On the sixty-sixth day, the consideration of the bill for raising seamen
was resumed, and a clause read, by which every constable, headborough,
tithingman, or other person, was liable to be examined upon oath by the
justices of peace, who were empowered to lay a fine upon them for any
neglect, offence, or connivance.
Sir John BARNARD rose up, and spoke to the following effect:--Mr.
Chairman, it is the peculiar happiness of the Britons, that no law can
be made without the consent of their representatives, and I hope no such
infatuation can ever fall upon them as may influence them to choose a
representative capable of concurring in absurdities like this.
The folly, the iniquity, the stupidity of this clause, can only be
conceived by hearing it repeated; it is too flagrant to be extenuated,
and too gross to admit exaggerations: to oblige a man to make oath
against himself, to subject himself by his own voice to penalties and
hardships, is at once cruel and ridiculous, a wild complication of
tyranny and folly.
To call upon any man to accuse himself, is only to call upon him to
commit perjury, and has therefore been always accounted irrational and
wicked: in those countries where it is practised, the confession is
extorted by the rack, which indeed is so necessary on such occasions,
that I should not wonder to hear the promoters of this clause openly
declaring for the expediency of tortures.
Nothing is more evident than that this bill, however the importance of
the occasion may be magnified, was drawn up without reflection, and that
the clauses were never understood by those that offered them: errours
like these must arise only from precipitation and neglect, for they are
too gross to be committed either by ignorance or design.
To expose such absurdities is, indeed, easy, but not pleasing; for what
end is answered by pointing at folly, or how is the publick service
advanced by showing that the methods proposed are totally to be
rejected? Where a proposition is of a mixed kind, and only erroneous in
part, it is an useful and no disagreeable task to separate truth from
errour, and disentangle from ill consequences such measures as may be
pursued with advantage to the publick; but mere stupidity can only
produce compassion, and afford no opportunities for inquiry or dispute.
Admiral WAGER replied:--Sir, this clause, however contemptuously
treated, has been already passed into a law by a senate which brought no
dishonour upon the British nation, by a senate which was courted and
dreaded by the greatest part of the universe, and was drawn up by a
ministry that have given their posterity no reason to treat them with
derision and contumely.
In the reign of the late great queen, this method of proceeding was
approved and established, and we may judge of the propriety of the
measures followed in that war by the success which they procured.
Those, therefore, by whom this bill was drawn up have committed no new
absurdities, nor have proposed any thing which was not enacted by the
wisest of our predecessors, in one of the most illustrious periods of
our history.
Mr. GYBBON answered:--Sir, I am far from thinking a proposition
sufficiently defended by an assertion that it was admitted by our
predecessors; for though I have no inclination to vilify their memory, I
may without scruple affirm, that they had no pretensions to
infallibility, and that there are in many of our statutes instances of
such ignorance, credulity, weakness, and errour, as cannot be considered
without astonishment.
In questions of an abstruse and complicated nature, it is certain, sir,
that experience has taught us what could never have been discovered
previously by the wisdom of our ancestors; and we have found, by their
consequences, the impropriety of many practices which they approved, and
which we should have equally applauded in the same circumstances.
But to what purpose is observation, if we must shut our eyes against it,
and appeal for ever to the wisdom of our ancestors?--if we must fall
into errour, merely because they were mistaken, and rush upon rocks out
of veneration to those who were wrecked against them.
In questions easily to be examined, and determinations which comprised
no perplexing contrarieties of interest, or multiplicity of
circumstances, they were equally liable with ourselves to be supine and
negligent, to sink into security, or be surprised by haste. That the
clause now before us was enacted by them, must be ascribed merely to the
hurry of the session in which it was brought before them; a time in
which so many inquiries of the highest importance were to be made, and
great diversity of views to be regarded, that it is no wonder that some
absurdities should escape without detection.
In the fourth of the reign of the queen, this bill was brought in, as
now, at the latter end of a session, when the attention of the senate
was fatigued and distracted; and it was hurried through both houses, and
ratified by the queen, with very little consideration.
But then, as this circumstance may be justly termed an extenuation of
their errour, it ought to be a lesson of caution to us, that we may not
be, in the like manner, betrayed into the same weakness.
Mr. Henry PELHAM next rose up:--Sir, the conduct of our predecessors
seems not to stand in need of any excuse; for it might be easy to
vindicate it by arguments, but that it is more proper to approve it by
imitation.
Whenever the bill was passed, or how hastily soever the law was enacted,
it was, I believe, rather the effect of necessity than of inadvertency;
of the same necessity which now presses, and which is very ill consulted
by tedious debates.
They were then involved in a war, and were not so distracted by private
interests as not to unite in the most vigorous opposition of their
enemies. They knew that the publick good is often promoted by the
temporary inconveniencies of individuals; and when affairs of the
highest importance demanded their attention, when the security of the
whole nation and the happiness of their posterity were the subject of
their inquiries, they wisely suffered less considerations to pass,
without superfluous and unseasonable solicitude.
How justly they reasoned, sir, and what vigour their resolutions gave to
the military operations, our victories are a sufficient proof: and if
experience be the surest guide, it cannot be improper to imitate those
who, in the same circumstances with ourselves, found means to raise the
honour, and improve the commerce of their country.
That our circumstances are the same with those of the senate by which
this law was made, is obvious beyond dispute; or where they vary, the
difference is, perhaps, to our disadvantage. We have, sir, the same
enemies, or, at least, have reason to apprehend the same; but have
little hope of the same allies. The present war is to be carried on at a
greater distance, and in more places at the same instant; we cannot,
therefore, supply our ships occasionally, but must raise great numbers
in a short time.
If, therefore, it was then concluded, that the method under our
examination was useful; if measures, not eligible in themselves, may be
authorized by necessity, why may not we, in compliance with the same
exigencies, have recourse to the same expedients?
