The National Register. — London, England, 1821-07-08 00:00:00

T I -IJ9 ,' 0 . 4 . 0 0 ,4* . *°4llttr :_. ~:.. '.‘• • *.. • 4. .1;11 .}! tel e: '~l ~ 4'; Our tng, Conatrution, ann COWL I"' ~ .7 _ - SUNDAY, JULY. 8, 1821. Punt WI No. 1,32 1 .—VoL. Xll.] " Ideal inities cadent modo in Coronationam Reginald sit Coronatio Regis, sivi solo Contemn." Henry IV. was crowned I4th October, 1390. He was twice twilled. His first wife, Mary, died before he came to the throne. His Queen Johanna was crowned with him. Henry V. in 1413, tilos eighth year of his reign, came front France to attend the coronation of his Quern Catherine., Ths,l2.lP* N4l of die Tower proved Annelw.knatbrintaist Woe., and dim suit and eartaik • as he had shewn the coronation of Queens Consort in all past times, it must be itiainkst thin if in, ire or tut) instances in the succession of ages in which he % . 1.3$ not able to prove that circumstance, it would nut isivalitlaie his argument. Supposing such a case as that of the wife of Charles I. supposing the cases of Queens Consort married after the coronationof their husbands—in:cooling to all forms of judicial proceediug--sceonling :o all modes of legal decision. yeah cases could not make against she nesse( B•Queen Consort to be crowned wills her husband. lie had shewn that every married king, since the Revolution, bed his Consort crowned with There was one exception, that of George I which he would by and by explain. But supposing the want of uniformity made by this case—supposing the explanation which he bad to give most unsatisfactorily and inadequate to the purpose, still he would have a right to rely on what he had proved ; every thing ought to be 39,41111 Cd in his favour to prevent the one exception front being of any avail against the general rule, to bring it within the general rule and make it agree with the uniform current of cases. He would ask, 111 what other way could they he required to establish that or any other right connected with the solemnity of a coronation? in what way could any of the rights subjected to the decision of the Court of Claims be proved? No one denied the rights of the Barons of the Chigoe Ports to support the canopy over the King, and to claim a portion rat it afterwards. Why and how was that claim established ? From immemorial usage. He would like to hear any titan assert, as a pro. position of law, that the Barons were not eutitled, be cause it could not be proved they that they had in sonic instances not exercised that right. He would like to hear a lawyer state it as a true proposition, that the right was lost and forfeited, because the exercise of it could not in every instance be proved. Such a proposition would be monstrous. contrary to any principle, legit or constitutional—contrary, therefore, :o the fair meaning and inference of the case which he was argiii.ig. The Queen claimed a right which was proved to have b ten uniformly enjoyed—and the single exception, admitting it to exist, which was allowing mach, and admitting it to be not clearly explained, winch was much more, could not discountenance or overthrow that winch had in all other instances been enjoyed. He should not trouble their Lordships with any recapitulation of the examples he had adduced. This was the legal argument in support of her Majesty's claim to be crowned. He had confined himself strictly to the matter of law, with out any reference to the existing or attendant circum stances; and he was happy to know he was addressing lawyers, and posterity would hertaher look upon tit •• I first important decision ul.ou this great cptestion of the lawyers of the 19th century with the utmost confidence. Mr. DENMAN iminerliaiely followed. He commencesi by ohserving that if he had beets the fist to argue this question, he might have fearel to have left any thin; untouched ; but after the address of Isis learned friend he approached tne subject with opposite feelings—foe lie feared lest he should throw unnecessary light upon teat which was already sullicieutly clear ; but iu a ease of ru 11101111CDIUUS, great, and important a nature—so inter. woven with the great institutions of the country—so interesting to the cause of kingly government, he telt that he should be inexcusable if he did not make obser valloll9 which were sitgzt sted to him even ender Neu dis ads Jobless in which he was placed. The learned gent. then very forcibly stated the gen:ral argument in suppo:t of this claim, as derived from the nature of the cereo 1111 l y of the coronation, and established by uninterritpted usag, . In addition to the authorities which NIT:. B. had T inted, he referred to Selden's Titles of Honour. lie observed that not only toe whole ceremony of the coronation, but the kingly government i:self, the law, and makers of the law, derived nitar authority from tile Warne cus tom, which was the fuondatton of her Nl.:jrsty's He observed on tne unpleasant situation 111 which his Ns:jests , would he placed, if, at the moment when he took the solemn oath, to govern accord:lig to law and custom, of the first sittject of the realm ; if when that ceremony was performed, which owed its existence to custom alone, he should exclude a part of it. which had always been obserted when shere was a po,siblity that it cook: Le Denman then urged a sa. riety of argumen:s in favour of the claim , and having concluded his arguments, the learned advocates and strangers withdrew. HER MAJESTY'S CLAIM to Le CROWNED. wwwwwwwr ...a. were performed for her as Quern Comm, in the same manner as had been done (be the King. On the acces sion