation. -You will take the three papers out with you, and confider of your verdict, and what damages you will give. The jury brought in their verdict for the plaintiff, Damages 2501. after being out ten minutes. His Lordmip refigned in the year 1788, and died in the month of March, 1793. CHAP- CHAPTER XV. THE LATE EARL CAM DEN, (LORD CHANCELLOR.) . (. His Opinion of the Rights of Juries, in Con- tradiction to Lord Mansfield? $, firji Jliaoi in the Trial of Owen. Profecution of Dr. Shebbeare. Mr. Withes' s Opinion of his Rook. Lord Camderfs Opinion on a deceafed King. Mr. Grenville''s Obfcrvation upon it. SJiebbeare fentenced to the Pillory, but not. put into it. Bcardmore's Affidavit. Lord Mansfield's Observation on it. Dr. Sheb- beare rewarded tvith a Penfion. Lord Cam- den attached to Lord Chatham. Appointed Chief Jujlicc. Caufe of his being made a Peer. Oppofes the American Declaratory Bill. Mr. Grenville complains of his Speech. Lord Camden made Lord Chart cellar. He defends the Suspending Power. Lord Tem- ple contrajls his Declarations. Attacks Lord Temple JJiarply. Junius defends Lord Tem- ple. Obfervations on the Manner of par- doning M * Quirk. Curious Evidence of Mr. $6S THE LATE EARL Mr. Bromfield. State of the Cafe of Petef* fon v. Rolfe. Lord Camderfs Remarks on the Difcretion of a Judge. Oppofes in the Cabinet the Ejrpulfipn of Mr. Wilkes. -Turned out of his Poft as Lord Chancellor. Deatli of Mr. Yorke. Great Seal put into Com- mifsion. Decrees made by Lord Mansfield. Lord Apflcy made Chancellor. Sir Fletcher Norton's Bon Mot. Lord Camden retires* Supports the Libel Bill. X HIS Noble Lord will appear ar great and fplcndid character, in /the hiftory of the period in which he lived. He was a fincere fupporter of the conftitutional right of juries, and a fmccrc friend to the conilitutional principle of Parliamentary taxation. The {irft was amply exemplied in his oppofition to Lord Mansfield, and the latter in defence of America. His regard for the rights of juries appeared as early as the year 1752. On the trial of William Owen, bookfeiler, which was at Guildhall, London, in the month LORD CHANCELLOR. 69 month of July, 1752, for publiming 9. pamphlet entitled, " The Cafe of Alexander Murray, Efq." concerning the Weftminfter election ; his Lordihip, then Mr. Pratt, was council for the defendant ; and Lord Mans- field, then Mr. Murray, and Solicitor Gene- ral, was council for the crown. On this oc- cafion was firft fhewn the great difference in their opinions concerning the law of libel. Mr. Murray maintained, that the queftion for the jury to try, was, whether the de- fendant publifhed the pamphlet? the reft he faid followed of courfe. If the fact of publication -is proved, the libel proves itfelf, feditious, malicious, fcandalous, &c. there- fore the printer mult be affected with every thing in the pamphlet. If the fact of pub- lication is proved, and that is what lies for your determination, you (the jury) being judges of the fact, the judge determines the law. As you are upon your oaths, " to well and duely try, and a true verdict give, according to the evidence," you will judge of the facls we have laid before you, now in VOL. I. B b court, 370 THE LATE EARL CAMDEN, court, and only them, and like honeft men bring in your verdict accordingly. [The publication was proved by perfons who had been purpofely fent to buy the pamphlet.] Mr. Pratt, for the defendant, main- tained that the jury were judges -of the whole cafe ; that there was another facl befides the publication which was equally necefiary to be proved ; this was the facl of the charge in the Attorney-General's informa- tion. The defendant is charged with having publifhed this pamphlet, malicioufly, fe- {litioufly, feandalouily, and falfely, to the calumny of the Houfe of Commons of Oreat Britain, and in order to difturb the peace of the nation ; and this he has done wittingly, wilfully, malicioufly, feanda- loufly, &GV This is the FACT laid to his charge ; which the gentlemen have heen very far from PROVING. Only proving the fale of the book, does not prove all thole opprobrious and hard terms laid in the charge againit- him. If his felling this LORD CHANCELLOR. . 371 this book malicioufly, with a feclitious intent, fcandaloufly and falfely, with a clefign to calumniate the Houfe of Com- mons, and in order to difturb the peace of the nation, is not proved, then this great charge in the information fails. Let the gentlemen prove thofe words (the intention) if they mean any thing by them ; if they do not prove thefe terms, this bad intent, for in that lies the crime, then it is no more than felling printed paper, in which furely there can be no fault. Then what are thefe words ? If the gentlemen mean any thing by them, prove them ; if they mean nothing, but words of courfe and form, let the gentle- men fcratch them out, they are needlefs ; which if they do, their information will be very defective. But they will not con- fent to fcratch them out I am fure ; why then they muft mean fomething by them, which if they do, confequently they muft prove