pains nor expence, to carry on and finish this glorious and ever-memorable work. The other Printers, to the number of about feventeen or eighteen, likewife brought actions against the Meffengers, and all of them, even to the very errandboy, recovered damages.

Mr. WILKES also brought actions against the Secretaries of State, Mr. Wood and Mr. Webb; but his actions against the Secretaries of State never came to trial. That against Lord EGREMONT ended of courfe with his Lordship's death, which happened a few months afterwards. That against Lord HALIFAX, which was the molt interefting to the Public, as the warrant itself must have come in issue, and the legality of the whole proceeding, was evaded, by his Lordship cafting effoigns, pleading privilege, and at length ftanding out in contempt of the Court, until Mr WILKES was outlawed, which deprived him of any further afliftance from the Courts of Justice. But the action against Mr. Wood was brought to trial in the Court of Common Pleas, on the 6th of December, 1763. When the caufe food ready for trial, the Court was moved on the part of the defendant, that he might be permitted to justify under the warrant, in order to bring the matter fully and fairly before the Court; which the Court after confideration, for that reason, and that only, allowed. But when the cause came to be tried, Mr. Wood, by the advice of his Counsel, and to the furprise of the Chief Juftice, deferted his justification, declined the opportunity which the Court had indulged him with, of bringing the validity of the warrant into debate, and reforted to the objection which had been urged in the trial of the Meffengers, namely, that the Secretary of State was a Juftice of Peace, and therefore ought to have been made a party defendant in the fuit.

Mr. WILKES in his declaration complained, that Mr. Wood entered his houfe, made a great noife and difturbance, and ftaid therein twelve hours; broke open his locks, drawers, cabinets and fcrutores, and took away his papers.

To this Mr. Wood pleaded, firft, Not Guilty and, fecondly, juftified as to entering the house and staying in it half an hour, but did not mention a word about opening his drawers and feizing his papers, which was the great trefpafs. He

ftated the King's Speech of the 19th of April, 1763; the publication of the North Briton on the 23d; that Mr. WILKES was publisher and author of that paper; that the Meffengers entered Mr. WILKES'S houfe with a Conftable; that Mr. Wood, being an affiftant to Lord HALIFAX in his office, went to Mr. WILKES's to deliver a meffage from his Lordthip, requiring the Meflengers to haften the execution of their warrant; and upon that occafion he entered Mr. WILKES's house, the door being opened, and ftaid therein half an hour; and that was all he did.

To this Mr. WILKES replied, that Mr. Wood, without fuch caufe as was by him alledged (which was denying the truth of the material fact, viz. “That Mr. WILKES was author and publisher") entered his houfe, and ftaid therein half an hour, which was putting this mighty plea in if fue. The Jury, which was a fpecial one, at the defendant's inftance, found both iffues for Mr. WILKES; and, confequently, upon the fecond iffue (the fpecial juftifica tion) acquitted Mr. WILKES as author and publisher of the (original) North Briton, Number Forty-five; and they gave him a thousand pounds damages. But a bill of exceptions, was, as ufual, tendered against it; and to this day the money has never been paid. However, this trial, and verdict were highly interesting to the Liberty

NOTE.

of

*It is faid the following words clofed the charge to the Jury on this important occation:

"This warrant is unconftitutional, illegal, and abfolutely void; it is a general warrant, directed to four Messengers, to take up any perfons, without naming or defcribing them with any certainty, and to bring them, together with their papers, If it be good, a Secretary of State can delegate and depute any one of the Meffengers, any, even from the loweft of the people, to take examinations, to commit or release, and, in fine, to do every act which the highett judicial officers the law knows can do or order. There is no authority in our law books that mentions thele kinds of warrants, but in exprefs terms condemn them.

"Upon the matureft confideration, I am bold to fay, that this, warrant is ille gal; but I am far from withing a matter of this confequence thould reft folely

upon

This was likewife difapproved by his friends. It carried with it an air of mendication to the public, which was below his character, and the importance of his caufe; and did not fail of exciting fevere ridicule, and cenfure from his enemies.

The next piece he caused to be printed at his prefs was, part of an obfcene poem, entitled, "An Effay on Woman. But he permitted only twelve copies to be ftruck off, and while these were doing, he was always pre-fent, and took every poffible precaution of fecrecy, and to prevent any body about him from having a copy. But notwithstanding all his care, two or three copies were ftolen by his work men; and thefe were fhewn about as papers of curiofity to other Printers. At length a few pages fell into the hands of one Haffel, a workman, who belonged to one Mr. Faden, a Printer in Fleetfreet. This man and his mafter were faid to have been indefatigable in attempt ing to bribe and corrupt all the Printers in Mr. WILKES's houfe, in order to get the remainder. To one man only five guineas were given, but he could not ferve them. At length they fixed upon one Curry, another of Mr. WILKES'S workmen, who, after a fhort negotiation, fupplied their wants; and afterwards became the tool of Adminiftration in the profecutions and other proceedings against

Mr. WILKES.

affiftant to Government, to facilitate the intended deftruction of Mr. WILKES. With this view Mr. Kidgel communicated the fheets to his patron Lord MARCH, who laid them before the Secretaries of State. From that moment it was refolved to profecute Mr. WILKES for publishing this idle piece. It is but fair to remark, that if the work had been ten thousand times worfe than it was, yet it would fall far fhort in infamy to the traiterous methods employed to bring it to a profecution. And Mr. WILKES's own cbiervation on this matter is too juft, not to be convincing, "That if the North Briton had never appeared, the Ellay on Woman would never have been called in question."

