ness of popular favour. For if a title can be raised to popularity, he has the fuper-eminent claim unto it whom nature has endowed with every focial and beneficent difpofition to please and gratify, and upon whom fortune has lavished the means of indulging it. Since the happy deftruction of the fyftem of favouritism in this country, the rare phenomenon of the concentration of fo much royal favour in one individual, as in the perfon of Mr. Dundas, has not appeared-At one and the fame time Secretary of State for the Home Department, Treafurer of the Royal Navy, a Lord of Trade and Plantations, and the directing Commiffioner of the Board of Control for the management of the affairs. of the East Indies. The Herculean labour of executing thefe numerous, arduous, and important of fices is furely more than adequate to the moderate appointments of 16,000 1. which the Right Honour able Secretary is faid annually to receive from the National Treafury. Multifarious as were the appointments of the Duke of Buckingham under James I., the patronage annexed to them was infignificant when compared to that which Mr. Dundas now commands in England, over Scotland, and throughout India and all its concerns and dependencies. But as the political exigencies of the prefent fyftem of Adminiftration feem to require very ftrong measures, it became a neceffary part of that plan to fupply at least the oftenfible advisers of them with the fureft means of commanding popularity, which alone could render them palatable to the nation.

It has been before remarked, that the oppofition which the Chancellor had given to Mr. Pitt's National Debt Bill had brought on the neceffity of his refigning the Great Seals of England. When that Bill was read a third time in the House of Peers, and was paffed, Lord Rawdon, who with Lord Stormont

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Stormont and many others again opposed it as a measure of extreme prefumption, arrogance, and inefficiency, faid, "One mischievous confequence "of it the country was already apprised of, viz. "that it had been the means of depriving the public of the further fervices of the noble and learned "Lord on the woolfack, whofe great abilities and "known integrity had defervedly rendered him the "object of univerfal admiration and efteem." He had not however as yet actually refigned; when his oppofition to the third reading of the New Forest Bill in the Lords precipitated his removal from the woolfack, before the Cabinet could negociate for a more accommodating fucceffor. His objections against the Bill were, that it had been brought into the Houfe without the confent, and militated ftrongly against the real intereft of the Crown, at a moment when, if ever, the rights and prerogatives of the Crown ought, particularly by that Houfe, to be fupported; and that it contained feveral claufes of a mifchievous and unconftitutional tendency. This New Foreft Bill, which has been always looked upon as the favourite child of Mr. Secretary Rofe, was goaded through both Houfes of Parliament under the preffure of various and weighty objections. But the ftrong light in which the Chancellor and others expofed the lurking defigns and anticonftitutional tendency of the Bill on the third reading, baffled all the views of its perfevering parent, and it was no more brought forward. Lord Portcheiter concluded his fpeech against the Bill in the Lords, by declaring that his Majefty had not proper materials before him to enable him to form a judgment, and give a found and wife confent to its paffing. But the provident Secretary, from his perfonal knowledge of the claims of individuals, and the rights of the Crown upon the New Foreft, in bringing in the bill had given the public too

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large a credit for being as deeply converfant with the fubject as himself,

On the 15th of the month his Majesty, after having given his royal affent to eighteen bills, made a gracious Speech from the Throne. In our principles of the conftitutional refponfibility of Minifters, the King's Speech is ever confidered as that of his Minifter; no wonder then that it contained fo pompous an eulogy of the National Debt Bill, upon which the marked difapprobation of the Chancellor had thrown fo much difcredit. "I have alfo ob. "ferved with the utmoft fatisfaction the measures " which you have adopted for the diminution of "the public burthens, while you have at the fame "time made additional provifion for the reduction "of the prefent national debt, and established a permanent fyftem for preventing the dangerous. accumulation of debt in future." His Majefty was alfo very emphatic in affuring his people, that it would be his principal care to preferve to them the uninterrupted bleffings of peace. He then prorogued the Parliament to the 30th day of the enfuing Auguft.

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After the refolute and pointed difapprobation by the Chancellor of fome of the favourite measures of Administration, it was not to be supposed that the majority in the Cabinet fhould any longer expofe their plans to the condemnation of the man, in whofe integrity and judgment the nation had ever placed the most unreferved confidence. The Parliament was now prorogued, and no immediate ne ceffity arofe for finding out a fucceffor to the woolfack; but for the fake of the equity of the nation, the Seals could not be kept up in the breast of the Minifter, to await the doubtful clofe of the chapter of accidents, or the uncertain refult of negociation, till the next meeting of Parliament. Accordingly, on the 15th of the month, his Majefty conftituted

Sir James Eyre, Sir William Afhhurft, and Sir John Wilfon, Lords Commiffioners for the custody of the Great Seals of England.

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The war between France and Auftria was carried on with various fuccefs in Flanders in the different fkirmishes which happened, though nothing decifive was even attempted by either party: disturbances in the mean time of the moft alarming nature convulfed the capital of France. On the 20th of the month the department of Paris appeared at the bar of the National Affenbly, and informed them, that a multitude of 100,000 perfons of both fexes, armed with pikes, fwords, mufquets, and even artillery were marching towards the Thuilleries. They foon arrived, and were admitted to the bar of the Affembly, with ten or twelve pieces of cannon. They proceeded in order through the body of the Affembly, to the Caroufel in front of the palace, repeating the civic oath as they went. though there was a confiderable military force in the palace, which could well have defended it; yet to avoid confufion and bloodfhed, about four o'clock the gates of the palace were thrown open, and immediately all the apartments were filled with the mob to the number of more than 40,000. They placed the red cap of liberty upon the head of the King, forced him to drink out of a bottle to the health of the Nation, and grofsly infulted him by the moft infolent and audacious queftions, affuring him that he should not long enjoy his pretended right to exercife the veto. The Queen on this trying occafion behaved with a dignified condefcenfion, that extorted from the mob a respect and deference which was neither expected nor intended. The Mayor of Paris, with much difficulty, cleared the apartments. about nine o'clock of the fame night, without any further outrage having been committed. On the 22d his Majefty publifhed a proclamation concern

ing tranfactions of the 20th; in which he fpiritedly reprefented to the nation, that a misguided mob had, with artillery rushed into the guard-room of the palace, broken open the doors of his apartments with axes, and endeavoured to extort from him his fanction to two decrees, which he had conftitutionally refused to give; that though he were ready to facrifice his personal repofe, yet he never would facrifice his duty, and was refolved to his laft breath to afford the Conftituted Authorities an example of courage and firmnefs, which could alone fave the empire. This was followed by a cold proclamation from Petion, the Mayor of Paris, declaring that the laws ought to be refpected which prohibited the meetings of armed citizens. No enquiry was however instituted refpecting the authors or the perpetrators of these outrages. The impunity of fuch public offenders befpeaks loudly the weakness or the malice of the magistracy.

In the course of this month fome ferious efforts were made in Ireland, to establish a political union between the body of Diffenters and that of the Roman Catholics. The former were highly indignant at the general fyftem of government that had been carried on for years in that kingdom; the latter had long groaned under the galling preffure of the feverest code of penal laws that had ever difgraced a Christian legislature, and they had been recently wounded by the moft humiliating rejection of their petition to Parliament to be admitted to a participation of the elective franchife. Though the fpiritual doctrines of the Prefbyterian and the Roman Catholic widely differ from each other; yet fuch fortunately was their due fenfe of the difference between civil and religious obligations, fuch their improved ideas of the British (or Irish) Constitution, that one common view, one common intereft, led them on to almost an enthusiastic co-operation in emancipating