them. Thefe words conflitute the charge, which if they do not make out, will you, gentlemen, lay your hands upon your hearts, and fay this man is guilty? B b 2 guilty 372 THE LATE EARL CAMDEtf, < , i guilty of what ? nothing ; for nothing is proved, unlefs felling paper is \ crime. Then, gentlemen, to ihew you how necef- fary it is to prove the intention, if there is an indiclment preferred againft a man for an afTauIt, with an intention to ravifh, the intention muft be proved, or elfe the jury cannot find him guilty. The fame of an aflault, with an intention to kill, if the intention is not proved, he muft be acquitted. If he kills, and tlie intention is not proved ; that is, if it is not proved that he killed premeditately and of fore- thought, it is but manflaughter. There- fore in the cafe before us, if that part of the information is not proved that he pub- limed malicioufly, &c. you muft acquit him. Much might be faid more than we dare fay for our client in this cafe: our mouths are already half fhut, and the tenets the gentlemen on the other fide lay down, are to fhut them QUITE ; but may neither you, this nation, nor I, ever feel the cffecls of fuch tenets, or fee them put in practice. [The defen- dant was acquitted.] la LORD CHANCELLOR. 3.73- .In the year 1757, he was appointed Attorney-General in the room of Sir Ro- bert Henley, afterwards Earl of Northing- ton. In the year following, Dr. Shebbeare having published a pamphlet called " A Sixth Letter to the people of England, on the progrefs of national ruin ; in which it is ihewn, that the prefent grandeur of France, and calamities of this nation, are owing to the influence of Hanover on the counfels of England ;" was profer cuted for this pamphlet by Mr. Pratt, in his official capacity. Of this libel Mr. Wilkes fays (in his letter to Mr. Grenville) " that it fcarcely contained a fingle truth; it traduced the Revolution, afperfed the memory of King William the Third, vili- fied King George the Firft and Second, and baiiardized the whole royal family." In fupport of the profecution, the At- torney-General contended, that the conduct of a dead King may be libelled as well as that of a living one. B b 3 In 374? THE LATE EARL CAMDEN, In the debate in the Houfe of Commons upon Mr. Wilkes's petition, which was prefented in the month of November, J768, it was contended, that a former Parliament might be libelled as well as the prefent one, Upon thefe two pofitions, Mr. Gren-r vi!le, in one of his letters, remarks, " If *it be true, that the proceedings of former Parliaments are not to be que- tioned, nor the conducl of former Kings to be blamed, it will be utterly impof- fible to write any hiftory, except a pane*- gyric out of the Gazette/' Lord Mansfield faid, in his charge to the jury, " that Dr. Shebbeare had, in that letter, approached the neareft to high treafon, without actually committing it* of any paper he ever read." He was convicled and fentenced to fland in the piHory at Charing Crofs. Mr. Arthur Beardmore, an attorney in Walbrook, be- iug under-fkeriff at that time, attended the execution of this part of the feutence. He LORD CHANCELLOR. 315 He was in a houfc oppofitc to the pil- lory. Dr. Shebbeare was greatly favoured* inflead of putting his head in the hole of the pillory in the ufual mode, the upper board was raifed as high as pofsihle, and there faftened. Shebbeare ftood upright, without ever bending his neck in the leaft ; looking through the wide opening between the upper and lower boards. '.*' s \ The Attorney-General was exceedingly incenfcd by this indulgence ihewn to Shebbeare ; and he obtained a writ of at- tachment again ft Beard more for his con- tempt, in not executing the .fentence properly. Beardmore in his defence upon oath faid, That he attended the execution of the fentence, and faw Shebbeare's head through the pillory. Lord Mansfield re- marked, that this was the moft ingenious evafion of perjury he had ever met with. Beardmore was fined fifty pounds for his contempt. Upon the change of the Miniftry, a lit- tle time after the accefsion of his prefent B b * Majefly, 316 THE LATE EARL CAMDEN, Majefty, Shebbeare was allowed a penfion of four hundred pounds per annum ; but when Mr. Grenville fucceeded to the Trea- fury in the year 1763, he reduced it one half. In political fentiments, Lord Camden was attached to Lord Chatham, from the time he was made Attorney-General. At the general election in the year 1761, he was elected Member for Downton ; and in the year 1762, he was appointed Chief Juftice of the Common Pleas, in the room of Sir John Willes. His honourable, firm and conftitutional conduct in the memo- rable cafe of Mr. Wilkes, the trials of the King's meflengers, of the Secretary and under Secretary of State, is fo well known, and has been ilated in fo many publications, it is not neceflary to fay any thing of it here. ~*6 In the year 1765, the Rockingham adr miniftration, as it is ufually ftyled, was ap- pointed. This adminiftration was weak in every thing, but " good intentions." They were LORD CHANCELLOR. 