ment before they vomit forth their lava, and roll their conflagrations over the devoted habitations of mankind :—when the French approached, the fatal effects were suddenly seen of a government of constraint and terror ;-the well-affected were dispirited, and the disaffected inflamed into fury.-At that moment the Archduchess fled from Brussels, and the Duke of Saxe-Teschen was sent express to offer the joyeuse entrée so long petitioned for in vain: but the season of concession was past;-the storm blew from every quarter,-and the throne of Brabant departed for ever from the House of Burgundy.Gentlemen, I venture to affirm, that, with other councils, this fatal prelude to the last revolution in that country, might have been averted:-if the Emperor had been advised to make the concessions of justice and affection to his people, they would have risen in a mass to maintain their prince's authority, interwoven with their own liberties; and the French, the giants of modern times, would, like the giants of antiquity, have been trampled in the mire of their own ambition. In the same manner a far more splendid and important crown passed away from His Majesty's illustrious brows:-THE IMPERIAL CROWN OF AMERICA. The people of that country too, for a long season, contended as subjects, and often with irregularity and turbulence, for what they felt to be their rights and, O Gentlemen! that the inspiring and immortal eloquence of that man, whose name I have so often mentioned, had then been heard with

effect !-what was his language to this country when she sought to lay burdens on America,-not to support the dignity of the Crown, or for the increase of national revenue, but to raise a fund for the purpose of corruption;-a fund for maintaining those tribes of hireling skipjacks, which Mr. Tooke so well contrasted with the hereditary nobility of England! -Though America would not bear this imposition, she would have borne any useful or constitutional burden to support the parent state." For that ser"vice, for all service," said Mr. Burke, "whether "of revenue, trade, or empire, my trust is in her "interest in the British constitution. My hold of "the colonies is in the close affection which grows "from common names, from kindred blood, from "similar privileges, and equal protection. These "are ties which, though light as air, are as strong "as links of iron. Let the colonies always keep the "idea of their civil rights associated with your go66 vernments, they will cling and grapple to you, and

no force under heaven will be of power to tear "them from their allegiance. But let it be once "understood, that your government may be one ‚“ thing, and their privileges another; that these two "things may exist without any mutual relation; "the cement is gone; the cohesion is loosened; " and every thing hastens to decay and dissolution. "As long as you have the wisdom to keep the so"vereign authority of this country as the sanctuary of liberty, the sacred temple consecrated to our

"common faith, wherever the chosen race and sons "of England worship freedom, they will turn their "faces toward you. The more they multiply, the "more friends you will have; the more ardently they "love liberty, the more perfect will be their obedience. "Slavery they can have any where. It is a weed

"that grows in every soil. They may have it from

Spain, they may have it from Prussia. But until

દ you become lost to all feeling of your true interest "and your natural dignity, freedom they can have "from none but you. This is the commodity of "price, of which you have the monopoly. This is "the true act of navigation, which binds to you the "commerce of the colonies, and through them se"cures to you the wealth of the world. Is it not "the same virtue which does every thing for us here "in England? Do you imagine then, that it is "the land-tax act which raises your revenue? that "it is the annual vote in the Committee of Supply, "which gives you your army? or that it is the Mu

tiny Bill which inspires it with bravery and discipline? No! surely no! It is the love of the people; it is their attachment to their government, from "the sense of the deep stake they have in such a "glorious institution, which gives you your army

and your navy, and infuses into both that liberal "obedience, without which your army would be a "base rabble, and your navy nothing but rotten "timber."

Gentlemen, to conclude-My fervent wish is, that

we may not conjure up a spirit to destroy ourselves, nor set the example here of what in another country we deplore.-Let us cherish the old and venerable laws of our forefathers.-Let our judicial administration be strict and pure; and let the Jury of the land preserve the life of a fellow-subject, who only asks it from them upon the same terms under which they hold their own lives, and all that is dear to them and their posterity for ever.-Let me repeat the wish with which I began my address to you, and which proceeds from the very bottom of my heart;-may it please God, who is the Author of all mercies to mankind, whose providence, I am persuaded, guides and superintends the transactions of the world, and whose guardian spirit has for ever hovered over this prosperous island, to direct and fortify your judgments. I am aware I have not acquitted myself to the unfortunate man, who has put his trust in me, in the manner I could have wished;-yet I am unable to proceed any further; exhausted in spirit and in strength, but confident in the expectation of justice. There is one thing more, however, that (if I can) I must state to you, namely, that I will show, by as many witnesses, as it may be found necessary or convenient for you to hear upon the subject, that the views of the Societies were what I have alleged them to be:-that whatever irregularities or indiscretions they might have committed, their purposes were honest; and that Mr. Hardy's, above all other men, can be established to have been so. I have,

indeed, an Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Francis *) in my eye, at this moment, to be called hereafter as a witness, who being desirous in his place, as a member of Parliament, to promote an inquiry into the seditious practices complained of, Mr. Hardy offered himself voluntarily to come forward, proffered a sight of all the papers, which were afterwards seized in his custody, and tendered every possible assistance to give satisfaction to the laws of his country, if found to be offended. I will show likewise his character to be religious, temperate, humane, and moderate, and his uniform conduct all that can belong to a good subject, and an honest man.When you have heard this evidence, it will, beyond all doubt, confirm you in coming to the conclusion which, at such great length (for which I entreat your pardon), I have been endeavouring to support.

So strongly prepossessed were the multitude in favour of the innocence of the Prisoner, that when Mr. Erskine had finished his speech, an irresistible acclamation pervaded the Court, and to an immense distance around. The streets were seemingly filled with the whole of the inhabitants of London, and the passages were so thronged that it was impossible for the Judges to get to their carriages. Mr. Erskine went out and addressed the multitude, de

*Now Sir Philip Francis, K. B.