Minifter who had received his political education at the feet of that Gamaliel in a fpeech from the Throne, at the opening of the feffion before the laft, the King was made to fay, by that Minifter, that the people expected unanimous exertions on the part of the Houfe: this affumption of the Tribunitian power by the Sovereign was truly alarming. When Auguftus Cæfar modeftly confented to become the tribune of the people, Rome gave up into the hands of that Prince the only remaining fhield the had to protect her liberty. The Tribunitian power in this country, as in ancient Rome, was wifely kept diftinct and feparate from the executive power: in this government it is conftitutional ly lodged where it ought naturally to be lodged, in the Houfe of Commons; and to that Houfe the people ought first to carry their complaints, even when they were directed against the meafures of the Houfe itfelf: but now the people were taught to pafs by the door of the Houfe of Commons, and fupplicate the throne for the protection of their liberties: hence the diffolution of the late Parliament, pretendedly in obedience to the fenfe of the people: from addreffes the fenfe of the peocie had been collected, and not from the Houfe of Commons. But he warned the people to beware of this double House of Commons, which Minifters were erecting on the foundation of their delufion; the Commons of England in Parliament af fembled; and the Commons of England In corporation and county meeting difperfed :- an artful Minifter would craftily play off the one after the other: he would make ufe of a pliant Houfe of Commons to opprefs the people; and he would make ufe of a deluded Houfe of Commons, difperfed through the country, to awe a refractory or independent collected Houfe of Commons. If the proceedings of the late Parliament had been really difa greeable to the people, why had they not petitioned that Houfe against thofe proceedings? If they had petitioned, and their prayer had been difregarded, or treated with contempt, the addreffes to the Throne for a diffolution of Parliament, would have been extremely proper: when public economy became the general wifh of the people, petitions were prefented, not to the Crown, but to the Houfe of Commons; but means had been contrived of late fo to delude the people, fo as to make them the very inftruments of the degradation of that branch of the Government; the deftruction of which must neceffarily

be attended with the lofs of their liberty. The East India Bill had been made the fpecious pretext of the diffolution; it was reprefented as a violent attack upon the franchifes of the people, an invasion of the royal prerogative, and a medium through which the late Minifters intended to have fecured to themselves a power paramount to every power in the kingdom. In defence of that bill he faid that it did not appear reasonable that the proprietors of Eaft India fitock should in future retain in their hands a power which they had fo grofsly abufed; by which they had plundered and rendered miferable many millions of perfons, who were under the protection of this nation; a power which had enabled them to enter into the most unjust and impolitic wars, the confequences of which brought very heavy expence upon this kingdom. As to the invafion of the royal prerogative, he was furprifed to hear that brought as a charge laid at the door of the Eaft-India Bill. The power of making war, and of carrying it on where and in what manner he pleafed, was certainly one of the firft and greatest prerogatives of the Crown; and yet the late Houfe of Commons not only addreifed the King not to carry on the war on the continent of America, but went fo far even as to vote that man an enemy to his country who should advise the carrying of it on, or who should affift in it; fo that though Sir Henry Clinton, for inftance, was bound by the mutiny act, to obey the King's orders, as Captain-General of the forces, and was even liable to be shot, if he should refuse to obey them, ftill the refolutions of the Houfe of Commons would attach upon him, and fufpend the whole fyftem of military fubordination; and yet that refolution had been fupported by the warmest friends of the prefent Minifter and by himself; and no one ever thought of making it a ground for the diffolution of the ParliamentAs to the patronage of the Eaft India Company, which it was faid Minifters intended to make the means of rendering themselves paramount to the crown, he obferved, that thofe who were at this moment in full poffeffion of that patronage (the Company) were very far from being independent of the Crown, fo far from being paramount to it; and he could affure the Houfe on his confcience, and on his honour, that the perfons who were to have been at the head of the Company's affairs, had been bufied in devising means by which they might have put it most effectually out of their

inveftigation the very account the papers called for by the motion referred, had been fubmitted, and which report, he underftood, would be before the House in a very few days.

Mr. Francis in reply faid, he could not conceive it poffible for any danger to arife to the publick or to the ftate, from laying papers on the table that referred to a treaty of peace that had been concluded with Tippo Saib fix months fince. Mr. Francis faid, he had various motions to make, the nature of which he opened to the House.

Mr. Dundas urged the impropriety of calling for any of the papers before the report of the Committee was upon the table. He affured the hon. Gentleman that the very papers he meant to call for had been demanded by the Committee, and that it would be found, the Committee had taken full notice of thofe papers in their report,

Major Scott rofe again, and answered feveral of the arguments urged by Mr. Francis, relative to fome of the entries in the Company's statement that referred to

EAST-INDIA COMPANY'S AFFAIRS.

Mr. Francis mentioned a variety of objections to the state of the company's affairs, that had been prefented to the Houfe, and then lay upon the table. Mr. Francis fpoke fo low, we could not hear him diftinctly. He concluded with moving for fome papers relative to Bengal.

