the Major, who, he faid, was fent early to Scotland, where he was educated under mafters who had a profeffed regard for the late King; that in the late rebellion Lord Lovatt infifted on the Petitioner's taking up arms on the fame fide he did, although it was greatly against the Petitioner's will; that the Petitioner, after the rebellion, was offered a regiment in the French fervice, but he refused, and defired leave to be employed in the fervice of his late Majefty, where, in the beginning of the laft war, he raised 1800 men, and had facrificed his blood and fortune in fupport of the Crown in America. LORD NORTH defired to acquaint the House, That the Lord North. petition had been fhewn to his Majefty, and he ftrongly recommended it. · Townshend Mr. T. TOWNSHEND faid, He had no objections to this, Mr. T. as it was a particular cafe, but he should be against its being made a precedent; he should therefore fecond this motion. Sir ROBERT FLETCHER gave notice, That on Thursday fe'nnight he should move for a Committee further to inspect the affairs of the Eaft-India Company. A confiderable number of private petitions, bills, &c. were received, it being the last day. Sir EDWARD ASTLEY prefented the Bill for making the Act refpecting the trying of controverted elections by Committees perpetual, which was read a first time. The Houfe went into a Committee (Mr. Robinson in the chair) to confider of allowing a certain quantity of flour, bread, and bifcuit, to be exported to Newfoundland for the supply of the fishery, which was agreed to. At fix o'clock the order of the day was read for hearing counsel on the Selby Canal Bill. Mr. Mansfield, counsel for the Bill, in a long speech, set forth the utility of the Bill. Evidences were called in, and examined. Mr. Lee was afterwards heard on the other fide. The House rofe at eleven, and adjourned the confideration of this Bill till Thursday next. March 4. Lord North acquainted the Houfe, That the papers relative to the late proceedings at Boston (destroying a quantity of tea) would be laid before the Houfe on the 7th inftant. The order of the day for a further enquiry into the state of the linen manufacture was read. Sir John Wrottefley defired that it might be deferred for a day or two longer, as the American papers were coming on. Pownal. GOVERNOR POWNAL defired the fame, as, he faid, Govenor There were feveral other manufactures which were in great General Governor apprehenfions from the decifion on the linen manufacture; that there were now people in town to defire longer time, from a county where the woollen branch annually amounted to 3,195,000l. of which 2,000,000l. worth was annually exported; that he thought fo valuable a body ought to be heard. GENERAL CONWAY oppofed its being put off, and faid, American affairs had nothing in the leaft to do with this; that they had only four evidences to call in, to prove the state of the linen trade in Ireland. Evidences were accordingly called in, who proved, that the trade had been on the decline of late. March 7. The American papers laid before the House, and ordered to be read on the 11th. March 10. In a Committee on the linen manufacture; Mr. Clements was examined, and confirmed the evidence he gave laft year before the Committee, relative to the decline of the linen trade at Darlington, and its neighbourhood, in the county of York. He added fome further circumftances relative to its still more rapid decline fince that period. * GOVERNOR POWNAL begged leave to lay before the Committee fome very important information he had received from Ireland; he said, It was the report of a Committee of the Houfe of Commons of Ireland, fetting forth the claims that country had upon this to give it every poffible encouragement in the improvement of the linen manufacture, exclufive of all others; and another report from the Linen Board, fhewing the prefent state of it, the causes of its decay, and the probable means of retrieving it. He then produced a letter from Sir Lucius O'Brien, chairman of the Committee, in answer to one he had wrote to him on the fubject, which accompanied the two reports. The first contained an historical account of the steps taken immediately fubfequent to the Revolution, to render the linen manufacture the ftaple of Ireland, as the woollen was of England; the ideas had prevailed on both fides. of the water to effect it; the line then drawn to prevent the interference in future between the two; the feveral Acts of Parliament made in both kingdoms in confirmation of this convention; and laftly, the period which first introduced a jealoufy, which broke that mutual confidence fubfifting between both kingdoms, in breach of the compact fo religioufly obferved for the first three reigns fucceeding the Revolution. The report from the Linen Board confirmed the parole evidence hitherto given at the Bar, relative to the state of the trade, the number of unemployed looms, the ruin of the manufacturers, nufacturers, the decrease in the export, &c. &c. Befides thefe there were a variety of other motives affigned, such as a want of the natural growth of flax and flax feed, ftagnation of credit, money spent by abfentees, rife of rents, reftriction, and difcouragements by the British Parliament. The remedies proposed were, encouragements for the raising and cultivation of flax, collecting the duties on foreign linens in the spirit in which they were held as to the real value of the goods, conftruing fome of the Acts of the British Parliament in a liberal manner, with almost an infinity of regulations, conformable to the idea which prevailed at the time Ireland relinquished all claim to the export woollen trade in favour of England. Dr. Williamson of Philadelphia was called in. He faid, 15,000 had migrated from Great Britain and Ireland within the last two years into Pennfylvania only. March 14. LORD NORTH faid, That his Majesty's mef- Lord North, fage (which came and had been read with the American papers on the 11th inftant, and at his request was now read again) contained two propofitions; the one to enable his Majefty to put an end to the prefent disturbances in America, the other to fecure the juft dependence of the Colonies on the Crown of Great Britain. His Lordship obferved, that the prefent diforders entirely arofe, and were occafioned by the inhabitants of Bofton in Maffachufets Bay; and hoped the method he should propofe to the Houfe would be adopted. He faid, he should confine himself particularly to thofe difturbances which had been created fince the 1st of December. He faid, that it was impoffible