having an attack of the gout. Lord Rockingham thought it quite necessary that the lords who had met here yesterday should be informed of Lord Chatham's indisposition, and that their opinion should be asked about putting off the motion. (') tution must be wounded, let it not receive its mortal stab at this dark and midnight hour, when honest men are asleep in their beds, and when only felons and assassins are seeking for prey." At half-past one the question was put, and carried in the affirmative. () On the 2d of March, Lord Chatham being sufficiently recovered to attend, Lord Craven moved, "That an humble address be presented to his Majesty, beseeching him forthwith to take the proper steps for such an increase of seamen in the royal navy as shall effectually preserve the honour and security of his Majesty's kingdoms and colonies, and protect the trade of his Majesty's subjects." The following report of Lord Chatham's speech on this occasion was taken by Junius * : "The report of this speech is shown to be from the pen of JUNIUS, by the following letter, which accompanied it when first inserted in the Public Advertiser of March 5. — Sir, I had the good fortune, last Friday, to be in company with two noble peers who have not been accustomed lately to meet often in private. As the subject of their conversation was curious, and worth the attention of your readers, I send you that part of it which I can recollect, and very nearly in their own words. I am, Sir, your humble servant, INVISIBLE.' Comparing this letter with the note prefixed to Burke's speech, by JUNIUS, on the 5th December, 1767, (Woodfall, vol. ii. p. 498.) and with the introductory paragraph to another sketch by him, on the 19th November, 1770, Sir, a few days ago I was in a large public company, where there happened some curious conversation,' (vol. iii. p. 278.) we at once perceive that the report which follows may be justly attributed to JUNIUS. It then opens in these words: 'The house of Savoy has produced a race of illustrious princes; notwithstanding which, it must be confessed, that the court of Turin sold you to the court of France in the last peace.' After this sentence, the reports in the Public Advertiser and the London Museum, into which it was copied, agree word for word with the debate as it is given in Almon; but instead of the above four lines, ALMON has inserted more than a page and a half of the speech of Lord Chatham, not to be found printed in any other work; and the reporter has introduced, in the course of it, the substance of the above in an emphatic manner, marking it with italics and small capitals, as if it were, what it certainly was, the essence of that part of the speech - that portion which he took down in his notes-and which his recollection afterwards enabled him to extend to twelve times the original Indeed, it appeared to be the judgment of many lords, that the putting it off might be hurtful to -- "The Earl of CHATHAM supported the motion. He condemned the conduct of the ministry in every particular concerning the navy. Having gone through great part of the subject, he took occasion to speak of the secret influence which had pervaded the counsels of the present reign. He described this influence as having subsisted from the first moment of his Majesty's accession. He called it dangerous, base, unconstitutional and wicked. It had undermined and overturned every administration, however constituted or supported. He spoke, he said, of an invisible, irresponsible influence of the pernicious counsels of a favourite, who had occasioned all the unhappiness and disturbances in the nation, and whose agents had extended his pernicious politics and principles to the government and terror of the colonies; from all which he deprecated the worst of misfortunes. That although this favourite was at the present moment abroad, yet his influence, by his confidential agents, was as potent as if he were present. Who does not know the Mazarinade of France that Mazarine absent, was Mazarine still. What is there, he asked, to distinguish the two cases? The transaction of the late peace was a great proof, amongst many others, of his influence; that measure was his. Others participated in the guilt, but he was the principal. Then, raising his voice, he asserted, in a manly and dignified tone, that this country WAS SOLD at the late peace; that we were SOLD by the court of Turin to the court of France: what other persons were concerned he would not at present state; but what he had stated was an indisputable FACT. He himself had been duped by this secret influence at the moment when he least suspected treachery; when the prospect was fair, and when the appearances of confidence were strong; in particular, at the time when he was taken ill, and obliged to go to Bath for a short week; he had before he set length. The question who furnished Almon, in 1792, with this extended account of the debate on March 2, 1770? admits but of one answer, when it is considered, that from SIR PHILIP FRANCIS were received the two full reports preceding, (see pp. 369, 400.) and one still longer immediately following this."