The Sun. — London, England, 1822-03-07 00:00:00

PARLIAMENT. ROUSE OF LORDS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6. Mr. Srrcin, from the Chelsea Hospital, pre sented" an Account of unclaimed Army Prize lToney.--Laid on the table. Earl BATTIURS'r presented a Petition from certain Land Owners in Lower Canada, com plaining of Agricultural Distress. Laid on the table. _His Lordship then presented two other Peti tions from Owners and Occupiers of Land in certain parishes of the Comity of Gloucester, praying for Agricultural relief, and for protect ing duties against the importation of Foreign Corn.---Laid on the table. The Exchequer Bills Bill, the transfer in Aids Sill, the Irish Arms and Gunpowder Importa tion, and the Sugar, Snuff, and Tobacco Duties Bills, were read second time. The Irish Po pulation Regulation Bill, and the Irish Seizure of Arms Indemnity Bill, went respectively through the Committees-, and the Reports. were received. —Adjourned. HOUSE . OF COMMONS. UNCLAIMED PRIZE MONEY. SpicEw. laid on the table an Account of the Unclaiined Prize :Money in the possession of Chelsea Hospital. WINDOW TAX-IRELAND Mr. R. SHAW moved for an Account of the Amount of Window and Hearth 'Tax levied in Ireland for the last seven veani, with. a special Account of the Amount levied on Dub lin during that period, and of the Number of Houses return ed insolvent.—Ordered. BANK OF ENGLAND. Mr. GRENFELL gave notice that he would to-morrow move for a Return of all Monies paid to the Bank of Eng land,since the year 1793, on account of Loans and Exchequer 'Bills. • The Hon. Member also moved for Ab&mnts of all Silver Coin, coined at the Mint since the last regulation, the Amount issued, and the Amount remaining unissued now in possession of the Mint; the Quantity of Silver. purchased . by Government since 4th November, 1820, stating the prices and other condi tions annexed to the purchase, as far as concerns the Mint ; and of the Amount remaining with the Bank to be delivered at SS. 2d. per ounce.—Ordered. Mr. GRF;NFELL (as was Understood), said that the dealings to which these accounts referred had been most bene &id to the public. PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. .Lord 'EBRINGTON presented a petit on from Tavistock, signed by 500 persons,. adverting to the distress prevalent in the country, and requesting attention to the tvthe system, and the excessive taxation, and attributing the ai:;treses of the country to the corrupt state of the Representation, and praying for Reform.—Ordered to be printed. The Noble Lord also presented a similar Petition from seve ral: places in the county of Devon.—Laid on the table. COLONIAL ACCOUNTS. Mr. HOME said, that by a reference to a return laid on the table from the Board for the Audit of Colonial Accounts, last year, the accounts of many of the riew.Colonies did not appear to be audited beyond a very distant ppried from the present time. For instance, the accounts for the Mauritius appeared to be audited only up to 1816; .Trinidad to 1814, Mr. Hook's account only to theyear 18I3; and as they involved n question of ten- millions of money, he thought it necessary for the House ..:to know hdw these matters Were'going on. He therefore mov ed that there be laid before the House a return, specifying all the accounts which had , been audited by- the Colonial Audit Board since the beginning of 181, particularly for the New Colonies, Cey;lon, and the Cape of Good Hope, the Mauritius, and Trinidad ; also the accounts in the possession of the Board unaudited, and to what date. , Mr: WY NN ,suggested the propriety of giving public notice for motions for 'returns of this kind The Colonial Secretary was not then in the House, and he thought the Hon. Member ne.ve .uune netter to have waited till he was. Not that 11 , . ! was aware that any objection would be made to-the motion, but he thought the house ought to know whither the return was of that nature that it could be made. 'Mr. HUME said the order for such a return was a matter of course, which did not require any deliberation on the part of the House. However it might be consistent with the cour tesy usually observed on such occasions, he did not think the Colonial Secretary entitled to that courtesy from his hands. Mi. WYNN repeated that, without any reference to the de gree of courtesy due to this or that person, the House would expect that notice should be given of such motions as the Hon. Meiriber's, to give time to ascertain, before it gave the order, whether the rettrrn could &could not be made out. Mr. BENNETT said, it was prepo;te7ous to suppose that in a mere matter of accounts, it was not competent to a Member to - move for a return.. They had no necessity of the Hun. Gen tleman (NIL Wynn) for new lights on the subject. Mr. LUSHINGTON observed, that iL was certainly com petent to an Hon. M e mb er t o move f or a return, but it was also competent to the house to dispose of it as they pleased.