377 were defirous of making the public believe they were honoured with Lord Chatham's approbation ; they, therefore, created the Lord Chief Jullice a peer, by the title of Lord Camden, becaufe he was Lord Chat- ham's friend. But this favour did not gain them his entire fupport in the next fefsion of Parliament. When the Decla- ratory Bill, afferting the right of Parlia- ment to make laws, binding the colonies in all cafes whatfoever came into th(? Houfe of Lords, he oppofed it with the greateft vigour. He afierted, that the Britifh Parliament had no right to tax America : " Whoever attempts to do it, at- tempts an injury : whoever does it, commits a robbery," Thefc words offended Mr. Grenville ex- ceedingly : he mentioned Lord Camden's fpeech in the Houfe of Commons, and declared, with an emphafis, that thefe par- ticular words were a libel upon Parlia- ment ; and that the printer of the fpeech ought to be puniihed. But no notice was taken of the complaint. [The fpeech was 378 THE LATE EARL CAMDEN, was printed in the Political Rcgifter, and is now in the Parliamentary Debates.] When Lord Chatham came into power in the year 1166, Lord Camden was ap~ pointed Lord Chancellor. The affair of the corn bill in that year, and the Aifpcnfion of the law, in order : to prevent the exportation of corn at that time, are already well known, and have been repeatedly ftated, together with the arguments for and again ft the fufpen- fton, in feveral publications, and in the Parliamentary Debates. r-V " _ *~* . J J ' (V . Lord Temple, Lord Mansfield, and Lord Littelton, were the principal oppofers of Lord Camden's arguments. Lord Temple contrafted Lord Camden's doclrines when Lord Chief Juftice, in the affair of general warrants, with the doctrines he had de- livered upon the prelent occafion : in the iirft, he had declared, that an hour's lofs of liberty to an Engliihman, was inefti- mable : in the laft he had faid, that the LORD CHANCELLOR. 379 fufpenfion of the law was only a forty days tyranny at the outfide. This pro- voked Lord Camden exceedingly ; and in the moment of his irritation, he drew a character of Lord Temple hypothetically, and concluded, that if the character he had defcribed applied to any perfon, " it mud be one of the narroweft, moil vin- dictive and perfidious of human beings." Thefe words were repeated in the pub- lic prints fome time afterwards, in a let- ter ad (Ire/Ted to Lord Temple, charging him with being the patron of Junius. This letter was anfwered by another, ad- dreflcd to Lord Camden ; and as it is from the pen- of Junius, the reader will not be difpleafed to fee it. " As a lover of my country, I cannot but VJLCW with concern the attack you have made (grounded on fufpicion only) upon a noble Peer of the moll refpectable cha- racter in the kingdom, whether confidered as a public or private man. The attack, my Lord, is as' illiberal as it is unjuft ; and the 380 THE LATE EARL CAMDEN, and the evil tendency of it gives me con- cern, becaufe I hold it ellential to the public good, that men of. rank, character, and real public virtue mould be held out to the world for admiration and example. . When virtue is once reduced to the level of ignominy and difgrace; when Temple makes hands with Bute and Sandwich, there is an end of all diftinclion, all con- fidence, all fubftantial public hopes. The corruption of the age, my Lord, may prove the -deftruclion of our liberty. How- few are there, my Lord, who pofiefs any character at all, and I fear none who equal that of Lord Temple? I am at a lofs ta know from what motive your Lordihip was. induced to throw out fuch unprovoked abufe upon the noble Lord, as that " he " was one of the narrowcft, molt vindic- 44 tive, and perfidious of human beings." Did your Lordfhip find him lo when he ftipulated with St. James's, that you mould be rewarded for the conftitutional judg- ment, and the part you Had taken in the public caufe, then the caufe of Mr Wilkes ? Or did you find him fo when he in/iflcd on LORD CHANCELLOR. 381 on that claufe being inferted in the pro- tefl made upon the Middlefex queftion, whereby he pledged himfelf to the pub- lic never to defert them, but to feek a reparation for their injuries? In fhort, have you ever found him the man you def- cribe ? Your Lord (hip has not attempted to point out a fmgle inftance of proof, and I am confident you cannot. " I am not furprifed that your Lord- fhip mould attempt to explain away the opinion you gave upon the corn bill, which alone juftifies the cenfure of Junius. To hear Lord Camden, as the great con- flitutional lawyer of this country, fupport- ing a difpcniing power of the Crown, is too alarming to pafs without reprehenfion. A power, the exigence of which, even for a moment, dcftroys the very idea of a free government. If the King can juftify the difpcniing with an acl of Parliament for forty days, he may for forty weeks, and io on ad iiifinitum, for the argument is co-extenfive with the power, and he becomes as abfolute as any tyrant in the uni- THE LATE ARL CAMDEN, r univerfe; yet this is the innocence of Lord/hip's law. " Your