juftice, and the moft barefaced public robbery, that had ever been ventured upon, under any conftitution of civil government, how ever arbitrary. It was ftill worfe in a commercial state than in any other; at once overthrowing every idea of fecurity in the poffeffion of all property whatever, whether founded on the laws and the course of justice, or on confidence in the public faith. And, they infifted, that neither the minifter, that house, nor the legislature at large, who were all parties in the queftion, could at all be competent, under any colour of juftice, to decide on the rights of the company, with refpect to its territorial poffeffions and revenues. The house were more than once called upon, to recollect the danger attending the violation of charters. Maffachufett's Bay afforded them a notable inftance, the confequences of which would long be felt by the nation. They might alfo learn from the American war, that public robbery was not only difgraceful but ruinous to

nation.

a

In

ing to any conclufion. Courts of proprietors were frequently held; and in one inftance, they overruled, or refused to confirm an agreement which had been entered into by the directors. general, the terms held out by administration were deemed fo grievous and unjust, that it was more than once offered in those courts, that it would be better at once to difpofe of all their property at home and abroad in the best manner they could, and putting an end to their political existence, ftake their title to it on a legal decifion, than fubmit to demands fo exorbitant and ruinous.

In the mean time, the bad news which arrived from India, and the doubtful and dangerous ftate of the company abroad, could not but affect the face of affairs at home, and operate confiderably upon the measures and tranfactions on both fides. The view of obtaining a large fum of money, for the renewal of their charter, from the company, was, in the prefent ftate of things, totally clofed. The minifter was wearied by the tedioufnefs of the bufinefs, and, though he carried every queftion by a prodigious majority, he was no lefs tired out by the vexatious debate which it continually produced; at the fame time that he was teazed by the continual calls and complaints of oppofition, for fuffering all the best part of the feffion to elapfe, and deferring bufinefs of the first importance, and queftions of the greatest magnitude, until most of the independent members had retired to the country, and that the house was in a manner deferted.

[*N] 3

The

June ift.

The minifter accord. ingly brought in a temporary bill, allowing the company, for a limited term, to continue their exclufive trade to India; to manage the territorial acquifitions and poffeffions in Afia, and to receive the revenues arifing therefrom. The future provifions of this bill, though they tended to eftablish a very great participation to the public in the revenues and profits of the company, were not much controverted; as the fhortnefs of its duration would afford an opportunity for fettling thofe matters upon a better footing. But the retrofpective effect of it, in compelling the company to pay the demand of 632,000l. made by the minifter, under a claim of participation in its paft profits, was ftrenuously combated by the oppofition, who reprefented it as a measure of the utmoft violence and injuftice. The company likewife petitioned, and were heard by counfel against the bill. Chance, however, had nearly effected, what the exertions of the oppofition and company were totally unequal to. Through inattention and bad attendance, the thinness of the houfe probably induced the oppofition, unexpectedly to bring a queftion for going into a committee on the bill to a divifion; which was only carried by a majority of 28 to 25, fo that the bill was within three of being loft. It met with fome faint oppofition in the Houfe of Lords, where the Duke of Chandos declared, that he could not confent to a bringing a bill of rapine and plunder in aid of fupply.

We hould obferve, that the minifter's claim of 632,000l. upon the com

pany, had been reduced in its paflage through the House of Commons to 402,000l. This bill received the royal affent, along with the Bengal judicature bill, at the clofe of the feffion.

The reftrictions of the marriage act of the year 1751, had not only been much complained of by the younger part of the world, but had drawn the cenfure of fome more ferious, and even well-informed men, who fuppofing it unfavourable to population, confidered it as contrary to the policy of all ftates, but particularly to that of a commercial nation; and who condemned it likewife as being aristocratic in its principle.

An inconvenience, arifing not fo much from any end propofed by the law, as from fome incidental circumftances of the penalties which were to enforce obedience to it, was the cause of its being at this time brought into difcuffion. As publicity was one of the objects aimed at in this law, it enacted, that all marriages celebrated in places, where banns had not been ufually published, and marriages celebrated, before the act, thould be confidered as void ab initio. It happened, that a great number of new chapels and places of worship had, according to various exigencies, been erected fince the paffing of that law; and while the more oftenfible, and originally operative parts of the law were well remembered, nobody thought of examining an old act of parliament, on any idea that its penalties extended to future and neceffary contingency. Thefe newly erected chapels, being ufed for all other religious purposes, marriages were folem

nized in them, without any idea of contravening the letter or fpirit of the law. All thefe were, however, shaken. The litigious industry of a country attorney, and difpofition of the officers of a parish, at length brought to light the full effect of this claufe. It was evidently ridiculous, that the validity of a marriage fhould depend upon the skill of the parties in the antiquities of the place of celebration. And as the point might become every day more obfcure, and more a fubject of difcuffion, the evils, already feverely felt, threatened the most alarming and general confequences, in the moft delicate and valuable of all political confiderations. Such is the teft of legiflation! The dependencies of civil affairs are fo nice and various, that the contingent effects are often of greater moment than the immediate ones.

