and my firm belief, that it was wholly owing to the glorious ftand he made against the arbitrary proceedings of the fecretaries of .ftate, when his perfon and papers were illegally feized, that the attempts then made to infringe the liberty of the prefs, which is the only prefervative against minifterial oppreffion, failed of fuccefs. To him I am probably indebted at this time, for the privilege of publishing my cafe, without the horrid apprehenfion of having my printer and publifher's houfes ranfacked, and their perfons taken into close cuftody. In a word, not being of fufficient confequence to add ftrength or influence to any political party, I can only moft fincerely wifh for the fuccefs of the best friends of the illuftrious houfe of Hanover, and of the proteftant caufe-The independent Whigs-thofe real fupporters of the conftitutional rights and privileges of the people; and fevere fcourges of popery and defpotifm. But fhould this publication happily fecure me their patronage and protection, I fhall efteem it one of the moft fortunate events of my life. For the time is fast approaching when the intricate fituation of public affairs will render it abfolutely neceffary to place the direction of government in the hands of thofe, whose ancestors established it in the present royal family, that it may be recovered from that ftate of internal difcord and debility, into which it has been plunged by the fubverfive measures of a fet of men, who have vainly endeavoured to bury the spirit of national liberty, in the ruins of party diftinctions-when the minifterial operations of 1768 and 1769, fhall be held in as much 'deteftation by the real friends of their country, as the inglorious era of an unnatural rebellion against the good old king-And then there will not be any occafion for petitions, nor for addreffes, except of congratulation. For prince and people, nobles and commons, the rulers and the ruled fhall be of one mind. GEORGE THE CLEMENT, fhall be almost adored at home, and univerfally refpected abroad-the field of blood fhall only be found on hoftile fhores-the free-born Briton fhall not be flain in any ignoble cause, but shall freely devote his life to the fervice of his country, against a common enemy-the majority of the reprefentatives of the people fhall be endued with honefty enough to be fafely entrusted with the facred rights of their conftituents, and courage fufficient to maintain and fupport them against the strongest efforts of Machiavellian, or which is the fame thing, Butean policy-and then my lord, your lordship, your under fecre taries, and the author of this addrefs, will probably be forgotten, and hope forgiven, for all the paft errors of their conauct. THOMAS MORTIMER. THE CASE. In the year 1763, MICHAEL HATTON, Efquire, Conful for Flanders, who had just acquired an immenfe fortune by the lucrative employment of Commissary to the army in Germany, finding that his majesty's fubjects trading to and refiding at the port of Oftend, began to complain loudly that there was no conful or vice-conful to officiate there, thought proper to apply to the right honourable the Earl of Sandwich, then fecretary of ftate for the northern provinces, for leave to stay at home, and to appoint Mr. Mortimer to be vice-conful for the ports of the Auftrian Netherlands, in virtue of a power granted under the conful's commiffion of appointing a fufficient deputy. The fecretary of state, the proper judge of the fufficiency of fuch deputy, after having taken a confiderable time for deliberation on Mr. Hatton's request, was pleased to accept Mr. Mortimer as vice-conful under Mr. Hatton's commiffion, which vefts the fame power in the deputy, as in the principal, and to order him to repair to his ftation. Mr. Hatton by this arrangement was left at full liberty to pursue the most important object of his life, the adjustment of his commiffarial accounts with the treafury, and to attend to a contingency which it was hourly expected would add to his good fortune: The death of the duke of Dorfet, then lord warden of Dover caftle; on whofe demise Mr. Hatton's earthly maker, lord Holderness, fucceeding by reverfion to that port, Mr. Hatton was certain of the appointment he now holds under his lordship of lieutenant colonel of Dover caftle. Mr. Irvine, who had formerly acted under Mr. Hatton, in a limited capacity as his deputy at Oftend, when Mr. Hatton made that place his usual refidence, and only abfented himself occafionally, was at this period, deputy confervator of the Scotch privileges at Campvere in Zealand, which employment can only be held by Scotchmen; and having fome private obligations to Mr. Hatton, he faw himself under a neceffity, if Mr. Hatton infifted upon it, of quitting a station which was agreeable to his inclination and his intereft, in order to act again under Mr. Hatton. In this fituation of affairs, Mr. Irvine hit upon the the expedient of recommending Mr. Mortimer who was an utter ftranger to Mr. Hatton. Mr. Mortimer being differently circumftanced from Mr. Irvine, having a large family, could not poffibly think of accepting the office on the fame terms as Mr. Irvine had held it, who had never been prefented to any secretary of ftate, nor acknowledged by the government as a crown officer, because Mr. Hatton was in his time fuppofed to be refident. The firft queftion therefore which Mr. Mortimer put to Mr. Irvine was, Whether Mr. Hatton ever intended refiding again in Oftend? His anfwer was in the negative, unless the miniftry should at any time oblige him to it, and of this there was little or no probability if Mr. Mortimer was prefented to the secretary of ftate, and acknowledged by the government to be the fufficient deputy under the commiffion, to which he added, that Mr. Hatton detefted the country even while the English army and his best friends were in it, and while he was in the prime of life, and anxious to better his fortune; but that now he was happily at his ease, and was on the point of purchafing an eftate in Kent as near Dover as poffible, and therefore would be glad to be left to the enjoyment of his wealth, and the pursuit of the objects already