United Company; or if any fuch breach of treaty, injury, wrong, or grievance, fhall (without complaint being made thereof) appear upon any part of the correfpondence relating to the faid United Company's affairs; the faid Directors hereby appointed fhall, as fpeedily as may be, inquire into fuch breach of treaty, injury, wrong, or grievance; and fhall begin their examination into the fame, by reading and confidering any treaties, agreements, or affurances, fubfifting between the faid United Company and fuch native Prince, or any way relative to him, if any fuch there fhall be, or any orders which may have been given by the Court of Directors hereby difcontinued, or General Court of Proprietors, relating to fuch native Prince; and the faid Directors hereby appointed fhall do full and complete juftice to fuch native Prince for fuch breach of treaty, injury, wrong, or grievance, and on every material article and head of charge (if there be more than one) fpecifically, and not upon the whole of fuch charge in grofs. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforefaid, That three, and not lefs, of the faid Directors, fhall form a Board for executing this act, or any of the powers thereof, or any other powers vefted in or committed to, or which fhall be vefted in or committed to, fuch Directors, and the major part of the faid Directors prefent fhall determine, except where the voices fhall be equally divided, and then the Chairman, or, in his abfence, the Deputy Chairman, fhall have two voices, or the cafting voice. And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That all the correfpondence of the faid Directors hereby appointed, with all perfons whatfoever in the fervice of the faid United Company, fhall be figned by the Secretary of fuch Directors, by order of the Board. And whereas by virtue of the charter of the faid Company, and the regulations which have from time to time been made for the better government of the faid Company, it it is required, that certain acts fhould be done or confented to, and that certain accounts fhould be figned by a particular number of the Directors, hereby discontinued, be it therefore enacted, by the authority aforefaid, That in all cafes what foever, where any act, matter, or thing is directed to be done or confented to, or any accounts or writing to be figned by the Directors hereby difcontinued, or to be done or confented to, or figned by any particular number of fuch Directors, fuch act, matter, or thing fhall, from and after the commencement of this act, be done or confented to, and fuch accounts or writing fhall be figned by three of the Directors hereby appointed. And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That the faid Directors hereby appointed, and affiftant Directors, and each and every of them, during the continuance of this act, fhall be utterly incapable of taking, holding, or exercifing, any office, ftation, or employment what foever, in the fervice of the faid United Company; and fhall alfo be incapable of taking, holding, or exercifing any other place of profit from the Crown, during pleasure. And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That it fhall, and may be lawful for his Majefty to remove any of the faid Directors hereby appointed, or affiftant Directors upon an addrefs of either Houfe of Parliament. And whereas a doubt may arife, whether the place of Director, when the fame fhall be held by any perfon, to be appointed by his Majefty, in manner herein-before provided, be not within the provifion of an act of the fixth year of the reign of Queen Anne, intitled, "An Act for the fecurity of her Majefty's perfon and government, and of the "fucceffion to the Crown of Great-Britain in the Proteftant line," although the faid place fhall have been created and erected by authority of Parliament: be it therefore enacted, and declared by the authority aforefaid, That fuch office fhall not be deemed and taken to be within the intent and purview of the faid act; nor fhall any perfon accepting and holding the fame, by an appointment from his Majefty, under his royal fign manual manual, be thereby disqualified from being elected, or fitting and voting as a Member And be it further enacted, by the authority aforefaid, That there fhall be allowed and paid for and to each of the affiftant Directors, for fo long time as he fhall continue in the office, a clear yearly falary of five hundred pounds, payable by half yearly pay- ments; and that the refpective payments of the faid falaries fhall be ftated and allowed in the account of the disbursements for the management of the affairs of the said United And be it further enacted, by the authority aforefaid, That this Act and all the pro- visions herein contained, fhall commence and take effect from and immediately after this HOUSE OF LORDS. December 9.] A Petition was prefented to the Houfe by the East India Company, praying to be heard by Counsel against the said bill, and on a motion being made it was agreed to. They were accordingly heard on the 15th, when a debate enfued in confequence of the mo- tion for adjournment, made by the Duke of Chandos, and opposed by the Duke of Portland, who faid "the motion meant to protract "time. Much art had been used to impede the progress of the pre- "fent bill, and no means were left unattempted, however unjufti- "fiable (alluding to the private conferences a noble Earl, out of "office, had with a Great Perfonage) to prevent its paffing into a "law." At one o'clock in the morning the Houfe divided on the Majority against the Duke of Portland December 16.] Counfel were called to the bar of the Houfe on behalf of the Proprietors, against the above-mentioned bill; at nine the Counsel finished, and the debate was adjourned to December 17.] The order of the day for committing the East India bill being read, it was oppofed by Earl Gower, and on a divifion HOUSE OF COMMONS. December 17] Mr. Baker faid, that from fome matters which were of public notoriety, he thould