alas! as Cadwallader fays in the farce of the Author, to his wife Becky, "My dear Becky, how could you have the wickedness to destroy the connection?" whatever virtue there might have been in this connection, they may fay, Now, my dear coalition, how could you have the wickedness to destroy this connection? which it has, in God's providence, I truft, done, together with the coalition itself, never more to rife again. And now, my Lords, I have only one more word to add, and which is this: that, I hope, no one thinks, from what I have faid, that I mean any objection to the grant which has been applied for: on the contrary, my Lords, if I have any objection to it, it is that the grant, which is called for, is not fufficiently liberal; for, my Lords, I have none of that parfimony about me, as to think that the dignity of royalty ought not to be fupported. Lord North would give an 100,000l. to a contractor of a morning for breakfast, and now, parco manu, afks for fifty thoufand for a Prince. It is in the former I would exercife œconomy, in the latter not. Befides, the Prince himself is a fpirited and a noble youth; I hate to fee old heads on young shoulders; and therefore pay his debts; be liberal towards him; take him out of the hands in which he is at prefent, and I will dare venture to fay, that he will hereafter prove both an ornament and a bleffing to this country. In short, my Lords, all I mean to fay is this, that there is a manner in which things ought to be done, eft modus in rebus, and it is to this manner, not to the matter, I look. To fet father against for, and fon against father, may be good treason; but the traitor must be despicable even to himself! Earl Temple thought it very requifite that the House fhould be made acquainted what were Minifters' intentions in this bufinefs; at prefent they were merely told there was to be an establishment; but how much that establifhment was to be, they were left totally ignorant; a variety of reports had been fet afloat on the minds of the people; and although he by no means wifhed to fee that House act parfimonioufly, yet if fome of the accounts were true, they were far from meeting his approbation. He therefore requested Minifters would fay what were their intentions, that their Lordships might have an opportunity of judging of them. Lord Stormont was of opinion, that there was no neceffity for farther information in the prefent ftage of the bufinefs; it it had ever been the general practice, and he doubted not the zeal and attachment of that Houfe would ftill continue it, on receiving a meffage from his Majefty, immediately to move an addrefs, expreffing of their fenfe of his royal condefcenfion, and worded in general terms with refpect to the bufinets it was about, leaving the difcuffion of the fubject to a future day. The one which had been moved by the noble Duke, appeared to him, as he had juft heard it read, to be very proper on the prefent occafion; nor was this the invariable practice of this Houfe only, for although he had never been a member of the other, Houfe, yet he had often heard, and always understood it was their practice also. From what motive or circumftance it had originated that all money matters should be firft introduced in that House, he was not competent to fay, nor would he enter into the right or propriety of that meafure; it was a plain matter of fact, with which their Lordships were well acquainted, that it had long been the cuftom and ufage, and he did not suppose their Lordships wifhed to make any alteration in that usage in the prefent cafe; if they did, however, this was not the proper time for fo doing, as they were now merely to determine whether they should addrefs his Majefty for his royal condefcenfion in fending the ineffage which had been presented to them or not. Earl Temple conceived their Lordfhips were as much Earl interested in the grant and the dignity of the Prince's Temple. establishment as the House of Commons paffibly could be, and he must therefore fay that Minifters treated that House with fome kind of disrespect, in withholding from their knowledge what they meant to propofe for his Royal Highnefs-would they fay whether they meant to introduce it on any future day, or whether their Lordships were to wait for its coming from the other House in the common form of a bill; his Lordship then condemned Minifters for having delayed a matter which they knew muft come on, and which they themselves faid was of importance, to fo late a period in the feffion as the 23d of June, a later period than would have been thought neceffary for the most trifling bill; upon this principle he wifhed them to appoint fome day, and not let it be fubject to any longer delay. The Earl of Abingdon and the Duke of Chandos, faid a The E-rl of few words on the same subject; and after them, Lord Temple Abingeon. again refe to urge Minifters to a reply. Ji 2 The Earl Temple. Lord Stormont. Earl The queftion for the addrefs was then put, and carried nemine deffentiente. Earl Temple then obferved, that as the addrefs had paffed without a diffenting voice, nay as he verily believed there was not a single individual in that House who had entertained the moft diftant idea of making the leaft oppofition to it, it was furely incumbent on Miniftry to give them whatever information was in their power; and he trufted fome one of them would for the fake of decency, having been thus called upon, get up, and acquaint their Lordships in what shape the prefent business was to be brought before them, if they did not think proper to appoint a day for it; the argument for its being firft difcuffed in the House of Commons, had no weight with him; in his idea their Lordfhips were fully competent to the difcuffion, and had an equal right to be confulted on the arrangement. If the Houfe was to be left to their own imagination, and to fuppose it would be brought up as a bill from the other House, they might likewife fuppofe fuch a bill would never be brought up; a thoufand occurrences might prevent it; befides, the latenefs of the feafon made it improbable to fuppofe the