Had

He next employed his piefs in printing the first forty-five numbers of the North Briton, in two volumes, with notes and fome corrections; to which he also added a third volume, which has not been publifhed. It was for this act of imprudence Hitherto that he afterwards fuffered. he had made it his boast, that fo extremely cautious had the author of that North Briton been, the Miniftry were not in poffeffion of any legal and pofitive evidence against him. Earl TEMPLE, and all his Friends, repeatedly advifed him against taking this unneceffary ftep, and took uncommon pains to convince him of the danger to which he expofed himfelf by it. But he was too firm in his refolution to alter it. he, upon his discharge by the Court of Common Pleas, refted himself contented and quiet, while his friends carried on all the neceffary profecutions against his enemies, he would have had the honour of all the victories; and the North Briton itself, as it was published in the city of London, as there was not fufficient evidence to reach Mr. WILKES, muft have been tried by a London Jury; and whether the fentiments of fuch a Jury might have agreed with thofe of the Weftminster Jury, which was afterwards chofen, is not material, as the verdi& could not have affected Mr. WILKES; therefore he might have been perfectly fafe; and, as to the Publisher, it is very certain he would not have been friendless. In that cafe, Mr. WILKES muft indubitably have triumphed over the Adminiftration; and it is impoffible to say what might not have been the confequences

of

them, by what has been already related of what paffed between Mr. PITT and Lord BUTE. Thofe conditions were fuch as Mr. PITT could not accept; and at the fecond conference, which he had the honour to have with his MAJESTY, he excufed himself from then entering into his MAJESTY, fervice: upon which the whole negotiation broke off. Thus it is clear and undoubted, that Lord BUTE had the merit of bringing on this negotiation; and it may be added, without the leaft hazard of contradiction, that to him likewife belongs the merit of its miscarriage: for he began to be afraid of his own filly work. He probably confidered, that the administration already in office, weak and incapable as he acknowledged them to be, would prove more tractable fcreens to his former misconduct, and the continuance of his power, than he fhould find Lord TEMPLE, Mr. PITT, and their collegues, who he was affured would, if poffible, annihilate his influence in bufinefs. His own heart, therefore, failing him, as it had done before, when he fled from his own victory and ran away to Harrowgate, he broke off the negotiation more precipitately than he brought it on. And the. many Noblemen and Gentlemen in the oppofition, who had haftened to town in expectation of being gratified with good places, returned to the country with lefs pleasure than they left it.

There being an end, for the prefent, of this plan of administration, the fubfifting Minifters were indulged with remaining in the offices they then held, and were permitted to call in fuch affiftance as they thought moft proper and neceffary. In confequence of this permiffion, the Duke of BEDFORD, was made Lord Prefident of his Majefty's Council, Lord SANDWICH, Secretary of State, and Lord EGMONT, at the head of the Admiralty. When these arrangements were made, the administration thought them felves ftrong enough to face the Parliament. But to fecure the ftability of their fyftem, and give it an air of permanency with the public, the obvious and neceflary measure was to get rid of the fickle hand of the Favourite. Whilft that was hanging over them, their fituations were apparently unfafe; therefore they demanded his abfence: He affured them in the strongest manner, he would not September, 1766,

interfere in any of their departments, nor in business of any kind. But they difregarded his promifes, having found him deceitful; and having entered into a feparate intereft, by which they had acquired an independent strength, they firmly infifted upon it. Public bufinels being now in a condition too nice and critical to hazard throwing the State into confufion, he was forced to comply; and confented to. pafs his winter at his new estate at Luton Loo, in Bedfordshire. This maxim of banishing the Favourite, did not, for a time, at least, afford that idea of fecurity to the adminiftiation in the opinions of others, which it really produced. He was known to be inconftant; the late negotiation manifefted his power; and it was believed, and expected, he would foon re-appear; therefore many apprehended that the hoftility now practifed towards him, was imprudent, and might lay the foundation of a total change of Minifters. In the agitation of thefe hopes and fears, which were variously predominant, the rotten part of the Minority, who had deferted from the true friends of Liberty, and had entered into thofe infamous engagements fupport General Warrants, and vote away the privilege of Parliament, already fpoken of, now finding that the ftrength and popularity of the caufe had fhaken the Adminiftration, abandoned thofe engage ments; because they thought their fureft ftake was on the fide of the Oppofition. They believed there was a prospect of coming in with their friends, whom they had fo lately offered to betray, and whofe patriotic and fpirited conduct they now confeffed and extolled. They begged pardon of thofe friends, and folicited to be taken into favour, which they accordingly were; foon after which Mr. Yorke refigned his poft of Attorney General, and Sir Fletcher Norton was appointed in his room.

to

U uu