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Horne, Prefident of Magdalen college, general prayer of the petition then agreed Oxford, before the Houfe of Commons, to; but we do, as good and loyal subin St Margaret's church; and Mofes jects, strongly protest against the refoluWright, A. M. Preacher of Bridewell tion for an affociation, and committee of hofpital, and chaplain to the Lord correspondence, for the purposes there. Mayor, before the Lord Mayor, Alder- in mentioned; because we think fuch man Thomas, and the two Sheriffs, in affociations and committees of the most St Paul's church.-This is the fourth na- dangerous tendency, and, coupled with tional faft fince the commencement of petitions, can, as we conceive, have no hoftilities in America. other meaning, than to overawe and controul the free difcuffion and determina tion of the feveral matters contained therein by parliament, the only power t intrufted by the conftitution to judge and decide upon the fame, thereby affuming a felf-conftituted power to overturn the legiflature, the establishment of which was the great object of the glorious Revolution.”

On the 24th of February the King gave the royal affent to the following bills,

viz.

An act to allow the trade between Ireland and the British colonies and plantations in America and the Weft Indies, and the British fettlements on the cost of Africa, to be carried on in like manner as it is now carried on between G. Britain and the faid colonies and fettlements.

An act for extending the provifions of two afts, 18° Geo. III. with respect to bringing prize-goods into this kingdom, to Spanish prize goods, and for repealing fo much of the faid laft mentioned act as relates to the certificates for prize-tea and Eaft-India goods exported from this kingdom to Ireland ; for the removal of East India goods condemned as prize at any out-port to London for fale, and of prize goods for exportation; and for reducing the duty on foreign prize

tobacco.

Three road and four private bills.

By two orders of council, both dated Feb. 16. the prohibition to export copper is continued for three months from the 24th of February, and the prohibition to export gunpowder, faltpetre, or a ny fort of arms or ammunition is continued for three months from the 23d of February. [41.628.]

Many meetings of counties, towns, &c. have been held on the expenditure of the public money [51.], and many agreed to petition for redrefs. But the appointment of committees of correfpondence was difliked by feveral. At a meeting of the freeholders of Surrey, Feb. 7. at Epfom, called by Lord Onflow, the Lord Lieutenant of the county, the following proteft was entered. "Left the proceedings of the meeting called by the late High Sheriff of this county, on the 21ft day of January laft, fhould be confidered as the general fenfe of the county, we whofe names are here. unto fubfcribed, the Sheriff, Lieutenant, Noblemen, Gentlemen, Clergy, and Freeholders of the county of Surrey, having taken into our ferious confideration the faid proceedings, do not object to the

At a common council of the city of London, Feb. 1o. it was refolved unanimoufly to petition the Houfe of Commons on the expenditure of public money, and the increafing influence of the crown; and to appoint a committee to correfpond with the committees of the feveral counties, cities, and boroughs. This petition is a tranfcript of that of York county. [50.]

A copy of a letter has appeared in the papers, dated, Lockinge, Feb. 5. and figned John Tracey, addreffed to the chairman, nobility, &c. of the county of Berks, who were prefent at the meeting held at Abingdon, Jan. 31. viz.

2

"Gentlemen, As you have thought proper, without my confent or knowledge, to order my name to be put into the lift of the committee appointed to fit at the New Inn, in Abingdon, I muft beg the favour of you, at your next meeting, to order it to be taken out again; as I feel too fenfibly the happiness enjoyed under our present government, to be concerned in promoting a defign, which, in the prefent ftate of our national affairs, can have no other tendency but to distract and divide us, to weaker the hands of government, and, perhaps in the end, to overthrow the conftitu tion of our country.-I am," &c.

"London, Feb. 23. It now appears that all the penfions granted by his Ma jefty, to deferving and undeferving ob jects of the royal bounty, amount to n more than 48,cool. per ann. The num ber of perfons may amount to 100 leaft; yet eight active, patriotic reform ers in the two Houfes, poffefs more the public money than all the penfione of the crown put together,

T

elder would be a ftay to the younger, who, through inadvertence, and the folicitations of others, may be in danger of being influenced in favour of such perfuafions."

The Lords who received the thanks of the county of York [51.], made the 5000 following return, addreffed to W. Chaloner, Efq; chairman.

new mil; if not, the court would proced judgement on the Thursday following.

Jdge Afhhurft was of the fame opiis, that the facts proved, by no means ane up to the verdict, which found the inference, as well as the fact, to be

true.

Sir Francis Buller contended, that the intention of the act grew out of the act itself: the fact charged was, That the defendants had ordered Lord Pigot to be arretted; whether that amounted to an

intention to defeat the objects of his

commitlion; or, in the event of a refcue, the putting him to death, was another matter if it was, it was matter of great aggravation, and called for the molt fatisfactory proof.

On Thursday the 10th, Sir William Ashhurst, being the judge appointed to país fentence, before he proceeded, went through the heads of the evidence, both for the profecution and the defence. He

made feveral remarks as he went on: in

which he observed, that if Fort St George had belonged to the crown, the depriving Lord Pigot of the prefidency would have been high treafon; but as it was under the Eaft-India company, it was only a misdemeanour. He took notice, that the defendants had imprifoned Lord Pigot for difmiffing feveral members from the council; yet they themselves had done the like in three inftances: but he could fay, that while they held the reins of government, every thing fucceeded, both in trade and in the army; and that the prefidency of Bengal, to whom the whole of the bufinefs was referred, gave an opinion in their favour. He then proceeded to the fentence as follows.

“Meff. Stratton, Brooke, Floyer, and

Mackay,

Gentlemen, You are now called upon to receive sentence for an offence which you have committed, and been found guilty of; but as there is no diftinction in your cafes, but are guilty alike, you are fentenced each of you to pay a fine to his Majefty of 1000l. and to be imprisoned until that fum is paid."

