J
 
 THE 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 O F 
 
 EDMUND BURKE, Efq; 
 
 MARCH 22, 1775,
 
 S P E E C 
 
 ON 
 
 MOVING HIS RESOLUTIONS 
 
 FOR 
 
 CONCILIATION with the COLONIES, 
 MARCH 22, 1775. 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed fcr J. D O D S L E Y, in PALt-MALt. 
 MDCCLXXV.
 
 . 
 
 
 
 ;
 
 O F 
 
 EDMUND BURKE, ESQ. 
 
 I HOPE, Sir, that, notwithftanding the aufte- 
 rity of the Chair, your good-nature will in- 
 cline you to Ibme degree of indulgence towards 
 human frailty. You will not think it unnatural, 
 that thofe who have an object depending, which 
 ftrongly engages their hopes and fears, mould 
 be fomewhat inclined to fuperftition. As I came 
 into the houfe full of anxiety about the event of 
 my motion, I found to my infinite furprize, that 
 the grand penal Bill, by which we had pafled fen- 
 tence on the trade and fuftenance of America, is 
 
 B to 
 
 2223901
 
 to be returned to us from the other Houfe*. I 
 do confefs, I could not help looking on this event 
 as a fortunate omen. I look upon it as a fort or 
 providential favour; by which we are put once 
 more in poflefTion of otlr deliberative capacity, 
 upon a bufinefs fo very queftionable in its na- 
 ture, fo very uncertain in its iflue. By the re- 
 turn of this Bill, which feemed to have taken its 
 flight for ever, we are at this very inftant nearly 
 as free to chufe a plan for our American Govern- 
 ment, as we were on the firft day of the SefTion. 
 If, Sir, we incline to the fide of conciliation, 
 we are not at all embarrafled (unlefs we pleafe 
 to make ourfelves fo) by any incongruous mix- 
 ture of coercion and reftraint. We are therefore 
 called upon, as it were by a fuperior warning 
 voice, again to attend to America ; to attend to 
 rhe whole of it together ; and to review the fub- 
 jet with an unufual degree of care and calmnefs. 
 
 Surely it is an awful fubject ; or there is none 
 fo on this lide of the grave. When 1 firft had 
 fche honour of a feat in this Houie, the affairs 
 of that Continent prefled themfelves upon us, as 
 the moft important and moft delicate object of 
 parliamentary attention. My little ihare in this 
 
 * T/J Aft to rejlrain the Trade auJ Commerce f the Provinces of 
 Mfiffachu/ct's Bay ami New Hampjhire, anil Colonies of Connecticut and 
 Rhode IJland) and Providence Plantation, in North America, to Great 
 Britain, Ireland, and the Eritijh Ijlands in the If eft In Jits ; and to pro- 
 hibit fucb Provinces and Colonies from carrying on any Fiftiery on the 
 Banks of Newfoundland, and other places therein mtntioned t under certain 
 Conditions and Limitations, 
 
 great
 
 i 3 1 
 
 great deliberation opprefled me. I fourid myfelf 
 a partaker in a very high truft ; and having ho- 
 fort of reafon to rely on the flrength of my na- 
 tural abilities for the proper execution of that 
 truft, I was obliged to take more than common, 
 pains, to inftrudt myfelf in every thing which 
 relates to our Colonies. I was not lefs under the 
 neceflicy of forming fome fixed ideas, concerning 
 the general policy of the Britifh Empire. Some- 
 thing of this fort feemed to be indifpenfable; in 
 order, amidft fb vaft a fluctuation ofpaffions and 
 opinions, to concenter my thoughts ; to ballaft 
 my conduct ; to preferve me from being blown 
 about by every wind of fafhionable doctrine; 
 1 really did not think it fafe, or manly, to have 
 frefh principles to feck upon every frem mail 
 which mould arrive from America. 
 
 At that period, I had the fortune to find my- 
 felf in perfect concurrence with a large majority 
 in this Houfe. Bowing under that high autho- 
 rity, and penetrated with the fharpnefs and 
 flrength of that early impreffion, I have conti- 
 nued .ever firice, without the lead deviation, in 
 my original fentiments. Whether this be owing 
 to an obftinate perfeverance in error, or to a re- 
 ligious adherence to what appears to me truth 
 and reafon, it is in your equity to judge. 
 
 Sir, Parliament having an enlarged view of ob- 
 jects, made, during this interval, more frequent 
 changes in their fentiments and their conduct, 
 
 B a than
 
 [ 4 J 
 
 than could be juftified in a particular perfon 
 upon the contracted fcale of private informa- 
 tion. But though I do not hazard any thing 
 approaching to a cenfure on the motives of 
 former parliaments to all thofe alterations, one 
 fact is undoubted ; that under them the ilate of 
 America has been kept in continual agitation. 
 Every thing adminiftered as remedy to the public 
 complaint, if it did not produce, was at leaft 
 followed by, an heightening of the diftemper ; 
 until, by a variety of experiments, that impor- 
 tant Country has been brought into her prefent 
 fituation ; a fituation, which I will not mifcall, 
 which I dare not name ; which I fcarcely know 
 how to comprehend in the terms of any de- 
 fcription. 
 
 In this pofture, Sir, things flood at the begin- 
 ning of .the feflion. About that time, a worthy 
 member * of great parliamentary experience, 
 who, in the year 1766, filled the chair of the 
 American committee with much ability, took 
 me afide; and, lamenting the prefent afpe"ct of 
 our politicks, told me, things were come to fuch 
 a pals, that our former methods of proceeding in 
 the houfe would be no longer tolerated. That 
 the public tribunal (never too indulgent to a 
 long and unfuccefsful oppoiition) would now 
 fcrutinize our conduct with unufual feverity. 
 That the very viciffitudes and fhiftings of minil- 
 terial meafures, inftead of convicting their authors 
 
 * Mr. Hole Fuller. 
 
 Of
 
 [ 5 ] 
 
 of inconftancy and want of fyftem, would be 
 taken as an occafion of charging us with a pre- 
 determined difqofltent, which nothing could fa- 
 tisfy ; whilit we accufed every mcafure of vigour 
 as cruel, and every propofal of lenity as weak 
 and irrefolute. The publick, he faid; would not 
 have patience to fee us play the game out with 
 our adverfaries : we mult produce our hand. It 
 would be expected, that thofe who for many 
 years had been active in fuch affairs mould (hew, 
 that they had formed fome clear and decided 
 idea of the principles of Colony Government ; 
 and were capable of drawing out fomething 
 like a platform of the ground, which might be 
 laid for future and permanent tranquillity. 
 
 I felt the truth of what my Hon. Friend re- 
 prefented; but I felt my fituation too. His ap- 
 plication might have been made with far greater 
 propriety to many other gentlemen. No man 
 was indeed ever better difpoied, or worfe qualified, 
 for fuch an undertaking than myielf. Though I 
 gave fo far into his opinion, that I immediately 
 threw my thoughts into a fort of parliamentary 
 form, I was by no means equally ready to pro- 
 duce them. It generally argues fome degree of 
 natural impotence of mind, or fome want of 
 knowledge of the world, to hazard Plans of 
 Government, except from a feat of Authority. 
 Proportions are made, not only ineffectually, but 
 fomevvhat difreputably, when the minds of men 
 are not properly difpoied for their reception ; and 
 
 B 3 for
 
 [ 6 J 
 
 for my part, I am not ambitious of ridicule; not 
 abfolutely a candidate for difgrace. 
 
 Betides, Sir, to fpeak the plain truth, I have 
 in general no, very exalted opinion of the virtue 
 of Paper Government ; nor of any Politicks, in 
 which the plan is to be wholly fepa rated from 
 the execution. But when I faw, that anger and 
 violence prevailed every day more and more ; 
 and that things were haftening towards an in- 
 curable alienation of our Colonies; I confefs, 
 my caution gave way. I felt this, as one of 
 thofe few moments in which decorum yields to 
 an higher duty. Public calamity is a mighty 
 leveller; and there are occafions when any, even 
 the flighteft, chance of doing good, muft be laid 
 
 bold on, even by the moft inconfiderable perfon. 
 
 ' ">.*- * 
 
 To reftore order and repofe to an Empire fo 
 great and fp diftra&ed as ours, is, merely in the 
 attempt, an undertaking that would ennoble the 
 flights of the higheft genius, and obtain pardon 
 for the efforts pf the meaneft underftanding. 
 Struggling a good while with thefe thoughts, 
 by degrees I felt myfelf more firm. I derived, 
 at length, fome confidence from what in other 
 circumftances ufually produces timidity. I grew 
 lefs- anxious, even from the idea of my own in^ 
 fignificance. For, judging of what you are, by 
 what you ought to be, 'I perfuaded myfelf, that 
 you would not reject a reafonable proposition, 
 becaufe it had nothing but its rea.fon to recommend 
 
 it*
 
 [ 7 1 
 
 it. On the other hand, being totally deftitute 
 of all fhadow of influence, natural or adventi- 
 tious, I was very fure, that, if my propofition 
 were futile or dangerous ; if it were weakly 
 conceived, or improperly timed, there was no- 
 thing exterior to it, of power to awe, dazzle, 
 or delude you. You will fee it juft as it is; 
 and you will treat it juft as it deferves. 
 
 The propofition is Peace. Not Peace through 
 the medium of War ; not Peace to be hunted 
 through the labyrinth of intricate and endlefs 
 negociations ; not Peace to arife out of uni- 
 verfal difcord, fomented, from principle, in all 
 parts of the Empire ; not Peace to depend on 
 the Juridical Determination of perplexing que- 
 tions; or the precife marking the lhadowy boun- 
 daries of a complex Government. It is fimple 
 Peace; fought in its natural courfe, and its ordi- 
 nary haunts. It is Peace fought in the Spirit 
 of Peace; and laid in principles purely pacific. 
 I propofe, by removing the Ground of the dif- 
 ference, and by reftoring the former unfufpefting 
 confidence of the Colonies in the Mather Country, to 
 give permanent fatisfaftion to your people; and 
 (far from a fcheme of ruling by diicord) to re- 
 concile them to each other in the fame aft, and 
 by the bond of the very fame intereft, which 
 reconciles them to Britifh Government. 
 
 My idea is nothing more. Refined policy 
 ever has been the parent of confuiion ; and 
 
 B 4 ever
 
 [ 3 ] 
 
 ever will be fo, as long as the world endures. 
 Plain good intention, which is as eafily difco- 
 vered at the firft view, as fraud is furely detected 
 at laft, is, let me fay, of no mean force in the 
 Government of Mankind. Genuine Simplicity 
 of heart is an healing and cementing principle. 
 My Plan, therefore, being formed upon the moft 
 fimple grounds imaginable, may diiappoint fome 
 people, when they hear it. It has nothing to 
 recommend it to the pruriency of curious ears. 
 There is nothing at all new and captivating in 
 it. It has nothing of the Splendor of the Pro- 
 jer, which has been lately laid upon your Table 
 by the Noble Lord in the Blue Ribband*... It 
 does not propole to fill your Lobby with fquab- 
 bling Colony Agents, who will require the in- 
 terpofition of your Mace, at every inftant, to keep 
 the peace amongft them. It does not institute a 
 
 * " That when the Governor, Council, or Afiembly, or General 
 " Court, of any of his Majefty's Provinces or Colonies in America, 
 " (hall proppfe to make provilion, according to the condition. circu>tt~ 
 *' fiances, z.nc\Jttuation, of inch Province or Colony, for contributing 
 " their proportion to the Common Defence (fuch proportion to be raifed 
 ** under the Authority ot the General Court, or General Aflembly, 
 " of fjch Province or Colony, and difpofable by Parliament) and 
 *' fnall engage to make Provilion alfo for the fupport of the Civil 
 *' Government, and the Adminiitration of Juftice, in fuch Province 
 *' or Colony, it -will be proper, if fuch Propofal jliall be approved by 
 ** b:s Majejty, and the Pxo Houjes of Parliament, and for lo long as 
 '* fuch Proviiion fhail be made accordingly, to forbear, in rtfpctl rf 
 *' fuch Province or Colony, to levy any Dury, Tax, or AlTeiTment, or 
 *' to impofe any farther Duty, Tax, or Aflefihient, except fuch Du- 
 " ties as it may be expedient to continue to levy or impofe, for the 
 " Regulation of Commerce ; the Nett Produce of the Duties laft 
 *' mentioned to. be carried to the account of fuch Province or Colony 
 *' refpectively." Refolution moved by Lord North in the Commit- 
 tee; and agreed to by the Houfe, 27 Feb. 1775. 
 
 magnificent
 
 . /-; t 9 ] -; : 
 
 magnificent Auction of Finance, where capti- 
 vated provinces come to general ranforn by bidding 
 againft each other, until you knock down the 
 hammer, and determine a proportion of pay- 
 ments, beyond all the powers of Algebra to 
 equalize and fettle. 
 
 The plan, which I fhall prefume to fugged, 
 derives, however, one great advantage from the 
 proportion and regiftry of that Noble Lord's 
 Project. The idea of conciliation is admiflible. 
 Firft, the Houfe, in accepting the refolution 
 moved by the Noble Lord, has admitted, not- 
 withftanding the menacing front of our Addrefs, 
 notwithstanding our heavy Bill of Pains and 
 Penalties that we do not think ourfelves pre- 
 cluded from all ideas of free Grace and Bounty. 
 
 The Houfe has gone farther ; it has declared 
 conciliation admillible, previous to any fubmif- 
 lion on the part of America. It has even (hot 
 a good deal beyond that mark, and has admit- 
 ted, that the complaints of our former mode of 
 exerting the Right of Taxation were not wholly 
 unfounded. That right thus exerted is allowed 
 to have had fomething reprehenfible in it; ibme- 
 thing unwife, or Ibmething grievous : fince, ia 
 the midft of our heat and reientment, we, of 
 ourfelves, have propofed a capital alteration ; and, 
 in order to get rid of what feemed fo very ex- 
 ceptionable, have inftituted a mode that is alto* 
 gether new; one that is, indeed, wholly alien 
 
 from
 
 [ 10 ] 
 
 from all the ancient methods and forms of Par- 
 liament. 
 
 The principle of this proceeding is large enough 
 for my purpofe. The means propofed by the 
 Noble Lord for carrying his ideas into execution, 
 I think indeed, are very indifferently fuited to 
 the end ; and this I fhall endeavour to (hew vou 
 before I fit down. But, for the prefent, I take 
 my ground on the admitted principle. I mean 
 to give peace. Peace implies reconciliation ; 
 and where there has been a material difpute, re- 
 conciliation does in a manner always imply con- 
 ceffion on the one part or on the other. In this 
 ftate of things I make no difficulty in affirming, 
 that the propofal ought to originate from us. 
 Great and acknowledged force is not impaired, 
 either in effecT: or in opinion, by an unwillingnefs 
 to exert itfelf. The fuperior power may offer 
 peace with honour and with fafety. Such an 
 offer from fuch a power will be attributed to 
 magnanimity. But the conceffions of the weak 
 are the concefiions of fear. When fuch a one 
 is difarmed, he is wholly at the mercy of his 
 fuperior; and he lofes for ever that time and thole 
 chances, which, as they happen to all men, are 
 the ftrength and refources of all inferior power. 
 
 The capital leading queftions on which you 
 mull this day decide, are thefe two. Firft, whe- 
 ther you ought to concede ; and fecondly, what 
 your conceftion ought to be. On th firft of 
 
 thefe
 
 [ II ] 
 
 thcfe queftions we have gained (as I have juft 
 taken the liberty of obierving to you) fome 
 ground. But I am fenlible that a good deal more 
 is flill to be done. Indeed, Sir, to enable us to 
 determine both on the one and the other of thefe 
 great queftions with a firm and precife judge- 
 ment, I think it may be neceiiary to confider 
 diftinc~Uy the true nature and the peculiar cir- 
 cumftances of the object which we have before 
 us. Becaufe after all our flruggle, whether we 
 will or not, we mud govern America, accord- 
 ing to that nature, and to thofe circumftances ; 
 and not according to our own imaginations; 
 not according to abstract ideas of right ; by no 
 means according to mere general theories of go- 
 vernment, the refort to which appears to me, 
 in our prefent fituation, no better than arrant 
 trifling. I mall therefore endeavour, with your 
 leave, to lay before you fome of the moft mate- 
 rial of thefe circumftances in as full and as clear 
 a manner as I am able to ftate them. 
 
 The firft thing that we have to confider with 
 regard to the nature of the object is the number 
 of people in the Colonies. I have taken for fome 
 years a good deal of pains on that point. I can 
 by no calculation juftify myfelf in placing the 
 number below Two Millions of inhabitants of 
 our own European blood and colour ; befides at 
 leaft 500,000 others, who form no incondderable 
 part of the ftrength and opulence of the whole. 
 This, Sir, is, I believe, about the true number* 
 
 There
 
 lz 
 
 . 
 
 There is no occafion to exaggerate, where plain 
 truth is ot fo much weight and importance. But 
 whether I put the prefent numbers too high or 
 too low, is a matter of little moment. Such is 
 the flrength with which population moots in 
 that part of the world, that ftate the numbers as 
 high as we will, whilft the difpute continues, the 
 exaggeration ends. Whilft we are difcuffing any 
 given magnitude, they are grown to it. \Vhiltl 
 we fpend our time in deliberating on the mode 
 of governing Two Millions, we (hall find we 
 have Millions more to manage. Your children 
 do not grow fader from infancy to manhood, 
 than they fpread from families to communities, 
 and from villages to nations. 
 
 I put this confideration of the prefent and the 
 growing numbers in the front of our deliberation ; 
 becauie, Sir, this confideration will make it evi- 
 dent to a blunter diicernment than yours, that no 
 partial, narrow, contracted, pinched, occafional 
 iyftem will be at all iuitable to fuch an object. 
 It will mew you, that it is not to be confidered 
 as one of thole Minima which are put of the eye 
 and confideration of the law ; not a paltry ex- 
 crefcence of the ftate ; not a mean dependant, 
 who may be neglected with little damage, and 
 provoked with little danger. It will prove, that 
 ibme degree of care and caution is required in the 
 handling fuch an object ; it will (hew, that you 
 ought not, in reafon, to trifle with ib large a 
 rnais of the inteicfts and. feelings of the human 
 
 race.
 
 [ '3 
 
 race. You could at no time do fb without guilt ^ 
 and be allured you will not be able to do it long 
 with impunity. 
 
 But the population of this country, the great 
 and growing population, though a very important 
 coniideration, will lofe much of its weight, if 
 not combined with other circumftances. The 
 commerce of your Colonies is out of all propor- 
 tion beyond the numbers of the people. This 
 ground of their commerce indeed has been trod 
 fome days ago, and with great ability, by a dif- 
 tinguimed * perfon, at your bar. This gentle- 
 man, after Thirty-five years it is fo long fince 
 he firft appeared at the fame place to plead for 
 the commerce of Great Britain has come again 
 before you to plead the fame caufe, without any 
 other effect of time, than, that to the fire of ima- 
 gination and extent of erudition, which even 
 then marked him as one of the firft literary cha- 
 racters of his age, he has added a confummate 
 knowledge in the commercial intereft of his 
 country, formed by a long courfe of enlightened 
 and difcriminating experience. 
 
 Sir, I fhould be inexcufable in coming after 
 fuch a perfon with any detail ; if a great part of 
 the members who now fill the Houle had not 
 the misfortune to be abfent, when he appeared at 
 your bar. Befides, Sir, I propofe to take the 
 matter at periods of time fomewhat different 
 
 * Mr. Glover: 
 5 from
 
 [ H ] 
 
 from his. There is, if I miftake not, a point 
 of view, from whence if you will look at this 
 fubjeft, it is impoflible that it fhould not make an 
 impreffion upon you. 
 
 I have in my hand two accounts ; one a com-- 
 parative flate of the export trade of England to 
 its Colonies, as it flood in the year 1 704, and 
 as it flood in the year 1772. The other a ftate 
 of the export trade of this country to its Colo- 
 nies alone, as it flood in 1772, compared with 
 the whole trade of England to all parts of the 
 world (the Colonies included) in the year 1704, 
 They are from good vouchers ; the latter period 
 from the accounts on your table, the earlier from 
 an original manufcript of Davenant, who firfl 
 eftablimed the Infpedtor General's office, which 
 has been ever fince his time fo abundant a fource 
 of parliamentary information. 
 
 The export trade to the Colonies confifls of 
 three great branches. The African, which, ter- 
 minating almofl wholly in the Colonies, muft 
 be put to the account of their commerce; the 
 Well Indian; and the North American. All 
 thefe are fo interwoven, that the attempt to fe- 
 parate them, would tear to pieces the contex- 
 ture of the whole; and if not entirely deflroy, 
 would very much depreciate the value of all the 
 parts. I therefore coniider thefe three denomi- 
 Dations to be, what in efFedk they are r one trade.-
 
 [ '5 ] 
 
 The trade to the Colonies, taken on the export 
 fide, at the beginning of this century, that is, in 
 the year 1704, flood thus : 
 
 Exports to North America, and the 
 
 Weil Indies, ------ .483,265 
 
 To Africa, 86,665 
 
 5 6 9>93 
 
 In the year 1/72, which I take as a middle 
 year between the higheft and loweft of thofe 
 lately laid on your table, the account was as 
 follows : 
 
 To North America, and the Weft 
 
 Indies, - .... ,4>79 I 734- 
 To Africa, 866,398 
 
 To which if you add the export] 
 trade from Scotland, which had f 364,000 
 in 1 704 no exiftence, - 
 
 6,024,171 
 
 From Five Hundred and odd Thoufand, it 
 has grown to Six Millions. It has increafed no 
 lefs than twelve-fold. This is the ftate of the 
 Colony trade, as compared with itfelf at thefe 
 
 two
 
 .',;<- ; [ '6 ] . ; 
 
 two periods, within this century ; and this is 
 matter for meditation. But this is not all. 
 Examine my fecond account. See how the ex- 
 port trade to the Colonies alone in 1772 flood 
 in the other point of view, that is, as compared 
 to the whole trade of England in 1704. 
 
 * 
 
 The whole export trade of England, 1 
 
 including that to the Colonies, f 6,509,000 
 
 in 1704, ------ J 
 
 Export to the Colonies alone, in 
 
 1772, -...-. 6,024,000 
 
 - Difference, 485,000 
 
 The trade with America alone is now within 
 lefs than 500,000 /. of being equal to what this 
 great commercial nation, England, carried on at 
 the beginning of this century with the whole 
 world ! If 1 had taken the largeft year of thofe 
 on your table, it would rather have exceeded. 
 But, it will he faid, is not this American trade an 
 unnatural protuberance, that has drawn the juices 
 from the reft of the body ? The reverfe. It is the 
 very food that has nourimed every other part into 
 its prefent magnitude. Our general trade has 
 been greatly augmented ; and augmented more 
 or lefs in almoft every part to which it ever ex- 
 tended ; but with this material difference ; that 
 of the Six Millions which in the beginning of 
 the century conftituted the whole mafs of our 
 export commerce, the Colony trade was but one 
 
 twelfth
 
 <7 . 
 
 fwelftli part ; it is now (as a part of Sixteen Mil- 
 lions) confiderably more than a third of the 
 whole. This is the relative proportion of the 
 importance of the Colonies at thefe two periods : 
 and all reafdning concerning our mode of treat- 
 ing them mufr. have this proportion as its bafts ; 
 or it is a reafoning weak, rotten, and fophiftical. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, I cannot prevail on myfelf to 
 hurry over this great confederation. It is good 
 for us to be here. We (land where we have 
 an immenfe view of what is, and what is pafti 
 Clouds indeed, and darkneis, reft upon the future. 
 Let us however, before we defcend from this no- 
 ble eminence, reflect that this growth of out- na- 
 tional profperity has happened within the fliort 
 jperiod of the life of man. It has happened within 
 Sixty-eight years. There are thole alive whofe 
 memory might touch the two extremities. For 
 inftance, my Lord Bathurft might remember all 
 the llages of the progrefs. He was in 1704 of 
 an age, at leaft to be made to comprehend fuch 
 things. He was then old enough aSfa parentum 
 jam legere, et qua fit potent cognofcere virtus 
 Suppofe* Sir, that the angel of this aufpicious 
 youth, forefeeing the many virtues, which made 
 him one of the nioft amiable, as he is one of the 
 moft fortunate men of his age, had opened to 
 him in vifion, that, when, in the fourth gene- 
 ration, the third Prince of the Houfe of Brunf- 
 wick had fat Twelve years on the throne of 
 that nation^ which (by the happy iffue o 
 
 C moderate
 
 [ ,8 ] 
 
 derate and healing councils) was to be made 
 Great Britain, he (hould fee his fbn, Lord Chan- 
 cellor of England, turn back the current of here- 
 ditary dignity to its fountain, and raife him to an 
 higher rank of Peerage, .whilft he enriched the 
 family with a new one If amidft thefe bright 
 and happy fcenes of domeftic honour and pro- 
 fperity, that angel mould have drawn up the cur- 
 tain, and unfolded the riling glories of his coun- 
 try, and whilft he was gazing with admiration 
 on the then commercial grandeur of England, 
 The Genius mould point out to him a little fpeck, 
 fcarce vifible in the rriafs of the national intereft, 
 a fmall "feminal principle, rather than a formed 
 body, and {hould tell him " Young man, 
 " There is America which at this day ferves 
 " for little more than to amufe you with ftories 
 " of favage men, and uncouth manners; yet 
 " mall, before you tafte of death, fhew itlelf 
 * c equal to the whole of that commerce which 
 *.' now attracts the envy of the world. What- 
 " ever England has been growing to by a pro- 
 " greffive increafe of improvement, brought in 
 " by varieties of people, by fucccflion of civiliz- 
 " ing conquefts and civilizing fettlements in a 
 " feries of Seventeen Hundred years, you fhall 
 < fee as much added to her by America in the 
 " courfe of a fingle life !" If this Hate of his 
 country had been foretold to him, would it not 
 require all the {anguine credulity of youth, and 
 all the fervid glow of enthufiafm, to make him 
 believe it? Fortunate .man, he has lived to fee 
 2 it!
 
 i '9 1 
 
 it! Fortunate indeed, if he lives to fee nothing 
 that lhall vary the profpect, and cloud the letting 
 of his day ! 
 
 Excufe me, Sir, if turning from luch thoughts 
 I relume this comparative view once more. You 
 have feen it on a large fcale ; look at it on a 
 Imall one. I will point out to your atten- 
 tion a particular inftance of it in the lingle pro- 
 vince of Penfylvania. In the year 1704 that pro- 
 vince called for 11,4597. in value of your com- 
 modities, native and foreign. This was the 
 whole. What did it demand in 1/72? Why 
 nearly Fifty times as much; for in that year the 
 export to Penfylvania was 507,9097. nearly equal 
 to the export to all the Colonies together in the 
 firft period. 
 
 I choofe, Sir, to enter into thefe .minute and 
 particular details ; becaufe generalities, which in 
 all other cafes are apt to heighten and raife the 
 fubject, have here a tendency to fink it. When 
 we fpeak of the commerce with our Colonies, 
 fiction lags after truth ; invention is unfruitful^ 
 and imagination cold and barren. 
 
 So far, Sir, as to the importance of the object 
 in the view of its commerce, as concerned in the 
 exports from England. If I were to detail the im- 
 ports, I could (hew how many enjoyments they 
 procure, which deceive the burthen of life; how 
 many materials which invigorate the fprings of 
 G 2 national
 
 C * ] 
 
 national induftry, and extend and animate every 
 part of our foreign and domeftic commerce. This 
 would be a curious fubjeft indeed but I muft pre- 
 fcribe bounds to mylelf in a matter fb vaft and 
 various. 
 
 I pafs therefore to the Colonies in another 
 point of view, their agriculture. This they have 
 profecuted with fuch a fpirit, that, betides feed- 
 ing plentifully their own growing multitude, 
 their annual export of grain, comprehending 
 rice, has fome years ago exceeded a Million in 
 value. Of their laft harveft, I am perfuaded, 
 they will export much more. At the begin- 
 ning of the century, fome of thefe Colonies 
 imported corn from the mother country. For 
 fome time pad, the old world has been fed 
 from the new. The fcarcity which you have 
 felt would have been a defolating famine ; if 
 this child of your old age, with a true filial piety, 
 with a Roman charity, had not put the full 
 bread of its youthful exuberance to the mouth 
 of its exhaufted parent. 
 
 As to the wealth which the Colonies have drawn 
 from the fea by their filheries, you had all that 
 matter fully opened at your bar. You furely 
 thought thofe acquifitions of value; for they 
 feemed even to excite your envy ; and yet the 
 fpirit, by which that enterprizing employment 
 has been exercifed, Ought rather, in my opinion, 
 to hav^ railed your efteem and admiration. And 
 
 pray,
 
 pray, Sir, what in the world is equal to it ? 
 Pals by the other parts, and look at the manner 
 in which the people of New England have of 
 late carried on the Whale Fifhery. Whilft we 
 follow them among the tumbling mountains of 
 ice, and behold them penetrating into the deepeft 
 frozen recefles of Hudfon's Bay, and Davis* s 
 Streights, whilft we are looking for them be- 
 neath the Arctic circle, we hear that they have 
 pierced into the oppofite region of polar cold, 
 that they are at the Antipodes, and engaged 
 under the frozen ferpent of the fouth. Falkland 
 Ifland, which feemed too remote and romantic 
 an object for the grafp of national ambition, is 
 but a ftage and refting-place in the progrefs of 
 their victorious induftry. Nor is the equinoctial 
 heat more difcouraging to them, than the ac- 
 cumulated winter of both the poles. We know 
 that whilft fome of them draw the line and 
 ftrik-e the harpoon on the coaft of Africa, 
 others run the longitude, and purfue their 
 gigantic game along the coaft of Brazil. No 
 lea but what is vexed by the'ir fimenes. No 
 climate that is not wi.tneis to their toils. Nei- 
 ther the perfeverance of Holland, nor the ac- 
 tivity of France, nor the dextrous and firm fa- 
 gacity of Englilh enterprize, ever carried this 
 mod perilous mode of hardy induftry to the 
 extent to which it has been pufhed by this recent 
 people; a people who are'ftill, as it were, but 
 in the grittle, and not yet hardened into the 
 bpne of manhood. When I contemplate thefe 
 
 things ;
 
 (things ; when I know that the Colonies in ge r 
 neral owe little or nothing to any care of ours, 
 and that they are not fqueezed into this happy 
 form by the conftraints of watchful and fufpicious 
 government, hut that through a wife and falu- 
 tary neglect, a generous nature has been furTered 
 to take her own way to perfection : when I 
 reflect upon thefe effects, when I fee how pro- 
 fitable they have been to us, I feel all the pride 
 of power fink, and all prefumption in the vvif- 
 dom of human contrivances melt, and die away 
 within me. My rigour relents. I pardon fome- 
 tjiing to the {pirit of Liberty. 
 
 I am fenfible, Sir, that all which I have af* 
 ferted in my detail, is admitted in the grofs ; but 
 that quite a different concluiion is drawn from it t 
 America, Gentlemen fay, is a noble objecl:. It 
 is an objecl: well worth fighting for. Certainly 
 it is, it righting a people be the beft way of 
 gaining them. Gentlemen in this reipedt will 
 be led to their choice of means by their com- 
 plexions and their habits. Thofe who under- 
 ftand the military art, will of courfe have fome 
 predilection for it. Thofe who wield the thunder 
 of the ftate, may have more confidence in the 
 efficacy of arms. But I confeis, poffibly for 
 want of this knowledge, my opinion is much 
 more in favour of prudent management, than 
 of force; confulering force not as an odious, but 
 a. feeble inftrument, for preferving a people fo 
 numerous, fo active^ To growing, To fpirited as 
 
 this.
 
 [ *3 J 
 
 this, in a profitable and fubordinate connexion 
 with us. 
 
 Firft, Sir, permit me to obferve, that the ufe 
 of force alone is but temporary. It may fubdue 
 for a moment; but it does not remove the ne- 
 ceflity of fubduing again: and a nation is not 
 governed, which is perpetually to be conquered. 
 
 My next objection is its uncertainty. Terror 
 is not always the effect of force , and a*n arma- 
 ment is not a victory. If you do not fucceed, 
 you are without refource ; for, conciliation fail- 
 ing, force remains ; but, force failing, no further 
 hope of reconciliation is left. Power and autho- 
 rity are fometimes bought by kindnefs ; but they 
 can never be begged as alms, by an impo- 
 verimed and defeated violence. 
 
 A further objection to force is, that you Im- 
 pair the objett by your very endeavours to pre- 
 ferve it. The thing you fought for, is not the 
 thing which you recover; but depreciated, funk, 
 wafted, and ccnfumed in the conteft. Nothing 
 lefs will content me, than 'whole America. I do 
 not choofe'to confume its ftrength along with 
 our own ; becaufe in all parts it is the Britifti 
 flrength that I confume, I do not choofe to be 
 caught by a foreign enemy at the end of this 
 exhaufting conflict ; and ftill lefs in the midft of 
 it. I may efcape ; but I can make no infurance 
 againft fuch an event. Let me add, that I do 
 
 C 4 ot
 
 [ 4 3 
 
 not choofe wholly to break the American 
 becaufe it is the ipirit that has made the country. 
 
 Laftly, we have no fort of experience in far 
 vour of force as an inftrument in the rule of our 
 Colonies. Their growth and their utility has 
 been owing to methods altogether different. Our 
 ancient indulgence has been faid to be purlued 
 to a fault. It may be fo. But we know, if 
 feeling; is evidence, that our fault was more 
 tolerabl* than our attempt to mend it ; and our 
 fin far more falutary than our penitence. 
 
 Thefe, Sir ? are my reafons for not entertaining 
 that high opinion of untried force, by which 
 rnany Gentlemen, for whofe fentiments in other 
 particulars I have great refpe6t, feem to be fo 
 greatly captivated. But there is ftill behind a 
 third confideration concerning thjs object, which 
 ferves to determine my opinion on the lort of 
 policy which ought to be purfued in the manage- 
 ment of America, even more than its Population 
 and its Commerce, I mean its Temper and Cha- 
 ratler. 
 
 In this Character of the Americans, a love 
 of Freedom is the predominating feature, which 
 marks and diftinguifhes the whole : and as an 
 ardent is always a jealous affection, your Colo- 
 nies become fufpicious, reftive, and untradtable^ 
 whenever they fee the lead attempt to wreit 
 from them by force., or muffle from them by 
 
 chicane,
 
 f 25 1 
 
 chicane, what thev think the only advantage 
 -worth living for. This fierce fpirit of Liberty 
 js flronger in the Englifh Colonies probably than 
 jn any other people of the earth ; and this from 
 a great variety of powerful caufes ; which, to 
 tmderftand the true temper of their minds, and 
 the direction which this fpirit takes, it will not 
 be arnifs to lay open fomewhat more largely. 
 
 Firft, the people of the Colonies are defcen- 
 dents of Englifh men. England, Sir, is a na- 
 tion, which {till I hope refpects, and formerly 
 adored, her freedom. The Colonies emigrated 
 from you, when this part of your character was 
 moft predominant; and they took this biafs and 
 direction the moment they parted from your 
 hands. They are therefore not only devoted to 
 liberty, but to Liberty according to Englifh. 
 ideas, and on Englifh principles. Abftract Li- 
 berty, like other mere abstractions, is not to be 
 found. Liberty inheres in fome fen fib k object; 
 and every nation has formed to itfelf iome favou- 
 rite point, which by way of eminence becomes 
 the criterion of their happinefs. It happened, 
 you know, Sir, that the great contefts for free- 
 dom in this country were trom the earlieft times 
 chiefly upon the queition of Taxing. Molt of 
 the contefts in the ancient commonwealths turned 
 primarily on the right of elect ion of magiftrates ; 
 or on the balance among the feveral orders of the 
 fiate. The queflion of money was not with them 
 i~9 immediate. But in England it was other- 
 wife.
 
 wife. On this point of Taxes the ableft pens, 
 and moft eloquent tongues have been exer- 
 cifed ; the greateft fpirits have acled and fufFered. 
 In order to give the fulleft fatisfadion concern- 
 ing the importance of this point, it was not only 
 neceffary for thole who in argument defended the 
 excellence of the Englifh conftitution, to infift 
 on this privilege of granting money as a dry 
 point of fact, and to prove, that the right had 
 been acknowledged in ancient parchments, and 
 blind ufages, to refide in a certain body called 
 an Houfe of Commons. They went much fur- 
 ther; they attempted to prove, and they fuc- 
 ceeded, that in theory it ought to be fo, from 
 the particular nature of a Houfe of Commons, 
 as an immediate reprefentative of the people ; 
 whether the old records had delivered this oracle 
 or not. They took infinite pains to inculcate, 
 as a fundamental principle, that, in all monar- 
 chies, the people muft in effect themfelves 
 mediately or immediately poflefs the power of 
 granting their own money, or no ihadow of 
 liberty could fubiift. The Colonies draw from 
 you as with their life-blood, thefe ideas and 
 principies. Their love of liberty, as with you, 
 fixed and attached on this fpecific point of 
 taxing. Liberty might be fafe, or might be 
 endangered in twenty other particulars, with- 
 out their being much pleafed or alarmed. Here 
 they felt its pulfe; and as they found that beat, 
 they thought themfelves lick or found. I do not 
 fay whether they were right or wrong in applying
 
 your general arguments to their own cafe. It 
 is not eafy indeed to make a monopoly of theo- 
 rems and corollaries. The fat is, that they 
 did thus apply thofe general arguments ; and 
 your mode of governing them, whether through 
 lenity or indolence, through wifdom or miftake, 
 confirmed them in the imagination, that they, 
 as well as you, had an intereft in thefe common 
 principles. 
 
 They were further confirmed in this pleating 
 error by the form of their provincial legislative 
 aflemblies. Their governments are popular in 
 an high degree ; fome are merely popular ; hi 
 all, the popular reprefentative is the moft weighty; 
 and this (hare of the people in their ordinary 
 government never fails to infpire them with lofty 
 ientiments, and with a ftrong averiion from 
 whatever tends to deprive them of their chief 
 importance. 
 
 If any thing were wanting to this necefTary* 
 operation of the form of government, Religion 
 would have given it a complete effect. Religion, 
 always a principle of energy, in this new people, 
 is no way worn out or impaired ; and their mode 
 of profeffing it is allo one main caufe of this free 
 fpirit. The people are proteftants; and of that 
 kind, which is the moft adverfe to all implicit 
 iubmiffion of mind and opinion. This is a per- 
 luafion not only favourable to liberty, but built 
 upon it. I do not think, Sir, that the reafon of 
 
 this
 
 t rt } 
 
 this averfenefs in the diflenting churches from all 
 that looks like abiblute Government is fo much 
 to be fought in. their religious tenets, as in their 
 hidory* Every one knows, that the Roman Ca- 
 tholick religion is at lead coeval with mod of 
 the governments where it prevails ; that it has 
 generally gone hand n hand with them ; and 
 received great favour and every kind of fupport 
 from authority. The Church of England too 
 was formed from her cradle under the nurfing 
 care of regular government. But the diflenting 
 intereds have iprung up in direct oppofition to 
 all the ordinary powers of the world ; and 
 could judify that oppofition only on a ftrong 
 claim to natural liberty. Their very exidence 
 depended on the powerful and unremitted affer- 
 tion of that claim. All prpteftantifm, even the 
 .mod cold, and paflive, is a lort of difient. But 
 the religion mod prevalent in our Northern Co- 
 lonies is a refinement on the principle of reiift- 
 ance; it is the diffidence of diflentj and the 
 proteitantifm of the proteftant religion. This 
 religion, under a variety of denominations, agree- 
 ing in nothing but in the communion of the 
 ipiiit of liberty, is predominant in mod of the 
 Northern provinces ; where the Church of Eng- 
 land, noUvithftanding its legal rights, is in reality 
 no more than a fort of private feel, not com- 
 poting mod probably the tenth of the people. 
 The Colonids left England when this fpirit was 
 high; and in the emigrants was the highed of 
 all : aud even that dream of foreigners, which 
 
 has
 
 has been conftantly flowing into thefe Colonies,, 
 has, for the greateft part, been compofed of dif- 
 fenters from the eftablimments of their ieveral. 
 countries, and have brought with them a temper 
 and character far from alien to that of the people 
 with whom they mixed. 
 
 Sir, I can perceive by their manner, that fome 
 Gentlemen object to the latitude of this defcrip- 
 tion ; becaufe in the Southern Colonies the 
 Church of England forms a large body, and 
 has a regular eftablimment. It is certainly true. 
 There is however a circumftance attending thefe 
 Colonies, which in my opinion, fully counter- 
 balances this difference, and makes the fpirit of 
 liberty (till more high and haughty than in thole 
 to the Northward. It is that in Virginia and 
 the Carolina?, they have a vaft multitude of 
 flaves. Where this is the cafe in any part of 
 the world, thofe who are free, are by far the 
 moft proud and jealous of their freedom. Free- 
 dom is to them not only an enjoyment, but a 
 kind of rank and privilege. Not feeing there, 
 that freedom, as in countries where it is a com- 
 mon blefling, and as broad and general as the 
 air, may be united with much abjecl toil, with 
 great mifery, with all the exterior of fervitude, 
 Liberty looks amongft them, like fomething 
 that is more noble and liberal. I do not mean, 
 Sir, to commend the fuperior morality of this 
 fentiment, which has at lead as much pride 
 as virtue in it ; but I cannot alter the nature 
 i of
 
 [ 3 ] 
 
 of man. The fad is fo; and thefe people of 
 the Southern Colonies are much more ftrongly, 
 and with an higher and more flubborn fpirit, 
 attached to liberty than thofe to the Northward. 
 Such were aH the ancient common wealths ; fuch 
 were our Gothick anceftors ; fuch in our days 
 were the Poles ; and fuch will be all mailers of 
 flaves, who are not flaves themfelves. In fuch 
 a people the haughtinefs of domination combines 
 with the fpirit of freedom, fortifies it, and renders 
 it invincible. 
 
 Permit me, Sir, to add another circumftance 
 in our Colonies, which contributes no mean 
 part towards the growth and effeft of this un- 
 tradlable fpirit. I mean their education. In no 
 country perhaps in the world is the law fo gene- 
 ral a ftudy. The profeffion itfelf is numerous 
 and powerful ; and in moft provinces it takes the 
 lead. The greater number of the Deputies fent 
 to the Gongrefs were Lawyers. But all who read, 
 and moft do read, endeavour to obtain fome 
 fmattering in that fcience. I have been told by 
 an eminent Bookfelier, that in no branch of his 
 bufinefs, after trafts of popular devotion, were 
 fo many books as thofe on the Law exported 
 to the Plantations. The Colonifts have now 
 fallen into the way of printing them for their 
 own ufe. I hear that they have fold nearly as 
 many of Blackftone's Commentaries in America 
 as in England. General Gage marks out this 
 difpoikion very particularly in a letter on your 
 
 table.
 
 [ 3' ] 
 
 table. He ftates, that all the people in his go- 
 vernment are lawyers, or fmatterers in law; and 
 that in Bofion they have been enabled, by fuc- 
 cefsful chicane, wholly to evade many parts of 
 one of your capital penal conftitutions. The 
 fmartnefs of debate will fay, that this know- 
 ledge ought to teach them more clearly the 
 rights of legiflature, their obligations to obedi- 
 ence, and the penalties of rebellion. All this is 
 mighty well. But my * honourable and learned 
 friend on the floor, who condefcends to mark 
 what I fay for animadverfioii, will difdain that 
 ground. He has heard as well as 1, that when 
 great honours and great emoluments do'not win 
 over this knowledge to the fervice of the ftate, 
 it is a formidable adverfary to government. If 
 the fpirit be not tamed and broken by thefe 
 happy methods, it is ftubborn and litigious. 
 Abeunt ftiidia In mores. This ftudy renders men 
 acute, inquifitive, dextrous, prompt in attack, 
 ready in defence, full of relources. In other 
 countries, the people, more fimple and of a lefs 
 mercurial caft, judge of an ill principle in govern- 
 ment only by an adual grievance ; here they an- 
 ticipate the evil, and judge of the prefiure of the 
 grievance by the badne(s of the principle. They 
 augur mifgovernment at a diftance; and fnufFthe 
 approach of tyranny in every tainted breeze. 
 
 The laft caufe of this difobedient fpirit in the 
 Colonies is hardly lefs powerful than the reft, as 
 
 * The Attorney General, 
 
 it
 
 [.3* ] 
 
 it is not merely moral, but laid deep in the na 
 tural .conftitution of things; Three thoufand 
 miles of ocean lie between you and them. No 
 contrivance can prevent the effecT: of this dif- 
 tance, in weakening Government. Seas roll, and 
 months pafs, between the order and the exe- 
 cution ; and the want of a fpeedy explanation of 
 a fingle point is enough to defeat an whole fyl- 
 tem. You have, indeed, winged rriinifters of 
 vengeance, who carry your bolts in their pounces 
 to the remoteft verge of the fea. But there 21 
 power fteps in, that limits the arrogance of rage- 
 ing paffions and furious elements, and lays, " Sd 
 far fhalt thou go, and no farther." Who are 
 you, that (hould fret and rage, and bite the 
 chains of Nature ?-^-Nothing worfe happens td 
 you, than does to all Nations, who have ex- 
 tenlive Empire ; and it happens in all the forms 
 into which Empire can be thrown. In large 
 bodies, the circulation of power mull: be lefs vigo- 
 rous at the extremities. Nature has laid it* 
 The Turk cannot govern ^tEgypt, and Arabia, 
 and Curdiftan, as he governs Thrace ; nor has 
 he the fame dominion in Crimea and Algiers, 
 which he has at Brufa and Smyrna. Defpotifm 
 itfelf is obliged to truck and huckfler. The Sul- 
 tan gets fuch obedience as 'he can. He governs 
 with a loofe rein, that he may govern at all ; and 
 the whole of the force and vigour of his au- 
 thority in his centre, is derived from a prudent 
 relaxation in all his borders. Spain, in her pro- 
 vinces, is, perhaps, not fo well obeyed, as you 
 
 are
 
 [ 33 ] 
 
 are in yours. She complies too; fhc fubmitsj 
 fhe watches times. This is the immutable con- 
 dition ; the eternal Law, of extenfive and de- 
 tached Empire. 
 
 Then, Sir, from thefe fix capital fources ; of 
 Defcent; of Form of Government; of Religion 
 in the Northern Provinces ; of Manners in the 
 Southern ; of Education ; of the Remotenefs of 
 Situation from the Firft Mover of Government* 
 from all thefe caufes a fierce Spirit of Liberty 
 has grown up. It has grown with the growth 
 of the people in your Colonies, and encreafed 
 with the encreafe of their wealth ; a Spirit, that 
 tmhappily meeting with an exercife of Power in 
 England, which, however lawful, is not recon- 
 cileable to any ideas of Liberty, much lefs with 
 theirs, has kindled this flame, that is ready to 
 confume us* 
 
 I do not mean to commend either the Spirit 
 in this excefs, or the moral caufes which pro- 
 duce it. Perhaps a more fmooth and acco nmc- 
 dating Spirit of Freedom in them would be more 
 acceptable to us. Perhaps ideas of Liberty might 
 be delired, more reconcileable with an arbitrary 
 and boundlefs authority. Perhaps we. might wiih 
 the Colonifts to be perfuaded, that their Liberty 
 is more fecure when held in trujft for them by U3 
 (as their guardians during a perpetual minority) 
 than with any part of it in their own hands. But 
 the queftion is, not whether their fpiric deferves 
 
 D praife
 
 [ 34 ] 
 
 praife or blame ; what, in the name of God, 
 fhall we do with it? You have before you the 
 object ; fuch as it is, with all its glories, with all 
 its imperfections on its head. You fee the mag- 
 nitude; the importance; the temper; the habits; 
 the diforders. By all thefe confederations, we are 
 ftrongly urged to determine fomething concerning 
 it. We are called upon to fix fome rule and 
 line for our future conduct, which may give a 
 little (lability to our politics, and prevent the 
 return of fuch unhappy deliberations as the pre- 
 fent. Every fuch return will bring the matter 
 before us in a ftill more un tractable form. For, 
 what aftoniming and incredible things have we 
 not feen already? What monfters have not been 
 generated from this unnatural contention ? Whilfl 
 every principle of authority and refiftance has 
 been puttied, upon both fides, as far as it would 
 go, there is nothing fo folid and certain, either 
 in reafoning or in practice, that has been not 
 fhaken. Until very lately, all authority in Ame- 
 rica feemed to be nothing but an emanation 
 
 o 
 
 from yours. Even the popular part of the Co- 
 lony Conftitution derived all its activity, and its 
 firft vital movement, from the pleafure of the 
 Crown. We thought, Sir, that the utmoft which 
 the difcontented Colonifts could do, was to difturb 
 authority; we never dreamt they could of them- 
 felves fupply it ; knowing in general what an 
 operofe bunnefs it is, to eftabliih a Goverment 
 absolutely new. But having, for our purpofes 
 in this contention, refolved, that none but an 
 5 obedient
 
 [ 35 ] 
 
 obedient Affembly (hould fir, the humours of the 
 people there, finding all paflage through the 
 legal channel flopped, with great violence broke 
 out another way. Some provinces have tried 
 their experiment, as we have tried ours ; and 
 theirs has fucceeded. They have formed a Go- 
 vernment fufficient for its purpoies, without the 
 buftle of a Revolution, or the troublefome for- 
 mality of an Election. Evident neceffity, and 
 tacit confent, have done the bufinefs in an inftant. 
 So well they have done it, that Lord Dunmore 
 (the account is among the fragments on your 
 table) tells you, that the new inftitution is in- 
 finitely better obeyed than the antient Govern- 
 ment ever was in its moft fortunate periods. Obe- 
 dience is what makes Government, and not the 
 names by which it is called ; not the name of 
 Governor, as formerly, or Committee, as at pie- 
 fent. This new Government has originated di- 
 rectly from the people ; and was not tranfmitted 
 through any of the ordinary artificial media of 
 a pofitive conftitution. It was not a manufacture 
 ready formed, and tranfmitted to them in that 
 condition from England. The evil arifing from 
 hence is this ; that the Colon ids having once 
 found the poffibility of enjoying the advantages 
 of order, in the. midtt of a ftruggle for Liberty, 
 Inch ftruggles will not henceforward feem fo ter- 
 rible to the fettled and fober part of mankind, as 
 they had appeared before the trial. 
 
 D 2 Purfuing
 
 1 36 ] 
 
 Purfuing the fame plan of punifhing by the de> 
 nial of the exerciic of Government to ftill greater 
 lengths, \ve wholly abrogated the antient Govern- 
 ment of Maflachufet. We were confident, that 
 the firft feeling j if not the very profpect of 
 anarchy, would inftantly enforce a compleat fub- 
 miffiort. The experiment was tried. A new, 
 Grange, unexpected face of things appeared. 
 Anarchy is found tolerable. A vaft province has 
 now fubfifted, and fubfifted in a confiderable de- 
 gree of health and vigour, for near a twelve* 
 month, without Governor, without public Coun- 
 cil, without Judges, without executive Magi- 
 ftrates. How long it will continue in this ftate, 
 or what may arife out of this unheard-of fitua- 
 tion, how can the wifeft of us conjecture ? Our 
 late experience has taught us, that many of thofe 
 fundamental principles, formerly believed infal- 
 lible, are either not of the importance they were 
 imagined to be ; or that we have not at all ad- 
 verted to fome other far more important, and far 
 more powerful principles, which entirely over-rule 
 thofe we had confidered as omnipotent. I am 
 much againft any further experiments, which 
 tend to put to the proof any more of thefe allowed 
 opinions, which contribute fo much to the public 
 tranquillity. In effect, we fufFer as much at 
 home, by this loofening of all ties, and this 
 eoncuffion of all eftabliihed opinions, as we da 
 abroad. For, in order to prove, that the Ame- 
 ricans have no right to their Liberties, we are 
 every day endeavouring to fubvert the maxims, 
 
 which
 
 [ 37 1 
 
 which preferve the whole Spirit of our own. To 
 prove that the Americans ought not to be free, 
 we are obliged to depreciate the value of Free- 
 dom itfelf ; and we never feem to gain a paltry 
 advantage over them in debate, without attacking 
 Lome of thofe principles, or deriding fprne of thole 
 feelings, for which our anceftors have flied their 
 blood. 
 
 But, Sir, in wifhing to put .an end to per- 
 nicious experiments, I do not mean to preclude 
 the fulled enquiry. Far from it. Far from de*- 
 ciding on a fudden or partial view, I would par 
 tiently go round and round the fubjecl, and fur- 
 vey it minutely in every po/Iible aipecl:. Sir, if 
 I were capable of engaging you to an equal at- 
 tention, I would (late, that, as far as 1 am capable 
 of difcerning, there are but three ways of pro- 
 ceeding relative to this ftubbo.ru Spirit, which 
 prevails in your Colonies, and difturbs your Go- 
 vernment. Thefe are To change that Spirit, as 
 inconvenient, by removing the Caufes. To pro- 
 fecute it as eriminajL Or, to .comply with it as 
 neceffary. I would not be guilty of an imperfect 
 enumeration ; I can think of but thefe three. 
 Another has indeed been ftarted, that of giving 
 up the Colonies ; but it met fb flight a reception, 
 that I do not think royfelf obliged to dwell a 
 gceat while upon it. It is nothing but a little 
 ially of anger ; like the frowardnefs of peevifli 
 children ; who, when they cannot get all they 
 $vould have., are refblved to take nothing. 
 
 P 3
 
 [ 38 ] 
 
 The firft of thefe plans, to change the Spirit as 
 inconvenient, by removing the cauies, I think is 
 the moft like a fyftematick proceeding. It is 
 radical in its principle ; but it is attended with 
 great difficulties, fome of them little fhort, as 
 I conceive, of impoffibilities. This will appear 
 by examining into the Plans which have been 
 propofed. 
 
 As the growing population in the Colonies is 
 evidently one caufe of their refinance, it was laft 
 feffion mentioned in both Houfes, by men .of 
 weight, and received not without applaufe, that, 
 in order to check this evil, it would be proper 
 for the crown to make no further grants of land. 
 But to this fcheme, there are two objections, 
 The firft, that there is already fo much unfettled 
 land in private hands, as to afford room for an 
 immenfe future population, although the crown 
 not only withheld its grants, but annihilated its 
 foil. If this be the cafe, then the only effecT: 
 of this avarice of defolation, this hoarding of a 
 royal wildernefs, would be to rajfe the value 
 of the pofleffions in the harids of the great 
 private monopolies, without any adequate check 
 to the growing and alarming mifchief of popu* 
 lation. 
 
 But, if you flopped your grants, what would 
 be the eonfequence ? The people would occupy 
 without grants. They have already fo occupie4
 
 [ 39 1 
 
 in many places. You cannot ftation garrifons in 
 every part of thefe deferts. If you drive the 
 people from one place, they will carry on their; 
 annual Tillage, and remove with their flocks 
 and herds to another. Many of the people in the 
 back fettlements are already little attached to 
 particular fituations. Already they have topped 
 the Apalachian mountains. From thence they 
 behold before them an immenfe plain, one vaft, 
 rich, level meadow ; a fquare of five hundred 
 miles. Over this they would wander, without 
 a poffibility of reftraint ; they would change their 
 manners with the habits of their life ; would foon 
 forget a government, by which they were dif- 
 owned ; would become Hordes of Englifh Tar- 
 tars ; and, pouring down upon your unfortified 
 frontiers a fierce and irrefiftible cavalry, become 
 matters of your Governors and your Counfellors, 
 your collectors and comptrollers, and of all the 
 Slaves that adhered to them. Such would, and, 
 in no long time, muft be, the erTecl: of attempt- 
 ing to forbid as a crime, and to fupprefs as an 
 evil, the Command and Bleffing of Providence, 
 4 * Encreafe and Multiply." Such would be the 
 happy refult of an endeavour to keep as a lair 
 of wild beads, that earth, which God, by an, 
 exprefs Charter, has given to the children of 
 men. Far different, and furely much wifer, has 
 been our policy hitherto. Hitherto we have in- 
 vited our people by every kind of bounty, to 
 fixed eftablimments. We have invited the huf- 
 baudman, to look to authority for his title. We 
 
 D 4 have
 
 t 4 ] 
 
 have taught him pioufly to believe in the myfte- 
 rious virtue of wax and parchment. We have 
 thrown each trad: of land, as it was peopled, into 
 diftri&s ; that the ruling power fhould never be 
 wholly out of light. We have fettled all we could ; 
 and we have carefully attended every fettlement 
 with government. 
 
 Adhering, Sir, as I do, to this policy, as well 
 as for the reafons I have juft given, I think this 
 new project of hedging-in population to be nei- 
 ther prudent nor practicable. 
 
 To impoverifh the Colonies in general, and in 
 particular to arreft the noble courfe of their ma- 
 rine enterprizes, would be a more eafy tafk. I 
 freely confefs it. We have mewn a difpofition 
 to a fyftem of this kind; a difpofition even to 
 continue the reftraint after the offence ; looking 
 on ourfelves as rivals to our Colonies, and per- 
 fuaded that of courle we muft gain all that they 
 fhall lofe. Much mifchief we may certainly do. 
 The power inadequate to all other things is 
 often more than fufficient for this. I do not look 
 on the direct and immediate power of the Co- 
 lonies to refill: our violence, as very formidable. 
 In this, however, I may be miftaken. But 
 when I confider, that we have Colonies for no 
 purpofe but to be ferviceable to us, it feems to 
 my poor understanding a little prepofterous, to 
 make them unferviceable, in order to keep them 
 obedient. It is, in truth, nothing more than the 
 
 old,
 
 [ 41 ] 
 
 old, and, as I thought, exploded problem of ty- 
 ranny, which propofes to beggar its fubjects into 
 fiibmiffion. But, remember, when you have 
 compleated your fyftem of impoverishment, that 
 Nature flill proceeds in her ordinary courfe ; 
 that difcontent will encreafe with mifery ; and 
 that there are critical moments in the fortune 
 of all ftates, when they, who are too weak to 
 contribute to your profperity, may be ftrong 
 enough to complete your ruin. Spoliatis arma 
 fuperfunt. 
 
 The temper and character which prevail In 
 our Colonies, are, I am afraid, unalterable by 
 any human art. We cannot, I fear, falfify the 
 pedigree of this fierce people, and perluade them 
 that they are not fprung from a nation, in whofe 
 veins the blood of freedom circulates. The lan- 
 guage in which they would hear you tell them 
 this tale, would detect the impofition ; your 
 fpeech would betray you. An Englishman is 
 the unfitted perfon on earth, to argue another 
 Englishman into flavery. 
 
 I think it is nearly as little in our power to 
 change their republican Religion, as their free 
 defcent; or to fubftitute the Roman Catholick, 
 as a penalty; or the Church of England, as an 
 improvement. The mode of inquifition and 
 dragooning, is going out of famion in the old 
 world ; and I mould not confide much to their 
 efficacy in the new. The education of the 
 2 Americans
 
 [ 42 ] 
 
 Americans is alfo on the fame unalterable bot- 
 tom with their religion. You cannot perfuatle 
 them to burp their books of curious fcience ; to 
 banifh their lawyers from their courts of law; 
 or to quench the lights of their aflemblies, by 
 refufing to choofe thole perfons who are heft read 
 in, their privileges. It would be no lefs im- 
 practicable to think of wholly annihilating the 
 popular afiemblies, in which thefe lawyers fit. 
 The army, by which we muft govern in their 
 place, would be far more chargeable to us j not 
 quite fo effectual ; and perhaps, in the end, full 
 as difficult to be kept in obedience. 
 
 With regard to the high ariftocratick fpirit of 
 Virginia and the fouthern Colonies, it has been 
 propofed, I know, to reduce it, by declaring a 
 general enfranchifement of their (laves. This 
 project has had its advocates and panegyrics ; 
 yet I never could argue myfelf into any opinion 
 of it. Slaves are often much attached to their 
 matters. A general wild offer of liberty, would 
 not always be accepted. Hiftory furnimes few 
 inftances of it. It is fometimes as hard to per- 
 fuade flaves to be free, as it is to compel freemen 
 to be flaves j and in this aufpicious fcheme, we 
 Ihould have both thefe pleafing talks on our 
 hands at once. But when we talk of enfran- 
 chifement, do we not perceive that the American 
 matter may enfranchife too ; and arm fervile 
 hands in defence of freedom ? A meafure to 
 which other people have had recourfe more than 
 
 once,
 
 t 43 1 
 
 once, and not without fuccefs, in a defperate 
 fituation of their affairs. 
 
 Slaves as thefe unfortunate black people are, 
 and dull as all men are from flaveiy, muft they 
 not a little fufpeft the offer of freedom from that 
 very nation which has fold them to their prefent 
 matters ? From that nation, one of whofe caufes 
 of quarrel with thofe matters, is their refuial to 
 deal any more in that inhuman traffick? An 
 offer of freedom from England, would come rather 
 oddly, (hipped to them in an African veflel, which 
 is refufed an entry into the ports of Virginia or 
 Carolina, with a cargo of three hundred Angola 
 negroes. It would be curious to fee the Guinea 
 captain attempting at the fame inftant to publifh 
 his proclamation of liberty, and to advertife his 
 fale of (laves. 
 
 But let us fuppofe all thefe moral difficulties 
 got over. The Ocean remains. You cannot 
 pump this dry ; and as long as it continues in its 
 prefent bed, fo long all the caufes which weaken, 
 authority by dittance will continue. " Ye gods, 
 " annihilate but fpace and time, and make two 
 " lovers happy!" was a pious and paffionate 
 prayer ; but jutt as reafonable, as many of the 
 ferious wimes of very grave and folemn poli- 
 ticians. 
 
 If then, Sir, it feems almoft defperate to think 
 pf any alterative courfe, for changing the moral 
 
 cauf<gs
 
 [ 44 ] 
 
 caufes (and not quite eafy to remove the natural), 
 which produce prejudices irreconcileable to the 
 late exercife of our authority ; but that the fpirit 
 infallibly will continue ; and, continuing, will 
 produce fuch effects, as now embarrafs us ; the 
 fecond mode under confideration is, to profecute 
 that fpirit in its overt acts, as criminal. 
 
 At this propofition, I muft paufe a moment, 
 The thing feems a great deal too big for my 
 ideas of jurifprudence. It mould feem, to my 
 way of conceiving fuch matters, that there is a 
 very wide difference in reafon and policy, be- 
 tween the mode of proceeding on the irregular 
 conduct of fcattered individuals, or even of bands 
 of men, who difjturb order within the ftate, and 
 the civil diflenfions which may, from time to 
 time, on great queftions, agitate the feveral com- 
 munities which compofe a great Empire. Jt 
 looks to me to be narrow and pedantic, to apply 
 the ordinary ideas of criminal juftice to this 
 great public conteft. I do not know the method 
 of drawing up an indictment againft an whole 
 people. I cannot intuit and ridicule the feelings 
 of Millions of my fellow- creatures, as Sir Edward 
 Coke infulted one excellent individual (Sir Walter 
 Rawleigh) at the bar. I am not ripe to pafs 
 fentence on the graven 1 public bodies, entrufted 
 wttli magistracies of great authority and dignity, 
 and charged with the fafety of their fellow- 
 citizens, upon the very fame title that I am. 
 I really think, that for wife men, this is not 
 
 judicious $
 
 t 45 ] 
 
 judicious; for fober men, not decent; for minds 
 tinctured with humanity, not mild and merciful. 
 
 Perhaps, Sir, I am miftaken in my idea of 
 an Empire, as diftinguimed from a tingle State 
 or Kingdom. But my idea of it is this ; that 
 an Empire is the aggregate of many States, 
 under one common head ; whether this head be 
 a monarch, or a prefiding republic. It does, in 
 fuch conftitutions, frequently happen (and no- 
 thing but the difmal, cold, dead uniformity of 
 fervitude can prevent its happening) ' that the 
 fubordinate parts have many local privileges and 
 immunities. Between thefe privileges, and the 
 fupreme common authority, the line may be 
 extremely nice. Of courfe difputes, often too, 
 very bitter difputes, and much ill blood, will 
 arife. But though every privilege is an ex- 
 emption (in the cafe) from the ordinary ex- 
 ercife of the fupreme authority, it is no denial 
 of it. The claim of a privilege feems rather, ex 
 ai termini ', to imply a fuperior power. For to 
 talk of the privileges of a State or of a perfon, 
 who has no fuperior, is hardly any better than 
 fpeaking nonfenie. Now, in fuch unfortunate 
 quarrels, among the component parts of a great 
 political union of communities, I can fcarcely 
 conceive any thing more compleatly imprudent, 
 than for the Head of the Empire to iniifr, that, 
 if any privilege is pleaded againfr. his will, or 
 his acts, that his whole authority is denied ; 
 inftantly to proclaim rebellion, to beat to arms, 
 
 and
 
 [ 46 ] 
 
 and to put the offending provinces under the 
 ban. Will not this, Sir, very foon teach the 
 provinces to make no diftinctions on their part ? 
 Will it not teach them that the Government, 
 againft which a claim of Liberty is tantamont 
 to high-treafon, is a Government to which fub- 
 mifiion is equivalent to flavery? It may not 
 always^be quite convenient to imprefs dependent 
 communities with fuch an idea. 
 
 We are, indeed, in all difputes with the Co- 
 lonies, by the neceflity of things, the judge. 
 It is true, Sir. But, I confefs, that the character 
 of judge in my own caufe, is a thing that 
 frightens me. Inftead of filling me with pride, 
 I am exceedingly humbled by it. I cannot pro- 
 ceed with a {tern, allured, judicial confidence, 
 until I find myfelf in fomething more like a 
 judicial character. I muft have thefe hefitations 
 as long as I am compelled to recollect, that, 
 in my little reading upon fuch contefts as thefe, 
 the fenfe of mankind has, at leaft, as often de- 
 cided againft the fuperior as the fubordinate 
 power. Sir, let me add too, that the opinion of 
 my having fome abftract right in my favour, 
 would not put me much at my eafe in paffing 
 fentence; unlefs I could be fure, that there were 
 no rights which, in their exercife under certain 
 circumftances, were not the mod odious of all 
 wrongs, and the moft vexatious of all injuftice. 
 Sir, thefe confiderations have great weight with 
 me, when I find things fo circumftanced ; that 
 
 I fee
 
 [ 47 ] 
 
 I fee the fame party, at once a civil litigant 
 againft me in a point of right; and a culprit 
 before me, while I fit as a criminal judge, on 
 acts of his, vvhofe moral quality is to be de- 
 cided upon the merits of that very litigation. 
 Men are every now and then put, by the com- 
 plexity of human affairs, into ftrange fituations ; 
 but Juftice is the fame, let the Judge be in what 
 fituation he will. 
 
