The Sun. — London, England, 1807-06-27 00:00:00

NUMBER 4012.] IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE" OF COMAIONS, FRIDAY, JUNE 26. Soon after oneo'clock the Speaker took thethair, - when the Administration of the oaths -wasproceed ed with. • About three o'clock the Usher of the Black. Rod, in the name- of 'the Lords, • autho 'rise& by. virtue .of his Majesty's CoomiiSsion, • desired the attendance of that Honourable HoUSe in the House of Peers. ikccordingly the Speaker, and all the Members present; immediately attend ed.. On their return a number of other. Members were sworn. At four o'clock the Clandestine Outlawry Bill was read a first time, pro forma, and ordered to be read a second time. On the Motion of Mr. Rose, the Grand Com mittees of'Religion, of -Cotirts of Justice, of Trade, &c. and the Committee of Privil , 2ges, were ap pointed, The Standing Orders of the House were read and agreed to. .• THE KING's SPEECH. The S'PEAKF.a then aCqbainted the House,. that that House had been in the House of Peers, where the Lords'authorised by his Majesty's Cimmission bad delivered a Speech to both Houses of Parlia;. menu, of which, to prevent mistakes, he had ob tainid a copy. [W e gave the Speech in Yesterday's Paper.] Viscount ATE,WiIIiK rose and said -- " Mel Speakers—iu'risin. to move en Address of Thank's to his Majesty"forhis roost gracious Speessh from the Throne, I cannot but feel a considerable degree of solicitude and. embarrassment, from the apprehension of my not being able to acquit myself as I ought in. the arduous task I : have nodertekett. Conscious as I am, that 1 hava: but little pretensions to 'warrant me in such an act 01 presumption, as that of troubling, this House with my sentiments,. I feel more peculiarly the lime of this difficulty, when •I. have to address you on a cluesoon winch may pro bably occasion a very important and interesting. dis cussion. Thisconsideratioe, Sir e would have prompt ed me cilejline,the honour I now have..of pre senting myself to, your notice, had Ie not besets; .encouraged by the indulgence uniformly ; shessa• `by. this, House to every: Gentleman who has: offered himself under my circumstances ; by the-in dulgence :which - indeed I messli have more: than . once experienced, and - which I shat ever-most grate-: fully keel and. acknowledge. IrVitli this impression on my mind, I "shall not; Sir,- presume to trespass long on the patience of the House, I beg leave to call its attention to the leading points of hiseMa jesty's most gracious Speech, aud to requeseits con rence in the Address of Thanks I shall have the toeour to move;„ It is unnecessary for me, .Sir, to enter . at any length into the circumstaeces•which to the Dissolution' of tile last Parliament, as those circumstances have -repeatedly beep discussed in this llouse, and are_now become the subject of public notoriety. I am _the more disposed to avoid any such discusSion, as it must necessarily involve . points . on which I am aware there is a great difference of opi nions: His Majesty has, in his eviedOin, thougheit expedient to avail himself of the only constitutional mode of colleiting the sense of his People, by,- dis solving Al* "late - Parliamept, and by , - callieg ; that which is now convened. By this measure e this House . is now become the organ of expressing the public opinion ; and / trust we shall, if not by our unanimous vote this night, at least by a considerable majority, prove, not only our affeetionate .attach mentte his Majesty's Person and Government s but 7 iis - O - to those sound constitutional principles ex pressed, as they have,been, in the .many loyal and dutiful Addresses presented at the toot of the Throne. The Country, Sir, has; beyond all question,•shesen its 'determination tosupport his-Majesty in the ex ercise of the rightful Prerogatives of the Crowns'end its his efforts to withstand every unconstitutional , in novation. Need j advert, Sir, in support of lily argument, to'that recent instance of his.patriotistri, to that paternal' solicitude and regerd for the best in terests of his Protestant. Stibieds, which has endei ed him to us more than any other ael of his long and eventful reign ? While this, Sir, is fresh in -cur re- cojleaion, can this House withhold its. tribdteeof gratitude to him for having thus approved himself as the watchful