Lord/hip has infifted, that in your doctrine the King does not judge of the necefsity in the firft inftance. Pray, my Lord, tell us who does ? If I miftake not, he does. The advice originates from the Minifter in council, where it is dif- cuiled, and then carried to the clofet, where the King determines whether to follow or reject it ; and the perfons ad- vifing fign the advice for which they then become anfwerable. Does not the King then, my Lord, judge and decide upon the necefsity in the firft inftance, whether we ihall be (laves or freemen ? My Lord, I afk you, as a lawyer, if on an action brought for detaining a veifel laden with corn, the party could have juftified the de- tention without the afsiftance of Parlia- ment ? You are not hardy enough to de- clare they could. Yet you, my Lord, are the great and boafted conftitutional lawyer, who bears for his motto the golden words of Jtfagna Charta. This LORD CHANCELLOR. 383 u This is not the only infhmce in which Junius's charge againft your Lordfhip is truly founded. It is itill in our memory that your Lordihip, in giving judgment upon Mr. Wilkcs's bufmefs in the Common Pleas, declared you could forefee a time when it would be proper to take away the liberty of the prcfs ; a doctrine as deftruclive to the principles of general liberty, and of this constitution, as Lord Mansfield's pafsive obedience and non- refi (lance. " One thing more, my Lord, before I take my leave. You tell us, that Lord Temple is the patron of Junius, and as fuch aim your pointlefs dart to wound him through the fide of Junius ; yet, at the fame time you declare, that you 'will wait for mathematical demonitration be- fore you can agree to ailbciate Junius with Lord Temple. Your Lordihip, per- haps, out of your abundant confiftency, will explain this inadvertency. I am quite ig- norant from what logic your Lordmip draws your concluiion, that becaufe two perfons 384? Ttffi LATE EARL CAMDEN", perfons agree in one opinion, that there- " It is flattering Lord Temple to give him the private patronage of Junius. But Junius needs no patron but the public ; and I aiTure your Lordfhip, they are both fuperior to your Lord/hip's refentments. Integer vitce, feeler if que purus non cget mauris joculis 9 fc." paying afide thefe personalities, he was admired as Lord Chancellor almoft to enthufiafm. Every perfon faw with plea- fure his manifeft fupcriority in acutenefs and judgment over the ableft of the coun- fel who pleaded before him. He wasbjeffed by nature with a clear, perfuafive, and fa- tisfaclory manner of conveying his ideas. In the midft of politenefs and facility he kept up the true dignity of his important office ; in the midlt of exemplary patience (foreign to his natural temper, and there- tore he was more commendable) his un- derilanding was always vigilant. His me- 4 mory LORD CHANCELLOR* $85 mofy was prodigious in readinefe and com- prdhenrion : but above all, there appeared iti him a kind of benevolent folicitude for the difcovery of truth that won the fuitors to a thorough and implicit con- fidence in him. He was apt, on the other hand, to be a little too prolix in the reafon of his decrees, by taking notice even of inferior circumflances, and viewing the queftion in every conceivable light. This, however, was an error of the right fide, and arofe from his wifh to fatisfy the bar and his own mind, which was per- haps to a weaknefs, dilTatisfied with its firfi imprefsions, however ftrong. He had other faults that have met with fevere and deferved cenfure. He wore a tie-wig in court, and has been frequently obferved to garter up his (lockings while the coun- fel were the moft ftrenuous in their elo- quence. But there is one material in- ftance out of court , in which, he wounded his character as a lawyer and a judge. This was the part he took in receiving and laying before the Crown certain chi- rurgical depofitions tending to falfify or VOL. I. C c weaken THE t,ATE EARL C AMD-EX, weaken the grounds of a verdict pro- nounced by twelve men impartially re- turned. If the King's pardon could not have operated upon the cafe without thefe auxi-? liajries, the man fhould not have been par- doned ; if it could, the juftice of it was hurt by thefe irregularities, and a bad ex- ample wantonly fet of trying a verdict by an incompetent and foreign judicature. -'t / f ; * The cafe was flated in the London Gazette in the following manner : Whitehall, March 11, 1769. His Majefty has been gracioully pleafed to extend his royal mercy to Edward M'Quirk, found guilty of the murder of George Clarke, as appears by his royal warrant to the tenor following: ..j-r GEORGE R. Whereas a doubt had arifcn in our royal bread concerning the evidence of the death of George Clarke, from the reprefentations of William Bromfield, Efq. furgeon, and Solomon Starling, apothecary ; both of whom, CHANCELLOR. 