Chapter 30

That this law, sir, will be always executed with the strictest impartiality, and without the least regard to any private purposes, cannot, indeed, be demonstratively proved; every law may possibly be abused by a combination of profligates; but it must, I think, be granted, that it is drawn up with all the caution that reason, or justice, or the corruption of the present age requires. I know not what can be contrived better than an association of men, unlikely to concur in their views and interests--a justice of the peace, a lieutenant of a ship, and a commissioner of the navy--three men, probably unknown to each other, and of which no one will be at all solicitous to desire the rest to unite to commit a crime, to which no temptation can be readily imagined.

This caution, sir, which cannot but be approved, and which surely is some proof of judgment and consideration, ought, in my opinion, to have exempted the bill, and those by whose assistance it was drawn up, from the reproachful and indecent charge of absurdity, ignorance, and incapacity; terms which the dignity of this assembly does not admit, even when they are incontestably just, and which surely ought not to be made use of when the question is of a doubtful nature.

The gentlemen, sir, who are now intrusted with publick employments, have never yet discovered that they are inferiour to their predecessors in knowledge or integrity; nor do their characters suffer any diminution by a comparison with those who vilify and traduce them.

Those, sir, that treat others with such licentious contempt, ought surely to give some illustrious proof of their own abilities; and yet if we examine what has been produced on this question, we shall find no reason to admire their sagacity or their knowledge.

We have been told, sir, that the fleet might properly be manned by a detachment from the army; but it has not been proved that we have any superfluous forces in the kingdom, nor, indeed, will our army be found sufficiently numerous, if, by neglecting to equip our fleet, we give our enemies an opportunity of entering our country.

If it be inquired what necessity there is for our present forces? What expeditions are designed? Or what dangers are feared? I shall not think it my duty to return any answer. It is, sir, the great unhappiness of our constitution, that our determinations cannot be kept secret, and that our enemies may always form conjectures of our designs, by knowing our preparations; but surely more is not to be published than necessity extorts, and the government has a right to conceal what it would injure the nation to discover.

Nor can I, sir, approve the method of levying sailors by the incitement of an exorbitant reward, a reward to be augmented at the pleasure of those who are to receive it. For what can be the consequence of such prodigality, but that those to whom the largest sum is offered, will yet refuse their service in expectation of a greater. The reward already proposed is, in my opinion, the utmost stretch of liberality; and all beyond may be censured as profusion.

It is not to be imagined, sir, that all these objections were not made, and answered, in the reign of the late queen, when a bill of the same nature was proposed; they were answered, at least, by the necessity of those times, which necessity has now returned upon us.

We do not find that it produced any consequences so formidable and destructive, that they should for ever discourage us from attempting to raise forces by the same means; it was then readily enacted, and executed without opposition, and without complaints; nor do I believe that any measures can be proposed of equal efficacy, and less severity.

Mr. SANDYS replied, in substance as follows:--Sir, whether the precedents produced in defence of this bill, will have more weight than the arguments, must be shown by a careful examination, which will perhaps discover that the order sent to the magistrates of Bristol conveyed no new power, nor such as is, in any respect, parallel to that which this bill is intended to confer.

They were only enjoined to inquire with more than usual strictness, after strollers and vagabonds, such as the law has always subjected to punishment, and send them to the fleet, instead of any other place of correction; a method which may now be pursued without danger, opposition, or complaint.

But for my part, I am not able, upon the closest attention to the present scene of affairs, to find out the necessity of extraordinary methods of any kind. The fears of an invasion from France, are, in my opinion, sir, merely chimerical; from their fleet in America the coasts of Britain have nothing to fear, and after the numerous levies of seamen by which it was fitted out, it is not yet probable that they can speedily send out another. We know, sir, that the number of seamen depends upon the extent of commerce, and surely there is as yet no such disproportion between their trade and ours, as that they should be able to furnish out a naval armament with much greater expedition than ourselves.

In America our forces are at least equal to theirs, so that it is not very probable, that after the total destruction of our fleet by them, they should be so little injured, as to be able immediately to set sail for the channel, and insult us in our own ports; to effect this, sir, they must not only conquer us, but conquer us without resistance.

If they do not interrupt us in our attempts, nor expose themselves to an engagement, they may, indeed, return without suffering great damages, but I know not how they can leave the shores of America unobserved, or pour an unexpected invasion upon us. If they continue there, sir, they cannot hurt as, and when they return, we may prepare for their reception.

