Star. — London, England, 1820-08-18 00:00:00

mad that these are ease:, ofdlvoiee. In two eases, however, to wl ich this objection dyes not apply, and which were not in serted in the Report, a list of witnesses was allowed. It is now too sate to ask for my Illustrious Client, what I have *hewn I should have been sanctioned by precedent in asking, but I trust your Lordships will allow me to pray to be heard in this stage. of the proceeding against the principle of the Bill." Her Majesty's Counsel being here ordered to with draw, Mr. Buouoiram, as is usual, retired a few pace , , and then returned to the Bar. The Earl of LIVERPOOL said, the regular course would be to call upon his Majesty's Attorney-Gene ral to open the case by producing evidence at their Lordships' Bar, and then to. call upon the Counsel on the part of her Majesty, to answer the case by endeavouring to repel the evidence, and over and above all to object, if they thought fit, to-the prin ciple of the Bill. This would be the regular course of proceeding ; but if he understood the application of the Counsel, it was to be heard upon the prin ciple of the Bill, independently of the Bill, or as suming the accusation to be made good. He could" . ..lot help thinking that this was an inconvenient stage of the proceeding for such an application, but he •should wish to take the sense of Noble Lords oppo site upon the question, before he gave any decided upinion upon it. After a short pause, the LORD CHANCELLOR said, that unless some Noble Lord made a motion, the Attorney-General must of course proceed. Ac cording to the modern course of proceeding, it was not usual to discuss the principle of the Bill before the eviden'te was gone into. The reason of this was obvious, because if the facts were not proved, there would be no occasion to go into the principle at all. Lord KENYON said, that if many Noble Lords thought as he did, even if all the facts alleged against her Majesty were proved, this Bill ought not to pass. The House would have great reason to congratulate itself, if any arguments could be brought forward which would avert these painful disclosures. He repeated, that to whatever extent the allegations might be proved, the Bill ought not to pass. Upon these grounds he trusted their bird ships tv,:uld be ready to hear the arguMents of the vet y able Counsel who were now attending - at their Bat nu beliclf of her Majesty, and he should move, therefore, that the Counsel be allowed to proceed. The Earl of LIVERPOOL thought that this was by no means a convenient stage of - the proceedings fin- the course pointed out by the Noble Lord. The clearest course of proceeding he conceived was, the usual course of proceeding. The Marquis of LANSDOWN said, that he could not concur even in the limited view which the Noble and Learned Lord had taken of this question, namely, %;hat the time of their Lordships would be raved by suing into the evidence before he a ting any objections to the principle of the Bill, because the facts might Pot be proved at all. He thought, that even in this 'view of the question, the argument lay quite the other way. 'Pere were higher considerations, how ever, than the convenience of this House, and that convenience ought not to.bc ptit in competition with s.ny possible coarse by which the . House might be roared the necessity of these painful disclosures. It wax clear, however, that if the Counsel were allowed to object to the principle of the Bill now, they would not he permitted to do so hcreaftor. He thought, therefore, that the best course would be, to give them t!leir option as to the time at which they would deem it most expedient to address their Lordships. The LORD CHANCELLOR having put the ques tion, which was carried without a division, said, he was commanded by the House to inform her .Ma. 3estv's Coansel, that they had their option either to be heard against the principle of the Bill. nova, or at a future stage of the proceeding, hut that if they made their election to, address their Lordships now, they would not he permitted to discuss the principle of the Bill hereafter. Counsel be'nf , again oidered to withdraw, iMr. BROUGHAM retired as before, and again advanced to the Bar. The' order to withdraw, however, being reiterated in a loud tone from some parts of the House, Mr. BROUGHAM and the rest of her Majesty's Counsel retired from the Bar. . . The EArl of LAUDERDALE observed from the gallery, that if the - principle of the Rill were now casegssecl, the .Counsel would preclude themselves hereafter, from urging such arguments against the priliciple of the Dill as the course of the evidence might iiggeq. .The Home - were now in effect making a bargain with her Majesty's Counsel, as to the mode ef conducting their client s case a course which he rausatiimprecate as torheßy unprecedented. The LORD