The National Register. — London, England, 1813-03-14 00:00:00

plimirmil VIE NATIONAL REGISTER. autreirticated, be again transmitted to me, and. that I might also be Furnished with the Copies of the written Declarations, so reterred.to in the Report ;• and my humble thanks are slue for your Majeaty's compliance with my request. On the 20th of August, I received in Consequence the attested Copies of those Declarations, and a Narrative of his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent ; and a few days afterwards, on the 3d of September, the attested Copies of the Exa mhtations which were taken before the Commissioners. By the copy of the Commission, a warrant which .I..have received, under which the inquiry has been prosecuted, it appears to be an in strument under your Majesty's sign manual, not countersigned, not under any seal ? It recites, that an abstract of certain within decla rations, touching my conduct, (without specifying by whem those declarations were made, or the nature of the matters toughing which they had been made, or even by whom the abstract had been pre pared,) had been laid before your Majesty, into the truth . of which it purports to authorise the four Noble Peers, who are named in it, to inquire, and examine upon oath such persons as they think fit, and report to your Majesty the result of their exam cation. • By referring to the within Decd 'ration, it appears that they contain allegations against me amounting to the charge of high treason, and also other matters which, if understood to be, as they seem to have been acted and reported upon by the Commissioners, not as evident: confirmatory (as they are expressed to be in the title) of the principal charge, but as distinct' and substantive subjects of ex,-mination, cannot, as I am advised, be represented as in law amounting to crimes. How most of the Declarations referred to were collected, by whom, at whose solicitation, under what sanction. and before what persons, magistrates, or ethers, they wire nude, does not appear. the title, indeed, which all the within Declarations, except that of Sir John and Lady Douglas, bear, viz. " That they. had been taken for the purpose of confirming Lady Douglas's statement," 't May be collected, that they had been by her, or at least by Sir John's procurement ; and the concluding passage of one of them, I m an the 4th Declaration of William Cole, strengthens this opinion, as it represents Sir joint Douglas, accompanied by his solicitor, Mr. Lowton, to have gone down as far as Cheltenhatn for the examination of two witnesses, whose declarations are there stat^d. I am. how. ever, at a loss to know at this moment whom I am to consider, or whom I could fix upon, as my talse accuser. From the cirettm- Stance last mentioned, it. 'night he inferred that Sir John Douglas, or One of them, is the accuser. But Lady Douglas, in her within De. claration, so far from representing the information which she then gives as moving voluntarily from herself; expressly states, that she gives it under the direct command of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and the Papers leave me with information from whom ' any communication to the Prince originated, which induced him to give such commands. Upon the question how far the advice is agreeable to law, under which it was recommended to your Majesty to issue this warrant or commission, not counter-signed, nor order seal, and without any of your Majesty's advisers, therefore, being on the face of it responsible for its issuing, I apt not competent to determine. And undoubtedly, that the two high legal authorities, the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice of the' King's Bench, consented to act under it, it is with the greatest doubt and diffidence that I can bring myself to ex press my suspicion of its illegality. But if it he, 'as I aim given to understand it is, open to question, whether consistently with law, your Majesty should have beets advised to command by this warrant or commission, persons not to act in any known character, as Secre taries of State, as Privy Counsellors, as Magistrates otherwise em powered, but to act as Commissioners, and tinder the sole authority of elicit warrants, to inquire without any authority, to hear and deter mine any thing upon the subject of those inquiries, into the known crime of high treason, under the sanction of oaths to be admit istered by them as such Commissioners, and to report the result thereof to your Majesty. If, I say, there can be any question upon the lega. lity of such a warrant or commission, the extrem , • hardship with Which it has operated upon me, the extr me•ptejudice which it has done to my character, and to which such a proceeding must ever ex pose the person who is the object of it, oblige me, till I am fully convinced of its legality, to forbear acknowledgtng its authority, and .with all humility and deference to your Majesty - to protest against all proceedings under it .-IEOG. • The following admonition was recommended on the 25th of January, 1807, by the undermentioned persons; who had been commanded by his Majesty to re-consider the iwhole subject, and to say; whether the circumstances which had been originally brnught before them, were of such a natui eto order any further steps to be taken anon ihetn. • The LORD CHANCELLOR, I Lord Vi•coinit HOWICK,• LORD PRESI DEN r, I Lord GRENVILLE, VY SEAL, Lord ELLEN i:aIt.OUGH, ER, I Mr, Sec. WINDHANI, • t A, I Mr. T. GRENVILLE., PETTY, MARCH 11. MESSAGE FROM THE KING, TO HER ROY AL HIGHNESS THE PRINCESS Or WALES. 