The fines being immediately paid in the court, they were of course discharged.

[We defer the affairs of Ireland and Scotland, to make room for effays on county-meetings, &c. which at prefent attract the public attention.]

THE unfrugal expenditure of public

is

money, at a time when the nation

engaged in a dangerous war, which demands all its exertions, muft give great uneafinefs to every lover of his country; but, above all, they ought to be alarmed at that fpecies of wafte which fhews itfelf in undeferved falaries and penfions; as that is not barely a diffipation of the public treasure, but an employment of it for purposes dangerous to the liberty of the people. For this reafon, I very much approve of the fcheme now on foot of forming affociations of the people at large in every county, for ment of the public treasury, which the reforming thofe abufes in the manageordinary powers of the ftate, I mean the king, lords, and reprefentatives of the commons, are either unable, or unwilling, to reform. Nor am I deterred from my approbation of this scheme, by being told, that it tends to fubvert the whole conftitution of England; because if it fhould appear that the prefent conAtitution is inconfiftent with the fecu rity of the people, of which the people themfelves are the beft judges, it is high. time it were laid afide, and fomething more ufeful put in its ftead.

Without entering, at prefent, into the queftion, How far a king, or a house of of this country? the objections to the peers, are neceffary for the government houfe of commons, as it is now conftituted, are very obvious; and it is to me no lefs obvious, that its intended purpofes may be more completely answered the houfe of commons are elected, and by county-meetings. The members of tain claffes of the people, feparated from they are elected by the majority of certhe reft by certain qualifications, and confequently limited in their number; by which means they are liable to be influenced in their choice by candidates, who, either furnished with public money for the purpose, or laying out their own with a view of being reimbursed by the treafury, become by turns the corruptors and the corrupted. Nor is this evil peculiar to qurs, but has been found attendant upon every government where elections have been established. But nothing of this fort is to be feared from county-meetings as they are now plan

ned.

ned. Those who attend them are not the Duke of Richmond and his friends, chofen, but come of their own acthat they have been the first to attempt cord; and they come for the exprefs it. purpose of reforming the abuses of a corrupt government: fo that all who are friends to the fyftem of corruption will naturally abfent themselves, and leave the bufinefs to be tranfacted by thofe, who, having neither penfions, nor expectations of penfions, are thereby qualified to judge coolly and difintereftedly of the merits of those who pretend to them, and to affign to each his fhare of the public rewards, according to the part he has acted in the public service.

There is ftill another circumftance in which the county-meetings will be found, upon comparison, to be preferable to a houfe of commons; which is, in their being a complete reprefentation of the people; the want of which in the house of commons has been complained of even by the defpotic Blackftone. For the countymeetings are not to be restricted, like the elections, to the freeholders of the county; but admit, indifcriminately, all the inhabitants of it; as has already been made public by the Duke of Richmond's letter of the 6th of January, for convening a meeting at Lewes, and which is addreffed to the Nobility, Gentry, Clergy, Freeholders, and other Inhabitants of the county of Suffix. This fairly points at the completion of liberty, and at the realization of what has been hitherto, though falfely, alledged to be the conftitution of England; to wit, that by it" no man is liable to be taxed, except by his own confent, given either by himself in perfon, or by one chofen by him as his reprefentative." The Duke of Rich mond has called upon the poor inhabitants along with the rich, to take into confideration the expenditure of the public money; and he will, no doubt, with ftill greater propriety, call them to a meeting to confider of the quantity of money neceffary for the public fervice, and the mode in which it is to be raised; that being a matter which they feel much more, and may be fuppofed to understand much better, than what regards the expenditure. The principle, That "reprefentation and taxation fhould go hand "in hand," is justly afferted by Dr Price and other learned men, as one of the unqueftionable rights of mankind, though it has never been established by practice in any country fince the creation of the world; and it is greatly to the honour of

The payment of taxes are immediately felt by every body, and therefore every fcheme like the prefent, which feems to point at an alleviation of them, muft be univerfally acceptable. But to fay the truth, taxes raised for home expenditure, are only evils to a few idle annuitants. The induftrious part of the community, including the landholders, to whom the money must be of neceffity distributed back again in the course of the year, cannot be materially affected by them. Perhaps taxes, when feen in this light, will be found to be promotive of industry, and more tending to increase the national wealth than to diminish it. Nor are falaries and penfions of themselves evils. On the contrary, when they are bestowed as wages for ufeful labour, or as marks of diftinction for fervices nobly performed, the public money cannot be more properly laid out. Rewards are nearly allied to virtue; and to fuch a degree, that one of the moft fagacious of the ancients has not fcrupled to fay, that virtue is not to be expected from men when rewards are removed :

Quis enim virtutem ample&itur ipfam
Pramia fi tollas!

The great object of the county-meetings is not to abolish falaries and penfions, but to fee that they be distributed to thofe who deferve them. It is not the penfion, but the unmerited penfion that is the profeffed object of their difpleafure. Those who have exerted themfelves in defence of the liberty of the people, are perfectly well intitled to the people's gratitude, and to every favour they have it in their power to confer. Upon this principle there are already fome places and penñons fo meritoriously bestowed, that the county-meetings certainly do not mean either to remove or diminish them. The office of Chamberlain, now poffeffed by Mr Wilkes, was beftowed, not by a king or miniftry for his fubferviency to their measures, but by the citizens of London, for his having uniformly oppofed every one of them. The tax a thilling per chaldron upon coals, raised upon the public for the benefit of the Duke of Richmond [101.], has been fully deferved by the noble stand he has made in the defence of the liberties of America and Ireland and the Tellerfhip in the Exchequer

held