cherish Unanimity. Divide the And when proud Douglas made his king his • Friends of the Proteftant Succef < fion (which has been amazingly and fuccefsfully done in a neighbouring Country, by two late fucceffive Rulers; one forming, the other undermining, deftroying national • Confidence ; both difgufting) and you thus evidently weaken the Strength of that Succeflion; and by doing fo, take Steps tending to weaken the Conftitution: Because there is fcarce a Poflibility of preferving it under the Family who are Antagonists to that Succeffion. Attempts in a bundance were made, even whilft there were Proteftant Branches; but Laws, Compacts, and Promites were broken by to Eternity or Exile. The Conthem, or they had not been fent ftitution may, indeed, poffibly be loft under a Proteftant Succeffion; but in all human Appearance it would unavoidably be loft under any other. To preferve it, you muft certainly confine Proteftant ones to the ftrict Limits of your Conftitution.' foe, For Douglas, Piercy bent his English bow. Expell'd their native homes by adverse fate, They knock'd alternate at each other's gate: In gushes pleasure with the tide of woe; And when his waves retire like thofe of Nile, They leave behind them fuch a golden foil, Nor will I now attempt, with witty folly, EPIGRAM. W By lawyers, him, and P-pc; On True Happiness. Eftlefs mortals toils for nought, Blifs, a native of the sky, fought JOURNAL JOURNAL of the PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES in the In the Debate continued in your laft, the next Speech I shall give you, was that made by C. Decimius, (R-b-t D-nd—s, which was as follows. Mr. Prefident, SIR, S the Hon. gentleman, who fpoke ed not to prefs, but to protect those who had a legal authority to prefs, and every one who knows any thing of the nature of the people in that country, must allow that it was abfolutely neceflary; for if the prefs-gangs had not in feveral places been attended by a party of foldiers, they could have A laft but one, has clearly hewn, preffed but very few of the molt that the prefling of feamen into their country's fervice, is authorized not only by common law but by exprefs ftatute, and as the ftatute mentioned by him, is a ftatute that extends to Scotland as well as to every other part of the British dominions, I have no occafion to fay any thing in juftification of the practice itfelf, and therefore I rife up only to rectify fome miftakes which an Hon. gentleman fell into, with regard to the late exercife of this power in Scotland, and which, I am fure, he would not have mentioned at all, or would have flated it in quite another light, had he had a full and true information of the matter of fact. This I may affert with the more confidence, from the knowledge I have of the Hon. gentleman, and because, from the nature of the office, which I have the honour to hold under his majefty in that part of the united kingdom, I muft have heard of it, if any thing had been done there, which was contrary to law, or inconfiftent with the privileges enjoyed by the happy inhabitants of this iland; privileges which the fubjects of no kingdom upon the face of the earth are intitled to, and which cannot be justly faid to have been in the leaft violated, ever fince the happy acceffion of the prefent illuftrious family to our throne. As to the employing of the military Sir, upon the prefent occafion, my Hon. friend has already fufficient ly explained it: They were employ worthless fort of feamen, or otherwise a great deal of bloodshed would, I am convinced, have enfued; for the mob in that country do not content themfelves with clubs and bludgeons, but poffefs themselves of as many firearms, and other mortal weapons, as they can poffibly come at, and we know that our prefs-gangs are not furnished with arms proper for encountering fuch a mob therefore, without the affliftance of the military, no prefs-gang could have ventured to fearch for, or prefs any feaman who was a favourite of the populace; and of this we had a remarkable inftance at one of the little fea ports in Scotland, where a prefs-gang went to look for feamen, at first with out any party of foldiers, and could find in the whole town but three ordinary feamen; but being afterwards informed that there were certainly a great numble of seamen in that town, they went a fecond time, attended with a fufficient detachment of the military: By this they were enabled to make a strict search, and they found no less than threescore of as able and expert mariners as most in the British navy. I know, Sir, that before the Union there was never any fuch thing in Scotland as preffing feamen into the navy, and the reafon is very evident, because they never had any navy, unlefs a frigate or two could be called a navy; but this is fo far from being againft, that, upon this occafion, it was a was a reafon for employing the military to protect the prefs-gangs in the performance of their duty; because the populace in all countries are apt to refent, and even to rebel against the exercise of any act of power which they have never been accumftoned to, tho', to fenfible and thinking men, that act of power may appear to be abfolutely neceffary for the publick fervice, or perhaps for preventing those very people who oppofe it, from becoming a prey to their enemies. How happy would it have been for Scotland, in the year 1745, if