The National Register. — London, England, 1809-03-12 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. the command of his Royal 11igitness, and felt it their duty to express their full and entire approbation of its present and actual bi:,l•;C, and to impute that tiouriAling state to his Royal highness. But that the ilouse most humbly submit to his 111aiesty, that un der all the circumstaoees e t the ease, from the unbecoming. and ohappy comae% lion into which lii. Ito% al Highness had fallen, and from the direct wound which would lie given to the public morals and religion of the 'Kingdom, it %vas impossible that his Jto at Highness should co:alone any longer in the command of the army. The Spea having read this Address, which was proposed as an Amendment, • MR. Soar: t: conceived it his duty not to Suffer the proposed Address of the Hon. Gentleman to pos,, without stating; his most decided objection. Of all she sourees proposed, it appeared to him most objectionable. The flit. Gentleman had proposed ith the avowed purpose of simplviliog the case before the 'Muse, het to his opinion it went to confound and perplex what before was perp'exed and confused enough. it was quite Impossible with holy justice, he thought. to the Duke, that the House could take the step recommeoded in the first pro position of the Address, couched as this Address was, because there was eo distinct general proposition contained in it. Every thing was insinuated, hut nothing asserted positively. Scope was therefore afforded for the p:esumption that all the calum nies and criminal charges laid against the Doke, were substan tiated. For his own part, if he could believe him guilty Of one half the crimes attributed to him, he would be the first 'to carry a Bill of Exclusion to the Throne; but feeling that the grounds of imputation were utterly false, it was quite im possible he could consent to the proposition of addressing hi 3 'Majesty for the purpose of depriving his Royal Highness of the command of the army. With respect to the imputation of an 'undue influence used by Mrs. Clarke over the Duke, he contend ed, that the , paucity of the cases brought before the Ilouse was a concurring proof that such influence did not prevail to any ex tent. It would hecome the House of Commons of Great Britain to avoid failing the dupes of a popular cry, (Bear! hear!) and by discarding from their consideration the merits of so faithful :trervant to the Public, commit an act of injustice as undeserved sis it was unnecessary. Lord Fo eteseom 6, in a speech of considerable length and energy, expressed his intention to support the original Motion, proposed by Mr. Wardle. It had been endeavoured, by several l Hon. Gentlemen, to invalidate the testimony of Mrs. ('hl ke, by calling in questiln the leeality of her evidence, on the groom' of her heiug a party in a foul conspiracy against his Roxal litghness. It hail been allowed, however, by the ma jority of the Members of the House, that as a witness, she was pcifectly admieshle and satisfactory, and upon a consideration of her eb Okla e there did not appear to exist a single dllbity or suspicion ii, the troth a:td correctness of her statement. The Noofe . Lord then viten into a detail of the evident e adduced in p r i pr t as the coaree part iculeri;:i oe these facts, in w hich the reuilm.o a: it aetioni of Mrs. in coo , ceeion ith t!; Duke, aid the se..eral neeocia:ions 10 Waich was concereed, were moo conspicuous, from which, after an elaborate and able nrgn •tiirat he observed, that she was both a competent and a credible wituese. lie also adverted to several other parts of the te;ridence, which from our limits we are unable fully to state. The Noble Lord asserted, ;hat there bed beeu as many con ft.‘eiie;ions fa the ex ;dein e of Colonel theolon and Mr. Adam. as there bad been in that of Mrs. Cia;ke, and that cousiderne2-, the disadvantages under which Mrs. Clarke laboured, the length yf tier examinations, and the little indulgencies which had been ihexin her, it was only wonderful her testinemy had !mien so free hf coinradiciions and lois-statement. I pot' the whole he felt ritorouchlv convinced o: the ahsoltne guilt of hi.s Royal High eess, ilitoourahie Friend had, at the outset of his endea %ours and meritorioos task, for w hie!' it was to be we-hod he 'w old have the gratitude of the Country, was threatened in un qualified terms, that if he failed in his assertions, that most ieno minions infamy %shield he the re , mit, And the Right Honour able Gentleman who ha' made that threat. had not, Fine(' the period of its utterance, although tit ro‘vn out in the most otVensive manner, made atingle attempt to apologize for its irregularity. lie trusted, however, that it' the rtiellt ifonourable (ieottenian did not retract hi- words the intame ss ould fall on himself: The Noble Lord concluded 1,) e% pressing he, determination to give bis rote in support of the original Addrue. Mr. ADA t defended his conduct in relation to the Duke of York : and concurred in the course of peoceediegs recernutttittca by the Charctl!•:” . cf the F xeltequer, MARCII I. Mr. W. SMITH thought, that from the facts which had beeu proved, it would not be prudent to continue his Royal Highness in the command of the army. At four o'clock the House adjourned to Monday. SIR R. ABERCROMBIE'S MONUMENT, ERECTED IN Sr. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, Sculptured by IVEsrmicorr, and now beautifully engraved by WooLNOTII I will be delivered G RATIS On SUNDAY, MARCH 26, to every SUBSCRIBER and PURCHASER of THE w rATIO.VAL REGISTER. The Choice and First Impressions of the Plate to be preserved for Subscribers. It will be printed on the FINEST COPPER PLATE PAPER, SO as admit EVEN OF BEING FRAMED, and placed in a situation where the Valour and Prowess of that Im mortal Commander may be always introduced to the Recollec tion of his admiring Country. THE NATIONAL REGISTER. Lon Don, SUNDAY, MARCII 12, 1809. POLITICAL EVENTS OF Till WSEK. It is not our intention at present to comment on the De bates in the House of Commons, they speak sufficently for themselves they appeal vehemently to the feelings of every man, who takes an interest in the tranquillity and honour of his country. We have given it as our invaria ble opinion, that the Commons would act, in this unpre cedented business, with a dignity and independence, which will convince the world, that their duty as Representatives of the British Nation, is paramount to every other consi deration. So far from perceiving as yet any reason to vary in this opinion, we solemnly declare that we believe that no confront, were it even incautiously attempted, would his:o their decision in this momentous business. The Public, in this great crisis, look up with painfJl anxiety to their Representatives. Their decision will have an effect on the future happiness of the nation , which it would be almost hazardous to calculate. We will venture no opinion on the delinquency, or innocence of the ac cused; but he has unquestionably given proofs of weakness, folly and immorality, which disqualify him, in the opinion of many, for the important office he now fills. The eyes of all Europe are fixed on this investigation. The enemy attend to the proceedings with the most malicious cxul tation. They comment on the gross abuses, which have been discovered during the proceedings; and their com ments have suffused our cheeks with blushes, and filled our heart with sorrow and indignation. But we trust the termination of this business will make their triumph a short lived one. It is only our baseness which can gratify them ; our servility afford them pleasure. It is said that the accused manifests a sovereign indiffer ence for the incanlious comments of the Public, and walks about the streets of the metropolis, with a confidence and ease, which are frequently the companions of conscious . innocence, and as often the attributes of a character which sets praise and blame, surmises and insinuation, at defiance. e cannot say, on the occasion, that we envy him his feelings, but we cannot but admire the consistency of cha• racter he maintains till the last. 172 i I~