seconding the motion of the noble lord, whose conduct that day had given him great satisfaction, and whom he hoped he should have the pleasure to hear often.

Peter Burrell, for whom he had the highest respect, by the complaint which he had made; but, understanding that the order originated with the Lords, he conceived it his duty to make a complaint upon the least infraction of the rights of the Commons.

Lord Newhaven contended, that neither the great chamberlain, nor any other officer acting under the orders of the House of Lords, should be permitted to direct any of their door-keepers.

Sir Joseph Mawbey maintained, that no person on earth ought to prevent the members from having free ingress and egress to and from their own House. If, therefore, it was inconvenient to the Lords for them to pass through the ordinary passages during the progress of the procession of peers, other entrances into the House ought to be opened for the convenience of the members. He saw no sort of necessity for such a strictness as had been adopted. He had himself repeatedly come too late to join the House before it proceeded to the Hall, and had not experienced any difficulty in getting into the Hall, by watching for a fit opportu nity to shove in among the Lords, and get to this place. There were intervals in the procession of the Peers, that might easily be taken advantage of, without the smallest inconvenience to the Lords, or to any person whatever. He could not, therefore, but have wished, that no cause of complaint had been given, or that it had not been noticed to the House; yet, as it had been stated, it was impossible for the House to pass it over without some sort of animadversion, which he hoped would be as slight as possible, and the least offensive to the deputy great chamberlain, who certainly had merited the approbation of all, for his attention to his duty during the whole time of the court's sitting.

Lord Belgrave said, that so far from intending to move any thing hard upon the subject, he should move to put off the farther consideration of the complaint till that day three months.

Mr. F. Montagu said, that those gentlemen who were so anxious to preserve the privileges of the House, were undoubtedly entitled to their thanks. It became every member to be jealous on such a subject; but after what he had heard, and after having witnessed the active zeal and attention of the deputy great chamberlain, he could not forbear

Sir James Johnstone did not see why the trial could not proceed as it had done hitherto, without new rules and regulations. No obstruction had been be fore complained of, and he hoped no cause for farther complaint would arise.

Mr. Vyner said, that he should have no objection to the motion of adjourning the consideration of the complaint, if he was not afraid that it would stand upon the Journals, that the members had been obstructed in passing to their own House, in consequence of an order of the House of Lords. To prevent members from coming to the House at any part of the day, to examine papers, or to go to any Committee that might be supposed sitting, was undoubtedly a breach of their privileges, and ought not to be passed over, when it was expressly stated to have been committed in consequence of an order of the House of Lords. If the Lords could prevent the members from going to their own House, they could shut the door up altogether. Thinking, therefore, that the cause of complaint was more serious than it might appear to other gentlemen, he must not only oppose the motion, but take the sense of the House upon it.

The House divided on lord Belgrave's motion: Yeas, 41; Noes, 15.

Lord Newhaven, as soon as the House was resumed, desired to know who was the proper officer to communicate the orders of the House to the doorkeepers. The Speaker said, the Serjeant at Arms. Lord Newhaven then read a motion, the purport of which was, that the Serjeant at Arms do inform the doorkeepers that they obey no orders whatever but such as shall be delivered to them by him in person. The Speaker observing the House very thin, reminded his lordship, that he might with greater propriety make his motion upon the morrow. Lord Newhaven acquiesced.

June 12. Sir P. Burrell rose in consequence of an intended motion, relative to the trial of Mr. Hastings. He said, he could most sincerely assure the House, that no member felt a more anxious desire to preserve the privileges of the House than himself; nor would any man go farther to prevent their being infringed; at the same time, he must be allowed to say,

that having the honour to hold an office under the House of Lords, he thought it his indispensable duty to execute the orders of that House, according to the best of his judgment, and in the most effectual manner. It was not for him, in his official capacity, to pronounce upon the meaning of the orders given him by the House of Lords, or to say, whether, in fair construction they did, in any degree, amount to an infraction of the privileges of that House. The House, when they saw the order would be able to judge for themselves, and his conduct in discharge of his duty, proved that it would bear the construction which he had conceived it to convey. Whether that was the true construction, or whether he had erred in his judgment, he knew not; but, as great bodies had often erred in judgment, it would not be wonderful if an individual should have erred in judgment likewise. He wished, however, before any motion was made, that might lead to consequences which every gentleman must feel anxious to avoid, that those who had proposed to bring forward a motion upon that day, would have the goodness to wait till the court should have sitten one more day, and be guided by the event of that other day. If they then found that members were obstructed in their way to the House, the motion could be brought forward; but if no inconvenience took place, he hoped it would be agreed that the motion was needless.