 There is, Sir, alfo a circumftance which con- 
 vinces me, that this mode of criminal proceeding 
 is not (at lead in the prefent flage of our con- 
 tell) altogether expedient ; which is nothing lefs 
 than the conduct of thofe very perfons who have 
 feemed to adopt that mode, by lately declaring 
 a rebellion in Maffachufet's Bay, as they had for- 
 merly addrefled to have Traitors brought hither 
 under an act of Henry the Eighth, for TriaL 
 For though rebellion is declared, it is not pro- 
 ceeded againft as fuch ; nor have any {reps been 
 taken towards the apprehenfion or conviction of 
 any individual offender, either on our late or our 
 former addrefs; but modes of public coercion 
 have been adopted, and fuch as have much more 
 refemblance to a fort of qualified hoftility to- 
 wards an independant power than the punifh- 
 ment of rebellious fubjects. All this feems ra- 
 ther inconfiftent ; but it (hews how difficult it 
 is to apply thefe juridical ideas to our prefent 
 cafe.
 
 [48 
 
 In this fituation, let us ferioufly and coolly 
 ponder. What is it we have got by all our me- 
 naces, which have been many and ferocious? 
 What advantage have we derived from the penal 
 laws we have pafled, and which, for the time, 
 have been fevere and numerous ? What advances 
 have we made towards our object, by the fend- 
 ing of a force, which, by land and fea, is na 
 contemptible ftrength? Has the diforder abated ? 
 Nothing lefs. When I fee things in this fituation, 
 after fuch confident hopes, bold promises, and 
 active exertions, I cannot, for my life, avoid a 
 fufpicion, that the plan itfelf is not correctly 
 right. 
 
 If then the removal of the caufes of this .Spirit 
 of American Liberty be, for the greater part, or 
 rather entirely, impracticable ; if the ideas of 
 Criminal Procefs be inapplicable, or, if appli- 
 cable, are in the higheft degree inexpedient, 
 what way yet remains ? No way is open, but 
 the third and laft to comply with the American 
 Spirit as neceflary; or, if you pleafe, to fubmit to 
 it, as a necefiary Evil. 
 
 If we adopt this mode; if we mean to con-* 
 ciliate and concede ; let us fee of what nature 
 the concefiion ought to be ? To afcertain the 
 nature of our conceffion, we muft look at their 
 complaint. The Colonies complain, that the^ 
 have not the ehara&eriftic Mark and Seal of 
 
 Britifti
 
 [ 49 ] 
 
 Britidi Freedom. They complain, that they are 
 taxed in a Parliament, in which they are not re- 
 prelented. If you mean to fatisfy them at all, 
 you mutt fatisfy them with regard to this com- 
 plaint. If you mean to pleaie any people, you 
 mtift give them the hoon which they alk ; not 
 what you may think better for them, but of a 
 land totally different. Such an aft may be a 
 wife regulation, but it is no ccnceffion : whereas 
 our prelent theme is the mode of giving fatis- 
 faction. 
 
 Sir, I think you muft perceive, that I am rc- 
 folved this day to have nothing at all to do with 
 the queflion of the right of taxation. Some gen- 
 tlemen ftartle but it is true : I put it totally 
 out of the queflion. It is lefs than nothing in 
 my confideration. I do not indeed wonder, nor 
 will you, Sir, that gentlemen of profound learn- 
 ing are fond of difplaying it on this profound 
 fubjecl. But my confideration is narrow, con- 
 fined, and wholly limited to the Policy of the 
 queftion. I do not examine, whether the giving 
 away a man's money be a power excepted and 
 referved out of the general tru ft of Government; 
 and how far all mankind, in all forms of Polity, 
 are intitled to an exercife of that Right by the 
 Charter of Nature. Or whether, on the con- 
 trary, a Right of Taxation is necefTarily involved 
 in the general principle of Legiflation, nnd in- 
 feparable from the ordinary Supreme Power ? 
 Tiiele are deep queftion s,- where great names 
 
 militate
 
 [ 5 1 
 
 militate agaiuft each other ; where reafon is per- 
 plexed; and an appeal to authorities only thick- 
 ens the confuiion. For high "and reverend au- 
 thorities lift up their heads on both fides ; and 
 there is no lure footing in the middle. This 
 point is the great Serbonian bog, betwixt Damlata 
 and Mount Ca/ius old, where armies whole have 
 funk. I do not intend to be overwhelmed in 
 that bog, though in fuch refpeclable company. 
 The queftion with me is, not whether you have 
 a right to render your people miferable ; but 
 whether it is not your interefl to make them 
 happy r It is not, what a lawyer tells me, I may 
 do; but what humanity, reafon, and juflice, tell 
 me, I ought to do. Is a politic kct the worfe 
 for being a generous one ? Is no conceffion 
 proper, but that which is made from your want 
 of right to keep what you grant? Or does it 
 lefTen the grace or dignity of relaxing in the ex- 
 erciie of an odious claim, becaufe you have your 
 evidence-room full of Titles, andyour magazines 
 fluffed with arms to enforce them? What lig- 
 nify all thofe titles, and all thofe arms? Of what 
 avail are they, when the reafon of the thing tells 
 me, that the affertion of my title is the lofs of 
 my fuit; and that I could do nothing but wound 
 myfelf by the uie of my own weapons ? 
 
 Such is fledfoilly my opinion of the abfolute 
 neceffity of keeping up the concord of this em- 
 pire by a Unity of Spirit, though in a diveriity 
 of operation?, that, if I were lure the Colonies 
 
 had,
 
 [ 5' 1 
 
 had, at their leaving this country, fealed a re* 
 gular compact of fervitude; that they had fo* 
 lemnly abjured all the rights of citizens ; that 
 they had made a vow to renounce all Ideas of 
 Liberty for them and their pofterity, to all 
 generations; yet I mould hold myfelf obliged 
 to conform to the temper 1 found univerfally 
 prevalent in my own day, and to govern two mil* 
 lion of men, impatient of Servitude, on the 
 principles of Freedom. I am not determining 
 a point of law ; I am reftoring tranquillity ; and 
 the general character and fituation of a people 
 mutt determine what fort of government is fitted 
 for them. That point nothing elfe can or ought 
 to determine. 
 
 My idea therefore, without considering whether 
 we yield as matter of right, or grant as matter 
 of favour, is to admit the people of our Colonies 
 into an inter eft in the conflitution\ and, by re- 
 cording that admiflion in the Journals of Par- 
 liament, to give them as flrong an afTurance as 
 the nature of the thing will admit* that we mean 
 for ever to adhere to that folemn declaration 
 of fvftematic indulgence. 
 
 Some years ago, the repeal of a revenue act, 
 upon its underftood principle, might have ferved 
 to (hew, that we intended an unconditional 
 abatement of the exercife. of a Taxing Power* 
 Such a meafure was then fufficient to remove 
 all fufpicion; and to give perfect content. But 
 
 E 2 unfortunate
 
 [ 52 ] 
 
 unfortunate events, iince that time, may make 
 fomething further neceirary; and not more ne- 
 ceffary for the fatisfd&ion of the Colonies, than 
 for the dignity and confiftency of our own future 
 proceedings. 
 
 I have taken a very incorrect meafure of the 
 difpofition of the Houle, if this propofal in itfelf 
 would be received with diflike. I think, Sir, we 
 have few American Financiers. But our mis- 
 fortune is, we are too acute ; we are too ex- 
 quiiite in our conjectures of the future, for men 
 oppreffed with fuch great and prefent evils. 
 The more moderate among the Oppofers of Par- 
 liamentary Conceffion freelv confels, that they 
 hope no good from Taxation ; but they appre- 
 hend the Colonies have further views ; and if 
 this point were conceded, they would inftantly 
 attack the Trade-laws. Thefe Gentlemen are 
 convinced, that this was the intention from 
 the beginning ; and the quarrel of the Americans 
 with Taxation was no more than a cloke and 
 cover to this dellgn. Such has been the language 
 even of a * Gentleman of real mode ration, and 
 of a natural temper well adjufted to fair and equal 
 Government. 1 am, however, Sir, not a little 
 furprized at this kind of diicourfe, whenever 
 I hear it ; and I am the more furprized, on 
 account of the arguments which I conftantly 
 find in company with it, and which are often 
 
 * Mr. Rice. 
 
 urged
 
 [ 53 ] 
 
 urged from the fame mouths, and on the fame 
 
 day. 
 
 For inftance, when we allcdge, that it is 
 againft reaion to tax a people under ib manv re- 
 frraints in trade as the Americans, the * Noble 
 Lord in the blue ribband (hall tell you, that the 
 reftraints on trade are futile and ufelefs ; of no 
 advantage to us, and of no burthen to thofe on 
 whom they are impoftd ; that the trade to Ame- 
 rica is not fecured by the acts of navigation, but 
 by the natural and irreilflible advantage of a com- 
 mercial preference. 
 
 Such is the merit of the trade laws in this pof- 
 ture of the debate. But when ftrong internal 
 circumftances are urged againft the taxes; when 
 the Ichcme is diflccted ; when experience and the 
 nature of things are brought to prove, and do 
 prove, the utter impoflibility of obtaining an 
 erle^ive revenue from the Colonies; when thefe 
 things are prefled, or rather prels themfelves, fo 
 as to drive the advocates of Colony taxes to a 
 clear admiffion of the futility of the fcheme; 
 then, Sir, the flee ping trade laws revive from 
 their trance ; and this ufelefs taxation is to be kept 
 facred, not for its own fake, but as a counteiv 
 guard and fecurity of the laws of trade. 
 
 Then, Sir, you keep up revenue laws which 
 are mifchievous, in order to preferve trade laws 
 
 * Lord North. 
 
 E 3 that
 
 [ 54 ] 
 
 that are ufelefc. Such is the wifdom of our plan 
 in both its members. They are feparately given 
 up as of no value; and yet one is always to be 
 defended for the fake of the other. But I can- 
 not agree with the Noble Lord, nor with the 
 pamphlet from whence he feems to have bor- 
 rowed thefe ideas, concerning the inutility of the 
 trade laws. For without idolizing them, 1 am 
 fure they are ftill, in many ways, of great ufe to 
 us ; and in former times, they have been of the 
 greateft. They do confine, and they do greatly 
 narrow, the market for the Americans. But my 
 perfect conviction of this, does not help me in 
 the leaft to difcern how the revenue laws form 
 any iecurity whatfoever to the commercial regu- 
 lations ; or that thefe commercial regulations are 
 the true ground of the quarrel; or, that the giv- 
 ing way in any one inftance of authority, is to 
 lole all that may remain unconceded. 
 
 One fact is clear and indifputable. The public 
 and avowed origin of this quarrel, was on taxa- 
 tion. This quarrel has indeed brought on new 
 dilputes on new queftions; but certainly the leait 
 bitter, and the feweft of all, on the trade laws. 
 To judge which of the two be the real radical 
 caufe of quarrel, we have to fee whether the 
 C3mmercial difpute did, in order of time, precede 
 t.ie difpute on taxation ? There is not a ihadow 
 of evidence for it. Next, to enable us to judge 
 whether at this moment a diflike to the Trade 
 Laws be the real caufe of quarrel, it is abfolutcly 
 
 neceflary
 
 t 55 ] 
 
 neceflary to put the taxes out of the quefHon. by 
 a repeal. See how the Americans act in this po-r 
 iition, and then you will be able to difcern cor- 
 rectly what is the true object of the controverfy, 
 or whether any controverfy at all will remain ? 
 Unlefs you content to remove this caufe of dif- 
 ference, it is impoffible, with decency, to aflert 
 that the difpute is not upon what it is avowed 
 to be. And I would, Sir, recommend to your 
 ferious confideration, whether it be prudent to 
 form a rule for puniming people, not on their 
 own acts, but on your conjectures? Surely it is 
 prepoflerous at the very beft. It is not juftify- 
 ing' your anger, by their mifconduct ; but it is 
 converting your ill-will into their delinquency. 
 
 But the Colonies will go further. Alas! alas! 
 when will this fpeculating againft fact: and reafbn. 
 end? What will quiet thefe panic fears which 
 we entertain of the hoftile effect of a conciliatory 
 conduct ? Is it true, that no cafe can exift, in 
 which it is proper for the fovereign to accede to 
 the deiires of his difcontented fubjects? Is there 
 any thing peculiar in this cafe, to make a rule 
 for itielf? Is all authority of courfe loft, when it 
 is not pufhed to the extreme ? Is it a certain, 
 maxim, that, the fewer caufes of diffatisfactiou 
 are left by government, the more the iubject will 
 be inclined to refill and rebel ? 
 
 All thefe objections being in fact no more than, 
 fufpicions, conjectures, divinations; formed in 
 
 E 4 defiance
 
 defiance of fact and experience; they did not, Sir, 
 difcourage me from entertaining the idea of a 
 conciliatory conceffion, founded on the principles 
 which I have juil fiated. 
 
 In forming a plan for this purpofe, I endea- 
 voured to put myfelf in that frame of mind, 
 which was the moft natural, and the moft rea- 
 fonable; and which was certainly the mod pro- 
 bable means of fecuring me from all error. I 
 fet out with a perfect diftruft of my own abili- 
 ties ; a total renunciation of every {peculation of 
 my own ; and with a profound reverence for the 
 wifdom of our anceftors, who have left us the in- 
 heritance of fo happy a conftitution, and fo flou- 
 riftiing an empire, and what is a thouiand times 
 more valuable, the treafury of .the maxims and 
 principles which formed the one, and obtained the 
 other. 
 
 During the reigns of the kings of Spain of the 
 Auftrian family, whenever they were at a lofs 
 in the Spanim councils, it was common for their 
 ftatefmen to fay, that they ought to confult 
 the genius of Philip the Second. The genius of 
 Philip the Second might miflead them; and the 
 iffue of their affairs (hewed, that they had not 
 chofen the mofl perfect ftandard. But, Sir, I am 
 fure that I (hall not be milled, when, in a cafe 
 of conftitutional difficulty, I confult the genius of 
 the Englim conilitution. Confulting at that 
 oracle (it was with all due humility and piety) 
 
 1 found
 
 t 57 ] 
 
 I found four capital examples in a fimilar cafe 
 before me : thole of Ireland, Wales, Chefter, 
 and Durham. 
 
 Ireland, before the Englifh conqueft, though 
 never governed by a defpotick power, had no Par- 
 liament. How far the Englifh Parliament it- 
 felf was at that time modelled according to the 
 prefent form, is difputed among antiquarians. 
 But we have all the realbn in the world to be 
 aflured, that a form of Parliament, fuch as Eng- 
 land then enjoyed, (he inftantly communicated 
 to Ireland; and we are equally lure that almoft 
 every fucceflive improvement in confHtutional 
 liberty, as fa ft as it was made here, was tranl- 
 mitted thither. The feudal Baronage, and the 
 feudal Knighthood, the roots of our primitive 
 conftitution, were early tranfplanted into that 
 loil; and grew and flourished there. Magna 
 Charta, if it did not give us originally the Houfc 
 of Commons, gave us at leaft an Houie of Com- 
 mons of weight and confequence. But youran- 
 ceftors did not churlifhly lit down alone to the 
 feafr. of Magna Charta. Ireland was made im- 
 mediately a partaker. This benefit of Englifh 
 laws and liberties, I confefs, was not at firft ex- 
 tended to all Ireland. Mark the confequence. 
 Englifh authority and Englifh liberties had ex- 
 actly the fame boundaries. Your ftandard could 
 never be advanced an inch before your privileges. 
 Sir John Davis ihevvs beyond a doubt, that the 
 refulal of a general communication of thefe rights, 
 
 was
 
 [ 53 ] 
 
 \vas the true caufe why Ireland was five hun- 
 dred years in fubduing ; and after the vain pro- 
 jects of a Military Government, attempted in the 
 reign of Queen Elizabeth, it was loon difcovened, 
 that nothing could make that country Engliih, 
 in civility and allegiance, but your laws and your 
 forms of legiflature. It was not Engliih arms, 
 but the Englifh conftitution, that conquered Ire- 
 land. From that time, Ireland has ever had a 
 general Parliament, as (he had before a partial 
 Parliament. You changed the people ; you al- 
 tered the religion; but you never touched the 
 form or the vital fubftance of free government 
 in that kingdom. You depofed kings; you re- 
 flored them -, you altered the fucceilion to theirs, 
 as well as to your own crown ; but you never 
 altered their constitution ; the principle of which 
 was refpe&ed by usurpation; reitored with the 
 reiteration of Monarchy, and eilablifhed, I truft, 
 for ever, by the glorious Revolution. This has 
 made Ireland the great and flourishing kingdom 
 that it is ; and from a difgrace and a burthen in- 
 tolerable to this nation, has rendered her a prin- 
 cipal part of our itrength and ornament. This 
 country cannot be laid to have ever formally taxed 
 her. The irregular things done in the confuiion 
 of mighty troubles, and on the hinge of great 
 revolutions, even if all were done that is faid 
 to have been done, fonri no example. If they 
 have any effect in argument, they make an excep- 
 tion to prove the rule. None of your own liber- 
 ties could ftand a moment, if the caiual devia- 
 tions
 
 [ 59 ] 
 
 tions from them, at fuch times, were fuffered to 
 be ufed as proofs of their nullity. By the lucra- 
 tive amount of fuch caftial breaches in the con- 
 {titution, judge what me ftated and fixed rule of 
 ibpply has been in that Kingdom. Your Irifh 
 petitioners would ftarve, if they had no other fund 
 to live on than taxes granted by Englifh au- 
 thority. Turn your eyes to thofe popular grants 
 from whence all your great fupplies are come ; 
 and learn to refpect that only fource of public 
 wealth in the Britifh empire. 
 
 My next example is Wales. This country 
 was laid to be reduced by Henry the Third. It 
 was faid more truly to be fo by Edward the Firfh 
 But though then conquered, it was not looked 
 upon as any part of the realm of England. Its 
 old conftitution, whatever that might have been, 
 was deftroyed ; and no good one was fubflituted 
 in its place. The care of that tract was put into 
 the hands of Lords Marchers a form of Go- 
 vernment of a very fingular kind ; a ftrange he- 
 terogeneous monfter, fomething between Hofli- 
 lity and Government ; perhaps it has a fort of 
 refemblance, according to the modes of thofe 
 times, to that of commander in chief at prefent, 
 to whom all civil power is granted as fecondary. 
 The manners of the Wclfli nation followed the 
 Genius of the Government: The people were 
 ferocious, reftive, favage, and uncultivated ; fome- 
 times compofed, never pacified. Wales within 
 itielf, was in perpetual difordtrj and it kept the 
 
 frontier
 
 [ 6 ] 
 
 frontier of England in perpetual alarm. Benefits 
 from it to the ftafe, there were none. Wales 
 was only known to England, by incurfion and in- 
 vafion. 
 
 Sir, during that ftate of things, Parliament was 
 not idle. They attempted to lubdue the fierce 
 Jpirit of the Welfli by all forts of rigorous laws. 
 They prohibited by ftatute the fending all forts 
 of arms into Wales, as you prohibit by procla- 
 mation (with fqme thing more of doubt on the 
 legality) the fending arms to America. They 
 difarmed the Welfh by ftatute, as you attempted 
 (bu ft ill with more qiieftion on the legality) to 
 dilarm New England by an mftru&ion. They 
 made an aft to drag offenders from Wales into 
 England for trial, as you have done (but with 
 more hardship) with regard to America. By an- 
 other acT:, where one of the parties was an Eng- 
 limman, they ordained, that his trial mould be 
 always by English. They made ads to reftrain 
 trade, as you do ; and they prevented the Welfh 
 from the uie of fairs and markets, as you do 
 the Americans from fimeries and foreign ports. 
 In /hoi t, when the ftatute-book was not quite fo 
 much fwelled as it is now, you find no lefs than 
 fifteen acts of penal regulation on the fubjecl of 
 Wales. 
 
 Here we rub our hands A fine body of pre- 
 cedents for the authority of Parliament and the 
 ule of it! I admit it fully; and pray add 
 
 likewiic
 
 likewife to thefe precedents, that all the while, 
 Wales rid this kingdom like an incubus ; that it 
 was an unprofitable and oppreffive burthen; and 
 that an Englifhman travelling in that country, 
 could not go fix yards from the high road without 
 being murdered. 
 
 The march of the human mind is flow. Sir, 
 it was not, until after Two Hundred years, dif- 
 covered, that by an eternal law, Providence had 
 decreed vexation to violence ; and poverty to ra- 
 pine. Your anceftors did however at length open 
 their eyes to the ill hufbandry of injuftice. They 
 found that the tyranny of a free people could of 
 all tyrannies the lead be endured ; and that laws 
 made againfl an whole nation were not the mofl 
 effectual methods for fecuring its obedience-. 
 Accordingly, in the Twenty-feventh year of 
 Henry VIII. the courfe was entirely altered. 
 With a preamble flating the entire and perfect 
 rights of the crown of England, it gave to the 
 Welfh all the rights and privileges of Englifh 
 fubjects. A political order was eftablimed ; the 
 military power gave way to the civil ; the 
 marches were turned into counties. But that a 
 nation mould have a right to Englifh liberties, and 
 yet no fhare at all in the fundamental fecuriry of 
 thefe liberties, the grant of their own property, 
 feemed a thing fo incongruous ; that Eight years 
 after, that is, in the Thirty-fifth of that reign, a 
 complete and not ill proportioned representation 
 by counties and boroughs was beftowed Upon 
 i Wales,
 
 
 Wales, by act of Parliament. From that mo- 
 ment, as by a charm, the tumults fubfided; obe- 
 dience was reftored ; peace, order, and civiliza- 
 tion, followed in the train of liberty When the 
 day-ftar of the English confKtution had arifen in 
 their hearts, all was harmony within and with- 
 out 
 
 Slmul alba nauth 
 Stella refuljit) 
 
 Defluit faxis agitatus humor : 
 Concidimt venti, fugiuntque nubes: 
 Et minax (quod Jic valuer e) fonto 
 Unda recumbit. 
 
 The very fame year the county palatine of 
 Chefter received the fame relief from its oppref- 
 fions, and the fame remedy to its diforders. Be- 
 fore this time Chefter was little lefs diftempered 
 than Wales. The inhabitants, without rights 
 themfelves, were the fitted to deftroy the rights 
 of others ; and from thence Richard II. drew 
 the (landing army of Archers, with which for a 
 time he opprefled England. The people of 
 Chefter applied to Parliament in a petition penned 
 as I (hall read to you : 
 
 To the King our Sovereign Lord, in moft humble 
 *wlfe JJjewn unto your Excellent Majejly, the inha- 
 bitants of your Grace's county palatine of Chefter ; 
 That where the f aid county palatine of Chefter is and 
 hath been always hitherto exempt^ excluded and 
 5 feparated
 
 feparated out and from your high court of parliament* 
 to have any knights and burgeffes within the fald 
 court \ by reafbn whereof the fald Inhabitants have 
 hitherto fujla'ined manifold dijljerifons, loffes and da- 
 mages, as well in their lands, goods, and bodies, as 
 in the good, civil, and politick governance and main- 
 tenance of the commonwealth of their /aid country : 
 (2.) And for as much as the fald Inhabitants have 
 always hitherto been bound by the acls and Jlatutes 
 made and ordained by your fald highnefs, and your 
 mojl noble progenitors, by authority of 'the fald court, 
 as far forth as other counties^ cities, and boroughs 
 have been, that have had their knights and burgefjes 
 within your fald court of parliament, and yet have 
 had neither knight ne burgefs therefor the fald county 
 palatine \ the fald Inhabitants, for lack thereof, have 
 been oftentimes touched and grieved with acts and 
 Jlatutes made within the fald court, as well deroga- 
 tory unto the mojl antlent jiirlfdl5lions, liberties, and 
 privileges of your fald county palatine, as prejudicial 
 unto thd commonwealth, quietnefs, rejl, and peace of 
 your grace's mojl bounden fubjefts inhabiting within 
 the fame. 
 
 What did Parliament with this audacious ad- 
 drefs ? reject it as a libel? Treat it as an affront 
 to government? Spurn it as a derogation from, 
 the rights of legiflature ? Did they tols it over the 
 table ? Did they burn it by the hands of the com- 
 mon hangman? They took the petition of 
 grievance, all nigged as it was, without foften- 
 ing or temperament, unpurged of the original 
 
 bitternefs
 
 t 64 ] 
 
 bitternefs and indignation of complaint ; they 
 made it the very preamble to their act of redrelV; 
 and confecrated its principle to all ages in th 
 fanctuary of legiflation. 
 
 Here .is my third example. It was attended 
 with the fucceis of the two former. Cheiler, 
 civilized as well as Wales, ha.? demonftrated that 
 freedom and not fervitude is the cure of anarchy; 
 as religion, and not atheifm, is the true remedy 
 tor luperftition. Sir, this pattern of Cheiler was 
 followed iii the reign of Charles II. with regard 
 to the county palatine of Durham, which is my 
 fourth example. This county had long lain out 
 of the pale of free legiflation. So icrupuloufly 
 was the example of Cheiler followed, that the 
 ftyle of the preamble is nearly the lame with 
 that of the Cherter act ; and without affecting 
 the abftract extent of the authority of Parliament, 
 it recognizes the equity of not fufFering any conli- 
 derable diftrict in which the Britiih iubjects may 
 act as a body, to be taxed without their own voice 
 in the grant. 
 
 Now if the doctrines of policy contained in 
 thefe preambles, and the force of thefe examples 
 in the acts of Parliament, avail any thing, what 
 can be laid again ft applying them with regard to 
 America? Are not the people of America as 
 much Englifhmen as the Welih ? The preamble 
 of the act of Henry V11I. fays, the Welfh fpeak 
 a language no way relembling that of his 
 
 Majefty's
 
 t 6 5 i 
 
 Majefty's Englifli fubjects. ,Are the Americans not 
 as numerous ? If we may truft the learned and 
 accurate Judge Harrington's account of North 
 Wales, and take that as a ftandard to meafure the 
 reft, there is no comparifon. The people cannot 
 amount to above 200,000 ; not a tenth part of 
 the number in the Colonies. Is America in re* 
 bellion? Wales was hardly ever free from it* 
 Have you attempted to govern America by pe- 
 nal ftatutes ? You made Fifteen for Wales. Bltt 
 your legiflative authority is perfect with regard to 
 America ; was it lefs perfecl in Wales, Chefter, 
 and Durham? But America is virtually repre- 
 fented. What! does the electric force of virtual 
 reprefentation more eafily pafs over the Atlantic^ 
 than pervade Wales, which lies in your neigh* 
 bourhood ; or' than Chefter and Durham, iur- 
 rounded by abundance of reprefentation that is 
 actual and palpable? But, Sir, your anceftors 
 thought this fort of virtual reprefentation, how- 
 ever ample, to be totally insufficient for the free- 
 dom of the inhabitants of territories that are fo 
 near, and comparatively fo inconfiderable. How 
 then can I think it fufficient for thofe which 
 are infinitely greater, and infinitely more remote? 
 
 You will now, Sir, perhaps imagine, that I 
 am on the point of propofing to you a fcheme 
 for a reprefentation of the Colonies in Parlia- 
 ment. Perhaps I might be inclined to entertain 
 fome fuch thought ; but a great flood flops me in 
 my cQurle. Ofpofuit natura I cannot remove the 
 
 F eternal
 
 [ 66 ] 
 
 eternal barriers of the creation. The thing in 
 that mode, I do not know to be poffible. As 
 I meddle with no theory, I do not abfolutely 
 affert the impracticability of fuch a reprefenta- 
 tion. But I do not fee my way to it; and thofe 
 who have been more confident, have not been 
 more fuccefsful. However, the arm of public 
 benevolence is not fhortened ; and there are often 
 feveral means to the fame end. VVhA nature 
 has disjoined in one way, wiidom may unite in 
 another. When we cannot give the benefit as 
 we would wifh, let us not refufe it altogether. 
 If we cannot give the principal, let us find a 
 fubftitute. But how? Where? What fubftitute? 
 
 Fortunately I am not obliged for the ways 
 and means of this fubftitute to tax my own 
 unproductive invention. I am not even obliged 
 to go to the rich treafury of the fertile framers 
 of imaginary common wealths ; not to the Re- 
 publtck of Plato, not to the Utopia of More; 
 not to the Oceana of Harrington. It is before 
 me It is" at my feet, and the rude fwaln treads 
 dally on it with his clouted fooon. I only wim 
 you to recognize, for the theory, the ancient 
 conftitutional policy of this kingdom with regard 
 to reprefentation, as that policy has been de- 
 clared in acts of parliament ; and; as to the 
 practice, to return to that mode which an uni- 
 form experience has marked out to you, as beft ; 
 and in which you walked with fecurity, ad- 
 vantage, and honour, until the year 1763, 
 
 My
 
 [ 6; ] 
 
 My refolutions therefore mean to eftabKfh the 
 equity and juftice of a taxation of America, by 
 grant, and not by impojition. To mark the legal 
 competency of the Colony affemblies for the f up- 
 port of their government in peace, and for public 
 aids in time of war. To acknowledge that this 
 legal competency has had a dutiful and beneficial 
 exerc/fe; and that experience has fhewn the be- 
 nefit of their grants, and the futility of parlia- 
 mentary taxation as a method of fupply. 
 
 Thefe folid truths compofe fix: fundamental 
 propositions. There are three more refolutions 
 corollary to thefe. If you admit the firfl fet, you 
 can hardly reject the others. But if you admit 
 the firft, 1 mall be far from follicitous whether 
 you accept or refufe the laft. I think thefe fix 
 maffive pillars will be of Strength fufficient to 
 fupport the temple of Britifh concord. I have 
 no more doubt than I entertain of my exigence, 
 that, if you admitted thefe, you would com- 
 mand an immediate peace ; and with but tolera- 
 ble future management, a lafling obedience in 
 America. I am not arrogant in this confident 
 aflu ranee. The propofitions are all mere matters 
 of fact ; and if they are fuch facts as draw irre- 
 fiftible conclufions even in the dating, this is the 
 power of truth, and not any management of 
 mine. 
 
 F 2 Sir,
 
 [ 68 ] 
 
 Sir, I mall open the whole plan to you toge- 
 ther, with fuch obfervations on the motions as 
 may tend to illuftrate them where they may want 
 explanation. The firft is a resolution " That 
 " the Colonies and Plantations of Great Britain in 
 " North America, confiftlng of Fourteen feparate 
 " Governments, and containing Two Millions and 
 " upwards of free Inhabitants, have not had the II- 
 " berty and privilege of elefling and /ending any 
 " Knights and Burgejfes, or others to represent 
 " them In the high Court of Parliament" This 
 is a plain matter of fact, neceflary to be laid 
 down, and (excepting the defcription) it is laid 
 .down in the language of the confutation ; it 
 is taken nearly verbatim from afts of Parliament. 
 
 The fecond is like unto the firft " That 
 ' l the faid Colonies and Plantations have been liable 
 " >to, and bounden by, feveral fubjidies, payments, 
 <c rates, and taxes, given and granted by Parlia- 
 " ment, though the faid Colonies and Plantations 
 *' have not their Knights and Burgejfes, in the 
 " faid high Court of Parliament, of their own 
 " election, to reprefent the condition of their country-, 
 " by lack whereof they have been oftentimes touched 
 " and grieved by fubfidies given, granted, and 
 *' ajfented to, in the faid court, in a manner preju- 
 " dlclal to the common wealth ', quiet nefs, rejl, and 
 " peace of the fubjech Inhabiting within the fame* 
 
 Is
 
 t 
 
 Is this defcription too hot, or too cold, too 
 ftrong, or too weak r Does it arrogate too much 
 to the fupreme legiflature? Does it lean too mucli 
 to the claims of the people? If it runs into any 
 of thefe errors, the fault is not mine. It is the 
 language of your own ancient acts of Parlia- 
 ment. Non meus hie fenno, fed qute prtecep'it 
 Ofel/KS, rujlicus, abnormis fapiens. It is the ge ' 
 nuine produce of the ancient ruftic, manly, 
 home-bred fenfe of this country I did not dare 
 to rub off a particle of the venerable ruft that 
 rather adorns and preferves, than deftroys the 
 metal. It would be a profanation to touch with 
 a tool the flones which conftruft the facred altar 
 of peace. I would not violate with modern po- 
 lifh the ingenuous and noble roughnefs of thefe 
 truly conftitutional materials. Above all things, 
 I was refolved not to be guilty of tampering, the 
 odious vice of reftlefs and unfrable minds. I put 
 my foot in the tracks of our forefathers; where I 
 can neither wander nor {tumble. Determining 
 to fix articles, of peace, I was refolved not to be 
 wife beyond what was written ; 1 was refolved 
 to life nothing elie than the form of found words; 
 to let others abound in their own fenfe ; and care- 
 fully to abftain from all expreffions of my own. 
 What the law has faid, 1 fay. In all things 
 elfe 1 am filent. I have no organ but for her 
 words. This, if it be not ingenious, I am lure is 
 fafe. 
 
 F There
 
 [ 70 ] 
 
 There are indeed words expreffive of grievance 
 in this fecond refolution, which- thofe who are 
 refblved always to be in the right, will deny to 
 contain matter of far, as applied to the prefent 
 cafe; although Parliament thought them true, 
 with regard to the counties of Chefter and Dur- 
 ham. They will deny that the* Americans were 
 ever " touched and grieved" with the taxes. 
 If they confider nothing in taxes but their weight 
 as pecuniary impolitions, there might be fome 
 pretence for this denial. But men may be forely 
 touched and deeply grieved in their privileges, as 
 well as in their puries. Men may lofe little in 
 property by the aft which takes away all their 
 freedom. When a man is robbed of a trifle on 
 the highway, it is not the Two -pence loft that 
 conftitutes the capital outrage. This is not con- 
 fined to privileges. Even ancient indulgences 
 withdrawn, without offence on the part of thole 
 who enjoyed fuch favours, operate as grievances, 
 But were the Americans then not touched and 
 grieved by the taxes, in fome meafure, merely as 
 taxes? If fo, why were they almoft all, either 
 wholly repealed or exceedingly reduced ? Were 
 they not touched and grieved, even by the regu- 
 lating Duties of the Sixth of George II? Elfe 
 why were the duties firft reduced to one Third in 
 1764, and afterwards to a Third of that Third 
 in the year 1766? Were they not touched an4 
 grieved by the Stamp Aft ? I mall fay they were, 
 until that tax is revived. Were they not touched 
 
 and
 
 [ 7' 1 
 
 and grieved by the duties of 1767, which were 
 likewife repealed, and which, Lord Hillfborough 
 tells you (for the miniirry) were laid contrary to 
 the true principle of commerce ? Is not the af- 
 furance given by that noble perfon to the Colo- 
 nies of a refolution to lay no more taxes on them, 
 an admiflion that taxes would touch atld grieve 
 them? Is not the refolution of the noble Lord 
 in the blue ribband, now {landing on your 
 Journals, the flrongeft of all proofs that parlia- 
 mentary fubfidies really touched and grieved 
 them? Elfe, why all thefe changes, modifica- 
 tions, repeals, afiurances, and refolutions? 
 
 The next proportion is " T*hat> from the 
 " dijlance of the faid Colonies, and from other cir- 
 u cumjlances, no method hath hitherto been devifed 
 " for procuring a reprefentation in Parliament for 
 " the faid Colonies " This is an aflertion of a 
 fact. I go no further on the paper ; though in 
 my private judgement, an uieful reprefentation 
 is impoffible ; I am fure it is not defired by 
 them ; nor ought it perhaps by us ; but I abflain 
 from opinions. 
 
 The fourth refolution is " That each of ike 
 ' faid Colonies hath within itfelf a body, chofen 
 " in part, or in the whole, by the freemen, free- 
 " holders, or other free Inhabitants thereof, commonly 
 called the General AJfembly, or General Court ', 
 " with powers legally to raife, levy, and a/efs 9 
 * c according to the federal ufage of fuch Colonies, 
 
 F 4 * duties.
 
 t 7* 
 
 '( duties and taxes towards defraying all forts of 
 *' public fervices" 
 
 This competence in the Colony aflemblies is 
 certain. It is proved by the whole tenour of 
 their adts of fupply in all the aflemblies, in. 
 which the conftant ftyle of granting is, *' an 
 *< aid to hi? Majefty ;" and acts granting to the 
 Crown have regularly for near a century patted 
 the public offices without difpute. Thofe who 
 have been pleafed paradoxically to deny thig 
 right, holding that none but the Britifh parlia- 
 ment can grant to the Crown, are wifhed to look 
 to what is done, not only in the Colonies, but in 
 Ireland, in one uniform unbroken tenour every 
 feffion. Sir, I am furprized, that this doftrine' 
 fhould come from fome of the law fervants of 
 the Crown. I fay, that if the Crown could be 
 tefponfible, his Majefty but certainly the roinif- 
 ters, and even thefe law officers themfelves, 
 through whofe hands the a6ls pafs, biennially in 
 Ireland, or annually in the Colonies, are in an 
 Habitual -courfe of committing impeachable of- 
 fences. What habitual offenders have been all 
 Prelidents of the Council, all Secretaries of State, 
 all Firft Lords of Trade, all Attornies and all 
 Solicitors General ! However, they are fafe ; as 
 jio one impeaches them ; and there is no ground 
 of charge againft them, except in their own un- 
 founded theories, .
 
 t 73 3 
 
 The fifth refolution is alfo a refolution of 
 fad: " That the f aid General ^JJemblies, General 
 *' Courts, or other bodies legally qualifed as afore- 
 ** faid, have at fundry times freely granted fever al 
 *' large fubjidies and public aids for his Majeftfs 
 $ fcrvice, according to their abilities*, ivhen re- 
 " quired thereto by letter from one of his Majefty's 
 " principal Secretaries tf State ; and that their right 
 * c to grant the fame, and their chearfulnefs and 
 " fufficlcncy In the f aid grants, have been at fun- 
 *' dry times acknowledged by Parliament.' 9 To fay 
 nothing of their great expences in the Indian 
 wars; and not to take their exertion in foreign 
 ones, fo high as the fnpplies in the year 1695; 
 not to go back to their public contributions 
 in the year 1710; I fhall begin to travel only 
 where the Journals give me light ; refolving to 
 deal in nothing but fact, authenticated by par- 
 liamentary record ; and to build myfelf wholly 
 on that folid bafts, 
 
 On the 4th of April 1 748 *, a Committee of 
 this Houfe came to the following Refolution : 
 
 " Refolved, 
 
 " That it is the opinion of this Committee, that 
 *< it is juft and realbnable that the fever al Pro- 
 *t vlnces and Colonies of Maffachujef s Bay, New 
 *' Hampjhlre, Connecticut, and Rhode JJland, be 
 ? reifiiburfed the expences they have been at in 
 * Journals of the Houfe, Vol. XXV. 
 
 f { taking
 
 [ 74 ] 
 
 <f taking and fe cur ing to the crown of Great Bri- 
 " tain, the I/land of Cape Breton, and its depen- 
 " dencies." 
 
 Thefe expences were immenfe for fuch Colo- 
 nies. They were above 200,000 /. fieri i ng ; 
 money firft railed and advanced on their public 
 credit. 
 
 On the z8th of January 1756*, a meffage 
 from the King came to us, to this effect " His 
 ** Majejly, being fenjlble of the zeal and vigour with 
 " which his faithful fubjefts of certain Colonies in 
 " North America have exerted themf elves in defence 
 " of His Majejlys jujl rights and pqffeffions, recom- 
 mends it to this Houfe to take the fame into their 
 96 conjideration, and to enable His Majejly to give 
 " them fuch affiftance as maybe a proper reward 
 " and encouragement.'* 
 
 On the 3d of February i756t> the Houfe 
 came to a iuitable refolution, exprefled in words 
 nearly the lame as thofe of the meffage : but 
 with the further addition, that the money then 
 voted was as an encouragement to the Colonies to 
 exert themfelves with vigour. It will not be 
 neceilary to go through all the teflimonies which 
 your own records have given to the truth of my 
 refolutions. I will only refer you to the places 
 in the Journals : 
 
 Journals of the Houfe, Vol. XXVII. | Ibid. 
 
 Vol.
 
 [ , 75 ] 
 
 Vol. XXVII. 1 6th and i 9 th May 1757. 
 
 Vol. XXV1IL June ift, 1758 April 2 6th 
 and 30th, 1759 March 
 26th and 31 ft, and April 
 28th, 1760 Jan. Qth and 
 aoth, 1761. 
 
 Vol. XXIX. Jan. 22d and 26th, 1762. 
 March 1 4th and I7th, 1763. 
 
 Sir, here is the repeated acknowledgement of 
 Parliament, that the Colonies not only gave, but 
 gave to fatiety. This nation has formally ac- 
 knowledged two things; firft, that the Colo- 
 nies had gone beyond their abilities, Parliament 
 having thought it neceffary to reimburfe them ; 
 fecondiy, that they had acted legally and laud- 
 ably in their grants of money, and their mainte- 
 nance of troops, fince the compenfation is ex- 
 prefsly given as reward and encouragement. Re- 
 ward is not beftowed for acts that are unlawful ; 
 and encouragement is not held out to things 
 that deferve reprehenlion. My tefolution there- 
 fore does nothing more than collect into one pro- 
 pofition, what is icattered through your Journals. 
 I give you nothing but your own ; and you can- 
 not refufe in the grofs, what you have fo often 
 acknowledged in detail. The admiffion of this, 
 which will be fo honourable -to them and to 
 you, will, indeed, be mortal to all the miferable 
 ftories, by which the paffions of the miiguided 
 people have been engaged in an unhappy lyftem. 
 The people heard, indeed, from the beginning of 
 
 thefe
 
 t 76 ] 
 
 thefe difpute?, one thing continually dinned in 
 their ears, that reafon and juftice demanded, 
 that the Americans, who paid no Taxes, mould 
 be compelled to contribute. How did that fact 
 of their paying nothing, ftand, when the Taxing 
 Syftem began ? When Mr. Grenville began to 
 form his fyftem of American Revenue, he ftated 
 in this Houfe, that the Colonies were then in 
 debt two millions fix hundred thouland pound3 
 fterling money ; and was of opinion they would 
 discharge that debt in four years. On this ftate, 
 thofe untaxed people were actually fubject to the 
 payment of taxes to the amount of fix hundred 
 and fifty thoufand a year. In fact, however, 
 Mr. Grenville was miftaken. The funds given 
 for finking the debt did not prove quite fo ample 
 as both the Colonies and he expected. The cal- 
 culation was too fanguine: the reduction was not 
 compleated till fome years after, and at different 
 times in different Colonies. However, the Taxes 
 after the war, continued too great to bear any 
 addition, with prudence or propriety ; and when 
 the burthens impoled in confequence of former 
 .requiiitions were difcharged, our tone became too 
 high to refort again to requisition. No Colony, 
 iince that time, ever has had any requifition what- 
 ioever made to it. 
 
 We fee the fenfe of the Crown, and the fenfe 
 of Parliament, on the productive nature of a Re- 
 venue by Grant. Now fearch the fame Journals 
 for the produce of the Revenue by Impc/it'iop 
 
 Where
 
 [ 77 ] 
 
 Where is it? let us know the volume and the 
 page? what is the grofs, what. is the nett pro- 
 duce? to what fervice is it applied ? how have 
 you appropriated its furplus ? What, can none 
 of the many fkilful Index- makers, that we are 
 now employing, find any trace of it ? Well, let 
 them and that reft together. But are the 
 Journals, which fay nothing of the Revenue, 
 as filent on the discontent ? Oh no ! a child 
 may find it. It is the melancholy burthen and 
 blot of every page. 
 
 I think then I am, from thofe Journals, jufti- 
 fied in the fixth and laft refolution, which is 
 " 'That it hath been found by experience, that the 
 " manner of granting the faid fupplies and aids> 
 ' by the fetid General djjemblles* hath been more 
 agreeable to the fald Colonies, and more beneji- 
 (< cial t and conducive to the public fervice, than 
 * ' the mode of giving and granting aids in Parlia- 
 " merit* to be raifed and paid in the fald Colonies" 
 This makes the whole of the fundamental part 
 of the plan. The conclufion is irrefiftible. You 
 cannot fay, that you were driven by any ne- 
 ceflity, to an exercife of the utmoft Rights of 
 Legiflature. You cannot aflert, that you took 
 on yourielves the talk of imposing Colony Taxes, 
 from the want of another legal body, that is 
 competent to the purpofe of fupplying the Exi- 
 gencies of the State without wounding the pre- 
 judices of the people. Neither is it true that 
 the body fo qualified, and having that compe- 
 tence, had neglected the duty. 
 
 2 Th
 
 [ 78 ] 
 
 The queftion now, on all this accumulated 
 matter, is; whether you will chufe to abide bv 
 a profitable experience, or a mifchievous theory ; 
 whether you chufe to build on imagination or 
 fact ; whether you prefer enjoyment or hopej 
 fatisfadion in your fubjects, or difcontent? 
 
 If thefe proportions are accepted, every thing 
 which has been made to enforce a contrary 
 fyftem, muft, I take it for granted, fall along 
 with it. On that ground, I have drawn the 
 following relblution, which, when it comes to 
 be moved, will naturally be divided in a proper 
 manner : " That it may be proper to repeal an a^t > 
 c made in the feventh year of the reign of his pre- 
 " Jent Majejly, intituled, An aft for granting cer- 
 " tain duties in the Britijh Copies and Plantations 
 " in America ; for allowing a drawback of the 
 " duties of cuftoms upon the exportation from this 
 " -Kingdom, of coffee and cocoa-nuts of the ^produce 
 of the faid Colonies or Plantations ; for dlfcon- 
 " tinuing the drawbacks payable on China ear then" 
 " 'ware exported to America ; and for more effeffiu- 
 <c ally preventmg the eland ejline running of goods in 
 " the faid Colonies and Plantations. And that it 
 " may be proper to repeal an affi, made in the four* 
 " teenth year of the reign of his prefent Majefty 9 
 * intituled, An aft to dif continue 9 in fuch manner , 
 *' and for fuch time, as are therein mentioned \ the 
 " landing and difcharging, lading or flipping^ of 
 " goods, wares, and merchandize, at the town and 
 
 " within
 
 t 79 ] 
 
 ** within the harbour of B oft on. In the Province of 
 ** MaJJachufef s Bay, in North America. And 
 " that it may be proper to repeal an aft, made in 
 " the fourteenth year of the reign of his prefent 
 " Majefty, intituled. An a ft for the impartial ad- 
 * c minijl ration of juftice, in the cafes ofperfons quef- 
 " tioned for any afts done by them, in the execution 
 " of the law, or for -the fupprejjion of riots and tu- 
 " mults, in the province 'of MaJ/achufefs Bay in 
 " New Rn gland. And that it may be proper to 
 " repeal an aft, made in the fourteenth year of the 
 " reign of his prefent Majejly, intituled, An aft for 
 " the better regulating the Government of the pro- 
 " vince of the MaJJachufei's Bay in New England. 
 " And alfo that it may be proper to explain and 
 ct amend an aft, made in the thirty -fifth year of the 
 *' reign of King Henry the ILighth, intituled, An 
 *' aft for the Trial of Treafom committed out of the 
 " King 's Dominions." 
 
 I wifh, Sir, to repeal the Bofton Pert Bill, be- 
 caufe (independently of the dangerous precedent 
 of fufpending the rights of the fubjedl during the 
 King's plcalure) it was pafled, as I apprehend, 
 with lefs regularity, and on more partial princi- 
 ples, than it ought. The corporation of Boflon 
 was not heard, before it vyas condemned. Other 
 towns, full as guilty as {he was, have not had 
 their ports blocked up. Even the Reftraining 
 Bill of the prefent SefTion does not go to the 
 length of the Bofton Port Act. The lame ideas 
 of prudence, which induced you not to extend 
 
 equal 
 
 3
 
 equal punifhment to equal guilt, even when you 
 were punifliing, induce me, who mean not to 
 chaftife, but to reconcile, to be fatisfied with the 
 punimment already partially inflicted. 
 
 Ideas of prudence, and accommodation to cir- 
 cumftances, prevent you from taking away the 
 Charters of Connecticut and Rhode -id and, as 
 you have taken away that of Mailachufet's Co- 
 lony, though the Crown has far lefs power in 
 the two former provinces than it enjoyed in the 
 latter; and though the abufes have been full as 
 great, and as flagrant, in the exempted as in the 
 punifhed. The fame reafons of prudence and 
 accommodation have weight with me in reftor- 
 ing the Charter of Mafiachufet's Bay. Befides, 
 Sir, the Act which changes the Charter of 
 Mafiachufet's is in many particulars fo exception- 
 able, that, if I did not wifh abfolutely to re- 
 peal, I would by all means deiire to alter it; 
 as feveral of its provifions tend to the fubverfion 
 of all public and private juftice. Such, among 
 Others, is the power in the Governor to change 
 the flierirF at his pleafure; and to make a new- 
 returning officer for every fpecial caufe. It is 
 fhameful to behold fuch a regulation {landing 
 among Englifh Laws. 
 
 The act for bringing perfons accufed of com- 
 mitting murder under the orders of Government 
 
 o 
 
 to England for Trial, is but temporary. That 
 has calculated the probable duration of our 
 
 quarrel
 
 [ 8, ] 
 
 quarrel with the Colonies; and is accommodated 
 to that fuppofed duration. I would haften the 
 happy moment of reconciliation ; and therefore 
 muft, on my principle, get rid of that moft juftly 
 obnoxious at. 
 
 The a&of Henry the Eighth, for the Trial of 
 Treafbns, I do not mean to take away, but to 
 confine it to its proper bounds and original inten- 
 tion ; to make it expreisly for Trial of Treafons 
 (and the greatefl Treafons may be committed) in 
 places where the jurifdi&km of the Crown does 
 not extend. 
 
 Having guarded the privileges of Local Legif- 
 lature, I would next fecure to the Colonies a fair 
 and unbiafTed Judicature; for which purpole, 
 Sir, I propofe the following refolution : f&at*, 
 " from the time when the General Affembly or 
 " General Court of any Colony or Plantation in 
 " North America, Jhall have appointed by aft of 
 " AJJembly, duly confirmed, a fettled f alary to the 
 *' offices of the Chief Juftice and other Judges of 
 " the Superior Court, it may be proper, that the 
 " fald Chief yujlice and other Judges of the Superior 
 " Courts of fuch Colony, Jhall hold his and their 
 * ' office and offices during their good behaviour ; 
 " and JJjall not be removed therejrom, but when 
 " the fald removal Jhall be adjudged by his Ma- 
 41 jcjly in Council, upon a hearing on complaint 
 " from the General AffemUy, or on a complaint 
 
 G ' "from
 
 [ 82 ] 
 
 61 from the Governor ', . or Council, or the Houfe 
 " of Representatives federally, of the Colony in 
 ',* 'which the fald Chief Jitftice and other Judges 
 " have exercifed the fald offices" 
 
 The next refolution relates to the Courts of 
 Admiralty. 
 
 It is this. " That it may be proper to regulate 
 " the Courts of Admiralty , or Vice Admiralty, au- 
 thorized by the i$th Chap, of the ^.th of George 
 " the Third \ in fuch a manner as to make the fame 
 ** more commodious to thofe who fiie, or are fucd, in 
 " the fald Courts, and to provide for the more decent 
 " maintenance of the Judges in the fame" 
 
 Thefe Courts I do not wifh to take away ; 
 they are in themfelves proper eftablimments. 
 This Court is one of the capital fecurities of 
 the Ad of Navigation. The extent of its jurif- 
 .di&ion, indeed, has been encieafed ; but this is 
 altogether as proper, and is, indeed, on many 
 accounts, more eligible, where new powers were 
 wanted, than a Court abfolutely new. But Courts 
 'incommodioufly iituated, .in effet, deny juftice ; 
 and a Court, partaking in the fruits of its own 
 condemnation, is a robber. The congrefs com- 
 plain, and complain juftly, of this grievance*. 
 
 * The Solicitor-general informed Mr. B. when the refolutions 
 \vere feparately moval, rhr.t the grievance of the judges partaking of 
 flic profits of the fei/Aire had been redrefled by office ; accordingly 
 the refolution was amended. 
 
 Thefe
 
 Thefe are the three confequential propositions. 
 I have thought of two or three more ; but they 
 come rather too near detail, and to the province 
 of executive Government, which I wi(h Parlia- 
 ment always to fuperintend, never to affume. If 
 the firft fix are granted, congruity will carry the 
 latter three. If not, the things that remain unre- 
 pealed, will be, I hope, rather unfeemly incum* 
 brances on the building, than very materially 
 detrimental to its ftrength and {lability. 
 
 Here, Sir, I mould clofe; but that I plainly 
 perceive fome objections remain, which I ought, 
 if poflible, to remove. The firft will be, that, 
 in reforting to the doctrine of our anceftors, as 
 contained in the preamble to the Chefter act, I 
 prove too much ; that the grievance from a want 
 of reprefentation, ftated in that^ preamble, goes to 
 the whole of Legiflation as well as to Taxation. 
 And that the Colonies grounding themfelves upon 
 that doctrine, will apply it to all parts of Legif- 
 tative Authority. 
 
 To this objection, with all poflible deference 
 and humility, and wifhing as little as any man 
 living to impair the fmalleft particle of our fu- 
 preme authority, I anfwer, that the words are 
 the words of Parliament, and not mine ; and, that 
 all falfe and inconclufive inferences, drawn from 
 them, are not mine ; for I heartily difclaim any 
 
 G 2 fuch.
 
 fuch inference. I have chofen the words of an 
 act of Parliament, which Mr. Grenville, furely 
 a tolerably zealous and very judicious advocate 
 for the fovereignty of Parliament, formerly moved 
 to have read at your table, in confirmation of 
 his tenets. It is true that Lord Chatham con- 
 fidered thefe preambles as declaring ftrongly in 
 favour of his opinions. He was a no lets pow- 
 erful advocate for the privileges of the Ameri- 
 cans. Ought I not from hence to prefume, that 
 thefe preambles are as favourable as poffible to 
 both, when properly understood ; favourable both 
 to the rights of Parliament, and to the privilege 
 of the dependencies of this crown ? But, Sir, the 
 object of grievance in my refolution, I have not 
 taken from the Chefter, but from the Durham 
 act, which confines the hardmip of want of 
 reprefentation, to the cafe of lubfidies ; and 
 which therefore falls in exactly with the cafe of 
 the Colonies. But whether the unrepresented 
 counties were de jure, or de fafto, bound, the 
 preambles do not accurately diftinguifh ; nor in- 
 deed was it neceflary; for, whether de jure y or 
 de fafto, the Legiflature thought the exercife 
 of the power of taxing, as of right, or as of" fact 
 without right, equally a grievance and equally 
 oppreffive. 
 
 I do not know, that the Colonies have, in any 
 general way, or in any cool hour, gone much 
 beyond the demand of immunity in relation to 
 taxes, It is not fair to judge of the temper or 
 
 difpofitions
 
 t 85 ] 
 
 difpofitions of any man, or any fet of men, 
 when they are compofed and at reft, from their 
 conduct, or their expreffions, in a ftate of diftur- 
 bance and irritation. It is beiides a very great 
 miftake to imagine, that mankind follow up 
 practically any fpeculative principle, either of 
 government or of freedom, as far as it will go 
 in argument and logical illation. We Englifh- 
 men, ftop very mort of the principles upon which 
 we fupport any given part of our conftitution ; 
 or even the whole of it together. I could eafily, 
 if I had not already tired you, give you very 
 ftriking and convincing inftances of it. This is 
 nothing but what is natural and proper. All 
 government, indeed every human benefit and en- 
 joyment, every virtue, and every prudent at, is 
 founded on compromife and barter. We balance 
 inconveniencies; we give and take; we remit 
 fome rights, that we may enjoy others ; and, we 
 chufe rather to be happy citizens, than fubtle dif- 
 putants. As we muft give away fome natural li- 
 berty, to enjoy civil advantages ; fb we muft 
 facrifice fome civil liberties, for the advantages 
 to be derived from the communion and fellowship 
 of a great empire. But in all fair dealings the 
 thing bought, muft bear fome proportion to the 
 purchafe paid. None will barter away the im- 
 mediate jewel of his foul. Though a great houfe 
 is apt to make ilaves haughty, yet it is pur- 
 chafing a part of the artificial importance of a 
 great empire too dear, to pay for it all eflential 
 
 G 3 rights,
 
 [ 86 ] 
 
 rights, and all the intrinfic dignity of humarj 
 nature. None of us who would not rifque his 
 life, rather than fall under a government purely 
 arbitrary. But, although there are fome ^mongfl 
 us who think our constitution wants many im-? 
 provements, to make it a complete fyftem of 
 liberty, perhaps none who are of that opinion, 
 would think it right to aim at fuch improve^ 
 ment, by difturbing his country, and rifquing 
 every thing that is dear to him, In every ar- 
 duous enterprize, we confider what we are to 
 lofe, as well as what we are to gain ; and the 
 more and better flake of liberty every people 
 pofTefs, the lefs they will hazard in a vain at- 
 tempt to make it more. Thefe are the cords of 
 man. Man acts from adequate motives relative 
 to his intereft ; and not on metaphyfical fpecula- 
 tions. Arijftotle, the great mafter of reafoning, 
 cautions us, and with great weight and propriety, 
 againil this fpecies of delufive geometrical accur 
 racy in moral arguments, as the moft fallacious 
 of all fophiftry. 
 
 The Americans will have no intereft contrary 
 to the grandeur and glory of England, when 
 they are not opprelled by the weight of it ; and 
 they will rather be inclined to refpect the acts 
 of a fuperintending legiflature; when they fee 
 them the acts of that power, which is itfelf the 
 fecurity, not the rival, of their fecondary im-r 
 portance. In this afliirance, my mind moft
 
 [ 8; ] 
 
 perfectly acquiefces ; and I confefs, I feel not 
 the lead alarm, from the clifcontents which are 
 to arife, from putting people at their eafe ; nor 
 do I apprehend the deftrudlian of this empire, 
 from giving, by an at of free grace and indul- 
 gence, to two millions of my fellow citizens, 
 ibme (hare of thofe rights, upon which I have 
 always been taught to value myfelf. 
 
 It is faid indeed, that this power of granting 
 vetted in American aflfemblies, would diliblve the 
 unity of the empire ; which was preferved, en- 
 tire, although Wales, and Chefter, and Durham, 
 were added to it. Truly, Mr. Speaker, I do not 
 know what this unity means; nor has it ever 
 been heard of, that I know, in the constitutional 
 policy of this country. The very idea of fubor- 
 clination of parts, excludes this notion 6f iimple 
 and undivided unity. England is the head ; but 
 fhe is not the head and the members too. Ireland 
 has ever had from the beginning a feparate, but 
 not an independent, legiflature ; which, far from 
 diftraclitng, promoted the union of the whole. 
 Every thing was fweetly and harmonionfly dif- 
 poled through both lilands for the confer vation 
 of Englifh dominion, and the communication of 
 Englifh liberties. I do not fee that the fame 
 principles might not be carried into twenty 
 Iflands, and with the fame good effect. This is 
 my model with regard to America, as far as the 
 internal circumftauces of the two countries are 
 
 G 4 the
 
 [ 88 ] 
 
 the fr.me. I know no other unity of this empire, 
 than I can draw from its example during theie 
 periods, when it feemed to my poor undeiitand- 
 ing more united than it is now, or than it is likely 
 to be by the prefent methods. 
 
 But fince I fpeak of thefe methods, I recollect, 
 Mr. Speaker, almoft too late, that I promifed, 
 before I finifhed, to fay fomething of the pro- 
 pofition of the * Noble Lord on the floor, which 
 has been fo lately received, and ftands on your 
 Journals. I muft be deeply concerned,, whenever 
 it is my misfortune to continue a difference with 
 the majority of this Houfe, But as the reafons 
 for that difference are my apology for thus trou- 
 bling you, fuffer me to flare them in a very few 
 words. I mall comprefs them into as fmall a 
 body as I poffibly can, having already debated 
 that matter at large, when the quefrlon was be- 
 fore the Committee, 
 
 Firft, then, I cannot admit that proportion 
 of a ranfom by auction ; becaufe it is a meer 
 project. It is a thing new; unheard of; fup- 
 ported by no experience ; juftified by no ana* 
 logy ; without example of our anceflors, or root 
 in the conftitution. It is neither regular par- 
 liamentary taxation, nor Colony grant. Exfe* 
 rlmentum in corf ore vili, is a good rule, which will 
 ever make me adverfe to any trial of experiments 
 
 * Lord North. 
 
 on.
 
 r 89 i 
 
 -on what is certainly the moft valuable of all fub- 
 jedts ; the peace of this Empire. 
 
 Secondly, it is an experiment which muft be 
 fatal in the end to our contention. For what is 
 it but a fcheme for taxing the Colonies in the 
 antichamber of the Noble Lord and his fuccef- 
 ibrs ? To fettle the quotas and proportions in this 
 Houfe, is clearly impoffible. You, Sir, may flat- 
 ter yourfelf, you (hall fit a ftate auctioneer with 
 your hammer in your hand, and knock down to 
 each Colony as it bids. But to fettle (on the 
 plan laid down by the Noble Lord) the true pro- 
 portional payment for four or five and twenty 
 governments, according to the abfolute and the 
 relative wealth of each, and according to the 
 Britifh proportion of wealth and burthen, is a 
 wild and chimerical notion. This new taxation 
 muft therefore come in by the back-door of the 
 conftitution. Each quota muft be brought to 
 this Houfe ready formed ; you can neither add 
 nor alter. You muft regifter it. You can do 
 nothing further. For on what grounds can you 
 deliberate either before or after the propofition ? 
 You cannot hear the counfel for all thefe Pro- 
 vinces, quarrelling each on its own quantity of 
 payment, and its proportion to others. If you 
 mould attempt it, the Committee of Provincial 
 Ways and Means, or by whatever other name it 
 will delight to be called, muft fwallow up all the 
 time of Parliament. 
 
 Thirdly,
 
 3 
 
 Thirdly, it dees not give fatisfa&ion to the 
 complaint of the Colonies. They complain, that 
 they are taxed without their eonfent ; you an- 
 fwer, that you will fix the fum at which they 
 fhall be taxed. That is, you give them the very 
 grievance for the remedy. You tell them in- 
 deed, that you will leave the mode to themfelves. 
 I really beg pardon : it gives me pain to mention 
 it ; but you muft be fenfible that you will not 
 perform this part of the compact. For, fuppofe 
 the Colonies were to lay the duties which fur- 
 nifhed their Contingent, upon the importation 
 of your manufactures ; you know you would 
 never fuffer fuch a tax to be laid. You know 
 too, that you would not fuffer many other modes 
 of taxation. So that, when you come to explain 
 yourfelf, it will be found, that you will neither 
 leave to themfelves the quantum nor the mode ; 
 nor indeed any thing. The whole is delution 
 from one end to the other. 
 
 Fourthly, this method of ranfom by auction, 
 unlefs it be univerfally accepted, will plunge you 
 into great and inextricable difficulties. In what 
 year of our Lord are the proportions of payments 
 to be fettled ? To fay nothing of the impoffibility 
 that Colony agents mould have general powers 
 of taxing the Colonies at their difcretion ; confi- 
 der, I implore you, that the communication by 
 fpecial meflages, and orders between thefe agents
 
 t 91 1 
 
 pud their conftituents on each variation of the 
 cafe, when the parties come to contend together, 
 and to difpute on their relative proportions, will 
 be a matter of delay, perplexity, and confufion, 
 that never can have an end. 
 
 If all the Colonies do not appear at the outcry, 
 what is the condition of thofe aflemblies, who 
 offer, by themfelves or their agents, to tax them- 
 lelves up to your ideas of their proportion? The 
 refractory Colonies, who refufe all competition, 
 will remain taxed only to your old impotitions; 
 which, however grievous in principle, are trifling 
 as to production, The obedient Colonies in this 
 fcheme are heavily taxed ; the refractory remain 
 unburthened. What will you do? Will you 
 lay new and heavier taxes by Parliament on the 
 difobedient ? Pray confider in what way you can 
 4o it ? You are perfectly convinced that in the 
 way of taxing, you can do nothing but at the 
 ports. Now iuppofe it is Virginia that refufes to 
 appear at your auction, while Maryland and 
 North Carolina bid haiidlbmely for their raniom, 
 and are taxed to your quota ? How will you put 
 thefe Colonies on a par? Will you tax the to- 
 fracco of Virginia? If you do, you give its death- 
 wound to your English revenue at home, and tq 
 one of the very greateft articles of your own 
 foreign trade. If you tax the import of that 
 rebellious Colony, what do you tax but your 
 pwn manufactures, or the goods of fame orhep 
 
 ybedienr,
 
 [ 9* ] 
 
 obedient, and already well -taxed Colony ? Who 
 has faid one word on this labyrinth of detail, 
 which bewilders you more and more as you enter 
 into it? Who has prefented, who can prefent 
 you, with a clue, to lead you out of it ? I think, 
 Sir, it is impoflible, that you mould not recol- 
 lect that the Colony bounds are fo implicated in 
 one another (you know it by your other experi- 
 ments in the Bill for prohibiting the New- Eng- 
 land fifhery) that you can lay no pofiible re- 
 frraints on almoft any of them which may not be 
 prefently eluded, if you do not confound the in- 
 nocent with the guilty, and burthen thofe whom 
 upon every principle, you ought to exonerate. 
 He muft be grofly ignorant of America, who 
 thinks, that, without falling into this confufion 
 of all rules of equity and policy, you can reftrain 
 any fingle Colony, efpecially Virginia and Mary- 
 land, the central, and moft important of them 
 all. 
 
 Let it alfo be confidered, that, either in the 
 prefent confufion you fettle a permanent contin- 
 gent, which will and muft be trifling ; and then 
 you have .no effectual revenue : or you change 
 the quota at every exigency ; and then on every 
 new repartition you will have a new quarrel. 
 