Sir William YONGE then spoke:--Sir, how much weight is added to the
determinations of the senate, by the dignity of their procedure, and the
decency of their disputations, a slight knowledge of mankind is
sufficient to evince. It is well known that government is supported by
opinion; and that he who destroys the reputation, destroys the authority
of the legislative power. Nor is it less apparent, that he who degrades
debate into scurrility, and destroys the solemnity of consultation,
endeavours to sink the senate into contempt.
It was, therefore, sir, with indignation and surprise, that I heard the
clause before us censured with such indecency of language, and the
authors of it treated with contumelies and reproaches that mere errour
does not deserve, however apparent, but which were now vented before any
errour was detected.
I know not, sir, why the gentlemen, who are thus indecently attacked,
have suffered such reproaches without censure, and without reply. I know
not why they have omitted to put the honourable gentleman in mind of the
respect due to this assembly, or to the characters of those whom he
opposes; gentlemen equally skilled with himself in the subject of our
inquiries, and whom his own attainments, however large, or his
abilities, however comprehensive, cannot give him a right to charge with
ignorance or folly.
To reproach men with incapacity, is a cheap method of answering their
arguments; but a method which the rules of this house ought to exclude
from our debates, as the general civility of the world has banished it
from every other place of concourse or conversation.
I, for my part, sir, shall always endeavour to confine my attention to
the question before us, without suffering my reason to be biassed, or my
inquiries diverted by low altercations, or personal animosities; nor
when any other man deviates into reproachful and contemptuous language,
shall I be induced to think more highly of either his arguments or
capacity.
Sir John BARNARD replied:--Sir, I have always heard it represented as an
instance of integrity, when the tongue and heart move in concert, when
the words are representations of the sentiments; and have, therefore,
hitherto, endeavoured to explain my arguments with perspicuity, and
impress my sentiments with force; I have thought it hypocrisy to treat
stupidity with reverence, or to honour nonsense with the ceremony of a
confutation. As knavery, so folly, that is not reclaimable, is to be
speedily despatched; business is to be freed from obstruction, and
society from a nuisance.
Nor, sir, when I am censured by those whom I may offend, by the use of
terms correspondent with my ideas, will I, by a tame and silent
submission, give reason to suspect that I am conscious of a fault, but
will treat the accusation with open contempt, and show no greater regard
to the abettors, than to the authors of absurdity.
That decency is of great use in publick debates, I shall readily allow;
it may sometimes shelter folly from ridicule, and preserve villany from
publick detection; nor is it ever more carefully supported, than when
measures are promoted that nothing can preserve from contempt, but the
solemnity with which they are established.
Decency is a proper circumstance; but liberty is the essence of
senatorial disquisitions: liberty is the parent of truth; but truth and
decency are sometimes at variance: all men and all propositions are to
be treated here as they deserve; and there are many who have no claim
either to respect or decency.
Mr. WINNINGTON then rose:--Sir, that it is improper in its own nature,
and inconsistent with our constitution, to lay any man under an
obligation to accuse himself, cannot be denied; it is, therefore,
evident, that some amendment is necessary to the clause before us.
I have, for this reason, drawn up an amendment, sir, which, if approved
by the committee, will, in my opinion, remove all the objections to this
part of the bill, and, by reconciling it with our natural and legal
rights, I hope, induce those to approve it, who have hitherto opposed
it.
I therefore propose, that these words should be substituted instead of
those which are the subject of the debate; or some other to this
purpose: _That no person shall be liable to be fined by virtue of this
act, unless a witness, being examined, shall make oath of the
misdemeanour or neglect_.
Thus the necessity of examining men upon oath in their own cause will be
entirely taken away; and, as the clause will then stand, there will
remain no suspicion of injustice, or oppression, because none can be
practised without the concurrence of many persons of different
interests.
[This clause, though agreed to in the committee, was at last rejected.]
Mr. Horace WALPOLE spoke next, to this effect:--Mr. Chairman, it does
not yet appear that the gentlemen who have engaged in this debate, have
sufficiently attended to the exigence of our affairs, and the importance
of the question. They have lavished their oratory in declaiming upon the
absurdity of the methods proposed, and discovered their sagacity, by
showing how future navies may be supplied from charity schools, but have
substituted no expedients in the place of those which they so warmly
condemn, nor have condescended to inform us, how we may now guard our
coasts, or man our fleets for immediate service.
There are some circumstances, sir, of the present war, which make our
necessity of raising sea forces greater than in those of William, and
Anne that succeeded him. The chief advantages that we gained over the
French, in their wars, were the consequences of our victories by land.
At sea, sir, the balance was almost equal, though the Dutch fleet and
ours were united; nor did they quit the sea because their fleets were
destroyed, but because they were obliged to recruit their land forces
with their sailors. Should they now declare war against us, they would
be under no such necessity of defrauding the sea service, for they have
now on foot an army of one hundred and sixty thousand men, which are
maintained at no greater expense than forty thousand, by the British
government; as they are, therefore, sir, so formidable by land, we have
no way of opposing them but by our sea forces.
Nor is their navy so contemptible as some have, either by conjecture or
misinformation, represented it. The fleet which they have despatched to
America, consists not of fewer than twenty ships, of which the least
carry sixty guns, and they are fitting out now an equal number in their
own ports; besides, their East India company is obliged to furnish ten
ships of the line, at the demand of the government.
Thus it appears that we have neighbours sufficiently powerful to alarm
us with the sense of immediate danger; danger which is made more
imminent by the expeditious methods by which the French man their
fleets, and which we must imitate if we hope to oppose them with
success.
I need not say how little we can depend upon any professions of
neutrality, which will be best observed when they cannot be securely
violated; or upon the pacifick inclination of their minister, which
interest, persuasion, or caprice, may alter, and to which it is not very
honourable to trust for safety. How can that nation sink lower, which is
only free because it is not invaded by its neighbours; and retains its
possessions, only because no other has leisure or inclination to take
them away?
