ward of one thousand pounds to any perfon or perfons, other than thote actually concerned in doing any act by which his majesty's royal perfon was immediately endangered, who fhould give information fo that any of the authors or abettors in that outrage might be apprehended and brought to justice. On the 4th day of November another proclamation was iffued. It began by announcing, that, immediately before the opening of the prefent feffion of parliament, a great number of perfons were collected in the fields in the neighbourhood of the metropolis by advertisements and hand-bills, and that divers inflammatory difcourfes were delivered to the perfons fo collected, and divers proceedings were had, tending to create groundlefs jealoufy and difcontent, and to endanger the public peace; and that fuch proceedings were followed, on the day on which the feffion of parliament commenced, by acts of tumult and violence, and by The first was Kidd Wake (the perfon taken by Mr. Walford), aged twenty-feven, and a journeyman printer. Lemon Cafeby, a conftable, depofed, that he observed the prisoner, foon after the carriage had entered the Park, hifs, groan, and call out, "No war!" vehemently and repeatedly. The witnefs endeavoured to fecure him, but fell down in the attempt; when he rofe, he obferved the prifoner again in the fame act; he kept his eyes upon him as far the Horfe Guards, and there loft fight of him. After his majetty alighted at the house of lords, a Mr. Walford came up, and observed to the witness and other peace officers, that he fhould know the man who broke the glafs of the coach, defcribing him to wear a green coat with a black collar. On the return of his majefty into the Park, near St. James's, he obferved the prifoner fcuffling with Mr. Walford, to whofe affiftance he went, and they fecured him; Mr. Walford not attending to identify his perfon, the defcription given by hun to the witnefs, of the man who threw the tone in Parliament-freet, could not be received in evidence. The prifoner faid he was in the fervice of Mr. Noble, a printer; was a married man; and by hiffing and groaning at his majesty, he meant only to let the king fee "he was diffatisfed at the war." Three others were examined the fame evening with Kidd Wake; but the evidence did not affect them materially; all four, however, were committed to prifon that evening for further examination. On the next morning Kidd Wake was brought before the fitting magiftrates for reexamination, when Mr. Walford, above-mentioned, came forward, and depofed, that as foon as he joined the procention as a conftable, he obferved to Mr. Stockdale, his brother officer, how very particularly active the prifoner was in hiffing, hooting, and calling out, "No war!" And as the proceffion was paffing through St. Margaret-ftreet, he faw fomething fmall go with great velocity against one of the coach windows, which made a finall hole in the glass; and at this time the prifoner difappeared; but when the king arrived at the house of peers, he again obferved the prifoner in the front of the crowd; when fome other officers, remarking the prifoner's active conduct, propofed to take him into cuftody; but on confideration it was declined. When his majefly came out of the houfe, he loft fight of the prifoner till the proceflion had paffed through the Horfe Guards, when he obferved the prifoner, and about thirty more, clofe to the carriage, grinning at the king, groaning, and calling out, "No.war! Down George!" But whether the prifoner faid down George, ke could not positively fay. As the proceffion was paffing from the Horfe Guards towards Carleton Hodie gates, fix or seven stones were flung at the carriage; and about the time the ftones were flung, he obferved the prifoner ftoop two or three times; but whether he flung any of the ones he would not pofitively fay. The witnefs remontrated with the prifoner upon the impropriety of his conduct, who paid no attention to the remonttrance, till at length paffing along the Mall, the witnefs, with the amhitance of one of the horie guards, fecured him. The prifoner, Kidd Wake, was re-committed for further examination. He at length was brought to trial, and found guilty of hooting, groaning, and hifting at the king; for which he was fentenced to be confined for feveral years in the penitentiary house at Gloucefter, and to stand in the pillory, daring and criminal outrages, to the immediate danger of his majesty's perfon. And further, that uneafi. nefs and anxiety had been raised in the minds of his majefty's faithful fubjects by rumours and apprehenfions that feditious and unlawful affemblies were intended to be held by evil-difpofed perfons; that it was therefore thought fit to enjoin and require all juftices of the peace, fheriffs, and all well difpofed perfons throughout the kingdom, to ufe their utmost diligence to difcourage, prevent, and fupprefs all feditious and unlawful affemblies, and the diftribution of all feditious papers and publications. Thus the public mind was gradually prepared for a most important innovation on the British conftitution; an innovation, which, had it been carried to the extent that minifters at firft intended, would have laid the Bill of Rights and Magna Charta itself proftrate in the duft, and would have nearly eftablished a military defpotifm in the place of thofe laws and cuftoms which have long been dear to Englifhmen; thofe laws and liberties for which our ancestors cheerfully fhed their blood; to preferve which, the unfortunate houfe of Stuart was expelled from the throne of their ancestors; and to defend which, the fceptre of thefe kingdoms was placed in the hands of the elector of Hanover. The reader will perceive that we allude to two bills which were at this crifis