441 1754 JOURNAL of the PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES in the POLITICAL CLUB, continued from p. 402. In the Debate begun in your laft, the next that spoke was Cn. Fulvius, whofe Speech was to the Effect as follows, viz. Mr. Prefident, W A C but in that parliament which began in November 1640; and every one knows, that it not only brought great mifery upon the nation, but ended in the total overthrow of our conftitution, and the establishment of the very worst fort of arbitrary power. Therefore I hope never again to hear of the word delinquent, or any other new-coined term, that may furnish us with a pretence to judge of and punish offenders of any kind. Even a bill of pains and penalties has always been deemed a fort of incroachment upon our conflitution ; and therefore fuch a method of trying and punishing fhould never be made ufe of, but when the publick fafety is in the utmost danger, and cannot otherwife be effectually fecured; for fhould it once become frequent and common to take this method for detecting and punishing every fuppofed offence, by a factious party in the nation it might be made a handle for abolishing the monarchical part of our conftitution, or by Dan ambitious and enterprizing prince, fupported by a venal majority in this houfe, it might be made a handle for oppreffing and ruining every man who dared to ftand up for the liberties and privileges of the people. For this reafon I canEnot fuppofe it to be the defign of any gentleman in this houfe, that a bill of pains and penalties fhould be the confequence of the inquiry propofed, however heinous the crime may appear to be, which the receivers of the fubfcription for laft F louery, or any one or more of them, have been guilty of; for I am very fure, that it could not be of fuch a nature as to endanger the publick fafety, nor can the publick safety be expofed to the leaft danger, fhould their crime remain unpunished as Kkk well HEN I rife up to oppose or rather to wave the motion now under your confideration, I hope no gentleman will be fo uncharitable as to fuppofe, that I am for screening the guilty, B if there be any fuch, or against their being punished in any fuch manner as may be consistent with our conftitution. On the contrary, if it should appear, that any of the clerks appointed to be the receivers of the fubfcriptions to the last lottery have, with a corrupt and avaritious view, confederated with others to confine the fubfcription, which the legislature defigned should be open and free, I think, they deferve, and I hope they will meet with, a very fevere punishment; but for that purpose I cannot think a parliamentary profecution necefiary, and confequently I cannot think it confiftent with our conftitution. The only two ends of a parliamentary inquiry which I have ever heard of, or can fup. pofe, is to make it the foundation of an impeachment, or of a bill of pains and penalties; and neither of thefe can be neceffary upon the prefent occafion, nor do I believe that either is defigned even by those who are the warmest advocates for this motion. We all know, Sir, that this house by itfelf alone can neither judge nor punish. It is abfolutely inconfiftent with our conftitution for us to attempt it: We never did attempt it H-F October, 1754. 442 PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c. well as uninquired into. And much lefs can I fuppofe, that an impeachment is defigned to be the confequence of the inquiry propofed; for no gentleman, furely, can fuppofe, that it would be confiftent with the dignity of a British house of commons to appear at the bar of the other houfe as the profecutors of a little under clerk in one of our publick offices. A lottery we have had fince that fortunate period, ever coft the publick fo much as the lotteries generally did before that time. As to what the Hon. and learned gentleman was pleased to say about the fubfcription receipts that were fold at a premium in 'Change-Alley, before the fubfcription books were opened, I do not fee what reafon we can have for inquiring into it, or how they came to make fo early an appearance there. By the exprefs words of the act itself, Sir, the receivers were impowered to receive fubfcriptions, and to grant receipts for the fame, before their receiving the books with the tickets from the managers and directors of the lottery, therefore they might legally C grant fuch receipts the moment they were appointed, and had given bond for being accountable, provided they gave no receipt for more than 20 tickets to one perfon; and if fome few of thofe receipts were fold in 'Change-Alley at a fmall premium, it was no certain fign that the lottery fubfcription would fill, or that the tickets would bear a premium after a glut of them came to market. Nay, thefe receipts might have been iffued by the receivers, and fent to be fold in the Alley at a premium, E before the fubfcription books were opened, on purpofe and with a very good defign, in order to encourage people to come in as foon as the books fhould be opened, and fubfcribe to a lottery which was cerF tairly difadvantageous to the fubfcribers. I fay, difadvantageous to the fubfcribers, Sir, for it was fo extremely fo, that when the act