had not that unanimity in view of which he fo warmly speaks. But when the Honourable Gentleman thought proper to talk of Reform, was it neceflary for him, at the fame time, to tell the French of the diftrefs of this country? Was it neceflary for him to tell them that the finances of the nation were ruined? Was it neceflary for him to tell them that England is not what fhe was? Is this, Sir, a proper mode of acting in favour of the country? What is the real meaning of fuch language?. Is it not directly faying to the enemy, You are coming hither when England is not what fhe was in the time of Queen Elizabeth; when the is deprefied and finking under the heavy weight of a great national debt?' What does all this amount to but to the encouraging expreffions and affurances of this is your time to come, hold out your hands and fraternize with us.' "When I feriously confider the obvious tendency of fuch language, I muft exprefs my regret that the Honourable Gentleman has published his refolutions in the newfpapers. 1 may venture to affert, that they have been already fent in the pa pers to other countries, and I dare fay they have, like other articles of important intelligence, been conveyed through the means of neutral fhips. But all I now fay is, that they are not very much calculated to terrify the enemy. I have the fatisfaction to state, that a great many other refolutions for forming affociations in defence of the country, have been received from all parts of the kingdom, and they are resolutions which reflect the higheft honour on thofe who joined in them, as they difplay the most manly and unequivocal proofs of zeal and patriotifm. They all go, in their operation, not only to the means of acting with fpirit and energy against the enemy, but to the prefervation and fecurity of internal peace and fafety. I can affure the Houfe, that the table on which they are laid, and which is as large as this, is every day covered with them. Yet I can ftate, with the fulleft confidence, that among all the plans of affociation received every day, there is not one which is like that prefented from the Borough of Southwark. If the Gentlemen who came forward on that occafion are wife, their wisdom, I must confefs, appears rather. fingular, and if the Honourable Gentleman feriously meant, by the lead which he took in thofe proceedings, to guard in a fecure manner his own chastity and virtue, I muft affure him, that more parties than one are receflary to the attainment of that object. But, in confidering the measure which the Honourable Gentleman profeffes to have adopted for the purpofe of frightening the enemy, I must beg leave to afk, did it never occur to him that it was not a right thing to bring forward a propofition to fhew to the enemy, and for the truth of which he is fill an ad

vocate, that the Executive Government is unable to wield the power of the kingdom with any falutary effect or beneficial confequences? Is this meant as a compliment? But in whatever fenfe it is meant, I mean to state, before I fit down, that the Houfe will not act wifely, if they attempt, after the difcuffion of the prefent queftion, to go into any enquiries." The confideration of the fubject is confined within a very narrow compafs. A plan of affociation agreed to by certain perfons in the Borough of Southwark for the defence of the country, has been tranfmitted to the Lord Lieutenant of the county of Surrey; and he has not thought proper, after a candid and mature deliberation of the contents, to fubmit, and recommend the adoption of the measure for his Majefty's approbation, The Lord Lieutenant has unqueftionably acted in comformity to the powers with which he is entrusted, and has not exercised the leaft right or privilege to which he is not fairly entitled. I think it neceffary now to obferve, that any difference or shade of political opinion ought in my mind to be no caufe for rejecting the co-operation of any rank and defcription of men in the prefent important crifis of public affairs. But, Sir, I must alfo fay, that there are deferiptions of men in this country who, whether we confider their principles or their views, are not fit to be trufted in the hour of danger. But this confideration belongs more particularly to the judgment and decifion of the Lords Lieutenants of the counties, who are, I maintain, invefted with the power of recommending or rejecting according to the principles of prudence and wifdom, and in direct conformity to the law of the land, and to the fpirit of the confti

tution."

Mr. Sheridan rofe and fpoke to the following effect." Sir, It has a little excited my furprise to hear the Right Honourable Gentleman acknowledge the importance of the prefent queftion, and yet treat it as if it was of no importance at all. In my mind, in point of real importance, as it connects itfelf with the beft interefts of the country, in a crifis avowedly of real danger, than the prefent there could not have been brought forward a queftion more entitled to the candid, full, and deliberate confideration of this Houfe. Yet fo fatisfied am I with the Statements made by my Honourable Friend, and fo ably has he fupported thofe ftatements by his arguments-arguments and statements too which have fearce been combated, but certainly not refuted, that I should not have troubled the House at all but for one obfervation made by the Right Honourable Gentleman in the courfe of his fpeech. Sir, the Right Honourable Gentleman has this evening told us, nay, he has afferted it broadly as a propofition, which indeed he has offered to main

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tain, that there are in this country great numbers of feditious Perfons, who have formed themselves into focieties under the pecious title of Reformers, but whofe real object is to overturn the conftitution, by affifting the French, fhould they ever land in this country. This, Sir, is in truth a very broad propofi tion, and without intending any thing ludicrous, I muft confefs its capacity was not a little enlarged by the tone and gefture in which it was delivered. But the Right Honourable Gentleman cannot wonder if I deny affertions fo generally made, and propofitions fo wide and unlimited in their fcope. I am now told there are every where infidious lurking perfons who chorith fentiments hoftile to the Government. This is an accufation by no means new. It is, however, much too loose and vague to be regarded with complacency. I will admit that there may be in this country, as there ever will be in every country, a few who urged, by I know not what fpirit, a love of change -a paffion probably once cherished by the Right Honourable Gentleman himself-or from worfe motives, defire the over. throw of the Government. But while I am far from doubting that there may be bad men, I hope and believe they are few. It is with them perhaps as with the grafshopper, they will make a noise, but they have too much timidity ever to be feen. Only alarmifts could apprehend danger from fuch men. But we have often before now heard it stated, in language not less confident, that in every corner of the kingdom fedition and treafon in fome degree exift. This, Sir, is a little unaccountable. If his Majefty's Minifters have not been all along deceiving us, it is not eafy to imagine how, in this crisis of their mighty power, a few obfcure individuals could have become to formidable. Really there is in thefe matters fomething of the myfterious. A fhort time back fo much of the conftitution was taken away to defend the reft, and for this proceeding the rea fons ftated by Minifters were, chic fly, that the focieties were every day growing dangerous; that principles hoftile to good order and morality were hourly acquiring ftrength, and rapidly gaining on the individual mind. Strong measures were accordingly adopted, and, until of late, we have been uniformly told, that the memorable Treafon and Sedition Bills had fucceeded in effectually fuppreffing whatever of either exifted in the country. But this night we are told, that not only has the dif temper re-appeared, but treafon and fedition are denounced to you, and the Right Honourable Gentleman has declared that they exift in a degree to damp the fpirit, and reprefs the ardour of the country. A loud cry of Hear! Hear! accompanied with the affertion, "Thefe were not his (Mr. Dundas's) words," and Mr. Sheridan having reafferted them,