287 whom, as has been reprefented to us, at- tended the cleccafed before his death, and cxpreffed their opinions that he did not die of the blow he received at Brentford ; and whereas it appears to us, that neither of the faid perfons were produced as witneffes upon the trial, though the, faid Solomon Starling had been examined before the Coroner, and the only perfon called to prove that the death of the faid George Clarke was occa- fioned by the faid blow, was John Foot, furgcon, who never faw the deceafed till after his death : We thought fit thereupon to refer the faid representations, togethei with the report of the Recorder of our city of London, of the evidence given by Richard and William Bealc, and the faid John Foot, on the trial of Edward Quirk, otherwife called Edward Kirk, otherwife called Ed- ward M' Quirk, for the murder of the faid Clarke, to the Mafter, Wardens, and the reft of the Court of Examiners of the Sur- geons Company, commanding them like- wife to take fuch further examination of the faid perfons fo reprefenting, and of faid John Foot, as they might think neceiTary, C c 2 together 388 THE LATE EARt CAMDEN, together with the premifes above-merf- tioned, to form and report to us their opi> nion, " Whether it did or did not appear " to them, that the faid George Clarke " died in confequence of the blow he re- " ceived in the riot at Brentford on the 8th " of December laft." And the faid Court of Examiners of the Surgeons Company hav- ing thereupon reported to us their opinion, " That it did not* appear to them that he " did ;" We have thought proper to extend our royal mercy to him the faid Edward Quirk, otherwife Edward Kirk, otherwife called Edward M'Quirk, and to grant him our free pardon for the murder of the faid George Clarke, of which he has been found guilty. By his Majefty's command, ROCHFORD. The following teftimony of Mr. Brom- field, at the Old Bailey, forms no improper contrail to the preceding flatement from the London Gazette. Sefsions LORD CHANCELLOR. 38P Sefsions Paper, No. 8, in the Mayoralty of Sir J. Thompfon, Knt. 1737. Tryal of Sarah Allen. William Bromfield, Surgeon. I was fent. for to examine the child. I found a large bruife on the back part of thothead, which we call the os occipitis. The ikull was not fractured ; and the reafon it was not, I think, is this ; that in a fubjecl fo young, the bones are of too fine a texture to break. J took off the cranium, and fou'nd a large quantity of blood upon the brain, which I fuppofe was occafioned by the fall. There was Jikewifc a great deal of blood in the belly and breart, which proceeded from the rupture of fome blood veflel ; and theft? things were the occafion of its death. I try'd the experiment of the lungs in water (which I take to be very certain) and they floated ; this, in my opinion, was a fure: fign that the child had breathed ; for if --it had not, they would have fubfidcd in the water. C c 3 An 390 THE LATE EARL CAMDEN, An accurate flatement of a particular cafe in Chancery, while Lord Camden was Lord Chancellor, was printed in one of the morning papers, (the Public Adver- tifer of the 17th of February, 1774-) -7 which, as it would be now difficult to - obtain, the reader will perhaps not be difpleafed to fee a copy of. it here. The cafe was rendered memorable, and extra- ordinary, by the decree which his Lord- ihip made upon it, being reverfed by the Houfe of Lords. We tenants being much dirTatisfied at the Houfe of Lords for their reverfal of Lord Camden's decree in the famous cafe of Pe- ter/bn v. Rolfe, wilh to have the . ideas of that great man better underjlood than they were by the Lords. The late Lord Hard" wkke faid in the hearing of a Barrifter, who is an acquaintance of mine, that he wifhed the arguments ufed in decrees and judg* nienU were published every year, and figncd by the feveral judges who pronounced them. J doubt whether the coiinfel for the refpon- dents did juftice to Lord Camden'' $ grounds and LORD CHANCELLOR, 39l : arid principles in his decree upon this cafe ; and therefore as it is a point of the moft extenfive confequence, I have the leave of the Barrifter whom I have alluded to, and who is a man of {kill in his profefsion, to infert the following note which he took of the fubjlance of what the council laid, and of al moll the words that were uicd by the Chancellor, Michaelmas, 1769, Cur, Ca#L Peter fan v. Rolfe. Bill filed by Pelerfon, the Lcficc, againil the Defendant, his landlord, for relief againft oppressive penalties in his covenant, which penalties had been recovered by ac- tions at law. Mr. Yorkc for the Plaintiff. " Where this court can from tho nature of the cafe find out the real damages, they will relieve againfl enormous ones. [Tall and Ryland, \ Chanc. Caf.] " The material covenant in the leafe be- fore your Lordmip, is a penalty again ft* ploughing fome land which had not been in C c 4- tillage 392 THE LATE EARL CAMDEN, tillage for twenty years; the leafe is for fourteen years ; the penalty is to pay five pounds a year over and above the year's rent. " Subfequent to the breach of this cove- nant, there was a difpute between the par- ties ; that difpute was fettled by an award, yet no complaint was then made of this breach of the .covenant. Soon after, the defendant -below, now the plaintiff, refufing