A fingle inaccuracy in one law, may shake the frame of the whole community. The prefent inftance, is one among many, to imprefs men in fuch matters with the neceffity of deliberation and forefight.

The first legal decifion upon this new queftion of law, arofe upon the calamitous cafe of a pauper, with a family of eleven children, who being denied a fettlement by the parish, notwithstanding an order of the juftices in his favour, the matter came into the court of King's Bench; where the judges, though exceedingly contrary to their inclinations and -feelings, thought themselves under a neceffity of adhering to the letter of the act.

This induced Lord Beauchamp to introduce the bufinefs in the

Houfe of Commons, and to bring in the heads of a bill for affording relief to the many thousands who were innocently involved in fo grievous and calamitous a fituation. Such was the concurring zeal of all parties, to prevent thofe irremediable mischiefs which were likely to arise from a knowledge of the late decifion, that though the fubject was only introduced on the 28th of May, the bill was read the third time, and paffed, on the 7th of June.

The marriage act had in its origin been oppofed with great zeal by the late Lord Holland; and Mr. Fox confidering the oppofition to it as devolved by defcent upon himself, wifhed to extend the provifions of Lord Beauchamp's bill much farther, than merely. the relief intended with regard to the fingle object in view.

This was likewife the wifh of many others, who disapproved, either in the whole or in part, of the marriage act. But it not being deemed prudent to run the. rifque of delaying the operation or preventing the effect of the new bill, by clogging it with any matter which might produce an oppofition, Mr. Fox, as foon as it was paffed, entered, with his ufual ability, into a full ftatement of the marriage act, in which he reprobated in the fevereft terms its principle and defign, painted in the ftrongeft colours, the extreme impolicy and perni cious confequences of its reftrictions, and reprefented the whole, as being equally tyrannical and abfurd. He obferved, that by the newly discovered blot in that law, now confirmed by a legal decifion, moft of the clergy in the

kingdom

had notwithstanding fuffered the confequences of defeat, in being obliged to abandon the country, with all the objects of their entering it, and to retire to the fea fide, Mr. Fox thought this intelligence, fo authenticated, afforded a proper foundation for bring ing the bufinefs again forward.

He accordingly, on the 12th of June, making the Gazette the ground of his proceeding, moved, that the house fhould refolve itself. into a committee, to confider of the American war; at the fame time giving notice, that he intended to move a refolution in the committee," That his majefty's minifters ought immediately to take every poffible measure for conconcluding peace with our A"merican colonies."

66

As this motion occafioned an exertion of all the ability on either fide of the house, it neceffarily brought out all the arguments that had yet, or that could now be offered, on the queftions, of the propriety of continuing the American war, the grounds for hoping or defpairing of fuccefs, the prudence or policy of feeking a peace with America, the probabilities of obtaining it, or of detaching them from their allies, if fought, the confequences of granting independence to the colonies, which must be laid down as the firft preliminary towards obtaining fuch a peace, and whether the crown was not already endued with fufficient powers for concluding a peace with America, if ever the neceffity of fuch a measure should be established? Both the competency of parliament to any interference in the bufinefs of the executive power, and the propriety,

if competent, of fuch interference, were likewife brought into queftion, and fully difcuffed. These, with other matters arifing from the fubject, were debated with great ability till towards midnight, when the motion was rejected upon a divifion, by a majority of 172 to 99.

The ufual vote of credit for a million being obtained, an end was at length put to this long, and exceedingly tiresome feffion of parliament. In the fpeech from the throne, July 18th. they were comforted for the unufual length of attendance, by the fatisfactory reflection, that their time had been employed in a faithful discharge of their duty to their country, in the prefent arduous and critical state of public affairs. An entire approbation of their conduct, and a perfect confidence in the loyalty and good affections of this parliament, was declared. The zeal and ardour which they had fhewn for the honour of the crown; their firm and fteady fup port of a good caufe; and the great efforts they had made to enable his majefty to furmount all the difficulties of this extensive and complicated war, muft, it was faid, convince the world, that the antient fpirit of the Britifh nation is not abated or diminifhed. That, in the midst of thefe difficulties, they had formed regulations for the better management and improvement of the revenue; they had given additional ftrength and ftability to public credit; and their deliberations on the affairs of the Eaft India company had terminated in fuch meafures as would, it was trufted, produce great and essential advan

tages