would fatisfy the house of the impropriety of complying with the propofed motion. On the 30th Mr. Newn 30th. ham rose again, to make a few obfervations upon what had paffed on Friday preceding. He remarked, that much had been faid of the tenderness of the ground upon which he trod, and of the dangerous confequences that might arife from his perfeverance. He declared himfelf totally ignorant of the grounds of those apprehenfions, with which others were fo unaccountably filled. If there was danger in the measure, let those who gave occafion to it tremble at the confequences, He faw none; the prince faw none: and it was by his exprefs defire that he now gave notice he should purfue his defign. Highly honoured, as he conceived himself to be by the prince's confidence upon this occafion, he was not to be intimidated; and he could affure the house, that neither was his royal highnefs to be deterred from his purpofe by the bafe and falfe rumours, which were spread abroad concerning him. Mr. Fox, who had been abfent on the former debate, came down this day with immediate authority from the prince of Wales, to affure the house there was no part of his conduct that he was either afraid or unwilling to have inveftigated in the fulleft manner. With regard to the private correfpondence alluded to, he wifhed it to be laid before the house, because he could take upon himself to affert, that it would prove the conduct of his royal highness to have been in the highest degree amiable, and would prefent as uniform and perfect a picture of duty and obedience, as ever, in any instance, had been fhewn from a fon to his father, or from a fubject to his fovereign. With refpect to the debt, which was the caufe of his prefent difficulties, the prince was willing, if the house should deem it neceffary, to give a fair and general account in writing of every part of it; and if any fufpicion fhould exift, that this or that general article might comprehend fums of money improperly applied, he would give a clear explanation of the particulars to his majefty, or to his minifters. Laftly, with respect to "allufions made by one member, to fomething full of danger to the church and ftate, he wished he had fpoken more explicitly. If he alluded to a certain low and malicious rumour, which had been induftrioufly propagated without doors, he was authorized to declare it to be a falfehood. He had thought that a tale, fit only to impofe upon the lowest of the vulgar, could not have gained credit for a moment in that houfe, or with any one who poffeffed the moft ordinary portion of common fenfe and reflection; but when it appeared that an invention fo grofs and malicious, a report of a fact, which was actually impoffible to have happened, had been circulated with fo much industry and fuccefs, as to have made an impreffion upon the minds of the members of that houfe, it both proved the uncommon pains taken by the enemies of the prince of Wales to depreciate his character and injure him in the opinion of his country, and ought to be a caution to the house, and to the nation at large, how they gave credit to any other fcandalous and malignant reports that were circulated to his prejudice. Mr. Fox concluded with adding, that he was further authorized by by his royal highness to declare, that he was ready, as a peer of parliament, to answer in the other houfe any the most pointed queftions, that could be put to him refpecting this report, or to afford his majefty or his minifters any other affurances or fatisfaction they might require. Mr. Rolle replied, that he was not fingular in his fears for the church; other gentlemen had been equally alarmed, and he fhould be happy to find that their apprehenfions were groundless. The right honourable member had faid, that the fact alluded to was impoffible to have happened. They all knew, indeed, that there were certain laws and acts of parliament which forbade it, and made it null and void; but ftill it might have taken place, though not under the formal fanction of law; and upon that point he wifhed to be fatisfied. Mr. Fox obferved, that though what he had faid before was, he thought, fufficient to fatisfy every candid and liberal mind, he was willing, if poffible, to fatisfy the most perverfe. When he denied the calumny in queftion, he meant to deny it, not merely with regard to the effect of certain exifting laws, but to deny it in toto, in point of fact as well as law. The fact not only never could have happened legally, but never did happen in any way whatsoever, and had from the beginning been a bafe and malicious falfhood. Mr. Rolle rofe again, and defired to know, whether what Mr. Fox had laft faid, was to be understood as fpoken from direct authority. Mr. Fox replied, that he had direct authority. It appears to have been expected, that upon this declaration Mr. Rolle would have expreffed his full fatisfaction; and being called upon by a member fo to do, he fail that nothing fhould induce him to act otherwife than to his own judgment fhould feem proper. An answer had certainly been given to his queftion, and the houfe would judge for themselves of that anfwer. This conduct occafioned fome warm reflections from Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Grey, who faid, that the member, after having put a pointed queftion for the folution of doubts exifting in his own mind, and having received an immediate answer, was bound in honour and fairness either to declare that he was fatisfied, or to take fome means of putting the matter into fuch a state of inquiry as fhould fatisfy him. To remain filent, or to declare that the houfe might judge for itself, was neither manly nor candid: it tended to aggravate in a high degree the malicious falfhood that had been propagated, by admitting a fuppofition, that the prince might authorize a falfe denial of the fact. Mr. Pitt defended Mr. Rolle with great warmth, and declared, that what had been faid by the members who preceded him was the most direct attack upon the freedom of debate, and liberty of speech in that house, that he had ever heard fince he fat in parliament. Mr. Rolle stated shortly the part he had taken, declared that he had been induced fo to do by his affection for the prince; that he had not said he was unfatisfied; and that he left the whole to the judgment of the house. The favourable impreffion, which this debate, the open and manly conduct of the prince, and the harfhnefs with which he had been treated treated in his moft private and perfonal concerns, left upon the minds of men both within and without the doors of parliament, appears to have given the minister a ferious