HIS KEENNESS AND HUMOUR.

285

Minister than to the groans of the nation." We have an instance of his keenness and humour, in the curious conclusion to which he came respecting Mr. Fox's motion just mentioned, and in his droll manner of expressing it. After premising that he had noticed all the arguments in the spirit of the lines,

In moderation placing all my glory,

Whilst Tories call me Whig, and Whigs a Tory,

and had given those on both sides their due weight, he must, he said, come to this decision, "That our naval affairs had been neither well nor ill managed, consequently that they must have been conducted in a very middling, indifferent, so so way; and that surely it could reflect no dishonour on the great council of the nation, to beseech his Majesty to displace the person who had proved himself to be this so so, middling, indifferent manager." The amusement of the House was extreme, and Mr. Fox shook him afterwards warmly by the hand, delighted at the new turn given to the debate by a thoroughly independent county Member; for such he pointedly declared himself to be. He said also, that however poor his judgment might be, he hoped "whenever he ceased to vote as he thought right, his constituents would think it right to vote him out of the House of Commons."

In his Parliamentary speeches, he was frequently in the habit of referring to the authority of the Scriptures. His quotations were not, however, always equally well selected. The House generally laughed at all allusions he made to the Bible, but on one occasion he retorted so forcibly, that all present seemed struck with his observations. The House laughs," he exclaimed, c at my quotations from Scripture, but I hope it is unnecessary

"at

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PUBLIC ADVERTISER, 1782.

to apologize for mentioning a book now so obsolete as the Bible! I fear that old-fashioned volume takes up but very little time and attention of this honourable House: permit me to say, I cannot help wishing it took up more. If we were to settle our differences in the spirit which it inculcates, our debates would be much shorter than they are. For instance, with regard to the case of our American captives being dieted as rebels, and not as prisoners of war, if St. Paul had been suffered to determine the question, his principles would have thus decided, "if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink." But, alas, though we have frequent appeals to other laws, we have seldom any appeals to the law of God." No laughter followed these remarks; their truth came home to the conscience.

The Public Advertiser of March 22, 1782, made the following observations, when giving an account of his speech on Sir John Rous's motion for the removal of the ministry. "Mr. Hill seems to be a good man. He spoke with much wit and good humour, in answer to several preceding speakers; and he is quite right in observing a facetious manner in these times of pleasantry and dissipation. Because, by keeping gentlemen in good humour, he may every now and then catch an opportunity of giving them a word in season, when he sees them pleased and attentive. A grave and solemn manner is certainly best suited to religious affairs; but the House of Commons in its present state, would think Mr. Hill savoured too much of the enthusiasm of the last century, if he were to lay aside that pleasing variety of manner of which he seems so eminently possessed. Mr. Hill judged well in recommending the House and the English nation to return to Jehovah; and it is to be hoped, notwithstanding all the jokes and sneers at

MR.

HILL'S PARLIAMENTARY MOTTO.

287

Mr. Hill's conduct, that he will be enabled to persevere in the right line of his duty to God and man." Such remarks do infinite credit to the press from which they issued. Such a tone of temperate firmness becomes all religious periodicals. Christian editors must remember what the world will say of the light of these days, if it has the appearance of generating acidity of thought and expression. The sunshine which ripens and sweetens the grapes, changes bad wine into vinegar. But to return to Mr. Hill. Well indeed did he speak as a Christian senator at the time alluded to. "If," he said with much energy, "I shall not be called to order, and be told that it savours too much of the cant and enthusiasm of the last century, I will say, let us look to Him who alone can teach his senators wisdom, that he would be pleased to raise up able and faithful men— men fearing God and hating covetousness, to preside at the helm of Government. If any credit is to be given to the sacred volume, we may there see that in proportion as nations served God, or cast off their allegiance to him, they either prospered or miscarried in their public affairs. Therefore, I am not ashamed to saymay it be my motto, may it be that of every memberPro Christo et Patriá-but if we still pursue corrupt measures, if we still do wickedly, though not assuming to be a prophet myself, I will further add in the words. of the prophet Samuel," we shall soon be destroyed, both we and our king." When Mr. Hill uttered these honest and pious observations, he declared the grounds of them to be, that he saw the nation arrived at a very important crisis, burdened by accumulated taxes on all the necessaries of life, weighed down by an immense debt, torn by intestine divisions and discontents, and surrounded by powerful enemies." Nor was this descrip

288

STATE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

tion overcharged. It was an awful period. The country had been at war with her colonies in North America, and with France, Spain, and Holland, without the advantage of the alliance of one earthly power to help in the overwhelming contest. In the midst of these embarrassments, the nation was still further threatened by Russia, Denmark, and Sweden, who together with Holland had formed treaties with each other, constituting what was called "the armed neutrality," understood to be directed chiefly against Great Britain. Nor was the aspect of affairs in Europe more terrible than in India, where the native powers, under the influence of France, had manifested a disposition which menaced our expulsion from our Eastern possessions, and created a wellfounded alarm for their security. To this appalling combination of evils was added a most gloomy state of things at home. A damp had been cast over the spirits of the bravest in the land, by the failure of our naval and military operations, while the burdens of war had caused a most ominous diminution of public credit, accompanied by a fearful decrease in the value of land. But this was not all-the revenue declined, and all classes of society began to fear that our resources were nearly exhausted and our ruin approaching. In his views of this unexampled crisis, Mr. Hill entirely agreed with Mr. Pitt, who entered Parliament only a few months after him, and whose youthful eloquence had surprised and delighted the House. With him he concurred in denouncing the government of Lord North, and in condemning the incapacity of Lord Sandwich. Mr. Pitt inveighed against those ministers who "by their fatal system had led the country, step by step, to the most calamitous and disgraceful situation to which a onceflourishing and glorious empire could possibly be driven

IMPORTANT OVERSIGHT.

289

-a situation which threatened the final dissolution of the empire, if not prevented by timely, wise, and vigorous efforts." Such was the language of this young and gifted statesman, who added to the majesty of his father's manner, a brilliancy of genius peculiarly his own, and notwithstanding the inexperience of little more than boyhood, manifested a wisdom and foresight scarcely equalled by the oldest and most talented of his fellow-legislators. At that time he fully concurred with Mr. Fox in his endeavours to turn out an administration, whose mode of conducting the business of the country seemed to have endangered its very existence. The history of that period, and the characters of the eminent men to whom it gave birth, are too well known to need any illustration in this narrative; but one thing seems to have escaped the worldly sagacity of them all-the necessity of remembering that our security is placed in the recollection that we are a Christian community. If, more than half a century past, the management of our colonies in the western hemisphere had been in accordance with all that is implied in this sacred appellation, they would probably have gloried to remote ages in our possessing them. The trying days now recurring to the memory, ought to teach us a lesson of present colonial duty, and to cause us to honor such patriots as Mr. Hill, who have reminded our men in power from time to time, that a nation's best safeguard is placed in a constant recognition of the providence, and obedience to the revealed precepts of the Power Supreme of heaven-in not looking in times of danger and dismay to the cunning policy of man, but to our simple Christian duty, and the goodness of God. These were truths which Mr. Hill never lost an opportunity of declaring in his place in Parliament; and if he was sometimes wanting

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