proper place and time, to deliberate on them. His lordship gave a particular explanation, to what had fallen from Mr. Burke, relative to a supposed intention in him, of negociating away the rights of this country, in order to keep his place. What he meant was, that he hoped the campaign had produced events, which would enable us to enforce a conciliation with the colonies, on true constitutional grounds. That he never thought of making any propositions, till the fate of the present cam should happen during the recess; but after the holidays, when the whole of the past military operations, and the intended measures, could come together properly before the House, he would then move the House to consider of what concessions might be proper to be made the basis of a treaty, and he trusted yet, that their en deavours would prove effectual, in bringing about a permanent peace and union between both countries. of this country, no negociation could pos- | sibly succeed in their hands. The colonies had been so often deceived, abused, and trifled with, that he was certain they would never listen to any proposals of peace, conveyed through such a channel. He insisted, that now was the proper time for enquiring, when one army was annihilated, another besieged, and our natural and avowed enemy, the French, negociating a treaty with our colonies,-perhaps not negociating but even perfecting a treaty by which America will be irreco-paign were known, nor then neither, if it verably lost to this country. If this was the true state of our critical situation, which he verily believed it was; surely it was a proper time for inquiry, not for an adjournment of six weeks. He was remarkably severe upon lord North, and after repeating his former assertion, dwelt upon his lordship's expression, that he meant to make propositions of peace, and appealed to the good sense, experience and observation of the House, whether it was within the most distant views of probability to expect that he whose incapacity, obstinacy, or inattention, had been the cause of every measure, no matter whether it was accommodation or coercion, was the proper person to propose any future measure leading either way. The plea he contended was monstrous, the expectation in the highest degree improbable and absurd! Lord North replied, that he never meant, by what he said, to negociate away the rights of this country. He appealed to the House if his words were not, that he thought we might have such a force in America as would be sufficient to enable us to offer terms to our rebellious subjects, consistently with our dignity, and with the sovereign and controlling rights of this country. He said, that every argument offered against the motion, went to prove nothing. The campaign was already terminated. France did not molest us; nor did he believe either France or Spain had the least intention to molest us; but whether they had or had not, we were prepared. All the public business that was usually done in the early part of the session was completed. For his part, therefore, he could not perceive the most distant motive for objecting to the motion, nor had he heard a single ground for the amendment. If upon a full enquiry after the recess, measures of a consequential nature should become necessary, the committee for an inquiry into the state of the nation, xed for the 2d of February, would be the Mr. For controverted almost every thing offered by the noble lord. He insisted that the House of Bourbon were hostile; that they only waited for a favourable opportunity to break with us; and that favourable opportunity would present itself the very instant the first bad news arrived from America. He entered into several explanations, and seemed, from motives of generous pity, to direct his galling attacks against the great financier, sooner than press too closely on the American minister. He reprobated the plea of the noble lord's offering himself to be a negotiator; being, he said, well convinced, that the Americans would never listen to any treaty coming from his lordship. He was obnoxious to them, and if he persisted to retain his present station, as minister, it would most certainly prevent every accommodation, which came recommended to them, by a man whom they suspected, detested, and despised. The question being put upon lord Beau champ's motion, the House divided: Tellers. Mr. Robinson YEAS {Mr. D'Oyley NOES Mr. Fox 155 68 So it was resolved in the affirmative; and the House adjourned to the 20th of January, 1778. Debate in the Lords on the Motion of Adjournment.] Dec. 11. The Earl of Oxford moved, "That this House, do adjourn to the 20th of January 1778." increase. It was necessary, my lords, to premise this; now for the fact. In one of the prisons, a prisoner was inoculated for the small-pox; and after the eruption appeared, the patient was put into a cell with five Americans, who had never had the disorder. They expressed their fears; and I do suppose, they were therefore called cowards;' but this your lordships may be assured of, that neither fears nor tears, nor prayers, were able to remove the sick from the well. My lords, if this be abetted, and does not meet with condign punishment, all government here is at an end, and civil society no more; for, my lords, what is civil society, but a public The Earl of Abingdon. I am just come up from the country, as I supposed, to do, with the rest of your lordships, our business in parliament; but I find that we are already met here to day, in order to be sent about our business into the country, as if the business of parliament was not our business, and that we were called up only to do the business of ministers. Supplies are voted, and, at this tremendous conjuncture of events, there is, it seems, no further need of the great constitutional council of the nation. But, my lords, before I go, I will leave one word behind me; it is an important word, and its sub-combination for private protection? ject