The Statesman. — London, England, 1812-05-22 00:00:00

ii /i i 1111 , r Ili' ~.. ~, .., I i 1 • . i was taken awny whom of all persons he ever knew Lr misidered the best adapted, both from talent nod affability of manner, to have the lead in that ilisesay now, that he was taken away, he would not b • di:pose/I to support the other persons with whom tut Right lion. Gentleman had acted. Every Mem ber of the present Administration, with the excep tion, perhaps, of one, had been tried before, and not found to carry w ith him the confidence of the public. He referred to the period of 11303. It might, perhaps, be said, that the persons composing Vie present Ministry were the same who acted with hlr. Perceval—such was the truth. But as Mr. Per / eval was unfortunately cut off, as the head was t tken away, he, for one, could not give that support w'tich lie had willingly given while that Hight lion. Cmtlentan was First Minister. In answer to the third question, it may, in opinion, be said, that it was not true that every effort had been made to form such an Administration as would gain the con fidence of the public. •It was true that some offers had been made to a Noble Marquis (Wellesley), and a Right Hon. gentleman (Mr. Canning), but from the terms of the proposal, it was, quite impossible that they could listen to it. That Right ;lion. Gen tleman, in his refusal of office,, acted , and his letter to Lord Liverpool was hilltly ,honourable to hidt. It wouldbe idle and 'vain to attempt the for. ' oration of any Admieistration that could' be looked upon as strong unless it were inclined. to do some thing to conciliate the Catholics. Nothing could give him more pleasure than that his effoits in the present business shinsld be• attended with some suc cess, but at all evenkslte wished that the Right lion. G-ittleman opposite should abstain as much as possi ble from any languag e that could stand in the way of such a union as would be for the good of the coun , try, and not expose to the opprobrium of the lower classes the person from whom. such oppro brium should be always removed. Itithe line of con duct he now pursued he had taken special care not to involve any person with him. He consulted with no person upon the business, nor did he even know whe ther any person would second his motion. Ile thought it may be of some consequence to come forward now 1 and declare, that there were many of . the former friends of Mr. Perceval who, he was convinced, would not support tile Administration, which it was intended to form. H.. entertained both friendship and re-pect for some of its Members, and when dif ference of opinion necessarily created a separation, should he attended with as little asperity as possi ble. lie would therefore move, " That an humble Address be presented to his Royal Highness, pray ing, that he would form such an Administration as would be calculated to gain to itself the confidence of the comitry." Lord MILTON seconded the Motion. Mr. hlyit E tuought, that a motion of this kind was unprecedented in Parliamentary history. If, in deed, the Adminis•ration were actually formed, such an Address mi A nt, consistently with the principles of the Cm:btitution, ba presented.' The ground of the molon, was'the insutficiency of the present Ad miskstration. Under the circumstances of the coun try, he Mins .If nay convinced.thet ail the abilities of all parties should be united, and the l'oblic were wow convinced hat the *amp, was mile of bring- In into the public s 'nice Vie talents of Lertain wilt persons ; but they tho4.4ht propr to refuse, ut:less &at ',Abe questions w ins conceded to them which count not be given up. tie (lid not pace much reliance en the prophetic denunciations of incapacity which tie frotro-1. :y heard in that House. Ile recol lected what Weis I.spectatio , s were formed from a set of men who were suppose: to possess all the talents of the country, and he recollected also, bow greatly such evpect , tious were* disappointed. lle ;rock! therefore more, " That the other Orders of the Day be now read." Lord MILTON said that his lion. Friend (Mr. 