Whirling her brand of blue, fulphureous flame, [fame. And Pitt and Temple, are no more the O Pitt, thou prince of patriots! ah! how chang'd! Now with a Stuart, by a Stuart, rang'di 'Scap'd from the wiles of a quinquennial fnare, [bare; But caught at laft, altho' the hook was Bute hands thee in, Mackenzie at thy fide, Displays his private feal, with public pride. Triply exalted, penfion'd, titled, plac'd, Thy heart yet whispers, " Pitt, thou art abas'd! "Pynfent hath murder'd faith, all faith And call'd by Bute, th' impracticable man'; Then think how, (triumph plum'd upon his brow) [now! He boafts to have found thee practicable Ere while thy country's pride, fupport, and joy, [a toy! Thout lost thine honour, and haft gain'd Can the vain, title folid blits afford? Do thine ears tingle at the name of lord? Reflect how much thy glory fhone more clear, [peer! In Stephen's chapel; there thou had it no Shall not the weight of Temple bear thee down [frown; While confcious firmness animates his Shall not unpenfion'd Lyttleton purfue, Unclogg'd by one, th' incumber'd flave of two? By wife aftronomers we're told, There, in a valley deep and wide, They keep whate'er is loft below. Prodigious this!but there you'll find, The hopes and fears that here were loft, And wafted thither by the wind, The fighs and vows of lovers croft. There all the time that e'er was spent At masquerades, at cards and dice, And laws by hoary wifdom meant To keep the finking world from vice. There charities of great and small, And fums by fubtle mifers given To build a church, or hofpital, Left wealth should mifs its way to heaven. There courtiers proffers meet our eyes, With the rewards which kings have paid To fages for discoveries, Before their coffins have been made. Sincerity without difguife, And benefaction free from pride: With mighty heaps of good advice, By fools defpis'd and thrown aside. A lift of patriots there you'll fee, By golden letters finely rang'd, Who fav'd a ftate without a fee, By place or penfion never chang'd. Could we but rummage all their fore, 1 What goods of ours we there fhould find; Fair hopes of mine, I'm fure a score, And all my Flavia's peace of mind. And there's my fortune every groat, Whate'er my great forefathers won, When Cambria's antient heroes fought, From cattles ftorm'd and towns o'erthrown. But fraud or folly is not there, Nor envy nor ill-natur'd mirth, [Chronologer in our next.] THE GENTLEMAN's and LONDON MAGAZINE, For SEPTEMBER, 1766. HISTORY of the late MINORITY, exhibiting the Conlu, Principlesand Views of that Party, during the Years 1762, 1753, 1764, and 1765. Continued from page 455. T HE difcharge of Mr. WILKES from his imprisonment in the Tower, furnished new matter of accufation against the Minifters; for to the many wanton and malicious violations of the liberty of the fubject, which in his cafe had been committed, was now added, the folemn decifion of a moft flagrant and dangerous breach of the privileges of Parliament, which alone would, in fome days, have been fufficient to overthrow the firmeft Minifter; and this offence was the more ftrong, as the decifion of it had been pronounced in one of the King's fuperior Courts, by a Judge of high reputation, with the confent of the three other Judges, and after time taken to confider of it. In one part of thefe arbitrary proceedings all the people of England were interested. As a general warrant, which named nobody, might have extended to every body, and as the abufes and cruelties committed under that authority might have happened to any other perfon, as well as to Mr. WILKES, if the Meffengers had been fo inclined it is therefore no wonder that the whole kingdom inftantly became alarmed, and that every man began to confider the cafe as his own. In another part, the Members of both Houfes of Parliament were effentially concerned, as their privileges had been dangerously violated. On the other hand, the adminiftration were exceedingly incenfed against the Judge, for giving that opinion; and though this difficulty they afterwards found means to furmount, by the Parliament's generously furrendering this fuppofed privilege, to facilitate the views of the Crown, yet the public opinion remained unaltered. September, 1766. Such manifeft and outrageous violations of the liberty of the fubject, and fuch a contempt for the authority and dignity of Parliament, as this cafe, in all its parts, was obviously pregnant with, undoubtedly ftimulated Lord TEMPLE, from the first moment, publicly to ftand forth in defence of both, and with his perfon, as well as his purfe, to combat this monster of State Tyranny, which had, for a feries of years, ufurped an authority from which none in the kingdom were exempt; and the cruelties of which all ranks of people had, at different times, experienced; but moft feverely, the loweft; whole dread of power, and inability to contend with the weight of government, had fuffered thefe illegal apprehenfions of perfons, and feizures of papers, to grow into a common and ftanding practice. Fortunately for the future liberties of Englishmen, and for the fecurity of every man's houfe, there lived at this time a Lord TEMPLE; whofe unbounded generofity and public fpirit, whofe real love of Liberty and his Country, would not fuffer him to fee, with impunity, thefe great