There are men, I know, sir, who have reason to think highly of the French policy, and whose ideas may be exalted to a belief that they can perform impossibilities; but I have not yet prevailed upon myself to conceive that they can act invisibly, or that they can equip a fleet by sorcery, collect an army in a moment, and defy us on our own coast, without any perceptible preparations.

Then admiral WAGER spoke thus:--The calamities produced by discord and contention, need not to be pointed out; but it may be proper to reflect upon the consequences of a house divided against itself, that we may endeavour to avoid them.

Unanimity is produced by nothing more powerfully than by impending danger, and, therefore, it may be useful to show those who seem at present in profound security, that the power of France is more formidable than they are willing to allow.

My age, sir, enables me to remember many transactions of the wars in the late reigns, to which many gentlemen are strangers, or of which they have only imperfect ideas from history and tradition.

In the second year of the reign of William, the French gained a victory over the united fleets of the maritime powers, which gave them, for the summer following, the dominion of the Channel, enabled them to shut up our merchants in their ports, and produced a total suspension of our commerce.

Those, sir, to whom the importance of trade is so well known, will easily apprehend the weight of this calamity, and will, I hope, reject no measures that have a manifest tendency to prevent it.

Our ships, sir, do not lie useless because there is any want of seamen in the nation, but because any service is preferred to that of the publick.

There are now, to my knowledge, in one town on the west coast, no fewer than twelve hundred sailors, of which surely a third part may be justly claimed by the publick interest; nor do I know why they who obstinately refuse to serve their country, should be treated with so much tenderness. It is more reasonable that they should suffer by their refusal, than that the general happiness should be endangered.

Mr. SOUTHWELL spoke next, to the following purpose:--Sir, when any authority shall be lodged in my hands, to be exercised for the publick benefit, I shall always endeavour to exert it with honesty and diligence; but will never be made the instrument of oppression, nor execute any commission of tyranny or injustice.

As, therefore, the power of searching is to be placed in the hands of justices of the peace, I think it necessary to declare, that I will never perform so hateful a part of the office, and that if this bill becomes a law, I will retire from the place to which my authority is limited, rather than contribute to the miseries of my fellow-subjects.

Mr. LITTLETON spoke as follows:--Sir, all the arguments which have been offered in support of this bill, are reduced at last to one constant assertion of the necessity of passing it.

We have been told, sir, with great acuteness, that a war cannot be carried on without men, and that ships are useless without sailors; and from thence it is inferred that the bill is necessary.

That forces are by some means necessary to be raised, the warmest opponents of the bill will not deny, but they cannot, therefore, allow the inference, that the methods now proposed are necessary.

They are of opinion, sir, that cruel and oppressive measures can never be justified, till all others have been tried without effect; they think that the law, when it was formerly passed, was unjust, and are convinced, by observing that it never was revived, and that it was by experience discovered to be useless.

Necessity, absolute necessity, is a formidable sound, and may terrify the weak and timorous into silence and compliance; but it will be found, upon reflection, to be often nothing but an idle feint, to amuse and to delude us, and that what is represented as necessary to the publick, is only something convenient to men in power.

Necessity, sir, has, heretofore, been produced as a plea for that which could be no otherwise defended. In the days of Charles the first, ship-money was declared to be legal, because it was necessary. Such was the reasoning of the lawyers, and the determination of the judges; but the senate, a senate of patriots! without fear, and without corruption, and influenced only by a sincere regard for the publick, were of a different opinion, and neither admitted the lawfulness nor necessity.

It will become us, on this occasion, to act with equal vigour, and convince our countrymen, that we proceed upon the same principles, and that the liberties of the people are our chief care.

I hope we shall unite in defeating any attempts that may impair the rights which every Briton boasts as his birthright, and reject a law which will be equally dreaded and detested with the inquisition of Spain.

Sir William YONGE spoke next, to this effect:--Sir, though many particular clauses of this bill have been disapproved and opposed, some with more, and some with less reason, yet the committee has hitherto agreed that a bill for this purpose is necessary in the present state of our affairs; upon this principle we have proceeded thus far, several gentlemen have proposed their opinions, contributed their observations, and laboured as in an affair universally admitted to be of high importance to the general prosperity.

But now, sir, when some of the difficulties are surmounted, some expedients luckily struck out, some objections removed, and the great design brought nearer to execution, we are on a sudden informed, that all our labour is superfluous, that we are amusing ourselves with useless consultations, providing against calamities that can never happen, and raising bulwarks without an enemy; that, therefore, the question before us is of no importance, and the bill ought, without farther examination, to be totally rejected.