'Wortley) had made a motion, to which, in his mind, it was impossible not to agree. The House would not, he was persuaded, do its duty unless they ac eeded to his motion. The motion was rested on this ground, that the Administration about to be formed was not such a one as could gain the public confi dence. The Hon. Gent. who moved the Amendment thought that to move such an Address before the Ad ntiithttation wts actually formed, was not agreeable to the Co'nstitution ; but he (Lord Milton) thought it the duty of the House to interpose k hen they saw a Government about to be formed that was not likely to deserve nr to gain the confidence of the Public. His Hon. Friend (Mr. Eyr') said, that he was desi rous of seeing a Government that deserved such con fidence. That was a desire which every person must entertain ; but the men at present hi power showed, by their conduct, that they looked upon themselves as incompetent to fill, with 'sufficient ability, the duties of their situation. Their application for assist. once, much to the honour of those persons to whom it was directed, had been refu'ed. They had given such refusal not from any personal motives, but upon gnat and IMportant publicgrouods. His lion. Friend (Mr. Eyre) seemed to insinuate that they had not acted as they ought to have done; but he would ask the House, whether they could wish to see an Atln.:illstration formed of discordant prinCiples? No. thing could cootrihute more to destroy public confi dence than an Administration so formed. It was im possible to lured what would he the result of the at. ,- ion, hut whatever may be the malt of it, he thought that a mere change or men, without a change of mlasurcs, would produce nothing highly benefi cial to the country. Sir F. 1.311 it ET r agrees} with the Npble Lord Who just sat d o w n , th a t n o Change of men, without a chaitge of measures, could Ore any thing like se curity to the country. The men whb could hope to gain such confidence, should be 'men who had pledged themselves to apply the national Ti!.. sources to no other than national ehjeots—men who had made up their minds to 'Omit, without excep tion all religious persuasions to the full enjoyment of the Constitution ; and who were determined to restore to the people a full, fair, and free represen tation, vrithoOt which, in his tnitid, all other changes, were to no purpose. Ttey had seen Administrations of a!I kinds--matie up from parties; AdMinistra firths of every, species of mixture, from that of Air. l'itt dowalb that of Mr. Pot, not ornitting,tho one of Mr. Percival. There had been those Adwiiiistra. (molts, but they had invariably increased the bordello of the people, without doing any thiog for the per- THE STATESMAN. oti _____________ . _ Th ____________ ===zarainar.4 _ grounds on which the Motion vet that he should meh who had been ill thehahit of n • .. As to ! meisures which had been sanctioned I , 1 ' . • : manent prosperity of the country. - But such must , ed to vote for the Amendme nt. _ pposhig thou be the fate of all Administrations, unless there total change of system,im a be compel, nil IT aide the reins of' Govern founded on a reform is the the men wire . g F . ment, ICo those men it had also been oh . • - 1 y larliameat. of the people. That corruption meet it Wit quite Immaterial to him from what party they ' 1 . I,•t tet. that v representation had come into power by improper aed ' • . 11l '' be rooted out, with which every Ministry had been were selected. He, for one, was ready to sup- I Hone' influence. Could any such I • • ueconsti•!:. Administration hear ) 1 hampered and surrounded—a change of s e stem could port mly whatever —[ (lour, . o eectio n he r•• 1 4 ]. to those who were now Ministers) They • ' Ll' c. . only elect this which was so necessary for the saris. —that evinced by its conduct that it had the public !very men who lus.l h mere tat been conthietin g for ans y.. Ron of the country. Such being his sentimente,he , beitefit in view...et/fear, hear I] !the Government of the router • ' mote, • ''." could not approve of the Address, because it did not i Parliament sencitieied :ir in, ao Y e'c 1 i• et a mane h I 1..1t go far enough; it pretended to remove evils, but! ~ o .e..m.1 ~ i; • it the Honourable Mr.WARD admitted, that if the he believed, had also 0 • • ' lnd L. !' m epprieeeten of the only went to extirpate mere specks from the surface motion were in aniiii ltvaidle - to the CoteeiitutiOn rAc. , ..int,., y . , I Bto himself he had toil:30, that fr-mcireu-n ' ".' of an excellent Constitution. But the Address, any tempory ad v a n t ag e th a t m ight be derived from it ; with which it was usitseces,a• wto 'i oubl- . ""c " the floi,s e however, had been opposed on extraordinary grounds. ought to be forgone, in or d e r that our constitutional :be did not form a part of the'nea Ail e' •' tl' . i .tie, ratoo • An Honourable Member (Mr. Eyre) had told them, , principles might be preserved enti re . He, however, :He must state, however, in answer t•• as Ho iG . that it was wrong in Parliament to give au advice i could not agree that it was necessary to all precedent, i tl ema h (M e . W ar d) t h at the efforts made to it; en' • to the Sovereign touching the choice of Ministers. , and a