the fame time had plunged them felves into great difficulties by the expence attending their extenfive military operations. That their profits were comparatively remote and precarious; their debts urgent and certain; and that juf- tice and good policy concurred in recommending, in the first place, a difcharge of their incumbrances, before they thought of enjoying their profits. They recalled the transactions of the memorable South-fea year, and the fraudulent methods then ufed for the raising of that flock. They afferted that fuch a premature attempt to aug. ment the dividend, would raife the price of their fund to an extravagant height, at which it would be impoffible to fupport it, would add fresh fuel to the ardor for gaming, encourage ftock-jobbing, and open a new field to all the myfterious transactions of 'Change Alley.

On the other hand, it was reprefented as the greatest hardship, that many of thofe proprietors whole property had lain in the hands of the company during the moft dangerous periods of the war, might now, through neceffity, be obliged to difpole of their ftock, without having the smalleft compenfation made them for the great risks they had run. That in this cafe, new men, whether natives or foreigners, would come in for the benefits to which the old proprietors were fo juftly entitled, as the marketable price of flock always depended upon the dividend it yielded. That it was a novelty peculiar to the prefent time, to see that the poffeffors of property were the only people who could not enjoy any of the

advantages arifing from it. That the cautious economy of the directors was confined to the proprietors only, while motions for the moft profufe private grants were eagerly adopted by them.

As to the debts which the company owed; the reasons drawn from thence for not increafing the dividend, were, they infifted, futile and abfurd. It was faid, that the company, while ever it con tinued a commercial one, as well as every other company of mer chants; muft always, in the na-ture of things, owe large fums of money: That in the prefent cafe, the creditors looked upon their fecurity to be fo good, and thought. their money fo well laid out, that there was nothing they feared more than the payment of it; a clear proof of which was, that the bonds bore a premium, fo that they could fell them for more than the original debt that was owing on them, The Dutch East India com pany was alfo introduced as a pre cedent, which divided zo per Cent upon its capital, though the poffeffions and revenues of the Dutch, in that part of the world, were not at prefent in any degree equal to thofe of the English.

As to the invidious mention of the South-fea bubble, they ob ferved that it was no way appli cable to the prefent cafe: that the high rate of that stock was built upon an imaginary basis, which had no real exiftence; fo that its fuccefs depended entirely upon the paffions and covetoufnefs of the people, which were the only engines it had to make use of. That on the contrary, nothing could be better afcertained than the property of the company; and that nothing

could

could be more equitable, than that the poffeffors of this property, fhould be able, whenever they thought fit, to difpofe of it at the full and real value. That when every man, buyer and feller, knew the intrinfic value of ttock, by the dividend which it yielded, there would be no farther room for stockjobbing; but that the uncertainty which the prefent mode of conduct occafioned, operated fo frongly and fo differently upon the minds of the public, that there was a greater fluctuation in the price, and the pernicious effects of stockjobbing were more fenfibly felt, than they had been at any other time.

This course of diffenfion and altercation between the members of the fame company, was productive of confequences, which were then little foreseen or expected. Every thing relative to them was now laid before the public; the exact state of their immenfe property became known to all per fons; their most private fecrets were unveiled; their charters, their rights, their poffeffions, their conduct at home and abroad; their difputes, and their utility to the nation, were now matters of eager and public difcuffion. The company became the ground for the moft abfurd projector to build bis vifionary scheme on; and its property was an object to exercife the invention of the idle, the needy, and the rapacious.

As the quarterly meeting ap proached, at which it was expected, that the great object of difpute between the oppofite parties would come again upon the carpet, it was for fome time whifpered about by the friends of one

of them, that the government intended to interfere in fome manner in the difpofition of India affairs.

Such an interference had been fo unufual, that the report at fir gained no manner of credit. A few days before the meeting of the Michaelmas general court, a meffage was, however, actually received by the directors from the ministry; and it was immediately noifed about, that the government had abfolutely forbidden any increafe of dividend, and had alfo denounced threats against the company, which ftruck at its very exiftence.

The novelty of an English minifter of ftate venturing to interfere, as an officer of the crown, in a matter of private property, excited in the highest degree the attention of all forts of people. Many, however, ftill fuppofed that the report was calculated only to anfwer the particular purposes of a party, or at least, that the terms were upon that account greatly exaggerated. The opening of the general Sept. 24th. court, at length relieved this curiofity; a meffage in writing from the first Lord of the Treafury, and fome other of the ministers, was read, fetting forth, "That as the affairs of the EaftIndia company had been mentioned in parliament laft fefion, it was very probable they might be taken into confideration again; therefore, from the regard they had for the welfare of the company, and that they might have time to prepare their papers for that occafion, they informed them, that the parliament would meet fome time in November."

Letters

* Letters were at the fame time read from Lord Clive, and from the fecret committee at Bengal, which not only confirmed, but exceeded the accounts that had been formerly received of the great opulence of the company, the extenfion of its trade, and the permanent bafis, on which, as far as human forefight could judge, its fecurity was now eftablished. The directors, notwithstanding, ftill oppofed an increase of dividend; and, upon a motion being made for that purpofe, they infifled on a ballot, by which the decifion was evaded for a day or two. Another general court being called, this long contefted queftion was decided by ballot, and the dividend, which was to take place from the enfuing Christmas, was increased, by a prodigious majority, from fix to ten per cent.

We fhall take no farther notice of the fquabbles between the members of the Eaft India company; we have already feen that they had

brought on them the attention of the miniftry: a little time more gave them an earnest of the confequences; and as the difpofition of their affairs was in a great measure taken out of their own hands, we are from that time to confider them, not as a private, but a public object.

