Star. — London, England, 1813-03-06 00:00:00

I binding on alt the Ministers of the diy; who were not then consulted, or that he, as a Minister, could be viewed as any party to the advice of Mr. Perce val, in his professional capacity. He disclaimed any knowledge of the circulation of paragraphs reflecting on her Royal Highness. He wished she had still such advisers as Mr. Perceval ; then such a letter would have neither been written nor published. As to the letter being returned unopened, it was an un fortunate circumstance attached to the separation of the Printe and Princess, that all correspondence had been at an end, lest it might aggravate the existing misunderstanding. That was not the rst letter which had been so returned. The re strictions on the intercourse between the Prin cess and her daughter was not of that vindictive na ture, which might be called punishment. The alter.-s tion in the visits from once a week to once a fort- ' night, was made when the young Princess went to Windsor, to prevent the interruption of her education by too frequent visits in town, and was not intended tote continued when she should return to London to reside. All the circumstances of this part of the case, he did not feel justified in submitting. They had ap peared, however, sufficient to men of as honourable minds as the Honourable Gentleman. He 'mist say, that the publication of the letter was such an appeal to the country against the Prince Regent, and such an appeal to the daughter against the father, as to render every change in the plan impossible. Of all the passages .in it, he most disapproved of that cant ing one about Confirmation. There was no restraint on the intercourse between the Princess of Wales, and the Rev. Bishop of Exeter : and if she had commu nicated with that Prelate, she must have known that the King, from religious motives, had enjoined that her confirmation should not take place till she attained the age of 18. His Royal Highness had conde scended to advise with his servants, in his anxiety to discharge every part of his important trusts with the greatest attention to the public welfare. He should resist, therefore, the production of the documents, since no parliamentary ground could be alleged for it. Sir THOMAS PLUMER having been personally alluded to, hoped for a short indulgence. He did not know whether he was accused of once being her Royal Highness's legal adviser ; whether it was for the advice he then gave • or for his now having ceased to be one of her Royal ilighness's legal advisers.— In 1806, he waited or. her at-her request, and gave his professional advice. Had he done wrong in that ? He should not disclose that evidence ; but he had, in that advice, the satisfaction of being joined by Mr. Perceval, who was not then in the Cabinet, but a professional man. All he should say was, that he never discovered any just-foundation for the charges made against the Princess. Certainly he was not one of her advisers now. The situation he held would pro. bably have precluded him from that ; but he had not been applied to, and he presumed her Royal High ness employed those in whom she had more confi dence. The Hon. Mr. BRAND admitted the competency of the Privy Council in the case they had before them ; but contended that their Report exposed the affairs of the country to much difficulty and danger. He made various animadversions on the speech of the Noble Lord ; and concluded by observing, that if they refused to entertain the application of the Princess, they refused justice to the first subject in the country. Mr. STUART „WORTLEY said he felt warmly oh the subject, as a man of honour. He could not vote either for the original motion or the asnend tient ; bat yet be did not think that the Noble Lord (Castlereagh) had given a satisfactory answer to either of them. He was extremely averse to seeing the Royal Family dragged, year after year before the House of Commons. He thought the Noble Lords, the Commissioners, went further, in the first instance; than the case seemed to require ; and that they should have confined themselves to the criminal charge alone, with a view to the possible proceedings on which their advice was taken. The first Repent of some of the present Ministers advised the King to receive the Princess ; and now this last Report raked up old documents, on which they had acquitted her RoyarHighness before. It the Prince Regent had said-4s As your ,husband, and as the father of your child; I choose to restrict you to visiting her once in a week," the public might have been satisfied with an arrangement which it was his right to make, if he thought fit. however, should have been aware, that his own conduct, at those periods, when those accusations