tegrity, we had a right to expect, something from their prudence, and fomething from their fears. The Duke of Grafton certainly did not foresee to what an extent the corruption of a parliament might be carried. He thought, perhaps, that there was still fome portion of shame or virtue left in the majority of the house of commons, or that there was a line in public prostitution, beyond which they would fcruple to proceed. Had the young man been a little more practifed in the world, or had he ventured to measure the charaters of other men by his own, he would not have been fo easily discouraged.

The prorogation of parliament naturally calls upon us to review their proceedings, and to confider the condition in which they have left the kingdom. I do not question but they have done what is ufually called the King's business much to his majesty's fatisfaction. We have only to lament that in confequence of a fyftem introduced or revived in the prefent reign, this kind of merit should be very confiftent with the neglect of every duty they owe to the nation. The interval between the opening of the last and the close of the former feffion was longer than usual. Whatever were the views of the minifter in defering the meeting of parliament, fufficient time was certainly given to

every member of the houfe of commons, to look back upon the steps he had taken, and the confequences they had produced. The zeal of party, the violence of perfonal animofities, and the heat of contention had leifure to fubfide. From that period, whatever refolution they took was delibe. rate and propenfe. In the preceding feffion, the dependents of the miniftry had affected to believe, that the final determination of the question would have fatisfied the nation, or at least put a stop to their complaints; as if the certainty of an evil could diminish the fenfe of it, or the nature of injuftice could be altered by decifion. But they found the people of England were in a temper very diftant from fubmiffion; and, altho' it was contended that the houfe of commons could not themfelves reverse a refolution, which had the force and effect of a judicial fentence, there were other constitutional expedients, which would have given a fecurity against any fimilar attempts, for the future. The general propofition in which the whole country had an intereft, might have been reduced to a particular fact, in which Mr. Wilkes and Mr. Luttrell would alone have been concerned. The house of lords might interpofe ;-the King might diffolve the parliament ;—or if every other resource failed, there ftill lay a grand con ftitutional

Aitational writ of error, in behalf of the people from the decifion of one court to the wisdom of the whole legislature. Every one of these remedies has been fucceffively attempted. The people performed their part with dignity, fpirit, and perfeverance. For many months his Majefty heard nothing from his people bnt the language of complaint and resentment -unhappily for this country, it was the daily triumph of his courtiers that he heard it with an indifference approaching to contempt.

The houfe of commons have affumed a power unknown to the conftitution, were determined not merely to fupport it in the fingle inftance in queftion, but to maintain the doctrine in its utmost extent, and to establish the fact as a precedent in law to be applied in whatever manner his majesty's fervants fhould hereafter think fit. Their proceedings upon this occafion are a strong proof that a decifion, in the firft inftance illegal and unjuft can only be fupported by a continuation of falsehood and injuftice. To fupport their former refolutions, they were obliged to violate fome of the best known and established rules of the houfe. In one inftance they went fo far as to declare, in open defiance of truth and commonfense, that it was not the rule of the houfe to divide a complicated queftion, at the request of a member.

member. But after trampling upon the laws of the land, it was not wonderful that they fhould treat the private regulations of their own affembly. with equal difregard. The speaker, being young in office, began with pretended ignorance, and ended with deciding for the miniftry. We were not surprised at the decifion; but he hesitated and blufhed at his own bafenefs and every man was aftonished.

The intereft of the public was vigorously fupported in the houfe of Lords. Their right to defend the conftitution against any incroachment of the other eftates, and the neceffity of exerting it at this period, was urged to them with every argument that could be fuppofed to influence the heart or the understanding. But it foon appeared, that they had already taken their part, aud were determined to fupport the house of commons, not only at the expence of truth and decency, but even by a furrender of their own most important rights. Instead of performing that duty which the conftitution expected from them, in return for the dignity and independance of their station, in return for the hereditary share it has given them

*This extravagant refolution appears in the votes of the House; but in the minutes of the committees, the instances of refolutions contrary to law and truth, or of refusals to acknowledge law and truth when propofed to them, are innumerable.

in

in the legislature, the majority of them made at common cause with the other house in oppreffing the people, and established another doctrine as falfe in itself, and if poffible more pernicious to the constitution, than that on which the Middlesex election was determined. By refolving that they had no right to impeach a judgment of the house of commons in any case whatsoever, where that house had a competant jurifdiction, they in effect gave up a conftitutional check and reciprocal controul of one branch of the legislature over the other, which is perhaps the greateft and most important object, provided for by the divifion of the whole legiftative power into three eftates; and now, let the judicial decifions of the house of commons be ever fo extravagant, let their declarations of the law be ever fo flagrantly false, arbitrary. and oppreffive to the fubject, the house of lords have imposed a slavish filence upon themfelves; they cannot interpofe,-they cannot protect the subject,-they cannot defend the laws of their country. A conceffion fo extraordinary in itself, fo contradictory to the principles of their own inftitution, cannot but alarm the moft unfufpecting mind. We may well conclude, that the lords would hardly have yielded fo much to the other houfe, without the certainty of a compenfation, which can only be made to them at the

expence