guirdian of our constitutional rights,, " and as the faithful and patriotic Sovereign of a loyal and affeelionate People ?. • BissMsjesty, t)_,cing ex pressed to us his solicitude to cult iv lte among his. Allies on the -Continent that mwmal good under standing and confidenc,e so essential to the success of the common cause, next calls our attention to his inefleEtual attempt to mediate between'RuSsie and the Porte, and to the hostilities with the latter Power, in which it has been the necessary cause of itiVolving hith. He laments, as we -have all to la 7 ment, in two Unfortunate instances, the failure of the gallant efforts of his Navy and Army, and the. loss of so many of his brave and valuable Sobje&s. These reverses are, I trust, but partial and temporary; and it would be in vain to hope for uninterrupted suc cess, in F o extensive a scaleell military operatiosis as that in v hich we are engaged. His Majesty next appeals to the - loyalty and zeal of his. faithful Com mons, for their furnishing such farther.. supplies as may be necessary for the public service; and ex presses his cons iellion of the necessity of; a careful and econowical'administration of them. • I am will ing to flatter myself, and 'moreover to believe, that the same - laudable principle will inffnence the con- . dtia of his Alajeste's confidential .Survanis ; and am happy to hear, that those inquiries into the pubhe expenditure, which were I rose,:eted in the last Par liaments will be revived in this. I shall now, Sir, detain the House no longer with my.observations, than while I make a remark on the conclusion of leis Majesty's Speech. He calls 'ou us to cherish amour otuseivea a Ipirit of union duu harmony ; and . . j 11 I. 1,--, 1 . 4,- TURD_II . . _ when, I would ask, was ever sucn a suggestion more seasonable, or' more Itnpressive ? :We- have still an arduiitiS*confli6l to sustain, we - hate to withstand and counteract the hostility of t powerful, inveterate, acid rancorous foe ; apd, haVe - surely. need of all, our united 'energies for the attainment of a secure' and honourable peace.",-- - His Lordship, atter.thank ing the House for its indulgence, concluded by: moving it concurrence lb the Address of Thanks to his Majesty, which he read, and which, as usual, reiterated the sentiments of the Speech. Mr. HALL seconded the - Motion 'for the Ad-• dress. Although . the Noble Lord had anticipated him in most points, he would •shortly submit to:the. House the considerations' which induced him to do . so. parliament had been assembled ataiti important crisis theCeuntry looked with extreme anxiety to the result of their deliberations. They were called upon to discuss suhje&s of the Utmost con Sequence ; and by their wisdom and judgment tO give died - and.: direetion -to the exertions of the people, !as Well - as . to: secure and augment their constitutional rights.— They were also called, upon to exprees their sense,of the firmness withesvhieheinider peculiar difficulties; his Majesty had asserted thejtist rights of the.Coe stitution,, and of those Establishments! which were the foundation of- our civil and religiotis The prerogative which his Majesty had 'recently, ex ercised was one of the most important that belong ed to the Crown . ; and. the proPriety of its exercise could be estimated only by ‘ a deliberate consideration of the necessity by, which it was demanded. Und4r a due senseof political and religiOus censiderations, his Majesty felt himself compelled firmly to combat those whom he had but lately called to his councils, and to oppose his veto to the measures which they were desiretts of introducing. But this was not all ; it had, beeii said in ;another • place,: that the .King could hive. no. conscience but what 'was in the keep ' iiig of his confidential Ministers,. What monstrous conclusion, was to be drawn Irom.this'extraOrdinary assertion ? ..The voice of the people had been enfti ', ciently expressed by the general concurrence, diaated Addresses to his Majesty from every-part of the Kia“done. The'measure proposed brthe• late • Administration was uncalled for and unwise.