HISTORY OF EUROPE. [123 



would expire on March next. The 

 country might, at this time, be in 

 a state of greater safety than it was 

 a year or two ago : but it was im- 

 possible to read the whole of the re- 

 port of the committee of that house, 

 published last year, without being 

 convinced that there were persons 

 in this country who would disturb 

 the peace of it, if any opportunity 

 presented itself. Conceiving it to 

 be necessary, therefore, to continue 

 the same powers, he moved for 

 " leave to bring in a bill to conti- 

 nue the act of last session." This 

 motion was opposed by Mr. Jones, 

 Mr. Sheridan, and sir Francis Bur- 

 dett. Mr. Sheridan said, " It was 

 cruel that the people at large should 

 be deprived of their privileges, 

 merely because one Irishman, and 

 one Swedish baron, had been taken 

 up since April, 1799- " The mo^ 

 tion was supported by Mr. Buxton, 

 tlie sccretary-at-war, Mr. Canning, 

 and Mr. Wilberforce. Mr. Wind- 

 ham said, among a variety of other 

 positions, that the question was, 

 whether any such change had taken 

 place, since the last suspension of 

 the liabcas corpus act, as to require 

 measures different from those which 

 parliament has hitherto pursued, by 

 way of general safety ? Now, on 

 that subject he must contend, that 

 we were riot warranted in saying 

 that there is no symptom now of the 

 mischief which we formerly dread- 

 ed ; and, therefore, that the habeas 

 corpus should not now be suspended : 

 Ijc was very far from being sure 

 that such a mode of reasoning ought 

 to l)e adopted ; or that the reverse 

 was not, in some measure, to be 

 taken up : because the very cessa- 

 tion of the mischief proved, to a 

 certain extent, the ellicacy of the 

 remedy ; and, therefore, the non- 

 ap[)earaacc of the evil, instead of 



being a reason for taking off the re- 

 medy, was a reason for its continu- 

 ance ; otherwise the house must 

 come to this sort of reasoning, " We 

 will repeal the act because we be- 

 lieve it to be efficacious." The 

 case was, indeed, open to two 

 wavs of reasoning : for he believed 

 that both were in a degree true. 

 He believed that the quiet of the 

 country was partly owing to this 

 act ; and he believed also that there 

 was a change in the dispositions of 

 some parts of the country: he would 

 say again, some parts of the country : 

 for he begged leave to distinguish 

 that part from the great mass of 

 the people, who were now, as 

 they always had been, perfectly 

 loyal. 



Mr. Wilberforce said, that mini- 

 sters were entitled to confidence, 

 unless there appeared, from their 

 character and conduct, reasons for 

 refusing it : and, on the view of 

 their character and conduct, parlia- 

 ment were now to judge, whether 

 they were persons disposed to abuse 

 their trust. Parliament would also 

 consider, whether the persons who 

 opposed this bill ^vere persons that 

 might nof be imposed on, and 

 whether they had not, under such 

 imposition, been led solemnly to at- 

 test, upon oath, the characters of 

 persons who were highly suspected, 

 and afterwards convicted of crimes, 

 from which they then escaped. This 

 testimony was not then given un- 

 der any hasty and transient act of 

 the mind, but formally, and solemn- 

 ly, in a court of justice : and he 

 thought that such gentlemen, if 

 they did not confess their being im- 

 posed on, should, at least, refrain 

 from the discussion. The motion, 

 for renewing the act for suspending 

 the habeas corpus, was carried by 

 (if) against Q. 



