270 ANNUAL REGISTER, nO'i, 



Corpusact, as pavticu'.ailyttcccssary 

 when a conspirncy oiistp.d in the 

 L-art of the country: against whicK 

 j^overnment ought to be empower- 

 ed to pioreed with all possible vi- 

 gour and expedition. 



In answer to Mr. Pitt, Mr. Fox 

 expres^cll his astonishment, that so 

 mtich pains had been taken by the 

 cominittee of .Tcrecy to lay before 

 the House a collection of facts no- 

 toriously known to ihem and to the 

 pu?jli<; at lar^e for yeari. Whe- 

 ther the iridivii^uals concerned in 

 the transactions just related, had 

 acted consistently or not, was not 

 desetvinc of consideration. One 

 point in their conduct was clear ; 

 tliroagh the whole of the business 

 tbey h::d taken in hand, they con- 

 stantly expressed their wi^hes for a 

 oarlidinentary reform, l^he Scotch 

 convention had, in the most public 

 manner, declared a resolution not 

 to oppose government, but only to 

 request a redress of giievancis. 

 Were convention and sedition sy- 

 nonimous terms? He had been a 

 member of one in the year l/SO, 

 wlilch Ccrre'f ontfe<l openly with 

 societies formed on the Same prin- 

 ciples in divers p^Us of ErgbnJ. 

 They prtsenitd their joint prtitioii 

 to the House, wlilch foimaliy re- 

 ceived it, witiii.in ctiar;jing (hem 

 with KeJition. Conventioi s never 

 had, till the present j.eiiod, been 

 reputed conliary to the letter, or lo 

 the fpliit ot ihe constitution. Ry a 

 convention the Irish had obtained 

 a free const itiition : by the ^ame 

 mertns the catholics in th.it kifig- 

 tlom had obtained the pr;vile^>;es 

 they now enjoyed. He would not 

 Cotmtenance the convention pro- 

 p-^sed by the socici:e« ; but it would 

 be dangerous i'or a House of Com- 

 IxionSj the imnicdiate protectors of 



the franchises of their fel!ow-suh- 

 jccts, to declare it illegal. To pre- 

 tend alarm at their attempting to 

 scljre the reins of government, was 

 mere affectation. Were any con- 

 vention formed on mich a plan, to 

 be so dispos3csscd of their reason as 

 to venture on such a step, they 

 must immediately become an ob- 

 ject of too much derision to com- 

 m.ind any obedience. The extent 

 of the ministerial nleasure was no 

 less than to invest the executive 

 power with absolute authority ovci" 

 every si;bj'°ctin the kingdom : the 

 restraints with which it surrounded 

 eveiy man, were incompatible with 

 that manly freedom ofthought and 

 speech, without which no libertjT 

 could exist. The suspension of the 

 Habeas Corpus act was by no 

 means warranted by any actual ne- 

 cessity. The suspensions that took 

 place in the years 17 '5 and 17-15^ 

 were no precedent for the present 

 period. 1 hose were truly perilous 

 times: ihe religion, the libeity of 

 the kineiom, were both menaced 

 by a ribellion in favour of a popish 

 pietendei-, and of a despotic go- 

 verr.mci't. 



Nil. Sheiidan, In opposition to 

 the bill, look sevtte notice of the 

 Impatience with which the mini- 

 sterial party had called for the ques- 

 tion. Such conduct went to the 

 preclusion of all parliamentary dis- 

 cussion, and to impose silence at 

 once upon the legislative body.— ^- 

 It vTould be trore reasonable to 

 limit the operation of the bill to 

 hidividuals belonging to societies 

 engaQ;«<i in the carrying forward 

 political undertakings, than to de- 

 liver up all men indiscriminately to 

 the will of the minister. 



Mr. Burke contended that the 

 Ccithollcs in Ireland had not deno- 

 minated 



