"Our Heavenly Father, if we praye, Will help a fuff'ring childe: Go take the holy facrament;

So fhall thy grief grow milde."

"O mother, what I feel within,

No facrament can ftaye;
No facrament can teche the dead.
To bear the fight of daye."
"May be, among the heathen folk

Thy William falfe doth prove, And puts away his faith and troth, And takes another love.

Then wherefore forrow for his lofs?
Thy moars are all in vain :
And when his foul and body parte,
His falsehood brings him paine."
"O mother, mother! gone is gone:
My hope is all forlorne;
The grave mie onlye fafeguarde is—➡
O, had I ne'er been borne !
Go out, go out, my lampe of life;
In griffie darkness die :

There is no mercye, fure, above!

For ever let me die."

"Almighty God! O do not judge My poor unhappy childe;

1

She knows not what her lips pronounce,
Her anguish makes her wilde.
My girl, forget thine earthly woe,
And think on God and blifs;
For fo, at leaft, fhall not thy foule

Its heavenly bridegroom mifs."
"mother, mother! what is bliffe,
And what the fiencis celle?
With him 'tis heaven any where ;
Without my William, helle.

Go out, go out, my lamp of life;
In endiefs darknefs die:
Without him I must loathe the earth,

Without him fcorne the skye."
And fo defpaire did rave and rage
Athwarte her boiling veins;
Against the Providence of Heaven

She hur de her impious strains.

She bet her breafte, and wrung her hands,
And, rollde her tearleffe eye,

From rife of moon till the pale ftars
Again did freeke the fkye.

When harke! abroade fhe heard the trampe
Of nimble-hoofed fteed:

She hearde a knighte with clank alighte,
And climb the ftaire in speed.

And foon fhe kerde a tinkling hande,
That twirled at the pin;

And thro' her door, that open'd not,

Thefe words were breathed in. "What ho! what ho! thy dore undoe; Art watching or afleepe?

My love, doft yet remember mee,
And doft thou laugh or weep?"

Ah! William here fo late at night! Oh! I have watchte and wak'd: Whence doft thou come? For thy return My herte has forely ak'd."

"At midnight only we may ride;

I come o'er land and fee:

I mounted late, but foone I go;
Aryfe, and come with me."
"O William enter first my bowre,
And give me one embrace :
The blasts athwarte the hawthorne hifs;
Awayte a little space."

"The blafts athwarte the hawthorn hifs, I may not harboure here;

My fpurre is fharpe, my courfer pawes, My hour of flight is mere.

All as thou lyeft upon thy couch,

Aryfe, and mount behinde;
To-night we'le ride a thousand miles,
The bridal bed to finde,"

"How ride to-night a thousand miles?
Thy love thou dost bemocke:
Eleven is the ftroke that ftill

Rings on within the clocke."

"Looke up; the moon is bright, and we Outftride the earthlie men:

I'll take thee to the bridal bed,

And night fhall end but then." "And where is, then, thy house and home?

And where thy bridal bed?" "Tis narrow, filent, chilly, dark;

Far hence I reft my head."

"And is there any room for mee,

Wherein that I may creepe?

"There's room enough for thee and mee, Wherein that wee may fleepe.

All as thou ly'ft upon thy couch,
Aryfe, no longer ftop;

The wedding guests thy coming waite,
The chamber door is ope."

All in her farke, as there the lay,

Upon his horfe the sprung;
And with her lily hands fo pale
About her William clung.

And hurry-fkurry forth they go,
Unheeding wet or dry;
And horfe and rider fort and blow,
And fparkling pebbles fly.

468

HOUSE OF LORDS,-March 4.

LORD LAUDERDALE role to make his motion on the lubject of the penfion granted to Mr Burke, and made payable out of the four and a half per cent. duties. A recent publication *, and perfonal confiderations, his Lordship obferved, might probably roufe the curiofity of the public, and of their Lordships, to hear him canvafs the merit of this public character. From this, however, he was refolved, according to his origin, al determination, carefully to abftain.From this refolution no ability, however diftinguished, no genius, however brilliant, could feduce him. That talents fo tranfcendant fhould be employed in fuch a manner he might lament. He might admire the genius, and drop a tear over its fallen and degraded application; but on the prefent occafion, he should confine himself solely to the queftion of the application of the fund. He then went into a hiftory of the four and a half per. cent. duties. They were granted for the repair of forts, &c. in the Leeward Islands, and his Lordship infifted, that they could not be otherways appropriated; he therefore moved, That his Majefty be addref fed not to apply them to any purpole but their original object.

Lord Grenville faid, he felt himself peculiarly happy, that the motion of the Noble Lord appeared to fteer clear of the perfonal reference which it had been. apprehended would occur in his difcuffion of the queftion before the House. It relieved him from the tafk of juftifying a benevolence of the Crown, from which he and every one of his Majefty's Minifters derived a portion of honour, as the advisers of a measure fo becoming the dignity of the Sovereign, and the honour of the country.

