In Paris, during this year, the national assembly pursued its legislative labours. All ecclesiastical possessions had, at the close of the preceding year, been declared national property, and the reformers soon after laid their hands on the domains of the crown: with the exception of some castles, which were to be left to the king, the rest were transferred to the state. To facilitate the sale of the possessions of the crown and the church, paper money was created, which was at first ordered to last only six years, but which was subsequently declared current money—as good as gold. These measures were followed by the suppression of all orders and cloisters; by the suppression of the parliaments; by an entire change of the judicial system; by the admission of Jews to the rights of citizens; by the abolition of all the titles of the noblesse, coats of arms, and decorations of the order of chivalry; by an order that the estates of Protestants who fled from France on the iniquitous repeal of the edict of Nantz, should be restored; by a division of France into eighty-three departments, subdivided into two hundred and forty-nine districts, each of which was composed of from three to five cantons; and by a change in the national representation, which was made to harmonize with this new division. To all these decrees the king, who had no alternative, gave his unqualified sanction, and in return the national assembly fixed the civil list of the king at 25,000,000 of livres, besides the possession of castles of pleasure. Harmony seemed to be restored, and to establish it a festival of confederation was ordained, which, on the first anniversary of the capture of the Bastille, was held in the field of Mars, when the king and 500,000 Frenchmen swore on the altar of the country to observe the new constitution. But notwithstanding all this show of harmony, a secret fermentation remained. The abolition of titles and the insignia of rank inflamed the anger of the aristocrats, and the manifestations of their wrath increased the hatred of the commons. A new emigration took place, and officers, as well as nobles, fled for their lives. The emigrants assembled in arms at Coblentz, Worms, and Ettenheim, from whence, maintaining a close connexion with their friends or dependants at home, they cast firebrands into the interior of the kingdom. Nor did the priesthood quietly submit to the civil constitution which the national assembly imposed upon them: they refused to take the oath, and stirred up many against public authority and the new constitution. The friends of liberty were alarmed and exasperated at the open and secret preparations of this twofold and implacable opposition. In this state of irritation all that was known was friend and enemy; and these relations effected the triumph of the fanatic and the fall of the moderate. One of the first who fell was Necker, to whose counsels the nation was indebted for most of the concessions of the king, and consequently for its success: Necker lost all his popularity, and fled from a country which he had contributed to ruin. The king, also, soon again declined in popular favour; the sentiments of his heart did not accord with his public declarations, and this becoming manifest, the popular party was disquieted and enraged. Mirabeau, whose ardour for revolution had begun to cool, and who now saw that the constitution was far too democratic for a monarchy, leagued secretly with the fallen court, and laboured with all the force of his popularity to raise it from its degraded state, and to recover for the crown a portion of strength necessary for its existence. But it was too late. Before this, clubs had been formed among the members of the national assembly, in order that better directed and more energetic efforts might be made in securing the objects of the revolution. Pre-eminent among these clubs was that of the deputies from Bretagne, which held its sessions in the suppressed cloister of the Jacobins, from which cloister the members of the club received the name of Jacobins; a name which finally obtained a bad celebrity in the world's history. Similar clubs were also formed in most of the important cities of the kingdom, which maintained, with that at Paris, the closest union of sentiments and efforts. The bonds of society in France were, in truth, loosened, and no human skill could restore them: the bridle had been taken from the mouth of the fiery steed, and no human arm could arrest his headlong course. Marat, Danton, and Robespierre-men of blood—with others of the same stamp, had already made their execrable names known in the clubs of the Cordeliers and Jacobins, which finally united, and these were the men who were, for a brief period, to rule the destinies of France.



PROGRESS OF REVOLUTIONARY PRINCIPLES IN ENGLAND.

It has been well said that the season of hope and delusion ought now to have been over—that whatever right-hearted and right-headed Englishmen might have thought of the French revolution at the opening of the States-general in May, 1789, they ought not at the close of this year to have regarded it with any other sentiments than those of horror, disgust, and pity. But "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft." Although it was as clear as the sun at noon-day, that the events which had taken place in France were but the precursors of some horrible catastrophe—that the French regenerators sought not wholesome and legitimate reformations, but the ruin of their country, yet it is a lamentable fact that their admirers in England were now greatly on the increase. On the very day that the festival of confederation took place in Paris, six hundred gentlemen in England assembled to celebrate the event which it commemorated. The chairman of this assembly was Earl Stanhope, who acted as president of the Revolution Society in London: a society which, after extending its ramifications throughout the country, entered into an active correspondence not only with the National Assembly, but with the societies in all parts of France, instituted for the promotion of revolutionary principles. Among the associates of this society were men of all ranks and professions—men who could lay no claim to a practical acquaintance with politics, or the working of governments, and who knew little or nothing of human nature. Happily for the country, however. Burke and other writers put forth all their strength to show the danger which lurked in the Revolution Societies of England, and government opposed a mighty barrier to the progress of their dangerous principles. These wrought the salvation of the country. The most powerful antagonist to these societies, who worked by means of the press, was Burke, who, toward the end of this year, published his great work on the subject, entitled "Reflections on the Revolution, &c." a work which sounded the knell of the old Whig confederacy. Some of this party yielded at once to the force of his arguments, while others retreated as they saw the development of the principles against which they were directed. In fact, the result of this work was to make the old appellations of Whig and Tory assume a widely different meaning from that which had hitherto been attached to them: by the term Whig was now understood the favourers of such democratic principles as existed in France; by that of Tory, those who were alarmed at the progress of the French revolution. The bold and uncompromising stand which Burke made against these principles led to a final rupture between him and his old friend Fox, and consequently to the permanent separation of the great Whig party: from this time there was a division in the camp; a breach which could not be healed.



WAR IN INDIA.

During this state of affairs in Europe, a war which directly concerned England broke out in India. Tippoo Sultaun, whose hatred towards the English was mortal, in the year 1789 sent a secret messenger to France, to invite the French government to send six thousand of their best troops to the Carnatic, with which he engaged to drive the British forces out of every part of Hindustan. This messenger was favourably received by the people, and even some of the king's ministers were in favour of the project. Louis, however, had not forgotten the lesson he had been taught by interfering in the American war—an act for which he was still indeed suffering—and he turned a deaf ear to the plausible representations which were made to him in order to obtain his consent. But before Tippoo received an answer from the French monarch, he had commenced operations, by attacking the Rajah of Travancore, who had long been the close ally of the English. Before the end of the year 1789 Tippoo had overrun and took possession of the greater part of the rajah's dominions, and subsequently he defeated a detachment of the company's army, under Lieutenant-Colonel Floyd. His progress, however, was soon stopped. The Bengal government, having formed a close alliance with the Mahrattas, the Nizam of the Deccan, and other native powers, raised two armies; one in the Carnatic of 15,000 men, under General Medows, and another of 7,500 men, in the presidency of Bombay, under General Abercrombie. Thus threatened, Tippoo evacuated the Travancore country, and retreated to his strong capital, Seringapatam. But he had provoked the war, and it was not to close with his retreat. In June, 1790, Medows, with the Carnatic army, marched towards Seringapatam, and took several important fortresses in his route. Medows, however, was obliged to retrace his steps by intelligence that Tippoo had again burst into the Carnatic, and was carrying fire and sword to the walls of Madras. Tippoo was soon obliged to retire beyond the mountains; and in the meantime General Abercrombie, with the Bombay army, landed at Telli-cherry, and reduced all the places which the enemy possessed on the Malabar coast, in which he was aided by the Nairs, and the other petty Hindu rajahs, who were glad of an opportunity of rescuing themselves from Tippoo Sultaun's rule. In the end the Rajah of Travancore was re-established in his dominions, and then the campaign closed: but the war was not yet over.



MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

The new parliament assembled on the 25th of November. In his speech his majesty expressed great satisfaction at the amicable adjustment of the late disputes with Spain about Nootka Sound; observed that since the last session of Parliament a foundation had been laid for a pacification between Austria and the Porte, and that a separate peace had been concluded between Russia and Sweden; noticed the hostilities which had broken out in India; acquainted the house of commons that the expenses of the armament, together with the estimates for the ensuing year would be laid before them; and called particular attention to the state of the province of Quebec. The address was carried in both houses with large majorities; though ministers were censured by opposition, in the lords and in the commons, for the convention which they had made with Spain. On the 3rd of December, when copies of this convention were laid before the two houses of parliament, it was urged in the commons that more papers ought to be produced, and on the 13th of the same month Mr. Grey made a motion for all that related to the affair of Nootka Sound. This motion was negatived by a majority of nearly two to one; and on the following day Mr. Duncombe, one of the members for Yorkshire, after mentioning that trade and manufactures had suffered but little during the late dispute with Spain, moved an address to his majesty on the late successful negociations with the court of Madrid, which was carried by a still larger majority. A similar address was moved in the lords by the Duke of Montrose, when the Marquess of Lansclowne took occasion to reprobate the convention in very strong language. The marquess contended that the Spanish nation had an indisputable right to the whole of the American coast on which Nootka Sound is situated; a right which was acknowledged in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Overlooking the provocation which Spain had given, and her previously concerted plan to enter upon a war in conjunction with France, he said that ministers had, in the arrogance of power, insulted the present weakness of that country, and inflicted a wound which would rankle in the heart of the Spanish people. The marquess also argued that they had alienated and made enemies of Prance, Russia, Denmark, and Sweden, as well as of Spain. He also argued, that by the late treaty of France, which was an infringement of the old Methuen treaty with Portugal, ministers, had alienated the court of Lisbon, and that had war taken place, the Portuguese, Venetians, and Neapolitans, would have joined the Spaniards against England. Lord Rawdon spoke on the same side; hinting a suspicion that our fleet had been destined for the Baltic, while we were bullying Spain, which had not offered any insult to this country; and that this farce had been carried on until the King of Sweden had made peace with Russia. The convention was defended by Lord Grenville, and the address was carried by a majority of forty-three. Another debate took place on this subject on the 15th of December, when Pitt gave in, in a separate account, the expenses of the late armament; intimating at the same time that some of those expenses, which arose out of the engaging an additional number of seamen, must be continued, as these seamen could not be all disbanded at once. The expenses incurred by the late armament, and the funds necessary to keep up the additional number of seamen, he said, was L3,133,000, which he thought might be defrayed without entailing any permanent charge upon the revenue. He proposed to defray it by temporary taxes, assisted by L500,000, which he contemplated taking from the unclaimed dividends lying in the Bank of England, the total amount of which he estimated at L680,000. This latter proposition, however, excited such alarm in the great chartered companies and to the mercantile world in general, that Pitt was obliged to abandon it, and to accept of a loan of L500,000 from the Bank without interest, so long as a floating balance to that amount should remain in the hands of the cashier. The bulk of the money required was raised by an increase of the duties upon sugar, British and foreign spirits, malt, game licences, and by an increase of the assessed taxes, except the commutation and land-taxes, part of which were to continue for two years, and the rest for four only. Pitt also introduced, in aid of the expenses of the armament, a variety of new regulations, to prevent the evasions and frauds practised in the taxes upon receipts and bills of exchange: these were to be permanent.



CHAPTER XVIII.

{GEORGE III. 1791-1792}

Debate on the War in India..... Dispute with Russia..... Bill for the Regulation of Canada..... Slave-trade Abolition bill..... Catholic Relief Bill, etc...... Bill to amend the Law on Libels..... Financial Measures..... Impeachment of Warren Hastings..... Parliament prorogued..... Progress of the Revolution in France..... State of Public Opinion in England, etc.

{A.D. 1791}



DEBATE ON THE WAR IN INDIA.

Soon after the Christmas recess, Mr. Francis, having first eulogised Tippoo Sultaun, and contended that it was both impolitic and unjust to think of extending our territories in Hindustan, moved thirteen resolutions for the purpose of censuring the origin and preventing the continuance of the war, which he represented as having been begun without provocation, as being ruinously expensive, and as not likely to be productive of any great advantage. Pitt and Dundas vindicated the war, and showed to demonstration that the war originated in Tippoo's restless ambition, hostility to the British, and long-premeditated design of subduing Travancore, which would open to him an easy entrance into the Carnatic, and thus enable him to attack Madras and all our possessions in that part of the East Indies. A war on our part, it was argued, was therefore necessary, unless we wished to sacrifice both our honour and interest, and to forfeit all respect among the native powers. The feelings of the house were with Pitt and Dundas, especially as great confidence was placed in the moderation and justice of Lord Cornwallis, the present Governor-general of India, and hence Francis let his thirteen resolutions drop without a division. Seconded by the feelings of the house, a few days after, Dundas moved three counter resolutions; namely, that it appeared to the house that the attacks made by Tippoo Sultaun on the lines of Travancore were unwarranted and unprovoked infractions of the treaty of Maugalore, concluded in 1784; that the conduct of the governor-general, in determining to prosecute the war against Tippoo for these attacks on Travancore, was highly meritorious; and that the treaties entered into with the Nizam and with the Mahrattas were calculated to add vigour to the operations of the war, and to promote the future tranquillity of India, and that the faith of the British nation stood pledged for the performance of the engagements contained in the said treaties. These resolutions were adopted by the house without a division.



DISPUTE WITH RUSSIA.

In proposing to continue the additional number of seamen which had been engaged for the expected war with Spain, Pitt had said that there were circumstances in the present situation of Europe, which made it necessary to keep up a naval armament, for a time, of more than ordinary extent. This had reference to the warlike attitude of Russia. At the congress of Reichen-bach, the defensive alliance had proposed to the Czarina that she should accede to the peace which they were negociating with Austria, and that all conquests should be restored. This she flatly refused; but subsequently, being deprived of lier ally, and seeing that it was at present impossible for her to subjugate Turkey to her sway, she offered to restore all her acquisitions, except the city and dependencies of Oczakow, an important place, commanding the mouth of the Dnieper, at a distance of less than two hundred miles off the Turkish capital. As this offer exhibited an inclination on the part of the Czarina to re-commence the war at some future period, the allies projected a more effectual interference, and on the 28th of March Pitt delivered a message from the king on the subject. His majesty acquainted his faithful commons, that his endeavours, in conjunction with his allies, to accomplish a pacification with Russia and the Porte had proved abortive; and that the consequences which might arise from the continuance of the war being important to his own interests, as well as those of his allies and to Europe in general, he judged it requisite, in order to add weight to his representations, to augment his naval forces, relying on the zeal and affection of the house of commons to make good such expenses as might be incurred. After delivering this message, Pitt moved an address to the king, thanking him for it, and promising him the support of the house. In doing so the minister represented, that, if Russia should be allowed to gather any material strength at the expense of Turkey, the effect would be injurious to the interests of all Europe; and that the interference of England was indispensable for the preservation of that balance of power, which all statesmen and men of all parties held to be essential for the security of Europe. This doctrine was very ancient, and had long been the doctrine of both Whig and Tory, but it was now despised by the opposition, who, to a man, became the champions of the Czarina. It was argued that it would be folly to sacrifice all the advantages of our immense trade with Russia for the sake of a Turkish fortress; that neither wisdom nor policy could justify Great Britain in going to war to preserve a barbarian power, which for the sake of religion, justice, and humanity ought to be utterly extirpated; and that, as we had received no injury from Russia, all hostile interference on our part was wholly unnecessary. On the other hand, it was argued by ministers that the aggrandisement of Russia at the expense of Turkey would injure both our commercial and political interests; and that the possession of Oczakow would facilitate the acquisition, not only of Constantinople, but of Alexandria and Lower Egypt. The address was carried, and several resolutions afterwards moved against the armament were rejected by large majorities. The armament therefore continued, and the Czarina was soon compelled to give up Oczakow with all her other acquisitions in Turkey, acquisitions which had cost her many thousand men to obtain.



BILL FOR THE REGULATION OF CANADA.