House would be conftantly attended; and upon that account only, Minifters ought to appoint fome day for taking it into confideration. Lord Stormont replied to the noble Earl, but refted principally upon his former argument, and the conftant practice of Parliament, without either intimating the fum that would be required, or when it would be brought forward, any farther than its being introduced in the other House, and proceeded on according to the conftant cuftom; when it was before their Lordships, he faid they would have an undoubted right to inveftigate, and make what alterations they thought proper; but until he was convinced it was the wifh of their Lordships in general, as well as the noble Earl's, he fhould not be an advocate for altering the common mode of proceeding. Earl Temple was ftill diffatisfied, and faid he wished to Temple. take the fenfe of the Houfe upon this business; and unless Minifters would give the fatisfaction that was required, he fhould himself be tempted to move for a day, to take the fame into confideration; but his Lordship not making any motion, nor any one rifing in reply, the altercation ended here, and the Houfe adjourned. June June 25. The order of the day for the second reading of the bill to explain and amend an act of the 11th and 12th of William III. entitled, "An act to enable Juftices of the Peace to build and repair jails in their refpective counties," being read, Lord Walfingham delivered his fentiments on the bill at Lord Walconfiderable length. He began by complaining of the cuffingham. tom which was now fo prevalent of fending up bills from the House of Commons, without authorifing fome noble Lord to explain their contents to the Houfe. This always was neceffary; but more particularly fo, when the object was to alter old laws; laws paffed in the beft periods of our hiftory: fuch was this bill. It was a bill to alter and extend a law of King William, by which Juftices were empowered to build, finifh, and repair jails; but then they were to be a majority of the Juftices of the county at large. It was ftated that there was a difficulty in procuring their attendance; and this act was to enable a majority of the Juftices, affembled at the Quarter Seffions, to build, but not, as the former a&t propofed, to re-build jails. He begged to know if that was miftake or defign; if a mistake, it fhould be fet right; if defign, it was abfurd. It was a great power to give to fo finall a number of Juftices; they might by this bill raife any fum for any purposes of improvement, and to any extent; five Juftices might do it, three, nay even two. Surely it fhould be with a certain check, reserve, and control; and therefore he would propofe that they should be invested with power to contract for the buildings; overlook the estimates; fettle the plans; but he could with, that, as fo many gentlemen of property in every county were materially concerned in fuch plan, they might finally revife and approve of fuch plan, and contract by a majority of the Grand Jury, at the next Quarter Seffions, He profeffed himfelf a warm friend to the principle of the bill. He cited the authority of Mr. Howard, to prove the horrid ftate in which our prifons in this country were at this moment, He defcribed them as being deftitute of every accommodation neceffary, not for the comfort only, but for the fupport of life. Neither food, fire, water, ftraw, light, nor even medicine, were allowed, in fome inftances, to the unhappy fufferers, who were immured in dungeons; fome of them under ground, under water, loaded loaded with irons, equally the innocent and guilty, fubject to peftilential diforders from being crouded together, and falling unhappy victims to the jail diftemper. Did we call ourselves a land of liberty? Did we boast of our civil Government, our laws, our excellent conftituation? Was it not true, that the more the country was defpotic, the more anxiously were the criminals provided for, and their safety, health, and comfort attended to? It was a great national object, and worthy confideration. Look at the regulations made by the Emprefs of Ruffia, fo well defcribed by Mr. Coxe, in his vifit to the northern courts. See her with a dignity and benevolence of mind, truly worthy of fo exalted a character, writing down inftitutions for the government of her criminals with her own hand: fee her attentive to every circumftance of dress, of cleanliness, of separation; ordering that juniper-berries fhould be burnt in the jails; giving them directions for their food, ordering them vegetables, and ufing every precaution which came recommended by our own writers, (Mr. Howard in particular) and practised in every country in Europe more than in this. See the court of France delegating to the Parliament of Paris the execution of thofe falutary regulations which were introduced at the beginning of the prefent century, and which they have thought fit moft wifely to obferve. See in Flanders the fame regulations prevail: fee in Germany, in Swifferland, cleanlinefs and feparation, the leading characteristics of their directions for the management of their prifons. Do not let us fhrink at the comparison, and turn afide from it. Let us confider it as an incentive and an emulating inducement with us to outrival them; and to perfuade ourselves that flothfulness, disease, and univerfal corruption and depravity of manners, are not the neceffary attendants upon the horrors of confinement. After having dwelt for a great length of time on the management and laws of the different foreign prifons, in all the various countries of Europe, and pointed them out as a great inftance of the policy, and teft of the character of every State, he came to the fubject of debtors, who, he said, were unjustly and injurioufly mixed with criminals of all fortswith felons and with murderers, without diftinction of crime, age, fex, or education. He faid, no fyftem of laws in any civilized country upon the face of the globe, which profeffed a regard for the civil liberty of the subject, were fo ill calculated to reclaim, to reform, to prevent the mischief they |