matter is of a very pressing nature. My lords, when a noble duke, whose manly and spirited conduct against this war of slavery will ever have the testimony of my warmest applause, made his motion the other day for an enquiry into the state of the nation, his grace said, he desired his motion might be understood as a general motion, open to every enquiry, and not simply confined to any propositions of his own; it is therefore, my lords, under the shelter of this noble duke's motion, that I have now a motion of my own to make, in addition to those that have been already received. My lords, humanity has ever been the characteristic of Englishmen ; but, my lords, whether corruption has, with our morals, changed our very feelings, or whether it be owing to that exotic influence which has so long directed our councils, or not, it is not for me to determine; but, my lords, instead of humanity, our national character is now stamped with inhumanity; and what is worse, we have the damning proofs before our eyes. My lords, I am informed, and my information is to be depended upon, that the American prisoners in this country (men who are made prisoners in the glorious cause of liberty, and are nick named rebels, only to sanctify the rebellion of ministers against the freedom of this country) are treated with a savage barbarity. My lords, I have heard some of their complaints, and they have gone to my heart. I will give you one of them in instance. My lords, we all know, or the reverend bench of bishops will tell us so, that there are certain religious objections against inoculating for the small-pox. These objections the Americans for the most part have; and in proportion to the credulity of the objection, do the fears of the disease [VOL. XIX. ] My present motion, therefore, my lords, is, "That an humble Address be presented to his Majesty, requesting that he will be pleased to direct, that all orders and instructions which have been given by the officers, whose business it is, to the several gaolers, or keepers of other houses of con. finement from time to time, since the commencement of hostilities, and the bringing of American prisoners into this country, down to the 1st of the present month of December, respecting the custody and treatment of the said prisoners, may be laid before this House; and that the returns which have been made to office from the said prison, of their number and deaths, together with the accounts of each article of expence, attending their confinement, may likewise be produced." My lords, I have made this motion, not only from feelings of humanity, but from motives of policy. Your lordships will remember, that there is such a thing as the law of retaliation. Whilst you are making prisoners of the Americans by fifties and hundreds, they are making prisoners of you by whole armies. The fate of general Burgoyne is known; and if general Howe does not again shift his position, his fate will be the same. My lords, I will only add, that I hope this motion will be agreed to, and that it will be productive of good: but, my lords, as it will be some time before it can have its effect, I must signify to your lordships, that it is my intention, in the mean while, to promote, as much as lies in me, a subscription for the relief of these unfortunate prisoners, in hopes of procuring the contribution of every noble lord of this House; for, my lords, the majority lords, who have benefited by the American war, can afford it. Those who have not (the [20] bishops) will remember, that charity covereth a multitude of sins; and as to the minority lords, they will be all led to it from principle. Thus, my lords, I shall not despair of there being collected, at least as much money for those honest Whigs, as was procured for those Tory priests, who, for attempting to undermine the liberties of America, were driven out of that country, and are, perhaps for the same purposes, now pensioned in this. Lord Dudley observed, that according to established form, the House having before them the motion for adjournment, they could not in regularity either hear read or debate upon any other motion, till that was got rid of, either by being withdrawn, or being carried; if the latter, the noble earl's motion must necessarily drop till the mecting after the holidays. This brought on a short altercation with respect to parliamentary forms; during which The Earl of Abingdon complained of jockeyship, declaring that he was upon his legs as soon as the noble earl who moved the adjournment, and that therefore if his motion could not be attended to on account of the noble earl's having been read first, or because the noble earl might not be willing to withdraw his motion, which would have as full an effect if moved subsequent to his, he should conclude that an unfair advantage had been taken of his inexperience in points of order. Lord Dudley disclaimed the application of the word jockeyship, and declared that he had no other view in speaking to order, but for the preservation of those forms necessary for the dispatch of business, and the regularity of parliamentary proceedings. The Earl of Suffolk, having read the intended motion, informed the House, that he had not the least objection to it, and if, for the sake of getting on with the business of the day, their lordships would admit of a small irregularity, and the noble earl would be satisfied, he would pledge himself to lay before the House, on the day appointed for an enquiry into the state of the nation, the papers sought by the present motion. The Earl of Chatham acknowledged, that he was not very intimately acquainted with the particular forms of the House; yet he could not but see, that they were like to violate all the rules of parliamentary form, if they admitted a minister's promise to be a full compliance with the orders of that House. With regard to the noble earl's motion, he said they had certainly entangled themselves a little, respecting