fome time or other be employed to the deftruction of their liberties, and the fubversion of the conftitution. hearing of Mr. Wilkes's petition, had been deferred to the 27th of January; and while the miniftry feemed undetermined how to act, a proceeding of his afforded a new opportunity or pretence to renew the profecution against him. On one hand, many in adminiftration and office were exceedingly averfe to taking any step relative to this gentleman; as many inconveniencies had been formerly experienced from fuch a conduct; and more were apprehended from a revival On the other fide it was faid, that though it was generally right to obferve the conduct of minifters with the clofeft circumfpection, that in this reign, and upon the prefent occafion, it was less neceffary. That it would be ungenerous, by any act, to fhew the fmalleft fufpicion of a prince, whofe first care, upon his acceffion to the throne, was to ftrengthen of it. Neither did the oppofition the freedom of the fubject, by establishing the independency of the judges: that no innovation injurious to the constitution, could be reafonably apprehended under fuch a prince. That his majesty, who had in his private fhare of the captures taken during the late war, given up to the nation a fum exceeding 700,000l. was entitled to particular confideration in his im mediate exigencies; and that the gratitude, not to fay the juftice of the kingdom, was called upon in the loudeft manner, to comply readily and gracefully with his request. At the fametime the ministers expreffed the greatest readiness to lay the accounts and papers that were required before the Houfe; but that the length of time which was requifite to prepare them, and the latenefs of the feffion, made it neceffary to be deferred to the next meeting, when they should be ready. It was then refolved, that the fum of 513,5111. fhould be granted to pay the arrears and debts due on the civil lift, to the 5th of January, 1769. We have already feen, that the feem willing to prefs the minifters in that bufinefs. The very motion in which Mr. Wilkes's petition had been introduced into that house, having prayed no more than that it fhould lie on the table; a method, according to the custom of that affembly, of civilly paffing into oblivion, fuch matters as they do not choofe to attend to, or formally to reject. It seems, however, that the party moft animated towards the profecution had prevailed at length; and Mr. Wilkes was not backward in furnishing them with new matter of com plaint. We have before taken notice of a letter that had been written by a fecretary of state, to the chairman of the quarter feffions at Lambeth, previous to the unhappy affair in St. George's-Fields, in which it was recommended to the magiftrates, not to delay a moment, if there was occafion, to call in the aid of the military, and to make use of them effectually, if the civil power was trifled with or infulted; as a military force could never be employed to a more conftitutional purpofe, than in the fupport of the authority and dignity of of magiftracy. Though it was generally fuppofed, that the magiAtrates had at that time received some instructions fimilar to thefe, yet the particular mode of them, and by whom given, was not known. Mr. Wilkes having by fome means procured a copy of this letter, had it published at full length in a news-paper, with a fhort prefatory introduction of his own writing, in which the affair of St. George's Fields was termed a horrid maffacre, and the confequence of a hellifh project, deliberately planned and determined upon. The fecretary of ftate having acknowledged himself the writer of the letter, made a complaint in the House of Lords, as a peer, of a breach of privilege: and the publishers of the news-paper having acknowledged that they received the copy from Mr. Wilkes, a complaint was made to the commons, of the conduct of their member, and a conference held upon the fubject by the two houfes; and the matter being agitated, during the enquiry into the merits of Mr. Wilkes's petition, he, with great boldness, before the Houfe, confeffed himself the author of the prefatory remarks, as well as of having fent the whole to the news printer. The matter of the petition having undergone a long examination, during which Mr. Wilkes, in the cuftody of the King's Bench, attended the Houfe, it was finally refolved, "That the two orders made by Lord Mansfield, Lord Chief-Jufice of the King's-Bench, for the amendment of the informations, exhibited in the faid court against Mr. Wilkes, were according to law and juice, and the pracVOL. XII. tice of the faid court; and that the complaint of Mr. Wilkes, in refpe&t thereof, is frivolous; and, that the afperfions upon the faid chief juftice, for making the faid two orders, thereby conveyed, are utterly ground lefs, and tend to prejudice the minds of the people againft the adminiftration of public juftice." It was at the fame time refolved, that the charge against Philip Carteret Webb, Efq. was not made good. Feb. zd. The secretary of state's letter, and