XXIV. 1791. BOOK heard by those who were the object of it, I resisted this and every other species of counter-action by rising in my demands; and accomplished a peace, and I hope everlasting one, with one great state; and I at least afforded the efficient means by which a peace, if not so durable more seasonable at least, was accomplished with another. I Gave YOU ALL, and you have rewarded me with confiscation, disgrace, and a life of impeachment.""There is no object upon earth so near my heart as that of an immediate determination of this te dious prosecution. I am so confident of my own innocence, and have such perfect reliance upon the honor of your lordships, that I am not afraid to submit to judgment upon the evidence which has been adduced on the part of the prosecution." Catholicto- Soon after the recess of parliament (February 21, passed. 1791), Mr. Mitford, a lawyer of great eminence in the house, moved, with the previous sanction and approbation of government, for a bill to relieve the English Catholics from the legal penalties still existing and in force against them. The proposed Act of Toleration was however confined to such of the Catholics as should subscribe a certain declaration or protest against the assumed authority of the pope, &c. drawn up in terms to which it could scarcely be expected that the majority of Catholics could conscientiously assent. leration act Mr. Fox rose to object to the bill, not for what XXIV. 1791. it did, but for what it did not, contain. He en- BOOK treated that the bill might be made general. "Let the Statute Book," said this great statesman and advocate of toleration, " be revised, and strike out all those laws which attach penalties to mere opinions." And Mr. Burke joined in reprobating the absurdity and iniquity of those statutes which condemn every man who worships GOD in his own way, as guilty of treason against the state. Mr. Pitt commended these sentiments, but thought it not prudent to act upon them; and the bill passed in its present form: in consequence of which a most invidious and mischievous line of distinction was drawn between the protesting and non-protesting Catholics, neither of whom were chargeable with, or suspected of, the slightest tincture of disloyalty to the State. motion for certain the rights of In the course of the session, Mr. Fox, ever ac- Mr. Fox's tive in the cause of liberty, moved for a bill to a bill to asascertain the rights of juries in the matter of libel. With respect to the pretended distinction between juries. law and fact, Mr. Fox observed, "that when a man was accused of murder, a crime consisting of law and fact, the jury every day found a verdict of guilty: and this was also the case in felony and every other criminal indictment. Libels were the only exception, the single anomaly. He contended, that if the jury had no jurisdiction over libels, the counsel who addressed them on either side as XXIV. 1791. BOOK to the criminality of the publication were guilty of a gross and insolent sarcasm. Mr. Fox put this matter in a remarkably strong point of view, by adverting to the law of treason. It was admitted on all hands, that a writing might be an overt act of treason. In this case, if the court of King's Bench were to say to the jury, Consider only whether the criminal published the paper-do not consider the nature of it-do not consider whether it correspond to the definition of treason or not'would Englishmen endure that death should be inflicted without a jury having had an opportunity of delivering their sentiments, whether the individual was or was not guilty of the crime with which he was charged? Mr. Fox wished to know, whether the modern doctrine of libels did or did not extend to high treason?" On its transmission to the house of lords, the bill was opposed on the second reading by the lord-chancellor, on pretence of its being too late in the session to discuss a measure of such importance. The principle of the bill was most ably defended by the law lords Camden and Loughborough, with whom lord Grenville concurred; but the bill was finally postponed. Mr. Wil berforce's the aboli The evidence on the slave-trade being at length motion for closed, Mr. Wilberforce, on the 18th of April 1791, tion of the brought forward his long expected motion of abolition, which he introduced with a copious and masterly display of the arguments in favor of that slave-trade. measure. The crimes and villanies to which this BOOK horrid traffic had given rise were detailed with a minuteness which placed not merely the persons actually concerned, but human nature itself, in a light the most degrading and detestable. And the mover remarked with all the eloquence of feeling and of truth, that the history of this commerce was written in characters of blood. "Let us (said he) turn our eyes for relief from this disgraceful scene to some ordinary wickedness." No such relief, however, was as yet to be obtained from the justice and humanity of the house; for, in conclusion, moving" for a bill to prevent the farther importation of African negroes into the British colonies," it was negatived by a majority of seventyfive voices. Mr. Fox made on this occasion a memorable speech, in the course of which he declared "that those who were not convinced by the evidence before them of the necessity of an abolition of that wicked and infamous commerce had hard hearts or impenetrable heads.-Gain (said this great and justly renowned statesman and orator) is not the first object of an enlightened legislature -no, nor the second. Honor is greatly above gain, and justice greatly above honor." Had the same motion been made two years before, while the feelings of the house were freshly awakened, there can scarcely exist a doubt but that it must have succeeded. Such is the importance XXIV. 1791. BOOK of seizing the fortunate and favorable moment of XXIV. 1791. Bill for establishing a constitu tion in Ca action!-To qualify this refusal, a bill was introduced and passed, for chartering a company for the purpose of cultivating West Indian and other tropical products at Sierra Leona on the coast of Africa, by the use of free negroes-an experiment which is likely to be productive, at no distant period, of very important effects. It had been long a subject of complaint, that the great and extensive province of Canada continued nada. under a government in the highest degree arbitrary and despotic. This government was indeed acknowledged to be merely temporary; but excuses were not wanting to prolong the duration of it. At length Mr. Pitt, in pursuance of an intimation in the royal speech, moved for leave to bring in a bill to repeal certain parts of the act respecting the government of Canada passed in the 14th year of his majesty's reign, and to enact farther provisions for the better government thereof. By the proposed bill, the province was divided into two distinct governments, by the appellations of Upper and Lower Canada. Councils nominated by the sovereign, and houses of assembly chosen by the people, were established in each. The HabeasCorpus Act was asserted as a fundamental law of their constitution: and by a very important and admirable clause the British parliament were restrained from imposing any taxes whatever, but |