B U R TC E. 
trial.' tl Already (laid he) I fee many of the props of 
good government beginning to fail. ] fee propagated prin¬ 
ciples which will not leave to religion even a toleration, 
and will leave virtue herfelf lefs than a name.” In his 
fuppprt of Sir Harry Houghton’s motion during this fef- 
fion, for the relief of diffenters, Mr. Burke uttered fen- 
timents molt favourable to that body, and the molt liberal 
in themfelves. The toleration which they enjoyed by 
connivance, he faid, was “ but a temporary relaxation of 
Haver)”—a fort of liberty “not calculated for -the meri¬ 
dian of England.” Sir -Harry’s motion palled the com¬ 
mons, but was loft in the houle of lords. About this 
time came out his ‘Thoughts on the Caufes of the pre- 
fent Difcontents,’ which contains his very celebrated ana¬ 
lysis of the powers and functions of the hpnfe of com¬ 
mons. This gave great oft^-nce to the adminiftratiqn un¬ 
der lord North, while it brought Mr. Burke forward as a 
principal leader of the oppofition. The jet of his remarks 
on this third branch of tfie con(titut.joftp is wound up in 
the following (Inking paffage : “ Tbe^nrtue, fpirit, and 
edepce, of tire houfe of commons, confifts in its being the 
Ofprefs image of the feelings of the nation. It was not 
deligned to be a controul upon , but^or, the people.” Ha¬ 
ving given this very -juft definition of the .intention of a 
houfe of commons, he proceeds to a defcription of its 
date at that time : “ A .vigilant and jealous eye over exe¬ 
cutory and judicial magiftracy, an anxious care of public 
money, an opennefs, approaching towards facility, to pub¬ 
lic complaints : thefe l'eem to be the true charaCleriftics 
of an houfe of commons. But an addrelling houfe of com¬ 
mons, and a petitioning nation ; an houfe of commons full 
of confidence, when the nation is plunged in del'pair; in 
the utmoft harmony with minifters, whom the people re¬ 
gard with the utmoft abhorrence ; who vote thanks, when 
the public opinion calls upon them for impeachments; 
who are eager to grant, when the general voice demands 
account; who, in all di.fputes between the people and ad- 
miniftration, prefume againft the people; who puniftt 
their disorders, but refufe even to enquire into the pro¬ 
vocations to them : this is an unnatural, a monftrous, ftate 
of things in this conftitution. Such an aftembly may be a 
great, wife, awful, fenate ; but it is not to any popular 
purpofe an houfe of commons.” He then purfoes the fe- 
cret influence of minifters, which he alfo maintains to be 
pernicious. His remedy for the evil is contained in a pro- 
pofition, that independent property (hotild govern, and not 
dependent favouritifm. The interefts of the people, he 
fays, fhould be placed in the hands.of the independent 
yeomen, gentlemen, merchants, and manufacturers, of the 
kingdom, whole Jiuiation, from either their fortune or in- 
duftrvj, -renders them free independent agents, inftead of 
feeing in the hands of the mere menials and minifters of 
court pageantry, He who derives his fortune from inhe¬ 
ritance, or fuccefsful induftry, has an intereft in the wel¬ 
fare of the country in which that fortune is veiled ; which 
is not the cafe with the receivers of court wages. An 
opinion, however, which Mr. Burke himfelf ,does not feem 
to haye adhered to, in the practical part of his politics. 
While Mr. Burke was thps exerting his fplendid pow¬ 
ers, the friendlhip between him and Johnlon continued. 
In the recefs, after the feflion of 1774, Johnfon vilited 
Beaconsfield for the firft time. On viewing this beautiful 
villa, he exclaimed, in the words of Virgil, 
Non equidem invidco, miror magis! n 
Though johnfon and Burke had differed in politics fince 
the commencement of the war, yet here their .differences 
were forgotten. Nothing remarkable, however, is record¬ 
ed of this vilit, except the rough compliment of the gueft 
at his departure. Burke being to let out for Briftol, to 
ftand a candidate for that city, of which a great majority 
of the electors had invited him, Johnfon, at parting, took 
him by the hand-; “Farewell, my dear lir!” laid lie ; 
■“‘and remember that I wilh you all the fuccefs which ought 
to be wilhed you, which can poffibly be vviftied yoq, by.au 
honeft man 1 ” Mr. Burke had already been elected foe 
Malton in Yorkfliire,, when the Briftol merchants invited 
him to (land for their city ; and he acceded to the requeft. 
with the content ot his new condiments. There wereai. 
ready three .candidates, lord Clare and Mr. Brickdale, the 
late members, and Mr. Crpger, an American merchant. 
