for doing this, as established by the Conftitution, is to address his Majefty to remove him from his councils,

Sir, if the general difcontent which hath arifen against the Minister, were but of yesterday, or without any juft or folid foundation, I should expect it would foon blow over, and therefore should not think it worthy the notice of Parliament; but it has lafted for fo many years, was at firft fo well founded, and has every year fince been gathering, from his conduct, fo much additional ftrength, that I have for feveral Seffions expected fuch a Motion, as I am now to make, from fome other Gentleman, more capable than I am to enforce what he propofes but as no Gentleman has hitherto attempted it, and as this is the laft Seffion of this Parliament, I was unwilling it fhould expire without anfwering the People's expectations, which in this refpect are so juft, fo well founded, and so agreeable to our Constitution; therefore I hope I fhall be excused for attempting what I think my duty, as a Member of this House, and as a friend to our present happy Establishment.

After what I have faid, Sir, I believe no Gentleman can mistake the person I mean: I am convinced every one supposes I mean the Honorable Gentleman, who fits upon the floor, over against me; and the whole Houfe may fee, he takes it to himself. Against him, there is, I believe, as general a popular discontent, as ever was against any Minifter in this kingdom; and this discontent has lafted fo long, that I muft say, his having withstood it for fo many years, is no great fign of the freedom of our Government; for a free People neither will, nor can be governed by a Minifter they hate and defpife, As I am only to propose an Addrefs to remove him from his Majefty's Councils, I have no occafion to accuse him of any crime: The People's being generally diffatisfied with him, and fufpicious of his conduct, is a fufficient foundation for fuch an Address, and a fufficient caufe for his Majefty's removing him from his councils; because, no Sovereign of these kingdoms ought to employ a Minister, who is become disagreeable to the generality

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generality of the People; and when any Minifter happens to become fo, it is our duty to inform his Majesty of it, that he may give fatisfaction to his People, by the removal of such a Minister.

However, Sir, though I fhall not at prefent charge this Minifter with any particular crime, I must beg leave to examine a little into his conduct, in order to fhew, that the difcontents of the People are not without foundation; and if it be true, what was, and is ftill generally fuppofed, it must be allowed, that the methods by which he first advanced himself to the high offices he has ever fince enjoyed, were fuch as could not but be offenfive to every honeft man in the nation. The making and unmaking the famous Bank contract; the screening from condign punishment thofe who, by their wicked and avaricious execution of the truft repofed in them by the South-Sea fcheme, which had ruined many thousands; the lumping of public juftice, and the fubjecting the lefs guilty to a punishment too fevere, in order that the most henious. offenders might escape the punishment they deferved; and the giving up to the SouthSea Company the fum of feven millions fterling, which they had obliged themselves to pay to the Public, a great part of which fum was given to old ftockholders, and confequently to. those who had never fuffered by the fcheme, were the steps by which he was supposed to have risen to power, and such steps could not but raise a general distaste at his advancement, and a dread of his administration.

Thus, Sir, he entered into adminiftration with the general disapprobation of the People; and I am fure, his measures fince have been far from reftoring him to their love or esteem. As he began, fo has he gone on, oppreffing the innocent, impofing upon the credulous, fcreening the guilty, wafting the public treasure, and endangering the liberties of the People. All this I could evince from every step of his adminiftration, from the beginning to this very day, but I shall confine myself to some of the most remarkable inftances, In general, I fhall observe,

that

that by his advice and influence, a much greater army has all along been kept up than was neceffary for the fupport of our Government, or confiftent with our Conftitution, and even that army often augmented without any real caufe; that many fquadrons have been fitted out, to the great expence of the nation, and general disturbance of our trade, without any just cause, and, I believe, without fo much as a design to employ them effectually, either against our enemies, or for the affistance of our allies; that every method proposed of late years, for fecuring our Constitution against our most dangerous enemy, Corruption, has been, by his means, rejected, or rendered ineffectual; whilft, on the other hand, many penal laws have been paffed, which have reduced a great number of his Majesty's fubjects under the arbitrary power of a Minifter and his

creatures.