— The return required by the Hon. Membe r ra the r belonged to his (Mr. ' Luslangton's) department ; and as he had always treated that Honourable Member with great civility, he did not know why he should have dispensed with the usual courtesy. _ After a few words from Mr. Hume, the return was ordered. Mr. HUME moved for a return of all persons, Civil and Military, holding two Commissions, Pensions, Offices, Half pay, or otherwise, with their names and dates of appointment. Ordered. The Hon. Alember also moved for an Abstract of the Ex penditure of the lonian Islands, for the years 1819, 1820, and 1821, with the heads of disbursement. Mr. LUSH INGTON hoped the Hon. Member would wait till the head of the. Colonial Department in that House was present. He felt convinced it would be impossible to get the accounts made-up to so late a date as 1821. Mr. HUME said, it was nothing but a continuation of the order of last year, which had only partially been complied with. They had voted the supply for 1821, and it . was fit the Ilouse should know how it had been expended. He was willing that the motion should be for the latest period to which they could be made up. Mr. VirYNN said, that the conduct of the Hon. Member' tended to introduce a practice most inconvenient for the House, and if he refused to wait a few minutes, but was determined to press his motion he (Mr. Wynn) would move the previous question upon it. • Mr. HUME consented to wait, rather than put the House to the trouble of dividing upon the question. MALT TAX. Qn the motion of Mr. LUSIIINGTON, that the Report of the Committee on the Annual Malt Tax be received, Mr. CURWEN said, he wished to persuade his Majesty's Ministers to commute the repeal of the one shilling per bushel tax upon Malt, for the repeal of the Salt Tax. He hoped they would see the propriety of acting upon the strong indication of the feeling of the House on that subject. The relief to the farmer by the remission of this Malt Tax would only be 260,0001. as the benefit of it would be divided between the farmer and the public on the one hand, and the brewer and maltster on the other. The advantage to the farmer, however, by a repeal of the Salt Tax, would be considerably greater. He really wished the Chancellor of the Exchequer would postpone the completion of this measure, in order to make inquiries on the subject. Sir R. WILSON wished to know whether it was the in tention of the Treasury to continue to levy the fine on the Sellers of Roasted Wheat, sold as such ? The fine had been levied on Mr. Hunt, and had ruined sonic others. He thought such a practice most impolitic, with reference to Agricultural Distress. Mr. LUSHINGTON said the subject had been for some time under the consideration of Government, but he was not yet prepared to give any answer with respect to it. Mr. JONES said, with reference to what had fallen from the Hon. Member for Cumberland (Mr. Curwen), lie thought that his Majesty's Ministers had made a most unfortunate choice in determining to repeal the duty on malt. He thought they should have waited for the Report of the Agricultural Com mittee, or have taken the sense of the country on the subject, before they decided how they would act; and it was very hard, because they had taken a resolution one way, that the country was to suffer when it appeared their interests lay the other. Sir I. COFFIN observed, in confirmation of what the lion. ?timber for Cumberland (\lr. Curwen), said, that he knew that nine revenue cutters itere sent to cruise betwixt the coast of Ireland and England to prevent the smuggling of salt back wards and forwards between the two countries, the duty being much higher on one than the other. This was a proof of the great request this article was in, when persons would risk their lives in order to deal in it at a cheap rate. lle also knew 4 case, in which a vessel was seized for having two. baskets of salt scrapings, and the Captain, after being detained for three months, was liberated by the Treasury, having been put to an expense of 5001._ _ . • The Report of the Committee was then received, and the Ra solution agreed to. . . POILEIGN CORN. Sir M. RIDLEY presented a Petition from Newcastle-on- Tyne, praying that the subject of the importation of Foreign Corn be referred_to the Agricultural Committee.—Petition re ferred to said Cbmmittee. -- • POSTMASTERS-GENERAL. Lord NORMANBY said, that as there was some misappre hension on the subject of--his motion for to-morrow se'nnight, he begged to repeat that it was for a reduction in the number of Postmasters-General. Sir GEORGE CLERK brought up the Annual Bill for the Reguhilon of the Royal Marine Forces.—Read a tint time, and ordered for second reading tomorrow. FUNERAL CF HER. LATE MAJESTY. Mr. BENNETT said, he rose for the•purpose of bringing under the consideration of the House all the circumstances at ' tending the funeral of her late Majesty. In doing so he did not think it necessary to apologize tchthe House. - Not that he meant to say, that an individual as ill qualified as himself for the per formance of such a task, should not, upon undertaking it, apologise to the House; .but that the importance of the sub ject, the deep interest which the people of England took in it, and above all, the honour and character of the country, which were involved,in it, combined to forceit upon him as a duty ; and as a duty, he would discharge it, fearlessly, regardless of the various motivestliat he knew would be attributed to him-in doing so, It would be in the recollection of the House, that at the latter end of last July, her