 Reflect befides, that when you have fixed a 
 
 j 
 
 quota for every Colony, you have not provided 
 tor prompt and punctual payment. Suppofe one, 
 
 two,
 
 [ 93 ] 
 
 two, five, ten years arrears. You cannot iflue 
 a treafury extent agaiuft the failing Colony. You 
 muft make new Bofton port bills, new reftrain- 
 ing laws, new Acls for dragging men to Eng- 
 land for trial. You muft fend out new fleets, 
 new armies. All is to begin again. From this 
 day forward the Empire is never to know an 
 hour's tranquillity. An inteftine fire will be 
 kept alive in the bowels of the Colonies, which 
 one time or other muft confume this whole em- 
 pire. I allow indeed that the empire of Ger- 
 many raifes her revenue and her troops by quotas 
 and contingents ; but the revenue of the em- 
 pire, and the army of the empire, is the word 
 revenue, and the worft army, in the world. 
 
 Inftead of a ftanding revenue, you will there- 
 fore have a perpetual quarrel. Indeed the noble 
 Lord, who propofed this project of a ranfom by 
 auction, feemed himfelf to be of that opinion. 
 His project was rather defigned for breaking the 
 union of the Colonies, than for eftabliming a Re- 
 venue. He confefled, he apprehended that his 
 propoial would not be to their tajle. I fay, this 
 fcheme of difunion feems to be at the bottom of 
 the project ; for I will not fufpet that the noble 
 Lord meant nothing but merely to delude the 
 nation by an airy phantom which he never in- 
 tended to realize. But whatever his views may 
 be ; as I propofe the peace and union of the Co- 
 lonies as the very foundation of my plan, it cannot 
 
 accord
 
 t 94 ] 
 
 accord with one whofe foundation is perpetual 
 difcord. 
 
 Compare the two. This I offer to give you is 
 plain and iimple. The other full of perplexed 
 and intricate mazes. This is mild ; that harm. 
 This is found by experience effectual for its pur- 
 pofcs ; the other is a new project. This is uni- 
 verfalj the other calculated for certain Colonies 
 only. This is immediate in its conciliatory ope- 
 ration ; the other remote, contingent, full of 
 hazard. Mine is what becomes the dignity of 
 a ruling people ; gratuitous, unconditional, and 
 not held out as matter of bargain and fale. I 
 have done my duty in propofmg it to you. I have 
 indeed tired you by a long difcourfe; but this is 
 the misfortune of thofe to whole influence no- 
 thing will be conceded, and who mufl win every 
 iueh of their ground by argument. You have 
 heard me with goodnefs. May you decide with 
 wifdom ! For my part, I feel my mind greatly 
 difburthened, by what I have done to-day. I have 
 been the lefs fearful of trying your patience, be- 
 caufeon thisfubjedl mean to fpare it altogether 
 in future. I have this comfort, that in every 
 ftage of the American affairs, I have fteadily 
 oppofed the meafures that have produced the 
 confufion, and may bring on the deftruction, of 
 this empire. I now go fo far as to rifque a pro- 
 pofal of my own. If I cannot give peace to my 
 country ; I give it to my confcience. 
 
 But
 
 [ 95 1 
 
 But what (fays the Financier) is peace to us 
 without money ? Your plan gives us no Revenue. 
 No ! But it does For it fecures to the lubject 
 the power of REFUSAL; the firft of all Reve- 
 nues. Experience is a cheat, and facl: a liar, if 
 this power in the fubject of proportioning his 
 grant, or of not granting at all, has not been 
 found the richeft mine of Revenue ever difco- 
 vered by the fkill or by the fortune of man. 
 It does not indeed vote you jf 152,750 : 1 1 : 2|ths. 
 nor any other paltry limited fum. But it gives 
 the ftrong box itfelf, the fund, the bank, from 
 whence only revenues can arife amongft a people 
 fenfible of freedom : Pojita luditur area. Cannot 
 you in England; cannot you at this time of day; 
 cannot you, an Houfe of Commons, truft to the 
 principle which has raifed fo mighty a revenue, 
 and accumulated a debt of near 140 millions in 
 this country ? Is this principle to be true in 
 England, and falfe every where elfe? Is it not 
 true in Ireland ? Has it not hitherto been true 
 in the Colonies ? Why mould you prefume that, 
 in any country, a body duly conftituted for any 
 function, vyill negleft to perform its duty, and 
 abdicate its truft ? Such a prefumption would go 
 againft all government in all modes. But, in 
 truth, this dread of penury of fupply, from a free 
 aflernbly, has no foundation in nature. For flrfl 
 obferve, that, befides the defire which all men 
 have naturally of lupporting the honour of their 
 
 own
 
 own government ; that fenfe of dignity, and that 
 fecurity to property, which ever attends free- 
 dom, has a tendency to increafe the frock of the 
 free community. Moft may be taken where 
 moft is accumulated. Aud what is the foil or 
 climate where experience has not uniformly 
 proved, that the voluntary flow of heaped-up 
 plenty, burfting from the weight of its own 
 rich luxuriance, has ever run with a more co- 
 pious ftream of revenue, than could be fqueezed 
 from the dry hufks of opprefled indigence, by the 
 {training of all the politic machinery in the 
 world. 
 
 Next we know, that parties muft ever exift 
 in a free country. We know too, that the emu- 
 lations of fuch parties, their contradictions, their 
 reciprocal neceflities, their hopes, and their fears, 
 muft fend them all in their turns to him that 
 holds the balance of the ftate. The parties are 
 the Gamefters ; but Government keeps the table, 
 and is lure to be the winner in the end. When 
 this game is played, I really think it is more to 
 be feared, that the people will be exhaufted, than 
 that Government will not be fupplied. Whereas, 
 whatever is got by a<5ts of abfolute power ill 
 obeyed, becaufe odious, or by contracts ill kept, 
 becaufe conftrained ; will be narrow, feeble, un- 
 certain, and precarious. " Eafe would retr aft vows 
 48 made in pain, as violent and void" 
 
 3 T > for
 
 t 97 ] 
 
 I, for one> proteft againft compounding our 
 demands : I declare againft compounding, for a 
 poor limited fum, the immenfe, evergrowing, 
 eternal Debt, which is due to generous Govern- 
 ment from protected Freedom. And fo may I 
 fpeed in the great object I propofe to you, as I 
 think it would not only be an act of injuftice, 
 but would be the word oeconomy in the world, 
 to compel the Colonies to a fum certain, either 
 in the way of ranfom, or in the way of com* 
 pulfory compact. 
 
 But to clear up my ideas on this fubject ^a re- 
 venue from America tranfmitted hither- do not 
 delude yourfelves you never can receive it 
 No, not a fhilling. We have experience that 
 from remote countries it is not to be expected* 
 If, when you attempted to extract revenue from 
 Bengal, you were obliged to return in loan what 
 you had taken in impofition; what can you ex- 
 pect from North America? for certainly, if eve.' 1 
 there was a country qualified to produce wealth, 
 it is India ; or an inftitution fit for the tranfmif- 
 fion, it is the Eaft-India company. America has 
 none of thefe aptitudes. If America gives you 
 taxable objects, on which you lay your duties 
 here, and gives you, at the fame time, a furplus 
 by a foreign fale of her commodities to pay the 
 duties on thefe objects which you tax at home, 
 ih has performed her part to the British revenue. 
 
 H But
 
 But with regard to her own internal eftablifli- 
 ments ; fhe may, I doubt not (he will, contribute 
 iii moderation. I fay in moderation j for fhe 
 ought not to be permitted to.exhauil: herfelf. 
 She ought to be referved to a war ; the weight 
 of which, with the enemies that we are molt 
 likely to have, mult be considerable in her quar- 
 ter of the globe. There me may ferve you, and 
 ferve you eflentially. 
 
 For that fervfcc, for all fervice, whether of 
 revenue, trade, or empire, my trull is in her 
 intereft in the Britifli conftitution. My hold of 
 the Colonies is in the clofe affection which grows 
 from common names, from kindred blood, from 
 limilar privileges, and equal protection. Thele 
 are ties, which, though light as air, are as flrong 
 a.s links of iron. Let the Colonies always keep 
 the idea of their civil rights aflbciated with your 
 Government ; they will cling and grapple to 
 you ; and no force under heaven will be of power 
 to tear them from their allegiance. But let it be 
 once underftood, that your Government may be 
 one thing, and their Privileges another; that 
 thefe two things may exift without any mutual 
 relation; the cement is gone; the cohefion is 
 loofened ; and every thing battens to decay and 
 diflblution. As long as you have the wifdom to 
 keep the fovereign authority of this country as 
 the lanctuary of liberty, the lacred temple con- 
 fecrated to our common faith, wherever the chofen 
 
 race
 
 [ 99 ] 
 
 race and Tons of England worfhip freedom, they 
 will turn their faces towards you. The more 
 they multiply, the more friends you will have; 
 the more ardently they love liberty, the more 
 perfect will be their obedience. Slavery they can 
 have any where. It is a weed that grows in every 
 foil. They may have it from Spain, they may 
 have it from Pruffia. But until you become loft 
 to all feeling of your true intereft and your na- 
 tural dignity, freedom they can have from none 
 but you. This is the commodity of price, of 
 which you have the monopoly. This is the true 
 at of navigation, which binds to you the com- 
 merce of the Colonies, and through them fecures 
 to you the wealth of the world. Deny them this 
 participation of freedom, and you break that fole 
 bond, which originally made, and muft ftill pre- 
 ferve, the unity of the empire. Do not entertain 
 fo weak an imagination, as that your regifters 
 and your bonds, your affidavits and your fuf- 
 ferances, your cockets and your clearances, are 
 what form the great fecurities of your commerce. 
 Do not dream that your letters of office, and your 
 inftructions, and your fufpending claufes, are the 
 things that hold together the great contexture of 
 this myfterious whole. Theie things do not 
 make your government. Dead inftruments, paf- 
 five tools as they are, it is the fpirit of Englifh 
 communion that gives all their life and efficacy 
 to them. It is the fpirit of the Englifh confti- 
 tution, which, infufed through the mighty mafs, 
 
 H 2 pervades,
 
 [ 100 ] 
 
 pervades, feeds, unites, invigorates, vivifies, every 
 part of the empire, even down to the minuted 
 member. 
 
 Is it not the lame virtue which does every 
 thing for us here in England ? Do you imagine 
 then, that it is the land tax atb which raifes your 
 revenue? that it is the annual vote in the com- 
 mittee of iupply, which gives you your army ? 
 or that it is the Mutiny Bill which infpires it 
 with bravery and difcipline? No! furelyno! It 
 is the love of the people ; it is their attachment 
 to their government from the fenfe of the deep 
 ftake they have in fuch a glorious inftitution, 
 which gives you your army and your navy, and 
 infufes into both that liberal obedience, without 
 which your army would be a bafe rabble, and 
 your navy nothing but rotten timber. 
 
 All this, I know well enough, will found wild 
 
 r 
 
 and chimerical to the profane herd of thofe 
 vulgar and mechanical politicians, w T ho have no 
 place among us ; a fort of people who think that 
 nothing exuls but what is grofs and material; 
 and who therefore, far from being qualified to 
 be directors of the great movement of empire, 
 are not fit to turn a wheel in the machine. But 
 to men truly initiated and rightly taught, thefe 
 ruling and mafter principles, which, in the opi- 
 nion of luch men as I have mentioned, have no 
 fubftantkl exigence, are in truth every thing, 
 
 and
 
 '[ -'oi -"I . 
 
 and all in all. Magnanimity in politicks is not 
 felclom the trued wifdom ; -and a great empire 
 and little minds go ill together. If we are cpn- 
 icious of our fituation, and glow with zeal to fill 
 our place as becomes our ftution and oil Helves, 
 we ought to aufpicate all our public proceedings 
 on America, with the old warning of the church, 
 Surfum cordal We ought to elevate our minds 
 to the greatnefs of that truft.to which the order 
 of Providence has called us. By adverting to 
 the dignity of this high calling, our anceftors 
 have turned a favage wildernefs into a glorious 
 empire; and have made the moft exteniive, and 
 the only honourable conquefts ; not by deftroy- 
 ing, but by promoting, the wealth, the number, 
 the happinefs, of the human race. Let us get 
 an American revenue as we have got an American 
 empire. Englifh privileges have made it, all that 
 it is ; Englifh privileges alone will make it all it 
 can be. 
 
 In full confidence of this unalterable truth, 
 I now (quod fclix fauji unique Jit) lay the fir ft 
 ftone of the Temple of Peace; and I move 
 you, 
 
 " That the Colonies and Plantations of Great 
 " Britain in North America, con/ifting of Fourteen 
 ' feparate governments, and containing 'Two MH- 
 " lions and upwards of free inhabitants, have not 
 '* had the liberty and privilege of 'eh -Sling and fending 
 
 H 3 " any
 
 ' any Km'gbts and Burgeffes, or others, to repre- 
 *' Jent them In the high Court of Parliament" 
 
 Upon this Refolution, the previous quefHon 
 was put, and carried; for the previous queilion 
 270, againfl it 78.
 
 As the Proportions were opened feparately In 
 the body of the Speech, the Reader perhaps may 
 wifh to fee the whole of them together, in the 
 form in which they were moved for. 
 
 MOVED, 
 
 " That the Colonies and Plantations of 
 " Great Britain in North America, confifting of 
 " Fourteen feparate Governments, and contain- 
 " ing two Millions and upwards of Free Inha- 
 " bitants, have not had the liberty and privilege 
 " of electing and fending any Knights and Bur- 
 " gefles, or others, to reprefent them in the High 
 " Court of Parliament.*' 
 
 " That the faid Colonies and Plantations have 
 " been made liable to, and bounden by, ieveral 
 " fublidies, payments, rates, and taxes, given and 
 " granted by Parliament ; though the faid Colo- 
 " nies and Plantations have not their Knights and 
 " Burgefles, in the faid High Court of Parlia- 
 ' ment, of their own election, to reprefent the 
 " condition of their country ; by lack whereof ] they 
 " have been oftentimes touched and grieved by Jub- 
 " Jidies given, granted, and ajfented to, in the faid 
 " Court, in a manner prejudicial to the common 
 " wealth, quiet nefs, rejl, and peace, of the fubjefts 
 " inhabiting within the fame?* 
 
 That,
 
 I0 4 
 
 " That, from the diftance of the faid Colonies, 
 " and from other circumftances, no method hath 
 " hitherto been devifed for procuring a Repreten- 
 *' tation in Parliament for the faid Colonies.'* 
 
 " That each of the faid Colonies hath within it- 
 " felf a Body, chofen, in part or in the whole, 
 u by the Freemen, Freeholders, or other Free 
 '* Inhabitants thereof, commonly called the Gcne- 
 " ral Afiembly, or General Court; with powers, 
 " legally to raife, levy, and afltfs, according to 
 " the feveral ufage of fuch Colonies, duties and 
 " taxes towards defraying all forts of public fer- 
 " vices*/* 
 
 " That the faid General Afiemblies, General 
 " Courts, or other bodies, legally qualified as 
 ' aforefaid, have at fundry times freelv granted 
 ** feveral large fubfidies and publi^ aids for his 
 " Majtily's iervice, according to their abilities, 
 *' when required thereto by letter from one of his 
 " Majefty's s Principal Secretaries of State ; and 
 " that their right to grant the fame, and their 
 " chearfulnefs and fufficiency in the faid grants, 
 44 have been at fundry times acknowledged by 
 " Parliament." 
 
 * The firft Four Motions and the laft had the previous queftiort 
 put on them. The others \vere negatived. 
 
 The words in halicks were, by an amendment that was carried, left 
 out of the motion; which will appear in the je::rn::h, though it Is 
 not the practice to infert fucli aincautiieuts in the Votes. 
 
 " That
 
 [ "5 ] 
 
 " That it hath been found by experience, that 
 " the manner of granting the faid fupplies and 
 " aids, by the. (aid General Affemblies, hath been 
 " more agreeable to the inhabitants of the faid 
 " Colonies, and more beneficial and conducive to 
 " the public iervice, than the mode of giving 
 " and granting aids and fubfidies in Parliament to 
 " be raifed and paid in the faid Colonies." . 
 
 " That it may be proper to repeal an aft made 
 " in the 7th year of the reign of his prefent Ma- 
 **' jefty, intituled, An Aft for granting certain 
 " duties in the Britim Colonies and Plantations in 
 " America ; for allowing a draw-'back of the du- 
 *' ties of Cuftoms, upon the exportation from this 
 <c kingdom, of coffee and cocoa-nuts, of the pro- 
 *' duce of the faid Colonies or Plantations ; for 
 <c difcontinuing the draw-backs payable on china 
 6 earthen ware exported to America ; and for 
 " more effectually preventing the clandeftine run- 
 " ning of goods in the faid Colonies and Plan- 
 " tations." 
 
 " That it may be proper to repeal an Aft, made 
 " in the Hth year of the reign of his prefent 
 " Majefty, intituled, An Aft to diicontinue, in 
 *' fuch manner, and for fuch time, as are therein 
 " mentioned, the landing and difcharging, lading 
 " or (hipping of goods, wares, and merchandize, 
 *' at. the Town, and within the Harbour, of Bofton, 
 5 in
 
 " in the province of Maflachufet's Bay, in North 
 " America." 
 
 " That it may be proper to repeal an Act made 
 " in the i4th year of the reign of his prefent 
 '* Majefty, intituled, An Aft for the impartial 
 ** adminiftration .of Juftice, in cafes of perfons 
 " queftioned for any afts done by them in the 
 " execution of the law, or for the fuppreffion 
 of riots and tumults, in the province of Mafia- 
 " chufet's Bay, in New England.*' 
 
 " That it is proper to repeal an Aft, made in 
 " the 1 4th year of the reign of his prefent Ma- 
 " jefty, intituled, An Adi for the better regu- 
 *' lating the government of the province of the 
 Maflachufet's Bay in New England." 
 
 *' That it is proper to explain and amend an Al 
 " made in the 35th year of the reign of King 
 " Henry VIII, intituled, An Acl: for the trial 
 < { of treafons committed out of the King's do- 
 44 minions." 
 
 * That, from the time when the General Af- 
 " fembly, or General Court, of any Colony or 
 " Plantation, in North America, fhall have ap- 
 " pointed, by acl: of AfTembly duly confirmed, 
 ." a fettled falary to the offices of the Chief Juftice 
 " and Judges cf the fuperior courts, it may be 
 " proper that the faid Chief Juftice and other 
 
 " Judges
 
 [ "7 3 
 
 * Judges of the fuperior Courts of fuch Colony 
 *' (hall hold his and their office and offices during 
 " their good behaviour ; and (hall not be removed 
 " therefrom, but when the faid removal (hall be 
 u adjudged by his Majefty in Council, upon a 
 " hearing on complaint from the General Aflem- 
 * c bly, or on a complaint from the Governor, or 
 " Council, or the Houfe of Reprefentatives, feve- 
 " rllay, of the Colony in which the faid Chief 
 " Juftice and other Judges have exercifed the faid 
 " office." 
 
 " That it may be proper to regulate the Courts 
 " of Admiralty, or Vice-admiralty, authorized by 
 " the 1 5th chapter of the 4th of George III, 
 " in fuch a manner, as to make the fame more 
 { commodious to thofe who fue, or are fued, in 
 " the lakl courts ; and to provide for the more 
 ** decent maintenance of the Judges of the fame" 
 
 FINIS.
 
 MR. B U R K E'S 
 
 SPEECH, 
 
 O N 
 
 MR. FOX's Eaft India Bill. 
 
 [ Price 2 s, ]
 
 MR. B U R K E'S 
 
 SPEECH, 
 
 On the ifl DECEMBER 1783, 
 
 UPON 
 
 THE QUESTION FOR THE SPEAKER S 
 LEAVING THE CHAIR, 
 
 O N 
 
 MR. FOX's Eafl India Bill. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Piloted for J. D O D S L E Y, in PALL-MALL, 
 
 M.DCC.LXXXIV.
 

 
 SPEECH* 
 
 MR. SPEAKER, 
 
 IT H A N K you for pointing to me. I really 
 wifhcd much to engage your attention in 
 f an early ftage of the debate. I have been long 
 very deeply, though perhaps ineffectually, en- 
 gaged in the preliminary enquiries, which have 
 continued without intermifiion for fome years. 
 Though I have felt, with fome degree of 
 fenfibility, the natural and inevitable impref- 
 fions of the feveral matters of fad, as they 
 have been fuccefiively difclofed, I have not at 
 any time attempted to trouble you on the merits 
 of the fubject j and very little on any of the points 
 which incidentally aroie in the courfe of our pro- 
 ceedings. But I fhould be lorry to be found to- 
 tally filent upon this day. Our enquiries are now- 
 come to their final ifiue : It is now to be deter- 
 mined whether the three years of laborious par- 
 liamentary refearch, whether the twenty years 
 
 B of
 
 of patient Indian fuffering, are to produce & 
 fubftantial reform in our Eaftern admimftra'tion ; 
 Or whether our knowledge of the grievances has 
 abated our zeal for the correction of them, and 
 whether our very enquiry into the evil was only a 
 pretext to elude the remedy which is demanded 
 from us. by humanity, byjuftice, and by every 
 principle of true policy. Depend upon it, this 
 bufinefs cannot be indifferent to our fame. It 
 will turn out a matter of great diferace or great 
 
 VJ C 
 
 glory to the whole Britifh nation. We are on 
 a confpicuous ftage, and the world marks our de- 
 meanour. 
 
 I am therefore a little concerned to perceive the 
 fpirit and temper in which the debate has been all 
 along purfued, upon one fide of thetioufe. The 
 declamation of the Gentlemen who oppofe the 
 bill has been abundant and vehement, but they 
 have been referved and even filent about the fitneis 
 or unfitnefs of the plan to attain the direct ob- 
 ject it has in view. By fome gentlemen it is 
 taken up (by way of exercife 1 prefume) as a 
 point of law on a quertion of private property, 
 and corporate franchile ; by others it is re- 
 garded as the petty intrigue of a faction at 
 court, and argued merely as it tends to let this 
 man a little higher, or that a little lower in fitua- 
 tion and power. All the void has been filled up 
 with invectives againft coalition ; with allufions 
 to the lofs of America ; with the activity and in- 
 activity of minifters. The total filence of thefe 
 gentlemen concerning the intereft and well-being 
 of the people of India, and concerning the interelt 
 which this nation has in the commerce and reve- 
 nues of that country, is a ftrong indication of the 
 vaJue which they fet upon thefe objects. 
 
 It
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 It has been a little painful to me to obferve the 
 intrufion into this important debate of fuch com* 
 pany as Quo Warranto^ and Mandamus^ and 
 Certiorari ; as if we were on a trial about mayors 
 and aldermen, and capital burgeffes ; or engaged in 
 a fuit concerning the borough of Penryn, or 
 Saltafh, or St. Ives, or St. Mawes. Gentlemen 
 have argued with as much heat and paffion, as if 
 the firft things in the world were at ftake j and 
 their topics are fuch, as belong only to matter of 
 the lowed and meaneft litigation. It is not right, 
 it is not worthy of us, in this manner to depreci- 
 ate the valuej to degrade the majefty of this grave 
 deliberation of policy and empire. 
 
 For my part, I have thought myfelf bound, 
 when a matter of this extraordinary weight came 
 before me, not to confider (as fome Gentlemen are 
 fo fond of doing) whether the bill originated from 
 a. Secretary of State for the home department, or 
 from a Secretary for the foreign ; from a minif- 
 ter of influence or a minifler of the people ; 
 from Jacob or from Efau *. I afked myfelf, and 
 I afked myfelf nothing eife, what part it was fit 
 for a member of parliament, who has fupplied a 
 mediocrity of talents by the extreme of diligence, 
 and who has thought himfelf obliged, by the re- 
 fearch of years, to wind himfelf into the inmoft 
 recefies and labyrinths of the Indian detail, what 
 part, I fay, it became fuch a member of parlia- 
 ment to take, when a minifter of ftate, in con- 
 formity to a recommendation from the throne, has 
 brought before us a fyftem for the better govern- 
 ment of the territory and commerce of the Eaft, 
 In this light, and in this only, 1 will trouble you 
 with my fentiments. 
 
 * An allufion made by Mr. Powis. 
 
 B 2 It
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 It is not only agreed but demanded, by the 
 Right Honourable gentleman *, and by thofe who 
 aft with him, that a whole fyftem ought to 
 be produced ; that it ought not to be an half 
 meafure-y that it ought to be no palliative -, but 
 a legiflative provifion, vigorous, fubftantial, and 
 effective. I believe that no man who under- 
 ftands the fubject can doubt for a moment, 
 that thofe muft be the conditions of any thing 
 deferving the name of a reform in the Indian 
 government , that any thing fhort of them 
 would not only be del n.fi vc, but, in this matter 
 which admits no medium, noxious in the ex- 
 treme. 
 
 To all the conditions propofed by his adver- 
 faries the mover of the bill perfectly agrees ; 
 and on his performance of them he reits his 
 caufe. On the other hand, not the lead objec- 
 tion has been taken, with regard to the efficiency, 
 the vigour, or the completenefs of the fcheme. 
 I am therefore warranted to afiume, as a thing 
 admitted, that the bills accomplim what both 
 fides of the Houfe demand as efiential. The end 
 is completely anfwered, fo far as the direct and 
 immediate object is concerned. 
 
 But though there are no direct, yet there are 
 various collateral objections made ; objections 
 from the efftdts, which this plan of reform for 
 Indian adminiftration may have on the privileges 
 of great public bodies in England , from its pro- 
 bable influence on the conititutional rights, or 
 on the freedom and integrity of the fcveral 
 branches of the legislature. 
 
 Mr. Pitt.
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 Before I anfwer thefe objections I muft beg 
 leave to obierve, that if we are not able to con- 
 trive fome method of governing India we/I, which 
 will n6t of neceffity become the means of govern- 
 ing Great Britain ill y a ground is laid for their 
 eternal feparation , but none for facrificing the 
 people of that country to our conftitntion. I am 
 however far from being perfuaded that any fuch in- 
 compatibility of intereit does at all exift. On the 
 contrary I am certain that every means, effectual to 
 preferve India from oppreflion, is a guard to pre- 
 ferve the Britilh confcitution from its worft cor- 
 ruption, To (hew this, I will confider the ob- 
 jections, which I think are four. 
 
 ift. That the bill is an attack on the chartered 
 
 rights of men. 
 2dly. That it increafcs the influence of the 
 
 crown. 
 
 3dly. That it does not increafe, but diminifhes, 
 the influence cf the crown, in order to pro- 
 mote the interefts of certain minifters and 
 their party. 
 4thly. Thac it deeply affects the national 
 
 credit. 
 
 As to the firft of thefe objections ; I muft ob- 
 ferve that the phrafe of " the chartered rights of 
 " men" is full of affectation ; and very unufual 
 in the difcufiion of privileges conferred by char- 
 ters of the prefent defcription. But it is not dif- 
 ficult todifcover what end that ambiguous mode 
 of expreffion, fo often reiterated, is meant to 
 anfwer. 
 
 The rights of men, that is to fay, the natural 
 rights of mankind, are indeed facred things; and 
 if any public meafure is proved milchievouily to 
 affect them, the objection ought to be fatal to that 
 
 B 3 meal u re.
 
 ,( 6 1 
 
 meafure, even if no charter at all could be fetup a- 
 gainft it. If thefe natural rights are further affirm- 
 ed and declared by exprefs covenants, if they are 
 clearly defined and fecured againft chicane, againft 
 power, and authority, by written inftrumenrs and 
 pofitive engagements, they are in a ftill better 
 condition : they partake not only of the fandity 
 of the object fo fecured, but of that folemn pub- 
 lic faith itielf, which fecures an objecl of fuch 
 importance. Indeed this formal recognition, by 
 the fovereign power, of an original right in the 
 fubjec~t, can never be fubverted, but by rooting 
 up the holding radical principles of government, 
 and even of fociety itfelf. The charters, which we 
 call by diftin&ion great, are public inftruments of 
 this nature; I mean the charters of King John 
 and King Henry the Third. The things fecured 
 by thefe inftruments may, without any deceitful 
 ambiguity, be very fitly called the chartered rights 
 tf men. 
 
 Thefe charters have made the very name of a 
 charter dear to the heart of every Englifhman 
 But, Sir, there may be, and there are charters, not 
 only different in nature, but formed on principles 
 the very reverfe of thofe of the great charter. Of 
 this kind is the charter of the Eait India Company. 
 Magna cbarta is a charter to reftrain power, and 
 to deftroy monopoly. The Eaft India charter is 
 a charter to eftablifh monopoly, and to create 
 power. Political power and commercial mono- 
 poly are not the rights of men ; and the rights to 
 them derived from charters, it is fallacious and 
 fophiftical to call " the chartered rights of men." 
 Thefe chartered rights, (to fpeak of fuch char- 
 ters and of their effects in terms of the greateft 
 
 poffible 
 2
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 pofiible moderation) do at lead fufpend the natural 
 rights of mankind at large ; and in their very 
 frame and conftitution are liable to fall into a 
 direct violation of them. 
 
 It is a charter of this latter defcription (that is to 
 fay a charter of power and monopoly) which is af- 
 fected by the bill before you. The bill, Sir, does, 
 without queftion, affect it ; it does affect it effen- 
 tially and fubftantially. But, having ftated to you 
 of what defcription the chartered rights are which 
 this bill touches, I feel no difficulty at all in acknow- 
 ledging the exiftence of thofe chartered rights, in 
 their fulleft extent. They belong to the Company 
 in the fureft manner ; and they are fecured to that 
 body by every fort of public fanction. They are 
 (lamped by the faith of the King; they are 
 ftamped by the faith of Parliament ; they have 
 been bought for money, for money honeftly and 
 fairly paid ; they have been bought for valuable 
 confideration, over and over again. 
 
 I therefore freely admit to the Eaft India Com- 
 pany their claim to exclude their fellow-fubjects 
 from the commerce of half the globe. I admit 
 their claim to adminifter an annual territorial re- 
 venue of feven millions fterling ; to command an 
 army of fixty thoufand men ; and to difpofe, (under 
 the control of a fovereign imperial difcretion, and 
 with the due obfervance of the natural and local 
 law) of the lives and fortunes of thirty millions 
 of their fellow-creatures. All this they poffefs by 
 charter and by acts of parliament, (in my opinion) 
 without a lhadow of controverly, 
 
 Thofe who carry the rights and claims of the 
 Company the furtheft do not contend for more than 
 this -, and all this I freely grant. But granting 
 all this, they muft grant to me in my turn, that 
 all political power which is fet over men, and that 
 
 B 4 all
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 all privilege claimed or exercifed in exclufion of 
 them, being wholly artificial, and for fo much, a 
 derogation from the natural equality of mankind 
 at large, ought to be fome way or other exercifed 
 ultimately for their benefit. 
 
 If this is true with regard to every fpecies of 
 political dominion, and every defcription of com- 
 mercial privilege, none of which can be ori- 
 ginal felt-derived rights, or grants for the mere 
 private benefit of the holders, then fuch rights, 
 or privileges, or whatever elfe you choofe to call 
 them, are all in the ftricteft fenie a truft ; and it 
 is of the very eflence of every truft to be ren- 
 dered accountable ; and even totally to ceafe^ when 
 it fubftantially varies from the purpofes for which 
 alone it could have a lawful exiftence. 
 
 This I conceive, Sir, to be true of trufts of 
 power vefted in the higheft hands, and of fuch as 
 leern to hold of no human creature. But about 
 the application of this principle to fubordinate 
 derivative trufts, I do not fee how a controverfy 
 can be maintained. To whom then would I 
 make the Eaft India Company accountable ? Why, 
 to Parliament to be fure ; to Parliament, from 
 whom their truft was derived; to Parliament, which 
 alone is capable of comprehending the magnitude 
 of its object, and its abufe; and alone capable of 
 an effectual legiflative remedy. The very charter, 
 which is held out to exclude Parliament irom cor- 
 recting malverfation with regard to the high truft 
 vefted in the Company, is the very thing which 
 at once gives a title and impofes a duty on us to 
 interfere with effect, wherever power and autho- 
 rity originating from ourlelves are perverted from 
 their purpofes, and become inftruments of wrong 
 and violence. 
 
 If
 
 ( 9 > 
 
 If Parliament, Sir, had nothing to do with this 
 charter, we might have Come fort of Epicurean 
 excufe to ftand aloof, indifferent fpedators of 
 what pafles in the Company's name in India and 
 in London. But if we are the very caufe of the 
 evil, we are in a fpecial manner engaged to the 
 redrefs; and for us paflively to bear with -op- 
 preflions committed under the fanftion of our 
 own authority, is in truth and reafon for thisHoufe 
 to be an active accomplice in the abufe. 
 
 That the power notorioufly, grofsly, abufed has 
 been bought from us is very certain. But this 
 circumftance, which is urged againft the bill, be- 
 comes an additional motive for our interference ; 
 left we mould be thought to have' fold the blood 
 of millions of men, for the bafe confideration of 
 money. We fold, I admit, all that we had to 
 fell ; that is our authority, not our controul. We 
 had noc a right to make a market of our duties. 
 
 I ground myfelf therefore on this princi- 
 ple that if the abufe is proved, the contract 
 is broken ; and we re-enter into all our rights ; 
 that is, into the exercife of all our duties. Our 
 own authority is indeed as much a truft origi- 
 nally, as the Company's authority is a truft deri- 
 vatively ; and it is the ufe we make of the re- 
 fumed power that muft juftify or condemn us in 
 the refumption of it. When we have perfected 
 the plan laid before us by the Right Honourable 
 mover, the world will then fee what it is we de- 
 ftroy, and what it is we create. By that teft we 
 ftand or fall; and by that teft I truft that it will 
 be found in the iflue, that we are going to fuper- 
 fede a charter abufed to the full extent of all the 
 powers which it could abufe, and exercifed in the 
 plenitude of defpotifm, tyranny, and corruption ; 
 
 and
 
 and that, in one and the fame plan, we pro- 
 vide a real chartered fecurity for the rights of men 
 cruelly violated under that charter. 
 
 This bill, and thofe connected with it, are in- 
 tended to form the Magna Charta of Hindoftan. 
 Whatever the treaty of Weftphalia is to the liberty 
 of the princes and free cities of the empire, and 
 to the three religions there profeffed Whatever 
 the great charter, the ftatute of tallage, the pe- 
 tition of right, and the declaration of right, are 
 to Great Britain, thefe bills are to the people of 
 India. Of this benefit, I am certain, their con^ 
 dition is capable; and when I know that they are 
 capable of more, my vote mail moft affuredly be 
 for our giving to the full extent of their capacity 
 of receiving ; and no charter of dominion mail 
 ftand as a bar in my way to their charter of fafety 
 and protection. 
 
 The ftrong admiffion I have rrmde of the Com- 
 pany's rights (I am confcious of it) binds me to 
 do a great deal. I do not prefume to condemn 
 thofe who argue a priori, againft the propriety of 
 leaving fuch extenfive political powers in the 
 hands of a company of merchants. I know much 
 is, and much more may be faid againft fuch a 
 fyftem. But, with my particular ideas and fen- 
 timents, I cannot go that way to work. I feel 
 an infuperable reluctance in giving my hand to 
 deftroy any eftablifhed inftitution of government, 
 upon a theory, however plaufible it may be. My 
 experience in life teaches me nothing clear upon 
 the fubject. I have known merchants with the 
 fentiments and the abilities of great ftatefmen ; 
 and I have feen perfons in the rank of ftatefmen, 
 wirh the conceptions and character of pedlars. 
 Indeed, my oblervation has furniflied me with 
 
 nothing
 
 nothing that is to be found in any habits of life or 
 education, which tends wholly to dilqualify men 
 for the functions of government, but that, by 
 which the power of exerciling thofe functions is 
 very frequently obtained, I mean, a fpirit and 
 habits of low cabal and intrigue-, which I have 
 never, in one inftance, feen united with a capa- 
 city for found and manly policy. 
 
 To juftify us in taking the adminiftration of 
 their affairs out of the hands of the Eaft India 
 Company, on my principles, I muft fee feveral 
 conditions, ift. The object affected by the abufe 
 fhould be great and important. 2d. The abufe 
 affecting this great object ought to be a great 
 abufe. gd. It ought to be habitual, and not acci- 
 dental. 4th. It ought to be utterly incurable in 
 the body as it now ftands conftituted. All this 
 ought to be made as vifible to me as the light ot 
 the fun, before I mould ftrike off an atom-of their 
 charter. A Right Honourable gentleman *has faid, 
 and faid I think but once, and that very (lightly 
 (whatever his original demand for a plan might 
 feern to require) that '* there are abufes in the 
 " Company's government." If rhat were all, the 
 fcheme of the mover of this bill, che fcheme of 
 his learned friend, and his own fcheme of refor- 
 mation (if he has any) are all equally needlefs,, 
 There are, and muft be, abufes in all govern- 
 ments. It amounts to no more than a nugatory 
 propofition. But before I confider of what nature 
 theie abufes are, of whtch the gentleman fpeaks 
 fo very lightly, permit me to recall to your recol- 
 lection the map of the country which this abufed 
 chartered right affects. This I mall do, that you 
 
 * Mr, Pitt. 
 
 may
 
 may judge whether in that map I can difcover 
 any thing like the firft of my conditions -, that 
 is, Whether the object arTefled by the abufe of 
 the Eaft India Company's power be of impor- 
 tance fufficient to juftify the meafure and means 
 of reform applied to kin this bill. 
 
 With very few, and thofe inconfiderable inter- 
 vals, the Britim dominion, either in the Company's 
 name, or in the names of princes ablblutely de- 
 pendent upon the Company, extends from the 
 mountains that feparate India from Tartary, to 
 Cape Comorin, that is, one-and- twenty degrees of 
 latitude ! 
 
 In the northern parts it is a folid mafs 
 of land, about eight hundred miles in length, 
 and four or five hundred broad. As you go 
 Southward, it becomes narrower for a fpace. It 
 afterwards dilates ; but narrower or broader, 
 you pofiefs the whole eaftern and north- eaftern 
 coaft of that vaft country, quite from the borders 
 of Pegu. Bengal, Bahar, and Orifla, with 
 Benares (now unfortunately in our immediate 
 pofieffion) meafure 161,978 fquare Englifh miles ; 
 a territory cpnfiderably larger than the whole 
 kingdom of France. Oude, with its dependent 
 provinces, is 53,286 fquare miles, not a great 
 deal lefs than England. The Carnatic, with 
 Tanjour and the Circars, is 65,948 fquare miles, 
 very confiderably larger than England ; and the 
 whole of the Company's dominion comprehending 
 Bombay and Salfette, amounts to 281,412 fquare 
 miles ; which forms a territory larger than any 
 European dominion, Ruflia and Turkey excepted. 
 Through all that vait extent of country there is 
 not a man who eats a mouthful of rice but by 
 permiffion of the Eaft India Company. 
 
 So
 
 ( '3 ) 
 
 So far with regard to the extent. The popu- 
 lation of this great empire is not eafy to be 
 calculated. When the countries, of which k 
 is compofed, came into our poffeflion, they 
 were all eminently peopled, and eminently pro- 
 ductive -, though at that time confiderably de- 
 clined from their antient profperity. But fince 
 they are come into our hands ! ! How- 
 ever if we take the period of our eftimate im- 
 mediately before the utter defolation of the Car- 
 natic, and if we allow for the havoc which our 
 government had even then made in thefe regions, 
 we cannot, in my opinion, rate the population at 
 much lefs than thirty millions of fouls , more 
 than four times the number of perfons in the 
 ifland of Great Britain. 
 
 My next enquiry to that of the number, is the 
 quality and defcription of the inhabitants. This 
 multitude of men does not confift of an abject 
 and barbarous populace; much lefs of gangs of 
 favages, like the Guaranies and Chiquitos, who 
 wander on the wafte borders of the river of 
 Amazons, or the Plate ; but a people for ages 
 civilized and cultivated , cultivated by all the 
 arts of polimed life, whilft we were yet in the 
 woods. There, have been (and ft ill the fkeletons 
 remain) princes once of great dignity, authority, 
 and opulence. There, are to be found the chiefs 
 of tribes and nations. There is to be found an 
 antient and venerable priefthood, the depofltory 
 of their laws, learning, and hiftory, the guides 
 of the people whilft living, and their confolation 
 in death ; a nobility of great antiquity and re- 
 nown i a multitude of cities, not exceeded in 
 population and trade by thofe of the firft clafs 
 in Europe ; merchants and bankers, individual 
 
 houfes
 
 houfes of whom have once vied in capital with 
 the Bank of England ; whofe credit had often 
 fupported a tottering ftate, and prelerved their 
 governments in the midft of war and defolation ; 
 millions of ingenious manufacturers and me- 
 chanicks ; millions of the moft diligent, and not 
 the leaft intelligent, tillers of the earth. Here 
 are to be found almoft all the religions profefTed 
 by men, the Bramincal, the Muflulmen, the 
 Eaftern and the Weftern Chriftians. 
 
 If I were to take the whole aggreg-'-e of our 
 pofleffions there, I (hould compare it, as the 
 neareft parallel 1 can find, with the empire of 
 Germany. Our immediate pofleffions I fhould 
 compare with the Auftrian dominions, and they 
 would not luffer in the companion. The Nabob 
 of Oude might ftand for the King of Pruflia ; 
 the Nabob of Arcot I would compare, as fu- 
 perior in territory, and equal in revenue, to the 
 Elector of Saxony. Chcyt Sing, the Rajah of 
 Benares, might well rank with the Prince of 
 Hefle at leaft ; and the Rajah of Tanjore (though 
 hardly equal in extent of dominion, fuperior 
 in revenue) to the Elector of Bavaria. The 
 Polygars and the northern Zemindars, and other 
 great chiefs, might v/ell clafs with the reft of the 
 Princes, Dukes, Counts, Marquifles, and Bifhops 
 in the empire -, all of whom I mention to ho- 
 nour, and furely without difparagement to any of 
 all of thofe moft refpectable princes and gran- 
 dees. 
 
 All this vaft mafs, compofed of fo many orders 
 and clafles of men, is again infinitely diverfified by 
 manners, by religion, by hereditary employment^ 
 through all their poffible combinations. This 
 renders the handling of India a matter in an 
 
 high
 
 liigh degree critical and delicate. But oh ! it has 
 been handled rudely indeed. Even fome of the 
 reformers feem to have forgot that they had any 
 thing to do but to regulate the tenants of a 
 manor, or the (hopkeepers of the next county 
 town. 
 
 It is an empire of this extent, of this compli- 
 cated nature, of this dignity and importance, 
 that I have compared to Germany, and the Ger- 
 man government ; not for an exact refemblance, 
 but as a fort of a middle term, by which India 
 might be approximated to our understandings, 
 and if pofiible to our feelings ; in order to awaken 
 fomething of fympathy for the unfortunate na- 
 tives, of which I am afraid we are not perfectly 
 fufceptible, whilft we look at this very remote 
 object through a falfe and cloudy medium* 
 
 My lecond condition, neceffary to juftify me in 
 touching the charter, is, Whether the Company's 
 abtife of their truft, with regard to this great ob- 
 ject, be an abufe of great atrocity. I (hall beg your 
 permifiiqn to confider their conduct in two lights ; 
 firft the political, and then the commercial. 
 Their political conduct (for diftinctnefs) I divide 
 again into two heads ; the external, in which I 
 mean to comprehend their conduct in their federal 
 capacity, as it relates to powers and ftates inde- 
 pendent, or that not long fince were fuch ; the 
 other internal, namely their conduct to the coun- 
 tries either immediately fubject to the Company, 
 or to thofe who, under the apparent government 
 of native fovereigns, are in a ftate much lower, 
 and much more miferable, than common fub- 
 jection. 
 
 The attention, Sir, which I wifh to preferve to 
 method will not be confidered as unnecefiary or 
 
 affected.
 
 ( 16 ) 
 
 arTecled. Nothing elfe can help me to felec~lion 
 out of the infinite mafs of materials which have 
 palled under my eye ; or can keep my mind fteady 
 to the great leading points I have in view. 
 
 With regard therefore to the abufe of the ex- 
 ternal federal truft, I engage myfelf to you to 
 make good thefe three petitions : Firft, I fay, 
 that from Mount Imaus, (or whatever elfe you call 
 that large range of mountains that walls the 
 northern frontier of India) where it touches us in 
 the latitude of twenty-nine, to Cape Comorin, in 
 the latitude of eight, that there is not a Jingle 
 prince, (late, or potentate, great or fmall, in In- 
 dia, with whom they have come into contact, whom 
 they have not fold. I fay fold t though fometimes 
 they have not been able to deliver according to 
 their bargain. Secondly, I fay, that there is not a 
 Jingle treaty they have ever made, which they have 
 not broken. Thirdly, I fay, that there is not a 
 fingle prince or (late, who ever put any truft in 
 the Company, who is not utterly ruined ; and 
 that none are in any degree fecure or flouriihing, 
 but in the exact proportion to their fettled diftruit 
 and irreconcileable enmity to this nation. 
 
 Thefe aflertions are univerfal. I fay in the full 
 fenfe univerfal. They regard the external and 
 political truft only -, but I fhall produce others 
 fully equivalent, in the internal. For the prefent, 
 I (hall content myfelf with explaining my mean- 
 ing j and if I am called on for proof whilft thefe 
 bills are depending (which I believe I fhall not) 
 I will put my ringer on the Appendixes to the 
 Reports, or on papers of record in the Houfe, or 
 the Committees, which I have diftinctly prefent to 
 my memory, and which I think I can lay before 
 you at half an hour's warning.
 
 ( '7 ) 
 
 The firft potentate fold by the Company for 
 money was the Great Mogul the defcendant of 
 Tamerlane. This high perfonage, as high as hu- 
 man veneration can look at, is by every account 
 amiable in his manners, refpeclable for his piety 
 according to his mode, and accomplilhed in all the 
 Oriental literature. All this, and the title derived 
 under his charter* to all that we hold in India, 
 could not fave him from the general fale. Mo- 
 ney is coined in his name; In his namejuftice is 
 adminiflered ; He is prayed for in every temple 
 through the countries we pofTefs But he was 
 fold. 
 
 It is impoffible, Mr. Speaker, not to paufe here 
 for a moment, to refiecl: on the inconftancy of 
 human greatnefs, and the ftupendous revolutions 
 that have happened in our age of wonders. 
 Could it be believed, when I entered intoexiftence, 
 or when you, a younger man, were born, that on 
 this day, in this Houfe, we fhould be employed 
 in difcufling the conduct of thofe Britifh fubjefts 
 who had difpofed of the power and perfon of the 
 Grand Mogul ? This is no idle fpeculation. 
 Awful leffons are taught by it, and by other 
 events, of which it is not yet too late to profit. 
 
 This is hardly a digrefllon , but I return to the 
 fale of the Mogul. Two diftricts, Corah and 
 Allahabad, out of his immenie grants, were re- 
 ferved as a royal demefne to the donor of a 
 kingdom, and the rightful fovereign of fo many 
 nations. After withholding the tribute of 
 ,. 26o,cooa year, which the Company was, by the 
 charter they had received from this prince, under 
 the mod folemn obligation to pay, thefe diftri&s 
 were fold to his chief minifter Sujah ul Dowlah ; 
 and, what may appear to fome-the worft part of 
 
 C the
 
 the tranfaction, thefe two districts were fold for 
 icarcely two years purchafe. The defendant of 
 Tamerlane now (lands in need almoft of the com- 
 mon necefiariesof life-, and in this fuuauon we do 
 not even allow him, as bounty, the imalleft portion 
 of what we owe him in juftice. 
 
 The next fale was that of the whole nation of 
 the Rohillas, which the grand falefman, without a 
 pretence of quarrel, and contrary to his own de- 
 clared fenfe of duty and rectitude, fold to the 
 fame Sujah ul Dowlah. He fold the people to 
 utter extirpation^ for the fum of four hundred 
 thoufand pounds. Fahhfully was the bargain per- 
 formed upon oar fide. Hafiz Rhamet, the moft 
 eminent of their chiefs, one of the braveft men of 
 his time, and as famous throughout the Eaft for 
 the elegance of his literature, and the fpirit of his 
 poetical compofuions (by which he fupported the 
 name of Hafiz) as for his courage, was invaded 
 with an army of an hundred thoufand men, and 
 an Engliih brigade. This man, at the head of 
 inferior forces, was (lain valiantly fighting for his 
 country. His head was cut ofF, and delivered for 
 money to a barbarian. His wife and children, 
 perfons of that rank, were feen begging an handful 
 of rice through the Englifh camp. The whole 
 nation, with inconfiderable exceptions, was flaugh- 
 tered 01 banifhed. The country was laid wafte with. 
 fire ana fword ; and that lar.d diftinguifhed above 
 moft others, by the chearful face of paternal 
 government and protected labour, the choien feat 
 of cultivation and plenty, is now almoft through- 
 out a dreary defart, covered with ruihes and 
 briars, and jungles full of wild be.ifts. 
 
 The Britifh officer who commanded in the 
 delivery of the people thus fold, felt fome 
 
 -compunction
 
 compunction at his employment. He reprefented 
 thefe enormous excefles to the proficient of Ben- 
 gal, for which he received a fevere reprimand 
 from the civil governor ; and I much doubt 
 whether the breach caufed by the conflict, between 
 the companion of the military and the firmnefs of 
 the civil governor, be clofed at this hour. 
 
 In Bengal, Seraja Dowla was fold to Mir Jaffier; 
 Mir Jaffier was fold to Mir Coffim; and Mir Cof- 
 fim was fold to Mir Jaffier again. The fuccefiion 
 to Mir Jaffier was fold to his eldeft fon ; another 
 fon of Mir Jaffier, Mobarech ul Dowla, was fold 
 to his flep- mother The Maratta empire was fold 
 to Ragoba , and Ragoba was fold and delivered 
 to the Peifhwa of the Marattas. Both Ragoba 
 and the Peifhwa of the Marattas were offered to 
 fale to the Rajah of Berar. Scindia, the chief of 
 Malva, was offered to fale to the fame Rajah ; 
 and the Subah of the Decan was fold to the great 
 trader Mahomet Ali, Nabob of Arcot. To the 
 fame Nabob of Arcot they fold Hyder Ali and 
 the kingdom of Myfore. To Mahomet Ali they 
 twice fold the kingdom of Tanjore. To the 
 fame Mahomet Ali they fold at leaft twelve fove- 
 reign princes, called the Polygars. But to keep 
 things even, the territory of Tinnivelly, belong- 
 ing to their Nabob, they would have fold to the 
 Dutch ; and to conclude the account of fales, 
 their great cuftomer, the Nabob of Arcot himfelf, 
 and his lawful fucceflion, has been fold to his 
 fecond fon, Amir ul Omrah, whofe character, 
 views, and conduct, are in the accounts upon 
 your table. It remains with you whether they 
 ihall finally perfect this laft bargain. 
 
 All thefe bargains and fales were regularly at- 
 tended with the wafte and havoc of the country, 
 always by the buyer, and fometimes by the 
 C 2
 
 ( 20 ) 
 
 object of the Tale. This was explained to you by 
 the Honourable mover, when he rtated the mode 
 of paying debts due from the country powers to 
 the Company. An Honourable gentleman, who is 
 not now in his place, objected to his jumping 
 near two thoufand miles for an example. But 
 the fouthern example is perfectly applicable 
 to the northern claim, as the northern is to the 
 fouthern i for, throughout the whole fpace of 
 thefe two thoufand miles, take your Hand where 
 you will, the proceeding is perfectly uniform, and 
 what is done in one part will apply exactly to the 
 other. 
 
 My fecond affertion is, that the Company never 
 has made a treaty which they have not broken. 
 This pofidon is fo connected with that of the falcs 
 of provinces and kingdoms, with the negotiation 
 of univerfal diffraction in every part of India, that 
 a very minute detail may well be fpared on this 
 point. It has not yet been contended, by any 
 enemy to the reform, that they have obferved 
 any public agreement. When I hear that they 
 have done fo in any one inftance (which hitherto, 
 I confefs, I never heard alledged) I (hall fpeak to 
 the particular treaty. The governor general has 
 even amufed himfelf and the Court of Directors 
 in a very fingular letter to that board, in which he 
 admits he has not been very delicate with regard 
 to public faith ; and he goes fo far as to (late a 
 regular eftimate of the fums which the Company 
 would have loft, or- never acquired, if the rigid 
 ideas of public faith entertained by his colleagues 
 had been obferved. * The learned gentleman over 
 againft me has indeed faved me much trouble, 
 On a former occafion he obtained no fmall credit, 
 for the clear and forcible manner in which he 
 
 * Mr. Dundas, Lord Advocate of Scotland. 
 
 ftated
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
 tlated what we have not forgot, and I hope he 
 has not forgot, that univerfal fyftematic breach 
 of treaties which had made the Britifh faith pro- 
 verbial in the Eaft. 
 
 It only remains, Sir, for me juft to recapitu- 
 late fome heads. The treaty with the Mogul, 
 by which we ftipulated to pay him . 260,000 
 annually, was broken. This treaty they have 
 broken, and not paid him a (hilling. They 
 broke their treaty with him, in which they fti- 
 pulated to pay .400,000 a year to the Soubah 
 of Bengal. They agreed with the Mogul, for 
 fervices admitted to have been performed, to pay 
 Nudjif Cavvn a penfion. They broke this ar- 
 ticle with the reft, and (lopped alfo this fmall 
 penfion. They broke their treaties with the 
 Nizam, and with Hyder Ali. As to the Ma- 
 rattas, they had fo many crofs treaties with the 
 States General of that nation, and with each of 
 the chiefs, that it was notorious, that no one of 
 thefe agreements could be kept without grofsly 
 violating the reft. It was obferved, that if the 
 terms of thefe feveral treaties had been kept, 
 two Britifli armies would at one and the fame 
 time have met in the field to cut each other's 
 throats. The wars which defolate India, origi- 
 nated from a moft atrocious violation of public 
 faith on our part. In the midft of profound 
 peace, the Company's troops invaded the Ma- 
 ratta territories, and furprifed the ifland and 
 fortrefs of Saliette. The Maratras neverthelefs 
 yielded to a treaty of peace, by which folid ad- 
 vantages were procured to the Company. But 
 this treaty, like every other treaty, was foon 
 violated by the Company. Again the Com- 
 pany invad-d the Maratta dominions. The 
 difoiter that tnfued gave occafion to a new 
 C 3 treaty.
 
 ( 22 ) 
 
 treaty. The whole army of the Company 
 was obliged, in effecl:, to furrender to this 
 injured, betrayed, and infulted people. Juftly 
 irritated however, as they were, the terms which 
 they prefcribed were reafonable and moderate ; 
 and their treatment of their captive invaders, of 
 the moft diftinguifhed humanity. But the hu- 
 manity of the Marattas was of no power what- 
 foever to prevail on the Company to attend 
 to the obfervance of the terms dictated by 
 their moderation. The war was renewed with 
 greater vigour than ever; and fuch was their in- 
 iatiable luft of plunder, that they never would 
 have given ear to any terms of peace, if Hyder 
 Ali had not broke through the Gauts, and rufhing 
 like a torrent into the Carnadc, fwept away ever} 7 
 thing in his career. This was in confequence of 
 that confederacy, which by a fort of miracle united 
 the moft difcordant powers for our deftruction, 
 as a nation in which no other could put any truft, 
 and who were the declared enemies of the human 
 fpecies. 
 
 It is very remarkable, that the late coutroverfy 
 between the fcveral prefidencies, and between 
 them and the Court of Directors, with relation to 
 thefe wars and treaties, has not been, which of 
 the parties might be defended for his fhare in 
 them ; but on which of the parties the guilt of 
 all this load of perfidy (hould be fixed. But I am 
 content to admit all thefe proceedings to be per- 
 fectly regular, to be full of honour and good 
 faith ; and wim to fix your attention foldy to that 
 fmgle tranfaction which the advocates of this fyf- 
 tem lelect for fo t* anfcendant a merit as to cancel 
 the guilt of all the reft of their proceedings ; I 
 mean the late treaties with the Marattas. 
 
 1 make no obiervation on the total cefiion of 
 
 territory,
 
 territory, by which they furrendered all they had 
 obtained by their unhappy fuccefTes in war, and' 
 almoft all that they had obtained under the treaty 
 of Poorunder. The reftitution was proper, if it had 
 been volunrary and leafonable. I attach on the fpi- 
 rit of the treaty, the difpofitions it mewed, the 
 provifions it made for a general peace, and the 
 faith kept with allies and confederates; in order that 
 the Houie may form a judgment, from this chofen 
 piece, of the ufe which has been made (and is 
 likely to be made, if things continue in the fame 
 hands) of the truft of the federal powers of this 
 country. 
 
 It was the wifh of almoft: every Englilhman, 
 that the Maratta peace might lead to a ge- 
 neral one ; becaufe the fv.iaratta war was 
 only a part of a general confederacy formed 
 againft us on account of the univerfal ab- 
 horrence of our conduct which prevailed in 
 every (late and almoft in every houfe in 
 India. Mr. Haftings was obliged to pretend 
 fome fort of acquiefcence in this general and ra- 
 tional defire. He therefore confenred, in order to 
 fatisfy the point of honour of the Marattas, that 
 an article mould be inferred to admit Hyder 
 Ali to accede to the pacification. But obferve, 
 Sir, the fpirit or this man (which if it were not 
 made manifest by a thotifand things, and parti- 
 cularly by his proceedings with regard to Lord 
 Macartney) would be fufficiently manifeft by 
 this What fort of article think you does he re- 
 quire this effential head of a folemn treaty of ge- 
 jieral pacification to be ? In his inltrucirion to 
 Mr. Anderfon, he delires him to admit " a vague 
 " article" in favour of Hyder. Evafion and 
 fraud were the declared bafis of the treaty. Thefe 
 'vague articles, intended for a more vague per- 
 C 4 tormance,
 
 ( 24 ) 
 
 formancc, are the things which have damned our 
 reputation in India. 
 
 Hardly was this vague article inferted, than, 
 without waiting for any aft on the part of Hyder, 
 Mr. Haftings enters into a negociation with the 
 Maratta Chief, Scindia, for a partition of the ter- 
 ritories of the prince who was one of the objects 
 to be iecured by the treaty. He was to be par- 
 celled out in three parts one to Scindia ; one to 
 the Peifhwa of the Marattas ; and the third to 
 the Eaft India Company, or to (the old dealer 
 and chapman) Mahomet Ali. 
 
 During the formation of this project, Hyder 
 dies ; and before his fon could take any one ftep, 
 either to conform to the tenour of the article, or 
 to contravene it, the treaty of partition is renewed 
 on the old footing, and an inftruction is fent to 
 Mr. Anderfon to conclude it in form. 
 
 A circumftance intervened, during the pen- 
 dency of this negociation, to fet off the good faith 
 of the Company with an additional brilliancy, 
 and to make it fparkle and glow with a variety 
 of fplendid faces. General Matthews had re- 
 duced that moil valuable part of Hyder's do- 
 minions called the Country of Biddenore. When 
 the news reached Mr. Haftings he inftrucled 
 Mr. Anderfon to contend for an alteration in the 
 treaty of partition, and to take the Biddenore 
 country out of the common (lock which was 
 to be divided, and to keep it for the Com- 
 pany. 
 
 The firfl ground for this variation was its 
 being a feparaie conquell made before the treary 
 had actually taken place. Here was a new proof 
 given of the fairnefs. equity, and moderation, of 
 the Company. But the fecond of Mr. Haftings's 
 reafons for retaining the Biddenore as a ieparate 
 
 portion,
 
 ( 25 ) 
 
 portion, and his conduct on that fecond ground, 
 is ftill more remarkable. He aflferted that that 
 country could not be put into the partition ftock, 
 becaufe General Matthews had received it on the 
 terms of fome convention, which might be in- 
 compatible with the partition propofed. This 
 was a reafon in itfelf both honourable and folid ; 
 and it mewed a regard to faith fomewhere, and 
 with ibme perfons. But in order to demonftrate 
 his utter contempt of the plighted faith which 
 was alledged on one part as a reafon for de- 
 parting from it on another, and to prove his im- 
 petuous defire for fowing a new war, even in the 
 prepared foil of a general pacification, he directs 
 Mr. Anderfon, if he mould find ftrong difficul- 
 ties impeding the partition, on the fcore of the 
 fubtraction of Biddenore, wholly to abandon that 
 claim, and to conclude the treaty on the original 
 terms. General Matthews's convention was juft 
 brought forward fufficiently to demonftrate to 
 the Marattas the flippery hold which they had on 
 their new confederate; on the other hand that con- 
 vention being inftantly abandoned, the people of 
 India were taught, that no terms on which they 
 can furrender to the Company are to be re- 
 garded, when farther conquefts are in view. 
 
 Next, Sir, let me bring before you the pious 
 care that was taken of our allies under that treaty 
 which is the fubjeft of the Company's applaufes. 
 Thefe allies were Ragonaut Row, for whom we 
 had engaged to find a throne , the Guickwar, 
 (one of the Guzerat princes) who was to be eman- 
 cipated from the Maratta authority, and to grow 
 great by feveral acccffions of dominion ; and laftly, 
 the Rana of Gohud, with whom we had entered 
 into a treaty of partition for eleven llxteenths of 
 our joint conquefts. Some of thefe ineftimable 
 
 fee unties,
 
 ( 26 ) 
 
 fecurities, called vague articles, were inferted in 
 favour of them all. 
 
 As to the firft, the unhappy abdicated Pemwa, 
 and pretender to the Maratta throne, Ragonaut 
 Row, was delivered up to his people, with an 
 article for fafety, and (bme provifion. This man, 
 knowing how little vague the hatred of his 
 countrymen was towards him, and well apprifed 
 of what black crimes he flood accufed (among 
 which our invafion of his country would not ap- 
 pear the leaft) took a mortal alarm at the fccurity we 
 had provided for him. He was thunderftruck at 
 the article in his favour, by which he was furren- 
 dered to his enemies. He never had the leaft 
 notice of the treaty j and it was apprehended than 
 he would fly to the protection of Hyc.er Ali, or 
 ibmc other, dilpofed or able to protect him. He 
 was therefore not left without comfort -, for Mr. 
 Anderfon- did him the favour to fend a fpecial 
 rnefTenger, defiring him to be of good cheer and 
 to fear nothing. And his old enemy, Scindia, at 
 our requeft, lent him a meffage equally well cal- 
 culated to quiet his apprehen lions. 
 
 By the fame treaty the Guickwar was to come 
 again, with no better fecurity, under the dominion 
 of the Maratta ftate. As to the Rana of Gohud, 
 a long negotiation depended for giving him up. 
 At firft this was refufed bv Mr. Hafting-s with 
 
 J O 
 
 great indignation ; at another ftage it was ad- 
 mitted as proper, becaufe he had fhewn himfclf a 
 moft perfidious perfon. But at length a method 
 of reconciling thefe extremes was found out, by 
 contriving one of the ufual articles in his favour. 
 What I believe will appear beyond all belief, Mr. 
 Anderfon exchanged the final ratifications of that 
 treaty by which the Rana was nominally fecured 
 in his poflefllons, in the camp of the Maratta 
 
 chief,
 
 chief, Scindia, whilft he was (really, and not 
 nominally) battering the caftle of Gualior, which 
 we had given, agreeably to treaty, to this der 
 luded ally. Scindia had already reduced the 
 town; and was at the very time, by various detach- 
 ments, reducing, one after another, the fortretiesof 
 our protected ally, as well as in the aft of chaftifing 
 all the Rajahs who had afiifted Colonel Cama<^ in 
 his invafion. I havefeen in a letter from Calcutta, 
 that the Rana of Gohud's agent would have re- 
 prefented thefe hoftilities (which went hand in 
 hand with the protecting treaty) to Mr. Haftings ; 
 but he was not admitted to his prefence. 
 
 In this manner the Company has acted with 
 their allies in the Maratta war. But they did 
 not reft here : the Marattas were fearful left the 
 perfons delivered to them by that treaty fhould 
 attempt to efcape into the Britifh territories, and 
 thus might elude the punimment intended for 
 them, and by reclaiming the treaty, might ftir 
 up new difturbances. To prevent this, they de- 
 fired an article to be inferted in the fupplemental 
 treaty, to which they had the ready confent of 
 Mr. Haftings and the reft of the Company's 
 reprefentatives in Bengal. It was this, " That 
 " the Englifh and Maratta governments mutual- 
 " ly agree not to afford refuge to any chiefs* 
 " merchants, or other -perfons, flying for protec- 
 *' tion to the territories of the other." This 
 was readily afTented to, and aflented to without, 
 any exception whatever, in favour of our fur- 
 rendered allies. On their part a reciprocity was 
 ftipulated which was not unnatural for a govern* 
 ment like the Company's to afk -, a government, 
 confcious that many lubjects had been, and would 
 in future, be driven to fly from its jurifdiction. 
 
 To complete the fyilem of pacific intention
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
 and public faith, which predominate in thefe trea- 
 ties, Mr. Haftings fairly refolved to put all 
 peace, except on the terms of abfolute con- 
 quell, wholly out of his own power. For, by an 
 article in this fecond treaty with Scindia, he binds 
 the Company not to make any peace with Tippoo 
 Saheb, without the confent of the Peifnwa of 
 the Marattas ; and binds Scindia to him by a reci- 
 procal engagement. The treaty between France 
 and England obliges us mutually to withdraw our 
 forces, if our allies in India do not accede to the 
 peace within four months; Mr. Haftings's treaty 
 obliges us to continue the war as long as the 
 Peifhwa thinks fit. We are now in that happy 
 iltuation, that the breach of the treaty with France, 
 or the violation of that with the Marattas, is 
 inevitable ; and we have only to take our 
 choice. 
 
