the people; that this Houfe has done fo in former inftances, particularly in the famous cafe of Afhby and White, in which the first refolution of the Lords declares,

that neither Houfe of Parliament has any power, by any vote or declaration, to create to themselves any new privilege that is not warranted by the known laws and cuftoms of Parliament." We ought to interfere at this time, the rather, as our filence on fo important and alarming an occafion might be interpreted into an approbation of the measure, and be the means of lofing that confidence with the people, which is fo effential to the public welfare, that this Houfe, the hereditary guardians of their rights, fhould at all times endeavour to maintain.

6. Because, upon the whole, we deem the power which the House of Commons have affumed to themfelves, of creating an incapacity, unknown to the law, and thereby depriving in effect all the electors of Great-Britain of their invaluable rights of free election, confirmed to them by fo many folemn ftatutes, a flagrant ufurpation, as highly repugnant to every effential principle of the conftitution, as the claim of fhip-money byKingCharles 1, or that of the fufpending and difpenfing power by King James II, this being indeed, in our opinion, a fufpending and difpenfing power, defpotically affumed and exertifed by the House of Commons, against the ancient and fundamental liberties of the kingdom.

Then it was moved to refolve, That any refolution of the House, directly or indirectly, impeaching a judgment of the Houfe of Commons, in a matter where their jurifdiction is competent, final, and conclufive, would be a violation of

the conftitutional right of the Commons, tends to make a breach between the two Houfes of Parliament, and leads to a general confufion.

Diffentient'

1. Becaufe, we apprehend that the rights and powers of the Peerage are not given for our own particular advantage, but merely as a conftitutional truft, to be held and exercised for the benefit of the people, and for the prefervation of their laws and liberties; and we fhould hold ourfelves betrayers of that truft, unworthy of our high rank in the kingdom, and of our feats in this Houfe, if we confidered anyone' legal right of the fubject, much lefs the first and most important of all their rights, as a matter indifferent and foreign to the Peers of this kingdom.

2. Becaufe, by this refolution, it is declared to the world, that if the Houfe of Commons should change the whole law of election, fhould transfer the rights of the freeholders to copyholders and leafeholders for years, or totally extinguifh thofe rights by an arbitrary declaration; fhould alter the conftitation of cities and boroughs, with regard to their elections; thould reverfe not only all the franchifes of fuflage, which the people hold under the common law, but alfo trample upon the fanctions of fo many acts of Parliament, made for declaring and fecuring the rights of election, that even in fuch a critical emergency of the conftitution, the people are to defpair of any relief whatfoever from any mode of, direct or indirect, interference of this Houfe.

3. Becaufe, by this refolution, the Houfe not only refufes to itand by the people, in cafe they fhould [0] z

fuffer

fuffer the most grievous injuries from their reprefentatives, but it abdicates its ancient and unqueftioned province and duty of the hereditary Council to the Crown, rendering itself unable to give its advice in a point, in which of all others the King may ftand in the greatest need of the wisdom and authority of the Peers; a point, fuch as the prefent, in which numbers of the conftituents have, in a manner agreeable to law, carried up their complaints to the Throne against their reprefentatives.

4. Becaufe, by the faid refolution, we do a most material injury to the House of Commons itself. The refolution, by the ftudied latitude of the words, directly or indirectly to cenfure, puts it out of the power of the Lords to offer, either in the prefent, or in any future unfortunate difference between them and their conftituents, even in the way of friendly conference, our amicable and healing mediation; the want of which may be a means of letting fuch difference run to extremities, fatal to the Houfe of Commons itself, to the conftitution, and to the nation.

5. Because, we confider ourselves alfo, as an House of Parliament, to be most materially interefted, that the people fhould be legally and conftitutionally reprefented; for as the Houfe of Commons makes an effential part of Parliament, if that Houfe fhould come to be chofen in a manner not agreeable to the laws and conftitution of the kingdom, the authority of Parliament itfelf muft fuffer extremely, if not totally perish; the Peers can no more, in their legiflative capacity, do any valid act, without a legal Houfe of Commons, than without a legal Prince upon the Throne.

6. Because, by this refolution, the conftitutional controul has been given up, which this House, as appears by antient and recent precedents, have conftantly claimed. and exercised; and for the purpose of which, the legislature has been divided into feparate branches. We are far from denying fuch a reciprocity of controul in the other House, even in matters within our feparate and final jurifdiction; neither arrogating to ourselves, or acknowledging in others, any power diftinct from, or above the law of the land. But we cannot behold, without the utmost shame and indignation, this Houfe making a voluntary furrender of its mest undoubted, legal, neceffary, and facred rights; not only omitting, but refufing to examine precedents; not previously defiring a conference with the other Houfe, to discover whether they were inclined to admit in this House a correfpondent immunity from interpofition on their part, in matters within the ticular jurifdiction of the Peers. Thefe proceedings are as derogatory from the dignity of the House, as they are contrary to its duty and its intereft. They cannot fail of lowering this Houfe in the opinion of mankind, who will not believe that the Peers can have any attention to the welfare of the people, when they have fhewn fo little regard to their own honour. This refolution must tend to forward that plan, which, with great uneafinefs, we have feen, for a long time, Syftematically carried on for lowering all the conftitutional powers of the kingdom, rendering the House of Commons odious, and the House of Peers contemptible.

par

7. Becaufe, the impropriety of this refolution was infinitely aggravated

elected a member to ferve in this prefent parliament, and the freeholders of the county of Middlefex have been deprived of one of their legal reprefentatives."

