He also underwent a severe reprimand for offering five guineas bounty to the young Highlanders. The governor claimed an exclufive right of inlitting Scotchmen and their fons; none elfe dared to inlift any of them. The governor's officers were limited to three guineas bounty, while Hamilton's offered five. This interefted and mistaken policy difgufted the Scotch, and the King wanted their fervice.

We ftaid at Crofs Creek not quite three days, when the army moved to wards Wilmington, where it arrived a few days after. The governor, after being fome time at Wilmington, preffed me to accept a majority in his regiment, telling me alfo, that I thould have leave to act with the militia when Lord Cornwallis fhould return up the country again. Upon this condition I accepted his offer. He gave me his warrant on the 24th of April, and I think it was on the 26th that his Lordship marched off with the army for Virginia; fo that I had only a few hours to recruit. Thefe facts will readily account for the not railing Gov. Martin's regiment in North Carolina.

Upon the whole, no one affertion of *An Officer," relative to me, in his whole letter, is true, except that I am a loyal man." For it is not true that ay" offers were not rejected."

My offers to raise a regiment, and to mbody and lead the militia, with the of ers of the militia themselves, were rejected. t is not true that I was " first appointed o raise an independent company;" for when the warrant was offered to me by Maj. Rofs, I refufed it, for the reafons have mentioned. It is not true that I did not appear that I could raife any nen in the country;" for it appeared hat I did raise, even for another, upwards of thirty men in one day, and upwards of fixty in three. Befides, this fact is urther proved by the folicitations of Gov. Martin and Col. Hamilton made to me o raise regiments. It is not true," that It was generally understood, if the new evies proved fuccefsful, that I was to have commanded a regiment." For I had refused to be concerned in thofe levies, from a conviction that they could not prove fuccessful in the hands they were placed. Nor is it true" that his Lordthip was under no obligation to ftay at Hilborough ;" for both his own proclamation and order declare the contrary.

JAMES MONRO.

PARLIAMENT. [p. 251.]

THE Commons met, for the first time fince the change of miniftry, on April 8. when Col. Luttrell reminded the Houfe, that previous to the recefs, he had expreffed a defire to say something relative to the very critical fituation of Ireland. Now as he faw in his place a Rt Hon. Gentleman (Mr Eden), who knew beft the fituation of Ireland, he certainly wifhed that, before his return to Ireland, that Rt Hon. Gentleman would explain to the Houfe a little of the prefent pofture of affairs in Ireland.

Mr Eden faid, he was extremely willing to communicate to the House, every point of information in his power, relative to fo important a fubject. He then took a view of the general affairs of Ireland as far back as the fummer of 1780, and entered into a detail of the progrefs of the principal questions debated in the parliament of that kingdom, and the conduct of adminiftration thereupon, which laft he reprefented as complying, as far as could be, with the general fenfe of the nation. This he proved by the constant majority in the House of Commons, on every question, and the impo tence of the oppofition, which he stated to be such an oppofition as could give no manner of apprehenfion to adminiftration. He then ftated the progrefs of the vo lunteer corps of that kingdom, during the above mentioned period to their latest resolutions, which laft were of such a nature, that the government of Ireland thought it the wifeft measure they could adopt, to poftpone the confideration of them till fuch time as the administration of this country could contrive fome method to conciliate, the affections of the people. Several bills propofed by the leaders of oppofition then were already affented to, and others in train which he apprehended would be for the general good of that country; but ftill he faid, there was fomething wanted, and until that fomething be granted them, which was nothing less than to be governed by their own laws, it would, in his opinion, be as impoffible to conciliate them to a cordial connection with this kingdom, as to carry the waters of the Thames over the hills of Hampstead and Highgate.-He ftated the spirit of freedom and independence in the people of Ireland to originate from the first time this country had granted them certain Ppa privileges

privileges in respect to their trade. For imagining at firft that taking off thefe reftrictions would be the means of opening new channels of wealth and commerce, and finding, from other caufes, thefe ineffectual to that purpose, they looked up to nothing lels than being governed by their own laws, independent of the legislature of this country; and as it behoved him to give a free and candid opinion on that fubject, he believed it would be the wisdom of this country to grant it to them. Several objections no doubt, he faid, might be made against this measure, and one in particuJar was, that the Irifh thus empowered might make laws highly injurious to the interefts of this kingdom; but then when it was confidered that the King, with the advice of his privy council here, had it in their power to be a check upon the paffing of fuch laws, very little danger could be dreaded. He then moved, That leave be given to bring in a bill for repealing that part of the act of the 6th of George I. which declares the right of the legislature of this kingdom to make laws binding on the people of Ireland."

