the tax being totally repealed; that as to the principles on which the other articles were to be repealed (that they were not founded on commercial principles) reached allo to the tax on teas, which though not a British manufacture, were purchafed by British manufactures, and by being taxed, threw a deal of that trade into the hands of the Dutch and French, who certainly would run teas to America, when they would receive an advanced price of 25 per cent. by being duty free; that it was well known, every trader fold his goods for the best price the purchafer could afford to pay; that by a tax, we feemed to expect a double price for our commodities, one to the feller, another to the king; that he was clearly for taking off the whole tax, as it would be a means of restoring quiet and harmony again between America and England; he therefore moved to add the words, " and on teas."

The Right Hon. G. Grenville fpoke well on this fubject; he obferved, that he had the bett information before he laid the ftamp act, that it would, and could be fubmitted to, and paid. In laying this tax, he had therefore acted fyftematically, to make every part of our dominions bear a part of the public burthens, as well as partake of the public benefits; that on the troubles which happened in that country, on this at pafling, the miniftry which fucceeded him, had alfo purfued a fyftem, which then, perhaps, was next beft, viz. of repealing that law, taking the Americans again by the hand, and reftoring things there to the ftate they were in before patling the ftamp act, and at the fame time of preferving the power of the English parliament, by a law decoring our right to tax America. He then obierved, that no minifter fince that time had acted with common fenfe; the next minifters had laid a tax diametrically repugnant to commercial principles; bringing in no money to the itate (the clear amount of it being under 16,000 a year) and throwing North America into a fen times greater firme than they had jutt been brought back from, that though he was of opinion the Americans fhould be cafed, yer as the minitry had formed no fvitematical plan in refpect to them, that he was free to fay, he looked on the propoled repeal of part of this act as too fu

he alfo thought the propofed amendment by no means reached what he would have hoped for; that as he did not think the propofal of the first would be of any real fervice, he could not give his affent to that propofition, fo neither would he join his voice to the forcing a measure down the throats of the miniftry, which he thought very little better, and therefore should not vote in the queftion.

General Conway obferved, that at the firft laying both the prefent tax and the ftamp-act, he had been of opinion that they were an unjust burthen on the Americans, as they were not reprefented; and as thofe who laid them were interested parties, as by that means they threw the burthen from their own fhoulders to those of others; that as he had concurred in repealing the stamp act, he heartily concurred in repealing the whole of the prefent a&t.

Sir W. Meredith faid, the tax ought to be repealed totally, becaufe by leaving only a part of it, the whole eftablishment of the custom-houtes there would remain untouched, by which means the expences would not be obtained by the tax, and muft be paid from our own taxes; that the whole of the reafons for not repealing the act were, that the preamble should remain. He therefore called it a paltry preamble tax; that there was no real neceflity to preferve the preamble, as the law, declaratory of the rights to tax America, ftill fubfiited, and even another tax, fhewing the exercife of that right fubfifted independent of the present tax; but that the repealing one part, and keeping up another, for no real advantage to any but the custom-houfe officers, and the miniftry who appointed them, fhewed the continued intentions of the ministry to rule with the fame violence in all parts of our dominions.

Lord Barrington, and Mr. Welbore Ellis, oppofed the amendment, and alfo oppofed the firit motion; they were not for taking off the tax at all; as they faw no probability that this would quiet North America, they therefore were for putting this act in execution abfolutely, and by all the powers of this nation united.

Col. Barré was for the whole repeal; he obferved that miniftry were not very open in their avowal of expected ruptures with France and Spain; that it was abfo

lutely

That feveral claufes fhould be inferted, as that no member above fixty be liable to be drawn, nor any member who shall have been drawn on one election, be put on another without his confent; that they fhould hear the caufe publicly, but deliberate and determine in private; that the fheriffs or witneffes prevaricating or offending, be punished by the house; if guilty of perjury, by the common law; that no one of this committee is to determine on the cause, if not attending the whole trial: if any fall fick, as long as thirteen remained, thofe thirteen to try the caufe; any of the committee absenting himself to be punished by the house; that the chairman be chofen by a majority of voices, and that a majority shall determine the cause.

These were the principal heads on which he moved for leave to bring in a bill, "to regulate the proceedings of the house on controverted elections."

Mr. Rigby made fome little objections, that it was not neceffary; that a law might be dangerous, as it could not be altered again without confent of the lords, which perhaps they might not confent to; however, the refolution was paffed with no other oppofition.

Monday, March 12. The Right Hon. W. Dowdeswell made a motion for the accounts of the civil lift debts, on the 5th of April 1762, and 1763, and on the 5th of July 1765, and 1766, with the account of the money of the late king remaining in the exchequer at his death, and the cafh of the prefent king in the treafury on those days.

He obferved, the neceffity of fuch an account arose from the accounts on the table, which distinguished the expenditure of every year; but by fome management in drawing them up, the increafing debt in the time of Lord Bute's adminiftration, to the amount of 80,000l. had been transferred to the subsequent administrations of Mr. Grenville and Lord Rockingham; that as it was very proper the fault fhould be laid on the perfons who had fo mifinanaged the king's revenue, he, in his own name, and on the behalf of Mr. Grenville and the late duke of Newcastle, demanded the account to be adjusted in the manner his motion directed, as thofe æras ended nearly their feveral administrations. Lord North faid there was no fort of

neceffity for fuch accounts, as nobody accufed any of thofe adminiftrations of mifmanagement, he therefore should oppose the motion.

