reward: They afk no reward for the fervices they performed: They ask no reimbursement of what they voluntarily contributed: They afk no indemnification as to what they fuffered by the common fate of war: They ask an indemnification only as A to what they fuffered extraordinary, and merely upon account of their loyalty for tho' fome gentlemen feem now to think, that neither their loyalty nor their fervices were extraordinary, it is plain the rebels thought otherwife; and this made them B treat that city more feverely than they did any other; particularly as to the two mults or fines impofed upon them. As to thefe only, they defire an indemnification; and with this modeft demand the publick is in moft gentlemen are convinced, he fpoke nothing but the truth. As to this fact therefore, you could not, before a particular committee, have had a fuller or a better evidence than you have now before you; and as to the conduct of the magiftrates of Glasgow during the rebellion, I have often heard, that common fame was a fufficient ground for inducing this houfe to inquire into a man's conduct; but I always thought, that it was common bad fame. I never fuppofed, that univerfal applause could give this houfe any ground for an inquiry. This is the cafe with regard to the magiftrates of Glafgory; their conduct during the rebellion has been, and is still applauded by all true friends to the government. juftice, I think, bound to comply, CI believe no gentleman will fay he not upon the general principle of the publick's being obliged as far as poffible to make good every private perfon's lofs by a war, but becaufe this lofs was very extraordinary, and occafioned by that city's fidelity to the established govern- D ment. If then, Sir, this demand ought to be complied with upon the principle of juftice alone, how strongly muft it be recommended by compaffion, when we confider the prefent circumftances of the eftate belonging E to the corporation of Glafgory? But it is faid, that in order to excite our compaffion, we should have had a previous inquiry into the circumftances of that eftate, and into the conduct of the magiftrates. For God's fake! Sir, how would you have inquired into the circumftances of that eftate? Could you have had a bet. ter account of its circumftances than from one who has been the chief magiftrate for feveral years? If any gentleman had fuggefted the leaft diffidence or fufpicion of his evidence, G you might even before this committee have had his evidence confirmed by other witneffes. But it was fo çandid and so diftinct, that I believe F ever heard the leaft fuggeftion, that they, or any of them, held the leaft fecret correfpondence with the rebels: or that they did not do all that was in their power for defeating the rebellion. It would therefore have been contrary to all the rules of parliament to have appointed any particular committee for inquiring into their conduct; and as to all the other facts fet forth in the petition, befides their being notoriously known, you have now before you an evidence, as full and unquestionable as you could have had before any fuch com mittee. There cannot therefore be any folid objection against our method of proceeding in this affair; nor can any argument be from thence drawn for the chairman's leaving the chair; confequently that motion can be agreed to upon no other foundation but that of rejecting the petition, which would certainly be the cause of terrible effects, in cafe of any future invafion or rebellion. And as to the effects of granting relief in the prefent cafe, and refufing it in any other cafe of the fame nature, we can have no occasion to be afraid of them; becaule, if there be any Y y z B The next that spoke was M. Fabius HAT the Hon. gentleman who Tspoke laft, may not accufe me other cafe of the fame nature; if there be any other city or town in Great Britain that can fhew, that its inhabitants contributed largely towards the fervice of the government during the late rebellion; that many of them ventured, and fome of them A loft their lives in that fervice; that they fuffered feverely by the rebels living among them at free quarters; of want of candour, I fhall declare, that a large fum of money was ex- that I am for the chairman's leaving torted by the rebels from the corpo- the chair, not only because I think ration on account of its loyalty; and we have not proceeded in a parlia that the corporation has thereby in mentary method towards granting curred a debt, which it is no way the fum of money moved for, but able to pay I fay, if there be any also because I think no tum of money city or town that can fhew all thefe fhould be granted by parliament upcircumstances, I am convinced, the on fuch a confideration, either to the parliament would readily agree to city of Glasgow, or to any other pay a debt fo contracted, and might perfon or body politick in the kingdo fo without danger of loading the c dom. As to the method of propublick with any great demand; ceeding, Sir, I do not confider, and if they could not fhew these to whether we could have had a better be their circumstances, their cafe or fuller evidence before a particular could not be of the fame nature, committee; nor do I confider, what nor could they with any juftice comwe might before fuch a committee plain, fhould the parliament refuse have inquired into: I confider only to grant them relief. D the rules of parliament, which never ought to be broke through without an abfolute neceflity: And it muft be allowed, that according to thofe rules, the city of Glasgow's petition ought first to have been referred to a particular committee, and the refolution of that committee, if in favour of the petition, would of courfe have been referred to the committee of fupply. This was certainly the method in which we ought to have