If it be asked, what can provoke the French to interrupt us in the
prosecution of our designs, and in the punishment of those who have
plundered and insulted us, it is not only easy to urge the strict
alliance between the two crowns, the ties of blood, the conformity of
interests, and their equal hatred of the Britons, but another more
immediate reason may be added. It is suspected, that under pretence of
vindicating our own rights, we are endeavouring to gain the possession
of the Spanish dominions, and engross the wealth of the new world; and
that, therefore, it is the interest of every power, whose subjects
traffick to those countries, to oppose us.
Thus, whether we succeed or fail in our attempts upon America, we have
the French power to apprehend. If we make conquests, they may, probably,
think it necessary to obviate the torrent of our victories, and to
hinder the increase of our dominions, that they may secure their own
trade, and maintain their own influence.
If we should be defeated, of which no man, sir, can deny the
possibility, the inclination of all to insult the depressed, and to push
down the falling, is well known; nor can it be expected that our
hereditary enemies would neglect so fair an opportunity of attacking us.
How they might ravage our coasts, and obstruct our trade; how they might
triumph in the Channel, and block us up in our own ports, bombard our
towns, and threaten us with invasions, I hope I need but barely mention,
to incite this assembly to such despatch in manning our fleets, as may
secure us at once from insults and from terrour.
It is, undoubtedly, sir, in our power to raise a naval force sufficient
to awe the ocean, and restrain the most daring of our enemies from any
attempts against us; but this cannot be effected by harangues,
objections, and disputations.
There is nothing, sir, more frequently the subject of raillery or
declamation, than the uselessness or danger of a standing army, to which
I declare myself no otherwise inclined than by my concern for the common
safety; I willingly allow that not one soldier ought to be supported by
the publick, whose service is not necessary; but surely none of those
who declare so warmly for the honour and privileges of their country,
would expose it to the insults of foreign powers, without defence. If,
therefore, they think the danger of land forces more than equivalent to
the benefit, they ought unanimously to concur in the increase of our
naval strength, by which they may be protected, but cannot be oppressed:
they ought willingly to give their assistance to any propositions for
making the fleet, formidable, that their declarations against the army
may not be thought to proceed from a resolution to obstruct the measures
of the government, rather than from zeal for the constitution. For he
that equally opposes the establishment of the army, and the improvement
of the navy, declares in effect against the security of the nation; and
though, perhaps, without design, exposes his countrymen to the mercy of
their enemies.
Mr. PULTENEY spoke next:--Sir, I cannot discover for what reason the
bill before us is so vigorously supported, but must observe, that I have
seldom known such vehement and continued efforts produced by mere
publick spirit, and unmingled regard for the happiness of the nation.
Nothing, sir, that can be urged in favour of the measures now proposed
has been omitted. When arguments are confuted, precedents are cited;
when precedents fail, the advocates for the bill have recourse to
terrour and necessity, and endeavour to frighten those whom they cannot
convince.
But, perhaps, sir, these formidable phantoms may soon be put to flight,
and, like the other illusions of cowardice, disappear before the light.
Perhaps this necessity will be found only chimerical; and these dangers
appear only the visions of credulity, or the bugbears of imposture.
To arrive at a clear view of our present condition, it will be
necessary, sir, not to amuse ourselves with general assertions, or
overwhelm our reason by terrifying exaggerations: let us consider
distinctly the power and the conduct of our enemies, and inquire whether
they do not affright us more than they are able to hurt us.
That the force of Spain alone, sir, is much to be dreaded, no man will
assert; for that empire, it is well known, has long been seized with all
the symptoms of declining power, and has been supported, not by its own
strength, but by the interests of its neighbours. The vast dominions of
the Spaniards are only an empty show; they are lands without
inhabitants, and, by consequence, without defence; they are rather
excrescences, than members of the monarchy, and receive support rather
than communicate. In the distant branches of their empire the government
languishes, as the vital motion in an expiring body; and the struggles
which they now make, may be termed rather agonies than efforts.
From Spain, therefore, unassisted, we have nothing to apprehend, and yet
from thence we have been threatened with insults and invasions.
That the condition of the French is far different, cannot be denied;
their commerce flourishes, their dominions are connected, their wealth
increases, and their government operates with full vigour: their
influence is great, and their name formidable. But I cannot allow, sir,
that they have yet attained such a height of power as should alarm us
with constant apprehensions, or that we ought to secure ourselves
against them by the violation of our liberties. Not to urge that the
loss of freedom, and the destruction of our constitution, are the worst
consequences that can be apprehended from a conquest, and that to a
slave the change of his master is of no great importance, it is evident,
that the power of the French is of such kind as can only affect us
remotely, and consequentially. They may fill the continent with alarms,
and ravage the territories of Germany, by their numerous armies, but can
only injure us by means of their fleets. We may wait, sir, without a
panick terrour, though not without some degree of anxiety, the event of
their attempts upon the neighbouring princes, and cannot be reduced to
fight for our altars and our houses, but by a second armada, which, even
then, the winds must favour, and a thousand circumstances concur to
expedite.
But that no such fleet can be fitted out by the united endeavours of the
whole world; that our navy, in its present state, is superiour to any
that can be brought against us, our ministers ought not to be ignorant:
and, therefore, to dispirit the nation with apprehensions of armies
hovering in the air, and of conquerors to be wafted over by supernatural
means, is to destroy that happiness which government was ordained to
preserve; to sink us to tameness and cowardice; and to betray us to
insults and to robberies.
If our danger, sir, be such as has been represented, to whom must we
impute it? Upon whom are our weakness, our poverty, and our miseries to
be charged? Upon whom, but those who have usurped the direction of
affairs which they did not understand, or to which their solicitude for
the preservation of their own power hindered them from attending?
That the Spaniards, sir, are now enabled to make resistance, and,
perhaps, to insult and depopulate our colonies; that the French have
despatched a fleet into the American seas, to obstruct, as may be
conjectured, the progress of our arms, and that we are in danger of
meeting opposition which we did not expect, is too evident to be
concealed.
