1777 treafon, or fufpicion of treason, unless such person should CHAP. have been locally refident in his majefty's colonies and XV. plantations in America, at the time he was charged with, or fufpected of committing the crime. This amendment was vigorously oppofed by administration; but while his friends were, as they thought, fighting the battle of the minister, he, to their utter aftonifhment, deferted them, and the amended clause was received without a divifion. The bill, however, was ftill contefted, though more faintly, and at laft carried by 112 to 35. In the house of lords it paffed without debate or amendment, the minority having fo totally deferted that affembly, that lord Abingdon found himself left alone in a protest against it. the crown civil lift. In the course of this feffion, though feveral of the pub- On the lic accounts underwent a fevere animadverfion, particular- payment of ly thofe for horfes and rum for the army, the most dif- debts, and agreeable bufinefs that occurred was relative to the civil augmentalift, which was again become prodigioufly indebted. On tion of the the 9th of April, a meflage from the throne was delivered, April 9. in which much concern was expreffed by the fovereign at being obliged to acquaint them with the difficulties he laboured under, from debts incurred by the expences of the household, and of the civil government, which, on the 5th of January last, had amounted to more than 600,000l. -that he relied on the loyalty and affection of his faithful commons, of which he had received fo many fignal proofs, for enabling him to discharge this debt; and that they would, at the fame time, make fome further provifion for the better fupport of his household, and the honour and dignity of his crown. The message was accompanied with a number of papers, containing various accounts of the expenditure, and a comparative view of the whole amount of the prefent civil-lift establishment from the year 1760, with that of the produce of the former revenues, which had been appropriated to that fervice during the fame period; the former to fhew the causes of the increased expence, and the latter, that the crown had been a lofer by the bargain made at that time with the parliament. The meffage being, after fome debate, referred to the committee of supply, was taken into confideration on the 16th of the month; when a motion was made by lord April 16. John Cavendish, the purport of which was, that it fhould be determined by a vote, whether the requifition contained in the meffage fhould be immediately complied with, or the accompts firft taken into confideration. The minority, who were unanimous in fupport of the motion, 1777. CHAP. differed fomewhat among themfelves as to the method to XV. be adopted in carrying their plan into execution. Some were of opinion, that the prefent debt ought to be dif charged, as a matter that could not be avoided, but were averfe to any augmentation of the revenue; while others were decidedly against either, until the accompts should have received a full difcuffion, when they infifted, that the revenue as it then stood would be fufficient to answer every useful purpofe. The motion, however, was rejected by 281 to 114. On which two resolutions were paffed; one, that the sum of 618,340l. fhould be granted to his majesty, in order to pay the debt incurred by his household, &c.; the other, that the fum of 100,000l. a year, over and above the fum of 8c0,000l. be granted as a further provision for the better support of his majes ty's household, and the honour and dignity of the crown. October 11 These propofitions called forth the whole ftrength of oppofition. The gentlemen on that fide of the house, while they lamented the degrading fituation of the fovereign, and the many diftreffes thereby brought upon individuals, afcribed the debt entirely to the boundless and fcandalous profufion of minifters, and infifted that the prefent revenue was, without any poffibility of doubt, not only fufficient to anfwer all the purposes of government, when under the restriction of a prudent ceconomy, but alfo, fully to fupport the grandeur, splendour, and magnificence of the crown, in a manner fuitable to its own dignity, and the greatnefs of the nation, even in its happiest æra. It was too manifeft, however, that the debt had been incurred in fupporting and carrying on a system of corruption. There was no man, let his party be what it would, but who had an internal conviction, that the royal revenues were fquandered in obtaining that baneful and unbounded influence which fwept away every thing before it. Thus the nation was already brought to the brink of ruin; we were in a great measure already deprived of the benefits of a limited government; a great monarch was reduced to ftraits which would difgrace a private gentleman, and the luftre of the British crown tarnished in a manner never heard of before. The conftitution, it was true, was not alarmed by the boisterous voice of prerogative; but the danger was now much greater, as the foe was fly, covert, and infidious; and his operations, though flower, were much more certain. They were therefore called upon by their patriotifm, and by every tie of public as well as private duty, to reftrain, instead of augmenting the means of corruption, and to prevent minifters, under any name or pretence whatever, from obtaining the difpofal CH A P. of fuch a permanent revenue as would render them ei- XV. ther independent of parliament, or enable them to eftablifh fuch an influence as might virtually prescribe its 1777. duties, or controul its operations. The oppofition also animadverted on the accompts in the most severe manner. They were fabricated, they said, to perplex, and not to give information; the facts, of which their titles announced the difcovery, could not bear the light. A great part of the royal revenue had been fquandered in fo fhameful a manner, that the minifters. dared not avow its disposal, nor communicate such a piece of knowledge to the public. They were unaccompanied by any voucher, or by any collateral or explanatory obfervation, capable of giving them even that colour of authenticity which was neceffary for their appearance before parliament, or to render them worthy of its attention. Some accompts had even been fabricated, in order to deceive the people into an opinion, that the crown had been a great lofer by the bargain made in 1760. In eftimating the amount of what was most improperly called the hereditary revenues, or properly, the appropriated duties for the laft