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the Adminiftration of the affairs of this country be speedily put into other hands, the nation would very foon be undone.

Mr. I. H. Browne role to oppofe it. H acknowledged that the fubject was of the highest importance, and therefore he could not confent to give his vote on it, without making fome observations, which appeared to him very neceffary for the Houfe to take into their confideration. The Motion of the Worthy Alderman was no less than for the difm ffal of the prefent Adminiftration. Before he could give his allent to fuch à Motion, it must first be proved to him that the Adminiftration had done fomething for which they deferved to be difimiff d. Sɔ far from that being the cafe, he was clearly of opinion, that the prefent was the best Ad niniftration, and had done more for the welfare and interefts of this country than any he had ever known, or read of. He had been in Parliament twelve years, and had obferved their actions very deliberately, and alfo the great talents of the Gentlemen in Oppo ition, who had been all that time continually watching and attacking them, and it was from this obfervation he had formed his opinion.

The Worthy Alderman who made, and the Honourable Baronet who feconded the Motion, had both of them declared they thought themfelves bound to follow the instructions of their Conftituents, and as the Reprefentatives of the two fift Cities in the Kingdom, their opinions were certainly entitled to the highest refpect. For his own part he had the honour to reprefent a very populous place. His Conftituents confifted of about two thoufand. I returning him their reprefenta ive they had done their part. They had elected him to act for them to the best of his judgment. That was his part, and that part only would he act. If his Conftitu.nts chole to inftruct him, he fhould ftill purfue his own judgment, in fpite of their inftructions, in cafe he differed with them in opinion. If they were difplealed at this, at the next General Election, they might reject him if they pleafed. He therefore difered altogether with the Worthy Alderman and the Honourable Baronet, on the fubject of implicitly obeying inftrutions from their Conftituents. He looked upon himself as a really independent man, and had never received or folicited any favour from Minifters. With regard to the prefent Administration, he thought the country owed every thing to them. The three greatest bleffings which a country could poffefs were Liberty, Tranquillity, in its internal concerns, and the general profperity of it. With regard to each of thefe, no Aministration had ever done fo much for their fecurity and prefervation as the prefent.

As to the first point, Liberty, it was under the aufpices, and with the confent of the prefent Administration, that juries had No. 38.

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received unequivocally the right which had been doubted and difputed of judging of all the circumftances of the case in point of law as well as fact. It was under the aufpices of the present Adminiftration, and by their exertions, even against very high and powerful authorities in that Houfe, that the continuance of an impeachment had been carried. It was to the eloquence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer that that measure was chiefly to be attributed. He who of all other men might be most likely to be himself harraffed, by a long and tedious impeachment. It was by the present Administration that the Bill which was fo abnoxious to the people of Canada had been repealed, and a lovely fyftem of freedom fubftituted in its place. When fedition had fome time past stalked abroad with gigantic fteps,, an Administration hoftile to liberty would have taken hold of the opportunity, and endeavoured to contract her powers. But had the prefent Administration done this? No, they had touched the fubject with a lenient hand, and the Bill they had brought forward for preventing and punishing fedition, they had moderately and gently limited to the term of two years. Though the most feditious meetings had been held, which threatened, if longer fuffered, the most dreadful confequences to the country, the prefent Administration had not taken advantage of it to prevent meetings altogether, which they might have done. They had not prevented meetings for any purpofe within the number of fifty; and by a lawful notice being given, any number of people whatever might meet, for any purpose actually affigned in fuch notice.

Mr. Browne then proceeded to notice the second point, Tranquillity, which he faid had always been fo clear, from the excellent measures adopted by Adminiftration, that it was unneceffary for him to go any further into the fubject, which spoke fo plainly for itself. He now came, he faid, to the third point, the general profperity of the country, and on this he was certain no former Adminiftration could ever claim, by any means, equal merit with the prefent. He would divide this head into two periods: the first from 1784 to 1792: the fecond from 1792, to the prefent moment.

In the year 1784 the prefent Chancellor came into office, and from that time to 1792, no country ever flourished more, nor did this country ever enjoy fo large a portion of general profperity. By means of his great financial abilities, he raised the funds, which he found at 64, during the courfe of that period, to 97 or 98. In the fame proportion with the funds, the trade, commerce, manufactures, agriculture, industry, and ingenuity of the country kept equal pace in their increase of general profperity, and the country had arrived to the most unexampled

exampled height of happiness. The peace of 1783 was supposed and faid to be precarious, but by the great wifdom of the meafures adopted by the prefent Adminiftration, it was rendered not only permanent, but highly beneficial to the commercial and other interests of this country. The other period to which he had now to allude, he was forry to fay, was a very painful reverse. These political evils however which had caufed it, were entirely owing to the French Revolution, which had fuddenly rifen to a head, and, like a fwelling torrent, burst every natural and artificial bound, and fwept away all before it. It was worfe, he faid, than the first irruption of the Goths and Vandals, or any other favage nation that had ever been heard. of. It threatened deftruction to every civilized State and regular Government in Europe.