the prefatory remarks, were next day taken under confideration, when it was refolved, "That the introduction of a letter addreffed to Daniel Ponton, Efq. chairman of the quarter-feffions at Lambeth, of which John Wilkes, Efq. a member of the Houfe, had confeffed himfelf the author and publisher, was an infolent, fcandalous, and feditious libel, tending to inflame and ftir up the minds of his majesty's fubjects to fedition, and to a total fubverfion of all good order and legal government." Thefe refolutions were immediately, after long and violent debates, followed by expulfion; in the vote for which, his former, crimes, for which he was now fuffering punishment, were complicated with the prefent charge; and a new writ was accordingly iffued for the election of a member in his was termed, and generally underftood, raised him new friends in every quarter. Nothing could be more popular, or more confonant to the general opinion, than the ground he had taken in arraigning the fecretary of state's letter; every thing that had any connection with that fubject, was already held in a great degree of execration; and as this more particularly excited the public difguft, than almost any other matter that had appeared relative to it, a bold condemnation of its fpirit and defign, was highly pleafing. The fpirit with which he acknowledged himself the author of the remarks, and the boldnefs with which he vindicated the propriety of his conduct, in the face of power, and in the prefence of a moit awful affembly, was cap tivating to many minds, and undoubtedly increased the number of his advocates. A public meeting of the freeholders of Middlefex was held previous to the election, at which fome members of parliament attended, where his caufe was fet forth, as the caufe of the people: and it was not only unanimoufly refolved to confirm their former choice, by his re-election, but that the freeholders would attend and fupport it entirely at their own expence. He was accordingly reelected without oppofition, though a prodigious number of freeholders attended, from an apprehenfion that fuch an attempt would have been made. The return having been made to the Houfe, it was refolved that Mr. Wilkes having been expelled this feffion, was, and is, incapable of being elected a member of the prefent parliament; the late election was de clared void, and a new writ issued for another. The fame fpirit continuing apparently predominant in the people, and no candidate being to be found, that would hazard an oppofition to the popular opinion, by fetting up for the county, the time of election was prudently poftponed to a farther day. In the mean time, a great meeting of gentlemen was held at a tavern in the city, with the profeffed view of fupporting Mr. Wilkes, where a fubfcription was opened for that purpose, and a committee appoined to circulate it through the kingdom, the following caufes being affigned as the motives of their conduct, "That as he had fuffered very greatly in his private fortune, from the fevere and repeated profecutions he had undergone in behalf of the public; it feemed reasonable to them, that those who fuffered for the public good, fhould be fupported by the public." At this meeting, upwards of 3000l. was fubfcribed for the purpofe affigned. The electors of the county of Middlefex had, previous to the expulfion, fent a number of inftructions to their reprefentatives, for their conduct in parliament, which example had been followed by the cities of London and Westminfter, and the borough of Southwark. Thefe inftructions implied great cenfure upon many late meafures, and recommended a ftrict enquiry into the tranfactions in St. George's Fields, and into the abute of the military; and the putting of the magistracy upon a refpectable footing, as well as the purfuing of fuch meafures, as would restore harmony between the mother country and the colonies, were were along with many other things particularly recommended. At the enfuing election for the County of Middlefex, a mercantile gentleman was induced to offer Limfelf a candidate; a measure at this time highly unpopular, as it was apprehended that advantage would be taken, of the right which the Houfe poffeffes, to judge in all cafes of difputed election, and that the decision might be contrary to the sense of the county; which was the more apprehended, as it was reported that fome declaration of that nature had been made by one of the ministers. It appears that the new candidate had not properly confidered, how far his natural fortitude was equal to this arduous undertaking. The reception he met with, and the countenance of she freeholders, had, however, fuch an effect upon him, that he was glad to retire in hafte, not having been able to find a man in the county, that was hardy enough even to put him in nomination, and Mr. Wilkes was again unanimously re-elected. This election, as well as the former, was declared void, and near another month was fuffered to elapfe, before the time fixed for a new one. It was now thought, that this mode of electing, and declaring