436 Ch. 24. 1779 State of THE SHORT MONEY BILL. from the fetters which crushed it; and in order The state of Ireland occupied the attention of 1 BURKE'S ECONOMICAL REFORM BILL. of trade and of their principal manufactures was permitted; and these measures, though plainly yielded to the significant national demonstration which had been exhibited, were accepted by the Irish Parliament with every expression of loyalty and satisfaction. 437 Ch. 24. 1779 The Irish debates occupied a large proportion Motion to abolish places. of the short autumnal session. But notice was given in both Houses of a formidable attack after Christmas, not so much upon the administration, which was hardly defended even by its own members, but upon the system which enabled such an administration to exist. The whole of the public expenditure was to be made the subject of inquiry. The contract service, the placelist, the pension-list, the great sources of corruption were to be laid bare. Lord Shelburne announced his intention of moving for a Committee upon this all important subject. Burke, in the other House, gave notice of a bill, one object of which would be to abolish fifty places, then held by members of Parliament. This was the germ of that famous measure of Economical Reform which struck the first blow at Influence, and pointed the way to that other great measure, which fifty years later put the people in full possession of those rights to which they were entitled, but which they had until that time only partially obtained. In connection with, and in support of this important proceeding in Parliament, a vigorous 438 GREAT COUNTY Ch. 24. effort was made to organize a patriotic party out of doors. 1779 Great meet ings in Yorkshire. It was resolved to appeal to the country against the corruption of parliament, and the undue influence of the Crown. A meeting, which has been described as the most numerous and respectable ever known upon any occasion, comprising freeholders, possessed of landed property, estimated at £800,000 a year, was held in the county of York, at the requisition of the Marquis of Rockingham and Sir George Savile. In the list of the persons present are to be found the names of the most considerable and ancient families of the Riding. The Cavendishes, the Howards, the Mannerses, the Fitzwilliams, the Lumleys, the Lowthers, the Lascelleses, the Wyndhams,. the Chaloners, the Morrits, the Stricklands, the Wyvils, the Milners, the Armitages, the Hildyards, and the Zouches were all represented, many of them by the chiefs of their respective houses, at this great gathering. A large proportion of the clergy also attended; together with many of the wealthy manufacturers from Leeds, Bradford, and other places; and the several members of the municipal bodies. The independent yeomanry of the Riding thronged the body of the hall. A petition to Parliament, together with certain resolutions, were agreed to. a ALMON'S Anecdotes. b Speech of Marquis of Rockingham. Parl. Hist. v. 21. MEETINGS. 1779 439 The former set forth the great accumulation of Ch. 24. taxes which oppressed both the landed and commercial interests, and complained that, in consequence of the increase of overpaid offices, sinecure places and pensions, the Crown had acquired an unconstitutional influence which, if not checked, might soon prove fatal to the liberties of the country. The most important proceeding was the appointment of a committee of sixty-one gentlemen to correspond with similar associations for the purpose of promoting the ends of the petition. This committee having completed its organisation, issued a declaration of its principal objects, which were a retrenchment of the public expenditure and a reform in the representation of the people by an addition of a hundred county members, and limiting the duration of parliaments to a term not exceeding three years. The petition was signed by nine thousand gentlemen, clergy and freeholders. Middlesex speedily followed the example of Yorkshire. Within a few weeks, meetings had been held in twenty-seven counties, and resolutions had been adopted in favour of economical and parliamentary reforms. In most of the counties a corresponding committee was appointed; and the proceedings were the result of unanimous concurrence. But in some places there were divisions of opinion. The Tories mustered strongly in Hertfordshire, though they failed in defeating any of the objects of the meeting. In the small 440 1779 PARTIAL CHANGE IN Ch. 24. county of Huntingdon, Lord Sandwich had sufficient influence to obtain a strong demonstration in favour of the ministry and their measures; but, notwithstanding the presence of that nobleman and his friends, and the partiality of the sheriff, who would have declared the sense of the meeting to be adverse to reform, had he not been rebuked even by the more conscientious Tories, a large majority declared for the resolutions. Change in the ministry. During the recess, a partial change was made in the administration. The leaders of the Bedford connection, Lords Gower and Weymouth, withdrew from councils the responsibility of which was fearfully increasing, while the support which the repressive measures of the Government had hitherto received, both in Parliament and in the country, was rapidly on the decline. Gower, on quitting office, represented to Lord North, for the information of the King, that impending ruin must be the consequence of the existing system of Government, and that the policy to which he had so long been a party, was mischievous to the King and to the country. The first minister, in announcing to his Sovereign the resignation of the Lord President, declared that he had for the last three years shared the opinion of his late colleague.c It is difficult to say whether such an avowal as this is more discreditable to the King or to his Letter to the King, October, 177 9. |