Major Scott arofe to fecond the motion, but at the fame time gave Mr. Francis a hint, that feveral other particular papers relative to Bombay, would be neceffary to afford the information, he had declared he wifhed the Houfe to be poffeffed off. The Major therefore fubmitted it to Mr. Francis, whether he had not better generalife his motion, and extend it to Bombay as well as to Bengal.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, in the papers in queftion, it was poffible there might be matters highly improper to be laid before the publick: he hoped, therefore, the honourable gentleman would poftpone his motion for a day or two, till it had been examined, whether the papers the motion went to order, could be laid upon the table confiftently with the fafety of the ftate. He alfo fuggefted it to the Houfe how far it was advifeable to run before the report framed by a Committee of their own, to whofe

that from the nature of making out the accounts in India, tranfmitted to the Directors at home, and from which the ftatement in question was drawn, the expences are estimated for a year's fervice, and that of neceffity the expences in the prefent ftatement ftood at the highest war cftablishment; a peace therefore having been beyond a doubt concluded with Tippoo Saib, there would be a faving from the amount of thofe estimates, of fome millions of lacks of rupees.

Mr. Burke fpoke rather warmly refpecting the bare poffibility of there being fomething improper for the public eye in the papers called for, and faid, fuch a plea would operate in refufal of all information whatever.

Mr. Dempsler affured Mr. Francis, he would be perfectly fatisfied with the report of the Committee, when it should be prefented to the Houfe. Mr. Dempfter gave notice of his intention to bring for ward a motion respecting the finances of Great Britain, and its commerce, naviga tion, &c. in a few days.

Mr. Francis agreed to poftpone his mo tions.

Mr. Watfon read the report from the Committee on the hat, manufacturers petition, and moved" that it be referred to a Committee of the whole Houfe on Monday next.

After

PARLIAMENTARY REFORM.

Mr. Milne addreffed himself to Mr. Alderman Sawbridge, and as a friend to the reform, he begged he would confent to put it off till next feffion, when he thought it might be brought on with much greater profpect of fuccels.

Mr. Wilberforce joined in the request on the fame ground.

Mr. Sawbridge faid he wifhed first to hear whether the Chancellor of the Exchequer had any propofition to make on the fubject.-Upon this

Mr. Pitt role: he faid he was ftill of the fame mind, that he had been of fince the beginning of the feflion: he did not at this moment fee any profpect of fuccefs from the hon. Gentleman's motion; if he did, he certainly would call upon him to proceed with it: but this he would pledge himself to the Houfe to do to bring on the business himself early in the next feffion of Parliament: he was a decided and unalterable friend to a reform; and though the motion which the hon. Magiftrate intended to make this evening, fhould fail, ftill he would hold himself bound to bring the bufinefs on early in the next feffion, but without pledging himself at this moment to the fpecific propofition that he should make; in the choice of which, he fhould be guided by his judgment, and fhould prefer that which should hold out to him the greatest profpect of fuccefs.

Mr. Fox faid he had not heard any reafon that could convince him that this was not a favourable moment for bringing on the bufinefs; on the contrary, from a number of concurring circumstances, he was perfuaded, that if the right honourable Gentleman was fincere in his profeffions of attachment to the caufe of reform, he was perfuaded that this was the moment when it might be propofed with a certainty of fuccefs.

Mr. Sawbridge was of the fame opinion with Mr. Fox; for he faid that gentlemen being juft returned from their elections, had fresh in their minds the inftructions of their conftituents; and therefore not a moment ought to be loft in bringing forward the business of reform, particularly as the minifter was a friend to it, and as he was fupported by a majority which boasted much of fpeaking the fenfe of the people and as the fenfe of the people was for a reform, those who spoke VOL. VI. June 1784.

that he fhould fubmit to the Houte. He then moved" that a Committee be appointed to enquire into the state of the reprefen tation of the Commons of Great Britain in Parliament."

Mr. Alderman Newnham feconded the motion; which was opposed by

Sir Richard Hill, merely because he thought it not well timed. He made a moft eccentric fpeech, the alpha and omega of which were quotations from the bible..

Lord North oppofed the motion, not be caufe he thought it ill timed, but because he thought it ought never to have been made. He fhewed that the idea of renovating the conftitution, as the reforming it had been called, would be the ruin of the conftitution; for if gentlemen were to go back to the early age of the conftitution, and adopt the fyftem of those times, they would make themfelves little more than flaves, as in the former days the Commons were held of little confequer ce in the government, when there was ten times more monarchy, and twenty times more aristocracy than at prefent. Some people wanted to extend the right of election to every male adult; and in that they made true liberty confift, faying that to be free is to be governed by laws to which every man gives his confent either in.perfon or by his reprefentative: but if this was exclufively a ftate of freedom, there never was a free people on the face of the earth, becaufe there never was a people where every male adult had the right of voting. What he called freedom was, ,when the people were governed by equal laws, which equally bound the rich and poor, the great and finall. The act of Henry VIth. which reftrained the right of election to freeholders poffeffing 40s. a year in land, left the people in a much worfe ftate than they are at prefent; for 40s. in that reign contained in the first place as much filver as is now in 41. and with refpect to the price of things which were to be purchased with that fum, it was equal to more than 30t. of our prefent money; fo that by admitting 40s. freeholders to vote now, the number of electors had been made almost tenfold to what it was in Henry the Sixth's reign, and in the days of Henry the Eighth, the number was again greatly enlarged, by the franchife given to feveral new boroughs to fend Members to Parliament. The right of being reprefented did not appear from experience to be abfolutely necellary LII

for