affumes the title of Prime Minifter, or indeed that it is applied to him by any but his enemies, and it may easily be conceived how weakly the most uncorrupted innocence would be fupported if all the afperfions of its enemies were to be received as proofs • against it.

• Nor does it appear, my lords, that any other evidence can be brought against him on this head, or that any man will stand forth and affirm, that either he has been injured himself by this gentleman, or known any injury done by him to another by the • exertion of authority with which he was not lawfully • invested; such evidence, my lords, the laws of our country require to be produced before any man can be punished, cenfured or difgraced. No man is • obliged to prove his innocence, but may call upon his profecutors to fupport their accufation, and why this honourable gentleman, whatever may have ⚫ been his conduct, fhould be treated in a different manner than any other criminal, I am by no means able to discover.

Though there has been no evidence offered of his guilt, your lordships have heard an atteftation of ⚫ his innocence from the noble Nardac* who fpoke first against the motion, of whom it cannot be fufpected that he would voluntarily engage to answer for measures which he purfued in blind compliance with the direction of another. The fame teftimony, my lords, can I produce, and affirm with equal truth, that in the adminiftration of my province I am independent, and left entirely to the decisions of my own judgment.

'In every government, my lords, as in every family, fome, either by accident, or a natural industry, or a fuperior capacity, or fome other caufe, will be engaged in more business and treated with more confidence than others; but if every man is willing to anfwer for the conduct of his own province, there is all the fecurity againft corruption that can poffibly be obtained; for if every man's regard to his own fafety and reputation will prevent him from betraying his trust or abusing his power, much more will it incite him to prevent any misconduct in another for which he muft himself be accountable. Men are usually fufficiently tenacious of power, and ready to < vindicate their feparate rights, when nothing but their pride is affected by the ufurpation, but furely no man will patiently suffer his province to be invaded, when he may himself be ruined by the conduct of the invader.

<

Thus, my lords, it appears to me to be not only · without proof, but without probability, and the first 'minifter can, in my opinion, be nothing more than a • formidable illufion, which, when one man thinks he has feen it, he fhews to another as eafily frighted as himself, who joins with him in propagating the notion, and in spreading terror and refentment over the nation, till at laft the panic becomes general, and what was at first only whispered by malice or prejudice in the ears of ignorance or credulity, is adopted by common fame, and echoed back from the people

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to the fenate.

I have hitherto, my lords, confined myself to the confideration of one fingle article of this complicated

charge, because it appears to me to be the only part

of

of it neceffary to be examined, for if once it be acknowledged that the affairs of the nation are tranfacted, not by the minifter but the adminiftration, by the 'council, in which every man who fits there has an equal voice and equal authority, the blame or praise of all the measures must be transferred from him to the council, and every man that has advised or concurred in them, will deferve the fame cenfure or the fame applause; as it is unjust to punish one man for the crimes of another, it is unjust to chufe one man ⚫ out for punishment from among many others equally guilty.

• But I doubt not, my lords, when all those measures

are equitably confidered, there will be no punish⚫nishment to be dreaded, because neither negligence

nor treachery will be discovered. For, my lords, ⚫ with regard to the treaty of Vinena *, let us suppose our minifters deceived by ignorant or corrupt intelligence; let us admit that they were cautious. where there was no danger, and neglected fome opportunities which, if they had received better information, they might have improved to the advantage and fecurity of the nation: what have they done even under all thefe difadvantageous fuppofitions, but followed the lights which they judged most <clear, and by which they hoped to be conducted to ⚫ honour and to safety?

Policy, my lords, is very different from prescience, the utmost that can be attained is probability, and that, for the most part, in a low degree. It is ob• ferved that no man is wife, but as you take into • confideration the weakness of another; a maxim more eminently true of political wisdom, which

* Vienna,

6 • confists

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⚫ confifts very often only in discovering defigns which • could never be known but by the folly or treachery ⚫ of those to whom they are trusted. If our enemies were wife enough to keep their own fecrets, neither ⚫ our ministers nor our patriots would be able to know or prevent their designs, nor would it be any reproach to their fagacity that they did not know what nobody would tell them.

If therefore, my lords, the princes whose interest is contrary to our own, have been at any time ferved by honest and wife men, there was a time when our • ministers could act only by conjecture, and might ⚫ be mistaken without a crime.

If it was always in our power to penetrate into the intentions of our enemies, they must neceffarily ⚫ have the fame means of making themselves acquainted with our projects, and yet, when any of them are ⚫ discovered, we think it juft to impute it to the negli< gence of the minister.

Thus, my lords, every man is inclined to judge with prejudice and partiality. When we fuffer by the prudence of our enemies, we charge our minifters ⚫ with want of vigilance, without confidering that very often nothing is neceffary to elude the most pene'trating fagacity but obftinate filence.

If we enquire into the tranfactions of paft times, 'fhall we find any man, however renowned for his abilities, not fometimes impofed upon by falfhoods, and "fometimes betrayed by his own reafonings into meafures deftructive of the purpofes which he endeavoured to promote? There is no man of whofe penetration

higher ideas have been juftly formed, or who gave more frequent proofs of an uncommon penetration into fu<turity

⚫turity than Clewmro *, and yet fucceeding times have < fufficiently discovered the weakness of aggrandizing ⚫ Blefufcu + by depreffing Iberia ‡, and we wonder now how fo much policy could fall into fo grofs an error, as not rather to fuffer power to remain in the distant enemy, than transfer it to another equally divided ⚫ from us by intereft, and far more formidable by the • fituation of his dominions.

Clewmro, my lords, fuffered himself to be hurried away by the near profpect of prefent advantages, and the apprehenfion of prefent dangers, and every other man has been in the fame manner fometimes <deluded into a preference of smaller present advantage to a greater which was more remote.

Let it not be urged, my lords, that politics are advanced fince the time of Clewmro, and that errors which might then be committed by the wifest ad'ministration, are now grofs and reproachful: we are to remember that every part of policy has been equally improved, and that, if more methods of discovery have been ftruck out, there have been likewife more arts invented of eluding it.

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. When therefore we enquire into the conduct, or ex<amine the abilities of a minifter, we are not to expect

that he should appear never to have been deceived, but that he fhould never be found to have neglected any proper means of information, nor ever to have willingly given up the intereft of his country; but we are not to impute to his weakness what is only to be afcribed to the wifdom of those whom he

oppofed.

If this plea, my lords, is reasonable, it will be

* Cromwell. + France. + Spain.

• neceffary