late Majesty was seized with that illness, whibh, alter some days of suffering, terminated her existence on the 7th August following. To some it was matter of surprise that she survived as long the accumulated wrongs and miseries which accompanied the persecution by which she was finally overwhelmed. Nothing but that forti tude of mind, which belonged • to the spirit of her family, and which, was not more transcendent in the males than in her late Majesty, could have prevented her heart from breaking. During the whole 'of • her illness nothing ivhich could be construed. into decent respect was shewn towards her by his Majesty's Go vernment. No notice was taken of her illness by . any of the Servants of the Crown, and but one of the Royal Family (the Duke of Sussex) took any notice of her, no more than if there had not been such a human being. As soon as her dew-ease took place, due notice of that circumstance was given to his Majesty's Government, through Lord Liverpool, by one of her Majesty's Executors. By him 'Lord Liverpool was made ac quainted with her Majesty's testamentary bequests, and her last wishes. He (Mr. B.) had with him a copy of her will, but at present he should only remark on one part of it. She said that three days after her death she desired to be carried to her native land for interment. The House, perhaps, would be anxious to know her motives for this request. It was not that she wished that in 3 days the usual ceremonies should be hurried over, or that she did not wish to remain longer than 3 days in that country which had been her stem and her stay in the hour of peril and adversity. But when she was informed by the medical gentleman, whose painful duty it was to make the communication, that her com plaint must terminate fatally, she numbered the few days which she calculated wou'd put an end to her existence, and by al lowing three days beyond that, she corisitiered that it would be the anniversary of the day of her leaving England seven 'years preceding—and it was on that day, which she regarded as the foundation of all her woes and all her injuries, that she wished her corpse to retrace the fatal course - she had then so unad visedly taken. She had woeful cause to remember that day, .when she acted in opposition to the counsels of her friends.— Lord Liverpool said in reply to the communication of his Learned Friend, that Government would defray the expenses of the funeral, and intimated their intention to comply with the request of her. Majesty, in causing theekneral to take place as soon as possible. His Learned Friend was referred to persons whom he conceived to be the agents of Count Munster, relative to the arrangements to be made on the other side of the water, and finding that none had been made, he and the other Execu tors resolved to have nothing to do with the coneruct of it, but to leave the whole to Government. On the 14th of August the funeral took place; and as to what occurred on that occasion, he (Mr. Bennett) having been present, saw, with his own eyes, what he should describe of it. He heard the protest of his Learned Friend (Dr.. •Lushington); and what he first had to complain, of was that at Braadenburgh House that becoming solemnity due to the exalted rank of the illustrious deceased was not observed: - He had seen the funeral of some of the principal Nobility, and he had always found greater tokens of the regret of the survivors shewn than on this occasion.— The merely hanging the room with black was not sufficient for a Queen of England. There was also a sort of' privilege claimed and enjoyed by the Royal Family, viz. that their bo dies should be removed by Yeomen of the Guard. He did not knoiv of an instance of a burial of any of the Royal Family in which this custom was not observed. But here there were no Yeomen of the Guard—their place was supplied by common undertakers' men. A circumstance of this kind rnightbe consider ed as of no consequence; and, indeed, to the philosopher; it was of none in itself ; but it was of importance when regarded as the mark of insult, and the proof of bad feeling. Notwith standing, on the day of the funeral, it poured with rain, the streets were crowded with the people of England. The' most respectable persons of the' middling. classes were seen lining the pavement, ell in black, and every house was crowded.— He was sure he should be borne out by the statements of those who witnessed it, that there was every demonstration that the public feeling on the mournful occasion was deep and marked. He believed that it was not more so at the funeral of her la mented daughter and infant child, which was calculated to ex cite more interest among females than even the funeral of her Majesty. After repeated stoppages, the funeral reached Cum berland.gate ; but on what occurred there lie should not say one word, as it was no part of the question. Ministers were to be considered as the authors and perpetrators of the bloody deeds and calamities of that spot, in endeavouring to force the corpse by an obscure and byeway, in , opposition to the wishes of the public. The same scene as he had described at the west end of the town, awaited them at the suburbs.