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projector and his friends, failed, however, to make an impression upon the house, and therefore all the propositions founded upon it, were rejected by a great majority. When, in the course of the same session, the measure of introducing German troops was adopted without the consent of parliament, Mr. BURKE lifted up his voice with powerful eloquence against the unconstitutional proceeding, and in answer to Wedderburne, the solicitor general, who defended it in an elaborate speech, which he concluded by moving the previous question; he observed, that the learned gentleman had ransacked history, statutes and journals, and had taken a very long journey, as was usual with him, through which he did not wish to follow him, but he was always glad to meet him on his return home. "Let us" said BURKE, "strip off this learned foliage entirely from his argument; let us unswathe this Egyptian corpse, and bereave it of its salt, gum, and mummy, and see what sort of a dry skeleton it is underneath—nothing but a precedent! The gentleman asserts, that a bill only can declare the consent of parliament-not an address-not a resolution of the house; yet he thinks that a resolution of the house would, in this case, be better than a bill of indemnity: so that we find a bill is nothing, a resolution is nothing-nay, I fear our liberty is nothing: and that ere long, our rights, freedom, and spirit, nay this house itself will vanish, in a previous question."

After opposing in vain, the measures taken by government for the subjugation of the colonies, Mr. BURKE began to relax in his efforts, and even to be less regular in his attendance in the house; in justification of which conduct, and at the same time to express his entire sense of the question then at issue, he wrote at the beginning of 1777, a letter to the sheriffs of Bristol, which was soon afterwards printed with the consent, and most probably at the desire of the author. Hitherto perfect harmony had subsisted between him and his constituents, but within a short time after this, a serious difference arose, which instead of being healed, became wider by the attempts made at explanation. The first occasion of dislike given by BURKE to the citizens of Bristol, was his voting in favour of the act for extending the Irish trade. Such was the narrow spirit of the English merchants, but

particularly those of Bristol, that they set every engine at work to prevent a mea sure, which was called for by the exigency of the times, as much as by the principle of natural justice. BURKE was instructed by the electors of Bristol to oppose the bill, but he had the manliness to venture upon risking their displeasure, rather thar pursue, out of mere policy, a line of conduct which his conscience disapproved. He wrote two letters on the subject, one to the heads of a private commercial house, and the other to the master of the company of merchant adventurers, in both which he laid down the most solid maxims of trade, and advanced the most satisfactory reasons in support of the legislative grant, which they reprobated.

These arguments, however, were thrown away upon minds that viewed every object through the discoloured medium of prejudice and self-interest. Two other steps of Mr. BURKE, which while they did him honour, gave great offence to the good people of Bristol; where the part he took in regard to lord Beauchamp's bill for the Relief of Debtors, and his vigorous support of sir George Savile's act in behalf of the Roman Catholics. This last mea sure, though nothing more than what had been long called for by every principle of humanity, policy, and right, produced in England and Scotland, that shameful combination of sectarian bigotry, which, under the specious name of the Protestant Association, brought an indelible stain upon the country, in the riots of the year 1780. Just before the occurrence of those dreadful outrages, Mr. BURKE brought forward, and carried his motion for leave to bring in a bill "For the better regulation of his majesty's civil establishments, and of certain public offices; for the limitation of pensions, and the suppression of sundry useless, expensive, and inconvenient places, and for applying the monies saved thereby for the public service."

But though successful in this popular object, it had not the effect of securing his return for Bristol at the election which took place in the same year. On his arrival in that city after the dissolution of parliament, he found an opposition raised against him, which, neither the power of his eloquence nor the interest of his friends could overcome. The speech of Mr. BURKE on the hustings, in vindication of

his parliamentary conduct, was indeed a masterly piece of declamation, but it made so little impression upon the hearers, that after a short struggle he deemed it prudent to retire from the contest. A scat, however, was already provided for him by his great patron, and Malton, which he had originally quitted for Bristol, now returned him without any difficulty. It merits observation in this place, that notwithstanding the rejection of Mr. BURKE by the electors, the corporate body of Bristol, for the most part, adhered inflexibly to him, and of this attachment they gave a striking proof not long afterwards, in choosing his brother Richard to be their Recorder of the death of Dunning, lord Ashburton.

The American War, after seven years unsuccessful struggle, was now drawing to that point which many sagacious persons had foreseen and predicted.

