to render the bill palateable, and unobjectionable to all parties, he would move, that the words in any part of his Majefty's dominions," fhould be left out, and that the words within the realm," should be inferted in their place.

This conceffion was far from fatisfying the oppofition. They faid, that the power of indifcriminate banishment, however hideous, was only a matter of fecondary confideration; that the power of apprehending and confining the perfon of the fubject, upon bare fufpicion, without a pretext of any legal caufe, was the great object of alarm and danger, and what could alone afford life and activity to the other. They contended, that a line fhould be drawn between the innocent and the guilty; that the degree of probability attending the fufpicion, and the degree of guilt, upon which the fufpicion was founded, fhould be defined fo clearly, that the innocent might know when they were in a state of fecurity, and by what error or trefpafs it might be forfeited; and that a mode of redrefs fhould be provided, in cafes where the powers granted by the bill were manifeftly or grofly abused. And that upon every idea of justice and equity, a diftinction fhould be made, even with refpect to the Americans, between thofe perfons who were in actual arms, and fuch as only fubmitted to the refpective governments in which they refided, and to an authority which they were unable to refift.

But, in the name of goodness, faid they, if the intentions of the miniters are as pure and as innocent as they profefs, why do they refuse to confine the operation of

this bill to its proper object? Why extend it to Great-Britain? If fuch powers are neceffary in America, let them be created; but let their direction be fixed. If they are wanted in this country, what are they mincing the matter for, and making a fecret of it to parliament? Let them, in their own manner, make the demand in fo many words; let them, by their own rule of conduct, ftate the ne ceffity for fo doing; and when this is done, to the fatisfaction of parliament, let them obtain the power in the most ample and comprehenfive manner they can defire. But to difclaim the intention of feeking the power, and at the fame time endeavour by fpecious and delufive pretences to obtain it, carried fuch an appearance of duplicity, impofition, and contempt of that affembly, as was not to be paralleled in any former tranfaction between minifters and parliament.

The ministers still infifted upon the purity of their intention; that the prefent amendment removed all manner of ambiguity from the bill, and muft afford fatisfaction to any thing less than a fixed determination to find fault in all events, and to oppofe indifcriminately in all cafes. The title of the bill, its preamble, and the occafion of bringing it in, all ferved to fix its locality, and as explanations of its true import and defign. Thele would effectually prevent or clear up any poffible mifconftruction of the enacting claufes.

A gentleman in oppofition faid, he would put adminiflration to a teft, as to the fincerity of their profeffions, and the innocency of intention in the bill. If thefe

were

were real, they could have no objection to the amendment he was going to propofe, which only tended to limit the operation of the bill to its avowed objects. He accordingly moved for a claufe of amendment, to specify that the offence for which any perfon was apprehended, on fufpicion or otherwife, " within the kingdom,"

must have been ftated, to be committed within the kingdom, and not elsewhere.

In the mean time, a gentleman of confiderable rank in judicial proceedings, though not one of those who are immediately confidered as the crown lawyers, diffented totally from the opinion held out by his brethren in office. He acknowledged, that the bill was manifeftly at variance with the title and preamble; that the firft held out only a power to the crown of apprehending and committing, upon grounds of fufpicion, fuch perfons as are described in the preamble, who have been, or may be, brought into this kingdom; but the enacting part, not only gives that power, but it grants a general power, of taking all perfons up without any fpecification of crime whatever. That it was abfurd to fay, that the locality of the crime was marked out by the bill. Where was the redrefs provided? There was no redrefs, but by an application to the privy council, who were now to be invefted with the powers belonging to the courts of common law. But the mischief would be done, in the first inftance, previous to any fuch application, and the Habeas Corpus Act would be in fact fufpended, to all its intents and purposes,

6

within the realm, for crimes not pretended to have been committed within it. He was therefore clearly of opinion, that it was better to fufpend the Habeas Corpus at once; because in that cafe, every man would know what he had to depend on, and every good fubject would acquiefce in a power, created for the public benefit.

So unexpected a difference of opinion, in fuch a quarter, and fo powerful a confirmation of the objections laid by their antagonists, coming from fuch an authority, could not fail to furprize, if not ftagger the ministers, and must, at another feafon, have proved fatal to the bill. The critical fituation of public affairs, and the neceffity of itrengthening government, were, however, brought to the fupport of the measure in this exigency, and the laft propofed clause of the amendment was rejected upon a divifion, by a majority of five to one, the numbers being 125, to 25 only, who fupported the mo tion.

This defeat did not prevent the debate from being renewed with equal if not greater vigour on the following day, when Feb. 14th. the report was received by the houfe from the committee. A petition ftrongly oppofing the bill, was also received from the city of London on the fame day. They concluded this petition with a declaration, That measures so violent and unconftitutional; fo fubverfive of the facred and fundamental rights of the people, and fubjecting them to the most cruel fubjection and bondage, would, in the judgment of the petitioners, be introductive of every species of mif

chief

formity with their own profeffions, if they were really fincere in them, than to grant the fecurity required, by a compliance with the prefent

motion.

