Star. — London, England, 1822-03-07 00:00:00

with those by whom such excesses were When such outrages were committed daring violation- of the law, it was ' Governm nt to repress them ; and if ois;', , sed to the execution of the laws le ding of blood, the fault Was not in the but in the persons who violated the laws. must be asserted and maintained at all' it was not from any want of feeling,. want of abhorrence of the unnecessary blood, but as a friend of humanity, that say, that in such cases no good coup concession to the people; that any yield, _ pare of Government, any relaxation of the law at such a moment, could only lead CO the more exten sive effusion of blood. With respect, therefore, to the dismissal of the officer who had neglected c* that occasion to enforce the execution of the law aea 'cording to his duty and the orders he had receivedi nitbough he was wholly disconnected with that actJ )-et he did most heartily concur in the necessity ei tis dismissal, in order to assert the dignity of the Government, and to uphold the authority of the law. The next point to which he should advert, was thi charge of indecent haste in the conducting of the fu neral after it had left London. He would only beg the House to call to mind the orders that had been gives : to have everything in readiness along the road by which the funeral was to pass, and the delay which had been created by the illegal obstructions thrown' in the way in its earliest stages, and then he would ask, whether the officer who was charged with the conduct of the funeral had any 'alternative, but to make up by all possible haste afterwards for the Joss of time occasioned by the obstacles which he had en countered ? With respect to the alteration of the coffin-plate, it would be remembered that Government had assumed all the responsibility of the management of the funeral, that the executors had expressly de "dined to interfere, and had renounced any authority which they might be supposed to have in the business, and had lett it to the officer appointed by Govern ment to carry the arrangements for the funeral into ex ecution ; and notwithstanding all that, it was attempted to put upon the coffin an inscription in these words : o To the memory of the injured Queen of England." Now he would ask, whether the officer could have allowed such an inscription to remain on the coffin ? If the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had been charged wur ...e rangement of the funeral, if he had re tained the controul of the proceedings connected with it, it might have rested with him in his discretion to cause that inscription to be affixed to the coffin if he thought proper; but under the actual circumstances of the case, as they had been stated, bow could any officer of the Government, consistently with his duty, have permitted it? There remained but one other point for him to notice, which was, the omission of the funeral service at Brunswick. The only answer he had to make on that head was, that the officer charged with the superintendence of the funeral on the part of this Government, on inquiring as to the course which it was intended to pursue, was told that the practice of the country would be strictly ob served .and it had been admitted by the Hon.. Gen tleman himself that no funeral service had been per formed in the case of the Duke of Brunswick ; and it turned out, in point of fact, that the custom of the country, in all similar cases, was precisely followed in this instance. Having, he trusted, shown that the course pursued in respect of this funeral was the same -which had been followed in the instances of the other members of the Royal Family ; and having, as he conceived, fairly answered the several points which had been dwelt on, and in so doing confined himself szlictiy within the narrow limits which he had pre scribed to himself, agreeably to what he conceived to be the wishes of the House, he should now sit down, hoping that the-House would reject the propo sition of the Hon. Member for Shrewsbury. Dr. LUSHINGTON said, that he should never have revived the subject then before the House, if the present motion had not been brought forward.— That being done, however, it became his duty to give his opinion, and to explain certain facts and circum stances with which he had been personally connected. He should endeavour to follow the example of the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, by abstaining from all topics which could be properly left out of the dis cussion. It had been his misfortune throughout the whole of this unfortunate case, to incur blame from both the parties connected with it. He incurred blame from those who supported his Majesty's Ministers, for having taken too active a part; and he incurred blame from those who were rseculiarly called the Queen's fr iends, for not having gone far enough in support of the dignity and solemnity of the funeral ; and he was afraid that he should still disagree with both sides in some parts of the speech he was about to make.