He did not wish to precipitate matters; but gentlemen mutt fee the neceffity of doing something speedily, and without the lofs of a moment, to prevent thofe confequences which it was not for him fo much as to think of. They all knew that the parliament of Ireland was to meet to-morrow fe'nnight, and Mr Grattan would that day propofe to the House of Commons, a vote for a declaration of rights.-Would it not therefore be expedient to anticipate the wishes of Ireland on that head, and to convince her of our fincere intention to give her every fecurity in our power for the permanency of her conftitution, and of that trade which she is so anxious to preferve? As for himself, he must fet out on his return for Ireland, either this night or to-morrow morning, and he fhould be happy to have it in his power to carry over with him the agreeable tidings, that the parliament of England was ready to give the Irish every fatif faction they could reasonably require.

vourite wifh and determined refolution of the Irish.

Mr Courtney rofe to fecond the motion; when Lord Newhaven being on his legs at the fame time, the Speaker pointed to the latter to proceed. His Lordship then faid, he fhould fupport the motion, if the House thought that the belt method of quieting the people of Ireland. He wished, however, that a plan of conciliation had come from the new miniftry, as perhaps it would have a better effect.

Col. Luttrell faid, he would fupport the motion if he thought fuch a measure the only means to quiet the minds, and conciliate the affections, of the people of Ireland. He called upon the Rt Hon Gentleman who made the motion, to tell the Houfe his fentiments of the falutary effects of fuch a seasonable repeal.

Mr Eden could not undertake, he said, to pledge himself that the measure pro pofed would give complete fatisfaction to Ireland; but this he would aver, that, if the motion was rejected, the conlequences would be fatal.

Mr Secretary Fox expreffed his afto nishment, that the Rt Hon. Gentleman fhould, on the first day of a new ad miniftration taking their feats, bring for ward a motion on a subject of such mag nitude and importance without any pre vious communication with any of bi Majefty's minitters, who, though youn in office, had already had three or fou cabinet councils on the fubject. H faid, he would be more willing to com pliment the zeal and eagerness of the R Hon. Gentleman, had he and his co leagues fhewn but half that zeal upo a former occafion when the affairs of Ire land were under confideration, au when, if they had been taken up in th manner they ought to be treated, ther would be no occafion for him, or fo any gentleman in that Houfe at preten to exprefs their fears and apprehenfio for that kingdom. The Rt Hon. Gentl man had talked much of the majority b had in parliament, and relying on the majorities as the fenfe of the people; bu he could not but obferve there was a great a fallacy in trufting to majoriti fometimes there as well as here; for us der bad adminiftrations, majorities 4 not exprefs the fenfe of the people, b the corruption of the representatives refpect to the affairs of Ireland, he fured the Houfe, that the new adminiitr

tion had already entered very seriously into that bufinefs; and if the Rt Hon. Gentleman who made the motion would have waited but for a few days, nay he had almoft said hours, he would find fuch propofitions brought before the Houfe, as he trufted would conciliate the people of that country, and bind them to this by every tie of friendship and political connection. But this he was not prepared to fay the prefent motion would effect, though he did not at the fame time mean to fay he might not adopt fomething like it; but that the whole of that bufinefs required fuch weight and deliberation, that he was not then competent to give a decided opinion. In refpect to the oppofition raised against the adminiftration of Ireland, and which the Rt Hon. Gentleman had expressed himfelf fo lightly of, he thought quite otherwife. The names of Lord Charlemont, Grattan, Yelverton, Flood, and many others, were names of great refpect both for integrity and abilities; and whatever the Rt Hon. Gentleman might think of them, he trufted in God he fhould never meet fuch an oppofition.-As to the Rt Hon Gentleman's motion, it was of a dangerous complexion, and ought neither to be paffed nor rejected. At prefent, he hoped, that if he oppofed it, the people of Ireland would give him credit that it was only to gain time to form a fyftem, on which, as on a firm basis, a lafting and permanent reconciliation and political connection may be formed between the two countries, to the mutual advantage and fatisfaction of both. He therefore moved for the order of the day.

Lord Mahon reprobated the motion, as a propofition of a most infidious nature. Mr Secretary at War (T. Townshend] called it a firebrand of a motion.

Mr Herbert withed the motion to be withdrawn till his Majefty's minifters could have time to form a liberal fyftem for the government of Ireland.

Mr Courtney faid, nothing lefs than the repeal of the act of the 6th of George I. would fatisfy them.

Mr Mansfield enlarged upon the danger of not carrying the motion. It was of very little confequence, he faid, whether it was withdrawn, or got rid of by any other means. If it was got rid of, either by withdrawing it, or by moving the order of the day, or by the previous queftion, the people of Ireland would equally refent it.

Mr Sheridan was of another opinion. If it was withdrawn, and Mr Eden declared his motives for fo doing, the Commons of Ireland would be fatisfied; but if it went forth, that it was rejected, the temper of the people would shew itself in quite a different manner.