viola - Hon of the Constitution ; and if ever the r e , th e s t rengt h o f the Governments anti the pe re c , ( l c i t s e e Wrong forsooth ! It was wrong in that Member's were a time when the advice of Parliament respecting that effect; were made eith th e c t mast e,ta:••,' ltd eyes, aye and unconstitutional too, that the repre - an Admi nistration was necessary , if the prh liege of was convinced that the Right Hon. Gentlemaiir. (J r. sentatives of the people, whose great busineis it was ' addressing the Sovereign were not to be denied alto- Canning) could not say, that h e b e li twe d t..at ti c to tell their Sovereign what he could not know by . ether, it was th e p reeen t . Thi s was a ti me o f great was any insincerity in the o ff er. As to the part c; l any other means • difficulty and national danger, and the Admi. difficulty which prevented the. Right li on . G ee; , it was wrong, they now were public dif told, to pray of him to form a strong and efficient: nistration which had to conduct affairs at such an man f: um accepting !he offer, those trio in tee it Administration, his present servants not possessing ! eventful and important crisis was one of acknow- certainly did not consider the' it woeld have bee r; the confidence of the people. But such a practice : lodged weakness.—[lleac, /rear I .] This was a d- insuperable obstacle. As t o th e (p l a i nts% whic:i 4hno was not unconstitutional ;on the contrary, it was ! matted on all h an d s —it was the general feeling of , had recently delivered on the Catholic question, sal agreeably to the practices of the Constitution in the i the country. With such a glaring fact before their ! the notice of a motion he had given upon that sob. best of tunes, as well as in the most perilous. By ; eyes, critically sit u ated t o e as was the country, with , ject—they supposed that he might have tolghl i t what other means could a Sovereign get at the truth respect to its internal situation, and external rela- !unnecessary for him to make suet: a motion if helve of the real situation of our afiairs, and by What thane, was not thi s a ti me when they ought to . ad- :came a Member of the Government, as iii that eee Delver movie could he übtain a knowledge of the real , dress the Prince Rege n t, if they might add r es s hi m !b e wou ld h ave opportunities of calling the a tt ent i mt !value of his eervantsy if that House, if Parliament ;at all I—, But without reverting to the general feel-1 of his colleagues to the subject in the Cabinet, whet. were not permitted to address him on such important lug of tae country as to the weakness of the present • ever he' judged proper.. If that point of iliff•rea ce subjects, surrounded as the Sovereign generally was 1 Administration, what was the universal opinion of it had then been his only objec . tion to j• i ftheAdministra. by courtiers and parasites, who were interested in lbefore the calamitous death of Mr. Perceval ?• Why, : tion, it was natural to supeose that it mi l eit have thus con c e aling the trut'h from him ? Such a privilege that he was the main support of it—and even the ' been removed. lie understood him, h o , ceeey, ye. was of the highest value to Parliament, and of the friends of that Right Honourable Gentleman were 1 cently to have taken, up the opi n i oa that th ose c ie most important consequence to the country. Such a ! wont to maintain, that his talents and his character ; tholic claims ought to be brougia forwent a , : Govern. practice was constitutional, it was identified with the ' were such, that they were sufficient to cure the, de- ment measures by the Mininistration of the day,._ Constitution so much, that its preservation, and ,the , feels of all the parts of the Administration. lie :He must say thatit WAS Much to be regrett.aL • th a t stability of the Government, depended on th e exist- had been withdrawn, and it would be bat an ill corn- the Government had not been able to acquire hunk.. ence of such a privilege. As to the Address, he • pliment to his memory, if his friends 'were now to cession of “rongth of which they were so desirous; had already said that it did not go far enough ; but, . maintain that the present. Administration could go but still tee eropositiou had been made with th e lg . with respect to a mere change of Ministry, which on when the main support wns gone. 13at pos. ' wren sine :H,: on the part of Governmcnt; He had was its professed object, such a change would do ; siley they should be fold that an attempt had, In his possessiot e an explanation of the sentiment s c f nothing for the country, unless an enlarged and li- i been made, without success, to strengthen the present !the Admittistreti , no n this particular poi n t, w hi c h beral policy were determined on. Something mere ' Administration. True—but what sort of au attempt ! bad been laid before the Right lion. Centlemau,a u e than a mere change of men must he obtained, or the, was it ?