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tional liberty; but his Right Honourable Friend feemed to have forgotten that order was in its turn the guard of liberty alfo. Government could not fubfift without liberty and order, and liberty never could fubfift if there was not a ftrong Government to protect good order, and keep it diftinct from licentiousness. Upon all thefe accounts he hoped the Houfe would not rafhly repeal the two Acts in queftion, and he himself would join them with his direct negative.

Major Ellford laid, that no rational man could deny that the Bills, the Repeal of which was now fought, had had the happy effect of ftopping the propagation of opinions which difturbed the acquiefcence of the people in thofe forms, and that Orders. without which Government could not exift. If doctrines were preached hoftile to the King, and a facrilegious attempt was made on his perfon, who would deny they ought to be reftrained?---Any Adminiftration who would fupinely fuffer it to pafs unrestrained, would deferve execration; and he called God to witnefs that he was perfuaded in his own mind, that if the Bills had not paffed, they would not now be debating within thofe walls.

Sir R. C. Glynn admitted, that the Acts which it was proposed to repeal, fhackled, in fome degree, the liberty of the subject, and impofed fome restraints on the exercife of the rights of individuals; but that was not the only light in which he viewed them. He could not avoid acknowledging the great benefits they had done to the country. The alarming meetings which had taken place in the neighbourhood of the Metropolis, had given ferious caufe of uneafinefs to every thinking perfon who was interested in the profperity and happiness of the country. He was convinced, from circumftances, that the object of those meetings was not, as they pretended, to obtain a Reform; but to overturn the Conftitution. Before thefe Acts paffed, Sedition and Treafon were faft rifing in every part of the country. The Bills were always thought unobjectionable by a great majority of that Houfe; and he denied that ever they were difapproved of by the great body of the people.

Colonel Fullarton faid, he never had at any period of his life much intimacy with the Right Honourable Gentleman who had made the Motion; and he had differed in opinion on all political questions with him fince the commencement of the prefent war. He had, however, never ceafed to admire his great endowments and fplendid talents; but if any thing could diminifh his admiration of the Right Honourable Gentleman's abilities, it was to fee him throw them away upon fuch queftions as the prefent. While he made thefe obfervations, he wifhed it to be understood, that he was not one of those who oppofed the extenfion of pub

lic liberty. He wished the 'liberties of the people to be improved in common with every thing that was capable of improvement. Improvements ought to take place in every part of the country; and if they were not promoted, Delendo might be written upon the city of London, as it had been upon Carthage. The Motion which the Right Honourable Gentleman had brought forward was a tiffue of that political web which he had been weaving for many years paft, and which was calculated to bring that House into contempt in the eyes of all Europe. At the commencement of the prefent war with France, when the Demagogues of that country threatened to plant their tri-coloured flag upon the Tower of London, the Right Honourable Gentleman endeavoured to perfuade the Houfe that we had no more right to interfere with the affairs of France, than with thofe of Morocco. He allowed that a country had no right to interfere in the concerns of its neighbours, fo long as it was not likely to receive any injury from their proceedings; but if the dominions of the Emperor of Morocco were as near to Great Britain as France is, and if he fhould venture to encourage attempts against the Conftitution of this country, as France had done, there would then be ftrong reason for interfering with a Government which was difpofed to diforganize or overthrow every other. He had cenfured the Alien Bill; he had ridiculed as vifionaries all who expreffed alarm for the fafety of the Conftitution. In every inftance his language had been the fame.--When it was neceflary to guard against the defigns of those who were proved to be hoftile to the conftitution, he had refifted every measure brought forward for the defence of the Government, and had propofed to do wonders by conciliation; like the mufician, who conceived the idea of appeafing all the feuds and difcords of mankind by the irrefiftible charms of harmony.

Mr. Pierrepoint obferved, that he had already had occafion to fay in a former Debate that he approved of the Acts which were now the fubject of the Motion before the Houfe. He was convinced, that to them the country was indebted for its prefent tranquillity and internal peace. He fhould, therefore, oppofe the Motion for their repeal with all the energy he was capable of.

Lord Morpeth was perfectly convinced that there was an abfolute neceffity for paffing the Bills. He was equally well convinced that this was not the period for repealing them. Could any confidence be placed in the good intentions of thofe Societies which had ventured to declare the Conftitution radically vicious? Would the Houfe deftroy the intrenchments, and beat down all the fortifications they had erected, for the defence

of

of the Conftitution at this moment of danger, when the Enemy was preparing to make his attack.

Mr. Ellifon faid, he fhould preface the few obfervations he had to offer to the House by returning them his thanks for the indulgent manner they liftened to him upon a former occafion. There were fome Gentlemen who had wished that this Motion fhould never be brought forward. He confeffed he was of a contrary opinion: for if there was a man in that House who was willing, at fuch a moment, to bring forward fuch a Motion, he thought it better that the Houfe fhould have a fair opportunity of expreffing their opinion upon it. High as his opinion was of the talents of the Right Honourable Mover, he could not but regret that he had deemed it prudent to make such a Motion:

"Who would not laugh if fuch a man there be,
"Who would not laugh if Atticus were he."

The Bills which it was now proposed to repeal, appeared to haunt the Right Honourable Gentleman like the evil genius of Brutus, while to them, he (Mr. Ellifon) owed the tranquillity he enjoyed by day, and the repofe by night. The Right Honourable Gentleman had confidered the R peal of thefe Bills as necessary for the preservation of liberty; he could not help exclaiming "Oh, Liberty! under thy name what miteries have befallen mankind!" He was as anxious as any man that the time fhould arrive when thofe Bills might fafely be repealed; and when that time did come, he hoped it would not be by a folitary motion on the one tide or the other that they would be repealed, but by the general confent of Parliament. It feemed to be a maxim with the Right Honourabie Gentleman who had brought forward the prefent Motion, that the more licentious people are, the better fubjects they would make, and indeed he had often held language of this kind in the House.