But, sir, is not the spirit of our enemies the consequence rather of our
cowardice than of their own strength? Does not the opposition to our
designs, by whatever nation it shall be made, arise from the contempt
which has been brought upon us by our irresolution, forbearance, and
delays? Had we resented the first insult, and repaired our earliest
losses by vigorous reprisals, our merchants had long ago carried on
their traffick with security, our enemies would have courted us with
respect, and our allies supported us with confidence.
Our negotiations, treaties, proposals, and concessions, not only
afforded them leisure to collect their forces, equip their fleets, and
fortify their coasts; but gave them, likewise, spirit to resist those
who could not be conquered but by their own cowardice and folly. By our
ill-timed patience, and lingering preparations, we encouraged those to
unite against us, who would, otherwise, have only hated us in secret;
and deterred those from declaring in our favour, whom interest or
gratitude might have inclined to assist us. For who will support those
from whom no mutual support can be expected? And who will expect that
those will defend their allies, who desert themselves?
But, sir, however late our resentment was awakened, had the war been
prosecuted vigorously after it was declared, we might have been now
secure from danger, and freed from suspense, nor would any thing have
remained but to give laws to our enemies.
From the success of Vernon with so inconsiderable forces, we may
conjecture what would have been performed with an armament proportioned
to his undertaking; and why he was not better supplied, no reason has
yet been given; nor can it be easily discovered why we either did not
begin the war before our enemies had concerted their measures, or delay
it till we had formed our own.
Notwithstanding some opportunities have been neglected, and all the
advantages of a sudden attack have been irrecoverably lost;
notwithstanding our friends, sir, have learned to despise and neglect
us, and our enemies are animated to confidence and obstinacy, yet our
real and intrinsick strength continues the same; nor are there yet any
preparations made against us by the enemy, with views beyond their own
security and defence. It does not yet appear, sir, that our enemies,
however insolent, look upon us as the proper objects of a conquest, or
that they imagine it possible to besiege us in our own ports, or to
confine us to the defence of our own country. We are not, therefore, to
have recourse to measures, which, if they are ever to be admitted, can
be justified by nothing but the utmost distress, and can only become
proper, as the last and desperate expedient. The enemy, sir, ought to
appear not only in our seas, but in our ports, before it can be
necessary that one part of the nation should be enslaved for the
preservation of the rest.
To destroy any part of the community, while it is in our power to
preserve the whole, is certainly absurd, and inconsistent with the
equity and tenderness of a good government: and what is slavery less
than destruction? What greater calamity has that man to expect, who has
been already deprived of his liberty, and reduced to a level with
thieves and murderers? With what spirit, sir, will he draw his sword
upon his invaders, who has nothing to defend? Or why should he repel the
injuries which will make no addition to his misery, and will fall only
on those to whom he is enslaved?
It is well known that gratitude is the foundation of our duty to our
country, and to our superiours, whom we are obliged to protect upon some
occasions, because, upon others, we receive protection from them, and
are maintained in the quiet possession of our fortunes, and the security
of our lives. But what gratitude is due to his country from a man
distinguished, without a crime, by the legislature, from the rest of the
people, and marked out for hardships and oppressions? From a man who is
condemned to labour and to danger, only that others may fatten with
indolence, and slumber without anxiety? From a man who is dragged to
misery without reward, and hunted from his retreat, as the property of
his master?
Where gratitude, sir, is not the motive of action, which may easily
happen in minds not accustomed to observe the ends of government, and
relations of society, interest never fails to preside, which may be
distinguished from gratitude, as it regards the immediate consequences
of actions, and confines the view to present advantages. But what
interest can be gratified by a man who is not master of his own actions,
nor secure in the enjoyment of his acquisitions? Why should he be
solicitous to increase his property, who may be torn from the possession
of it in a moment? Or upon what motive can he act who will not become
more happy by doing his duty?
Many of those to whom this bill is proposed to extend, have raised
fortunes at the expense of their ease, and at the hazard of their lives;
and now sit at rest, enjoying the memory of their past hardships, and
inciting others to the prosecution of the same adventures. How will it
be more reasonable to drag these men from their houses, than to seize
any other gentleman upon his own estate? and how negligently will our
navigation and our commerce be promoted, when it is discovered that
either wealth cannot be gained by them, or, if so gained, cannot be
enjoyed.
But it is still urged, sir, that there is a necessity of manning the
fleet; a necessity which, indeed, cannot totally be denied, though a
short delay would produce no frightful consequences, would expose us to
no invasions, nor disable us from prosecuting the war. Yet, as the
necessity at least deserves the regard of the legislature, let us
consider what motives have hitherto gained men over to the publick
service; let us examine how our land forces are raised, and how our
merchants equip their ships. How is all this to be effected without
murmurs, mutinies, or discontent, but by the natural and easy method of
offering rewards?
It may be objected, sir, that rewards have been already proposed without
effect; but, not to mention the corrupt arts which have been made use of
to elude that promise, by rejecting those that came to claim them, we
can infer from their inefficacy only, that they were too small; that
they were not sufficient to dazzle the attention, and withdraw it from
the prospect of the distant advantages which may arise from the service
of the merchants. Let the reward, therefore, be doubled, and if it be
not then sufficient, doubled anew. There is nothing but may be bought,
if an adequate price is offered; and we are, therefore, to raise the
reward, till it shall be adjudged by the sailors equivalent to the
inconveniencies of the service.
Let no man urge, that this is profusion; that it is a breach of our
trust, and a prodigality of the publick money. Sir, the money thus paid
is the price of liberty; it is disbursed to hinder slavery from
encroaching, to preserve our natural rights from infraction, and the
constitution of our country from violation. If we vote away the
privilege of one class among us, those of another may quickly be
demanded; and slavery will advance by degrees, till the last remains of
freedom shall be lost.
But perhaps, sir, it will appear, upon reflection, that even this method
needs not to be practised. It is well known, that it is not necessary
for the whole crew of a ship to be expert sailors; there must be some
novices, and many whose employment has more of labour than of art. We
have now a numerous army, which burdens our country, without defending
it, and from whom we may, therefore, draw supplies for the fleet, and
distribute them amongst the ships in just proportions; they may
immediately assist the seamen, and will become able, in a short time, to
train up others.