Such was the fituation of affairs when the parliament met in the beginning of the winter 1766. The fpeech from the throne obferved, that the high price of wheat, and the great demand for it from abroad, had occafioned their being affembled fo early. It took notice of the urgent neceffity that occafioned an exertion of the royal authority, for the prefervation of the public fafety, by laying an embargo on wheat and wheat-flour going out of the kingdom. It expreffed a warm fenfe of the late daring infurrections; a refolution that the criminals should be punifhed, and obedience to government and the laws reftored.

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Ver fince the 15th of Charles the fecond, corn, when under a certain price, might be legally exported. Whenever it had Been thought proper to break in upon this principle, it was always done by act of parliament. But

when the proclamation was issued, corn had not reached the price within which the exportation had been permitted. To lay an embargo therefore, by any fuppofed authority legally exifting in the king and council under fuch circumftances,

cumftances, feemed to be a difpen-, fing with an act of parliament, Though the laying of the embargo on wheat was an expedient, and probably at that time a neceflary measure, than which nothing could be more highly popular, yet the mode of that tranfaction was looked upon by the more difcerning in a very dangerous light, as by it the crown feemed to affume and exercife a power of difpenfing with the laws. This was one of the grievances which had been the moit effectually provided against at the revolution; at which time it was declared to be utterly and directly contrary to the known laws, ftatutes, and freedom of the kingdom. To prevent therefore the eftablishment of fo dangerous a precedent, and to perpetuate a knowledge to pofterity, that nothing less than a law could protect from due punishment the framers or executors of an illegal act; and at the fame time to do juftice to the rectitude of a proceeding, which, though not authorized by law, was done for public good, a bill was brought in Nov. 24. to indemnify all perfons who had acted in obedience to the late act of council for the embargo.

officers, who had acted under the proclamation, yet it paffed by the council who advised it; and had not a preamble fully expreffive of the illegality of the measure. In these refpects the bill was amended, and made perfect. But this produced much altercation and debate, efpecially in the house of lords. Some of the ministry and their friends, who had been not only the warmest advocates for liberty, but who fet up as the patrons and defenders of it, were charged with fuch a change in their minds and opinions, that they vin dicated the prefent exertion of prerogative, not only from the peculiar circumftances that feemed to influence it, but they alfo fupported it as a matter of right; and afferted, that a difpenfing power, in cafes of ftate neceffity, was one of the prerogatives inherent to the crown. This feeming defertion from the fide of liberty, to principles fo directly oppofite, as it had fome fevere ftrictures made upon it within doors, fo it was the occafion of many pointed farcasms without, on the beaten fubject of occafional patriotism.

In the courfe of the debates occafioned by these high prerogative tenets, the real caufes of the neceffity for the late exertion of power, were firft enquired into; and then the doctrine of a difpenf ing power in fuch cafes was ably and powerfully attacked. It was urged, that the miniftry had received fuch information in the beginning of Auguft, of the ftate of the harveft, the quantity of corn in the kingdom, and of the great increase of its price; that they became then as thoroughly mafters of the fubject, and as fully fenfible

of

of all the probable confequences, as they had been at any time after that period. That from this information, they fhould at that time have iffued a proclamation for the parliament to meet on the 16th of September, the day to which it was prorogued, to take that im portant matter into confideration, which would have given the members above thirty days notice, and would have prevented every appearance of neceffity for the minifters to commit an illegal action. That on the contrary, when the diftreffes of the poor were rifen to the highest pitch, they iffued, on the oth of September, an ineffectual proclamation against forestal. ling, which could not give them the smallest relief; and on the fame day prorogued the parlia ment, from the 16th of that month, to the 11th of November following. That by this long, unfeafonable, and extraordinary proro gation, all advice of parliament was precluded; all legal reftric tions of the export, as well as effectual provifions to increase the flock of grain, were entirely put out of the queftion; and in cafe of riots, tumults, or even a rebellion, it was put out of the king's power to receive their affiftance. That the proclamation for an embargo was iffued in fixteen days after that for fo long a prorogation; though the reafons given in it, for fo extraordinary an exertion of authority, was, that his majefty had not an opportunity of taking the advice of his parliament.

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On the other hand, the advocates for the difpenfing prerogative, citing the opinion of Mr. Locke, afferted, that it was ridiculous to fuppofe any ftate with

out a power of providing for the public fafety in cafes of emergency. That this power muit in all states be lodged fomewhere; and that in ours it was lodged in the king. They maintained that this doctrine was not contrary to the fecurity of the conftitution, or to the fpirit of liberty, fince they admitted that it could be legally exerted only in cafes of great neceflity during the recefs of parliament, and wher parliament cannot be conveniently affembled; that in those cafes the evil cannot be very great, fince it is but forty days tyranny at work.

To this it was anfwered, that this doctrine of neceffity was the very principle by which all the evil· practices in the reigns of the Stuarts had been defended. That the advocates for the court in the reign of Charles the first, would have added this exception of neceffity to the petition of right; the houfe: of lords had even come into it, but upon conference with the com mons, were convinced that this exception would have enervated › the whole law; and it was accordingly rejected. As to the plea of neceffity, this answer is ready in the mouth of every one, that if the crown is the judge of that neceffity, the power is unlimited, bes cause the difcretion of the prince and his council may apply it to any inftance whatever; and fo dif cretion degenerates into defpotifi. Therefore the wisdom of the con. ftitution has excluded every difcretion in the crown over pofitive laws, and emancipated acts of par liament from the royal preroga tive, leaving the power of fufpen fion, which is but another word for a temporary repeal, to refide where the legiflature is lodged, tó

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