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justice established in their province. Of this the BOOK chevalier Yorke had been formally apprised:-but what was the astonishment of their High Mightinesses, when the said ambassador, calling the said resolve illusive, flatly refused to transmit it to his court! This obliged their High Mightinesses to send it to count Welderen, their minister in London, with orders to lay it before his Britannic majesty, whose ministers had nevertheless returned it unopened to the ambassador.

The war, thus rashly and haughtily commenced, was conducted in the bitter spirit of animosity and revenge. But before the military operations of the year are entered upon, it will be proper to ter

It is a remarkable fact, positively affirmed by Rendorp, burgomaster of Amsterdam, in a political publication, called Memorien dienende tot Opheldering, and still uncontradicted, that sir Joseph Yorke, when he left the Hague, went to Antwerp, and instigated the inhabitants of that city to petition the emperor to insist upon the free navigation of the Scheldt. And it is notorious, that when this demand was, some years afterwards, actually made by the emperor, England, far from taking any alarm, looked on with calm indifference, or rather with pleasure. But when the same thing was, more recently, attempted by France, the balance of Europe was discovered to be in imminent danger of subversion: and England and Holland were, by the violence of men disdaining all explanation and concession, plunged into a most ruinous and destructive war, under the pretext of defending the violated rights of the Treaty of Westphalia.

BOOK minate the civil and parliamentary history of the present session.

XIX

1781. Reform bill of Mr.

Burke re

ag un re

The famous Reform Bill of Mr. Burke was re vived soon after the recess; but, on the motion for wired, and the second reading, it was rejected in toto, by a ma jority of 233 voices to 190; though ably and power. fully supported by many of the most eminent mem bers of the house.

Amongst the speeches which attracted most strong. ly the public attention, was that delivered with much grace and energy by Mr. William Pitt, second son of the late earl of Chatham, who in very early youth had been elected a member of the present parliament, and who now exhibited himself to an admiring nation as equally the heir of his talents and virtues. "One great object," Mr. Pitt said, "of all the petitions which had been presented, was a recommendation of economy in the public expenditure; and the design of the present bill was, to carry into effect the wishes of the people, by introducing a substantial system of œconomy. Besides the benefits which would result from the bill in this respect, it had another object still more important, and that was the reduction of the influence of the crown--an influence which was the more to be dreaded, because more secret in its attacks, and more concealed in its operations, than the power of prerogative." Mr. Pitt adverted to the extraordinary objections which had been made to the bill; it pro

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1781.

posed to bring no more than 200,000l. per annum BOOK into the public coffers, and that sum was insignificant, in comparison of the millions annually expended. "What then is the conclusion we are left to deduce? The calamities of the present crisis are too great to be benefited by oeconomy. Our expences are so enormous, that it is useless to give ourselves any concern about them; we have spent and are spending so much, that it is foolish to think of saving any thing. Such is the language which the opponents of this bill have virtually employed, It had also been said, that the king's civil list was an irresumable parliamentary grant, and it had been even compared to a private freehold. The weakness of such arguments was their best refutation. The civil list revenue was granted to his majesty not for his private use, but for the support of the executive government of the state. His majesty, in fact, was the trustee of the public, subject to parliamentary revision. The parliament made the grant, and undoubtedly had a right to resume it when the pressure of the times rendered such resumption necessary. Upon the whole, he considered the present bill as essential to the being and independence of this country, and he would give it his most determine support."

and extra

Early in March, the minister, lord North, brought Corrupt forward the annual statement of the public account. vagant loan The entire expenditure of the year his lordship cal- North.

of lord

1751

BOOK culated at twenty-one millions, - twelve of which it would be necessary to raise by a public loan: as to the terms of which, his lordship had contracted with the subscribers, to grant 150/. capital stock at three per cent, and 251. capital stock at four per cent. for every 1001. in money; thus creating a new capital of eighteen millions three per cent. and three millions four per cent., being nine millions more than the sum actually paid into the Exchequer. To defray the interest of this loan, new taxes would be wanting to the amount of 660,000l. annually, i. e. 69,000l. more than the legal established interest of five per cont.: exclusive of which, as the subscription to the loan bore an immediate premium of ten per cent., the further sum of 1,200,000l. was lost to the nation. The terms of this extraordinary contract were, even by several of the friends of the minister, declared to be extravagantly high; and it was by Mr. Fox reprobated in the most indignant expressions of severity, as "the most corrupt in its origin, the most shameful in its progress, and the most injurious in its consequences, that ever came under the contemplation of that house. In order to carry on a wicked, inpolitic, and bloody war, the minister would not scruple," said this formidable speaker, “to extort the last guinea from the pockets of the people. The noble lord stands convicted of having made, in the character of agent and trustee for the nation, an improvident, scandalous, and profligate bargain, for

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which he deserves public execration and exemplary BOOK punishment." On a division, the motion of the minister was carried by a majority of 169 to 111 voices.

In the house of lords it was again vigorously opposed by lord Rockingham, the duke of Portland, and other peers, who, in a joint protest, recorded their names, to adopt the language of their lordships, "in testimony of their strongest condemnation of the terms of this loan, and of the MOTIVES which they conceive dictated terms so very disadvantageous to the crown and nation." All the influence and all the activity of the ministers of the crown were now indeed obviously necessary to prevent a parliamentary abandonment of the present system. Some weeks afterwards, the subject was again revived in the house of commons, by a motion of sir George Saville, that a select committee be appointed, to inquire into the circumstances of the last loan, to make an estimate of its terms, and report the same to the house. "Though the bargain of the minister had been irrevocably ratified by the house, this distinguished patriot observed, that it was not yet too late, on discovering the shameless prodigality of the terms on which it was concluded, to pass a vote of censure, or even of impeachment, on the man who had sacrificed the public in so gross and daring a manner." This gave rise to a vehement debate, at the conclusion of which the motion was rejected by a majority of 46 only,, in a house consisting of 377 members,

1781