—[llear !]--It was like the attempt made : which he did not think it necessary for him no w to country could not be benefited. If, however, the Ad- three or four months ago, with this exception, chit state. lie thought, however, that the Adminat ra . dress were a mere aatack on the present arrangement i the recent offers were more inadmissible, more iesiii- • emu now forming, ought not to be presumed alto. he thought it might be retorted on them with some' core, and more disgraceful than those made on a gelber inefficient to carry on the business of the c o u n . show of truth, that they had not yet been tried— former occasion.--[f/car, hear-U.—To have acceded try, when it was recollected that there was at th e that the present men had not had an -opportunity of , to the recent oilers would have demonstrated, that ! head of our Couticits, a Noble Lord (the Earl of Li. showing whether they were competent or incompe- . mere place was all that was wanted, for acceptance : verpool), whom Mr. raft, about ten years ago, d e . tent. The Noble Lord, who was to take the lead in !of them would have been obtained by a total sateen- clared•to be, in his 0e...i0n, equal to any individ u al that House, might be found as competent to carry on ' der of principles—of all those principles which had of the opposition i.i talents, integrity, and character, the affairs of the country, as he now was to vie with ' induced the individuals in question to act hostilely with the exception wily of Mr. Fox. When such a every body else in the estimation of the nation. Con- 1 to all the measures of the present Administration.— man was placed at the heat! of, our cousreils, he gaff sideriog the subject however as he did, he thought it i The offors were such they could not but be refused— no ground far despairing of the efficiency of the Gu. was incumbent on that House, from the peculiar si- ! acceptance of them could never have been contem- . vernment. tuation of the country, to approach the Prin:e. Re-1 plated.—[//car, hear !]—They were of so abhorrent: Mr. CANNING ca .1. that it had been his wish gent, and in language at once firm and respectful, to i a hue—of so insulting and degrading a character, ! and his inteutioa not e. eave..troubled the II Inge up. call his attention to the internal and external situa- that had the individuals to whom application was :On the present q.l •1i,•11. it waq not be- vise he tion of the nation ; to impress on his mind the abso- made, accepted the invitation held out to them, the thoughtebatehere was ;tee thina'ia Cie g . ,::rat pro. lute necessity of conciliating a great portion of the : exertion of ever such great talents as they possessed e position brought befoie the Reuse witice included cinpire—l; land; and, above all, to tell him that : for the course of a long life, and that too with the him ; or which would make it imeroper forhisu to there was ;great dissatisfaction throughout the land, in; most enviable success, would scarcely have been so ' speak to the general qu:stion, wh ..;ter rho Ilooset consequence of the present calamitous situation of' . successful as to redeem their 'character, for having should or should not address the t•rilice iteeeeit, far affairs. It was right that he should be made ac-' abasedcined' their principles in the estimation of the . the purpose of obtaining an elicient A ore iie me t re (painted with these important and awful truths ; and, : country. Anxious, however, as they were for the for the country in Runes of Bile 1.1 .tir;,•tty .1,•! ih • pre. if the Privilege of Parliament to Address the So- ' well-being of the State, they knew that character was ' sent : the reason which made eine f A noel ;i g to vereign were not to be denied them altogether, he' strength, and determined to preserve their own.