Mr Eden feemed inflexible. He infifted either to have his motion carried, or rejected.

>

Gen. Conway called upon Mr Eden in a peremptory tone, to withdraw his motion. He grew warm, and with fome heat declared he ought to have a motion paffed upon him, for having introduced fuch a motion at fuch a time. A great cry of hear! hear! move! move!

Mr Burke in a few words recommended to Mr Eden to withdraw his motion.

Mr Eden, notwithstanding all that had been faid, still continued his former opinion: however, he would give way to the defire of the Houfe, and withdraw his motion; though, in his own private opinion, he ought not to do it; and he would affure the Houfe, that he would give the moft fair and candid reprefentation to the Irish House of Commons, of the difpofition he found in his Majesty's minifters to act liberally by Ireland.

The motion was then withdrawn. Mr Secretary Fox, April 9. brought a meffage from his Majefty, which the Speaker read: It was to the following purport-"That his Majefty, in deep concern for the great jealoufies and dif fenfions which reigned among his loyal fubjects of Ireland, in regard to matters of the most important nature, and anxioufly wishing to remove them, recommended to his parliament to take into their most ferious and speedy confideration, meafures molt conducive to that falutary end."- After the reading of this meffage, Mr Fox begged leave to affure the Houfe, that the meffage which had been just read, had not been extorted or occafioned by any thing that had been faid in parliament the day before; but that it would have been equally delivered, if no motion whatever had been previously made on the fame fubject. It was not the intention of his Majesty's minifters to lofe a moment's time in fo important a bufinefs; they would be highly criminal if they d but on the other hand, as it was not a temporary remedy that would remove the evils complained of, and prevent the return of difcontents,

fo

fo it would not be proper for parliament to enter upon any measure with precipitation :-All that was at prefent neceffary was, to convince Ireland that this country is fully difpofed to give her eve. ry fatisfaction that it would be fit and proper for her to require: but until it hould be known clearly and explicitly what were the demands of Ireland, he did not think it would be prudent to come into any meafure. In the prefent ftate of affairs, the King, of himself, could not gratify the Irish; he must be affifted by parliament: nor could even the King and parliament of this country finally adjust all matters, without the concurrence of the parliament of Ireland: for it would not do now to apply a temporary remedy to the diforder, as the late adminiftration had abfurdly done; a temporary expedient would be a mockery: a fyftem fhould be devifed, that fhould clearly afcertain the relative fituation and conftitution of both England and Ireland; and upon that fyftem fhould be raised a stable, permanent, and firm form of government. As this, therefore, could not be the work of a day, as it must be the joint work of the parlia. ments of both kingdoms, he would not propofe any measure this day, but mereĺy an address to his Majefty, thanking him for his gracious meflage, and affuring him, that, without delay, the House would take into confideration the great object it adverted to. The Houfe muft fee, from what he had already faid, in what fenfe the words without delay fhould be taken: he meant by them, that as foon as it should be known here what were the precife demands of Ireland, then the Houfe would, without delay, fet about devising means to fatisfy them, to the mutual advantage of both nations. The new Lord Lieutenant, he faid, would fet out immediately for his government; he would carry over with him the moft pofitive affurances of the fincere difpofition of his Majefty's minifters to fatisfy Ireland; and he made no doubt but the Irish would look upon the meffage that had been juft read, and the addrefs he was going to move, as a pledge of the fincerity of their intentions towards Ire. land. Mr Fox concluded with moving an addrefs to his Majesty, echoing back the words of the meffage, which was ągreed to nem. con.

A fimilar metfage was prefented to the House of Lords on April 11. by Lord Shelburne, and a like addrets voted.

The Lord Advocate now rofe, and re quefted the Houfe would favour him with their attention, whilft he should endeavour to give them fome account of the proceedings of their committee of fecrecy on the affairs of India. He a pologised for having undertaken a task, which if it had not been impofed on him in fome measure, by his duty as chairman of the committee, he would not have been fo prefumptuous as to have taken up. When, in conjunction with other members of the fecret committee, he had entered upon the great inquiry that had been chalked out for them by parlia ment, he had one quality, which, though of a negative nature, was very requifite in fuch bufinefs-he was without preju dice or prepoffeffion; of all worldly af fairs, thofe of India were the affairs of which he had the leaft knowledge; his mind therefore was unbiaffed; and he had refolved from the beginning that it fhould remain fo, if he could act up to his refolution. To this end he had re fifted the offers made by fome gentlemen who might be interested in the event of the inquiry: They had offered to affit the committee with their teftimony; but he declined their offer, on this prin ciple, he wished not to blend part of this teftimony with his researches after truth; which he was refolved to difcover in the records of the India Company, and na where elfe. He paid feveral compliments to the committee for their affiduity and perfeverance, and particularly to Mr Ord, whofe talents for bufinefs and abi. lities were fuch, that let the government of this country be in what hands it might, the rulers of the state would att a very unwife and imprudent part if they did not avail themselves of the abilities of that gentleman.