- trn. called for, because it had been: lately discussed, -and rejeCted by a ~large, majoritrof,Parliament ; unwise, because it tended to raise hopes, which couldneither • be realized nor disappointed; The refusal of his NU jesty to accede to Allis measure prevented •thegradual abolition. of those laid-narks in the -Constitution,- which , were. necessary for its existence. , in this Country, there must be a religiousHdistinaien, alfd the Catholics Must be contented with the share of .political, power which - they tiow' enjoy and, theretare, by 'the measure which they pro posed, the late Ministers lost the confidence ,of the King, and, as,it immediatelpappeared, terfeited the aperobatiou of the HouSe. His Majesty hassince . had recourse to the abilities of .those who had. been immediately conneaed with that great Statesman,- whom he cOuld not but consider as abeeonlV pilot to other-Ministers; that man who, amidst all , the dan gers by which be.vas surrounded, rose in firmness - -in proportion to the .exigencies of the times, and left. that Constitution which-he Joked and proteeted; Unimpaired by the attacks of either foreign or do mestic ides. To those who long fought under his banners, , the Country must now look for direa'ion. Th 6 had advised his Majesty to refer to the general sense -olthe People, in order that they might present themselves to 'the enemy as possessing thesionfi dence Of - a brave nation; and to the Allies of Great Britain, as reatly to afford them the necessary su p- . port.' By, the promptitude of their measures, they' had already shewn themselves adequate to the duty in which they had been engaged. By such niea sures alone could etfect be gi% en to any negotiation which might lead to a_successful termination of the present contest.. 'Yet, notwithstanding all that he asserted,. the Dissolution- of the last Parliament had 'been attributed to the earnest desire of his Majesty's late Ministers, to smother the labours of the Corn= zuittee of Finance : ; but his Majesty's Speech proved . that they were .as much interested in the continu-, ance of that Committee . 44 rite Gentleme n - o p pos i te , 'So-farfr s om„.wishing to mother • it, they advised.his; .Majesty ,to applaud the institution of it by. the last Patliatatenf, - and to recommend that it should he re . newed e by, the present. Under all these circhin starces'„; be was not bigotted enough-to expect that this Address would be unanimously' acceded to, but. 'he called on the Gentlemen opposite, who had 7 quitted the helm of State, to feel fOr the situation of the Couptry. • The people were duly sensible-of the justice of the:cause in which the Country was en gaged, 'and he had no doubt that they, would cheer fully submit to the sacrifices, that would be neces sary for the prosecution. I.le trusted their efforts might be etrettually diretled to secure the advantages' which we already possessed; and to - enable us- stte cessfully. to, oppose that system of aggression which ' threatened the downfall-of every independent State in .Eurepe. In this object all parties were equally interested. Our. COuntry was at stake; and he trusted that but .one opinion could exist with regard to the exertions necessary for its defence. The SPEAKT,II having read the - Address, • . . Lord HQ (KICK declared; thit before he required of toe G'einlemen opposite some exposition_ of their opinion; as,to thesituation ()tithe Country at home and abroad, and something in explanation of those—... e wbat' shatildhecall them ? charges and insinuations;- there were in his. Majesty's Speech itself, as. well as in, the speeches of tbe Gentlemen' opposite, andpar ticularly of the last, passages so extraordinary, that, even in this stage of the debate, he could not defer calling, the attention of the House to them, and de manding the justice, which his Majesty's late Mini sters had a right to claim, namely, that if those pas sages- were Meant as, charges, they should' be _fairly 'brought foewardre that if as insinuations, they -shoUld bt ir 6 de oe4f , 'life Noble. Lord. by Wr Ito In the • • • : - Ly- • k /.-..="5i..1. - - - 4;:r - . ._ /,.%-, 4 . AWL , • • --.:- ig ei - v- - _.. -‘", i ' ! r ..4! •. . . .k. • Nile,. IL , • 1 . . `.. . -- --- 0: 1 :1 1 ) --- tf:11. ) ." •ra . , , *- 4 .%i -'-' . .. 4.7. , • . ' ... r r ' 0 , t PRICE Sii"E‘, CL - . inconvenience ;'IX-ithi - espea topublic business,many 1.., useful measures had been depending on the Dis 7 soihtion ; some might be resutned,; others could Inot, The Reversion Bill - was . one,' perhaps, which might .again be brought . in. His N,)ble Friend' Financial Plan,. good faith to the public credlot• demanded. should ' be . sPeedily . drieussed- and re rnewed. With respect to the Finance Cornm. - tee; the Hon. Seconder seemed to be suriarke,t-..