were going on against --, would not bear the strictest scrutiny ; and lie thought that the R— F— ought not to be insensible to the events which had taken place on the Continent. Mr. W. SMITH fully participated in what fell from the Hon. MeMber who spoke last but one. if his sister had been treated as the Princess had been, he should feel extremely sore. He regretted he could not see his way clear how justice could be done to the Princess; and therefore he wished his Hon. Friend would explain what further proceedings he had in contemplation. Mr. PONSONBY could not agree to the motion of his Hon. Friend, yet he was almost inclined so to do, from the admirable, incomparable, resistless elo quence with which be urged it. He would ask, Is it competent for . this House to grant the prayer of the Princess's Letter ? The Report of 1806 ought not to be laid before the House. Is there any thing in it that ought to be submi►ted to their consideration ? Suppose the Report cal the table, what could they do with it ? Could they address the Regent for a trial ? Could they condemn ? Could they acquit ? This is truly an attack on the Government; and the defence of the Noble Lord worthy of the newspapers which advocate his cause. He denied that any person in Opposition had had any connection with the publica tion of the papers, or with any part of the transaction ; he disclaimed all knowledge of all proceedings there. in, and he should despise any one who would make the Royal quarrels a source to prove a stepping.stoue to office : he had never SG done ; those he acted with had never so done ; and he wished be could say as much for the living and the dead, and that all could lay their hands on their hearts and say the same. He despised such, base and despicable conduct, from the bottom of his soul Mr. WHITBREAD said, after the question ask ed of him by his Hon. Friend, Mr. Win. Smith, he might, perhaps, be allowed to make good the defi ciency in his former speech, by explaining what his fur.Lcr views and intentions were, provided be should • tamed in his motion of tonight, and obtain the Re. port alluded to in the Letter of the Princess of Wales to the Speaker. It certainly was his intention, in the event of success to his first motion, to have fol lowed it up by motions for such Papers . as might ap pear necessary for the further elucidation of the busi ness, and for the justification or -conviction o f th e person who had gown herself, as a last resource, upon the justice and mercy of the House. But the few hours which had passed since he moved his Amendment, had sd entirely altered the state of the case, that he should not now even press a division. 'l'he most complete defiance on the part of the Princess of Wales had been thrown out, in the pre sence of those persons who had the fullest opportu nity for inquiry, and whose duty it was to inquire :tit° every part cf her conduct—who have the means of r...tiching her very heart. So completely did she now appear acquitted of-all possible imputation of blame, even by the persons from whom the asper sions were, by the world , supposed, in the last Re port, to have been thrown upon her, that it was in his mind unnecessary to press the matter to a division. Het innocence was acknowledged entire—complete. To such restrictions on the Prince Regent in his ca= parity of father to the Princess Charlotte, or by the advice of his Ministers, might think proper to im pore upon her intercourse with her daughter, she must submit. It was her lot. But she had the sa tisfaction of knowing, that her reputation hencefor ward was, by the confession of all, without imputa tion or reproach.—From these considerations he should not press a division. Mr. CANNING could not sufficiently praise the honest and manly warmth shewn by Mr. Whitbread: but all motions similar to the present he should re sist. He never would consent to support that which, however plausible at the moment, would endanger the permanent interests of the coun try. Besides, the necessity of such motions is lessen ed, if the object be to declare an entire acquittal of the Princess, because from the tone of the Noble Lord, as well as his repeated declarations of her in nocence, further proceedings are unnecessary. He was prepared to assert and maintain, that the words and meaning of the Cabinet report in 1807, conveyea a complete, satisfactory and unlimited acquittal. Hr would not have supported the late Minute of the Council had he been in the Cabinet ; he should have been content to say that his Roy4l Highness was the master of his own family—as Father and Sovereign, he had a right to direct and controul the conduct of his daughter, and to regulate whom she should see, and whom she should not see. The