— , speak on the present necasiila, wis, tee far that could not coeceive an occasion where the exertion of ; Offers, it was true, had been made; but it was also whatever might be slid by him, would pessibly be it would he more proper than the p r ese n t p er il o us i true that they were rejected. Contemplating the conceived by some Gentlemen a: In•••ree•!isig from mo neat. He, however, not deeming the Address to' weakness of the present Administration, lie could not i personal feeling,—from the result ;.1' an appieation go nu- enough, firmly believing that nothing but a but suppose that such offers as had been made, were ; which had recently been made to lain. flit tied, change of system would benefit the country, had in- : made solely with the view of affording to Ministers • therefore, been very unwilling to deliver his sce•ti tended to move an Amendment. e 1 the opportunity of removing all odium froni them- ! meats on the present occasion : but when he hail hem _ . The SPEAKER stated, that the motion already before the House being covered by an amendment (that of Mr. Eyre), the Hon. Baronet's could not be pot until the previous motions had been disposed of. Sir F. BURDETT then read his Amendment, to give the House an idea of what he had intended to move. It said in effect, that it was highly necessary to listen to the distresses and complaints of the peo ple, for the purpose of redressing them ; that the re sources of the country ought to he applied to na tional objects; and that, above all things, theris ought to be a reform in Parliament, to give to the people a full, fair, and free representation. Mr. WILBERFORCE could not approve of the Address, because it went to attack a most valuable prerogative of the Sovereign, that of being free and uncontrouled fn the choice of his Ministers. Deem ing the Address an intrenchroent upon a great consti tbtional principle, he certainly should resist it; and be trusted that the house would not be induced to set so dangerous a precedent. But it seemed' as it the Ministers who might be appointed by the Sove reign, were now to be called on by Parliament to' give some pledge; to tell them their opinions • to ; state to the House what measures they intended to! pursue; and, in fact, to undertake to follow a givenl line of conduct. Were they really so far to depart • from the Constitution as to set such a preeedehir He spoke not from party motives, and he thought the present attack premature. The House was' called on to prescribe to the Prince Regent to form a strong and efficient Administration ; and coupling, the speech of the Mover with the Motion, it appear.. ed that this proceeding was attempted to be, justified: on these _grounds ;—first, that expressed • in the motton ; secondly, that the present Administration was not such a one as ought to be desired ; and thirdly, that proper means had not been . re sorted to for the purpose of obtaining such an Administration. Now, what information had Par, liament 'before it to justify the adoption of these points? It had none; there was no information be fore it that could justify it imacting as if proper mea sures had not been resorted to to form a strong and efficient Administration. There had appeared in aome of the Newspapers certain doctr.pents on this point, but he very much snspected their authenti city. They, however, could not justify Paitament in such a proceeding, inasmuch as they were not prop-rly before them. On other occasions, Papers had been moved for.to justify the propostd preceed ing ; but in the present instance, and the fact was a wonderful one, information had not baen deemed necessary to justify the Motion. They were called ou to make a most serious and dangerous intrench ment on the Prerogative of the Crown, without !LlN kr previously grounded themselves on l'arliamentar, information. So narrow and untenable were the selves, on its being said that no attempt had been made by Government to strengthen the Ministr).— As to any argument, that the House ought to wait till it eaperienced some measures of the new Admi nistration, knowing what they did of the men, it would be quite specious. The situation of the coun. I try was such, that they ought to have men at the head of their Couucils, who had been tried in public stations—who had established a character in the 1 country ; therefore they ought to address the Prince ' Regent. Recent events established one important fact, namely, that the present system of the Govern ' ment was not so very eacellent—that it was such, : all the splendid offers of place, and all the proffered blandishments of a Cdurt 9 were not sufficient to al ! I lure individuals of high character, and of acknow- I!edged talent, to the support of it, nay, the .Govern -1 Ment was reduced to that situation, so wretched was' the policy that it ts as pursuing, that it could not get l even ordinary support. 