Whereas the capacity of being elected a reprefentative of the commons in parliament is (under known limitations of law) an original inherent right of the fubject; and forafinuch as to deprive the fubject of this high franchife birthright, otherwife than by a judgment according to the law of the land, and the conftant eftablished ufage of parliament conformable thereto, and part thereof, is directly contrary to the fundamental laws and freedom of this realm, and in particular to the act, Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject, and fettling the Succeffion of the Crown, at the ever-memorable Period of the Revolution;" when free election of members of parliament was exprefsly vindicated and fecured:

And whereas John Wilkes, Efq; having been duly elected and returned a knight of the fhire to ferve in this prefent parliamrnt for the county of Middlefex, was, on the 17th of February, 1769, without being heard, adjudged incapable of being elected a member to ferve in this prefent parliament, by a refolution of the Houfe of Commons, as follows:

Refolved, That John Wilkes, Efq; having been in this feffion of parliament expelled this houfe, was and is incapable of being elected a member to ferve in this prefent parliament."

And whereas on the fame day the faid Houfe of Commons farther refolved as follows, "That the late Election of a knight of the fhire to ferve in this prefent parliament for

the county of Middlesex is a void election:"

And whereas the faid John Wilkes, Efq; having been again duly elected and returned a knight of the fhire to ferve in this prefent parliament for the county of Middlefex, the faid House of Commons did, on the 17th of March, 1769, refolve in the words following, "That the election and return of John Wilkes, Efq; who hath been by this houfe adjudged incapable of being elected a member to serve in this prefent parliament, are null and void :"

And whereas the faid John Wilkes, Efq; having been again duly elected and returned a knight of the fhire to ferve in this prefent parliament for the county of Middlefex aforefaid, and having on the original poll books eleven hundred and forty-three votes in his favour, against two hundred and ninety-fix, in favour of Henry Lawes Luttrell, Efq; the House of Commons did, on the 15th of April, 1769, without a hearing of parties, and in manifeft violation of the indubitable right of the freeholders of the county of Middlesex to chuse their own reprefentatives in parliament, refolve as follows;

"That Henry Lawes Luttrell, Efq; ought to have been returned a knight of the fhire to serve in this prefent parliament for the county of Middlefex, and thereupon ordered the faid return to be amended accordingly:"

And whereas, by another refolution of the 8th of May, 1769, the faid H. of C. did, upon hearing the matter of the petition of the freeholders of the county of Middlefex, as far as the fame related to the election of Henry Lawes Luttrell, Efq; farther refolve as follows:

"That

That Henry Lawes Luttrell, Efq; is duly elected a knight of the fhire to serve in this prefent parliament for the county of Middlefex:"

And, forafmuch as all the refolutions aforefaid, cutting off the fubject from his indubitable birthright by a vote of one houfe of parliament, exercifing difcretionary power, and legislative authority, under colour of a jurifdiction in elections, are moft arbitary, illegal, and dangerous:

Be it therefore declared and enacted by the King's moft excellent Majefty, by and with the advice and confent of the Lords fpiritual and temporal, and Commons in this prefent parliament affembled, and by authority of the fame, That all the adjudications contained in the abovementioned feveral refolutions are arbitrary and illegal, and the fame are and shall be hereby reverfed, annulled, and made void, to all intents and purposes whatfoever."

After the firft reading of the faid bill, it was moved, That the faid bill be read the fecond time on Thurfday next. Which being objected to, after a long debate, the queftion was put thereupon. It was refolved in the negative by 89 to 43.

Then it was moved, That the faid bill be rejected. The queftion was put thereupon, and it was refolved in the affirmative.

neceffary to protest against the rejection of the fame, to the intent that it may be delivered down to pofterity, that this great conftitutional and effectual method of remedying an unexampled grievance hath not been left unattempted by us; and that, to our own times, we may ftand as men determined to perfevere in renewing, on every occafion, our utmost endeavours to obtain that redrefs, for the violated rights of the fubject, and for the injured electors of Great-Britain, which, in the prefent moment, an over-ruling fatality hath prevented from taking effect; thereby refufing reparation and comfort to an oppreffed and afflicted people. Chatham, Portland, Plymouth, Rockingham, Abingdon, Boyle, Grofvenor, Stanhope, Ponsonby, Suffolk, Richmond, Radnor, Archer, Fitzwilliam, Temple, Torrington, Rutland, John Bangor, Wycombe, Fortefcue, Huntingdon, Tankerville, Abergavenny, King, Ferrers, Lyttelton, Bolton, Camden, Coventry, Buckinghamshire, Scarborough, Northumberland, Manchester.