for our commerce to be safe, whilft it continued in the harbour of Boston, and it was highly neceffary that fome port or other should be found for the landing our merchandize where our laws would give full protection; he therefore hoped, that the removal of the Cuftomhoufe officers from the town of Bofton, would be a neceffary ftep; and that the confequence of that would produce one other propofition, which would be, the preventing any shipping from endeavouring to land their wares and merchandize there, by blocking up the use of that harbour; he faid, he fhould move for leave to bring in a Bill this day for those two purposes. He obferved, that this was the third time that the officers of the Customs had been prevented from doing their duty in the harbour of Bofton; he thought the inhabitants of the town of Boston deserved punishment, and required animadverfion; he faid, perhaps it may be objected, that fome few individuals may fuffer on this account who ought not; but where the authority of a town has been, as it were, asleep and and inactive, it was no new thing for the whole town to be fined for fuch neglect; he instanced the city of London in King Charles the Second's time, when Dr. Lamb was killed by unknown perfons, the city was fined for fuch; and the cafe of Edinburgh, in Captain Porteus's affair, a fine was fet upon the whole; and alfo at Glasgow, where the house of Mr. Campbell was pulled down, part of the revenue of that town was fequeftered to make good the damage. He obferved, that Boston did not ftand in fo fair a light as either of the three before-mentioned places, for that that town had been upwards of seven years in riot and confufion; affociations were held against receiving British merchandize fo long ago. He obferved, that all the disturbances that had been in the provinces or colonies in America, had originated in the town of Boston; and that proceedings were openly carried on from the beginning of last November to the 17th of December, denying the force or efficacy of the laws of this country to be exerted in the harbour of Bofton; that during the above time, there was not the least interpofition offered by the inhabitants of the town; that at their publick meetings they had regularly given orders for nightly watches to be appointed, confifting of a large body of perfons, which were to prevent the landing of the tea, as the merchandize of Great Britain. This furely was highly criminal, and a direct opposition to the execution of an Act of Parliament; and as the tea belonging to the India Company had remained twenty days in the harbour without a clearance, they were afraid left it fhould be feized by the Custom-house officers, and by that means landed; they therefore destroyed it on the 20th day. That this appeared to be a most violent and outrageous proceeding done to our fellow-fubjects, by a fet of people, who could not, in any shape, claim more than the natural privilege of trading with their fellow-fubjects. That Boston had been ringleader in all riots, and at all times fhewn a defire of feeing the laws of Great Britain attempted in vain, in the colony of Maffachufets Bay. That the act of the mob in destroying the tea, and other proceedings, belonged to the act of the publick meeting, and that though other colonies were peaceably and well inclined towards the trade of this country, and the tea would have been landed at New York without any oppofition; yet, when the news came from Bofton, that the tea was deftroyed, Governor Tryon, from the advice of the people, thought that the face of things being changed fince that account was fent, that it would be more prudent to fend the tea back to England, than to risk the landing of it. His Lordship obferved, that Boston alone was to blame for having fet this example, therefore Bofton ought to be be the principal object of our attention for punishment. He propofed one claufe in the Bill, which, he faid, would prevent the Crown from reftoring the re-establishment, till full fatiffaction was made to the East-India Company for the lofs of their tea. He faid, he did not propose it by way of tax, but by way of requifition to the injured, who are our own fubjects; and let it go forth into the world, that the Parliament of Great Britain will protect their fubjects and their property; that the Crown, by that claufe, will not even then be obliged to restore the Cuftom-houfe, unlefs his Majefty is thoroughly convinced, that the laws of this country will be better obferved in the harbour of Boston for the future; this reftitution entirely depended upon Boston alone. He should be happy to have thofe, who had been the promoters of these disturbances in Boston found out, and that they might be obliged to make good the damage to the India Company; but as thofe perfons are unknown to us, Bofton will, no doubt, endeavour to find out fuch perfons, or pafs Acts of their own Affembly, to levy fuch money in the most equitable and just manner. We have only to request it for the India Company. He faid, that this Bill was not all he meant to propose, that other parts, of more nice difquifition, will remain for the future confideration of Parliament. There, perhaps, might be other methods propofed that were better than this; that he had as yet found out none that deferved a preference. Some perfons had proposed, that the fishery might be taken away; but this, he obferved, would affect the whole colony at large. Others proposed the Streights trade; and this would be liable to the fame objection. That no method of punishment ever came from him, but with great regret: he therefore hoped for that unanimity in a vote of this fort, which would give a ftrength to the measure. It had been faid, that we owe this proceeding of the Americans to our own ill conduct in taxing and repealing; but if Gentlemen would recollect, when the Stamp Act paffed, there was hardly a diffenting voice; and when it was repealed, it had the confent of a great majority of that Houfe; that the doctrine then laid down, that external duties were your right, internal taxes theirs; that when the repeal of the Stamp Act took place here, the clamour raised against that Act in America was over, and had fubfided; that the non-importation agreements, it was true, were not remedied, because they ceased of themselves. It was my fate, he faid, to propofe the repeal of the duties laid on in 1767, and to continue the tea duty only. The reafon was, I thought the non-importation agreements would break up of themselves, which was afterwards the cafe. It was propofed by fome, that the |