—Ani mated with but one feeling, the whole of the people of Eng land might be seen in the streets and suburbs of London. The rapidity with which the journey was made from London to Harwich, was such as completely to harass and fatigue all who accompanied the funeral, and almost too much for the jaded animals to support. In answer to all remonstrances, they were informed that it was in obedience to Lord Liver pool's orders. It was part of the request of her late Majesty, that an inscription should be placed on her coffin to the fol lowing effect:—" Here lies Caroline of Brunswick, the injured Queen of England." Lord Liverpool said, he could not give instructions for this being put on the coffin, but he believed he acquiesced in its being done by the Executors. The doing so was entrusted to Mr. Wylde, who was only pre vented from his inability to make his way to Brandenburgli House through the throng of people, in time.—This inscrip tion however was placed on the coffin at Colchester, where it was torn off by force, and a scene of contest suppressed by military, which lie would leave others to describe, took place in the Church. On the 16th of August they left Colchester for Harwich, a distance of 16 miles; and if he were called upon to describe the manner in which it was conducted there and throughout, he should say it was " a funeral going post." Different parts of the funeral were sometimes a mile dis tant from each other. The only solemnity that attended it was, the attendance of the people who flocked to witness it from the neighbouring towns. On arriving at Har wich the hearse drew up immediately to the water side, and without waiting sufficient time for a human being connected with the procession to get up to it, the coffin was dragged out of the hearse and hurried to the jetty, whence it was lowered into a boat without the 'pall, or without the presence of a single person accompanying the funeral. He be lieved that more decency would be observed in conveying the body of the commonest person out of one country to be buried in another. In the boat was Sir George. Nayler, the Under: taker, a Deputy Undertaker, and Deputy-deputy Undertaker, but no one of the servants attached to her late Majesty, nor was there any boat to convey them from the shore to the ship. Thus was conducted the funeral 'of the'Queen of England— with no other sites, no snore ceremony, and no more decency than lie had-described—and here ended the control of the Bri tish Government. When they reached ship-board the prepa rations were not completed, and here it had been intended to leave his Learned Friend to conduct the remainder of the fune ral, but that plan was changed. The vessel did pot sail till evening, so that there was no call for all that hurry which ren dered the travelling of the body more like the journey of a fish cargo than of the corpse of the Queen of England. The ship arrived at Stadt on the 19th, where the body was brought on shore, and placed on some temporary stand till the church was in preparation to receive it. •The contrast betwixt the con duct of the Government 'of Hanover and the people was 'remarkable throughout. The Municipality demanded per mission to attend the funeral, which was twice refused ; and no answer being given to the third demand, they went down and attended it without permission ; and all the same demon.: strations were made by the people of Hanover as had been ob servable in England. The battery saluted the corpse without orders. The procession, the next day, moved on, and he was told that, throughout the country, - the same feelings of hatred of oppression were shewn. He was told that nothing could be more touching than the affectionate regard and kindness which the women shewed to her memory. The mournful - procession every where passed through roads strewed with, Rowers, till it reached BrunSwick, where the body of the Queen - of England was placed in the tomb of' her illustrious forefathers. The people of the town of Brunswick shewed but one feeling, save . and except the Government of the town. It would hardly be believed that at this hour the Queen of England had received no funeral rites. Ile knew it would be said that it was a cus. torn in Brunswick never to perform funeral rites twice over, and the instance of the Duke of Brunswick, her father being removed from interment in a small town near the field of battle to the same tomb, would be cited. But it was to be remem bered, that the ceremony was performed on the first interment of the Duke; whereas, in the case of her late Majesty, it never was performed at all. His Majesty's Government might be the converts of the new ligrits of •the-French philosophers on this subject, 'who held that there is nothing beyond the grave. He knew it was no honour to the dead, but it was consolation to the living. The Queen of England resided now in the tomb of her ancestors, -beside the remains of her father and brother, who fell the victims of the tyranny of the despot of France. But he doubted if the history of that tyranny af forded an example of mare degrading persecution and indignity than what was offered to that unhappy Queen. Though no ce remony. or rite had been performed, there was no -place of worship where thename of - Queen Caroline was not uttered to Heaven, with prayers to Gon for mercy towards her oppres sors, that their fate