The year 1771 was distinguished by an extension of the liberty of the press, in a point of vital interest to public freedom. Before this period, the publishers of the debates in parliament encroaching, they knew not precisely on what grounds, had given the speeches either under fictitious names, or merely with the initials of those of the speakers. By degrees, however, the papers began to assume more liberty ; and some of them, by that incorrectness of reporters which can ne ver be avoided, grossly misrepresented many of the speeches. A member of the House of Commons com plained, that lie had been thus injuriously treated, and the house took up his cause with great warmth. They ordered the printers to attend the house. The printers conceiving that they were not bound by law to obey, refused obedience ; and the serjeant at arms, who was sent to arrest them, was treated with contempt. On this, the house addressed his majesty to issue a procla mation, by virtue of which they were apprehended, but immediately dismissed by the magistrates ; one of them by Mr Wilkes (at that time alderman of London), a se cond by alderman Oliver, and a third by Mr Crosby, the lord mayor. The magistrates were applauded by the populace, and publicly thanked by the,,citizens in com mon-council. The commons in indignation committed Mr Wilkes and the lord mayor, both members of their own house, to the Tower. They were brought up, in deed, by habeas corpus, and their case was brought be fore the Court of Common Pleas ; but after long and learned pleadings, these magistrates were remanded by the court, and their liberation was celebrated with uni versal rejoicings. The house, or, more properly speak ing, its leaders, the ministers, were peculiarly perplexed with Mr Wilkes. He had been ordered to attend at the bar of the house ; but, in return, lie pleaded his privi lege as a member, refusing to obey the summons in any other character. It was now that the commons disco vered themselves in a dilemma, from which they chose to make a ridiculous retreat in preference to persever ing. They ordered Mr Wilkes to appear on the 8th of April, but adjourned to the 9th. In consequence of this implied victory on the part of reporters, they have since exercised a privilege important to the political know ledge of the community, although they arc still amena ble to parliament for wilful misrepresentation. During the recess of parliament, in the summer of the same year, sonic official changes took place in the administra tion, in consequence of the death of the earl of Halifax, a nobleman, generous and accomplished ; but as a mi Lister, unpopular and unfortunate. lie professed the principles of the Whigs, but acquiesced, for the sake of ambition, in the Tory measures, which predominated in the present period; yet he had filled the lieutenancy of Ireland with ability and applause. The earl of Suffolk succeeded him as secretary of state for the northern department, and the duke of Grafton accepted the vacant post of lord privy seal.
For some succeeding years, the administration of lord North was marked by few events of signal conse quence. An application was made by a considerable body of the established clergy, and by a number of the laity in those professions, which required subscription to the thirty-nine articles, for relief from that severe test of faith. The bill for granting this relief was carried the commons, but was rejected by the lords. The same fate attended a motion in favour of the dissen ters, for a farther enlargement of the toleration act, which was successfully made in the lower house by sir George Saville. In consequence of the marriage of the dukes of Cumberland and Gloucester to women of infe rior rank, the royal marriage act was about the same time passed. By this law, the descendants of George II. were, with a few exceptions, prohibited from marrying without the royal consent. The bill was not passed with out encountering a spirited opposition. The descendants
of George II., it was observed, might in time compre hend a vast multitude of individuals ; and the right of government itself, to prevent an indefinite number of human beings from enjoying the common privilege of nature in contracting marriage, was reasonably called in question.
The affairs of the East India company occupied much of the attention of parliament at this period ; and a new regulating bill was past for reforming the government of India, by great parliamentary majorities, and with the general concurrence of the nation. For the particulars of these changes, we must refer our readers to a future article. We shall only notice at present, that while the vigour of these regulations was apparent, experience could only prove their deficiency in wisdom. This may be considered as the most brilliant era of lord North's administration ; but, while the nation was enjoying and looking forward to tranquillity, a tempest was gathering abroad, The affairs of India had scarcely been discussed, when it was necessary to turn a serious attention to those of America. The unfortunate disputes with our colonies, revived by the imposition of the port-duties in 1767, had suffered no abatement, though kept out of view by do mestic bickerings of infinitely less importance. The non-importation agreement entered into by the colonies had already been noticed ; but though the Americans confined their practical opposition to commercial com binations, they began to indulge a boundless licence of speculative discussion, on the nature and extent of par liamentary power. Nor was the tax upon tea the only cause of disaffection. The dependence of the governors and judges in America had been transferred from the people to the crown. In the act, which imposed the port-duties in 1767, was a remarkable clause, which gave scarcely less umbrage and alarm than the taxes them selves,—a clause empowering the crown, by sign ma nual, to establish a general civil list throughout every province in America, with any salaries, places, or ap pointments, to the very last shilling of the American re venue. In 1768, the assembly of Massachusetts-bay had called upon the different colonial legislatures to join with them in petitioning the king respecting the griev ances of America. In spite of all the instructions of lord Hillsborough (secretary for foreign affairs) to the governors of the provinces, their respective assemblies concurred with the proposal of the Bostonians ; and a committee of correspondence was framed among them, and a general spirit of union appeared to pervade Ame rica. The first tumults arose at Boston, where the po pulace rose on the commissioners for levying the taxes, and compelled them to take refuge at a fortress near the town. In consequence of this riot, troops were landed to overawe the citizens, under cover of fourteen ships of war ; while the assembly of the province openly di rected the inhabitants to hold themselves provided with arms. This was the provocation which, in the ensuing year, the British parliament thought a sufficient justifi cation for reviving an obsolete and tyrannical statute of Henry VIII. for bringing persons accused of treason beyond seas to trial and punishment in England. The measure excited, throughout all America, a just and terrible alarm. In such a state of mind, the Americans looked back on the late concessions of the mother coun try with suspicion ; and their suspicions had but too palpable grounds to lay hold of, when they saw that, by maintaining the right of taxation in a single case, they retained the principle, and founded a precedent for its indefinite application. The residence of the military at Boston, far from quieting, only enflamed the populace. In 1770 an affray took place, in which the military were constrained to fire upon the rioters, and several lives were lost.