— He had a difficult course to steer, and that which he did, he conscientiously thought to be for the best : above all, he had taken care not to suffer the exercise of the power of that situation to which her Majesty appointed him, to be polluted (for lie could call it nothing else) by party motives—(Hear, hear!) — lie trusted the House would pardon him if he went into some details, for the purpose of explaining what did occur, and what did not occur, with regard to the ceremony of her Majesty's funeral. The moment the decease took place, he dispatched a messenger to Lord Liverpool, acquainting him with the fact. He was then occupied during the night in arranging the papers of her Majesty, which it was necessary should be placed in a state of security. The next day, at' twelve o'clock, he had his first interview with chef First Lord of the Treasury. In giving the House an account of what passed between himself and that Noble individual, in his absence, he was sure that he the _ ___ . ~ secondtes•that jesty was then *airing to land ielsehlCA and the country in a state of gteat anxiety, or that eventi so that the greatest inconvenience must arise from ll body not leaving the country with all possible a decent dispatch. His Lordship further stated, 'it would be desirable to consider the body's bei . on board as equal to interment. He (Dr. ton) acceded at once to these proposals, for be sate reason in them. He thought it desirous that the rei ' mains should beremoved with speed, as far as de! corum and propriety would admit. He thought so, because he felt that it would be a moc err . * expect, that after all which had passed, the oy# Personage who was then absent should be Tort N I) whelmed with sorrow at his loss l—(lirear, lieeit+-. But he afterwards found that the species of dross nos cessary for the occasion could not be prepared in time. He found also that there would be the greatest dilfi• culties to encounter on the other side of the water.... He was informed that when they arrived at Stadt, they would find no conveniences whatever for prose cuting the journey, with the retinue necessary to the solemnity. He applied to Baron Best, the represen tative of the Hanoverian Minister, Count Munster, and found that he had been correctly informed upon this subject. He understood from the Earl of Liver pool that the time of performing the journey to Har wich was to be two days, if it could be done in that time with due decorum and propriety, if not three days were to be allowed. He then went to Baron Best again, and inquired whether any specific ar rangements bad been made at Stadt for the convey ance of the corpse and the procession forward to Brunswick ? He was informed by the Baron that no carriages could be procured, that they could get no thing but German waggoners. A messenger was to be sent to Stadt on the Tuesday, when the corpse was to be removed from Brandenburgh House. As this person had also to cross the sea, there was no pos sibility of his arriving at Stadt before the funeral; and they would consequently find no orders given, and be obliged to remain in the town for several days. It would have been utter madness in him ;.o have undertaken the conduct of the solemnity under such circumstances. He was told that when he arrived at Harwich the body would be delivered into his care, with two undertaker's men and the hearse.— In this condition they were to land at Stadt, where nothing could be procured but German waggons, and horses that were taken from the farms. It was under these circumstances that he had given up all the direction and responsibility of the funeral in vio lation to his own feelings and wishes. After this he was naturally anxious that a person filling the rank of a Gentleman, should superiqtend the smnity.— It was due in decorum and in decency, that the fu neral of the Queen of England should be conducted by a person filling at least the rank of a Gentleman. He complained upon this ground , because he saw with indignation the condit ion in which the Queen's remains were left. On the morning of the 14th of August, he repaired at an early hour to Broaden burgh House, where heinquired if any one was there to take charge of the body ? For a long time nobody appeared. At last a person came, who said he was ordered to take charge of it; a person who had nothing of the character which he had described as necessary to the situation he was to fill. He (Dr. Lushington) asked him for his authority, when he produced the paper for regulating the ceremonial.— Upon his remonstrating as to the insufficient nature of the authority, this person asked him if he meant to oppose the removal of the body by force? He answered, certainly not. There could be nothing farther from iris wishes than to violate the decorum of a death-bed. With regard to the use of the military, he begged leave to dissent from what had been said by his Ho nourable Friend upon that subject. He always cog r sidered a guard of honour necessary upon the occa sion, and that they were sent as a due mark' of re spect to her Majesty. The Honourable and Learned Member then explained why he did not admit the Public into Brandenburgh House on the morning of the funeral. It was impossible to admit all thd pa pulace, and the difficulty of issuing tickets was in compatible with the haste necessary to be observed. The body then set off, and he accompanied it, but had no auth wity whatever. Upon the first stop page which took place, he would relate what oc curred, to chew that his conduct had been marked by caution and propriety. An Officer rode up, to his carriage, and stated his belief that they could not proceed in the appointed route. He understood him (Dr. Lushington) to be invested with authority to take the funeral which way he thought best, and begged that he would give him orders to proceed the other way. He (Dr. Lushington) said that he possessed no such authority, and then recommended what was afterwards done—namely, that a messenger should be dispatched to the Earl of Liverpool for instructions. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman then condemned the endeavour to prevent the procession from going through the City, and dwelt upon the demonstrations of honest grief and sorrow of all classes of people. He had heard with regret something which fell from the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, which seemed to in timate that the Illustrious Personage, at that time on his way to Ireland, bad ordered the route laid down for the procession. He could not believe that Minis ters would not retain to themselves the latitude of acting as they thought most accordant to their re. sponsibility upon such an occasion. He then referred to the affray at Cumberland-gate, and stated that be saw Sir Robert Wilson before he went to the soldiers to endeavour to stop the firing, and that be attempted to dissuade him therefrom, as he was convinced that he would be doing so at the hazard of his life. From the manner and conversation of his Hon. Friend, he believed, if that was the last moment of his life, that his only motive in so doing was the desire of prevent ing the effusion of blood. They arrived at Rumford at eight o'clock in the evening, and he would state to the House the persons who had charge of the funeral should rather state the case against himself than other .. Wm. If he knew his own heart, he was incapable of — , N ariisrepresenting in the slightest degree anything *llia passed under such circumstar.ces. The first words which Lord Liverpool addressed to him were, " I have no hesitation in informing you, that it is the intention of his Majesty's Government to bear the expenses of the funeral." Ile (Dr. Lushington) con. fessed that he was at the time so ignorant of the na ture of such occurrences, that he did not know where . the expense was to come from. He asked the Noble Lord what facilities would be afforded to the Exe cutors to have the body interred according to the directions of the will. Lord Liverpool requested that the First Lord of the Admiralty might be consulted as to the means of conveying the corpse across the sea. He had then to enter into com munication with Lord Melville and the Honourable ' 4ll r* bled _ question—Weer, hear. * Add ki,";*ettlir I—(ltienr ' hear hea;').—. The Marquis of I.III)DONMIRRY aCknoirledged lee the* Niqff,liti d, and before ' arriving that the Hon. and Learned Gentlensan had met the at that Now thrhones were knocked up, and the question-.in a fait and candid manner. After tho whOleMbeessionitras in' a d i sgraceful state of disor- able explanations of his Honourable Friends (Mr: den whim they Bdt there ) and the body was taken Peel and Mr. Calvert) little was left fir, him to do, .m the hearse, fir G. Naylor was DOt to be found. varticularly as no blame was attached to the Earl of The crown and cushion were placed upon the coffin Liverpool; who was the responsible ninister on_that by some one else, .for air G. Nityler haegooe offcom. occasion, and had atted in a manner,most creditable Portably to bed ! They set off at elevediVelock next to his justice in that difficult and arduous case. No day for Colchester,. and arrived there at four in the blame could fairly be attached to the preterite of the afternoon. They were then told by the ruling trium- for he found the Learned Gentleman de.. virate that they must proceed again at eight that daring, as executor, that it would have been a maul:- evening. He remonstrated against this in vain, until festation of disrespect if they had not attended. His he produced the letter of th e E ar l o f Li verpoo l, i n d e cl arat i on h e wou ld therefore oppose to the accuse which be stated, that.if the body could not be re- Lion' brought against Ministers,- ilk having employed moved with decorum and propriety in two days, a portion of the milit ar y at t h e f unera l : I n s h ort, be three should be allowed. This produced sortie effect, had very little necessity to go forward and defend the and it was at last decided that they should , proceed conduct of Ministers, since it would be quite sufficient *Ave the next morning. To this he was obliged to • quote the Honourable Member's speech, in-the accede; for, to have opposed the triumvirate, backed course of which he had swept clean away every ocea ns they were by the military, would hate been to sation that could be brought against the Governtnent. lace his life in danger. He next came to the in- The Learned Gentleman conceived it to be necessary scription 011 the coffin, and he would relate the whole that he should, by some act on his part, have divested circumstances connected with that point. He was himself of the character of executor, before the or with her Majesty the night before her decease, pre- dering of the funeral was taken out of his hands.