When Canada became a British colony the king had promised its inhabitants the benefits of the British constitution. Since that time the French settlers in that country, and the Canadians, had been joined by many British subjects, and by loyal emigrants from America, who were anxious to secure the advantages which the royal promise held out to them. Ministers had for some time directed their attention to the subject, and on the 4th of March Pitt moved for leave to bring in a bill for regulating the government of Canada, and entered into a minute detail of every provision which he meant to propose. He proposed to divide Canada into two provinces, Upper and Lower, and to establish distinct legislatures; the division being meant to separate the parts which were chiefly inhabited by French Canadians, from those inhabited by more recent settlers. The legislature of each province was to consist of a council and house of assembly. The members of the council were to hold their seats for life, with a reservation of power to the crown for annexing to certain honours an hereditary right of sitting in the council; and the members of the assembly were to be chosen by freeholders possessing landed property to the amount of forty shillings, or occupiers of houses worth twenty pounds per annum. The habeas corpus act was to be rendered a permanent law of the colony; and a provision was to be made for the Protestant clergy by an allotment of lands. Appeals were to be made to the privy-council in the first instance, and from thence to the house of lords. The British government gave up the right of taxation, asserting only that of regulating external commerce: no taxes were to be imposed except such as were necessary for this regulation. This bill was read twice; it passed the committee, and the report was received by the house, before any disapprobation of it was expressed. On the second consideration of the report, however, Fox condemned its every principle. He observed, that the object of all popular assemblies was that the people should be fully and fairly represented, but as the assembly of one province was to consist of sixteen, and the other of thirty, the people were deluded by a mockery of representation. Fox also objected to the representatives being elected for the term of seven years, and contended that there should be annual, or at most triennial elections. Even in England, he said, where the frequent return of elections was attended with great inconvenience, the propriety of the septennial bill might justly be doubted. Fox further objected, that the legislative councils were unlimited as to numbers by any other restriction than the pleasure of the king, to whom a power was reserved of annexing to certain honorary and titular distinctions an hereditary right of sitting in council. As to hereditary honours, he remarked, as a general proposition, it was difficult to say whether they were good or not, but he saw no good in their being introduced into a country where they had hitherto been unknown. It might not be wise to destroy them where they existed, but it was unwise to create them where they did not exist. He could not account for this step, unless it was that Canada having formerly been a French colony, there might be an opportunity of reviving those distinctions, the loss of which some gentlemen so deplored, and to revive in the west that spirit of chivalry which had fallen into so much disgrace in a neighbouring country. In the course of his speech Fox made one unhappy allusion to the extinction of nobility in France, and its forced revival by us in Canada: "nobility," he said, "stunk in the nostrils of the people of America." At this time, indeed, Fox and his party embraced every opportunity of extolling the "glorious revolution" in France, whence, on the re-commitment of the bill, Burke again sounded the trumpet of alarm at that event. In enlarging upon the importance of the act which they were now about to perform, he said, "The first consideration was the competency of the house to such an act." "A body of rights," he continued, "commonly called the Rights of Man, had been lately imported from a neighbouring kingdom; the principle of which code was, that all men were, by nature, free and equal in respect of those rights. Now, if this code were admitted, he argued, the power of the house could extend no further than to call the Canadians together to choose a constitution for themselves. But the practical effects of such a system might be seen in St. Domingo and the other French islands. Until they heard of the Rights of Man they were flourishing and happy, but as soon as this system arrived among them, Pandora's box, replete with every mortal evil, seemed to fly open; hell itself to yawn; and every demon of mischief to overspread the country. Blacks rose against blacks, whites against blacks—and each against the other in murderous hostility: subordination was destroyed, the cords of society snapped asunder, and every man appeared to thirst for the blood of his neighbour. The mother country, France, not receiving any pleasure in contemplating this image of herself reflected in her child, sent out a body of troops to restore order and tranquillity. But these troops, well instructed in the new principles, immediately upon their arrival felt themselves bound to become parties in the universal rebellion; and, like most of their brethren at home, began the assertion of their freeborn rights by murdering their own general! Should such an example induce us to ship off for Canada a cargo of the Rights of Man?" Burke next proceeded to describe the deplorable condition of France itself, and to comment on the conduct of the national assembly towards their monarch. In the midst of his speech he was called to order by Mr. Baker, and a scene of indescribable confusion ensued, and much time was wasted in violent altercation: one side of the house contending that Burke was in order, and the other that he was out of order. In the midst of this discord Fox sarcastically said, that he conceived his honourable friend could hardly be said to be out of order, since it seemed to him that this was a day of privilege, upon which any gentleman might abuse any government he chose, whether it had any reference or not to the question before the house. Nobody had said a word about the French revolution, but nevertheless his right honourable friend had risen up and abused that event. Burke had certainly as much right to abase the revolution, as Fox and his party had to extol it; and he attempted to explain why he thought that he was in order, but the roar of voices which was raised from the opposition benches drowned his voice, so that he was compelled to sit down. Lord Sheffield now rose and moved, "That dissertations on the French constitution, and to read a narrative of transactions in France, are not regular or orderly on the question before the house." Fox seconded this motion, and this gave rise to the utter disruption of the friendship which had subsisted between him and Burke:—there had been heart-burnings before, arising from a difference of opinion on the subject of the French revolution, but now their political union was brought to a close. After Pitt had defended Burke, and declared that he should give his negative to the motion, Fox rose to defend his former sentiments respecting the French revolution, and repeated that he thought it, upon the whole, one of the most glorious events in the history of mankind. As for the Rights of Man, which his right honourable friend had ridiculed as visionary, he contended that they were the basis and foundation of every rational constitution. The rights of the people, he said, were recognized in our statute-book, and no prescription could supersede, no accident could remove or obliterate them. This at one time had been the doctrine of his friend, who had said, with great energy and emphasis, that he could not draw a bill of indictment against a whole people. He was sorry to find, however, that his right honourable friend had learned to draw such a bill of indictment, and moreover to crowd it with all the technical epithets which disgraced our statute-book: such as false, malicious, wicked, by the instigation of the devil, and the like. He added, that having been taught by his right honourable friend that no revolt of a nation was caused without provocation, he could not help rejoicing at the success of a revolution resting upon the same basis with our own—the Rights of Man: no book his friend could write, no words he could utter, could ever induce him to change or abandon his opinion; he must differ with his friend upon that subject toto colo. Throughout the whole of his speech Fox alternately rebuked and complimented Burke, and while he vindicated his own opinion he questioned the consistency of his friend. Fox even ventured to speak contemptuously of Burke's book on the subject of the French revolution, and to assert that he had written it in haste, and without due information. His whole speech, in fact was ungenerous in the highest degree, whence it is no wonder that when Burke rose to reply it was under the influence of strongly excited feelings. Having touched upon the main question, and vindicated his conduct in putting the country on its guard against the dangerous doctrines which prevailed in France, and which had found many advocates in England, he complained of being treated with harshness and malignity—of being personally attacked from a quarter where he least expected it, and that after a close intimacy of twenty-two years. His whole conduct, words, and writings, he said, had not only been misrepresented and arraigned in the severest terms, but confidential conversations had been brought forward in order to prove his political inconsistency. He had been accused of writing and speaking on the subject of the French revolution without due information, but nevertheless he was ready to meet Fox, hand to hand, and foot to foot, in a fair and temperate discussion relative to that event. It was his imperative duty, he exclaimed, to speak upon French affairs, and to point out the danger of extolling, upon all occasions, that preposterous edifice, the French constitution; an edifice which the right honourable gentleman had termed the most stupendous and glorious which had been erected on the foundation of human integrity in any time or country. Our own government, he continued, was in danger, for there were political clubs in every quarter, meeting and voting resolutions of an alarming tendency. Dangerous doctrines were also promulgated from the pulpit, and infamous libels on the British constitution were everywhere circulated. There might not, indeed, be any immediate clanger, since we had a king in full power, ministers responsible for their conduct, a country blessed with an opposition of great strength, and a common people that seemed to be united with the gentlemen; but, nevertheless, there was cause for circumspection, as in France there were 300,000 men up in arms, who would be glad to intermeddle, and as a season of scarcity might arrive, when the low intriguers and contemptible clubbists, which abounded on every hand, might rise in revolt against the government. Burke again adverted to the unkindness with which he had been treated by his old associate, and remarked, that though he had frequently differed with him there had still been no interruption of personal friendship. But, he added, although at his time of life it might not be discreet to provoke enemies or to lose friends, yet if his steady adherence to the British constitution placed him in such a dilemma, he would risk all, and, as public duty required, would exclaim with his last breath, "Fly from the French constitution!" Fox here whispered that there was no loss of friendship, but Burke rejoined—"Yes there is: I know the price of my conduct; I have done my duty at the price of my friend; our friendship is at an end!" Burke then addressing himself to the two great rivals, Pitt and Fox, expressed a hope that whether they hereafter moved in the political hemisphere, as two flaming antagonist meteors, or walked like brethren hand-in-hand, they would preserve and cherish the British constitution against innovation and new-fangled theories. Fox rose to reply, but the tears trickled down his cheeks, and emotion for some time impeded his utterance. He felt the loss of his friend: yet, on recovering himself, while he made an eloquent appeal to the remembrance of the past, and to the reciprocal affection which had subsisted between them, as dear as that between father and son, he still gave utterance to some bitter sarcasms, and repeated some of his objectionable remarks. Rejoinders on both sides followed, and the dispute was renewed on the 11th of May, the house being again in committee on the Quebec Bill, but no concessions were made on either side, and the connexion between these illustrious men were dissolved for ever.

They stood aloof; the scars remaining— Like cliffs which had been rent asunder.

The Quebec Bill, which had given rise to this dispute, was finally carried through the house of commons, with some amendments, on the 18th of May; and it subsequently passed the lords, though not without much opposition, and obtained the royal assent at the close of the session.



SLAVE-TRADE ABOLITION BILL.

On the 18th of April, the evidence on the slave-trade being closed, Mr. Wilberforce moved "for a bill to prevent the further importation of African negroes into the British colonies." He introduced this motion with a copious and convincing display of arguments in its favour, grounded on the principles of justice, humanity, and Christianity, but though it was supported by Pitt and Fox, self-interest prevailed: the motion was negatived by one hundred and sixty-three against eighty-eight. The advocates of humanity, however, completed at this time the establishment of the Sierra Leone Company, by which they proposed to introduce free labour and Christianity into Africa. A bill was brought in for this purpose by the excellent Henry Thornton, and it passed through both houses without opposition.



CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL, ETC.

During this session Mr. Mitford moved for a committee of the whole house, to enable him to bring in "a bill to relieve, upon conditions, and under restrictions, persons called Protestant Catholic Dissenters, from certain penalties, to which Papists are by law subject." A reform in the penal statutes was at this time peculiarly called for, since a large body of Catholic Dissenters had recently formally protested against the temporal power of the pope, and his right to excommunicate princes, or to absolve subjects from their oath of allegiance; and had likewise disavowed the lawfulness of breaking faith with heretics, and the power claimed by their priests, of exempting men from moral obligations. The principles of the bill were generally approved, and it passed both houses without opposition: the bishops themselves expressing sentiments in its favour. Encouraged by this liberality of parliament, the church of Scotland transmitted from the general assembly a petition praying for the relief of the Test Act, as far as it applied to that country; and subsequently Sir Gilbert Elliot made a motion on the subject, but it was rejected by a large majority.



BILL TO AMEND THE LAW ON LIBELS.

On the 20th of May, Fox brought in a bill for empowering juries to try the question of law as well as fact, in prosecutions for libel. This subject was debated as a constitutional right, and not as a party question, and having obtained the support of Pitt, it passed the commons with very little opposition. In the lords, however, it was objected to as an innovation on the laws of the kingdom, and though warmly supported by Lords Camden, Grenville, and Loughborough, the motion for the second reading was negatived.