 My third afimicn, relative to the abufe madfe 
 of the right of war and peace is, that there are 
 none who have ever confided in us who have 
 not been utterly ruined. The examples I have 
 given of Ragonaut Row, of Guickwar, of the 
 Ranah of Gohud, are recent. There is proof more 
 than enough in the condition of the Mcmul i in 
 
 < i ^j * 
 
 the flavery and indigence of the Nabob of Oude ; 
 the exile of the Rajah of Benares ; the beggary of 
 the Nabob of Bengal ; the undone and captive 
 condition of the Rajah and kingdom of Tanjour ; 
 the deftru&ion of the Polygars -, and hifrly, in the 
 deftru&ion of the Nabob of Arcot himlelf, who 
 when his dominions were invaded was found en- 
 tirely deilitute of troops, provifions, (lores, and 
 (as he afferts) of money, being a million in debt 
 to the Company, and four millions to others : the 
 many millions which he had extorted from fo 
 many extirpated princes and their dcfolated coun- 
 tries
 
 tries having (as he has frequently hinted) been ex- 
 pended for the ground-rent of his manfion-houfc 
 in an alley in the fuburbs of Madras. Compare 
 the condition of all thefe princes with the power 
 and authority of all the Maratta' ftates ; with the 
 independence and dignity of the Sou bah of the De- 
 can ; and the mighty itrength, the refources, and the 
 manly ftruggle of Hyder AH; and then the Houfe 
 will difcover the effects, on every power in India, 
 of an eafy confidence, or of a rooted diftruft in 
 the faith of the Company. 
 
 Thefe are fon-.e of my reafons, grounded on the 
 abufe of the external political truft of that body, 
 for thinking myfelf not only juftified but bound, 
 to deckre againft thofe chartered rights which 
 produce fo many wrongs. I (hould deem myfelf 
 the wickedeft of men, if any vote of mine could 
 contribute to the continuance of fo great an evil. 
 
 Now, Sir, according to the plan I propofed, I 
 ihall take notice of the Company's internal go- 
 vernment, as it is cxercifed firft on the dependent 
 provinces, and then as it afocts thofe under the 
 direct and immediate authority of that body. 
 And here, Sir, before Tenter into the fpirit of 
 their interior government, permit me to obferve to 
 you, upon a few of the many lines of difference 
 which are to be found between the vices of the 
 Company's government, and thofe of the con- 
 querors who preceded us in India ; that we may 
 be enabled a little the better to fee our way in an 
 attempt to the neceflkry reformation. 
 
 The feveral irruptions of Arabs, Tartars, and 
 Perfians, into India were, for the greater part, 
 ferocious, bloody, and wafteful in the extreme: 
 our entrance into the dominion of that country 
 was, as generally, with fmall comparative effufion 
 of blood ; being introduced by various frauds 
 I and
 
 ( 30 ) 
 
 and delufions; and by taking advantage of the 
 incurable, blind, and fenfelefs animofity, which 
 the feveral country powers bear towards each other, 
 rather than by open force. But the difference in 
 favour of the firft conquerors is this; the Afiatic 
 conquerors very foon abated of their ferocity, be- 
 caufe they made the conquered country their 
 own. They role or fell with the rife or fall of 
 the territory they lived in. Fathers there de- 
 pofited the hopes of their pofterity ; and chil- 
 dren there beheld the monuments of their fathers. 
 Here their lot was finally caft ; and it is the natu- 
 ral wifh of all, that their lot mould not be caft in 
 a bad land. Poverty, flerility, and delegation, are 
 not a recreating proipecl: to the eye of man ; and 
 there are very few who can bear to grow old 
 among the curfes of a whole people. If their 
 paffion or their avarice drove the Tartar lords to 
 acts of rapacity or tyranny, there was time enough, 
 even in the fhort life of man, to bring round the 
 ill effects of an abufe of power upon the power 
 itfelf. If hoards wert made by yiolence and ty- 
 ranny, they were ftill domeftic hoards ; and do- 
 meftic profufion, or the rapine of a more powerful 
 and prodigal hand, reftored them to the people. 
 "With many diforders, and with few political 
 checks upon power, Nature had ftill fair play ; 
 the fources of acquifition were not dried up ; and 
 therefore the trade, the manufactures, and the com- 
 merce of the country flourifhed. Even avarice 
 and ufury itfelf operated, both for the preftrvation 
 and the employment of national wealth. The 
 hulbandman and manufacturer paid heavy intereft, 
 but then they augmented the fund from whence 
 they were again to borrow. Their refources were 
 dearly bought, but they were fure ; and the gene- 
 ral ftock, of the community grew by the general 
 effort. 
 
 7 But
 
 But under the Englilh government all this or- 
 der is reverfed. The Tartar invafion was mif- 
 chievous ; but it is our protection that deftroys. 
 India. It was their enmity, but it is our friend- 
 Ihip. Our conqueft there, after twenty years, is 
 as crude as it was the firft day. The natives 
 fcarcely know what it is to fee the grey head of 
 an Englimman. Young men (boys almoft) go- 
 vern there, without fociety, and without fympathy 
 with the natives. They have no more focial ha- 
 bits with the people, than if they ftill refided in 
 England , nor indeed any fpecies of intercourfe 
 but that which is neceflary to making a fudden 
 fortune, with a view to a remote fettlement. 
 Animated with all the avarice of age, and all the 
 impetuofity of youth, they roll in one after ano- 
 ther ; wave after wave , and there is nothing be- 
 fore the eyes of the natives but an endlefs, hope- 
 leTs profpeft of new flights of birds of prey and 
 paffage, with appetites continually renewing for .a 
 food that is continually wafting. Every rupee 
 of profit made by an Englishman is loft for ever 
 to India. With us are no retributory fuperfti- 
 tions, by which a foundation of charity compen- 
 fates, through ages, to the poor, for the rapine and 
 injuftice of a day. With us no pride ereds 
 {lately monuments which repair the mifchiefs 
 which pride had produced, and which adorn a 
 country out of its own fpoils. England has 
 erected no churches, no hofpitals*, no palaces, no 
 fchools j England has built no bridges, made no 
 high roads, cut no navigations, dug out no 
 refervoirs. Every other conqueror of every other 
 deicription has left fome monument, either of Hate 
 
 The paltry foundation at Calcutta is fcarcely worth 
 /saming as an exception. 
 
 or
 
 ( 3* ) 
 
 or beneficence, behind him. Were we to be 
 driven out of India this day, nothing would 
 remain, to tell that it had been pofieffcd, during 
 the inglorious period of our dominion, by any 
 thing better than the ouran-outang or the tiger. 
 
 There is nothing in the boys we fend to India 
 worfe than the boys whom we are whipping at 
 fchool, or that we fee trailing a pike, or bending 
 over a defk at home, But as Englifh youth 
 in India drink the intoxicating draught of au- 
 thority and dominion before their heads are able 
 to bear it, and as they are full grown in fortune 
 long before they are ripe in principle, neither 
 nature nor reafon have any opportunity to ex- 
 ert themfelves for remedy of the excefles of 
 their premature power. The confequences of 
 their conduct, which in good minds, (and many 
 of theirs are probably fuch) might produce 
 penitence or amendment, are unable to purfue 
 the rapidity of their flight. Their prey is lodged 
 in England ; and the cries of India are given to 
 leas and winds, to be blown about, in every break- 
 ing up of the monfoon, over a remote and un- 
 hearing ocean. In India all the vices operate by 
 which fudden fortune is acquired , in England 
 are often difplayed, by the fame perfons, the vir- 
 tues which difpenfe hereditary wealth. Arrived 
 in England, the deftroyers of the nobility and 
 gentry of a whole kingdom will find the beft 
 company in this nation, at a board of elegance and 
 hofpitality. Here the manufacturer and huf- 
 bandman will blefs the juft and punctual hand, 
 that in India has torn the cloth from the loom, or 
 wrefted the fcanty portion of rice and fait from 
 the peafant of Bengal, or wrung from him the 
 very opium in which he forgot his oppreifions and 
 his oppreflbr. They marry into your families ; 
 
 they
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 they enter into your fenate-, they eafe your eftates 
 by loans ; they raife their value by demand 5 
 they cherifh and protect your relations which lie 
 heavy on your patronage j and there is fcarcely 
 an houfe in the kingdom that does not feel Come 
 concern and intereft that makes all reform of 
 our eaftern government appear officious and dif- 
 gufting ; and, on the whole, a mod difcouraging 
 attempt. In fuch an attempt you hurt thofe who 
 are able to return kindnefs or to refent injury. 
 If you fucceed, you fave thofe who cannot fo much 
 as give you thanks. All thefe things fhew the 
 difficulty of the work we have on hand : but they 
 (hew its neceflity too. Our Indian government 
 is in its beft Itate a grievance. It is necefTary 
 that the correctives fhould be uncommonly vi- 
 gorous ; and the work of men fanguine, warm, 
 and even impaffioned in the caufe. 'But it is an 
 arduous thing to plead againft abufes of a power 
 which originates from your own country, and 
 affects thofe whom we are ufed to confider as 
 ftrangers. 
 
 I mall certainly endeavour to modulate myfelf 
 to this temper ; though I am fenfible that a cold 
 ftyle of deicribing actions which appear to me in 
 a very affecting light, is equally contrary to the 
 juftice due to the people, and to all genuine hu- 
 man feelings about them. I afk pardon of truth 
 and nature for this compliance. But I {hall be very 
 fparing of epithets either to perfons or things. It 
 has been faid (and, with regard to one of them, 
 with truth) that Tacitus and Machiavcl, by their 
 cold way of relating enormous crimes, have in. 
 fome fort appeared not to difapprove them > 
 that they feem a fore of profeflbrs of the art of 
 tyranny, and that they corrupt the minds of their 
 readers by not exprefilng the deteilation and 
 horror that naturally belong to horrible and 
 
 D deteftabte
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 cleteftable proceedings. But we ace in -ge- 
 neral, Sir, fo little acquainted with Indian de- 
 tails -, the inftruments of opprefiion under which 
 the people fuffer are fo hard to be underflood ; 
 and even the very names of the fufferers are 
 fo uncouth and ftrange to our ears, that it is 
 very difficult for our fympathy to fix upon thefe 
 objects. 1 am fure that fome of us have come 
 down flairs from the committee-room, with im- 
 preffions on our minds, which to us were the 
 inevitable refults of our difcoveries, yet if we 
 fhould venture to exprefs ourfelves in the proper 
 language of our fentiments,, to other gentlemen 
 not at all prepared to enter into the caufe of 
 them, nothing could appear more harfh and dif- 
 fonant, more violent and unaccountable, than our 
 language and behaviour. All thefe circumftances 
 are not, I ionfefs, very favourable to the idea 
 of our attempting to govern India at all. But 
 there we are ; there we are placed by the Sove- 
 reign Difpofer : and we muft do the beft we can in 
 our fituation. The fituation of man is the pre- 
 ceptor of his duty. 
 
 Upon the plan which I laid down, and to which 
 I beg leave to return, I was confidering the con- 
 duct of the Company to thofe nations which are 
 indirectly fubject to their authority. The moft 
 confiderable of the dependent princes is the 
 Nabob of Oude. * My Right Honourable friend, 
 to whom we owe the remedial bills on your table, 
 has already pointed out to you, in one of the Re- 
 ports, the condition of that prince, and as it flood 
 in the time he alluded to. I fhall only add a few 
 circumftances that may tend to awaken fome 
 fcnfe of the manner in which the condition of the 
 people is affected by that of the prince, and 
 
 * Mr. Fox. 
 
 involved
 
 involved in it ; and to fliew yon, that when we talk 
 of the fufferings of princes, we do not lament the 
 oppreflion of individuals $ and that in thefe cafes 
 the high and the low fuffer together. 
 
 In the year 1779 the Nabob of Oude repre- 
 fented, through the Britifli refident at his court, 
 that the number of Company's troops ftationed 
 in his dominions was a main caufe of his diftrefs 5 
 and that all thofe which he was not bound by 
 treaty to maintain fhould be withdrawn, as thejr 
 had greatly diminiihed his revenue, and impove- 
 lifhed his country. I will read you, if you plcafe, 
 a few extracts from thefe reprefentations. 
 
 He dates " that the country and cultivation 
 " are abandoned; and this year in particular, from 
 " the excefiive drought of the feafon, deductions 
 '* of many lacks having been allowed to the far- 
 " mers, who are ftill left unfatisfied /* and then 
 he proceeds with a long detail of his own diftrefs, 
 and that of his family, and all his dependants; 
 and adds, * that the new-raifed brigade is not only 
 " quite ufelefs to my government, but is more- 
 " over the caufe of much lofs, both in revenues and 
 { cuftoms. The detached body of troops under 
 " European officers bring nothing but confujion to 
 " the affairs of my government, and are entirely 
 " their own tnajiers." Mr. Middleton, Mr. Haf- 
 tings's confidential Refident, vouches for the truth 
 of this reprefentation in its fulleft extent. " I 
 * am concerned to confefs, that there is too good 
 ' ground for this plea. The misfortune has been 
 "general throughout the whole of the Vizier's [the 
 ** Nabob of Oude] dominions, obvious to every 
 " body; and fo fatal have been its confequences, 
 " that no perfon, of either credit or character, 
 " would enter into engagements with government 
 
 62 " fo/
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 " for farming the country." He then proceeds 
 to give ftrong inftances of the general calamity, 
 and its effects. 
 
 It was now to be feen what fteps the governor 
 general and council took for the relief of this 
 diftrefied country, long labouring under the vexa- 
 tions of men, and now ftricken by the hand of 
 God. The cafe of a general famine is known to 
 relax the feverity even of the moft rigorous go- 
 vernment. Mr. Haftings does not deny, or fbew 
 the leaft doubt of the fact. The reprefentation is 
 humble, and almoft abject. On this reprefentation 
 from a great prince, of the diftrefs of his fubjects, 
 Mr. Haftings falls into a violent paffion j fuch as 
 (it feems) would be unjuftifiabie in any one who 
 (peaks of any part of his conduct. He declares 
 ** that the demands^ the tone in which they were af- 
 " ierted, and thefeafon in which they were made, are 
 " all equally alarming, and appear to him to require 
 " an adequate degree of firmnefs in this board, in 
 " oppofition to them." He proceeds to deal out 
 very unreferved language, on the perfon and 
 character of the Nabob and his minifters. He de- 
 clares, that in a divifion between him and the 
 Nabob, " the ftrcngeft muft decide" With regard 
 to the urgent and inftant necefilty, from the 
 failure of the crops, he fays, " that perhaps ex- 
 *' pedients may be found for affording a gradual 
 " relief from the burthen of which he fo heavily 
 " complains, and it mall be my endeavour to 
 " feek them out :" and, left he fhould be fuf- 
 pected of too much hafte to alleviate fufferings, 
 and to remove violence, he fays, " that thefe 
 " muft be gradually applied, and their complete 
 may be diflant ; and this I conceive is all 
 
 This 
 
 " he can claim of right.'
 
 ( 37 > 
 
 This complete effect of his lenity is diftant 
 indeed. Rejecting this demand (as he calls the 
 Nabob's abject fupplication) he attributes it, as 
 he ufually does all things of the kind, to the di- 
 vifion in their government; and fays, " this is a 
 " powerful motive with me (however inclined I 
 f * might be, upon any other occafion, to yield to fome 
 " part of his demand) to give them an abfolute 
 " and unconditional refufal upon the prefent ; and 
 " even to bring to punijhment^ if my influence can 
 '* produce that effefl) thofe incendiaries who have 
 " endeavoured to make tbemfelves the inftruments 
 " of divi/ion between us" 
 
 Here, Sir, is much heat and pafiion ; but no 
 more confideration of the diftrefs of the country, 
 from a failure of the means of fubfiftence, and (if 
 poffible) the worfe evil of an ufelefs and licentious 
 Ibldiery, than if they were the moft contemptible 
 of all trifles, A letter is written in confequence, 
 in fuch a ftyle of lofty defpotifm, as I believe has 
 hitherto been unexampled and unheard of in the 
 records of the Eaft. The troops were continued. 
 The gradual relief, whole effect was to be fo dif- 
 tant^ has never been fubftantially and beneficially 
 applied and the country is ruined. 
 
 Mr. Haftings, two years after, when it was 
 too late, faw the abfolute neceffity of a re- 
 moval of the intolerable grievance of this licen- 
 tious foldiery, which, under a pretence of defend- 
 ing it, held the country under military execution. 
 A new treaty and arrangement, according to the 
 
 4 O O 
 
 pleafure of Mr. Haftings, took place ; and this 
 new treaty was broken in the old manner, in every 
 eflfential article. The foldiery were again fent, 
 and again let loofe. The effect of all his ma- 
 noeuvres, from which it feems he was fanguine 
 
 D 3 enough
 
 ( 38 ) 
 
 enough to entertain hopes, upon the flare of the 
 country, he himfelf informs us, " the event has 
 " proved the reverfe of thefe hopes, and accumu- 
 cc fatten of diftrefiy dcbafement, and diffatisfaftion 
 " to the Nabob, and disappointment and difgrace 
 *' to mt. Every meafure [which he had himfelf 
 propofed] has been fo conduced as to give him 
 " caufe of difpleafure -, there are no officers efta- 
 " blifhed by which his affairs could be regularly 
 ** conducted; mean, incapable, and indigent men 
 " have been appointed. A number of the dif- 
 '* tricts without authority, and without the means 
 " of perfonal protection ; fome of them have 
 " been murdered by the Zemindars, and thofe 
 " Zemindars, inftead of punifhmenr, have been 
 < permitted to retain their Zemindaries, with in- 
 " dependent authority ; all the other Zemindars 
 * fuffered to rife up in rebellion, and to infult 
 " the authority of the Sircar, without any at- 
 ct tempt made to fupprefs them ; and the Com- 
 " pany's debt, inftead of being difcharged by the 
 " alignments and extraordinary fources of money 
 " provided for that purpofe, is likely to exceed 
 " even the amount at which it flood at the time 
 " in which the arrangement with his Excellency 
 *< was concluded" The Houfe will fmile at the 
 refource on which the Directors take credit as fucli 
 a certainty in their curious account. 
 
 This is Mr. Haftings's own narrative of the 
 effects of his own fettlement. This is tire (late of 
 the country which we have been told is in perfect 
 peace and order ; and, whar is curious, he informs 
 us, that every part of this was foretold to him in the 
 order and manner in which it happentd^ at the very 
 time he made his arrangement of men and mea- 
 fures. 
 
 The
 
 The invariable courfe of the Company's policy 
 is this: Either they fet up fome prince too 
 odious to maintain himlelf without the neceffity 
 of their affiftance ; or they foon render him odious, 
 by making him the inftrument of their govern- 
 ment. In that cafe troops are bountifully fent to 
 him to maintain his authority. That he (hould 
 have no want of afllftance, a civil gentleman, 
 called a Refidenr, is kept at his court, who, un- 
 der pretence of providing duly for the pay of 
 thefe troops, gets alignments on the revenue into 
 his hands. Under his provident management, 
 debts foon accumulate j new alignments arc made 
 for thefe debts ; until, ftep by ftep, the whole re- 
 venue, and with it the whole power of the coun- 
 try, is delivered into his hands. The military do 
 not behold without a virtuous emulation the mo- 
 derate gains of the civil department. They feel 
 that, in a country driven to habitual rebellion by 
 the civil government, the military is necefTary ; 
 and they will not permit their fervices to go unre- 
 warded. Tracts of country are delivered over to 
 their difcretion. Then it is found proper to 
 convert their commanding officers into farmers of 
 revenue. Thus, between the well paid civil, and 
 well rewarded military eftablifhment, the fituation 
 of the natives may be eafily conjectured. The 
 authority of the regular and lawful government 
 is every where and in every point extinguilhed. 
 Diforders and violences arife - t they are reprefled 
 by other diforders and other violences. Wherever 
 the collectors of the revenue, and the farming 
 colonels and majors move, ruin is about them, 
 rebellion before and behind them. The people in 
 crowds fly out of the country j and the frontier is 
 guarded by lines of troops, not to exclude an 
 D 4 enemy,
 
 40 ) 
 
 enemy, but to prevent the efcape of the inha- 
 bitants. 
 
 By thefe means, in the courfe of not more than 
 four or five years, this once opulent and flourifh- 
 ing country, which, by the accounts given in the 
 Bengal conlultations ? yielded more than three crore 
 of Sicca rupees, that is, above three millions iler- 
 ling, annually, is reduced, as far as 1 can difcover, 
 in a matter purpofely involved in the utmoft per- 
 plexity, to lefs than one million three hundred 
 thoufand pounds, and that exacted by every mode 
 of rigour that can be deviled. To complete 
 the bufinefs, moft of the wretched remnants of 
 this revenue are mortgaged, and delivered into the 
 hands of the ufurers at Benares (for there alone 
 are to be found fome lingerino; remains of the an- 
 
 O O * 
 
 cient wealth of thefe regions) at an intercft of near 
 thirty per cent, per annum. 
 
 The revenues in this manner failing, they 
 feized upon the eftates of every perfon of emi- 
 nence in the country, and, under the name of 
 refumption-t confifcared their property. I wifli, 
 Sir, to be underftood univerlally and literally, 
 yvhen I afftrt, that there is not left one man of 
 property ancl lubftance for his rank, in the whole 
 of thefe provinces, m provinces which are nearly 
 the extent of England and Wales taken together. 
 Not one landholder, not one banker, not one 
 merchant, not on^ even of thofe who ufually periPn 
 laft, the ultimum moriens in a ruined ftate, no 9r.e 
 farmer of revenue. 
 
 One country for a while remained 3 which Hood 
 as an ifland in the 'mid ft of the grand wafte 
 of the Company's dominion. My Right Honour- 
 able friend/ in his admirable fpeech on moving 
 the bill, juft touched the fituation, the offences, 
 and the punifnment, of a native prince, called 
 
 FizulU
 
 ( 4i ) 
 
 Fizulla Khan. This man, by policy and force, 
 had protected himfelf from the general extirpa- 
 tion of the Rohilla chiefs. He was fecured (if 
 that were any fecurity) by a treaty. It was ftated 
 to you, as it was ftated by the enemies of that 
 unfortunate man -" that the whole of his country 
 " is what the whole country of the Rohillas was, 
 " cultivated like a garden, without one neglected 
 fpot in it." Another accufer fays, " Fyzoolah 
 " Khan though a bad foldier [that is the true 
 fl fource of his misfortune] has approved himfelf a 
 ' good aumil ; having, it is fuppofed, in the courfe 
 " of a few years, at leaft doubled the population, 
 " and revenue of his country." In another part 
 of the correfpondence he is charged with making 
 his country an aiylum for the opprefled peafants, 
 who fly from the territories of Oude. The im- 
 provement of his revenue, arifing from this fingle 
 crime, (which Mr. Mailings confiders as tanta- 
 mount to treafon) is ftated at an hundred and 
 fifty thoufand pounds a year. 
 
 Dr. Swift fomewhere lays, that he who could 
 make two blades of grafs grow where but one 
 grew before, was a greater benefactor to the 
 human race than all the politicians that ever 
 exiftcd. This prince, who would have been dei- 
 fied by antiquity, who would have been ranked 
 with Ofiris, and Bacchus, and Ceres, and the 
 divinities moft propitious to men, was, for thofe 
 very merits, by name attacked by the Company's 
 government, as a cheat, a robber, a traitor. In 
 the fame breath in which he was accufed as a 
 rebel, he was ordered at once to furnifh 5,000 
 horfe. On delay, or (according to the technical 
 phrafe, when any remonftrance is made to them) 
 *' on cvafion" he was declared a violator of trea- 
 fies, and every thing he had was to be taken from 
 
 him.
 
 C 42 ) 
 
 him. Not one word, however, of horfe in this 
 treaty. 
 
 The territory of this FizullaKhan, Mr. Speaker, 
 is lefs than the county of Norfolk. It is an in- 
 land country, full feven hundred miles from any 
 iea port, and not diftinguifhed for any one con- 
 fiderable branch of manufacture whatfoever. From 
 this territory a punctual payment was made to 
 the Britifh Refident of . 150,000 fterling a year. 
 The demand of cavalry, without a fhadow or de- 
 cent pretext of right, amounted to three hundred 
 thoufand a year more, at the lowed computation ; 
 and it is ftated, by the laft perfon lent to negotiate, 
 as a demand of little ufe, if it could be complied 
 with , but that the compliance was impoffible, as 
 it amounted to more than his territories could 
 fupply, if there had been no other demand upon 
 
 him four hundred and fifty thoufand pounds 
 
 a year from an inland country not lo large as 
 Norfolk ! 
 
 The thing moft extraordinary was to hear the 
 culprit defend himfelf from the imputation of his 
 virtues, as if they had been the blacked offences. 
 He extenuated the fuperior cultivation of his 
 country. He denied its population. He endea- 
 voured to prove that he had often fent back the 
 poor peafant that fought fheher with him. I can 
 make no obfervation on this. 
 
 After a variety of extortions and vexations, too 
 fatiguing to you, too difgufting to me, to go 
 through with, they found " that they ought to be 
 * l in a better date to warrant forcible means ;" 
 they therefore contented themfelves with a grofs 
 fum of 150,000 pounds, for their prefent demand. 
 They offered him indeed an indemnity from their 
 
 exactions
 
 C 43 ) 
 
 exactions in future, for three hundred thoufand 
 pounds more. But he refnfed to buy their fecu- 
 rities ; pleading (probably with truth) his poverty : 
 but if the plea were not founded, in my opinion 
 very wifely ; not choofing to deal any more in that 
 dangerous commodity of the Company's faith , 
 and thinking it better to oppofe diftrefs and un- 
 armed obltinacy to uncoloured exaction, than to 
 fubject himfelf to be confidered as a cheat, if he 
 fhould make a treaty in the lead beneficial to him- 
 felf. Thus they executed an exemplary punifhment 
 on Fizulla Khan for the culture of his country. 
 But, confcious that the prevention of evils is the 
 great object of all good regulation, they deprived 
 him of the means of encreafing that criminal cul- 
 tivation in future, by exhaufting his coffers-, and, 
 that the population of his country mould no 
 more be a {landing reproach and libel on the 
 Company's government, they bound him, by a 
 pofitive engagement, not to afford any Ihelter 
 vvhatfoever to the farmers and labourers who 
 fliould feek refuge in his territories, from the 
 exactions of the Britifh Refidents in Oude. When 
 they had done all this effectually, they gave him 
 a full and complete acquittance from all charges 
 of rebellion, or of any intention to rebel, or of his 
 having originally had any intereft in, or any 
 means of rebellion. 
 
 Thefe intended rebellions are one of the Com- 
 pany's ftanding refources. When money has 
 been thought to be heaped up any where, its 
 owners are univerfally accufed of rebellion, until 
 they are acquitted of their money and their trea- 
 fons at once. The money once taken, all accu- 
 fation, trial, and punifhment ends. It is fo 
 fettled a refource, that I rather wonder how it 
 comes to be omitted in the Directors account ; 
 
 but
 
 C 44 ) 
 
 but I take it for granted this omifiion will be 
 fupplied in their next edition. The Company 
 ftretched this refource to the full extent, when 
 they accufed two old women, in the reir.oceft 
 corner of India (who could have no pofllble view 
 or motive to raiie difturbances) of being engaged 
 in rebellion, with an intent to drive out the 
 Englifh nation in whofe protection, purchafed by 
 money and fecured by treaty, reflred the fole hope 
 of their exiftence. But the Company wanted 
 money, and the old women muft be guilty of a 
 plot. They were accufed of rebellion, and they 
 were convicted of wealth. Twice had great fums 
 been extorted from them, and as often had the 
 Britifh faith guaranteed the remainder. A body 
 of Britiflj troops, with one of the military farmers 
 general at their head, was fent to feize upon the 
 caftlc in which thefe helplefs women refided. 
 Their chief eunuchs, who were their agents, their 
 guardians, protectors, perfons of high rank ac- 
 cording to the Eaitern manners and of great 
 truft, were thrown into dungeons, to make them 
 difcover their hidden trealures ; and there they lie 
 at prefent. The lands affigned for the main- 
 tenance of the women were feized and confif- 
 cated. Their jewels and effects were taken, and 
 fet up to a pretended auction in an obfcurc place, 
 and bought at fuch a price as the gentlemen 
 thought proper to give. No account has ever 
 been tranfmitted of the articles or produce of 
 this fale. What money was obtained is un- 
 known, or what terms were flipulated for the 
 maintenance of thefe defpoiied and forlorn crea- 
 tures-, for by fome particulars it appears as if an 
 engagement of the kind was made. 
 
 Let me here remark, once for all, that though 
 
 ti*
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
 the act of 1773 requires that an account of all 
 proceedings fliould be diligently tranfmitted, thac 
 this, like all the other injunctions of the law, is 
 totally defpifed ; and that half at lead of the moll 
 important papers are intentionally withheld. 
 
 I wifli you, Sir, to advert particularly, in this 
 tranfaction, to the quality and the numbers of 
 the perfons fpoiled, and the inftrument by whom 
 that fpoil was made. Thefe ancient matrons 
 called the Begums or Princefies, were of the 
 firft birth and quality in India, the one mother, 
 the other wife, of the late Nabob of Oude, Sujah 
 Dowlah, a prince poflefTed of extenfive and flou- 
 rifhing dominions, and the lecond man in the 
 Mogul empire. This prince (fufpicious, and noc 
 unjuftly fufpicious, of his fon and fucceflbr) at 
 his death committed his treafures and his fa- 
 mily to the Britilh faith. That family and 
 ho u (hold, confifted of two thoufand women ; 
 to which were added two other feraglios of 
 near kindred, and faid to be extremely nu- 
 merous, and (as I am well informed) of about 
 fourfcore of the Nabob's children, with all the 
 eunuchs, the ancient fervants, and a multitude 
 of the dependants of his Iplendid court. Thefe 
 were all to be provided, for preient maintenance 
 and future eftablifhment, from the lands affigned 
 as dower, and from the treafures which he left 
 to thefe matrons, in truft for the whole family. 
 
 So far as to the objects of the fpoil. The 
 inftrument chofen by Mr. Haftings to defpoil 
 ihe relict of Sujah Dowlah was her oixn fon, 
 the reigning Nabob of Oude. It was the pious 
 hand of a fon that was felefted to tear from his 
 mother and grandmother the provifion of their 
 age, the maintenance of his brethren, and of 
 
 all
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 all the ancient houfehold of his father. [Here 
 a laugh from ibme young members] The 
 laugh is feafonable, and the occafion decent and 
 proper. 
 
 By the laft advices fomething of the fum ex- 
 torted remained unpaid. The women in de- 
 fpair refufe to deliver more, unlefs their lands 
 are reftored and their minifters releafed from 
 prifon : but Mr. Haftings and his council, fteady 
 to their point, and confident to the laft in their 
 conduct, write to the Refident to ftimulate 
 the fon to accomplifli the filial acts he had 
 brought fo near to their perfe&ion, " We 
 " defire," fay they in their letter to the Refident 
 (written fo late as March laft) " that you will 
 " inform us if any, and what means, have been 
 " taken for recovering the balance due from 
 *' the Begum [Princefs] at Fizabad -, and that, 
 " if necefTary, you recommend it to the Vizier to 
 *' enforce the moft effeftual means for that pur- 
 " pofe." 
 
 What their effectual means of enforcing de- 
 mands on women of high rar.k and condition 
 are, I (hall fhew you, Sir, in a few minutes ; 
 when I reprefent to you another of thefe plots 
 and rebellions, which always, in India, though fo 
 rarely any where elfe, are the offspring of an eafy 
 condition, and hoarded riches. 
 
 Benares is the capital city of the Indian reli- 
 gion. It is regarded as holy by a particular and 
 diftinguilhed fanctity ; and the Gentus in general 
 think themfelves as much obliged to vifit it once 
 in their lives as the Mahometans to perform their 
 pilgrimage to Mecca. By this means that city 
 grew great in commerce and opulence ; and fo 
 effectually was it fecured by the pious veneration 
 
 of
 
 of that people, that in all wars and in all violences 
 of power, there was ib fure an afylum, both for 
 poverty and wealth, (as it were under a divine 
 protection) that the wifeft laws and beft aflfured 
 free constitution could not better provide for the 
 relief of the one, or the fafcty of the other ; and 
 this tranquillity influenced to the greateft degree 
 the profperity of all the country, and the terri- 
 tory of which it was the capital. The intereft of 
 money there was not more than half the ufual rate 
 in which it ftood in all other places. The reports 
 have fully informed you of the means and of the 
 terms in which this city and the territory called 
 Gazipour, of which it was the head, came under 
 the fovereignty of the Eaft India Company. 
 
 If ever there was a fubordinate dominion plea- 
 fantly circumftanced to the fuperior power, it was 
 this , a large rent or tribute, to the amount of two 
 hundred and fixty thoufand pounds a year, was 
 paid in monthly inftalments with the punctuality 
 of a dividend at the Bank. If ever there was a 
 prince who could not have an intereft in difturb- 
 ances, it was its fovereign, the Rajah Cheit Sing. 
 He was in pofTefiTion of the capital of his religion, 
 and a willing revenue was paid by the devout 
 people who refortcd to him from all parts. His 
 fovereignty and his independence, except his tri- 
 bute, was fecured by every tie. His territory was 
 not much lefs than half of Ireland, and difplaycd 
 in all parts a degree of cultivation, eafe, and plenty, 
 under his frugal and paternal management, which 
 left him nothing to defire, either tor honour or 
 fatisfadftion. 
 
 This was the light in which this countty ap- 
 peared to almoft every eye. But Mr. Haft ings 
 beheld it afkance. Mr. liaftings tells us that it 
 i was
 
 ( 48 ) 
 
 Was reported of this Cheit Sing, that his father lefs 
 him a million fterling, and that he made annual 
 accefiions to the hoard. Nothing could be fo ob- 
 noxious to indigent power. So much wealth 
 tould not be innocent. The Houfe is fully ac- 
 quainted with the .unfounded and unjuft requifi- 
 tions which were made upon this prince. The 
 queftion has been moft ably and conclufively 
 cleared up in one of the Reports of the Select Com- 
 mittee, and in an anfwer of the Court of Directors 
 to an extraordinary publication againft them by 
 their fervant, Mr. Haftings. But I mean to pats 
 by thefe exactions, as if they were perfectly juft 
 and regular ; and, having admitted them, I 
 take what I mall now trouble you with, only as it 
 ferves 10 (hew the fpirit of the Company's govern- 
 ment, the mode in which it is carried on, and the 
 maxims on which it proceeds. 
 
 Mr. Haftings, from whom I take the doctrine, 
 endeavours to prove that Cheit Sing was no fo- 
 vereign prince-, but a mere Zemindar or common 
 fubjet, holding land by rent. If this be granted 
 to him, it is next to be feen under what terms he 
 is of opinion fuch a land-holder, that is a Britiflt 
 fubject, holds his life and property under the 
 Company's government. It is proper to under- 
 ftand well the doctrines of the peribn whofe ad- 
 miniftration has lately received iuch diftinguifhed 
 approbation from the Company. His doctrine is 
 " that the Company, or theperfott delegated by it, 
 *' holds an abfolute authority over fuch Zemindars ; 
 ** that he [fuch a fubject] owes an implicit and 
 " unreferved obedience to its authority, at the 
 *' forfeiture even of his life and property, at the 
 " DISCRETION of thofe who held or fully reprefented 
 *' the fovereign authority -, and that tbcfe rights 
 * are///y delegated to him Mr. Haftings." 
 
 Suck
 
 t 49 ) 
 
 feuch is a Britifh governor's idea of the condi- 
 tion of a great Zemindar holding under a Britifh 
 authority; and this kind of authority he fuppofes 
 fully delegated to him , though no inch delegation 
 appears in any commiflion, inftrudtion, or act of 
 parliament. At his difcreiicn he may demand, of 
 the fubftance of any Zemindar over and above 
 his rent or tribute, even what he pleafes, with a 
 fovereign authority , and if he does not yield an 
 'implicit unfeferved obedience to all his commands, 
 he forfeits his lands, his life, and his property, 
 at Mr. Haftings's difcretion. But, extravagant 
 and even frantic as thefe pofitions appear, they 
 are lefs fo than what I mall now read to you ; 
 for he afierts, that if any one mould urge an, 
 exemption from more than a dated payment, 
 or mould confider the deeds, which pafied be- 
 tween him and the board, " as bearing the quality 
 *' and force of a treafy between equal dates," he 
 lays, ** that Inch an opinion is itfclf criminal to the 
 * l (late of which he is a fubjcct ; and that he was 
 " himfelf amenable to its judice, if he gave conn- 
 " tenance to fuch a belief." Here is a new fpecies 
 of crime invented, that of countenancing a be- 
 lief but a belief of what ? A belief of that 
 which the Court of Directors, Haftings's maf- 
 ters, and a Committee of this Houfe, have de- 
 cided as this prince's indifputable right, 
 
 But fuppofing the Rajah of Benares to be a 
 mere fubjecl:, and that fubjecl a criminal of the 
 higheft form ; let us fee what courfc was taken by 
 an upright Englifh magiftrate. Did he cite this 
 culprit before his tribunal ? Did he make a 
 charge ? Did he produce witnefies ? Thefe are 
 not forms ; they are parts of fubftantial and 
 eternal juilice. No, not a word of all this. Mr. 
 Haftings concludes him, in his own mind, to be 
 
 E guilty ^
 
 guilty; he. makes this conclufion on reports, ort 
 hear-fays, on appearances, on rumours, on con- 
 jectures, on prerumptions ; and even thefe never 
 once hinted to the party, nor publicly to any hu- 
 man being, till the whole bufmefs was done. 
 
 But the governor tells you his motive for this 
 extraordinary proceeding, fo contrary to every 
 mode of juftice towards either a prince or a fubject, 
 fairly and without difguife ; and he puts into your 
 hands the key of his whole conduct : *' I will 
 ** fuppofe, for a moment, that I have acted with 
 <c unwarrantable rigour towards Cheit Sing, and 
 cc even with injuftice. Let my MOTIVE be con- 
 " fulted. I left Calcutta, imprefied with a belief 
 '* that extraordinary means were neceflary, and 
 " fhofe exerted with zfteady hand, to prefer ve the 
 4c Company's interefts from Jinking under the ac- 
 " cumulated -weight which ogprejjed them. I faw a 
 " political necejjity for cubing the overgrown 
 " power of a great member of their dominion, 
 tc and for making it contribute to the relief of their 
 " prejjing exigencies" This is plain ipeaking-, 
 after this, it is no wonder that the Rajah's wealth 
 and his offence, the nectffities of the judge, and 
 the opulence of the delinquent, are never fepa-. 
 rated, through the whole of Mr. Haftings's apolo- 
 gy. " The juftice and policy of exacting a large 
 " pecuniary mulft" The refolution " to draw front 
 " bis guilt the means of relief to the Company's 
 " dijlrejfes" His determination * to make him pay 
 " largely for his pardon, or to execute a fevers 
 " vengeance for pad delinquency." That " as his 
 ** wealth was great, and the Company's exigencies 
 44 preffing, he thought it a meafure of juftice and 
 " policy to exact from him a large pecuniary mulct: 
 44 for tbeir relief ." " The fum (fays Mr. Wheler y 
 bearing evidence, at his defire, to his intentions) 
 
 " to
 
 C 5i ) 
 
 ** to which the governor declared his refolution 
 " to extend his fine; was forty or fifty lacks, that is 
 " four or five hundred tboufand pounds \ and that if 
 " he refuled, he was to be removed from his ze- 
 " mindary entirely ; or by taking pofieffion of his 
 ** forts, to obtain, oat of the treafure depofited in 
 ** them^ the above fum for the Company." 
 
 Crimes fo convenient, crimes fo politic, crimes 
 fo necefiary, crimes fo alleviating of diftrefs, can 
 never be wanting to thofe who ufe no procefs, and 
 who produce no proofs. 
 
 But there is another ferious part (what is not 
 fo?) in this affair. Let us fuppofe that the power, 
 for which Mr. Haftings contends, a power which 
 no fovereign ever did, or ever can vcft in any of 
 his fubjects, namely, his own fovereign authority, 
 to be conveyed by the act of parliament to any 
 man or body of men whatfoever ; it certainly was 
 never given to Mr. Haftings. The powers given 
 by the act of 1773 were formal and official ; they 
 were given, not to the governor general, but to 
 the major vote of the board, as a board, on dif- 
 cuflion amongft themfelves, in their public cha- 
 racter and capacity ; and their acts in that charac- 
 ter and capacity were to be afcertained by re- 
 cords and minutes of council. The defpotic acts 
 exercifed by Mr. Haftings were done merely in his 
 private character ; and, if they had been moderate 
 and juft, would ftill be the acts of an ufurped au- 
 thority, and without any one of the legal modes of 
 proceeding which could give him competence 
 for the moft trivial exertion cf power. There was 
 no proportion or deliberation whatfoever in coun- 
 cil, no minute on record, by circulation or other- 
 wife, to authorize his proceedings. No delega- 
 tion of power to impofe a fine,. or co take any ftep 
 2 to
 
 C 5* ) 
 
 to deprive the Rajah of Benares of his government 
 his property, or his liberty. The minutes of 
 confutation aHign to his journey a totally dif- 
 ferent object, duty, and deftination. Mr. Whe- 
 ler, at his defire, tells us long after, that he 
 had a confidential converfation with him on various 
 fubje&s, of which this was the principal, irt which 
 Mr. Haftings notified to him his fecret intentions \ 
 * and that he befpoke his fuppo-rt of the meafcres 
 ** which he intended to purfue towards him (the 
 * c Rajah.)" This confidential difcourfe, and be- 
 fpeaking of fupport, could give him no power, in 
 oppofition to an exprefs acl of parliament, and the 
 whole tenor of the orders of the Court of Di- 
 reftors. 
 
 In what manner the powers thus ufurped were 
 employed, is known to the whole world. All the 
 Houfe knows, that the defign on the Rajah proved 
 as unfruitful as it was violent. The unhappy 
 prince was expelled, and his more unhappy coun- 
 try was enflaved and ruined; "but not a rupee 
 was acquired. Inftead of treafure to recruit the 
 Company's finances, wafted by their wanton wars 
 and corrupt jobbs, they were plunged into a 
 new war, which (hook their power in India to 
 its foundation , and, to ufe the governor's own 
 happy fimile, might have diflblved it like a magic 
 ftructure, if the talifman had been broken. 
 
 But the fuccefs is no part of my confideration 1 , 
 who mould think juft the fame of this bufinefs, 
 if the fpoil of one Rajah had been fully acquired, 
 and faithfully applied to the deftru&ion of twenty 
 other Rajahs. Not only the arreft of the Rajah in 
 his palace was unneceflary and unwarrantable, and 
 calculated to ftir up any manly blood which re- 
 mained in his fubjeds j but the despotic ftyle, 
 
 and
 
 and the extreme infolence of language and 
 demeanour., ufed to a perfon of great condition 
 among the politeft people in the world, was in- 
 tolerable. Nothing aggravates tyranny fo much 
 as contumely. Quicqttid fuferbia in contumeliis was 
 charged by a great man of antiquity, as a prin- 
 cipal head of offence againft the governor general 
 ef that day. The unhappy people were flill 
 more infulted. A relation, but an enemy to the 
 family, a notorious robber and villain, called 
 Uflaun Sing, kept as a hawk in a mew, to fly 
 upon this nation, was fet up to govern there, 
 inftead of a prince honoured and beloved. But 
 when the bufmefs of infult was accomplifhed, the 
 revenue was too fcrious a concern to be entrufted 
 to fuch hands. Another was let up in his place, 
 as guardian to an infant. 
 
 But here, Sir, mark the effect of all thefe extra- 
 ordinary means, of all this policy and juftice. The 
 revenues which had been hitherto paid wirh fuch 
 altoniming punctuality, fell into arrear. The 
 new prince guardian was depofed without cere- 
 mony ; and with as little, scaft into priibn. The 
 government of that once happy country has 
 been in the utmoft confufion ever fince fuch 
 good order was taken about it. But, to complete 
 the contumely offered to this undone people, 
 and to make them feel their fervitude in all its 
 degradation, and all its bitternefs, the govern- 
 ment of their facred city, the government of that 
 Benares which had been fo refpedled by Perfian 
 and Tartar conquerors, though of the Mufiul- 
 man perfuafion, that, even in the plenitude of their 
 pride, power, and bigotry, no magistrate of that 
 fed entered the place, was now delivered over 
 E 3 by
 
 ( 54 ) 
 
 TDV Englifh hands to a Mahometan ; and an Ali 
 Ibrahim Khan was introduced, under the Compa- 
 ny's authority, with power of life and death, into 
 the fanctuary of the Gentu religion. 
 
 After this, the taking off a flight payment, 
 chearfully made by pilgrims to a chief of their 
 own rites, was repreiented as a mighty benefit. 
 It remains only to fnew, through the condudt in 
 this bufmefs, the fpirit of the Company's govern- 
 ment, and the refpect they pay towards other pre r 
 judices not lefs regarded in the Eaft than thole of 
 religion ; I mean the reverence paid to the female 
 fex in general, and particularly to women of high 
 rank and condition. During the general confufjon 
 of the country of Gazypore, Panna, the mother of 
 Cheit Sing, was lodged with her train in a caftle 
 called Bidge Gur, in which were likewife depofued 
 a large portion of the treafures of her ion, or more 
 probably her own. To whomlcever they be- 
 longtd was indifferent j for, though no charge of 
 rebellion was made on this woman (which was 
 rather fingular, as it would have coft nothing) 
 they were refolved to fecure her with her fortuned 
 The caftle was befieged by Major Popham. 
 
 There was no great reafon to apprehend that 
 foldiers ill paid, that Ibldiers who thought they 
 had been defrauded of their plunder on former 
 fervices of the fame kind, would not have been 
 fufficiently attentive to the fpoil they were ex- 
 prelsly come for ; but the gallantry and gene- 
 rofity of the profcfiion was juftly fufpecledi as 
 being liktly to fet bounds to military rapaciouf- 
 nels. The Company's firft civil magiftrate dif- 
 covered the grcateft uneafinefs left the women 
 Ibould have any thing prefcrved to them. Terms, 
 
 tending
 
 C 55 ) 
 
 tending toputfome redraint on military violence, 
 were granted. He writes a letter to Mr. Pop- 
 ham, referring to fome letter written before to 
 the fame effect, which I do not remember to 
 have ieen ; but it (hews his anxiety on this fub- 
 ject. Hear himfelf : " I think every demand (he 
 *' has made on you, except that of iafcty and 
 " refpect to her perfon, is unreafonable. If the 
 <c reports brought to me -are true, your rejecting 
 * c her offers, or any negotiation, would foon ob- 
 V tain you the fort upon your own terms. I 
 *' apprehend (he will attempt to defraud the 
 " tap tors of a confiderable fart of their booty* 
 '* by being fuffered to retire without examination. 
 " But this is your concern, not mine. 1 fhould 
 " be very forry that your officers and foldiers loft 
 4t any part of the reward to which they are fo well 
 " entitled ; but you mud be the beft judge of 
 " the promt fed indulgence to the Ranny: what 
 " you have engaged for I will certainly ratify ; but 
 '* as to fuffering the Ranny to hold the purgunrra of 
 " Hurlich, or any other zemindary, without be- 
 " ing fubjedl to the authority of the Zemindar, or 
 '* any lands ivhatfcever, or indeed making any 
 " condition with her for a provijion^ I will never 
 " confent" 
 
 Here your governor ftimulates a rapacious and 
 licentious foldiery to the perlbnal fearch of wo- 
 men, left thefe unhappy creatures fhowld avail 
 themfelves of the protection of their fex to fecure 
 any fupply for their necelTities , and he pofitively 
 orders that no ftipulation (hould be made for any 
 provifion for them. The widow and mother of 
 a prince, well informed of her miferable fituation, 
 and the caufe of it, a woman of this rank became 
 4 a iupplianc
 
 a fuppliant to the domeftic fervant of Mr. HaU 
 tings (they are his own words that I read) i 
 " imploring his imerccffion, that fhe may be re- 
 '* lievecl from the hardfbips and dangers of her pre- 
 " fentfituation ; and offering to furrender the fort, 
 " and the treasure and valuable effects contained in 
 " it, provided fhe can be a flu red of fafety ana 
 " Trctzftion to her pcrfon and honour, and to that 
 " of her family and attendants." He is fo 
 good as to confent to this, " provided fhe furren- 
 *< ders every thing of value, with the rcferve only 
 " of fuch articles as yeu fhall think necejjary to 
 41 her condition, or as youycurfelf fhall be difpofed 
 " to indulge her with. But fhould fhe refute to 
 " execute the proinife fhe has made, or delay it 
 * beyond the term of twenty-four hours, it is my 
 *' pofitive injunction, that you immediately put a 
 *' Hop to any further intercourfe or negociation 
 " with her, and on no pretext renew it. If fhe 
 *? difappoints or trifles with me, after I have fub- 
 t: jecled my Duan to the difgrace of returning 
 " ineffectually, and of courfe myfelf to difcredit, 
 " I (hall conlider it as a wanton affront and in- 
 " dignity which I can never forgive ; nor will I 
 " grant her any conditions whatever, but leave 
 '* her expofed to thofe dangers which fhe has 
 " chofen to rjfque, rather than truft to the cle- 
 ' mency and generofuy of our government. I 
 " think fhe cannot be ignorant of theie confe- 
 qucncea, and will not venture to incur them ; 
 ' and it is for this reafon I place a dependance 
 '* on her offers, and have confented to lend my 
 " Duan to her." The dreadful fecret hinted at 
 by the merciful governor in the latter part of the 
 letter, is well underftoodin India ; where thofe who 
 
 fuffer
 
 ( 57 ) 
 
 fuflfer corporeal indignities, generally expiate the 
 offences of others with their own blood. However, 
 in fpite of all thefe, the temper of the military did, 
 fpme way or other, operate. They came to terms 
 which have never been tranfmitted. It appears 
 that a fifteenth/w cent, of the plunder was referved 
 to the captives, of which the unhappy mother of 
 the prince of Benares was to have a (hare. This 
 antient matron, born to better things [a laugh from 
 certain young gentlemen] I fee no caufe for this 
 mirth. A good author of antiquity reckons among 
 the calamities of his time, NobiliJ/imarum fcemi- 
 tiarum exilia et fugas. I fay, Sir, this antient lady 
 was compelled to quit her houfe with three hun- 
 dred helpiefs women, and a multitude of children 
 in her train ; but the lower fort in the camp it 
 feems could not be restrained. They did not for- 
 get the good lefTons of the governor general. 
 They were unwilling " to be defrauded of a con- 
 " fiderable part of their booty, by fufrering them 
 " topafs without examination." They examined 
 them, Sir, with a vengeance, and the facred protec- 
 tion of that awful characler, Mr. Haftings's maitre 
 d'hotel, could not fecure them from infult and 
 plunder. Here is Popham's narrative of the 
 affair : " The Ranny came out of the fort, 
 " with her family and dependants, the loth ac 
 <c night, owing to which fuch attention was not 
 " paid to her as I wifhed ; and I am exceedingly 
 " lorry to inform you, that the licentioufnefs of 
 " our followers was beyond tbe bounds of con- 
 ** troul , for, notwithjianding all I could do., her 
 " people were plundered on tbe road of moft of 
 " the things which they brought out of the fort ', 
 " by which means one of tbe articles of furrender 
 
 44 has
 
 c< bas been much infringed. The diftrefs I have 
 * felt upon this occafion cannot be exprefied, and 
 " can only be allayed by a firm performance of 
 *' the other articles of the treaty, which I (hall 
 *' make it my bufinefs to enforce. 
 
 -.** The fufpicions which the officers had of trea- 
 ct chery, and the delay made to our getting pof- 
 " fefiion, had enraged them, as well as the troops, 
 " fo much, that the treaty was at firft regarded 
 '* as void, but this determination was foon fuc- 
 " ceeded by pity and compaflion for the unfor- 
 " tunate befieged." After this comes, in his due 
 order, Mr. Haftings ; who is full of forrow and 
 indignation, &c. &c. &c. according to the beft 
 and moft authentic precedents eftablifhed upon 
 fuch occafions. 
 
 The women being thus difpofed of, that is, 
 completely defpoiled, and pathetically lament- 
 ed, Mr. Haftings at length recollected the great 
 object of his enterprize, which, during his zeal 
 kit the officers and foldiers mould lofe any part of 
 their reward, he feems to have forgot ; that is to 
 fay, tl to draw from the Rajah's guilt the means 
 " of relief to the Company's diltrefies." This 
 was to be the ftrong hold of his defence. This 
 compaffion to the Company, he knew by expe- 
 rience would fanctify a great deal of rigour to- 
 wards the natives. But the military had diftrefTes 
 of their own, which they confidered firft. Neither 
 Mr. Haftings*s authority, nor his fupplications, 
 could prevail on them to affign a (hilling to the 
 claim he made on the part of the Company. 
 They divided the booty amongft themfelves. 
 Driven from his claim he was reduced to petition 
 for the fpoil as a loan, But the foldiers were too 
 
 wife
 
 ( 59 ) 
 
 wife to venture as a loan, what the borrower 
 claimed as a right. Jn defiance of all authority, 
 they fhared amongft themfelves about two hun- 
 dred thoufand pounds fterling, befides what had 
 been taken from the women. 
 
 In all this there is nothing wonderful. We 
 may reft allured, that when the maxims of any 
 government eftablifh among its reiources extra- 
 ordinary means, and thole exerted with a jftrong 
 hand, that ftrong hand will provide thofe extra- 
 ordinary means for itfelf. Whether the foldiers 
 had reafon cr not (perhaps much might be faid 
 for them) certain it is, the military difcipline of 
 India was ruined from that moment , and the fame 
 rage for plunder, the fame contempt of fubordi- 
 iiation, which blafted all the hopes of extraor- 
 dinary means from your ftrong hand at Benares, 
 have very lately loft you an army in Myfore. 
 This is vifible enough from the accounts in the 
 laft Gazette. 
 
 There is no doubt but that the country and 
 city of Benares, now brought into the fame order, 
 will very foon exhibit, if it does not already dif- 
 play the fame appearance with thofe countries 
 and cities which are under better fubjection. A 
 great mafter, Mr. Mailings, has himlelf been at 
 the pains of drawing a picture of one of thefe 
 countries, 1 mean the province and city of Far- 
 ruckfbad. There is no reafon to queftion his 
 knowledge of the facts ; and his authority (on 
 this point at leaft) is above all exception, as well 
 for the ftate of the country, as for the caufe. In 
 his minute of confutation, Mr. Haftings defcribes 
 forcibly the contequences, which arile from the 
 degradation into v hich we have funk the native 
 government. " The total want (fays he) of all 
 
 44 order,
 
 ' order, regularity, or authority, in his (the Nabob 
 " of Farruckabad's) government, and to which, 
 " among other obvious caufes, it may no doubt 
 " be owing that the country of Farruckabad is 
 46 become almoft an entire ivajle, without culti- 
 " nation or inhabitants ; that the capital, which, 
 " but a very fhort time ago, was diftinguifhed as 
 " one of the moft populous and opulent com- 
 " mercial cities in Hindoftan, at prefent exhibits 
 * c nothing butfcenes of the moft wretched poverty, 
 " defolation, and mifery ; and that the Nabob 
 " him/elf^ tho' in the poifeffion of a trad of country 
 " which, with only common care, is notorioufly 
 " capable of yielding an annual revenue of be- 
 *' twten thirty and forty lacks, (three or four 
 " hundred thouland pounds) with no military 
 " ejtablijhmtnt to maintain, icarcely commands 
 *' the means of a bare fubfijlance" 
 
 This is a true and unexaggerated piclure, not 
 only of Farruckabad, but of at lead three-fourths 
 of the country which we poifefs, or rather lay 
 wafte, in India. Now, Sir, the Houie will be de- 
 firous to know for what purpofe this picture 
 was drawn. It was for a purpofe, I will not fay 
 laudable, but necefiary, that of taking the un- 
 fortunate Prince and his country out of the hands 
 of a fequeftrator lent thither by the Nabob of 
 Oude, the mortal enemy of the Prince thus 
 ruined, and to protect him by means of a 
 Britifli Refidenc, who might carry his complaints 
 to the fuperior Refident at Oude, or tranfmit them 
 to Calcutta. But mark, how the reformer per. 
 fitted in his reformation. The effeft of the mea- 
 fure was better than was probably expected. 
 The Prince began to be at eafe j the country 
 began to recover ; and the revenue began to be 
 
 collected
 
 collected. Thefe were alarming circumftances, 
 Mr. Haftings not only recalled the Refident, but 
 he entered into a formal ftipulation with the 
 Nabob of Oude, never to fend an Englim fubjeft 
 again to Farruckabad ; and thus the country, de- 
 fcribed as' you have heard by Mr. Haftings, 
 is given up for ever to the very perfons to whom, 
 he had attributed its ruin, that is to the Sezawak 
 or fequeftrators of the Nabob of Onde. 
 
 Such was the iffue of the firft attempt to relieve 
 the diftrefTes of the dependent provinces. I (hatt 
 clofe what 1 have to fay on the condition of the 
 northern dependence", with the effect of the laft 
 of thefe attempts. You will recollect, Sir, the ac- 
 count I have not long ago ftated to you as given 
 by Mr. Haftings, of the ruined condition of the 
 deftroyer of others, the Nabob of Oude, and of 
 the recal, in confequence, of Hannay, Middleton, 
 and Johnibn. When the firft little fudden guft 
 of paflion againft thefe gentlemen was fpent, the 
 fentiments of old friendfhip began to revive. Some 
 healing conferences were held between them arrd 
 the iuperior government. Mr. Hannay was per- 
 mitted to return to Oude , but death prevented 
 the further advantages intended for him, and the 
 future benefits propofed for the country by the 
 provident care of the council general. 
 
 Thefe three gentlemen were accufed of the 
 grotfeft peculations. The Court of.Directors were 
 informed, by the govern^ general and counci^ 
 that a fevere enquiry would be inftituted againft 
 the two furvivors ; and they requefted that court to 
 fufpend its judgment, and to wait the event of their 
 proceedings. But no enquiry has been inftituted, 
 nor any fteps taken towards it. By means of the 
 bland and conciliatory difpofitions of the charter 
 
 governors.
 
 governors, and proper private explanations, 
 public enquiry has died away, the fup poled pecu- 
 lators and deftroyers of Oude repofe in all lecurity 
 in the bofoms of their accufers , vvhiift others fuc- 
 ceed to them to be inftructed by their example. 
 
 It is only to complete the view I propofed of 
 the conduct of the Company, wich regard to the 
 dependent provinces, that I fhall fay any thing 
 at all of the Carnatic, which is the fcene, if pof- 
 fible, of greater diforder than the northern pro- 
 vinces. Perhaps it were better to fay of this 
 center and metropolis of abule, whence all the 
 reft in India and in England diverge ; from 
 whence they are fed and methodized, what was 
 faid of Carthage de Carthagine fatius eft filers 
 quam parum dicerc. This country, in all its de- 
 nominations, is about 46,000- iquare milrs. It 
 may be affirmed univerfally, that not one peribn of 
 fubftance or property, landed, commercial, or mo- 
 nied, excepting two or three bankers, who are ne- 
 ceflarydepofits anddiilributors of the general fpoil, 
 is left in all that region. In that country the 
 moifture, the bounty of Heaven, is given but at 
 a certain feafon. Before the aera of our influence, 
 the induftry of man carefully hufbanded that 
 gift of God. The Genius preferved, with a pro- 
 vident and religious care, the precious depofit of 
 the periodical rain in refervoirs, many of them 
 works of royal grandeur; and from thefe, as 
 occafion demanded, they fructified the whole 
 country. To maintain thefe refervoirs, and to 
 keep up an annual advance to the cultivators, for 
 feed and cattle, formed a principal object of the 
 piety and policy of the priefts and rulers of the 
 Gentu religion. 
 
 This
 
 This object required a command of money , 
 and there was no Pollam, or caftle, which in the 
 happy days of the Carnatic was without fome 
 hoard of treafure, by which the governors were 
 enabled to combat with the irregularity of the 
 feafons, and to refift or to buy off the invafion of 
 an enemy. In all the cities were multitudes of 
 merchants and bankers, for all occafions of mo- 
 nied aflidance , and on the other hand, the native 
 princes were in condition to obtain credit from 
 them. The manufacturer was paid by the return 
 of commodities, or by imported money, and not, 
 as at preient, in the taxes that had been origina-lly 
 exacted from his induftry. In aid of cafual 
 diftrefs, the country was full of choultries, which 
 were inns and hoipitals, where the traveller and 
 the poor were relieved. All ranks of people had 
 their place in the public concern, and their mare 
 in the common ftock and common profperity ; 
 but the chartered rights of men, and the right 
 which it was thought proper to fet up in the 
 Nabob of Arcot, introduced a new fyftem. Ic 
 was their policy to confider hoards of money 
 as crimes; to regard moderate rents as frauds on 
 the fovereign ; and to view, in the leffer princes, 
 any claim of exemption from more than fettled 
 tribute, as an act of rebellion. Accordingly all 
 the cartles were, one after the other, plundered and 
 ikftroyed. The native princes were expelled ; 
 the hofpitais fell to ruin ; the refervoirs of water- 
 went to decay ; the merchants, bankers, and 
 manufacturers difappeared; and fterility, indi- 
 gence, and depopulation, overlpread the face ot 
 thefe once flourifhing provinces. 
 
 The Company was very early fenfible of thefe 
 
 mischiefs, and of their true caufe. They gave precife 
 
 7 orders,
 
 orders, " that the native princes, called Polygars> 
 " fhould not be extirpated. That the rebellion [Ib 
 *' they choofe to call it] of the Polygars, may (they 
 " fear) with too much juftict^ be attributed to the 
 " mal-adminiftration of the Nabob's collectors." 
 That " they obferve with concern, that their 
 44 troops have been put to disagreeable Cervices." 
 They might have ufed a ftronger exprcflion with- 
 out impropriety. But they make amends in an- 
 other place. Speaking of the Polygars, the Di- 
 rectors fay, that " it was repugnant to humanity 
 " to/0;r<?them to fuch dreadful extremities as 
 *' they underwent" That fome examples of fe- 
 verity might be necelTary, " when they fell into 
 " the Nabob's hands," and not by the definition 
 of the country. " That they fear his government 
 *' is none of the mildsft ; and that there is great 
 " oppreffion in collecting his revenues." They 
 ftate, that the wars in which he has involved the 
 Carnatic, had been a caufe of its diftrefles. 
 " That thefe diftrefles have been certainly great; 
 " but thole by the Nabob's opprejfiom we believe 
 " to be .greater than all." Pray, Sir, attend to 
 the reafon for their opinion that the govern- 
 ment of this their instrument is more cala- 
 mitous to the country than the ravages of war. 
 Becaufe, fay they, his oppreffions are " with- 
 " cut intermijfion. The others are temporary ; 
 " by all which oppreffions we believe the Nabob 
 * has great wealth in ftore." From this ftore nei- 
 ther he nor they could derive any advantage what- 
 foSver, upon cheinvafionof Hyder Ali in the hour 
 of their greateft calamity and difmay. 
 
 It is now proper to compare thefe declarations 
 with the Company's conduct. The principal rea- 
 fon which they afiigned againft the extirpation 
 
 of
 
 ( 65 ) 
 
 of the Polygafs was, that the weavers were pro* 
 tected in their fortrefies. They might have added, 
 that the Company itfelf, \vhichftung them to death, 
 had been warmed in the bofom of thefe unfortunate 
 princes : for, on the taking of Madras by the 
 French, it was in their hofpitable Pollams, that 
 rnoft of the inhabitants found refuge and pro- 
 tection. But, notwithflanding all thefe orders, rea- 
 fons, and declarations, they at length gave an in- 
 direct lanction, and permitted the ufe of a very 
 direct and irrefifdble force, to meafures which they 
 had, over and over again, declared to be falfe 
 policy, cruel, inhuman, and opprefiive. Having* 
 however, forgot all attention to the princes and the 
 people, they remembered that they had fome fore 
 of intereft in the trade of the country ; and it is 
 matter of curioiity to obferve the protection which 
 they afforded to this their natural object. 
 
 Full of anxious cares on this head, they direct* 
 " that in reducing the Polygars they (their fer- 
 " vants) were to be cautious, not to deprive the 
 " weavers and manufacturers of the protection 
 <c they often met with in the ftrong holds of the 
 " Polygar countries -/'-and they write to their 
 inftrument, the Nabob of Arcot, concerning thefe 
 poor people in a moil pathetic (train. " We en- 
 " treat your Excellency (fay they) in particular, 
 * 4 to make the manufacturers the object of your 
 " tmdereft care , particularly when you root out 
 ** the Polygars, you do not deprive the weavers 
 e of the protection they enjoyed under them" When 
 they root out the protectors in favour of the 
 opprefTor, they fhew themfelves religioufly cau- 
 tious of the rights of the protected. When they 
 extirpate the Ihepherd and the fhepherd's dogs, 
 they pioufly recommend the helplefs flock to the 
 
 F mercy,
 
 ifcercy, and even to the tendereft care, of the wolf. 
 This is the uniform (train of their policy, ftridtly 
 forbidding, and at the fame time ftrenuoufly 
 encouraging and eoforcing, every meafure that 
 can ruin and defolate the country committed to 
 their charge. After giving the Company's idea 
 of the government of this their inftrument, it may 
 tppear fingular, but it is perfectly confident with 
 their fyftem, that, befides wafting for him, at two 
 different times, the mod exquifite fpot upon the 
 earth, Tanjonr, and all the adjacent countries, 
 they have even voluntarily put their own ter- 
 ritory, that is, a large and fine country adjacent 
 to Madras, called their Jaghire, wholly out of 
 their protection ; and have continued to farm 
 their fubjedts, and their duties towards thefe 
 fubjects, to that very Nabob, whom they them- 
 felves conftantly reprefent as an habitual oppreflbr, 
 and a relentlefs tyrant. This they have done 
 without any pretence of ignorance of the objects 
 of oppreflion for which this prince has thought 
 fit to become their renter; for he has agairj and 
 again told them, that it is for the fole purpofe 
 of exercifing authority he holds the Jaghire lands ; 
 and he affirms (and I believe with truth) that 
 he pays more for that territory than the revenues 
 yield. This deficiency he muft make up from 
 his other territories ; and thus, in order to fur- 
 nifh the means of opprefling one part of the Car- 
 natic, he is led to opprefs all the reft. 
 
