adhered to, where would have been their civil liberties at that day when they withstood not the imaginary, but the real, arbitrary ideas of prerogative, which some contended for as the very basis of the constitution, and which would have made the English diadem as absolute as that of France? Above all, where would have been that religion which came down to them streaming in the blood of Protestants, martyrs, and confessors? That religion, which, however despised and ridiculed it might be in that degenerate day of profligacy and dissipation, instead of being ashamed of, they ought to glory in, and to make the rule of all their conduct both in public and private life. Overwhelmed by arbitrary power, and sunk into the dregs of popish superstition, they would then have had nothing to console themselves with, but the reflection of having steered clear of every attempt towards any reformation either in Church or State, for fear of the danger of innovation. According to that doctrine, a physician might say to a patient of a long unhealthy state of body, " To be sure you are in a very bad way, but I shall not attempt to relieve you, for you have been sick so long, that sick you clearly ought always to continue." Now certainly this country had been for several years previous to the administration of the noble Lord in the blue ribbon, in an atrophy, and during the time he held the reins of government, in a galloping consumption; and therefore at least after such bleedings as it had gone through, he could see no objection to trying the gentle alterative of a moderate reform, when the body politic was in a fit state to receive it, which certainly nobody but a quack would say the present was. He should not with his views vote against the measure; but he would not vote for its introduction now for the reasons stated, and therefore should go home

LORD NORTH IN THE MERRY MOOD.

351

and try to get a good night's rest. Before he went away, he would take the liberty to add, that he thought there were wanted also reform in their debates, and reform in their tempers while debating. As therefore he began with one saying of the wise man, he should end with another: "An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression. But a soft

answer turneth away wrath." 1

After a few words from Mr. M. A. Taylor, Lord North rose to deprecate not only the motion before the House, but the idea of reform altogether, which he was convinced could never be adopted without a deep wound to the constitution. He then proceeded to a curious mode of argument to induce Mr. Pitt to abandon it entirely. He observed, that Mr. Pitt had said that if the Honourable Alderman did not make his motion on that day, he himself would make one early in the next session on the same subject. But as the present motion had been made, the Right Honourable Gentleman was absolved from his promise, the condition of it having been violated; he begged leave, therefore, to assure him that he did not stand pledged to make any motion of the kind, and he hoped he would not. Perhaps the idea that this argument was singularly ingenious, put the noble ex-minister into an unusually good humour; for in noticing Sir Richard Hill's attack upon him, he said, that as he was in tolerably good plight, he supposed the Honourable Baronet did not, when talking of a galloping consumption, allude to him personally. Most assuredly he conceived that his frame did not exhibit any symptoms of that disease. After playing with this idea for some time to the amusement of the House, he sud

'This question is not in the exact words of Scripture. It was from memory at the moment.

denly adverted to the American war. Then his tone altogether changed, and he commenced a warm defence of his proceedings. He next declared that the motion of that night would have his decided negative. Mr. Pitt, as may be imagined, rejected Lord North's ingenious advice in the first sentence of his speech, combated his various positions one after another, and declared he should even vote for the motion, to shew his zeal for reform. Mr. Fox supported the motion, but deprecated the allusions to the American war, and was violent in his remarks on his great opponent. When he sat down, the House became clamorous for the question. In the midst of the confusion, Mr. Burke rose, when the uproar was redoubled. For a moment they listened; but quickly became more impatient than ever, when Mr. Burke began to speak about the American war. He was greatly enraged, but his fury only added to the vociferations of several young members, who seemed determined to put him down. Full of indignation, he exclaimed, "I have something to say which I conceive is well worth hearing, but it is too much for me to stand up against so violent a clamour. I find myself in the midst of rocks, the sides of which resound with the intemperate lashing of a roaring surge, and therefore, though I have got the better of those feelings with which they who are so stupidly clamorous hope to oppress me, I think it most prudent for the moment to bow to the storm." Upon this the magician of written eloquence, whose voice and gait destroyed the charm when he spoke, resumed his seat, and remained silent for the rest of the evening. At length Lord Mulgrave moved the previous question, and after several speeches, it was carried by a majority of 74.1

The numbers were ayes 199, noes 125.

Sir Richard Hill took but little part in the various discussions which succeeded this last debate, until the several ingenious propositions of Mr. Pitt for new taxes were brought before Parliament. When the House went into committee on the brick tax, he was the first who addressed it. He said he did not rise to oppose the tax in toto, but he wished to see it made as unexceptionable, and as little partial and oppressive as possible. Herein he was sure he should meet the wishes of the Right Honourable Gentleman who proposed it, and whose humanity and candour had been equally manifested, in patiently hearing and sifting every objection which could be brought from any quarter, against every article contained in his budget, in the opening of which, it must be fresh in the memory of the House, he delivered himself at once with the feeling of a patriot, and the firmness which became a Chancellor of the Exchequer. And whoever had seen such a rara avis as a minister giving the sum of £3,0001 a year, out of his own pocket, in order that the same sum might revert to the public, would not easily be persuaded that such a minister did not feel for the public distress, and did not wish to exonerate rather than oppress an already exhausted nation, of which, however, his character and abilities marked him out, by the blessing of Providence, to be the guardian, the deliverer, and the friend. After this preface, Sir Richard Hill proceeded to state his various objections to the tax. At length he observed it might be said, "find a better tax." He would not reply by saying, "find a worse," for he was persuaded that the worthy Right Honourable Gentleman found every

1 Sir Richard Hill here alluded to the well-known refusal by Mr. Pitt of a lucrative office, for the sake of saving its emoluments to the country.

354

SIR RICHARD HILL'S PROPOSALS.

thing so highly taxed before he had the management of public affairs, that there was nothing left for him to tax, unless he could find out a method of taxing the moon and the stars; for as to the light of the sun, it was already taxed twice over. To be sure, it had been observed that there was an annual period, in which every simpleton in the kingdom became a sort of temporary Chancellor of the Exchequer; he should, nevertheless, incur the risk of being looked upon as one of that number, by saying that he held in his hand some substitutes, which, if the brick tax were given up, he thought would be neither vexatious nor oppressive, which would easily be gathered, and not easily evaded, and which would produce a sum somewhat exceeding a hundred thousand pounds.

The first was a double Sunday toll to be paid at all turnpikes throughout the kingdom. At present, he believed, this was confined to the environs of the metropolis, and brought in a vast sum; but if extended all over the nation, as there was as much travelling on Sundays as on any two days besides, especially near great towns, it would be very productive indeed. Besides, the objections which were made on a former occasion against double tolls on all days (viz., that they would hurt internal commerce) had no foundation if they confined them to Sundays, on which day there was an express Act of Parliament to prevent any waggons or carriages travelling for hire from being on the road. This tax, therefore, would affect no branch of commerce, but the flourishing one of Sabbath-breaking; and if it should keep a few ramblers at home, and send them to church, which he much questioned, where would be the harm of it? At a very moderate computation, this tax would bring in £15,000 a year. Secondly, he proposed a duty