The Sun. — London, England, 1820-08-21 00:00:00

WEEKLY RETROSPECT. THE Retrospect of a Week!—.-'tis impossible to minter from . Charing-cross to Old Palace-yard without forming. a Retrospect of Centuries ! _ Th, Statue erf CHARLES-that of his Son in Privy Gardects-2 1 the . nanqUeiting-Iloiiseland fatal win do txAhat led to the scaffold—Scotland-yard, once the residence of captive Monarchs--=the Admi ralty, whose simple telegraPh, with two .simple levers, has sallied the problem of ARCHIMEDES, fkilitig the -Universe with the sound of liritakn's -• , - thunder, and - moving the world !—the Horse .6uards, that 'military focus from whence, for a sf vie of years, have diverged the rays of Bri tait's glory.!—the Treasury,,that seat of.finance, that has not only astonished the world, but our si-lves.—then the busy crowds—the why and herefore+-the assemblage of all that is grand in i',le nation under the roof and within the pre tincts:of 'all that is venerable—thenthe cause of assemblage-----a (QUEEN to be tried—a daughter of the House of BauNswicK . under accusation, and bowing to the Constitutionthen the spot, that eng,ht to have been the scene of her triumphant Coronation,' become, perhaps, the scene of her degradation !—under that very roof which a Rtr:; rus raised, a RICHARD • rebuilt . , and where an atzAßETti was born !—and all thiS—alas! poor Human Nature!—all this—but we will not name the accusation—all this passing before our eye's, we ourselves witnesses of the scene! Nor are we, surprised that a great portion of the national feeling should be warmed into en tbusiasm—that those Who believe her MAJESTY innocent of the charges imputed should hail her as a martyr•! Even wey who can hive no wish beyond the spirit of truth and the practice bf good morals—even we, whilst reason tells us that investigation is only justice to all parties—we cannot, nor would we if we could, repress tho wish that she may pass the ordeal with triumph— not indeed - the triumph of popular clamour, of legal quibbles, of party divisions, or of legisla tive. cowardice, but the bold triumph of esta trli•hed virtue, which, even to her accusers, will a!Tord a heartfelt pleasure—aye, a greater plea sure and a higher satisfaction than City Dema gones, or Radical innovators are capable of feeling ! We not only wish, but we would almost hope for this complete and absolute justification ; btrt evm then there is a point. that \you'd become a cotiker. ,Is indeed the QUEEN of BRITAIN—that Qa.ieezi of Isles and of ,the world—is she so de graded, already so degraded; as to find_ refuge aziy with the mob ! Is she to come alone= aiane, with one exception—before the most awful. Tribunal of the world, without the solace of t e.aurttenance of Britain's daughters! But the Lodies of England have waited on her with an Address—and ;Ars. 'I'HELWALL 'at their head, the! CriAmpromEss of Reform and of Revolution! Well indeed was if asked, " Where is Mrs. Huta, or Mrs.WhatLd'ye-call-it, and Mrs. CAR VILE, or the widow of WOOD'S martyr ?" ALAS !!! THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER. It affords us a great gratification to insert the folloWing Address from the'Clergy of the Arch deaconry of Leicester to that venerable .and cmi tiQnt Prefate' the late Bishop of LINCOLN. It is a complete refutation of the scurrilous attacks Which at intsrvals have been made on his Lordship, for,no other reason, as we can find ; than that he Lad the honour'to be the Tutor of that illustrious Statesman the late Mr. rrr.—We join - most cordially in the-wish expressed by these respect able elergy o that-his terdship may long live to e►ljoy in happiness aniiiif health this. new mark of the approbation of his Sovereign :---- - .".To the. Right Reverend 0E011.9E, Lord BishOp of Winches ter, Prelate of the Order of the Garter, &c: &c. &c. " We, the Archdeacon and Cliuly of the Archdeacoury of t•eicester, whose names are hereunto 'subscribed, beg to ex guess our regret at 'the loss we hate just sustained by year .A. t ontsilip's translation to.the See of Winchester. " Thu sound Theological. views exhibited in' your Lcrd stiir's writings, and.successfullrPxemplified - in your conduct glaring theloog .exercise, of the Episcopal Office , in the• See of .I,,iccolti, would of, themselves be a sufficient genii id of such concern.: and.the'attlUition and facilities onitomily afforded ltiy your Lordship to the Clergy. in their personal commurtioa with you, bring•hoinc this sentimeut, to us almost in , . . . " bat Divirie'Pro.videnee may continue to your Lordship that heabil - of body arid vigUlirof micid which enabled yon to display qualities thus eminent in themselves, and peculiarly requisite to the . good g'ove'rnment of so extensive a Diocese ; and that' you irlay fin& a Clergy as sensible 4A,the advantne they will receive, as we have here cieclad ourselves to he of 