might not be like hers. He would not take up the time of the House N.:WI any thing immaterial ; but it was impossible, in treating of this subject, not to ex press the regret be. should continue to feel to the end of his life. Before he sat down, -however, he must recall the at tention of the House to the conduct of Government in what transpired as connected with this matter, in England. His Majesty's Government had been long aware of the deep inte rest which the people of England took in the fate of her Ma jesty. They knew that in all classes there was scarcely a per son but was anxious to shew respect to her Majesty's re mains, and it would have been thought that they would take a course not to shock the prejudices or the feelings of the public. It was more natural to think they would .take a course tending to conciliate feelings,_ which it was not in their power to obli terate. They had, indeed, no less a body to entreat them to it, than the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council of the City of London—a body. he knew, which it was the practice to underrate when they were not on a particular side . m polities ; but whom .he (Mr. Bennett), when even apposed to them in Opinion, ever looked upon with respect.- He then read to the House the Resolution come to by the Lord-Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council of the City of London, on the occasion of her Majesty's death (which ap peared in our Paper at the time.) —This Resolution he thought was sufficient to teach the Government what were the feel ings of the country,. and respecting those feelings they would not have objected to the funeral being attended by the Corporation of the City of London. Had there been in the breast of Ministers—he would not talk about wisdom— but had they been gifted with a moderate share of that prudence which was necessary to qualify men to conduct the meanest, humblest affairs of life, they would have seen that there was but one course which could be pursued with safety, and that was by conciliating the inhabitants of the Me tropolis, which could only be dune by suffering the funeral procession to \ pass through the city. By what melancholy fa tality they came to a decision not to do -this, but to drag the body of the Queen through bye-lanes and out-of-the-way routes, he was now at a loss to conjecture, but the House would per haps learn it that night. He could not find that this was in pursuance of any request which she had made. He had seen nothing of the kind, and though he had made in quiries on the subject, he could not learn from those who were in attendance on her Majesty in her last moments that any such wish had been expressed. He had before explained why she had desired to be removed within three day after her decease, but from that desire no man could infer that she was anxious her 'funeral should be so conducted ; and he therefore contended, that the consequences which .ensued must rest on the heads of those who had provoked the people to violate the law. Others were to be thanked that there was no more bloodshed. If those to whom Ministers opposed ,themselves I had beery as wrong-headed as the Government on this occasion, the result must have been a fearful sacrifice of human life, and what the final issue might have been, GOD only knew. He was old enough to remember the time when the Queen first arrived in this country. She came full of life, of hope, joy, beautiful (as he thought) in her person, and amiable in her disposition. One month had sufficed to darken all her prospects, and completely changed the scene. 'From that moment, there was scarcely any evil--any cala mity that a human being could know, which had not been heaped on the head of that qnfortunate Princess. He spoke not of calamities which Gon, in his infinite wisdom, had doomed her to encounter, but of those which she had expe rienced through the iniquity and treachery of man. What ever they might hear from the other side on this subject, he would say, that she had been taken up by the present Mini sters or their friends, and aided and caressed so long as she could be of service to them as a party tool. • When no longer of use to them, she had been forsaken, and in conse quence induced to take that step which had subjected her to so many sufferings, and which had finally produced that me morable scene whichl the people of England had put a stop to, by the firmness with which they had come forward to oppose oppression. The proceedings which had occurred would re= main a lasting mark of infamy to those concerned in them, while they would render illustrious those who in another place had opposed them, and in particular that Noble Personage who had s greatly exerted himself in her cause, and in that of his country—who never deserted the unfortunate, and who had manfully stood by this persecuted and illustrious Princess till the last moment of her life. He knew what would lye the fate of the present motion, and he knew what had been the fate of those which preceded it, that were in any way connected with this subject. But notwithstanding this, lie should have been ashamed of himself, as a Member of Parliament, if he had not broitght it forward ; he should have been ashamed of himself, as an English Gentleman, if he