14

PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c. Jan.

I fay, an actual discovery was made;
and it is probable, that feveral other
fums were laid out, or intended to be
laid out by them, of which no difco.
very was ever made. Whether that
company have ever fince attempted
any fuch practices, or what the many A
favours they have fince received may
have coft them, I fhall not pretend
to guess; but the discovery then
made fhould make gentlemen cauti
ous, left, under the pretence of le-
curing or promoting the trade, of
that company, they should be drawn
in to ferve the ends of corrupt men.

I am far from fuppofing, Sir, that any fuch practices have been, or are intended at prefent, because the fa, vour proposed to be granted them cannot be thought equal to fuch an expence. I am really of opinion, that it will do them an injury. The fending of any of his majefty's troops thither will of courfe draw the crown into all the contefts they have happened, or may hereafter happen to have with the fovereign princes in the Eaft-Indies, which, I think, cannot redound to the profit of the company, and may, I fear, fome time or other, bring difhonour upon the crown of Great-Britain for if in the perfons of those troops the crown fhould be affronted by the great Mogul, or any of his Na bobs, I do not fee how we could vindicate the honour of the nation, by compelling them to make fatif faction for any fuch affront. If a breach fhould enfue upon any fuch occafion, furely you would not accept of fuch a phirmaund, fuch a treaty as the company called it, as the company accepted of from the great Mogul a little before the Revo.. lution, which put an end to the war that had been carried on between him and the company, and which was really nothing but a pardon in fuch a haughty tile, that it was fcandalous even for the company to accept of it. Surely, I fay, the crown could not put an end to any

war with that prince in such a manner; and I doubt if it could ever be ended in any other. It is for this reafon, that the French court have wifely taken care not to fend any of their king's troops to the Eaft-Indies; for all the troops they have fent thither, are fent and kept up there in the name of the company, tho, perhaps, at the expence of the crown; because it is impoffible ever to treat in the name of the crown with any of thofe Eastern princes, who are haughty even to a degree B of ridicule,

For this reafon, Sir, I look upon the prefent measure of fending fome of the king's troops to the Eaft Indies, to be a measure of the most dangerous confequence, not only to the company, but to our trade to C the Eaft-Indies, whatever new foot ing it may, or can hereafter be put on; and befides this, it will in feve ral refpects be found inconvenient. By the bill now before us, the commander in chief of his majesty's forces, wherever any of them are D employed, is to have the fole power of appointing courts martial, not only to try any of his own officers or foldiers, but also any of the company's officers or foldiers that are fent upon the fame command. Whether this be right or no, I shall not at prefent difpute; but can we imagine, that it will not occafion dangerous, difputes between the company's governors or officers, and his majesty's officers in that country? As these, two corps are upon a different footing, and of a quite different character, a jealoufy will naturally arife between them: The company's troops will naturally be patronised by, the company's governors, and his majefty's troops will as naturally and probably more defervedly be patroG nifed by his majefty's commander in chief. I fay more defervedly, Sir, because, if I am rightly informed, there are fome of the company's officers of a very low character. One

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of

POLITICAL CLUB, &c.

B

1755. PROCEEDINGS of the
of them was formerly a trumpeter to
å raree-fhew in this country; and
when he was discharged that ho-
nourable service, he lifted himself in
the company's fervice as a common
foldier; and I fuppofe was made an
officer by one of their governors, for A
trumpeting to him better than any
other man could do in that country.
Another of them, I am told, was a
low fort of barber, one of our shave-
for a penny barbers, here in Lon-
don: And another of them was a
butcher here, and when he is not
upon duty, I am told he ftill exer-
cifes his trade there. Can we think,
that fuch officers will not be defpifed
by gentlemen who have the honour to
bear his majesty's commiffion? And
as fuch men, when advanced, are
both jealous and proud, frequent C
contefts will certainly arife between,
them. These contefts being patro
nifed, as I have mentioned, will be
of the worft confequence to the fer-
vice, and may entirely ruin our af-
fairs in that country, before advice
of them can be sent home, and pro-D
per orders returned for putting an
end to fuch contests.