of Henry VI. he was an infant; he was wrier crowned ; once in England, in 1429, and again in France, in 1431. He was married after both coronations, and his Queen, Margaret, was crowned alone in 1445. Here he would, with their Lordships' permission, step aside to consider what had been the rule and precedent of Scotland in these matters, where the same custom with that which he had been describing had uniformly taken place, though the documents for the proof of it were by no mean► so clear or perfect. But this he was prepared to maintain, that there was no instance in the history of Scotland in which a Queen Consort had not been crowned with or without her husband. He stated this in the broadest terms, and he put it on those who asserted the contrary, to uisprove hint. The reason and principle on which he grounded this assertion mainly was a very remarkable circumstaoce in the statute laws of Scotland, with retard to die rubs of Queens Consort to coronation. He held in Ids hand the book which contained the whole statute law of the kingdom, as it hid remained for one particular period of two centuries. The statute in question prescribed au oath of allegiance to be taken to the Queen Consort; and it was passed in the Bth Parliament tit James 1. of Scotland in the year 1429, and was to be found in chap. 109 in the enact ments of that year of his reign. in the folio edition of the statutes the terms of the oath were to be assumed as terms of succes ion, and were held to apply to heirs and successors throughout all titne.—He found Irons Muriais Dige,t of the Statutes with the Commentaries upon drain, that the oath was held to be of the same force and im portance in all respects as the oath of allegiance taken to the fits g. That lie had a tight to refer to Scotch prece dents he was fully prepared to maintain—since the act of Scottish union made the interests of the kingdoms the same. Besides which, he had only to refer their Lord ships,many of whom must have been personally engaged in them, to tne debt:es on the first Regency in the last reign, in the report on which Scotch precedents were mentioned and reasoned upon the same as English pre dents. The learned counsel then returned to the English successions, and stated the particular circumstances be lungtog to the corontl ceremonies of Henry VII. upon which it is apprehended the strength of the opposite • case will he rested. The learned gentleman then applied for permission to withdraw to consult the " Liter Re galia," which was necessary to his argument, and which he could not hare done before without permission of their Lordships. Mr. Brougham, slr. Denman, and Dr. Lushington then withdrew thr about half au hour, when Mr. Brougham stated to their Lordships that he feared he should require on hour longer. Lords Eldon, Liverpool, and Sidmouth spoke of the uncertainty in which this kilt the Court. They also wished to know, whether farther counsel were to be heard for her Majesty, heeause otherwise the council could adjourn lid four n'chr•k. Mr. Beouoitam replied, that it Was essential to hint to consult the Li/ er Regalia fully before he could proceed with his argument; b u t he calculated that he should be able to conclude his arg ttttt eau at the next hearing, when ever that was pawed. It was only desired that her Nlajesty's Solicitor General should be heard in further support rk . the Queen's memorial. Lord ELDON.I the Council adjourn till to-morrow, would your arguments be finished in thecourse of the d.i)? Mr. BR OUGHAM.I certainly think so. Lord Ebziosr, after consultiog with the Council for a short time, said that as there Was business in another place (the House of Lords), it was deemed 101 , st to adjourn till Friday moroiog at ten o'clock ; and if the arguments of the Queen's comael were not concluded by four o'clock, to teatime their labours itt the evening. The Council adjourned accordingly, at a quarter i:efore two, till ten the next in Inikg. PRIVY COUNCIL. Thursday being the time fixed for hearing the legal arguments of her Majesty's Counsel in support of die Queen's formal memorial to enjoy the ceremony of the emanation In conjunction with the Kin her Nia j y's Attorney and Solicitor- - Gerteral, .A i r. ham :tut! Mr Denman arrived at Whitehall at ten o'clock, and were immediately ushered into the councihroom, where they were received by the following members of the council, who sat on the occasion.—The Lord Chan cellor, their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of York and C:atence ; the Dukes of Wellington, Montrose and Beaufort ; arqnisses Camden, Hertfonl, and Cholmnn deley ; Earls Donoughroore, Harrowby, Bathurst, and Bridgewater ; and about thirty other Peers; the largest number of Privy Councillors ever known to attend a council—Chief Judges Abbot and Dallas, and the Chief Baron, the King's Attorney and Solicitor General, Mr. Tierney, Sir James Macintosh, and a considerable mum bo of HIVIIIITIS of the House of Commons, were also pt esent. The chamber was crowded to excess. At half-past ten o'clock the clerk of the council pro ceeded to read her Majesty's three memorials to be heard by her court-el, and also the order made in compliance with the Queen's application. Mr. BROUGHAM opened the pleading about half-past ten o'clock, the customary forms having been first gone through. lie was occupied for a considerable portion of time in tracing the Saxon successions through the ceremonial history of their coronations which were cele brated during their reigns. Itelpurstied the same line of inquiry through the several Norman reigns down to the reign of King John, pointing out from the bearing of cir cumstances connected with the solemnized coronations the general policy which guided them, the principle of right as it regarded the Queens, which was established by theist, together with the motives and accidents which had caused any . 