REGULATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE IMPORTATION OF SILK.
From this important object, the parliament converted its attention to a regulation of a much more private nature. In consequence of a petition by the lord-mayor, aldermen, and commons of the city of London, a bill was brought in, and passed into a law without opposition, for the more effectual preservation and improvement of the fry and spawn of fish in the river Thames, and waters of Medway, and for the better regulating the fishery in those rivers. The two next measures taken for the benefit of the public were, first, a bill to render more effectual the several laws then in being, for the amendment and preservation of the highways and turnpike-roads of the kingdom; the other for the more effectually preventing the spreading of the contagious distemper which, at that time, raged among the horned cattle. A third arose from the distress of poor silk manufacturers, who were destitute of employment, and deprived of all means of subsisting, through the interruption of the Levant trade; occasioned by the war, and the delay of the merchant ships from Italy. In order to remedy this inconvenience, a bill was prepared, enacting, that any person might import from any place, in any ship or vessel whatsoever, till the first day of December, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, organzine thrown silk of the growth or production of Italy, to be brought to the custom-house of London, wheresoever landed; but that no Italian thrown silk, coarser than Bologna, nor any tram of the growth of Italy, nor any other thrown silk of the growth or production of Turkey, Persia, East Indies, or China, should be imported by this act, under the penalty of the forfeiture thereof. Notwithstanding several petitions, presented by the merchants, owners, and commanders of ships, and others trading to Leghorn, and other ports of Italy, as well as by the importers and manufacturers of raw silks, representing the evil consequences that would probably attend the passing of such a bill, the parliament agreed to this temporary deviation from the famous act of navigation, for a present supply to the poor manufacturers.
The next civil regulation established in this session of parliament was in itself judicious, and, had it been more earnestly suggested, might have been more beneficial to the public. In order to discourage the practice of smuggling, and prevent the desperadoes concerned therein from enlisting in the service of the enemy, a law was passed, enacting, that every person who had been, before the first of May in the present year, guilty of illegally running, concealing, receiving, or carrying any wool, or prohibited goods, or any foreign commodities liable to duties, the same not having been paid or secured; or of aiding therein, or had been found with fire-arms or weapons, in order to be aiding to such offenders; or had been guilty of receiving such goods after seizure; or of any act whatsoever, whereby persons might be deemed runners of foreign goods; or of hindering, wounding, or beating any officer in the execution of his duty, or assisting therein,—should be indemnified from all such offences, concerning which no suit should then have been commenced, or composition made, on condition that he should, before being apprehended or prosecuted, and before the first day of December, enter himself with some commissioned officer of his majesty’s fleet, to serve as a common sailor; and should, for three years from such entry, unless sooner duly discharged, actually serve and do duty in that station, and register his name, &c, with the clerk of the peace of the county where he resided, as the act prescribes. An attempt was made in favour of the seamen employed in the navy, who had been very irregularly paid, and subject to grievous hardships in consequence of this irregularity. Mr. Grenville, brother to earl Temple, moved for leave to bring in a bill for the encouragement of seamen employed in his majesty’s navy, and for establishing a regular method for the punctual, speedy, and certain payment of their wages, as well as for rescuing them from the arts and frauds of imposition. The proposal was corroborated by divers petitions: the bill was prepared, read, printed, and, after it had undergone some amendment, passed into the house of lords, where it was encountered with several objections, and dropped for this session of parliament.
INQUIRY INTO THE SCARCITY OF CORN.
The house of commons being desirous of preventing, for the future, such distresses as the poor had lately undergone, appointed a committee to consider of proper provisions to restrain the price of corn and bread within due bounds for the future. For this purpose they were empowered to send for persons, papers, and records; and it was resolved, that all who attended the committee should have voices. Having inquired into the causes of the late scarcity, they agreed to several resolutions, and a bill was brought in to explain and amend the laws against regraters, forestalled, and engrossers of corn. The committee also received instructions to inquire into the abuses of millers, mealmen, and bakers, with regard to bread, and to consider of proper methods to prevent them in the sequel; but no further progress was made in this important affair, which was the more interesting, as the lives of individuals, in a great measure, depended upon a speedy reformation; for the millers and bakers were said to have adulterated their flour with common whiting, lime, bone ashes, alum, and other ingredients pernicious to the human constitution; a consummation of villany for which no adequate punishment could be inflicted. Among the measures proposed in parliament which did not succeed, one of the most remarkable was a bill prepared by Mr. Rose Fuller, Mr. Charles Townshend, and Mr. Banks, to explain, amend, and render more effectual a law passed in the reign of king William the Third, intituled,
“An act to punish governors of plantations, in this kingdom, for crimes committed by them in the plantation.” This bill was proposed in consequence of some complaints, specifying acts of cruelty, folly, and oppression, by which some British governors had been lately distinguished; but, before the bill could be brought in, the parliament was prorogued.