propofe to the confideration of the Houfe fome thing of the higheft and the most important confequence. It was of that nature which required very ferious deliberation, as it concerned the deareft interefts of the people. Therefore, prior to this important bufinefs, he fhould move, "That the Speaker do fend the Serjeant "with the Mace to the avenues and rooms leading to the Houfe, to "collect fuch Members as were there, and require their attendance in their places." Mr. Fox feconded the motion, and that form being gone through, Mr. Baker read the following Refolutions : Refolved, That it is now neceffary to declare, that to report any opinion, or pretended opinion of his Majefty, upon any bill, or other proceeding depending in either Houfe of Parliament, with a view to influence the votes of the Members, is a high crime and mifdemeanor, derogatory to the honour of the Crown, a breach of the fundamen"tal privileges of Parliament, and fubverfive of the Conftitution of this country.' 66 Refolved, "That this Houfe will, upon Monday morning next, refolve itself "into a Committee of the whole Houfe, to confider the ftate of the "nation.' Lord Maitland made a few pointed obfervations in respect to the rumour of Earl Temple having ufed his Majesty's name to influence the Members of the other Houfe, and of the confequences that followed in refpect to the India bill. His Lordfhip faid, that on the fate of the prefent motion depended the exiftence of a free Parliament, and all that was dear to Englishmen; and that as he confidered it to be a most proper one, he rofe to fecond it. Mr. Erskine, in a very able fpeech, argued very pointedly on the rumour, and contended for its being good ground for enquiry, and a reason why Parliament fhould take the alarm, and make provifion against the worst. Mr. Arden fpoke vehemently for the order of the day. Lord Lord George Cavendish against it. At length the question was put on the order of the day: Ayes 80 153 73 Majority Mr. Baker's motions was then put and carried without a divifion. Mr. Erikine then moved the following Refolution: Ref ved, "That it is neceffary to the most effential interefts of the kingdom, "and peculiarly incumbent to this Houfe, to purfue with unremitting "attention the confideration of a fuitable remedy for the abuses which "have prevailed in the Government of the British dominions in the "Eaft Indies, and that this Houfe will confider as an enemy to his country, any person who fhall prefume to advife his Majesty to prevent, or any manner interrupt, the difcharge of this import ant duty." The Houfe divided, 66 66 For the motion Majority 137 64 December 19.] This day the following Officers of State were commanded by his Majefty to refign their refpective employments, viz. Lord North, Mr. Fox, the Duke of Portland, Colonel Fitzpatrick, Lord Stormont, Lord Cholmondeley, and Lord Ludlow, &c. &c. The ADJOURNMENT. December 19.] Mr. Baker, understanding that it was the intention of a certain gentleman, that the Houfe fhould fit on Saturday, contrary to their ufual mode of proceeding, obferving that he had his objections to admitting a measure fo contrary to the established rule of Parliament, and therefore he moved, "that the Houfe fhould, at its rifing, adjourn until Monday." 66 Mr. Dundas objected to Monday, and propofed an adjournment only till to-morrow, to proceed to the Land-tax bill. Mr. Fox, in a fpeech of confiderable length, argued with his usual ability in favour of the propofition for adjourning until Monday, and obferved, that " rumours were fent abroad, confeffedly to declare the interference of the Crown with a bill under confideration of Parliament; and those rumours were corroborated by not one perfon, friend or relation, ftanding up to difavow their truth, or to clear the high characters which were charged with the criminality. The alarm had fpread, and was now grown of the moft ferious nature indeed. The Miniftry was changed, the Conftitution was violated-not in the change of that Ministry, but in the mode by which it was effected.. A little bit of paper handed from a certain perfon to a certain perfon,. and held up in the Houfe of Lords, fet the reprefentative body of England at defiance. The Commons, alarmed for their privileges, appear determined to fupport themselves againft all fuch arbitrary proceedings, and feeing the little phalanx raised against them, and headed by, in their own Houfe, a rafh young man, they confider, and muft confider, themselves bound by every tie to their country, every regard to their conftituents, and every love to their Sovereign, to ftand up in their own defence, affert their rights, and fave the empire. The advisers acted in fecret, as they ever have done, and purfued one invariable line of continual condemnation to the system of liberty."-The Houfe being very clamorous, the queftion was put, and the gallery cleared; but, on the Ayes for Mr. Dundas's motion being defired to go outfide the bar, and there appearing of about 300 members but 50 inclinable to fupport the Ministry, Mr. Dundas withdrew his motion, and left Mr. Fox and his friends to enjoy a complete victory over this first parliamentary effort of the new Adminiftration. The House then adjourned to Monday. RESIGNATION OF EARL TEMPLE. December 22.] Mr. Grenville (brother to Earl Temple) begged to call the attention of the Houfe for a few moments, in a matter that nearly concerned his noble relation. The vote paffed on Friday night [Dec. 19.] by the Houfe, fo far as it refpected the character of Lord Temple, was of a very serious confideration. Menaces had been perfonally applied, which carried with them fuch an avowed and open attack on the noble Lord, that it was become indifpenfibly requifite to take up the fubject by the nobleman to whom they were applied. Lord Temple therefore waited on his Sovereign, and refigned into his hands thofe feals of office, with which he had been lately intrufted; and he did this, that the Houfe of Commons and the world might fee he in tended |