It will, doubtless, sir, be objected to this proposal, that the
continent is in confusion, and that we ought to continue such a force as
may enable us to assist our allies, maintain our influence, and turn the
scale of affairs in the neighbouring countries. I know not how we are
indebted to our allies, or by what ties we are obliged to assist those
who never assisted us; nor can I, upon mature consideration, think it
necessary to be always gazing on the continent, watching the motions of
every potentate, and anxiously attentive to every revolution. There is
no end, sir, of obviating contingencies, of attempting to secure
ourselves from every possibility of danger. I am, indeed, desirous that
our friends, if any there be that deserve that name, should succeed in
their designs, and be protected in their claims; but think it ought
always to be remembered, that our own affairs affect us immediately,
theirs only by consequence, and that the nearest danger is to be first
regarded.
With respect to the amendment offered to this clause, I cannot see that
it will produce any advantage, nor think any evidence sufficient to
justify the breach of our constitution, or subject any man to the
hardship of having his dwelling entered by force.
And, sir, I am not entirely satisfied of the impartiality and equity
with which it is promised that this law will be put in execution, or
what new influence is to cooperate with this law, by which corruption
and oppression will be prevented.
It is well known, sir, that many other laws are made ineffectual by
partiality or negligence, which remarkably appears by the immense
quantities of corn that are daily carried into foreign countries, by
illegal exportations, by which traffick I am informed that we obtain
most of our foreign gold, which, in reality, is paid us for corn by the
Dutch; though it is studiously represented to the nation as gained by
our traffick with Portugal. Who can assure us that this law will not be
perverted, after the example of others? and that there will not be
wretches found that may employ it to the extortion of money, or the
gratification of revenge?
Thus, sir, I have shown by what means our fleet may now be equipped, and
how a supply of sailors may be perpetuated; for I cannot think how the
boys which are educated in charity schools can be more properly
employed. A proportion may be easily selected for the service, who will
benefit the publick much more than by serving sharpers and attorneys,
and pilfering either at low gaming houses, or in the inns of court.
Since, therefore, it is not pretended, sir, that this bill can be
justified otherwise than by necessity, and it appears that supplies may
be raised by other means; since, instead of increasing and encouraging
seamen, nothing is proposed that does not manifestly tend, by depressing
and harassing them, to diminish their numbers, I think it reasonable to
declare that I shall continue to oppose it, and hope that every friend
of liberty, or commerce, will concur in the opposition.
Sir Robert WALPOLE spoke next, to the following effect:--Sir, I have
considered the bill before us with the utmost impartiality, and I can
see no reason to apprehend that it will produce such universal
discontent, and give occasion to so many abuses, as the honourable
gentlemen by whom it is opposed, appear to suspect. It is not uncommon,
sir, in judging of future events, and tracing effects from causes, for
the most sagacious to be mistaken.
The safest method of conjecturing upon the future, is to consider the
past, for it is always probable, that from like causes like consequences
will arise. Let us, therefore, sir, examine what injustice or oppression
has been hitherto produced by laws of the same kind.
The power of searching, however it is now become the subject of loud
exclamation and pathetick harangues, is no new invasion of the rights of
the people, but has been already granted in its utmost extent, for an
end of no greater importance than the preservation of the game. This
formidable authority has been already trusted to the magistrate, and the
nation has been already subjected to this insupportable tyranny, only
lest the hares and partridges should be destroyed, and gentlemen be
obliged to disband their hounds and dismiss their setting dogs. Yet,
sir, even with regard to this power, thus exorbitant, and thus lightly
granted, I have heard no general complaints, nor believe that it is
looked upon as a grievance by any, but those whom it restrains from
living upon the game, and condemns to maintain themselves by a more
honest and useful industry.
I hope, sir, those that think this law for the preservation of their
amusement, rational and just, will have at least the same regard to the
defence of their country, and will not think their venison deserves
greater solicitude than their fortunes and their liberties.
Nor is it difficult, sir, to produce instances of the exercise of this
power, for the end which is now proposed, without any consequences that
should discourage us from repeating the experiment. I have now in my
hand a letter, by which the mayor and aldermen of Bristol are empowered
to seize all the sailors within the bounds of their jurisdiction, which
order was executed without any outcries of oppression, or apprehensions
of the approach of slavery.
That this law, sir, will be always executed with the strictest
impartiality, and without the least regard to any private purposes,
cannot, indeed, be demonstratively proved; every law may possibly be
abused by a combination of profligates; but it must, I think, be
granted, that it is drawn up with all the caution that reason, or
justice, or the corruption of the present age requires. I know not what
can be contrived better than an association of men, unlikely to concur
in their views and interests--a justice of the peace, a lieutenant of a
ship, and a commissioner of the navy--three men, probably unknown to
each other, and of which no one will be at all solicitous to desire the
rest to unite to commit a crime, to which no temptation can be readily
imagined.
This caution, sir, which cannot but be approved, and which surely is
some proof of judgment and consideration, ought, in my opinion, to have
exempted the bill, and those by whose assistance it was drawn up, from
the reproachful and indecent charge of absurdity, ignorance, and
incapacity; terms which the dignity of this assembly does not admit,
even when they are incontestably just, and which surely ought not to be
made use of when the question is of a doubtful nature.
The gentlemen, sir, who are now intrusted with publick employments, have
never yet discovered that they are inferiour to their predecessors in
knowledge or integrity; nor do their characters suffer any diminution by
a comparison with those who vilify and traduce them.
Those, sir, that treat others with such licentious contempt, ought
surely to give some illustrious proof of their own abilities; and yet if
we examine what has been produced on this question, we shall find no
reason to admire their sagacity or their knowledge.
We have been told, sir, that the fleet might properly be manned by a
detachment from the army; but it has not been proved that we have any
superfluous forces in the kingdom, nor, indeed, will our army be found
sufficiently numerous, if, by neglecting to equip our fleet, we give our
enemies an opportunity of entering our country.