FINANCIAL MEASURES.

Previous to the introduction of his financial measures, Pitt proposed the appointment of a committee to inquire what had been the amount of the income and expenditure during the last five years, and what they might be expected to be in future; and also what alterations had occurred in the amount of the national debt since the 5th of January, 1786. This committee made its report on the 10th of May, when it appeared that the annual income had been L16,030,285, and the expenditure, including L1,000,000 for liquidating the national debt, L15,909,178, thereby leaving an excess of the income over the expenditure to the amount of L61,107. In his account of the state of finances on the 18th of May, Pitt referred to this report as a proof of their flourishing condition. Sheridan, however, still questioned the correctness of the figures; and on the 3rd of June he moved forty resolutions, calculated to discredit the management of the finances, and to show that he could have taken—spendthrift as he was—better care of the public money. These resolutions were all rejected; and ministers brought forward sixteen counter resolutions, which went to prove that the finances had never been so well managed before, and that there was every prospect, not only of keeping the expenditure within the limits of the income, but of reducing the national debt. This was visionary; but, at all events, Pitt was enabled to provide for the services of the year without a loan or any additional taxes. On a subsequent day, Dundas laid a flattering account of the finances in India before the commons; the revenues there, he stated, amounted to L7,000,000, and after defraying all expenses, there was left a clear surplus of nearly L1,500,000. His statement was questioned by Paul Benfield who had recently returned from India, and who asserted that he could prove it to be erroneous, but for the late period of the session.



IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.

Early in this session a question arose, whether an impeachment by the house of commons did not remain in statu quo, notwithstanding the intervention of a dissolution of parliament. Upon the solution of this question it depended whether the present parliament could take up the proceedings against Hastings where they had been left by the last, or whether they must be commenced anew. Much discussion arose upon the question; lawyers and members of parliament alike being at issue upon it; but Burke finally succeeded in carrying this motion:—"That it appears that an impeachment by this house, &c, against Warren Hastings, Esq., late Governor-general of Bengal, for sundry high crimes and misdemeanors, is now depending." The trial, therefore, was to be resumed at the point where it was left by the recent parliament; and in order to shorten it, on the 14th of February, Burke moved "that, in consideration of the length of time which has already elapsed since carrying up the impeachment against Warren Hastings, Esq., it appears to this house to be proper, for the purpose of obtaining substantial justice with as little delay as possible, to proceed to no other parts of the said impeachment than those on which the managers of the prosecution have already closed their evidence; excepting only such parts of the impeachment as relate to the contracts, pensions, and allowances." This motion was carried without a division; but the resolution of the commons, that an impeachment did not cease with the dissolution of parliament, was strongly contested in the house of lords; and it was not till the 16th of May that their lordships agreed to proceed with the trial. On that day Lord Porchester moved, "that their lordships do now proceed with the trial;" and this motion being carried by a large majority, a message was sent to the house of commons that they were ready to resume proceedings. The charge respecting contracts, pensions, allowances, frauds, and extortions, was opened by Mr. St. John on the 23rd of May, and was gone through in three days. The prosecution closed its evidence on the 30th of May; and when the court broke up, the managers proposed an address to the king, praying him not to prorogue parliament until the trial was finished. This was negatived; and Hastings seeing that he could not expect to bring his defence before the court during the present session, begged to be allowed one day for stating what he deemed of importance respecting the further progress of the trial. This request was readily granted; and on the 2nd of June he delivered a long and able discourse, vindicating his administration in India, and entering at large into the principles which had actuated his conduct. He finally appealed to his accusers in the following energetic peroration:—"To the commons of England, in whose name I am arraigned for desolating the provinces of their dominion in India, I dare to reply, that they are, and their representatives annually tell them so, the most flourishing of all the states in India. It was I who made them so! The valour of others acquired—I enlarged, giving shape and consistency to the dominion which you hold there. I preserved it. I sent forth its armies with an effectual but economical hand, through unknown and hostile regions, to the support of your other possessions; to the retrieval of one from dishonour and degradation, and of another from utter loss and subjection. I maintained the wars which were of your formation or that of others, not of mine. I won one member of the great Indian confederacy from it by an act of seasonable restitution; with another I maintained a secret intercourse, and converted him into a friend; a third I drew off by diversion and negociation, and employed him as an instrument of peace. When you cried out for peace, and your cries were heard by those who were the object of it, I resisted this and every other species of counteraction by rising in my demands, and accomplished a peace, a lasting and I hope an everlasting one, with one great state; and I, at least, afforded the efficient means by which a peace, if not so durable, more seasonable at least, was accomplished with another. I gave you all, and you have rewarded me with confiscation, disgrace, and a life of impeachment. I am, above all things, desirous that your lordships should come to an immediate decision upon the evidence before you. But if the shortness of time should prevent you from complying with this, my earnest desire, and the trial must, of necessity, and to my unspeakable sorrow, be prolonged to another session, then, my lords, I trust you will not consider me, by anything I have said, as precluded from adopting such means of defence as my counsel may judge most advisable for my interest. I am so confident of my own innocence, and have such a perfect reliance upon the honour of your lordships, that I am not afraid to submit to judgment upon the evidence which has been adduced on the part of the prosecution." After this plea of general merit, in extenuation of specific charges, their lordships passed a resolution to proceed with the trial on the first Tuesday in the next session of parliament.



PARLIAMENT PROROGUED.

Parliament was prorogued by the king in person on the 10th of June. His majesty expressed great satisfaction at the zeal with which the two houses had applied themselves to the consideration of the different objects which he had recommended to their attention; and said, that he regretted he was not yet able to inform them of the result of the steps which had been taken with a view to the re-establishment of peace between Russia and the Porte.



PROGRESS OF THE REVOLUTION IN FRANCE.

The notes of alarm sounded by Burke in the British house of commons at the progress of the French revolution, did not proceed from an overheated imagination; for, during this year, events transpired which showed in a clearer light than ever that there was cause for alarm. The audacity of the Jacobins daily increased; and in order to oppose a barrier to it, the wiser of the national assembly had recourse to royalty. Lafayette, Mirabeau, the two Lameths, and others, foreseeing the danger in which the new constitution was placed from their proceedings, acted thus, though it proved all to no purpose. In the midst of his exertions to stem the coming ruin of the country, Mirabeau, who was of all men in France the most able to effect such a work, died. It was proposed in the assembly, on the 28th of February, that the tide of emigration should be stopped, by entrusting the power of granting passports to a committee of three persons. Against this iniquitous measure Mirabeau loudly exclaimed; and his opposition to the measure raised such a clamour against him, that, in his exertions to silence their voices, he was so overcome, that he returned thence to a bed of sickness, from which he never arose. His last words were—"After my death the factions will soon tear the last shreds of the monarchy."