Lord Mountstewart (lord Bute's fon) faid, tho' he faw no particular neceffity for fuch accounts, yet in the name of his father, and to clear his character from the afperfion daily thrown out upon him, he hoped Lord North would confent to the motion, that he begged it of him.

Lord North then faid, that as he had been defired by that Lord in behalf of his father, he should no longer oppose the motion.

Meffrs. Grenville and Dowdefwell then attacked lord North on the influence fome perfons had over him, to induce him to confent to what he had refused, to the juft demand of three other minifters, who had equal right to be vindicated by these ac

counts.

It is certainly extraordinary, that fo immediate an acquiefcence fhould follow the defire of lord Bute, tho' the other gentlemen met nothing but oppofition.

March 14. The bill for regulating the confequence of expulfions read a fecond time. Lord North faid he should not oppofe its being committed, but that in its prefent form he could not poffibly confent to its paffing-no debate.

March 15. The City Remonftrance being prefented yesterday, Sir Thomas Clavering moved on this day as follows. Mr. President,

I HAVE waited all this morning with particular anxiety, in hope that fomething, either by meflage or motion, would have been fubmitted to our confideration, relative to the extraordinary remonstrance of yesterday, in which the independence of this affembly is not only arraigned, but its authority peremptorily denied, and the f-n arrogantly informed, that we are not the reprefentatives of the people. As nothing however has been offered upon this important fubject, and as the time for making motions is near an expiration, I think it my duty, as a good fubject, and an upright member of this affembly, to move for an humble addrefs to his m -y, praying, that a copy of the remonstrance prefented yesterday to his my, may be laid before this room, together with a copy of his m -y's anfwer to the fame.

This motion being feconded; the lord mayor of London, and alderman Trecothick, one of the city's members, refpectively ftood up, and in a few words declared their readiness to enter upon the merits of the remonftrance, though they were the perfons moft immediately interefted by any cenfure which fhould pafs upon it, as they had been moft materially inftrumental in procuring it. They profeffed themfelves fatisfied no lefs with regard to the justice than the expediency of the measure, and declared they were fo far from withing to conceal their part in the tranfaction, that they confidered it the molt fortunate trait in their characters.

The theriff's Towniend and Sawbridge, acknowledged and gloried in their fhare of the tranfaction; Townsend said he fhould vote against the question, as he looked on the house as not competent in the prefent cafe, it, being the party accufed in the remonstrance, would have the refemblance of a culprit fitting in judgment on a judge, who would certainly fend that judge to Tyburn.

Lord North preffed for the queftion; he fpoke in a very high ftile, faid the houfe of commons was not corrupted, that it was now effentially neceffary to vindicate the honour of the houfe; he was furprifed to fee those gentlemen who avowed the remonftrance, attending parliament, as they difavowed its being a parliament; that there were many reafons for taking it into consideration; the king in his anfwer had faid it was difrespectful to himfelf; this alone was a fufficient reason, as it was the duty of parliament to prevent any difrefpect being fhewn to the king, and especially it became the duty of the houfe, when it was also faid to be injurious to parliament, and irreconcileable to the conftitution, which he faid it certainly was, as it prayed the king to take notice of a tranfaction of the houfe, which would be a breach of privilege in the king to have done. Speaking of the lord mayor, he called him, "that worthy magittrate, if I may ftill call him worthy, after this action of his."

Lord Granby faid not much more than, he wifhed the motion might not be carried, as he feared it was opening a fresh fcene of diforder and confufion, from which he fincerely wifhed we were free.

The next that rofe was Mr. Edm. Burke who spoke thuş.

Mr. Prefident,

I CANNOT look upon the present motion without the deepest concern-I cannot confider the prefent fituation of my country without the most sensible regret-torn-distracted as we already are, with inteftine divifions, is it not amazing that any gentleman, instead of wifely trying to heal our wounds, fhould endeavour to render thefe wounds ftill wider, and inftead of applying lenitives to mitigate the rage of the political fever, fhould madly adminifter fuch inflammatives, as threaten the actual existence of our conftitution?

The object of the motion before you, fir, is to caft a ftigma upon the chief city of the British empire. A city which on numberlets occations has proved herself the true friend to freedom; the undaunted fupporter of juftice, and the invincible champion of our glorious conftitution--A measure of this nature would at any time be extremely injudicious; but in a period like the prefent, is big with a thoufand dangers. The metropolis, fir, is compofed of the wealthiest citizens in the British dominions their number is great, their influence prodigious, and their proceedings are, in general, the rules of action for all the inferior corporations in the kingdom. To brand them therefore at any time with a mark of obloquy, is to render an extenfive fhare of the people diffatisfied, either with the equity or the moderation of government-It is to make that very part of the community to which in the hour of public exigence we fly for affiftance; from which we fupplicate our loans, and obtain the cffential finews of political ftrength, our declared, nay, what is more, our confirmed enemies; and out of refentiment to them, to do a manifeit outrage upon ourselves.

This, Sir, would at any time be the confequence of offending the city of London : but, in the prefent cafe, the evils must be infinitely more complicated and alarming. To cenfure the citizens for what nine tenths of the empire confider as an act of the most exalted virtue, is to roufe the indignation of every honott fubject in the extenfive circuit of our dominions. It is to aggravate the fury of a discontent, already too pregnant with danger, and to open a fcene of horror, that will not clofe perhaps, but on the total overthrow of the conftitution.