If it be inquired what necessity there is for our present forces? What
expeditions are designed? Or what dangers are feared? I shall not think
it my duty to return any answer. It is, sir, the great unhappiness of
our constitution, that our determinations cannot be kept secret, and
that our enemies may always form conjectures of our designs, by knowing
our preparations; but surely more is not to be published than necessity
extorts, and the government has a right to conceal what it would injure
the nation to discover.
Nor can I, sir, approve the method of levying sailors by the incitement
of an exorbitant reward, a reward to be augmented at the pleasure of
those who are to receive it. For what can be the consequence of such
prodigality, but that those to whom the largest sum is offered, will yet
refuse their service in expectation of a greater. The reward already
proposed is, in my opinion, the utmost stretch of liberality; and all
beyond may be censured as profusion.
It is not to be imagined, sir, that all these objections were not made,
and answered, in the reign of the late queen, when a bill of the same
nature was proposed; they were answered, at least, by the necessity of
those times, which necessity has now returned upon us.
We do not find that it produced any consequences so formidable and
destructive, that they should for ever discourage us from attempting to
raise forces by the same means; it was then readily enacted, and
executed without opposition, and without complaints; nor do I believe
that any measures can be proposed of equal efficacy, and less severity.
Mr. SANDYS replied, in substance as follows:--Sir, whether the
precedents produced in defence of this bill, will have more weight than
the arguments, must be shown by a careful examination, which will
perhaps discover that the order sent to the magistrates of Bristol
conveyed no new power, nor such as is, in any respect, parallel to that
which this bill is intended to confer.
They were only enjoined to inquire with more than usual strictness,
after strollers and vagabonds, such as the law has always subjected to
punishment, and send them to the fleet, instead of any other place of
correction; a method which may now be pursued without danger,
opposition, or complaint.
But for my part, I am not able, upon the closest attention to the
present scene of affairs, to find out the necessity of extraordinary
methods of any kind. The fears of an invasion from France, are, in my
opinion, sir, merely chimerical; from their fleet in America the coasts
of Britain have nothing to fear, and after the numerous levies of seamen
by which it was fitted out, it is not yet probable that they can
speedily send out another. We know, sir, that the number of seamen
depends upon the extent of commerce, and surely there is as yet no such
disproportion between their trade and ours, as that they should be able
to furnish out a naval armament with much greater expedition than
ourselves.
In America our forces are at least equal to theirs, so that it is not
very probable, that after the total destruction of our fleet by them,
they should be so little injured, as to be able immediately to set sail
for the channel, and insult us in our own ports; to effect this, sir,
they must not only conquer us, but conquer us without resistance.
If they do not interrupt us in our attempts, nor expose themselves to an
engagement, they may, indeed, return without suffering great damages,
but I know not how they can leave the shores of America unobserved, or
pour an unexpected invasion upon us. If they continue there, sir, they
cannot hurt as, and when they return, we may prepare for their
reception.
There are men, I know, sir, who have reason to think highly of the
French policy, and whose ideas may be exalted to a belief that they can
perform impossibilities; but I have not yet prevailed upon myself to
conceive that they can act invisibly, or that they can equip a fleet by
sorcery, collect an army in a moment, and defy us on our own coast,
without any perceptible preparations.
Then admiral WAGER spoke thus:--The calamities produced by discord and
contention, need not to be pointed out; but it may be proper to reflect
upon the consequences of a house divided against itself, that we may
endeavour to avoid them.
Unanimity is produced by nothing more powerfully than by impending
danger, and, therefore, it may be useful to show those who seem at
present in profound security, that the power of France is more
formidable than they are willing to allow.
My age, sir, enables me to remember many transactions of the wars in the
late reigns, to which many gentlemen are strangers, or of which they
have only imperfect ideas from history and tradition.
In the second year of the reign of William, the French gained a victory
over the united fleets of the maritime powers, which gave them, for the
summer following, the dominion of the Channel, enabled them to shut up
our merchants in their ports, and produced a total suspension of our
commerce.
Those, sir, to whom the importance of trade is so well known, will
easily apprehend the weight of this calamity, and will, I hope, reject
no measures that have a manifest tendency to prevent it.
Our ships, sir, do not lie useless because there is any want of seamen
in the nation, but because any service is preferred to that of the
publick.
There are now, to my knowledge, in one town on the west coast, no fewer
than twelve hundred sailors, of which surely a third part may be justly
claimed by the publick interest; nor do I know why they who obstinately
refuse to serve their country, should be treated with so much
tenderness. It is more reasonable that they should suffer by their
refusal, than that the general happiness should be endangered.
Mr. SOUTHWELL spoke next, to the following purpose:--Sir, when any
authority shall be lodged in my hands, to be exercised for the publick
benefit, I shall always endeavour to exert it with honesty and
diligence; but will never be made the instrument of oppression, nor
execute any commission of tyranny or injustice.
As, therefore, the power of searching is to be placed in the hands of
justices of the peace, I think it necessary to declare, that I will
never perform so hateful a part of the office, and that if this bill
becomes a law, I will retire from the place to which my authority is
limited, rather than contribute to the miseries of my fellow-subjects.
Mr. LITTLETON spoke as follows:--Sir, all the arguments which have been
offered in support of this bill, are reduced at last to one constant
assertion of the necessity of passing it.
We have been told, sir, with great acuteness, that a war cannot be
carried on without men, and that ships are useless without sailors; and
from thence it is inferred that the bill is necessary.
That forces are by some means necessary to be raised, the warmest
opponents of the bill will not deny, but they cannot, therefore, allow
the inference, that the methods now proposed are necessary.
They are of opinion, sir, that cruel and oppressive measures can never
be justified, till all others have been tried without effect; they think
that the law, when it was formerly passed, was unjust, and are
convinced, by observing that it never was revived, and that it was by
experience discovered to be useless.
Necessity, absolute necessity, is a formidable sound, and may terrify
the weak and timorous into silence and compliance; but it will be found,
upon reflection, to be often nothing but an idle feint, to amuse and to
delude us, and that what is represented as necessary to the publick, is
only something convenient to men in power.
