nor precipitation; upon which account he thought Monday next a proper time.

Sir W. Wyndham harped upon the word indulgence, asking whether it was meant from the committee to the House, or from the majority to the minority, desiring at the same time that the accused should be treated as Englishmen, and urging that the honour of the House was concerned in it; that the cause of the people was not so much interested in the Report as that of the ministry; and that he hoped nobody in this affair would be influenced by party-vengeance or private resentment.

Sir H. Bunbury spoke to the afore-mentioned precedent of my Lord Somers' impeachment, but, being mistaken in matter of fact, was set right by the Speaker.

Mr. Snell declared himself against gratifying the revengeful spirit of an angry ministry, and hoped that nobody in a case of blood would be acted by places or pensions.

General Ross said he was not ready to give his judgment in matters of life and death; that he observed a person for whom he had a great respect, the Duke of Ormond, was mentioned in the Report,-upon which, he enlarged handsomely enough on the part which his Grace had in the late Revolution, on his services under King William, on his generosity and other noble qualities: and that he hoped treason would not be charged upon him by any nice construction.

Mr. Walpole, junior, insisted much upon the words partyvengeance, private resentment, and angry ministry, adding that, if this impeachment was not proceeded upon, not only the Ministers were likely to lose their stations, but the King himself.

Sir John Stonehouse was not prepared to give his opinion, and would not pin his faith upon the Committee.

Mr. Hungerford, found, by Mr. Walpole's words, that this prosecution was the prosecution of the Ministry, and that they could not keep their places without it; in which he was inclined to agree with him. He could not see by the Report that anybody was guilty of treason, except the Abbé Gaultier, who was to transact, by word of mouth, everything for the Pretender.

Mr. Walpole senior, showed the present demand of time not only to be unprecedented but unnecessary, by explain

ing the manner of an impeachment, which gave time for preparing evidence, and drawing up Articles, that might be debated when they were brought into the House. He then showed the candid manner in which the impeachment had been drawn up, and how every part of the Committee's observations were framed in the very words of those original papers referred to in the Appendix. He showed that the delay till Monday next, like the rest of the proceedings of that House in this matter, was the greatest indulgence to the greatest offenders; that several points of high treason were exhibited against them, and several, if possible, greater than high treason itself, being crimes of such a nature as the laws had not provided against, because they did not suppose any could be guilty of them; that there were more crimes specified in this Report than were ever carried up to the bar of the House of Lords, since the Restoration; and that there was sufficient evidence to convict the criminals in any other court of justice. He observed, at the same time, the miserable shifts which the friends of the late Ministry were driven to; when the best they can hope for is, that they are only guilty of high crimes and misdemeanours; and when they are forced to make it their triumph in coffee-houses and ordinary conversation, that the Report only proves them guilty of high crimes and misdemeanours, but does not quite extend to high treason. He then declared himself sorry that the criminals must answer for their offences in a capital manner, concluding that if a short day will satisfy them he would be for Monday; otherwise, for proceeding on it immediately.

Sir George Beaumont descanted upon the unreasonableness of relying upon the report of others, especially of a Committee of twenty-one persons, among whom there were seventeen of the Ministry.

Mr. Smith said if these were of the present Ministry, Sir George himself was of the last Ministry; and therefore it was no wonder he should be for putting off the proceedings upon this Report; he was against the printing of it in the manner proposed, as unparliamentary; for that it was giving the world an opportunity of passing their judgment upon it before the House. He declared he had never read, from his infancy, such a history of treason and iniquity; that

it appeared by it that all had been given up industriously and designedly to the enemy, and that they ought to proceed upon it now, if Monday was not accepted.

Mr. Harley said the honour and justice of the House were more concerned in this question than the persons accused. As for them, he thought the sooner they gave satisfaction to the House upon such accusations the better for them. He then observed there never had been an accusation in Parliament with relation to a Peace; adding that, when this was made, we were reduced to the utmost necessities, and that the whole nation groaned for it. He urged that this would have greater weight with it if it was brought in deliberately and upon mature consideration, which was the more necessary, because the Report contained in it matters which had a relation to all Europe.

Mr. Pulteney said that, notwithstanding the opinion he had always entertained of the late Ministry, he did not think such crimes could have come out against them as appeared in the Report; that in matters of this nature every Member had a right to stand up in his place and immediately impeach. He put the case that if several persons should be present at a meeting to treat of a peace without a sufficient authority from their Prince, and that afterwards they should procure a warrant to be antedated in order to justify such a meeting; whether or no any Member might not be at liberty to stand up and impeach such persons?