Minute, he was glad to hear, owned, left acquitted innocence, as it was, before the Council made their Report. It is hard to stop these discussions here, but it was better they should be so done, than left where it would be difficult to controul their circulation. Mr. BATHURST disapproved of the motion. Mr. CANNING disapproved of the original pub lication of the letter as the cause of all the mischief. He would not have raised the flame by calling in the aid of other persdns to assist the Cabinet, which has given to the proceeding a character of uneasiness and anxiety that has been very injurious. Mr. GARROW maintained that the Prince Re gent was placed by the appearance of the letter in 'Vint, in a situation that forced him to take the opi nion of grave and honourable persons, as to the line he was to take upon the subject. He denied being a party to the publication- of the extract which ap peared in a newspaper some days back. What took place was this, he and Mr. Adam, and Mr. Jekyll, were not called to revise the proceedings of the Council in the year 1806, but they were commanded by the Prince to give their opinions upon question% proposed to them. They met at his house, locked lid all the papers while the subject was in discussion ; they destroyed all the copies but one, and he had no: seen the papers since, till he WAS shewn the extract that was printed id one of the newspapers the other day. Mr. YORKE requested Mr. C. JOheitone to with draw his motion. Mr. COCHRANE JOHNSTONE refused so to do, adding, that it was a proud day for him, because it had completely established the innocence of her ROyal Highness the PRINCESS of WaLas. The question was put, and Mr. C. JOHNSTONE's motion was negatived without a divisioa.— The House then adjourned. THE EVENING STAR LONDON. T}lE NEWSPAPER PRESS. Yesterday evening a rival Journal, not addicted to wanton abuse, ventured to accuse Ts STAR, in language not the most becoming, with having ream, from its Second Edition of the preceding night, the entire Report of the Committee of the Privy Council, which appeared in our Second Edition of the same evening. Had the charge been Correct; they would haire been justified in applying to us the epithets which they have employed; but the fact is otherwise. Our copy was NTattuscript, and was in our postiession before three o'clock ; and of this they may satisfy themselves by ineiniting at, the source whence they derived their own copy, which we know was also hi manuscript, Imputing their abuse to a sonse of supposed injury; we refrain ftom retaliation, convinced that, when they shall have made the proper enquiry, they will retract, as openly as they have Made, the groundless charge brought against us in their columns—and thank Us for our moderation. SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 1613. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DA Y AT ONE O'CLOCK; Red. shut—Cons. 581 i—for ac. 59#-4 per Ct. shut 5 per Cent. 884i-13ds. 4s. ss. Ais.—Long Annt. shut. Exch. Bills 35. ss. pr.—Oniniuni nothing done. THE PRINCESS OF WALES. The proceedings in the House of Commons List night, though carried on with chned doors, have been reported with accuracy; and from the detail given in our Columns, the Public will be able to form a correct judgment respecting the inuendos, so long thrown out against this illustrious Personage, in insidious hints, sympathetic sneers, and open ca lumnies, foisted into the columns of venal news papers. " She calls for enquiry," quoth they, , g and enquiry she must have; the matter cannot rest here—it must proceeded in;" and all this they said, with thel ' hope that' some — incideni Might be bionght to light, that migg Firi - colour to their calumnies. We congratulate the country on the spotless purity with which her Royal Highnesi the Princess of WALES has passed the ordeal. Read ! Read, the so lemn, the perfect acquittal of her Royal Highness.— Not a vestige of criminality was or could be imputed —there were no grounds upon which any proCeedings judicial or extrajudicial, could be founded. In short, to the the words of an eloquent Member who spoke the sentiments of his heart upon the occasion, and who was one of her judges—We mean Mr. CANING . 