Much had been faid, he obferved, on the point of avoiding the war, and great blame was imputed to Minifters for not doing fo. He denied pofitively that it was poffible to avoid it; and if it were, he was certain, he faid, that by avoiding it, we fhould have been placed in a much more lamentable state than we now were in. Blame had also been imputed to Ministers for the expeditions which they had planned against the West India Ilands of the Enemy. This was alfo without caufe. The want of fuccefs in that quarter was not owing to any deficiency of wisdom in the meafures purfued, or the plans adopted. It might fairly be fet down to the unfortunate circumftance of the yellow fever breaking out in Philadelphia, and being from thence conveyed to the West Indies, where it operated like a plague or peftilence, and made a climate which had been confidered as falubrious in former wars, fo peftiferous as to change the productive foil of every Ifland into a hungry and univerfal yawning burial-ground. He contended that the war, though difaftrous in fome points of view, was abfolutely neceffary, and, taking it altogether, was the moft glorious war that ever this country was engaged in. Our trade had increased in a degree of proportion unknown in the course of any former wars. The country owed every thing to the prefent Administration for entering into it, for they had by that, and he believed by that alone, kept the scene of action entirely from this country. It had ravaged and deftroyed every part of Europe except this country. They had demanded the moft dreadful requifitions of every Power on the Continent, and the Grand Duke of Tuscany had been obliged to fell his jewels in order to raise the laft requifition of one hundred thousand crowns which they had levied on him. From thefe evils we had been faved by the prefent Administra tion. Would we change them for any other Administration in Europe? No, he was bold to fay. Could we change them for

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any other fat of men, in this country, who were likely to be of more fervice to its interests? He believed not. He knew well the great talents and fplendid abilities of feveral of the Gentlemen opp lite to him, and could with they would act in union with thofe on his fide; but he feared that with was vain. Mr. Browne then took an average view of the Bills of Inclosure and Canals, during 4 years before the war, and the fame period fince its commencement, and fhewed, that in the latter period they had greatly increafed. There was one point he begged leave to obferve upon before he fat down, which was the great importance of the immediate prefervation of tranquillity. This the prefent Adminiftration had, by the wisdom and firmness of their measures, uniformly obtained; he was afraid that removing them would greatly hazard this important matter, and this was a powerful reafon with him for oppofing it. He begged pardon of the Houfe for detaining them to long, thanked them for the patience with which they had heard him, and concluded by giving his decided diffent to the Motion.

Mr. Alderman Curti. began by obferving, that his worthy friend and colleague had introduced his Motion by giving the ftrongest affurances to the Houfe, that he looked upon himself as always bound to act according to the inftructions of his Conft tuents Yet his worthy friend had deviated from thofe inftructions in the very wording of his Motion.---The inftructions given by his Conftituents were, that his worthy friend fhould either make or fecond a Motion for an Address to his Majefty to difmifs from his Councils for ever his prefent weak and wicked Minifters. But his worthy friend had left the word weak and wicked out of his Motion, which plainly and clearly thewed that he did not think they were so, and that he thought his Conftituents wrong in fo ftyling them. As to himfelf, he had candidly told his Conftituents, at the time of the meeting, that he fhould act according to the dictates of his own confcience, regardless of any inftructions. As, therefore, he did in his confcience think that his Majefty's prefent Minifters ought not to be difmiffed, he fhould certainly give his decided negative to the present Motion.

Mr. Alderman Anderfan objected also to the Motion made by his worthy Colleague. He had likewife at the laft meeting told his Conftituents, that his own confcience should be his only guide, on every occation where he was to give his vote. But he denied that thefe inftructions, mentioned by his worthy Colleague, were the inftructions of his Constituents. The Meeting at the Common Hall which gave thofe inftructions, formed but a very small part of his Constituents. There was a Declaration drawn up and figned by a great number of Livery

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men, and in a short time would be figned by many more, which directly contradicted the proceedings of the laft Common Hall. He believed there were a great many men out of doors who were very bad indeed, and wanted to introduce anarchy and contufion. For this reafon he fhould give his politive and hearty negative to the Motion.

Air. Curwen faid, that on a queftion of this important nature, h. could not content himself with giving a filent vote. When he looked to the conduct of Minifters during the whole courfe of the war, he was furprifed that at the prefent moment any one would ftand up to defend them. He allowed the war appeared popular in the beginning, but he was certain the people had long been weary of and difgufted with it. He took a general view of the conduct of Minifters, and fhewed how many opportunities they had wilfully omitted of making peace upon terms the most fatisfactory and honourable. They had been advised, by Gentlemen near to him, to feize the opportunity when the opening of the Scheldt was the piet nce of offering terms, as foon as the French were driven from Holland within their own territories. The fame advice had been given them after the taking of Valenciennes, and at various other times, but had always been difregarded. How could any man fuppofe then that they meant to propofe it at all, or if they did, that they could ftand any chance of accomplishing a peace who had fo miferably conducted the war. He then adverted to their coercive proceedings in regard to the people of Ireland. That country, he faid, was, at prefent, in fuch a ftate as ought to make every thinking man tremble who wished to preferve an alliance between the two countries. The fituation of that country was fuch, that he should hefitate to mention it, but that the truth mut foon come out. Indeed it was published by the Report of the Secret Committee of the Houfe of Commons: and if that account was true, it must be clear to every one, that an entire emancipation of the Catholics, and a Reform in Parliament muft immediately be granted, or that country must be separated from this for ever. This dreadful fituation had been brought on by the tricking verfatile proceedings of Minifters here. They had checked the hopes of the Catholics---then they had raised them; and then had again checked them. The kingdom was no longer to be held but by an entire emancipation, or the most bitter coercion. For his part he did not know which way to give his opinion, but he was rather inclined to believe, that rather than keep the connection by means of the strong coercion of a numerous and powerful itanding army, he would give his vote to grant them an ablolute independence. Viewing the conduct of Ministers through every poffible medium, he was

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