- . . nisters should be supposed to have any wi,. Inquiry.. :Withont iritpUting to the Ministers any . such wish, this he knew, that the Dkso:u...,n ;Li p.eded the of the meeting,.atid tha, ,v i r likelihoOd of its labours being .eornpleted in th, , sent Session.' It was . a Corn mit tee pflnquiry ; •.. . . . . . . ' if many new - Mernbers should'be added to it, t; -y would, perhaps, not arrive at the result which the. I laSt 'Committee had reached,, without a fresh investi ! gation of the evidence: As the. CoAltflitte waSlo'be revived, he - trusted Iliat'as nearly as' could be, the same 3.l6triberS would 'be appoi n ted,. - . and. thA t they would be'chosen openly by ballot ;sin this case, fLey might, . perhaps, • prosecute the ' . citief objee - ts .of their ine i ttiry with - erfeCti, notwlt hnanding . 'till?. se ; vire ilWrruptioti which -they , had experieT':ced.—. With respect to the Members of which 'the Coel tnfitee was to be conip ,swig ,>oi'ne . ' Etat bad been lately developed in the'qteport of •thei..: l 6intniSsioners of Witary Inquiry; whtch'mie;ht render necessarysome change in the stibje . 3l,. Still more, on the 27ib of April, Parliament waS dissolved ;on the !I-it!! of April there had been alarming accbunts lid on the table, of the finances of the East India Company: What" the Gentlemen opposite purl:4%M to do,' be - knew not.' It" - 1)... 1 . been in the .Coia t templatiott of 't hiS Majesty' s', Ministers, .to propOse sumoexPe- - dient by vihieli the - Company- might have been re= lieved without imposing 'any additional 'burdens - on the people. -The proposition having been . • ni: - Kle',...it Might. have remained . .a 'subjeA for consideration until . the. next Session of Parliament ; but by the course which ' his Majesty's present' Milliners'. puiued,''l.4. not proposing any tiic 1i.:4 - .eil, rid thus by allowing no time for, inve.ittiOtion;, they: : 'had reduced therriselves to the neccssity'c,f bi.loptitig, , at.present,alMoSt any thing which orferi itself. With regard tothe state of Supplies at the Dissolution, the :-necessary :votes for the dirK!rent s(O. - vice, ktiid the: 'sangtion. : which . hiS Noble Friends 'had ob:.au.ed; ;hearly set' that' subje.a. at' rest ; hat - still ' fhe li•islt.' Thoney hills had not'been passed, ant - the ebrlse- .. , quence,`Was., that there . was not ;toss - st!: - €le:it time ; to pass thosellill.,(the Itish Custein ?iii_ in part i.. cular), :Consistent I.l7ith" those 'forms Ivhjeli i.trlia- :rent had -wisely .provided, and .w,hicii . never yet had been departed fr-'4O, - 'Either the Colle.Aiol Of ,that ' . part of the. reVenneAlist b' stlipented, or•Ge f* or, 'of P'arliamen't`Must -be -violated a 6r - can:Stance -whichlie!krOtiflidepreeated. SlibUldMini,terS take -upon iliernselys to e . ollea without the au.t.horny of It . i.vi - it tax on the People'of. Irßnid, th'ey woLiki be hig;ily reprehensible. At the.DisSolutiop ton, none of .ttlesuins . whiehhad'been Yote4ibc 'the ptibtic Ser.; ' :'-vice were approp . rl;tted, for no Appropriation AEt h a d . . 'been passed. \Vithout such au -Act, by a solemn , t . .. . principle of the ConstitutiOn,he appltcation of those i ;sums to' partiCular services- was not . constitutional .or legal. 'He readily allowed that.theretnight be situ { , ations in which a Government ought to it without I. the support ()flaw, when a State service required its . :suspension ; but then these situations must be un- . , foreseen and inevitable. • : It a IVlinistry,witb their eyes._ open, placed themselves in .a.sifnatiOn in which, on . : the one hand the late Must be broken, or on the . other the •COUntry must be endangered, the exercise of their discretion,' in such a:case, called for the most , solemn consideration of Parliament ; and, 'if they en-. , tertained his feelings on the subject , with a-view , to .1 the punishment of the- delin9nents., .And for what purpose had all these mischiefs peen occasioned ? The Hon. Seconder stated, thtit an attempt had been. • Made by the late Ministry to force the conscience of_ ,the King=an assertion completely unfonndjd in f a d.: Having declared that there were ads of the'Royal 'Prerogative which were, personal i and unadvised, and; having thus brought' his Majesty into a state ofresponsibility, the Honourable ,Gentletnan main- -tained, that the late, Ministr3Otad arraigned the. King, and had' asked the ;House of .Cornnions to pronounce him guilty or not guilty. While he possess'el „the - power of speech, he 'would pro tea against a principle so fattitl . to liberty of de bate, 41 that upheld "by . the Hon.