void, would have been carried on to the end of the feffion; and that it would then have lain over to the next meeting, in which time the minds of men might have cooled, or fome expedient might have been found to change the nature of the difcuffion; and many thought, that in the prefent circumftances, it would have been the moit prudent conduct that could have been purfued; for though great debates arcfe upon the refolution of incapacitation, and the fubfequent ones of voiding the election, yet the public did not think themfelves fo much interested in them, nor their rights in any degree fo materially affected, as by the fucceeding measure. A different conduct was however adopted, and a gentleman in a military character, and of confiderable connexions, though of no fortune or intereft immediately in the county, was hardy enough to vacate his feat in parliament by the acceptance of a nominal place, and to encounter the whole weight of popular odium, by declaring himfelf a candidate for the county of Middlesex. A measure at that time fuppofed to be attended with fo much danger, that policies were faid to have been opened upon his life, at fome of the infurance offices in the city. This danger however proved to be only imaginary, for though fome riots happened April 13. upon the road, the election was conducted with great order, the fear of giving any handie to difpute its validity having proved. fuperior to every other confideration with the freeholders. Though the whole weight of court intereft was thrown into the fcale in this gentleman's favour, yet a majority of near four to one appeared against him upon the election, the numbers in his favour being 296, against 1143, that voted for Mr. Wilkes. Two days after this election, a refolution was carried in the houfe by a majority of. 221 to 139, that Mr. Luttrel ought to have been returned a knight of the fhire for the county of Middlefex, and the deputy [*F] = clerk clerk of the crown was ordered to amend the return, by rafing out the name of Mr. Wilkes, and inferting that of Col. Luttrel in its place. Fourteen days having been allowed for a petition against this decifion, one was accordingly prefented, figned by feveral freeholders, which again brought the matter into very warm and ferious debate, when however, May 8. upon a divifion, the former refolution was confirmed by a majority. As no public meafure, fince the acceffion of the prefent royal family, had excited fo general an alarm, or caufed fo univerfal a discontent as the prefent, fo was no other ever oppofed with more firmness, or debated with greater ability, nor has any other political fubject, perhaps at any time, been fo ably difcuffed without doors, or productive of fo many mafterly writings. Among fo great a variety, we can only give a few of the arguments that were made ufe of upon this occafion. It was faid by thofe who oppofed this measure, that the right of the electors to be reprefented by men of their own choice, was fo effential for the prefervation of all their other rights, that it ought to be confidered as one of the moft facred parts of our conftitution. That the houfe of commons was not a felf-conftituted power, acting by an inherent right; but an elected body, reftrained within the limits of a delegated authority; hence, as they were chofen, they could not difpute the right of their conftituents, without fapping the foundation of their own exiflence, and infringing the fundamental principles of the conftitution. That 3 the law of the land had regulated the qualifications of members to ferve in parliament, and that the freeholders of every county had an indifputable right to return whom they thought proper, provided he was not difqualified by any of thofe known laws. That new restraints are not arbitrarily to be impofed at pleafure by the judgment of any court. The legiflature alone, which is the united power of the state, king, lords, and commons, can enact new restraints. Courts of judicature, and houses of parliament acting as courts of judicature, have only the power of declaring them: and in the ufe of that power are bound by the law as it ftands at the time of making that declaration. When ufage is collected from the ancient, uniform, and uninterrupted prac-. tice of parliament, we have the cuftom of parliament; and that cuftom is the law of parliament. Thefe reftraints, therefore do not. ftand folely on the decifion of the houfe, or the judgment of a court having competent jurifdiction in the cafe; they are much better founded in the previous ufage, and the repeated acquiefcence of those who are affected by them. Thefe incapacities are generally known; they are enumerated by law writers of the first authority, who exprefsly declare all other perfons eligible; thefe grave writers could not conceive that a refolution of the house of commons could from time to time eithes create or declare new difqualifications. They are founded in good fenfe; analogous to the like reftraints adjudged in other cafes by the courts of law; and confirmed by ufage. They are not occa fional, |