356 PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c. Aug. A to give relief to the city of Glasgow out of the civil lift revenue; but fuppofing this likewife to be true, we have ftill another method for procuring relief to the corporation of Glasgow, without adding a new load upon the publick revenue of the nation; and that is, by enabling the magiftrates to raise upon the inhabitants that money which was borrowed to prevent their being plundered; for tho' it would have been of more service to the government, to have forced the rebels themselves to have raised this money by a tax upon the inhabitants, yet fuch a tax, tho' impofed by the authority of parliament, will still be of fervice, because the inhabitants will reflect upon the original cause of the tax, and this will confirm them in their hatred of the C late rebellion, and their abhorrence of those principles which were the occafion of it. By this method, Sir, we fhall do a fingular piece of fervice to the government, and we fhall procure a fufficient relief for the corporation of Glasgow, without doing injuftice to, or raising difcontents in any other part of the nation; but as this method cannot be refolved on, or any step made towards it, in a committee of fupply, I fhall therefore conclude with feconding the motion made by the noble lord upon the floor, That the chairman do now leave the chair. The laft that poke in this debate was I Mr. Prefident, Am furprised to hear the objection to our method of proceeding in this affair, fo much infifted on. Have gentlemen fo foon forgot, what was done but the very laft feffion, in re. lation to the petitions from our northern colonies, praying for a reimbursement of the expence they had been at in taking and fecuring the island of Cape-Breton? Thofe petitions were, 'tis true, at first ordered to lie upon the table, but they were foon after referred directly to the committee of fupply, where the voted, and no farther notice was taken fums refpectively due to them were of them in any of our proceedings, till they were appropriated to the refpective colonies in the appropriation claufes inferted in the finking fund bill, which paffed the other house without B we granted fuch a large fum in the any difficulty or objection. When committee of fupply, without any previous reference to a particular committee, or any previous parliamentary inquiry into accounts that were fo intricate, is it poffible to asthe fame way grant such a small fum fign a reason why we fhould not in as this now moved for, and upon an account which confifts but of three plain articles, no one of which can be contested or doubted? Is it poffible for a gentleman of the most why the other houfe fhould think luxuriant fancy to fuggeft a reafon, themselves impofed on by the method now propofed, when they made laft year no objection to the fame method pursued in an affair of much greater confequence? D gentlemen made use of this objection, I must therefore suppose, Sir, that because they were confcious of the weakness of all the other objections they could invent against the motion now made to us; and I am the more convinced of this, the more I confider the objections that have F been made; for they are chiefly founded upon a pofition laid down as general, tho' it was never admitted to be fuch either in theory or practice; or upon a fuppofition, that there are feveral places in the king. to that of Glasgow, without indom whofe cafe is exactly parallel ftancing fo much as one that has the leaft resemblance. G Sir, it is fo far from being an eftablished maxim in this or any other Country, time fay, that none of the fufferers met with any charitable relief from the crown, because the publick revenue was at neither of those times fo ftriétly appropriated by par liament as it is now. But to come nearer our own time, I must desire gentlemen to recollect, that during the rebellion in the year 1715, feveral houses were burn'd or deftroyed both in Scotland and at Preston in England. What did the parliament do upon that occafion? They did not propofe to make good the lofs of every one that fuffered by that rebellion; but as the lofs by the deftruction of these houfes was extraordinary, they refolved that it should be made good to the proprietors. The fund they appropriated for this C purpose was, indeed, the produce of the forfeited eftates, because, as feveral great and free eftates had become forfeited both in England and Scotland, it was apparent, that this fund would be fufficient, which is far from being the cafe at prefent; and as thofe eftates had been granted by the late king to the publick, it is a proof, that, even here at home, the publick does fometimes think itfelf obliged to make good a lofs fuftained by war, when that lofs happens to be of an extraordinary nature. country, never to grant relief to E Now, Sir, with regard to the practice here at home, as we have the happiness to be fituated in an island, and have, I hope, always F fhall have a fuperior force at fea, we can but rarely have an occafion to