apprehenfion, that upon the queftion itfelf he might be left amount, which if left to be dif charged out of his annual in come, would render it impoffible "for him to fupport an establish"ment fuited to his rank and "station. "Painful as it is at all times to "his majefty to propofe an addition to the heavy expences neceffarily borne by his people, his majefty is induced, from his pa"ternal affection to the prince of "Wales, to recur to the liberality 16 and attachment of his faithful "commons for their affiftance on "an occafion fo interefting to his "majefty's feelings, and to the "eafe and honour of fo diftinguish"ed a branch of his royal family. in a minority-For the ft May. next day overtures were made to his royal highness to bring the bafinefs to a private accommodation. On Thurfday the 3d of May Mr. Pitt had an audience at Carleton-house, and the fame night the prince was informed by his majefty's command, in geheral terms, that if the motion intended to be made the next day in the house of commons fhould be withdrawn, every thing might be fettled to his royal highnefs's fatiffaction. Accordingly on 4th May. the 4th, Mr. Newnham being in his place in the houfe, in which upwards of 400 members" were affembled, rofe and faid, he felt the highest fatisfaction in being able to inform the houfe that his intended motion was no longer neceffary. Several members joined in expreffing in the warmest terms the great fatisfaction this information gave them. In confequence of the accommodation above mentioned, the accounts of his royal highness were fubmitted to the infpection of commiffioners named by the king, and on the 21st of May the following meffage from his majefty was delivered to both houfes of parlia ment: "It is with the greatest concern "his majefty acquaints the house "of commons, that from the ac* counts which have been laid be*fore his majesty by the prince of "Wales, it appears that the prince VOL. XXIX. "His majesty could not, however, expect or defire the affiftance "of this houfe, but on a wellgrounded expectation that the prince will avoid contracting any "debts in future. "With a view to this object, and " from an anxious defire to remove any poffible doubt of the fuffi ciency of the prince's income to "fupport amply the dignity of his "fituation; his majefty has direct"ed a fum of 10,000l. per ann, "to be paid out of his civil list, in " addition to the allowance which "his majefty has hitherto given " him; and his majefty has the fa"-tisfaction to inform the house, "that the prince of Wales has "given his majefty the fullest affu66 rance of his determination to "confine his future expences with"in the income, and has alfo "fettled a plan for arranging those 66 expences in the feveral depart 66 ments, and for fixing an order "for payment under fuch regula"tions as his majefty trufts will [1] effectually On the 23d the fol23d May. lowing abftract account lowing abftract account of the debts and of the expenditure of the prince of Wales were laid before the house. 193,648 The day following an humble addrefs was ordered to be prefented to the king, in which after the ufual thanks to his majesty, they humbly defire, that his majefty will be graciously pleased to direct the fum of 161,000l. to be issued out of his majefty's civil lift for that purpose, and the fum of 20,000l. on account of the works at Carleton-house, as foon as an estimate shall be formed with fuf53,305 ficient accuracy of the whole ex90,804 pence for completing the fame in a proper manner; and affure his ma161,109 jefty, that his faithful commons will make good the fame. £. 13,000 4,000 СНАР. CHAP V. Motion by Mr. Fox, for repealing the shop tax; Supported by Mr. Lambton; reply of Mr. Pitt; motion rejetted. Bill brought in for farming the postborfe duty; meets an early oppofition; Mr. Pitt's defence of the meajure, as not being repugnant to the conftitution, nor dangerous as a precedent; oppofed on the fecond reading by Mr. Marham, Mr. Lambton, Mr. Baftard, and Mr. Wyndham; bill passed. Singular petition from debtors in Newgate. Infolvent bill paffes the house of commons; oppofed and rejected in the house of lords; fentiments of the chancellor upon measures of that nature; of lord Rawdon. Motion by Mr. Grey, relative to abuses in the poft office; facts from the report of the committee; animadverfion by Mr. Fox and Mr. Sheridan upon Mr. Pitt's conduct; retort of the latter upon the coalition; ftri&ture on Mr. Pitt's temporizing with lord North, by Mr. Adam; violent altercation between Mr. Pitt and Mr. Grey; motion of cenfure refpecting the poft office by Mr. Grey; oppofed by lord Maitland and Mr. Pitt; rejected without a divifion. Motion in the house of lords, relative to the votes of the dukes of Queensberry and Gordon, in the election of the fixteen peers; oppofed by the chancellor ; Supported by lord Kinnaird; opinions of lord Douglas, earl of Moreton, and duke of Richmond; motion carried. Motion in the house of commons, relative to the right of the fons of Scotch peers to reprefent Scotch boroughs or counties; opinions of Sir John Sinclair, Mr. Dundas, Sir James Johnstone, and Sir Adam Ferguffon, in the negative; of lords Beauchamp, Maitland, and Elcho, in the affirmative; carried for the negative. UR readers will recollect that the tax impofed upon retail fhopkeepers in the year 1785, was ftrongly oppofed at the time by the inhabitants of London and Westminster, as partial and unjuft in its principle, and peculiarly oppreffive in its opera ́tion upon thofe two cities. The following year their members were inftructed to move for its repeal; and though the motion was rejected by a great majority, they continued, with unremitted perfeverance, to take the most active and vigorous measures for fecuring fuccefs upon fome future occafion. Meetings were held, affociations formed, committees ap. pointed, and a correfpondence carried on with all the confiderable 24th April. OUR towns and corporations of the kingdom; many of which, being proportionably fufferers, readily joined the capital in another application to parliament for relief. The bufinefs was this year committed to Mr. Fox, who on the 24th of April moved the house for the repeal. He faid, he had never been forward in oppofing taxes, because he thought it the duty, in general, of members of parliament to fupport government in the arduous and invidious measures of finance: but at the fame time he thought there were limits to this duty, and that they were bound to infift upon the abolition of any tax, which upon a fair trial was found to be oppreflive and unjust. Such a trial the tax in question had [1] 2 undergone, |