solve itself into a Committee of the Whole House, to consider further of the several Papers which were presented to the House by the Lord North, upon the 19th and 31st days of January last, and the 1st day of this instant, February, by his Majesty's command;

And the House having continued to sit till three of the clock on Tuesday morning,

Resolved, That this House will, to-morrow morning, resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House, to consider farther of the said Papers.

TUESDAY, February 7, 1775.

Lord George Germain reported, that he had, according to order, been at the Lords, to desire a conference; and that the Lords do agree to a conference, and appoint the same immediately, in the Painted Chamber.

Ordered, That the Committee who were yesterday appointed to draw up an Address, to be presented to his Majesty, do manage the said conference.

And the names of the Managers were called over, and they went to the conference;

And being returned,

The Lord North reported, that the Managers had been at the conference with the Lords; and had acquainted their Lordships that the Commons had agreed upon an Address to be presented to his Majesty, to which they desire the concurrence of their Lordships; and that they had left the said Address with the Lords.

WEDNESDAY, February 8, 1775.

A Message from the Lords by Mr. Browning and Mr. Leeds:

Mr. Speaker:

The Lords do desire a conference with this House in the Painted Chamber, this day, at three of the clock, upon the subject matter of the conference of yesterday.

And then the Messengers withdrew.

Resolved, That this House doth agree to a conference with the Lords, as is desired by their Lordships.

And the Messengers were again called in; and Mr. Speaker acquainted them therewith.

And then the Messengers again withdrew.

The time being come for the conference with the Lords,

Ordered, That the Managers who managed the last conference do manage this conference.

And the names of the Managers were called over, and they went to the conference.

And being returned;

The Lord North reported that the Managers had met the Lords at the conference; which was managed on the part of the Lords by the Lord President of the Council, who acquainted them, that the Lords had taken into consideration the Address yesterday communicated to their Lordships at a conference, and had agreed to the said Address, and filled up the blank with "Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and".

A Message from the Lords, by Mr. Browning and Mr. Leeds:

Mr. Speaker:

His Majesty having appointed to-morrow, at three of the clock, at his Palace of Saint James's, to be attended with the Address of both Houses of Parliament, the Lords do intend to be there at that time.

And then the Messengers withdrew.

A Petition of the Manufacturing Hosiers of the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham, was presented to the House, and read, setting forth—

That the Petitioners, with great humility, approach the natural guardians of all that is valuable to them, and beg leave to represent the impending ruin of the trade and commerce of the said flourishing Town and neighbourhood; that the produce of the Manufactories tinder their direction has hitherto, in a very great proportion, been exported to the American Colonies, and on the demand from thence depends the employment of many thousands of their ingenious and industrious Artificers. The entire cessation of this important trade, has not only shut up in their warehouses a great part of their property in different sorts of Goods provided for the American market alone, but obliges them daily to dismiss from employment their dependent workmen, who have no resource but in the exercise of that trade; every day will add to the number, from the utter inability of the Petitioners to proceed in the accumulation of an useless stock; and a short time must consign great part of the most useful but most necessitous members of their community to absolute idleness, and all its dreadful tram of evils; distressed in themselves, they have no hopes of administering that relief to their wants, which, in every ordinary exigence, humanity has prompted them to; and if not prevented by the timely interposition of Parliament, they see no possibility of repelling that poverty, distress, and ruin, in which the said Town and neighbourhood must be soon involved, whatever be the fate of the Kingdom at large. Abhorring the thought of stimulating the dissensions of this Nation, and urged only by sober important truth, interesting in its extensive operation to every individual, they humbly recur to the wisdom of Parliament in this their alarming situation; trusting that the faithful depositories of the people's welfare will find some temperate and honourable means of conciliating the differences of the British Empire, which will revive the hopes of the Manufacturer, and enable him to call back into the arms of industry the poor distressed Artificer.

Ordered, That the said Petition be referred to the consideration of the Committee of the Whole House, to whom the Petition of the Merchants, Traders, and others, of the City of London, concerned in the commerce of North America, is referred.

The Orders of the Day being read,

Lord North moved to postpone the further consideration of the American Papers to the tenth.

Mr. Fox said, the noble Lord was all hurry till he had effected measures for rescuing General Gage out of the very dangerous situation he was in; that he now imagined he had got him into a state of security, he meant to proceed more coolly and deliberately, because he dreaded that the defeat and destruction of that General and his Troops, would be solely attributed to his Lordship's negligence and rashness. He contrasted his Lordship's conduct respecting the several Petitions presented by the American Merchants, remarking that Administration would not wait a single day to hear the complaints of so respectable a body; but now that his favourite measure was carried, he seemed to proceed with caution and deliberation. He concluded, by observing that he understood the measure his Lordship had next in contemplation to carry into execution, was the most extraordinary that ever entered into the head of an English Minister, to prevent the New England Provinces from fishing on the banks of Newfoundland.

Lord North replied, that it was impossible for him to escape the censure of the honourable gentleman, let him act as he might. If he had proposed any measure to the consideration of Parliament this day or to-morrow, hurrying matters precipitately would be imputed to him. Now that he had given the House a respite of one day to consider and deliberate, he was charged with procrastination; and to what motive was this delay attributed? Because General Gage was now in safety. For his part, he could not see how any Resolution of either House of Parliament could be a means of immediate security to that gentleman, if he were in danger; he was sure he was not; but was in all imaginable safety and security. As to the Petitions, he denied that the House refused to hear them; neither were they withdrawn, but were still properly under the consideration of the House; nor upon any ground could the information of one day, upon a subject so vast and extensive, be of any material service.

Resolved, That this House will, upon this day seven-night, resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House, to consider further of the Petition of the Merchants, Traders, and others, of the City of London, concerned in the commerce of North America, and of the several other Petitions referred to the consideration of the said Committee.

Resolved, That this House will, upon Friday morning next, resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House, to consider further of the several Papers which were presented to the House by the Lord North, upon the 19th and 31st days of January last, and the first day of this instant, February, by his Majesty's command.