INVESTIGATION OF THE LOSS OF MINORCA.
But no step taken by the house of commons, in the course of this session, was more interesting to the body of the people than the inquiry into the loss of Minorca, which had excited such loud and universal clamour. By addresses to the king, unanimously voted, the commons requested that his majesty would give directions for laying before them copies of all the letters and papers containing any intelligence received by the secretaries of state, the commissioners of the admiralty, or any others of his majesty’s ministers, in relation to the equipment of the French fleet at Toulon, or the designs of the French on Minorca, or any other of his majesty’s possessions in Europe, since the first day of January, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five, to the first day of August, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six. They likewise desired to peruse a list of the ships of war that were equipped and made ready for sea, from the first of August, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five, to the thirtieth day of April in the following year; with the copies of all sailing orders sent to the commanders during that period; as also the state and condition of his majesty’s ships in the several ports of Great Britain at the time of admiral Byng’s departure, with the squadron under his command, for the relief of fort St. Philip, during the period of time above-mentioned, according to the monthly returns made by the admiralty, with the number of seamen mustered and borne aboard the respective ships. They demanded copies of all orders and instructions given to that admiral, and of letters written to and received from him, during his continuance in that command, either by the secretaries of state, or lords of the admiralty, relating to the condition of his squadron, and to the execution of his orders. In a word, they required the inspection of all papers which could, in any manner, tend to explain the loss of Minorca, and the miscarriage of Mr. Byng’s squadron. His majesty complied with every article of their request: the papers were presented to the house, ordered to lie upon the table for the perusal of the members, and finally referred to the consideration of a committee of the whole house. In the course of their deliberations they addressed his majesty for more information, till at length the truth seemed to be smothered under such an enormous burden of papers, as the efforts of a whole session could not have properly removed. Indeed, many discerning persons without doors began to despair of seeing the mystery unfolded, as soon as the inquiry was undertaken by a committee of the whole house. They observed, that an affair of such a dark, intricate, and suspicious nature, ought to have been referred to a select and secret committee, chosen by ballot, empowered to send for persons, papers, and records, and to examine witnesses in the most solemn and deliberate manner; that the names of the committee ought to have been published for the satisfaction of the people, who could have judged, with some certainty, whether the inquiry would be carried on with such impartiality as the national misfortune required. They suspected that this reference to a committee of the whole house was a mal-contrivance, to prevent a regular and minute investigation, to introduce confusion and contest, to puzzle, perplex, and obumbrate; to teaze, fatigue, and disgust the inquirers, that the examination might be hurried over in a superficial and perfunctory manner; and the ministry, from this anarchy and confusion of materials, half explored and undigested, derive a general parliamentary approbation, to which they might appeal from the accusations of the people. A select committee would have probably examined some of the clerks of the respective offices, that they might certainly know whether any letters or papers had been suppressed, whether the extracts had been faithfully made, and whether there might not be papers of intelligence, which, though proper to be submitted to a select and secret committee, could not, consistently with the honour of the nation, be communicated to a committee of the whole house. Indeed, it does not appear that the ministers had any foreign intelligence or correspondence that could be much depended upon in any matter of national importance, and no evidence was examined on the occasion; a circumstance the less to be regretted, as, in times past, evil ministers have generally found means to render such inquiries ineffectual; and the same arts would, at any rate, have operated with the same efficacy, had a secret committee been employed at this juncture. Be that as it may, several resolutions were reported from the committee, though some of them were not carried by the majority without violent dispute and severe altercation. The first and last of their resolutions require particular notice. By the former, it appeared to the committee, that his majesty, from the twenty-seventh day of August, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five, to the twentieth day of April in the succeeding year, received such repeated and concurrent intelligence, as gave just reason to believe that the French king intended to invade his dominions of Great Britain or Ireland. In the latter they declared their opinion, that no greater number of ships of war could be sent into the Mediterranean, than were actually sent thither under the command of admiral Byng; nor any greater reinforcement than the regiment which was sent, and the detachment, equal to a battalion, which was ordered to the relief of fort St. Philip, consistently with the state of the navy, and the various services essential to the safety of his majesty’s dominions, and the interest of his subjects. It must have been something more powerful than ordinary conviction that suggested