d judgment had not been
displayed in the appointment of Mr. G. Grenville to the Treasury, were
not so derogatory to the legitimate authority and dignity of the crown
as to make the writer a fit subject for a criminal prosecution. But Mr.
Grenville was of a bitter temper, never inclined to tolerate any
strictures on his own judgment or capacity, and fully imbued with the
conviction that the first duty of an English minister is to uphold the
supreme authority of the Parliament, and to chastise any one who dares
to call in question the wisdom of any one of its resolutions. But _The
North Briton_ had done this, and more. No. 45 had not only denounced the
treaty which both Houses had approved, but had insinuated in
unmistakable language that their approval had been purchased by gross
corruption (a fact which was, indeed, sufficiently notorious). And,
consequently, Mr. Grenville determined to treat the number which
contained the denunciation as a seditious libel, the publication of
which was a criminal offence; and, by his direction, Lord Halifax, as
Secretary of State, issued what was termed a general warrant--a warrant,
that is, which did not name the person or persons against whom it was
directed, but which commanded the apprehension of "the authors,
printers, and publishers" of the offending paper, leaving the officers
who were charged with its execution to decide who came under that
description, or, in other words, who were guilty of the act charged,
before they had been brought before any tribunal. The warrant was
executed. Wilkes and some printers were apprehended; Wilkes himself, as
if the minister's design had been to make the charge ridiculous by
exaggeration, being consigned to the great state-prison of the Tower,
such a use of which was generally limited to those impeached of
high-treason. And, indeed, the commitment did declare that No. 45 of
_The North Briton_ was "a libel tending to alienate the affections of
the people from his Majesty, and to excite them to traitorous
insurrections against the government." Wilkes instantly sued out a writ
of _habeas corpus_, and was without hesitation released by the Court of
Common Pleas, on the legal ground that, "as a member of the House of
Commons, he was protected from arrest in all cases except treason,
felony, or a breach of the peace;" a decision which, in the next session
of Parliament, the minister endeavored to overbear by inducing both
Houses to concur in a resolut