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the head of his regiment, but on a diplomatic com→ mission to those very regicides, to pray to be on a good understanding with them. Shall we then be blind to the lessons, which the events of the world exhibit to our view? Pride, obstinacy, and insult, must end in concessions, and those concessions must be humble in proportion to our unbecoming pride. Now is the moment to prevent all these degradations: the monarchy, the aristocracy, the people themselves may now be saved: it is only necessary at this moment to conquer our own passions. Let those ministers whose evil genius has brought us to our present condition, retire from the post to which they are unequal. I have no hesitation in saying, that the present administration neither can nor ought to remain in place: let them retire from his Majesty's councils; and then let us, with an earnest desire of recovering the country, pursue this moderate scheme of reform, under the auspices of men who are likely to conciliate the opinion of the people. I do not, Sir, speak this from personal ambition.

A new

administration ought to be formed: I have no desire no wish of making a part of any such administration ; and I am sure that such an arrangement is feasible, and that it is capable of being done without me. My first and chief desire is to see this great end accomplished: I have no desire to be the person, or to be one of the persons to do it; but though my wish is for retirement, I shall always be ready to give my free and firm support to any administration that shall restore to the country its outraged rights, and re-establish its strength upon the basis of free representation; and therefore, Sir, I shall certainly give my vote for the proposition of my honorable friend."

On the division of the house, the numbers were for Mr. GREY'S motion, 93-against it 258.

CHAP.

CHAP. II.

ECONOMICAL REFORM.

IN the course of the American war, the rapid and con

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tinual increase of the national debt had excited a very just alarm at the magnitude of the contest in which the country was engaged, at the prodigious expence with which that contest was attended, and at the proofs which every day appeared of prodigality, corruption, and a shameful waste of the public money. Early in the year 1780, popular meetings were convened in most of the principal towns and counties all over the kingdom; and petitions to parliament were drawn up, agreed to, and presented, all of them praying for a correction of abuses in the public expenditure, and many of them extending to a reform in the commons house of parliament. It was upon this occasion that Mr. BURKE brought forward his famous plan, confining himself to what he called the omnipotence of economy; its power to bind up and close the bleeding atteries of profusion, and to invigorate the natural consitution of the state, by reducing the fatal and overgrown influence of the crown. As some steps towards the attainment of so desirable an end, he moved for leave to bring in certain bills for the better regulation of his Majesty's civil establishments; for the sale of forest and oher crown lands; and for more profitably uniting to the crown the principality of Wales, the counties palatine of Chester and Lancaster, and the duchy of Cornwall, The powers of Mr. BURKE's genius and fancy were never, perhaps, more fully displayed than in the embellishment

ROL. I.

H H

of

of so unpromising a subject. The necessary minuteness of detail, the multiplicity of local circumstances and personal considerations, on which the whole plan was founded, were enlivened by sportive sallies, and set off with all the charms of eloquence, all the beauties of poetical description. Mr. DUNNING said, "that it must remain as a monument, to be handed down to posterity, of the uncommon zeal, unrivalled industry, astonishing abilities, and invincible perseverance of the honorable gentleman. He had undertaken a task big with labor and difficulty ; a task that embraced a variety of the most important objects, extensive and complicated: yet such were the eminent and unequalled abilities, so extraordinary the talents and ingenuity, and such the fortunate frame of the honorable gentleman's mind, his vast capacity and happy conception, that, in his hands, what must have proved a vast heap of ponderous matter, composed of heterogeneous ingredients, discordant in their nature, and opposite in principle, was so skilfully arranged as to become quite simple as to each respective part, dependent on each other; and the whole at the same time so judiciously combined, as to present nothing to almost any mind, tolerably intelligent, to divide, puzzle, or distract it."

The opening of Mr. BURKE's speech was well calcun ted to excite the most serious attention. "I rise," said he, "in acquittal of my engagement to the house, in obedi ce to the strong and just requisition of my constituents, and, I am persuaded, in conformity to the unanimous wishes of the whole nation, to submit to the wisdom of Parliament, a plan of reform in the constitution of several parts of the public œconomy. I have endeavoured that this plan should include in its execution, a considerable reduction of important expence; that it should effect a conversion of unprofitable titles into a productive estate; that it

should

should lead to, and indeed almost compel, a provident administration of such sums of public money as must remain under discretionary trusts; that it should render the debts on the civil establishment (which must ultimately affect national strength, and national credit) so very difficult as to become next to impracticable. But what, I confess, was uppermost with me, what I bent the whole force of my mind to, was the reduction of that corrupt influence, which is itself the perennial spring of all prodigality and of all disorder; which loads us more than millions of debt; which takes away vigor from our arms, wisdom from our councils, and every shadow of authority and credit from the most venerable parts of our constitution."

After some remarks on the ungraciousness of every attempt at reform, he enters upon his task with tremor and delicacy, but with a ftrong conviction also, that an early dereliction of abuse is the direct interest of government. "Early reformations," said he, "are amicable arrangements with a friend in power; late reformations are terms imposed upon a conqueréd énemy: early reformations are made in cold blood; late reformations are made under a state of inflammation. In that state of things, the people behold in government nothing that is respectable. They see the abuse, and they will see nothing else they. fall into the temper of a furious populace provoked at the disorder of a house of ill fame; they never attempt to correct or regulate; they go to work by the shortest way they abate the nuisance→→ they pull down the house." But, he very judiciously adds, "that, as it is the interest of government that reformation should be early, it is the interest of the people that it should be temperate; because a temperate reform is per

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manent-it has a principle of growth, and leaves room for farther improvement."

In his proposed plan of reform, he therefore kept those two ends in view, that it should have both an early and a temperate operation;-that it should be substantial ;that it should be systematic ;-that it should rather strike at the first cause of prodigality and corrupt influence, than attempt to follow them in all their effects. "If," said he, "we do not go to the very origin and first ruling cause of grievances, we do nothing. What does it signify to turn abuses out of one door, if we are to let them in at another? What does it signify to promote œconomy upon a measure, and to suffer it to be subverted in the principle? Our ministers are far from being wholly to blame for the present ill order which prevails. Whilst institutions directly repugnant to good management are suffered to remain, no effectual or lafting reform can be introduced."

Being resolved not to proceed in an arbitrary manner to change the settled state of things, but quietly to remove whatever stood in the way of economy, he began with taking a comprehensive view of the state of the country, -a sort of survey of its jurisdictions, its eftates, its establishments; and then pointed out the various objects of correction or regulation, all reduced to one or other of the following principles or fundamental rules, by which the great work of reform was to be accomplished:

First, All jurisdictions which furnish more matter of expence, more temptation to oppression, or more means and inftruments of corrupt influence, than advantage to juftice or political administration, ought to be abolished.

Secondly,

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