all their feamen had been preffed into the publick fervice, in order to man a few guard hips, for preventing the landing of those who at that time raised fuch flame in the country; and yet I believe, that a prefs could not then have been carried on without the affiftance of the military. In short, Sir, if prefling be a legal and a neceffary act of power, as I think it has been fully proved to be, an officer with a prefs warrant in his pocket has as good a right to be effectually protected by our government in executing that warrant, a conftable in executing any warrant from a justice of the peace, and if this cannot be done by the civil, it muft be done by the military power; but this will always be the cafe when the poffe comitatus, or those whofe duty it is to affift the officer or conftable, are the very people that are engaged in the fedition or riot; and if the poffe comitatus fhould be called for, or the hue and cry raifed in any county where there were foldiers, they would be obliged, as his majefty's fubjects, to affemble and march to the affistance of the civil officer; but I am fure it would be much better and fafer to have them affemble and march, upon fuch an occafion, under the command of their officers, than to have them affemble and march without command; for it would be of the fuch any molt dangerous confequence to accuftom the foldiers of our army to affem as ble in any mobbish or tumultuous manner. mentioned by the Hon. gentleman, Now, Sir, as to the complaints of men being preffed who were not liable, either by law or custom, to be preffed into the fea fervice, I muft, by the nature of my office, have heard of all complaints of this kind, that were regularly made, and I never heard but of three. the men, in whofe favour they were Upon two of these fpect to the third, he was not inmade, were discharged; and with redeed what we may properly call a feaman, therefore I fent for the officer informed, that the whole village where who had preffed him, by whom I was the fellow lived had defired he might fo idle and profligate that he was be preffed, because he was a fellow his family; and that even his wife, more likely to ruin than provide for tho' fhe had figned the petition, had privately begged that he might be taken away from her. As all this the fame village, 1 examined the wife was confirmed, by feveral perfons of apart, and then the confeffed, that had the refufed, and he had afterfhe had figned the petition because, wards got loofe, he would have murdered her; but that he was fo far from affifting to provide for his family, that he had often robbed her of the money fhe had earned by hard labour, for maintaining herfelf and her fix children; that he fometimes fold or pawned her children's cloaths for money to spend at the alehouse, and that he beat her unmercifully if she ever dared to complain. I could order fuch a fellow to be Let gentlemen judge, Sir, whether discharged: Are not all fuch fellows liable to be preffed? Ought they, not to be preffed either into the fea or the land fervice? If we had in this country any fuch thing as galleys, for life. From this inftance we may they ought to be made galley-flaves judge of the oppreffions complained of, of, with regard to the preffing of men into the fea fervice; for I am perfuaded that many of them, if clofely examined, would appear to be of much the fame nature with this; because the regulating captains are always very ready to hear, and as ready to redress any complaint which they find to be just and well-founded. And this fhews how extremely cautious gentlemen ought to be, of mentioning any fuch complaints in this houfe, unless they have fully inquired into the nature and truth of the facts, and ftrictly examined both the parties concerned; and even then I do not think they ought to be mentioned, when they can have no other effect but that of rendering a meafure odious, which we muft, neceffarily, for the publick safety, often have recourfe to. And as to the complaint, Sir, of churches being invested in the time of divine fervice, and the people difturbed in their devotion, no fuch thing ever happened but once, when a prefs-gang, attended by fome foldiers, went into a church-yard, and, I believe, did lay hold of fome feamen as they came out of church; but the foldiers were there accidentally, or at leaft they had no orders to attend, nor, were they under any command upon that occafion; and as foon as the affair was heard of, strict orders were given, even to the prefs gangs, never again to attempt any fuch thing; fo fuch oppreffions or misfortunes have lately been thereby occafioned, as fhould induce us, for the fake of tempting feamen to enter voluntarily into the government's fervice, to refolve upon a measure which would not only render an immediate war unavoidable, but make it believed, by all the courts of Europe, that we had provoked the war, and confequently that we ought to be deemed the aggreffors; and that this would be the confequence of the bill now propofed, we have, I think, great reafon to believe, as his majefty has not yet thought fit to recommend any fuch bill to our confideration, or to order any of the French fhips that have been feized, to be condemned, and fold for the benefit either of the publick, or of the captors; for we muft fuppofe that the avoiding of these two confequences has been the chief, if