The National Register. — London, England, 1820-07-10 00:00:00

. . , b r ) , atto na l/ lit t o tr i. f t . ).-- „......._._,.._____., ~...„ . • ~.1,.... .. . i.- ~."/ , _ Our Etna, Contititution anb Tf abig. No. 1,258—V0L. XIII.] THE QUEEN. -.... Ix our last number we took a review of the mode of proceeding adopted by the advisers of the Crown respecting the Queen—we now proceed to the con sideration of the subject in the light, first, of a public, or, secondly, of a private offence; and, lastly, of the expediency or justice, in case of any offence committed (under all circumstances of the Queen's history) of seeking for any remedy out of the common course of either statute or customary law. As a publ:c offence, the crime of adultery is visited, in consequence of the great evils which might arise from a disputed succession, in case of the defilement of the royal bed upon a Sovereign's con sort, with a penalty to which tlik crime is not liable in the instance of any other subject. The protection of the common-weal is the state reason of this pro vision, and gives rise to one more, among other anomalies, which, in Monarchy under any shape (so long as it is dignified, as it now generally is, and the Monarch is not considered the responsible, as well as, after all, the - real servant of the state,) are perhaps inherent; and will ever be until the sotial compact be more correctly ascertained, and more distinctly understood: Now, as it is a state reason alone which constitutes the public crime or injury, it is the bearing of the offence alone (supposing this to be the charge against the Queen), upon this view of the subject, which ought in reason to be the cri- tenon of the necessity of prosecuting it, as a public injury; but in the present instance, the object of prosecution is past the age when it is, in the course of nature, at all probable that any public injury, arising to the succession of the Monarchy, could be the result; nor is it pretended, we believe, that any danger of this kind could arise, otherwise it would have been absurd, we had almost said criminal, in the House of Commons, as well as the Ministers, ever to have thought of an adjustment without a deli berate inquiry, at least into a matter of such great national importance. But it. is clear, from the circum stance of the House of Commons having proposed, and Ministers have supported, a plan of adjustment highly advantageous to the Queen, supposing hcr to be justly liable to the inlputation cast upon her, that this precludes the supposition of any necessity of pro secuting the supposed °Minces on the part of the Queen, as vitally affecting the state; and unless a very imperative necessity existed, wholly distinct from the necessity arising from the personal will of a Sovereign, we cannot see with what propriety ministers of state can turn away the public attention from the scenes of public distress which exist every where, and add new fuel to the embers of discontent and dislike against those who live well while other:: starve, by irritating the humus iniol with acts of which may be construed iviihood, and, cer tainly, by the passions very easily, into persecution ufa stranger, a woman, and an unprotected Queen. But it may be said, Has not the Sovereign a right the same with any private gentleman, if he can prove miscombict in his wife, to get rid of pier without reference to criminal ,iroceedings or statute provmutions? Is a Sovereign to have his civil rights extinguished merely us a Sovereign ? Certainly not. But, if it :s to become the question of a private inquiry, then, b,: ides topics of recrimination, ■pen tin' possibility of which we shall not enter, although unqucsticnably us a private injury with a view to MONDAY, JULY 10, 1820. damages (anti in this instance the mulct would alone fall on the accused wife, and not on the partner of offence), the party accused has a right to adduce these matters in palliation, if any can be brought. Besides ali this we say, would those who arc to de cide upon that which is to be in the nature of punishment upon the party accused, not look to the distressed, the friendless state in which this unfor tunate lady has been left for so many years. With a spirit above submission, and a blood from high mettle, which has raced in the veins of a long ancestry superior far to mere pretensions of royalty— with a soul raised above the petty and transient distinctions of the world, and not above stooping to the humbler walks of humanity to seek that friend ship and confidence which was vainly sought for.in the paths of greatness—we understand, from all quarters, that she is a brave and generous creature; and, if the current of the soil turned from its natural and proper channel, may have burst even the bounds of formality at least, and exceeded the cold calculations of the etiquette of the Court, front which she has been banished, there is, after all, more to pity than to detest ; there is, at all events, no fail;ng beyond that which grows of infirmity, and though we are no apologists for female indiscretions, yet would we call upon mankind to distinguish between ♦ices of hell and vices of flesh and blood alone.