On the debate on the latter it was declared, that no perfon fhould take advantage from it, except thofe in confinement on the 10th day of November.- -This bill to be read a fecond time to

morrow.

Hon. Denis Browne reminded gentlemen, that he had given notice, ten days ago, of his intention of moving an address to his Majefty on the prefent fituation of this country; he had come to the Houfe yesterday with that intent, but finding it was but a thin Houfe, he would not then bring it on, but deferred it to this day. He began with obferving, that there are axioms that have never yet been controverted; that public economy in every ftate is neceffary to its well being; that a load of accumulating debt is not a defirable thing, and that nothing but abfolute neceffity fhould force a country to exceed its revenues. A wife people will endeavour, by every means in their power, to get rid of the debt their neceflity obliged them to contract; but what fhall we fay to the policy of a country that contracts debts upon flight occafions; that continues that expence, and encreases her expences in the hour of her poverty? He would endeavour to fhew, that fuch is the policy of this country, and that fhe is pursuing a defperate fyftem that must end in her ruin.

The fituation of this country at this time needs little defcription; there is no man in this houfe but feels it; there are those who live on the fpoils, that, like wafps, fuck the blood, regardlefs of the wound, and finile at our impending ruin; need I tell you of the farmer ruined by calamitous times, of the lower order of people ftarving, and obliged to fell their provifion to fatisfy the landlord, who himfelf can only get the means of exifting from his lands? Need I tell you that the avenues to the capital are befet with ftarving manufacturers, and at the very doors of this houfe, begging of your members to avert by a small donation the miferies of famine? Their neceflities made them bold, they even ventured into the caftle-yard: their complaints were heard, though but feldom heard before, and proper iteps were taken to relieve them; the privy council was fummoned-the doors were barredand the guards of the city were doubled; the garrifon ordered to hold themselves in readiness-to maffacre people already conquered by hunger! Such is the fituation of your country. Yet this was the time when you were to keep up an useless and expenfive army, and miniiter to the ufelefs pageantry of a court. He faid, the neceffity of economy, and of every retrenchment, is obvious, even if the fituation juft described was but imaginary. He took his principal argument from a learned and refpectable gentleman on the other fide of the Houfe. From the prefent limits of the British empire, this country will probably be invaded, whenever the pride or neceflities of England fhall involve us with herself in the calamities of war; but he knew that gentleInan too well, to think he would therefore argue, you ought not

to retrench. He would agree with him, that, for that reafon, you ought to abolish the band of penfioners; that you fhould abolish all ufelefs places and employments.-But a Right Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Grattan) and he differed as to the military establishment; that gentleman thinks foldiers better than money, but, for his part, he thinks money better than foldiers, becaufe, when you have money, you can have foldiers, and not a moment longer: will you have it when your treafury is exhausted, when you have no more credit? or, will not that be the confequence of a debt obviously more than you are equal to, by daily accumulating, and the want of œconomy in time of peace, and contracting debts in time of war? He owned he had little hopes, without an addrefs pafling, fuch as he meant to offer to their confideration, that any measure tending to retrenchment and economy would be adopted: He would not attribute the fpeech from the throne to his Majefty, it is pretty well understood to be the fpeech of the minifter, and is equally well understood to have no great regard to œconomy. An Hon. Baronet moved for a refolution, declaratory of the neceflity of economy; an amendment was tacked to it, leaving an extensive latitude for extravagance; a reduction of the army was proposed, and rejected; an Hon. Gentleman propofed an increase to the falaries of the Lord Lieutenant and his Secretary; the coynefs of the treasury bench was truly commendable; the most fashionable lady could not have acted a more delicate part; they refufed, they begged a little time to confider, and at lat, with averted face, they accepted; not content with this, they generously ftretched the public credit for the fervice of individuals. But he wifhed to do every man juftice; no perfon can accufe the Rt Hon. Secretary of inconfiftency; he was repeatedly asked for a specific plan of retrenchment, he fairly told you there was none; as to his general profeffions, he himfelf never thought of your paying any attention to them; but, however hurtful it may be to our own feelings, even to the fuppofed dupes to minifterial hypocrify, there is a degree of political iniquity which I hope we never fhall arrive at; when a minifter, backed by his majority, will attempt to overturn the freedom of parliament-when he will attempt to interrupt the freedom of debate-whenever he shall brand with the odious epithet of faction every man who fhall propofe to you any thing that militates against his wish-when he shall frighten a young man from his fubject, by putting a question, whether another fhall be heard before him-and finally, when he fhall, by founding the alarm when there is no danger, endeavour to divide a country that obtained freedom of trade and conftitution by its unanimity-if that period fhould ever arrive, which heaven forefend, I would fay, Take care, my countrymen ! your liberties are attacked! they are in danger, not from your volunteers, that have worked your falvation, but by emiffaries

from another country, a country from which you received your liberties, and who wishes to take back what the unwillingly gave; a country practifed in the arts of tyranny and feduction, and who knows there is no time fo proper for accomplishing her purposes as the hour of internal commotion-I would tell them (weak and incapable as I am) I would ufe every conftitutional means in my power to obtain you a redress of grievances; I would tell them that government muft be a bad one, that not content with injuring you by their imbecility, they ftrike at the root of your conflitution-The hour of ripe iniquity will come, fo fhall the hour of retribution. He said, he muft beg pardon of the Houfe for this digreffion, for taking up their time in ftating imaginary grievances which never can happen, at least whilft we are bleffed with the prefent patriotic adminiftration-But to return to the fubje&t—

