ONE: Unsettled Condition of EuropeMachinations of Russia and Austria against TurkeyDisasters of the AustriansCapture of OczakoffFurther Designs of CatherineIntervention of PittGustavus of Sweden invades RussiaHis Temporary CheckHe remodels the Diet and pursues the WarJoseph renews the WarDisaffection in HungaryRevolution in the Austrian NetherlandsAbolition of the Joyeuse EntreThe Emperor declared to have forfeited the CrownThe Austrian Troops retired to LuxembourgDeath of JosephOutbreak of the French RevolutionEfforts of Turgot and his Successors to introduce ReformsLomnie de BrienneRecall of NeckerAssembly of the States GeneralThe Third Estate becomes the National AssemblyThe Meeting in the Tennis CourtContemplated Coup d'tatProject of a City GuardDismissal of NeckerInsurrection in ParisThe City GuardCapture of the BastilleThe Noblesse renounce their PrivilegesBankruptcy and Famine"O Richard, O Mon Roi!"The Women and the National Guard march on VersaillesThe King brought to ParisEffect of the Revolution in EnglandDifferent Views of Burke and FoxRejection of Flood's Reform BillThe Nootka Sound AffairSatisfaction obtained from SpainMotions of Reform in the Irish ParliamentConvention of ReichenbachContinuance of the War between Sweden and RussiaRenewal of the War with Tippoo SahibDebates in ParliamentDiscussions on the Eastern QuestionThe Canada BillIt is made the occasion of speeches on the French RevolutionBreach between Fox and BurkeAbuse of Burke by the WhigsWilberforce's Notice for Immediate EmancipationColonisation of Sierra LeoneBill for the Relief of Roman CatholicsFox's Libel BillBurke's "Reflections on the French Revolution"Replies of Mackintosh and PaineDr. PriceDr. PriestleyThe Anniversary of the taking of the BastilleThe Birmingham RiotsDestruction of Priestley's LibrarySuppression of the RiotsMildness of the Sentences.She was drowsy, however, for it was still very early, and she was almost dropping off to sleep when the Chinaman brought the coffee and set it down upon a table near her, with a deference of manner not common to the Celestial when serving the Occidental woman, who, he believes, has lost the right to it directly she shows the inclination to do work herself. But Felipa was a mistress to his taste. As he bowed himself abjectly from her presence, Cairness came in. He had taken off his rubber coat and big hat, and was full of the vigor of life which makes the strong and [Pg 308]healthy-minded so good to look upon at the beginning of a day.
ONE:Fox introduced his first Bill on the 20th of November. All went smoothly, and the second reading was ordered for that day week. Then the storm burst. Mr. Grenville (afterwards Lord Grenville) described the Bill as a scheme to put the Company into the hands of Ministers, and to annihilate the prerogatives of the Crown at the same time. He denounced it as one of the most daring and dangerous attempts that had ever been brought into that House. He moved that it should lie over till after Christmas, and there was a strong phalanx ready to support him. Grenville did not press the motion to a division, and the Bill was read a second time on the 27th, when a vehement and long debate took place. Pitt put forth his whole strength against it, Fox for it, and it was carried by two hundred and twenty-nine votes against one hundred and twenty. On the 1st of December it was moved that the Bill be committed, when the Opposition was equally determined. On this occasion Burke, who had made himself profoundly acquainted with Indian affairs, took the lead, and delivered one of his very finest speeches, full of information and eloquence. Pitt resisted the going into Committee with all his power, and pledged himself, if the House would throw out the Bill, to bring in another just as efficacious, and at the same time devoid of its danger. The debate, like the former one, did not close till half-past four in the morning, and then it was with a triumphant majority of two hundred and seventeen against one hundred and three. The Bill, thus carried by such majorities through the Commons, was carried up to the Lords, on the 9th of December, by Fox, accompanied by a numerous body of the Commoners, and it was considered as certain of passing there; but the king and his party, exasperated at the resolute conduct of the Commons, had gone to such lengths to quash the Bill in the Lords as are rarely resorted to by the Crown. As in the Lower House, so here, it was allowed to be read the first time without dividing; but it was attacked with an ominous solemnity by Thurlow, the Duke of Richmond, and Lord Temple, who, since his recall from the Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland, had thrown himself into the Opposition with peculiar vivacity. It was known that he had been frequently closeted with the king of late, and he bluntly declared the Bill infamous. As a matter of fact, he had urged the king to use his personal influence with the House of Lords. Thurlow went further, and, fixing one of his most solemn glances on the Prince of Wales, who was sitting in the House to vote for the Bill, declared that if this measure passed, the crown of England would not be worth wearing;[303] and that if the king allowed it to become law, he would, in fact, have taken it from his head and put it on that of Mr. Fox. On the 15th, when the Bill was proposed for the second reading, the royal proceedings against it were brought at once to light. The Duke of Portland rose and said, before going into the question, he was bound to notice a report which was confidently in circulation, and which, if true, vitally affected the constitution of the country. This was no less than that the king had written a note to Lord Temple, stating that "his Majesty would deem those who voted for the Bill not only not his friends, but his enemies; and that if Lord Temple could put this into still stronger language, he had full authority to do so."
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