which only it can belong, that is, in king, lords, and commons, who together conflitute the only fupreme fovereign authority of this government. Nor did parliament ever allow of the difpenfing pow er, or any thing of the kind, because it was exercifed under the fpecious pretence of the fafety of the nation being concerned, and the whole kingdom in danger, which was the usual jargon, and, if true, implied the most urgent neceffity.

That the recefs of parliament, or its not being convenient to af femble it, are diftinctions not known by the conftitution. That as it is now modelled, the parlia ment must always be in being, ready to be called, and that in fo great a degree, that even an expired parliament revives when ne ceffary to be affembled, and ano: ther is not chofen. That as to the laws, there are no days in which acts of parliament fleep. They are not like jurifdictions that may be evaded by going into a fanctuary. They are of equal force while in being, at all times, in all places, and over all perfons, though made in a fhort time, they have a conftant and lafting force. Acts of the executive power are incident, temporary, and in stantaneous; but acts of parliament are permanent, made as the general rule by which the fubject is to live and be governed....

T

Unless therefore it can be faid, that the moment parliament breaks up, the king stands in its place, and the continuance of acts is re figned into his hands, he cannot of right fufpend, any more than he can make laws, both requiring the fame power. The law is above

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the king; and the crown, as well as the fubject, is bound by it, as much during the recefs, as in the feflions of parliament; becaufe no point of time, nor emergent circumftance, can alter the conftitution, or create a right not antecedently inherent; thefe only draw forth into action the power that before exifted, but was quiescent. There is no fuch prerogative in any hour or moment of time, as vefts the femblance of a legislative power in the crown.

If the crown had a legal right. to fufpend or break through any one law, it must have an equal right to break through them all. That no true diftinction can be made between the fufpending power and the crown's raifing money without the confent of parliament. That they are precifely alike, and ftand upon the very fame ground. They were born twins, lived toge ther, and together it was hoped were buried at the revolution, paft all power of refurrection. That if any difference was to be made, between raifing money, and the sufpending and difpenfing power, the latter is the most dangerous, as that which might do the most univerfal mifchief, and with the greateft fpeed, as it includes the whole. But that as neither of them ever did belong to the crown, no doctrine is admiffible that maintains either the one or the other. That the present diftinctions are only an alleviation of the difpenfing power to fweeten it fo as to go down, it being too naufeous in the full ftinking potion. That the fafety of the crown, as well as the fecurity of the fubject, requires us to fhut up every avenue that leads to tyranny: And that the fupereminent prero

gative

gative of the kings of England, by which they excel in glory all the fovereigns upon earth, is this, that they rule over freemen, not over flaves.

Upon the whole, it was faid, that if the doctrine of fufpenfion, on the plea of ftate neceffity, was admitted as conftitutional, the revolution could be called nothing but a fuccessful rebellion, and a lawless and wicked invafion of the rights of the crown; the bill of rights, a falfe and fcandalous libel, and an infamous impofition both on prince and people; and that James the Second neither abdicat ed nor forfeited, but was robbed of his crown.

In the course of thefe debates, the neceffity of the embargo was univerfally allowed; and the illegality of the authority was only objected to. It was much to the

fatisfaction of the pub Dec. 9th. lic, that this bill was paffed and many were furprised, that the gentlemen, who, without regularly agreeing in principles, oppofed it, would hazard their popularity upon an occafion, that did not feem attended with any ap. parent advantages equal to the risk.

The factious turbulent fpirit, which feemed to have taken poffeffion of the minds of fome of our North American colonies on occafion of the ftamp-act, was far from being mollified by the lenient conceffions in their favour, and the great confideration fhewn to their circumftances by the legifla ture. Not content with the private acts of outrage that were too often repeated, and marks of difrefpect to government which were too frequently fhewn; the affem

bly of New York had, in direct op pofition to the act of laft feffion; for the providing of the troops with neceffaries in their quarters, paffed an act of affembly, by which thefe provifions were regulated and fettled in a mode of their own, without any regard to that prefcribed by parliament.

This affair being brought be fore the houfe, occafioned many debates; and fome rigorous measures were propofed. The general opi

June 15th:

nion, however, was rather to bring them to temper and a fenfe of their duty, by acts of moderation, which fhould at the fame time fufficiently fupport the dignity of the legislature, than by rigorous measures to inflame ftill farther that fpirit of difcontent which was already too prevalent among them. Upon thefe principles, a bill was paffed, by which the governor, council, and affembly of New York, were prohibited from paffing or affenting to any act of affembly for any purpofe whatfoever, till they had in every refpect complied with all the terms of the act of parliament. This restriction, though limited to one colony, was a leffon to them all, and fhewed their comparative, inferiority, when brought in queftion with the fupreme legislative power.

An event which happened this, feflion, as it fhewed a want of ftrength in the miniftry, fo it alfo made many think that it foreboded a diffolution to their exiftence in that character. The taxes with which all the neceffaries of life were loaded in confequence of the expences of the laft war, lay fo heavy upon the laborious and manufacturing part of

the

the nation, that it was thought more proper, fince the conclufion of the peace, to continue the land tax at four thillings in the pound, than to add to the diftreffes of the people, by increafing thofe upon neceffaries. This was a new meafure; any addition to the land-tax, that was formerly granted to carry on a war, was always taken off at the return of peace; but as that custom had been now for fome years broken through, the whole land-tax began to be confidered as a part of the fettled revenue, that was appointed to answer the current fervices of the year. it was then, to the great furprife and difappointment of the minifters, that a refolution paffed the houfe, fupported by a confiderable majority, which reduced the land-tax for the prefent year to three fhillings in the pound. This was faid to have been the first money bill, in which any minifter had been difappointed fince the revolution; and it was now looked upon as a fatal fymptom of weaknefs. In this the public was however mistaken, though appearances feemed ftrongly to countenance the opinion.

The great business of the feflion was that of the East-India company, from whence great expectations had been conceived, and on which violent debates arofe in both houfes; as this matter involved conftitutional points of the higheft nature, and indeed was in all respects of great importance. It was remarked, that though it feemed the capital minifterial meafure; yet, whether from difapprobation of the mode and principles of the enquiry, or from fome difcontent among themfelves, is uncer tain; but the principal officers of the crown in the house of comVOL. X.

mons feemed from the beginning very much referved in this affair.

A committee had Nov. 25th. been appointed early in the feffion, to look into the state and condition of the company. It was fome time after ordered, after feveral warm debates, that copies of the company's charters, their treaties with, and grants from the country powers; together with their letters and correfpondence to and from their fervants in India; the state of their revenues in Bengal, Bahar, Orixa, and other places, fhould all be laid before the house: alfo an account of all expences incurred by government on the company's account, whether in the naval, military, or whatever other departments.

were

Great part of the feffion was confumed in fruitless difcuffions. Violent animofities arofe; and all the topics bandied about, which can agitate the minds of a people, on one hand jealous of their liberties, and on the other, eager by every means to relieve the burthened state of their finances.

In the course of this rigorous fcrutiny, an order was made for printing the Eaft India papers. The court of directors upon this prefented a petition, fetting forth the great injury it would be to the company, and the many ill confequences that would probably attend the printing of the private correfpondence between them and their fervants. Upon this, a motion being made to discharge the former order, a debate enfued; but it was at laft agreed that the private correfpondence should not be printed.

Great questions, though not formally put, arofe and were difcuffe []

in