44 such honourable and repeated sentences of ac quittal were pronounced for her, that no farther inves tigation could exhibit her innocence more strongly, and none was necessary." It has been thought strange, and the enefnies of the PRINCESS of WALES have not failed to avail them selves of the circumstance—that the Privy Council, believing her Royal Highness to be perfectly inno cent of all the charges brought against het—should, notwithstanding, express an opinion that, under all the circumstances of the case, it is fit and proper— that the intercourse between the Princess CHARLOTTI and her Royal Mother " shdlald continue to be sub ject to regulation and restraint." To this point we cannot but call the attention of the public, the right understanding of which can alone free their mind from misapprehension and erroneous conclusions. —Let it be remembered that the honourable indivi duals--and honourable we must hold them in the strictest sense of the Word—had but one question re ferred to them, namely, 44 Whether, under all the " circumstances of the case, it be fit and proper that 44 the intercourse between the Princess of WALES and 4i her daughter the Princess CHARLOTTE should con " tiime to be subject to regulations and restrictions?" There Was no other question referred to them ; nor could they with perfect propriety report upon any other, or upon any topic not directly connected with it.—To this accordingly they confine their answer, and to the expression " suborned traducers," which had appeared in the Princess of WALES'S Letter of com plaint respecting the restrictions—an express;on which never was nor could, by any but a perverse mind, be so misconstrued as to be applied to the PRINCE REGENT. Persons not acquainted with the strictness of form required in the proceedings of the Privy Council, might easily be led, by the unwarrantable insinua tions of certain Journalists, to conclude, that the an swer of the Privy Council could only be founded on a conviction that suspicions still attached to the Princess of WALES, though the evidence was defec tive : but mark the fact, as explained by some of that very body, in the debate of last night.— Their opinion is founded upon the acknowledged right which belongs to every hu7slavd and fathcr to dictate what it most proper for the education of his own daughter.—This is the major proposition. It was farther stated, as a minor proposition, that, though restrictions on the visits of the Princess CHARLOTTE to her Mother were admitted not to be necessary on account of any cri minality on the part of the latter, yet they might be necessary, on account of her liability tO meet com pany with whom it was not thought fit that she diould associate.—Even this kind of expression is liable to a construction, far, we are sure, from the sense in which it was meant by the Speaker. But every honest and pure mind will give it the right construction.—From ',the peculiar circumstances in which the Princess CHARLOTTE is placed respecting her Parents, it might be thought possible that some indiscreet individuals might, on an opportpnitfpre-. senting itself, employ language respecting the one or the other, improper to be allowed to reach the ear of the young Princess. Before we dismiss this subject for the present, we shall lay before our Readers a letter respecting which there has been much conversation in the higher cir cles. In the course of the investigation which was instituted in 18C6, it was adduced :in the course of her Royal Highness's defence to the collateral circumstances stated in the Inquiry, which terminated so honourably to the character of her Royal High ness : LEFTER FROM THE PRINCE OF WALES TO CUE PRINCESS OF WALES. " MADAM—As Lord CIIOLMONDELEY informs me " that you wish I would define in writing the terms ." upon which (eve are to live, I shall endeavour to " explain myself upon that head with as much " clearness and propriety as the nature of the sub " ject will admit. Our inclinations are not in our power, nor should either of us be held answerable " to the other, because nature has not made us suit " able to each other. Tranquil and comfortable so " ciety, however, is in our power. Let our inter. " course therefore be restricted to that; and I wilt ells " tinctly subscribe to the condition which you required " through Lady CHOLMONDELEY, that even in the " event of any accident happening to my daugh " ter, which I trust PROVIDENCE will in its mercy " avert, I shall not infringe the terms t.f the resttic " Lion, by proposing at any period a connection of a " more particular nature. I shall now finally close " this disagreeable correspondence, truting that as " we have completely explained to each other, the " rest of our lives will be past in uninterrupted tran quillity. With great truth and sincerity, your's, " aroma P." " Wiadsor Castle, April 30, 17%." NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. REPORTED NAVAL ACTION. EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM GIBRALTAR, DATED FEBRUARY ES. es We have to inform you, that yeiterday arrived his Majesty's brig WELLINGTON, from America, which has brought the agreeable news of the Pow. TIERS, of 74. guns, having fought two American fri. gates, of which she Capttired