or in the exchequer, or in the bank of England, employed in the payment of the public money, to pay, or direct or caufe to be paid, any fum or fums of money, for or to wards the fupport of the fervices voted in this prefent feffion of parliament, after the parliament hall have prorogued or diffolved, if it be prorogued or diffolved before any act of parliament fhall have paffed appropriating the fupplies to fuch fervices, will be a high crime and mifdemeanor, a daring breach of the public truft, derogatory to the fundamental privileges of parliament, and fubverfive of the conftitution of this country.

"That it is the opinion of this committee, that the chairman of the committee be directed to move the houfe, that the bill for punifhing mutiny and defertion, and for the better payment of the army and their quarters, be read a fecond time on Monday the 23d day of February next."

The immediate diffolution of Parliament being thus far rendered impracticable, two refolutions, of a more direct and hoftile nature, were moved by the Earl of Surrey. The first was in the following terms; "That in the prefent fitua tion of his majesty's dominions, it was peculiarly neceffary that there fhould be an adminiftration which had the confidence of that Houfe and the public."

It was objected to this refolution, that the name of his majefty had been, perhaps accidentally, certainly very improperly omitted; and it was propofed by Mr. Dundas to amend the motion, by inferting, instead of the words "This Houfe and the public," the follow ing, "The crown, the parliament,

and the people." As this amendment was merely propofed for the por pofe of pointing out the factious fpirit of the refolution, it was rejected without a divifion.

The fecond refolution moved by Lord Surrey, was to the following purport; "That the late changes in his majefty's councils had been immediately preceded by dangerous and univerfal reports, that the facred name of the king had been unconAtitutionally ufed to affect the deliberations of parliament; and that the appointments made were companied by circumstances new and extraordinary, and fuch as did not conciliate or engage the confidence of that House."

ac.

The fact principally infifted upon as the ground of this refolution, was the rumour we have already related, refpecting the communication made from the king to feveral peers, touching the India bill, through the Earl of Temple. In anfwer to thofe who required fome further proof of this tranfaction, it was remarked, that the fact could only be known to three parties; to the peers to whom the communi. cation was made, to the great perfonage from whom it came, and to the noble Earl who conveyed it. That it was not to be fuppofed the firft fhould come voluntarily forward to divulge what might be confidered as a confidential converfation, with the certainty of incurring the feve. reft difpleafure of the court. That if it were falfe, it might reafonably have been expected, that the minif ters then in office would have received authority from his majefty to contradict a report fo injurious to the honour of the crown. But, at all events, that the noble Earl was bound, when he heard that the

House

Houfe was proceeding upon thofe reports, to come fairly within the bar, as other lords had done, at different periods of our history, and clear himself from fo difgraceful an imputation.

Another fact was related to the committee by General Rofs, which, though denied by a near relation of the party in the house, and never fubftantiated fo fully as to ground any further proceedings thereon, yet appeared to have great weight in the determinations of the members. The matter was, that a few days before, one of the lords of his majefty's bed-chamber, whom he afterwards named to be the Earl of Galloway, had defired to fee him at his houfe; where he told him, that if he voted against the new adminiftration that day, he would be confidered as an enemy to the king.

A warm debate took place upon this motion, in which the moft pointed perfonalities were caft and retorted from both fides of the Houfe. The coalition was branded as a corrupt confederacy of two defperate factions, to feize upon the government of the country; and the India bill was reprefented to have been an experiment made by the late fecretary of ftate, with a view, if not to place the crown on his own head, at least to raise himfelf to a degree of power fuperior to that of the fovereign. On the other hand, the party compofing the new adminiftration was defcribed as a coalition, not indeed of parties, but of the fhreds and remnants, of the dregs and outcafts of parties; as a body collected for the purpose of fighting the battles of fecret and unconftitutional influence, of trampling on

the power and dignity of the House of Commons, and of establishing a government of cabal, intrigue, and favouritifm, and of deftroying the very principles of laudable ambition and honourable fervice in the state. At length, about feven o'clock in the morning, the committee divided, for the motion 196, against

it 54.

On the Wednesday follow

14 Jan. lowing, Mr. Pitt moved for leave to bring in " a bill for "the better government and ma

nagement of the affairs of the "Eaft India Company." By this act commiffionets were to be appointed by his majesty, from the members of his privy council, who were "authorized and impowered, from time to time, to check, fuperintend, and controul, all acts, operations, and concerns, which in any wife relate to the civil or military government or revenues of the territories and poffeffions of the faid united company in the Eaft Indies."