On the 27th of February, 1782, general Conway moved in the commons, a resolution "That it is the opinion of this house, that a further continuance of an offensive war in America, for the purpose of subduing by force, the revolted colonies, is totally impracticable, inasmuch as it weakens that force which we ought to employ against our European enemies, and which is contrary to his majesty's declaration in his most gracious speech from the throne, where he expresses a wish to restore peace and tranquillity." This resolution, after a long and warm debate, was carried by a majority of two hundred and thirty-four, against two hundred and fifteen; and the next day, Mr. BURKE communicated the intelligence to Dr. Franklin, who had a little before requested his interest in negociating the exchange of Mr. Henry Laurens, then in the Tower, for general Burgoyne, who had been taken prisoner at Saratoga. In answer to the doctor, then at Paris, Mr. BURKE wrote the following letter:

"DEAR SIR,

YOUR most obliging letter demanded an early answer. It has not received the acknowledgment which was so justly due to it. But Providence has well supplied my deficiencies; and the delay of the answer has made it much more satisfactory than at the time of my receipt of your letter, I dared to promise myself it could oe. I congratulate you, as the friend of

America, I trust, as not the enemy of England, I am sure, as the friend of mankind, on the resolution of the house of commons, carried by a majority of nine teen at two o'clock this morning, in a very full house. It was the declaration of two hundred and thirty-four; I think it was the opinion of the whole. I trust it will lead to a speedy peace between the two branches of the English nation, perhaps to a general peace; and that our happiness may be an introduction to that of the world at large. I most sincerely congratulate you on the event. I wish I could say, that I had accomplished my commission. Difficulties remain. But as Mr. Laurens is released from his confinement, and has recovered his health tolerably, he may wait, I hope, without a great deal of inconvenience, for the final adjustment of his troublesome business. He is an exceedingly agreeable and honourable man. I am much obliged to you for the honour of his acquaintance. He speaks of you as I do, and is perfectly sensible of your warm and friendly interposition in his favour.

"I have the honour to be,
With the highest possible
esteem and regard, dear sir,

Your most faithful and

obedient humble servant,

EDMUND BURKE,"

London, Charles Street,

Feb. 28, 1782.

"General Burgoyne presents his best compliments to you with his thanks for your obliging attentions towards him."

Encouraged by the advantage which they had gained in carrying this resolution, the opposition renewed their attacks upon the ministry with such vigour, that on the 20th of March, lord North announced his own resignation, and that of his colleagues in the presence of an ex ceedingly full house. During the adjournment which followed this notification, the marquis of Rockingham was intrusted with the arrangement of a new administration, in which Mr. BURKE took his part as pay-master of the forces, with a seat in the privy council.

The first measure that occupied the attention of parliament after the recess, was the passing of an act in favour of Ire land, which was followed by a bill to dis

qualify revenue officers for voting at elections; and on the 15th of April, Mr. BURKE brought in his great plan of reform in the civil expenditure, by which, according to his statement, an actual saving was to be effected of seventy-two thousand pounds a year, with a cortain prospect of increase."

Some members objected to the bill, that it fell short of the original outline; but the author of it entered into the grounds of the alterations, stating, that they had been made in compliance with the opinions of others, or from a fuller consideration of the particular cases; at the same time pledging himself, that he would be ready at all times to obey the call for prosecuting a more complete and extensive system of Reform.

This bill was followed by another for the regulation of the framer's own office, but the lateness of the season, would not allow time for the completion of all the plans of regulation and retrenchment which he had projected, and these with the other designs of the new ministry, were entirely frustrated by the demise of the marquis of Rockingham, on the 1st of July, 1782. This unfortunate event discovered the feeble texture of the administration, of which that amiable nobleman was the head; for lord Shelburne, afterwards marquis of Lansdowne, being appointed premier, without consulting the Rockingham division of the cabinet, the principals of that party immediately resigned their offices. These were, lord John Cavendish, chancellor of the exchequer, who was succeeded by Mr. Pitt; Mr. Fox, secretary of state, whose place was filled up by lord Sidney; and Mr. BURKE, who gave way to his old friend colonel Barrè.

