should be thought
expedient by parliament." This then being the crisis which was to
determine a constitutional point of such importance, namely, whether the
people in parliament assembled have a right to deliberate upon, and vote
the application of any part of the unappropriated revenue, without
the previous consent of the crown; those who were the most zealously
attached to the liberties of their country, resolved to exert themselves
in opposing what they conceived to be a violation of those liberties;
and the bill, with its alterations, was rejected by a majority of five
voices. The success of their endeavours was celebrated with the most
extravagant rejoicing, as a triumph of patriotism over the arts of
ministerial corruption; and, on the other hand, all the servants of the
crown, who had joined the popular cry on this occasion, were in a little
time dismissed from their employments. The rejection of the bill was a
great disappointment to the creditors of the public, and the circulation
of cash was almost stagnated. These calamities were imputed to arbitrary
designs in the government; and the people began to be inflamed with
an enthusiastic spirit of independency, which might have produced
mischievous effects, had not artful steps been taken to bring over
the demagogues, and thus divert the stream of popular clamour from the
ministry to those very individuals who had been the idols of popular
veneration. The speaker of the house of commons was promoted to
the dignity of an earl; and some other patriots were gratified with
lucrative employments. His majesty's letter arrived for paying off
seventy-five thousand five hundred pounds of the national debt. The
circulation was thus animated, and the resentment of the populace
subsiding, the kingdom retrieved its former tranquillity.

TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST INDIES.

The ambition and intrigues of the French court, by which the British
interest was invaded and disturbed on the continent of America, had also
extended itself to the East Indies, where they endeavoured to embroil
the English company with divers nabobs or princes, who governed
different parts of the peninsula intra Gangem. That the reader may have
a clear and distinct idea of these transactions, we shall exhibit
a short sketch of the English forts and settlements in that remote
country. The first of these we shall mention is Surat, [348] _[See
note 2U, at the end of this Vol.]_ in the province so called, s