It then enacts, "that the faid board fhall have accefs to all papers and muniments of the faid united company, and fhall be furnished with copies thereof, and of all the proceedings of all general and fpecial courts of proprietors, and of the court of directors, and alfo copies of all difpatches which the directors fhall receive from any of their fervants in the East Indies, immediately after the arrival thereof, and alfo copies of all letters, orders, and inftructions whatfoever, relating to the civil or military govern. ment or revenues of the Britif territorial poffeffions in the Eaft Indies, propofed to be fent to any of the

fervants

fervants of his majefty, or of the faid company in the Eaft Indies; and that the court of directors fhall and are required to pay due obedience to, and fhall be governed and bound by, fuch orders and directions as they fhall, from time to time, receive from the faid board, touching the civil or military go vernment and revenue of the territories and poffeffions of the company."

And it is further enacted, "that the faid board fhall return the copies of the faid dispatches to the court of directors, with their approbation thereof, or their reafons at large for difapproving the fame, together with inftructions in refpect thereto; and that the court of directors fhall thereupon dispatch and fend the letters, orders, and inftructions, fo approved or amended, to their fervants in India, without further delay; and no letters, orders, or inftructions, until after fuch previous communication thereof to the faid board, fhall at any time be fent or difpatched by the faid directors to the Eaft Indies, on any account or pretence whatsoever."

And it is further enacted," that in cafe the faid board fhall fend any orders which, in the opinion of the faid court of directors, fhall relate to points not connected with the civil or military government and revenues of the faid territories and poffeffions in India, it fhall be lawful for them to apply by petition to his majefty in council, touching fuch orders; and the decifion of the council thereon fhall be final and conclufive."

It then enacts, "that the nomination of the commanders in chief

fhall be vested in his majefty, and that the faid commanders in chief fhall always be second in council.” It also vefts in his majefty "the power to remove any governor ge neral, prefidents, and members of the councils of any British fettlements in India ;" and enacts," that all vacancies in the offices aforefaid fhall be fupplied by the court of directors, fubject to the approbation of his majesty, and in cafe the perfon nominated by the faid court fhall not be approved by his majefty, the faid court fhall proceed to nominate fome other perfon, fubject to the approbation or difallowance of his majefty, in the fame manner as before directed, and fo toties quoties, until fome perfon or perfons fhall be nominated and ap pointed, who fhall be approved by his Majefty; and in cafe the court of directors fhall not, within days, proceed to fupply the fame, then it shall be lawful for his majefty to appoint a perfon to fupply the office so vacant."

"It is further enacted, that no order or refolution of any general court of proprietors fhall be available to revoke or refcind, or in any refpect to affect, any proceeding of the court of directors, after his Majefty's pleasure fhall have been fignified upon the same."

The debates on this bill turned principally on its merits and demerits, as compared with the India bill rejected in the Houfe of Lords.' It was urged by Mr. Pitt, that in his bill all the rights enjoyed by the company, under their charter, were preferved inviolate, as far as was compatible with the public fafety, When, in anfwer to this, it was

hewn,

fhewn, that nothing but the fhadow of power was left to the company ; and that, by the negative referved to the crown in all matters what foever, the substance was, in effect, vefted there he contended, that whatever might be the effect of the bill, yet, having previously obtain.

ed the confent both of the court of proprietors and directors to all the regulations contained in it, no violation of privileges could be inferred, where there was a voluntary furrender of them. To this argument it was objected, that the confent of 250, the number of those who voted in the court of proprietors for the regulations in the bill, could not imply the confent of 1,400, who compofe the whole body of proprie tors, especially in a cafe of property, where no delegation of the power of ballotting could be communicated, and where a great part of the abfent members had not an opportunity to attend: but whatever weight might be allowed to the refolutions of the court of proprietors, they only proved, that of two evils, the more formal refumption of their authority by the first bill, or the indirect affumption of it by the laft, they had chofen what they conceived

to be the leaft.

judicious management, enable the minifter in reality, though not in form, to nominate the whole; and every member, both civil and military, being made removable at the will of the crown, would naturally, become fubfervient to its views and interests.

In the former bill, the transferring the entire government of the company's affairs to the new board, the nomination of commiffioners in parliament, and the permanent duration of their authority for a term of four years, had occafioned a great alarm, as creating a new power dangerous to the conftitution. The object of the prefent bill was merely control; and the exercife of that control, like every other branch of the executive government, was referred to the difcretion of the crown. In anfwer to this, it was obferved,, in the first place, that to leave one fet of men, who had not only been convicted of having notoriously abused their power, but were univerfally allowed to be unfit for the truft repofed in them, in the poffeffion of dominion, merely for the purpose of being controlled by another, was to eftablifh difunion and weakness in government upon fyftem. The notable expedient provided in this cafe, of an appeal from the king's privy council to the King in council, was ridiculed with great fuccefs. In the fecond place, it was argued, that the propofed regulations tended confound one of the strongest principles of good government, that of refponfibility. The court of directors certainly ftood foremost in the oftenfible government of the company; but it was to make them responsible for orders and inftructions which they might be obliged to fign, con

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