-Junius Identified, p. 385. the cause, and yet the very polite manner in which Lord Chatham had expressed his wish of its being out formed with great pains, attention, and deliberation, some plans, which, as he conceived, were highly interesting, and of the utmost importance to this country; which had been approved in council, and to which the King himself had given his approbation. But when he returned, he found his plans were all vanished into thin air. When I,' continued he, 'was earnestly called upon for the public service, I came from Somersetshire with wings of zeal. I consented to preserve a peace which I abominated; a peace I would not make, but would preserve when made. I undertook to support a government by law; but to shield no man from public justice. These terms were accepted, I thought, with sincerity accepted. I own I was credulous, I was duped, I was deceived; for I soon found that there was no original administration to be suffered in this country. The same secret invisible influence still prevailed, which had put an end to all the successive administrations, as soon as they opposed or declined to act under it.' Here the Duke of Grafton rose, and said, 'I rise to defend the King; though, if I understand rightly the words which have been spoken, they are only the effects of a distempered mind, brooding over its own discontent.' To which, Lord Chatham replied, 'I rise neither to deny, to retract, nor to explain away, the words I have spoken. As for his Majesty, I always found every thing gracious and amiable in the closet; so amiably condescending as a promise, in every repeated audience, not only to forgive, but to supply, the defects of health by his cheerful support, and by the ready assistance of all his immediate dependants, &c. Instead of this, all the obstacles and difficulties which attended every great and public measure, did not arise from those out of government: they were suggested, nourished, and supported, by that secret influence I have mentioned, and by the industry of those very dependants; first by secret treachery; then by official influence; afterwards in public councils. A long train of these practices has at length unwillingly convinced me that there is something behind the throne greater than the King himself. As to the noble duke, there was in his conduct, from the time of my being taken ill, a put off, and the desire the lords had that his Lordship should be present in the House on the debate, has inclined us all to decide to put it off till Wednesday or Friday se'nnight. JOHN CALCRAFT, ESQ. TO THE EARL OF CHATHAM. Sackville Street, Tuesday afternoon, MY DEAR LORD, LORD TEMPLE will have communicated my intelligence of last night. It is since confirmed, and gradual deviation from every thing that had been settled and solemnly agreed to by his Grace, both as to measures and men ; till at last there were not left two planks together of the ship which had been originally launched. As to a distempered mind, I have a drawer full of proofs, that my principles have never given way to any disease; and that I have always had sufficient vigour of mind remaining to support them, and consequently to avoid all those snares, which, from time to time, have been so artfully laid to take advantage of my state of health his Grace can witness better than any other man, because he has himself the letters which sufficiently prove it.' The motion was negatived." () On the following day, a debate took place in the House of Lords, on a motion for a committee to inquire into the state and expenditure of the civil list. The subjoined account of what passed upon this occasion originally appeared in the London Museum: "The Earl of CHATHAM Spoke in support of the motion. He said, 'The civil list was appropriated, in the first instance, to the support of the civil government; and in the next, to the honour and dignity of the crown. In every other respect, the minute and particular expenses of the civil list are as open to I believe Thursday will be the day on which the remonstrance is to be attacked in parliament. parliamentary examination and inquiry, in regard to the application and abuse, as any other grant of the people to any other purpose: and the ministers are equally or more culpable for incurring an unprovided expense, and arrears in this service, as for any other. The preamble of the civil list acts prove this; and none but novices will ever act without proper regard to them: and therefore I can never consent to increase fraudulently the civil establishment, under pretence of making up deficiencies; nor will I bid so high for royal favour and the minister who is bold enough to spend the people's money before it is granted (even though it were not for the purpose of corrupting their representatives), and thereby leaving the people of England no other alternative, but either to disgrace their Sovereign, by not paying his debts, or to become the prey of every unthrifty or corrupt minister such minister deserves death. The late good old King had something of humanity and amongst other royal and manly virtues, he possessed justice, truth, and sincerity, in an eminent degree; so that he had something about him by which it was possible to know whether he liked you or disliked you. I have been told that I have a pension, and that I recommended others to pensions. It is true; and here is a list of them: you will find there the names of General Amherst, Sir Edward Hawke, and several others of the same nature; they were given as rewards for real services, and as encouragements to other gallant heroes. They were honourably earned in a different sort of campaigns than those at Westminster; they were gained by actions full of danger to themselves, of glory and benefit to this nation; not by corrupt votes of baseness to the destruction of their country. You will find no secret services there; and you will find, that when the warrior was recompensed, the member of parliament was left free. You will likewise find a pension of 1500l. a year to Lord Camden. I recommended his Lordship to be chancellor; his public and private virtues were acknowledged by all; they made his station more precarious. I could not reasonably expect from him that he would quit the chief justiceship of the common pleas, which he held for life, and put himself in the |