The following Speech not coming to hand time enough to be inferted in its proper place, we must beg the reader would cancel Mr. De Grey's Speech in page 27 of this volume, and fubftitute the following authentic copy in its fead.

Mr. De Grey acquainted the Houfe, that he had in his hand a motion for an humble addrefs of the thanks' of this House to his Majefty, for his moft gracious fpeech from the throne.

That before he touched upon the different topics which were contained in that fpeech, he fhould defire to propofe the congratulations of the Houfe to his Majefty on the fafe delivery of the Queen, and on the birth of another prince. That he was fo throughly convinced of the unanimous approbation fuch a claufe would meet with, that he fhould trouble the Houfe no longer upon that topic, than to obferve how much fatisfaction the nation received from the attention that their Majefties had given to the education of the royal offspring, and for their having confidered them not only as their own children, but as thofe of the ftate; and that the refult of this attention was already fufficiently apparent, and he hoped would be univerfally acknowledged. That he was as free as any gentleman to confess that no parliament ever met at a more important moment than the prefent, and that the nation. never watched with a more anxious eye the opinions and conduct of their reprefentatives.

Mr.DeGray

That occafions would prefent themselves hereafter forentering into debate upon the various matters which were the fubject of his Majefty's fpeech; that all we had now to do, was to profefs our loyal attachment to his Majefty, and to affure him of fuch fupport as the difficulty and danger of the times might require. That thofe difficulties were the confequence of our former glories: that tho' our power and our commerce, great as it had been, had never been employed injuriously or contrary to the faith of treaties, yet it had created a degree of envy and refentment in our rivals, which they had thought this was a proper opportunity to make manifeft; and forry as he was to afcribe fuch motives to any nation, yet he was afraid the truth of the affertion was too glaring to be controverted.-That not contented with exercifing her own force against us, fhe had called in Spain to her affiftance, and had feduced the unhappy Americans to exchange the protection of this country for VOL. XVIII. L

that

that of a ftate whofe principles and maxims of government and of religion, were in every inftance contradictory to their own.

That it was now no queftion about independency and allegiance: Great Britain could not at this inftant of time give independence to America, nor could America reftore herself to Great Britain.Whoever wifhed well either to Great Britain or America, muft try to restore them to each other, as the fureft means of preserving both. That the Houfe was no longer to be blinded by the fpecious parade of a treaty of commerce, for the object of hoftility was avowedly upon record: and France made no fcruple of inviting Canada to withdraw her allegi ance, and of promifing the whole force of France to affift in accomplishing this object, as (in the words in which the declaration, lately published, ftated it) a first condition of the alliance between France and America.

It was evident, faid he, that if this was the actual situation of things, it could never remain as it then stood. You muft pufh the war, or you must fue for peace; it would be ridiculous to fue for peace, without first having made vigorous preparations for war. If you did, what terms could you expect from an infolent and a haughty enemy? Would you make peace whilft America was left under the controul of a French army?-Would you agree to give up a fhare of your Newfoundland fifheries, and a monopoly of your trade to France? And if you did, what would be the fate of your Weft-India iflands, of your nursery for feamen, of your navy itself? And what would become of your extenfive territories, and of your rich fettlements in the Eaft-Indies, which conftituted fo material a part of the empire of Great Britain ?-If no man born a Briton, and feeling the principles of affection to his country, which he trusted were common to that audience, the alternative was obvious-you had no choice left-you must withstand the attack-you had hitherto withstood it under Providence, by the bravery and fpirit of Sir George Rodney-by the vigilance of General Vaughan-by the gallant defence of General Prevoft, who, in an open and defenceless country, had withstood the combined forces of France and America-by the gallant conduct of Sir Henry Clinton, which put us into poffeffion of Charles Town, and the whole fouthern army under Mr. Lincoln-by the late brilliant

brilliant victory of Lord Cornwallis, brilliant for the defign of the attack, for the courage of the execution, and for the alacrity with which Colonel Tarleton followed up the blow; the mentioning that officer put him in mind of major Moncrief, whofe fervices he ought not to have paffed over when he fpoke of the fiege of Charles Town. He expatiated alfo, upon the merit of Lord Rawdon, and spoke of the pleasure he felt at the dawn of his Lordship's military talents, from which his country had reaped fuch fignal and diftinguished advantages.