I suppose, sir, I shall be readily believed, when I declare that I shall willingly admit any arguments that may evince our safety; but, in proportion as real freedom from danger is to be desired, a supine and indolent neglect of it is to be dreaded and avoided; and I cannot but fear that our enemies are more formidable, and more malicious, than the gentlemen that oppose this bill have represented them.

This bill can only be opposed upon the supposition that it gives a sanction to severities, more rigorous than our present circumstances require; for nothing can be more fallacious or invidious than a comparison of this law with the demand of ship-money, a demand contrary to all law, and enforced by the manifest exertion of arbitrary power.

How has the conduct of his present majesty any resemblance with that of Charles the first? Is any money levied by order of the council? Are the determinations of the judges set in opposition to the decrees of the senate? Is any man injured in his property by an unlimited extension of the prerogative? or any tribunal established superiour to the laws of the nation?

To draw parallels, sir, where there is no resemblance; and to accuse, by insinuations, where there is no shadow of a crime; to raise outcries when no injury is attempted; and to deny a real necessity because it was once pretended for a bad purpose; is surely not to advance the publick service, which can be promoted only by just reasonings, and calm reflections, not by sophistry and satire, by insinuations without ground, and by instances beside the purpose.

Mr. LITTLETON answered:--Sir, true zeal for the service of the publick is never discovered by collusive subterfuges and malicious representations; a mind, attentive to the common good, would hardly, on an occasion like this, have been at leisure to pervert an harmless illustration, and extract disaffection from a casual remark.

It is, indeed, not impossible, sir, that I might express myself obscurely; and it may be, therefore, necessary to declare that I intended no disrespectful reflection on the conduct of his majesty; but must observe, at the same time, that obscure or inaccurate expressions ought always to be interpreted in the most inoffensive meaning, and that to be too sagacious in discovering concealed insinuations, is no great proof of superiour integrity.

Wisdom, sir, is seldom captious, and honesty seldom suspicious; a man capable of comprehending the whole extent of a question, disdains to divert his attention by trifling observations; and he that is above the practice of little arts, or the motions of petty malice, does not easily imagine them incident to another.

That in the question of ship-money necessity was pretended, cannot be denied; and, therefore, all that I asserted, which was only that the nation had been once terrified without reason, by the formidable sound of necessity, is evident and uncontested.

When a fraud has once been practised, it is of use to remember it, that we may not twice be deceived by the same artifice; and, therefore, I mentioned the plea of necessity, that it may be inquired whether it is now more true than before.

That the senate, sir, and not the judges, is now applied to, is no proof of the validity of the arguments which have been produced; for in the days of ship-money, the consent of the senate had been asked, had there been any prospect of obtaining it; but the court had been convinced, by frequent experiments, of the inflexibility of the senate, and despaired of influencing them by prospects of advantage, or intimidating them by frowns or menaces.

May this and every future senate imitate their conduct, and, like them, distinguish between real and pretended necessity; and let not us be terrified, by idle clamours, into the establishment of a law at once useless and oppressive.

Sir William YONGE replied:--Sir, that I did not intend to misrepresent the meaning of the honourable gentleman, I hope it is not necessary to declare; and that I have, in reality, been guilty of any misrepresentation, I am not yet convinced. If he did not intend a parallel between ship-money and the present bill, to what purpose was his observation? and if he did intend it, was it not proper to show there was no resemblance, and that all which could be inferred from it was, therefore, fallacious and inconclusive?

Nor do I only differ, sir, in opinion with the honourable gentleman with relation to his comparison of measures, which have nothing in common with each other; but will venture to declare, that he is not more accurate in his citations from history. The king did not apply to the judges, because the senate would not have granted him the money that he demanded, but because his chief ambition was to govern the nation by the prerogative alone, and to free himself and his descendants from senatorial inquiries.

That this account, sir, is just, I am confident the histories of those times will discover; and, therefore, any invidious comparison between that senate and any other, is without foundation in reason or in truth.

Mr. BATHURST spoke as follows:--Sir, that this law will easily admit, in the execution of it, such abuses as will overbalance the benefits, may readily be proved; and it will not be consistent with that regard to the publick, expected from us by those whom we represent, to enact a law which may probably become an instrument of oppression.

The servant by whom I am now attended, may be termed, according to the determination of the vindicators of this bill, a seafaring man, having been once in the West Indies; and he may, therefore, be forced from my service, and dragged into a ship, by the authority of a justice of the peace, perhaps of some abandoned prostitute, dignified with a commission only to influence elections, and awe those whom excises and riot-acts cannot subdue.

I think it, sir, not improper to declare, that I would by force oppose the execution of a law like this; that I would bar my doors and defend them; that I would call my neighbours to my assistance; and treat those who should attempt to enter without my consent, as thieves, ruffians, and murderers.