Mr. Bouverie thought, with his hon. friend, that it would be very unwise to make any motion that should produce a disagreement between the two Houses. No man was more anxious than himself to preserve the harmony that so happily subsisted between them; but it did appear, from the complaint that had been made, that the members of that House had been obstructed in their way to their own House, in consequence of orders given to their doorkeepers by an officer of the House of Lords, in a way that, in his mind, would have justified personal violence; and had that followed, they must all acknowledge, that a difference between the two Houses most probably would have been the consequence. What he wished was, to prevent the possibility of a recurrence of such an impropriety, and in order to avoid offence, he had worded his motion, so as to make it co-operate with the orders of the House of Lords, and produce the same effect. Mr. Bouverie then read his

motion, which was, "That no member of this House do remain in, or do cross, or pass through, any part of the passages leading from the door of the lobby of this House to the gallery prepared for the members of this House, in Westminsterhall, or from the temporary door at the top of the stone stair-case to the said gallery, during the time that the Court are in regular procession to or from the said hall; and that the Serjeant at Arms attending this House, do keep clear the passage of members at such times; and that the doorkeepers be directed to attend at the several doors opening to such passages, in order to apprize the members of this order."

Mr. Hussey seconded the motion.

Mr. Pitt did not rise to oppose the motion, which he thought in no other way objectionable than as to the wording of the latter part of it, which directed the doorkeepers to apprize the members of the order; that he conceived to be rather a disorderly mode of communicating the orders of the House, and such as was perfectly unnecessary, since all the members were bound to apprize themselves of the orders of their own House. But what he rose principally for was, to declare his opinion, that so far from the obstruction complained of upon the preceding day, being such as would have justified personal violence, he saw no reasonable colour of complaint at all. This House had carried up articles of impeachment to the House of Lords, as a court of justice. The Lords were judges, and consequently had a power over their own court, in like manner as every other description of judges had a power over every other court of justice. They had an undoubted right to give such directions respecting every part of the trial, as would, in their opinion, be most likely to produce regularity, order, and solemnity. To question or to resist the exercise of such right, was to question the authority of the highest court of justice known to the constitution, and what he was persuaded no gentleman who thought at all upon the subject, would either attempt or countenance. But it had been urged yesterday in debate, and very properly, in his mind, that the members, so far from obstructing the passages to the court, during the procession of the Lords, ought to be in another place with the Speaker. This was sufficient to prove, that those members who were in the House during the progress of the procession were where they ought not

trial, without conveying something like a shade of disrespect to the House of Lords.

to have been. He was perfectly satisfied there was no ground for accusing the Lords of having made the order under which the deputy great chamberlain had acted, with any view to infringe the privileges of that House. At the same time he saw no objection to the motion, provided the last sentence was left out.

Mr. Bouverie had not the smallest objection to adopt the alteration that the right hon. gentleman had pointed out.

Sir Grey Cooper considered the motion as needless. He reminded the House that at first, the Lords had expressed an inclination to hear the cause in their own House; but the Commons desiring to have it heard in Westminster-hall, the Lords had complied. Nothing could surely be more civil and accommodating on the part of the Lords; and that House, he was persuaded, would not be outdone in politeHitherto, during the existence of the great cause, perfect harmony had subsisted between the two Houses; that harmony every friend to the constitution must wish should continue; although, therefore, it was laudable for gentlemen to be jealous of any point which looked like any infringement of their privileges, yet he really saw, on the present occasion, no pressing call for any such motion as that proposed. The two privileges that the members wished to claim, appeared to him to be the privilege of coming, when it was too late to go down to the hall with the Speaker, and the privilege of interrupting the procession of the House of Lords into their own court. With regard to the hon. gentleman who held a high office under the Lords, his situation was in many respects a very invidious one. It was certainly no easy matter to conduct above three thousand people every day into Westminster-hall, to arrange them while there, and to conduct them out of the hall again with as little confusion as possible. The hon. baronet had done his duty in these respects successfully, and ought to receive the support of that House. Upon that account alone, he should wish that the motion were not pressed. In fact, the only end of it would be, a declaration on their part, to do the very same thing themselves, and by their own authority, which the House of Lords had executed already. If such a proceeding were necessary at all, he conceived it could only have been necessary in the outset of the business, and that it not only was out of time now, but that it could not be adopted in that stage of the [VOL. XXVII. ]

Mr. Burke perfectly coincided with Mr. Pitt in every part of his argument. The present motion was neither necessary nor noxious. Unnecessary, because, undoubtedly that House in the conduct of such a trial, standing as the accusers, were bound to comply with the forms and orders of the court who sat to try the cause, and in his opinion, the Lords had hitherto afforded every reason for that House to make every possible return of civility and accommodation. The motion was, however, perfectly innocent, since it only tended to co-operate with the Lords, by adopting their own form of proceeding, and thus enforcing the effect that they had obviously wished to produce by their orders. The two Houses had met each other cordially, though not, perhaps, with equal fires. Mr. Burke complimented sir Peter Burrell on his extraordinary and successful exertions, his extreme patience, and his unparalleled politeness during the trial, which were among the good things that had arisen out of it. He concluded with expressing his satisfaction at finding that a matter, which on its first appearance looked rather cloudy, and as if portending a storm, had passed over without mischief, and ended in a return of sunshine.