But he might be told indeed, by way of anfwer to all this, that your resources which are et fubfidia belli et ornamenta pacis were exhaufted, and the country drained by taxes, and impoverished by expence. It might be true; but what would you obtain by inactivity, and by meanly foliciting peace, which you probably would not obtain; or if you could obtain it, you would have but little hopes of preferving it. That, however, all he had now to do, was to promife fuch fupport, as it was at once our interest and our security to give, and was in conformity to those affurances contained in the addrefs of the 17th March 1778, upon the French ambassador's declaration, to which he referred, and which he wifhed gentlemen to act up to both it letter and in fpirit; that if the quantum or the application of any fum propofed was to be queftioned, the proper time for queftioning it would be in a committee of supply, when the fum itfelf, and the fervice to which it was to be appropriated, could fall at one and the fame time under your confideration. That one thing gentlemen would confider in the nature of that application, it was not to make additions to your empire that we undertook that war, nor to enlarge conquefts already, perhaps at leaft, fufficiently extenfive for the bulk of the empire at large, but we had as the object of our conteft, the prefervation of all that was neceffary to our honour, and perhaps to our exiftence. And as it was manifeft upon a cool and difpaffionate review of the whole of his Majefty's reign, that not a fingle inftance could be traced in which the line of the conftitution had been paffed over, and in which its principles had not been inviolably adhered to, for the prefervation of our internal liberties, it would be difgraceful indeed if that fhould not be an incitement to us to exert ourselves at all hazards to fecure them from foreign violence.

L 2

November

Sir Edward

Afley.

Sir Grey Cooper.

Mr.Minebin

November 13*.

Sir Grey Cooper brought up the bill for taking away for one year the benefit of the Habeas Corpus, from all perfons fufpected of committing high treafon in his Majefty's colonies and plantations abroad.

Mr. Baker obferved, that out of the many perfons detained on fufpicion, not one had yet been tried: The bill in queftion therefore was an unjuft power given to the fervants of the crown, to keep in perpetual imprisonment all whom they might think proper to fufpect of having committed high treafon beyond feas. A very bad ufe had been already made of this power; a perfon who had been taken into cuftody before the enacting of the bill, had been kept on fhip-board, and fhifted from veffel to veffel, left a Habeas Corpus fhould free. him, before the bill, which was then depending, paffed; yet, notwithstanding all this, the perfon alluded to was at last difcharged, after 15 months confinement, without ever being brought to trial. Among the 400 perfons now confined, many probably have been taken with arms in their hands; in America fuch people were exchanged as prifoners of war; why did not miniftry then exchange thofe whom they detained in England, or, at leaft, bring them to trial?

Sir Edward Aftley also objected to the bill; complained at the fame time of the duration and expence of the American war, which, in the end, he faid, muft bring ruin upon this country.

Sir Grey Cooper begged gentlemen would recollect, that the diftance from the place where the crime was fuppofed to be committed, neceffarily made it a work of time to bring over the witneffes, both for and against the prisoners; and to hurry them to trial when the minds of men were heated, would be as inexpedient as it was cruel. With refpect to the bill itfelf, it was far from being a new thing. Similar bills had paffed in the reigns of William, Anne, George I. and George II. In the laft reign, it had even been continued for three years; fo that gentlemen might fee it was not the offspring of the prefent adminiftration, who acted from precedent, a precedent adopted through neceffity. The bill was then read a firft, and ordered to be read a fecond time.

Mr. Minchin gave notice, that he should, on a future day, move for leave to bring in a bill, empowering certain perfons therein-named, to act as juftices of the peace in times of riot and public tumult, and to take upon them the command and

* On the oth the Houfe adjourned to this day.

direction,