the neceffity of drawing into a narrow compafs the operations of the American war, a change of circumftances demanding a correfpondent change of measures." That this miferable mixture of falsehood and folly should fail to make impreffion upon the house cannot be deemed wonderful, and the ministry themselves feemed to defpair of their cause, when they committed the defence of it to fo contemptible an advocate-whom Mr. Burke, in reply, overwhelmed with the fupercilious and poignant difdain of his ridicule. "This war," Mr. Burke faid, "had been moft amazingly fertile in the growth of new statesmen; the right honorable. gentleman was indeed an old member, but a young fecretary. Having however ftudied at the feet of Gamaliel, he had entered into full poffeffion of all the parliamentary qualifications by which his predeceffor had been fo confpicuoufly diftinguished ;-the fame attachments, the fame antipathies, the fame extravagant delufions, the fame wild phantoms of the brain, marked the right honorable gentleman as the true ministerial heir and refiduary legatee of the noble viscount. And notwithstanding the metamorphofis he had recently undergone, he was fo truly the fame thing in the fame place, that justly might it be said of him, * alter et idem nafcitur.' Being of the caterpillar fpecies, he had remained the destined time within the

foft and filken folds of a lucrative employment, till, having burft his ligaments, he fluttered forth the butterfly minifter of the day." On a divifion, however, the miniftry had still a majority, but a fearful majority of ONE voice only! the numbers being 192 for, and 193 against, the motion; fo that the pyramidal edifice of ministerial power feemed now, by a marvellous and magical inverfion, to rest upon its apex.

Mr. Fox immediately gave notice, that in a few days the queftion would be revived under another form. Accordingly, on the 27th of February, general Conway moved, "That it is the opinion of this house, that a farther profecution of offenfive war against America would, under prefent circumstances, be the means of weakening the efforts of this country against her European enemies, and tend to increase the mutual enmity so fatal to the interests both of Great Britain and America." The general fpoke with indignation of the objection urged against the laft motion, that it was an unconstitutional interference in matters pertaining to the execu tive power. He faid, it had been ever the cuftom of that house to interpofe its advice whenever it thought proper, in all matters of peace and war, as their journals incontrovertibly proved.

In order to evade an immediate determination

upon

apon the question, the attorney-general Wallace moved, "that a bill fhould be prepared, enabling his majesty to conclude a truce with America, and to enter into a negotiation on this ground." This propofition was negatived by a majority of 19, the numbers being 234 to 215; and the original motion of general Conway was then carried without a divifion.

The general next moved an addrefs to the king, founded on the precife words of the motion, This was agreed to; and it was refolved that the addrefs fhould be prefented to his majesty by the whole houfe; which was accordingly done on the first of March: and his majefty moft gracioufly replied, "That, in pursuance of the advice of the house of commons, he would affuredly take fuch measures as should appear to him moft conducive to the restoration of harmony between Great Britain and her revolted colonies."

This not being deemed by the now glorious majority of the houfe fufficiently explicit, general Conway on the 4th of March moved another address to his majefty, returning him thanks for his gracious affurances, and affirming, "That nothing could fo effentially promote the great objects of his majesty's paternal care, as the measures his faithful commons had humbly though earnestly recommended to his majesty." This

T4

This was agreed to NEM. CON. and by a second motion it was refolved, "That the houfe will confider as enemies to his majesty and the country all those who should advise a profecution of offenfive war on the continent of North America." The glory of general Conway, who had fixteen years before restored peace to the empire by the repeal of the Stamp Act, was now complete.

The minifter giving notice of his intention to poftpone for fome days laying before the house the additional taxes, which were to pay the intereft of the new loan of thirteen millions and a half, Mr. Burke feized the occafion to obferve, "that he lately had been taking a view of the bleffed fruits of the noble lord's administration; and he had found we were already loaden with ten new taxes, viz. beer, wine, foap, leather, houses, coaches, poft-chaifes, poft-horses, ftamps, and fervants. It was indeed no wonder that the minifter fhould be at a lofs about new taxes, for what fresh burdens could he add to this unhappy nation? We were already taxed if we rode, or if we walked; if we staid at home, or if we went abroad; if we were masters, or if we were fervants. In the course of the noble lord's administration we had expended one hundred millions, of money, and facrificed one hundred thousand lives, and all this without producing in return

the

the leaft benefit to the nation. On the contrary, the nation had been, in confequence of the wretched misconduct of the minifter, deprived of thirteen colonies, to which might be added the lofs of Senegal, Pensacola, Minorca, and fome of our best Weft-India Islands."

Notwithstanding the late majorities in the houfe of commons in oppofition to the minifters, they seemed to entertain no thoughts of refigning those offices which they had fo long and fo undefervedly enjoyed. It was therefore thought necessary to move a direct vote of cenfure upon them, at the clofe of a feries of refolutions brought forward by lord John Cavendish on the eighth of March, importing, as the refult of the whole," that the chief caufe of all the national misfortunes is want of forefight and ability in his majesty's minifters."

The motion was feconded by Mr. Powys, who remarked, "that the noble lord at the head of affairs had declared, that whenever parliament fhould withdraw its confidence from him, he would refign. That period was now come. The confidence of parliament was now withdrawn. It was therefore neceffary that he should retire from power; and, whenever the happy moment should arrive, in which the noble lord, to the unspeakable joy of the nation, should really go to his fovereign to refign his employ

ments,