to give general leafes, the prefent defendant brought his actions at law, and afsigned five breaches on which the penalties amounted to. 3QQl. and upwards. It is in evidence, that all that was done was for the landlord's benefit : Some furze, not worth two ihillings an acre, was ploughed up ; and it is believed by many fkilful farmers in evidence, that at the expiration of the leafe, the two fhil- 1 ings an acre will t^e raifed to fix millings an acre." Mr.yorke urged, that fuch a penalty $s this was wireafonable ; and that courts of ecjuily 393 equity ought to fct it afide, efpecially when coupled with thefmall value of the eitate/* The Leafe was read, Lord Camden. " The true hinge of this caufe, is the " enormity of the penalty. I've computed it, and find it near thirty times the value of the fee of the ejlate" I mould rather think myfelf that the furze was not within the covenant ;. for as the covenant fays, " mea- dow or pafture, or other land" one might fairly conceive that " other land muft be land partaking pretty much of the fame nature" Be that, however, as it may, here's a pe- nalty of 6001. againft ploughing ten acres. A forfeiture of the term would be abfolutely beneficial to the tenant in comparifon of this penalty, " As to the land being improved or not improved by this breach of the covenant, it is out of the quellion. ** The found principle of relief is againft the penalty ; as exorbitant at leail. I conT fine myfelf to that. . My THE -LATE EARL CAMBEN, " My great difficulty is about the cofts irr general. The rule is, that the plaintiff in' iiich cafes mud pay the cofts of his applica- tion : But this cafe is dn extremely hard one.'* Mr. Wedderburne for the defendant. " The >laintiif in his hill feems to me to have no other equity hut the fuppofed con- fent or waiver of his landlord. This, how- ever, is ill proved. It furely is going much too far, with deference to your Lordihip, to let the party into relief here by a quan- tum damnificatus upon his wilful breach of a clear and pofitive covenant. " As to the cofts that queftion muft be now clofed ; for the plaintiff is too late. He. has given judgment againft himfelf by con- fefsing the feveral breaches at law. u As to the furze not being comprized in the terms of the covenant, that queftion too is clofed and at an end ; for the plaintiif has fullered the judgment at law to go againft him by default : Befides, the furze * 4 muft LORD CHANCELLOR. 395 inufl have been an object of the intention of the parties, becaufe it is in evidence that " other land" could .attach to nothing elfe but the furze, no other land being on the premifes." Lord Camden, " As to the plaintiff's general relief I can certainly give it him. " The queftion is, " how far this court can abate and moderate penalties duly fixed by the parties themfelves ?" I take it that where damages found in penalty, and are much too large, this court will reach them (juft as it reaches unconfcionable bargains) upon the footing of indulgence to the frail- ties of human nature, and will fet its face againft undue advantages in one of the par- ties over the neceisities of the other. Land- lords have in general the advantage over their tenants in capacity and fortune, though tenants have more dexterity in the manage- ing of land. To difarm them of the ad- vantages of this dexterity landlords have in- troduced rigorous covenants : But this court will 396 THE LATE EARL CAMDEN, .y ' will interfere and give an adequate compen- fation. according to the real quantum of the damage, reducing the excefs and enormity of penalties. It is analogous to the old cafe of amercements, falvo contcnemento. " Formerly the penalty was forfeiture of the term. What faid this court to cafes of that defcription ? It relieved againft the penalty. Why ? Becaufe it was unconfcion- able to turn a man out of pofTefsion for the breach of a little, or comparatively lit- tle, covenant. Now, in lieu of this penalty of the .forfeiture the new penalty is attempt- ed, of increafed rent. But the principle of this court is the fame to relieve againft a penalty, in this or that fhape, which is beyond the injury fuftained, " Indeed, agreements between parties for liquidating damages will be always re- fpefted by the court ; but ftill there mult be a real fubftratum of damage for fuch agreements to operate upon. ^ " J muft lay down the doclrine which Mr, LORD CHANCELLOR. 