'jilt:loss we are . ..sustaining, is Zhe,•Prayer of tit whose names are u itch: rsigned.?' - •. .That dramtitic masterpiece of ,MA.ssINGER's, entitled " A new Way to pqy.old Debts;" was performed at Drury Lane Theatre, on Friday evening, by the admirable KERN and his Corn fanions,_previous to that great, actor's. departure (or Ametica. Another. exhibition of that cele bratel piece, we understand, may be expected, in 'this month, , and will douhtles'S .prove more en „tertaining) to the public than the ;it will "take place. in Coopers' Hall on the 30th, when. Dame Fortune Will shew her faNOurites a new way to' pay all' their Debts, by distributing among them the contents of Bisx's inviting scheme, which contains 2 Prizes of R-20,000, and, ' 18 other Capitals, all Sterling Money. PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF I.Ol t tlYS, AUG. 19. TIIE QUEEN. The LORD CH.4NCEieR entered-the house- at ten minutlkefkirA,tqq 0 4 c loclNand vrly.ers were - XTM minutes after - len die ilouse‘vas . called over. •Tjie Duke of CLARENCE apologiz ed for the ahsenCe of Lord KEITII.—The follow ing were defanitem:—Lord , Montfort, ViScount Falmouth, Earl Waldegrave; and Duke of New castle. PAINS AND PENALTIES. Lord KING then rose. AS soon as the Coun sel on both sides had closed their arguments yes terday, his Lordship thought that the last and only opportunity was afforded for a Mekber of their Lordships' House to interpose some motion which might avert those , proceedings, which he in common with many of their Lordships, and in common with the public, must always consider totally unnecessary in any point of view. The arguments which he had heard on the part of the Counsel who supported the Bill did not tend, in the slightest degree, to shake the full conviction he felt, that Bills of Pains and Penalties ought only to be introduced on the most urgent occa sions, when the public safety was involved. That being his conviction, then, he would ask, as a Noble Friend of his had asked before, whether any one could state that such a measure was ne cessary on the present occasion, from fear as to the succession ? •He thought such a ground the only justifiable one on which a Bill of Pains and Penalties could be proposed under the circum stances of the times. The matter was then re- duced to a question of expediency. Now, as to the expediency of the measure, in the first in stance, the preamble of the Bill asserted that her Majesty had been guilty of indecencies and' im proprieties highly dishonourable to the Royal Family, and disgraceful to this country.. The alleged misconduct of the Queen, which was said to have dishonoured the Royal Family and the nation, had takeh, place abroad ; how then could it be said' this was a measure necessary to vindi, cate the honour of the nation, when, if she had staid abroad, she might have conthmed•in the same courses ? He besought their Lordships to open- their eyes to ,that question, because he trusted they wonhille of opinion, that the moral feeling's of the,kintr,y would be more violated and wounded:-.lmpthii:d . proceeding, then protected by it. ~HiS.L. O i'dShip Concluded by moving," that it was not necessary . for 'the public safety that this Bill should pass into alaw." The Earl of LIVERPOOL stated his intention to pro2ose'as an enendment, that the Attorney- General should he tailed upon to proceed to state the case. There were two' grounds on which this subject was to be considered, first, whether any proceeding ought to be instituted ? And secondly, whether that which had been chosen was the preferable cOul-se. Assuming the necessity he should discuss the latter first. In the course of thi, discussion, he noticed the argu ments against Bills of Pains and Penalties, ad mitting that they were only justifiable in ex treme. cases unknown to the law. In this case., it was admitted, that adultery charged against the • Queen .Was not Right Treason and:adultery was not an •offence by-common law, but merely a civil injury. This, he observed, was a serious defect in the law ; and, therefore, a Member of that House bad proposed to bring in a Bill recti fying that defect. However, as the law stood, there was no mode of proceeding applicable to the alleged adultery of the Queen, but a Bill or Pains and Penalties. There were so many diffir culties belonging to a proceeding, by Impeach ment, that the present Bill became absolutely necessary. Under the Constitution, •Impeach , wilts were only applicable to offences that were indictable, as every offence contra boizos mores was, under the common law of England ; but the Legislature had provided against the adultery of the Queen, and pronounced it High Treason. It bad been in substance allowed that an impeach ment could not be maintained for acts done by a persOn who did not bear a public character. The acts which were stated in the Preamble of