Mr.

Mr. Dundas rose. "I muft, Sir, have been much mifunderflood. What I faid was, that in confequence of many improper perfons having made offers to ferve, and the appearance of a feditious faction, the fpirits of the people and of the affociations would be damped if Lords Lieutenants of counties, or if his Majelly's Ministers, accepted of fuch offers of fervice."

Mr. Sheridan proceeded. "We have now, Sir, had the Right Honourable Gentleman's explanation, and I muft fay that if the people, if the martial spirit of the affociations fhall be damped by fo fmall a number as the troop of Seditionifts is faid to confift of, the country is indeed in danger, and our fituation is bad beyond example. There is, however, that in the declared zeal and patriotifm of the great body of the people, which muft quiet every rational mind, and make the general fecurity depend, as it ought, on the courage, the prefeverance, the refources, and the unincumbered strength of the country. Thus much, Sir, I have endeavoured to obviate the effect of that difcouraging propofition; that there exift at this moment vaft and formidable bodies of men hoftile to the Government, and united to accelerate its fall.

"But there his one expreffion which it is impoffible I should be able to contemplate without anxiety, or bring forward to the recollection of the Honourable Gentleman without regret. The Right Honourable Secretary has told us that he regrets the circumftances which have obliged the Officers of the Crown to put off the State Trials ;-and do but attend to the very mischievous reafon he has affigned for his regret-that he could not lay before this Houfe the proofs of the guilt of particular bodies, and of the existence of multiplied confpiracies.-Sir, I am not one who has ever been unwilling to pay the tribute of applaufe juftly due to an English Jury, but if ever any thing could tend to influence a Jury, it must be fuch an affertion as that of the Right Honourable Gentleman. In the critical and awful fituation of the perfons in confinement at Maidstone, nothing can be more unkind, to fay the leaft, than the ufing expreffions towards them which may have a tendency to imprefs individual minds with an unfavourable opinion of their conduct. That principle of the law of England, which holds a man to be innocent until he is found guilty by a Jury of his Peers, to my mind coveys as found and wife a maxim as ever was inculcated. Sir, it requires of us cautiously to avoid all occations of expreffing haftily, or in warmth, even doubts of the innocence of perfons who may unfortunately ftand accufed of enormous crimes. If the Right Honourable Gentleman had but given that principle of our law its full weight in his deliberations, if he had regarded

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any thing that he owes to juftice, he would not have made fuch a fpeech. But, Sir, I can remember a period in our annals cha. racterised by circumstances not a little fimilar, and conduct very much like that of the prefent evening. The memorable epech of the State Trials is fresh in the recollection of Gentlemen. To this I particularly allude. At that period, eventful enough, God knows, we were affured by the Right Honourable Gentleman, and his friends near him, that the whole country was menaced, and in danger of being overrun by French principles, and the emiffaries of the correfponding focieties. I remember the proceeding of Parliament in the Committees that were held on this occafion. Then, Sir, there were tremendous reports, whispers of dark and infiduous confpiracies, of treafon, and every other monstrous crime that could intereft or difquiet the mind. We were then prefented with profiles, and drawings of pikes, and of male and female fcrews. It was then the general boat of Minifters, that they poffeffed proofs of exifting confpiracies, but they at the fame time modeftly told us, as has been infinuated this evening, they regretted, that while the trials were depending, they could not bring forward the proofs of exifling confpiracies, of the treasonable mind within, and the correfponding danger from without. Happily, however, these augurics foon proved ill founded, and the verdict of an English Jurv declared the innocence of the acculed. I do not fay that the Right Honourable Gentlemen oppofite to me think much of the verdict of a Jury; but it is no unitportant fact, that the Judge who prefided on that occafion congratulated the Jury on their verdict, and on the proofs that had been exhibited of thofe confpiracies, which had once fo much alarmed the public mind, being wholly without foundation, or only the chimerical offspring of a faction, men without arms, ammunition, or means of any kind, and even without zeal. Sir, I must think we are on the present occafion as little in danger of being overwhelmed with confpirators as we were then.

"But though I think thus, the inference from the Right Honourable Gentleman's obfervation must be obvious. It must be felt that in fubftance the Honourable Gentleman had infinuated that the prifoners are guilty I have no knowledge of any of the prisoners except Mr. O'Connor, but I regret Sir that the trial at Maidstone was put off. I regret it for reafons very different, with feelings the reverfe of those which appear to actuate the Right Honourable Gentlaman. I regret it, Sir, because I am convinced Mr. Arthur O'Connor is not a traitor, and is incapable of acting hoftilely against this country or its conftitution.

"Having