- Gentleman. If the House -were canvassing any proceeding.of rernment, 'were they to be stopped 'by being told, that it was the . a& not of the Ministry,' but of the Monarch ?, If SO, then farewell to all liberty of de liberation;sand farewell to the personal security of the Monarth himself ;- for however convenient such. a dodrine.might.at the Moment appear, ,the come ' qnences of it .were too obvious to need illustration. • A Dissolution of. Parliament must alWayS be incon venient, and at . .that period,of the Session at which the late DisS'olution.took plate, more inconvenient than at any other. In the interesting Debate on this AlbjeCf, whiCh took' Place-in the year'lß64i, an opi nion. was quoted of Lord 'Somers's, that leis Ma jesty, during a Session of Parliament,,. had no power to dissolVe Abe Parliament. With the htimility - which was due to -the abilities of.such an.able LaIN yer, and such a great Statesman, he confessed that he differed greatly from Lbed S,omers on this point. The strongest necessity might, in his opinion, exist for a Dissolution during a Session of Parliament, hami.- ly, such, a clifferetice between the two HouSe , , as. should impede' the.progress of public business. Stia however this assertion of Lord Soiner§'s was sufficient to shew the extreme, hiconvenience that resulted from a Dis4blution in the Midst of a Ses - sioil; • and that such a measure ought not to beresorted to. .without the most urgent necessity. ' Now .Whift ceSsity existed in the present instance ? 'n,:i.,:11 - 676, • Seconder declared, that the. Lite Miiirsters p6sed.measures replete - rvith chin,,ier to the Protest: tit Establishment. What then ? ThOse Ministers bad J.k.-N.E 27, 1807. AddresS Wes proposed, and the Honourable Gentle man, by, whoill it waa seconded, had .coticluded. their s'peeCh . es in the saint. way in which his Majesty's. Speech corn:hided—and here, once for all, he bagged to be cousidered u as deeming_ his Majesty's Speech .the Speech of the Minisiers by whoM it was advised, • and Who alone were.responsible,for its contents e and however severe the expressions Which he might find it his-duty to use on. this subject, he trusted they Would not be misconstrued to meanatly thing .dero 'gatpry from that respe&l Which r as a faithfulSubjea of the.ing, and which as possessing a Perfe& Cone fidence in his virtues, he was always ready to Pay. plet, the Noble Lord and the Hon. - Secoudei had con:- eluded their speeches es . his Majesty's Speech con e eluded, by calling for unanimity-In one point alone he feared that he ceuldagree With them. .He agreed With them that there never was amore.aWfulicriSis; 'that the Country was never in greater danget ;. and. that there never was a greater demand fur mitt' and co-operation, it onanirti4 and co-operation could be obtains :le but at the time when - they calie4 for Wianimity,_they follo'xed closelythe exa,nple of the Speech, or tastier of the. ICliniSters by - whom 'that SpeeCh was advieel. \ - .rhile the word '4 Lunt nheity" was on tie. , ir lie e they introduced topic.'s which must neeeseuile produce diVisibn. They had'calle&the attention Of the House to: the Tate: DiSsolution of P..irliament, end both had contended that the power of dissolving nirliament - was an in disputable preengative the: Crowti, given for the advantage of „the Subjeete;l bet neither of these Gentleneett feed stated th,u this, every oteee. prerogative, ,was subjea in it's eXcecee; to he shiered 'by,Perfiatuene The Nyiile Lord hed coin- Meneed by saying, .that he woeld not allude to the vircumstancesehat led to else lair: Dissolution of Per- Ihitnetif-; but in the course. of his speech he forgot tl...h;cleterneinaliort:; he stated, that the measure's whit h prodeced the Dissolution had imperiously Called his Majesty to step forward defehce of the Pro eetaot Eetableilenent. Th e Floe. SeConder had gone neve et,length in this