 The Houfe perceives that the livery of the Com- 
 pany's government is uniform. I have defcribed 
 the condition of the countries indirectly, but molt 
 fubftantially, under the Company's authority. And 
 now I afk, whether, with this map of mifgovern- 
 ment before me, I can fuppofe myfelf bound by my
 
 ( 6-f j 
 
 vote to continue, upon any principles of pre 
 tended public faith, the management of thefe 
 countries in thofe hands. If I kept fuch a faith 
 (which in reality is no better than a fides latronutit) 
 With what is called the Company, I mud break the 
 faith, the covenant, thefolemn, original, indifpen- 
 fable oath, in which I am bound, by the eternal 
 frame and conftitution of things, to the whole; 
 human race. 
 
 As I have dwelt fo long ori thefe who are in- 
 directly under the Company's adminiftration, I 
 will endeavour to be a little fhorter upon the 
 Countries immediately under this charter govern- 
 ment. Thefe are the Bengal provinces. The 
 condition of thefe provinces is pretty fully de- 
 tailed in the Sixth and Ninth Reports, and in their 
 Appendixes. I will felect only fuch principles 
 and inftances as are broad and general. To your 
 own thoughts I ihall leave it, to furnifli the detail 
 of oppreffions involved in them. I mail ftate to 
 you, as fhortly as 1 am able, the conduct of the! 
 Company; ift, towards the landed interefts ; * 
 next, the commercial interefts; 3dly, the na- 
 tive government ; and lartly, to their own go- 
 vernment. 
 
 Bengal, and the provinces that are united to it, 
 are larger than the kingdom of France ; and 
 once contained, as France does contain, a great 
 and independent landed intereft, compofed of 
 princes, of great lords, of a numerous nobility and 
 gentry, of freeholders, of lower tenants, of religious 
 Communities, and public foundations. So earle- 
 ss 1769, the Company's fervants perceived ihs 
 decay into which thefe provinces had fallen undef 
 Engliih adminiltration, and they made a ftrong 
 reprefentatiot) upon this decay, and what the/ 
 F 2 apprehended
 
 C <* j 
 
 apprehended to be the caufes of it. Soon after Miv 
 Haftings became prefident of Bengal. Inftead of 
 adminiliering a remedy, upon the heels of a dread- 
 ful famine, in the year 1772, the fuccour which 
 the new prefident and the council lent to this* 
 afflicted nation was {hall I be believed in relat- 
 ing it ? the landed intereft of a whole kingdom, 
 of a kingdom to be compared to France, was fet 
 up to public auction ! They fet up (Mr. Haftings 
 let up) the whole nobility, gentry,, and freeholders,. 
 to the higheft bidder. No preference was given 
 to the ancient proprietors. They muft bid againft 
 every ufurer, every temporary adventurer, every 
 jobber and fchemer, every fervant of every Eu- 
 ropean, or they were obliged to content them- 
 felves, in lieu of their extenfive domains, with 
 their houfe, and fuch a penfion as the ftater 
 auctioneers thought fit to afiign. In this general 
 calamity, feveral of the firft nobility thought (and 
 in all appearance juftly) that they had better fab- 
 mit to the neceflity of this penfion, than continue, 
 under the name of Zemindars, the objects and in- 
 ftruments of a fyftem, by which they ruined their 
 tenants, and were ruined themfelves. Another 
 reform has fince come upon the back, of the firft j 
 and a penfion having been affigned to thefe un- 
 happy perfons, in lieu of their hereditary lands, 
 a new fcheme of osconomy has taken place, and 
 deprived them of that penfion. 
 
 The menial fervants of Englimmen, perfons (to 
 ufe the emphatical phrafe of a ruined and patient 
 Eaftern chief) ' wbafe fathers they would not bavf 
 ** fet with tie dogs of their flock" entered into 
 their patrimonial lands. Mr. Haftings's banian 
 was, afcer this auction, found pofTefTed of territories 
 yielding a rent of one hundred and forty thoufand: 
 pounds a year. 
 
 i Such
 
 < 69 ) 
 
 Such an univerfal profcription, upon any pre- 
 tence, has few examples. Such a profcription, 
 without even a pretence of delinquency, has 
 none, k ftands by itfelf. It ftands as a mo- 
 nument to aftonifh the imagination, to confound 
 the reafon of mankind. I confefs to you, when I 
 6rft came to know this bufinefs in its true nature 
 and extent, my forprife did a little fufpend my 
 indignation. I was in a manner ftupified by the 
 defperate boldnefs of a few obfcure young men, 
 who having obtained, by ways which they could 
 not comprehend, a power of which they faw nei- 
 ther the purpofes nor the limits, tofifed about, 
 fub verted, and tore to pieces, as if it were in 
 the gambols of a boyifli unhickinefs and malice., 
 the moft eftablimed rights, and the moft an- 
 cient and moft revered inftitutions, of ages and 
 nations. Sir, I will not now trouble you with 
 any detail with regard to what they have fince 
 done with thcfe fame lands and land-holders ; 
 only to inform you, that nothing has been 
 fuffered to fettle for two feafons together upon 
 any bafis ; and that the levity and inconftancy of 
 thefe mock legiflators were not the lead afflicting 
 parts of the oppreflions fuffered under their ufur- 
 pation j nor will any thing give (lability to the pro- 
 perty of the natives, but an adminiftration in Eng- 
 land at once protecting and liable. The country 
 fuftains, almoft every year, the miferies of a revo- 
 lution. At prefent, all is uncertainty, mifery, and 
 confufion. There is to be found through thele vaft 
 regions no longer one landed man, who is a refource 
 for voluntary aid, or an objel for particular rapine. 
 Some of them were, not long fince, great princes ; 
 they pofiefled treaiures, they levied armies. There 
 was a Zemindar in Bengal (I forget his name) 
 that, on the threat of an invafion, fupplied the 
 Spubah of thcfe provinces with the loan of a 
 F 3 million
 
 X 70 ) 
 
 fterling. The family this day want* credit 
 for a breakfaft at the bazar. 
 
 I (hall now fay a word or two on the Com- 
 pany's care of the commercial intereft of thofe 
 Jdngdoms. As it appears in the Reports, that 
 perfons in the highett ftations in Bengal have 
 adopted, as a fixed pan of policy,, the deitruftion 
 of all intermediate dealers between the Company 
 and the manufacturer, native merchants have dif- 
 appeared of courfe. The fpoil of the revenues is 
 the fole capital which purchafes the produce and 
 manufactures ; and through three or four foreign 
 companies tranfmits the official gains of indi- 
 viduals to Europe. No other commerce has an 
 cxiftence in Bengal. The tranfport of its plunder 
 is the only traffic of the country. I wifh to refer 
 you to the Appendix to the Ninth Report for a 
 full account of the manner in which the Company 
 have protected the commercial intqrefts of their 
 dominions in the Eaft. 
 
 As to the native government and the adminiftra- 
 tion of juftice, it fubfifted in a poor tottering man- 
 ner for fome years. In the year 1781, a total revo- 
 lution took place in that eftablimment. In one of 
 the ufual freaks of legislation of the council of Ben- 
 gal, the whole criminal jurifdiction of thefe courts, 
 called the Phoujdary Judicature, exercifed till then 
 by the principal Mufiulmen, was in one day, with- 
 out notice, without confultation with the magiftrates 
 or the people there, and without communication 
 with the directors or miniflers here, totally fub- 
 verted. A new inftitution took place, by which 
 this jurifdiction was divided between certain 
 Englifh fervants of the Company and the Gentii 
 Zemindars of the country, the latter of whom ne- 
 ver petitioned for it, nor, for ought that appears, 
 ever defired this boon. But its natural uie was 
 3 made
 
 ( 7' ) 
 
 made of it; it was made a pretence for new 
 extortions of money. 
 
 The natives had however one confolation in the 
 ruin of their judicature; they foon faw that it 
 fared no better with the Englifh government 
 itfelf. That too, after deftroying every other, 
 came to its period. This revolution may well be 
 rated for a moft daring act, even among the ex- 
 traordinary things that have been doing in Bengal 
 fince our unhappy acquifition of the means of 
 fo much mifchief. 
 
 An eftablimment of Englifh government for 
 civil juftice, and for the collection of revenue, 
 was planned and executed by the prefident and 
 council of Bengal, fubject to the pleafure of the 
 Directors, in the year 1772. According to this 
 plan, the country was divided into fix great 
 diftricts, or provinces. In each of thefe was 
 t-ftablimed a provincial council, which adminif- 
 tered the revenue ; and of that council one mem- 
 ber, by monthly rotation, prefided in the courts 
 of civil refort ; with an appeal to the council of 
 the province, and thence to Calcutta. In this 
 fyftem (whether, in other refpects, good or evil) 
 there were fome capital advantages. There was in 
 the very number of perfons in each provincial 
 .council, authority, communication, mutual check, 
 and controul. They were obliged, on their mi- 
 nutes of confultation, to enter their reafons and 
 diffents ; fo that a man of diligence, of refearch, 
 and tolerable fagacity, fitting in London, might, 
 from thefe materials, be enabled to form fome 
 judgment of the fpirit of what was going on on the 
 furtheft banks of the Ganges and Burramputer. 
 
 The Court of Directors fo far ratified this 
 
 .eftablimment, (which was confonant enough to 
 
 their general plan of government) that they gave 
 
 F 4 prccife
 
 precife orders, that no alteration mould bfc 
 made in it, without their confent. So far from 
 being apprifed of any defign againfl this confti- 
 tuiion, they had reafon to conceive that on trial 
 it had been more and more approved by their 
 council general, at lead by the governor general, 
 who had planned it. At the time of the revolu- 
 tion, the council general was nominally in two 
 perfons, virtually in one. At that time meafures. 
 of an arduous and critical nature ought to have 
 been forborne, even if, to the fulled council, this 
 fpecific meafure had not been prohibited by the 
 iuperior authority. It was in this very fituation, 
 that one man had the hardinefs to conceive, and 
 the temerity to execute, a total revolution in the 
 form and the perfons compofing the government 
 of a great kingdom. Without any previous ftep, 
 at one ftroke, the whole conftitution of Bengal, 
 civil and criminal, was iwept away. The coun- 
 iellors were recalled from their provinces. Up- 
 wards -of fifty of the principal officers of go- 
 vernment were turned out of employ, and rendered 
 dependent on Mr. Haftings for their immediate 
 fubfiftence, and for all hope of future provision. 
 The chief of each council, and one European col- 
 lector of revenue, was left in each province. 
 
 But here, Sir, you may imagine a new govern- 
 ment, of fome permanent description, was efta- 
 blifhed in the place of that which had been thus 
 Suddenly overturned. No iuch thing. Left thele 
 chiefs without councils fhou!d be conceived to 
 form the ground plan of fome future government^ 
 it was publicly declared, that their continuance 
 was only temporary and permifiive. The whole 
 fubordinate Britilh adminiftration of revenue was 
 then veiled in a committee in Calcutta, all 
 
 creatures
 
 ( 73 ) 
 
 creatures of the governor general ; and the pro* 
 yincial management, under the permifiive chief, 
 was delivered over to native officers. 
 
 But, that the revolution, and the purpofes 
 of the revolution, might be complete, to this 
 committee were delegated, not only the func- 
 tions of all the inferior, but, what will furprize 
 the liouie, thofe of the fupreme adminiftra- 
 tion of revenue alfo. Hitherto the governor 
 general and council had, in their revenue de- 
 partment, adminiftered the finances of thofe king- 
 doms. By the new fcheme they are delegated to 
 this committee, who are only to report their pro- 
 ceedings for approbation. 
 
 The key to the whole tranfaction is given 
 in one of the inftructions to the committee, " that 
 '* it is not necefTary that they mould enter dif- 
 *' fents." By this means the ancient plan of the 
 Company's adminiftration was deflroyed ; but the 
 plan of concealment was perfected. To that moment 
 the accounts of the revenues were tolerably clear ; 
 or at lead means were furnilhed for enquiries, by 
 which they might be rendered fatisfactory. In 
 the obfcure and filent gulph of this committee 
 every thing is now buried. The thickeft {hades 
 of night furround all their tranfactions. No efr 
 fectual means of detecting fraud, mifmanage- 
 ment, or mifreprejentation, exift. The Directors, 
 who have dared to talk with fuch confidence 
 on their revenues, know nothing about them. 
 What ufed to fill volumes is now comprifed 
 under a few dry heads on a fheet of paper. 
 The natives, a people habitually made to con- 
 cealment, are the chief managers of the reve- 
 nue thoughout the provinces. I mean by na- 
 tives, fuch wretches as your rulers felect out 
 cjf them as moft fitted for their purpofes. As a 
 
 pjoper
 
 ( 74 ) 
 
 proper key-ftone to bind the arch, a native, one 
 Gunga Govind Sing, a man turned out of his em- 
 ployment by Sir John Clavering, for malverfation 
 in office, is made the correfponding fecretary ; 
 and indeed the great moving principle of their 
 new board. 
 
 As the whole revenue and civil administration 
 was thus fubverted, and a clandeiline govern- 
 ment fubftituted in the place of it, the judicial 
 inilitution underwent a like revolution. In 1772 
 there had been fix courts formed out of the 
 fix provincial councils. Eighteen new ones are 
 appointed in their place, with each a judge, 
 taken from the junior fervants of the Company. 
 To maintain thefe eighteen courts, a tax is le- 
 vied on the fums in litigation, of i\ per cent, on 
 the great, and of 5 per cent, on the lefs. This 
 money is all drawn from the provinces to Cal- 
 cutta. The chief juftice (the fame who flays in 
 defiance of a vote of this Houfe, and of His Ma- 
 jeily's recal) is appointed at. once the treafurer 
 and difpofer of thele taxes, levied, without any 
 fort of authority, from the Company, from the 
 Crown, or from Parliament. 
 
 In effect, Sir, every legal regular authority in 
 matters of revenue, of political adrniniilration, of 
 criminal law, of civil law, in many of the moil 
 eflential parts of military difcipline, is laid level 
 with the ground ; and an oppreflive, irregular, 
 capricious, unfleady, rapacious, and peculating 
 defpotifm, with a direcl difavowal of obedience 
 to any authority at home, and without any fixed 
 'maxim, principle, or rule of proceeding, to guide 
 them in India, is at prefent the irate of your 
 charter-government over great kingdoms. 
 
 As the Company has made this ufe of their 
 trull, I fliould ill difcharge mine, if I refufed to 
 
 give
 
 ( 75 ) 
 
 give my moft chearful vote for the redrefs of thelc 
 abuies, by putting the affairs of fo large and 
 valuable a part of the interefts of this nation and 
 of mankind, into fome fteady hands, pofieffing 
 the confidence, and allured of the fupport of this 
 Houfe, until they can be reftored to regularity, 
 order, and confiftency. 
 
 I have touched the heads of fome of the 
 grievances of the people, and the abuies of go- 
 vernment. But I hope and truft, you will give 
 me credit, when I faithfully aflfure you, that I 
 have not mentioned one fourth part of what 
 has come to my knowledge in your committee; 
 and further, I have full reafon to believe, that 
 not one .fourth part of the abufes are come to 
 my knowledge, by that or by any other means. 
 Pray confider what I have laid only as an in- 
 dex to dired you in your enquiries. 
 
 If this then, Sir, has been the ufe made of the 
 truft of political powers internal and external, 
 given by you in the charter, the next thing to be 
 ieen is the conduct of. the Company with regard 
 to the commercial truft. And here I will make 
 a fair offer: If it can be proved that they 
 have adcd wifely, prudently, and frugally, as 
 merchants, I fhall pals by the whole mafs of 
 their enormities as ftatefmen. That they have 
 . not done this their prefent condition is proof 
 fufficient. Their diftrelTes are faid to be owing 
 to their wars. This is not wholly true. But 
 if it were, is not that readinels to engage in 
 wars which diftinguimes them, and for which 
 the Committee of Secrecy has fo branded their 
 politics, founded on the falfeft principles of mer- 
 cantile {peculation ? 
 
 The principle of buying cheap and felling dear 
 is the firft, the great foundation of mercantile 
 
 dealing.
 
 ( 76 ) 
 
 Dealing. Have they ever attended to this prin- 
 ciple ? Nay, for years have they not actually 
 authorized in their fervants a total indifference 
 as to the prices they were to pay ? 
 
 A great deal of ftrictnefs in driving bargains 
 for whatever we contract, is another of the prin- 
 ciples of mercantile policy. Try the Company 
 by that teft ! Look at the contracts that are 
 made for them. Is the Company fo much as 
 a good commifiary to their own armies ? I en- 
 gage to felect for you, out of the innumerable 
 mafs of their dealings, all conducted very nearly 
 alike, one contract only, the exceflive profits on 
 which during a fhort term would pay the whole 
 of their year's dividend. I fhall undertake 
 to thevv, that upon two others, that the inordi- 
 nate profits given, with the lofles incurred in 
 order to fecure thofe profits, would pay a year's 
 dividend more. 
 
 It is a third property of trading men, to fee 
 that their clerks do not divert the dealings of 
 the mafter to their own benefit. It was the 
 other day only, when their governor and coun- 
 cil taxed the Company's inveftment with a fum 
 of fifty thoufand pounds, as an inducement to 
 perfuade only feven members of their board of 
 trade to give their honour that they would ab- 
 ftain from fuch profits upon that inveftment as 
 they muft have violated their oatbs if they had 
 made at all. 
 
 It is a fourth quality of a merchant to be 
 exact in his accounts. What will be thought, 
 when you have fully before you the mode of 
 accounting made ufe of in the treafury of Ben- 
 gal ? I hope you will have it foon. With re- 
 gard to one of their agencies, when it came 
 to the material part, the prune coil of the 
 
 goods
 
 ( 77 ) 
 
 goods on which a commifiion of fifteen 
 cent, was allowed, to the aftonilhment of the 
 factory to whom the commodities were fent, the 
 accountant general reports that he did not think 
 himfelf authorized to call for vouchers relative to 
 this and other particulars, becaufe the agent was 
 upon his honour with regard to them. A new- 
 principle of account upon honour feems to be 
 regularly eftablifhed in their dealings and their 
 treafury, which in reality amoun-ts to an entire 
 annihilation of the principle of all accounts. 
 
 It is a fifth property of a merchant, who doe* 
 not meditate a fraudulent bankruptcy, to calcu- 
 late his probable profits upon the money he takes 
 up to veft in bufinefs. Did the Company, when 
 they bought goods on bonds bearing 8 -per cent, in- 
 tereft, at ten and even twenty per cent, difcounr, 
 even afk themfelves aqueftion concerning the pofii- 
 bility of advantage from dealing on thde terms ? 
 
 The laft quality of a merchant I lhall adverc 
 to, is the taking care to be properly prepared, in 
 cam or goods, in the ordinary courfe of fale, for 
 the bills which are drawn on them. Now I afk, 
 whether they have ever calculated the clear pro- 
 duce of any given fales, to make them tally 
 with the four million of bills which are come and 
 coming upon them, lo as at the proper periods to 
 enable the one to liquidate the other ? No, they 
 have not. They are now obliged to borrow money 
 of their own fervants to purchaie their invert- 
 ment. The fervants ftipulate five per cent, on 
 the capital they advance, if their bills fhould 
 not be paid at the time when they become 
 due; and the value of the rupee on which they 
 charge this intereft is taken at two (hillings and a 
 penny. Has the Company ever troubled them- 
 Jclves to enquire whether their fales can bear the 
 
 payment
 
 ( 7* ) 
 
 payment of that intereft, and at that rate of e*-* 
 change ? Have they once confidered the dilemma 
 in which they are placed the ruin of their credit 
 in theEaft Indies, if they refufe the bills the ruin 
 of their credit and exiftence in England, if they ac- 
 cept them ? Indeed no trace of equitable government 
 is found in their politics j not one trace of com- 
 mercial principle in their mercantile dealing ; and 
 hence is the deepeft and matureft wifdom of Par- 
 liament demanded, and the bed reiburces of this 
 kingdom muft be ftrained, to reftore them ; that 
 is, to reftore the countries deftroyed by the mil- 
 conduct of the Company, and to reftore the Com- 
 pany itfelf, ruined by the confequences of their 
 plans for destroying what they were bound to 
 preferve. 
 
 I required, if you remember, at myoutfet a proof 
 that thefe abufes were habitual. But furely this it is 
 not neceflary for me to confider as a feparate head ; 
 becaufe I truft 1 have made it evident beyond a 
 doubt, in confidering the abufes themfelves, that 
 they are regular, permanent, and fyftematical. 
 
 I am now come to my laft condition, without 
 which, for one, I will never readily lend my hand 
 to the deftrudtion of any eftablimed government ; 
 which is, That in its prefent ftate, the government 
 of the Eaft India Company is abfolutely incor- 
 rigible. 
 
 Of this great truth I think there can be 
 lictle doubt, after all that has appeared in this 
 Houfe. It is fo very clear, that I muft confider 
 the leaving any power in their hands, and the 
 determined refolution to continue and counte- 
 nance every mode and every degree of peculation, 
 oppreflion, and tyranny, to be one and the fame 
 thing. I look upon that body incorrigible, from 
 the fulleft confideration both of their uniform 
 
 conduct.
 
 ( 7$ ) 
 
 conduct, and their prefent real and virtual con- 
 ititution. 
 
 If they had not conftantly been apprized of 
 all the enormities committed in India under their 
 authority ; if this ftate of things had been as 
 much a difcovery to them as it was to many 
 of us -, we might flatter ourfelves that the de- 
 tection of the abufes woukl lead to their refor- 
 mation. I will fro further: If the Court of Di- 
 
 C_x 
 
 rectors had not uniformly condemned every act 
 which this Houfe or any of its Committees had 
 condemned ; if the language in which they ex- 
 prefTed their difapprobation againft enormities and 
 their authors had not been much more vehement 
 and indignant than any ever ufed in this Houfe, 
 I fhould entertain fome hopes. If they had not, 
 on the other hand, as uniformly commended all 
 their fervants who had done their duty and obeyed 
 their orders, as they had heavily cenfured thole 
 who rebelled ; I might fay, Thefe people have been 
 in an error, and when they are fenfible of it they 
 will mend. But when I reflect on the uniformity 
 of their fupport to the objects of their uniform' 
 cenfufe ; and the ftate of inlignificance and dil- 
 grace to which all of thofe have been reduced 
 whom they approved ; and that even utter ruin 
 and premature death have been among the fruits 
 of their favour ; I muft be convinced, that in this 
 cafe, as in all others, hypocrify is the only vice 
 that never can be cured. 
 
 Attend, I pray you, to the fituation and prof, 
 perky of Benfield, Haftings, and others of thaf 
 ibrt. The laft of thefe has been treated by the 
 company with an afperity of reprehenfion, that has 
 no parallel. They lament, " that the power of dif- 
 ' pofing of their property for perpetuity, fhould 
 ** fall into fuch hands." Yet for fourteen, jears, 
 
 with
 
 ( So ) 
 
 with little interruption, he has governed all their af- 
 fairs, of every defcription, with an abfolute fway. 
 He has had himfelf the means of heaping up im- 
 menfe wealth ; and, during that whole period, the 
 fortunes of hundreds have depended on his' fmiles 
 and frowns. He himfelf tells you he is incum- 
 bered with two hundred and fifty young gentle- 
 men, fome of them of the beft families in Eng- 
 land, all of whom aim at returning with vaft 
 fortunes to Europe in the prime of life. He has 
 then two hundred and fifty of your children as 
 his hoftages for your good behaviour; and loaded 
 for years, as he has been, with the execrations of 
 the natives, with the cenfures of the Court of 
 Directors, and ftruck and blafted with refolutiona 
 of this Houle, he dill maintains the moft defpo- 
 tic power ever known in India. He domineers 
 with an overbearing fway in the aflemblies of his 
 pretended mailers ; and it is thought in a degree 
 ra(h to venture to name his offences in this Houfe* 
 even as grounds of a legiflative remedy. 
 
 On the other hand, confider the fate of thofe 
 who have met with the applaufes of the Directors. 
 Colonel Monfon, one of the beft of men, had his 
 days Ihortened by the applaufes, deftitute of the 
 fupport, of the Company. General Clavering, 
 whofe panegyric was made in every difpatch from 
 England, whofe hearfe was bedewed with the 
 tears, and hung round with eulogies of the 
 Court of Directors, burft an honeft and indig- 
 nant heart at the treachery of thofe who ruined 
 him by their prailes. Uncommon patience and 
 temper, fupported Mr. Francis a while longer 
 under the baneful influence of the commen- 
 dation of the Court of Directors. His health 
 however gave way $t length - y and, in utter defpair 
 
 he
 
 he returned to Europe* At his return the doors 
 of the India Houfe were {hut to this man, who 
 had been the object of t-heir conftant admiration. 
 He has indeed efcaped with life, but he has for- 
 feited all expectation of credit, confequence, party, 
 and following. He may well fay, Me nemo mi- 
 niftro fur erit, atque ideo nulli comes exeo. This man, 
 whofe deep reach of thought, whole large legif- 
 lative conceptions, and whofe grand plans of po- 
 licy, make the moft fhining part of our Reports, 
 from whence we have all learned our lefibns, if we 
 have learned any good ones; this man, from whofe 
 materials thofe gentlemen who have leaii acknow- 
 ledged it have yet fpoken as from a brief; this 
 man, driven from his employment, difcounte- 
 nanced by the Directors, has had no other reward, 
 and no other diftinction, but that inward " fun- 
 " Ihine of the foul" which a good confcicnce can 
 always beftow upon itfelf. He has not yet had 
 fo much as a good v/ord, but from a perfon too 
 infignificant to make any other return for 'the 
 means with which he has been furnifhed for per* 
 forming his fhare ot a duty which is equally 
 urgent on us all. 
 
 Add to this, that from the higheft in place to 
 the lowed, every Britifh fubject, who, in obe- 
 dience to the Company's orders, has been active 
 in the difcovery of peculations, has been ruined. 
 They have been driven from India. When they 
 made their appeal at home they were not heard ; 
 when they attempted to return they were flopped. 
 No artifice of fraud, no violence of power, has 
 been omitted, to deftroy them in character as well 
 as in fortune. 
 
 Worfe, far worfe, has been the fate of the poor 
 creatures, the natives of India, whom the hypo- 
 crify of (he Company has betrayed into corr.plain c 
 
 G of
 
 ( 82 ) 
 
 of oppreiTIon, and difcovery of peculation. The 
 firft woman in Bengal, the Ranni of Rajefhahi, the 
 Ranni of Burdwan, the Ranni of Amboa, by 
 their weak and thoughtlefs truft in the Company's 
 honour and protection, are utterly ruined : the 
 firft of thefe women, a perfon of princely rank, 
 and once of correfpondent fortune, who paid above 
 two hundred thoufand a year quit-rent to the ftate, 
 is, according to very credible information, fo com- 
 pletely beggared as to (land in need of the relief 
 of -alms. Mahomed Reza Khan, the fecond 
 Muffulman in Bengal, for having been diftin- 
 guimed by the ill-omened honour of the counte- 
 nance and protection of the Court of Directors, 
 was, without the pretence of any enquiry whatib- 
 ever into his conduct, dripped of all his employ- 
 ments, and reduced to the loweil condition. His 
 ancient rival for power, the Rajah Nundcomar, 
 was, by an infuk on every thing which India holds 
 reipectable and facred, hanged in the face of all 
 his nation, by the judges you fent to protect that 
 people -, hanged for a pretended crime, upon an 
 X poft fatto Britifh act of parliament, in the midft 
 of his evidence againft Mr. Haftings. The ac- 
 cufer they faw hanged. The culprit, without 
 acquittal or enquiry, triumphs on the ground of 
 that murder : a murder not of Nundcomar only, 
 but of all living teftirnony, and even of evidence 
 yet unborn. From that time not a complaint has 
 been heard from the natives againft their gover- 
 nors. All the grievances of India have found 
 a complete remedy. 
 
 Men will not look to acts of parliament, to re- 
 gulations, to declarations, to votes, and refohi- 
 tions. No, they are not fuch fools. They will 
 afk, what is the road to power, credit, wealth, 
 and honours? They will afk, what conduct ends in 
 
 neglect,
 
 neglect, difgracej poverty, exile, prifon, and gibbet? 
 Thefe will teach them the courfe which they 
 are to follow. It is your distribution of thefe 
 that will give the character and tone to your go- 
 vernment. All the reft is miferable grimace. 
 
 When I accufe the Court of Directors of this 
 habitual treachery, in the ufe of reward and pu- 
 nifhment, I do not mean to include all the indi- 
 viduals in that Court. There have been, Sir, 
 very frequently, men of the greateft integrity and 
 virtue amongft them ; and the contrariety in the 
 declarations and conduct of that Court has 
 arifen, I take it, from this : That the honeft 
 Directors have, by the force of matter of fact 
 oh the records, carried "the reprobation of the 
 evil meafures of the fervants in India. This could 
 not be prevented, whilft thefe records flared them 
 in the face ; nor were the delinquents, either here 
 or there, very felicitous about their reputation, 
 as long as they were able to fecure their power. 
 The agreement of their partizaris to cenfure them, 
 blunted for a while the edge of a fevere proceed- 
 ing. It obtained for them a character of impar- 
 tiality, which enabled them to recommend, with 
 fome fort of grace, what will always carry a plau- 
 flble appearance, thofe treacherous expedients, 
 called moderate meafures. Whilft thefe were un- 
 der difcuffion, new matter of complaint came over, 
 which feemed to antiquate the firft. The fame 
 circle was here trod round once more ; and thus 
 through years they proceeded in a compromife of 
 cenfure for punifhment ; until, by lhame and de- 
 fpair, one after another, almoft every man, who 
 preferred his duty to the Company to the inte- 
 refts of their fervants, has been driven from that 
 Court. 
 
 This, Sir, has been their conduct ; and it has been 
 the refult of the alteration which w?.s infenfibiy 
 
 G 2 made
 
 made in their conftitution. The change was 
 made infenfibly ; but it is now ftrong and adult, 
 and as public and declared, as it is fixed beyond 
 all power of reformation. So that there is none 
 who hears me, that is not as certain as I am, that 
 the Company, in the fenfe in which it was for- 
 merly underltood, has no exiflence. The queftion 
 is not, what injury you may do to the proprietors 
 of India flock ; for there are no fuch men to be 
 injured. If the active ruling part of the Company 
 who form the general court, who fill the offices, 
 and direct the meafures (the reft tell for no- 
 thing) were perfons who held their ftock as 
 a means of their fubfiftence, who in the pare 
 they took were only concerned in the govern- 
 ment of India, for the rife or fall of their 
 dividend, it would be indeed a defective plan 
 of policy. The intereft of the people who 
 are governed by them would not be their primary 
 object; perhaps a very fmall part of their confi- 
 deration at all. But then they might well be 
 depended on, and perhaps more than perfons in 
 other refpects preferable, for preventing the pe- 
 culations of their fervants to their own prejudice. 
 Such a body would not eafily have left their trade 
 as a fpoil to the avarice of thofe who received 
 their wages. But now things are totally reverfed. 
 The ftock is of no value, whether it be the qua- 
 lification of a director or proprietor; and it is 
 impoffible that it fhould. A director's qualifica- 
 tion may be worth about two thoufand five hun- 
 dred pounds and the intereft, at eight per cent. 
 is about one hundred and fixty pounds a year. 
 Of what value is that, whether it rife to ten, or 
 fall to fix, or to nothing, to him whofe fon, before 
 he is in Bengal two months, and before he de- 
 fcends the fteps of the council chamber, fells the 
 grant of a Jingle contract for forty thoufand 
 
 pounds ?
 
 pounds ? Accordingly the flock is bought up in 
 qualifications. The vote is not to protect the 
 ftock, but the (lock is bought to acquire the 
 vote ; and the end of the vote is to cover and 
 fupport, againft juftice, fome man of power who 
 has made an obnoxious fortune in India ; or to 
 maintain in power thofe who are actually employ- 
 ing it in the acquifuion of fuch a fortune -, and to 
 avail themfelvcs in return of his patronage, that 
 he may mower the fpoils of the Eafl, " barba- 
 ric pearl and gold," on them, their families, and de- 
 pendents. So that all the relations of the Company 
 are not only changed, but inverted. The fervants 
 in India are not appointed by the Directors, but 
 the Directors are chofen by them. The trade is 
 carried on with their capitals. To them the re- 
 venues of the country are mortgaged. The feat 
 of the fupreme power is in Calcutta. The houfe 
 in Leadenhall Street is nothing more than a 
 change for their agents, factors, and deputies to 
 meet in, to take care of their affairs, and fupport 
 their interefts , and this fo avowedly, that we fee 
 the known agents of the delinquent fervants mar- 
 (hailing and difciplining their forces, and the prime 
 fjpokefmen in all their aflemblies. 
 
 Every thing has followed in this order, and ac- 
 cording to the natural train of events, I will 
 clofe what I have to fay on 'the incorrigible con- 
 dition of the Company, by dating to you a few 
 facts, that will leave no doubt of the obftinacy of 
 that corporation, and of their ftrength too, in re- 
 fifting the reformation of their fervants. By thefe 
 facts you will be enabled todifcover the fole grounds 
 upon which they are tenacious of their charter. It 
 is now more than two years that, upon accountof the 
 grofs abufes and ruinous fituation of the Compa- 
 ny's affairs, (which occafioned the cry of the whole 
 world long before it was taken up here) that we 
 G 3 inflituted
 
 ( 86 ) 
 
 inftituted two Committees to enquire into the mif- 
 managements by which the Company's affairs had 
 been brought to the brink of ruin. Thefe enqui- 
 ries had been purfued with unremitting diligence ; 
 and a great body of facts was collected and printed 
 for general information. In the refult of thole 
 enquiries, although the Committees confided of 
 very different defcriptions, they were unanimous. 
 They joined in ceniuring the conduct of the In- 
 dian adminiftration, and enforcing the refponfi- 
 bility upon two men, whom this Houie, in con - 
 fequence of thefe reports, declared it to be the 
 duty of the Directors to remove from their fta- 
 fions, and recal to Great Britain, " becaufe they 
 " bad afted in a manner repugnant to the honour 
 <c and policy of this nation, and thereby brought great, 
 " calamities on India, and enormous expences en the 
 *' Eaft India Company" 
 
 Here was no attempt on the charter. Here was 
 no queftion of their privileges. To vindicate their 
 own honour, to fupport their own intereib, to 
 enforce obedience to their own orders ; thefe were 
 the ible object of the monitory refolution of 
 {his .Hpufe. But as foon as the general court 
 could affemble, they affembled to demonftrate 
 who they really were. Regardlefs of the proceed- 
 ings of this Houfe, they ordered the Directors noc 
 to carry into effect any refolution they might come 
 to for the removal of Mr. Haftings and Mr. 
 Hornby. The Directors, flill retaining fome iha- 
 dow of refpect to this Houie, inftituted an enquiry 
 themfelves, which continued from June to Octo- 
 ber ; and after an attentive perufal and full confi- 
 deration of papers, refolved to take fteps for re- 
 moving the perfons who had been the objects of 
 our refolution - s but not without a violent itruggle 
 againft evidence. Seven Directors went fo far as to 
 enter a proteft againft the vote of their court. 
 
 Upon
 
 Upon this the general court takes the alarm ; it 
 re-atfembles ; it orders the Directors to refcind their 
 refolution, that is, not to recal Mr. Haftings and 
 Mr. Hornby, and to defpife the refolution of the 
 Houie of Commons. Without fo much as the 
 pretence of looking into a fmgle paper, without 
 ihe formality of inftitucing any committee of en-" 
 quiry, they fuperfeded all the labours of their own 
 Directors, and of this Houie. 
 
 It will naturally occur to afk, how it was poffi- 
 ble that they fhould not attempt fome fort of 
 examination into facts, as a colour for their refift- 
 ance to a public authority, proceeding fo very de- 
 liberately ; and exerted, apparently at lead, in favour 
 of their own ? The anfwer, and the only anfwer 
 which can be given, is, that they were afraid that 
 their true relation fhould be mittaken. They 
 were afraid that their patrons and matters in 
 India fhould attribute their fupport of them, to 
 an opinion of their caufe, and not to an attachment 
 to their power. They were afraid it (hould be 
 fufpecteci, that they did not mean blindly to fup- 
 port them in the ufe they made of that power. 
 They determined to {hew that they at leait were 
 let againft reformation ; that they were firmly 
 refolved to bring the territories, the trade, and the 
 itock of the Company, to ruin, rather than be 
 wanting in fidelity to their nominal fervants and 
 real matters, in the ways they took to their pri- 
 vate fortunes. 
 
 Even fir.ce the beginning of this feffion, the 
 fame act of audacity was repeated, with the fame 
 circumftances of contempt of all the decorum of 
 enquiry, on their part, and of all the proceedings 
 of this Houfe. They again made it a requeft to 
 their favourite, and your culprit, to keep his pott ; 
 and thanked and applauded him, without calling 
 for a paper which could afford light into the 
 G 4 merit
 
 ( 88 ) 
 
 merit or demerit of the tranfaction, and with- 
 out giving themfelves a moment's time to con- 
 iider, or even to underftand, the articles of the 
 Maratta peace. The fad is, that for a long 
 time there was a druggie, a faint one indeed, 
 between the Company and their fervants. But it 
 is a ftruggle no longer. For fome time the fupe- 
 riority has been decided. The intereits abroad are 
 become the fettled preponderating weight both 
 in the Court of Proprietors, and the Court of 
 Directors. Even the attempt you have made to 
 enquire into their practices and to reform abufes* 
 has raifed and piqued them to a far more regular 
 and (leady fupport. The Company has made a 
 common caule, and identified themfelves, with 
 the deftroyers of India. They have taken on 
 themfelves all that mafs of enormity ; they are 
 iupporting what you have reprobated , thofe you 
 condemn they applaud ; thofe you order home to 
 anfwer for their conduct, they requeft to flay, and 
 thereby encourage to, proceed in their practices. 
 Thus the fervants of the Eaft India Company 
 triumph, and the reprefentatives of the people of 
 Great Britain are defeated. 
 
 I therefore conclude, what you all conclude, 
 that this body, being totally perverted from the 
 purpofes of its inflitution, is utterly incorrigible ; 
 and becaufe they are incorrigible, both in conduct 
 and conftitution, power ought to be taken out of 
 their hands ; juft on the fame principles on which 
 have been made all the juft changes and revolu- 
 tions of government that have taken place fince 
 the beginning of the world. 
 
 I will now fay a few words to the general prin- 
 ciple of the plan which is fet up againft that 
 of my Right Honourable friend. It is to re-com- 
 mit the government of India to the Court of 
 Directors. Thofe who would commit the refor- 
 Q mation
 
 mation of India to the deftroyers of it, are the 
 enemies to that reformation. They would make 
 a diftinction between Directors and Proprietors, 
 which, in the prefent ftate of things, does not, cannot 
 exift. But a Right Honourable gentleman lays, he 
 would keep the prefent government of India in the 
 Court of Directors; and would, to curb them, 
 provide falutary regulations ; wonderful ! That 
 is, he would appoint the old offenders to correct 
 the old offences , and he would render the vicious 
 and the foolilh wife and virruous, by falutary 
 regulationsT He would appoint the wolf as guar- 
 dian of the fheep ; but he has invented a curious 
 muzzle, by which this protecting wolf mall not 
 be able to open his jaws above an inch or two at 
 the utmoft. Thus his work is finifhed. But I tell 
 the Right Honourable gentleman, that controuled 
 depravity is not innocence , and that it is not 
 the labour of delinquency in chains, that will cor- 
 rect abufes. Will thefe gentlemen of the direc- 
 tion animadvert on the partners of their own 
 guilt? Never did a ferious plan of amending of 
 any old tyrannical eftablifhment propofe the au- 
 thors and abettors of the abufes as the reformers 
 of them. If the undone people of India fee their 
 old opprefibrs in confirmed power, even by the 
 reformation, they will expect nothing but what 
 they will certainly feel, a continuance, or rather 
 an aggravation, of all their former fufferings. 
 They look to the feat of power, and to the per- 
 fons who fill it ; and they ddpife thofe gentle- 
 men's regulations as much as the gentlemen do 
 who talk of them. 
 
 But there is a cure for every thing. Take away, 
 fay they, the Court of Proprietors, and the Courc 
 of Directors will do their duty. Yes -, as they 
 have done it hitherto. That the evils in India 
 have folely arifen from the Court of Proprietors, 
 
 is
 
 ( 90 ) 
 
 is grofsly falfe. In many of them, the Directors 
 were heartily concurring ; in mod of them they 
 were encouraging, and ibmetimes commanding; 
 in all they were conniving. 
 
 But who are to choofe this well-regulated and 
 reforming Court of Directors ? Why, the very 
 proprietors who are excluded from all manage- 
 ment, for the abufe of their power. They will 
 choofe undoubtedly, out of thcmlelves, men like 
 themfelves ; and thofe who are moft forward in 
 refifting your authority, thofe who are moft en- 
 gaged in faction or intereft with the delinquents 
 abroad, will be the objects of their felection. 
 But Gentlemen fay, that when this choice is 
 made, the proprietors are not to interfere in the 
 meafures of the Directors, whilft thole Directors 
 are bufy in the control of their common pa- 
 trons and matters in India. No, indeed, I believe 
 they will not defire to interfere. They will choofe 
 thofe whom they know may be trufted, fafely 
 trufted, to act in ftrict conformity to their common 
 principles, manners, meafures, interefts, and conr 
 nections. They will want neither monitor nor con- 
 trol. It is not eafy to choofe men to act in con- 
 formity to a public intereft againft their private: 
 but a fure dependance may be had on thole who 
 are chofen to forward their private intereft, at the 
 expence of the public. But if the Directors mould 
 flip, and deviate into rectitude, the punilhment is 
 in the hands of the general court, and it will furely 
 be remembered to them at their next election. 
 
 If the government of India wants no reforma- 
 tion ; but gentlemen areamufing themfelves with 
 a theory, conceiving a more democratic or arii- 
 tocratic mode of government for thelo depen- 
 ances, or if they are in a difpute only about pa- 
 tronage ; the difpute is with me of fo liitle con- 
 cern, that I fhould not take the pains to utter ar) 
 
 affirmative
 
 affirmative or negative to any propofition in it. 
 If it be only for a theoretical amufement that 
 they are to propofe a bill ; the thing is at beft 
 frivolous and unneceflary. But if the Company's 
 government is not only full of abufe, but is one of 
 the mod corrupt and deftructive tyrannies, that 
 probably ever cxifted in the world (as I am fure 
 it is) what a cruel mockery would it be in me, 
 and in thofe who think like me, to propofe this 
 kind of remedy for this kind of evil ! 
 
 I now come to the third objection, That this 
 bill will increafe the influence of the Crown. An 
 Honourable gentleman has demanded of me, 
 whether I was in earned when I propofed to this 
 Houle a plan for the reduction of that influence. 
 Indeed, Sir, I was much, very much, in earneft. 
 My heart was deeply concerned in it ; and I hope 
 the public has not loft the effect: of it. How far 
 my judgment was right, for what concerned per- 
 fonal favour and confequence to myfelf, I fhall 
 not prefume to determine -, nor is its effect upon 
 me of any moment. But as to this bill, whether 
 it encreafes the influence of the Crown, or not, is 
 a queftion I mould be afhamed to afk. If I am 
 noc able to correct a fyftem of opprefiion and 
 tyranny, that goes to the utter ruin of thirty mil- 
 lions of my fellow-creatures and fellow-fubjects, 
 but by ibme increafe to the influence of the 
 Crown, I am ready here to declare, that I, who 
 have been active to reduce it, fhall be at leaft as 
 active and ftrenuous to reftore it again. I am no 
 lover of names; I contend for thefubftance of good 
 and protecting government, let it come from what 
 quarter it will. 
 
 But I am not obliged to have recourfe to this 
 expedient. Much, very much the contrary. I 
 am fure that the influence of the Crown will by 
 no means aid a reformation of this kind 5 which 
 
 can
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 can neither be originated nor fupported, but by 
 the uncorrupt public virtue of the repreientatives 
 of the people of England. Let it once get into 
 the ordinary courfe of adminiftration, and to me 
 all hopes of reformation are gone. I am far from 
 knowing or believing, that this bill will encreafe the 
 influence of the Crown. We all know, that the 
 Crown has ever had fome influence in the Court 
 of Directors ; and that it has been extremely in- 
 creafed by the acts of 1773 and 1780. The gen- 
 tlemen who, as part of their reformation, propofe 
 " a more active controul on the part of the 
 " Crown," which is to put the Directors under a 
 Secretary of State, fpecially named for that pur- 
 pofe, muft know, that their project will increaie it 
 further. But that old influence has had, and the 
 new will have, incurable inconveniences, which 
 cannot happen under the parliamentary eftablifh- 
 rnent propoied in this bill. * An Honourable 
 gentleman not now in his place, but who is well 
 acquainted with the T ndia Company, and by no 
 means a friend to this bill, has told you that a 
 minifterial influence has always been predominant 
 in that body ; and that to make the Directors 
 pliant to their purpofes, Minifters generally caufed 
 perfons meanly qualified to be chofen Directors. 
 According to his idea, to fecure fubferviency, 
 they fubmitted the Company's affairs to the di- 
 rection of incapacity. This was to ruin the Com- 
 pany, in order to govern it. This was certainly 
 influence in the very worft form in which it could 
 appear. At beft it was clandeftine and irrefpon- 
 fible. Whether this was done fo much upon fyf- 
 tem as that gentleman fuppofes, I greatly doubt. 
 But fuch in effect the operation of Government 
 en that court unqueftionably was ; and fuch 
 under a fimilar conftitution, it will be for ever. 
 
 * Governor Johnilone. 
 
 Minifters
 
 ( 93 ) 
 
 Minifters mufl be wholly removed from the 
 management of the affairs of India, or they 
 will have an influence in its patronage. The 
 thing is inevitable. Their fcheme of a new 
 Secretary of State, " with a more vigorous 
 * c control," is not much better than a repetition of 
 the meafure which we know by experience will 
 not do. Since the year 1775 and the year 1780, 
 the Company has been under the control of the 
 Secretary of State's office, and we had then three 
 Secretaries of State. If more than this is done, then 
 they annihilate the direction which they pretend to- 
 fupport; and they augment the influence of the 
 Crown, of whofe growth they affect fo great an 
 horror. But in truth this fcheme of reconciling a 
 direction really and truly deliberative, with an 
 office really and fubftantially controlling, is a fore 
 of machinery that can be kept in order but a very 
 Ihort time. Either the Directors will dwindle into 
 clerks, or the Secretary of State, as hitherto has 
 been the courfe, will leave every thing to them, 
 often through defign, often through neglect. If 
 both fhould affect activity, collifion, procraftina- 
 tion, delay, and in the end, utter confufion rnufh 
 enfue. 
 
 But, Sir, there is one kind of influence far 
 greater than that of the nomination to office. This 
 gentlemen in oppofition have totally overlooked, 
 although it now exifts in its full vigour j and ic 
 will do fo, upon their fcheme, in at leaft as much 
 force as it does now. That influence this bill 
 cuts up by the ropts; I mean the influence of 
 protection* I (hall explain myielf: The office 
 given to a young man going to India is of trifling 
 confequence. But he that goes out an infigni- 
 ficant boy, in a few years returns a great Nabob. 
 Mr. Haltings fays he has two hundred and fifty 
 of that kind of raw materials, who expect to be 
 
 fpeedily
 
 ( 94 ) 
 
 fpeedily manufactured into the merchantable qua- 
 lity I mention. One of thefe gentlemen, fup- 
 pole, returns hither, loaded with odium and with 
 riches. When he comes to England he comes 
 as to a prifon or as to a fanctuary ; and cither 
 are ready for him, according to his demeanor. 
 What is the influence in the grant of any place 
 in India, to that which is acquired by the 
 protection orcompromifewithfuch guilt, and with 
 the command of fuch riches, under the domi- 
 nion of the hopes and fears which power is 
 able to hold out to every man in that condition ? 
 That man's whole fortune, half a million per- 
 haps, becomes an inftrument of influence, without 
 a (hilling of charge to the Civil Lift ; and the 
 influx of fortunes which (land in need of this 
 protection is continual. It works both ways ; 
 it influences the delinquent, and it may cor- 
 rupt the minifter. Compare the influence ac- 
 quired by appointing for in (lance even a go- 
 vernor general, and that obtained by protecting 
 him. I (hall pufh this no further. But I 
 wifh gentlemen to roll it a little in their own 
 minds. 
 
 The bill before you cuts ofF this fource of 
 influence. Its defign and main fcope is to re- 
 gulate the adminiftration of India upon the prin- 
 ciples of a Court of Judicature-, and to exclude, 
 as far as human prudence can exclude, all pof- 
 fibility of a corrupt partiality, in appointing to 
 office or fupporting in office, or covering from 
 enquiry and punifhment, any perfon who has 
 abufedorfhall abufe his authority. At the board, 
 as appointed and regulated by this bill, reward 
 and punimment cannot be (hifted and reverfed 
 by a whifper. That commiffion becomes fatal 
 to cabal, to intrigue, and to fecret reprefenta- 
 tionj thofe inftruments of the ruin of India. 
 i He
 
 ( 95 ) 
 
 He that cuts off the means of premature 
 fortune, and the power of protecting it when 
 acquired, ftrikes a deadly blow at the great fund, 
 the Bank, the capital (lock of Indian influence, 
 which cannot be vefted any where, or in any 
 hands, without moil dangerous confequenees to 
 the public. 
 
 The third and contradictory objection, is, Thac 
 this bill does not increafe the influence of the 
 Crown. On the contrary, That the juft power 
 of the Crown will be leflened, and transferred 
 to the ule of a party, by giving the patronage 
 of India to a commiflion nominated by par- 
 liament, and independent of the Crown. The 
 contradiction is glaring, and it has been too well 
 expofed to make it neceffary for me to infift upon 
 it. But paffing the contradiction, and taking ic 
 without any relation, of all objections that is the 
 mod extraordinary. Do not gentlemen know, 
 that the Crown has not at prefent the granc 
 of a tingle office tinder the Company, civil or 
 military, at home or abroad ? So far as the 
 Crown is concerned, it is certainly rather a 
 gainer ; for the vacant offices in the new com- 
 miflion are to be filled up by the King. 
 
 It is argued as a part of the bill, derogatory 
 to the prerogatives of the Crown, that the 
 commifiioners named in the bill are to continue 
 for a fhort term of years (too fhort in my 
 opinion) and becaufe, during that time, they are 
 not at; the mercy of every predominant faction of 
 the court. Does not this objection lie again ft the 
 prefent Directors ; none of whom are named by 
 the Crown, and a proportion of whom hold for 
 this very term of four years ? Did it not lie 
 againft the governor general and council named 
 in the act of 1773- -who were in vefted by name, 
 as the prefent comaiiffioncrs are to be ap- 
 pointed
 
 ( 9" ) 
 
 pointed in the body of the act of parliament, 
 who were to hold their places for a term of 
 years, and were not removable at the discretion 
 of the Crown ? Did it not lie againft the re- 
 appointment, in the year 1780, upon the very 
 lame terms ? Yet at none of thcfe times, what- 
 ever other objections the fcheme might be liable 
 to, was it fuppofed to be a derogation to the 
 juft prerogative of the Crown, that a commifiion 
 created by act of parliament Ihould have its 
 members named by the authority which called 
 it into exiftence ? This is not the difpofal by 
 parliament of any office derived from the authority 
 of the Crown, or now difpofable by that authority. 
 It is fo far from being any thing new, violent, 
 or alarming, that I do not recollect, in any par- 
 liamentary commiffion, down to the commifiioners 
 of the land tax, that it has ever been otherwife. 
 
 The objection of the tenure for four years is an 
 objection to all places that are not held during 
 pleafure ; but in that objection I pronounce the 
 gentlemen, from my knowledge of their com- 
 plexion and of their principles, to be perfectly in 
 earned. The party (fay thefe gentlemen) of the 
 minifter who propofes this fcheme will be ren- 
 dered powerful by it ; for he will name his party 
 friends to the commiflion. This objection againft: 
 party is a party objection ; and in this too thefe 
 gentlemen are perfectly ferious. They fee that if, 
 by any intrigue, they Ihould fucceed to office, they 
 will lofe the clandejline patronage, the true inftru- 
 ment of clandeftine influence, enjoyed in the name 
 of fubfervient Directors, and of wealthy trembling 
 Indian delinquents. But as often as they are beaten 
 off this ground, they return to it again. Theminifter 
 will name his friends, and perfons of his own party. 
 Who fhould he name ? Should he name his adver- 
 faries ? Should he name thofe whom he cannot truft ? 
 
 Should
 
 ( 97 ) 
 
 Should he name thofe to execute his plans, who 
 are the declared enemies to the principles of his 
 reform ? His character is here at (lake. If he 
 propofes for his own ends (but he never will pro- 
 pofe) fuch names as, from their want of rank, 
 fortune, character, ability, or knowledge, are 
 likely to betray or to fall fhort of their truft, he 
 is in an independent Houfe of Commons; in an 
 Houfe of Commons which has, by its own virtue, 
 deftroyed the inftruments of parliamentary fubfer- 
 vience. This Houle of Commons would not en- 
 dure the found of fuch names. He would perifh 
 by the means which he is fuppofed to purfue for 
 the fecurity of his power. The firft pledge he 
 muft give of his fincerity in this great reform will 
 be in the confidence which ought to be repofed in 
 thofe names. 
 
 For my part, Sir, in this bufinefs I put all indi- 
 rect confiderations wholly out of my mind. My 
 fole queftion, on each claufe of the bill, amounts to 
 this : Is the meafurepropofed required by the ne- 
 ceflities of India ? I cannot confent totally to lofe 
 light of the real wants of the people who are the 
 objects of it, and to hunt after every matter of 
 party fquabble that may be darted on the feveral 
 provifions. On the queftion of the duration of 
 the commiffion I am clear and decided. Can I, 
 can any one who has taken the fmalleft trouble to 
 be informed concerning the affairs of India, amufe 
 himfelf with fo ftrange an imagination, as that the 
 habitual defpotifm and oppreffion, that the mono- 
 polies, the peculations, the univerfal deftruction 
 of all the legal authority of this kingdom, which 
 have been for twenty years maturing to their 
 prelent enormity, combined with the diftance of 
 the fcene, the boldnefs and artifice of delinquents, 
 H their
 
 their combination, their exceflive wealth, and the 
 faction they have made in England, can be fully 
 corrected in a fliorter term than four years ? None 
 has hazarded fuch an afiertion None, who has 
 a regard for his reputation, will hazard it. 
 
 Sir, the gentlemen, whoever they are, who mall 
 be appointed to this commifiion, have an under- 
 taking of magnitude on their hands, and their lia- 
 bility muft not only be, but it muft be thought, 
 real ; and who is it will believe, that any thing 
 Ihort of an eftablifhment made, fupported, and 
 fixed in its duration, with all the authority of par- 
 liament, can be thought fecure of a reafonable 
 liability ? The plan of my Honourable friend is 
 the reverfe of that of reforming by the authors of 
 the abufe. The bed we could expect from them 
 is, that they Ihould not continue their ancient 
 pernicious activity. To thofe we could think of 
 nothing but applying control^ as we are fure, that 
 even a regard to their reputation (if any fuch 
 thing exifts in them) would oblige them to cover, to 
 conceal, to iuppiels, and confequently to prevent, 
 all cure of the grievances of India. For what 
 can be difcovered, which is not to their difgrace ? 
 
 D 
 
 Every attempt to correct an abufe would be a fa- 
 tire on their former adminiftration. Every man 
 they mould pretend to call to an account, would 
 be found their inftrument or their accomplice. 
 They can never fee a beneficial regulation, but 
 with a view to defeat it. The fhorter the tenure 
 of fuch perfons, the better would be the chance of 
 fome amendment. 
 
 But the fyftem of the bill is different. It calls 
 
 in perlons no wife concerned with any act cen- 
 
 fured by parliament; perlons generated with, and 
 
 for the reform of which, they are themfelves the 
 
 10 moft
 
 ( 99 ) 
 
 mod eflential part. To thefe the chief regula- 
 tions in the bill are helps, not fetters , they are 
 authorities to fupport, not regulations to reftrain 
 them. From thefe we look for much more than 
 innocence. From thefe we expect zeal, firmnefs, 
 and unremitted activity. Their duty, their cha- 
 racter, binds them to proceedings of vigour ; and 
 they ought to have a tenure in their office which 
 precludes all fear, whilft they are acting up to the 
 purpofes cf their truft; a tenure without which, 
 none will undertake plans that require a fe- 
 ries and fyftem of acts. When they know that 
 they cannot be whifpered out of their duty, 
 that their public conduct cannot be cenfured 
 without a public difcuffion ; that the fchetnes 
 which they have begun will not be committed to 
 thafe who will have an intereft and credit in defeat- 
 ing and difgracing them ; then we may enter- 
 tain hopes. The tenure is for four years, or 
 during their good behaviour. That good be- 
 haviour is as long as they are true to the princi- 
 ples of the bill; and the judgment is in either 
 Houfe of Parliament. This is the tenure of your 
 judges; and the valuable principle of the bill 
 is, to make a judicial adminiftration for India. 
 It is to give confidence in the execution of a duty, 
 which requires as much perfeverance and forti- 
 tude as can fall to the lot of any that is born 
 of woman. 
 
 As to the gain by party, from the Right Ho- 
 nourable gentleman's bill, let it be (hewn, that 
 this fuppoled party advantage is pernicious to 
 its object, and the objection is of weight ; but 
 until this is done, and this has not been at- 
 tempted, I fhall confider the fole objection, from 
 its tendency to promote the intereft of a party, 
 as altogether contemptible. The kingdom is 
 
 H 2 divided
 
 divided into parties, and it ever has been fo di- 
 vided, and it ever will be fo divided ; and if no 
 fyftem for relieving the fubjects of this kingdom 
 from oppreffion, and fnatching its affairs from 
 ruin, can be adopted, until it is demonfl rated that 
 no party can derive an advantage from it, no 
 good can ever be done in this country. If party 
 is to derive an advantage from the reform of 
 India, (which is more than I know, or believe) it 
 ought to be that party which alone, in this king- 
 dom, has irs reputation, nay its very being, 
 pledged to the protection and prefervation of 
 that part of the empire. Great fear is expref- 
 fed, that the commiffioners named in this bill 
 will mew fome regard to a minitter out of place. 
 To men made like the objectors, this muft ap- 
 pear criminal. Let it however be remembered 
 by others, that if the commiffioners mould be his 
 friends, they cannot be his (laves. But dependants 
 are not in a condition to adhere to friends, nor to 
 principles, nor to any uniform line of conduct. 
 They may begin cenfors, and be obliged to end 
 accomplices. They may be even put under the 
 direction of thofe whom they were appointed to 
 punifh. 
 
 The fourth and laft objection is, That the bill 
 will hurt public credit. I do not know whether 
 this requires an anfwer. But if it does, look to 
 your foundations. The finking fund is the pillar of 
 credit in this country -, and let it not be forgot, 
 that the diftrefies, owing to the mifmanagement 
 of the Eaft India Company, have already taken 
 a million from that fund by the non-payment of 
 duties. The bills drawn upon the Company, 
 which are about four millions, cannot be accepted 
 without the confent of the treafury. The trea- 
 fury, acting under a parliamentary truft and 
 * authority,
 
 ( 101 ) 
 
 authority, pledges the public for thefe millions. If 
 they pledge the public, the public muft have a 
 fecurity in its hands for the management of this 
 intereft, or the national credit is gone. For 
 otherwife it is not only the Eaft India Company, 
 which is a great intereft, that is undone, but, 
 clinging to the fecurity of all your funds, it drags 
 down the reft, and the whole fabric periflies in 
 one ruin. If this bill does not provide a direction 
 of integrity and of ability competent to that truft, 
 the objection is fatal. If it does, public credit 
 muft depend on the fupport of the bill. 
 
 It has been faid, if you violate this charter, what 
 fecurity has the charter of the Bank, in which public 
 credit is fo deeply concerned, and even the charter 
 of London, in which the rights of fo many fub- 
 jects are involved ? I anfwer, In the like cafe they 
 have no fecurity at all No no fecurity at all. 
 If the Bank mould, by every fpecies of mifma- 
 nagement, fall into a ftate fitnilar to that of the 
 Eaft India Company-, if it fhould be opprefied 
 with demands it could not anfwer, engagements 
 which it could not perform, and with bills for 
 which it could not procure payment ; no charter 
 mould protect the mifmanagement from correc- 
 tion, and fuch public grievances from redrefs. 
 If the city of London had the means and will of 
 deftroying an empire, and of cruelly opprefling 
 and tyrannizing over millions of men as good as 
 themfelvcs, the charter of the city of London 
 fhould prove no fandtion to fuch tyranny and fuch 
 opprefiion. Charters are kept, when their purpofes 
 are maintained : they are violated when the pri- 
 vilege is fupported againft its end and its object. 
 
 Now, Sir, I have finifhed all I propoied to fay, 
 as my reafons for giving my vote to this Bill. If 
 
 H 3 I am
 
 ( 102 ) 
 
 I am wrong, it is not for want of pains to know 
 what is right. This pledge, at leail, of my rec- 
 titude J have given to my country. 
 
 And now, having done my duty to the Bill, 
 let me fay a word to the author. I mould 
 leave him to his own noble fentiments, if the un- 
 worthy and illiberal language with which he has 
 been treated, beyond all example of parliamentary 
 liberty, did not make a few words necefiary ; not 
 fo much in juftice to him, as to my own feelings. 
 I muft fay then, that it will be a diftinction ho- 
 nourable to the age, that the refcue of the 
 greateft number of the human race that ever 
 were fo grievoufly opprefled, from the greateft 
 tyranny that was ever exercifed, has fallen to the 
 lot of abilities and difpofitions equal to the tafk ; 
 that it has fallen to one who has the enlarge- 
 ment to comprehend, the fpirit to undertake, 
 and the eloquence to fupport, fo great a meafure 
 of hazardous benevolence. His fpirit is not 
 owing to his ignorance of the ftate of men 
 and things ; he well knows what fnares are 
 fpread about his path, from perfonal animofity, 
 from court intrigues, and poflibly from po- 
 pular delufion. But he has put to hazard his 
 cafe, his fecurity, his intereft, his power, even 
 his darling popularity, for the benefit of a 
 people whom he has never feen. This is the 
 road that all heroes have trod before him. He 
 is traduced and abufed for his fuppofed motives. 
 He will remember, that obloquy is a necefTary in- 
 gredient in the compofition of all true glory : he 
 will remember, that it was not only in the Roman 
 cuftoms, but it is in the nature and conftitution 
 of things, that calumny and abufe are efiential 
 parts of triumph. Thefe thoughts will fupporc 
 
 a mind,
 
 ( 103 ) 
 
 a mind, which only exifts for honour, under the 
 burthen of temporary reproach. He is doing in- 
 deed a great good ; fuch as rarely falls to the lot, 
 and almoft as rarely coincides with the dcfires, of 
 any man. Let him ufe his time. Let him give 
 the whole length of the reins to his benevolence. 
 He is now on a great eminence, where the eyes of 
 mankind are turned to him. He may live long, 
 he may do much. But here is the fummit. He 
 never can exceed what he does this day. 
 
 He has faults , but they are faults that, though 
 they may in a fmall degree tarnifti the luftre, and 
 fometimes impede the march of his abilities, have 
 nothing in them to extinguifh the fire of great 
 virtues. In thofe faults, there is no mixture of 
 deceit, of hypocrify, of pride, of ferocity, of 
 complexional defpotifm, or want of feeling for 
 the diftreflcs of mankind. His are faults which 
 might exift in a defcendant of Henry the Fourth 
 of France, as they did exift in that father of his 
 country. Henry the Fourth wifhed that he might 
 live to fee a fowl in the pot of every peafant of 
 his kingdom. That fentiment of homely benevo- 
 lence was worth all the fplendid fayings that are 
 recorded of kings. But he wilhed perhaps for 
 more than could be obtained, and the goodnefs of 
 the man exceeded the power of the King. But 
 this gentleman, a fubjec~r., may this day fay this 
 at lead, with truth, that he fecures the rice in his 
 pot to every man in India. A poet of antiquity 
 thought it one of the firft diftinctions to a prince 
 whom he meant to celebrate, that through a long 
 fucceilion of generations, he had been the pro- 
 genitor of an able and virtuous citizen, who 
 by force of the arts of peace, had corrected 
 
 governments
 
 C 104 ) 
 
 governments of opprefiion, and fupprefied wars of 
 rapine. 
 
 Indole proh quanta juvenis, quantumque daturas 
 Atrfonise populis, ventura in faecula civem. 
 Ille fuper Gangem, fuper exauditus et Indos, 
 Implebit terras voce ; et furialia bella 
 Fulmine compefcet linguae.' 
 
 This was what was faid of the predeceflbr of the 
 only perfon to whofe eloquence it does not wrong 
 that of the mover of this bill to be compared. 
 But the Ganges and the Indus are the patrimony of 
 the fame of my Honourable friend, and not of 
 Cicero. -I confefs, I anticipate with joy the re- 
 ward of thofe, whofe whole confequence, power, 
 and authority, exift only for the benefit of man- 
 kind; and I carry my mind to all the people, 
 and all the names and defcriptions, that, relieved 
 by this bill, will blefs the labours of this Parlia- 
 ment, and the confidence which the bed Houfe 
 of Commons has given to him who the beft de- 
 ferves it. The little cavils of party will not be 
 heard, where freedom and happinefs will be 
 felt. There is not a tongue, a nation, or 
 religion in India, which will not blefs the pre- 
 iiding care and manly beneficence of this Houfe, 
 and of him who propofes to you this great work. 
 Your names will never be ieparated before the 
 throne of the Divine Good nets, in whatever lan- 
 guage, or with whatever rites, pardon is afked 
 for fin, and reward for thofe who imitate the 
 Godhead in his univerfal bounty to his creatures. 
 Thefe honours you delerve, and they will furely 
 be paid, when all the jargon, of influence, and 
 party, and patronage, are fwept into oblivion. 
 
 I have
 
 ( 105 ) 
 
 I have fpoken what I think, and what I feel, 
 of the mover of this Bill. An Honourable friend 
 of mine, fpeaking of his merits, was charged 
 with having made a ftudied panegyric. I don't 
 know what his was. Mine, I am fure, is a ftudied 
 panegyric ; the fruit of much meditation ; the 
 refult of the obfervation of near twenty years. 
 For my own part, I am happy that I have 
 lived to fee this day ; I feel myfelf overpaid for 
 the labours of eighteen years, when, at this late 
 period, I am able to take my mare, by one hum- 
 ble vote, in deftroying a tyranny that exifts to 
 the difgrace of this nation, and the deftrudlion of 
 fo large a part of the human fpecies.