Burke, when he firft appeared on the ■ buffings, made a, 
very eloquent and impreffive fpeech, in which be fliewed 
himfelf intimately acquainted with commerce, and parti¬ 
cularly with the commercial interefts of Briftol. He and 
Mr.-Cruger were elected ; though the latter had fo little 
of the orator to recommend him, that lie could exprels 
his approbation and adoption of Mr. Burke’s principles 
only by exclaiming, “ I fay ditto to Mr. Burke ! I fay 
ditto to Mr. Burke!” 
On the nth of February, 17S0, Mr. Burke communi¬ 
cated to the houfe of commons' his plan of reform in the 
conftitution -of the feverai parts of the public economy. 
His fpeech on that occafion deferves much praife, not lefs 
for its eloquence than for its principle. Minifters joined 
in approving the fpeech, and allowing the ne.ee ffity of re¬ 
trenchment : but, when that principle came to be applied 
to particular cafes, they refilled; and the four bills which 
Mr. Burke grounded on his plan were fucceffively reject¬ 
ed. On the 19th of February, 1781, he revived his plan 
of economy. This attempt was principally marked by 
the prefejit Hon. Win. Pitt having made on that occafio* 
his firft fpeech in parliament, who was then only twenty- 
two years of age, and who in fome mealure joined the 
party which was headed by Burke and Fox. Mr. Sheri¬ 
dan appeared in the houfe of commons about the fame 
time. An union of fo many powerful leaders in the oppo. 
lition, finally brought on the refignation of lord North, in 
1782. The marquis of Rockingham liicceeded ; and du-> 
ring the Ihort period of his adminiftration, which termi¬ 
nated with bis life, Mr. Burke was made paymafter-gene- 
ral of the forces. The celebrated infeription on the mau- 
foleum of this nobleman in Wentworth-park, was the 
compofition of Mr. Burke. The earl of Shelburne fuc- 
ceeding the marquis in the high office of premier, in a 
manner which the party deemed unfair, Mr. BurkeTefign- 
ed his place of paymaffer-general; but refumed it again 
under the unpopular coalition of Fox and lord North. 
From this period, his reputation feerps to have begun its 
decline. On the eftabiilhment of Mr. Pitt’s adminiftra¬ 
tion, which immediately followed the tranfitory coalition* 
Mr. Burke’s genius and eloquence in the houfe were treat¬ 
ed with a difrepect which he had never before experien¬ 
ced. It mud indeed be confeffed, that the richnefs of his 
mind very often diffufed itfelf into too great prolixity. 
Beautiful, fublime, and pathetic, as many of his expatia- 
tions were, they did not always tend to promote the bufi- 
nefs at illite. In fuch a fituation, a man of the greatefl: 
genius plight naturally expect to meet with checks. Burke, 
befides, was very irritable, and often hurried by paffion 
into the mod violent exprellions. His prolixity and irri¬ 
tability gave occafion to treatment of which his powerful 
genius might, perhaps, -be in fome degree the caufe. 
While he fpoke, feveraj members made a point of cough¬ 
ing, beating the ground with their feet, and even hooting. 
The dignity of confcious fpperiority ought to have render¬ 
ed Burke indifferent to fuch diftm bance. He might have- 
contented himfelf with reflecting that their hoots and 
coughs could not render them in any degree equql to him : 
the croaking of thejfrogs ought not to have difeompofed 
the lion. Initead of that, he fell into the moft outrage¬ 
ous fits of paffion. He once told them, that he could diffi 
cipline a pack of hounds to yelp witjpmuch more melody, 
and equal comprehenfion. 
In 1784, Mr. Burke was chofen lord reiftor of the uni- 
verlity of Glpfgow. In the beginning of July, he made 
a fpeech on the enormities.he aferibed to Haftings. Ira 
the picture he drew, he difplayed powers which might 
have compofed a moft admirable tragedy. T. lie fufferings 
he figured to himfelf, and the avarice and cruelty which 
