^%. ^r,%. 
 
 *^X. 
 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 
 1.0 
 
 1.1 
 
 I^IM |2.5 
 
 |io "^~ HB"^ 
 
 S "^ II 
 
 •UUl. 
 
 IM 
 
 2.2 
 2.0 
 
 1.8 
 
 IIIIIM 
 
 
 m III u II 16 
 
 
 <4 ■ ■ 6" 
 
 ► 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 €3 
 
 \ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 
 23 WEST MAIh STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. It :10 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 

 M 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHIVI/ICIVIH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 Canadian Institute for Historical IVIicroreproductions / institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 
 
Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques nt bibliographiques 
 
 The Institute has attempted to obtain the beat 
 original copy available for filming. Features of this 
 copy which may be bibliographicaliy unique, 
 which may alter any of the images in the 
 reproduction, or which may significantly change 
 the usual method of filming, are checked below. 
 
 □ Coloured covers/ 
 Couverture do couieur 
 
 I — I Covers damaged/ 
 
 D 
 
 Couvefture endommagie 
 
 Covers restored and/or laminated/ 
 Couverture restaurAe et/ou pelliculAe 
 
 I I Cover title missing/ 
 
 D 
 D 
 
 D 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 Le titre de couverture manque 
 
 Coloured maps/ 
 
 Cartes gAographiques en couieur 
 
 Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ 
 Encre de couieur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) 
 
 I — I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ 
 
 D 
 
 Planches et/ou illustrations en couieur 
 
 Bound with other material/ 
 Reli4 avec d'autres documents 
 
 Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion 
 along interior margin/ 
 
 La re liure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la 
 distorsion le long d« la marge Intiriaure 
 
 Blank leaves added during restoration may 
 appear within the text. Whenever possible, these 
 have been omined from filming/ 
 II se peut que curtaines pages blanches ajouties 
 lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, 
 mais, lorsque cela itait possible, ces pages n'ont 
 pas iti filmies. 
 
 Additional comments:/ 
 Commentaires supplAmentaires; 
 
 L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire 
 qu'il lui a it^ possible de se procurer. Les details 
 de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-itre uniques du 
 point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier 
 une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une 
 modification dans la methods normale de filmage 
 sont indiqute ci-dessous. 
 
 Q Coloured pages/ 
 Pages de couieur 
 
 r~] Pages damaged/ 
 
 n 
 
 Pages endommagies 
 
 Pages restored and/oi 
 
 Pages restauries et/ou pelliculies 
 
 Pages discoloured, stained or foxet 
 Pages d6colories, tacheties ou piquees 
 
 Pages detached/ 
 Pages ditachies 
 
 Showthrough/ 
 Transparence 
 
 Quality of prir 
 
 Qualiti inigale de I'impression 
 
 Includes supplementary materii 
 Comprend du materiel supplimentaire 
 
 Only edition available/ 
 Seule Edition disponible 
 
 r~n Pages restored and/or laminated/ 
 
 r~71 Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ 
 
 I I Pages detached/ 
 
 Q Showthrough/ 
 T 
 
 r~~\ Quality of print varies/ 
 
 nn Includes supplementary material/ 
 
 r~~| Only edition available/ 
 
 Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata 
 slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to 
 ensure the best possible image/ 
 Les pares totalement ou partiellement 
 obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, 
 etc.. ont iti filmies i nouveau de facon d 
 obtenir la meilleure image possible. 
 
 This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 
 Ce document est filmi au taux de reduction indiquA ci-dessous. 
 
 10X 
 
 14X 
 
 18X 
 
 22X 
 
 26X 
 
 30X 
 
 7 
 
 12X 
 
 16X 
 
 20X 
 
 24X 
 
 28X 
 
 32X 
 
ills 
 
 du 
 
 difier 
 
 jne 
 
 lage 
 
 The copy filmed here has been reproduced thank* 
 to the generoeity of: 
 
 Library of the Public 
 Archives of Canada 
 
 The Images appearing here are the best quality 
 possible considering the condition and legibility 
 of the original copy and in Iceeping with the 
 filming contract specifications. 
 
 L'exemplaire film4 fut reproduit grfice it la 
 g6n6ror'tA de: 
 
 La bibliothdque des Archives 
 publiques du Canada 
 
 Les images suivantes ont AtA reproduites avec le 
 plus grand soln, compte tenu de la condition at 
 de la nettet6 de l'exemplaire film*, et en 
 conformity avec les conditions du contrat de 
 filmage. 
 
 Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed 
 beginning with the front cover and ending on 
 the last page with a printed or illustrated Impres- 
 sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All 
 other original copies are filmed beginning on the 
 first page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, and ending on the last page with a printed 
 or illustrated impression. 
 
 Les exemplalres originaux dont la couverture en 
 papier est imprimte sont filmte en commsn^ant 
 par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la 
 dernlAre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second 
 plat, salon le ces. Tous les autres exemplalres 
 originaux sont filmte en commenpant par la 
 premiere page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par 
 la dernlAre page qui comporte une telle 
 empreinte. 
 
 The last recorded frame on each microfiche 
 shall contain the symbol — •>■ (mea;tlng "CON- 
 TINUED"), or the symbol y (meaning "END"), 
 whichever applies. 
 
 Un des symboles suivants apparattra &ur la 
 dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le 
 cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le 
 symbols V signifie "FIN". 
 
 Maps, plates, charts, etc., tr ^y be filmed at 
 different reduction ratios. Those too large to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dire 
 film6s d des taux de reduction diffirents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre 
 reproduit en un seul cliche, 11 est filmA d partir 
 de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, 
 et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre 
 d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants 
 illustrent la mAthode. 
 
 ita 
 
 lure, 
 
 ] 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
■P^"»^"IP« 
 
mm 
 
 mmmm 
 
 kl|||W|l|l|i i|i| J 
 
 
 ..■;-;'"V>-:v;-^:, T H g. 
 
 :;y-v;^f-. - 
 
 
 TRUE STATE 
 
 , J:- .;-■■: *« ^r ^ 
 
 OF THE 
 
 lv.-.v«i,\/:V 
 
 • S 
 
 Q V E S T I O N. 
 
 > \-i^ %A. 
 
 V v^r. 
 
 t\ t }, i 
 
 ■M 
 
 '^f^m 
 
 *t 
 
 tiiJthecurfoof KmgstolietttBirfed ^^^ 
 
 By Slaves, and tak« their humour fora wamn^ 
 vv .And oa this winking of auihpri^ ' .:^ 
 
 To understand a law, to know the ffltaning, 
 * V* (\ Of 4anget ous MajelOy) w^*" p«rch*nc« it firoWBi ^ 
 
 More upon humour than advifed refpeA« 
 
 %.4\^\\- '■■'•'„■■■ ' ■ ■ "■ ■■ \ ■ • 'SBAHwnAjir. 
 
 
 ■;.<f**'- 
 
 VI- 
 
 
 L O N D O Ni 
 
 M,UCC,LXXXIV. 
 
 ,ji^^- 
 
 ■4J«yi&JSIJ31 
 
 'iCii^.^a.'I.'&^ii-Js 
 
*m 4* 
 
 *:> 
 
 
 ■^ -. 
 
 .» - J .,, > 
 
 tl 
 
 The following tittle fradi having been much 
 
 [" admired for the plain and intelligible man^ 
 
 ner in ivhich it Jlates THE ^lUESflOKr 
 
 now before the Public^ it is reprinted by 
 
 fome Friends t-o the Coti/iitution, mid it is 
 
 not doubted but, that the Author, whoever 
 
 he is, will excufe, Jn account of the objedt, 
 
 -the liberty taken in doing this without his- 
 
 confent, '"" 
 
 ""-"iR'wr.MpirsaK's.' 
 
 
 u 
 
>1 
 
 r 
 
 « J . • » 
 
 , __ ■ — ■ " ■■'■' . . ■ 
 
 >•' .- 
 
 lii/,^! J . y 
 
 ■ r ) "' 
 
 THE 
 
 f RUE STATE 
 
 OF THfe 
 
 (QUESTION. 
 
 THE prefeiit difpute between the King 
 and the Houfe of Commons, is the 
 •univerfal topic in all I'ocieties : It is 
 as it ought to be, the leading idea in every 
 man's mind ; and however the convcrlation 
 begins, it naturally Aides into this great 
 fvbje^t, for a great one it certainly is, un- 
 lefs liberty and the conflitution are become 
 mere founds. 
 