Before Mirabeau had closed his mortal career, he had counselled the king to retire to Metz, beyond the power of the Parisians; and there, at the head of an independent force, to treat with the nation, if he could not with the assembly, and obtain a more equitable adjustment between the rights of the crown and those of the people. Exposed to daily renewed mortifications, Louis finally resolved upon flight; and a plan was concerted with the Marquis de Bouille, who formed a camp of some faithful regiments near Montmedy, for his escape thither. The king and his family left the Tuilleries and the capital on the night of the 20th of June, and arrived undisturbed as far as St. Menehauld; but here he was recognized by the postmaster Drouet, who, by taking prompt measures, had him arrested at Varennes. On the fifth day of his flight he was conducted back to Paris as a prisoner, surrounded by an angry populace and the national guards. He had left behind him, on his departure from the Tuilleries, a declaration, in which he protested against the decrees of the national assembly which he had sanctioned, and manifested his intention of overthrowing the new order of things. Had he succeeded, therefore, France was threatened with civil war and executors; and now that he had failed, vengeance was to fall upon his own head. On his return the national assembly suspended him provisionally from his functions, and appointed commissioners to interrogate him. Louis, however, supported by the moderate party, was silently reinstated in his authority, and the national assembly went on as before. But this only tended to increase the rage of the Jacobins. They wanted at once to proclaim the republic; and, being defeated in their designs, they turned to the people. They caused a petition to be prepared for dethroning the monarch, and made an attempt to lay it on "the altar of the country," in the field of Mars, for universal signature. A violent tumult ensued, which Lafayette quelled at the edge of the sword: much blood was shed. But this triumph of the assembly only served to render them unpopular. The people became as weary of them as of the monarch; so having collected their constitutional decrees into one code, and having presented this constitution to the king, and received his solemn acceptance of it, on the 30th of December the national assembly declared itself dissolved. This was a fatal step to both king and country. Before the dissolution of this assembly, on the motion of Robespierre, a measure was passed, declaring that none of the members should be capable of re-election. Now, although few among them were capable of legislating for a great country, as most of their acts had proved, yet it was manifest that the members, generally, were wiser, and even more moderate than the people at large. The consequence of this fatal step was, in fact, to sink the representation of the people into a still lower grade of society; to exalt the dregs of the people into the responsible office of legislators. This was soon made manifest; of seven hundred and fifty-eight members who were elected for the legislative assembly, which arose on the ruins of the national assembly, not more than fifty were possessed of one hundred pounds per annum. Those who were elected, indeed, were chiefly men whose zeal had distinguished them in the clubs; men whose sole aim was the subversion of all religion, and of that order which is so necessary to the well-being of a state. There were three classes of persons in this new assembly; the Feuillans, so called from the name of their club, who advocated a mitigated aristocracy; the Girondins, or professed republicans, who had a fixed aversion to even the shadow of royalty which had been preserved; and the Jacobins, whose aim was to sweep away rank, wealth, and talent from the land. The two former of these divisions represented the middle classes, and the latter the rabble; but the Girondins were the most powerful and popular. Such was the nature of this assembly. Compared with it the "rump parliament" of Oliver Cromwell was the perfection of wisdom and moderation. Ignorance, passion, and inexperience became united; and those who looked for great things at the hands of its members—and there were those even in England who looked for such things—must have been grossly infatuated with the principles of the revolution. What the monarch might expect from them was seen on the first meeting of the assembly, when they took an oath upon the constitutional act to live freemen or die. Their next measures were in accordance with this oath. At this time, the emigrants, who had greatly increased since the king had failed in his attempt at flight, had begun to arm foreign courts in their own favour and for the support of the tottering throne of France. Austria, Russia, and Prussia had definitely promised their aid; the King of Sweden, Gustavus III., had offered to be the commander of the allies; and other European courts, though they had not yet resolved to resort to arms, shared in their sentiments. At this time, also, the discontented priesthood, who were scattered through the realm, were stirring and preparing the peasantry universally to revolt. There was, in fact, a tempest gathering round the heads of the patriots; and alarmed at it, and in order to counteract the danger, during the months of October and November, the legislative assembly declared all emigrants who continued hostile on the frontiers beyond the month of January, 1792, civilly dead, and their properties confiscated; and similar rigorous measures were ordained against those priests who should refuse the oath binding them to the constitution, and continue to excite agitation. The king refused to sanction these decrees; and then was seen the absurd balance of power provided against the constitution. The rage of the revolutionists knew no bounds; and unable to attack the monarch directly, they turned their rage against the ministers and the constitutionalists from whose ranks they had been chosen. To effect their overthrow the Girondins and Jacobins united, and were successful. Such of the constitutionalists as were in the ministry were compelled to resign, and the whole party lost its influence in the senate. Nor had this party any power now in the municipality, for Bailly had been superseded in his mayoralty, and Lafayette had resigned his command of the national guard; and these important offices had fallen into the hands of the Jacobins, and by their influence democracy gained the ascendency in the capital, and, by a natural consequence, throughout the whole kingdom. The monarch was even compelled to choose his ministers out of the fiery Jacobin party; for neither royalist nor constitutionalist dared to sit in the council. At the close of this year it was manifest that the king was on the high-road to the scaffold. Red-caps were worn in public by the victorious Jacobins as a party badge, and as a declaration of war against all the moderate and all the friends of right; and the guillotine, beneath which thousands of victims were to bleed, was introduced. France had already assumed the aspect of an arena of wild beasts: Dan-ton, Robespierre, and Marat were already licking their jaws in anticipation of the prey.

{GEORGE III. 1791-1792}



STATE OF PUBLIC OPINION IN ENGLAND, ETC.

As every day manifested more and more that the principles of the revolution in France were fraught with mischief, and as great exertions were made by Burke and others to enlighten the public mind on their evil tendency, it might have been expected that Englishmen, who enjoyed a free constitution, although they had generously sympathised with the French people at the outset of their work of regeneration, from a conviction that it would tend to their benefit and happiness, would, by this year, have seen that they were in error, and would, therefore, have somewhat abated in their admiration of that work. This might have been the case to a certain extent; but, nevertheless, those who professed republican principles in England were still very numerous, and had become bolder in their advocacy of such principles. A fierce war was carried on by the newspapers of the day against Burke's "Reflections," and pamphlets and volumes of all sizes were published, in order to show that it was a mere flimsy piece of rhetoric and fine writing. The most conspicuous of these volumes were the "Vindictae Gallicae;" or "Defence of the French Revolution," written by Sir James Mackintosh; the "Rights of Man," written by that fierce democrat, Tom Paine; and "Letters to the Right Honourable Mr. Burke, on his Reflections on the Revolution of France," written by the celebrated Unitarian preacher, Dr. Priestley. Perhaps, the most popular of these books was the "Rights of Man," which, crude and undigested as the arguments it contained were, was extolled by the republican party in England as a master-piece of human intelligence and genius, and as a complete refutation of all the arguments of Burke's "Reflections." This may have arisen from the fact that Paine's doctrine was much more plain and intelligible to the common people: it was operatical and proposed immediate excision; that is, it advocated the total overthrow of monarchy, and the establishment of republicanism. To the honour of Sir James Mackintosh it must be mentioned, that he, subsequently, when he read of the massacres and atrocities committed in Paris, retracted the bold assertions he had made in the Vindicio Gallico, and, finally, declared that democracy was "the most monstrous of all governments, because it is impossible at once to act and to control; and, consequently, the sovereign power in such a constitution must be left without any check whatsoever." Sir James Mackintosh, indeed, lived to regret that he had written his essay; nor does it appear that when he wrote he had any idea of the fatal consequences that would result from the principles he defended: like many others he indulged the hope that the revolution would correct its own vices. His essay, like those of Paine's and Priestley's, however, had an evil tendency at this period of public excitement. At the same time the Vindicio Gallicio was not calculated to work such mischief as the "Rights of Man," and the "Letters to the Right Honourable Mr. Burke," since the one was addressed to the educated, and the others to the uneducated classes of the public. Cheap editions of the two latter works were, in truth, industriously circulated throughout the country, by the various clubs which abounded on every hand. But notwithstanding the exertions of the press to promulgate revolutionary principles, there was still a sound conservative principle abroad: the main body of the people were loyal to their king, and few comparatively among the upper ranks were found to countenance the efforts of sedition. This was manifested in an unequivocal manner at Birmingham, where Dr. Priestley acted as a Socinian or Unitarian minister: a manner, indeed, which must be condemned, inasmuch as it was unworthy of the friends of order, and as it set an example of ungovernable fury to those who were re-presented as the foes of all established institutions. In most of the large towns of England associations were formed for the celebration of the French revolution on the 14th of July, the anniversary of the taking of the Bastille. Such an association was formed at Birmingham, and a few days before the appointed feast a printed handbill was circulated throughout the town, which seemed to be intended as a direct challenge and defiance to the anti-revolutionists; to those who were advocates for church and state. This hand-bill was without signature, and it read thus:—"My countrymen, the second year of Gallic liberty is nearly expired. At the commencement of the third, on the 14th of this month, it is devoutly to be wished that every enemy to civil and religious despotism, would give his sanction to the majestic common cause by a public celebration of the anniversary. Remember that on the 14th of July the Bastille, that 'High Altar and Castle of Despotism,' fell! Remember the enthusaism peculiar to the cause of liberty with which it was attacked! Remember that generous humanity that taught the oppressed, groaning under the weight of insulted rights, to save the lives of oppressors! Extinguish the mean prejudices of nations, and let your numbers be collected and sent as a free-will offering to the national assembly! But is it possible to forget that your own parliament is venal? Your ministers hypocritical? Your clergy legal oppressors? The reigning family extravagant? The crown of a certain great personage becoming every day too weighty for the head that wears it? Too weighty for the people who gave it? Your taxes partial and excessive? Your representation a cruel insult upon the sacred rights of property, religion, and freedom? But on the 14th of this month prove to the political sycophants of the day that you reverence the Olive Branch; that you will sacrifice to public tranquillity till the majority shall exclaim 'The peace of slavery is worse than the War of Freedom'! Of this moment let tyrants beware!" This paper occasioned a great ferment in the good town of Birmingham. It was considered generally by the people to have proceeded from the republicans that had appointed to feast at the tavern on the 14th of July; while, on the other hand, it was affirmed by the republicans that it had been written, printed, and distributed by the opposite party for the purpose of disturbing their convivial meeting. It was thought advisable to give up the feast, and notice was given to that effect; but mine host of the tavern represented that he had prepared the viands, and that they might feast without danger if they did not sit too long at the table, and so the company, to the number of eighty or ninety, met at the appointed time. One Keir, a man well known for his attainments in several branches of science, and a member of the Established Church, was in the chair; but the party had scarcely assembled, before the tavern was surrounded by a tumultous crowd, who shouted long and loudly, "Church and King!" "Church and King!" Strange rumours soon got abroad of the doings within the tavern. It was said that mine host had set three figures upon the table: one a medallion of the king encircled with glory; another an emblematical figure of British liberty; and a third an emblematical figure of Gallic slavery breaking its chains. It was likewise said, that the patriots within doors had cut off the king's head and placed it on the table! Finally it was reported that the very first toast of the assembly was, "Destruction to the present government, and the king's head upon a charger." This was too much for the feelings of the loyal people of Birmingham to endure. No sooner had this toast been made known, than loyalty "swift as lightning shot through their minds, and a kind of electrical patriotism animated them to instant vengeance." Before the second course was well on the table, they rushed into the tavern, broke windows and glasses, and compelled the carousers to take refuge in flight. So writes one authority; but another more authentic states, that it was some hours after, when most of the company had departed, that the mob broke in, and that the peculiar object of their search was Dr. Priestley, from whose wig they wanted to knock out the powder. Dr. Priestley had long been offensive to the townspeople of Birmingham for his bold advocacy of the principles of the French revolution; and now that their passions were excited, when they could not discover him at the tavern, and after they had smashed all the windows, they resolved to seek him elsewhere—at his dwelling-house on Fair Hill. Had they proceeded direct to his residence, they might have tried their skill in knocking the powder out of his wig, and, had they done nothing further, they would not have committed much mischief, inasmuch as the doctor could soon have had it re-powdered. A hint had been given them, however, that they had done sufficient mischief at the tavern, and that they had better go to the meetings. In a brief hour, therefore, the new meeting-house where Dr. Priestley preached was broken into, and set on fire; and in another brief hour the old meetinghouse sent up its flame towards heaven likewise. The mob now sought the doctor at his house on Fair Hill, but, timely warned, he and his family had taken refuge in flight. His house now shared the fate of the meeting-houses: together with the whole of his valuable library, his still more valuable apparatus for philosophical experiments, and the furniture; it was destroyed by fire. All this was done on the 14th of July, and it was hoped that the mob would go no further. But, unfortunately, they had in part been stimulated to these violences by strong drink, which had been given them by some of the more respectable loyalists of the town. On the morrow, therefore, the rabble of the town again sounded the cry of "Church and King," and being joined by the rabble of the mining and foundery districts in the neighbourhood, they resumed their dreadful avocation. On that day the houses of Messrs. John Ryland, Taylor, and Hutton, were destroyed; the magistrates making no effectual preparations to stop the ravages. It does not appear that the mob had been furnished with any drink on this day by the loyalist magnates of the town; but they had extorted whole hogsheads of ale from Mr. Hutton to save his house—though they afterwards destroyed it—and had moreover found plenty of good wine in the cellars, and this incited them again to action. On the following day no less than eight houses within the town, and in its vicinity, wore destroyed, exclusive of the residence of Mr. Coates, a Unitarian minister, which was plundered and damaged, but not demolished. The following clay was Sunday, but it was no day of rest for the rioters, except those who were too drunk to move; they went into the country, it is true, but it was only to destroy chapels, and to plunder, and burn clown houses. On this day, however, their work of destruction was stopped. By the evening of the day, probably not finding sufficient drink in the cellars of the Dissenters, they had begun to break open and to destroy the houses of churchmen. They were busy in breaking open the house of Dr. Withering, at some distance from the town, when the words "light horse" sounded in their ears, and the whole mob melted away as if by magic; when the light-horse appeared, not a shadow of them could be found. In fact, the mob of Birmingham was the very counterpart of that which had been engaged in Lord George Gordon's riots. Throughout their whole career they had not shown any disposition for fighting, except with fists and sticks, and on one occasion they fled when resisted by a single pistol. The riots had, doubtless, been raised by men of a better stamp than those engaged in it; but who, like the prime movers of the riots in London, kept in the back-ground. At the same time it manifested that the great body of the people of Birmingham had no fellow-feeling with those who advocated the principle of the French revolution. It was from this cause, perhaps, that government was backward in exhibiting sympathy for the sufferers, and a disposition for punishing the offenders. Troops were, indeed, sent to restore peace, but no proclamations were issued from the secretary of state's office until some days elapsed, and then the reward offered for discovering and apprehending a chief rioter was a mere bagatelle. In the whole, seventeen were arrested and tried, five of whom only were found guilty; three were executed. The losses sustained by the sufferers were made good by the hundred, in the way which the law directs; and Dr. Priestley at least was a gainer in point of money, for in addition to the compensation awarded by law, his friends and admirers opened their purses freely on his behalf. He gained by the event, also, in point of popularity, and more especially in France and America. Testimonials, condolences, and flattering compliments were sent to him from all quarters, and he was even compared to Galileo and Socrates! The event, in truth, had the effect of making him more bold in his advocacy of revolutionary principles. Both from the pulpit and the press he loudly denounced the bigotry of England, and as loudly applauded the enlightened toleration of France. In this he was encouraged by those who entertained similar views to his own, and who in their addresses extolled him as a martyr. On the other hand, those who supported "church and state," and various bodies of Dissenters, who could not tolerate either his extreme views of republicanism or his attacks on the mystery of the Trinity, assailed him in the most bitter manner. England, in fact, became too hot to hold him, for, in 1794, he expatriated to America. The national convention had nominated him a citizen of the French Republic, but by that time he had, doubtless, become convinced that there was no safety for him in France, whence he wisely forbore entering that wide arena of strife and bloodshed. So ended the Birmingham riot: it reflects no honour on our annals, but it shows that the mass of the population were satisfied with the English constitution, and it may serve as a warning to deter men from the exhibition of that malignant party-spirit which reflects disgrace on the best cause. "Let your moderation be known unto all men."