CtIA NCELLOR having again.called rpon fret Majestrs otnisertb.rOalce their option, lietittiCG HA M Voseitid said - 0 ' I have in the first place to apol4 . ize to pitir Lordships for no( hating immediately with drawi• from your Lordship; Bar in the manner which, as it seems, would have beer. most agreeable to some of your Lord ships. Many of your Lordships, who arc not much in the habit of witnessing judicial yroeeedings in this House, may not be aware that retiring from the Bar is a mere formality, and that. it is usual for Counsel upon these occasions to retire half a step Item the Bar, and then to come forward. I mention this with a view of removing any impression that I was intentionally gt:iity of the slightest disrespect to your Lordships, and because I am aware that there are many, even in this I louse, who are ready to misconstrue everything—(Lood cries of " Order"). If I understand the terms upon which I shall be permitted to ad dress your Lordships against the principle of the Bill, I am to be precluded hereafter from addressing any observations to your Lordships, except as to the truth or falsehood of the allegations which the evidence is meant to support. I shall certainly make my election without one moment's hesitation, and avail myself of the permission to be heard ewes upon these terms. I du this with entire satisfaction to my own mind, because t know too well the justice which reigns iu this place, not to be perfectly 'attain, that, if unexpectedly, anything comes out in the course iof the evidence front which your Lordships may find it necea sari, for the ends of substantial justice, to revise your opinion, that opinion will not be considered irrevocable, and I shall not be precluded from again addressing your Lordships against the principle of the Bill. My Lords, my first objection to this Bill ts, that it is a pi ivate law made fora paricular case, and fur the te.taishment of a particular individual. U laws of this =tore are known in the jurisprudence of this, and of all other (centric.; but they have never been resorted to in any country. svel in the worst of times, without a deep sense ef their hateful .acme-, and of their toter repugnance to every principle of jus te'. From the earliest times of the Roman Code, private laws wen known by the name of ririlcgicr ; and they were divided by Civilians into two classes, one of which was favourable to object of enactment, the other hostile to . Win, and distin raisht.t by the name of pririirgium oiliossim. Such was the ttgeta which Juris-t-onsults, as well acquainted with the force ei isugusge as with the value of the principles of justice, have saila.al to this speti.s a law, thereby marking to after times tc tiley deemed it to be a measure of a hateful description, uothing but absolete necessity could justify. These Levis ate to he found most frequently in the blackest pages of the Rm re a... -.nulls. They ate invariably es postliscli laws. They first 7r. .nit to he dune, and whetht.rthe party is to ba cl'noc...it or tailty is matter of subsequent inquiry ; or she 2e- d to be done, witlicat any notice . . . . . Or amnia 16 the party areasikl, tie) , Met that it shall be deemed and taken to be . equity, I shouts be guilty of cheitilsh pedantry were I to oteupy your Lordships' time in revertingno the history of past ages, or of proving. that the Wisest and best of men deprecated, and even those who were not the best of Men, had still the honour to shudder at thi s most inniustinible mode of legislation. Suffice it to say, that the history of our own couetry, even lit its worst periods, hears testimony to the detestation in which such measures were held. Without enter ing into minute details, I will just refer your Lordships to the attainders of Mortimer and Arundel, in the reigns of Edward •IL and Edward 111. which were measures introduced upon the pressure of a temporary emergency. I will pass over. the Mien of I knry VIII. that barbarous, detested, and justly de tested Monarch ; detestable for his unprincipled spoliations, for his heartless cruelty, and for his violation of the tenderest ties, and I will take my stand at a period of a better description, the reigns of Charles I. and Charles 11. Your Lordships will pro bably call to• mind the attainder of Lord Strafford, the greatest disgrace, even in the worst of times, that ever sullied the purity of either I louse of Parliament. Your Lordships will the rather call to mind the case of the Earl of Strafford, because it is cited, and, for aught I knoweapproved by some df your Lordships, in the Report of the Committee appointed to search for precedents in cases of impeachment. Impeachmeot, did I say ? It would have been comparatively a case of justice had the Earl of Straf fordbeen impeached; it wristlet thettleasse been sn quasi-judicial 1 proceeding, in which, while