GENERAL HISTORY 



[71 



the actual exercise of tlie powers 

 Avliicli parliament has entrustctl to 

 tlie executive government, and to 

 the effect of the know!\ existence 

 of such powers ready to be called 

 into action when necessity requires 

 it, — and in representing the dan- 

 ger which would threaten the 

 country were those powers to be 

 withdrawn at the present moment. 

 And the committee feel that they 

 should ill discharge the trust re- 

 j)osed in them if tliey did not 

 declare their own entire agreement 

 in this opinion. A\'ith the fullest 

 confidence in the general loyalty 

 and good disposition, not only of 

 those portions of the kingdom 

 whicli have hitherto remained in 

 a gi'eat degree untainted, but of 

 by far the most considerable part 

 of those very districts which are 

 the chief scenes of the oj^erations 

 of the disaffected — a confidence 

 which very recent experience has 

 satisfactorily confirmeil — they can- 

 not refrain from sid^mitting to 

 your lordships, as the result of 

 all the information they liave re- 

 ceived, that the time is not yet 

 anivcd Avhen the maintenance of 

 the public trancpiillity, and the 

 protection of the lives and pro- 

 perties of his majesty's subjects, 

 can be allowed to rest upon the 

 ordinary powers of the law. 



The order of the day for conti- 

 nuing the suspension of the Habeas 

 Corpus Act being read on the 16th. 

 of June in the House of Lords, 

 Lord Sidmoutn rose, and after 

 mentioning that the ministers of 

 the crown had been disappointed in 

 their ho])e of closing the operation 

 of the bill with the session of par- 

 liament, and had thought it ne- 

 cessary to propose a new enquiry, 

 he went over the several facts 



which had been re})orted to tlie 

 conmiittee, and had induced tliem 

 to lay their discoveries before the 

 House. Having descanted upon 

 the accumulated proofs that theie 

 still subsisted very dangerous de- 

 signs in different parts of the coun- 

 try, he said, that all which he 

 asked w as the adoption of tiie mea- 

 sure now proposed, if their lord- 

 ships would agree with him in 

 thinking it essential for the pre- 

 servation of the constitution. In 

 those places where the schemes of 

 the conspirators had been most 

 advanced, the act had been put in 

 execution, and the leaders were in 

 custody, by which means their 

 atrocious designs wei'e defeated ; 

 aiul government iiad received in- 

 formation fjom JNIanchester and 

 other places, that they should great- 

 ly deplore the withdrawing of 

 these powers at the time they were 

 most wanted. His lordship con- 

 cluded with moving, that the bill 

 for continuing the suspension of 

 the Habeas Corpus Act be now 

 read a second time, 



Lord Erskine asked, What were 

 the causes of that disturbed state 

 of the country which was the sub- 

 ject of the first report, and of the 

 renewed one now before them ? 

 The causes were manifest in the 

 universal distresses C(f all classes 

 of people from the stagnation of 

 trade and manufactures, increased 

 and embittered by a devouring 

 revenue ; and in tiie direction of 

 the public mind under the pressure 

 of such calamities, because the 

 people in their turns, when look- 

 ing to the removal of such dis- 

 tresses, examined the cause of 

 them, wliich they attributed to 

 their not having that share in the 

 public councils which they thought 



themselves 