the Bill were alleged to have been committed by the Illdstrious Individual, at a time when, though she came , within the statute of Edward 111., she was not a public character. So that even if it were true that the Queen could be impeached for such acts as had been al leged against her, still , she could not be impeachable, as the acts were done when she was a private individual; to whose character no duties or privileges attached. The next point he should allude to was, that suppOsing the Queen was im peached, supposing the case were made out, how would their Lordships then deal with her ? -There was no limitation ,to the Judicial ,power of the House ; they had imposed fines, and inflicted the punishthent of imprisonment to an unlimited ex-. tent ; they had even banished---:nay, there were cases in which they had degraded individuals.-- , - Degradation would, in this case be undoubtedly the proper punishment. Yet, it was Matter of doubt whether they could; deprive the QUOOI of her legal rights, without' an Act of Parliament. They might attempt to exercise 'then;, a nd the question, might, come to.be tried in 'a Court of Law. Ile (Lord Liverpool) was of opinion -their. Lordships.could not, by a judicial sentence, de prive her of those rights but, without pushing, the assertion to that extent, would they not feel it necessary to remove all doubts' by,an Act of Parliament? So, that,. at the conclusion-of these proceedings, all the objections to a Bill of Pains and Penalties, and to ex post facto Legislation, would again have to be overcome. He bad stat ed whit were, at least,•weighty difficulties in the way of proceeding by impeacliment, even if they -had now to begin.. But they were not now in that state. A Committee of the house had re ported; a Bill had been brought. in ; and the House had so far approved of that. Bil l -as to or der it to,. be read:, a second time . ; and to order • the Counsel to be called But what, their ships had done was not all. They knew by the Journals of the House of Commons, that that' House, fiorn which an impeachment ) if there was any, must come, had appointed a Committee to search the Journals of their Lordships, and,;find ing that a Bill was brought in, had adjourned-for a time all`Koceedings. lf the House therefore i 1 ly.stoPped the Bill to .wait fKan impeaclit, th - topped to wysit foi?'-giat ir-14C1,....hey.104.0w t 0,% A 'O the' ouf ''CO.rultions ykruld ,noOtoiiginate. The alternative, the house : therefore had, was either to-go on in their present, or (which would be the .practical issue, if ,the Bill of Pains and Penalties was dropped) to abandon the eaSe'al together. They should not . deCeive themselves ; such would in that case be the .issue. --(Hear, hear, hear 1) —lie now came to what, in the or der of importance, should have been the first question—whether they should go on with the proceedings against the Queen at all ? Tie had before stated the Niew his Majesty's Ministers had taken of the subject. They thought, while the Queen remained abroad, not that there did• exist no inconveniences, but that, in the balance of difficulties, there was more inconvenience in proceeding. against the Queen, than in abstaining from it. The Noble Earl opposite (Earl Grey), indeed, had expressed a different opinion. lie had said that (always assuming that the charges could be proved) whether the Queen was at home or abroad the Ministers should have pro ceeded against her. EarI.GREY rose to explain. He had, on the occasion alluded to, distinctly stated two propo sitions. He had said, that if, first, the Ministers were convinced of the truth of the charges against the Queen, and could prove them—and, secondly, that if no grounds of expediency did exist to prevent the agitation of the question, they should have at once brought forward these charges. Ilk had insisted that they should have made up their minds once for all, -to proceed or not to proceed; but he had distinctly brought to view the consideration of both these points—the existence of the crime, and the expediency of bringing it forward. The Earl of LtvrAtroot. said, he had not dis.‘- tinctlyunderstood the Noble Earl at the former period. The Noble Earl now stated the ques tion in a manner much more agreeable to his view of it. In his (Earl of Liverpool's) view o the' subject, whether her Majesty was at home or abroad made the whole difference. While, she remained abroad, she was not necessarily held up to the people of England as entitled. to all res pect and reverence as their Queen. When she came to England she was necessarily entitled to all the great and important privileges, and all the respect of her station. And assuming for a moment (what he never, would assume but for the sake of argument) that adulterous inter course, or if they liked the_ expression better, adultery' were proved against the Queen, could they pay