Imagini ale paginilor
PDF
ePub

Charles the fecond after the restoration, kept about five thousand regular troops by his own authority for guards and garrifens: King James the fecond by degrees encreased them, to no lefs than thirty thousand, all paid from his own civil lift. Yet though the civil lift was confidered as the private property of the King, and though the fubject was not burthened with the fupport of thefe troops, the parliament nevertheless at the revolution, made one of the articles of the bill of rights, "That the raifing and keeping a standing army within the kingdom in a time of peace, unless it be with the confent of parliament, is against law." The parliament of Great Britain, in which we have certainly no representatives, are to be confidered with regard to America, as the King was with regard to Great Britain and the claim now fet up is no more than a revival of thofe prerogatives, which arbitrary monarchs formerly afferted to be inherent in the crown. In the fame light, I view the board of commiffioners, the admiralty courts, &c. &c. &c."

:

[ocr errors]

"You must be fenfible, my friend, that the fons of liberty, with all their unanimity, with all the countenance and assistance they can afford each other, will have enough to do to ftem the current. There are in every province too many fachars, who from low, felfish motives are ready" to bow their fhoulders to bear and become fervants unto tribute :' Some there are, who openly affert the power of parliament; and by arguments endeavour to prove, that our lives, our liberty and our property are at the difpofal of those, in whofe election we have no choice, over whofe conduct we have no controul! Thefe however, thank God, are very few but there are multitudes, who pretend to be friends to liberty, who are continually exciting our fears, and attacking our prudence, by reprefenting the danger and folly of our contending with the power of parliament. Others from motives of intereft, are tired of these reftrictions of trade; the facrificing prefent advantages for the fake of fecuring liberty to their pofterity, is to them a new and strange mode of proceeding, nor can they reconcile it to their ufual way of reasoning, who have been long accuftomed to confider the acquiring property as the chief good, and the only means of promoting the intereft of themselves, their families and their pofterity-Thefe forts of people we find are ever ready to improve every opportunity of obstructing our measures and of promoting jealoufies: for this reafon it behoves those who have the intereft of their country at heart, to cultivate a good understanding among themfelves" (and we niay add among the colonies.)

"God is my witnefs with what purity of intention I have embarked in this caufe: I was early instructed in the principles of liberty: they are enrolled in my heart and in them I mean to live and die. If the present efforts fail, I fhall withdraw from cities, where on the prefent plan of the miniftry, I eafily perceive they will firft commence, and feek for freedom among the clafs of farmers. ́And should slavery follow me thither But I forbearFor ere that will happen, I may be numbered with my forefathers. "In freedom I was born, and in freedom I will die"Believe me, Sir, to be,

YOUR SINCERE COMPATRIOT.

T HE meeting at Faneuil-Hall was diffolved on Tuesday laft, the Hall having been filled eight feveral times: during the continuance the G---r and C---l fat no less than feven times: at fome of thofe meetings of C- it is faid the L. G. would have had them confidered themselves as held to fecrecy by their oath as Cs, yet it has tranfpired that very strange and alarming motions or propofals were made to them; all which

were

[ocr errors]

were ineffectual to the purpofe defigned, faving that upon the breaking up of the last C- they were induced to adopt by a majority of one, viz. 4 against 3, the fentiments contained in a letter his Hr thought proper fome time before to fend into the meeting, without either the confent or advice of his C-1; and this is the more extraordinary, as it is faid fome of the C-1 declared they could not recollect the contents of that letter, and objected to its being acted upon without it was then laid before them, which was not done.On Saturday last a gentleman, one of the committee of merchants, waited upon Mr. fecretary Oliver, and in behalf of the trade defired a copy of the minutes of council relative to the meeting at Faneuil-Hall, that they might know how to justify their conduct if they should think it neceflary; the fecretary was pleafed to reply, that his orders were not to make it known to any one at prefent; upon which the gentleman obferved to the fecretary, that this refufal might be conftrued as intended to preclude the trade from a timely opportunity of juftifying their proceedings; and that the fecretary muft not be furprifed if he should find his anfwer to the request published in several

news papers.

On Tuesday laft the worshipful the juftices of the county of Suffolk attended at the C-l chamber, in consequence of an extraordinary billet of which the following is a copy.

SIR,

Bofton, January 22, 1770.