Having premifed this, his Lordship contended, that the four and a half per cent. duties were, and ever had been, at the difpofal of the Crown, for any part of the public fervice. In this he was borne out by the opinions of the firft lawyers-by thofe of Lords Cambden, Hardwicke, and Mansfield; and it had

never been made a matter of question

and doubt till now. He therefore oppor fed the motion; and upon a divifion there appeared for it, Contents 10. -Noncontents 73-Majority againft the motion, 63.

March 7. Upon the Order for committing the Bill to amend the Game Laws by altering the day from the 1ft to the 14th of Sept. for fhooting, the House divided; for the Committee 13, againft it 12, Majority 1.

March L. The Game Laws Bill, af ter a motion for extending the new provifions to Scotland, by Lord Lauderdale, had been negatived, was read a third time and paffed.

March Lord Moira faid, that the Bill which he had now the honour to prefent to the Houle, for the better fecurity of Creditors, and the relief of Infolvent Debtors, was founded almost wholly on the principles of the Bill brought in in 1794, when his Lordship was absent on public affairs. To all the arguments and objections that had been urged on the fubject, he had given the most ferious confideration, and in them he discovered nothing that could fhake his former refolution, or the conviction to which, after much deliberation, he had brought his own mind. In the prefent Bill he would lay afide all confideration of imprisone ment upon mefne process, as he perceived it to be fo perplexed with intricacies, that he was unable to reduce it to any precife fyftem.

The Bill was then read a firft time.

March 24. The Royal Affent was given to the New Game Act, Warwick Canal, and other Bills; and the Houle adjourned to the 6th of April.

HOUSE OF COMMONS, Feb. 22. Mr Wilberforce brought in the Slave Abolition Bill, the words of which expreffed it to be contrary to "juftice and humanity." It was read a first time.

Mr William Smith moved the Order of the Day, for taking the Report of the Loan into confideration: he entered at large into a financial difquifition on the

Re

afferted, that an injury to the nation of three per cent. on amount of the whole, was the refult of the Minifter's deftroying a fair competition, when there were two other candidates for it befides Boyd and Co. He concluded by moving the reading of 39 refolutions condemning the conduct of the Chancellor of the Exche quer: after which he moved the Houfe on the first Refolution, which was as fol lows:

"Refolved, That it appears to this Houfe, that the principle of making Loans for the public fervice by a free and open competition, uniformly profel fed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has been generally recognised as affording the fairest profpect of public advantage."

Mr Pitt expreffed his aftonishment to be thus taken, as it were, by furprise, with a charge of fuch a nature as amounted to a high misdemeanour, and wifhed that the confideration of it should be adjourn ed over to a future day.

Mr William Smith not wishing to prefs it, the Speaker informed him, that it would be regular to adjourn the debate on the first Refolution. Adjourned accordingly to Friday next.

Feb. 23. Mr Wigley prefented a petition from a number of Apothecaries, praying that a law might be enacted to preveut perfons not properly qualified from preparing medicines.

General Smith oppofed the petition, alledging that Druggifts could prepare them as well, and at a much cheaper

rate.

Leave was given to bring in the Bill. Sir John Sinclair brought in the General Inclofure Bill, which was read a fift time.

Mr Benniker Major moved for leave to bring in a Bil to enable Courts to grant cofts to witnefits, whether conftables or others, in the cafe of adjudication of vagrants. Leave was granted.

Feb. 24. The Houfe went into a Committee of the whole Houfe on the Bill for granting a reward of 1col. to each Captain, and 50l. to each Surgeon, in certain cafes, and fo in proportion, for their attention in bringing Slaves from Africa to the Weft Indies, and went through the fame.

Feb. 26. General MLeod alluded to a paragraph he had feen in the Papers, dated Jamaica, and which stated, that Lord Balcarras had fent to Cuba for one hundred blood-hounds and twenty chaf

Mr Pitt faid, that any idea of employ ing the means alluded to as an inftrument of war, was as foreign from the minds of his Majesty's Minifters, as froin any Gentleman's in that Houfe.

Mr Yorke faid, that thofe Maroons were robbers and affaflins, and that thefe dogs were brought for the purpose of finding out their haunts.

Mr W. Smith having moved the Order of the Day for refuming the debate on the fubject of his thirty-nine Refolutions, condemning the conduct of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the tranfaction of the late Loan, Mr Douglas and Mr Steele warmly defended Mr Pitt. The former begged leave to ftate to the Houfe, in the outlet, that the Hon. Gentleman (Mr Smith) had uniformly declared, that he could not charge the Chancellor of the Exchequer with any thing further than improvidence in the negociation of the Loan. He expreffed his aftonishment, that after so long a filence he fhould bring forward to long a ftring of Refolutions; and concluded a fpeech of about three hours with an amendment to the firft Refolution," That all the words of the firit Refolution moved on Monday, after the word competition, fhould be left out, and others fubflituted, fo that it would ftand thus:

"That it appears to this House, that the principle of making loans for the public fervice, by free and open competi tion, could not be applid confiflently with the circumftances of the coje, and the equitable claims of individuals.”