-- vious to which time she had scarcely sent for him As he had done no such act, he inferred that it was for four weeks. She desired hi& to promise her that in consequence of some special order issued by the he would use his best endeavours to have the inscrip- Earl of Liverpool, 'and made expressly for this case, tion placed upon her coffin. He considered at the that the funeral of her Majesty passed from his hands, time the great responsibility which the promise in- as executor, and was entrusted to those of the Go volved, and he she would repeat her corn- vernment. He argued ) that if ever y t hi ng h a d b een moods if she wi b s d him to execute them. This she conducted in a regular and suitable manner, he would did with her dying breath. Not being satisfied with have remained to the last, as the acting person.. this, he proposed that it should be inserted as a codicil Now, he (the Marquis of Londonderry) would cona to the will, which was accordingly done. He took tend, that though this might have been the case with this precaution, because he felt that it would not be respect to the executor under ordinary circuilistances, enough for him to come forward after her Majesty's yet the rule did not apply where a member of the death, and say that she had made a private request Royal Family was concerned—(Hear, hear). In that to ouch an effect. He foresaw all the difficulties case the power was in the Crown, and not in the which this request would bring upon him, but he was executor. It was one of the privileges of the Crown, determined to execute it to the best of his abilities.— like the education of the Royal Progeny, and yea When he presented the will to Lord Liverpool, the rious other acts of a domeitic nature, which were di. Noble Lord observed, that the Government could rected by the Cro wn . Th e L earne d Gentleman was not carry this codicil into effect, as they would thereby informed, on the first interview he had With the Earl be casting a censure upon themselves. The Hon. of Liverpool, that the expenses of the funeral would and Learned Member solemnly declared that he had be borne on the part of the Crown and of the Publics always understood the objection of the Earl of Li- It was the desire of his Majesfty's Ministers to mania verpool to be to the Ministers ordering this inscrip- fest every respect to her Majesty's remains: they sent tion themselves. He/might have been wrong in thi thcfecretary of the department to take charge of the but he believed that the Government did not mean to funeral from Harwich to Brunswick ; and they con+ interfere with the executors if they affixed the inscrip- fided the previous proceedings to the highest officer Lion to the coffin. The plate was not ready until the who Was immediately on the spot. What blame could morning of the 14th, and there was no opportunity attach to Ministers, when it was apparent that they of placing it in its situation whilst the corpse was in made use of the whole force which it was in their England, but that which presented itself at Col- power to lay their hands on? They employed the chester. He felt himself thus placed in the most Secretary of the department—they directed the at difficult circumstances. He felt reluctant to perform tendance of Mr. Thomas, the Gentleman next in this office in the church, and he felt that this was rank to Mr. Mash : is short, they commanded the the last opportunity he should have of performing services of all those who were within their reach. It it at all. He begged that the House would not look was stated as matter of charge, that Mr. Thomas at this circumstance with coolness and reflection, arrived at Brandenburgh House with no other autho. without considering the feelings with which he city except a programme of the procession. What was agitated at the time. He took the alternative. other authority did he require? He had received his He had pledged his honour—his sacred honour to his ordeisfrom the Government, and certainly he had no dying mistress, and he acted to the best of his judg- consent tl:4 obtain from the Learned Gentleman. If meat a just part; and if he were again placed under the Learned Gentleman knew Mr. Thomas, and was similar circumstances, so help him Goo, he would aware of his business, he ought to have respected pursue the same course- -(Hear, hear). He knew his authority. The conduct of Mr. Thomas a7peared that it had been said, that he profaned the House of to have given the Learned Gentleman much offence t Goo! and he knew that there were canting Metho- but it was evident that Mr. Thomas thought the discs, who had approved his conduct to his face, and Learned Gentleman meant to obstruct his authority, traduced him behind his back. He chose a time for and that obstruction he felt he was bound to oppose. his purpose, when the Church was nearly