HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



201 



a light the intrnduction of these 

 into any part of 'he Brilisli domi- 

 nions was viewed by all good pa- 

 .trio;s, and how indispensably requi- 

 site it was deemed that no such 

 .measure should pass wi.hout the 

 explicit consent of . parhameiit. 

 .Ministers might give the most 

 positive assurances ihat the stay of 

 a foreign anned force would be 

 short , but that was not the ques- 

 tion. When once introduced, 

 and the principle of introduction 

 tolerated, who was to 'limit the 

 numbers to be stationed on Bri- 

 tish grouud, on tiiose many pre- 

 tences for which ministers were 

 never at a loss ? When suffici- 

 ently numerous to brave all con- 

 troul, by whom were they to be 

 dismi-sed without their own con- 

 sent ? Would parliamentary re- 

 .l)reientations, without something 

 more substantial and coercive, pre- 

 vail upon them to depart ? In 

 jsuch a caF.e as the present, it 

 b;camr h-m, and e^'^y member 

 of a Bridsh House of Parliament, 

 to speak out,, mindless of frowns 

 and careless of favours. It was 

 notorious, that by grantinjr an un- 

 limited power of the sword to 

 Kin;,s and Princes, the liberties 

 of Europe had been destroyed. 

 While parliament acted with wis- 

 dom, it would look on its own pri- 

 vileges as founded on jiublic 

 fn^edom ; that once overturned, 

 their own privileges would soon 

 be violated. They ought there- 

 fore, for their own interest, to 

 -.land by the people, who alone 

 would stand by them in ihe day 

 of need: but to .secure this sup-, 

 port, they should l>ev/are of deli- 

 vering the nation into the power 

 (>t' Kirangers, who, v/iien once 

 ^rail)' settled, would for tJicir own 



sake become the instruments of op- 

 pression. JVlinisteriai emissaries stu- 

 diously f^ougbt to represent num- 

 bers of people in this country as 

 enemies to monarchy ; but if this 

 representation were true, the most 

 elfectual method of removing this 

 enmity would be to divest mo- 

 narchy of its terrors, by refusing 

 such an augmentation of his power 

 as the prerogative in question was 

 aiming at. The introductionpf the 

 Hessian troops^ from general views 

 of good policy in conducting the 

 war, Mr. Fox did b)' no means con- 

 demn J it was merely, he afurmed, 

 the right of the executive power to 

 introduce tliem into the kingdom, 

 independently of Parliament, which 

 . he denied ; as a prerosative incom- 

 patible with the security of public 

 freedom, and tending incontrovcr- 

 tibly to lodge a degree of authority 

 in the executive department, which 

 at some period might enable it to 

 compass themost fatal dcjgns to this 

 country. This long and animated 

 discussion terminated in favour of 

 ministry, by a division of 184 

 against 35. 



Opposition however considered 

 this subject in too serious a light 

 to give it up without any further 

 deljate J — the pii'nlic opinion was 

 O'! their side. Though people ap- 

 proved of the measure itself, of al- 

 lowing the Hessians to enjoy the 

 benefits of a residence on so heal- 

 thy a spot as the isle of Wight, siill 

 the propriety of a parliamentary 

 permission for this purpose, ap- 

 peared too manifest for ministers 

 declining to accept of an indem- 

 nity for a conduct whicli was not 

 reputed blamealtle iii any otlier 

 light than in iheir refusal to ac- 

 knowledge its illegality. Their 

 obstinacy on this occaiion did them 

 considciable 



