Cafe of Mr.

Adam's.

March

tish conftitution; as it deprived bis
majesty of the fervices of a subject."
N. B. The reasons that attended the

repeal, were expressed in the
Arongest terms; and founded
upon an opinion given by the late
Sir Matthew Lamb, bart. coun-
fel to the board of trade.

To the PRINTER, &c.

134 which Mr. Adams was expelled, were not committed in the affembly: they were cognizable only in the courts of law; to which Mr. Adams had fubmitted, and received fentence: a fentence, which, by the laws, did not affect his feat in the affembly, and therefore they re-elected him. But upon the return of the writ, it was again moved, that be fhould be again expelled and he was expelled accord-T is the obfervation of Plutarch, ingly. The fpirit that prevailed in the parish of Chrift Church was notorious. The electors feriously took up the cafe as a matter of RIGHT belonging to themfelves. They conceived this arbitrary expulfion, to be a breach of the people's natural and unalienable privileges; which the affembly, who derived its authority from the people, was bound to fupport. And they faid, from Sydney, that the affembly did not enjoy "an inherent, but a delegated power; and whoever receives it, is accountable to thofe who gave it; for they who give authority by commiffion, do always retain more than they grant." Cap. 3. Sec. 38. Had a third writ been iffued, the electors, notwithstanding the fecond expulfion, would ftil have returned him, to affert and fupport their own inherent right to a free choice; and to preferve what did conftitutionally belong to them, the power of being not only the most proper, but the fole and exclufive Judges, who were fit perfons to reprefent them in the affembly. The aflembly fearing, or not liking a third election of the fame perfon, and entertaining great indignation against Mr. Adams, came to a refolution, at the time of the fecond expulfion, to bring in a bill to disqualify him from holding a feat in the affembly. The bill was paffed by the affembly, and by the council, and was affented to by the governor, Charles Pinfold, Efq; doctor of the civil law.

Mr. Adams could not reft eafy under fuch feverity, but applied for redrefs to the justice and moderation of his fovereign, the prefent king. This gentleman was unknown, unconnected, unfupported. His fate was to be determined by the equity of his cafe.

Upon his appeal, the act of difability was abfolutely repealed; with a declaration,That it was arbitrary, and contrary to the spirit of the Bri

when he is speaking of the cruelties exercised at Rome after the return of Marius, "That it appeared on this occafion, that the facred ties of friendthip and hospitality cannot ftand the trial in the days of adverfity." No man has experienced this more than Mr. Wilkes. The laft week produced another remarkable inftance of it from a gentleman, formerly one of his most intimate friends, who has only once in the last ten months ventured within the King's Bench walls, not to chear the prifoner and captive, not to chace the gloom of fuch a habitation, but to fetch and carry political meflages. perfon thought himself at liberty to relate publicly what he pretended palled in a private converfation with Mr. Wilkes at that time. I was not prefent, but I am told the converfation was falfly and malevolently stated. I will leave to others, Sir, to fend you the fubftance of what was faid in public. I fhall give you faithfully all the particulars, which occurred at the conference between the two gentlemen in private, and I appeal to another gentleman, who accompanied the placeman, for the truth of my relation.

This

The placeman had feverál times called on an honest bookseller in Piccadilly, a friend of Mr. Wilkes, to defire him to come to the King's Bench, to entreat Mr. W. not to -prefent a petition to the House of Commons, for the confequence muft be the lofs of his feat, from the refentment of the ministry. The honeft book feller refuted to come on that mesfage. The placeman had never once been to fee his old friend in prifon, fince his commitment in April, til Sunday evening, the 13th of November, the day before the petition was prefented. The attempt by the bookfeller failing, he ventured himself, in