Necessity, sir, has, heretofore, been produced as a plea for that which
could be no otherwise defended. In the days of Charles the first,
ship-money was declared to be legal, because it was necessary. Such was
the reasoning of the lawyers, and the determination of the judges; but
the senate, a senate of patriots! without fear, and without corruption,
and influenced only by a sincere regard for the publick, were of a
different opinion, and neither admitted the lawfulness nor necessity.
It will become us, on this occasion, to act with equal vigour, and
convince our countrymen, that we proceed upon the same principles, and
that the liberties of the people are our chief care.
I hope we shall unite in defeating any attempts that may impair the
rights which every Briton boasts as his birthright, and reject a law
which will be equally dreaded and detested with the inquisition of
Spain.
Sir William YONGE spoke next, to this effect:--Sir, though many
particular clauses of this bill have been disapproved and opposed, some
with more, and some with less reason, yet the committee has hitherto
agreed that a bill for this purpose is necessary in the present state of
our affairs; upon this principle we have proceeded thus far, several
gentlemen have proposed their opinions, contributed their observations,
and laboured as in an affair universally admitted to be of high
importance to the general prosperity.
But now, sir, when some of the difficulties are surmounted, some
expedients luckily struck out, some objections removed, and the great
design brought nearer to execution, we are on a sudden informed, that
all our labour is superfluous, that we are amusing ourselves with
useless consultations, providing against calamities that can never
happen, and raising bulwarks without an enemy; that, therefore, the
question before us is of no importance, and the bill ought, without
farther examination, to be totally rejected.
I suppose, sir, I shall be readily believed, when I declare that I shall
willingly admit any arguments that may evince our safety; but, in
proportion as real freedom from danger is to be desired, a supine and
indolent neglect of it is to be dreaded and avoided; and I cannot but
fear that our enemies are more formidable, and more malicious, than the
gentlemen that oppose this bill have represented them.
This bill can only be opposed upon the supposition that it gives a
sanction to severities, more rigorous than our present circumstances
require; for nothing can be more fallacious or invidious than a
comparison of this law with the demand of ship-money, a demand contrary
to all law, and enforced by the manifest exertion of arbitrary power.
How has the conduct of his present majesty any resemblance with that of
Charles the first? Is any money levied by order of the council? Are the
determinations of the judges set in opposition to the decrees of the
senate? Is any man injured in his property by an unlimited extension of
the prerogative? or any tribunal established superiour to the laws of
the nation?
To draw parallels, sir, where there is no resemblance; and to accuse, by
insinuations, where there is no shadow of a crime; to raise outcries
when no injury is attempted; and to deny a real necessity because it was
once pretended for a bad purpose; is surely not to advance the publick
service, which can be promoted only by just reasonings, and calm
reflections, not by sophistry and satire, by insinuations without
ground, and by instances beside the purpose.
Mr. LITTLETON answered:--Sir, true zeal for the service of the publick
is never discovered by collusive subterfuges and malicious
representations; a mind, attentive to the common good, would hardly, on
an occasion like this, have been at leisure to pervert an harmless
illustration, and extract disaffection from a casual remark.
It is, indeed, not impossible, sir, that I might express myself
obscurely; and it may be, therefore, necessary to declare that I
intended no disrespectful reflection on the conduct of his majesty; but
must observe, at the same time, that obscure or inaccurate expressions
ought always to be interpreted in the most inoffensive meaning, and that
to be too sagacious in discovering concealed insinuations, is no great
proof of superiour integrity.
Wisdom, sir, is seldom captious, and honesty seldom suspicious; a man
capable of comprehending the whole extent of a question, disdains to
divert his attention by trifling observations; and he that is above the
practice of little arts, or the motions of petty malice, does not easily
imagine them incident to another.
That in the question of ship-money necessity was pretended, cannot be
denied; and, therefore, all that I asserted, which was only that the
nation had been once terrified without reason, by the formidable sound
of necessity, is evident and uncontested.
When a fraud has once been practised, it is of use to remember it, that
we may not twice be deceived by the same artifice; and, therefore, I
mentioned the plea of necessity, that it may be inquired whether it is
now more true than before.
That the senate, sir, and not the judges, is now applied to, is no proof
of the validity of the arguments which have been produced; for in the
days of ship-money, the consent of the senate had been asked, had there
been any prospect of obtaining it; but the court had been convinced, by
frequent experiments, of the inflexibility of the senate, and despaired
of influencing them by prospects of advantage, or intimidating them by
frowns or menaces.
May this and every future senate imitate their conduct, and, like them,
distinguish between real and pretended necessity; and let not us be
terrified, by idle clamours, into the establishment of a law at once
useless and oppressive.
Sir William YONGE replied:--Sir, that I did not intend to misrepresent
the meaning of the honourable gentleman, I hope it is not necessary to
declare; and that I have, in reality, been guilty of any
misrepresentation, I am not yet convinced. If he did not intend a
parallel between ship-money and the present bill, to what purpose was
his observation? and if he did intend it, was it not proper to show
there was no resemblance, and that all which could be inferred from it
was, therefore, fallacious and inconclusive?
Nor do I only differ, sir, in opinion with the honourable gentleman with
relation to his comparison of measures, which have nothing in common
with each other; but will venture to declare, that he is not more
accurate in his citations from history. The king did not apply to the
judges, because the senate would not have granted him the money that he
demanded, but because his chief ambition was to govern the nation by the
prerogative alone, and to free himself and his descendants from
senatorial inquiries.
That this account, sir, is just, I am confident the histories of those
times will discover; and, therefore, any invidious comparison between
that senate and any other, is without foundation in reason or in truth.
Mr. BATHURST spoke as follows:--Sir, that this law will easily admit, in
the execution of it, such abuses as will overbalance the benefits, may
readily be proved; and it will not be consistent with that regard to the
publick, expected from us by those whom we represent, to enact a law
which may probably become an instrument of oppression.