'The present Government !might jtisly be called the _Anti-Catholic Administra tion, the only merit of which was, that it had in creased its strength by gaining to itscl the co-opera , tion of one Noble Lord (Castlereagh). Under all ! the circumstances, he could not hut approve most tcnrilially 'of the, Address, as must the House, he • iliought v exce2t it was ready to crinew te ' a mast Ala& - 111/. . .411 : 11ethe syslemlsTiliveurrtism. .. Lord WALPOLE opposed the motion for an Ad dress, as did Mr. HERBERT, they consideringthat it went to Make a dangetoui attack . di the preroga. I tire of thi.Crowo. Mr. RYDER. thought that the proposition, if • ; adopted would be a violation of one of the most im. I portant and fundamental prerogatives of the Crown. The lion. Mover had presumed, that neither those I I who had been at present nominated, or those whom I 1 it might be in conte m pl a ti on t o nominate, could by any possibility form an efficient Administration, and i therefore wished Parliament to interfere before the Administration was actually formed. Ile thought I the lion. Gentleman ought to have brought torivard i some precedent before he proposed such an extiava- ! gant measure. In that case which had been alludNl ! to, 'Mr. Fox had not brought forward any motion to I interfere with the exercise of the lto}al Prirogittivnl in the appointment of an Administration ; but his I proposition was merely for addressing his Macy not to dissolve Parliament previous to the fawn of the new writs on the appointiaent of Ministers.... f'oen then he apoligzed 'for bringit:g !'u....vard such a motleitin the absence of Mr. Pitt : uul vet in those times, which were times of great heat and irritation, no finch motion as the present had beim made. The cir.: c:irnstances of the case were then different; for an Affmitiistration had been dismissed, who had Ewe.. uniformly supported by great majori!it., i.i Parl:a meat, and g uew.Admiuistration had been formud of so particularly ca:led upon by his Right Mei. Friend (Mr. Ryder), he thought be &;h( appear waeting in respect both to him and to the House, if ha did not answer the call which bad been al pointedly made upon him. His Right lion. Friend, however, must Igive !.im leave to say, that this call appeared to him to be somewhat unfairly made upon him. Ali Coat had passed upon the occasion alluded to, Fad, by common consent, been reduced to wliting, in order to avoid the possibility of mistake tiro,' the subject. If, then, he was placed at the bar of his country to answer for his conduct upon that occasion, he woull Irefer to the written paper as the record upon which I his defence was rested. rinse who would not allow i him to rest his defence on this writtou paper, might 1 take'the technical advantage, the unworthy advantage I (as it appeared to him) of that ebjection which had 'I been suggested by the Right Hon. tri,mber far York shire (Al r'.W.), that such a pa per was not regularly be fore Parliament, and.therefore could not be f)ro pe rty referred to. He had to comel.iin of hi• Right lieu. Friend for travelling out of l'• ! ! . ,?cord, for not confin. ing his observations to whatepp?: , reel on the face of the 'Viper, bat calling upon him to answer other points 1 which were not in it. It had made it necessary for him to de, what was most alien to his feelitegs; and l is siefendiaglis own conduct, he should final it Im possible to, ovoid contrasting it with that of others - upon this point. His ;light Uou. Friend, in spiels ing of' the sincerity of the proposal, had teled `whether, if he had .accept;cl the proposal, and joie eel the Administration, he should not still have con ceived himself at liberty to speak or vote upon t hat point as he judged proper? Undoubtedly he should have considered himself at liberty so to do: if li' .vas contented generally to light against those prin~ ciPles, which he had decidedly avowed, under the bannets of those who were-decidedly hostile to them; he certainly might have made his solitary speech, or .given his solitary eeet, wherever the question was. 1 brinielit fOrsiard hi Parliament —[/ leer. . 11:(ti• n 1 1, INO would not say but. that there we-re-Alum o rable I .' Men who might have thought that this wa:; se ill-ient ; !'but his mind was not'of that construction, Heron'' I ceived, tIMt it was his duty to give whatever of iv illiteneo or authority he possessed to the attnieuncat I of measures which he. considered of the ittimyt l!V purtauce. Ile hoped•that the ilotse, would near is I mind that those words were arusig from him, nd that it would. be most. painful fur him, when ( :: , p a ito . pstify his own-conduct, to app er as if IP * O3 t-htow. : ng a I npntatio;m%on others. 11'e al:nwed t wat ... it Was the executive Prerogative of Co. C awn to 1 I point its Ministers; and that' hefere. Pao.iam .et in ierfered with respect to the exercise cf t h is r,: WO' tire, the case must he strong amid urgen t . Geode .nen should, however, re-ollect that tine line..., of •Commons stood in - a double • capacity. It w as not I A I s, , ji! I z~. i 1 t I I ~~~~ i