the

1769. Mr. Wilkes's Conversation with a Placeman.

the dusk, to obey the mandates of his mafter. He then declared what pleafure he should have found in coming frequently to the King's Bench, that he could not pafs his time fo well as with Mr. Wilkes, and that he would have been often there, could he have been really useful to his friend. He talked warmly against the intended measure of prefenting a petition to the House of Commons, complaining of grievances, and declared he knew, if Mr. Wilkes would be quiet, he might keep his feat; if he prefented the petition, he would certainly lofe it. He earnestly entreated Mr. Wilkes to give up the petition, and to keep his feat; the honour and advantage of which he painted in ftrong colours. Mr. Wilkes defired the authority for fuch direct affertions. The placeman declared, that he spoke in the name of the minifter, and that he would promife, if the petition was not prefented, no attempt fhould be made in parliament against Mr. Wilkes. He was then asked by Mr. Wilkes, if he would promise for the great man as first minifter, or as D.

of

for the D. of Phad found
how little the promises of the D.
of were regarded by the first
rainifter. No anfwer was made to

this.

Mr. Wilkes then declared, that he thought it his duty to every man in this country to prefent a petition of fuch general concern, complaining of fo many unparalleled grievances; that he would not fell the rights of the people, and his own, even for a feat for the first county in England; that he held that feat at the free will of his conftituents, and refufed to hold it at the arbitrary will of any minifter; that he was highly fenfible of the private honour to himself, but he felt ftill more for his country; that on no terms would he have given up the petition, had they been offered before his laft address to the county, but that now no propofal fhould be made to him which could even fuppofe that breach of faith. In the course of a long converfation, Mr. Wilkes obferved that he did not look on a feat in parliament as the end, but as the means; that he wished to reprefent the county of Middlefex, in order to be more eminently uteful at a fober

135

time of life, but, if he could be more useful by giving up his feat, he would then give it up, and he would always hold his head by the fame tenure. He repeated feveral times, that he was embarked to defend the rights of the people, which he would do at any risk, without a wish to encroach on the fair claims of the crown; that he had been, and fhould be, ever ready to make any fubmiffion to the king, which was even hinted from authority, although he was not confcious of any intention at any time to have offended his fovereign, but that he never would make application for pardon to a minifter; that if mercy was extended to him, he hoped he fhould be permitted to throw himself at the king's feet to acknowledge his majefty's goodness; if it was not, he had long borne the ftorms of fate, and his mind was made to adverfe fortune; and although he felt his imprisonment and all his perfecutions as a man, he would alfo bear them as a man, and would come out of prifon a better man than he went in.

I have now, Sir, given you the whole of the converfation between the placeman and Mr. Wilkes, relative to the political meflage. Very little paffed, which was not particularly attended to by the gentleman who accompanied the placeman. I believe he will not fcruple to fay, that Mr. Wilkes's declarations were firm and manly, and that they betrayed neither peevishness nor defpair. I have. ftated what paffed, fairly and fully. Not a word was mentioned of any measures of violence or faction. I fhall only add, that Mr. Wilkes faid, after the late affair in a numerous alfembly, he has ceafed to be my friend, but I continue his: Agnofco veteris veftigia flammæ. Your's, &c.

Feb. 22, 1769.

A. B. Extract of a Letter from Canterbury,

66

Feb. 28.

ESTERDAY morning, at

Y half past eleven o'clock, at

very numerous and refpectable meeting of the freemen of this city was held at the Guildhall in High-street, to determine on a proper mode of inftructing our representatives in parliament; when a gentleman of diftinguifhed reputation, as a friend to civil

and

136

CANTERBURY INSTRUCTIONS.

and religious liberty, was placed in
the chair, from whence he delivered
a very fpirited and nervous oration,
adapted to the occafion. Each article
of the inftructions was read over twice
to the affembly, and although there
were upwards of four hundred citi-
zens prefent, not one diffenting voice
was heard. In the evening feveral
parties were formed in the true spirit
of Wilkiteifm at different taverns in
the city, one or two freets were illu-
minated, and an elegant fupper was
given by the corporation at the Red
Lion, when, among others, the fol-
lowing toafts were drank: The King.
The royal family. Mr. Wilkes. May
the freeholders of Middlefex preferve
their independence. Speedy remedies
to the wounds of the conftitution.
Deftruction to the enemies of freedom.