[N. B. This was the case of the late Ministry,-the Lords Bolingbroke, Treasurer, Chamberlain, Privy Seal, and Mr. Prior, having treated with Monsieur Mesnager at Mr. Prior's lodgings, and formed special preliminaries, before they had received any warrant from the Queen for so doing; as appears by a letter from Lord Bolingbroke to Her Majesty, in which was enclosed a warrant for the Royal signature, antedated three days before it could be signed.]

Mr. Archer repeated the reasons urged by others for a longer day, and moved for Thursday next.

Mr. Lawson insisted on Monday sevennight; by which time there might be printed a sufficient number of copies for Members, and for them only; assuring the House that he did not propose this to throw cold water upon the Re

See Prior's account of this affair in Parl. Hist. vii. App. No. 2; Tindal, iv. p. 426, et seq.; Lord Mahon's Hist. Eng. vol. i.

port, as some gentlemen had expressed themselves; for if the matters contained in it were fairly stated, I am sure (says he) all the Thames would not be sufficient to wash away the guilt of them.

The question was then put upon Monday sevennight, which very fortunately united those who might have separated from one another, had it been put for the Monday next ensuing. Ayes, 160. Noes, 280.

The Division, for reading a second time the Report before the House should rise, was:

Ayes, 282.

Noes, 172.

Mr. Walpole, after the division, none of the Tories laying in their claim for Monday next, stood up in his place, and, having prefaced his discourse with his natural aversion to everything that looked cruel, declared that he did a great violence to himself in acting as chairman of the Secret Committee, which obliged him to impeach that person, whom, of all the late ministry, (upon personal and private considerations,) he would have been most inclined to spare, representing him as an unfortunate young man, that fell into the hands of one who would sacrifice everything and all his friends, to keep his post. He then impeached the Lord Bolingbroke of high treason and other high crimes and misdemeanours upon the following heads:

1st, For betraying to Monsieur Torcy the instructions given to Lord Strafford in 1711. He took up some time in explaining this article, in which there appeared very aggravating circumstances. Among the rest he observed that the special preliminaries were signed with France four days before my Lord Strafford was instructed to give assurances to the States of acting in concert with them for making a peace, or carrying on the war.

2ndly, For sending an order to the Duke of Ormond neither to engage in any siege nor hazard a battle, which he showed was contrary to the Duke's instructions, and to Her Majesty's declared sense to the States, and that this order was communicated to the Marshal Villars and Abbé Gaultier. 3rdly, For instructing the Duke of Ormond to direct his

1 The Marquis de Torcy, plenipotentiary from the king of France.

conduct by such instructions as he should receive from the court of France by the hands of Marshal Villars.

Under this head, he took occasion to pity the Duke of Ormond, who had been all along so much abused and misled by his friends; representing him as acting, by the same advice, the same part now which he did at that time, being set up as the idol of the rabble, and made a tool of, for carrying on the designs of contriving men.

4thly, For giving his advice, in his private capacity, how Tournay might be got for France, contrary to what the Queen had declared in her speech to the parliament. This advice appears in a letter to Mr. Prior, which he is desired to consider as a letter from Harry to Matt, and not from the secretary to the minister.

5thly, For sending orders to the Duke of Ormond to secure Ghent and Bruges, at the desire of the French

minister.

6thly, For holding a private correspondence with Torcy, in relation to the Pretender.

Under this head, it appeared there was a public and a private letter from Lord Bolingbroke to Torcy, and references on either side to verbal conferences with Abbé Gaultier.

7thly, For sending orders to Sir John Jennings not to intercept the French fleet in the Mediterranean. This letter was sent before the suspension of arms by land and sea was signed; and some time after this sparing of the French fleet, Cassart made his expedition upon our colonies in the West Indies.

As for high crimes and misdemeanours, they are so very numerous, that Mr. Walpole desired he might be excused upon that head till another time, being very much fatigued with what he had already gone through. He did, indeed, even outdo himself on this occasion, and raised the greatest and justest indignation that I ever yet saw in a House of Commons. He concluded with the motion that the House

do impeach, &c.

When Mr. Walpole had finished his speech, and had been seconded by the Secretary, there was a great silence in the House, till Mr. Smith stood up and desired that, if any gentleman was not satisfied with the motion, he would make his objections to it.

After another pause, the Speaker was going to propose