After the conclusion of the general peace of 1783, a political manœuvre was played, which, though it had the effect of restoring Mr. BURKE and his colleagues, for a short time, to the reins of power, brought upon them a torrent of abuse, and the double charge of duplicity and inconsistency. This was the famous coalition between them and lord North, the very statesman whose measures his new associates had for so many years reprobated with excessive violence and repeated threats of impeachment. Mr. BURKE, indeed, had not marked his hostility to that nobleman with the same virulence as Mr. Fox, but, still__ VOL. 1.-c

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he came in for his share of obloquy for the part which he now acted. Attempts have been made to palliate and even to defend the conduct of these great men on this occasion; but no dispassionate mind has ever been yet able to reconcile it with the pure principle of political integrity. If the pertinacity of lord North, while in power, to carry on the American war, arose, as was said, from the influence of high authority, he was not a man worthy of the public confidence, and, therefore, a junction with him was a reproach to the party who had uniformly opposed him: and if, on the other hand, the line he pursued was on his part as voluntary and iniquitous, as Mr. Fox and his friends maintained it to be, then it is impossible to justify the alliance which they made with the man, who, according to their account was deserving of the block.

The truth is, and no sophistry can repel its force, that the project of a coalition sprung from the single motive of ambition, and the desire of place. Separately the two parties were unable to attain the object, which each had in view, and therefore, in defiance of all public principle, they had recourse to this measure of an union, in full confidence, that they should be able, without difficulty, to command a majority in the house. They did so, but their triumph was of short duration, and they found that the good sense of the people is not to be imposed upon, even by the most splendid talents, when those talents are palpably employed in reconciling gross contradictions. The views of the coalesced ministers were seen through, and though a temporary ascendancy in the house of commons was obtained by them, sufficient to give them assurance, the hollowness of the foundation was soon discovered. The celebrated bill, brought in and carried through the lower house by Mr. Fox, for the better government of British India, was thrown out by the peers, and in December of the same year, a new administration was formed under Mr. Pitt, who was then no more than twenty-four years of age. The majority of the house of commons, however, continued on the side of the dismissed ministers, who, on that account, made themselves sure of displacing their adversaries, that from day to day, they peremptorily called upon the young chancellor of the exchequer to resign a seat,

which, as they said, he presumptuously held in contempt of parliament. The situation of Mr. Pitt, under such peculiar circumstances, and opposed by so formidable an array of numbers and abilities, was arduous and unparallelea. But he remained inflexible at his post, and endured the pelting of the merciless storm with undaunted firmness, till the month of May in the following year, when a dissolution of parliament gave him a sig nal victory over his antagonists, who were now humbled in their turn to a minority. Thus, it was Mr. BURKE's fortune to be reduced again to the ranks of opposition, after taking a part in three administrations, neither of which lasted a year, and from all of which he retired without having secured either a reversionary grant or pension.

1 In relation to this portion of his life, we cannot avoid extracting a curious anecdote told by Dr. Priestley, who was at that time on terms of particular intimacy with Mr. BURKE. "It was early in the year 1783," says the doctor, "when I lived at Birmingham, that Mr. BURKE, accompanied by his son, called and spent a great part of the afternoon with me. After much general conversation, he took me aside to a small terrace in the garden in which the house stood, to tell me that lord Shelburne, who was then prime minister, finding his influence diminished, and of course his situation uncertain, had made proposals to join lord North. Having had a better opportunity of knowing the principles and character of his lordship than Mr. BURKE, I seemed (as he must have thought,) a little incredulous on the subject. But before I could make any reply, he said, 'I see you do not be lieve me, but you may depend upon it, he has made overtures to him, and in writing:' and without any reply, I believe, on my part, (for I did not give much credit to the information) we returned to the rest of the company. However, it was not much more than a month, or six weeks, after this, before he himself did the very thing, that whether right or wrong, expe dient or inexpedient, (for there were various opinions on the subject,) he at that time mentioned, as a thing so atrocious, as hardly to be credible."

However inconsistent the conduct of Mr. BURKE may have been, there is no reason for calling in question his veracity

in this instance; on the contrary, the character of lord Shelburne, renders the story of his proposition for a coalition with lord North, extremely probable, and it is very likely that the latter nobleman, finding himself an object of equal interest to both parties, thought it his wisest way to join the strongest side, which certainly was the Rockingham division.

It has been said, but upon what authority, does not appear, that Mr. BURKE hesitated about taking a step, the hazardous nature of which he instantly perceiv ed, and freely represented to Mr. Fox, who exerted all his eloquence to dissipate his friend's apprehensions.