COPY of the INSTRUCTIONS.
To William Lynch, and Richard
Milles, Efqrs. Representatives of the
City of Canterbury in Parliament.

GENTLEMEN.

"AT this alarming period, when the prevailing influence of arbitrary measures menace danger to our conftitutional liberties, fully perfuaded of your will to perform your duty to your conftituents and your country, We, the free and independent citi zens of Canterbury, do moft earnestly exhort you to fulfil the following in#tructions:

I. We entreat you to use your en deavours to re-establish our antient mode of trial by jury, which we derive from the great standard of English freedom, Magna Charta, and which was confirmed to us in the Bill of Rights, by the late King William the Third of glorious memory.

II. We request you to promote a ftri& and candid enquiry into the proceedings of the military, on the oth of May laft, in St. George's Fields, which, from the idea we entertain of them, seem to threaten an eternal cloud on the annals of English hiftory. III. You are defired to endeavour to discover and bring to juftice the promoters and perpetrators of the late riotous proceedings at Brentford on the 8th day of December laft, when * If an advertisement from the Mayor at all given at Canterbury!

March

the lives of more than one of our fellow fubjects were inhumanly ended, and the freedom of election, the effence of English liberty, most daringly violated by a defperate band of Ruffians.

IV. You are defired to fee juftice done to the long and great sufferer in the caufe of his country, John Wilkes, Efq; in whom the privileges of Englifhmen have been repeatedly violated.-We intreat you to afford him your most strenuous fupport.

V. You are requested to fupport the high privileges of parliament, and firmly to withstand every arbitrary and defpotic measure which prefent or future minifters may think proper to impose.

VI. We defire you to endeavour to determine all future elections for members to ferve in parliament by ballot, as the most effectual means of preventing the influence of bribery and corruption.

VII. You are intreated to use your endeavours, that the duration of the prefent, and all future parliaments, may be limited to two years.

VIII. You are defired effectually to prevent all English peers from endeavouring to interfere in the election of commoners, and likewife all fons of English peers, all Irijh peers, or natives of Scotland, from being elected to reprefent English boroughs in pariia

ment.

IX. You are requested to endeavour to limit the number of pendoners and placemen in the Houle of Commons.

X. You are defired to endeavour to heal the prefent unhappy divifions which prevail between Great Britain and ber American colonies, by every lenient and conftitutional method.

XI. and lastly, we request you to promote a bill for taking off the prefent drawback on leather, as the most powerful means of abating the advanced price of that commodity."

King's Arms Tavern, March 1, 1769. ASPEECH addressed to the CHAIRMAN. † SIR,

FROM which fome

ROM the pain which fome gen

tells truth, there have been no inftructions

A jew, very few, merchants kaving met, pursuant to advertisement, to confiler en address to the king.

declared

A SPEECH.

INSTANCE OF MAGNANIMITY.

138 dent in us to fet the opinions of a few, 800 pieces of cannon. The ftate in very inconfiderable individuals, in op- which he lived, the pomp with which pofition to the united voice of the he carried the standard of the empire, whole people. If this be a faction, I and the luftre of a train, confifting hope it will be found too ftrong for of almost all the princes of the Decan, either court or ministry to resist. We were beyond the conception of an Eufhall be laughed at by the public, and even the miniftry, who now fet us on, will difown us.

IN the year 175°; when, the anded Account of the Independents, from the

laft Volume of Mrs. Macaulay's Hifory. (See our laft Vol. p. 623.) IN proportion as the king's power approached nearer its diffolution, the differences which had for fome + See Ar. Cambridge's accurate history of India, page 107.