 
 THE 
 
 SUBSTANCE 
 
 O F 
 
 GENERAL BURGOYNE'S 
 
 SPEECHES. 
 
 PRICE ONE SHILLING.
 
 Speedily will be 
 
 A Genuine Copy of the PROCEED- 
 * INGS of the COURT MARTIAL, 
 held upon Colonel HENLEY of the 
 American Troops, at Cambridge^ in 
 the Month of February, 1778 ; upon 
 the Profecution of General BURGOYNE, 
 for Ill-treatment of the Eritijh Troops, 
 
 Printed for J. Almon, oppofite Burling- 
 ton-Houfe in Piccadilly.
 
 TBS 
 
 SUBSTANCE 
 
 O F 
 
 GENERAL BURGOYNE'S 
 SPEECHES, 
 
 O N 
 
 MR. VYNER'S MOTION, 
 On the 26th of May ; 
 
 AND UPON 
 
 MR. HARTLEY'S MOTION, 
 On the a8th of May, 1778. 
 
 WITH AN 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 CONTA1NI N G 
 
 General Wafhington's Letter 
 
 T O 
 
 General Burgoyne. 
 &c. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 FOR J. ALHOJf, OPPOSITE BURLINGTON-HOUSf , 
 PICCADILLY, MDCCLXXVm.
 
 SPEECH 
 
 O F 
 
 GENERAL BURGOYNE. 
 
 MOTION by Mr. V Y N R, 
 
 Mart is 26 die Maii, 1778. 
 
 u HpHAT this houfe will now refolve it- 
 " felf into a committee of th whole 
 
 " houfe to confider of the ftate and condition 
 '* of the army which furrendered themfelves 
 c< on convention at Saratoga, in America ; 
 " and alfo by what means Lieutenant Gene- 
 " ral Burgoyne, who commanded that army^ 
 ** and was included in that convention, was 
 " releafed, and is now returned to England ?" 
 
 Mr. Vyner, in opening the motion, ftated 
 fome queftions to General Burgoyne, which 
 he proposed to afk in the committee. 
 
 The motion was feconded by Mr. Wilkes, 
 who alfo ftated further queftions in refpecl: to 
 
 B the
 
 the treaty with the Indians, their conduct 
 during the campaign, and the burning the 
 country. 
 
 An amendment was propofed by Mr. Fox 
 to infert, after the word corjider, thefe words 
 " of the tranfacYions of the northern army 
 " tinder Lieutenant General Burgoyne, and 
 " of" 
 
 The motion thus amended, would have 
 rim as follows : ' That this houfe will now 
 " refolve itfelf into a committee of the whole 
 " houfe to confider of the tranfactions of the 
 " northern army under Lieutenant General 
 " Burgoyne, and of the ftate and condition 
 " of the faid army, &c." 
 
 In th courfe of the debate General Bur- 
 gopne fpoke nearly as follows : 
 
 Mr. Speaker, not imagining there would 
 be any motion by the honourable gentleman 
 who fpoke firft, but that merely a defire of 
 information would be exprefled upon certain 
 fubje&s, I had myfelf prepared a motion for 
 an addrefs to the king, to have fuch papers laid 
 before the houfe, as are now in pofleffion of the 
 fecretary of flate, and contain an account in 
 detail, much too long for me to give in my 
 place, of every circumftance exprerlcd in the 
 queftions of the honourable gentleman. Thofe 
 ^ papers
 
 [ 3 3, 
 
 papers are of the utmoft importance to the 
 fbte. to parliament, and to the public. 
 
 The turn the bufinefs has taken precludes 
 me at prefent from my intended motion ; but 
 I rife to give my warmeft fupport to the 
 amendment propofed ; and as reafons for the 
 expediency of inftituting a full enquiry, to 
 which the amendment points, I fhall endea- 
 vour, as far as 1 can do it without breach of 
 order in debate, to give to *both the gentle- Mr. r yit 
 men fatisfacliion upon the particular fubjec~ts#v*.' 
 of their enquiries. 
 
 I agree with the honourable gentleman who 
 feconded the motion, that all the conduft re- 
 fpeting the Indian nations is a matter that 
 ought to be thoroughly canvafled ; and I look 
 upon his calling upon me openly, and in my 
 place, as fome reparation for the very free, 
 and not very generous comments he made 
 upon my conduct in my abfence. 
 
 Sir, I ever efteemed the Indian alliances, at 
 beft, a neceflary evil. I ever believed their 
 fervices to be over-valued ; fometimes iniigni- 
 ficant, often baibarous, always capricious; 
 and that the employment of them was only 
 juftifiable, when by being united to a regular 
 army, they could bekept under controul, and 
 made fubfervient to a general fyftem. 
 
 B 2 Upon
 
 [ 4 ] 
 
 Upon this principle I heartily concurred 
 with that gallant and humane general, Sir 
 Guy Carleton, in the year 1776, to decline 
 the offers and fol : citations of the Indians to 
 be then employed feparately : the impoffibi- 
 lity of compleating the preparations for paf- 
 fmg the regular troops over the lakes made 
 it impoffible to employ them conjunctively. 
 
 In that year, Sir, it was my lot, by delega^ 
 tion from Sir Guy Carleton, who was then at 
 Quebec, to prefide at one of the greateft 
 councils with the Indians that had been held 
 at Montreal. Many gentlemen here know, 
 that the ceremony preceding the taking up the 
 hatchet, i?, to offer to the reprefentative of 
 the power they mean toferve, the pipe of war. 
 It was preffed upon me by the chiefs pre- 
 fent; and it was in my power, by a fingle 
 whif of tobacco, to have given flame and ex- 
 plofion to a dozen nations. I never felt 
 greater fatisfaclion than in being able to ful- 
 fil the inftru&ions I was charged with, for 
 retraining the impetuous paffions of thefe 
 people: it was a fecondary fatisfaclion, at my 
 return to England in the winter, to juftify the 
 conduct of Sir Guy Carleton in this refpect, 
 though the juftification was very unpopular, 
 gmong thofe I mean not to particularize
 
 C 5 1 
 
 / 
 
 minifcers, or minifters of minifters but a- 
 rnong thofe men, who, in their zeal againft 
 the colonifts, had adopted the reafoning, that 
 *' partial feverity was general mercy," pro- 
 vided by carrying terrors it conduced to 
 finifhing the war. How juft fo ever this 
 principle may be, my mind is not of a texture 
 for carrying it into effecT:; and I returned to 
 Canada the following fpring, when I fuc- 
 ceeded to the command, determined to be the 
 foldier, not the executioner of the ftare. 
 
 I found care had been alreadytaken by Ge- 
 neral Carleton, upon the fame principles of 
 humanity which always direct his conduct, 
 to officer the Indians with gentlemen feledled 
 from the British troops, upon a diftinftion of 
 their temper and judgment, as well as upon 
 that of their valour; and in much greater 
 number than ever was deftined to that fervice 
 before. To thefe precautions I added that of 
 a favourite prieft, who had more controul o- 
 ver the paffions of the Indians than all their 
 chiefs put together; and I truft the expence 
 put upon government to engage that gentle- 
 man's affiftance through the courfe of the 
 campaign, will not be efteemed an improper 
 article in my accounts.
 
 [ 6 ] 
 
 Sir, with thefe affiftances I was able to en- 
 force obedience to the injunctions of my fpeech 
 at the gr^at council, upon affembling the ar- 
 my, which has been made public. Barbarity 
 was prevented So much fo, that in one in- 
 fiance, two wounded provincial officers were 
 brought off in the midft of fire upon the backs 
 of Indians; and a captain, and his whole de- 
 tachment, placed in ambufcadr, were brought 
 prifoners to my camp by Indians, without a 
 man hurt, though it was evident they were 
 placed for thg fpecial purpofe of deftroying 
 me upon a reconnoitring party, and I was at 
 that time very popular with the Indians. 
 
 I could produce many more inftances to 
 (hew, that every poffible exertion of humanity 
 was ufed; and that the cafe of Mifs Mecree 
 excepted, which was accident, not premedi- 
 tated cruelty, the frories upon which the ho- 
 nourable gentleman founded his accufation of 
 me, were merely thofe fabricated by commit- 
 tees, nnd propagated in news-papers, for tem- 
 porary purpofes. The proclamation, which 
 the honourable gen. .inin, in my abfence 
 treated with fo harfh terms, I avow, was 
 penned bv myfelf. The defign was to excite 
 obedience, firft by encouragement, and next 
 by the dread, not the commiffion of feverity ; 
 
 " to
 
 [ 7 ] 
 
 " to fpeak daggers, but ufe none." And 
 fo fnr were the Americans, in their hearts, 
 from putting upon that proclamation the in- 
 terpretation that gentleman has done, that it 
 ferved to procure me refpecl and acknowledg- 
 ment wherever I afterwards travelled through 
 the country. 
 
 Sir, a gentleman has been in London great 
 part of the winter, who I wifh had been called 
 to your bar. It is for the fake of truth only 
 I wifh it; for he is certainly not my friend. 
 His name is St. Luc le Come, a diftinguifhed 
 partifan of the French in the laft war, and 
 now in the Britifh fervice as a leader of the 
 Indians. He owes us indeed fome fervice, 
 having been formerly inftrumental in fcalping 
 many hundred Britifh foldiers upon the very 
 ground where, though with a different fort of 
 latitude, he was this year employed. He is 
 by nature, education, and practice, artful, 
 ambitious, and a courtier. To the grudge 
 he owed me for controlling him in the ufe of 
 the hatchet and fcalping kn'fe, it was natural 
 to his character to recommend himfelfto mi- 
 nifterial favour, by anv cenfure in his power 
 to caft upon an unfafhionable general. He 
 was often clofeted by a noble Lord in my eye*, * Lni c. 
 and, with all thefe difadvantages, as he has 
 
 not
 
 [ 3 ] 
 
 not been examined here, I wifh the noble lord- 
 to inform the houfe, what this man has pre- 
 fumed to fay of my conduct with the Indians. 
 I know, in private companies, his language has 
 been, that the Indians might have done great 
 fervices, but they were difcharged. Sir, if 
 to reftrain them from murder was to difcharge 
 them, I take with pride the blame They were 
 difcharged. That circumflance apart, I mould 
 fay that the Indians, and Mr. St. Luc at the 
 head of them, deferted. 
 
 [*Sir, in regard to the call made upon me 
 by the fame honourable gentleman, for expla- 
 nation refpedting the burning of the country 
 during the progrefs of the army under my 
 command, I am ignorant of any fuch circum- 
 ftance ; I do not recollect more than one ac- 
 cident by fire; I pofitively aflert there was 
 no fire by order or countenance of myfelf, 
 or any other officer, except at Saratoga. That 
 diftrict is the property of Major General 
 Scuyler of the American troops -, there were 
 large barracks built by him, which took fire 
 the day after the army arrived upon the 
 
 * This part of the fpeech included between crotchets, was 
 omitted at the time of the preceding and following parts, and 
 delivered feparately upon a fecond call or Mr. Wilkes; but 
 now is inferted in its proper place, is better connecting the 
 whole matter fpoke to by General Burgoync. 
 
 ground
 
 [ 9 ] 
 
 ground in their retreat; and I believe I need 
 not ftate any ether proof of that matter being 
 merely accident, than that the ban acks were then 
 made ufe of as my hofpital, and full of lick 
 and wounded foldiers. General Scuyler had 
 iikewife a very good dwelling-houfe, exceed- 
 ing large ftorehoufes, great faw-mills, and 
 other out-buildings, to the value altogether 
 perhaps of ten thoufand pounds ; a few days 
 before the negotiation with General Gates, 
 the enemy had formed a plan to attack me ; 
 a large column of troops were approaching to 
 pafs the fmall river, preparatory to a general 
 nclion, and were entirely covered from the 
 fire of my artillery by thofe buildings. Sir ? 
 I avow that I gave the order to fet them on 
 fire ; and in a very fhort time that whole pro- 
 perty, I have defcribed, -was confumed. But, 
 to mew that the perfon moft deeply con* 
 cerned in that calamity, did not put the con- 
 flruftion upon it, which it has pleafed the 
 honourable gentleman to do, I imift ip- 
 fprm the houfe, that one of the firft per- 
 fons 1 faw, after the convention was figned, 
 was General Scnyler. I exprefled to him 
 my regret at the event which had happen- 
 ed, and the reafons which had occafioned 
 it. He defired me to think no more of it ; 
 
 C faid
 
 C io ] 
 
 faid that the occafion juftified it, according to 
 the principles and rules of war, and he ihould 
 have done the fame upon the fame occafion, or 
 words to that effect. He did more He fent 
 an aid-de-camp to conduct me to Albany, in 
 order, as he expreiled, to procure me better 
 quarters than a ftranger might be able to find. 
 This gentleman conducted me to. a very ele^ 
 gant houfe, and to my great furprife, pre- 
 fented me to Mrs. Scnyler and her family ; 
 and in this general's houfe I remained during 
 my whole ftay at Albany, with a table of more 
 than twenty covers for me and my friends, 
 and every other poffible demonftration of ho- 
 fpitality : a fituation, painful it is true in 
 point of fenfibility at the time, but which I 
 now contemplate with fome fatisfaction, as 
 carrying undeniable teftimony how little I 
 deferved the charges of the honourable gen- 
 tleman ; and I leave it to his feelings, whether, 
 after this explanation, fome farther apology 
 is not due to me.] 
 
 In regard to the firft and moft material 
 queftion alked me by the honourable gentle- 
 man who propofed the motion, viz. In what 
 fituation is the army at Cambridge ? It i s 
 with fome furprize I find that any part of this 
 Country is ignorant of the extraordinary cir. 
 
 cumftances
 
 cumftances that have attended it, as I conceive 
 government muft have received intelligence 
 of them fome time ago. In regard to the re- 
 port made by myfelf, I acquit the king's mi- 
 niters of any blame in not yet having made 
 it public, becaufe it was fo voluminous that 
 the papers could not be digefted and copied, 
 with the conftant labour of three clerks, before 
 laft Saturday, when they were put into the 
 hands of the noble lord fecretary of ftate for 
 the American department. But I truft that 
 noble lord will now lofe no time to make pu- 
 blic, matters of fuch importance. Let them 
 undergo the fcrutiny of the committee as pro- 
 pofed by the amended motion, and let the 
 world judge, upon their report, whether the 
 fpirit of the troops and the honour of the na- 
 tion have been fuftained and vindicated during 
 thofe tranfaclions. In confidence that thefe 
 papers cannot poffibly be withheld, I refer 
 the honourable gentleman to them for a full 
 delineation and explanation of the ftate of 
 things at Cambridge, and will reft my prefent 
 information upon a few material facts. The 
 troops have undergone hardfhips and trials of 
 patience as fevere, though of a different nature, 
 as any they experienced in the conflicts of the 
 campaign. They have acquitted themfelves 
 
 with
 
 _ 
 
 with equal refolution, temper, and honour. 
 They are at prefent detained by a refolve 
 of the congrefs, expreffing that there are cau- 
 fes of fufpicion that the convention was de- 
 iigned to be broke on our part, and therefore 
 they are juftifiable, without breach of public 
 faith, to fufpend the embarkation of the troops 
 till the convention is ratified by the court of 
 Great Britain. 
 
 In common with various pretences which 
 involved other names in high departments to 
 juftify this meafure, the congrefs grounded 
 many fuppofitions that I knew to be unjuft, 
 upon my conduct. I thought it a duty to the 
 flate, to the army, and to myfelf, to refute thofe 
 fuppofitions, and frill, if poffible, to give im- 
 mediate eflfeft to the convention. It will reft 
 upon the houfe to judge, when they fee the 
 papers, whether I made good that refutation. 
 And that brings me to another queftion aiked 
 by the honourable gentleman: "By what means 
 and upon what condition I am in perfon here r" 
 Sir, 1 charged my aid de camp, who carried 
 my difpatch to the congrefs in anfvver to their 
 vote of fufpenfion, which the prefident had 
 officially fent me, with a fecond later to be 
 delivered in cafe the fufpenfion, after confide- 
 ration had of my firft letter, was continued : 
 
 The
 
 [ '3 ] 
 
 The purport of this letter was to afk paffports 
 for my perfonal return for the re-eftablimment 
 of my health, (which was then much affected) 
 for the purpofe of fettling large and complicated 
 accounts, and other reafons; and I offered to give 
 a parole that mould the fufpenfion of embarka- 
 tion be prolonged beyond the time apprehended, 
 I would return to America upon demand of the 
 congrefs, and due notice given, re-deliver my 
 perfon into their hands, and abide the fate of 
 the rell of the army with whom I had ferved. 
 Sir, I had many reafons, not neceflary nor pro- 
 per to be alleged to the congrefs, founded 
 upon a nearer intereft than health or any pri- 
 vate expediency, to make me deiirous to return 
 home : to lay before government important 
 truths, not to be communicated by other 
 means, and to fupply, as far as in me lay, by 
 an affiduous and honeft exertion in this houfe, 
 the misfortune that had difenabled me from 
 performing my duty in the field. I accompa- 
 nied my letter to the congrefs by one to Gene- 
 ral Washington, wherein upon an opinion of 
 his character, laiked him for his fupport to an 
 application that could not interfere with the 
 public duties of our refpecHve fituations. I 
 fhall beg leave to read his anfwer as part of 
 my fpetch ; and I do it, Sir, not only left in 
 
 thefe
 
 thefe times of doubt and afperfion, I fhould 
 incur cenfure for holding private correfpon- 
 dence with an enemy, but likewife becaufe I 
 think this letter, though from an enemy, does 
 honour to the human heart. 
 
 [See the Appendix^ 
 
 Sir, the congrefs readily confented to my 
 application ; and by this candid treatment of 
 my enemies, I am here to vindicate my 
 conduct againft the falfe and barbarous inter- 
 pretations that have arifen and have been fuf- 
 fered to prevail, by thofe who could have con- 
 tradifted them, at home. 
 
 The honourable gentleman wifhes to know 
 what is the difference of numbers of the army 
 between the time of iigning the convention, 
 and the prefent time ; and I find the idea 
 of great defertion very much prevails. 
 That fome men have deferted, in the worft 
 fenfe of the word, is true. They are few, 
 the fcum of the regiments, and no lofs 
 of real ftrength. The greater part who have 
 abfconded, have had no intention to abandon 
 the fervice, and if an epithet of honour could 
 at any time be applied to a fault, theirs might 
 be called an honourable defertion.* Some of 
 
 thefe 
 
 * General Burgoyne took occafion in twofubfcquent debates 
 
 to explain his meaning in this phrafe, which he found had 
 
 been
 
 [ '5 ] 
 
 thefe men left letters or fent meffages to their 
 officers, informing them that in their prefent 
 want of neceflaries and comforts, and their 
 inability to ferve in arms, they had taken to 
 trades and day labour in the country, but that 
 they held themfelves under an obligation from 
 which they would never depart, to return to 
 their regiments whenever the time of embar- 
 kation was afcertained : others, upon a high, 
 though a miftaken fuggeftion of fpirit, made 
 efforts to effectuate a paflage through the woods, 
 to join the armies under Sir William Howe 
 or Sir Henry Clinton, and it is believed that 
 fome of them fucceeded. The whole of the 
 abfentees may amount to between five and fix 
 hundred men. 
 
 Sir, I have thus far endeavoured to give 
 the honourable gentlemen fatisfadtion in the 
 matters that feem moft immediately to engage 
 their attention, and that I could confiftently 
 
 been mifunderftood both within and without the houfe. He 
 meant to apply the word honourable only to the common foldier's 
 conception, who unufe% to confider and difcriminate pun&ili- 
 oufly the obligations of conventions with an enemy, a6ted only 
 upon the principles of zeal to ferve his king, and again to be 
 aftively employed in arms : that therefore their conduit was 
 honourably intended, though mifconceived. That fo far from 
 juftifying that conception himfelf, he was perfuaded that to re- 
 tain fuch deferters when demanded, or indeed difcovered, would 
 be an infringement of the convention, and he was perfuaded 
 Sir William Howe or Sir Henry Clinton would, upon fuch de- 
 mand or difcovery, return them, 
 
 with
 
 with order adduce in argument to fupport 
 my vote for a more general enquiry. 
 
 I fhall now proceed, (as yet ftronger 
 reafons for agreeing with the amendment.) to 
 take notice of what has hitherto paffed in the 
 houfe, and upon very imperfect information, 
 refpefting other parts of the late campaign. 
 
 But, Sir, accuftomed as I have been to be 
 indulged by the houfe upon every occafion ; 
 and confident, as I ought to be, upon one 
 where their indulgence is juftice, I find caufe 
 in my own mind, in entering upon fo compli- 
 cated a fubjecl-, to implore anew, the fulleil 
 fcope to their patience and candour, for a 
 man, whofe faculties, far too weak for 
 fuch (hocks, are almoft unhinged by a fuc- 
 ceffion of difficulties abroad, that fall to the 
 lot of few, and whofe difappointments and 
 anxieties have been confummated, by the un- 
 expected reception he has met at home. 
 
 And this addrefs, Sir, is the more neceffary, 
 becaufe I ftand here unconnected and unafliiled. 
 I am ignorant who would have fupported my 
 own motion, had I made it, though confident 
 from a prepofleffion of its propriety it would 
 have found affiftance fomewhere. Neither 
 courting nor fearing power, neither courting 
 nor fearing party, I ftand here upon the fole 
 
 bafis
 
 [ '7 1 
 
 bafis of truth and honour, and only afltfupport 
 in proportion tothejuftice of mycaufe. 
 
 During my abfence an enquiry was infti- 
 tnted, in which my name was very much in- 
 volved. In the fhort fpace of time lince my 
 return, and in the agitated ftate of mind I 
 have mentioned, it has been impoffible for me 
 to obtain from the mere converfation and re- 
 collecYion of friends, all that pafled upon that 
 occafion : but I have collected enough to know 
 that I have been treated with great atten- 
 tion in general, and it is among my firft 
 duties to return to every quarter of the houfe 
 my very fincere and grateful acknowledg- 
 ments. I alfo know, that with all that atten- 
 tion and favour, much implied cenfure muft 
 have fallen upon me, f-om the nature of the 
 proceedings, and more efpecially from the po- 
 lition, which I cannot admit to be a true one, 
 but which I underftand has been much in- 
 lifted upon, " That where there is mifcarriage 
 there muft be blame ; and confequently, that 
 the acquittal of one man infers the condemna- 
 tion of another." 
 
 Sir, the papers which have been laid before 
 the Houfe are in fome refpe&s deficient and in 
 others fuperfluous. The firft fuperfluity to 
 which I allude is a private letter from me to 
 
 D the
 
 
 i ] 
 
 the noble Lord, acquainting him with my in- 
 tention of going to Bath; of my audience with 
 the King ; of my felicitation to his Majefty 
 for aftive employment the next campaign ; 
 expreffing my hopes of his Lordfhip's patro- 
 nage in that purfuit, and concluding with fuch 
 acknowledgments and profeffions as were natu- 
 ral to flow from a warm and unfufpicious 
 heart imprefled with a fenfe of another's fa- 
 vour. 
 
 Not conceiving for what poffible public 
 purpofe this letter was produced, I can only 
 attend to the effects it has had to prejudice me 
 perfonally. Sufpicions have been excited, 
 that at the time I wrote that letter I was court- 
 ing command, and by adulatory means, in 
 preference and in prejudice to Sir Guy Carleton 
 under whom I had had the honour to ferve, a 
 confidential fecond, the preceding campaign. 
 Every perfon in government might have pro- 
 nounced my acquittal of fo bafe a proceeding, 
 becaufe they knew, though the public did not, 
 that it was decided* in the Autumn of 1776, 
 
 * This decifion was made, not only upon, the expediency of 
 the governor attending the civil duties of the province, which 
 were thought at that time to require particular attention, but 
 alfo upon doubts whether the general's commiffion authorifed 
 him to al beyond the boundaries : and this whole tranfadYion 
 paired long before the return of General Burgoyne to England, 
 and entirely without his knowledge. 
 
 and
 
 [ '9 ] 
 
 and notified to Sir Guy Carleton accordingly, 
 that his military command was confined to the 
 boundaries of the province of Quebec. It did 
 not occur to the noble Lord to ftate that fad, 
 becaufe doubtlefs he did not forefee the preju- 
 dices the letter would occafion ; but I cannot 
 but lament he did not produce other letters of 
 mine, which would have removed effe&ually 
 every poffible fufpicion of a defign fo foreign 
 to my heart as that of fupplanting a gallant 
 friend. Such letters would at the fame time 
 have rendered unneceflary the long train of 
 correfpondence laid upon your table, to mew 
 that the preparations in Canada were duly ex- 
 pedited ; becaufe I mould have been found to 
 exprefsthe fulleft fenfe of the zeal, the affidu- 
 ity , and the honour with which Sir Guy Carle- 
 ton acled, notwithftanding his difappointment 
 in not being employed to conduct the cam- 
 paign. 
 
 Will it be faid, that the letters I allude to 
 were withheld becaufe they were private?- 
 In the firfl place they do not properly come 
 under that defcription, though it is true they 
 were not office letters. They could not be 
 directed as fuch, becaufe acYmg in fubordina- 
 tion to Sir Guy Carleton, the official corre- 
 fpondence could only with decorum pafs 
 
 D 2 through
 
 through him; but they were not private as ap- 
 plied to fecrefy, nor improper as they related 
 to the dirVml and feparate object of the com- 
 mand I was entering upon. But, Sir, had 
 any parts of thefe letters (or of any others ne- 
 ceflary to my juftification, of which I fay 
 there are many) been private in anyienfeof the 
 word, will that excufe be alleged for detaining 
 them, when there has appeared before you a 
 paper of the moft fecret nature, I mean my 
 thoughts upon conducting the war from the 
 fide of Canada. What officer will venture 
 hereafter to give his opinion upon meafures or 
 men, when called upon by a minifter, if his 
 confidence, his reafoning?, and his preferences 
 are thus to be invidicufly expofed ; to create 
 jealoufies and differences among his fellow- 
 officers, and at laft to put an impofition upon 
 the world, and make him refponfible for the 
 plan as well as the execution of a hazardous 
 campaign? The plan, as originally drawn, I 
 have no reafon to be afhamed of, becaufe it 
 underwent the infpec~tion, and had the fanftion 
 of fome of the firft and ableft officers of this 
 country; but the plan, as it ftood when my 
 orders were framed, can with no more pro- 
 priety be called mine, than any others formed 
 by the cabinet for the diftant parts of America, 
 
 PF
 
 t *' 3 
 
 or any other quarter of the globe where I 
 had no participation or concern. The noble 
 Lord well knows, that the idea exprefled in 
 the fecret paper laid before you of a latitude to 
 aft againft New-England, was erafed ; that a 
 power to embark the troops in cafe of unfore- 
 feen impediments, and make the junction with 
 the fouthern army by fea, was not admitted. 
 Will it then be infinuated, that the plan 
 was mine ? Why was it not produced in that 
 changed and garbled ftate, by which the mi- 
 nifter made it his own? Becaufe it would have 
 been one proof, if one had been wanting to 
 unprejudiced minds, that by cutting off every 
 propofed latitude, and confining the plan to 
 one only object, the forcing a paffage to Al- 
 bany, the orders framed upon that plan could 
 be no otherwife underftood, than as pofitive, 
 peremptory, and indifpenfible. But, Sir, it 
 has been boldly iniinuated, and perhaps even 
 credited by fome in this houfe, that the words 
 at the latter end of the orders, which are 
 called the faving claufe, were fpecially dic- 
 tated by me. Sir, to fuppofe that, is to fup- 
 pofe me an ideot !--Savingclaufe to whom ? 
 Surely, not to the General who was to aft un- 
 der it; for fee the fituation in which it puts 
 him. Under the words " you are to aft as 
 
 " exigencies
 
 " exigencies may require," let us fuppofe 
 him to takethe cautious part. He makes 
 no attempt upon the enemy, becaufe his 
 exigency was fuch, that in doing fo he 
 mnft abandon his communications and rifk 
 his retreat. What would the government, 
 the army, and the country have faid to 
 him? What ought every man to have 
 faid to him who read the prior part of this 
 order ? " Is this vigorous exertion ? Is this 
 " to fine your way to Albany. The enemy 
 " were panic ftruck before Britifli troops ; 
 " there numbers therefore were but as (ha- 
 " dows. The loyalifts awaited your advance 
 " to join by thcufands Sir H. Clinton was 
 " ready to move upon the lower part of Hud- 
 46 fon's river Your interpretation of orders 
 " was nonfenfe ; your inaclivity was co- 
 * wardice You have ignominioufly loft the 
 " campaign." 
 
 Take the consideration the other way 
 
 The general follows the principle, the fpirit, 
 and the letter of his order fights his ground 
 by inches, and mifcarries. " You (hall be 
 " difgraced for your rafhnefs," fays the mi- 
 nifter " You had a referve and (hould have 
 *' made ufe of it. Exigencies required that 
 " you (hould have remained on the eaft fide 
 " the Hudfon's river." Sir, to imagine a 
 
 general
 
 general could dictate fuch a dilemma for him- 
 felf is prepofterous. To believe that mini- 
 fters could mean it, is fevere credulity againft 
 them ; it would be to believe them capable of 
 the equivocation of a fiend, to infnre the ruin 
 of thofe who acted under their direction 
 whatever part they fhould take. I charge them 
 not fo heavily. I am perfuaded that faving 
 claufe was meant when it was penned, as it 
 has been underftood by me, by Sir William 
 Howe, and by every other perfon who has 
 read it, as referring folely to exigencies after 
 the arrival of ray army at Albany. 
 
 But, Sir, this ideal blame in not availing 
 myfelf of the faving claufe, has been fupported 
 by a ftory, that I fhould hardly have believed 
 it within malevolence to invent, but which I 
 find has been propagated with great induftry, 
 viz. that Generals Philips and Frazer remon- 
 ftrated againft the paflage of the Hudfon's 
 River; and that finding their remonftrances 
 of no avail, they took the parts of brave 
 men in defpair, and perfevered in their duty 
 againft their reafon. Upon the honor of a 
 gentleman, without any faving or refervation 
 foever, I pronounce that report to be a direct 
 and abominable falfehood. Sir, thpfe officers 
 were the eyes and the hands by which 1 con- 
 ducted
 
 ducted all material operations: more able ad 
 vifers, or more faithful friend?, never exifted 
 that they faw I was placed in an arduous fin 
 ation, and felt for my difficulties, it is trut; 
 but that they ever dropt a fy liable that implied 
 an idea that I had an alternative, I flatly deny. 
 The indefatigable alacrity of General Philips 
 to bring forward the tranfports preparatory to 
 the paflage of the river, was uncommon even 
 in fupport of a favourite object ; it would 
 have been uncommon indeed, had he acted 
 with fecret reluctancy ! As to General Fra- 
 zer, our communications were thofe of the 
 mofl unreferved friendmip ; and it is my pride 
 to affirm, that the confonancy of his fenti- 
 ments with mine were almoft in variable. Upon 
 the paflage of the Hudfon's River, in particu- 
 lar, he thought it of uncontrovertible ex- 
 pediency ; he thought it glorious danger ; he 
 was confulted upon all meafures at the time 
 and fubfequent to it ; he bore an active part 
 in many; he approved of all; and the laft 
 fentence he uttered, was a meflageof affection 
 and good wifhes to me. 
 
 The other falfehoods that have been dif- 
 perfed refpecling the fame period of time, can 
 hardly be urged as reafons for enquiry, for 
 they are below refutation ; fuch as the delays 
 
 occalioned
 
 [ 25 ] 
 
 oCcafioned by carrying forward all the artil- 
 lery, and a cumberous train of baggage " It 
 " was a merit of Eaftefn pomp," fays a mt- 
 nifterial news -writer. That all the artillery 
 was with the army is falfe, for the heavy trairi 
 was fent back to Canada : the field-train which 
 remained was that which had been deftined for 
 the expedition, when Sir Guy Carleton ex- 
 pected to have the conduct of it in perfon. 
 That intelligent and judicious officer, General 
 Philips, had been cohfulted upon the propor- 
 tion ; and it had been regulated upon the con- 
 fideration of the nature of the war ; the 
 power of that arm in forcing pofts, and againft 
 new troops ; and the probability of having 
 pofts onrfelves to fortify. Neither, Sir, was 
 the artillery, in the proportion carried, canfe 
 of the leaft delay ; becaufe the horfes that 
 drew it were fupernumerary to thofe which 
 were fufficient for all the carts and waggons 
 we had; and confequently within the time 
 indifpenfibly given for the tranfport of the 
 provifion, the artillery was brought forward 
 by horfes that could have been no other ways 
 employed. 
 
 The fuppofed quantity of baggage is equally 
 erroneous. 1 cannot fuffer an idea fo unjuft, 
 to the fpirit of the army, to remain upon the 
 
 E minds
 
 minds of the public. All baggage of bulk, 
 to the abridgment of many material comforts, 
 had been chearfully left behind by the officers ; 
 fome of them had not beds; many lay in 
 foldier's tents ; and I know of none that had 
 more then the common neceffaries for aftive 
 fervice. 
 
 It muft be total want of knowledge of the 
 country and the war, to fuppofe that, with 
 all thefe precautions, the train of carriages 
 did not ftill remain great. It is to be con- 
 iidered, there was a train of fix hundred car- 
 riages ; and thofe too few for the indifpenfible 
 purpofe of tranfportingprovilion, where there 
 was no water carriage; there was another 
 train of very cumberous carriages, equally ne- 
 ceffary for the tranfport of the boats, where 
 the rapids prevented their paflage in the ftream ; 
 a tranfport, in fome places, of many miles in 
 in length. Sir, it would be trifling with the 
 houfe to dwell longer upon thefe cenfures, the 
 offspring of malice and ignorance ; the preva- 
 lence of fuch reports tends to one ufe It will 
 perfuade the world, at leaft, that material 
 faults could not abound, when detraction itfelf 
 is reduced to have recourfe to fuch accufation. 
 
 Sir, reverting therefore to the more grofs 
 injuries my reputation has fuftained, I think I 
 
 have
 
 r *7 ] 
 
 have ftated enough to fhew, that the cha- 
 racter of a member has been unavoidably 
 brought into queftion, and upon his aflertion 
 that the information the Houfe has proceeded 
 upon, is incomplete and fallacious, 1 know not 
 what defcription of men could juftly refufe to 
 him perfonally a new and full enquiry. 
 
 I would afk of minifters themfelves, what 
 . would be their feelings, if, after an unfuccefsful 
 undertaking of high truft and importance, and 
 debarred, by an interdiction, from the prefence 
 of their Sovereign, the means of fubmitting 
 their conduct to that royal breaft, where ju- 
 ftice, and benevolence, and protection to the 
 innocent are ever to be expected, except when 
 truth is perverted or concealed what would 
 be their feelings if refufed alfo an appeal to 
 their country ? To my brother-officers in par- 
 liament I would more particularly apply for 
 fupport to this amendment, as a common caufe 
 of the profeffion : they will coniider the dif- 
 couragement that muft enfue, and the injury 
 the fervice muft fnfTer, if an officer, who is 
 confcious to have done his beft, whofe greateft 
 enemies pretend not to impute to him any 
 other charges than excefs of zeal and erro- 
 neous judgment, and even thefe charges 
 founded upon a mutilated ftate of facts 
 E 2 What
 
 [ ,8 ) 
 
 What is the ftate of officers, if upon fuch 
 grounds, and by the artful management of other 
 circumftances, they are difgraced at court, 
 put by, if not inevitably precluded the judg- 
 ment of a military tribunal, and at laft denied 
 the only poffible means of juftifkation that re- 
 mainsa parliamentary inveftigation of a 
 meafure of ftate with which the rectitude or 
 criminality of their conduct is infeparably 
 blended r To my honourable friends who 
 made the original motion early in the winter, 
 and all who took part in it, I may yet more 
 ftrenuoufly addrefs myielf, to repair, by the 
 palling this quefiion and amendment, the in- 
 jury that unintentionally they brought upon 
 me by the then confined mode of proceeding. 
 To all thefe ccnfiderations, Sir, I could join, 
 were it expedient, many more perfuaiive calls 
 upon the human heart, to take up this pro- 
 ceeding for the fake of an injured individual : 
 but I wave an appeal to private fentiments, and 
 defire the moiion to be confidered as a call 
 upon -the public duty of thehoufe; and, di- 
 velling myfelf, as far as poffible, of every per- 
 fonal motive; fcorning the pitiful contention, 
 for fuch comparatively it would be, whether 
 the minilter fhould exonerate himfelf from 
 this error in his instruction, or the general 
 
 from
 
 from that in his execution; I here in my 
 place as a reprefentative of the nation, require 
 and demand a full and impartial enquiry into 
 the caufes of the mifcarriage of the northern 
 army in an expedition from Canada. 
 
 It is a great national object. The crifis of 
 the time emphatically requires it. The ex- 
 iftence of the Britifh empire depends upon the 
 exertions of the military, and the beft foun*- 
 dation for public fpirit, is public juftice. In 
 addition to the natural animation which as 
 Britons the army poffefs, place before their eyes 
 that fecondary fpringand controller of human 
 actions, reward and punifhment. Let the firft 
 and moft glorious reward, the honeft applaufe 
 of the country be obtained by a fcrutiny into 
 truth for thofe who defer ve it : on the contrary, 
 if there has been delinquency, let the fpirit of 
 Manlius prefide in the punimment. 
 
 " The hand of fate is over us, and heaven 
 " Exa&s feverity from all our thoughts." 
 If there has been difobedience ; if unauthpv 
 rifed by circumflances, if uncompelled by orders 
 (for I will never fhrink from that plea) a ge- 
 neral has rafhly advanced upon the enemy, 
 and engaged againft infurmountable odds, tha 
 difcipline of the ftate fhould ftrike, though it 
 >vere a favourite fon. 
 
 /,
 
 [ 30 ] 
 " /, Licior, deliga ad palum" 
 
 Thefe, Sir, are the means to excite true 
 ambition in y.our leaders, thefe are the means 
 to keep them in due reftraint ; this was the 
 fyftem of the glorious patriot,* whofe obfequies 
 you now celebrate, and could his afhes awaken, 
 they would burft their cearments to fupport it. 
 
 As for myfelf, if I am guilty, I fear I am 
 deeply guilty : an army loft ! the fanguine ex- 
 pe&ation of the kingdom difappointed ! a fo- 
 reign war caufed, or the commencement of 
 it accelerated ! an effufion of as brave blood as 
 ever run in Britifh veins (hed, and the fevereft 
 family diftreffes combined with public calami- 
 ty. If this mafs of miferies be indeed the con- 
 fequence of my mifconducl:, vain will be the 
 extenuation 1 can plead of my perfonal fuffer- 
 ings, fatigue and hardfhip, laborious days and 
 fleeplefs night?, ill health and trying fituations ; 
 poor and inefficient will be fuch atonement 
 in the judgment of my country, or perhaps in 
 the eyes of God yet with this dreadful alter- 
 "native in view, I provoke a trial Give me 
 inquiry I put the interefts that hang mod 
 "emphatically by the heart-firings of man 
 my fortune my honour my head I had 
 'almoft faid my falvation, upon the teft. 
 
 But, Sir, it is confolation to me to think 
 
 that
 
 [ 3' ] 
 
 that I fhall be, even in furmife, the only 
 culprit Whatever fate may attend the gene- 
 ral who led the army to Saratoga, their beha- 
 viour at that memorable fpot muft entitle them 
 to the thanks of their country Sir, it was a 
 calamitous, it was an awful, hut it was an 
 . honourable hour During the fufpence of the 
 anfwer from the general of the enemy, to the 
 refufal made by me of complying with the 
 ignominious conditions he had propofed, the 
 countenance of the troops beggars defcription 
 a patient fortitude ; a fort of ftern re- 
 iignation, that no pencil or language can 
 reach, fat on every brow. I, am confident 
 every breaft was prepared to devote its laft 
 drop of blood rather than fuffer a precedent to 
 Hand upon the Britim annals of an ignoble 
 furrender. 
 
 Sir, an important fnbjecl; of enquiry, as 
 I mentioned at my out-fet, ftill remains 
 the tranfa&ions at Cambridge, and the caufe 
 of the detention of the troops. If I there 
 have been guilty, let me there alfo be the 
 only fufFerer. 
 
 Sir, there is a famous ftory in antient hi- 
 ftory, that bears fome analogy to my circum- 
 ftances ; and when allufions tend to excite 
 men's minds to exertions of virtue or policy, 
 I lhall never think them pedantic or mifpla- 
 
 ced.
 
 ced.* The event I mean happened in an 
 age when Roman virtue was at its height. It 
 was that wherein Manlius devoted his fon and 
 the firft Decius devoted himfelf. A Roman 
 army, fhut up by the Samnites at Candium, 
 were obliged to furrender their arms, and to 
 fubmit to the more ignominious condition of 
 paffing under the yoke of the enemy. The 
 conful who had commanded them, propofed 
 in the fenate, to break the treaty whereby 
 the army was loft to the ftate, and to make 
 him in perfon the expiation, by fending him 
 bound to the enemy to fuffer death at their 
 hands. In one point of view the prefent 
 cafe extremely differs from the example, be- 
 caufe by the treaty at Saratoga the army was 
 faved to the ftate. It is the non-compliance 
 
 with public faith that alone can lofe it and 
 
 here the parallel will hold ; if I have been in- 
 ftrumental to the lofs of thofe brave troops 
 Jince the treaty, I am as culpable as if I had 
 loft them by the treaty, and ought to be the 
 facrifice to redeem them. Sir, this reference 
 may appear vain-glorious. It may be doubt- 
 ed whether there exifts in thefe times public 
 
 * It had been mentioned in a former debate, that references 
 to ancient hiftory carried fometiines an air of pedantry and 
 were feldom of ufe. 
 
 fpirit
 
 [ 33 1 
 
 fpirit ferionfly to emulate fuch examples. I 
 perhaps mould find myfelf unequal ; but 
 others, who are moft ready to judge me fo, 
 muft at leaft give credit to one motive for 
 ftating the parallel that I am too confeious 
 of innocence to apprehend there is the 
 leaft rifle of being expofed to the trial. 
 
 Sir, I have only to return my lincereft 
 thanks to the houfe for the patience with 
 which they have endured fo long a trtfpafs 
 upon their time, and to join my hearty con- 
 currence with the other gentlemen who have 
 fpoken in favour of the amendment. 
 
 Jov'u
 
 [ 34 3 
 
 Jovis, 28. die Mali, 1/78. 
 
 t 
 
 IV/f R. Hartley moved, " That an humble 
 addrefs be prefented to his majefty to 
 entreat his majefty, that he will be gracioufly 
 pleafed not to prorogue the parliament ; but 
 that he will differ them to continue fitting, for 
 the purpofe of aflifting and forwarding the 
 meafures already taken for the reiteration of 
 peace in America ; and that they may be in 
 readinefs, in the prefent critical fituation and 
 profpeft of public affairs, to provide for eve- 
 ry important event at the earlieft notice." 
 
 Sir George Savile feconded the motion. No 
 perfon offering to anfwer, the Speaker was 
 proceeding to put the queftion. General Bur- 
 goyne applied to the treafury-bench, to know 
 whether the king's fervants meant to agree 
 to the motion r In which cafe he faid he fhould 
 give the houfe no trouble : that otherwife he 
 thought hemfelf pledged to deliver his fenti- 
 ments. The call was, " Go on ;" and Gene- 
 ral Burgoyne proceeded in fubftance as fol- 
 Jovvs : 
 
 Mr.
 
 E 35 ] 
 
 Mr. Speaker, I fhall not purfue the argu- 
 ment of the honourable gentleman, upon the 
 expediency of parliament being ready fitting 
 to deliberate upon the firft intelligence that 
 may arrive from your commiffioners ; that 
 argument has already been too ably enforced 
 to require a fecond : neither, Sir, after fo long 
 an indulgence as I received in a former de- 
 bate, fhali I again prefs upon the attention of - 
 the houfe the debt they owe to national ju-r 
 ftic and policy, upon the fubjecl: of enquiry : 
 though the Generals Howe and Carleton may 
 be expected every day ; and it was upon their 
 abfence alone* that the greater part of the 
 houfe feemed difpofed to poftpone fo impor- 
 tant and neceflary a duty. But, Sir, I fhall 
 reft folely upon a view of the <prefent ftate of 
 this country, as univerfally compulfive upon 
 the underfbnding, in favour of the meafure 
 propofed. While an enemy is prepared upon 
 the neighbouring coaft, and perhaps is at this 
 hour embarking, diffidence, defpondency, and 
 confirmation, are evident among great part 
 of the people. A more fatal fymptom pre- 
 vails among a greater part ; a torpid indif- 
 ference to our impending fate. Men dare not, 
 or will not, look into their defperate cuxum- 
 ftances. God grant that general panic be not 
 
 F 2 the
 
 C 36 ] 
 
 the refult of all thefe demonstrations! for 
 panic is incident, upon fome occafions, to 
 thole who have been moil druinguiihed for 
 bravery upon others. 
 
 The falvation of the country depends upon 
 the confidence of the people in fome part of 
 government. The miniftry have it not ; the 
 \vhole nation fee, or think they fee, their in- 
 fufficiency. I mean not to apply thefe words 
 grofsly or virulently ; there are among them 
 many to whofe perfonal qualities and talents 
 I bear refpect, and to none more than the 
 noble lord in the blue ribband. Buc talents 
 are relative to times ; and it is no reproach to 
 fay, that men well qualified for negotiation, 
 finance, or the fmooth current of govern- 
 ment, may be totally unfit for their ftations, 
 when the crifis requires inftant refource, deci- 
 five counfel, animating action. That thefe 
 are notorioufly wanting, the beft friends of 
 the minifters (hake their heads and confefs. Is 
 there a man of common fenfe and common fpirit 
 in the country, that dees not ftand confounded 
 and aghaltat the late fupinenefs? that does not 
 think the heralds ought to have accompanied 
 yourcoach, Sir, when you carried up theaddrefs 
 of the commons; and that the declaration of 
 war at St. James's gate Ihould have accom- 
 panied
 
 [ 37 1 
 
 panied the anfwer from the throne ? " Be pa- 
 tient," we are told; " France may repent; 
 Spain yet fpeaks us fair," Sir, to be patient 
 in our iituation is to be abjeft : our pulillanU 
 mity gives tenfold encreafe to our natural 
 weaknefs. Patience in private life, under af- 
 fliction or difeafe, the flrokes of fortune, or 
 the hand of heaven, is a virtue of lovely hue ; 
 but political enduring tamely to fuffer pro- 
 vocation and injury, the moft wanton in- 
 fult that ever was offered to a nation, I mean 
 the meffage of the French ambaflador : 
 i i .Turn thy complexion there, 
 
 Patience, thou young and rofe-lipp'd cherubin, 
 And there look grim as hell. 
 
 It will be difficult to thofe who are moft 
 converfant in hiftory, and accurate in obferva- 
 tion, to point out examples, where, after an 
 alarm, the fpirits of men have revived by in- 
 acYion. This nation is put into the ftate of a 
 garrifon, whofe out-potts are abandoned, 
 whofe fallies are ftopt, and who are to combat 
 in the body of the place for their laft ftake. I 
 do not fay, that men have not fought defperate- 
 ly in fuch iituations ; but then they have been 
 brought to extremity by a progreffion of con- 
 flicls, and have feen great examples to raife and 
 
 ftimulatc
 
 t 3 ] 
 
 ftimulate their public paflions. I know of rid 
 great exertions, where the governing counfels 
 have fhewn apprehenfion and terror, and confe- 
 quent confufion at the outfet. The fuccefs of 
 vigorous meafuresto reftore an army after a 
 panic, is almoft invariable ; ancient hiftory 
 abounds with examples; in our own time, 
 they are frequent. When General Roman, 
 zoff found the Ruffians imprerTed with appre- 
 heniions of the Turkifh cavalry, his firft mea- 
 fure was to lay aiide the ufe of chevaux de 
 frize, and to encamp without entrenchments. 
 The revival of the general fpirit of a ftate de- 
 pends upon the fame principles. We need not 
 look abroad for examples; we have a more 
 ftriking one at home than foreign annals can 
 produce, in that immortal year, 1756, the 
 commencement of the Earl of Chatham's ad- 
 miniflration. The moft glorious tribute we 
 can pay to his memory, is to follow his ex- 
 ample. Let minifters vilit his remains, while 
 yet above ground, and catch wifdom, and vi- 
 gour, and virtue from the view. Did he keep 
 fleets at Spithead to prevent invafion ? Did he 
 fear to truft the internal defence of the nation 
 to her own fons ? No, Sir, your navy wa$ 
 employed in ofFenfive operation in every quar- 
 ter of the globe; and the nation, fupported by 
 
 a juft
 
 [ 39 3 
 
 ajuft confidence, were ten times ftronger after 
 the difmiffiow of the Hanoverians and Hek 
 fians than before. Every fhip became a fleet, 
 every regiment felt itfelf an hoft. 
 
 We have now a brave admiral riding at 
 Spithead, who knows the way to prevent in- 
 vafion by feeking the enemy at a diftance. 
 His fliare of glory in the defeat of Conflans is 
 on the minds of his followers ; you cannot 
 gratify him or^hem more than to give them a 
 fecond occaiion, and by the fame means, to 
 fave their country. The brother of that ad- 
 miral, a member of this houfe, * bred alfo in J 
 the be ft fchools of his profeffion, is fecond in 
 command on fhore, and fecond to one who 
 needs no other praife than that he was the fa- 
 vourite, t and the friend, and the confidential j Lor 
 executor of the arduous plans of the great 
 ftatefman I alluded to. Let thefe men be af- 
 iifted with national fpirit, and England is not 
 to be fubdued, while a river or a hill remains; 
 without fuch fpirit, another battle of Haftings 
 may make another conqueft. 
 
 Sir, I repeat that the beft hope of generat- 
 ing and diffufing this genuine ftrength of the 
 mind, to which arms and treafure are but ina- 
 dequate fubftitutes, depends upon the prefence 
 pf parliament, " to provide (according to the
 
 C 40 ] 
 
 words of the motion) for every important 
 event at the earlieft notice," To ftrengthen 
 the crown, not by adulatory addrefles, but 
 by fuch occasional fanctions, as would give 
 frefh and extra-energy to its power, pend- 
 ing the emergency that might require it: 
 To fupport public credit, in union with the 
 city of London, not only by common engage- 
 ments of faith, but by acts of quick and en- 
 couraging efficacy towards individuals, who 
 might nobly ri(k their all in the caufe: but 
 above al], in full numbers and by general con- 
 tinuance, to exhibit themfelves to the world a 
 true reprefentative of a determined people at- 
 tacked in their vitals ; to prove that they are 
 not to be feduced from their duty by the al- 
 lurements of pleafure or perfonal intereft, 
 but have fortitude to await the approach of 
 the enemy, as the Gauls were awaited by 
 the fenators in Rome; and, if need were, to 
 receive death in thefe feats, to give example 
 and fire to their furviving countrymen. Sir, 
 a parliament, thus infpired, (the occafion, I be- 
 lieve in my confcience, would give the infpi, 
 ration) would fpread immediate and extenfivc 
 veneration and influence. Faction in this 
 great city, if faction there is, would be no 
 more ; majorities and minorities here would 
 
 be
 
 f 4i J 
 
 be loft in unanimity for the public fafety ;- 
 the King's name, thus fupported, would be in 
 truth a tower of ftrength ; and the daring at- 
 tempts of the enemy would only tend to the 
 prefent glory and future ftability of the ftate. 
 
 Sir, thefe are my fincere fentiments ; an4 
 for this free delivery of them, I doubt not 
 that I fhall read in the morning papers of 
 to-morrow that 1 have thrown myfelf into 
 the arms of oppoiition. I am confcious I 
 never did fo true a fervice to the king 
 and to the country as I do in the part I 
 now take ; and whatever may be the idle 
 comments of the day, I truft that with the 
 refpectable part of the public, if the term op- 
 pofitlon is to imply blame, it will be ap- 
 plicable only to the rejection of this motion. 
 If the king's minifters take the lead, and 
 exercife their perfuafion for that purpofe, 
 I hold them to be oppofers of national 
 fpirit, oppofers of public virtue, oppofers 
 of the moft efficacious means to fave their 
 country. Sir, 1 fcorn to take up this lan- 
 guage upon fo pitiful a motive as perfonal 
 refentment. Government, whoever are the 
 minifters to conduct it, fhall have my voice 
 when my confcience directs it. That I 
 think myfelf a perfecuted man, I avow. 
 
 G thai
 
 C ^ ] 
 
 that I am a marked vi&im to bear the fin 3 
 that do not belong to me, I apprehend ; but 
 this is not the firft time I have flood the 
 frowns of power for parliamentary conduct ; 
 and whatever further vengeance may be in 
 ftore for me, I hope I (hall endure it as be- 
 comes me. I am aware that in far better 
 times officers have been ftript of their pre- 
 ferments for refitting the pofTeflbrs of that 
 bench. They cannot take from me an humble 
 competence ; they cannot deprive me of a 
 qualification to fit here ; they cannot ftrip me, 
 I truft they cannot, of the confidence of my 
 conftituents to feat me here ; they cannot ftrip 
 me 1 am fure they cannot of prin- 
 ciple and fpirtt to do my duty here. 
 
 1 never was more excited by thefe mo- 
 tives, and I never can be more, than upon 
 the prefent occafion to give my vote in 
 fupport of the motion- 
 
 APPEN.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Copy of a "Letter from General Wafhington 
 to Lieutenant General Burgoyne. 
 
 Head-quarters^ Penfylvania, 
 March uM, 1778. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 T Was, only two days fince, honoured with 
 your very obliging letter of the nth of 
 February. 
 
 Your indulgent opinion of my character, 
 and the polite terms in which you are pleafed 
 to exprefs it, are peculiarly flattering; and 
 I take pleafure in the opportunity you have 
 afforded me of affuring you, that, far from 
 fuffering the views of national oppofition to 
 be imbittered and debafed by perfonal animo- 
 lity, I am ever ready to do juftice to the me- 
 rit of the gentleman and the foldier ; and to 
 efteem, where efteem is due, however the idea 
 of a public enemy may interpofe. You will 
 not think it the language of unmeaning cere- 
 mony, if I add, that fentiments of perfonal 
 refpect, in the prefent inftance, are reciprocal. 
 G 2, Viewing
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Viewing you in the light of an officer cort- 
 tendihg againft what 1 conceive to be the rights 
 of my country, the reverfe of fortune you 
 experienced in the field cannot be unacceptable 
 to me; but, abftrated from confiderations of 
 national advantage, t can fincerely fympathize 
 with your feelings, as a foldier, the unavoida- 
 ble difficulties of whofe fituation forbid his 
 fuccefs ; arid as a man, whofe lot combines 
 the calamity of ill health, the anxieties of 
 captivity, and the painful fenfibility for a re- 
 putation, expofed, where he moft values it, 
 to the aflaults of malice and detraction. 
 
 As your aid de camp went directly on to 
 Congrefs. the builnefs of your letter to me 
 had been decided before it came to hand. I 
 am happy that their chearful acquiefcence 
 with your requeft, prevented the neceflity of 
 my intervention. And, wifhing you a fafe and 
 agreeable paflage, with a perfect reiteration of 
 your health, 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Very refpe&fully, 
 
 Sir, 
 Your moft obedient fervant, 
 
 GECX WASHINGTON. 
 
 NOTE,
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 NOTE, refpefting the Firjl Debate. 
 
 CINCE the fubftance of the fpeech has beeri 
 prepared for the prefs, it has been obferved, 
 in a daily paper, that General Burgoyne fta* 
 ted, that it had been a race between the Con- 
 grefs and him, to engage the Indian nations. 
 It is a miftake, that General Burgoyne made 
 any mention of himfelf being any ways con- 
 cerned in any negotiations with the Indians, 
 prior to giving directions for their junction 
 with the army upon Lake Champlain ; ex- 
 cepting in the council of the autumn to 1776, 
 in which they were difmhTed for that year. 
 
 It is true, General Burgoyne did ftate, in 
 his fpeech, that there had been a race between 
 the emiflaries of the Congrefs, and the con- 
 dnftors of India affairs on the part of the Bri- 
 tifli government ; to engage not only the 
 contiguous, but alfo the remote nations. This 
 faft might have been proved by Mr. St. Luc 
 le Corne, had he thought proper, as well as 
 by many others. 
 
 This part of the Indian fubjecl: accidental- 
 ly efcaped the prefs, by its being omitted in 
 the notes from which the fpeech was collected. 
 
 NOTE,
 
 APPENDIX. 
 I 
 
 NOTE, refpefiing the Second Debate. 
 
 MR. Wedderburne took occafion, after a 
 fliort argument againft the expediency of the 
 motion, to propound doubts relative to Ge- 
 neral Burgoyne's capacity to vote in parlia- 
 ment ; and he argued them, at length, with 
 vifible preparation, and much learning. He 
 referred, very particularly, to the ftory of 
 Regulus ; and, to make the cafes parallel, 
 ftated the General as a common prifoner of 
 war (the convention of Saratoga being broke) ; 
 that, confequently, he was not ful juris, but 
 the prefent property of another power. He 
 infifted, with ftill lefs exprefiion of doubt, that 
 the General, under his prefent obligations, was 
 incapacitated from exercifing any office, or 
 bearing arms in this country. 
 
 General Burgoyne, in reply, ftated the mif- 
 take upon which Mr. Wedderburne' s argu- 
 ment was in great meafure founded, viz. that 
 the convention was broke, and that the Gene- 
 ral was under the ufual reftriclions of a pri- 
 foner of war. The convention was declared 
 by the congrefs not intended to be broke, on, 
 their part ; though the execution of it was 
 fufpended. The General therefore infifted, 
 that he was under no other obligation, than 
 
 that
 
 A P P E E N D I X. 
 
 that fpecified in the convention, " Not to 
 ferv r e in America;'* and that of his parole, 
 " To return at the demand of the congrefs, 
 and due notice given " : that in this country 
 he was free to exercife his rights as a citizen 
 and a foldier ; that fhould the enemy land, 
 though his prefent disfavour might preclude 
 him from the command which his rank, and 
 fome experience, might entitle him to, he 
 trufted the king would not refufe his requefr, 
 to take a mufquet in defence of his country. 
 He proceeded to argue, that even upon the 
 fuppofition that Mr. Wedderburne's polition 
 had been true in its full extent, and that he 
 had been, dlreSlly, a prifoner of war under pa- 
 role, he fhould not have been incapacitated 
 from acting in parliament ; and in anfwer to 
 the precedents brought from remote ages, he 
 produced one of a prefent member (Lord Fre- 
 derick Cavendifh) who, when a prifoner to 
 France, after the acYion at St. Cas, and upon 
 his parole in England, fat and voted in par- 
 liament. That noble lord, upon quitting 
 France, had afked, whether any reftraint ia 
 that refpeft was meant ? as he (hould certain- 
 ly vote for every meafure that could diftrefs 
 the enemy He was told, that they mould as 
 foon think of reiiraining him from getting a 
 
 child,
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 child, left, when it came to maturity, it fhould 
 do them rnifchief. 
 
 The General proceeded to obferve, that the 
 cafes, in point of explanation, were precifely 
 the fame ; for that before he left the army, it 
 had been intimated to him, that there were 
 perfons, in Bafton, who doubted whether he 
 fhould not be reftrained by parole from taking 
 any part in parliament, at leaft, when Ameri- 
 ca was concerned ; that he came to an expla- 
 nation with thofe entrufted with the fenti- 
 ments and powers of the congrefs ; and de- 
 clared, that if fuch reftraint was intended, he 
 would remain and die in that country, rather 
 than return home The idea was abolifhed ; 
 nay, more, it was exprefled, that the friends 
 of the congrefs conceived rather advantage 
 than injury from the General's prefence in par- 
 liament ; that they wifhed for peace upon pn> 
 per terms ; that they were perfuaded, the Ge- 
 neral, as a man of humanity, wifhed the fame ; 
 that they believed he had honour to fpeak 
 truth ; and that truth would conduce to that 
 deferable end. 
 
 After this explanation, Mr. Wedderburne 
 acknowledged no doubts remained upon the 
 General's rights ; and the houfe were 
 pous in the fame opinion. 
 
 FINIS,
 
 S P E E G H 
 
 GEORGE DALLAS,
 
 E E C H 
 
 GEORGE DALLAS, Efq. 
 
 MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY 
 
 THE BRITISH INHABITANTS RESIDING IN 
 
 BENGAL, FOR THE PURPOSE OF 
 
 PREPARING PETITIONS 
 
 HIS MAJESTY 
 
 AND BOTH 
 
 HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, 
 
 PR AY ING REDRESS 
 AGAINST AN ACT OF PARLIAMENT, &C. 
 
 As delivered by him at a Meeting held at the THEATRE, in 
 CALCUTTA, on the ajth of JULY, 1785. 
 
 CALCUTTA, PRINTED. 
 
 LONDON: RHFRINTED for J. DEBRETT, oppofite 
 Burlington Houfe, Piccadilly-
 
 C 5 J 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 o F 
 
 GEORGE D A L L A S, Efq. 
 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 CONSCIOUS as I feel myfclf of my own 
 want of importance, unpractifed as I am in the 
 arts of public elocution, and furrounded by fe- 
 veral whofe fuperior powers might well difcou- 
 rage the temerity of thus challenging your at- 
 tention, it is not to be wondered at that I mould 
 feel myielf confiderably affefted in attempting 
 to addrefs fo numerous and refpectable a fociety, 
 and that the agitation infeparable from the no- 
 velty of my fituation fhould deprive me of that 
 
 calm-
 
 C 3 
 
 calmnefs and recollection I could wiih to pre- 
 ferve upon fo momentous and interefling an oc- 
 cafion. 
 
 Aflembled as we now are, to deliberate upon 
 meafures of the utmoft confequence to the fu- 
 ture interefts of this fociety, the moment is an 
 awful one, and the call is equally folemn , the 
 eye of the nation will be upon us ; and poflibly 
 the leaders in this day's debate may have court- 
 ed a perilous pre-eminence : but I Ihall never 
 decline the hazard, where the approbation of my 
 own heart, and the applaufe of the good and 
 wife, may follow the attempt. I am fenfible 
 that many, adverting to my youth, and to the 
 fuperiority of their own claims to the honour I 
 have thus prefumptuoufly aflumed, will arraign 
 the propriety of my .ruming into public notice, 
 and prefilng forward to diftinguilh myfelf by 
 an animadverfion upon the meafures of Go- 
 vernment at home. In my own confcious hu- 
 mility of talent and fituation, I anticipate, in 
 fome meafure, the aptitude of their obferva- 
 tions i but from your candour and indulgence, 
 
 lalfo
 
 t 7 1 
 
 I alfo derive a confidence which emboldens me 
 to proceed j for there are, Gentlemen, certain 
 occafions when the meaneft individual may feel 
 his indignation awakened, and, fpirited by a 
 fenfe of public wrongs, may boldly flep forth in 
 the hope of being ferviceable to the community, 
 by feduloufly labouring to promote their redrefs. 
 This I humbly apprehend to be one of thofe ; 
 and ftimulated by this perfuafion, I will venture 
 to expofe rayfelf to all the feverity of remark. 
 If, in the courfe of our prefent deliberations, 1 
 ihould be flattered by your attention, and ho- 
 noured with your fupport, I fhall then, for the 
 moment, rife in my own efdmation, and, pro- 
 tected by your approbation, feel myfelf (hieldcd 
 from the acrimony of attack. 
 
 The importance of the fubjecl: on which I 
 am now prefuming to addrefs you, a fubject 
 which moft nearly interefts both your honour 
 and your fortunes, does in itfelf preclude the 
 neceffity of farther apology on my part, a confi- 
 deration which I am confident will find its ex- 
 cufe in every impartial bread, dictated, as it is, 
 
 by
 
 C 8 1 
 
 by a warm concern for the prefervation of our 
 characters, as men ; of our conftitutional and 
 unalienable rights, as Britons. 
 
 It is not, I apprehend, necefifary to inform 
 any gentleman prefent, that by the Act of Par- 
 liament lately arrived in this fettlement, and 
 pafled in the twenty-fourth year of his prefent 
 Majefty's reign, entitled, " An at for the bet- 
 " ter regulation and management of the affairs 
 <c of the EaftJndia Company, and of the Bri- 
 " tifh poffcflions in India ; and for eflablifhing 
 " a Court of Juftice for the more fpeedy and 
 " effectual trial of perfons accufed of offences 
 " committed in the Eaft Indies," a new and 
 unheard-of judicature has been eftabliihed in 
 England : a judicature as arbitrary in its powers, 
 as it is illegal in its original principles j tending 
 to deprive us of that ineftimable bleffing, the 
 glory of our conftitution, the right of trial by 
 a jury of our peers. A judicature which da- 
 ringly violates our great charter, the palladium 
 of our liberties, and feems defigned to extend 
 the iron hand of oppreilion over thofe chiefly 
 
 who
 
 [ 9 } 
 
 who may be fo unfortunate as to fall under the 
 ftigma of having ferved the Eaft-India Com- 
 pany. 
 
 This a<5l, fo generally known by the name 
 of " Mr. Pitt's Bill,'' and which has excited 
 vmiverfal difcontent throughout our fettlements 
 in India, is one of thofe bold attempts to vio- 
 late the purity cf our conftitution, which have 
 been too often made during the late unhappy 
 fluctuation in our councils: it is true, neceflity, 
 the plea of tyrants to palliate every enormity, 
 has been urged in vindication of its birth; but 
 have the united efforts of falfehood, prejudice, 
 and faction (and they have all been exerted) 
 been able to eftablifh its exiftence to the convic- 
 tion of one reafonable or impartial mind ? I re- 
 ply, they have not. In proportion, then, as 
 the innovation was glaring and injurious, that 
 neceffity which alone could vindicate the prin- 
 ciple of this aft mould have been clear and ap- 
 parent ; and none but the moft urgent and felf-*. 
 difplayed mould have authorifed fo open a vio- 
 lation of our ancient jurifprudence, or war- 
 B ranted
 
 L 3 
 
 ranted fo odious and humiliating a diftih&ion 
 between ourfelves and the reft of our fellow 
 fubjects on that iQand from whence this opr 
 preffive act dates its exigence. It is by en- 
 croachments like thefe, that our conftitution 
 will be ultimately determined ; and that, in 
 lofing the dignified title of freemen, we mail 
 ceafe to be confidered as a great and relpectable 
 people, and forfeit the envy of furrouuding na- 
 tions. 
 