On the other fide, feveral cafes were quoted, in which, by conftruction of law, charges of treafon laid to be committed in one place, though they were afterwards proved to be committed in another, were notwithstanding admitted as valid; and they contended, that though an offence might be committed here, by a perfon who had never been out of the kingdom, yet its operation in America would conftitute one complete offence. The fact might not be criminal in the first inftance, and might become criminal afterwards from its confequences, and yet, by a fair and justifiable conftruction of law, be deemed one compleat act. They concluded, that the propofed claufe would destroy one of the main purposes of the bill; and that it would not afford any protection to the innocent, although it might effectually fcreen the guilty. The motion was accordingly rejected upon a divifion, by a majority of 49 to 14.

Though all the grounds of argument feemed exhausted on both fides, in the long and frequent contention which attended this bill in every part of its progrefs, and that the fpirit of the difputants might, by this time, have been well deemed in the fame fituation, yet the vigour of the combatants feemed to grow with the toil, and the third Feb. 17th. reading produced one of the longest, moft interefting,

and moft animated debates, that has been known.

Mr. Dunning, who first laid open the principle and tendency of the bill, and had fince been indefatigable both in his general oppofition, and his endeavours to difarm it of fome of thofe powers which he confidered as the most dangerous, not difcouraged by the rejection of Mr. Powys's last claufe of amendment on the fecond reading, propofed another, nearly fimilar, to be added to the bill by way of rider. He introduced the amendment with a fpeech fraught with legal and profeffional knowledge, in which, with his ufual ability, he went through and examined the whole course of controversy on both fides, and having combated the arguments which had been used in fupport of the bill, and pointed out the evil confequences to be apprehended in its prefent ftate, moved an additional clause to the following purport: Provided alfo, and be it hereby declared, that nothing herein contained is intended, or fhall be conftrued to extend to the cafe of any other prifoner, or prifoners, than fuch, as have been in fome one of the colonies, before-mentioned, or on the high feas, at the time or times of the offence or offences, wherewith he or they fhall be charged.

A gentleman, who fat not far from the Minifter on the treasury bench, agreed to receive the claufe in part, if the mover would admit an amendment of his own to be interwoven with, and added to it; viz. that the words, " In fome one of the colonies, or on the high feas," fhould be left out, and

66

the

the words, "Out of the realm," inferted in their room; and that the following words, "Or of "which they shall be suspected," fhould be added to, and conclude the original claufe.

If this amendment did not afford all that was wifhed, the acceptance of the clause, even in its prefent form, was, however, an object of great confequence with the minority, who now confidered the bill as having nearly loft two of its most dangerous fangs; the laft, though not entirely drawn, being now tolerably blunted. But this conceffion was far from being pleafing to that part of the majority, who had at all times been eager in the purfuit of the moft violent meafures against America, and who were alfo fuppofed, to be much difpofed to the fupport or establishment of a ftrong govern

ment at home.

Whilft fome of the gentlemen ander this defcription were reprobating the claufe, and contending that the bill, even in its original ftate, did not convey all the powers, with which it was neceffary to arm the crown in the prefent fituation of affairs, they discovered, to their unfpeakable aftonishment, that the minifter had totally changed his tone upon that fubject. He now exculpated himself in particular, and adminiftration in general, from every intention of establishing any unconftitutional dents, or of feeking or wishing any powers to be entrusted either to the crown or to themfelves, which were capable of being employed to bad or opVOL. XX.

prece

preffive purposes; difavowed all defign of extending the operation of the bill beyond its open and avowed objects; faid it was intended for America, not for Great Britain; that as he would afk for no power that was not wanted, fo he would fcorn to receive it by any covert means; and whilft he expreffed his concern for the jealousy excited by any ambiguity that appeared in the bill, hoped that the prefent amended claufe would afford full fatisfaction to the gentlemen on the other fide of the house, and that the law would now meet with the approbation of all parties.

This unexpected conduct caufed great diffatisfaction on his own fide. Those who had been the avowed fupporters of the bill, thought

themfelves particularly ill treated. They were engaged in a very unpopular, and what might have turned out a very odious bufinefs, and after they had worked through it with unusual toil, and encountered no small fhare of obloquy by the way, they were deferted at the very inftant of completion, and that in fuch a manner, as feemed calculated merely to difgrace the whole measure, to confirm all the charges and furmifes of their adverfaries, and to fix all the odium upon them.

It was, however, obferved before, that the court parties were far from being united; that adminiftration did not draw kindly together; that the crown lawyers did not agree; these circumstances occafioned the humorous obfervation of a gentleman in the [#]

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