 A z 
 
 In 
 
 s .,?.-^««^,vilK5*>j#fti!S«i^i 
 
:f 
 
 t 4 ] 
 
 111 liftenlng to and partaking of tliefe 
 amicable altercations, I have obferved with 
 greajr furprife, that there are numbers who 
 do not at all underftand the ftate of the 
 cj^ueftion : now as I think if ever any poli- 
 tical queftion could admit of being render- 
 ed fimple and clear, it is that which at pre- 
 lent is in difpute, I mtift beg that fuch as 
 ivifli to decide upon it: fairly and honeftly, 
 and are not predetermined that reafon fhall 
 have no effed upon them, will liften to 
 what I have to fay; I will bs as ihort as 1 
 can, and I will attempt no oratory, for I 
 dcTue not to perfuade, but to convince ; and 
 I will endeavour to affume no fadl that is 
 not univerfally allowed, nor to draw any 
 conclufion that is not fair and obvious. 
 
 The actual Government was fixed at the 
 Revolution. The tyranny and bigotry of 
 the King had diffolved the Gontra<Sl between 
 him and the people. A new King was 
 called ; but, before the Crown was con- 
 ferred upon him, fuch reftridtions of the 
 prerogative, and fuch declarations of the 
 rights of the people, were infifted upon as 
 might for the future confine the royal power 
 within its due bounds. Little or no altera- 
 tion was made in the form or theory of 
 
 Govern^ 
 
[ '5 } 
 
 tnent; but every provifioii was made, that 
 the wifdom or temper of the times allowed 
 of, to fecure the independency of Parlia- 
 ment, and the liberties of the people. 
 
 No part of the fyftem then eflabliflied, 
 leems to have been better underftood or 
 more happily conceived than that which 
 regarded the Adminijiratwn of Government 
 The whole executive power relides virtu- 
 ally in the King;— this is the very cfTence 
 of the Conftitution, one of the fundamen- 
 tal pillars of the edifice; he can, therefore, 
 be amenable to no law, becaufe for a man 
 to fit in judgment upon himfelf implies a 
 contradiction. In his legillative capacit}^ 
 as a third independent ilate, he is not ac- 
 countable to the other two, any more tli^on 
 they are reciprocally to him or to each 
 other. Thus the fentence of the law, " that 
 the King can do no wrong," is not an old 
 legal adage, founded on obfolete notions 
 of prerogative, but a pofitive maxim of fadl* 
 deriving neceflarily from the principles of 
 the ConflitutiJon. But for the King to ex- 
 ercife the various executive powers in \\\^ 
 own perfpn, is not only phyfically impodi- 
 ble, but muft, ipfofa^o, defl^oy the Ihadow 
 
 oi 
 
 "is^it^wgsspsm^Sti. 
 
t 6 ] 
 
 of a balance between the three eftates* Thd 
 immediate command of the army, the navy j 
 the unUmited power of creating Peers; a 
 power, which exerted in the extent, gives 
 the Crown an abfolute controul over that 
 Houfe; and above all, th.e difpofal of an 
 immenfe patronage of honours and emolu- 
 lilents, muft, if exercifed in the perfon of 
 a magiftrate rcfponiible for none of his 
 a£lions, have rendered that magiftrate the 
 mofl defpotic Sovereign in Europe. The 
 expedient adopted was fmiple, obvious, and 
 adequate. Thefe powers were feparately 
 delegated to perfon s appointed by the King, 
 And adting under his authority, but refpon- 
 fible to the laws aiid die legiflature, and 
 to the appointment of whom the fandion 
 of Parliament was an indifpenfible requi- 
 lite, becaufe Parliament having it in their 
 power to with-hold the fupplies, would 
 only grant them to fuch men as had their 
 approbation. Thus Minifters became pub- 
 lic men, refponfible to Parliament for their 
 conduct, and looking up to Parliament for 
 fupport, and not as in defpotic govern- 
 ments, the mere inflruments of the will of 
 aa arbitrary maflcr. Such was the fy flem 
 
 of 
 
 ft 
 
 I 
 
{ 7 •] 
 
 of Adminiftration eftabllfhed at the Revo- 
 Jutioii, and continued without change or 
 diminution, through four liicceflive reigns 
 to the death of the late King; and I will 
 venture to-aflert, that every reafoning and 
 impartial man, who will begin by examin-» 
 ing the probable efficacy of this fyftem for 
 the prefervation of public liberty and the 
 independence of Parliament, and will then 
 trace its operation through the period 
 ^bove-mentioned, \Vill not hefitate to pro^ 
 Bounce it the great palladium of the Con^ 
 ftitution. For thofe who are not difppfed 
 to enter upon fuch an inveftigation, fuffice 
 it to obferve, that from the inflitution of 
 this fyftem in 16B8, to the efiential alter- 
 ation made in it in 1 760, the hiftory of the 
 world cannot furnifli an ihftance of a na-^ 
 tiotfi more mildly, more peaceably, more 
 equitably governed; more happy and prof- 
 perous at home, or more-gloriouily fuccefs^ 
 ful abroad, than is prefented by the annals 
 of Great Britain during the ieyenty-two. 
 years immediately fucceeding this great iera 
 of the Conflitution ; and that from the 
 hour this fyftem was to be undermine^, to 
 make way for that which it is now pro^ 
 