397 Mr. Wedderburne condemns ; and though he thinks I am going too far, yet I differ with him, and think it a found rule of equity here to fuppofe no damage but fuch as actually has been committed. The 4th and 5th of Queen Anne, chap. 16, conforms to the fame idea in the cafe of bonds. There is one fpecial exception to this doctrine, which Is, the cafe of felling timber, and that very ex- ception confirms the doctrine; for it fup- pofes the value of the timber a value inefti- mable. [ Sir Harry Peach and the Duke of SomerfetJ] " I don't enter now into the effecl: of this covenant, if it had been broke in the articles of meadow land or pafture ; but in this one article of the furze, I am clearly of opinion that the penalty is exorbitant, and therefore that I muft relieve againft it. " As to the cods, I mall referve them till it comes out what is the real damage ; the defendant has been cruel in his behaviour ; let a jury aflefs the damage on a writ of quantum damnificatus, and endorfe the fpe- cial THE LATE EARL CAMDEN, cial damage on the poilea upon each of the five covenants broken." There are a few lines in Lord Camden's argument, in the cafe of Doe againft Ker- fey, which are clearly pointed at Lord Mansfield ; and contain fo juit, and fo con- ititutional an observation, that they can never be too often repeated, and held up as a mirror to all future judges. " The difcretion of a judge is the law of tyrants ; it is always unknown ; it is dif- ferent in different men ; it is cafual, and depends upon conftitution, temper, and pafsion. In the beft, it is often times ca- price ; in the worft, it is every vice, folly, and pafsion, to which human nature is liable." When Mr. Wilkes brought his cafe, by petition, before the Houfe of Commons in the month of November, 1768, the mea- fures to be purfued againft him in confe- quence of it, were concerted and fettled in the Cabinet Council. This was not only LORD CHANCELLOR. pating the judgment of Parliament, but actually converting Parliament into an in- ftrument of the Executive Power. Lord Camden, as Chancellor, being one of the Members of the Cabinet, highly difapproved of it ; for this difapprobation he was turned out of his fituation as Lord Chancellor. He had, when he accepted the great feal, fe- cured the firft vacant tellcrlhip of the Ex- chequer, in cafe he was removed, and until fuch vacancy mould happen, a penfion upon Ireland of l,500l: per annum. Thefe were not thought improper terms for the prefent times. " The uniformity of his general principles,'* fays a writer of that time, " in power and out of it, his warm attention to the intereft of the people in thofe tickliili affairs of Attorney-general, and Lord Chan- cellor, -engage ones reverence and efleem. But when we fee him giving up the great feal, and retiring in the vigour of life and fame to his family and his farm, without faction or pccviih d if con tent, we return thanks to heaven for giving us an example of fuch philoibphy and true wifdom, in this narrow and corrupted age.'* Upon 1*HE LATE EARL Upon the fudden death of Mr. the great feal was put into commifsion. The- Commifsioners were Sir S. Smythe, Hoti* Henry Bathurft, and Sir R. Afton. The decrees of the commifsioners. were believed to be often framed by Lord Mansfield, par- ticularly that on the Pynfent eftate, in the cafe of the Earl of Chatham, which giving great diffatisfaclion to the judges, Lord Mansfield, upon the appeal to the Houfe of Lords, propofed a queftion to the judges, worded in fuch a manner as to put the matter of doubt on a more intelligible and equitable footing. Upon the judges anfwer, the commifsioners decree was reverfed ; and Lord Chatham obtained the eftate, ac- cording to the teftator's intention* When the great feal had been in com- mifsion twelve months, it was given to Judge Bathurft, who was thereupon created Lord Apflcy ; which occafioned Sir Fletcher Norton to fay, " That what the three could not do, was given to the moft incapable of the three." la LORD CHANCELLOR. 40J In the year VI 9^ Mr. Fox brought into the Houfe of Commons a bill to remove doubts refpecling the functions of juries in cafes of libel. Lord Camden gave to this bill his warmeft and fmcereil fupport. His Lordihip had to contend with the Lord Chancellor (Lord Thurlow) Lord Bathurll, Lord Kenyon, c. but the bill pafled. Thus Lord Camden had the happinefs to fee the rights of juries reitored, and the fubtilty and fophiftry by which they had frequently been enfnared, totally exploded and done away. In one of the debates on this bill, (May 21, 119-2) the Marquis of Lanfdowne faicl, " the law was daily fluctuating, and judges were changing their opinions." Lord Kenyon afkcd his Lordmtp what cafe he alluded to ? To which the Marquis replied, " it was to the cafe of a tenant in Norfolk, who had taken a leafe of an eftate, on a part of which there was a piece of furze ; and he had entered into a fpecial covenant, that if he ploughed up that furze, he was to pay an additional rent of live pounds per VOL. I, D d acre. 402 THfi LATE EARL CAMDEN. acre. (See the cafe in page 390.) He did 'plough it up. And Lord Camden, when Lord Chancellor, confidering that the ploughing up the furze had done more good than harm to the eiiate, decreed that it ought not to Void the leafe. It came up to the Houfe of Lords by appeal, and Lord Mansfield, then fitting on the woolfack, 'reverfed the decree, which made Lord den very angry. 