Previous, however, to the recefs of parliament, a bill was unexpectedly brought in, under the fanction of the government, for limiting the peerage, by restraining the crown from enlarging the present number of peers by more than fix new creations. This was generally confidered as a measure not fo much of policy as of refentment on the part of the crown, eagerly and intemperately defirous to excite the chagrin, and diminish the political importance, of the prince of Wales, who had highly offended the court by the support he had for fome time paft given to the opposition. The court influence, weakened by the late seceffion, and in this inftance oppofed by the general sense of the nation, which saw its tendency to elevate the aristocracy, and by the efprit du corps of the house of commons, was however found, upon trial, not fufficiently powerful to carry this favorite but very exceptionabe project into effect: and the bill, after being withdrawn by lord Stanhope in order to its revival with greater force the enfuing feffion, when farce, upon which the wisdom of government ought long ago to have dropped the curtain. There is indeed a charge omitted by lord Lansdowne, but which might be properly urged against the diffenters, as containing not fictitious, but real culpability. It is that, poffeffing the authority and confidence of the nation in the convention parliament of 1660, they had the unpardonable weakness to reftore king Charles II. to the crown, without any previous limitations or conditions. Let the idolizers of kings, who have hearts to feel, if not understandings to be convinced, view the interesting and affecting portrait now in the poffeffion of lord Elliot, of his illustrious ancestor fir John Elliot, who, with many other distinguished patriots, was, for his noble exertions in the cause of liberty, committed to the Tower, after the diffolution of the last of the early parliaments of Charles I. He is drawn pale, languishing and emaciated—but difdaining to make the abje& submis. fion required of him by the tyrant, he expired under the exceflive rigors of his confinement, leaving this portrait as a legacy and memento to his pofterity and to mankind; who, in the contemplation of such enormities, have reafon to rejoice "When vengeance in the lurid air Lifts her red arm expos'd and bare." when it paffed the lords with very little difficulty, was ultimately rejected by the commons, not without evident marks of indignation; the divifion on the question of commitment being 269 to 177 voices. Mr. Walpole particularly distinguished himself by the animation of his oppofition to this bill. By an allufion happily imagined, he compared the two houses of parliament to the temples of Fame and Virtue, and obferved that, "among the Romans, the former was placed behind the latter, to denote that fame was no otherwife attainable than by virtue. But if the present bill paffed into a law, one of the most powerful incentives to virtue would be taken away. He affirmed that this bill would not only operate as a difcouragement to merit, but would endanger the conftitution: that the peers were already poffeffed of fufficient privileges; but that the proposed limitation of their number would prodigioufly enhance their authority, and in time reduce the commons to a state of fervile dependency that he was astonished their lordships could prefume to send such a bill to that house, or that they could flatter themfelves it would ever receive their concurrence, or expect that they would voluntarily exclude themselves and their posterity from the honors of the peerage. And he thought it a very injurious and ungrateful return in one, who had himself been advanced to a participation of those honors for his public services, to endeavor, on his admission to the house of peers, to bar the door against future claimants." In allufion to this bill, the king, in his fpeech from the throne, had used these remarkable expreffions: "As I can truly affirm that no prince was ever more zealous to increafe his own authority, than I am to perpetuate the liberty of my people, I hope you will think of all proper methods to establish and tranfmit to your pofterity the freedom of our happy conftitution; and particularly to secure that that part which is most liable to abuse." And by an exprefs meffage to the lords, when the bill was pending, his majefty declared, "That he had so much at heart the fettlement of the British peerage, upon fuch a foundation as might secure the freedom and constitution of parliaments in all future ages, that he was willing his prerogative fhould not stand in the way of fo great and neceffary a work." Certainly it would be harsh and uncandid to ascribe this apparent generofity of fentiment to the exclufive influence of invidious motives; but it may well be doubted whether the remedy propofed by the minifters of the crown, for the abuse so reasonably apprehended, and which time has contributed rather to ftrengthen than impair, might not in its confequences be productive of political inconvenience ftill more serious than the evil it was intended to obviate. In the feffion of 1719, alfo, the celebrated declaratory bill, for the better fecuring the dependency of Ireland upon the crown of England, was introduced and paffed; in which the supremacy of the appellant jurisdiction of the English house of peers, and the right of the English parliament to make laws to bind the kingdom of Ireland in all cases whatsoever, were afferted in a high