not the only, reason why the condemnation and fale of these prizes have been hitherto delayed. And therefore, until I have reafon to believe that his majefty is refolved upon declaring war, I fhall be againft ordering any fuch bill as this to be brought in. The next that spoke was L. Trebonious Afper, (C-ar-s T-wn-h-d whofe Speech was as follows. Mr. President, SIR, HE Hon. gentleman, who that this must be reckoned one of that T fpoke firft against the motion fort of irregularities which the laudable but milguided zeal of fome men for the publick fervice often leads them into, and cannot be altogether prevented in any affair of life; nay, even in religion itself, we know that men are often, by a mifguided zeal, prompted to be guilty of very great irregularities. Upon the whole, Sir, I do not think that any very extraordinary methods of preffing have been lately practifed in any part of the British dominions, nor have I reafon to think that any was now under our confideration, pleased to recommend moderation to us upon the present occafion; and I fhall grant that moderation is upon all occafions a very commendable quality; but I wish we had, upon this, as well as fome former occafions, mixed a little fpirit with our moderation; for moderation without fpirit ought rather to be called ftupidity, and as fuch, I am afraid, our moderation, with regard to the difputes now fubfifting between France and us, has been confidered not only by all the indifferent indifferent nations in Europe, but even by the French themfelves. This, I believe, has encouraged them, for feveral years, to behave in a moft contemptuous manner towards us, tho' at the fame time we have behaved in the most paffive manner towards them; for I must obferve, that ever fince the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, our behaviour towards, the French has been of the very fame complexion with our behaviour towards the Spaniards for feveral years after the treaty of Seville, and indeed the treaties were pretty much of the fame complexion. By the treaty of Seville we left the moft important of the British concerns to be difcuffed by our refpective commiffaries at Madrid: The commiffaries accordingly met, and conferred for fome years without the least fuccefs, but at a great expence to this nation: The negotiation was carried on for feveral years more by our minifters; and thus we continued to negotiate for ten years, whilft the Spaniards continued, during that whole time, to plunder our merchants and interrupt our navigation in the feas of America. In the fame manner, by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, we left the moft important of our concerns with France, to be fettled by our refpective commiffaries at Paris; for in every thing relative to the point of honour, we have for many years given it up, almoft to every nation in Europe: Our commiffaries accordingly met the French commiffaries at Paris, and for fome years negotiated with the fame want of fuccefs: Our minifters have fince carried on the negotiation; and thus we have been negotiating for thefe eight years, whilft the French have been interrupting our trade, and plundering and murdering our people in both the Indies, and building forts npon our most undoubted territories in America. I beg pardon, Sir, for faying undoubted, for really we have for fo many years behaved with fo much moderation, that many of our rights, which were never before contefted, are now become doubtful, in the opinion even of fome of thofe foreign itates who incline to be our friends; and indeed I cannot much wonder at our behaviour, at and fince the time of the treaty of Aix-la Chapelle, as it has been directed by thofe very minifters, who ferved their apprenticehip under that minifter who directed our behaviour at the time of the treaty of Seville, and from that time, until a year or two after the breaking out of the Spanish war; and if a war with France fhould now be the confequence, as I am convinced it will, we may obferve the fame fimilitude of conduct; for we began our war with Spain by ridiculoutly iffuing orders for reprizals only, whereas had we begun it by one bold and vigorous pufh, we might have put an end to it at once, by obliging the enemy to fubmit to whatever we thought reasonable. Juft fo we have begun the war with France, by iffuing orders for what I now find is to be called reprizals, whereas had we begun the war by a bold and vigorous puth, and thereby repoffeffed ourfelves of that ifland which we, I fhall not say fcandaloufly, reftored to them by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, we should have foon compelled them to fue for. peace, because we could then have effectually prevented their fending fupplies either of troops, ammunition, or provifions to Canada. But by the beginning the war in our modern manner of making reprizals, we have given them warning, as we formerly did to the Spaniards, to provide for their defence. and the confequence, I fear, will be much more fatal, as the French have always been, and upon this occafion appear to have been, much more alert then the Spaniards. I call it, Sir, our modern manner of making reprizals, because reprizals is a term very improperly applied to what we now practifed againft the French, or what we formerly practifed aginft the Spaniards. When a private injury has been done by the fubjects of |