the mode of receiving it; nevertheless, were the offer made by the noble earl in office accepted, it would indeed overturn all order substantially, and would create a precedent, which might, at some future period, prove exceedingly dangerous, and produce much worse consequences than could be involved in the fate of the question either way. If ministers were to substitute vague, parole promises for parliamentary documents, there would be an end of the constitutional controul of that House; ministers would be no longer responsible; they would be at liberty at all times to excuse themselves, by saying, that they promised what was not in their power, or what they ought not to have promised. On these grounds, to steer clear of the difficulties on either hand, his lordship advised, that the motion of adjournment should be withdrawn ; that his noble friend's motion should be received, which, when disposed of, would leave the noble earl at liberty to repeat the original motion of adjournment. The Duke of Richmond remarked, that nothing was more certain than that two motions could not be before the House at one and the same time. The motion of adjournment was made first, and must, if the noble earl persisted in keeping to it, be the only motion debated; but he begged their lordships to consider, that the honour of the House was at stake, their character for decency and candour was involved in the present embarrassment. The noble earl's motion went to a very important object, an object of too serious a nature to be thus swept away by a motion for adjournment. Was that the case, his grace said, the noble earl might well complain of jockeyship; it was certainly taking an advantage which it was beneath the dignity of their lordships to suffer to The Earl of Suffolk denied, that he had be taken. If the motion of the noble any such intention as that imputed to him earl was disagreeable and improper, the by the noble earl. He only offered to fair line of conduct would be, to withdraw pledge his word to produce the papers the motion for adjournment, and either called for, merely to get rid of the dilemto debate the noble earl's motion, and ma which the claims of the two noble carry it by a majority, or to move the pre-lords seemed to have brought the House vious question upon it. into; this being his only motive, he en- | fatal narratives-shall we trust, during an tirely approved of the proposed expe- adjournment of six weeks, to those men dient; and cheerfully consented to accede who have brought those calamities upon to the noble earl's proposition. us, when, perhaps, our utter overthrow is plotting, nay, ripe for execution, without almost a possibility of prevention? Ten thousand brave men have fallen victims to The Earl of Abingdon's motion being read by the Chancellor, and agreed to; the earl of Oxford made his motion to adjourn to the 20th of January. The Earl of Chatham said: My lords; it is not with less grief than astonishment I hear the motion now made by the noble earl, at a time when the affairs of this country present, on every side, prospects full of awe, terror, and impending danger; when, I will be bold to say, events of a most alarming tendency, little expected or foreseen, will shortly happen; when a cloud, that may crush this nation, and bury it in destruction for ever, is ready to burst and overwhelm us in ruin. At so tremendous a season, it does not become your lordships, the great hereditary council of the nation, to neglect your duty; to retire to your country seats for six weeks, in quest of joy and merriment, while the real state of public affairs calls for grief, mourning, and lamentation, at least, for the fullest exertions of your wisdom. It is your duty, my lords, as the grand hereditary council of the nation, to advise your sovereign-to be the protectors of your country-to feel your own weight and authority. As hereditary counsellors, as members of this House, you stand between the crown and the people; you are nearer the throne than the other branch of the legislature, it is your duty to surround and protect, to counsel and supplicate it; you hold the balance, your duty is to see that the weights are properly poised, that the balance remains even, that neither may encroach on the other; and that the executive power may be prevented, by an unconstitutional exertion of even constitutional authority, from bringing the nation to destruction. My lords, I fear we are arrived at the very brink of that state; and I am persuaded, that nothing short of a spirited interposition on your part, in giving speedy and wholesome advice to your sovereign, can prevent the people from feeling beyond remedy the full effects of that ruin which ministers have brought upon us. These are the calamitous circumstances, ministers have been the cause of; and shall we, in such a state of things, when every moment teems with events productive of the most ignorance and rashness. The only army you have in America may, by this time, be no more. This very nation remains no longer safe than its enemies think proper to permit. I do not augur ill. Events of a most critical nature may take place before our next meeting. Will your lordships, then, in such a state of things, trust to the guidance of men, who, in every single step of this cruel, this wicked war, from the very beginning, have proved themselves weak, ignorant, and mistaken? I will not say, my lords, nor do I mean any thing personal, or that they have brought premeditated ruin on this country. I will not suppose that they foresaw what has since happened; but I do contend, my lords, that their guilt (I will not suppose it guilt), but their want of wisdom, their incapacity, their temerity in depending on their own judgment, or their base compliances with the orders and dictates of others, perhaps caused by the influence of one or two individuals, have rendered. them totally unworthy of your lordships' confidence, of the confidence of parliament, and