The servant by whom I am now attended, may be termed, according to the
determination of the vindicators of this bill, a seafaring man, having
been once in the West Indies; and he may, therefore, be forced from my
service, and dragged into a ship, by the authority of a justice of the
peace, perhaps of some abandoned prostitute, dignified with a commission
only to influence elections, and awe those whom excises and riot-acts
cannot subdue.
I think it, sir, not improper to declare, that I would by force oppose
the execution of a law like this; that I would bar my doors and defend
them; that I would call my neighbours to my assistance; and treat those
who should attempt to enter without my consent, as thieves, ruffians,
and murderers.
Lord GAGE spoke to this effect:--Sir, it is well known that by the laws
of this nation, poverty is, in some degree, considered as a crime, and
that the debtor has only this advantage over the felon, that he cannot
be pursued into his dwelling, nor be forced from the shelter of his own
house.
I think it is universally agreed, that the condition of a man in debt is
already sufficiently miserable, and that it would be more worthy of the
legislative power to contrive alleviations of his hardships, than
additions to them; and it seems, therefore, no inconsiderable objection
to this bill, that, by conferring the power of entering houses by force,
it may give the harpies of the law an opportunity of entering, in the
tumult of an impress, and of dragging a debtor to a noisome prison,
under pretence of forcing sailors into the service of the crown.
Mr. TRACEY then said:--Sir, that some law for the ends proposed by the
bill before us, is necessary, I do not see how we can doubt, after the
declarations of the admirals, who are fully acquainted with the service
for which provision is to be made; and of the ministry, whose knowledge
of the present state of our own strength, and the designs of our
enemies, is, doubtless, more exact than they can acquire who are not
engaged in publick employments.
If, therefore, the measures now proposed are necessary, though they may
not be agreeable to the present dispositions of the people, for whose
preservation they are intended, I shall think it my duty to concur in
them, that the publick service may not be retarded, nor the safety of a
whole nation hazarded, by a scrupulous attention to minute objections.
Mr. CAMPBELL spoke as follows:--Sir, I have often, amidst my elogies on
British liberty, and my declarations of the excellence of our
constitution, the impartiality of our government, and the efficacy of
our laws, been reproached by foreigners with the practice of impresses,
as a hardship which would raise a rebellion in absolute monarchies, and
kindle those nations into madness, that have, for many ages, known no
other law than the will of their princes. A hardship which includes
imprisonment and slavery, and to which, therefore, no aggravations ought
to be added.
But if justice and reason, sir, are to be overborne by necessity; if
necessity is to stop our ears against the complaints of the oppressed,
and harden our hearts at the sight of their misery, let it, at least,
not destroy our memories, nor deprive us of the advantages of
experience.
Let us inquire, sir, what were the effects of this hateful authority
when it was formerly consigned to the magistrates. Were our fleets
manned in an instant? were our harbours immediately crowded with
sailors? did we surprise our enemies by our expedition, and make
conquests before an invasion could be suspected? I have heard, sir, of
no such consequences, nor of any advantages which deserved to be
purchased by tyranny and oppression. We have found that very few were
procured by the magistrates, and the charge of seizing and conveying was
very considerable; and, therefore, cannot but conclude that illegal
measures, which have been once tried without success, should, for a
double reason, never be revived.
Sir John BARNARD spoke to this effect:--Sir, it is not without regret
that I rise so often on this occasion: for to dispute with those whose
determinations are not influenced by reason, is a ridiculous task, a
tiresome labour, without prospect of reward.
But, as an honourable gentleman has lately remarked, that by denying the
necessity of the bill, instead of making objections to particular
clauses, the whole design of finding expedients to supply the sea
service is at once defeated; I think it necessary to remind him, that I
have made many objections to this bill, and supported them by reasons
which have not yet been answered. But I shall now no longer confine my
remarks to single errours, but observe that there is one general defect,
by which the whole bill is made absurd and useless.
For the foundation of a law like this, sir, the description of a seaman
ought to be accurately laid down, it ought to be declared what acts
shall subject him to that denomination, and by what means, after having
once enlisted himself in this unhappy class of men, he may withdraw into
a more secure and happy state of life.
Is a man, who has once only lost sight of the shore, to be for ever
hunted as a seaman? Is a man, who, by traffick, has enriched a family,
to be forced from his possessions by the authority of an impress? Is a
man, who has purchased an estate, and built a seat, to solicit the
admiralty for a protection from the neighbouring constable? Such
questions as these, sir, may be asked, which the bill before us will
enable no man to answer.
If a bill for this purpose be truly necessary, let it, at least, be
freed from such offensive absurdities; let it be drawn up in a form as
different as is possible from that of the bill before us; and, at last,
I am far from imagining that a law will be contrived not injurious to
individuals, nor detrimental to the publick; not contrary to the first
principles of our establishment, and not loaded with folly and
absurdities.
Mr. VYNER then spoke:--Sir, a definition of a seaman is so necessary in
a bill for this purpose, that the omission of it will defeat all the
methods that can be suggested. How shall a law be executed, or a penalty
inflicted, when the magistrate has no certain marks whereby he may
distinguish a criminal? and when even the man that is prosecuted may not
be conscious of guilt, or know that the law extended to him, which he is
charged with having offended.
If, in defining a seaman on the present occasion, it be thought proper
to have any regard to the example of our predecessors, whose wisdom has,
in this debate, been so much magnified; it may be observed, that a
seaman has been formerly defined, a man who haunts the seas; a
definition which seems to imply habit and continuance, and not to
comprehend a man who has, perhaps, never gone more than a single voyage.
But though this definition, sir, should be added to the amendments
already proposed, and the bill thereby be brought somewhat nearer to the
constitutional principles of our government; I cannot yet think it so
much rectified, as that the hardships will not outweigh the benefits,
and, therefore, shall continue to oppose the bill, though to some
particular clauses I have no objection.
[The term _seafaring man_ was left out, and the several amendments were
admitted in the committee, but the clauses themselves, to the number of
eleven, were given up on the report.]