 pofed 
 
 '!'(8»'«!S:-*''''»««.«*S!SMSKll®Sft|WiSSI 
 
C « ] 
 
 pofcd to ratify and avow, the country has 
 declined with a rapidity which has no 
 example. 
 
 His prefent Majefty afcendcd the Throne 
 of his anceflors with advantages unknown 
 to the moft fortunate of his predeceflors. 
 As a man his felicity was fuch that nothing 
 was left for the poets of that time to ima-* 
 gine. — x^t his birth 
 
 <* Nature and Fortune joia*tl to make lum great.*' 
 
 As a Monarch he was the idol of a glo- 
 rious, profperous, and happy nition. His 
 arms vidloricrus in every quarter of the 
 globe ; his adminiftr^ition Conduced by one 
 of the honeftejfl and ablefl ftatefmen that 
 ever exifted, poflefling the unbounded con- 
 fidence of the parliament, and the people. 
 '—When I contemplate this bright pi£l:ure, 
 and then turn to the dark fcene which fol- 
 lows—When I consider what might have 
 been, and what is— How, and for what 
 objedls thefe advantages are facrificed — It 
 is difficult indeed to preferve the temper 
 which decency requires. 
 
 When Lord Bute retired from public 
 view, the principles on which he came into 
 power and his creatures remained fixed in 
 
 tha 
 
 
 •"m 
 
t 9- ] 
 
 the Cabinet ; and hiv^ more or lefs dire6i- 
 ed or count6ra£ted all its meafures to the 
 prefent hour. The eftablifhment of immc-* 
 diate and perfonal influence has been the 
 leading principle during the whole of thfc 
 •prefent reign ; to this every view has been 
 dire£led ; to this every fet of men have 
 been facrificed in their turn, without hefi- 
 tation or remorfe, as foon as they would 
 no longer fubmit to be dilhonoured by its 
 operation, or had become the execration 
 of the public by acquiefcing in its deftruct 
 tive meafures*. It does not come within 
 the compafs of my plan to trace this bale- 
 ful principle through the long detail of its 
 dark manoeuvres for morei than twenty 
 years ; and it is fully fufEcient for my ar- 
 gument, that nobody denies or doubts its 
 exiftence. .. . .v./.;*. .,-, 
 
 Since the employment of the immedi* 
 ate and perfonal influence of the Crown 
 has been more open);- avowed, attempts 
 have been made to juftify its principle. The 
 
 * Lord North continued long in office, becaufe h« vrti pledfwd 
 fcr the continuance of the American war, which was a favourite 
 Court meafure. For the laft year he^was in that unhappy predi- 
 cament, which leaves only the choice of evils— He couW neither 
 remain in office with credit or felf-appittbation, or refign with 
 honour. Tliis was the triumph of fecret influence. 
 
 B Crown 
 
Crown lawyers^, a defcription of men ever 
 iinfriendly to liberty; have of Jate laiieiSled 
 to t^iUc in high terms of the rigfit: which 
 the King has to ejcercife hia prerogative* 
 But this word rig^ has two {igniiications,t 
 jyhich it is. very dangerous to confound. 
 la one lenfe a man is faid to have a right 
 to do all that is not forbidden by the laws^ 
 however contrary to fenfe and jufticc: ia 
 the other he is faid to have no right to do 
 even what tho law allows, if it be contrary 
 to the difiiates of reafon and morality. On 
 the former interpretation, the moft cxtratr 
 vagant and criminal excelTes may be juiti- 
 
 fied. ■)!:-.■'.•■ -v- ■;;;■'■: r-''''- '^1 'Aribr.h'li-^ 
 What then is the criterion by whick 
 we are to diflinguifh right from power. 
 In private individuals it is honour and con*> 
 fcience ; and in the governors of the peo*- 
 pie it is the public advantage ; every exer- 
 xiie of power, therefore^ which has not 
 thje^puhlic good for its object, however fup- 
 |)0ited by theory, or by whomfbever exet>^ 
 ciied,. is arbitrary ^d illegitimate* ; v * 
 *•'' But to return to the more immediate 
 -objedfc of this Addrefs. I have endeavourr 
 cd to ihow that the eitabliihment pf imme^ 
 