 Were the Minifler to fay to me, Sir, what arj 
 your objections to my bill ? I would tell him, 
 Sir, I object to it upon folid and unanfwerable 
 grounds I would tell him, that it is ill fitted 
 to remedy the evil it is defigned to eradicate ; 
 that the violence of its principle mud deftroy 
 the effect that it was intended to produce ; and 
 that, in alienating our affections from the pa- 
 rent ftate, it muft ultimately endanger the Ic- 
 eurity of the Britifti pofleffions in the Haft I 
 would tell him, that it wantonly deprives us ot 
 thofe rights, inherent in us, as fubjefts of the 
 Britifh empire -, and that no clafs of men fliould 
 
 be
 
 [ II ] 
 
 >e disfrarichifed of their privileges, without an 
 adequate proof being exhibited of their delin- 
 quency to fancYtfy fo painful a profcription I 
 would tell him, that fuch is the opinion of one 
 of the 'hrightcft characters that illumines the 
 prefent age, I mean the Earl of Mansfield, 
 whofe fuperior wifdom all admire, and whofe 
 extenfive knowledge all reflect. This venera- 
 ble and enlightened fage, in arguing againft 
 the Cricklade Bill, in the Houfe of Lords, oa 
 the ijth of May, 1782, (which had for its ob- 
 ject to deprive the eleftors of their privileges) 
 armed with the powers of eloquence and truth, 
 particularly faid, " That the Houfe were noc 
 t: competent to punifti a community indifcri- 
 " minately, v/ithout evidence being produced 
 ** at their bar, amounting to a convi&ion of 
 fi guilt j that fuppoiition was an illegal plea to 
 " warrant the infliction of pains and penalties." 
 Lord Thurlow, as celebrated for his wifdom as 
 for the unvaried manlinefs of his conduct, was 
 alfo of a fimilar opinion, and forcibly caution- 
 ed the Houfe againft " violating rights made 
 * f venerable by time, and fanctified by the ap- 
 B 2 " pro-
 
 [ 12 ] 
 
 " probation of cur anceftors." With authori- 
 ties like thefe to produce, I would tell him, I 
 hefitate not to combat the principal of his bill 
 in all its parts, and to exclaim againft the ty- 
 ranny of its intent I would tell him, in oppo- 
 fition to it, we have man;-' acts of the legiflature 
 to produce, which have ever been held facred 
 until now, and which our anceftors wifely de- 
 figned as a fence againft the predatory inroads 
 of unreftrained ambition, orthelawlefs invafions 
 of unbridled power. Firft, the Confutations 
 of Clarendon, in the time of Henry the Second ; 
 fecondly, Magna Charta, in the reign of King 
 John ; thirdly, the Petition of Rights, in the 
 reign of Charles the Firft ; and, laftly, the Bill 
 of Rights, upon the acceffion of William and 
 Mary. With refpect to Magna Charta, that 
 noble pillar of our freedom, it was confirmed 
 thirty feveral times by the three eftates, and even 
 fecured by a law, (the forty-fourth of Edward 
 the Third) which pofitively declared, " That 
 " no ftatute which fhould be afterwards enact- 
 " ed in contradiction to any article of that 
 * f charter (hould ever have any force or vali- 
 
 dity,"
 
 C 3 3 
 
 <f dity." And is not this act enacted in oppofi- 
 tion to that law, and in violation of that char- 
 ter ? And Ihould it, then, pofiefs force or va- 
 lidity ? Where is the neceffity of making laws, 
 if they are to be trampled upon by the very 
 people whom the nation delegate to frame them? 
 That law has never been repealed. If, then, it 
 is now to be confidered as an unrevoked deed 
 of the ftate, am I not warranted in faying, that 
 even the law of the land authorizes us to repro- 
 bate the provifions of this act, which unconfti- 
 tutionally and illegally trench upon our honour 
 and our fortunes , for that law muft be firft re- 
 pealed, before this act can bejuftly faid to pof- 
 fefs that conftitutional legality which mould 
 bind us to yield it obedience. In the Bill of 
 Rights delivered by the Lords and Commons, 
 on the i6th of February, 1689, to the Prince 
 and Princefs of Orange, are thefe memorable 
 words : " And they do claim, demand, and 
 (t infift, upon all and fmgular the premifes, as 
 " their undoubted rights and liberties." And 
 the Act of Parliament itfelf, (i. W. & M. ftar. 
 2. c. 2.) fpecially recognizes, " All and fm- 
 
 '' eular
 
 C 14 ] 
 
 <: gular the rights and liberties, aflerted a 
 <f claimed, in rhe faid declaration, to be free, 
 " ancient, and indubitable rights of the people 
 " of this kingdom." And are we not fubjedh 
 of that kingdom ? Are we not, by this aft, de- 
 prived of thofe rights ? Are we not cut off from 
 the enjoyment of thofe privileges, which at the 
 period of that glorious Revolution were de- 
 figned to be a national bleffing for us all ? I 
 therefore call this ftatute, an acl of power againft 
 the ancient law of the land j violent in its ope- 
 ration ; illegal in its principle; and calculated 
 to brand, and irritate, by adding infult to injury, 
 and gilding oppreffion with the forms of juf- 
 tice. 
 
 Such, Gentlemen, are my objections to the 
 general principle of this acl. Many others, of 
 equal force, will, doubtlcfs, occur to your own 
 imao-inations. I will now proceed to urge a few 
 others, which more immediately affect your pri- 
 vate interests, by pointing out fuch parts of the 
 aft as appear to me particularly hoftile to them.
 
 [ -5 ] 
 
 By the fifty -fifth claufeof this act, all the Com- 
 pany's fervants are required, within two months 
 after their arrival in England, to deliver in, to 
 certain officers of Government, inventories of 
 their whole real and perfonal eftates. Having 
 Ib done, by the fixty-firft claufe, incitements, 
 and rewards to a capital amount, are liberally 
 held forth to all informers j and, as if this be- 
 nign mode of collecting evidence againft thefe 
 oriental plunderers, thefe prejudged delinquents, 
 were not fufficient to facilitate its acquifition, by 
 the feventy-fifth claufe, the father, the brother, 
 the fon, the bofom friend, is to be compelled, 
 by the terror of heavy penalties, to violate the 
 ties of friendihip, and to turn the accufer of 
 thofe with whom he may ftand connected in the 
 deareft and moft confidential relations of life. 
 
 By the fifty- fixth claufe. For the fpace of 
 three years after his return to his native land, 
 the devoted Eaft Indian is to ftand in a predica- 
 ment unheard of in cur hiftory, and hitherto 
 unexperienced by any Britifh fubjecT:, holding 
 his eftate almoft at the mercy of the Minifler, 
 
 to
 
 [ i 3 
 
 to whom, if he js obnoxious by any parliamen- 
 tary oppofition, a door is opened fqr bending 
 the laws to the purpofes of private vengeance, 
 
 If, during that fpace of time, any accufa- 
 tions are lodged againft him, he becomes fub- 
 je&ed to all the miferies of imprifonment j du- 
 ring which he is to be excluded from the ufe of 
 his eftate ; and, after all, by the fixty-fixth 
 cla.ufe, he is to fubmit his honour and his for- 
 tune to the award of a tribunal, not cafually 
 nominated from among his countrymen in gene- 
 ral, but felecled from a particular defcription of 
 men, confiding of a mixture of officers of the 
 Crown, and hereditary nobles, and members of 
 the Houfe of Commons, with this invidious 
 exception, in the feventieth claule, that no per- 
 fon who has ferved the Company can be a mem- 
 ber thereof; although, from that .circumftance 
 alone, he might reafonably be fuppofed (where 
 equality of ability prevailed) to be in poffdlion 
 of fuperior qualifications to entitle him to this 
 proof of confidence from his country. Nei- 
 ther, in the courfe of the profecution, is this 
 
 tribunal
 
 C '7 3 
 
 tribunal confined to thofe modes of proceeding 
 which are cuftomary in all other cafes of crimi- 
 nal jurifditlion. It is not to the refpe&ability 
 of its members we object; the mofl prejudiced 
 muft admit the probability that a fuperior rec- 
 titude of conduct and generofity of principle 
 will influence their proceedings j becaufejuftice 
 and liberality are the attributes of minds en- 
 lightened by fcience and enlarged by education. 
 It is the inftitution itfelf, and the authority it 
 affumes, which we reprobate, as oppofite to the 
 genius of the Conftitution, and calculated to 
 deftroy the beauty of its fabric. Every inno- 
 vation upon its foundation is dangerous, and 
 mould be guardedly watched ; for let it be re- 
 membered, with exulting pride, that the Con- 
 ilitution of Great Britain is a bleffing not com- 
 mon to all, but peculiarly intailed upon the pof- 
 terity of Englishmen j which they are bound, 
 by every obligation binding upon fociety, to 
 tranfmit to their defendants in the fame pure 
 end inviolate manner in which it was bequeath- 
 ed to them by their anceftors, many of whom 
 bled, and died, to permanate its fuperftructure, 
 C and
 
 [ 8 3 
 
 and .to give it a (lability beyond the accidents of 
 time. 
 
 That guarded care with which our excellent 
 laws protect the life and property of the meaneft 
 lubject, has provided with refpect to even the 
 mod notorious criminal, that he fhall be tried 
 upon the oath of his accufer, delivered face to 
 face in an open court, fo as to afford him every 
 fair opportunity to invalidate his teftimony. 
 This has for ages been eflablifhed as a funda- 
 mental maxim in our jurisprudence; but here, 
 by the eightieth claufe, " All writings which 
 " (hall have been tranfmitted from the Eaft 
 " Indies to the Court of Directors of the faid 
 t( United Company, by their officers or fervanrs 
 " refident in the Eaft Indies, may be admitted 
 " to be offered in evidence ;" fo that the perfe- 
 cuted prifoner, having no opportunity of feeing 
 or crofs-examining his accufer, is placed in the 
 fame predicament with the unhappy criminal 
 who (lands before the fecret tribunal at Venice, 
 or the bench of the Holy Office at Liibon ; and 
 this is particularly alarming from, the known and 
 
 prey ei bid
 
 - [ 19 3 
 
 proverbial indifference with which the natives of 
 this country will confent to perjure themfelves, 
 if they can, by this means, gratify refentment, 
 acquire patronage, or obtain pecuniary advan- 
 tage. 
 
 I know it will be afierted that the guilty 
 alone will have any caufe to dread the excercife 
 of this new judicial authority ; but let no man 
 fuppofe that the pureft innocence will avail (as 
 the matter at prefent ftands) to protect him from 
 incurring all the penalties of the blacked guilt. 
 At any period within the allotted fpaceof time 
 after the return of a Company's lervant to Eu- 
 rope, mould the moft profligate and abandoned 
 villain, with a view to the gratification of ma- 
 lice, or the fruition of reward, think proper to 
 prefer an accufation againft him, it refts at the 
 arbitrary option of the Court of Exchequer to 
 imprifon his perfon, and to place the whole of 
 his fortune in a ftate of temporary fequeftration j 
 and in this fituation he is to remain, if they 
 deem it expedient, until fuch evidence may be 
 procured from India as may be fufficient either 
 C 2 to
 
 [ 10 j 
 
 to acquit him, or to fubftantiate the charge. 
 By the fifty-feventh claufe he is difabled from 
 alleviating his mifcries by an enlargement upon 
 bail, as in all other cafes, (I believe) except 
 thofe of felony or treafon. The ad, though it 
 cherifhes perfidy, affords no redrefs againft falie 
 information. No fpecific time is limited, as in 
 the cafes of general jail delivery, for the virtual 
 acquittal of the accufed for want of evidence ; 
 and the charge once made, and admitted by the 
 Court of Exchequer, he may continue to Ian-, 
 guifh for years within his dungeon, torn from 
 his family, doomed in lonely anguifh to breathe 
 a wretched exiflence all the bloflbms of his 
 hope blighted ! all the happinefs of his lite 
 obftrufted and deilroyed ! 
 
 The principles upon which this jurifdidion 
 is eftablifhed, are equally illegal and abfurd, 
 and, in many points, direclly contradictory to 
 the fpiritof thofe laws which form the bulwark 
 of our freedom. 
 
 In.
 
 In every other inftance, innocence is fuppofed 
 vmdl conviction ; but here the idea is totally re- 
 verfed, and afiumed guilt precedes accufation. 
 
 In every other inflance, the higheft authority 
 in the ftate dare not attempt forcibly, or un- 
 fairly, to procure evidence againft a fufpected 
 perfon.; but here, before there is even room for 
 fufpicion, we are compelled to furnifh matter 
 for profecution againft ourfelves. 
 
 Even in cafes of notorious criminality, the 
 culprit who is arraigned at the bar of his coun- 
 try, fo far from being neceflitated to anfvver in- 
 terrogatories tending to criminate himfelf, (as 
 this act binds us to do) is particularly cautioned 
 to avoid a confeffion of his guilt j and mould 
 he plead guilty when put upon his defence, his 
 Judges are the firft to advife him to retract his 
 declaration. An avowal of culpability thus ob- 
 tained, can only be compared to a confefiion, 
 wrung by the force of torture. Indeed the lat- 
 ter mode would leave the accufed- an option of 
 prefcrving his property fcr ' of his 
 
 family^
 
 L 3 
 
 family, by a patient fubmiffion to the agony of 
 pain ; whereas the former, by an awful appeal 
 to his confcience, and the irrefiftable force of a 
 religious obligation, compels him to be the un- 
 happy inftrumen't of his own deftruftion. This 
 argument, I admit, will only apply to the fitua- 
 tion of the guilty ; but even criminals have 
 rights which equity and humanity refpecl. 
 
 How different the fentiments of a Committee 
 of the Britifh Senate once were, I will now pro- 
 ceed to (hew. 
 
 In the year 1781 Commiffioners were ap- 
 pointed by Parliament to examine, take, and 
 ftate the public accounts of the kingdom. In 
 the month of June, 1782, they delivered in 
 their firft Report j in which (after forcibly Ma- 
 ting the difficulties to which they are expofed 
 in the purfuit of evidence to complete their in- 
 veftigation) they fay, te By what means then are 
 " we to detect (if fuch there have been) pecu- 
 " lation, fraud, or mifapplication ? for we ad- 
 " mit no charge againft perfons abroad, who , 
 
 " have
 
 [ n 3 
 
 44 have no opportunity of being heard in their 
 " own defence; and we are cautious that our 
 " examination does not lead to felf-accufation." 
 
 Thefe were the manly, generous effufions of 
 liberal minds, who fcorned to bend to perfecu- 
 tion, 04: even to detect mifconduct by the perpe- 
 tration of injuitice. But what was the language 
 of the honourable framer of this act himfelf, 
 when a Minifter of unprecedented talents fell 
 from his office in the attempt to introduce ano- 
 ther of a tendency lefs injurious to the rights of 
 individuals, and the interests of fociety ? He 
 faid, " Let the honourable gentleman beware, 
 " that in attempting to protect the natives of 
 " India in their rights, he does not violate thole 
 " of his countrymen." How forcibly do thefe 
 words recoil upon himfelf! how immediately do 
 they apply to his own act, which not merely 
 violates, but directly deftroys thofe rights ! la 
 thefe times, a confiftency of conduct, in politi- 
 cal life, is a phenomenon rarely to be met with. 
 Men's opinions are too apt to veer upon the 
 triumphs of party, or the difappointments of 
 
 afpiring
 
 C *4 ] 
 
 afpiring expectation; and thofe Spartan fentU 
 ments which delude theunfufpicious, a"nd favour 
 thepurpofes of the day in the career to ftation, 
 too often van i IK from the ftatefman's mind i,<; 
 the hour of fuccefsful ambition. He then dif- 
 cerns the difference between the theory and the 
 practice of power, and dazzled by the charms 
 of his fituation, exultingly vindicates the apo- 
 ftacy of his principles, by exclaiming to his 
 opponents, Non fum qualis eram ! " Tcmpora 
 " mutantur et nos mutamur in il/is." 
 
 But if any farther authority were neceflary in 
 proof of the illegality of this ad:, I need only 
 refer you to the Proteft of the difTenting Lords 
 for a full expofition of its fatal aim ; a proteft 
 which does honour to their feelings as men, 
 adds luftre to their characters as fenators, and 
 regifters them upon the records of their coun- 
 try the illuflrious guardians of liberty, and the 
 generous protectors of the opprefled. 
 
 To concentrate, therefore, all the injurious 
 tendencies of this arbitrary aft, 
 
 This
 
 C *5 ] 
 
 This novel adt deprives us of our right of 
 trial by a conftitutional jury : 
 
 This novel ac~t deprives us of our participa- 
 tion in the ineftimable aft of Habeas Corpus : 
 
 This novel at deprives us of our option, 
 and compels us to appear as evidence sgainft 
 our deareft friends. Ic, therefore, loofens the 
 bands of fociety, extinguifhes the firfb affec- 
 tions of the heart, and tends to convert the 
 neareft relations of life to fnares of diflionour 
 
 and deftruclioQ : 
 
 \ 
 
 This novel act is ftained with illiberally, and 
 pregnant with defpotifm. It taints the eff-nce 
 of the Confutation ; it poifons the fource of 
 freedom j it deftroys the foundation of thofe 
 liberties which are at once the pride and glory 
 of our country : 
 
 And, finally, it introduces an idea which 
 
 even the Minifter, in the plentitude of his 
 
 power, and the precipitation of his projects, 
 
 D hath
 
 [ * 3 
 
 hath not dared to avow that by entering into 
 the fervice of the Eaft-India Company, we 
 have relinquiftied all our mod valuable privi- 
 leges as members of the Britifh empire. 
 
 If thefe are grievances, it is fufficient to ftate 
 the fact ; it is impofiible to err in the comment, 
 that they demand redrefs : for certainly this ne- 
 farious act can be viewed in no other light than 
 as a libel upon the ftrvice in general, and upon 
 all others who may have been attracted to the 
 country by a fpirit of commercial enterprife ; 
 and if we fubmit to it fub filentio, our filence 
 will doubtlefs be confidered as an acquiefcence 
 in the juftice of its afperfion. It, therefore, 
 behoves us to exert every juft and conftitutional 
 means to promote its repeal, and to vindicate 
 our characters to the world from the unmerited 
 obloquy to which it dooms them ; for what 
 will be the inevitable refult of our patient ac- 
 quiefcence but an implication of our culpabi- 
 lity ? Will not pofterity eonfider, that in our 
 criminality originated this wound to the Confti- 
 tution, and that our vices forged the firft link of 
 
 flavery's
 
 C *7 ] 
 
 flavery's chain ? Will they not devote us to 
 deathlefs execration ? Will they not confign us 
 to never-dying infamy ? It is then that the irri- 
 tated hiilorian of thefe times (hall glowingly 
 record our bafenefs upon the unperilhable page 
 of hiftory, and awaken the indignation of fu- 
 ture generations againft us ! It is then that he 
 lhall imprint upon the tablet of their memory 
 this painful tale that, at fuch a period, there 
 exifted a race of Britifh fubjects in India, whofe 
 rapacity was fo unbounded, whofe cruelty was 
 fo unparallelled, and whofe offences were fo 
 deeply enormous, that even the common law of 
 the land, hitherto found adequate to the trial 
 and punimment of a murderer, was deemed in- 
 fufficient for the conviction of thefe more flagi- 
 tious delinquents ; and that, in order to bring 
 their offences within the pail of punimment, it 
 was necefiary to violate Magna Chart 'a, and to 
 convulfe that glorious fabric of Britilh freedom 
 \vhich has long been the applauding theme of 
 admiring ages ! It is then that we (hall be 
 loaded with the bittereft curfes of nations un- 
 born in ?.ges to come ! 
 
 "' V 
 
 D 2 But
 
 C * ] 
 
 Bjt what will be the confequence of govern- 
 ing rhefe diftinr countries upon fuch narrow and 
 oppreflive principles? Many, loathing the in- 
 gratitude of their countrymen, will expatriate 
 fhemfelves for ever, and become attached to thefe 
 clirnes, whilir. others will emigrate into foreign 
 countries to live beneath the protection of milder 
 laws. That is no country to me that does not 
 cherilh, fofter, and protect me in all my native 
 rights, in my honeft fame my liberty, and for- 
 tune ! Here the beautiful apoftrophe of Mr. 
 Addifon, in his epiftle to Lord Halifax, rufhes 
 upon my mind with captivating force, and 
 charms me to repeat it. 
 
 i 
 
 O Liberty, them goddefs heavenly bright ! 
 
 Profuie of blifs, and pregnant with delight, 
 Eternal pleafures in thy prefence reign, 
 And fmiling plenty leads thy wanton train 
 Eas'd of her load, fubje6lion grows more light, 
 And poverty looks chearful in thy fight : 
 Thou mak'il the gloomy face of nature gay, 
 Giv'ft beauty to the fun, and pleafure to the day. 
 
 Independently,
 
 C ") 3 
 
 Independently, then, of the ti,e of family con- 
 nection, what is it that renders our native coun- 
 try peculiarly dear to us, but the blefling of li- 
 ving under a free government ? Deprive us of 
 that enjoyment, and there are few countries in 
 Europe which do not offer fuperior comforts; for 
 if, upon our return to Great Britain, we become 
 cultivators of the foil, one half of the produce of 
 our eftates will be fwallowed up in a variety of 
 taxes, to fupport that preffure of national diftrefs 
 under which the ftate has been long (inking. But 
 this is not the cafe in any other country to which 
 we may retire. Therefore, unlefs the exception- 
 able parts of this ad are repealed, England will 
 inevitably fuftain a confiderable lofs of fubjects, 
 and of wealth, at a period when moft me has 
 occafion for the fupport of both to aid in revi- 
 ving her faded honours, an4 to lighten the bur- 
 den of her unweildy debt. How much, then, 
 does it become- the wifdom and equity of Admi- 
 niftration to reflect foberly and difpaffionatcly 
 upon thefe circumftances, and, by redreffing our 
 grievances, to guard againft the probability of 
 their happening ! Faction has too long ufurped 
 
 the
 
 C 3 ] 
 
 the reins of Government ; but now, that in de- 
 grading her country, her triumph has been com- 
 plete, it is time that milder reafon mould re-af- 
 ibme her gentle fway. Whither (hall \ve fly to 
 void oppreffion, in the event of the continuation 
 of this new and odious power, can never be the 
 qu.?ftion of a moment ; for o'er the wide range of 
 Europe, fee foreign liberality extended to fhield 
 us from thefe intemperate gufts of min : flerial 
 perfecution ! There unreviled by faction, and 
 uuexpofed to the capricious frown of authority, 
 xve fhall tranquilly enjoy our eftates, and, view- 
 ing at a diflance the increafing gales of national 
 contention, we may calmly bid defiance to their 
 turbulency and force ! 
 
 It might, Gentlemen, have been expected, 
 that the inftitution of a tribunal, the nature of 
 which is utterly fubvsrfr/e of every idea of civil 
 liberty to thofe upon whom its depotic powers 
 are meant to be exercised, fubverfive of the he- 
 reditary freedom and chartered rights of Englifh- 
 men, would, on the ver/ firft propjfal of it in 
 Pariianienr, have met with that determined and
 
 C 3i ] 
 
 effectual oppoiition which fo alarming a jmeafure 
 deferved, and that its authors, in wounding the 
 conflitution, would have been expofed to the re- 
 fentment of an infuhed nation. But the minds 
 of men in England were prepared for the event; 
 their feelings were irritated by the artful and cap- 
 tivating declamation of popular fpeakers, thiir 
 pity was awakened by the fabulous recital of 
 imaginary diftrefs, and their judgements were 
 warped by the intemperance of public debate, 
 which, at that period, generally diffufed itfelf 
 throughout the nation. Every bafe art to which 
 malevolence could have recourfe was adopted co- 
 calumniate and revile us ; and it was during: the 
 
 o 
 
 tumultuous phrenzy which enfued upon the tri- 
 umph of paffion over reafon, that the nation 
 were deluded into a meafure as injurious to our 
 rights as it is fatally dangerous to their own a 
 meaf^re that, in the cooler moment of returning 
 reafon, muft appear to them fraught with im- 
 pending danger, and ftrikingly calculated to 
 produce the downfall of the Conftitution. ,For 
 the fame arguments which have been ufed by the 
 Miniftry, in theprefent inftance, will equally ap- 
 ply
 
 C 3* ] 
 
 ply to every diftant part of their dominions , and 
 in this is eftablifhed a precedent on which any 
 daring and profligate Adminiflration may, at 
 fbme future period, found the neceflity of a fi- 
 milar mode of judicature for the detection of 
 guilt, and the punimment of offences in the 
 other dependencies of the empire -, and thus will 
 become confirmed a fyftem of legiflative defpo- 
 tifm which will, in a Ihort time, pierce the Con- 
 ftitution to its vitals. The moment that fuch 
 inquifitorial courts are tolerated, and their pro- 
 ceedings fo generally admitted of by Britons, the 
 inftant that fuch tribunals (hall thus become, and 
 be regarded as a component part of the Confticu- 
 tion, fdrewel to our boafted freedom ! to that 
 birthright, and to thofe privileges which give 
 U6 our proper rank in the fcale of nations ! The 
 whole glorious fabric will at once difapear, and 
 leave nor a trace behind it, except the fad re- 
 membrance, that Britilh liberty had once ex- 
 ifted ! 
 
 And fhall we be the firft, who fervilely bend- 
 ing to the yoke, who quietly atquiefcing in the 
 
 arbitrary
 
 E 33 ] 
 
 arbitrary difpenfation of an ambitious MiniflxT, 
 and an oppreflive fenate, being to overthrow the 
 freedom of our native foil, and tamely wear the 
 galling chain of defpotifm ? No ! I truft, that 
 the fpirit which we have inherited from our an- 
 ceftors will ftill continue to hold its inBuence in 
 our minds, and that we Ihall be able to evince 
 to our deluded countrymen, and to the world at 
 large, that the relaxing influence of the climate 
 has not fo far debilitated our hearts, or weaken- 
 ed our underftandings, as to induce us co perm-ic 
 any power on earth to encroach upon our rights 
 as men, and as Englifhmen, in pafiive filence ; 
 or that we are fo loft to every fenfe of honour, 
 to every regard for perfonal dignity, as to ftand 
 with patience before a tribunal where our cha- 
 racters are to be put to the rack where dark 
 informers beckoned by the hand of power, with 
 an interested malignity, and a perjury heedlefs, 
 becaufe fecure, may, at any time, lay proftrate 
 the honour of our lives, and ftrip us of the 
 produce of our labours r-and where we are to 
 be dependent upon the mercy of a court whole 
 jurifdiction ftands counter to the ordinances of 
 E ou
 
 [ '34 ] 
 
 our anceftors, and whofe judgement every other 
 Engliihman would feel himfelf impelled by that 
 inborn fpirit of freedom which fuperfedes all 
 law, to fcorn and reject ! Rather than degrade 
 ourfelves fo low, we ought to relinquiQi our 
 national attachment, and obliterate from our 
 minds every early prepofleffion in favour of a 
 country that has expofed us to fuch contumely ! 
 Tell me, Gentlemen, mail the people of Eng- 
 land, bleft with every advantage of climate, fo- 
 ciety of friends, the mutual interchange of fa- 
 mily affection, trample thus wantonly upon 
 thofe who, by the facrifice of every fond tie, of 
 every dear connection, have given an empire to 
 the native country ? Who, with often the lofs 
 of health, and, at beft, by a long and painful 
 residence in a climate uncongenial to their con- 
 ftituttons, have accumulated a moderate compe- 
 tency as a flicker for the evening of their d'ay ; 
 (hall they, like felons, be dragged before fuch 
 an inquifition ? Shall the winter of a life, waft- 
 ed in the fervice of their country, be unfeelingly 
 rendered a feafon of joylefs exigence ? No ! pe- 
 rim the idea ! vanilh a thought fo repugnant to 
 
 the
 
 C 35 ] 
 
 the feelings of a Britifh mind ! Is this the -de- 
 icendant of the illuftrious PITT ? Is this the 
 youth whom nature graced with ripened talents 
 in the morn of life ? Is this the aflerter of his 
 country's caufe' ? Is this the guardian genius of 
 her facred rights ? O ! venerable lhade of im- 
 mortal CHATHAM ! How would thy patriot bo- 
 fom, warmed by freedom's flame, now glow with 
 generous indignation, could'fr, thou but view thy 
 favourite fon, whom nature kindly deftined to 
 emulate thy virtue, and mare thy deathlefs 
 fame, thus turnilh the infancy of his career ! 
 Look down, bright fpirit ! and behold him 
 ieated on the eminence of that power, which 
 once thy virtues radiated, now fporting with the 
 happinefs of millions, and (tabbing the freedom 
 of his country .! Look down, divine emanation 
 of unrivalled goodnefs ! and through the im- 
 menfky of all -created fpace, fwift lee that tow- 
 ering eagle eye of thine dart its indignant frown 
 to recal him into glory's arms ! fwift let it flalh 
 to his rccolledtioo the curfe that waits the man 
 
 *' Who owes his greatnefs to his country's ruin/' 
 
 E 2 But,
 
 C 36 ] 
 
 But, Gentlemen, the opinion at prefent en- 
 tertained of us at home is fuch, that fo far from 
 our being confidered as entitled to a common 
 participation in the conftitutional rights of Bri- 
 ton, we are fcarcely looked upon as deferving 
 of the name of men. Neither has the injurious 
 light in which we are beheld originated in any 
 cafual prejudice, or malicious biafs againft us in 
 the hearts of our countrymen it is the fatal re? 
 fult of a concerted plan, of a deliberate defign. 
 
 A cpnfiderable time hath elapfed fmce many 
 fucceffive Minifters of the Crown, anxious to 
 fecure every mode of corruption which might 
 place the will of the national fenate at their com- 
 mand, have purfued every method that the wiles 
 of political management could devife, to transfer 
 the valuable and ex^enfive patronage of the Eaft 
 into their own hands. But they were repeatedly 
 baffled in all their attempts by that wife jealoufy 
 with which the nation at large have, at all times, 
 watched and guarded againft every new addi- 
 tion to their power. At length, however, they 
 fell upon a method which appeared likely to an-
 
 C 37 3 
 
 fwer their end, (among a people whofe feelings 
 are even keenly awake to every idea of tyranny 
 and oppreffion ;) and they hoped to ftrike with 
 fuccefs at the Company, through the reputations 
 pf their fervants. 
 
 In purfuance of this virtuous defign, the mod 
 laboured reprefentations were held forth of trie 
 enormities committed by thofe of every rank 
 who were employed in the management of our 
 newly acquired empire in the Eaft. The needy 
 adherents of a venal Adminiftration, anxious to 
 participate in the wealth of India, filled the trum- 
 pet of calumny in every quarter. Inflamed by 
 malice, and rankling with envy, they difperfed 
 among the credulous multitude dreadful details 
 of imaginary maflacres, and difmal {lories of 
 ideal depredations, committed by the Britifh iq 
 the Eaft, which had no exiftence in truth, but 
 were fokly the exuberant phantoms of thtir 
 own difturbed imaginations. Nay, even fome 
 pf the moft eloquent orators in the Britiih fenate 
 (whofe abilities are obfcured by the violence of 
 |hdr paffions, and whofe principles are tarnifiiecl 
 
 by
 
 [ 38 3 
 
 by their zeal for profecution) were not afhamed 
 to give thefe improbable falfchoods their public 
 fanction, -and to difleminate them to the world 
 in lofty rhapfodies of alternate mifreprefentation, 
 and acrimonious invective. The idle talcs ex- 
 ceeded even the fiction of romance, or the au- 
 thenticated cruelties which fober hiftory relates 
 to have difgraced the dark ages before civilization 
 
 L- 
 
 had improved the heart, or meliorated the human 
 mind. No longer, Gentlemen, may we credit 
 the recorded enormities, which hiftory pictures 
 to our view, of the ceafelefs maflacres which 
 marked the conquefts of Fernandez Cortes in 
 South America, and ftained the character of his 
 nation ! No longer may we confider them but 
 as the interefted tales of malice fabricated to ob- 
 fcure the fame of its conqueror, and tarnifli the 
 luftre of his actions, fince in a^more enlightened 
 age fimilar cruelties are attributed to ourfelves, 
 and bale afiertions forged abroad to vilify the 
 glory of a conquell, as illuftrious from its un- 
 precedented brilliancy, as for the humanity 
 wkich marked its completion ! A conqueft 
 which evidently arofe from the neceffity of ou/ 
 
 own
 
 C 39 ] 
 
 own fituation in vindication of the national ho- 
 nour, and not from an ambitious avidity for do- 
 minion, or an uncontrolable defire for riches 
 
 witnefs, to the truth of this, yon dudgeon full 
 exifting ! Witnefs, this monument*, which yet 
 records the barbarous deed which roufed us to 
 revenge! Witnefs, the unavailing fighs of thofe 
 who are yet alive to mourn the maflacre of their 
 families, and to execrate the tyrant who gave 
 them to defpair ! 
 
 Thefe cruel arts, however ridiculous they may- 
 appear to us, whofe fituation gives us an oppor- 
 tunity to know, to judge, and to feel, have been 
 crowned with fuccefs to the fulleft extent of their 
 wifhes. The grofs and illiberal (lander which 
 has been fo profufely lavifhed upon us all has 
 been attended with fuch effects to the name and 
 character of the fervice in general, that to have 
 wafted the flower of life in India, to have en- 
 countered for a long feries of years the rigours of 
 an adverfe climate, the pangs of illnefs, and the 
 
 * Pointing to each of thofe obje&s near the theatre. 
 
 anxious
 
 C 40 ] 
 
 anxious foiicitude of voluntary bammmenr, is 
 now confidered only as reflective of infamy and 
 difgrace. In vain do we undergo all this ! In 
 vain have examples been fhewn by the Europeans 
 of this country of extenfive benevolence, of 
 princely difmtereftednefs, to which no fociety of 
 men on earth can produce fuperior proofs ! In 
 vain, ye intrepid defenders of your country's 
 rights, have ye fmothered the rifmg flame of re- 
 bellion, or taught the haughty Mahratta to dread 
 the weight of the Britim arms ! . In vain, ye 
 gallant faviours of the Carnatic, have ye fuftained 
 toils, and difplayed exertions which would have 
 done honour to the Roman name ! In vain, yc 
 unfortunate prifoners of a ruffian defpot, have 
 ye endured a painful captivity, embittered by 
 every fuffering which inventive cruelty could 
 frame \ Each laurelled ibldier is involved in the 
 general accufation, and afTcrted to be blackened 
 by the crimes which are faid to contaminate the 
 whole ! How injurious and infulting ! Where, 
 yes, where is the incentive to emulation ? Where 
 is the fpring to valour, if you are to be thus tra- 
 duced after the ceafdcfs perils you have fo nobly 
 
 braved ?
 
 C 41 3 
 
 braved ? Hear me, ye veteran followers of la- 
 mented Coote ! Let me appeal to that free fpirit 
 which dignifies the human mind, and to thofe 
 quick feelings which are the infeparable orna- 
 ments of military breads. If arms be yourprc- 
 fefiion, is not honour your purfuit ? Surely 
 danger is the foldier's joy, honour his miftrefs, 
 and glory his delight. Will you not then recoil 
 at this wanton attempt to taint its purity ? Are 
 you not tremblingly alive to every aflault upon 
 your fame ? 
 
 Who fteals my purfe, fteals trafli ; 
 
 'Twas fomething nothing : 
 
 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been ilaveto thoufands; 
 
 But he who filches from me my good name, 
 
 Robs me of that which not enriches him, 
 \ 
 
 But makes me poor indeed ! 
 
 SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 Say then, (hall this oppreflive act lay all your 
 honours in the duft, and rob you of that wreathe 
 which fame has deftined to reward your toils, and 
 bids, when dead, ftill bloflfom o'er your tombs, and 
 wake to memory the recollection of your virtues ? 
 
 F If
 
 r 42 3 
 
 If this be the cafe, then proflrate your colours 
 at the fhrineof defpotifm; it is time you mould 
 muffle your drums, and beat the dead march over 
 your expiring liberties ! In every fociety there are 
 good and bad men ; for as virtue is the brighteft 
 ornament of humanity, fo vice is its darkeft in- 
 firmity ; but the latter are doubtlefs few, com- 
 pared with the former. How cruel and unjuft, 
 then, that the depravity of a fmall number 
 Ihould ftigmatize the remaining virtuous with 
 unmerited ignominy, and that the fuppofed mif- 
 conduct of one or two {hould involve a whole 
 clafs of rcfpectable people in the fame indifcri^ 
 minate mafs of general delinquency ! Such, 
 however, is our cafe ; for we are now in a mea- 
 fure profcribed by our country, and recorded in-. 
 famous to the world. All Europe are taught to 
 view us in the light ofmifcreants, no longer de- 
 ferving of national favour, unworthy of being 
 governed by thofe laws which never had a par- 
 tial diftinction for their object, and unentitled to 
 a participation in thofe conftitutional rights 
 which we have hitherto confidered as a protec- 
 tive barrier for the whole ! But, gentlemen, it 
 
 was
 
 [ 43 ] 
 
 was necefTary that thofe, whofe fa&ious fpirit 
 kindled the flames of war, and whofe mad am- 
 bition has torn an empire from their injured 
 country, mould endeavour to conceal her bleed- 
 ing wrongs, and ward off her, vengeance, by 
 turning the torrent of national odium from them- 
 felves to make it fall upon the heads of thofe 
 whofe gallantry and fpirit have preferved, with 
 flubborn firmnefs, their remaining kingdoms in 
 the Eaft ! Little will it avail us to aflcrt our in- 
 nocence at prefent ; delufion muft triumph for 
 a while, as the great body of the people feern to 
 have imbibed the prejudice of a faction againfl 
 us ; but there is a period when its film fhall be 
 removed from the eyes of the public, and afper* 
 fion be fubdued, by a full conviction of our 
 wrongs j the virulence of contending parties 
 will then fubfide, the mift of prepofleflion 
 difperfe of itfelf, and popular rancour yield to 
 more generous and charitable fentiments* We 
 mall then receive that juftice we have a right to 
 expect from a nation hitherto renowned for its 
 liberality and wifdom, and the lie of the day will 
 be configned to its perifhable exiftence. In the 
 F i interim
 
 [ 44 ] 
 
 interim let us devote thefe infidious arts to the 
 contempt they deferve, and their authors to the 
 reprobation they are deftined to receive ; for 
 minds that are confcious of their own integrity 
 will rife fuperior to the attacks of malevolence, 
 and difplay themfelves invulnerable by the fhafts 
 of calumny ! Mem confcia fibi refli vim contu- 
 melia afyernat. 
 
 However much it may have been the fafhion 
 of the day to brand us with fuch opprobious in- 
 vectives, and to reprefent us with Bobadil bom- 
 bafticity, as the " deftroyers of thirty millions of 
 " people by famine and the fword," yet I truft 
 it will evidently appear that no conqueft was 
 ever effected wherein a greater attention was paid 
 in the outfet to the calls of humanity, or a more 
 liberal regard obferved on its fubfequent comple- 
 tion to the rights of individuals. That the coun- 
 try has been impov crimed in its refources, fince 
 we became its poflcflbrs, may probably be the 
 cafe; but this is in fome meafure the common 
 fituation of all fubjugated provinces, and was 
 the anticipated conference of our progrefs by 
 
 the
 
 [ 45 J 
 
 the eye of wifdom. Was it not peculiarly tHc 
 fate of the Roman acquifitions in Afia ? Is not 
 defolation unhappily, to a certain degree, the na- 
 tural efFedt of conqueft ? Where is the con- 
 quered country that boafts of its increafed ad- 
 vantages by reduction, or flourifhes beneath the 
 yoke of fubjeclion ? A mild and vigilant Ad- 
 miniftration, the members of which are ani- 
 mated to exertion by principles of patriotifm, 
 will doubtlefs ftrengthen and extend the happi- 
 nefs of the people, and the profpericy of the 
 country, over which it prefides ; but this is not 
 the cafe in conquered dominions, where the fame 
 enthufiaftic principle feldom influences the hu- 
 man mind : and hence it is, that a delegated 
 government, far diftant from the tontroling 
 power, muft ever be expofed to a variety of dif- 
 orders in its internal fyftem, detrimental to the 
 country it governs, as well from the unfteadi- 
 nefs of its principle, as from the occafional mif- 
 application of its powers. Thole caufes there- 
 fore, which operated to impair the Company's 
 poffeflions, exifted morally in the nature of 
 things, and would have been equally, if not 
 
 more
 
 C 46 ] 
 
 more forcibly felt, if the fovereignty of thofe 
 countries had devolved to any other European 
 power-, but even if they had owed their origin 
 to an oppofite fource, it is not the lefs an act of 
 injuftice to make us the objects of punifhmenc 
 ivho were not the perpetrators of guilt : the 
 truth, however, is, there is little reproach to be 
 caft upon the conduct of individuals, for there 
 is a tide in the affairs of human life which nei- 
 ther the exertion of induftry can repel, or the 
 efforts of wifdom fubdue. Providence has 
 wifely limited the bounds of earthly profperity - t 
 and kingdoms, however flourifhing, are deftined 
 to experience the tranfitory fate of every fublu- 
 nary fubftance. Nations, like the favourites of 
 fortune, have each their day : the Romans had 
 theirs, and we have feen ours. Sic tranfit gloria 
 mundi! Rome funk beneath the burden of her 
 conquefts, and the ancient miftrefs of the world 
 exhibits in her fall a melancholy picture of de- 
 throned ambition, enflaved by bigotry, and fub- 
 dued by arms. Britain, exalted by her heroes 
 to the fummit of imperial grandeur, already 
 waves beneath the preflure of her glories, and 
 
 difplays
 
 C 47 ] 
 
 difplays in the magnanimity of her efforts to up- 
 hold them, an immortalizing teftimony of the 
 brilliancy of her career. It is now for America 
 to rife into confequence, and branck into a 
 boundlefs empire that poflibly may level others, 
 until by fome fingular revolutions, or, perhaps, 
 
 by the magnitude of her own conquefts, fhc 
 falls a victim to adverfity herfelf, and fome new 
 triumphant and tyrannic power raifes the fabric 
 of defpotifm upon freedom's ruins. 
 
 I have now, gentlemen, laid before you the 
 fatal effects with which the power of this de- 
 fpotic authority, this new oriental court of ftar 
 chamber, may be attended to your private in- 
 terefts; but the immediate and perfonal injuries 
 to which you are fubjected by it, are not the only 
 confiderations which (hduld rouze your atten- 
 tion. To every man who poflefTes the fmalkft 
 portion of public virtue, the welfare of his 
 
 country will be of fome concern to every man 
 
 \ 
 
 who hopes within her parental arms to find a 
 repofe for the evening of life, her freedom will 
 be dear! To preferv* that welfare inviolate, 
 
 and
 
 [ 48.] 
 
 and to guard that freedom from the baneful blaft 
 of tyranny, fhould be the exertion of every Bri- 
 tion, however diftant from his native fhore. I 
 will therefore trefpafs upon your kind indulgence 
 but a very little time longer, for the purpofe of 
 fuggelVmg a few ideas on the fubject of the peti- 
 tions which may probably be the refult of this 
 day's meeting, and which I now humbly move 
 a Committee may be appointed to prepare. It is 
 true we have been feverely wronged, but we have 
 yet the happinefs to reflect, that our complaints 
 are not without a remedy. Under the preflure 
 of accumulated injuries an appeal ftill lies to a 
 Sovereign, whofe enlarged benevolence compre- 
 hends every portion of his wide extended em- 
 pire. His Majefty is the father of his People, 
 and in thofe royal virtues which fo eminently 
 adorn his Throne, we mud confide for protection 
 and redrefs. There is no fupport to which we 
 can fo pleafingly have recourfe; and I am per- 
 fuaded there is none in which we can repofe fo 
 juft a confidence. Let us therefore beware of 
 intemperate zeal, and of meafures dictated by too 
 ftrong a fenfe of the injuries we fuffer. What 
 
 Englifhman
 
 T 49 ] 
 
 Englimman who now hears me but would bluffi 
 for his country, if fhe were capable of bafelf 
 yielding to his threats that which ftie denied to 
 his juft reprefentation ? The calm, fteady voice 
 6f reafon, will lull to filence the vain clamours 
 of fa<tion } and the rancorous hiflings of envy j 
 and unbar the avenues to returning juftice I Lee 
 our conduct therefore be marked by temper and 
 moderation. Let us owe to the equity of the 
 State a redrefs which irrafcibiliry can never ob- 
 tain, but which it will be the pride of a ge- 
 nerous people to bellow upon our humble re- 
 queft, 
 
 I have ventured^ gentlemen, to ftep forth tip- 
 on the prefent occafion, under a conviction, that 
 the fentiments which I entertain, and have ex- 
 prefled, upon the important fubject which has 
 this day convened us, (as far as relates to the 
 principle and effect of this act) will be honoured 
 with the approbation of mod of my auditors. I 
 was fenfible that a bufmefs of this kind only re- 
 quired to be introduced to your notice, and thae 
 a fpirit of unanimous indignation would mark 
 * G its
 
 [ 50 ] 
 
 its infancy. This I have united in doing, with 
 an ability inadequate to the talk I have afiumed, 
 but with a zeal for your interefts, and an at- 
 tachment to the community, that admits of no 
 ftrperiority, and compenfa'es for a deficiency of 
 talents. I am fanguine in my hopes, that the 
 united felicitations of fo refpe&able a colony 
 wiH not be difregarded by the Legiflature at 
 home. I am warm in my wimes, that the 
 neighbouring prefidencies, equally injured with 
 ourfelves, will be animated by our refolvts of 
 this day to imicate our glorious example. It is 
 my prayer, that thofe hopes may neither prove 
 delufive, nor thefe wifhcs remain ungratified ! In 
 the awful calamity which has recently befallen 
 the empire, we have feen that the fpirit of an 
 Englimman is not of that dudile texture which 
 readily yields to oppreffioit, and that when the 
 powers of defpair are awakened, they are fupe- 
 rior to danger, and tower above difficulty. I 
 therefore firmly truft, that a candid avowal of 
 our feelings, in a refpedtful reprefentation to Par- 
 liament, will meet with a favourable reception 
 from the nation at large, and be productive of
 
 [ 5i J 
 
 the iuppitft effeft to ourfelves, by reftoring us 
 again jo the bofom of our country. No, gentle- 
 men, you will not affert your rights in vain! 
 You will not long continue in a ftate of dif- 
 graceful reparation from the reft of your coun- 
 'trymcn! 1 feel the firmeft affurance of fuccefi! 
 I already anticipate the day of triumph which 
 ft) all afluredly fucceed to this day of dejection! 
 a day devoted to rapture, and to the mutual 
 heart -felt congratulations which mall mark the 
 
 O 
 
 bright sera of our reftoration to thofe rights we 
 were deftined to inherit: it is then that detrac- 
 tion will be immolated at the ihrine of candour, 
 and that it will ceafe to be a crime to have rifen 
 to an honourable independence! To complete the 
 delightfulpi&ure of returning juftice, good will, 
 and benevolence, nothing is wanted, but that 
 the fame hand which has inflicted the wound 
 jfhould, like the hero's fpear of old, be ftretchcd 
 forth to adminifter the remedy, and enfure the 
 cure. Yes, the defcendant of the illuftrious 
 Chatham Ihall be among the foremoft converts 
 to truth, reafon, aud liberal fentimenti He -is 
 their hereditary votary; no man ever rofe more 
 G a honourably
 
 C V 3 
 
 honourably to power, or became more defervedly 
 intruded with the confidence of his countrymen : 
 if his genius and his eloquence have excited their 
 admiration, the purity of his moral charader has 
 equally attracted the tribute of their efteem ; and 
 though fafcinated for a while by the fpells of 
 faction, and deluded by the mifts of prejudice, 
 thefe will not long have power to detain his foot- 
 fteps in the mazy paths of error : he will a^ain 
 become worthy of the great name he bears ; 
 again ftand forrh the terror, not the abettor of 
 defpodfm; and having burft his own bonds 
 afunder, he will fly with repentant feelings to 
 unbind the ignominious fetters which, in the 
 hour of national delirium, he inconfiderately 
 forged for you. O! die fortunate! Let its 
 pleafing expectation fubdue every angry emotion, 
 and rivet our affections to the State which pro- 
 tects us. And whilft it obvioufly veils the paft, 
 let it chearfully gliften upon our minds as a 
 dawning ray of benignity to tinge the horizon 
 of our hopes, and to infpirit us to look forward 
 to that aufpicious moment, when our grievances 
 be redreffcd by a liberal and enlightened na-
 
 C 53 ] 
 
 tion, when perfecution lhall yield to juttice, and 
 faction be filcnced by truth ! Happy moment! 
 It will be for ever dear to recollection ! Grati- 
 tude fhall fondly dwell upon its exigence, our 
 children fhall venerate its birth, and pofterity ap- 
 plaud the exertions which produced it! May 
 
 / 
 we all live to fee it ! To blefs that gracious 
 
 Monarch from whofe bounty it is to flow ! And 
 to hail, with tranfport, the immortal day, which, 
 in reftoring us to the rights of citizens and men, 
 {hall form an illuftrious epoch in the hiftory of 
 pur times, and be for ever rendered memorable 
 jn the annals of our country. 
 
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 Thomas Broughton ; Free Parliaments ; Fox and Pitt's 
 Speeches on the Weftminfter Scrutiny ; Three Letters 
 to the People of England ; MafTere's Inquiry into the 
 Extent and Powers of Juries, Key to the Parliamen- 
 tary Debates, Reply to the Treafury Pamphlet; Au- 
 thentic Statement of the Report of the Privy Council 
 on thejrifh Proportions; Mr- Fox's Speech, May 12, 
 1785; Heads of Mr. Fox's Speech, May 23, 178,5, 
 with a Lift of the Minority ; Candid Review of Mr. 
 Pitt's Twenty Refolutions; Letter from an Irifh Gen- 
 tleman in London, &c. &c. 
 
 A COLLECTION of the moft efteemed EAST- 
 INDIA TK.ACTS which were printed during the 
 Yearsi78o, 1781, 1782, 1/83, and 1784. In 6 vols^ 
 price 2,1. 2s. half bound and lettered.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Containing the Proceedings of the Meeting held at 
 
 the 'Theatre in Calcutta, on the 2$tb of Jufy t 
 
 - 1 7^5? to take into Confederation an Aft t 
 
 AT a meeting of the Britifh inhabitants of Cal- 
 cutta, held at the theatre on Monday the 25th 
 of July, in purfuance of a public fummons 
 by the High Sheriff, at the requeft of the 
 Grand Jury, on the ~i$th of June laft, for the 
 purpofe of taking into cohtideration the pro- 
 priety and neceffity of a petition on certain 
 parts of an act of the 24th of His prefent 
 Majefty, entitled, " An act for the better 
 cc regulation of the affairs of the Eaft-India 
 " Company, and of the Britifh poffeflions 
 " in India, arid for eftabliming a Court of 
 " Judicature, for the more fpeedy and effec- 
 4i (ual trial of perfons adcufed of orTences 
 
 * 
 
 " committed in the Eaft Indies." 
 
 PHILIP YONGE, Efq< the Sheriff, opened 
 the buGnefu of the day in the following ad- 
 
 drefs : 
 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 This meeting has been convened by me at 
 the requeft of the very refpectable body of gen- 
 tlemen who comppfed the laft Grand Jury, con- 
 tained in the following letter: 
 
 H' To
 
 [ 5* ] 
 To PPILIP YONGZ, Efq. 
 
 Sheriff of tbe Town of Calcutta. 
 SIR, 
 
 By defire of the Grand Jury, I am to requef^ 
 you will be pleafed to convene a meeting of the 
 Britifh inhabitants of Calcutta, at the Old Courc 
 Houfe, or any other convenient place, on Mon- 
 day the 2gth of July next, to take into confi- 
 deration the .propriety and necefiity of a peti- 
 tion on certain parts of the ad of the 24th of 
 His Majefly, entitled, " An ad for the better 
 " regulation of the affairs of the Eaft-India 
 " Company, and of the Britifh pofleffions in 
 " India, and for eftabliming a Court of Judica- 
 *' ture for the more fpeedy and effectual trial 
 " of perfons accufed of offences committed in 
 u the Eaft Indies," 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 C. PURLING, 
 
 Grand Jury Room, Foreman. 
 
 Calcutta, June 13, 1785. 
 
 Feeling, gentlemen the necefiity of a public 
 appeal, I moft chearfully complied with the re- 
 queft of the Grand Jury, and I am fure, their 
 wifhes mufl be fully gratified, at feeing fo large 
 and refpedable a number of their fellow citizens 
 attend their call, and I have no doubt, gentle- 
 men, but your refolutions this day, by their 
 moderation and firmnefs, will do honour to 
 them and to yourfelves, 
 
 Charles
 
 [ S9 3 
 
 Charles Purling, Efq. was then unanimoutly 
 called to the chair, when he addrefied the meet- 
 ing in the following fpeech : 
 
 Permit me, gentlemen, to return you my 
 unfeigned thanks for the honour you have 
 conferred upon me. The more unfought the 
 diftinftion, the more I am imprefled with the 
 obligation to exert my poor (hare of abilities for 
 the general good, in the purfuit of which I am 
 perfuaded, I fhall have the ready fupport, con- 
 currence, and approbation of every one who 
 ftiles himfelf an Englifhman. 
 
 The numerous afiembly of refpedable charac- 
 ters whom I obferve, aflure me, they are well 
 apprifed that no trivial matter has now called 
 vis together. 
 
 It may however be expe&ed, that the indi- 
 vidual of this fociety who has flood forward to 
 convene a meeting for the consideration of a 
 folemn appeal to our Sovereign, or the Legifla- 
 ture of our country, may be induced to open 
 the fubject to them. Any lefs important occa- 
 fion could not have impelled me to have under- 
 taken a tafk, to which I feel myfdf fo very un- 
 equal ; and if I fue for favour, gentlemen, it is 
 not from an apprehenfion of not obtaining it 
 from your liberality, but becaufe I fear there 
 will be but too much room for indulgence. 
 
 The mode adopted for convening the Bri- 
 tifh inhabitants of Calcutta, was efteemed the 
 moft conftitutional, and therefore the moft ad- 
 pi 2 vifeable.
 
 [ 6 ] 
 
 vifeable. The fubject of our intended delibera- 
 tion was declared to be the propriety and necef- 
 fity of a petition againft certain parts of the late 
 3& of Parliament, for the better regulation and 
 management of the Eaft-India Company's affairs. 
 
 The introduction of a tribunal of juftice, 
 folely for the trial of Indians ; the deprivation 
 of that invaluable, that blefied birthright, the 
 judgement of pur peers ; and the feveral provi- 
 iions, which form a fyftem of judicature totally 
 different from that by which the whole empire 
 is governed, are a novelty in our conflitution, 
 an evil to the nation at large, and a grievance, 
 difgrace, an3 indignity, to Indians in particular, 
 whofe reputations have received a death-ftroke 
 which no human exertion can remedy, recall, 
 or obliterate ; however the repeal of this often - 
 five, this criminating act may avert the injuries 
 which impend over our fortunes and our families. 
 
 By the paffing of this act we (land prejudged, 
 in as much as it fets forth, that the detection 
 and puni(hment of crimes committed in India, 
 requires different laws, and feverer than thofe 
 which already operate over the whole body of 
 Britifh fubjedts. This preemption criminates, 
 becaufe it diftinguifhes. We all know, that 
 the law fuppofes crimes; but we alfo know, 
 that it does not attach crimes to particular men 
 or particular bodies of men. 
 
 This law provides penalties and pains hitherto, 
 unknown (and I fcarce think any one will fay 
 
 nay
 
 [ 61 ] 
 
 nay when I add) unproportioned to the offences 
 they are intended to check and punim. 
 
 It eftablifhes an extraordinary and an alarm- 
 ing innovation in the constitution of our country, 
 which the fupporter of the bill was bold enough 
 to avow, and the reprefentatives of a free peo- 
 ple were fupine enough to admit. 
 
 It deprives the Britifh-born fubjeft who has 
 refided a few years in India, of the rights and 
 privileges enjoyed by the reft of his countrymen. 
 
 It expofes him to the malevolence of any 
 man whom he may accidentally offend, during 1 
 the three yearsof probation, or may have offended 
 before he left India. 
 
 It renders him a marked and branded being 
 among thofc with whom he is obliged to affo- : 
 ciate on his return to his native country. 
 
 It erects a partial, unjufl, and odious diftinc- 
 r.ion between the King's and the Company's 
 fervants, though both are employed in India, and 
 equally liable to the fame frailties and temptations. 
 
 It involves the innocent with the guilty in 
 one common deftrudtion : nay, 
 
 It fpreads in its contagious blaft, ruin to the 
 infant and the unborn. 
 
 Prejudice and crimination are (lamped on its 
 forehead. The very approach of the monfter, 
 its ghaftly and horrible appearance, without? 
 waiting for its deftructive effects, urges our 
 refort to the firft principle of nature, felf pre- 
 fervation - y and every manly, refolute, delibe- 
 rate,
 
 [ 61 ] 
 
 rate, and legal oppofition, which it is in our 
 power at this diilance to exert for its extirpa- 
 tion, is loudly called forth. 
 
 The delufion, malevolence, and prejudice of 
 the times, and the ready attention paid to all 
 tales in crimination of Indians, fcem to have 
 been our bane and misfortune. 
 
 The ilory of Almas Ally Khawn * brings 
 but too ferious reflections to my mind, however 
 it may have excited the gibt: and the joke in 
 the metropolis of our country. It has ferved 
 tD convince me, that even improbable ftories 
 have been greedily caught at, and have added 
 to the mifchief which mifreprefentation and a 
 total exaggeration of facts had originated. But 
 allowing even that Almas Ally Khawn had met 
 with a merited punifliment from his Sovereign, 
 for default of revenue, treafon, and rebellion ; 
 and a hulband and a father had been cue off 
 from an unfortunate family, ftill we find that 
 his eftatcs were faid to be untouched. That 
 
 * Extraft from the inftrii'ftions given by Mr. HASTINGS 
 
 to Mr. Briftow, dated October 23, 1782, relative to Almas 
 
 Ally Kharjun. Vide Parliametary Debates, vol. xvi. page 409. 
 
 " If any engagement fliall actually fubfift between them, 
 
 ' at the time you have charge of the refidency, it mull, 
 
 ' however exceptionable, be faithfully obferved ; but if 
 
 ; he has been guilty'of any criminal offence to the Nabob 
 
 ' his rnafrer, for which no immunity is provided in the 
 
 ; engagement, or he fhalJ'DYeak any one of the conditions 
 
 ' of it, I do moil ftrictly enjoin you, and it muft be your 
 
 " foecial rare, to endeavour either by force or furprife to 
 
 4 ' lecure his perfon and bring him to juiHce ; 1 mean that 
 
 *' you urge the Nabob, on 'due conviction to punifh him 
 
 *' with death. 
 
 family,
 
 C 63 ] 
 
 family, therefore, whofe pathetic complaint* 
 have been exhibited in our newfpapers, would 
 have been left in a far more eligible condition, 
 than our wives and children will be, when any 
 of us, under, the reftrictions now prefcribed, and 
 for an act which never was a crime till this law 
 made it fo, fhall, after furnifhing fufpicion againft 
 himfelf, and ar.fwering interrogatories upon oath, 
 be fhut up in priibn, have his whole fortune and 
 property attached, ptrhaps confifcated ; be fub- 
 ject to a tedious prccefs to extend the impri.fon- 
 ment and feizure to years, and entirely uncer- 
 tain that they will not laft for ever. Deprived 
 of their prop and fupport, and fpoiled of the 
 juit expectations which the law of reafon and 
 humanity has decreed to. the weaker and more 
 helplefs part of the creation, and has rendered 
 the natural and inherent right of the offspring 
 of all mankind, and of our offspring, till the 
 pa (Ting of this bill, our families mull either turn 
 themfelves for a hard-earned fubfiftance to me- 
 nial employs, which our fituations in life would 
 have protected them from, had we never vifited 
 thefe climes, or be reduced to a (late ftill more 
 humiliating, of pinching, but filent penury and 
 want, poverty ftricken with fhame, and fhrink- 
 ing from the eye of the world. 
 
 In fhort, the virulence, cruelty, and perfecu- 
 tion, with xvhich Indians are from henceforward 
 to be j.urfued, and at the very period in which 
 
 laws
 
 [ 64 ] 
 
 laws have been made to check peculation, and 
 to curb oppreffion, extortion, and injuftice, will 
 far furpafs what has even been fufpected of 
 them, however far fufpicion may have gon 
 ?,nd will even exceed the feveriry, if it had been 
 inflicted by the advice of an Englifh gentleman, 
 on Almas Ally Khawn.] 
 
 I cannot urge more, gentlemen, than that 
 our liberties, as Britifh fubjects, perhaps the 
 prefent form of our admired and excellent con- 
 ftitution ; our fortunes as individuals, our hap- 
 pinefs as hufbands and parents, the future 
 maintenante of our wives and children, and the 
 dependence of thofe who have not yet feen the 
 light, are all involved in a proper and fpirited 
 exertion for the repeal of this ill-advifed, this 
 ill-omened act, 
 
 None more powerful motives, no objects of 
 greater importance can exift to induce unani- 
 mity ; and I fanguinely hope, that diverfity of 
 opinion will net prevail to obftruct our honed, 
 temperate, and lawful endeavours for the ac- 
 complifhment of fo defirable an end. 
 
 <Ihe following RESOLUTIONS were then propvfed, 
 
 and unanimcufly agreed to. 
 I. Refolved That His Majefly's fubjecls in 
 the Eaft Indies are entitled to the protection and 
 fupport of the la\vs of England, in common 
 with the other fubjecls of the realm. 
 
 II. Re-
 
 II. Refolved That fo much of the act of the 
 24th of His prefent Majefty, chap. xxv. en- 
 titled, " An aft for the better regulation and 
 " management of the affairs of the Eaft-India 
 " Company, and of the Britifh. pofleffions in 
 " India, and for eftablifhing a Court of Judica- 
 ft ture, for the more fpeedy and effectual trial 
 ' of perfons accufed of offences committed in 
 <f the Eaft Indies," as compels the fervants.of 
 the Eaft-India Company, upon their return to 
 Great Britain, to deliver in upon oath, an in- 
 ventory of their whole property, under penalties 
 of excefiive feverity, is grievous and oppreffive 
 to the fervants of the faid Company, and re- 
 pugnant to the constitution of our country. 
 
 III. Refolved That the erection of a new 
 tribunal by the faid act, for the fpecial purpofe 
 of trying offences, Charged to have been com- 
 mitted in the Eaft Indies; a tribunal unreftrain- 
 ed by the fettled rules of law, and fubject to no 
 appeal-, and the depriving them of their un- 
 doubted birthright, the trial by jury, are viola- 
 tions of the Great Charter of our liberties, and 
 infringements of the moft facred principles of 
 the Britifh conftitution. 
 
 IV. Refolved That the faid act, by ex- 
 pofing of His Majefty's fubjects refiding under 
 this prefidency, to be fent forcibly to England, 
 and there to be tried for offences committed or 
 charged to be committed by them within thefe 
 
 1 provirt-
 
 [ 66 ] 
 
 provinces, is highly dangerous to the fecriry of 
 their perfons and fortunes. 
 
 V. Refolved That it is injurious to the 
 fervants of the United Company, to be fubjected 
 by the faid a(5l of Parliament to be difmiflfed from 
 their employments in the Eaft-Indies, or to be 
 recalled at the pleafure of the Crown, which is 
 in other words, at the will of the Minifter. 
 
 VI. Refolve'd That the provifion of the 
 faid act of Parliament, which enacts, that all 
 
 writings which {hall have been tranfmitted from 
 
 O 
 
 the Eaft Indies to the Court of Directors, by 
 their officers or ferVants refident in the Eaft- 
 Indies, in the ufual courfe of their correfpon- 
 dence with the faid Court of Directors, may be 
 admitted by the Commiffioners to be offered in 
 evidence, and (hall not be deemed inadmiffible 
 or incompetent, is fubverfive of the eftablifhed 
 rules of evidence, and manifeftly dangerous to 
 His Majefty's fubjects returning from this coun- 
 try to Great Britain. 
 
 VII. Refolved That it is therefore becoln- 
 ing and highly expedient for His Majefty's 
 iubjects in thefe provinces to endeavour, by all 
 kgai and conftitutional means, to obtain a re- 
 peal of fuch claufes in the faid act cf Parlia- 
 ment as impofe thefe and other hardfhips upon 
 them. And that for the purpofc of obtaining 
 fuch repeal, petitions, humbly laying our grie- 
 vances before His-Majeity and the two Houfc 
 
 of
 
 t 67 ] 
 
 of Parliament, are advifeable, necefiary, and 
 proper. 
 
 VIII. Refolved That a Committee of fif- 
 teen gentlemen, felefted from the inhabitants 
 of Calcutta, be appointed to prepare petitions 
 to His Majcfty and the two Houfes of Parlia- 
 ment, and ro correfpond with the inland ftations 
 fubordinate to this government, and with the, 
 other p Tendencies in India. And that k be re- 
 commended to them to take all fuch meafures as 
 they ihall judge neceflary for tranfmitting the 
 faid petitions to Europe, and for promoting and 
 obtaining an effectual rtdrefs to His Majelty's 
 fubjects in India. And that the faid Commit- 
 tee be empowered to fill up vacancies as they 
 may happen in the courfe of time. 
 
 IX. Refolved That as confiderable expcnce 
 mud be unavoidably incurred by our endeavours 
 to obtain rcdrefs of our grievances, a fubfcrip- 
 tion fhall be opened by the Committee who 
 fliall be eleded by this Affcmbty, and that as 
 foon as the petition fhall be ready for fignature, 
 a book fhall be produced for the faid fubfcrip- 
 tion, to the end, that every man may have the 
 opportunity of promoting, by voluntary facri- 
 fice of a fmall fhare of his property, that fecu- 
 riry of the whole which is the grand object of 
 our petitions. 
 