fixteen years, compared with that of the actual civillift revenue, a great furplufage was ftated, and reprefented as fo much lofs to the crown, which had refigned the former: although the fact was, that the greater part of this furplus arofe from a parliamentary fund that had no existence in the year 1760, and to which, if it had, the crown could not have had the smallest pretenfion. This fund was created by the poft-office act of the 5th of the prefent reign; and in this eftimate, with an evident view of impofition and deception, was brought to account on the fide of the crown, under the fuppofition that the multiplicity and perplexity of figures would, together with the indolence and inattention fo prevalent in public affairs, effectually operate in preventing detection. It was obferved, that the large fums of 171,000l. and 114,000l. were charged in two lines for fecret fervice, under the difpofal of the two secretaries of the treafury, which could not but feem very dangerous, as well as myfterious. It was allowed to be right and neceffary, that the fecretaries of state fhould be allowed money for the purpose of procuring foreign intelligence; but that the officers of the treafury, who can have no public connection beyond their own office, much lefs any intercourfe with foreign ftates, should be the agents for difpofing of the public money in fecret fervice, was a moft alarming affair, and had in itfelf fufli CHAP. cient evidence to put an end at once to all doubts as to its XV. defign or application. The expense charged under the heads of Cofferer's office, board of works, and foreign minif 1777. ters, was faid to be enormous beyond measure. It now appeared, that an attempt was made to realize the wretched policy of James VII. viz. the maintaining an army of ambaffadors, at the fame time that every transaction, either with regard to foreign or domeftic affairs, proclaimed aloud the imbecility of minifters, and the folly of their negociations. Above half a million was stated under the article of the board of works, without the least item to fhew to whom, or for what purpose it was difpofed, or on what palace, house, park, or royal garden, it had been expended. On the part of the miniftry, this deficiency in their accompts was attributed to their predeceffors in office, who had carried away from their respective departments those papers and documents which would have been neceffary to afford that unufual degree of accuracy and fpecification now demanded. It was alfo maintained, that, far from treating parliament with contempt, or defigning to miflead, or keep them in ignorance, they had much exceeded their predeceffors in exactnefs. Upon fimilar occafions it had been customary, either to give no accompts at all, or only such grofs and loose estimates as were now become fo much the objects of cenfure. Such had been the cafe in the year 1710, under queen Anne, and in that of George I. when two fuch applications were made. The fame had been done at the acceffion of the late king, when the annual augmentation of 100,000l. was made to the civil-lift revenue; in the year 1747, under the fame reign, when parliament granted 450,000l. to discharge that monarch's debts; and fuch they obferved, finally, was the cafe in the year 1769, upon the former application by his prefent majesty to parliament. It was likewife contended, particularly in the house of lords, that the crown had a just and equitable claim to the provifion now demanded, in confequence of that most generous and liberal act of his majefty in the beginning of his reign, when, from a truly paternal feeling for the bur dens of his people, and a most princely defire of contributing to their ease, he furrendered the civil-lift revenue of the former reign, which was fully competent to all the expences of his household and civil government, and accepted of the prefent income, without any experience to decide upon it, although it was then hoped it would have been fufficient to anfwer every purpofe. During the fix XV. 1777. teen years of the present reign, they also faid, that the re- CHAP. venues above mentioned had exceeded the annual amount of the royal income by confiderably more than two millions, and about doubled the aggregate fum granted by parliament in the year 1769, and that required for the difcharge of the prefent debt. From these they contended, that the discharge of the prefent incumbrances, as well as the future augmentation, were evidently matters of justice and right, though applied for, and wifhed to be received, as favours; and that, in fuch circumftances, the fcrutinizing of accompts, and entering into minute inquiries, was equally abfurd and petulant. In the house of commons, the application was fupported by other arguments. The revenue, it was affirmed, was really and truly infufficient for the purposes it had to answer. It was impoffible, nor would it be proper, even though the case were otherwife, to reftrain the expences of a great fovereign, and those in the numerous departments of his household and civil government, within the limits of an exact economy. The parfimony which would be highly commendable in a private gentleman, would be meannefs in a monarch. They obferved the prodigious rife in all the neceffaries of life, and increase in every article of expense and mode of living, which had taken place during the last fifty years, being the period fince certain funds were affigned to the civil-lift establishment, which were intended to produce at leaft 800,000l. per annum. They dwelt alfo upon the numerous increase of the royal family; but, however great the fatisfaction arifing from this circumftance might be, it must naturally and inevitably be productive of great additional expenfe. Other occafional or extraordinary expenfes had alfo occurred. The revenues of the crown had been confiderably diminished in confequence of the public calamities. By thefe the American quit-rents, at leaft for the prefent, were loft; and, by judgments of law-courts, the Weft-India revenue had been greatly diminished. A great clamour was made about the increase of penfions, and they were talked of in general as means of corruption; but, would they cut off the rewards for officers of the law, to whom an honourable repofe, after the toils they had endured, was as neceffary as equitable? Muft minifters in foreign courts, who had spent their youth, and certainly not increased their fortunes in that fervice, retire to spend their last years in discontent and mifery? By thefe arguments, however, the minority were far |