tl'e principles °i n justice were vio- I laced,. she forms would at' least 'ban e Wei' haWnplisentred. ' Ter show to your Lordships the sense which our ancestors enter tained of this foul act of iniquity and injustice, I evnl read to your Lordships the terms in Whichnheynecntinen 'Mr opinion. No language of mine, or even of the most eksoulent- orebehe whom I have now the honour to address, can mak.eso deep in impression upon the judgment, as the admirablennondnitf those predecessors of your Lordships. After steting•that,•,upon vari ous pretexts, the turbulent party seeing no hopes to effect their unjust designs by any ordinary way of proccenline, did 'at last resolve to attempt the destruction of that Earl by an Aet.df Parliament made for the express purpose, they proceed to re scind, repeal, and reverse this said unjust Act, and then to add these memorable words, , And to the end that right he done to the memory of the deceased Earl, who was thus murdered, be it enacted further, that all records and proceedings of I arliament relating to this attainder be wholly cancelled, defaced, and obll • terated, to the intent that the same may not be visible In after ages, to be brought into example to the prejudice of any person unieseevern Of this description, substituting only for life, rank the inost illustrious, and station the most exalted, privileges the must esteemed among s men, and what is higher than all the rest, and dearer than each, everything that is most dear to cha racter, fecliten and honour, the Bill which now lies upon the table of your Lordships belongs strictly, and even technically, to the class which your lordships' predecessors have thus cha racterized. The rest rsal of Lord Strafford's attainder manifests the manly sense which out ancestors entertained for that abomi nable measure. It may be regarded as a beacon to warn posterity, as a landmark for after ages, when future Princes and future Par liaments might be tempted to commit similar acts of injustice. My Lords, I have stated the opinion of your Lordships' prede cessors In the case of the. Earl of Strafford, but I will venture to say, that the attainders in the worst of former times, not even excepting any of the attainders of Henry the Eiehih's wive!, were regular, consistent, j u dicial acts, compared with this. In the first place, nothing illegal is charged against her Majesty. This I am bound to say, both in consequence of the decision of the Judges, and still more upon the race of the whole proceed ings, that there was-no possibility of proceeding at law. If any act had been committed in violation of the law, I ant bound to suppose that the' extraordinary proceeding of a Bill of Pains and Penalties would not have been resorted to. Nothing illegal has been done—nothing illegal is charged against her Majesty. This is a mast material consideration, to which I humbly crave your Lordships' attention. Although no law has been violated, it dues not follow that no judicial proceeding could be resorted to; beemuie impeachment is eipreselyOOd emphatically provided for the trio of matters not cognizable by theordi nary - course of law.. I do not mean to say, that one class of proceeding is necessarily Minded in the renunciation of the other; but that crimes and misdemeanours, which cannot be indicted in the Courti of Westmiester, are, nevertheless, cognizable before your Lorde ships by impeachment. In Lord Strafford's case, an impeach ment had been resorted to; but it was apprehended that it might fail, and a Bill of Attainder was accordingly commenced in the House of Lords while the Impeachment was still pending. Why was not impeachment resorted to in the present case:— Was the tattered and ragged evidence considered on so despe rate a character, that no hope could be entertained of your Lord ships' concurrence in a charge of impeachment? - Why Were your Lordships distrusted ? If the Minn-. submitted to the other House of Parliament had been sent up here with a view to impeachment, if managers had been sent up from the other House, they would at any rate have allowed the proceeding to go on. See, my Lords, how much we have been deprived of I by not adopting this course. If an impeachment had been pre ferred, the charges would have been specially drawn up with a convenient certainty ; we should have been furnished with a list of witnesees, end with all those'advantages which belong to a reel juliei..! proceeding. • Though I ant aware that your Lord.' ships lis.ve every disposition to conduct this proceeding in the spirit cf justice, your Lordships will forgive me when I say, that tins is not a judicial proceeding. I am prepared to shew, as well from tile authority of cases decided in this House, as from the recent protests of 'virtuous minorities, that such acts as the present ought never-to be resorted to, unless from