introduced into parliament by lord Grenville and Mr. Pitt, and which were paffed into laws, after vigorous debates, in the month of December 1795. The one was entitled, "An Act for the Safety and Prefervation of his Majelty's Perfon and Government against Treasonable and Seditious Practices and Attempts." And the other, "An Act for the more effectually preventing Seditious Meetings and Affemblies." Notwithstanding the outrages which had taken place during his majefty's progrefs to the house, the feflion of parliament was regularly opened in the ufual way, by a speech from the throne; but that ceremony was no fooner concluded, than the bar of the house of peers was abruptly ordered to be cleared, and their lordships went into a committee of privileges, in confequence of the circumftances which had attended his majesty's coming to the house. Their lordships having first ordered his majefty's fpeech to be taken into confideration the following day, lord Grenville ftated, that his majefty had been grofsly infulted in his way to the house, his ftate coach damaged, and an affault attempted on his royal perfon. The earl of Weftmoreland (mafter of the horse) stated to the house the particulars of the infult and outrage, as far as they had fallen within his knowledge; and lord Onflow (a lord of the bed-chamber) confirmed the report made by the earl of Weftmoreland. The journals having been previoufly confulted for precedents, an addrefs was proposed; and this was to be followed by a conference with the other houfe, to defire their concurrence in the measure. After a fhort converfation among feveral of the peers, the marquis of Lanfdowne animadverted with severity and acrimony on the conduct of minifters, whom he difcredited and reprobated upon this occafion. He believed, on his part, that it was no more than the counter-part of their own plot; the alarm bell to ter The remainder of the day was fpent in the examination of witneffes, and in a conference with the house of commons. The earl of Mansfield, as chief manager for the lords, ftated the nature of the evidence they had received; and the two houfes foon afterwards clofed the fitting, by adjournment till the next day. On the 30th of October the minutes of the evidence of the witnefes examined in the houfe of lords was communicated to the houfe of commons. The reading of this evidence being clofed, the commons unanimoufly agreed to the addrefs, and a meffage was fent to acquaint the lords therewith. His majefty's anfwer to the addrefs was reported on the 2d of November. On the 4th of November, copies of the proclamation iffued by his majesty relative to the outrages committed against his perfon on the 29th of October, and of the proclamation afterwards publifhed relative to feditious meetings, were fubmitted to the house of peers by lord Mansfield, and were ordered to lie on the table. On the fame day lord Grenville gave notice, that upon the 6th he would bring forward a bill for better fecuring the fafety of his majefty's perfon and government, when the proclamation would come to be difcufied, and moved that their lordships be fummoned to attend upon that day. Lord Grenville, on the 6th of November, in purfuance of his notice given on the 4th, moved the order of the day, which was, that his majefty's proclamations fhould be read. His lordship.conceived thofe proclamations to be the ground-work of the bill which he propofed that day to fubmit to the confideration of the house. The late violent attack upon the perfon of his majefty demanded fome necellary meafures for the prevention of fimilar abuses; and that attack he fufpected to have been made in confequence of the licentious affemblies and proceedings which had of late been suffered without any notice or reftriction. The treasonable and feditious fpeeches and writings which had latterly been fo affiduously diffeminated at public meetings, together with the number of libels otherwise circulated, were fo general and notorious, as moft particularly to call for the interference of parliament. He, as a fervant of his majefty and a member of that houfe, looked upon it as his duty to remonftrate against them, and endeavour to check their flagitious tendency. He obferved, that, whatever variation there might be in the bill he had to propofe from the precedents of former times, he affured their lordships that they would be found only to vary fo far as the peculiar forms of exifting circumftances required. The precedents to which he referred were thofe in the reign of Elizabeth, and at the commencement of the reign of Charles the Second, acts paffed in approved times, and applied to circumftances by no means diffimilar to thofe of the prefent day. He doubted not but their lordships would agree with him in the neceffity there was of applying a speedy remedy to thefe dangerous practices, which had proceeded fo far as to endanger the monarchy, or even the life and fafety fafety of our present fovereign. On these grounds he prefented a bill entitled, "An Act for the Safety and Prefervation of his Majesty's Perfon and Government against Treafonable and Seditious Practices and Attempts;" which being read a first time, he moved that it fhould be printed, and the lords be fummoned for the fecond reading on the Tuesday following. The earl of Lauderdale faid, that, when he faw the proclamation which had just been read, his mind was filled with an equal degree of furprize and anxiety, confidering it to be a most extraordinary and unaccountable measure; that he had returned home, after the debate of a preceding evening, perfectly fatisfied, from what had paffed there, that every idea of difquiet or alarm had been lulled by the declaration they had heard from the highest authority, and which tended