mentioned, without moleftation. The fecond queftion was, As to the income. This Mr. Hatton and Mr. Irvine both affured Mr. Mortimer was very fmall, arifing from the confulages paid by the mafters of Britifh veffels, and amounted to about forty pounds per annum ; but that he had a right to form commercial connections which might be done to great advantage and prove a genteel fupport for his family. And that on Mr. Hatton's demife, there could be no doubt of Mr. Mortimer's fucceeding him, and of enjoying the government falary annexed to the office, viz. 2001. per annum. Imagining that fuch a falary was an object deferving Mr. Irvine's attention, Mr. Mortimer then afked Mr. Irvine if he bould never turn his thoughts towards that fucceffion, or employ his intereft to obtain it? To which that gentleman made anfwer-No, by the living God, or it would be no act of friendship to recommend you to Oftend. I have other views, the confervatorship of Campvere; and fhall never think of Flanders, but on the contrary, will ufe my best endeavours to promote your intereft there, and if you behave well you cannot mifs of the reverfion; it being very unusual to set aside a commercial officer who understands the trading connections of the port where he refides, and has given fufficient fatisfaction to the king's fubjects engaged. in the feveral tranfactions of his department. This being confirmed by Mr. Hatton, who indeed declined faying more upon the occafion than was abfolutely neceflary, their propofal was thankfully accepted by Mr. Mortimer, and on the receipt of a note from Mr. Phelps under-fecretary of state, acquainting him that the earl of Sandwich expected him to fet off for Oftend as foon as his affairs would allow of it, he repaired to his ftation without loss of time.* At Dover Mr. Mortimer received the following letter from Mr. Phelps, Sir, Whitehall, Dec. 2d. 1763. Enclosed you have a letter for Sir James Porter his majesty's minifter at Bruffels, from whom you will receive all kind of instructions and civilities. I heartily with you a good passage and journey, and am with great truth, &c. RICHARD PHELPS. From that moment to the hour of Mr. Mortimer's difmiffion, Mr. Hatton's name was never mentioned verbally or in writing by any of the fecretaries of ftate who did him the honour to correfpond with him, nor by any of the great officers of ftate in any other department, upon any occafion relative to the confular office in Flanders. But after that difmiffion by the appointment of Mr. Irvine the 30th of March 1768, to be conful of Flanders, Mr. Wood very rudely told Mr. Mortimer, at his office in Cleveland row, that, their office, then the northern department, had nothing to do with him or his fervices, nor could he have any claim on the office, to be provided for or recommended, for he was only Hatton's deputy; and on this foundation he very humanely discarded him, and totally ruined his fortune. It will be seen in the fequel in what light Mr. Mortimer was really confidered by the government in the course of a very interefting correfpondence. On his arrival at Oftend, he found the merchants, the mafters of veffels trading to that port, and the British inhabitants in general, bitterly complaining of the very great oppreffions they laboured under from the augmented heavy duties on all articles of the British commerce with Flanders; declaring that the Flemish government had taken every method to banish them, and to cut off the British trade to that country, fince the alliance between the courts of Vienna and Verfailles. Mr. Mortimer having reprefented this to Sir James Porter, to whom he was obliged immediately to repair, to be admit * Dated Whitehall, Nov. 21ft. 1763. ted 66 ted by the Flemish government, to exercise the functions of his office, that able minifter ordered him to draw up and tranfmit to him a general state of these grievances, which he accordingly did on his return to Oftend, and on this occafion Sir James Porter did him the honour to exprefs himself in these terms, in a letter dated at Bruffels, January 11th, 1764. “ Sir, "I have not thanked you for your inftructive letter of the "23d of December, as I fhould have done, I have however "made a proper use of it, and fent it where it will corrobo <6 rate fome facts which rested on a fingle evidence-and if I can, as poffibly I may, promote your intereft and affift your future fortune, I certainly fhall." In the month of July following, Mr. Mortimer received his majesty's commands in dispatch from the right honourable the earl of Sandwich, ftrictly enjoining him to tranfinit to his lordship, an account of the contraband trade carried on from the coafts of Flanders to Great Britain and her colonies, agreeable to propofals for that purpose, contained in three papers from the lords commiffioners of the treasury to the faid fecretary of ftate, a copy of which his lordship inclosed, and further ordered Mr. Mortimer to fend a duplicate of his informations to the lords of the treasury. In obedience to these orders, and animated by an ardent zeal to promote the commercial interefts of his country, Mr. Mortimer applied himfelf fo diligently and effectually to this fervice during the winter of the year 1764, and the spring of 1765, that he had the honour of obtaining the particular approbation of the right honourable George Grenville, then first lord of the treasury, expreffed in the following terms by Charles Jenkinfon, Efq; then fecretary to the treafury, Sir, London, Nov. 27th 1764. I have had the favour of your letter, which I have laid before Mr. Grenville, he directs me to fay, he very much approves of your diligence in procuring and tranfmitting information of the illicit trade carried on from the ports of Flanders to this country.+-Mr. Grenville bids me at the fame + If any gentleman or merchant is defirous of feeing copies of the original informations fent by Mr. Mortimer to the lords of the treasury and to the custom house, he will readily lay them before them; but as fome of the measures which he had the honour to advise are still pursuing by government, and the whole of this affair muft neceffarily be kept |