one, and sunk the other. The one taken is called the Constitution. Intelligence is also arrived that his Majesty's ship ACA S TA has fought ani taken the Americas frigate Essex. The above was made public by the Governor here." The above we give without pledging ourselies for the accurracy of the report, and have only to remark that the Poictiers Was at Bermuda, refitting, on the 21st of January, ind that intelligence from Halifax (Feb. 9) of a more recent date, has been received, withotit alluding to such an event. • FALMOUTH, MAROH Arrived the Lady Emily Packet, with a mail from Malta, last from Gibraltar, in. leven days: landed her mail and passengers in Mevagissy Bay this morn• ing. Yesterday morning she fell in With an Ame. rican privateer, off Scilly : she kept, a-head of her and fired her stern guns, for two hours and a halt The privateer shewed nine ports a side. Also ar rived the Devon, BurretvriELD, from Lisbon, in ten days.—.A. signal was made this morning from the Manacles, of a ship of war being on shore near the Lizard. At two o'clock P. M. the Pao/taunt:B and ANDROMACHE frigates, and the SYLVIA CLIMB, hove in sight; the two latter in tow of the former, add had every appearance of being disabled. The RIUN. DEER gun-brig, and WHITING schooner, immediately got under weigh, and sailed to their assistance. NINE O'CLOCK, P.M.—No boats have yet come from the ships above named, we are therefore without par ticulars.—Sailed his Majesty's ship LYRA, on a cruise. —Wind N. and weather moderate. PLYMOUTH, MARCH 4. Sailed the BOYNE, CONQUESTADOIIII, DUNCAN * ABERCROMBIE, MAGNIrICENT, and STAG frigate, for the Brest station ; PHEASANT, 18 wins, on a ctitize g ROYAL SOVEREIGN, and CONSTAaT gun-brig. for the Basque Roads station. The Amin went from Ha. moaze v . ) the Sound. The CONQULIT, 14 guns, went from Stonehouse Pool to lie between the bland and the Main. The DIANA, 36 guns, went round to-day to Turnchapel, to be repaired. Undockect. the ROYALIST sloop of ear. Docked, the WAST The FOUDROYANT, also, of 80 gong, came into dock this morning to have her copper examined. Wind N. PORTSMOUTH, MARCH S. Sailed his Majesty's ship Quash, for the Downs, and the Ben" for Plymouth. Cants into harbcur his Majesty's ships AERtCA, PIQUE, and INCONSTANT. His Majesty's ship DIAMEDE issues instructions to the trade bound to the coast of Spain, PAtugal, Gibraltar, and the Mediterranean. His Majesty's ship PORCUPINE issues instructions to the trade bound to the Brazils and South America. His Majesty's ship SCEPTRE, for the West Indies ; ELK Aziox,vfith Transports only, for Lisbon I Bbaia, with Convoy for Newfoundland ; Dumdum, with ditto, for Spain i &c. and the PORCUPINE., with ditto for the Brazils, are all wind-bound at Spithead.—Wind N. WI and fine weather. YARMOUTH, MARCH Yesterday arrived the Fwuous, CHURLY, and PINCHER gun-brigs ; and this morning arrival the HUbIADRYRD, SO guns.—Sailed for Leith in CHURLY gun-brig. SOREROY, BICAtER I CIiANTICLEXIi HEARTY and Yuan?, with the arrivals.-•-Wi.id F.W. DUAL, MARCH S. Sailed his Majesty'sty's ship I LANTAGENIrr t for Portsmouth.—Came down the River, the Cyrus, --, for the South Seas.—Arrived the BANTERLR sloop of war from a cruise. The outward-bound remain.— Wind W.S.W. LEITH, MARSH 5. Came into the Roads his Majesty's ship APPItLLES, from a cruize ; she captured,. in lat. 57. 10. long. 5. 30. E. French privateer le Ravessuer, of eleven guns and fifty-one men d out from Dunkiik twelve days without having made any captures. We have this InLr ling received Lisbon Papers to the 21st February, and a Malta Mail. Th+• intelli. gence brought by both is uninteresting. No mow. ment had taken place in Lofd Wittaamotores army, nor in that opposed, to him. Detachments of the best of the French troops, including almost the whole of the cavalry, continued to be sent off for France. JOSEPH has also set out fcr Paris, to visit his Bre. ther.—An article from Gibraltar of the 6th of Fe• bruary, states, that Lord Wm. Ilmwrnicm had giver,. up the command of the Al:cant expedition, and ano• ther armament of the same description was preparing in Sicily. The PRINCE REOENT has been pleased to appoint Viscount LAKE a Lord of the Bedchamber. Yesterday Viscount CASTLEREAGH had an audience of the PRINCE ItLc - as? at Carlton House. An expectaticn of scme notice of the case of her Royal Highness the Princess of WALZI, appears to lure been entertained in the Houle of Lords last night. The attendance of Peels was much greater than usual, or the ordinary business before the House would lead the public to ell ect. Among the Mem. bers present were the Dukes of YORK, COMISKRLAND, and CAZIRRIDOE, most of the Ministers, Earl attn . , Lord HoLiANDI SCC. &C. 1 • 1 • 1 • • • j I S ( a a