1736. RE-ASSEMBLY OF PARLIAMENT. 219 CHAP. X. 1736-1738. PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT. TUMULTS OCCASIONED BY THE PARLIAMENT assembled on the 15th of January. The 1736. speech from the throne produced a sentiment of unanimity that was rare in those times. The settlement of Europe was a subject of congratulation above the reach of party rancour; and the opposition acknowledged in silence the wisdom of the measures pursued by the administration. The address passed both houses without a division.* The same acquiescence in the ministerial policy, in reference to foreign affairs, was observed with scarcely a solitary interruption, to the end of the session; and * The account of the debates in the "Parliamentary History" commencing with this year takes the form, generally, of a compilation of the arguments employed on both sides, rather than a report of the speeches of the members, with a few exceptions. Up to the year 1735, the debates were reported with sufficient regularity in a publication called the "Political State;" but after that time the speeches were given in the "Gentleman's" and the "London" Magazines; and from those periodicals the editor of the "Parliamentary History" derived his materials. the influence of the government was so decisive, that even upon domestic questions not one attempt was made by the opposition to embarrass the minister. The principal business that occupied the attention of parliament was a motion for the repeal of those clauses in the test act which excluded protestant dissenters from civil offices. Walpole opposed this motion from political necessity. He was afraid of the cry of "The church in danger!" and yielded to the debasing superstition of the age. But he endeavoured to balance this piece of intolerance by supporting a bill for the relief of the quakers, who complained bitterly of the legal persecutions to which they were exposed, for their conscientious refusal to pay tithes. This bill passed the commons, but was thrown out of the lords, where the church and the law coalesced to expel a measure, which, however just in principle, was injurious to the pecuniary interests of both. A better spirit was manifested in the repeal of the ancient statutes against conjuration and witchcraft, which up to this time continued to darken with their absurdity the judicial code of the country; nor ought it to be omitted, to the honour of the legislature, that no movement whatever was made to repress the progress of methodism, which at this period started into life under the auspices of Whitfield and Wesley, and spread rapidly amongst the people. Those celebrated founders of the sect known generally by the name of Methodists, were regularly ordained priests of the English church, the former adopting the Calvinistic, the latter the Armenian dogmas; under which divisions they drew great multitudes after them; preaching in the fields, enduring much ridicule and vulgar persecution, and persisting in their spiritual mission with an enthusiasm rarely paralleled, but not free from that extravagance which is usually regarded as the type of fanaticism. The early exhibitions of these energetic labourers in the cause of religious independence attracted so much notice, and provoked such animadversions, that the 1736. PROROGATION. 221 government was frequently urged to adopt some severe measures for checking the diffusion of their opinions. But all suggestions of that nature were firmly resisted. The latitude of judgment allowed by the church of England was felt to be wholly irreconcilable with enactments for prohibiting the exercise of a right which was expressly asserted and triumphantly vindicated in its own constitution; and, although this right has been too often violated by the heads of the church, it never can be set aside, without destroying the vital principle of the reformed faith. The tranquillity of the parliament at this period was strongly contrasted with the turbulence of the lower classes, who broke out into tumults in reference to a tax upon spirituous liquors, which was imposed with a view to check the consumption of those inflammatory poisons. The extreme severity of the bill, instead of producing the effect contemplated by its authors, led to the clandestine sale of gin to a greater extent than if it had been sold openly. The natural desire to procure the forbidden enjoyment carried the people into the wildest excesses, terminating in frauds and riots; which, as Walpole predicted, forced his successors to modify an enactment that increased the evil it was intended to abolish. The prorogation of parliament took place on the 20th of May, when his majesty acquainted both houses that a convention concerning the execution of the preliminary articles between Austria and France had been communicated to both courts, and that negotiations were in progress to settle the general pacification. He then announced his intention to visit Germany, now grown into an annual custom, leaving the queen, as before, at the head of the administration during his absence. Three distinct objects occupied his majesty's attention while he remained in Hanover: -the settlement of the succession to Berg and Juliers, which, the reigning line being on the eve of extinction, was contested by the king of Prussia and the prince palatine of Sultzbach; the formation of a league between the maritime powers and Sweden and Denmark; - and the mediation between Russia and the Porte. His majesty was strongly in favour of taking a direct part in these proceedings; Walpole was opposed to all interference on the part of England. The skilful management of the minister was, perhaps, never more conspicuous than in the elaborate correspondence that ensued, by which he completely succeeded in dissuading the king to abandon his designs, which would have had the inevitable effect of entangling England in fresh engagements, without holding out any prospect whatever of national advantage. The riots, in the mean while, rose to an alarming height in London, and the agitation they produced was considerably increased by disturbances amongst the weavers in Spitalfields, in consequence of the employment of a number of Irish artisans, who, satisfied with a low rate of wages, provoked the vengeance of the regular hands by thus reducing the market value of labour. But the anxiety excited by these circumstances was suddenly diverted to another quarter by an outrage of a very remarkable kind, which demanded the prompt and vigorous interference of the government. It happened that one Wilson, a smuggler, was sentenced to be hanged at Edinburgh for a robbery he committed on the collector of customs. Having exhibited extraordinary courage and presence of mind in abetting the escape of a fellow-prisoner from the midst of his guards during divine service, the magistrates considered it necessary to increase the precautions for his execution, by ordering into attendance the train bands and city guards to prevent a rescue. When the execution was over, the magistrates retired; and at that moment, the populace rushed towards the gallows to cut down the body. In the disorder that ensued, the military were attacked with stones; and captain Porteous, the commandant, was insulted, and struck re 1737. EDINBURGH RIOTS. 223 peatedly. Provoked at the outrage, he unfortunately ordered the soldiers to fire: five persons were killed, and several wounded. For having proceeded to extremities without an order from the civil magistrates, Porteous was tried and condemned to death; but in consequence of the mitigating circumstances that entered into the case, the queen-regent sent down a respite of six weeks, to afford time for an ample investigation into the whole facts. The populace of Edinburgh, however, highly incensed with Porteous, and urged to violence, it is suspected, by persons in a superior station of life, forced the prison of the Tolbooth on the evening of the day originally destined for his execution, and dragging the prisoner into the Grass Market, hung him on a dyer's cross post, close to the common place for the execution of delinquents. This act of savage ferocity was planned with such vigilance, and carried into effect so rapidly, that the multitude was enabled to disperse quietly before the aid of the military could be called in. A reward of 2001. was offered by proclamation for the detection of the perpetrators, but the compact amongst them was too close to be penetrated. This affair engrossed a large space in the debates of 1787. parliament which opened on the 1st of February. Both houses expressed their abhorrence of the tumults that had taken place in London and Edinburgh, and proffered their hearty support to the royal authority for the maintenance of the public peace. The legislative proceedings that were founded upon the murder of Porteous are memorable for their unprecedented severity, marking emphatically the horror with which the outrage was regarded in England. A parliamentary inquiry was ordered in the first instance. Lindsay, the member for Edinburgh, the provost, and civil magistrates, the commander-in-chief of the forces, and three Scotch judges, were examined separately at the bar; and although it appeared that the magistrates were not sufficiently active in preventing or suppressing the riot, no legal evidence was obtained sufficient to convict |