her the respect which' her rank demand ed ? Was it right that she should come here and hold her court as Queen Consort ? The evil, if she remained abroad, was great, but it was'tolera ble ; if slie came home it was of intolerable magnitude. The regard to morals, and to the decencies of private life, would not permitithem to tolerate cuch a. State of things. As to the argu ments which had - been raised as to the adultery of men compared with that of WoMen, he con tended,, that though in a religious sense the crime' was the same, the opinions of mankind had made a great difference between the two cases, and this difference had beenrecognized by their Lord ships in- their legisl/ition on bills' of divorce. He then noticed the allusion made to i certain illus.; trious individual by her Majesty's Counsel, and gave it as his-opinion that nothing could be more injurious to her cause than the line of conduct which it had been intimated would be pursued with regard to events that . ought not to be re called from the oblivion into which they had fallen—(Hear, hear !)—He should have advised a total abstinence froni any personal remark on the character or conduct of that Illustrious Per sonage, as much because it was utterly inconsis tent With the interests of her Majesty, as it was inconsistent ,with decorum ~ and propriety. It had been broadly insinuated too, that the sole object of the present measure Was to annul the present marriage, in 'order. that a second might be contracted by his Majesty. He could say, 'however, on his honour and in his conscience, that he believed no such event would take place, should the present Bill" be passed. But in pro pounding to. Parliament a Bill with such.a pre amble, reflecting so highly on the honour and virtue of the Queen, and broadly accusing her of adultery, it was absolutely impossible it should pot conclude by that enactmentlfor which the measure was framed ; and he believed that their Lordshii3i would perfectly concur in that proposed enactment, when the evidence in support of the Bill had'been heard. Earnestly, entreating that the oestion might be treated with candour and with temper, he begged to conclude by moving, as an amendment, that the Attorney-General be now called in. Lord GREY said, that the Bill proposed by Ministerswent to punish her Majesty for the result of their own acts. It was the omitting her name in the Liturgy that broug4 her Ma jesty' to this Country. Whilst he condemned the course pursued by Ministers, he thought her Majestrvery ill advised in writing the letter, to the King ;, it was an appear to the 'people from the highest court • of judicature in , the Country, and argued not in favour of her innocence. He hoped he should' not' be accused of setting up his opinion against that of the Judges, yet their answer had not removed the, doubt he. .'entertained that the offence with which her Majesty was charged *as high treason. Suppose the offence was committed. in Eng land with a person not subject to the opera tion of the laws—a lunatic, would not her Ma jesty have still been guilty, of high treason? His Lordship then argued that a proceeding by impeachment was the proper course to have been taken. He cited the case of Lord- Amersham, in 1701, for words spoken, in which he had com e:lted - 0" crime cognizable by the common or statute l .7,', or even immoral offence. He quoted the authority of Blackstone to 'prove • that adtl i- ' tery was a crime known to the law of Englan d .' He would ask the Noble Earl (Liverpool) if, a public functionary abroad was to do an act (i 0 the words of the '1311) " ,graceful tq t ..his Ma.", testy the Royal Fa'nii,ly,an tharitishVation, attlioulei he could mkt b\-- pro .euted regu larin,tik t oucts of JustiCllNNthekhe. courastekt be iiNe*cheillor's4Cit' an offenct ? 'To iffewNtlaat the *Muse of Lords could judicially inflict clegrada. - tion, he referred to the cases of Lords Bacon and Macclesfield. No man was less disposed than himself to yield any matter of right or justice ti'' popular clamour : bat he must say, and he spoke advisedly, that the_strongest feelings were enter' ` tained by every class against the proceeding ht Bill of Pains and Penalties by ninety-nine per' sons out of one hundred ; indeed the. feelings against it were as universal as the air,' and. the House suffered daily in its character by contirm.. ing to entertain the Bill. Suppose the Bill was proceeded in, and when brOught into the Coin. mons, that House should reject it, what would be,, the situation of the country ? what would be done with the Queen then ? Her guilt•would be recorded in the Lords, and the Commons, having dismiss.ed the Bill, what might be the . direfid consequences ? Every step they took was big with danger and difficulty. If the amendmen t ,of Lord Liverpool was carried " That the Corm; sel be called in, and the Bill be proceeded in, he (Earl Grey) should offer a.motion to' theit Lordships—" That it appears to this _House more advisable to proceed by impeachment than by Bill." - . The House then divided. In favour of Lord Liverpool's Am e ndment.. 