44 The King having referred to his confidential Servants 'the pro.. ceedings and papers relative to the written Declarations which had been laid before his Majesty, respecting the conduct of the Princess of Wales, has been apprized by them, that after the fullest consider ation of t hei examinations taken on that subject, and of the observa tions and affidavits brought forward by the Princess's Legal Advisers; they agree in the opinions submitted to his Majesty in the oriAinal Report of the four Lords by whom his Majesty directed that the matter should, in the first instance, be inquired into ; and that in the present stage of the business, up( n a mature and deliberate view dr this most important subject, in all its riarts and bearings, it is tl.eir opinion, that the facts of this case do not warrant their advising that any further step should be talc , it in the business by his Majesty's Go vernment, or any other proceedings instituted • upon it, except such only, as his Majesty's Law Servants may, on a reference to them, think tit to recommen , t for the prosecution of Lady Douglas, on those parts of her deposition which may appear to them to be justly liable thereto. In this situation, his Majesty is advised that it is no longer ne cessary for him to decline receiving the PiNincess into his Royal pre sence. " The King sees with great satisfaction the agreement of his Confi dential Servants, in the decided opinion expressed by the four Law Lords upon the falsehood of the accusations of pregnancy and deli very brought forward against the Princess by Lady Douglas. On the other matters produced in the course of the Inquiry, the King is advised, that none or the facts or allegations stated in preliminary ex aminations, carried on in the absence of the parties interested, are to be considered as legally or conclusi"ely established. But in those ex aminations, and even in the answer drawn in the nameot the Princess,by her legal advisers, t herehave appeared circumstances on the part of the Princess,which his Majestvcotild never regard but with serious concern. The elevated rank which the Princess holds in this country, and the re lation in which she stands to his Majesty and the Royal Family, must always deeply involve both the interests of the State, and the personal feelings of his Majesty, in time propriety and correctness ot•her con duct ; and his Majesty, therefore, cannot forbear to express, in the conclusion of the business, his desire and expectation, that such a conduct may in future be ohserved by the Princess, as may fully jus tify those marks of paternal regard which his Majesty always wishes to show to every part of the R.iyal " His Majesty has directed that this Message should be transmit ' ted to the Princess of Wales by his Lord Chancellor ; and' that copies of the Proceedings which have taken place on this subject, should also be connnunicated to his dearly-beloved Son, the Prince of Wales." The Ministers, by whose recommendation the preceding " Admonition"was sent to . the Princess, shortly afterwards went out of office their• successors then reconsidered the original charges, minutes of evidence, &c. and came to the following very opposite conclusion on .those circuin stances of conduct on the part of the Princess, which gave his Alajesty such serious concern : MINUTE OF COUNCIL, Aratz. 22, 1807. YRISENT, Lord Chancellor (ELDON) I Earl BATHURST Lord President (CAMDEN) Viscount CASTLEREAG F Lord Privy Seal (WESTMORE- Lord MULGR AV E LAND) F Mr. Secretary CA NN I NG Duke of PORTLAND I Lord HAWKESEURY. Earl of CHATHAM I • " Your Ivl.ljesty's confidential servants, iiave, in obedience to your Majesty's commands, most attentively considered the original Charges and Report, the minutes of Evidence, and all the other papers sub. mittea to the consideration of your Majesty, •n the subject of those charges against her 'Royal Highness'the Princess of Wales. l --In the stage in which this business is brought under their consideration, they do not feel themselves called upon, to give any opinion as• to the pro. reeding itself, or to the mode •of investigation in. which it has been thought proper to conduct it. But adverting to the advice which is stated by his Royal Highness the Prince of \Vales to have directed his conduct, your Majesty's confidential servan.s are anxious to impress upon your Majesty .their conviction, that his Royal Highness could'' not, under such advicci, consistently with his pUblie'duty, haVe done otherwise than lay before Yout Majesty the StateMenis and Examina tions which are submitted to him upon this subject.—After the most deliberate consideration, however, of .the evidence which has been brought before the Commissioners, and of the previous examirP.tions as well as of the answer and observations which have been.submitted. to your Majesty upon them, they feel it necessary to declare their de. cited concurrence in the clear and unanimous opinion of.the Com. missionefs,. cnitirmed by that of all your Majesty's late contidetrial servants, (hit the two main charges alledged against, her Royal High. nes., the Princess of Wales, of pregnancy and delivery, arecompletely disproved ; and they further u 'nit to your Majesty their unaniinotti r; _~.., . :I LORD PRIV earl SPENCE a o i r l d gra? ~ 1: • 1:4 3