had not expressed his feelings on those occurrences to hich he had directed the attention of the Ilouse. He had done So, he hoped, decorously, but at the same time speaking out, and endeavouring to put . on record (if that was of any value in the case of an individual so humble as himself) his sentiments on a subject which, whether viewed with a reference to the present o 4 the future, must be ever re garded as of great importance to the British character. He concluded by moving the following Resolution :—" That it is the opinion of 'this House, the respect and solemnity by ancient custom reserved for the funerals of the Queens of England, have been at the funeral of her late Majesty Queen Caroline unnecessarily and indecorously violated." Mr. J. CALCIIAFT spoke to the fitness of the arrange ments made for the funeral, but in so low a tone, that he was very imperfectly heard in the'gallery. He was present when the corpse was embarked. He saw the coffin carried into the boat, as he thought in the most solemn manner, the greater number, if not the whole, of the mourners being present.— The Naval part of the service was conducted with the greatest propriety. 'lt was impossible to provide accommodation for all who attended, but care had been taken to make every ne cessary preparation. At Harwich the Church had been fitted up with black cloth, and the same attention had been paid in every part of the journey where the corpse had rested.— On the other side of the water the preparations' made by the Hanoverian Government were such that without great exertion they could not have been completed in time. In some instances, those to whom the conducting of the funeral had been confided, had acted in opposition to the wishes of some who attended, but this had not been done from any feelings of [personal animosity, but had occurred in the discharge of their dirty. Sir G. COCKBURN understood the lion. Member for Shrewsbury to have charged the Navy with having failed in die respect due to departed Majesty on the occasion of she funeral, Mr. BENNETT denied that he had preferred such a charge. ' Sir G. COCKBURN said, if the Honourable Iltember had not spoken to that effect, he had not another word to say on the subject. Mr. BENNETT had not preferred a charge against the Navy. He thought he had said, and if he had not he would say it now, that the Navy, on this, as on all occasions, had tlisplayed v proper feeling. What he said was, that boats were not ready to convey the mourners on board, and the pre parations in the cabin were not complete when the corpse ar rived. Sir GEORGE COCKBURN was happy to have received this - explanation, but he could not admit there was quite so much to complain of as the lion. Gentleman now contended for. He had it from Captain White, who was at Harwich, for carrying on board all who might, be marked by the executors to follow. He had taken on board all who had presented them selves, and he had said, that he (Sir G. Cockburn) would have the pleasure to hear, in a few days, that it was impossible for any service to have been more satisfactiSrily performed. lie had asked the Executor what description of frigate lie would prefer, a larger or a smaller one. .Ile had suggested, that a smaller one might be preferable ; but a larger was demanded. In conse quence of this, one had been ordered round from Portsmouth, as that was thought more respectful, and every order, usual on such,occasions, for firing guns, lowering flags, and other marks ,of respect, had been given. Mr. CALVERT stated Sir G. Naylor to have attended with the crown and pall when the coffin was lowered into the boat. Colonel GOSSETT was not in the House when the Hon. Member for Shrewsbury made his statement, but he'understood that he had found fault with the manner in which the coffin was lowered into the boat. If any one was to blame for this he was. He had adviSed the measure as the best that could be adopted. He had consulted with a Captain in the Navy, of the name of Doyle, on the means of embarking the !Body. The beach being shallow, as it was not easy to carry the coffin, they :tad both agreed that the best course would be to lower it by the crane. The next question was, by whom should it be lowered. Officers were at first named for that purpose, 'but these not being used to such duty, it was thought advisable to employ the four men who usually worked the crane.. While this was doing, Capt. White was stationed at the jetty head to give the mourners every accommodation in his power. He was surprised .that none went to him at the time, bat the mourners were under . stood to have . retired_ to the inn. If any blame was due for the precipitation with which the embarkation had been effected, this also must fall on his shoulders. He had left the beach, and rode up the toWn 3 with Sir G. Nayler, to whom he remarked that no time should be lost, as the tide would serve but for two or three hours.