proceeded, according to the rules of parliament; and I have not heard one reafon offered for our breaking through thofe rules in the cafe now before us; nor can I fee any danger in our recurring to the obfervance of those rules; for the petitioners are certainly prepared to prove every fact fet forth in their petition; and if they are, we may fill proceed in a regular method to grant this money before the end of this feflion; for if it be granted, I hope it will be granted by a par With regard therefore to cities, towns, or corporations, our granting the relief now propofed, can occafion no difcontent, much less any difaffection; and with regard to private gentlemen, if any of them have fuffered, or have had any money E extorted from them, the government has it always in its power to grant them a recompence, by conferring upon them fome of the many lucrative employments we have in the executive part of our government. Thus, Sir, it is evident, that our agreeing to grant the city of Glafgow the fum now moved for, can be attended with no danger; whereas, our rejecting the petition, even in the foft method of the chairman's leaving the chair, may be attended with moft fatal effects; and as IG think, that the fum fued for is really in juftice due by the publick to that city, I fhall moft heartily concur with my honourable friend in his motion. F ticular A ticular bill for the purpose, other- E But now, Sir, I fhall give you my reasons why I am no friend to the petition; firft, because I think no money ought to be granted upon fuch an account; and, in the next D place, because if any money were to be granted, it ought not to be granted in the way now propofed. As to the first of these reafons, it has always been an established maxim, not only in this country, but all over Europe, that in time of war the people of the country where it happens to be feated, or where the weight of it falls, muft fubmit to their fate, without any hopes of having their loffes made good, in whole or in part, by the other dominions fubject to the fame fovereign. Accordingly, we find, that in queen Elizabeth's time, when the Spaniards landed in the weft, and burnt Penfance and fome other places, no compenfation was made by the publick for the lofs fuftained by the inhabitants. And again, in king William's G time, when the French landed in Devonshire, and burnt Tingmouth, with all the fhips in the harbour, no application was ever made to parliament, nor any relief fo much as F afked for the fufferers, upon that occafion. This maxim has therefore been always obferved in this country, as well as other parts of Europe; and it deferves to be fo, because it makes the people bold and alert in oppofing the entrance of an enemy into the country; whereas the contrary maxim would of courfe have a contrary effect. And as there was no body of foreign troops landed during the late rebellion, I must be of opinion, that thofe who did fuf. fer, are fo far from deferving any relief from the publick, that they deferved what they met with, because they did not defend themselves; for as the friends of the government are in most parts of the kingdom much more numerous than its enemies, they might certainly defend themselves, if they would take care to be properly provided and qualified for that purpofe; and if they are negligent in this refpect, they ought not to be encouraged to expect any relief from the publick, for the lofs they may sustain through their own negligence or cowardice. Upon this general maxim therefore, I must be of opinion, that no money ought to be granted, either to the town of Glasgow, or to any other place, for making good what they fuffered by the rebellion; but as to the city of Glasgow, Sir, I have particular reafons why I think no money ought to be granted for making good any part of their lofs. Gentlemen may magnify as much as they please the contributions of the inhabitants of that city for raifing and fubfifting their two regiments, or their lofs by furnishing the rebels with free quarters; but if we confider the cheapnefs of provifions in that country, we must think their lofs a little exaggerated; and if we confider what a flourishing trade they have enjoyed for many years, we must conclude that, if they had been as generous in their contributions as many places in England, the corporation would would have had no occafion to run in debt, or to apply to parliament for relief. As to the debt contracted by the corporation, Sir, I am really furprifed how they came to contract ceffary for the rebels to tax the inhabitants in order to raise the money demanded, because it would have left a bad impreffion of them in the minds of all thofe that had been obli. ged to contribute towards that tax. fuch a debt, when it would have A This, I fay, they fhould have done, B been fo eafy to have raised among the inhabitants the whole of what was demanded by the rebels. If the corporation had abfolutely refused to raise the money, can we fuppofe, that the inhabitants would not have raised it by a general contribution, rather than expofe themselves to be plundered? This, I think, is not in the leaft to be queftioned; and therefore 1 muft fuppofe, that the magiftrates had then fuch an application as this in view, and raised the money upon the credit of the corporation, with a defign to feek relief from parliament, as foon as they could find a favourable opportunity, which relief they forefaw could never have been applied for, had the money been raised by a contribution among, or rather a tax up- D on the inhabitants, according to their refpective circumstances. E If the corporation was at that time fo poor as is now reprefented, the magiftrates must have had fome fuch thing in view; for if the whole revenue of the corporation be barely fufficient to defray its annual expence, they could