absolute neces sity, either to avert sonic impending danger from the State, or to prevent an absolute failure of justice. In a Protest drawn up by Lord Chancellor Cowper, it is said that -nothing short of such an absolute necessity can justify such a proceeding as that now before us: What, then, is the impelling or over-ruling ne cessity which can justify the present measure? Is the suc cession in danger? It has never been even alleged or sur e mised that the succession can by any possibility be endangered. If her Majesty had been brought up for trial under the Statute of Edward 111. t hough this has been decided to be impossible, and even admitting the allegations against her to be true, for the sake of argument, yet when the long separation, and the age of the parties were considered, no possible danger could be apprehended to the purity of the Royal succession. The vrant of heirs may. be one ground of danger to the suecteninete%huel thalfdisrniss this without any observation, because no,inan pceteaclatitat the, succession is endangered from this cause. It has been said, that the conduct imputed to her Majeserhailinknidelneynice'degrade the Crown, and the Nation with . wtsinnssbe. is *outvoted, and that that connection ought there fore in tio'norokeo off. If these charges were brought forward agaldet.irin elfin *ldie'Princess of Wales, can any one doubt that e divorce most bateabeen sought for in the ordinary way—that all the usual forms upon such an occasion must have been gone through—atbatehe party seeking -the divorce must himself have presented a Petition to your Lord ships-e-and, above all, that be must have come into Court with clean hands? lint the period when my client was Princess of Wales was allowed to go by. These accusations were delayed until she became Queen, and thus care seemed to have been taken to deprive her of the rights of a private subject. Ido not, how. ever. say that these rights are gone, but others do, and this ex traordinary course ut proceeding is resorted to upon the alleged ground of 'Stole necessity. Upon this plea it is attempted to build an argument for excluding • the Queen from those rights which any other female in the country would, on an analogous occasion, be allowed to exercise without dispute'--which could not, under any pretence, be refused to my clienteif these proceedings had bean felicitated against her while she was Princess of Wales. But I contend that her Majesty should be allowed the same' privileges now as formerly, mine pro franc, as the lawyers say.— Her Majesty must indeed be, in common equity, entitled to the same rights and means of defence against the attack made in this Bill, as if that attack had been, made aeon her while Prin cess of Wales. I now come to another pareof the case, and I have tp implore your Lordships to pause while yet on the tlu - eshotil of this extraordinary proceeding, and thus avert the consequences which arc but too likely to follow if you deter mine to persevere. I will not now advert to any topic of re- crinsitution. I should, indeed, must deeply deplore the painful necessity of doing so upon any occasion. Set the tight of re crimination en the part of my client I could not exercise with out directly violatieg• the express injnections of her Majesty;' nor is it my purpose to resort to that right unless driven to it by absolutenind over-ruling necessity: I am also enjoined by My client to abstain on thisoceasionfrem all arguments in the way of recrimination fornhose charges of levity. or indiscretion, or criminality, or criminal intercourse, which have been brought forward against the Queen, according to the lannuage.of bet iceusers ; 1 mean Chose charges, none of which have c eer been proved, but which have been bruited abroad artd gossiped about. But I will not at preseet . enter into any recriminatory ar-, gunienu upon this subject. I will, indeed, postpone such arguments until the last necessity arise to call for them. I 1 will also postpone all areurneets upon -certain coeduct pre- ...0,.. . . . . • • . " • . . . Mont to th' illaitiage of their Majesties. To that treat micas . against her With a green bag of doetallentary etidence in die ana all-important question I will not advert at 'present.