former would have been least inconvenient to ourselves, most dignified, and most humiliating to the enemy. And this, perhaps, Lord Hawkesbury might have preferred, but the choice was made by the last adminis.ration. They, said the advocates of the measure, did not think proper to pass it over with silent contempt; they exercised the right of retaliation, and distinctly asserted that the principle on which their order of January 7th, 1807, proceeded, was not farther extended, because at that time a farther extension was unnecessary; but that nothing would prevent such an extension, should it become requisite. Denmark remonstrated against it, and even went so far as to say she would resist it; and the president of the United States described it as a gross violation of the law of nations. The same principle then was avowed and acted upon by those very persons when in power, who now inveighed against it so loudly when out of power; and the same complaints were then made by neutral nations, which the opposition appeared to stand so much in fear of at present. But the principle was incontrovertible; we were completely justified in retaliating upon the enemy their own measure; if they declare that we shall have no trade, we have a right to declare that they shall have none, and we have the power to enforce our decrees.* Till these orders in council were issued, France enjoyed as great advantages of trade by the assistance of neutrals, as we possessed with our triumphant navy. Our navy indeed as belligerent was neutralized, and rendered useless by the neutral ships carrying to

* Mr Perceval, Feb. 5th.

France all that it was important for France to obtain. If France could continue to enjoy all the advantages of commerce, through the neutral trade, while we were suffering every injury that could result from her decrees,+ she would have no motive to peace; but Europe may be made to feel that a maritime power is much less dependent upon the continent, than the continent is upon the maritime power: And, that this was felt, was proved by M. Cretet's circular letter; and by the learned societies of the continent having been called on to offer important and honourable rewards for the solution of this question, tion of this question, "What is the best means of supplying the place of those colonial commodities which are most in demand, and to which we have been most accustomed, by products of the continent."

It was more easy to defend the principle of these orders in council than it was to understand their detail. Lord Auckland declared, he had given the subject a great deal of attention; Jan. 27. he had bestowed much time upon it, and called to his assistance, persons experienced in the knowledge of that department to which the orders referred; yet, he professed to God, that he was still totally unable to ascertain their motive and drift. And Lord Grenville affirmed, that in four clauses of the same paragraph, they contained four direct contra- Feb. 15. dictions. He, however, believed, that, after much study, he had at last found out what they meant to express; and he was not a little proud of the solution of such a pro

Sir William Grant, Feb. 5th.

degree. A petition against the orders was brought up from Liverpool; a meeting, for the same purpose, of persons concerned in the trade with America, was convoked in London ; the majority declared themselves supporters of the measure; the minority, however, framed a petition, and they and the Liverpool deputies, after some delays, occasioned by a point of form, were heard by counsel before the house, and their witnesses examined. The bill passed, notwithstanding this opposition.

Few measures have ever been so long and so pertinaciously contested in parliament; nearly fifty days, or rather nights, of the session were consumed in discussion upon it, till the public attention, which had never been actively excited, was utterly exhausted, and the very newspapers flagged in the task of reporting arguments that had been repeated till they were worn thread bare. It was said in the House of Commons, that the question involved in these orders was of vital importance to the prosperity, and even to the existence of the country: that, if considered merely in their effect upon the trade of the country, it was one of the most stupendous questions that ever had been agitated. It involved, not a matter of subordinate regulation, not the prosperity of one branch of trade, but the commerce of the whole world; that commerce on which the prosperity, and the very existence of England, in its present circumstances, depended.* Yet this measure had no sooner passed, than it was forgotten by the people, and England continued to exist and prosper. Party-politicians resemble pseudo-prophets, their day of judgment

is always at hand; and, repeatedly as their predictions fail and are falsified, they go on predicting with unabated confidence.

Savages have been known to carry on trade and war with their enemies at the same time. Something of this kind has been done by European nations: during the last war many of the French armies were supplied withEnglish cloathing and English firelocks; it is, however, curious, that, at the very time when these orders of council were enacted, and the avowed system was that of distressing the enemy by destroying his commerce, licenses should have been granted, exempting ships from those very orders, and enabling them to trade with France. This practice was carried to such an extent, that Mr Horner brought the subject before parlia- Jan.29. ment, upon the ground that it was necessary to ascertain its limits: and, if that was not possible, to prescribe such as both the principles of commercial law and constitutional policy required; both of which were violated by the unrestrained privilege. With regard to the first, he said, undoubtedly it was not politic to throw the entire direction of our commercial intercourse into the hands of the executive government :---there was no uniform ground upon which to claim such licences; nor was there any recognized principle by which the persons to whom they might be refused could ascertain whether they were partially aggrieved, or whether the benefits of such a licence were withheld from them for sufficient reasons; and the unlimited practice of granting them was contrary to the principles of constitutional laws, that no money should be