part of tilt: stilijeet. Accolding to him,' not the intrude4ion alehe of the measure , Which had .been all Oded to, but us intrOduieti and subsequent abandonment, had necessarily demtided the exerese_ of toe prerogative, as. eXernelified in the•DifoOltition. Forehinisell, he. confessed, that, ihe had scarcely as yet recovered from the :astonish-, went Which that . rneasure had ocekiSioned. Had it. been adopted: by any other - Achninistration 'than! thepres'ent, he could not hive accounted . ' ne - it on any principle' of public security, or - nationals, welfare; bite coming from the Gerelemeh oppo 7 see, it was indeed eetreordieary 1, ,Not a long time had elapsed since Parliament was before dis solved. Qu that oecesion the 'House had heard .tt' . great deal of observatioh frien the G.:lnk:Merl 410. 7 site. If lininae imagitettiou had beeii tortured to, devise a Cembination . of circuMStanees,which should expoSe this prerOgative of - the 6!-Own to ell,, ifie„ objeaions that had been then nrged against it,could not have been rteee seecessfel thao in that instapee. The Honoarahle Gentlemen repivheifd cc,' the Dissolution of a . P.e'liament after it had been' sitting four years; they.themselees dissniVed a Par,. liawent after it had beetesitting only 1 .1 4ur months. The Heti e Gentlemen opposite censured theDissOlu tion which took place at the end ofthe session; they 'themselves dissolved Parliarne - eut 10 the middleof the Session. The - Hon., Gentilemen opposite. had cotn ., pleinql of undue influence having been exerted against them ; they thernsulveS.had exercised an in fluence not in the detail, but in Whole Sale, aticisuch. as they ought to have been ashamed,o( Unless Par lianaerit were to say et once, that the prerogatives of the Crown ought to be curtailed, and that Parliament should be rendeeed.permanent, it could never be con- . ,tended that . any Dissolution was better timed than that which took_ plaee under His Majesty's late Mi nisters. At the, end of a Negotiation which left"little hope of a peae, it was surely advisable sliew the enemy and the 'allies, of the country thgt the King, the Parliament, and the People, were determined to unite in withstaning all the eaorts of an , uprelentitig enemy. Neve.r did gneater tmanimity,prevail there ;On that occasion, interrupted only by these personal and local differences, which_ every General must necessarily prodoce.eßut the Hon. Gentleinen, by the Dissolutiou which they, advised, had created an:intinity,.of public ~Pnd .private inconvehieheies ; they had produced the utmost disunion, and instead of uniting the people, they had e astlir as in them lay, ~kindled religious animoshies e fset man against inane and brother against brother : they had set the people Of Ireland . agaiest•the people of England, by shewiog, the great body of Irish that the English were unfa vourable to thelh,claims: Such conduct would. be at' any time criminal ; but when it was. considered with referetice to the necessity than existed for making a due impression on our allies, itbeceme still more„ so. ". Could this ,be denied ? Let the HouSe fook at .the :state 'of the business whets Parliament was dissolved. In. the, first place, there ,was in the last Session a. ,sreater number'of private bills, tending to. improve 'the agriculture,' increase, the manufa&ure, and extend .the commerce of the country, .than in , any former ' Parliament. Those Bills, by the regulations which he had had the bonoui to p,roptse, udder s tleadVice of the highest authority, bad been brought almost to the last stage. ,On . the 27th April the Dissolution took Place ; on the I tile May, the reports , of those Bills wOuld have been received; the consequence"was, that the greater part of the expanses attending them had been paid, and that they then had fallen to the ground. What expedient was to be resorted to he knew not e he 'lhould be glad to find that individuals were reliev eci -from inconveniencies occasioned by.the tniscoo duet of his,Majesty's. Ministers.- The House must be careful that in remedyinga private evil they do not open a door to public evil, and atford facilities to sub . sequent Ministers to dissolve "a.Parliament without haying a seronger necessitipe for the Dissolution than N% hat had been,. described by the Noble Lord and Hun.- Gentleman opposite. 80 aluch -for,,private