— one hand, and this Bill of degradation in the other? How hap, I will postpone the danger of such a discussion as long as poasi- ! pened it that they had never before thought of the character of ble, until, indeed, I bray be compelled to resort to it by the last ; the country, the honour of the Royal Family, and the dignity of necessity. But should that necessity arise, an advocate has but : the Throne? Where was their: boasted sagacity, when these evil one duty, and no natifei; iiiineipalities, or even nations, shall 1 Counsellors could n o t f oresee w h at m i g h t b e t h e consequences prevent me from p er f orm i ng t h at so l emn d uty w hi c h I owe to f of the step they were so earnestly recommending? Then there my client. I will, however, do everything in my power to stop I was no whisper of anything of the sort ; all was to be e.:se, trau the progress of this Bill, in order tc avert the deplorable neces. quillity, and liberty, for the test of her majesty's life: there was aity of duly animadverting upon such language as the preamble to be no watching, no prying, no spying, no asking ' why do eon ,contains; such, for instance, as ' a most unbecoming and de- do so or so?' Lot all was to be kindness and tub ration. Wi t h leading intimacy' with ' a foreigner of low station,' who had these promises, the next thing was to assist the Queen tq depart. been ' engaged in her service in a menial situation; and with The ship of war, which was refused to bring her back. had been whom my client is accused of having 'an indecent and Wien- readily granted to take her away. Money was also r ffertel with sive familiarity,' and carried on an adulterous intercourse. But equal liberality for her outfit, and her residence abroad cram the preamble professes that this Bill is necessary from a ' re- menced under the happiest auspices. Yet report's soon came gard for the dignity of the Crown and the honour of the na- over; they increased by degreei; the slander ocean:. blacker don.' Now, how comes le. that the dignity of the Crown and and more malignant; and as early as four.years ago it head as the honour of the nation should be so deeply concerned in this suined a certain consistency. Still there eels no jealous watch question as to compel you to proceed? The contrary, indeed, ing, no hunting- for evidence, and no hint given to_the Queen is the. fact, ind I feel myself bound to tell your Lordships, that it would be fie to be nitre guarded in her conduct : 'the cha that this preamble speak s falsehood-that It states that which racter of the eoentre yes! the honour of the Omen were then is by no means correct. We are nut arrived at that state of never dreamed of. Miniver, had never said, ' Return - this excessive polish whi c h wou ld f or bid us front call i ng th i ngs i s d angerous —the country suffers-khe Crown is dishonoured by their proper name, and I would appeal to the spirit of the Royal Family degraded, by these. 'calumnious reports.'— Justice which presides. in this House, but especially to that On the contrary, they had done everything to encovreee her holiness which le second under the Crown, as the head of staying ; and he (Mr. Brougham) would venture to stake his the Church, whether, if. .adultery be a crime on the part existence, that any man would have been deemed an enemy, 41-a female, it be not a crime, also, on the - part of a and have had the Court doors flung in his face, who should male; ar Whether, if the dignify of the Crown and the ho- have had the hardihood to counsel that her Royal Highness sour of the histion be so tarnished by the practice of what the should have been requested to revisit this country—(Hear!).e fmble to this Bill calls ' adulterous intercourse on the part Yet these very men, after forcing her away—after aiding, abet- Vie-Male riietnbei" of the Tfoyal Family as to render necessary ting, and encouraging a foreign residence—after taking no sue Bill of Painsand Penal t ies, th e adultery of a male member oh step to put it an end to that which they thems e lv e s alle ge d to b e that family_ should be allowed to escape the visitation of any such the sole cause of the evil : even at the twelfth hour, and when , Attie*? But the allegation in this preamble is a fallacy or how the twelfth hour was about to toll, did they then come with a came it that, uo Bite pf Pains and Penalties, nor legislative mea- request that she should return? Did they then suggest that her sure whatever was ever proposed in consequence of the adultery Majesty, having changed leer station, could no longer live of a certain mate member of the - Royal Family, which some years abroad with safety—that what thieht be good for a Princess ago was not only proved, hut confessed by his Royal Highness was evil for a Queen? Did they came forward with atty plain himself. It is, I assure your Lordships, with peculiar pain th et funk disclosure that some inquiry !allele 1,1! rei.d , dred necessary elds stetement is wrung from me ; for no one can b e more aware -What reports had got abroad to nia.i7c:lnt that they could than myself of the obligation which not only England, but all not „be overlooked—that suspicion attached, acid that that gotope, owes to the services of that most Illustrious Individual suspicion must be removed ? Was anything of this soft `4irlectir it refers. In mentioning this circumstance, indeed, I done, not in kindness to the Queen, but in compassion to awn° disposttion whatever to act harshly towards his Royst the long-suffering people of Eneland, cow agitated by this Highness, but to record my opinion of thh motives and princi- great question? No such thing : to the last moment she was pies of the base conspiracy with which that proceeding originated. warned no : to come back : sh e was to be esensiene.d, largely As an A(.17/fleeter, I feel myself compelled too to state, that the pensioned, for not coming home; and she was to enjoy the allegation of the authors of this Bill was unfounded, even in the rank she had degraded, and the privileess she had forfeited.