 *4 <• W*V 
 
 diate 
 
.(•?'■ 
 
 t 
 
 " i 
 
 5iate and perfonal influence upon the ruini 
 bf public parliamentary refponfible Admi- 
 hiftratioh has been the great objedl of the 
 prefent reign— that the latter is a fyftem 
 admirably calculated to fecure the inde- 
 pendency of Parliament and the rights of 
 the people, without endangering the juft 
 prerogative of the Crown— -and that the 
 former tends evidently to fubvert the inde- 
 pendency .of Parliament and the Hberties 
 of the people by throwing the whole 
 weight of power into the hands of th« 
 JCirig. Now no man will have the elS*on- 
 ttry to deny that the laft Adminiftratioti 
 were forced into power by the fble efficacjf 
 of parliamentary fuppbrt in direct oppofi-i 
 tion to fecfet influence which they ftood 
 pledged to detedl'and peM in all its forms* 
 Hence the relu(?:ant delay with which the/ 
 were at firft admitted into office — ^hehce 
 fheiartful and fuc<*d^fbl attempt to break 
 their force by tempting Lord Shelburna 
 with a bait which he had not ftrcngth of 
 mind to refift— hence the rage and delp^r 
 occafioned Hy the Coalitiou, which onCc 
 more enai^d parliamentMy fuppprt to- take^ 
 perfonal inlhjenc^ by ftoim at it has been' 
 
 B 2 «ni- 
 
 -^^if^r-^'wmaMmmm^ 
 
 i^^Ufwiwi^B^TW .. 
 
 '.•'-/'.. .'uV-i'Jiei^J 
 
[ " ] 
 
 cmphatt(pally cxprefled by the creatures of 
 the litter — and hence the laft defperate 
 exertion of fecret influence over a few 
 I^rds of the Bedchamber, to throw a Bill 
 put of Parliament which had been brought 
 in by the King's Minifters, and had pafled 
 the Commons three Xo one ; and to remove 
 an jA -Inuniftration in the plenitude of part 
 liamentary fupport, to make way for a fet 
 Qf men who have fworn allegiance to that 
 influence to whifh they owe their ppli^ca^ 
 
 exiite^ce, ,; ,^ v,.i-i;j; . ,, v,v[ \cr iit'^i-b^-- 
 .Mr. Pitt, 3rou are a very young man, 
 ^d it is the charaderiilic of ingenious 
 youth to he open and unfufpedting. You 
 polTelTed a charadter till nqvv fpotlefs, a 
 great hereditary najne, and the reputation 
 of knowledge and ability far above your 
 years ; and you are followed by a fet pf 
 men jufl flepning into the world, of whon^ 
 ^s nothing is known nothing ill can be 
 fpoken. Such u defcription of perfpn was 
 perhaps the only inftrument the King could 
 have employed with fuccefs on the prefent 
 Qccafion. More experience would hav^ 
 prefcrved you from becoming the dupe of 
 the n^ofl hackneyed arts ; and with lefs 
 
 ^ 
 
 
[ '3 ] 
 
 charader your name could not have been 
 held out as a fuccefsful lure to the people. 
 But let me befeech you, Sir, in the name 
 of this wretched ruined country to confider 
 well what you do. The eyes of the vuii- 
 verfe are turned towards you, and a fplen* 
 did name and high charader are furely 
 worth deliberation ! I know they are as 
 difficult to fupport as they are rare and va- 
 luable ; but they may be loft irretrievably 
 by ^ ^iigle ad in a iingle inftant. Ex- 
 amine, therefore, by what arts and on what 
 motives your great father c^was firft dif- 
 mifled from office, how hi« A^miniftra* 
 tion was afterwards rendered impotent 
 and abortive, and why the virtuous Lord 
 Rockingham was obliged to refign ? Com* 
 pare the arts then employed, and the ob- 
 je£ts then propofed with the prefent cir- 
 cumftances, obferve in what thpy differ in 
 praftice or defign ^, and do not miftake the 
 voice of a party, heated by the occafion, 
 and the cry of interefted individuals for the 
 calm deliberate approbation of the public. 
 