these opinions. Whatever reports might have been circulated by the French ministry, in order to amuse, intimidate, and detach the attention of the English government from America and the Mediterranean, where they really intended to exert themselves, yet, the circumstances of the two nations being considered, one would think there could have been no just grounds to fear an invasion of Great Britain or Ireland, especially when other intelligence seemed to point out much more probable scenes of action. But the last resolution is still more incomprehensible to those who know not exactly the basis on which it was raised. The number of ships of war in actual commission amounted to two hundred and fifty, having on board fifty thousand seamen and marines. Intelligence and repeated information of the French design upon Minorca had been conveyed to the ministry of England, about six months before it was put in execution. Is it credible, that in all this time the nation could not equip or spare above eleven ships of the line and six frigates, to save the important island of Minorca? Is it easy to conceive, that from a standing army of fifty thousand men, one regiment of troops could not have been detached to reinforce a garrison, well known to be insufficient for the works it was destined to defend? To persons of common intellects it appeared, that intelligence of the armament at Toulon was conveyed to the admiralty as early as the month of September, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five, with express notice that it would consist of twelve ships of the line: that the design against Minorca was communicated as early as the twenty-seventh day of August, by consul Banks, of Carthagena; confirmed by letters from consul Bertes, at Genoa, dated on the seventeenth and twenty-sixth of January, and received by Mr. Fox, secretary of state, on the fourth and eleventh of February, as well as by many subsequent intimations; that, notwithstanding these repeated advices, even after hostilities had commenced in Europe, when the garrison of Minorca amounted to no more than four incomplete regiments, and one company of artillery, forty-two officers being absent, and the place otherwise unprovided for a siege, when the Mediterranean squadron, commanded by Mr. Edgecumbe, consisted of two ships of the line, and five frigates; neither stores, ammunition, or provisions, the absent officers belonging to the garrison, recruits for the regiments, though ready raised, miners, nor any additional troops, were sent to the island, nor the squadron augmented, till admiral Byng sailed from Spithead on the sixth day of April, with no more ships of the line than, by the most early and authentic intelligence, the government were informed would sail from Toulon, even when Mr. Byng should have been joined by commodore Edgecumbe; a junction upon which no dependence ought to have been laid; that this squadron contained no troops but such as belonged to the four regiments in garrison, except one battalion to serve in the fleet as marines, unless we include the order for another to be embarked at Gibraltar; which order was neither obeyed nor understood: that, considering the danger to which Minorca was exposed, and the forwardness of the enemy’s preparations at Toulon, admiral Osborne, with thirteen ships of the line and one frigate, who returned on the sixteenth of February, after having convoyed a fleet of merchant ships, might have been detached to Minorca, without hazarding the coast of Great Britain; for at that time, exclusive of this squadron, there were eight ships of the line and thirty-two frigates ready manned, and thirty-two ships of the line and five frigates almost equipped; that admiral Hawke was sent with fourteen ships of the line and one frigate to cruise in the bay of Biscay, after repeated intelligence had been received that the French fleet had sailed for the West Indies, and the eleven ships remaining at Brest and Rochefort were in want of hands and cannon, so that they could never serve to cover any embarkation or descent, consequently Mr. Hawke’s squadron might have been spared for the relief of Minorca; that, instead of attending to this important object, the admiralty, on the eighth day of March, sent two ships of the line and three frigates to intercept a coasting convoy off Cape Barfleur: on the eleventh of the same month they detached two ships of the line to the West Indies, and on the nineteenth two more to North America, where they could be of little immediate service; on the twenty-third, two of the line and three frigates a convoy-hunting off Cherbourg; and on the first of April five ships of the line, including three returned from this last service, to reinforce sir Edward Hawke, already too strong for the French fleet bound to Canada; that all these ships might have been added to Mr. Byng’s squadron, without exposing Great Britain or Ireland to any hazard of invasion: that at length Mr. Byng was detached with ten great ships only, and even denied a frigate to repeat signals, for which he petitioned; although at that very time there were in port, exclusive of his squadron, seventeen ships of the line and thirteen frigates ready for sea, besides eleven of the line and nineteen frigates almost equipped. From these and other circumstances, particularized and urged with great vivacity, many individuals inferred, that a greater number of ships might have been detached to the Mediterranean than were actually sent with admiral Byng; that the not sending an earlier and stronger force was one great cause of Minorca’s being lost, and co-operated with the delay of the ministry in sending thither reinforcements of troops, their neglect in suffering the officers of the garrison to continue absent from their duty, and their omitting to give orders for raising miners to serve in the fortress of Mahon.