Among the other excellent arguments we have heard against mi litary retrenchment, it was asked why ought you to diminish your expences at the time you are certain of an increase of revenue from your free trade? And he would answer gentlemen, because it would be the height of folly to depend on the profpect of your eftate, before you enter on it, and that there never was a time when public retrenchment was fo neceffary, that you may be enabled to encourage and affift your infant manufacturesYour ordinary expences exceed your ordinary revenue; and he contended for it, it ought not to do fo, except in cafes of abfolute neceffity: If that be allowed, how are you to make your revenue equal to your expences? By laying fuch taxes on your infant trade as muft ftop it in its bud-He did not think the produce of fuch ruinous taxation would anfwer the end propofedBy fuch a fyftem you would fell the reverfion and keep up your expence, as if you were certain of the eftate. Thus far he had gone to fhew the impolicy of fpending on a profpect in any cafe whatever. The difadvantages of a commencing trade, he obferved, are obvious, the greatest commercial countries of the world, long laboured and worked through the greatest difficulties, before they established a permanent commerce-the jealoufies of all other trading nations-the experienced endeavouring the ruin of the inexperienced-the man attempting the ruin of the child-the length of time, the impoflibility of bringing your manufactures to an equal degree of perfection with your neighbours; and finally, wanting that experience in trade fo neceffary to its fuccefs: We have every one of thofe general difadvantages, befides others peculiar to ourfelves, to ftruggle with we have a divifion of intereft-we have the government of that country, from which we forced our trade, that unfortunately has generally fo great an influence on our parliament, fo fatally great, that measures moft obviously pernicious to the welfare of

X

this country, have been carried through this House-He witneffed the prohibition of your woollens-he witneffed the compact you are told of, by which you were to give up a national advantage to England of your woollen trade, if he would generously allow you to fupply her advantages in the linen trade--and he afferted, she could not be fupplied with linens on the fame terms from any other country in Europe-He faid he had certainly no partiality for the manufactures of this country, and he inftanced her taking her fail cloth from Ruflia, which the could have on equal terms from this country-and do you not believe that she will undermine you in every place fhe can by underhand negotiation? Do you not think he will have majorities in your parliament, that wil! prevent your ferving yourfelves? This is not arguing from theory, it is arguing from experience and from practice. The conclufion he drew from this was, that our profpect of fucceeding as a commercial country is an event uncertain, at leaft very far diftant; that the advantages arifing from it cannot be confidered as a fund to fupply prefent extravagance. He said, for thefe reafons, he would propofe this addrefs, as he was convinced in his own mind, that the affairs of this country require an immediate and fuperior interpofition. He then moved his addrefs:

Refolved, That an humble addrefs be prefented to his Majefty, humbly to lay ourfelves at his Majefty's feet, to affure his Majefty of our inviolable attachment to his Majesty's perfon and government, and of the grateful fenfe we feel of his Majefty's paternal goodnefs and attention to his fubjects of Ireland-and to declare our readiness and zeal to fupport, in the moft honourable manner, at all times, the neceffary expences of his Majefty's government, and the dignity of his crown.

That we think it, however, incumbent on his faithful Commons, humbly to lay before his Majefty, that for a series of years paft, the expences of his Majefty's government, have conftantly far exceeded the net produce of the revenue, whereby the nation has incurred a great and accumulating debt; and in order to difcharge the intereft thereof, his Majefty's faithful Commons have been under a neceffity of diverting a confiderable part of thofe revenues, which formerly ferved towards defraying the current fervices of his Majefty's government.

That in the year 1773, his Majefty's faithful Commons did grant feveral new duties, and have fince, from time to time, increased them.

That they were induced thereto, upon the faith of promises made to his Majefty's Commons, by his Majefty's minifter, that the expences of government fhould be retrenched, so that the new grants of the people, and the promised retrenchment by the minifter, fhould concur in a fyftem of equalization, and put an end to the ruinous practice of running in debt.

That his Majefty's faithful Commons have fully performed their part of the engagement, but that their bounty has been fo far from being anfwered on the part of his minifters, that in no period of time has the debt of the nation advanced with fo rapid a progrefs as fince that period-in fo much that your Majelly's Commons now find themselves burthened with a debt enormously greater than it was at that period-vastly greater than this nation was ever before loaded with, and still accumulating, befides being alfo loaded with thofe new taxes, which were granted for the fole purpose of putting an end to fo ruinous a practice.

That his Majesty's prefent minifters, finding themselves unable to fupport the charges of government without increafing the debt of the nation, although aided by all the new taxes, and an increase of produce in the revenues, and although a very great proportion of the army was not upon our establishment, did in this prefent feilion apply for 300,000l. to fupply the deficiency of the revenues, fo that your Majefty's faithful Commons cannot even now fee any end to the ruinous accumulation of our debt.

That fuch a practice, if fuffered to continue, must exhauft the refources, and check the trade of this country, and must end in the impoverishment and ruin of the nation, and ultimately difable his Majefty's faithful Commons from those exertions which may become neceffary hereafter, and which they hall ever be moft willing and defirous to make in fupport of his Majefty's government.

That we have long confided in the repeated affurances of economy given us from time to time, by his Majesty's minifters; but now at length finding it in vain any longer to wait for redrefs from that quarter, we think it inconfiftent with our duty to his Majetty, and thofe whom we represent, any longer to refrain from applying for redrefs at the foot of the throne, and imploring his Majesty's protection against his minifters.

Mr. Parfons feconded the motion.

The Attorney General.-This is a queftion upon which the fense of the Houfe has been already taken three times this feffion. It looks extraordinary to have it introduced at this time, after a committee had been appointed to take into confideration, the only plan practicable, which was a plan for the reduction of the civil eftablishment; and after the House had paffed a refolution for all practicable retrenchments. I am as much an enemy as any man to the accumulation of debt, fellion after feffion; but the increafe of our revenue affords a profpect of our being foon able to put an end to it, by its reaching the amount of our expences. It confequently follows, that an ad