yranny! But God forbid, above all, that our tyrants should ever be able
to plead, in justification of the worst that they can inflict upon us,
precedents furnished by ourselves!"

These topics, skilfully handled, produced a great effect on many
moderate Whigs. Montague did his best to rally his followers. We
still possess the rude outline of what must have been a most effective
peroration. "Gentlemen warn us"--this, or very nearly this, seems to
have been what he said--"not to furnish King James with a precedent
which, if ever he should be restored, he may use against ourselves. Do
they really believe that, if that evil day shall ever come, this just
and necessary law will be the pattern which he will imitate? No, Sir,
his model will be, not our bill of attainder, but his own; not our bill,
which, on full proof, and after a most fair hearing, inflicts deserved
retribution on a single guilty head; but his own bill, which, without
a defence, without an investigation, without an accusation, doomed near
three thousand people, whose only crimes were their English blood and
their Protestant faith, the men to the gallows and the women to the
stake. That is the precedent which he has set, and which he will follow.
In order that he never may be able to follow it, in order that the fear
of a righteous punishment may restrain those enemies of our country who
wish to see him ruling in London as he ruled at Dublin, I give my vote
for this bill."

In spite of all the eloquence and influence of the ministry, the
minority grew stronger and stronger as the debates proceeded. The
question that leave should be given to bring in the bill had been
carried by nearly three to one. On the question that the bill should be
committed, the Ayes were a hundred and eighty-six, the Noes a hundred
and twenty-eight. On the question that the bill should pass, the Ayes
were a hundred and eighty-nine, the Noes a hundred and fifty-six.

On the twenty-sixth of November the bill was carried up to the Lords.
Before it arrived, the Lords had made preparations to receive it. Every
peer who was absent from town had been summoned up: every peer who
disobeyed the summons and was unable to give a satisfactory explanation
of his disobedience was taken into custody by Black Rod. On the day
fixed for the first reading, the crowd on the benches was unprecedented.
The whole number of temporal Lords, exclusive of minors, Roman Catholics
and nonjurors, was about a hundr