not propofe to difcharge the debt fo contracted, without a grant of an equal fum of money from the crown or the publick, or an act of parliament impowering them to raise it upon the inhabi- F tants; and if they had any thoughts of this laft expedient, they acted very imprudently; becaule they fhould rather have chofe, that the inhabitants fhould then be taxed by the rebels for raising this fum of money, than that they should after- G wards be taxed by parliament for raifing it. Nay, if they were such friends to the government as they pretend, they should have made it ne if they had acted prudently; for they have now perhaps made it neceffary for the parliament to enable them to raife money by a tax upon the inhabitants for difcharging this debt; which brings me to the other reason for my being no friend to this petition, or at least to the motion now made to us; because if it be neceffary to grant money for relieving the city of Glasgow from this debt, I think this the very worst and most imprudent way we can chufe for Cgranting it. The produce of the forfeited eftates is certainly, Sir, the most proper fund for this purpose, and whether that fund may be fufficient or no, is a question that we ought not to take upon the word of any minifter; therefore the queftion now before us ought to be deferred until we have made an inquiry into the probable amount of that produce, by ordering a furvey of the forfeited eftates, and an account of the claims entered against them, to be laid before us the beginning of next feffion of parliament. But fuppofe this fund fhould evidently appear to be infufficient, the next moft proper fund is furely the civil lift revenue, which, if managed with economy, must be fufficient for the purpose, because it now exceeds what it was in the late king's time, with all the additional grants that were then made to it; for the million granted to the civil lift in the late king's reign, and the 300,000l. paid to it by the two infurance companies, made it up but 800,000l. yearly during that reign; whereas, I am convinced, it now exceeds 800,000l. yearly, notwithftanding the account of deficiences lately laid before, and made good by by parliament; for as no inquiry was made either into that account, or into the produce of that fund in former years, it can afford me no reafon for fuppofing, that the civil list revenue has not exceeded 800,000!. one year with another, ever fince it A was fettled upon his prefent majefty; and I must think it hard to oblige the publick to make good the deficiency, without allowing it the benefit of any former furplus: That is to fay, if the civil lift revenue fhould for many years produce a million an- B nually, and for a few years afterwards, during a heavy war, fhould produce but 750,000l. I think it is hard to oblige the publick to make good the deficiency of 50,000l. yearly, without allowing it any benefit by the 200,000l. yearly furplus above C the fum for which that fund was first granted. Surely, Sir, when the civil lift revenue was first made diftinct from the other branches of the publick fervice, and when a greater revenue was fettled upon his majesty than had D ever been granted to any of his predeceffors, a due regard was had to thofe acts of charity or generosity which the dignity of the crown might require, and among such acts none can be more deferving than a generous recompence to thofe who E have fuffered by their loyalty. Therefore, if the city of Glasgow has any title to relief, that relief ought to come from the civil lift revenue; and if that revenue cannot fpare to grant this relief, it must proceed from bad economy: The Hon. gentleman who has now the management of this revenue under his care, has thrown down the gauntlet, and seems to dare any man to take it up: Perhaps it may be taken up when he least expects it; but let it be taken up when it will, the de- G mand now made upon the publick for what ought to have been fatiffied out of the civil lift, will be an article against him. That revenue may F now perhaps be managed with more œconomy than in the late king's time, when by an account which was by chance laid before parliament, it appeared, that in four years time no less than two millions had been employed in fecret fervice. If any thing near this fum be now fo employed, I do not wonder at his majesty's not having fo much to fpare for acts of charity and ge nerofity, as many noblemen and rich commoners in the kingdom. But notwithstanding the war, I cannot fuppofe, there is now near that fum fo employed: At least I cannot fuppofe, that it has been employed in procuring fecret intelligence, or if it has, that it has been very ill applied; for through the whole courfe of the war it appeared, that we had no foreign intelligence but what was communicated by the foreign Gazettes, and the young pretender was landed in Scotland before our minifters knew any thing of his defign or of his embarkation. With regard to this fort of fecret fervice I must therefore fuppofe, that great œconomy has been of late made ufe of; but there is another fort of fecret fervice, which I fhall not name at present, and in this I must fuppofe, that our minifters have been a little extravagant, otherwife the crown might eafily have fpared a fum fufficient for giving the relief now proposed to the city of Glafgow. For this fort of extravagance, Sir, the Hon. gentleman may perhaps answer to his own confcience, for the confciences of minifters have in all ages been very eafily fatisfied; but if there has been any fuch, and an impartial enquiry fhould be fet on foot, I am fure he could not answer for it to parliament. As I do not think it proper at prefent to propose any fuch inquiry, I must therefore take for granted what the Hon. gentleman has been pleafed to affert, that it is impoffible for his majefty |