Having mentioned the characters
of fome of the company's officers in
the Eaft-Indies, I leave it to gen-
tlemen to confider, whether it be
proper to intruft fuch men with a E
power of life and death over any
British fabject, especially in a coun-
try where the fentence is to be exe-
cured before it be approved by his
majefty, and before he can have an
opportunity to extend his mercy to F
an unhappy convict. Such officers
may properly enough be intrufted
with a power to kill the enemies of
their country by the laws of war ;
but I am fure, Sir, it can never be
proper to intrust them with a power
to kill their fellow fubjects by any
law whatsoever. If our late accounts
from thence can be relied on, they
have fhewn, that the first fort of
truft may be very properly lodged in
them; but this is fo far from being

15

an argument in favour of the bill,
that it is a strong argument againft it.
If the company's troops have be-
haved fo well without any military
law, why fhould we subject them to
one? Some few of them may, per-
haps, have deferted; but can you
altogether prevent defertion by any
law you can make? Sir, the bet
way to prevent it, is good ufage
and this bill, if paffed into a law,
may encourage the company to use
their troops worfe than they ever did
heretofore. In every light, there-
fore, in which I can view this bill,
I think it not only unneceffary, but
of the moft dangerous confequence
to the company; and what is fill
worfe, I think it of the moft dan-
gerous confequence to our liberties §.
for it is not only an extenfion of our
written martial law; but as it is an
extenfion without any limitation of
time, it may be made a precedent
for rendering perpetual our written
martial law with regard to the
troops in every part of the king's
dominions; which to me is of itself
alone a fufficient reafon for being
against the committing of the bill.

The next Speaker was Quintus Mucius,
the Purport of whofe Speech was
as follows.

Mr. Prefident
SIR,

I

Do not rife up to follow the noble lord thro' the whole of his long argument; for, in my opinion, the most of what he faid was quite foreign to the present queftion, which is plainly and in fhort this. Are our East-India company to have troops in any of their forts or fettle. ments in that country, or no? And I could not observe, that the noble Glord faid one word against this quef

tion. Indeed, it is fo evident, that if the company must have forts, they muft have garifons to defend thofe forts, that it is impoffible for the wit W M

of

16

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PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c.

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Jan.

any cafe, beyond its just bounds, that he never will make ufe of it, when there is the leaft doubt to be made, whether or no it be agreeable to our conftitution. As the whole tenor of his conduct has been according to the known and established laws of the kingdom, fo in every doubt ful cafe he chufes to apply to his parlia ment for a new law when it becomes neceffary, rather than to act by virtue of prerogative. It is, this laudable moderation in his majesty that has given occafion for the bill now under our confideration; for if his majefty had by his prerogative impowered the company to exercise martial law, with refpect to their troops in St. Helena and the Eaft Indies, espécially at this prefent time, I doubt if any of our lawyers would have given it as their opinion, that it was contrary to our antient conftitution; for before the Revolu tion it was always held as a maxim, that when the king had occafion to fend or to keep regular troops any where beyond. C fea, even in Ireland, he might impower the commander to exercife martial law, and establish articles of war for that purpofe; and fo tenacious was the crown of this prerogative, that in the mutiny act of the 7th of queen Anne, and all the following mutiny acts of her reign, there was a clause inferted, for providing that the act should not abridge the power of the crown, as to the making of articles of war, and appointing courts martial, as might have been done before by the authority of the crown in places beyond. fea in time of war.

of man to invent an argument against it.
The company muft then have troops in
that country, and if they must have troops,
they must have martial law. Without
fuch a law there never was an army kept
up, or fent out, in any part of the world.
Even among the Romans, in the most
flourishing time of their republick, their
armies were fubject to, and governed by
a law very different from the civil law of
their country, a law much more arbitra-
ry than what we now call martial law;
for we do not read of courts martial in
any part of the history of that republick,
because the commander in chief was veft-
ed with a fole, an abfolute and arbitrary
power, over every man in the army un- B
der his command. Accordingly we read,
that the fecond Appius Claudius, by his
own fule authority, caufed feveral offi-
cers to be executed, and the reft of the
army to be decimated, on account of their
having feditiously allowed themselves to
be defeated by the enemy; and that Man-
lius Torquatus, by his fole authority,
caufed his own fon to be executed, for
having fought and killed one of the ene-
my's chief officers, contrary to his or
ders: So likewife we read, Sir, that a
few years afterwards, Papirius Curfor, by
his own fole authority, condemned his
mafter of the horse, or what we may
call his deputy lieutenant, to be execu-
ted, becaufe in his abfence he had fought
the enemy contrary to his orders, and
that notwithstanding his having defeated
and killed 20,000 of the enemy, from the
execution of which fentence he was faved,"
not by the authority or the command, of
the republick, but by the prayers and in-
treaties of the fenate, the tribunes of the
people, and the army, enforced by the
tears and lamentations of an aged and
much honoured father.