CHAPTER XIX.

{GEORGE III. 1792-1793}

Meeting of Parliament..... Debates on the Russian Armament..... Debate on the Affairs of India..... Pitt's Financial Statement..... The Slave-Trade Question..... London Police Act..... Act to relieve the Scotch Episcopalians, &c...... Sheridan's motion respecting the Royal Burghs of Scotland..... Debates on Parliamentary Reform, &c..... Trial of Hastings, &e...... Bill respecting the New Forest and Timber for the Navy..... Prorogation of Parliament..... Changes in the Ministry..... East India Affairs..... Progress of the French Revolution..... Affairs of Poland..... State of the Public Mind in England..... Meeting of Parliament..... The Alien Bill, &c...... Execution of the French King.

{A.D. 1792}



MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

The British parliament did not assemble until the 31st of January. The first topic mentioned in the king's speech was the marriage of his second son, the Duke of York, with the Princess Frederica, daughter of the King of Prussia. His majesty then informed the two houses that a treaty had been concluded, under his mediation and that of his allies, between the Emperor of Austria and the Porte, and that preliminaries had been agreed upon between the latter of those powers and Russia. The king next expressed his regret that he was not yet enabled to inform parliament of the termination of the war in India with Tippoo Sultaun, but the success which had already attended the British arms afforded, reasonable ground to hope that the war would speedily be concluded. Although events in Europe at this time cast their dark shadows before them, yet his majesty affirmed that the general state of affairs appeared to promise to Great Britain the continuance of her present tranquillity; and he even suggested that some immediate reduction might safely be made in our naval and military establishments. He concluded by recommending the house of commons to consider of such measures as the flourishing state of the funds and of public credit might render practicable and expedient, for a reduction in the rate of interest of such of the annuities as were now redeemable; by stating that he entertained the pleasing hope of their being enabled to enter upon a gradual reduction of taxes, giving at the same time additional efficacy to the plan for the reduction of the national debt; and by recommending a steady, zealous, and confirmed attachment to the British constitution.

The debates on the address principally turned upon the line of policy pursued by the ministry in their interference in the quarrel between Turkey and Prussia, and in the hostility they had displayed towards the latter power. Ministers were loudly condemned for this interference by the opposition; Mr. Grey and Fox taking the most prominent part in the attack. Fox, as usual, introdued France and her revolution and constitution into his speech. The frequent eulogiums on the British constitution which had been introduced into parliament, he said, had been introduced in order to reproach him and his friends for their admiration of what had been done in France, and to suggest the suspicion that he and his friends were hostile to our own form of government. The French, he contended, had done perfectly right in overturning a constitution so radically bad as that of France; but that of Great Britain was so good, though not absolutely perfect, that it merited the efforts of all honest subjects to preserve it. It was hence most unjust to insinuate that those who approved of the destruction of despotism in France, would rejoice in the downfall of the British constitution. Fox concluded by condemning the Birmingham riots; asserting that the outrages had been committed through the laxity or tacit approbation of the magistrates. He remarked:—"It would have been well if his majesty in his speech had spoken of those riots in the terms they merited. They were not riots for bread; they were not riots in the cause of liberty, which, however highly to be reprobated, had yet some excuse in their principle; they were riots of men neither aggrieved nor complaining—of men who had set on foot an indiscriminate persecution of an entire description of their fellow-citizens, including persons as eminent for their ability, as blameless in their conduct, and as faithful in their allegiance as this or any other country could boast." In reply, Pitt said that the Birmingham riots had better be consigned to oblivion, especially as sufficient had been done for their atonement; and he broadly hinted that Fox revived the subject for party purposes. He warmly defended the conduct of the cabinet in the interference between Turkey and Russia; asserting that the object of it was to prevent the ruin of the Turkish empire, and to preserve that balance of power in Europe which was essential to the interests of Great Britain. Pitt concluded by adverting to the more pleasing topic of financial improvement; stating that the last year's revenue amounted to L16,790,000, which, after all the expenditure and the annual million devoted to the reduction of the national debt, left a surplus of L900,000; and that, encouraged by this prosperous condition of the finances, he contemplated taking off some of those taxes which pressed most heavily upon the poor.



DEBATES ON THE RUSSIAN ARMAMENT.