The prefent Minifters had, in his opinion, been unjustly accufed of being hoftile to liberty, because they were obliged to lay on it fome temporary reftrictions. If any particular Member were lame of an arm, for instance, would not his furgeon order it to be bound up, until it was restored? and certainly fome reftrictions were neceffary. Schools had abfolutely been opened for the purpose of teaching fedition; the people were told that all Government was tyranny, and that they ought to do what they pleased, and the prefent Motion did not tend to eradicate those ideas. An Honourable Gentleman (Colonel Fullarton), had faid, that the object of Oppofition was to make the country contemptible abroad. He was inclined to think that the tendency and object of their condu& was to make Parliament con temptible

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temptible at home. They were conftantly told, that the majority were the flaves of Minifters, and a few Gentlemen arrogantly affumed to themfelves all the patriotim in the House. This was a claim he would not allow, and he invited the refpectable and independent Members of the Houfe to form a broad and firm phalanx round him, and let them exclaim to their conftituents, "Here we are, as unbiaffed by Minifters as uninfluenced by faction, performing the duty we owe to our King, our country, and our God." He admitted, that in fome things he did not approve of the conduct of Minifters; but then it fhould be recollected they were acting upon a large theatre, and great allowances ought to be made. Gentlemen had conftantly the words, "the country," "liberty," and " freedom,” in their mouths, while they were actuated by "malice, hatred, and all uncharitablenefs" against Minifters, and treated those who had not the talent of talking, as the flaves of Minifters, But he would not fuffer any fet of Gentlemen to arrogate to themselves all the patriotifm of the country; he conceived the majority in that Houfe as acting upon the pureft motives, and as a check upon the conduct of Minifters; particularly in the difpofition of public money. He was going to fpeak upon a delicate fubject, and as it was very likely he might make ufe of fome abfurd expreffion, as he was not in the habit of public speaking, he suppofed it would be taken advantage of, like the expreffion "kill. ing off," and others; he therefore begged previously to enter his proteft against it. Thefe Acts had been called fevere; but he knew that if the law was fevere, the Government would exercise it with lenity; but, when feverity was neceffary for the prefervation of the Conftitution, it was their duty to be severe. In fair weather the veffel of the State might be allowed to fpread all her fails to the breeze; but when it began to blow it was neceffary to take in a reef. It was certainly very wrong to disturb the minds of the lower orders of the people, by exciting in them ideas of rights and privileges, which never could be of any service to them. The only happiness they ought to enjoy was, that which refulted from their following their daily labours with diligence and fobriety. While they did this, they would be perfectly comfortable. He was proud to acknowledge, that he owed the means of having procured a feat in that Houle, to his father's having been a virtuous and induftrious man. would recommend to Gentlemen, inftead of making their fellow fubjects difcontented with the ftation to which Providence had allotted them, to obey the Government by which they were protected. Those politicians who cheated the people out of their happiness, were, in his opinion, the worst of fwindlers. Under thefe impreffions he should give his vote against the Motion.

He

Mr.

Mr. Fox. In rifing, Sir, to make a few obfervations on what has fallen from different Gentlemen in the course of the debate, I believe I fhall not have occafion to detain the Houle by entering into any great length of argument. I feel myself however fo particularly to have been alluded to, that it is neceffary 1 fhould request the indulgence and attention of the Houfe, till I anfwer the moft material objections to the Motion which I have fubmitted to the confideration of the Houfe, as well as to the mode in which, in the opinions of fome Honourable Members, I have made ufe of in fo doing. A learned Friend of mine, Sir, (Mr. Serjeant Adair) has, in a very particular and efpecial manner called upon me to point out in what refpe the Bill in question prevents the People at a public Meeting from putting another perfon in the Chair, if the Sheriff, or other perfon calling that Meeting, fhould quit it before the purposes of the Meeting are finished. I faid, Sir, that, the Sheriff, calling a Meeting under this Bill, might refufe to comply with the views of the people who requested that Meeting, by refufing to declare the majority, or, having done fo, to put his official fignature to it, in order to give it that legal weight and confequence which it required and was entitled to. The Sheriff of Surrey, Sir, is an inftance directly in proof of what I have faid; and it is evident that every perfon at that Meeting thought that, according to the tenor of the Bill, the Meeting being called, according to its provifions, by the Sheriff, was no longer legal than while the Sheriff, whom the act appointed to call it, was in the Chair. My Learned Friend, however, by his argument of this night, has afferted the contrary, and I am very ready to yield to his fuperior judgment on this head. I with, however, I had poffeffed the knowledge of my Learned Friend's opinion before the Meeting, as in that cafe the proceedings at Epfom would in their conclufion have been very different to what they were. Another part of the argument of my Learned Friend, Sir, was an affertion that this Houfe was not, and ought not to be, influenced by popular clamour. True, Sir, but it is at the fame time almost admitted by my Learned Friend that the Houfe is wholly influ enced by the Executive Government, and what, Sir, muft the people think, what must the opinion of the people be of a House of Commons wholly influenced by the Executive Government? I do not feel it neceffary, Sir, to go much, at length into the feveral arguments ufed by my Learned Friend, though there are one or two more which I fhall take occation to notice as I go on.

"But, Sir, I have been accused this night of bringing forward the prefent Motion from motives and intentions which I flatter myfelf I have never entertained. The words which have been used

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