Mr Francis poke in favour of the original Refolutions.

Mr Pitt entered into all the circumftances of the Loan. He declared he had no interested, no perfonal, no corrupt view in making it. The advantage, that was given to Boyd's houfe, and which his opponents fo much complained of, was founded in justice, and not in partiality. He did not deem the mode of drawing the Hamburgh Bilis illicit, as the money they raifed was immediately wanted by the public exigencies; and he finally refled his vindication upon the Committee appointed to enquire into the tranfaction having fully acquitted him, after a very minute enquiry, of having acted from corrupt motives, or a view to Parliamentary interell.

Mr

Mr Fox and Mr Sheridan fupported the original Refolutions; and the former argued, that there were modes of guilt; that though the Right Hon. Gentleman might be cleared of any direct corruption, it might be effected in a fecondary way; and that there was fomething in the tranfaction very cenfurable. The Refolution, however, as moved by Mr Douglas, was carried, there being for it 171, against it only 23, as were two other Refolutions of the Committee, in exculpation and vindication of Mr Pitt; as to the reft, they were all negatived.

Feb. 29. Sir John Sinclair moved the fecond reading of the Potatoe Bounty Bill.

Mr Powis oppofed it.

Mr Duncombe thought the price a fufScient bounty.

Sir John Sinclair faid, that his only object for introducing the Bill was, that he conceived it to be of great advantage.

The motion was negatived without a divifion.

Mr Jekyll moved the order of the Day for taking into confideration thofe Refolutions of the Committee appointed to examine into the nature of the Loan, which related to the negociation of the Hamburgh Bills.

Mr Long maintained the propriety of this mode of furnishing money, by drawing on an agent at Hamburgh, and that. there was nothing fraudulent in the whole tranfaction, as there had been always money enough in the Treasury to difcharge the amount of thefe Bills. He concluded by moving the previous queftion.

Many Gentlemen delivered their fentiments on both fides.

Mr Jekyll replied, after which the Houfe divided For the previous quef tion 109, Against it 24.

Another divifion took place on one of the Refolutions feparately, when the numbers flood, againft it 108, for it 8.

March 1. Mr Dent gave notice, that he would move for leave to bring in a Bill for taxing dogs.

Mr Pitt moved, that leave be given to bring in a Bill for amending and enforcing the laws relative to the relief and employment of the poor. Leave given. Mr Lechmere, agreeable to the notice he gave, moved, "That the Chairman be requested to move the Houfe for leave to bring in a Bill, more effectually to prevent the Exportation of Corn, and to prevent felling it by fample."

Mr Francis and other Gentlemen expreffed their doubts, as to the propriety of the measure. Mr Francis recommended the use of hand-mills to the poor,fuch as are used in India, and which might be obtained at the rate of from 128. 10 155.

Mr Buxton did not fee any occafion for the legislative interference of the House in the way propofed, and moved, "That the Chairman do leave the chair."

Mr Huffey expressed his apprehensions, that the laws against exportation were evaded, particularly at Southampton, Poole, &c.

Mr Pitt faid, he was not aware of any fuch exportation as was fuggefted by Mr Huffey; if there was, the exifting laws were fufficient to punish it. With refpect to the queftion, how far the scarcity was real, if any practical means could be devifed of finding that out, it would certainly be very proper. He affured the Houfe that much pains had been taken to collect information on that head, by calling for local communications from various parts, to the Committee; what more then could be done without creating an alarm? In fact, there was no poffible way of getting at the truth but by taking flock in a compulsory manner, which he thought would be either impracticable or mischievous, and after all, not produce information enough on which to found any effectual measure. Of one thing he had little doubt, viz. that the high price was certainly disproportionate to the real fcarcity of corn; for he was fure, if every merchant, buyer, and feller, knew how much corn there was in the country, the price would foon be lower. Yet he would by no means fay that the fcarcity was artificial. He be lieved that in the wheat crop of the laft year there was a deficiency below the average; but as to the corps of other grain, which would afford an useful, wholfome mixture, they were abundant in a degree amply to fupply the deficiencies of wheat. Nothing then was wanting, but the country making up their minds to ufe that fubftitute, to prevent a fcarcity, and carry the wheat through to the next harvest. He would not fay that this was to be done without inconvenience, particularly to the lower claffes of people, who, from their more confined habits of thinking, were less blameable for prejudices than those who had the advantage of more enlightened minds. On their account he re

gret