Papers relative to the apprehended rupture between Great Britain and Russia were laid before the house on the 6th of February. This gave rise to several debates, in which the spirit of party was strongly displayed. On the 13th of February Mr. Grey loudly complained that ministers had not produced the preliminaries said to have been adjusted between the Russian and Turkish negociators; and that large sums had been unnecessarily spent in fitting out the armament. A week later Mr. Grey moved for a more ample production of papers regarding various portions of the recent diplomacy of ministers; arguing that the whole of the correspondence was necessary, if they wished to justify the steps they had taken. Pitt resisted the demand, conceiving that sufficient had been disclosed to make the house master of all the essential parts of the business, and asserting that confidence was due to the administration, until their capacity or integrity was impeached. The motion was negatived, but on the 29th of February the subject was revived by Mr. Whitbread, who moved the following resolutions:—"That no arrangement respecting Oczakow and its district appears to have been capable of affecting the political or commercial interests of this country, so as to justify any hostile interference on the part of Great Britain between. Russia and the Porte: that the interference for the purpose of preventing the cession of the said fortress and its district to the Empress of Russia has been wholly unsuccessful; and that his majesty's ministers, in endeavouring, by means of an armed force, to compel the Empress of Russia to abandon her claim to Oczakow, and in continuing an armament after the object for which it was proposed had been relinquished, have been guilty of gross misconduct, tending to incur unnecessary expenses, and to diminish the influence of the British nation." Many members took part in the debate which followed this motion, but the most remarkable speeches were delivered by those two great rivals, Pitt and Fox. After reviewing our foreign policy from the time of our joining Prussia, in order to prevent Holland becoming the prey of France, Fox said that we were standing forward the principals of every quarrel, the Quixotes of every enterprise, and the agitators in all the plots and disturbances that were every day arising in Europe. He said, if Oczakow was a place of no importance, ministers ought to be censured for having armed and protracted war on its account; and if it was an important place, they ought to be censured for disarming without having obtained repossession of it from the Turks. Fox argued that the Empress of Russia weald have granted better terms o the Turks if England had not interfered; and bitterly complained of Pitt's reserve and secrecy with parliament. On the latter subject he remarked:—"This is what puts our constitution in danger. That the pride, the folly, the presumption of a single person shall be able to involve a whole people in disgrace is more than philosophy can teach mortal patience to endure. Here are the true weapons of the enemies of our constitution! Here may we search for the source of the present outpourings of seditious writings, meant either to weaken our attachment to the constitution by depreciating its value, or that loudly tell us we have no constitution at all. We may blame, we may reprobate such doctrines; but while we furnish those who circulate them with argumenta such as these, while the example of this day shows us to what degree the fact is true, we must not wonder that the purposes the seditious writings are meant to answer be but too successful. They argue that a constitution cannot be right where such things are possible; much less so when they are practised without punishment. Against the vain theories of men who project fundamental alterations upon grounds of mere speculative objection I can easily defend the constitution; but when they recur to these facts, and show me how we may be doomed to all the horrors of war by the caprice of an individual, who will not even condescend to explain his reasons, I can only fly to this house, and exhort you to rouse from your lethargy of confidence, into the active mistrust and vigilant control which your duty and your office point out to you." But Fox had by his intrigues brought the country into danger from a war with Russia, more than Pitt had by his armament. Although the laws and constitution of this country entrust the exclusive right of treating with foreign potentates to the king, yet without the knowledge or participation of a single member in the house, Fox had sent an agent to St. Petersburgh to frustrate the objects for which a plenipotentiary from the crown was authorised to treat. And Fox succeeded in his design: it was through his influence that the czarina still obstinately refused to give up Oczakow, And yet Fox condemned ministers for not having succeeded in their negociations! On this subject Pitt's biographer, Tomline, writes:—"It is to be presumed that Mr. Fox never would have had recourse to such a measure, if he had not entertained a confident hope, that, having already succeeded in rendering the Russian armament unpopular, he should overset Mr. Pitt's administration, provided the empress could be prevailed on to persevere in her demands. That point he accomplished without difficulty, yet the result did not turn out as he expected—he defeated Mr. Pitt's plan, and brought a certain degree of discredit and danger on his country, by effecting the aggrandisment of an unfriendly and powerful court, but his own personal ambition remained ungratified." In his reply to Fox the minister exhibited a noble mind, in not making any use of his rival's unjustifiable conduct: conduct which was more unconstitutional than Pitt's rigid reserve, and which was to a certain extent, treasonable. In his reply Pitt defended his policy with great spirit. He asked whether any one conversant in politics could admit that the Turkish empire, being unable to defend itself against Russia and Austria, should be abandoned by the other European powers, every one of which was so visibly interested in the preservation of its independence: whether, if other European powers were indolent, or hindered by untoward circumstances from interfering. Great Britain could coolly leave Turkey to its fate? and whether a British ministry could look on with indifference, while her commerce in the Levant was threatened, and the maritime power of England, not only in the Mediterranean and Archipelago, but in every other sea, must receive a blow from the increase of shipping that would accrue to Russia and Austria, were they to become masters of European Turkey? The interest and honour of this country, he said, required us to pay vigilant attention to the political situation of the continental powers, lest the predominance of any one should destroy that equipoise which was essential to the safety of the whole. And it was evident, he remarked, that the ruin or depression of the Turkish empire would materially affect the balance of power in Europe. All the world knew that the object of Russia had long been to acquire exclusive authority in the Black Sea; and were the Russians to gain possession of its ports, a new naval power would arise, dangerous to all Europe, but especially so to Great Britain, whose safety and prosperity chiefly depended on the superiority of her fleets. It was certain, also, he said, that if Great Britain had not assumed a hostile disposition, the original demands of the court of Petersburgh would have been insisted on to the last, and Turkey would have been forced to submit to a dismemberment. As for Oczakow, he acknowledged that it was not a place of great importance, but as a fortress commanding the navigation of the Dniester, and a point to be gained by the empress in her system of ambition, it was worth some risks, and he conceived that he had done his duty by first attempting to secure this object to Turkey, and afterwards relinquishing it when it could only be obtained at the price of war. At the same time Pitt remarked, Oczakow might have been secured had it not been for the division and opposition in this kingdom; it was chiefly through Fox and his party that what had been done well, had not been done better. Party divisions in this country had encouraged the ambitious designs of Russia; and yet opposition now took merit to themselves for rendering negociations useless; which, but for their efforts, would have been attended with complete success. But he did not envy them their triumph: it was not a triumph over an enemy, but over the council of their king. Pitt concluded by a sarcastic reflection on Fox, which must have been keenly felt by him. In the summer of 1791, the czarina finding that the Whig party was averse to the Russian armament, directed her ambassador to request Fox to sit to Nollekens for a bust in white marble, in order that she might place it between the statues of Demosthenes and Cicero. In allusion to this Pitt said, that if he and his honourable friend Dundas were to go to St. Petersburg, he felt certain that neither of them should be found in any place of glory between two orators of antiquity! Fox replied, vindicating his conduct, and condemning the policy of ministers in the same unmeasured terms as before. But the sentiments of the house were against him and his party: Whitbread's resolutions were all rejected, either without a division or by very large majorities. During these debates the same question was agitated in the house of lords; but Lord Fitzwilliam, who moved a similar resolution to that of Mr. Grey in the commons, was outvoted by a majority of eighty-nine against nineteen.



DEBATES ON THE AFFAIRS OF INDIA.

It was not on the subject of the Russian armament alone that opposition sought to bring ministers into contempt, and to overthrow their administration. In their plan of campaign they had determined to attack them on the subject of the Indian war, and accord-ingly, on the 9th of February, Major Maitland moved for all papers necessary to throw light upon the subject. It was the chief object of the opposition to prove that the war with Tippoo Sultaun was unnecessary, and that it had been conducted by Lord Cornwallis without spirit or talent. Such was the substance of the arguments employed by Colonel Maitland in support of his motion, and in which he was supported by Francis, the antagonist of Hastings and Tupey. The motion was on the whole agreed to; Dundas consenting to produce all the papers called for, except copys of any proposals of peace which had been made by Tippoo Sultaun. But this did not satisfy opposition. On the 15th of March Major Maitland moved various resolutions on the Indian war, all tending to reprobate it as unjustifiable, and as the result of a plan laid down by ministers for Tippoo's destruction. These resolutions were negatived; but on a subsequent day the major renewed the subject, declaring that the papers proved the correctness of his views—that a plan of conquest had been formed, and that the war had been sought for that purpose. In order to settle the matter, after showing the warlike character of Tippoo, and defending the honour of Lord Cornwallis, ministers moved a resolution declaring that the conduct of the governor-general accorded with the true spirit and intent of the rules of government established by the British parliament for the affairs of India, which resolution was adopted.