exercise our charity or generofity towards thofe places that have fus tained any great lofs by war. The lofs by the defcent of the Spaniards in queen Elizabeth's reign, G or of the French in that of king William, was fo inconfiderable, that it was not worth the publick notice, nor can any one at this distance of Auguft, 1749. I could give many other inftances, Sir, efpecially from foreign hiftory; where the publick has granted fome fort of relief to private perfons or focieties that have fuffered extraordinary loffes by a war; but thofe I have mentioned will fuffice to shew, that the maxim contended for is not general, and indeed it would be cruel to establish fuch a general maxim without any exception. Then as to the fuppofition, that there are several places whofe cafe is exactly parallel to that of Glasgow, I need not make any anfwer, because I am convinced, there is no fuch place in the kingdom; and as to the places that have been mentioned in this debate, it has been fhewn by the gentlemen Who who spoke before on the fame fide with me, that there is no fort of refemblance; confequently from this precedent we can apprehend no new demand upon the publick. But the Hon. gentleman who fpoke laft, has fet up a new doctrine: A He was pleased to fay, Sir, that as there was no invafion by any body of foreign troops, all thofe places that fuffered by the rebellion, deserved to fuffer, because they did not defend themselves: It was lucky for him that the rebels did not come B near any place where he had a concern; for if they had, I believe he would have taken care not to broach any fuch doctrine, which is a doctrine no one will adopt who knows the difference between the people of a fruitful country, who think of no- C thing but induftry, agriculture, and manufactures, and the people of a barren, mountainous country, who think of nothing but idleness, arms and military exercifes; for against the latter, the former muft always defend themselves by a regular ftanding D army. But fuppofing this doctrine were to be admitted, the city of Glafgow has a good plea, which no place to the fouthward of it can lay claim to, I mean that of its being furprized by the rebels coming fo fuddenly and unexpectedly upon E them ; fo that they had no time to prepare or provide for their defence, had they been capable to make one. F This doctrine, therefore, may operate against giving relief to any place fouth of Glasgow, but can have no weight against our giving relief to that city, and confequently is an argument in favour of the motion, because it fhews, that what we do in this cafe, can be no precedent for our doing the fame in any other. This, Sir, the honourable G gentleman feemed to be fenfible of, and therefore he gave us another new doctrine, by attacking the prudence of the magiftrates of Glasgow, in raifing the money demanded by the rebels, upon the credit of the corporation, and not leaving them to raise it by force of arms upon the inhabitants. I fhall readily admit, that the inhabitants, as the gentleman faid, would have raised the money rather than expofe their houses to be plundered, and their city reduced to afhes Nay, I believe, rather than fubject themselves to this, they would have raised the whole fum firft demanded; and if the rebel chiefs had fhewn as little regard to that city as fome gentlemen now do in this houfe, they would have infifted on their firft demand; but by the addrefs of the magiftrates, and their agreeing to raise the money, the rebels were fatisfied with a little more than the third of their first demand; whereas, had the magiftrates obftinately refufed to raise any money upon the credit of the corporation, and put them to the trouble of raifing it by force of arms upon the inhabitants, how are we fure, that they would not immediately have given a loose to their banditti crew, and exposed the city to all manner of military execution? The leaft that could be expected, if they had been put to the trouble of raifing the money by force of arms, would have been, their raising a great deal more than they at first demanded; and how would they have raifed it? Certainly, by taxing those highest that had fhewn the greatest zeal for the government; fo that our most faithful friends would have been the greatest sufferers; and if there were any in that city who had ever fhewn a warm fide to the pretender's caufe, they would have been allowed to go fcot-free. It is therefore evident, Sir, that the magiftrates of Glasgow acted the most prudent part, both for the fervice of the government and the friends of the government; and that even tho' they fhould hereafter be obliged to fue for an act of parliament, to enable them to raise money by by a tax upon the inhabitants, for a government that had erected fuch a trophy, or given fuch a warning? If the corporation of Glafgow fhould be ruined, or the citizens C taxed for preventing it, would not every one that heard of it, thake his head and fay, this is the fruit of their zeal for the fupport of the present government? The honourable