tone, in consequence of the refractory spirit which had lately displayed itself in various inftances in that kingdom. Nor was it conceivable at this period, by any effort of political fagacity, that Ireland would be in a situation, before the termination of the century, to extort from England an entire and abfolute renunciation of these haughty and unjust pretenfions. The parliament of Ireland affembling July 1, 1719, the duke of Bolton, lord-lieutenant of that kingdom, in his fpeech, ftrongly urged the neceffity of guarding against the defigns of the difaffected, and declared, that it would be very pleafing to his majesty, if any method could be found, not inconfiftent with the fecurity of the church, to render the proteftant diffenters more useful and capable of serving - his majesty, and supporting the protestant interest, than they now are they having upon all occafions given fufficient proofs of their being well-affected to his majesty's perfon and government, and to the fucceffion of the crown in his royal house. And this his excellency declared he was exprefsly ordered to lay before the legislature, as a thing greatly importing his majesty's fervice, and the national fecurity. In confequence of this interpofition, an act paffed to relieve the diffenters from certain penalties inflicted by the existing laws; but the repeal of the Sacramental Teft, to which the king plainly extended his views, could not be obtained by any effort of regal influence from the equity or complaifance of the present parliament.* About * Nearly at this period the earl of Stair, who had served his country for several years with distinguished ability, as ambassador at the court of Verfailles, was recalled in confequence of a political difference between him and the lords Stanhope and Sunderland, respecting the famous Law, raised by the regent to the comptroller-generalfhip of the finances, and whose credit at the French court, from the knowledge of his mifchievous designs, the ambaffador had labored to fubvert. In a letter to Mr. fecretary Craggs, dated February 14, 1720, he vindicates his public character and conduct with great fpirit, and in a manner highly characteristic of his well-known firmness and elevation of mind. A few fentences it may be permitted as the privilege of a note to transcribe" If," fays he, "lord Stanhope has not gained Mr. Law, I am afraid we shall not find our account in his lordship's fupporting him, when he was ready to fall-in making him first minister, and recalling me from this court, where my long stay should have cnabled me to be better able to judge of their designs, and of their ways of working, than a stranger of greater capacity could poffibly be. After the ufage I meet with, I do not wonder to fee that our minifters have fo few friends. As to my revocation, if it was poffible I fhould have a mind to stay in this country, you have made it impracticable-you have taken all the effectual ways to deftroy any personal credit I had with the regent-you have made it plain to him, that I have no credit with the king-you are under a neceflity of fending therefore another minifter to this court.-As to the matter of my revocation, I do not care to make the grimace of defiring it for falfe reafons. I expect nothing, and I fear nothing.-As to my behavior when I come home, I fhall ever be a faithful fervant to the king, and act as a man in whom the love of his country is fuperior to all other confiderations." Hardwicke State Papers. About this period, the famous South-fea bill was introduced into the British house of commons, by Mr. Aislabie, chancellor of the exchequer; the earl of Sunderland prefiding at the board of treasury; and, after long and able difcuffion, received the royal affent, April 7th, 1720. By this bill, which proposed eventually to reduce all the different public fecurities into one grand aggregate fund, the South-fea company was invefted with certain commercial privileges, and authorized to take in, by purchase or subfcription, both the redeemable and irredeemable debts of the nation, to the amount of about thirty-three millions, at fuch rates and prices as fhould be agreed upon between the company and the respective proprietors-a clause proposed. in the house of commons, for ascertaining what share of the capital stock of the company should be vested in those proprietors of government ftock, who might voluntarily fubfcribe, being moft unwifely rejected. In return, the company confented that the interest upon their original capital of 9,400,00ol. as well as the intereft upon the public debts, to be redeemed in the mode prescribed by the present act, should, after Midfummer-day, 1727, be reduced to four per cent. redeemable by parliament; and exclufive of this reduction, the company agreed to pay into the exchequer four years and a half purchase of all the long and fhort annuities that fhould be fubfcribed, and one year's purchase of such long annuities as fhould not be fubfcribed; amounting, on the execution of the act, to no less than feven millions; for raising which fum, they were impowered to open books of subscription, to grant annuities redeemable by the company, and to convert the money fo raifed into additional ftock. It is evident, from the wild and extravagant terms of this contract, that it was never meant to be seriously fulfilled. In vain did the fagacity of Walpole difcern, and his eloquence difplay, the mighty mischiefs contained in this cafket of Pandora. In vain did he urge the |