181- Against. it .. 65 . Majority -il6 i On strangers' re-admission Lord CArinfoar ° was found on his legs, suggesting to the Hous e whether some arrangement might not yet be adopted, .by which ail further proceeding in this' painful inquiry might not . be avoided. ' . The Lone CHANCELLOR now called upon . EafJ, GREY for his resolution, .which the Noble -W handed in. It was as follows : " That it appears that the Bill now before the House do el , not, afford the most advisable means of prosecuting itl'" un due t charges.against her Majesty, and that therefore und „ present circumstances, it is not necessary or expedient .', proceed further with it." This resolution was put as an amendmen o l, the motion. of Lord Liverpool," That Conn!, be called in," and was negatived by a division '' follows : Contents . ; for the amendment Not Contents Majority --Its „- The Counsel was then'called in, and the A',, torney General - and the Counsel for the .Croe on • the one' - side, and Mr. 'Brougham and t Counsel for the Queen on the other, appeared' the Bar.' " - The LOUD CHANCELLOII--"-Mr. __Attorney 61# neral,- you will proceed to open your case- CHARGES AGAINST HER MAJESTY. The ATTORNEY GENERAL immediately pi - ( ceeded to address . the 'House in a low tone di t voice., and spoke as follows :—My Lord:il ji now attend at your Bat to fulfil the duty wh i rl, you have demanded—of stating .to your 1.0 1 1 ships the circumstances which, are to be addnr% in evidence in support.ef the charges which " r contained in the preamble of Abe Bill now videi your Lordships' consideration. A duty, l ,' Lords, more . painful, .or more.anXious, I beli er '.,' was never imposed upon any individual to at i complish.- 7 -(Cries of speak up.)—My Lordst i , am sure I shall receive, your Lordships' /A li ce gence,.if under the weight of 'this most imp, tant duty I feel that which I cannot express- t , (Cries of " Louder.")—My Lords, I was s t e p O ing to your Lordships, that the duty vi is t -I have now to perform is one of the 0 .. .," t painful and anxious which was ever to iipmi any individual. I have, my Lords, ci j state to your Lordships the arming° o r which are to' be adduced in evidence to ..,""if Lordships, in support of these serious and 15e charges which are made in the preamble 01 y Bill, which has already been 'so' much the ject of discussion—charges which, in the "; guage of the preamble, not only reflect ..r greatest scandal and' disgrace upon the ind,:ect% dual against whom they are made, but also re egg, the greatest disgrace upon the Country ',,L7.00.. The' highest individual, as a subject in the Cl o o try ) is - charged with one of the most ser o d offences both against the laws of God ',/ man—it is that of an .adulterous intercour'cir, an adulterous intercourse carried on under )0 cumstances of 'the greatest aggravation. ,of Lords, upon die nature of this cha r g e :6oo , upon the importance of this •invesui ar , it is quite unnecessary for -me to en .., ttle Your' Lord - ships,. and every . individual I"_tiii,tl Country, are fully capable ' o f es tino ca m these topics -in their proper -light. Th 1 3 ,4 Ole consolation, my Lords,:, which I derive unu'i.oeil• o elf to, .diseharge of the duty which' have now t -s that it calls not upon me' to address in) S t ., }3 t / your Lordships' passions or feelings ; and .Lo ril' . shall best discharge it according to yOll l _ sr f?' Ships' command- by abstaining from any ' F ' cio rg d e thing which might tend. to aggravate the , Slip made a.glinst so illustrious a person. j ' io gv b 'confine mySelf in this stage Of the proce t e s u oir e a'clear, sitnple,',biit full recital of the fac ts j are to be hileg.e& in evidence.. .MY' L°l. ro ce e `j: are now arrived at that period of those P ar e ings in which silence can no longer he P"; i0 ti l : e -It is' now . necessary to state the cliall e ,' be fo, lain il;' fullest extent in which they can be . e 10 ,# your Lordships and the public:. and 1- , ! e to J' of recital of the circumstances which I ha c s ess ity. c i i tail; I shall be ' under the painful " es ol' i , bringing. before .yeur Lordships see," t ol e . must disgust every well-reaulated innc',every,4l. tions which must offend the feelings ot sare yu joil nourable, and. virtuous person, I a . s o cce' lo e Lordships will think, that upon thl CO" -aisle °l I ought to hold. no reserve —at the . s lily o , taking care to state nothing which) thin n ble to ~ science, Ido not believe I - shall be nil Is P 1.,° /. y . 0 3 tilr stantiate in proof. I shall now, r Lori tire' further preface state to you, n a cic c the painful narrative of Chose facts 4.,