'seeming interruption of the acknowledg ment of that right on particular occasions. He found that down to the time of Henry 111. there bad been eight coronations of Kings of England solemnized with out the coronation of their queens, and that there had been eight coronations of queens, with or without kings, celebrated for those queens alone, and without any com mixture of the same solemnities performed at the time on behalf of the kings. There had been eight kings, including !lulus, who died unmarried, crowned without unC.:ll, and in the same period of time hail there been eight queens crowned without kings. Henry 111. Was crowned in [216, before lie was married. Haying wedded Eleanor, Jail. 14, 1220, she was crowned alone, in about six days after, the king himself being present to do the ceremony the more honour, not in the exercise of his power as sovereign of the realm, but as one of the highest rank in the state; and according to Matthew Prior, the sword of Edward the Confessor, called the Sword Cortmea, was carried before him as a token of the authority of the constable of the palace, the particu lar functiuti of which was, to prevent any thing from bring done wrong iii the course of the ceremony. Ed ward the First and Second were crowned without their queens. Edward the First was married to Anne in Atl2/1 ,1 , 1274. Edward the Second wedded Eleanor of France, and when and where she was crowned, he (Mr. pin ugham) had not bee:i able to ascertain. That she was crowned he had no doubt. and he conceived that be should be able presently to prove it to their lordships by unquestionable references. Edward lI I. was crowned alone, Jan. 26, 132(i. He married Philippa early in 1327, who was also crowned alone, April, 1327.--1. [The book of Westinitasur, to which it was the Mien. tton of the learned counsel to refer to those puts of his case upon which sufficient information was not other wise t 7) be had, was now sent for.]-0:1 the last men toned coronation, he would produce a very curious and important document existing it was the proclamation for Queen Phillipa's coronation, its which the Barons of the Cinque Ports were called on to attend the ceremony, and perform snit and service, as they were bound to tio at the king's coronation. The proclamation was in the very sante terms as that which had been issued for the coronation of the king, and the very same services were to be rendered. Richard 11. was crowned July 16. 1377, and married Anne in 1383, January 14. who was crowned by herself on the 22d of the sante month. At the death of Anne he married Isabella, and in 1397 (as would be seen by the Close Roll in the Tower) Isabella was crowned alone. The order remained which was then issued to the sheriffs to summon all persons who, by the nature of their tenures or offices, were bound to do service at the king's coronahon, to conic forward and tau die like services for the coronation of the 1, siren con sort, in which the king was to take no part. In the Cotton Nlatinseripts in the British Museum, theme was a document of a most remarkable character, which he would mention to their lordships. In particular lie con sidered it of very great importance to the elucidation of the subject before them; but he did not know that, be wouil have taken notice of it but for the general prin ciple which it contained. It was an (It - der prescribing the forms to which the coronation ()faille Queen was to be celebrated, and contained thew, 1 cap remarkable words : SECOND DAY•-•.FRIDAY, JULY G. The Crunch re-assembled this 'twilling to hair the continuation of the argument in support of her Majesty's claiming to be crusv:n.d. Ttic Members of the Council present were the same who atterirkd yesterday. At about a qu•srter past ten the duets were thrown open, and in a few minutes Mr. BROUGHAM resumed his address. He recalled to their memories the statement which he mad; on Thursday, and now it would be his duty to apply the facts to the case. He had prated the coronatiim of Queens Consort to have been a .`sage throughout all ages, and in no instance • had a married King been crowned without the solemnity of coronation being ex tended to the Queen. There was on.. exception which it was his busitiest , ,lo notice—that of Cuadra 1. in which he hail a right to astAtine that particular circumstances had led to ale exexl•:io:. He contewied, however, that - THIRD DAY.—SATURDAY, DULY 7. At an early hour this ruing the avenues leading to the Council Chamber, were thronged with Str.ltivrs, 311X10t14 to hear the •ar k rument of the limg's A•tortie- General against her Nlajesty's claim to be crowned.-- Long before eight o'clock the ante-room tV4, crowded. A little .aller ten o'clock the Lid Chancellor arrived, and in a few ininittes the Q.ietai's Cuwuel Wi re called Ir. The King's Attorney-tioneral was hheb ordered to proceed, and continued with his tag 1111 l sit till a licirter after twelve, the S i!leitor G.oreral iron, and spoke iii opposition to Cite cLini tor about threw Tem,: s of an hoar. At a quarter after one Mr. 13:lindiam emotnencril reply, and co;:ciodue, shan,ters ithdreix, ihe record•keerrs from the *lower were called in.-- The Council shortly after adjourned till Tuesday, tell o'clock. 211. / .0? 1-7- ` , \ ) r r* • .