 " * Mr. Pitt is faid to have urged the perfonal folicitation of his 
 Sovereign as a principal motive for comiuf ipte office. The late Mr, 
 Charles Yorke accepted the Seals becaute he could not refill royal 
 fvlicit.itton. \V|i»i was the confe^uepce } 
 
 . ..1 I have 
 
 mm 
 
i I' 
 
 n |i 
 
 I '. I 
 
 ' 1- have very willingly given you the 
 credit of fuppofing you a6:uated only by 
 great public coniiderations ; otherwife it 
 would be eafy to point, out to you on 
 ■what hollow and dangerous ground the 
 intereft of your perfonal and private am- 
 bition at prefent Hands. AH paft exa^nt- 
 pie fhows you hovir unfriendly the fitua^ 
 tion of Minifter is to the afFe(Stiont of the 
 people; you therefore can hajrdly flatter 
 yourfelf that an exception will be aiad^ 
 in your favour in times fo peculiarly diffi- 
 cult as the pjfgfent ; but if it could, you 
 may reft affured, that the moment your 
 popularity hiis ferved the turn, it will be-^ 
 come an immediate objedt of jealoufy to 
 the K— , to the junto, and to the greateft 
 part of your motley aiibciates iii office; 
 and that if you were ever to venture to 
 reft upon it to carry any great public mea- 
 fure into force which had not the tho» 
 rough approbation of thefe perfons, that 
 inftant your doom would be fealed; on 
 the^iirft nod of the mafter, the mutes of 
 the Bedchamber and interior Cabinet would 
 ftand ready to give you the bow-ftring 
 with as little remorfe iyid as much fatis- 
 
 fcft 
 
 lOU 
 
t 15 3 
 
 fadlon as they jufl ftrangled the laft let of 
 Britifh Minifters. 7/r.:n rr, I •.' .:; ;jv-?iii 
 
 I ^The queftion therefore is not whether 
 it be eipexiient to difpoliefs the Rail ludia 
 Company of its territorial or commercial 
 powers-^-not whether Mr. Pitt or Mr. Fox 
 be the honcfler or abler man, or whether 
 JLord Grower ot- the Duke' of Pordand has 
 the higher charader for political integrity 
 •— -theffc queftions have nothing to dd 
 avith thfe prefent fubje(3:, and thofe vvho 
 put them forward as main points are ei-. 
 tlier deceived themfelves, -or endeavour 
 |)urpo{ely to miflead the attention of others* 
 2^0, the fole cbjed in difpute, it can- 
 :not be too often repeated, is whether the 
 iyftem of j a parliamentary refponiible Ad- 
 miniftration fhall be reftored, a fyftem 
 which for a period of 70 years our go- 
 vernment was the envy of nations, and 
 we became the firft people in the unlverfe; 
 or that fatal error ratified and continued, 
 which, during an operation of 20 yearsj 
 has led us through a long and uninterruptr 
 ed feries of folly and dijfhonour, from the 
 pinnacle of glory and profperity to the 
 briak of infamy and deftrudtion. - 
 ; . Not 
 
 <i>'r«^-9aMH«>«MMMKMMiniMMEtl 
 
t '« ) 
 
 ■;^Not biit that the late Minifters might 
 meet the prefent men with equal adyantage 
 on all thefe collateral points as on the main 
 queftion. Nay, the very India bill itfelft 
 ^ainft which fo much popular clamour 
 has been artfully excited, this ftrong hold 
 of the new Cabinet, and the mamier in 
 which it was brought into Parliament^ 
 furnifh the ftrongeft inftance of the adhe*» 
 rence of the late Adminiftratipn to their 
 great principle, and ought alone to fecurat 
 to them the perpetual confidence of the 
 nation. Had Mr. Fox brought forward a 
 trimming, half-formed, abortive meafure, 
 placing the patronage in the Crown, and 
 facrificing part of the ohjeGt of the bill to 
 gain the fupport, or flop the clamour of 
 interefted individuals, no pretext had then 
 been furnifhed for what afterwards hap- 
 pened, and what it was too well forefeen 
 would be at rempted ; the evil indeed 
 would not have been remedied, and mil- 
 lions of people might have continued to 
 groan under opprelfions that make a good 
 man afhamed of his humanity ; but a fpo- 
 xious palliative might have been held forth, 
 and Minifters would have kept their offices, 
 -^ at 
 