HIS honor the lieutenant governor directs, that you attend at the coun

cil chamber in Boston tomorrow (Tuesday) at eleven o'clock, to confider of fome matters of importance. By his honor's order. Ezekiel Goldthwait, clerk of the feffions

ToEfq;

It feems the C-1 were not pleased with the calling in of the juftices to their aid, and therefore caufed a fire to be made in the reprefentatives chamber, to which the reforming magiftrate and others were conducted as they came into council-- -Whether this meeting of the juftices was a regular or legal held a flembly, is not now to be determined; but this is certain, that they fupported their own dignity, and did nothing to the injury of their country. His honor was indeed pleased to acquaint them, that the affembly of the people at Faneuil-Hall was illegal and dangerous, and that they had proceeded to demand in a body the delivery of private property-He alfo advised them to think of fome method to difperfe them--------Upon this occafion feveral gentlemen diftinguished themfelves by a noble freedom of fpeech, and no one more than their aged prefident the honourable Samuel Welles, who is alfo a judge of the court of common pleas: the refult of their confultation may be learned from their answer to his honor in the following words :

May it please your Honor,

THE Juftices of this county convened this day at the defire of your

honour, beg leave to fay, that they gratefully acknowledge the respect you have been pleafed to thew them: that they have feriously deliberated upon the fubject your honor has been pleafed to communicate to them and they beg leave to affure your honor, that as in all times paft they have exerted their beft endeavours to preferve the public peace, fo upon any future occafion (when they fee or apprehend it to be in any menfure interrupted) they will not fail to exert all the powers with which they are invefted to procure the restoration of it.

[ocr errors]

AN IMPARTIAL REVIEW OF
POLITICAL WORK S.

Audi alteram partem: or, A counter-letter, to the Right Honourable the E-l of H-II- -gh, his M's P—————l S—y of Sz for the Cs, on the late and prefent ftate of affairs in the island of G In which it is clearly demonftrated, that the trou bles and confufion which have fo long fubfifted in that ifland, to the diftraction of government, and to the irreparable loss of the longJuffering inhabitants, took their rife, originally, and folely from the arbitrary and partial difpofition of governor M-11; from his total ignorance of the British conftitution, and the interefts of the people whom he was appointed to govern; and from his perverting or difpenfing with the laws. And that thefe difturbances have fince been kept up by a continuance of the fame caufes; by his implacable ill-founded low refentments; by his little and mean preferences and affections; by his modelling the council to his mind, by the introduction of his creatures: but above all by his unwillingness, or inability, to incorporate into the legiflation, bis My's new acquired, and well-difpofed fubjects, the capitulants of G- ·na, in conformity to the gracious intentions of our S n, and to the falutary meafures of his M's Ms, for carrying thofe intentions into execution. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Nicoll.

T

HE public attention has defervedly been engaged for now near two years, in examining into the merits of the Grenada controverty, or the difputes fubfifting between the king's natural born fubjects in the island of Grenada, and the old inhabitants the French roman-catholics, commonly called, The new adoptfubjects. The contest on both fides has been carried on with spirit, and with fome degree of warmth, which is not to be wondered at as each party ftruggles for the most valuable rights and immunities, nor is the contention likely to come to any conclufion, while we have an adminiftration inclined to favour every ill-grounded pretenfion of foreigners, and determined to take every measure to mortify and opprefs Englishmen both at home and abroad. The French party therefore, countenanced as they are in their unwarrantable claims on the British government, and urged by the jefuitical fecretary of the lieutenant governor to make still farther demands, are not likely to quit the field to their antagonists, nor are the proteftant inhabitants of the ifland, his majesty's natural born fubjects, and the merchants of England, proprietors of ellates there, in the leaft inclined to yield up any one point to the French party, while they have the fpirited governor Mellvill, and the laws of the realm of England (extended to thofe iflands by virtue of the king's proclamation) to fupport them in the defence of their birth-right.

The question that has been fo long before the public, and on Vol. VI.

G g

which

which fo many pamphlets have been written, and fo many letters have appeared in the news-papers pro and con from the month of October 1767, to the prefent time is precisely this,

Whether

it is a conftitutional measure, or confiftent with found policy in the British government to admit ROMAN catholics into a share of legislation and the executive offices of government in any part of the British empire?