Lord GAGE spoke to this effect:--Sir, it is well known that by the laws of this nation, poverty is, in some degree, considered as a crime, and that the debtor has only this advantage over the felon, that he cannot be pursued into his dwelling, nor be forced from the shelter of his own house.

I think it is universally agreed, that the condition of a man in debt is already sufficiently miserable, and that it would be more worthy of the legislative power to contrive alleviations of his hardships, than additions to them; and it seems, therefore, no inconsiderable objection to this bill, that, by conferring the power of entering houses by force, it may give the harpies of the law an opportunity of entering, in the tumult of an impress, and of dragging a debtor to a noisome prison, under pretence of forcing sailors into the service of the crown.

Mr. TRACEY then said:--Sir, that some law for the ends proposed by the bill before us, is necessary, I do not see how we can doubt, after the declarations of the admirals, who are fully acquainted with the service for which provision is to be made; and of the ministry, whose knowledge of the present state of our own strength, and the designs of our enemies, is, doubtless, more exact than they can acquire who are not engaged in publick employments.

If, therefore, the measures now proposed are necessary, though they may not be agreeable to the present dispositions of the people, for whose preservation they are intended, I shall think it my duty to concur in them, that the publick service may not be retarded, nor the safety of a whole nation hazarded, by a scrupulous attention to minute objections.

Mr. CAMPBELL spoke as follows:--Sir, I have often, amidst my elogies on British liberty, and my declarations of the excellence of our constitution, the impartiality of our government, and the efficacy of our laws, been reproached by foreigners with the practice of impresses, as a hardship which would raise a rebellion in absolute monarchies, and kindle those nations into madness, that have, for many ages, known no other law than the will of their princes. A hardship which includes imprisonment and slavery, and to which, therefore, no aggravations ought to be added.

But if justice and reason, sir, are to be overborne by necessity; if necessity is to stop our ears against the complaints of the oppressed, and harden our hearts at the sight of their misery, let it, at least, not destroy our memories, nor deprive us of the advantages of experience.

Let us inquire, sir, what were the effects of this hateful authority when it was formerly consigned to the magistrates. Were our fleets manned in an instant? were our harbours immediately crowded with sailors? did we surprise our enemies by our expedition, and make conquests before an invasion could be suspected? I have heard, sir, of no such consequences, nor of any advantages which deserved to be purchased by tyranny and oppression. We have found that very few were procured by the magistrates, and the charge of seizing and conveying was very considerable; and, therefore, cannot but conclude that illegal measures, which have been once tried without success, should, for a double reason, never be revived.

Sir John BARNARD spoke to this effect:--Sir, it is not without regret that I rise so often on this occasion: for to dispute with those whose determinations are not influenced by reason, is a ridiculous task, a tiresome labour, without prospect of reward.

But, as an honourable gentleman has lately remarked, that by denying the necessity of the bill, instead of making objections to particular clauses, the whole design of finding expedients to supply the sea service is at once defeated; I think it necessary to remind him, that I have made many objections to this bill, and supported them by reasons which have not yet been answered. But I shall now no longer confine my remarks to single errours, but observe that there is one general defect, by which the whole bill is made absurd and useless.

For the foundation of a law like this, sir, the description of a seaman ought to be accurately laid down, it ought to be declared what acts shall subject him to that denomination, and by what means, after having once enlisted himself in this unhappy class of men, he may withdraw into a more secure and happy state of life.

Is a man, who has once only lost sight of the shore, to be for ever hunted as a seaman? Is a man, who, by traffick, has enriched a family, to be forced from his possessions by the authority of an impress? Is a man, who has purchased an estate, and built a seat, to solicit the admiralty for a protection from the neighbouring constable? Such questions as these, sir, may be asked, which the bill before us will enable no man to answer.

If a bill for this purpose be truly necessary, let it, at least, be freed from such offensive absurdities; let it be drawn up in a form as different as is possible from that of the bill before us; and, at last, I am far from imagining that a law will be contrived not injurious to individuals, nor detrimental to the publick; not contrary to the first principles of our establishment, and not loaded with folly and absurdities.

Mr. VYNER then spoke:--Sir, a definition of a seaman is so necessary in a bill for this purpose, that the omission of it will defeat all the methods that can be suggested. How shall a law be executed, or a penalty inflicted, when the magistrate has no certain marks whereby he may distinguish a criminal? and when even the man that is prosecuted may not be conscious of guilt, or know that the law extended to him, which he is charged with having offended.