perpetuated through all changes of religious opinions and eftablishments, has been at length perfected by that revolution which has placed your Majefty's illuftrious houfe on the throne of these kingdoms, and infeparably united your title to the crown, with the laws and liberties of your people.

Our exclufion from many of the benefits of that conftitution, has not diminished our reverence to it. We behold, with fatisfaction, the felicity of our fellow fubjects, and we partake of the general profperity which refults from an inftitution fo full of wisdom. We have patiently fubmitted to fuch reftriétions and difcouragements as the legislature thought expedient. We have thankfully received fuch relaxations of the rigour of the laws, as the mildnefs of an enlightened age, and the benignity of your Majefty's government, have gradually produced: and we fubmiflively wait, without prefuming to fuggeft either time or meafure, for fuch other indulgence as thofe happy caufes cannot fail, in their own feason, to effect.

"We beg leave to affure your Majefty, that our diffent from the legal establishment, in matters of religion, is purely confcientious; that we hold no opinions adverse to your Majesty's government, or repugnant to the dutics of good citizens. And, we truft, that this has been fhewn more decifively by our irreproachable conduct for many years paft, under circum. ftances of public discountenance and difpleafure, than it can be mas nifefted by any declaration what

have but one intereft, and ought to have but one wifh, and one fentiment, we humbly hope it will not be deemed improper to affure your Majefty of our unreferved affection to your government, of our unalterable attachment to the cause and welfare of this our common country, and our utter deteftation of the defigns and views of any foreign power against the dignity of your Majefty's crown, the fafety and tranquillity of your Majesty's fubjects.

"The delicacy of our fituation is fuch, that we do not prefume to point out the particular means by which we may be allowed to tellify our zeal to your Majesty, and our wishes to ferve our country; but we intreat leave, faithfully to affure your Majefty, that we shall be perfectly ready, on every occafion, to give fuch proofs of our fidelity, and the purity of our intentions, as your Majefty's wifdom, and the fenfe of the nation, fhall at any time deem expedient."

The above addrefs was figned by the Duke of Norfolk, the Lords Surry and Shrewsbury, Linton for the Scotch, Stourton, Petre, Arundel, Dormer, Teynham, Clifford, and 163 Commoners.

A Memorial prefented to his Majefty by his Grace the Duke of Bolton.

To the KING.

Majefty's fervice, and the defence of our country, think ourselves indifpenfably bound by our duty to that fervice and that country, with all poflible humility, to reprefent to your wifdom and juftice,

That Sir Hugh Pallifer, Vice Admiral of the Blue, lately ferving under the command of the honourable Auguftus Keppel, did prefer certain articles of accufation, containing feveral matters of heinous offence, against his faid Commander in Chief, to the Lords Comif. fioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral of Great Britain, he, the faid Sir Hugh Pallifer, being himfeif a Commiflioner in the faid commiffion. This accufation he, the faid Sir Hugh Palli fer, withheld from the twenty-feventh of July laft, the time of the fuppofed offences committed, until the ninth day of this prefent December, and then brought forward for the purpose of recrimination, against charges conjectured by him, the faid Sir Hugh Pallifer, but which, in fact, were never made.

That the Commiffioners of the Admiralty, near five months after the pretended offences aforefaid, did receive from their faid colleague in office the charge made by him against his faid commander, and, without taking into confideration the relative fituation of the accufer and the party accused, or attending to the avowed motives of the accufation, or the length of time of withholding, or the occafion of

of your Majefty's royal navy, having hitherto, on all occafions, ferved your Majefty with zeal and fidelity, and being defirous of devoting every action of our lives, and our lives themselves, to your

other deliberation whatsoever, did, on the very fame day on which the charge was preferred, and without previous notice to the party accused, of an intention of making a charge against him, give notice of their

intending

fhould be held on the faid Admiral Keppel, after forty years of merito rious fervice, and a variety of actions in which he had exerted eminent courage aud conduct, by which the honour and power of this na tion, and the glory of the British flag, had been maintained and encreased in various parts of the world.

We beg leave to exprefs to your Majesty our concern at this proceeding, and to reprefent our apprehenfions of the difficulties and difcouragements which will inevitably arise to your service therefrom; and that it will not be eafy for men, attentive to their honour, to ferve your Majefty, particularly in fituations of principal command, if the practice now ftated to your Majefty be countenanced, or the principles upon which the fame has been fupported, fhall prevail with any Lord High Admiral, or with any commiffioner for executing that office.

We are humbly of opinion, that a criminal charge against an officer (rifing in importance according to the rank and command of that of ficer) which fufpends his fervice to your Majefty, perhaps in the moft critical exigencies of the public affairs, which calls his reputation into doubt and difcuffion, which puts him on trial for his life, profeffion, and reputation, and which, in its confequences, may caufe a fatal ceffation in the naval exertions of the kingdom, to be a matter of the most ferious nature, and never to be made by authority, but on folid ground, and on mature deliberation. The honour of an officer is the most precious poffeffion, and best qualification; the public

thofe under whom we serve countenance accufation, it is often impoffible perfectly to reftore military fame by the mere acquittal of a court martial. Imputations made by high authority remain long, and affect deeply. The sphere of action of commanders in chief is large, and their business intricate, and fubject to great variety of opinion; and, before they are to be put on the judgment of others for acts done upon their difcretion, the greatest difcretion ought to be employed.

Whether the Board of Admiralty hath by law any fuch difcretion, we, who are not of the profeffion of the law, cannot pofitively affert; but if we had conceived that this Board had no legal ufe of their reafon in a point of fuch delicacy and importance, we should have known on what terms we ferved. But we never did imagine it poffible that we were to receive orders from, and to be accountable to, those who, by law, were reduced to become paffive inftruments to the poffible malice, ignorance, or treafon of any individual who might think fit to difarm his Majefty's navy of its beft and higheft officers. We conceive it difrefpectful to the laws of our country to fuppofe them capable of fuch manifest injustice and abfurdity.

We therefore humbly reprefent, in behalf of public order, as well as of the difcipline of the navy, to your Majefty, the dangers of long concealed, and afterwards precipitately adopted, charges, and of all recriminatory accufations of fubordinate officers against their commanders in chief; and particularly the mischief and fcandal of permitting men, who are at once

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merchants trading to, and connected with, the faid colonies, whofe names are hereunto fubscribed, in behalf of ourselves and others interefted therein, humbly approach your royal prefence, with all af furances of fidelity to your perfon and government; and, with the utmoft humility, represent to your Majefty,

That, on the commencement of the unhappy divifions between this kingdom and the colonies in North America, your petitioners, impreffed with a proper fenfe of duty to your Majefty, and of the circumftances of their fituation, did reprefent to your Majefty's minifters their apprehenfions of the dangers and diftreffes to which the fugar iflands were neceffarily expofed.

That the fatal confequences, thus apprehended by your petitioners, have been in a great measure unhappily experienced during the three laft years, by a general fearcity of provifions in all the islands, in fome of them nearly approaching to famine, and by a want of culture of their plantations; fo that almost every article effential to the their eftates and property have been confiderably impaired in vather diminution: whilft their effects lue, and continue expofed to furhave been captured on the high feas, to a very great amount.

had early and anxiously represented That although your petitioners ceffity of an adequate protection for to your Majefty's minifters the nethe islands, they have now to lament, from the lofs of Dominica, and the imminent danger of the other islands, that the frequent applications which they have made for protection have not had their defired effect.

That