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From there examples, Sir, we may fee how abfolute and arbitrary the martial law of the Romans was, and from many examples, both antient and modern,, I could fhew, that there never was an army any where kept up without martial law. It is indeed impoffible to govern an army without martial law; and the only reason why we of old had no martial law in time of peace, was because we had then no army kept up; nor can it be faid that either Charles cr James II. governed their armies without martial law; for it is well known, that both of them exercifed martial law by the fame authority by G which they kept up armies, that is, by an illegal and ufurped ufe of prerogative; and the bill now before us plainly fhews how happy, how fafe we are, under the government of his prefent majefty, who is fo far from ftretching prerogative, in

Upon this maxim, Sir, is founded that power which all our colonies in America now enjoy; for every one of them has a power in time of danger to raise troops, and to proclaim martial law, f r any time they think neceffary, during which time the old maxim takes place, inter arma filent leges: Their civil laws from that moment give place to the martial, to which every man in the colony, able to bear arms, becomes liable, and why his majefty might not give a power to a number of his fubjects fettled in the Eaft-Indies, as well as to a number of them fettled in the Weft-Indies, tohave regular troops in their fervice, and to exercife martial law over those troops, 1 believe, it will be pretty hard to find a fatisfactory reason; therefore if we had now a prince upon the throne as fond of prerogative, and of exercising it upon every occafion, as most of our princes were before the acceffion of our prefent royal and illuftrious family, I am convinced, we should not have been troubled with the bill now before us, because the whole' that is propofed by this bill would have

1755.

PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c.

been done by virtue of his majesty's prerogative, and without asking the advice or confent of either houfe of parliament.

I hope it will now appear, Sir, that with regard to every place beyond sea, which has been included in any mutiny bill fince the Revolution, it is fo far from being an extension of the martial law, A that it may very properly be called an addition to the privileges of the people; for no British fubject, let him be fettled where he will, can now be subjected to martial law, whilst he remains under the protec tion of the crown of Great-Britain, without his own confent. Nay, even our militia cannot now be fubjected, I believe, to martial law, no not even in the cafe of B an invasion or rebellion, without an act of parliament for that purpofe. At least we may be well affured, that his prefent majefty will never attempt it, as no fuch thing was thought of during the late rebellion, notwithstanding the imminent danger we should have been in, had his royal highness and the troops from Flan-C ders been detained but a few weeks by contrary winds. Then, Sir, as to the crimes and perfons that have in any degree been fubjected to martial law, fince the paffing of the first mutiny bill in 1689, neither of them can properly be called an extenfion of the martial law, but only a fupplying of the defects that were in the firit mutiny act, which, from the weak- D nefs of human wifdom must always be expected, when a new law is to be made for regulating any affair of so complicated a nature; and I am fure, it cannot be faid, that any person, or any offence, has fince been fubjected to martial law, but what has an immediate relation to, or connection with the military.

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But, Sir, however much our martial Jaw may have been extended fince the first mutiny act, furely what is now propofed cannot be faid to be an extension of it with respect to this kingdom, nor can our constitution or liberties ever be in danger from the exercife of martial law in the Eaft-Indies; and as the noble lord did not fo much as infinuate, that it was unneceffary for the company to keep any troops in their fettlements there, he must allow that it is now become necessary to enable them to keep thofe troops under proper difcipline. It is true, Sir, their troops have lately behaved very gallantly: Confidering what fort of troops they are, they have really done wonders; but we G know that many of their common men have lately deferted; and we know that they have a near neighbour who will not only receive but encourage every deferter from them in particular. When we know January, 1755

17

that they are so powerfully attacked, can
we refufe giving them all the affistance we
can either by laws or otherwife? For this
reafon, I think, we cannot enough ap-
plaud his majefty's affifting them with
fome of his troops. The fending of fuch
troops thither can no way alter the courfe
of tranfactions in that country; for tho
they are his majefty's troops, they will
in every thing there act in the name of
the company, and confequently cannot
involve the crown in any of the compa-
ny's disputes with the princes or Nabobs
upon that coaft. It might as well be faid,
that the fending of our men of war there
would involve the crown in those dif-
putes, yet we know it never has, nor in-
deed ever can, because all tranfactions
with the great Mogul, or any other po-
tentate in the Eaft, are carried on in the
name of the company, and not in that of
the crown. And as to the king's troops
having any difpute with the company's
troops, we have experience for fuppofing,
that no fuch thing can happen; because
in the late war a much larger number of
the king's troops were fent thither, with-
out producing any fuch accident.

As to the character of the company's
officers, Sir, I really know nothing of it.
They may be of fuch a low character as
the noble lord has been informed; for it
is not the first time that men of a very
low original have rifen to a high rank in
an army, and it redounds to their honour,
I think, rather than their difcredit; but
I was surprised to hear this piece of in-
formation come from his lordship; for if
the officers be men of fuch a low origi-
nal, what must we think of the common
men? They must be the very refuse of
Bridewell and Tyburn, and confequently
cannot be kept in order without the mott
strict and severe difcipline. This is there-
fore as strong an argument as can be ur-
ged in favour of the bill now before us;
and to fay that a bill for a perpetual mu-
tiny act in the Eaft-Indies, may be made a
precedent for fuch another here at home, is
really going fuch a long way for precedent,
that I have not the leaft apprehenfion of
any prefent, or future minifter's ever go-
ing fo far from home; this I must look
on as one of the moft far fetched argu-
ments that was ever made ufe of upon
any occafion; and as no gentleman has a
better talent than his lordfhip at finding
arguments in favour of what he efpoufes,
or against what he opposes, his making
ufe of fuch an argument convinces me,
that no good one can be found against
this bill; for which reafon 1 fhall be for
its being committed.