to convince the nation, that one of the great objects of the war was completely fulfilled, and that the dread and alarm which had any where exifted was quieted by the falutary effects of the proclamation of 1792, and the fubfequent meafures which minifters had adopted. But his aftonishment was greatly excited by the perufal of the proclamation of Wednesday laft, and his furprize was augmented at finding a bill introduced from the fame quarter, and grounded upon that proclamation. This meafure appeared to him to be a direct contradiction to the high authority he had just alluded to, and proved that now it would be abfurd to fuppofe government had fucceeded in obtaining one of the greatest objects of the war; for they now came forward with a measure ten times ftronger and more dangerous to the liberties of the country, than they had hitherto dared to do, even at the moment of their greatest and moft avowed alarm. His lordship contended, that, by the bill then introduced, a variety of new crimes and new treasons would be added to the criminal code of this country; and it would effect a total alteration of the laws refpecting treafon, and a most dangerous innovation upon the conftitution. He thought it extraordinary, that fo ftrong a measure should be propofed before there was the leaft evidence to prove that there was the flighteft connexion between the meetings at Iflington, &c. and the outrage on his majefty, or that the treafon and fedition complained of did actually exift. Thus a bill was to be brought in without the leaft foundation, which, if paffed into a law, would annihilate every liberty and privilege which Englishmen then enjoyed. No public meeting, for any public purpofe, could be held, however legal fuch meeting might be, under fuch a law. The old conftitution of France had nothing more defpotic or more inconfiftent with the liberties of the people, than this bill went to create. The fact appeared to him to be, that, minifters having involved the country in a ruinous and deftructive war, they had then recourse to extraordinary and unheard of meafures, as the only means to carry on their mad and dangerous fyftem; a war entered into against the fenfe of the people, and carried on at an expence fo enormous, that it was with much difficulty the poor could bear the *Alluding to the debate on the addre to his majesty on the 30th of October; for which, fee the following chapter, preffure preffure of thofe grievances which it had already occafioned. The bill, he contended, was not brought in to check a specific or immediate danger, but as a permaInent alteration of the criminal law of this country; for it was to continue during the life of the king, and even afterwards. What rendered the bill still more objectionable was, that the minifters who were to be entrusted with this extraordinary acquifition of executive power, were the very men who had in the most glaring manner strained the application of the penal laws to an unprecedented height. He pointed out feveral cafes wherein perfons had been treated with extreme tyranny under profecutions for fuppofed fedition and treafon; and concluded a very able and animated fpeech, by pronouncing the bill then before their lordships to be "one of the fevereft, and most dangerous to the rights and liberties of the people, that had ever been introduced.” Lord Grenville, in contradiction to the earl of Lauderdale, obferved that minifters had not faid that all discontent and defign against the government of this country was done away; that all feditious practices were at an end. This was not the spirit or the meaning of his noble friend on the woolfack. The fpirit of what he had faid was this, that by the firmnefs of parliament in oppofing principles which had been fupported by the arms of France, and which had been induftriously propagated in this country, their lordships were yet able to debate in that house, and ftill poffeffed of the power of arguing on the advantages of the British conftitution; neither was it true that ministers had at any time affert ed that there was a general spirit of disloyalty or difaffection in this country; fo far from this, he had the glory of faying, there was almost an univerfal spirit of loyalty in the nation. He denied the noble earl's affertion, that ministers had brought on this war. The votes of their lordships had already declared, that minifters had not involved the country in this war. With respect to the provisions of the bill, when they came to be argued, he fhould prove his affertions on the neceffity of the meafure. He fhould prove to the fatisfaction of their lordships, that it did not, in the smallest degree, interfere with the right of the people to meet in legal and peaceable affemblies. None could be made to fuffer by it, except those who knew their conduct and intentions were wicked. The duke of Bedford said that he would embrace a future opportunity to exprefs the fentiments of difapprobation which he entertained against the bill. He was convinced, that, while it was in their power to affemble, the people of this country would meet, and dif play their fenfe of this injurious attack aimed at their dearest rights and liberties, in a manner fo marked and decifive, as would induce their lordships to abandon the defign of carrying forward the bill. The earl of Radnor obferved that he might poffibly be thought an odd man: but fo far from being afraid to conftitute new treafons, he rather wifhed to do so than not. If it were thought that certain offences, not in the purview of the act 25 Edward the Third, ought to be confidered and punished as high treafon, why not make them high treafon at once, and enact that they were fo? By fo doing, men would be taught to take warning, to un derstand |