That almost every article of public expence has been increased by the addition of new and useless Officers; and all enquiries into the management of any public money, either prevented or defeated; that votes of credit at the end of a Seffion of Parliament, which always have been thought of dangerous confequences to our Constitution, have by him been made fo frequent, that few Seffions have paffed without one; that the expence of the Civil Lift has been vaftly increased fince the beginning of his Administration, though it was then much greater than it had ever amounted to in former times; to thefe, Sir, which are all of a domestic nature, I shall add, with regard to our foreign affairs, that ever fince his advice began to be prevalent in our foreign affairs, the trade and particular intereft of this nation, have in all treaties and negociations been neglected, the confidence of our most natural allies difregarded, and the favour of our most dangerous enemies courted; and that to this most unaccountable conduct, the present melancholy fituation of the affairs of Europe is principally to be ascribed.

I know, Sir, it will be objected, that as every material step in the late conduct of our public affairs, either at home or

abroad,

abroad, has been authorized or approved of by Parliament, what I have faid muft be looked on as a general charge against his Majefty's Councils and our Parliament, rather than a perfonal charge against any one Minifter; but this, upon a due confideration, becomes the most heavy, and the most evident charge against the Minifter I aim at. According to our Conftitution, we can have no fole and prime Minister; we ought always to have feveral prime Ministers or Officers of State; every fuch Officer has his own proper department, and no Officer ought to meddle in the affairs belonging to the department of another: but it is publicly known, that this Minister, having obtained a fole influence over all our public councils, has not only affumed the fole direction of all public affairs, but has got every Officer of State removed that would not follow his directions, even in the affairs belonging to his own proper 'department. By this means he hath monopolized all the favours. of the Crown, and engroffed the fole difpofal of all Places, Penfions, Titles, and Ribbons, as well as of all Preferments, Civil, Military, or Ecclefiaftical.

This, Sir, is of itself a most heinous offence against our Conftitution; but he has greatly aggravated the heinousness of his crime; for, having thus monopolized all the favours of the Crown, he has made a blind fubmiffion to his direction at elections and in Parliament, the only ground to hope for any honours or Preferment, and the only tenure by which any Gentleman would preferve what he had. This is so notoriously known, that it can ftand in need of no proof. Have not many deferving Gentlemen been disappointed in the preferment they had a just title to, upon the bare fufpicion of not being blindly devoted to his perfonal intereft? Have not fome perfons of the highest rank and most illustrious characters been displaced, for no other reason, than because they difdained to facrifice their honour and confcience to his direction in Parliament? As no crime, no neglect, no misbehaviour could ever be objected to them, as no other reafons could ever be affigned for depriving

the

the Crown of their fervice, this only could be the reason, Nay, has not this Minifter himself not only confeffed it, but boafted of it? Has he not faid, and in this Houfe too, that he would be a pitiful fellow of a Minifter, who did not displace any Officer that opposed his measures in Parliament?

Can any Gentleman who heard this declaration defire a proof of the Minifter's mifconduct, or of his crimes? Was not this openly avowing one of the most heinous crimes that can be committed by a Minifter in this kingdom? Was it not avowing, that he had made use of the favours of the Crown for obtaining a corrupt Majority in both Houses of Parliament, and keeping that Majority in a flavifh dependance upon himself alone? Do not we all know, that even the King himself is not, by our Conftitution, to take notice of any man's behaviour in Parliament, far less to make that behaviour a means by which he is to obtain, or a tenure by which he is to hold, the favour of the Crown? And fhall we allow a Minifter not only to do, but openly to avow, what he ought to be hanged for, fhould he advise his Sovereign to do fo? It is by means of this crime, Sir, that the Minister I am speaking of has obtained the authority or approbation of Parliament in every step of his conduct, and therefore that authority or approbation is so far from being an alleviation, that it is a most heavy aggravation of every wrong ftep which he has thus got authorized or approved by Parliament. For this reafon, in confidering any particular tep of his conduct, its being authorized or approved by Parliament can have no weight in his favour, whatever it may have against him. If the ftep was in itself weak or wicked, or if it now appears from its confequences to have been fo, its having been approved of or authorized by Parliament, must be fuppofed to have proceeded either from his having mifled the Parliament by falfe gloffes and affeverations, or from his having overawed a Majority by means of that crime which he has fince openly avowed.

Mr. Sands, April 16, 1740.

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