paffed, I believe, no man imagined that the madnefs of the people would grow to fuch a height as to raise the tickets to any confiderable premium; and if the receivers made no mercenary or partial ufe of what afterwards happened, I am fure, they deferve neither cenfure nor punifhment; for, I hope, this houfe Thus, Sir, as neither a bill of pains and penalties nor an impeachment can be the end propofed by B the motion now made to us, I can fee no reason for our agreeing to it, nor can I fee any ufe that can be made of a parliamentary inquiry, and therefore I do not think we fhould take up any part of our time with inquiring into an affair of fo little confequence; for as to our learning from thence how the late: act has been evaded, it is already publickly and perfectly known. I believe, there is not a gentleman in this houfe, no nor a broker in 'ChangeAlley, who does not know, that D the late act was evaded by the fubfcribers giving a name for every twenty tickets they intended to fubfcribe for; and if the Hon. and learned gentleman who spoke laft, or any gentleman, fhould propofe a nethod for preventing this practice, or for preventing its being poffible to give an undue preference to minifters, clerks of offices, or either of their favourites, when we have occafion for another lottery, I am perfuaded, the houfe will readily agree to it, unlefs it thould evidently appear to he fuch a me. thod as would render it impoffible to get the fubfcription filled; and this, I fear, will be the cafe with every effectual method that can be propofed, unless you make the lot- G ery more advantageous for the fubfcribers, and more burthenfome up. on the publick, than any lottery we have had fince the happy acceffion of cur prefent royal family; for no will 1754. PROCEEDINGS of the will never judge, as mobs ufually do, from the event of things, and condemn a man because an unexpected bad confequence enfued from a good or justifiable intention. 443 POLITICAL CLUB, & But, Sir, if these receipts were ilued by the receivers with a mer- A cenary view, in order to make an advantage by the fale, or if they made a partial or mercenary ufe of what afterwards happened, they deferve to be punished as well as cenfured; and as this may have been the cafe, as the popular clamour is B very loud, at least against one of them, I am therefore for an inquiry into their conduct; but I am for a proper inquiry, which, I think, can only be made by those who by the act were impowered to appoint them, and to give them the neceffary inftructions. Whether they can punish or no, may be a future question; but they may certainly inquire: They are, in my opinion, the only proper perfons for inquiring; becaufe they beft know what orders and instructions they gave to thofe D whom they had appointed to be the receivers of the fubfcription; and no man, I believe doubts either of their capacity, their candour, or their diligence. If the receivers or any of them have been guilty of any mal-practices, I believe, they will be more afraid of fuch an inquiry, than of an inquiry made by a committee of this houfe; and if the three Right Hon. perfons, who are to make this inquiry, fhould upon the iffue think, that neither they nor the crown have power to inflict an adequate punishment, upon a report from them, I am very fure, that this houfe would readily agree to any bill that might be thought necellary for that purpose. The next Speech Ishall give you, was that made by Proculus Virginius, which was in Subftance thus. Mr. Prefident, WE 7 E all know, that the previous question is a very common method for putting a negative upon a motion, which is of fuch a nature that gentlemen are afhamed, or afraid, it fhould appear in our votes with a flat negative at the tail of it. The pretence ufually made ufe of for the previous queftion, is because gentlemen want time to C'co fider the motion before they can determine to be for it or against it, and this pretence may fometimes be made ufe of with fome fort of plaufibility; but the pretence now made ule of has not fo much as a fhadow of plaufibrity in its favour. The pre ence now made ufe of is, that we may direct an inquiry to be made by thofe whom we have no power to direct, and who, should they yield a voluntary obedience to our direction, have no power to inquire, much lefs to punifh. You, Sir, may in fome inftances be fubject to the directions of this houfe, tho' in this inftance it is with me a question whether you are or no; but I am very fure that neither the archbishop of Canterbury, nor the lord high chancellor, can be deemed fubject to any direction we can give, especially in what is now propofed. How ridiculous then would it be in us to think of directing them to join with you in making an inquiry into the conduct of the receivers of the fubfcriptions for the laft lottery? And I hope no gentleman imagines, that we fhould addrefs them to do fo. Nay, we could not fo much as addrefs the king to order or direct T- P K kk 2 E F By this means, Sir, the truth may be come at, and the guilty, if any, G be condignly punished, without any fort of incroachment upon our conftitution; and therefore, that we may think of a proper method for procuring this inquiry, I fhall them |