— Human nature prompts to sinful weakness—the devil inspires malignity and revenge—and we ask, what husband in private, having left, we were going to say committed (but we will not) his wife to the winds and tides of life, could go to an insur ance office to be repaid fur her s;tipwreck ? Not that we mean, in our comparison of vices, to insinuate any disrespect toward, or application to, the illus trious individual, who must naturally feel much irritated under all circumstances, upon a supposition that one-tenth of the charges pushed upon society as truth against the distinguished lady in question be true; but we ask, as a private injury, viewing all circumstances from the cradle to the grave of the affair, are there not such grounds for mitigation of what we may call, though not literally, damages, as to make it unadviseable fix- Lis friends:it least to bring the suit in toCuurt? Unhappy connections may subsist —they are peculiarly likely to subsist in that walk of life where the choke is too confined ; but where they happen, though we may pardon any fair attempt to dissolve them, yet we cannot but think, on both sides, all spirit of rancour should be allayed by a sense of mutual mistbrtune; and, at all events, in such a case as that of a civil injury in case of adul tery, the remedy of divorce ought to be sought, as by other subjects, in the ordinary course of law ; and though certainly a spirit infinitely strong in fa vour or the Queen exists, so as to afford a plea, per- Imps, that a fair trial might be difficult to be obtained, yet we have no doubt that by mutual con sent of both parties challenging inquiry, a jury may be arranged upon which themselves and the country might rairly rely. Lastly, let us consider the expediency and justice, in case el' oil'ence committed, of seeking for any remedy out of the common course of things. It is alleged that theve is a difficulty to proceed by im peachment, is consequence of the alleged offence being committed with a foreigner; and front the exatninatiun of Count Munster, which we hear has taken place, we should not be surprised ii something relating to a pecuniary transaction (an etknee, by r+ • -- s f ..~. [PRICE 94d• the bye, when we remember that the Queen volun. tarily gave 1.5,000 L a year out of the 50,0001. not very probable), were part of the Green Bag. But whatever the offence or offences be, they are evidently beyond the reach of any ordinary provision of law, and are to be taken up upon the general ground of affecting the character of the Monarchy, and thereby constituting an offence deserving of an extraordinary and extrajudicial visitation from the collective wisdom of the legislature of the country. Now we will broadly and flatly say, that in a Go vernment of law, an extrajudicial proceeding of this kind, upon the maturest consideration, is a pre. cedent fur the most shameless despotism, though we do not mean to say that it, in itself, is so intended, because if the time is to arrive when any part of conduct is to be construed into crime, and subjects of civil Courts are to be mixed into criminal charges, then whenever the administration can join the con. fidence, by any means, of Parliament, so as to have their word taken fur the propriety of their proceed. inns, then no one is safe; but any one who, from boldness, energy, and truth, may be obnoxious to a Cabinet like that of the Cabal in the reign of Charles 11. may easily be overwhelmed by the resist less might of legislative bodies, who, when once in a train of error or corruption, are ten times more terrible than a single despotic master,because shame, which occasionally operates upon tyrants, has no influence over bodies of men who individually share so little disgrace, and are emboldened by such numerous company, that no compunctious visitings are likely to operate upon them. Dear countrymen ! be your party what it may, we warn you to beware . of such a tremendous calamity! No horror of revolution can be so great, if ever such a state of things as that of which we warn you should arrive; and it would be better to risk almost any thing than wilfully to withhold constitutional effints, at least, against any thing which points this way. It is better that a great sinner, if such there be, should escape, than that an act of injustice should be committed, which may form a precedent the most abominable. I.et us suppose for a moment such an extrajudicial inquiry to be established into the conduct of every one of the royal family who may be subjects, without going to the .Monareli himself—would it be decent, or pleasant, or just ? Or, let us suppose that all the nubility %vim have been convicted in courts of law ot' adultery or oilier misdemeanour, should be hauled over the coals, and that a Bill of Pains and Penalties should be intro duced against them, upon the ground of their having degraded the situation of life which they hold as a trust for the good of the community ;—let us suppose all the follies, and vi es, and duels, toejambing,s and horse .whippings, which any viduul may have dime or suffered, to be adduced as matter fur a Green Bag, and solenmly laid hvfere the Parliament of the country. Sty, we M !.1 with Mr. Ilobliouse, that if matters are to pro.l in this way, that un Archbishop of Canterhory .••.1 a Lord Chancellor, having run away iih wives, may be made matter hereafter fin. a Green Bag: two events, tile recollection of which one day made the late King laugh ready to split his saes. —ln short, we assert, if the offences charged against the Queen were statutably criminal, or civilly amenable to a court of justice, that under all existing circumstances, it would he Koter not to have noticed them; but that to proceed in the pre s.:nt manner against offences nut the tisto.l of a chinge, as crime or misdemeanour, aetwilii.g to a mode adopted only in the worst of shears, is in.q•. cent, unjustifiable, oppressive, and a in..st tr.:ricns dons precedent agaiust general lili.:rty. 7 !"~"'.:a ) A L, 1 41 0 ../i• -(1