gentleman faid, that if the inhabitants of Glaf gow fhould be taxed, by authority D of parliament, for raifing the money extorted from the corporation on account of its loyalty, they would reflect upon the original cause of that tax: This I fhall readily admit: But what was the original caufe? Their loyalty, Sir, their fidelity, E and their steady adherence to revolution principles: It was this that expofed them to the refentment of the rebels: It was this that made the rebels extort fuch fums of money from them: It was this that was the original caufe of their fuffering, and F will by them be confidered as the original caufe of the tax impofed upon them: And as in this age we cannot expect, that men will be martyrs even for our present happy eftablishment, we may expect, that not only they, but many others, G from their example, will take care, by their future conduct, to remove this caufe, in order to prevent its expofing them to any future fufaring. Sir, the fatal confequences of our rejecting this motion are fo glaring, that I am furprized to hear it oppofed by any gentleman who has a regard for the liberties or religion of his country, or for our prefent happy establishment, upon which both fo intimately depend. The fum now moved for is due in juftice, in compaffion, in gratitude, to the city of Glasgow; and in prudence we ought to grant it as fpeedily and unanimoufly as poffible. That city is fo far from derogating from its merit by this application, that, I think, we are obliged to its friends for afking fo little, because they have thereby fhut the door against an application from any other place or perfon in the kingdom; and we are alfo obliged to them for having fo long delayed this application: While the nation was engaged in a heavy and expenfive war, and obliged to raise fuch vaft fums of money yearly for the fupport of that war, out of regard to the publick, they deferred making their juft demand, and from hence the noble lord, who fpoke. fome time fince, may fee the reason why they did not apply till the month of January or February latt. Surely, their regard for the diftreffes of the publick, ought not to be made an argument against them. Would it be fair in a man to refufe paying a juft debt, because his cre. ditor had delay'd making any demand till he was in a condition to pay it? Such arguments muft fhew, that gentlemen are at a loss what to fay against this motion. Therefore I fhall conclude with obferving, that as to what has been faid about the produce of the forfeited eftates, and the application of the civil lift revenue, it is quite foreign to the prefent queftion: We have been affured, from the best authority, that neither of thofe funds can anfwer the present demand; and when gentlemen move for an inquiry into. either, I fhall very freely give my 722 Op 360 Summary of the laft Seffion of Parliament. opinion upon the fubject; for I am Aug. -m, being fupported principally by the faid Mr. P-tt and Mr. P. and oppofed by the faid H-y Bft, and the L-d Eand by Sir J-n Hd C}} -t, last resolutions were oppofed likewise and Sir J-C-ft: Both thefe upon the report, and upon each a motion made for recommitting it, but upon a divifion the queftion was carried in the negative, upon the first by 171 to 93, and upon the fecond by 147 to 70; after which the quef [This JOURNAL to be continued in B tion was of courfe put for agreeing, our next.] A Summary of the most important T HO' the refolutions both of the C committee of fupply, and ways and means, were all agreed to by the house upon the report, yet the following refolutions of the committee of fupply were vigorously oppofed, viz. The first of Jan. 24, which was oppofed in the committee and D again upon the report, as being a great deal more than it ever had been, either in time of peace or war: That of March 20, upon which there was a long debate, the principal fpeakers for the refolution being Mr. P―m, Mr. S――r E G-1, Sir Ts R―n, &c. and those against it, L-d S--ge, L-d E-t, Sir F-s Dd, &c. but upon the divifion, the queftion was carried in favour of the refolution by 200 to 82; and next day upon the report, the queftion was F likewife upon a divifion carried in favour of the refolution by 129 to 49: The third refolution of April 14, on which there was a long debate, and a great many fpeakers, the chief of whom for the refolution were W--m P-tt, Efq; and H--y Pm, Efq; and against it, Hy A, Efq; and the L Et: And the fourth refolutid an of the fame day, which likewife occafioned a debate, the refolution B G and carried in both without a divilion. The refolution of April 21, was likewife long debated in the committee, by Col.ČI, C—s AEfq; W -m P-tt, Efq; Hy G-e Ln, Efq; C-s Md, Pm, Efq; J-s Od, Efq; Efq; and the L-d A--te, in favour of it; and by G-ge B-~s, Efq; H-y B-ft, Efq; and E-d Efq; the L-d E-t, R-t N-t, S1, Efq; against it; but upon ried in favour of the refolution withthe question's being put, it was carout a divifion, and agreed to upon the report without any new debate. These were all the refolutions of the |