PITT'S FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

The house went into committee to consider the financial affairs of the country, on the 17th of February, when Pitt made a speech representing the country as in a nourishing condition, almost unprecedented. The revenue had increased so much, he said, that government would be enabled to take off taxes, bearing chiefly upon the poor, to the amount of L200,000, and to apply an equal sum more to increase the sinking-fund for paying off the national debt. He proposed to take off the additional duty on malt; the new duties on male and female servants; the duties upon waggons, wains, carts, and other such carriages; the taxes on houses containing less than seven windows; and a halfpenny in the pound of the duty upon all candles, except wax and spermaceti. These propositions were agreed to without a division. Sheridan only questioning the truth of Pitt's financial statement, which he did more from the force of habit, and by way of opposition, than from any just cause. On the same day, in a committee of supply, the house granted L400,000 to his majesty, to be issued and paid to the governor and company of the Bank of England, to be by them placed to the account of the commissioners for the reduction of the national debt. So far as Pitt's statements on this occasion related to the actual condition of the finances of the country they were doubtless correct; but his sentiments on the future were too soon proved to be fallacious. He remarked:—"From the result of the whole, I trust I am entitled to conclude that the scene which we are now contemplating, is not the transient effect of accident, not the short-lived prosperity of a day, but the general and natural result of regular and permanent causes. Though we may yet be subject to those fluctuations which often occur in the affairs of a mighty nation, and which it is impossible to calculate or foresee, yet, as far as reliance can be placed on human speculations, we have the best ground, from experience of the past, for looking with satisfaction on the present, and with confidence toward the future." Pitt, indeed, expressed his deep conviction that there never was a time when a durable peace might more reasonably be expected than at the present moment. And yet there never was a time when war was manifestly more imminent. England was, in truth, on the verge of a war which was to increase the national debt more than any in which she had been yet engaged. The nation was taught to entertain brilliant hopes at the opening of this year, but at its close those hopes were dashed to the ground. They were called upon to indulge in visions of a total release from national debt; but it was soon found that this debt was to increase by a sure and rapid process. Pitt himself soon discovered that he might be wrong; and hence, being apprehensive that in the case of a new and protracted war, requiring large additions to the public debt, the sinking fund might not operate with sufficient effect to prevent a national bankruptcy, he subsequently proposed, that, whenever a loan should be hereafter made, one per cent on the nev stock thus created, besides the dividends, should be raised and applied in the same manner, and under the same regulations as the original L1,000,000. This bill passed the commons without any particular opposition; but in the upper house it was violently reprobated by Lord Chancellor Thurlow as a provision likely to answer no good purpose, and as exhibiting an extraordinary degree of arrogance, by dictating to future parliaments, and prescribing to future ministers a mode of action to be adopted some thirty years hence. He remarked:—"None but a novice, a sycophant, a mere reptile of a minister, would allow this act to prevent him doing what, in his own judgment, circumstances might require at the time; and a change in the situation of the country might render that which is proper at one time inapplicable at another. In short, the scheme is nugatory and impracticable; the inaptness of the project is only equalled by the vanity of the attempt." This bill, however, passed into a law, and was adhered to in the numerous loans advanced during the whole of the revolutionary contest. About the same time Pitt brought another measure into the house, which indicated that his views were undergoing a change as to the long continuance of peace; this was a proposition to raise L812,500 by means of a lottery. But in this he met with decided opposition. Great surprise was expressed that, in a time of profound peace, he should have recourse to a method of levying money so extremely injurious to the morals and habits of the people. Instances were adduced in which state-lotteries had led to robbery and suicide; and a petition was presented from the grand jury of Middlesex, earnestly praying the house to take the subject into consideration. These representations produced such an impression, that a motion was forthwith carried for a committee to inquire into the evils arising from lotteries.

{GEORGE III. 1792-1793}



THE SLAVE-TRADE QUESTION.

Although defeated in his humane endeavours to effect the abolition of the slave-trade during the last session, yet Mr. Wilberforce resolved to persevere in the great cause which he had undertaken. And in this he was now supported by popular opinion; not less than five hundred and eight petitions having been presented, in the early part of the sessions, praying for the abolition of that abominable traffic. Thus encouraged, on the 2nd of April, Wilberforce moved, in a committee of the whole house, "that it is the opinion of this committee, that the trade carried on by British subjects, for the purpose of procuring slaves from Africa, ought to be entirely abolished." In his speech, which was very able and eloquent, the mover declared that he would never abandon this business till he had obtained his object; and he intimated that if he carried his present motion, he would follow it up by another to this effect:—"That the chairman be directed to move the house for leave to bring in a bill for the abolition of the slave-trade." Wilberforce was opposed by Jenkinson, Colonel Tarleton, and other members interested in the slave-trade, who endeavoured to show that our West India islands would be useless without such a traffic, and who treated the petitions on the table with contempt, as signed by raw youths, inexperienced persons, or needy individuals, who wrote their names for money. On the other hand, the motion was eloquently supported by Thornton, Montague, Whitbread, Pitt, and Fox. One of the most powerful speeches was that delivered by the prime-minister. The subject was not made a cabinet question; but every member of administration was left to follow that line of conduct which their own notions of policy, expediency, or right might dictate. Dundas, who had recently become secretary of state, by the resignation of the Duke of Leeds, was averse to instant abolition; and he recommended a middle course, which he thought might reconcile the interests of the West India islands with the eventual abolition of the trade; and he concluded by moving, that the word "gradual" should be inserted before the word "abolition." In reply, Pitt asked why injustice was to be suffered to remain for a single hour? "Reflect," said he, "on the eighty thousand persons annually torn from their native land; on the connexions which are broken; on the friendships, attachments, and relationships that are rent asunder! There is something in the horror of it that surpasses all the bounds of imagination. How shall we repair the mischiefs we have brought upon that continent? If, knowing the miseries we have caused, we refuse, even now, to put a stop to them, how greatly aggravated will be the guilt of Britain! Shall we not rather count the days and hours that are suffered to intervene, than to delay the accomplishment of such a work? If we listen to the voice of reason and duty, and pursue this night the line of conduct which they prescribe, some of us may live to see the reverse of that picture from which we now turn our eyes with shame and regret. We may live to behold the natives of Africa engaged in the calm occupations of industry; in the pursuits of a just and legitimate commerce. We may behold the beams of science and philosophy breaking in upon their land, which, at some happy period, in still later times, may blaze with full lustre; and, joining their influence to that of pure religion, may illuminate and invigorate the most distant extremities of that immense continent." It was argued by some of its supporters, that slavery was a necessary evil. On this argument Pitt remarked:—"The origin of the evil is indeed beyond the reach of human understanding; and the permission of it by the Supreme Being is a subject into which we are not concerned to inquire. But where the evil in question is a moral evil, which a man can scrutinise, and where that moral evil has its origin within ourselves, let us not imagine that we can clear our consciences by this general, not to say irreligious, way of putting aside the question." Pitt concluded by urging on the house the influence which their decision would produce in other countries, and that the divine blessing was to be expected on their own, by exertions in such a righteous cause. His speech was rapturously applauded, but he failed in obtaining total and immediate abolition; the amendment which Dundas proposed being adopted by one hundred and ninety-three against one hundred and twenty-five. Wilberforce was now asked whether he meant to bring in a gradual abolition bill; but he declared that he could not do any such thing; he could not sanction for a time that which ought not to endure for one moment longer. It was for Dundas, or some one of his supporters, he said, to bring in such a bill; and though Dundas exhibited much unwillingness to take up the matter, he felt called upon to do so; and on the 23rd of April, therefore, he produced twelve resolutions, to the effect that all that branch of the trade which did not refer to the supply of the British West India islands, should cease forthwith; that no male slaves above the age of twenty-five, or female slaves above the age of twenty, should henceforth be exported from Africa in British ships; that the tonnage employed in the slave-trade should be limited and strictly ascertained; that the duties on slaves imported into the colonies should be increased; that laws should be enacted against those who maltreated their slaves; that the colonial legislatures should be invited to concur in these measures; and that the trade should be finally abolished in the year 1800. Wilberforce, Pitt, and Fox warmly opposed these resolutions; and amendments were made, first, that the trade should cease in 1793, and then 1795, both of which were lost; but it was finally agreed, on the motion of Sir Edward Knatchbull, that the final abolition should take place on the 1st of January, 1796. The resolutions, as thus amended, were carried up to the lords on the 2nd of May; on which occasion Prince William, Duke of Clarence, who, in the course of his naval training, had visited the West India islands, and who, conceiving that the state of society there did not justify the pictures drawn of it by the abolitionists, opposed the abolition with great facility of elocution. The friends of immediate abolition were very few in the house of lords; and in order to retard the business, a committee for the hearing of evidence at the bar of the house was proposed. This was objected to by Lords Grenville, Porchester, Stanhope, and Rawdon, and by Bishop Beilby Porteus; but it was carried by a large majority. The examination of witnesses at the bar commenced forthwith; but little progress was made in it before the prorogation, so that the business was virtually postponed till the next session. Wilberforce complained that it was owing to the appeal made by Dundas to the gradual abolition of this horrid traffic, that he was defeated; but it may fairly be questioned whether he could have carried an immediate abolition at the present time, if this appeal had not been made; for, at this period, there were many circumstances which operated to the injury of his cause. Thus the abolitionists had recently determined to use no sugar which came from the West Indies; a determination that would materially interfere with the revenue. Then again, the massacres and burnings in the French division of the island of St. Domingo, where the negro slaves had been set free from their chains, gave rise to a fear that, if a total abolition took place, these troubles might extend to Jamaica and our other West India islands, and hence indisposed the king and many members of parliament to support the measure. Moreover, Clarkson, one of the most active abolitionists, and the bosom friend of Wilberforce, openly advocated the principles of the French revolution, whence occasion was offered of representing the friends of abolition as levellers. Finally, the knowledge that Brissot and the other friends of the blacks in France were fierce revolutionists, and that the redoubtable Tom Paine ranged on the side of Wilberforce in the cause of humanity, had the effect of depriving him of many votes. All these circumstances, combined with the powerful motive of self-interest, would, doubtless have ensured his defeat, had not Dundas interposed his scheme of gradual abolition. So the murderous traffic was to be continued unmitigated; and, as it proved, for another long twenty years.