 X. Refolved That all fubfcriptions be re- 
 ceived, whether in fpecie or i.i . a^tr, and ch.it 
 
 I 2 the
 
 [ 68 ] 
 
 the amount fubfcribed, (hall be paid by each 
 fubfcriber to fuch perfon or perfons as the 
 faid Committee, when elected, fhall appoint to 
 receive the fame. 
 
 XI. Refolved That this afiemblydo autho- 
 rize the faid Committee to difpofe of and expend 
 the whole, or any part of the fums of money 
 fo paid, in fuch manner as fhall appear to them 
 bed calculated for the general benefit of the 
 caufe for which they were fubfcribed. 
 
 XII. Refolved That Mr. Charles Purling 
 be a member of the Committee, and that he be 
 requeued to propofe fourteen other gentlemen 
 to the meeting for their approval. 
 
 XIII. Refolved That the following gen- 
 tlemen are elected for the purpofes mentioned in 
 the foregoing refolutions, viz. 
 
 PATRICK DUFF, T. H. DAVIES, 
 
 CHARLES PURLING, J. EVELYN, 
 
 PETER MURRAY, J. CHURCH, 
 
 H. VANSITTART, HERBERT LLOYD, 
 
 WM. COWPER, GEORGH DALLAS, 
 
 WM. SCOTT, JOHN BRISTOW, 
 JONN DUNCAN, AND 
 
 JOHN MURRAY, PHI. YONGE, Efqrs. 
 
 XIV. Refolved That this aflembly of the 
 Britifh inhabitants of Calcutta, having themoft 
 perfect confidence and truft in the uprightnefs, 
 integrity, and abilities of the Committee chofen 
 
 for
 
 [ 69 ] 
 
 for the conduct and management of their 
 intereft, and for the protection and defence of 
 their rights as fubjects of Great Britain, do, in 
 in order to give vigour and efficacy to their acts, 
 and to free them from future trouble, embar- 
 ra(fi.nent, and obftruction, delegate to them full 
 authority ; and do exprefs a plenary reliance on 
 them for the exercife of it; and do pledge to 
 them the concurrence and fupport of the faid af- 
 fembly in the fulleft manner poffible, to all mea- 
 fures they {hall legally adopt, for obtaining a 
 repeal of the oppreffive parts of the aforefaid 
 aft of Parliament. 
 
 XV. Refolved That the thanks of this 
 meeting be given to the Grand Jury, for having 
 convened a legal and constitutional meeting of 
 the Britifh fubjects in this fettlement, for the 
 purpofe of petitioning His Majefty, and the two 
 Houfes of Parliament, for redrefs of thofe heavy 
 grievances impofed on them by the before- men- 
 tioned 'act of the Legiflature. 
 
 XVI. Refolved That the thanks of this 
 meeting be given to Philip Yonge, Efq. the 
 High Sheriff, for his patriotic conduct in call- 
 ing the aficmbly at the requeft of the Grand Jury. 
 
 XVII. Refolved That the thanks of this 
 meetting be given to Charles Purling, Efq. for 
 the great precifion, candour, "and regularity, 
 with which he has conducted the bufmefs of 
 the day. 
 
 XVIII. Re.
 
 [ 7 ] 
 
 XVIII. Refolved That the above rcfolu- 
 tions be printed and made public. 
 
 RESOLUTIONS framed tbe i^tb, and agreed to on 
 the i-jtb of March, 1785, by the Officers of 
 tbe Third Brigade, ftationed at Cawnpore. 
 
 THE general voice of the gemlemen at this 
 ftajion, taking into consideration the mod pro- 
 per mode of obtaining a repeal of the claules of 
 Mr. Pitt's India bill, which, under the unjuil, 
 illiberal plea of delinquency on our parts, con- 
 ftttutes the New Court of Judicature, 
 
 The following heads are recommended to the 
 pcrufal of the gentlemen at large, and if ap- 
 proved of, their fignntures are, requeued. 
 
 I. That as Britons, we arc entitled to the pro- 
 tedion and fupport of the ancient and eftabhfhoi 
 laws of England, in common \vith the ciher 
 iubjecls of the realm. 
 
 II. Thai the inventory required from the fir- 
 vants of the Honourable Eaft-India Company, 
 and the New Court of Judicature conftituted 
 by Mr. Pitt's bill for the trial of delinquents, 
 are contrary to the laws and cuftoms of England, 
 infomuch, that it compels, under very fevere 
 penalties, men born free, to give evidence againft 
 ihemfelves, and deprives the fubject of the in- 
 eftimable bldEng, and his birthright, Trial 
 by his peers. 
 
 III. That it is the duty of every fubject to 
 
 fupport,
 
 C 7' 1 
 
 fupport the laws, and by every legal and honeft 
 endeavour, to prevent innovations in the con- 
 flitution. 
 
 IV. That we do mofl folemnly believe the 
 New Conrc cf Judicature, conftituted by Mr. 
 Pitt's hill, to be contrary to the constitution. 
 
 We farther refolve that fo foon as the feveral 
 opinions of the gentlemen at this ftntion be ob- 
 tained, we will elect by ballot a Committee to 
 correfpond with the other Committees at thefeve- 
 ral ftarions, and aid and afilft their good endeavours. 
 Refolved likewife That when called upon, 
 we will chearfully fubfcribe what proportionate 
 fums of money may be requifire in fupport of 
 this our juft caufe. 
 
 N. B. The above refolutions \vetefubfcribed 
 by the gentlemen prcfent at this meeting, and 
 afterwards by circulation, and at the fubfcquent 
 meeting on the i;th March, iy?5,byabout 150. 
 It was alfo agreed at this meeting, that a ge- 
 neral meeting of thofe gentlemen who may be 
 willing to fign the accompanying refolutions, 
 be requeued on Thurfday next, the lythinft. 
 at Alcock's Tope, to ballot for a Committee to 
 conduct the bufihefs. 
 
 The mode of ballot propofed is, that each 
 fubfcriber fhali bring or fend a. lift of twenty 
 names, and from a majority of votes thus given, 
 thirteen or more gentlemen may be returned as 
 a Committee.
 
 C 7* } 
 
 The following Proteft being alluded to in Mr* 
 Dallas' s Speech, page 24, we have Jubjoined the 
 following correft copy from the Parliamentary 
 Regifter, vol. xvi. page 64. 
 
 Auguft 9, 1784. 
 THE Eqfl-India Regulation Bill was read the 
 
 third time : moved, " That the bill with the 
 
 ** amendments do pafs." 
 
 The queftion being put thereupon, it was re- 
 folved in the affirmative. 
 
 Diffentienr, 
 
 Becaufe we think the principle of the bill 
 falfe, unjuft, and unconditional Falfe y in 
 as much as it provides no effectual remedy for 
 the evils it affects to cure unjuft, as it indif- 
 criminately compels all perfons returning from 
 India to furnifh the means of accufation again ft 
 tbemfefoes and unconflitutional^ becaufe it efta- 
 blifhes a New Criminal Court of Judicature, in 
 which the admiflion of incompetent evidence 
 is expreffly directed, and the fubje<5b is unnecef- 
 farily deprived of his moft ineftimable birthright, 
 
 trial by jury. 
 
 PORTLAND, 
 
 CHOLMONDELEY, 
 
 CARLISLE, 
 
 DEVONSHIRE, 
 
 NORTHJNGTON. 
 
 FINIS.
 
 THE 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 O F A 
 
 SCOTS WEAVER. 
 
 [Price One Shilling and Sixpence.]
 
 THE 
 
 OF A 
 
 SCOTS WEAVER: 
 
 pEDICATED TO 
 
 RICHARD GLOFER, Efq. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for W. NICOLL, at No. 51, in 
 St. Paul's Church-yard. MDCCLXXIV.

 
 RICHARD GLOVER, Efq. 
 
 XO you, Sir, I addrefs the follow- 
 ing fheets ; becaufe to you alone 
 I owe the fubjecl; matter of them. 
 
 Much did I regret that my abfence 
 from town prevented me from hearing 
 the difplay of your eloquence at the bar 
 of the Houfe of Commons ; but my lofs 
 has been amply made up, by your fub- 
 fequent Publication. There you have 
 fully obviated all the doubts I had con- 
 ceived, as to the nature of your harangue* 
 I thought you had been flattered by 
 the partiality of your friends : But I am 
 now convinced, 'that you really te/ieve 
 it is for the intereft of Great Britain to 
 A a en-
 
 4 DEDICATION. 
 
 encourage German linens rather than 
 our own : That the Author of Leonidas 
 alone understands Scotch affairs ; and 
 that not one of a million and a half of 
 people in that country knows any thing 
 of the matter : That the Scots, by 
 carrying from England into their own 
 country half a million of gold in ex- 
 change for paper, ruined their linen 
 manufactory : That the king of Pruflia 
 will deftroy our woollen manufactures, 
 fhould we tax the Silefia linens ; although 
 by his edict long fmce promulgated, he 
 has totally prohibited the importation of 
 them into his dominions: And many 
 other proportions of equal truth and im- 
 portance. 
 
 I can now, Sir, fee the reafon why 
 the Scotch nation, acute and ingenious 
 
 as
 
 DEDICATION. 5 
 
 as you allow them to be, had fuch diffi- 
 culty in being convinced by your argu^ 
 merits that Nine was more than Five : 
 And although your fpeech fupplied me 
 with fome melancholy thoughts ; yet 
 thefe were foon banifhed by the pleafmg 
 reflections I made, on the happinefs you 
 muft enjoy in the internal confcioufnefs 
 of your own wifdom and importance.- 
 " The frog is charmed with her own 
 
 " fong." Far be it from me, Sir, 
 
 even to wifh, that my fentiments fhould 
 imprefs you with other feelings ; on the 
 contrary, I hope that my attempt to 
 anfwer your elaborate oration, will but 
 confirm you in your prefent opinion. 
 
 The poets well know, that pleafing 
 dreams are as good as realities, whilft 
 they laft. That you may continue to 
 live until thefe happy effufions of imagi- 
 I nation
 
 6 DEDICATION. 
 
 nation ceafe, : s my v r ifh ; if'fo, there 
 will be no more occailoa to iaiure your 
 life. 
 
 I am, refpedfully, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your moft humble and obedient Servant, 
 
 ,
 
 ( 7 
 
 THE following fheets are the work 
 of a Scots manufacturer, now in 
 the country of England, 
 
 The publisher having fubmitted them 
 to the infpedion of a gentleman of 
 known abilities, was afiured by him, 
 that they contained matter of much 
 national importance ; he therefore gives 
 them to the public without further apo- 
 logy. They appear in the form of a 
 Speech at the bar of the Houfe of Com- 
 mons ; why the author has chofen this 
 mode, we cannot take upon us to de- 
 termine, 

 
 THE 
 
 SPEECH, &c. 
 
 I Agree with Mr. Glover, that the 
 queftion now before this Honourable 
 Houfe is of the highefl national im- 
 portance. 
 
 The ftreiigtn and power of Great 
 Britain depends on the number of her 
 people ; and thefe numbers depend on 
 the full employment that can be given 
 them. If by peftilence, famine, or the 
 fword, one half of our people were cut 
 off, whilft we preferve the means and 
 inftruments of employment, the void 
 would immediately fill up. On the con- 
 trary, however great our numbers may 
 be, if the means of employing them be 
 wanting, they muft wafte and decay, 
 and finally fink down to the number 
 only required for the different occupa- 
 tions in the flate. 
 
 B To
 
 To illuftrate this proportion by a 
 common and familiar example. If a 
 field will maintain precifely twenty fheep, 
 and if each fheep brings forth annually 
 one lamb, it is evident that you may 
 kill twenty every year, and the fame 
 number will ftill remain : but fuppofmg 
 that you kill none ; then the fheep will 
 either never produce, or they will die, 
 or they will leap the fence : for by the 
 hypothefis, the field can only maintain 
 twenty. 
 
 In like manner, if our pafture fail, 
 our numbers will diminifh ; enrich the 
 pafture, and they will encreafe. This 
 is a fimple view of the rife, progrefs, 
 and decay of nations. Let us apply it 
 to the cafe in hand. 
 
 The linen manufacturers of England, 
 Scotland, and Ireland, are now at your 
 bar, complaining that their trade is 
 ruined. They have made out their pro- 
 pofition, by proving that their prices 
 
 are
 
 ( 'I ) 
 
 are fallen within thefe two years from 
 fifteen to twenty-five per cenf. that the 
 quantities manufactured are dirninifhed 
 near ten millions of yards per annum ; 
 that above one hundred thoufand people, 
 who were induftrious manufacturers, are 
 now deflitute of employment and of 
 bread ; and laftly, that many thoufands 
 have from neceffity left their habitations, 
 to feek, in America, that fubfiftence 
 which their own country could not af- 
 ford them. Thefe are facts undifputed 
 on all fides : they fpeak to the hearts of 
 a Britifh fenate, more than the thunder- 
 ing eloquence of a Demofthenes. 
 
 If our people want bread, and emi- 
 grate abroad, every landholder in Britain 
 muft feel the confequence ; the demand 
 for the produce of the foil rnuft leflen ; 
 the price muft of courfe fall; rents muft 
 diminim ; or the tenant muft abandon 
 his farm, and even his country. In a 
 word, to trace the fatal confequences of 
 this event, would be no lefs painful to 
 B 2 me,
 
 ( I* ) 
 
 me, than to this honourable houfe, who, 
 I am perfuaded, fee them in their full 
 extent ; and feeing, will remove what 
 xnuft otherwife deftroy this nation. 
 
 Permit me now, Sir, with that diffi- 
 dence which becomes a private man, to 
 point out what appears to me the real 
 fource of our grievance. This will be 
 beft done, by confidering the caufe. 
 
 Mr. Glover has entertained you with 
 a long hiftory of Scots circulation; in 
 the courfe of which, 600,000 1. of gold 
 was carried from England, in exchange 
 for Scots paper. This fhall afterwards 
 be confidered; but as he imputes the 
 prefent flate of the linen manufacture to 
 this caufe, I will now endeavour to fhew 
 how far he is miftaken. 
 
 I ft. The decay of {.he linen manufac- 
 ture preceded even the inftitution of the 
 Air Bank. The weaver has been lofmg 
 by his bufinefs for many years. So foon 
 
 as
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 as Germany was reftored to tranquillity, 
 after the late war, and the people were 
 re-eftablifhed in their manufactures, the 
 goods imported from thence became 
 cheaper than they could be made here, 
 at home ; and this has gone on increaf-* 
 ing gradually and progreflively, fo that 
 now they have obtained a general pre- 
 ference. The Britifh and Irifh manu- 
 facturers were not, however, immediately 
 difcouraged ; they had gained money 
 during the war ; they continued their 
 trade in hopes of better days ; and it was 
 only after heavy and repeated lofles, 
 that they began, in 1769 and 1770, to 
 diminifh their trade. Now the decreafe 
 in 1772 could not arife from the con- 
 vulfion felt in the mercantile fyftem in 
 the courfe of that year, becaufe a piece 
 of linen from the flax takes two years to 
 fpin, weave, and bleach, before it comes 
 to market ; and the decline had taken 
 place three years before that period. 
 Wherefore the decreafe was fo far from 
 being occafioned, even in Scotland, by 
 
 the
 
 I '4 ) 
 
 the misfortunes of 1772, that it actually 
 begun at the very period of 1769 and 
 1770, when there ought to have ben 
 an encreafe of this commodity, by th<* 
 facility which prevailed at that time, of 
 obtaining money in the courfe of circu- 
 lation. 
 
 2dly. The manufacturing counties of 
 England and Ireland feel the decay of 
 the linen manufacture in a ftill higher 
 degree than Scotland ; yet, Scotland has 
 hardly any commercial connection with 
 them ; none that can effect this queflion. 
 Here then is an effect much greater 
 than the caufe ; a Scots circulation which 
 has deprived England and Ireland of 
 their linen manufactures, although nei- 
 ther of them had the moft diftant con- 
 nexion with that country ; yet they are 
 both more affected than Scotland itfelf. 
 
 But let us attend to what muft have 
 been the natural effect of the circulation 
 in Scotland. 
 
 Mr,
 
 ( "5 > 
 
 Mr. Glover fays the Scots obtained 
 from England 600,000 1. of gold and 
 filver, in exchange for their paper. None 
 of this money is yet repaid. A great 
 acceflion of money will account for an 
 encreafe of trade and manufactures ; it 
 will account for high prices; but with 
 Mr. Glover only, will it account for a 
 prodigious decreafe, and a great fall in 
 the value of any article of commerce. 
 The reft of the world are yet left to feek 
 the caufe ; let us now try if we can dif- 
 cover it. 
 
 Great-Britain pays in grofs, about 
 twelve millions yearly, in taxes ; or, 
 about fifty {hillings yearly, for every 
 living foul in the ifland. Ireland is alfo 
 greatly taxed. She maintains an army 
 and civil eftablifhment, more expenfive 
 than any nation in Europe, in propor- 
 tion to the numbers of her people. Ger- 
 many, after profiting by the millions 
 fpent by Great-Britain in the late war, 
 enjoys perfect tranquillity; Tho* articles 
 3 of
 
 ( '6 ) 
 
 of luxury, in fome diflricts, and the 
 foil itfelf, be taxed, the fubfiftence of 
 the labourer is no where taxed. He can 
 live and fupport his family for fixpence 
 per day, over all Germany ; in Great- 
 Britain and Ireland, he can barely do it 
 for nine pence per day. It will appear 
 a paradox, but it is neverthelefs true, 
 that this circumftance confidered, labour 
 and manufactures are cheaper in Britain 
 than in any other European country. 
 The fuperior capitals, the {kill of our 
 people, and the invention of machinery, 
 has, in fome degree, compenfated for 
 our heavy taxes in all our manufactures ; 
 and in thofe where machinery can be 
 employed to the greateft advantage, they 
 fully make up for the dearnefs of labour. 
 Unhappily, Sir, the linen manufacture 
 either admits lefs of this than the hard- 
 ware ; or at leafl, has been lefs the fub- 
 ject of invention. So far however feems 
 certain, that deducting taxes, our labour 
 is as cheap, as in any other European 
 nation. 
 
 It
 
 ( I? ) 
 
 it has been already ftated, that every 
 living foul in Great-Britain is taxed, on 
 an average, fifty fhillings. As the fa- 
 milies of labo'urers, one "With another* 
 confift of four people^ this would make 
 ten pounds in taxes, on every labouren 
 This, it may be faid, is placing the 
 taxes of a weaver on the footing of 
 thofe paid by an opulent merchant, of 
 a great peer of the realm. A difference 
 there will be ; but much fmaller than is 
 commonly imagined. The richeft man 
 in Great-Britain eats no more than a 
 peafant ; he can drink no more ; he 
 requires no more fluff to clothe him * 3 
 
 * It is not meant here to fay that a rich man 
 buys no more clothes than a poor man j but that he 
 can wear no more. For fuppofing him to buy 
 fix fhirts a year j he can only put dn One at a time; 
 when the year is out, he either fells them io another 
 wearer, or gives them to his fervants, and they 
 become a part of their wages, and it is only the 
 difference betWeen the firft value and the latter that 
 can be imputed to him. This is the' true ftate of 
 the matter as to the taxes paid by the individual. 
 
 C he
 
 ^. ( 18 ) 
 
 he may fleep longer, but can occupy no 
 more fpace in a bed r nor more blankets 
 to cover him. He keeps, however, for- 
 ty fervants ; he drinks claret, and en- 
 tertains company ; all thefe involve taxes. 
 -True, but on whom ? The fervant pays 
 his own taxes, in the fame fenfe as the la- 
 bourer. His maintainance is part of the 
 wages of his fervice. Whether a great man 
 gives twenty pound, in the name of 
 board, or thirty pound, in the name of 
 board and wages, it makes no fort of 
 difference; the fervant's labour is what 
 pays his maintainance, and confequently 
 his taxes, although the price of his 
 labour goes from his mafter y s pocket. 
 Or, which is the fame thing, the fer- 
 vant's wages are enhanced by the taxes, 
 as much as the labourer's. A gueft at 
 a gentleman's table may be eonfidered 
 in the fame point of view. He gives 
 his time to his hoft, in exchange for 
 his venifon and claret; and, in many 
 cafes, the purchafe is dear. Thus, view- 
 ing taxes as they affect labour, every 
 man's taxes will be reduced to the con- 
 
 fumption
 
 fumption of himfelf and his immediate 
 dependants, his wife and children. But 
 the labourer drinks no claret. He drinks, 
 however, porter : he works harder, and 
 will drink more ; and many a coal- 
 heaver in London pays more taxes on 
 the liquor he confumes, than the richeft 
 duke in England. I will, after all, ad- 
 mit that the rich man pays more taxes 
 than the labourer ; although the difpro- 
 portion is not great. But fuppofing every 
 idle, or rich man in Great-Britain, to 
 pay double the taxes on his confump- 
 tion that a labourer does ; yet, unlefs 
 it be faid that more than a fifth of our 
 people do not labour, this would only 
 diminish the taxes paid by the labourer 
 one fifth. In place of ten pounds per 
 annum, or fifty {hillings per head, which 
 has been (hewn to be the average rate 
 of taxation, he would only pay forty 
 fhillings per head, or eight pounds per 
 annum. But this is above one half of 
 the wages of a labourer, or manufac- 
 turer? takerv on an average, throughout 
 C 2, Great-
 
 Great-Britain. We may therefore lay 
 it down as an inconteftible fact, that the 
 labourer, or manufacturer of Great-Bri- 
 tain is taxed more than half the amount 
 of the wages he draws. If, therefore, the 
 German manufacturer had equal fkill 
 and machinery, he could afford his 
 goods, exclufive of the raw materials, 
 at half the price of the Britifh tradeK 
 man. 
 
 Here, then, is a caufe, that muft ope- 
 irate in giving foreign linens a preference 
 in every market in the world, where 
 they can be brought on equal terms. 
 But the competition is perfectly on equal 
 terms with regard to all America, and to 
 every country but Great-Britain, For 
 although there be a freight from Ger- 
 many to Britain, this is compenfated 
 fully by the freight of the raw material, 
 flax ufed in the Britifh manufactures ; 
 and the duties on foreign linens being 
 drawn back at exportation, both manu- 
 factures iland equally at their pri-me 
 
 coft
 
 ( 2' ) 
 
 ,coft when fent from hence to any part 
 of the world. 
 
 Haying thus found the caufe, which 
 lies deep in the very foundation of 
 the Britifh government ; a caufe which 
 will operate in all times, and in all 
 places, where a competition arifes be- 
 tween the manufacturer of a country 
 heavily taxed and one that pays few or 
 none ; Let us in the next place look 
 put for the remedy. 
 
 Here, Sir, I will agree with Mr. Glover, 
 that if would he better to give up manu- 
 factures in which we ftruggle againft fo- 
 reigners on unequal terms, provided we 
 can give our people bread by a more pro- 
 fitable induftry If the gentlemen of the 
 woollen manufacture will find employ- 
 ment for the poor linen weavers in their 
 bufmefs, no-body will fay that the linen 
 branch ought, in that cafe, to be an 
 object of peculiar attention to govern- 
 pent. r. But let the experiment be 
 I tried.
 
 tried. Set but 50,000 of the people 
 now unemployed in the linen branch, 
 to weave woollens, which they could 
 learn to do in three months ; What 
 would be the confequence ? We all know 
 there are at prefent as many hands em- 
 ployed as the woollen trade demands. 
 Encreafe them ; then would the clamour 
 be irrefiftable, that the woollen manufac- 
 tory is ruined. r-Neverthelefs, in this 
 cafe, more woollen goods than ever would 
 be at firft wrought up. But no demand 
 being made for the increafed quantity, 
 prices would fall, and the quantity would 
 gradually fmk down to the demand of 
 the market ; you would then have in the 
 place of humble petitions from Ireland 
 and Scotland, 50,000 woollen weavers at 
 your door. Their arguments would no 
 doubt awaken the attention, and move, 
 the feelings of this Houfe, 
 
 The experiment has been already tried 
 with regard to the filk. Some London 
 mercers employed the weavers in Paifley, 
 a manufacturing town in Scotland, to 
 
 weave
 
 weave filk gauzes ; they footi reduced 
 the prices 30 per Cent, and drove 
 Spitalfields out of the trade. This was 
 the real occafion of, the difturbances in 
 London, which we all remember* 
 
 The fame reafoning will apply to the 
 hardware manufactures. 
 
 This queftion, however, naturally 
 arifes ; How comes it that the woollen 
 and hardware manufactures go on fuc- 
 cefsfully, both which muft be equally 
 affected by our taxes, whilft the linen 
 manufacturers are teizing the legiflature, 
 year after year, for bounties on their own 
 linens, and duties on foreign linens ? 
 The anfwer is obvious. The two firft 
 enjoy a compleat monopoly, both of the 
 home confumption and the exportation 
 to America. Let the fame experiment 
 be tried with the linen, for feven years, 
 and there will be found no occafion for 
 bounties. Parliament will be no more 
 troubled with applications. This fingle 
 
 meafure
 
 ( 24 ) 
 
 meafure would, in an inftant, raife ths 
 linen trade to a magnitude and im- 
 portance equal, perhaps fuperior, to the 
 woollen manufacture, great and impor- 
 tant as that now is. If there be, there- 
 fore, no means of employing our people 
 in other branches of bufmefs, and if the 
 linen manufacture cannot employ theni 
 without parliamentary protection; they 
 muft either receive that fupport, which 
 will enable them to fubfift in Britain ; or 
 they muft and will emigrate. The effects 
 of emigration, with regard to the intereft 
 of every man who enjoys any portion 
 of the foil in Great Britain or Ireland, 
 has already been noticed. -They are fo 
 manifeft that they will hardly be denied, 
 even by Mr. Glover. Orle has accordingly 
 thought himfelf obliged to account for 
 thefe emigrations, by making them folely 
 proceed from the rapacious difpofitrons 
 of the landlords, in railing their rents' 
 beyond what their tenants can pay.*-~ 
 It ftands however in proof before this 
 honourable houfe, that many thoufand 
 
 weavers,
 
 ( 
 
 weavers, with their families and inftru- 
 ments, have gone to America within thefe 
 few years ; all people who held no lands, 
 and could not be affected by the rife of 
 rents. 
 
 It will at the fame time be admitted that 
 fome tenants and labourers have alfo gone 
 abroad ; but whatever clamour may have 
 been raifed agamft landlords, the caufe 
 of thefe emigrations, when traced, wiH 
 be found to arife in a great meafure, if 
 not entirely, from the decay of the linen 
 manufactures. For it is very well known 
 that the fpinning is carried on by the 
 families of the farmer and labourer : So 
 that whilft the manufactures go on pro- 
 peroufly, he can pay a good rent to the 
 landlord by the aid of his family, who 
 are fpinning within doors, while he is 
 employed in the field ; but when that 
 refource fails, his affairs muil go to 
 wreck : And thus, Sir, the emigration 
 of this clafs of people is, by fair deduc- 
 tion, as imputable to the decay of the 
 D manu-
 
 { 26 ) 
 
 manufactures, as that of the weaver 
 himfelf. 
 
 The queftion now, Sir, is, what natu- 
 ral and proper remedy can be applied to 
 this diforder ? Bounties have been pro- 
 pofed. I confefs,- feveral difficulties 
 occur to this plan. Firft, Bounties, as 
 hitherto given, go only to exportation ; 
 whereas, we ihall (hew hereafter, that 
 the firft and natural object of every 
 country fhould be to fupply the demand 
 at home. Secondly, Bounties are the 
 mother of taxes. You can only give 
 encouragement in this way, by firft im- 
 pofing a tax to pay it, which tends to 
 the increafe of wages, and confequently, 
 to raife the price of manufacturing labour. 
 -Thirdly, The bounty is only giving 
 money to America, by felling linens fo 
 much cheaper thaw. they could otherwife 
 get them : It is, therefore, an abfurd 
 policy ; as it is fupplying them with the 
 produce of Britim taxes, in the price of 
 linens, at the very time that it is found 
 
 necef-
 
 ( 27 ) 
 
 neceflary to tax them for the fupport 
 of government. I will therefore lay 
 aflde this plan entirely, and beg leave, 
 in anfwer to the queftion, to fay, that 
 the natural and proper remedy is this- 
 Lay on fuch a duty upon foreign linens 
 as will enable thofe of the Britifh and 
 Irifh manufacture to find a preference in 
 our home confumption ; and when the 
 foreign linens fhall, by this means, be 
 entirely excluded from fale here, and the 
 quantity of our own increafed fo much 
 as to enable us to participate in the ex- 
 portation trade ; then lay on fuch duties 
 upon the foreign linens {hipped from 
 hence for foreign parts, as will fecure 
 our linen a preference ; and finally, when 
 bur quantity equals both the home and 
 foreign demand, prohibit all German and 
 other foreign linens whatsoever, 
 
 Three objections, from Mr. Glover, 
 occur to this meafure. 
 
 D 2 The
 
 The firft is, that forcing a trade by 
 legiflative authority y is mifapplying the 
 national induftry, and rendering it un- 
 profitable; it is like rearing exotics in 
 hot-beds, which can never thrive and 
 profper fo as to be beneficial to the 
 country ; but the moment they are aban- 
 doned, they will wither and decay ; 
 Whereas, by confining our culture to 
 the natural production of our foil, no 
 artificial aids will be neceflary ; we will, 
 on the contrary, be able, by the furplus 
 of our native produce, to acquire fuch 
 articles in exchange, on cheaper terms 
 than we can rear them. 
 
 I readily admit the principle of this 
 objection, were this country on a footing 
 with the reft of the world in point of 
 taxation. But, until this be the cafe, 
 which can only be by throwing the 
 whole national taxes upon the foil, or its 
 produce, we muft either renounce every 
 manufacture whatever, or compenfate, 
 by the favour of legiflature, the heavy 
 
 3
 
 { 29 ) 
 
 burden now impofed upon us. I have 
 already obferved, that it is by the means 
 now propofed and no other, that our 
 woollen and hardware manufactures have 
 been created.-^ Both have been raifed 
 from no very diftant period to their 
 prefent magnitude and importance, en- 
 tirely by the active and repeated interpo- 
 fition of parliament in their favour : So 
 that although they were reared and 
 nurfed in a hot-bed, they are now hardy 
 and vigorous, and can contend on equal 
 terms with all the reft of Europe, with^ 
 out any particular favour from the public, 
 as is evident from the large quantities 
 fent to different European markets under 
 the difadvantage of both freight an4 
 foreign taxation. -Here then are cafes in 
 point. All theoretical reafoning is liable 
 to uncertainty ; but experience, the guide 
 of all wife men, can hardly deceive us. 
 It were eafy, by comparing the ftate of 
 the woollen manufacture in the days of 
 James and Charles the Ift, and the hard- 
 ware fq late as Queen Anne's time, with 
 
 the
 
 ..: V 3 
 
 the fUte of thefe two manufactures now, 
 to fliew what will be the confequences of 
 a fimilar conduct with regard to the 
 linen ; but it would be injurious to the 
 wifdom of this honourable houfe to fup~ 
 -pofe fuch a detail necefiary. ,=- < : : 
 
 - 
 
 The firft object with every ftate is to 
 fecure its own independence, by rearing 
 and cultivating within itfelf, whatever is 
 neceflary for its exiftence, defence, or 
 convenience. Few articles are now more 
 neceflary than linen. If, by prohibiting 
 or taxing foreign linens, the confumption 
 of -Great Britain was fecured to our 
 own manufactures, we might pay, in 
 the beginning, i d. or 2 d. per yard 
 higher than we do at prefent ; but 
 the whole price paid to Germany, 
 &c. would be faved ; no money would 
 go out of the country ; and the landlord, 
 the tenant, and every man interefted in 
 the profperity of Britain, would feel the 
 benefit by an increafed population and a 
 confequential demand for their refpecliive 
 
 articles
 
 ( 3' ) 
 
 articles of produce. Even this inconve- 
 nience would fbon be removed ; for the 
 competition between the various manu- 
 facturers in Britain and Ireland, would 
 early operate, and prices would fall 
 lower than ever.-^-That this would fol- 
 low, is not only evident from the hiflory 
 of the woollen and Birmingham manu- 
 factures, but from the linen itfelf, which, 
 in confequence of the pafl encourage- 
 ment it has received, is now cheaper and 
 better than ever. I do not talk of the 
 late ruinous fall of the prices, owing to 
 the competition with Germany ; but I 
 affirm, and it will hardly be denied, that 
 regularly and progreflively as the manu- 
 facturers have increafed in practical fkill 
 and experience, the goods have been im- 
 proved and brought cheaper to market. 
 It may indeed be fafely averred, that 
 in ten years time, under the advantages 
 of an exclufive market for our own 
 linens for home confumption, we would 
 be cheaper fupplied, than by foreign 
 linens at prefent. 
 
 When
 
 When the increafed ftate of our linen 
 trade will admit of our fupplying the 
 Amerkan market, or of participating in 
 it by taxing foreign linens ; the advan- 
 tages to Britain are equally obvious. 
 What do we gain by fending feven 
 millions of yards of foreign linen to 
 America ? The freight, and profit of the 
 merchant. But if we export our own 
 linen, the whole price is a net increafe 
 of the national capital. That is, if 
 Great Britain gains 400,000 /. a year by 
 exporting foreign linens, it would gain, 
 by exporting Britifh or Irifh linens, 
 two millions. And this is allowing the 
 merchant for his profit and freight 20 
 per cent, which Mr. Glover will acknow- 
 ledge is a very ample allowance. 
 
 It may be faid, that the American 
 would pay dearer for his linen than at 
 prefent. This will doubtlefs be the cafe, 
 until, by the continued exertions of the 
 rival manufacturers, which would natu- 
 rally refult from fuch encouragement, 
 
 they
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 they were enabled by fupertof fkill and 
 machinery to comperifate the weight 
 of our taxes. This is> in a great 
 meafure, the cafe with the woollen, and 
 it is entirely fo with the hardware manu- 
 factures at prefent, But fuppofmg this 
 fhould never be the cafe with the linen. 
 It will be only and folely a tax upon 
 America ; a tax which her warmeft 
 advocates admit your right of impofing ; 
 and which, confidering the difficulties 
 that are likely to occur in taxing her 
 more directly, is but juft and equitable* 
 It will have this further advantage of 
 every other tax, that there will be no 
 charge of collection, and every (hilling 
 produced thereby, will come clear to the 
 benefit of this country* 
 
 It has been faid that we ought not tc* 
 encourage manufactures for internal 
 trade. " Traffic between fubjett and fub* 
 " je5i cannot be productive of any national 
 " wealth; and it is only by expo?" ting 
 "produce and manufactures that wealth 
 E "/>
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 ** is received *." From what fchool Mr* 
 Glover has learnt this doctrine, I will 
 not pretend to conjecture ; for the honour 
 of Scotland, I hope, it was not there ; I 
 will prefume it to be a fpecimen of his 
 " common fenfe" which that country is 
 fo totally devoid of; may they ever re- 
 main fo ! In that country the opinion 
 is, that the foreign trade of this and of 
 every great nation is trifling, both in 
 point of extent and advantage to the 
 ftate and the individual, when compared 
 with its internal trade. The whole capi- 
 tal employed in foreign trade by this 
 opulent and commercial country, is not 
 equal to one year's expence during the 
 late war ; nay, it does not exceed the 
 amount of one year's grofs taxes at this 
 moment. For the truth of this I appeal 
 to the accounts of exports and imports, 
 in viewing which, I defire only attention 
 to this circumftance That the exports 
 and imports are carried on by one and 
 
 the 
 
 * Mr. Glover's fpecch, p. 32,
 
 ( 35 ) 
 
 the fame capital ; the goods brought into 
 Britain being either returns for the goods 
 fent out, or the goods fent out returns 
 for thofe brought in, bullion included ; 
 io that only one of them can be put to 
 account, and I leave Mr. Glover his 
 choice of either, 
 
 If it be then a certain, and undeniable 
 fact, that the whole foreign trade of 
 Great Britain does not employ a capital 
 of 12 millions, and the utmoft ftretch 
 of invention cannot make it greater ; 
 and were this the only fource of wealth, 
 or did it indeed bear any proportion to 
 the wealth of the nation ; How could 
 we levy 12 millions of grpfs taxes yearly, 
 which is our prefent fituation, although 
 there be not more than io millions of net 
 revenue ? How could we have carried on 
 a war at an expence of, from 12 to 18 
 millions yearly, for feven years together ? 
 I fhall leave Mr. Glover to reconcile this 
 to his fyftem, and wilj now endeavour 
 
 to explain it by mine. 
 
 * 
 
 E z Great
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 Great-Britain contains above five mil- 
 lions of people : Thefe people fubfift 
 at an expence of, at leaft, eight pounds 
 per head. Here is then an internal trade 
 of at leaft forty millions yearly. But 
 how does this enrich ? I anfwer, the 
 riches of a country confift in the riches 
 of the individuals in that country ; and if 
 thefe will increafe without foreign trade, 
 the country will grow richer ,-^-If Mr. 
 Glover has land to the amount of 1000 1. 
 a year, he will either cultivate it hirnfelf, 
 or leafe it to tenants. In either cafe, the 
 produce will be at leaft three times the 
 rent, Here is a clear increafe of capital, 
 although there be no foreign trade. If 
 Mr. Glover rents his lands, and fpends 
 only 500 1. a year, he will be clearly 
 richer without foreign trade. If the 
 tenants can pay their rents, live and fave 
 500 1. they will alfo grow richer. The 
 fame reafoning will apply to every rank 
 jn life ; to every profeflion and trade 
 that can exift in a country.^ Mr. Glover 
 wears a good coat, a wig, and a fvvord, 
 
 when
 
 ( 37 ) 
 
 \rhen he attends this honourable houfe. 
 If his barber, taylor and fword-cutler 
 can live by their bufmefs and fave ID], 
 yearly, apiece ; although neither wigs, 
 cloaths, nor fwords are exported, they 
 will grow richer: But as the wealth of 
 a country confifts in the accumulated 
 wealth of the individuals, the country 
 itfelf muft grow richer ; and all this, 
 without foreign trade. I will add fur- 
 ther, that this will equally happen 
 (though not fo rapidly) if there were 
 not a piece of coin, or bullion, in Great 
 Britain. "For example, Mr. Glover may 
 have inverted, at fome time, his whole 
 capital on German linen ; Was he poorer 
 ,on that account ? It is juft fo with the 
 nation ; it is the flock of induftry and 
 commodities that form the national 
 wealth.- How trivial a part of our capi- 
 tal confifts in coin, has appeared 'by the 
 }ate experiments made on the gold. 
 
 The next objection is, the influence 
 that %.iy difcouragement given to the 
 
 German
 
 . ( 38 ) 
 
 German linens here, might have on the 
 fale of Britifh woollens in Germany. 
 
 The alarm has been founded, and the 
 quiet and eafy woollen manufacturers 
 have been artificially made parties in 
 this queftion. They deferve a hearing, 
 and are entitled to every preference com- 
 patible with the good of the ftate, where 
 there arifes a competition of intereft. 
 But I will beg leave to afk one quef- 
 tion. Germany was, until lately, the 
 great flaple for hardware ; Was the 
 woollen manufacture hurt by the efta- 
 blifhment of the Britifh hardware, which 
 is now, though but a modern acqui- 
 fition, fold over all the four quarters 
 of the globe, and in very large quan- 
 tities to Germany itfelf ? It can neither 
 be faid that it was, nor would the argu- 
 ment be admitted if it had ; becaufe the 
 iofs of a woollen trade to the extent of 
 even half a million *, the full amount 
 of 
 
 * I am aware of Mr. Glover's aflertion, that 
 although the exports to Germany be but half a 
 
 million 5
 
 t 39 ) 
 
 of all our exportations to that country 
 by Mr. Glover's eftimate, would not 
 juftify the giving up a manufacture by 
 which the nation acquires feveral mil- 
 lions yearly. Yet, the hardware manu- 
 facture enjoys a monopoly againft Ger- 
 many and all the world; not only of the 
 confumption of Great-Britain, but of all 
 America. 
 
 The argument, if it means any thing, 
 means that foreign princes and ftates 
 will prohibit, or difcourage the importa- 
 tion of our woollens, if we tax their 
 
 linens. 
 
 million ; yet, a great part of what we fend to 
 Holland goes from thence to Germany, to four 
 times that amount. I doubt the fad ; but were 
 it admitted to its full extent, ft does not affect my 
 argument. In the firft place, I have allowed the 
 whole exports as if they were of woollens 5 
 whereas woollens form but a fmall part of them. 
 2dly. What pafles through Holland to Germany 
 goes there as Dutch, not as Englifh goods : And 
 a total prohibition of Britifh goods to Germany 
 would only force the whole in place of a part to 
 pafs through Holland.
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 linens. That at prefent they encourage 
 the one, in confideration of the benefit 
 they derive from the other. Now it will 
 hardly be difputed, that the individual, 
 every where, will buy his coat or fliirt 
 where he can get it cheapeft. The quef- 
 tion is only then with regard to ftates ; 
 and here I will beg Mr. Glover to point 
 out any other country or ftate in Europe, 
 which has ever confidered taxation in 
 any point of view but for the purpofe 
 of revenue, except France a very little, 
 and perhaps of late Pruffia, in fome in- 
 ftances ; and it happens unfortunately 
 for this argument, that our woollens are 
 prohibited in both thefe countries. The 
 maxims that prevail in all nations, ap- 
 pear fimply thefe ; to confider what the 
 prince or ftate wants ; and, 2dly, what 
 is the eafieft way of levying the taxes 
 neceflary for fupplying thefe wants. 
 It would be a difappointment to moft 
 princes, if our goods were not carried 
 into their country, becaufe they would 
 be deprived of a fubject of taxation. 
 3 Money
 
 Money taxes, although of all others, 
 perhaps, the eafieft and beft, occafion 
 difcontents and murmurs ; it is frequently 
 impoflible to raife them in the moft de- 
 fpotic governments. But a tax on goods 
 is fubmitted to by the merchant, becaufe 
 he knows the buyer muft pay him, with 
 his profits on the tax itfelf, in the price 
 of the goods. The poor confumer again 
 is deceived. He thinks he is only pay- 
 ing for his coat, when he is perhaps 
 paying, under that name, the hire of a 
 foldier to faften his own chains. Let 
 any man reflect what murmurs the houfe 
 and window tax occafioned, trivial as 
 they are, and the eafe with which the 
 malt, foap, and candle taxes were fub- 
 mitted to, and he will fee the force of 
 this obfervation. Our woollens and hard- 
 ware will find a market wherever they 
 can be fent better and cheaper than from 
 other countries. Princes will tax them 
 according to their wants or convenien- 
 cies ; but always fo as not to difappoint 
 F the
 
 ( 42 ) 
 
 the end of taxation, the raiting of re- 
 venue. 
 
 But it is faid, the king of Pruffia has 
 the command of the great rivers, and if 
 we (Jifoblige him, by taxing the Silefia 
 linens, he will prevent all trade with 
 Germany. Were this plea to have weight, 
 I beg to know where it would ftop ? If 
 lie can ruin our woollen trade in confe- 
 quence of our laying additional duties 
 on his Silefia linen, he is equally able 
 to do it unlefs we take off the duties that 
 now exift. Nay, he may infift on a 
 bounty on the importation of his linens, 
 and that they fhall have a preference to 
 our own. If our trade depends on the 
 will of any prince or power on earth, 
 we are no more a free people, but fub- 
 je<St to the arbitrary dictates of others. 
 Thank God ! this is not the cafe ; altho' 
 his Prufliari majefty does poflefs places 
 on moft of the great rivers, he is fo 
 far from having the command of the 
 German trade, that he can fupply very 
 
 few
 
 ( 43 ) 
 
 few places in his own dominions with- 
 out paffing thro' other ftates, by whorri 
 he is furrounded on every fide. This 
 complicated fituation occafions an ar- 
 rangement among the different princes 
 and ftates whofe dominions lie oti the 
 great rivers ; the refult of which is, mu- 
 tual conceffions and rates of taxation, 
 fuited to their refpetive fituations and 
 dependencies ; thefe no fingle prince can. 
 break through, without quarrelling with 
 all the reft. The wife and beneficent 
 Governor of the univerfe has fet bounds 
 to the power of princes ; he fays to 
 them as to the ocean, " Thus far fhall 
 " you go, and no farther." And with 
 regard to the fea coaft, we may add, 
 that four Englifh frigates would effec- 
 tually block up every communication 
 that prince has with the fea. It would 
 be trifling to follow the argument fur- 
 ther ; we have experience to determine 
 the queftion. We were in open hoftility 
 with this prince during a great part of 
 the war before laft ; would any civil 
 F 2 regu-
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
 regulation excite his animofity fo much 
 as the fupport we gave to the Emprefs- 
 Queen during that period ? Is he of that 
 mild and gentle temper, as to fubmit to 
 injuries, when he can repel them ? Did 
 his heart ever refufe to execute, what 
 his head could dictate for the annoyance 
 of his enemies ? Yet, what lofs or injury 
 did our woollen manufactures receive 
 by our contention with that prince ? 
 But it is truly contemptible to talk of 
 his refentment for regulating" the internal 
 policy of Great-Britain, according to its 
 own intereft ; when there is not an in- 
 jury in his power that our woollen manu- 
 factures do not fuftain at this moment, 
 even to a total prohibition of the impor- 
 tation of them into his dominions. 
 
 The law of God, and the policy of all 
 nations, juftify retaliation ; and had our 
 woollen manufacturers petitioned for a 
 prohibition of Silefia linens, they would 
 have acted with propriety, and would 
 havedeferved regard. Several inftances can 
 i be
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
 be (hewn of fimilar conduct by our legif- 
 lature; to repeat them would be idle; 
 the book of rates is in every body's 
 hands. 
 
 We may, on the whole of this matter* 
 fafely alTume, that our woollen trade can 
 never be hurt, but will, on the contrary, 
 be benefited by encouraging the linen ; 
 and although the clamour and artifice of 
 fome interefted Hamburgh merchants 
 have mifled the woollen counties upon 
 the prefent occafion, they will foon fee 
 and feel their own intereft. 
 
 Mr. Glover's third objection falls now 
 under consideration, viz. that encreafing 
 the taxes on foreign linens, will encou- 
 rage fmuggling. 
 
 He has difcovered, and fays he has 
 proof, that there is at prefent one fmug- 
 gling company in Scotland ; and he is 
 greatly alarmed that if the duties on 
 foreign linens be increafed, fmuggling 
 
 will
 
 ( 46 ) 
 
 \vill become general, and the poor linert 
 weaver ruined by the large quantities the 
 fmugglers will import, and the low prices 
 at which he will fell his goods. It were 
 well for both Scotland and England that 
 there were but one fmuggling company 
 in either; but unfortunately, until the* 
 minds and morals of men are mended, 
 defperate and difhoneft men will be 
 found in every country where the duties 
 are high, to run all hazards in attempts 
 to earn a profit : But if it will be any 
 fatisfaclion to Mr. Glover, I will inform 
 him that there is more fmuggling in one 
 month, in the river Thames, than in 
 all Scotland, in one year ; and that 
 in the very article of German linens* 
 Confiderable dealers have been known 
 to enter their goods under wrong deno- 
 minations, for the fake of paying an 
 inferior duty, and have thereby added 
 the guilt of perjury to that of fmuggling. 
 But how does this agree with the reft of 
 his arguments ? for, if additional duties 
 will increafe the importation of German 
 
 linen&j
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 linens, then, whether they are fmuggled 
 or not, is of no confequence to our Ger- 
 man friends. The woollen manufac- 
 turers could have no reafon to com^ 
 plain ; and our , good ally the king of 
 Pruffia would have no caufe for wrecking 
 his vengeance on us. We might ftili 
 hope that he might content himfelf with 
 prohibiting our woollens in his own 
 dominions, without barring our trade 
 to Germany altogether. 
 
 That increafed duties have a natural 
 and necefTary tendency to promote fmug- 
 gling is undoubted ; this, however, was 
 never heard of as a reafon for abftaining 
 to levy any tax which policy required. 
 Brandy pays a duty of eight Ihillings 
 per gallon, and the original value of the 
 fpirit is frequently under one Shilling 
 per gallon ; and yet very large fums of 
 duty are annually paid, and brandy 
 keeps up at a price that will afford this 
 duty. Smugglers do not carry on their 
 bufmefs from principles of patriotifm, 
 
 to
 
 ( 48 ) 
 
 to fupply the market cheap ; they do it 
 for their own profit, and fell as dear, 
 allowing for the rifk of the buyer, as 
 the fair trader. The hazard of fmug. 
 gling is however fuch, that notwith- 
 ilanding the profits they get by faving 
 the duties, hardly an inftance occurs of 
 any man in Great-Britain having car* 
 ried it to any height, without being 
 ruined. None indeed but people of def- 
 perate fortunes will engage in a bufi- 
 nefs, where every failure of fuccefs, by 
 forfeiture of the capital, involves in it 
 the ruin of the adventurer. 
 
 If the principle be once admitted, that 
 it is the intereft of Great-Britain to en- 
 courage our own manufactures, rather 
 than the German ; I would be glad to 
 know how it is to be done but by duties 
 on the latter. The wifdom of the Irifh, 
 in the invention of ftamps for their 
 linens, has indeed fuggefted a means of 
 preventing fmuggling in that article 
 beyond what can be contrived in almoft 
 
 any
 
 ( 49 ) 
 
 any other. Let every piece of linen be 
 ftamped, at importation, with the rate 
 of duty paid ; this will not only protect 
 the fair trader, but will enable every 
 man who chufes, to detect any frauds 
 at importation by entering under wrong 
 denominations. 
 
 Having now, I hope, fully anfwered 
 Mr. Glover's objections, as far as they 
 deferve that name ; I would here con- 
 clude, and leave all his invectives with 
 regard to Scots projects, lunacy and cir- 
 culation, entirely unnoticed, had I not 
 heard that well meaning though ill in- 
 formed men have been mifled by them. 
 I will therefore beg your indulgence to 
 make a few obfervations upon this 
 fubject. 
 
 The bufmefs of the Bank of England, 
 and that of all banking focieties in 
 Britain, is entirely of one and the fame 
 nature. It confifts in receiving depofits 
 of money, to lie at the command of the 
 G proprietors,
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 proprietors, and in hTuing notes which 
 circulate as money. Thefe two things 
 are the only foundation of profit; and 
 the profit is got, by lending their notes 
 and the money fo depofited, in the way 
 of difcount on bonds or bills. From 
 this it is evident none of them can draw 
 any profit but by extending thefe loans 
 beyond the fum of actual cam neceflary 
 to anfwer the demands that may be 
 made on them, and confequently all 
 fuch banks are expofed to injury and 
 liable to flop payment by any fudden 
 fhock or dilcredit. Witnefs the year 
 1 745, with regard to the Bank of Eng- 
 land; and i77 2 > with regard to the Air 
 Bank. 
 
 The word Circulation is applied in va- 
 rious fenfes : like Patriotifm it is ibme- 
 times put for what is mod advantageous 
 and beneficial in a free country ; and 
 fometimes for what is a moft pernicious 
 evil to the ftate. The circulation of the 
 Bank of England notes, Mr. Glover 
 
 l will
 
 will acknowledge, is advantageous ; but 
 that of the Scots Air Bank, is hurtful ; 
 yet both are founded on the fame bafis, 
 viz. extending their credit upon fecuri- 
 ties to a greater amount than they have 
 gold or filver to anfwer at the time. 
 Mr. Glover will I fuppofe allow, at leaft 
 no man but himfelf will difpute, that 
 were the Bank of England to have a 
 demand made for all her notes in the 
 circle at any one time, a much greater 
 void would be found there, than in the 
 Air Bankj when fuch an experiment 
 was tried. 
 
 But the Air Bank drew bills on Lon- 
 $on to fupport their credit. So did the 
 Bank of England on Holland, during 
 the reigns of both William and Anne ; 
 and it is believed fmce that time ; tho* 
 there be no fuch direct evidence of the 
 facts in latter times, as the writers of 
 the former periods afford us. What is 
 then the ground of clamour againft the 
 
 pank of Air? That will beft appear 
 v ....-. * 
 
 G 2 from
 
 from a fhort account of its inftitution 
 and hiftory. 
 
 Scotland had long enjoyed two pub- 
 lic Banks ; but their capitals amounted 
 only to about 1 00,000 1. each ; a fum 
 too fmall to be generally and univerfally 
 ufeful. Other inferior banks had in the 
 courfe of time been eftabliflied ; and a 
 fet of public fpirited noblemen and gen- 
 tlemen, obferving the increafe of trade 
 and manufactures, in different places, 
 by means of thefe little local Banks, 
 judged that a more extenfive company, 
 with a capital and credit fuited to the 
 neceflities of all, would be of like ge- 
 neral advantage to the whole country. 
 About one hundred and fifty men, 
 chiefly of rank and fortune, did accord- 
 ingly inftitute a Bank, and fubfcribed 
 about 160,000 1. for beginning the bu- 
 fmefs, binding at fame time their whole 
 fortunes, to the extent of about fix mil- 
 lions, in fecurity for the engagements of 
 the company. This was the Bank of 
 
 Air.
 
 ( 53 ) 
 
 ir. The management of this fociety, 
 like all others, fell into the hands of 
 four or five people, whofe local refidence, 
 leifure and inclination, admitted of re- 
 gular attendance. Thofe gentlemen, 
 who were unacquainted with trade, at- 
 tended more to the general principle of 
 their inftitution, the encouragement of 
 the agriculture and trade of Scotland, 
 than to the natural flow progrefs of a 
 circulation of notes. They lent fafter 
 than they, could get their notes to circu- 
 late through the country. The confe- 
 quence of which was, That they fup- 
 plied the void by their credit with the 
 London bankers, and in June 1 772, 
 they had 350,000!. of bills running 
 on London. 
 
 The Bank of England had found the 
 fame diftrefs, for fome years, in a lefler 
 degree ; for though I will not aver that 
 they had much increafed the fum of 
 their notes during that period, becaufe 
 I have not fufficient evidence of the 
 
 fad;
 
 (. 54 ) 
 
 fad ; yet, it will be allowed, they 
 had not diminished the extent of their 
 dealings, and the fame fum that they 
 had formerly circulated, could not con- 
 tinue to float in the country; becaufe 
 every trading town in England has of 
 late years got a bank, which fends forth 
 its notes in its own corner, and thus 
 occupies in part, the ground formerly 
 pofleffed by the Bank.- -~Toj make 
 this more plain, I beg leave to obferve, 
 that a certain fum of money is necelfary 
 for circulating the trade of every coun- 
 try ; and whether that fum confift of 
 gold, filver, or paper, it makes no dif- 
 ference, (provided the credit of the pa- 
 per he, fully fupported) as far as it i$ 
 employed for the purpofe of internal 
 commerce. But, as the precious metals 
 are the onjy common monies ufed in, 
 Europe, where any country is poffefTed 
 of more current money than anfwers 
 the purpofe of its internal commerce, 
 the furplus of coin and precious metals 
 will immediately be exported. Let me 
 
 put
 
 ( 55 ) 
 
 put the cafe of a market being over~ 
 flocked with any other commodity, and 
 it will ftrike every man that this muft be 
 the cohfequence : For the owner of that 
 commodity will immediately caft about 
 and export what is above the demand 
 to fome other market where it is more 
 in requeft* The great misfortune of this 
 fubjecl: is the perplexity with which it 
 has been treated by moft writers, who 
 have conceived money to be fomething 
 different from any other commodity 
 or article of trade, whereas it mould be 
 confidered intirely in the fame point of 
 view. Gold and filver are no articles of 
 confumption, nor do they produce any 
 profit, but in fo far as they are employed 
 in exchange or barter for other commo- 
 dities, therefore no man keeps them but 
 as vehicles or machines for acquiring 
 other articles, they being univerfally 
 admitted as equivalents for and repre- 
 fentations of all other commodities ; 
 wherefore the quantity of thefe precious 
 metals is limited in every country to its 
 
 ufe
 
 ( 5<5 J 
 
 ufe and wants in this way, fo that the 
 moment the quantity exceeds what is 
 neceflary for circulating the commerce 
 of any country, the furplus will be ex- 
 ported to other countries for commodi- 
 ties of more real ufe, and where the 
 demand is greater* But paper being 
 confined to the country where it can 
 command gold and filver, whenever there 
 is a fuperabundance of it, the paper 
 muft remain in circulation, whilit the 
 gold and iilver, not being in demand 
 more than to circulate the paper, will be 
 carried off. As foon as this comes to 
 be the cafe, the exchange turns againft 
 that country, becaufe no man will carry 
 away the metals whilft he can get bills 
 as cheap to anfwer his purpofe abroad ; 
 nor will any man export gold but for a 
 profit, which profit he makes by felling 
 his bill on Holland or France at a high 
 exchange for the amount of the gold 
 fo carried off. What was the reafon 
 that, previous to the calamities of 1 772, 
 gold was at 4 1. 2 s. per ounce, and 
 
 filver
 
 57 y 
 
 filver at 5 s. 8 d. per j ounce ? The prin- 
 ciples juft now explained will enable us 
 to anfwer this queftion. The reafon was, 
 that the quantity of paper money was 
 greater than what anfwered the internal 
 purpofes of the country, for which rea- 
 fon the metals were continually feeking 
 a market abroad, where they were in 
 demand, and where the paper ceafed 
 to be a commodity^ and by this conftant 
 exportation they became fcarce and dear* 
 As a further' proof of this we may 
 obferve, that the exchange was againft 
 Britain with all Europe at the time that 
 the gold and filver was fo dear and 
 fcarce ; whereas had this fcarcity arifen 
 from a want of money, the exchange 
 would have been in her favour. For 
 whenever the Bank diminifhed the circu- 
 lation of notes, as we fliall immediately 
 relate, fo as to make money fcarce for 
 the purpofe of internal commerce, gold 
 and filver became pleritier than ever, the 
 prices of both fell, and the foreign ex- 
 . ' H changes
 
 _ ( 58 ) l 
 
 changes have been ever fince in our 
 favour. 
 
 The Bank of England then finding 
 it neceflary to leflen the circulation of 
 her notes, 6xed upon the Scots paper as 
 the firft object for this purpofe, and in 
 June, 1772, took at once the refolutioa 
 of refufing every Scots bill. What their 
 reafon was for this undiftinguifhed re- 
 jection, no private man has a title to afk. 
 No man can believe that humour, 
 paflion, or refentment could enter into 
 this meafure ; far lefs will it be fuppofed 
 that any jealoufy of the Scots manufac- 
 tures, or predilection for the German, 
 could operate. The mifchief, however, 
 was great ; a run immediately was made 
 on the Air Bank ; their whole notes were 
 brought in againft them ; and their debt 
 to England was, by paying off their 
 notes in Scotland, increafed to 600,000 /. 
 in a few months. This meafure of the 
 Bank of England could not arife from 
 any doubt of the fecurity, becaufe that 
 
 would
 
 ( 59 ) 
 
 would imply an ignorance which cannot 
 be prefumed in fuch a refpectable fociety ; 
 and the world is, by this time, perfectly 
 convinced, that there never were grounds 
 for any fufpicion on this head ; the Air 
 Bank having given fuperabundant landed 
 fecurity for every {hilling of debt con- 
 tracted by them. The flop of difcounts 
 at the Bank with regard to Scots bills was 
 general ; and the effect was proportioned 
 to the caufe. The almoft unlimited 
 facility with which all Scots bills had 
 been difeounted until the 2Oth of June, 
 1772, had led the London correfpondents 
 of that country to rely on the difcount 
 of the bills fent them from Scotland for 
 their payments. The fudden and un* 
 forefeen flop of all difcounts did therefore 
 occafion four or five of them to ceafe 
 making payments. But all or moft of 
 them have fmce gone on and fatisfied 
 every engagement. This violent ope- 
 ration did not however relieve the Bank 
 of England, until, by diminifhing ftill 
 greatly the other channels of her dif~ 
 H 2 counts^
 
 ( 60 
 
 counts, her notes in the circle were 
 r.educed to the fum that was barely necef-? 
 fary for the accommodation of the publiaj 
 fmce which, gold and filver have funk 
 down to the coinage prices ; and this will 
 always be the cafe whilft the currency of 
 the country, whether coin or paper, is 
 no more than fufficient for the purpofes 
 of internal commerce. -The diftrefs in 
 Scotland was, however, great, in confe- 
 quence of the flop of the Air Bank. A 
 general diffidence and difcredit took place 
 over the whole country; and nothing 
 can (hew the true fituation of things there 
 in a clearer point of view, than that 
 amidft all this great and general diftrefs, 
 only five houfes ftopt, and of thefe the 
 principal and greater part have paid or 
 fatisfied their creditors by fecurities. Let 
 me not be mifunderftood. I do not under 
 this aflertion include the failure of a 
 banking houfe in London, although one 
 of four partners happened to be a Scotf- 
 man ; neither do I include the confequen- 
 ces of that failure, although they ruined 
 
 three
 
 t * > 
 
 three houfes, two in London, and one 
 in Scotland, becaufe they were previous 
 to the flopping of difcounts by the Bank; 
 and as well might the Dutch impute to 
 England the failure of the Cliffords of 
 Amfterdam, becaufe they are Englifh 
 fubjects, as to impute the convulfions in 
 Scotland to the failure of that banking 
 houfe, with whom they had no other 
 connection than that one of the partners 
 was from that country. But Mr. Glover 
 has avoided to particularize the tranf- 
 adions of private men, and he did it 
 wifely ; firft, becaufe fuch kind of dif- 
 cuflions, unlefs for important and public 
 benefit, is indecent, and even unjuft, 
 and the man who attempts it, fhould 
 himfelf be above all reproach. The 
 principles and motives of conduct in 
 individuals are latent and unknown, and 
 from ignorance in this particular, many 
 a man has fuffered cenfure when he de- 
 ferved applaufe. - 1 will alfo inform Mr. 
 Glover, if he does not know it, That 
 there were men involved in thefe affairs, 
 
 who
 
 ( 62 ) . ./ A" 
 
 who ftand high in the opinion of thofe 
 who know them,, and of their country 
 in general, both as to worth and abilities, 
 and who, if they chofe to enter the 
 lifts upon this occafion, would foon make 
 it unnecefiary for either of us to attempt 
 the illuftration of this fiibjed. 
 
 I will now conclude what I have to fay 
 on this head by one aflertion, which Mr. 
 Glover may deny if he can. That in the 
 whole of the bad affairs, within thefe 
 two years paft, arifmg from whatever 
 caufe, whether from misfortune or mif- 
 conducl either of individuals or of publick 
 bodies, all England cannot afcertain a 
 lofs of 1 0,000 1. by Scotland. 
 
 Let not men be jmpofed on by words ; 
 a circulation of 600,000 1. has a mighty 
 found. A Bank in Air, was wit in the 
 mouths of thofe who ufed the word.^ * 
 But mighty as the fum of 600,000 1, 
 may found when applied to Scotland 
 Mr. Glover knows of a fmgle houfe in 
 
 a very
 
 ( 63 ) 
 
 % very different quarter, which failed 
 within thefe eighteen months, and whofe 
 fingle circulation was equal to this fum, 
 three-fourths of which are loft. Did 
 this excite any clamour againft Holland ? 
 Yet the lofs to England by that fingle 
 houfe is greater, I will venture to main- 
 tain, than has been loft by all Scotland 
 imce the Union. 
 
 I will not examine the principles upon 
 which Mr. Glover was pleafed to lay 
 open in this houfe, any information he 
 may have received from the Bank of 
 Air, either by perufing their books or 
 papers, or in private converfations with 
 the managers. But I would afk, upon 
 what principle is a whole country to be 
 arraigned, for the error or mifconduct of 
 four or five men ? Was the Englifli natiori 
 ever reproached for the grofs abufes com- 
 mitted by individuals in the South-Sea 
 year ? Are the great yearly and daily 
 bankruptcies with which our Gazette is 
 filled, owing to the imprudence or mif- 
 $ fortune
 
 ( 64 ) 
 
 kk* 
 
 fortune of individuals, confidered as a 
 
 reflection on the nation ? One thing 
 
 muft have occurred to Mr. Glover in exa- 
 mining the affairs of the Air Bank, 
 which is fingular, though exactly true^ 
 that amongft- the immenfe fums lent out 
 by, and due to that company, there is 
 nothing owing by the linen dealers or 
 manufacturers of Scotland. The mana- 
 gers of that fociety were landed men, 
 and the farmers and improvers of land 
 were, they thought, the moil ufeful citi- 
 zens, and were as fuch fupported by 
 them. With what grounds can it then 
 be faid, that the linen manufacture was 
 injured by the Air Bank ? or for what 
 purpofe was it introduced into this quef- 
 tion, unlefs to ihew Mr. Glover's great 
 importance ? 
 
 
 
 _ . 
 
 To. conclude : If this houfe fhall be fa- 
 tisfied that the linen manufacture fuffers 
 greatly from the interference of the Ger- 
 man goods If you are fatisfied that the 
 
 home trade is of more confequence than 
 
 x 
 
 the
 
 ( 65 ) 
 
 the foreign to this nation ; that our own 
 manufactures deferve encouragement ra^ 
 ther than thofe of foreigners ; that the di- 
 flrefs of the linen trade proceeds from the 
 weight of parliamentary taxes, and that it 
 is therefore a duty of the legiflature to 
 fupport our manufactures under this 
 preffure ; we mail humbly hope for relief. 
 If this relief is only to be obtained by 
 additional taxes on the foreign linens, I 
 hope parliament will not be deterred 
 from impofing them, either by ground- 
 lefs apprehenfions of refentment from 
 German princes, or the bugbear idea of 
 encouraging fmuggling j but will con- 
 fider the importance of enabling the in- 
 duftrious weaver to gain his fubfiftence 
 at home, and not reduce him to the 
 neceffity of emigrating to America, The 
 woollen manufacture was gained to Bri- 
 tain by the oppreflion of the govern- 
 ment of Spain ;' let us not }ofe tl>q 
 linen by a limilar conduft. 
 
 .FINIS,
 
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