The fupporters of revolution principles, of the Bill of Rights, and of the act of fettlement, who deem themfelves the true and conftant friends, and most loyal adherents of the illuftrious house of Hanover maintain, that the granting fuch privileges to any perfons whatever profeffing the Romish faith in any part of his majefty's dominions however remote, is unconftitutional and illegal; tends to fubvert our prefent happy eftablishment in church and ftate; to embroil us with our fellow fubjects of that perfuafion in Ireland, whom we have excluded from thefe privileges, by the faid act of fettlement, and whom we ftill exclude on the fame foundation, after fifty years of approved loyalty and good behavior; and is repugnant to all the principles of found policy carried into practice by all other nations.

The editor of the Political Regifter takes a pride in avowing himself to be of the party just mentioned; and he glories in the idea of the term party fo applied, deeming them the greatest enemies of their country, who under the pretence of abolishing party diftinctions, have endeavoured to mingle in one common mafs, the friends of the true reformed religion, the fupporters of the liberties of mankind, the fcourgers of popery and arbitrary power, the featers of the prefent family on the throne-with the abettors of idolatrous fuperftition, the afferters of the jure divino or heredi tary right of kings, the avowed friends of defpotifm, the advocates for the most horrid executions of tyranny by the Stuart race, the underminers of the proteftant caufe, the feducers of a defcendant of the illuftrious houfe they fecretly hate, who prompt him to deeds fimilar to thofe for which their beloved Stuarts were expelled, in order to pave the way for their re-admiffion; reasoning upon this principle, "If the people can be brought to fubmit to a defpotic government they will not care what hand fways the fceptre, for the rod of oppreffion may as well be held over their heads by a Charles as a George. And pity acting her part under thefe circumitances, may, if well wrought up, induce a generous people if once they grow ford of abfolute monarchy, to think of retribution to a family exiled only for principles they are now become enamoured with." This was the grand scheme of the first confounder of parties in one general chaos, but thank heaven, the pure filver has paffed the fiery trial and is now not only feparated from the drois, but refined by fome late political procefies of the dark defigning Thane.

Ever watchful of the motions of this fon of perdition, all the attempts to bring us back to what the friends of the exiled family call the old conftitution or arbitrary fway, our Editor has care

fully

[ocr errors]

fully laid before the public every paper that has been fent to the Publisher of the POLITICAL REGISTER ftating and complaining of measures in the administration of public affairs, which feemed evidently calculated to accomplish the fcheme of the arch enemy of our prefent happy establishment. Amongst the rest he received several valuable pieces relative to the alarm◄ ing ftep of granting Roman-catholics offices of truft or emolument, with legislative powers in Grenada, and he was defired to inform his readers from very good authority, that further violations of the act of fettlement were intended, if not prevented by the just murmurings of the people: he therefore loft no time in putting the proteftants upon their guard both at home and abroad, in proof of which we beg leave to refer our readers to Vol. IV. p. 257. Vol. V. p. 79, 119. Vol. VI. p. 52, 57. And we must apprize them, that as the fubject is of the utmoft importance, and is likely for the reafons already affigned to be the cause of political contention for fome time longer, if not of JMPEACHMENTS, we fhall refume it as often as material communications are fent to us on this head, or are conveyed to the public through other channels. Of this number is the pamphlet before us, which has obliged us to give fo particular an account of our conduct, for the authors of Audi alteram partem, have falfely accufed us of far other motives in the publication of the papers fent us, than those we have affigned. They say that we are in league with governor Mellvill; nay they have gone fo far as to affert that all the authentic intelligence relative to this controversy, which has been fent to us by feveral Grenada proprietors and confiderable merchants of the city of London, are the productions of the pen of governor Melvill founding his own praife; and that our Editor has only corrected, or put them to the prefs for his excellency. This has obliged us to deny this charge in the moft public manner in the news-papers by repeated advertifements.

A fpirited writer of fundry letters in the Public Advertiser addreffed to the Earl of Hillsborough and figned Pliny Junior, is faid by thefe ingenious authors to be the fame governor Melvill, the writer of the papers on the Grenada affairs in the Political Register to all which we can only make this fhort reply that we know nothing of governor Melvill as an individual, nor of Pliny Junior in any fhape, but have efpoufed Mr. Melvill's caufe as governor in chief of the Grenadines, only fo far as we found it defenfible, and confiftent with his duty as the reprefentative of a proteftant king, at the head of a proteftant government. And we now more than ever think it our duty to clear his administration of the falfe charges brought against it in the virulent attack we are to review, efpecially as the accufations here publifhed were given to the world after a long delay, only a few days before his, and the public enemies brought a complaint against him to be tried before the privy council, with a view of detaining him longer here, left his return to his ftation, should

render

« ÎnapoiContinuă »