and alarming violations of the invaluable rights of Englishmen. There is a wide difference between a man's offence and the manner of punishing him for it; and it came out afterwards, to the conviction of a very full House of Commons, that his Lordship did not approve of carrying on that paper with fo much acrimony, nor of thofe national reflections, with which it was replete ; that he had repeatedly advised the difcontinuance of the publication; for he could never approve of that kind of writing, nor of that particular paper; and much more, Tit to 510 The Hiftory of the late Minority. to the fame effect, was affirmed, by Mr. WEBB, to be the contents of fome of his Lordship's letters to Mr. WILKES, which were found among Mr.WILKES's papers. But however highly his Lordthip might disapprove of the manner of writing the North Briton, yet it is certain, that he ditapproved more highly of thofe who deferted the fuppofed Author, when he ftood oft in need of their affiftance. This treachery was most infamous; for whatever Mr. WILKES's faults might be, yet Government was far more inexcufable, as there could not be the leaft fhadow of a doubt, that the proceedings against Mr. WILKES and the Printers, were wholly illegal; were dangerous abufes of power, and the more fo, as they had continued for a feries of years, and were attempted to be juttified by the precedents of office; therefore, on the behalf of all the King's fubjects, the conduct of the Administration, in this cafe, called loudly for a speedy and strong condemnation On this ground Lord TEMPLE advanced, taking true Conftitutional Liberty for his guide, and declaring in the strongest manner to all his friends, many of whom began to tremble for his fafety, that if the fame violations had been committed against any other man, and not Mr. WILKES, his own conduct would be juft the fame. But this intrepid and laudabis public ípirit brought upon him the indignation and refentment of the Court, and deed him of the ftrength and support of the party. The first appeared in taking from him the Lieutenancy of the county of Buckingham; an employment which, though neither of emolument nor contequence, yet could not to naturally be vefted in any other, as none other flood fo high in the esteem and favour of the county. The latt was manifefted by an almoft general defertion of the whole party, and particularly of those who had affected to put themselves a little forward, in order to extort the title of leaders. Thele made a fcandalous figure; for inftead of appearing openly and firmly in fupport of the man, who had fuffered in their fervice, and had given them a great caule of triumph, they, in a few days after his discharge ficm the Tower, publicly fhewed themicives at St. James's, hoping, no doubt, by fuch an unexpected and hingular appearance, at that time, to convince the whole Court, that they difclaimed all Sept. connexion with Mr. WILKES, and every part of his caufe. Finding, however, that this was not fufficient to open a door for them into offices, they went further to affure the Court of their fincerity in this offered defertion of their friends, and the caufe they had pretended wrote of the conduct of Mr. WILKES to efpoufe. They publicly talked and being wholly indefensible; of government having done no more than what was usual in fuch cafes, and of fuch ufuage being both juftifiable and legal. But as a Judge of great authority had pronounced a breach of the privileges of Parliament, they con fidered this part of the proceedings as moft dangerous to the Administration; and therefore they apprehended nothing would, or could, be more agreeable to the Court than an offer to accommodate and facilitate this knotty point to their wishes: ac cordingly those who affected to call them. felves the pincipals of the MINORITY, but whom the public did then, and does now well know, were only the rotten part of it, entered into a league with an eminent Prerogative Lawyer, fince dead, whole name was repeatedly hung out in the public pers, as the enfign of this perfidious and contemptible faction, to betray and give up the whole caute. What the conditions of entering into that league were have not yet transpired, but thus much is Junto, of whom it was composed, encertain as to the defigns of it, that the ged to defend and uphold the indifpont be neceffity, ute, and fervice of Genera. Warrants to the State; some of them offered to as the irgality of thole Warrants. Then, as privilege had been lately decided upon to the difadvantage of government; and as it might be their more immediate intereft join in the ruin of that unfortunate pertor, whom they faw, and fad, was the deltined victim of minifterial malice; and as he could not be fo eally come at while his privilege remained; they likewite engaged o vote that privilege away, in order to fit the views of the crown, and preferve the adminiftration from cenfure. These are certain facts, and muft, to lateft potterity, mark the individuals who engaged in fuch dark and bale tranfactions, as the mort infamous of traitors: for furely no treachery can be equal to that which is not only unprovoked, but wholly undeferved, and involved in it, as this was molt mani fently Directed to the Earls of Egremont and Halifax, his Majesty's principal Secretaries of State. This was