of those whose rights they are the constitutional guardians of, the people at large. A remonstrance, my lords, should be carried to the throne. The King has been deluded by his ministers. They have been imposed upon by false information, or have, from motives best known to themselves, given apparent credit to what they were convinced in their hearts was untrue. The nation has been betrayed into the ruinous measure of an American war, by the arts of imposition, by their own credulity, through the means of false hopes, false pride, and promised advantages, of the most romantic and improbable nature. My lords, I do not wish to call your attention entirely to that point. I would fairly appeal to your own sentiments, whether I can be justly charged with arrogance or presumption, if I said, great and able as ministers think themselves, that all the wisdom of the nation is confined to the narrow circle of the petty cabinet. I might, I think, without presumption, say, that your lordships, as one of the branches of the legislature, may be as capable of advising your go vereign, in the moment of difficulty and danger, as any lesser council, composed of a fewer number; and who, being already so fatally trusted, have betrayed a want of honesty, or a want of talents. Is it, my lords, within the utmost stretch of the most sanguine expectation, that the same men who have plunged you into your present perilous and calamitous situation, are the proper persons to rescue you from it? No, my lords, such an expectation would be preposterous and absurd. I say, my lords, you are now specially called upon to interpose. It is your duty to forego every call of business and pleasure; to give up your whole time to inquire into past misconduct; to provide remedies for the present; to prevent future evils; to rest on your arms, if I may use the expression, to watch for the public safety; to defend and support the throne; and, if fate should so ordain it, to fall with becoming fortitude with the rest of your fellowsubjects in the general ruin. I fear this last must be the event of this mad, unjust, and cruel war. It is your lordships' duty to do every thing in your power that it shall not; but, if it must be so, I trust your lordships and the nation will fall gloriously. My lords, as the first and most immediate object of your enquiry, I would recommend to you to consider the true state of our home defence. We have heard much from a noble lord in this House, of the state of our navy. I cannot give an implicit belief to what I have heard on that important subject. I still retain my former opinion relative to the number of line of battle ships; but as an enquiry into the real state of the navy is destined to be the subject of a future consideration, I do not wish to hear more about it, till that period arrives. I allow, in argument, that we have 35 ships of the line fit for actual service. I doubt much whether such a force would give us a full command of the Channel, I am certain, if it did, every other part of our possessions must lie naked and defenceless, in every quarter of the globe. I fear our utter destruction is at hand. [Here and in many other parts of his speech, his lordship broadly hinted, that the House of Bourbon was meditating some decisive and important blow near home.] What, my lords, is the state of our military defence? I would not wish to expose our present weakness; but weak as we are, if this war should be continued, as the public declaration of persons in high confidence with their sovereign would in duce us to suppose, is this nation to be entirely stripped? And if it should, would every soldier now in Britain be sufficient to give us an equality to the force in America? I will maintain they would not. Where, then, will men be procured? Recruits are not to be had in this country. Germany will give no more. I have read in the newspapers of this day, and I have reason to believe it to be true, that the head of the Germanic body has remonstrated against it, and has taken measures accordingly to prevent it. Ministers have, I hear, applied to the Swiss Cantons. The idea is preposterous! The Swiss never permit their troops to go beyond sea. But, my lords, if even men were to be procured in Germany, how will you march them to the water-side? Have not our ministers applied for the port of Embden, and has it not been refused? I say, you will not be able to procure men even for your home defence, if some immediate steps be not taken. I remember during the last war, it was thought advisable to levy independent companies: they were, when completed, formed into battalions, and proved of great service. I love the army, I know its use; but I must nevertheless own, that I was a great friend to the measure of establishing a national militia. I remember the last war, that there were three camps formed of that corps, at once in this kingdom. I saw them myself; one at Winchester, another in the West at Plymouth; and a third, if I recollect right, at Chatham. [Told he was right.] Whether the militia is at present in such a state as to answer the valuable purposes it did then, or is capable of being rendered so, I will not pretend to say; but son why, in such a critical state of affairs, the experiment should not be made; and why it may not be put again on the former respectable footing. I remember, all the circumstances considered, when appearances were not nearly so melancholy and alarming as they now are, that there were more troops in the county of Kent alone, for the defence of that county, than there are now in the whole island. My lords, I contend, that we have not, nor can procure, any force sufficient to subdue America. It is monstrous to think of it. There are several noble lords present, well acquainted with military affairs. I call upon any one of them to rise and pledge himself, that the military force now within the kingdom is adequate to its defence, or that any possible force to be pro |