The Substance of the Speech of the Earl of Selkirk, in the House of Lords, on Monday the 13th of April 1807, on the Motion of the Marquis of Stafford, that the House should come to a Resolution, "That this House, feeling the necessity of a firm and stable Government, at this most important crisis of publick affairs, is impressed with the deepest regret, at the change which has taken place in his Majesty's Councils, and that such regret is greatly in- creased by the cause to which such change has been ascribed, it being the opinion of this House, that it is contrary to the first duties of the Ministers of the Crown to restrain themselves by any pledge, expressed or implied, from giving to his Majesty any advice, which in their judgement, the course of circumstances may render ne- NUMBER XXXVI. A short View of the Grounds and Principles of the glorious Revolution in England, in the year 1688, together with the Preface to the Third Edition of the Debates in the English House of Commons, in the month of October, 1680, on the Bill for excluding James, Duke of York, the Brother of King Charles the II. from the Succession to the Crown, on account of his having abandoned the Pro- testant Religion, and embraced the Religion of the Church The Introduction prefixed to the Second Edition of the said Princes, to the Civil Government, and Protestant Church of England; demonstrated from the Debates of Parliament in 1680, relating to the Bill of Exclusion of the then Duke of York; with an Introduction, shewing the progress NUMBER XXXVIII. An Account of the Sentiments of the Prince and Princess of Orange, concerning the Repeal of the Test-act in England, by which Papists were excluded from holding Civil and NUMBER XXXIX. Another Extract from Bishop Burnet's History of his own Times, containing an Account of the Death of King NUMBER XL. The Papists Bloody Oath of Secrecy, and Litany of Interces- sion for England; with the manner of their taking the Oath, upon their entering into any grand Conspiracy against the Protestants; as it was taken in the Chapel, belonging to Barnbow-Hall, the residence of Sir Thomas Honse, to print and publish the said Oath of Secrecy and London, Printed in the year 1680. Reprinted for S. Slow, NUMBER XLI. FOME, a great Custom-house for Sin; or a Table of the Dis- pensations and Pardons, for Villainies and Wickednesses of various kinds, &c. With the several sums of money, given and to be paid for them. By Anthony Egane, B. D. sometimes Confessor- General of the kingdom of Ireland; who was both a Spectator of, and Actor in, those horri- ble abuses, before his Conversion to the Protes- And now, [in the year 1715,] reprinted, [being the Fifth Edition,] for the Benefit of such as either have themselves, or would induce others to have, too favourable thoughts of Popery. To which is now [in 1715,] added an earnest dissua- sive from Romish Idolatry and Superstition: wherein other gress Enormities are clearly de- London: Printed for John Marshall, at the Bible in Grace-church Street; Joseph Marshall, at the OCCASIONAL ESSAYS ON POLITICAL SUBJECTS. ON THE EXCLUSION OF MR. JOHN WILKES FROM HIS SEAT IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, AS MEMBER FOR THE COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, AFTER HIS EXPULSION AND RE-ELECTION. To the Printer of the PUBLIC ADVERTISER. SIR, I CANNOT help being strongly of opinion that an Act of Parliament to the following purport would tend greatly to allay the difcontents that have prevailed among the people ever fince the Middlefex election: and therefore I beg you would infert the following draft of fuch a bill in your paper. The advantages that, I conceive, would arise from it are as follows. In the first place, it would fecure the rights of the Electors of Great Britain to chufe their own reprefentatives, from being controuled on any future occafion by the negative of a majority of the Houfe of Commons, exercifed under the form of an expulfion from that Houfe for fome vague and arbitrary crime, or defect, in the object of their displeasure, unknown to, and undefined by, the known laws of the land, and not proved with the strictness and folemnity that are deemed neceffary to the conviction and punishment of an offence of the flightest nature in our criminal courts of juftice. The apprehenfion of the poffibility of fuch proceedings in time to come, is what alarms the generality of impartial people rather than an opinion that this power was really fo abused in the cafe of Mr. Wilkes and the Middlefex election. To remove this apprehenfion is therefore an object of the laft importance. In the next place, fuch an act of parliament would confirm all the proceedings of the House of Commons with respect to Mr. Wilkes on the rational and substantial ground of his being under a temporary incapacity of being elected a member of parliament, arising from the circumftance of his being then in prifon, in execution of a sentence of the court of King's Bench, and consequently unable to attend his duty in parliament; and, by fo confirming the proceedings of the Commons, it would entirely preferve their honour and dignity, and make it unneceffary that they should receed from any of their refolutions. I am fenfible, however, that it may here be objected that one of their refolutions, namely, the important refolution of Mr. Wilkes's incapacity to be a member of parliament, made on the 17th day of February, 1769, and which is expreffed in the words following, to wit, "Refolved, "That John Wilkes, Esquire, having been in this feffion of parliament expelled this House, was and is incapable of being elected a member to serve in this present parliament," may at firft fight feem to be contradicted and overruled by the provifions of the annexed act of parlia ment: but, upon a clofer examination of it, it will be found to be capable of a construction that is confiftent with thofe |