not a very handiome, nor a very proper way of treating the Secretaries of State. As gentlemen, they were entitled to good manners at leaft; and furely the accuting them of having received stolen goods was a grofs indecency. However, they feemed refolved to match him in folly and imprudence, and fent him the following antwer: Great George-freet, May 7, 1763. "SIR, "In answer to your letter of yefterday, in which you take upon you to make use of the indecent and fcurrilous expreffions of your having found your house had been robbed, and that the ftolen goods are in our poffeflion: We acquaint you that your papers were feized in confequence of the heavy charge brought against you, for being the author of an infamous and feditious libel, tending to inflame the minds, and alienate the affections of the people from his Majefty, and excite them to traiterous infurrections against the government; for which libel, notwithstanding your dif charge from your commitment to the Directed to Mr. WILKES. Here is a clear avowal of the principle of teizing Mr. WILKES's papers; a principle fo extremely horrid and cruel, that every Englishman muft fhudder at the idea. It was obferved by a very able Lawyer, that this evidence was collected with as little right by law, as fome other collections art made, for which the collectors are hanged when taken. To this anfwer Mr. WILKES fent the following reply, viz 4 Great George freet, May 9, 1763. "My LORDS, "Little did I expect, when I was requiring from your Lordships what an Englithman has a right to, his property taken from him, and faid to be in your Lordfhips poffeffion, that I should have received in anfwer, from perfons in your high station, the expreffions of indecent and fcurrilous applied to my legal demands. The respect I bear his Majesty, whole fervants it kems you ftill are, tho' you and legally convicted of having in me violated, in the highest and most offenfive manner, the liberties of all the Commons of England, prevents my returning you an answer in the fame Bil lingigate language. If I confidered you only in your private capacities, I fhould treat you both according to your delerts: but where is the wonder that men, who have attacked the facred liberty of the fubje&t, and have iffued an illegal warrant to feize his property, should proceed to fuch libellous expreffions? You fay, "that fuch of my papers fail be reftored to me, as do not lead to a proof of Tita viz. 1. That the warrant was illegal. tainly, could be more laudable, nor judgment upon the three points of law, more interesting to the people of Great Britain, than thefe profecutions, as they tended to strike at, and fairly try, the legality, of thofe powers, which the Secretarics of State had, for a great number of years, ufurped. None, hitherto, had had fpirit enough to attack government in its own fortrefs: or, if any had, they were always bought off; but most commonly the parties were. too indigent to contend with the Treasury, and the power of the Crown to that one way or other the proceedings in these matters never came before the public. The trial of the King's Meflengers in the Court of Common Pleas at Guildhall, on the 6th of July, 1763, was the firft. The points contended for on the part of the crown, in the first trial of an action brought against the King's Meffengers, by one of the journeymen Printers, were, 1. The legality of the warrant. The Chief Justice gave his opinion, Notwithstanding the efforts of the Crown Lawyers against it, the Jury infifted upon their Right to find a General Verdict, and they did fo, by giving the man (who had been in cuftody but a few hours) Three Hundred Pounds Damages. Upon which the Council for the Crown immediately tendered a bill of exceptions against the opinion of the Chief Justice, and the verdict of the Jury; which bill appeared ready engroffed upon two fkins of parchment, and afforded a convincing proof, that fuch was the spirit and intention of Government, to fupport thefe arbitrary proceedings, although they knew they were illegal; and, if poffible, by every delay, chicanery, and expence, to weary out their opponents, and thereby prevent the matter being finally decided; that a refolution had been previously taken to object to the opinion of the Judge, and the verdict of the Jury, even before it could be known what that opinion, or what that verdict might be. This conduct did not pafs without a fevere animadverfion, very much to the difcredit of government. On the other hand the friends of Liberty were exceedingly elated: the public voice was with them strongly and unanimously. There was not an Englifhman who did not either publicly or privately rejoice, with uncommon pleafure, at this victory over an ufurped, unconftitutional and arbitrary power. This period feemed like another Revolution, giving fresh and further fecurity to the future liberties of Englishmen. And in the midst of thefe rejoicings, the public did not fail to pour forth the warmest teftimonies of their affection and gratitude, to the spirit and patriofilin of Earl TEMPLE, who laid the foundation of this great palladium of English Liberty, and who feemed determined to fpare neither NOTE. *The learned Judge declared from the bench, that the Attorney General, and his colleagues, knew his opinion before he knew it himself. |