The next great event in the public life of Mr. BURKE, was the lengthened and laborious impeachment of Warren Hastings, governor-general of Bengal. The primary motive which gave rise to this extraordinary prosecution, has never been yet clearly developed, but that it origina ted with Mr. BURKE is certain, and that he entered upon the subject in a hostile spirit cannot possibly be doubted. He brought forward in parliament, charges against Mr. Hastings, a considerable time previous to the return of that gentleman from India; and immediately on his arrival in 1785, the pledge which had been made to bring him before the highest tribunal of the country, was redeemed by his accuser, and ultimately carried into effect by the house of commons. In the meantime, the governor and his friends were not inactive in repelling the accusations that were from day to day voluminously heaped up by the prosecutor: but, unfortunately for Mr. Hastings, the public mind had been already prejudiced by statements, which few men even in the senate, much less therefore in the nation at large, were qualified by information to comprehend and appreciate. This was a serious disadvantage to the accused party, who saw that under such circumstances, the most justifiable and even praisewor thy acts, were liable to be perverted into crimes, by the subtile power of rhetoric, appealing to the passions, and operating upon the credulity of ignorance. Such was the case in this instance, for at that period, when it might have been expected that the people of this country were tole rably well informed on the subject of In dian history and politics, nothing in fact was less understood. The nation had

but just emerged out of a disgraceful war, and the loss of the American colonies made the public very readily believe what was boldly asserted, that an iniquitous system of oppression and rapacity had been carried on in Hindostan, which not only stained the national character, but would have the effect of putting an end to our dominion in the East for ever.

To remove this impression was almost impossible, for the nature of the tenure on which our Oriental possessions were held, could not all at once be made intelgible to minds habituated to European laws, customs, and manners. Mr. Has tings had the whole weight of British India to sustain during the recent war, and while the attention of ministers was directed to the single object of subjugating the refractory states of America, the governor-general of Bengal was compelled to find resources there, for the security of the important charge with which he was intrusted. He was in reality abandoned to his fate by the government at home, but by virtue of his local knowledge, personal interest, and indefatigable exertions, he was enabled not only to preserve our Indian territories, but actually to strengthen them by further acquisitions; in consequence of which, all the attempts of the French to dispossess us on the eastern, as they did on the western, continent were completely frustrated. Mr. BURKE and his friends, however, chose to overlook all this splendid service, and having some cause to be displeased with the conduct of Mr. Has tings towards themselves, they were determined to immolate him at the shrine of party, by an impeachment for peculation, tyranny, and other high crimes and nisdemeanors. Even a condensed narrative of the proceedings that took place in the house of commons on this subject, would far exceed the limits of the present memoir; and of the trial itself, which began on the 12th of February, 1788, and terminated on the 23d of April, 1795, nothing like an abstract could possibly be given without running into details of an inordinate length.

During every stage of the business, Mr. BURKE, who of course was the leading manager, evinced an Herculean strength of mind, and an industry that must have aad a serious effect upon his bodily health and constitution.

Yet it is painful to reflect upon the harsh manner in which he behaved towards the eminent person, against whom all these exertions were directed, and whose ruin was evidently sought. On one occasion during the trial, perceiving that Mr. Hastings had neglected the usual obeisance to the court at his entry, Mr. BURKE Commanded him to kneel, in a tone of voice, and with a sternness of aspect, that made the whole assembly turn from him with disgust. Even some of his own party felt ashamed for him, and Fox whispered privately to one of his friends, in that critical moment, that he would rather have been Hastings than BURKE. As the trial proceeded, the oratorical attractions, which threw at the beginning a splendour around it, began to lose their effect: and many who had voted for the prosecution, now regretted their having done so, when they saw how little the evidence agreed with the charges. A year had scarcely expired, when the conduct of Mr. BURKE came under the consideration of the house of commons, and he was censured in a resolution, for going beyond the powers delegated to him, by charging Mr. Hastings with the murder of Nundcomar, though nothing of that kind was to be found among the articles of accusation.

Even when the trial drew towards a close, and every one anticipated what would be the result, the asperity of Mr. BURKE, instead of yielding, increased to a degree that confirmed many in the opinion which they had long formed, that the prosecution originated in private and not in public motives.

After the council for Mr. Hastings had gone through with the defence of their client, during which they were often interrupted by questions and objections, Mr. BURKE entered upon his reply, in the course of which, he alternately soared to the height of sublimity, and again sunk into the very depth of vulgar abuse. Of the latter he gave a proof in saying "That the insignificance of the prisoner ought not to induce their lordships to suppose him incapable of mischief; for though his origin was low, mean, and vulgar; though he was trained in the most base and sordid habits, yet when invested with a power to which his mind was not equal, he was capable of more complete, more extensive devastation, than any of the greatest con

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