taken from the subject, except by the legislative power. At present, almost the whole of the foreign trade was carried on by means of these licences, for which fees, and very considerable ones, were received at the Privy Council Office. These fees were unauthorised by parliament, and amounted to a direct impost and taxation on foreign commerce. He moved, therefore, for a list of all the licences which had been granted from the beginning of the war to the end of the last year.

To this Mr Rose replied, that the fees of office, or granting licences, amounted, for a whole cargo, to merely 141.* State fees, he said, were much less liable to abuse than gratuities, which he should set his face against in every department. Indeed there was no one existing abuse which he was more anxious to put a check to than the system of gratuities. He would join with any member in annexing to it a punishment reasonably rigorous, and even go so far as to subject it to the penalties of a simple felony. The list, March 7. accordingly, was produced, and Mr Horner pledged himself, if ministers did not bring the question, in its constitutional bearings, under the consideration of parliament, to undertake the task at some future period himself. It ap.

peared to him, that, if these licences were thought generally necessary, it would be much better to render the trade, which was sanctioned by them, legal for a limited time. At present he would confine himself to the meaner branch of the subject, the amount of the fees; and here, he said, the returns were not satisfactory. It was stated, that the fee for a licence amounted only to 121. 9s. 6d. Now, he knew, that, on every licence which had been granted, the fees had exceeded 151. and sometimes 201.: and that, when our merchants had obtained licences for several ships, instead of an additional guinea only having been charged for each vessel, as stated in the returns, not less than 65 or 661. had been charged for a licence for six ships. This statement was not contradicted by Mr Rose. He observed, that, some weeks ago, the Privy Council, finding the amount of the fees so considerable, had taken the matter into serious consideration, and had entered into a strict investigation of it. He, therefore, advised Mr Hornerto postpone his motion till the proceedings of the Privy council could be laid before the House, previous to referring the subject to the committee of finance. Mr Horner agreed to this, but the question was not re, sumed during the session.

MINISTERS had an easy task in the department of finance. Here they had, indeed, succeeded to a bed of roses; the thorny business of making which had been performed by their predecessors. The first measure which the Chancellor Feb. 10. of the Exchequer brought forward, was an arrangement with the Bank concerning, Ist, The management of the public debt: 2dly, The balance of the public money in the hands of the Bank: and, 3dly, The unclaimed dividends.Upon the first of these heads, it was agreed, that the allowance for management should be 340l. per million, when the debt should amount to 400 millions, and from that to 600 millions inclusive; 3C0l. per million for all debt above 600 millions. If 600 millions, continuing at 3407.; and 4507. per million between 300 and 400 millions, in the event of the public debt being reduced so low The saving to the public by the arrangement would be from 60 to 65,000l. a-year. The next head. of the arrangement was the advance of three millions, by way of loan to government, without interest, till six months after the conclusion of a definitive treaty, in consideration of the advantages of management, and in participation of the benefit of the balances. The average amount of these balances might be taken at about

ten millions and a half. Mr Pitt, in his arrangement with the Bank, had asserted the right of the public to participate in the advantages derived from the management and balances; saying that, whether the participation should be in the proportion of a fourth, a third, or a half, it would be greatly to the advantage of the public. This shewed that not more than a participation was intended; and therefore, as the proportion of onethird, being the middle rate, was probably considered as most equitable, that proportion was agreed to. -Upon the third head, the Bank agreed, that 500,000l., being part of the balances arising from unclaimed dividends and lottery prizes, should be paid into the Exchequer, in addition to the sum of 376,3397. advanced under the act of 1791. Provided that, if, at any time, the balance in the hands of the Bank, on both of these accounts, shall be reduced below 100,000 l., exclusive of these sums, a proportion of the 500,0007. shall then be refunded from the Exchequer, sufficient to make up the deficiency.

When this statement was laid before Parliament, Mr Bankes observed, that the large rate of allowance which the Bank enjoyed, for the management of the national debt, was strongly to be condemned: and great as was his respect for Mr Pitt, he