pe- 
 th, 
 ices, 
 at 
 
 at leaft tUl feme new and more iui)Il!b 
 poifon could be prepared, or fome unguarde 
 ed hour had fitrnilhed a ikht opportuiuty 
 for an unfeeti hand to dkedl t^ ^etto to^ 
 their hearts* But they f^omfid fuch paltry 
 motives— they boldly ftepped forward with 
 fiich a bill as they thought adequate to the 
 evil, without regard to party clamours, or 
 the certainty that every poffible advantage 
 would be taken of thefe clamours to drive* 
 them out of office on a plaufible and popu-I 
 lar pretence. They treated the difeafe, not 
 with the flattering undtion of a timid and 
 ignorant pretender, . 
 
 ,f, 
 
 •— To iktn and film the ulcerous part 
 While rank corruption mining tit withia 
 Infeat unfeen » >r . .: V .:i: : 
 
 i . •_*.■■ '-4 . .1-1 .^' ii • ^. » . J f ' . ^ *»• 
 
 but with a firm and fteady hand, probing- 
 the fore to the bottom, and amputating the. 
 rotten parts to preferve the whole maf» 
 from mortification. 
 
 The objections to Mr. Fox's bill) upoa> 
 which the clamours have been excited, arc^. 
 
 That it takes away chartered rights ; 
 
 That it places a great weight of patron- 
 age in unfafe or improper hands ; 
 
 :vi C That 
 
:■«: 
 
 ! 
 
 [ '8 j: 
 
 :l That it trenches on the prerogatiirc of 
 the Crovirn. iwi iz ,i'i::.^ >.-.; ■' ^Iik. .».'...■; - 
 * The firft of theft obje£lions implies too, 
 much ignorance of the fir ft principles of 
 Icgiflation in general, and of the fpirit of 
 the Britilh conftitut'^n in particular, that 
 it hardly deferves a lerious anfwer. Are 
 we to be told, that when any rights, of, 
 which individuals are left in pofleflion by 
 the law, become incompatible with the. 
 public fafety, it is not only the right but the 
 immediate duty of the legiflature to remove; 
 them ?— That a grant from the Crown of 
 a monopoly of thofe righ|;s neither does nor . 
 can fence the rights themfelves from par- 
 liamentary, regulation ?— That if the rights 
 
 themfelves may be regulated or taken away, 
 a fortiori, the monopoly of them may be 
 
 reftrained or refcinded ?— &c. &r. If this is' 
 
 not demonftrable I know nothing that' 
 is fo. 
 
 The anfwer to the fecond obje£lion has 
 always appeared to me equally obvious and 
 iimple. The corruption and incapacity of 
 the Company's Government was the evil 
 which the Bill was to remedy ; in tracing 
 the caufes of this difu.der, it was founei 
 
 
 not 
 
 'IL. 
 
has 
 
 and 
 
 :y of 
 
 evil 
 
 [ '9 1 
 
 hot fo much to proceed from Mal-admini- 
 •fl:ration, as from a radical fundamental error 
 in the Government itfelf. An impcrium ih 
 imperio has always been efteemed a foltf- 
 cifm in politics, but imperial jurifdic* 
 tion in a trading company implies k 
 monftrdus contradidtion of contending^' and 
 irreconcileable principles from which the 
 worft kind of tyranny muft neceflaril^ 
 refult. The fble principle of a commercial 
 company is gain ; and the fole princijite of 
 •every juft Government ought to be 0fif>^ 
 cure the profperity of the people gtnserned* 
 Now is it not obvious that thefe two piin* 
 ciples mufl remain at perpetual variance; 
 ^nd that the former will always prevail 
 over the latter ? If this reafoning is juft, 
 and I think it is unanfwerable, it follows, 
 that the firft preliminary ftep to the relief 
 of the Eaft Indies was to remove every part 
 of Government out of the hands of the 
 Company; and the queftion only remain- 
 ed, where thefe powers were to be placed. 
 But after the vote " that the influence of 
 *' the Crown had encreafed^ was encreaf^ 
 •*^ ing, and ought to be diminifhed," with 
 -what fort of coniiftency could the fame 
 i-' .- C 2 Houfe 
 
