nto the State of the
Nation rejected..... Marriage of the Prince of Wales.....
Parliament Prorogued..... The Affairs of Ireland..... Naval
Affairs in the Mediterranean, &c...... French Operations in
Holland, &c...... Treaties between France and Prussia,
&c..... Treaty between England and Russia, &c..... The
Campaign of the Alps..... Affairs of La Vendee..... Armies
on the Rhine..... Affairs at Paris..... Meeting of
Parliament..... Bill to prevent Seditious Meetings, &c.

{A.D. 1795}

BILL FOR THE SUSPENSION OF THE HABEAS CORPUS ACT (CONTINUED.)

On the 5th of January, Sheridan rose to move for leave to bring in a
bill for the repeal of the suspension of the Habeas Corpus act. This
motion was unsuccessful; and on the 15th the attorney-general moved for,
and obtained leave to bring in a bill for continuing the suspension for
a limited time. The second reading of this bill was carried on the
23rd, after a long debate, by a majority of two hundred and thirty-nine
against fifty-three, when it was transmitted to the lords. It passed the
house of peers without a division; but the Dukes of Norfolk and Bedford,
the Marquis of Lansdowne, and the Earls of Lauderdale and Guildford
entered a spirited protest against the measure. It was argued by the
opposition that the preamble of the suspension act, which stated that
a dangerous conspiracy existed in the country, was not true; that
a verdict in court--on the trial of Walker, Hardy, Home Tooke, and
others--had shown this conspiracy to be a fabrication; and that, as
no treason had been brought to light, and the alleged ground of the
suspension act did not exist, if was unnecessary. On the other hand
it was argued, that the determination of the jury was no proof of the
existence of a conspiracy; that the guilty were often acquitted in
courts of justice, not because they were innocent, or considered
innocent, but merely because there was no strictly legal evidence to
confirm the truth; and that, therefore, a verdict in their favour could
not operate as a motive for repealing the act, even if it were admitted
that their indictment for high treason had not been supported by legal
proof.

SUBSIDY TO AUSTRIA.

Early in this year it became evident that, besides the United Provinces,
both Prussia and Spain were on the point of breaking with the coalition,
and concluding separate treaties with France: Prussia, from the mutual
distrus