— lesiews of those persons themselves, or the adultery confessed in She was to have an income to enable h er c to be wicked on a 1809, by the . Illustrious Individual Co whom I have referred, larger scale; all levity, all indi sc r et ion, e v e n ' A d u l terous inter would have beeu met by some similar measure; for the conduct course,' was to be pardoned on one condition, and that condi of his . Royal Highness was pronounced of. a most derogatory den s was, that she should continue abroad, hefore the eyes of character, in a Resolution proposed in the other House of Par- foreigners who envied and hated us ; she was to be the de !lament, by one of the very authors of the present Bill. But no grading spectacle of the Queen of this country, without one Bill of Pains and Penalties was ever mentioned, or even hinted of the vie toes that ought to belong to her sex and her condi at, upon that occasion, nor was it even pretended that it was time With these fatty before him, he must have a mind. necessary to " the dignity of the Crown and the honour of the capable of swallowing the most moostrous improbabilities who nation," to propose any measure of the kind. I ask whether could lend himself for one moment teethe belief that Ministers,. such conduct be consistent, or whether it can he reconciled with themselves gave the least credit to the preamble of the BilIA-F -any principle, unless it be maintained that the male members of It would never have been heard of, if the Queen had returned the Royal Family may all do what they please, while if calumny from Calais ; but her larding at Dove r celled up sill those phan should fix a stain upon any female belonging to that family who toms of national degradation and insulted honour, of which top should happen to he abroad, whi t h e r s h e w a s encouraged to g o, m uc h h a d rece n t ly b een h ear d : they were a ll ra i se d b y the (dot who was left at full liberty to indulge herself there as she which the set upon the English shore ; ;led if she had consented, pleased, she .should, upon her rewn hoine, have a Bill of to restrain it, she might sell have lived witheut imputation, at Pains and Penalties immediately preferred against her, upon least from the quarter in which it now orieinate t i. I end here the hypocritical, :canting, and disgusting pretence, that such a (ca el Mr. Brougham ) What I have to urge, not that I have no - proceeding was necessary to the maintenance of the dignity of thing more to bring tors: are, but becanse am sure tkavysone the Crown and the honour o f t h e nati o n ?—( He a r, h ear , te ar I) Lo r d s hip s are men of justice, that eou are men of principle, Inert We in England may call this proceeding by what name we please. of ordinary sagacity, and, above all, that you are men of heeihnis We may pronounce it a serious and solemn measure; hut what I have made my appeal to you upon this Bill, and I feel code are our continental neighbours likely to think of it? Is it not dent that I have not made it in vain. True it is that your Com. possible that they may regard it with pity, if not with disgust, nettee has reported in its favour, tut thee cannot pledge the and that they may suppose the ratio masarie and the nraiejnity.ca House ; and'he is the greatest of rll fool, who consults his appa f are considered the same in this country? I would then exhort rent consistency at the expense of his thrnitit; ruin. The sooner yout-Loedehipsofor sake of the reputation and judgment, as well you retrace thcestep into which you may hate been led at an as for sate of the peace and interest of this cost try, not to allow unwary moment, the greater will be the service you render its grave, rational, enlightened, and moral character', as well as your country : if you decide that this Bill ought not to proceed, its internal tranquillity, tube sacrificed, in order to gratify the you will be the saviours of the State, and, indeed, promote the caprice or will of any individual, by the adoption of a measure substantial welfare of the kingdom, and the truest honour of of such an extraordinary purport as that before the House._ By the Crown." r. this Measure it is proposed to enact a divorce in a peculiarly no- The LORD CHANCELLOR observed, that at tie' manner ; for where, I ask, can an instance be found in the there were only two Counsel to be heard upon this whole history of the law, where, after a legal carriage, which I assume that between their Majesties to have been, it was.ever subject, the second was then at liberty to address attelopted to dissolve that marriage, except upon actual proof of the House. adultery, and upon the application of the husband or party Mr. DENMAN said, that it was his intention to ad aggrieved ?