The motion, as amended, was then agreed to.

Debate in the Commons on the Hay Exportation Bill.] June 16. Mr. Alderman Sawbridge rose. He observed, that the long continued drought had rendered the crops of hay exceedingly scanty, and there was the greatest probability that other fodder would be proportionably scarce. He conceived, therefore, there could be no objection to the passing a bill to prevent the exportation of hay similar to that which passed three years ago, and of which it was a transcript. The drought he said had not been peculiar to this island but had produced a similar effect on the continent, and more particularly in France and Spain. He concluded with moving, "That leave be given to bring in a Bill to prevent the exportation of hay for a time to be limited."

Mr. Dundas thought the ground of expediency sufficiently obvious to warrant the passing of such a bill; and as the Bill was a transcript of the one passed three years ago, it would necessarily contain a clause, giving his Majesty in council the power of [2S]

taking off the prohibition, whenever the nature of the case should appear to them to render it necessary.

Sir Joseph Mawbey, before a bill of that nature was permitted to be brought in, conceived some substantial ground ought to be laid of its necessity. When the former bill had been moved, it had been stated, that considerable quantities of hay were contracted for by agents from France, and that there was a great probability, that the inhabitants of this island would be materially distressed in consequence of the extravagant price hay would rise to, if a sudden stop was not put to the exportation. At present, he had not heard of any similar cause of apprehension. 'He did not approve of bringing forward so important a bill, in respect to its probable effect on the landed interest, at that advanced period of the session, when the majority of the country gentlemen were retired, to the superintendance of their private affairs.

Alderman Sawbridge could not hear without astonishment the hon. baronet's opposition, since the Bill was designed merely as a preventive against the danger that the extraordinary continuance of dry weather, both here and upon the continent, threatened. He was persuaded from the information he had received from all parts of England, that, if all the country gentlemen had been present, the hon. baronet would have stood alone in his objection to the Bill; but gentlemen would consider, that it was impossible for him to move for leave to bring in a bill upon such a subject, before the season of the year afforded a proof that such a bill would be expedient. The Bill was founded in the best possible policy, and brought forward with a view to prevent a probable evil; and as it would contain a clause authorizing his Majesty in council to take off the prohibition, whenever it should appear unnecessary to continue it, no mischief could ensue from the passing of such a bill; on the contrary, it might prove of great advantage to the country.

Sir Joseph Mawbey said, that as the Bill would contain such a clause he would withdraw his objections.

Leave was given, and the Bill was brought in on the following day.

June 16. The House being in a Committee on the said Bill,

Sir William Conyngham was of opinion that the scarcity of hay about London

might prove very great, nor less perhaps in various parts of England; but the same reason, he said, did not apply to the part of Great Britain from which he came. In Scotland there was, last year, a very plentiful crop of hay, insomuch that hay had sold there as low as 30 shillings a load, and there was so much still on hand, that there was not a probability of any deficiency. Sir William said, his country had an exportation hay trade to the West Indies, where they annually sent small quantities. He proposed therefore to leave the word Scotland' out of the Bill; yet at the same time he had no intention of dividing the Committee upon it.

The Bill having gone through the Committee, was reported to the House.

Sir R. Smith said, that he understood the Bill to be a transcript of a bill that he had himself brought in three years ago, but he must nevertheless oppose it. When the bill was introduced three years ago, we had witnessed two very severe winters, and two years of great scarcity in respect to hay. Then it was a well-ascertained fact, that an equal degree of scarcity prevailed on the continent, and that measures were actually going on for the purchase and exportation of the greatest part of the little stock of hay that remained in England, to Flanders, France and Spain. There was, at that time, therefore, every reason to dread actual famine, in respect to fodder for cattle. At present, no such strong grounds had been laid; for although the plea for the Bill was the necessity of the case, that necessity had not been proved, and the House had nothing before them but the loose declaration, that hay would prove extremely scarce: probably hay might be dear at the London market, but that was by no means a consideration to govern the rest of the kingdom; in many counties he was persuaded, there was a great deal of hay in hand, and if refreshing rains should fall, it might produce such plentiful crops of after-grass, that the inconvenience held up as an object of so much alarm, would, in all probability, be scarcely felt at all. We had experienced a very mild spring, the crops of turnips had, in consequence, been good, and therefore the farmers, who fed their cattle upon turnips, had not found much occasion to consume and diminish their stocks of hay. An hon. baronet, he understood, had opposed the Bill, when leave to bring it in was first moved for, but had withdrawn his ojections on learning