p 
 
 Houfe of Commons propofe to place in tih« 
 hands of the Crown a patronage magnliled as 
 ^ great and d^ge.rous ? Ai>d if a power has 
 grown up in the State which it is conceived 
 may be en^lo)^ foriinConftitutional purpo- 
 ieSy whereican that powerbe fo fafejy cjepofited 
 lis in the hands of the reprefentatives of the 
 fjeoplc ? While tlie good underftanding be- 
 tweeo the King and the Commons ihall 
 fiibfift, there is no fear of the Crown's 
 5/yartting 4 due influence in that Houfe ; and 
 if it is tk> cpafc, and the powers of each, in<^ 
 Head of co-operating through the medium 
 of a Parliamentary Adminiftration, are to 
 be oppofed to each odher, where is the 
 JEnglifliman who would hefitate which 
 hands to ftrengthen? Or where is the man 
 of common under jlianding who can fiippole 
 that; the rights of the people are dearer tq 
 the Crown than to their own immediate 
 reprefentatives?-; j- -^--^ •• - • / ... 
 Qn the laft objection I fl^all only oI>« 
 •ferve, that the different branches of the 
 fcgiflature have referved to themfeives 
 various Kscccutive powers* The fupreme 
 .judicature of the Lords- — the compel 
 tency of bothlioufes to try and punifh 
 * ^ert^n 
 
t 2' 3 
 
 certain offences— and above all, the power 
 •of arraigning Miniilers, are all high ex- 
 ecutive powers; thofe, therefore, who 
 reafon merely firom the theory of the Con- 
 ^itution, will, an this occafion^ aa almoft 
 on all others, find their conclufigna wide of 
 •ihe fa£t. *• ■■"' ^ '-•-•■._ •, •-_ »-■«-■ ] -:.*'-■'• 
 
 One word on the diflblution of Parlia-» 
 ment and I have done. The friends of the 
 Coujpt^party afFedk to treat this meafure 
 as the moft fimple and natural occurrence ; 
 and to wonder why there (hould be the leaft 
 hefitation in the King's Minifters on adopt- 
 ing fo obvious and eaiy a refource in the 
 prefent difficulty, i . ; . . * . i^U' 
 
 : ButI alk, Is THERE NOTHING UNCON- 
 
 jjtitutional in dissolving a parlia- 
 ment, not sufficiently obedient to 
 the royal pleasure, solely and 
 Avowedly in the hope of obtaining 
 thro' the influence of the crown, 
 
 A NEW parliament MORE OBEDIENT 
 TO THE ROYAL WILL ? 
 
 It has been too frequently been jhe mis* 
 fortune of mankind not to fee the danger 
 till the mifchief has adually taken place, 
 and it is too late for redrefs. Should 
 
 ■ *» 
 
 : • . "the 
 
 m*mm •r^'vr.i^ 
 
 T'VS 
 

 ■'.I 
 
 the pcr{oniil influence of the Crown tr> 
 •unriph over Parliament, our fons will per- 
 fedly underftand how their liberties were 
 loft ; but they will ndt' perhaps To readily 
 difcover by v/hat meiarts they are to be re*" 
 gained, oiitujucjiijiii hiili .'tn tlo li;: i.v> 
 
 Before I take my leave, I (hall ftate cei"* 
 tain max'ms, which may lerve as a recapi- 
 tulation of the fubje£t ; and which I ear»- 
 neftly recommend to the attention of the 
 public- '-'"i ^"^■' J"- b:/i: r-crp'i i'^ri s::: :■?, 
 
 That the fyflem of a ftrong refponfible 
 parliamentary Adminiflration is excellently 
 calculated to prefers the confequence of 
 Parliament and the rights of the people.. ^ 
 -A That the lyflem of fecret and perfonal 
 influence tends to lubvert the conftitutioni 
 to fet the three eftates at variance, and to 
 endanger the liberties of the people. 
 • • That the late Miniftry owed their exil^- 
 ence folely to the fupport of Parliament. ' 
 
 That the prefent Miniftry owe their 
 exiftence folely to the exertion of the fo- 
 cret and perfonal influence of the Crown. 
 
 That it is the indifpenfible duty of Par- 
 liament to fupport fuch men only as they 
 approve of. - ^- ; . ' .^ ♦ ■'.. '. :•/ 
 
 Thj;t 
 
That to cliffolvc the Parliament merely 
 for doing Its duty, would be an al>furd, 
 dangerous, and unconftitutional exertion of 
 the prerogative. . ,. . ,, ^, 
 
 .' V 
 
 leir 
 
 tn. 
 Par- 
 ley 
 
 i ■ 
 ) > 
 
 . FINIS. 
 
 * I 
 
 
 r:: 
 
 b^t