—The Standing Orders of the House were express dress some observations to their • Lordships i .but 'aft on this subject, and one of them even provided that - the husband hour was arrived at whifh an adjournment wa s himself should be examined, in order to shew that there was no t he collusion, and that he stood redus in curia. If the House wished expected to take place, and as, from the state of his to know in what light marriage was regarded by the law of health he was then unable to proceed, he requested the land—the Bill showed in what light some people regarded their Lordships would he so fl ood as to . adjourn the adultery, or rather a crime not known to the law, called " adul- further . re p r oceedings until to-morrow. - tercets .intercourse"—he would submit to them the opinions 'of tae soundest lawyers, and he would appeal in an especial Lord LIVERPOOL observed, that after what . the manner on ibis" piiint to the guardians cf the sanctity of that holy -Learned Counsel had stated, he thought he was sure ,contr.act. He would contest himself, however, with one of the there could be but one wish in the House as to the latest authorities—one of the greatest Consistorial Judges-- ropriety of complyi with his request. He there- He who had described it in language not more eloquent than just. He meant Sir William Scott, who, in delivering his judgment. ore, moved that fhe House slu,uld adjourn. ea the case of Gordon v. Dalrymple, thus expressed his opinion : The LORI) CHANCELLOR stated, that only tWO ' Marriage is a contract of natural la w; it is the parent, not Counsel would be heard throughout, either for or the child, of civil society. (In civil society it becomes a civil against the 13111. —Adjourned' at about listen 'clock. contract, registered and prescribed by law, and rendered of civil so . consequence.) t' In most civilized countries, acting under a sense of the force of sacred obligations, it has the sanction of religion superadded: It then becomes a religious and civil contract, far it it a great mistake to suppose, that because it is the One, there fore it may not likewise be the other. Heaven itself is made a party to the contract, and the consent of the individuals pledged to each. ether, is ratificel and confirmed by a tow to God.'— Matthew, xis. B.—,Dark, 1. 2.—ls It possible, then, that your, 'Lordships can ever he persuaded to lay sacrilegious hands 'upon such a sacred compaetthat you will attempt to put tatunder those Vile= -Goa bath united, or to cut that knot which bath been tied by the combined laws of GOD and man ? The Masa was called upon to dissolve this compact; first, be *use the parties bad disregarded it, sacred obligation ; and, se condly, beciuse the husband himself slid not come forward to complain. For let' it be 'obseiVed, that this was the way in which it was put, in melee top:et-id of some of the stringent arguments against the Bill.. The King, it was asserted, was not concerted; he sent no CiiiiiiiFtenlie liiiiise; and the Attor ney-General, with his !oral ingenuity, prevented its being, wrung from him that the King was his client. It was no pri vate Bill; it was a State measure, justified by State necessity; and he had astutely avoided everything that could shew any other connexion than with the State. The Attorney-General had said that be was merely the organ of the House, and' that he was desired to defend the Bill for the sake of the Copy of an Address to her Mares-re from the Privates of the Leicestershire : We;'the Privates of the Leicester Militia, beg leave to coils; gratulate your Majesty on your arrival in•these realms. " We lament the afflictive dispensations which it hal pleased .Goo to visit this counfry with in your Majesty's absence, parti= cularly in the death of her in whom our hopes, and those of the whole Nation, were fondly united; but deeply as we feel, and much as we sympathize with your Majesty, iu such irreparable losses, we deplore the ?resent proceedings of his NI ajesty's Mini. stens against your anguit person, in using such artifices to alum., Mate and degrade yoar Majesty in the eyes of your subject& " We cannot refrain front expressing our indignation at the ' charges founded on documents examined by a Secret Committee,. of the House of Lords. Upon the allegations contained in elite said papers, his Majesty's Ministers have brought forward