[This JOURNAL to be continued in cur next.]
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181

New Contrivances for HOT-BEDS.

A new Contrivance for making Hot-Beds by the Steam of Boiling Water, having been fome Years fince invented by M. Triewald, Fellow of the Royal Society, and of the Academies of Stockholm and Upfal; and a Defcription of it having been lately publibed in French, we shall give it our Readers in English as follows, viz.

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HAT learned English gentleman, Dr. Stephen Hales, fays our author, has by feveral ingenious experiments hewn, that what contributes the moft to the vegetation and growth of trees, plants, and herbs, is a very fubtle vapour, exhaled by the heat of the fun and earth from water, which penetrates the fibres B of the roots, and afcends into all the parts of plants and trees, but after having given them their nourishment turns again into water, and evaporates through their fteins, branches, and leaves.

Being at Edinburgh, feveral years before Dr. Hales published this discovery, I made a like difcovery, and contrived a a fort of hot-beds which were heated by fteam; but having given my word of ho mour to a noble lord of Scotland, not to communicate my invention to any one for ten years from that time, I could not till now make it publick.

Jan.

times a day, the moisture of the water continually destroyed the cement of the bricks. One may eafily conceive all the troublesome confequences of these two inconveniences; therefore without touching on them, I proceed to speak of my own proper work.

At a little distance from the hot-beds, I caufed to be built of bricks in a proper place, a little round tower, (Fig. 2) an ell and a half in heigth, the room of which within was a foot in diameter towards the top T, and 16 inches at bottom E. At the fame time I caused to be made by a potter a lid L, adapted to close up the top of the tower, and which might be afterwards calked with clay; then I filled the tower with billets placed upright, or with charcoal.

At the bottom of the tower were two fquare mouths or openings, one of which, b, was above the iron grate H, by which the wood or charcoal might be set on fire; and the other below the iron grate at Ca, by which the afhes might be taken out. Over against the mouth at b, was another mouth or opening, by which the flame of fire was conveyed under the alembick A †, and from thence turned round it in a fcrew fashion, or fpirat line, by the pipes, r, r,r, r, before going out at the chimney S. By this means a very little fire ferves to make the water boil, and to keep it boiling,

The advantage this nobleman acquires from my invention, which perfected in his garden, induced him likewife to keep the fecret; for by means of thefe: hot-beds he was enabled to have, during the whole time of winter, ferved up at his table, coily-flowers, afparagus, fafads, and all forts of greens of an excellent flavour,

A great many of the English are too delicate for having any inclination to eat E melons, or other fuch fruits, produced by the ufual hot beds of dung and straw, being perfuaded that the dung gives the fruit a dilagreeable taste. It was for this reafon, if 1 minake.not, that the learned and famous Mr. Bradley contrived another fort of hot-beds which were constructed in this manner: By the fide of this hot

bed he caufed to be built an oven, from whence went a little vault, which fupposted his hot bed, and extended from one end of it to the other, fo that the heat of the fire, and of its flames, played always along the vault, and at laft the fmoak went out at a little chimney built at the farther end of the hot bed.

But this contrivance was fubject to great inconveniences. They could not always govern the fire as they would; and the vault often fell in; for as it was neceffary, on account of the great heat, to fprinkle the hot-beds two or three

F

The mouth b, has an iron fhutter which fhuts it up clofe, and is to be carefully that as foon as the fire upon the grate H, is fully lighted.

By the fide of the alembick A (Fig. 1.) is placed a cftern, or little refervoir, covered with lead B, C, D, E. At the bottom of this refervoir, there is, at the end of the leaden or brafs pipe R p, well foldered, and of an inch diameter, a valve V. The pipe extends from the valve to the alembick, wherein it enters below the head, and is carried down almoft within an inch of the bottom, being foldered to the alembick at p.

Upon the edge of the refervoir D, E, ftands a pott, which fupports the beam of a balance, having at the end of each arm, the two little arches K, H. From the arch H, hangs a little brafs chain having at the end of it a hook, by which hangs a brats wire, the other end of which wire is fixt to the valve V. At the end of the chain which hangs down from the other Glittle arch K, there hangs likewife a' strong brass wire, which enters by a little hole into the alembick, and at the lower end of this wire there is a piece of wood cut in the shape of a buoy b, which fwims upon the water in the alembick, whilft it

This fert of furnace is known by the name of Athanor. ↑ A fort of difilling vessel.