To turn the thoughts of the Houfe to the ftate of affairs in India at the time the inquiry was fet on foot, he begged that gentlemen would recollect, that Hyder Ally, a powerful and formidable prince, had, by care and unremitted at tention, brought his vaft army to fuch a degree of difcipline, as had never bera known before in the army of any Indias power; he had then poured like a tur rent into the Carnatic; fought and ge feated our troops, and brought fuch dif grace on the British arms in the Eat In dies, as had never been before experien ced in India. This defeat and this di grace had awakened that Houfe to a

fente

fenfe of the danger with which fome of the most valuable poffeffions of the British crown were menaced; the difgrace and discomfiture were felt by every one; but the canfes that had produced them were at the time unknown; to inquire into them was naturally the first step of parliament; and for the purposes of inquiry the fecret committee had been appointed: The refult of the labours of that committee he was about to lay be. fore the Houfe. When Lord Clive went the fecond time to India, he laid down a fyftem, which, if it had been purfued ever fince, would, in his opinion, have prevented all thofe calamities which had befallen us in that part of the world. Lord Clive, feeling that the Eaft India Company had been established folely for commercial purpofes, and that war was to be confidered in India only as the means of preferving and defending our trade, with wifdom which did honour to his memory, had laid down a fyftem of defence, which, while it excluded the idea of wars for conqueft, kept up military establishments for the only purposes for which they ought to be any where kept up-merely for defence. According to that Noble Lord's fyftem, war was to be come, as it certainly ought to be, a fecondary object, fubfervient to commerce. But his fyftem had foon been forgotten; and wars had afterwards been undertaken, not to preserve our trade and fettlements, but to extend our conquefts; the obvious confequence of which must be, to raise up enemies, by making the neigh bouring Indian powers tremble for their independence, and confederate to fup. port it. Lord Clive very wifely restored a vaft tract of country to Sujah-ul-Dow la; and nevertheless retained territories as extenfive as thofe of any empire in Europe, that of Ruffia only excepted. The territories retained were not only vaft in their extent, but fingularly fruitful, and wonderfully rich in treasure and population. Happy had it been for this country, if our rulers in India had been fat sfied with this extent of territory! Happy, had they not endeavoured to ectiple in conquefts Alexander or Aurengzebe; and reaped laurels barren of honour, or, at leaft, of advantage to this country!

Our fettlements in India were furrounded, he said, by very powerful nations; in that part of the world the conterminous powers were, the Marattas,

Hyder Ally, the Nyfaim of the Decan, the Rajah of that country, over which the prime minifter of the King of the Marattas always prefides, the Nabob of Arcot, and the Rajah of Tanjore. What was the ftate of our affairs at present with respect to these different powers? With the Marattas we are at open war; and to that war might be attributed all our difafters in that part of the world. With Hyder Ally we were at open war; he hoped, indeed, that by the judicious arrangements made by Sir Eyre Coote, and the fignal victory he had obtained, Hyder Ally was no longer in a state to alarm this country: however, in this he had nothing more than hopes to go upon; and therefore to confine himself to the records of the India Company, the only of ficial documents on which he could with certainty rely, he was juftified in faying, that Hyder Ally was still in the heart of the Carnatic. From the Nyfaim of the Decan the prefidency of Madrafs had endeavoured to with-hold a tribute, in confideration of which that prince had permitted them to enjoy a large tract of land, to which he had as just a right as the crown of this kingdom has to any part of his dominions. The payment of this tribute, it is true, had been difcontinued for fome years; but the justice of the claim had never been difputed, till a particular period arrived, when, of all others, it must neceffarily have been moft imprudent and impolitic to call it in queftion; this was the period when we were at war with the Marattas. The Prince of the Decan, aftonished at the infolent denial on our part of his right to the tribute, thought it high time to take fuch meafures as fhould enable him to chaftife (to make use of his own expreffion) a nation whom no faith could ever bind, whom no treaty could ever tie down. Sorry was he to say, that this opinion of our want of faith had spread all over India; and ftill more forry he was that there was fo much foundation for an opinion, which, while it was injurious to our honour as a nation, threatened us with calamities, that, if not timely prevented, would probably end in the annihilation of our dominions in that part of the world. There were two princes of other states who afpired each to be prime minister to the King of the Marattas, who, by the by, is a mere cypher, or fhadow of royalty, the power refiding all in the prime minifter; the friendship of

thefe