empty, and The Noble Lord then proceeded to answer the objec it was not until the plate had been affixed to the coffin tions that sufficient ceremony was not used at the for three minutes, that any representation was made funeral, and that it was too hurried t he contended upon the subject. He left the Church and saw no that both were in strict accordance with the declared indecorous disturbance. He did hear that the mili- wishes of her Majesty. Her Majesty desired her re tary afterwards entered, but that was after he was mains to be removed at the earliest possible period; gone, and he saw nothing of it. They then pro- and certainly the Learned Gentleman had communi ceeded to Harwich, where the body was taken out of cated to the Earl of Liverpool, if not the whole of her the hearse and conveyed along the quay in such Majesty's will, at least the codicil which contained haste that he was obliged to run to keep up with it. that direction. The Earl of Liverpool acted in the There was no pall upon the coffin, and the boat in spirit of that codicil. He saw no reason for delaying which it was conveyed was filled so that he could not the ceremony, and he gave the necessary directions. accompany it. The Hon. Member for Huntingdon The first idea was to have the funeral on the Satur compelled ten of the undertaker's men and four car. day, her Majesty having died on Tuesday. Saturday riages to embark for Stadt, and even with this force was, however, on reflection, considered to be too early they had the greatest difficulty in proceeding when a 'ay, and Monday was then mentioned. Tuesday they arrived there. With one little exception he was in the end preferred, as a more favourable day. had no complaint to make as to the conduct of the No objection was made to the solemnization of funeral for the remainder of the journey to Bruns- the funeral on that day, and he believed that the wick. There was another point upon which he Learned Gentleman himself had stated that he was was anxious to vindicate his own conduct from satisfied with the arrangement. How, then, could misrepresentations which had gone abroad. One any imputation of an undue acceleration of the of the Honourable Members for the City of Lon- Queen's funeral be cast upon the Sovereign don had considered himself neglected, in not being When the news came to Holyhead, his Majesty wished allowed to accompany the funral as one of the House- to have the arrangements made on a scale of, the uto hold. He had considered the Hon. Member as a friend most respect to the deceased Queen. The flags were of the late Queen, and he had intended to provide for lowered, and he never appeared on deck, unless when his atteadance in that capacity. But Lord Liverpool it was necessary for his relief. The substitution of the subsequently desired him to put down the names of inscription on the coffin by the Hon. and Learned all the Household, for whom provision would be made. Gentleman was a pitiful and contemptible evasion of This of course excluded the Hon. Alderman, and he the orders of the Government. What the Brunswick sent him a copy of the letter. When they were at Government chose to do without it, was nothing to Harwich, he was again applied to to put down the the Government of this country. The reason of the name of the Hon. Alderman. But he would again body being instantly sent on board at Harwich was, ask, how in the name of honour he could, acting that the tide was falling. The question was, whether upon the •attne principles, put him down as one of the there wad any wish to insult the memory of the late Household at Harwich, when he had refused to do Queen ?' All obstructions on the road arose from the so at Brandenburgh House ? Three weeks after this,, riots in London. He must have been an enterprising be was astonishedto find that his letter, and that of undertaker that would have taken up his canton , Lord Liverpool's, had been printed, with another meats ten mile, from London, in order to aee what tort censuring his conduct from the Hon. Alderman, whoni of column might join the procession from London.— he had during that'period seen at Brunswick, without) Was it fitting, that after the disposition of the funeral his saying a word upon the subject. The Hon. and.! was submitted to the King, and finally arranged, the Learned Gentleman then adverted to his intercourse Government should have sent it through the City to with the Queen previous to her death. Some months please the Common Council ? which he wished to had elapsed, during which be was seldom with her. speak with respect of, though he had the honour He considered that his duty was at an end when the sometimes to differ with it in opinion. The object trial finished, and, amongst other reasons, his proles- was to comply with the Queen's will, and not to give sional engagements greatly operated to prevent his a handle to.factious cabal, which had long made her being with her Majesty ; but, aboveall, he deprecated Majesty an object of attention and a ground for dis becoming her political, adviser. He avoided it,sbe..turhance. He admitted candidly, that the first hi. 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