a Bill' to deprive your Majesty of those dignities which Ace your just / right—and to divorce you, withoureven granting your Majesty a fair and open trial. We regret that they should. refits* you a list or the witnesses who are to appear againstyou 7 —a Oche which is not denied to the Meanie iubjeci of the kingdom, " We trust that the .4.tioniiiye yelicise arm is all-powerful, will support your Majesty under all, those trial. • • Whatever may be the issue of 'thePer.ding inquiry into the' foul charges brought against your 'Majesty at the instigation of a corrupt and infamous Administration, wipeare seeking to de. stroy the happiness not only of your Majesty, and our gracious : King, but of his faithful and loviae subjects; by undermieing that Constitution, which, in its primitive state, is the pride anti glory of EuglishmeN.wi cannot but admire That heroic firmness ' displayed ay your Majesty in the midst of such unheard-of per, - • secutions ittid cruelties, which could never manifest itself but in - a consciousness of innocence. " We sincerely hope your Majesty will eventually triumph. • • over the machinations of your enemies, and continue-a blessieg to your subjects for many years to come ; and that your Me. jesty will shine as a star of the first order, not only in this world, but eclipse the sun in its meridian splendour, in that which is to • come, for ever; which is the prayer of " Your -Majesty's most affectionate subjects, THE pitlvATEs OF THE SAID ItEGIAIENT." • ," Leicester, July ft, I sect." THE (4(3:TN's ANSWER. " I receive with great satisfaction this kind Address from.the Soldiers of the Leicester Militia, who, in condoling with me on • my melancholy-losses—in sympathizing with mein Illy nuffoings praying for my safety and • happiness, and in coneernitieg. the-advisers of the eruihie% inflicted urin me, give the best and most striking roof of their fidelity to their King, who Can have no real interest, no tt tic glory, in which the Queen does not participattse 'tJo • " My name; given =lt is as a Mark of honotir to many of tho Regiments of his Majesty's Army, the (ei - tom of her late Maje ty • to address bodies of this gallant Army weiald teach me, if. stir own heart ditd:iioy, that that part of his Majesty's subjects who -bear-arnis in defence of their Coentee and the Throne aie.ney er to be excluded front my attention, - my gale, and my gratitude. • ." To the cowardly only it belotes to be cruel ; valour audi generosity are inseparable associates ; and while the world pro_ claims the matchless valour of the British soldiers, it *hall be f or me to proclaim their goitrous sympathy and affection public at large. He had accordingly sought for information a id instruction, and for this purpose he found no place more cmvenient than the Home Department, and no person more an dons to aid him than the Home Secretary. He might nave gone further and fared worse; and accordingly he made his appearance at the Bar as Catinsel for nobody ! Thus the King made no complaint, 'and the Hcuse was called upon to dissolve the marriage without the suggestion of either of the parties most interested. The whole, in tact, was unprece dented, illegal, in opposition to all analogy, and in the teeth of the most sacred part of all civil and ecclesiastical justice. Per haps he might be allowed• further to state, that the mode of proceeding afforded sufficient evidence to skew that the story of degradation and dishonour was a mere pretence from beginning to end. ,The only way to judge of the sincerity of men's pro fessions, was to look at their conduct ; it was good and whole some at all times, and with all sorts of men ; but at no time, and with no sort of men more so than in our own, and with po liticians such as the authors of this measure. One little action' was worth more than a volume of writing, or a week of speik- , big ; and had the conduct of Ministers been such as to make the House believe that they eredittli one word of the preamble? As his Learned Friend disavowed all connexion with them, and as they presented the papers in which it origiitled, they must be. looked upon as the authors of the Bill ; and had their actions been consistent with the allegations of the preamble? Who, •he asked, had encouraged the Queen to go• abroad ? When that Illustrious Personage, word out by all she had experienced in this country, naturally began to skink repose a blessing, who had recommended that she should4eek it on the Continent?— Who had opposed the advice given by the friends of the queen, to which they had set their hands, and he (Mr. B.) among them, that they woilld answer with their heads fo( her safety while in Ertgland, but that when abroad she would be surrounded by foreigners, spies, and informers? Who had counteracted this faithful suggestten ? Who but those who wore now arrayed ~.q s.. WI