1 ' ( 403 ) CHAPTER XVI. JLATE EARL OF MARCHMONT. Origin of the prcfent Manner of printing the Debates in Parliament. A HERE is not any thing in the character of this nobleman that could entitle him to any diilin6tion amongft great men. He pof- fefled fome qualities of a peculiar kind, which produced co-nfequences he never in- tended. To him the public are indebted for an interefling fpecies of information, which it was his ardent and anxious wim to prevent: therefore there is no obligation due to his memory, for the benefit which his il liberality produced. The fact and the circumftances arc worthy of explanation, becaufe they form an epoch in the hiftory of Great Britain. During the time of Mr. Wilkes's exile, (1764) he correfponded with his friends in England, and to one of thefe he fent a D d 2 jcu 404- LATE EARL OF MARCHMONT. jeu d'efprit, confifling of the following words ; In ike Prefi, The Parallel', or the Two Johns Dukes of Bedford ; John, Regent of France, and John, the EmbaJJador : with Letters and Anecdotes. Right tall be made himfelf for Jbew, Tbo' made full Jhort by God : And when all other Dukes did ban), This Duke did only nod* SWIFT. To which is added a Supplement, which con* tinues the Story to the prefejit Time. The perfon to whom this jeu d'efprit was fent, caufed it to be printed in the London Evening-Poll. Next day, JLord March- mont complained of it in the Iloufc of Lords, ftating that it was a breach of pri- vilege. The Printer was ordered to attend the Houfe, and was fined a hundred pounds, befides fees, which amounted to between thirty and forty pounds more. Lord Marchmont was in the habit of frequently complaining to the Houfe of 2 Lords LATE EARL OF MARCHMOtfT. 403 Lords upon very frivolous matters, which he called breaches of privilege. The Printer of the Gazetteer (Say) was brought upon his knees before the Houfe, for only faying in his paper, that the thanks of the Houie had been given to Sir Edward Hawke for his victory over Conflans in the month of November, 1759. He feduloufly examined the news-papers every day, with the ardour that a hawk prowls for prey. Whenever he found any Lord's name printed in any paper, he im- mediately made a motion in the Houfe againft the printer, for a breach of privilege. The ufual fine was one hundred pounds for each offence. This practice went on for fome time. In one day he levied five hun- dred pounds. Two hundred pound$ froai one man, (Baldwin.) The practice, at length, became alarming ; and fome Mem- bers of the Houfe of Commons, particularly Mr. Serjeant Hewitt, afterwards Lord Lif- ford and Chancellor of Ireland, began to entertain thoughts of making a motion in Parliament upon it. The practice and con- duct 406 LATfc EARL OF MAfcCtiMONTJ duel of Lord Marchmont was becoming equivalent to the Lords levying money. As foon as Lord Mansfield, who had been Lord Marchmont's coadjutor and advifcr in this bufmefs, was informed of Mr. Hewitt's cle- fign, he flopped Lord Marchmont. But the perfon who had fmarted For Mr. Wilkes's jeu d'efprit, had not forgot the circum- flance, and as foon as opportunity occurred, the matter was treated with proper atten- tion. In the year 1771, fome detached and loofe accounts of the proceedings of Parlia- ment, were printed in the news-papers. Col. George Onflow, in the Houfe of Com- mons, complained of them as breaches of privilege. The printers were ordered to at- tend the Houfe, which feveral of them did ; they begged pardon, and promifed not to offend again. But the Printer of the Lon- don Evening-Poll, who was complained of witn the others, refufed to attend ; upon which he was ordered to be taken into cuf- tody. As tliis was forefecn, it was previ- oufly LATE EARJL :OF ttfARCHMONT. 407 oufly concerted with Mr. Wilkes, at this time an Alderman of London, that if the Meflenger of the Houfe of Commons at- tempted to take the printer by force, the printer was to charge him. with an affault, and take him into cuftody ; for which pur- pofe a conftable was in waiting. The thing happened as it was forefeen. The Meflenger came, and infifted upon taking the .printer away. The conftable appeared, and took the Meflenger to the Manfion-houfe ; where Mr. Wilkes, the Lord Mayor, (Crofby) and Mr. Alderman Oliver, were in readinefs. The printer made his complaint of the MefTenger having aflaultcd him, and the Meflenger was on the point of being com- mitted, when he was bailed by the Deputy Serjeant at Arms. The Houfe of Commons afterwards fent the Lord Mayor, and Mr. Oliver to the Tower, where they received innumerable deputations front different bo- dies, with thanks for their conducl. Mr. Wilkes they did not chufe to meddle with. From the fpirit of the people fliewn at this 408 LATE EARL OF MARCHMONT. this time, Parliament faw that the prudent meafure was to give up the conteft. And from that time, the dehates and proceed- ings of Parliament have been conftantly and regularly printed in the daily news-papers. This eircumftance gives to the hiftory of the age a very important advantage, derived from the peeviflmefs and petulence of Lord ^larchmont. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME, University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 Box 951388 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. 3 1158 00597 2970 I i DA 483 v.l UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LBRARYF ACL A 001435108 4