- if the embarkation were not effected within that time, either it must take place in the night, or the corpse must be detained four-and-twenty hours. This he had stated to Sir Ge - Nayler, who had replied that time must , be allowed for those who attended to take, refreshment. The coffin, he had to state, had been temporarily placed in his (Col. Gossett's) dining room. That apartment had been prepared for its re ception, the. window being taken out to make way for its en ' trance. -This became necessary as the church was not in a fit state to receive it. The Mayor had offered the use of the Town Hall: He went to examine it, but found it would be necessary to pass up a staircase with a turn in it, which it was doubtful if the coffin could be got by. The qhestion then was, whether the coffin should be taken up that staircase or conveyed to his dining room, which had been prepared for its reception. The latter was decided upon. Mr. HUME thought it his duty to'state, that he had never witnessed conduct more creditable in the parties than that of Captain White and his men. He had no hesitation in saying that every possible sign of proper feeling was manifested on their part while the body was being , lowered into the boat. What his . Hon. Friend had complained of was, that no boats were ready to convey the mourners on board. When Lord flood asked what conveyance was prepared to carry them on board, he found none ready. He then inquired in what way he and the rest of the household were to be brought back. Captain White said,, he had received' no instructions, but he had no doubt th a t i ns t ruc ti ons wou ld soon b e rece i ve d, and he would take it upon hiniselt .to say, that his vessel should attend to convey his Lordship or any part of the household safe to England. flit; conduct was very gentlemanly, but no boats were ready to take the mourners with the body; and an hour after the coffin was embarked, it was a matter in debate whether they should go over in the packet or by the f. igate. He gave the Hon. Member who had last .spoken credit for his exertions, and only regretted, that he had not attended the preceding part of the procession. No com plaint had been made by his Honourable Friend of the man ner in which the funeral was received on the other side of the water. The body had not been suffered to be borne by common undertakers, but eight Majors had offered themselves for that purpose. The people too had insisted—he believed against the -wish of the Authorities, on removing the coffin from the - hearse to a carriage which had been prepared for it, which was drawn by a number of the' most respectable inhabitants. He had no hesitation in saying, that had there been no interference on the part of the Government, the same would have happened on this side of the water. That of which his Hon: Friend prin cipally complained was the way in which the fthieral had been conducted in this country. With respect to the black hang ings, every one who knew what occurred at Brandenburgh House must regard what had taken place there as a mockery. On the Saturday the workmen began to knock up black cloth, though it was intended: that the luneral should take place on the Monday. It was only front a strong representation by Lord Hood that it was postponed till the Tuesday. It was this in decent haste that was complained of. But though it was de termined that the corpse should be' removed on the fol lowing Tuesday,' the fixing up of black cloth was continued, as it should seem, merely for the sake of expending SO much black cloth and other materials to no purpose.—(Hear,- hear, hear!) — Whatever the expense incurred in this way might have been, it was not incurred to shew respect for her late Majesty.— The funeral decorations,the believed, were not completed till a _few hours before the corpse was to be removed. Nobody was admitted into the room, and therefore they could not be put up to shew respect for the Queen, and they could be of no use. But the principal complaint against the Government grew out of their conduct with respect to the procession. 'Why refuse to let it pass through the city ? Why refuse to. allow the first Corporation in the nation to pay their respects to their departed Queen ? Why direct the body, contrary to the custom on all similar occasions, to be carried out of the main roads into the lanes and bye .ways ? This was most uncommon. He did not know whether it was the law ; but he 'understood that every path through which a funeral passed, became immedi ately a public way. The Government gave orders that the corpse should be removed by a circuitous route, and carried through bye ways. It was the want of certainty, as to the road which it would take, that produced so great an accumu lation of individuals at the West end of the town, as had been found there on the day of the funeral. Had it been known that it would take the road it in the end did take, those who had come front Whitechapel to the West end, would not have gone so' far to obtain a sight of it. Ministers ought not to have supposed the people would submit to the thsgracc of seeing the remains of their Queen removed through lanes and bye-ways. He hoped the Secretary of State had com municated with Sir R. Baker on this subject. That Magistrate would inform him that the disposition of the people seemed every thing that could be wished, and all they complained of was that it was proposed to carry the corpse out of the highways. That Magistrate exercised a discretion for which he (Mr. flume) applauded him, and determined on altering the route of the procession. He was certain that if Sir Robert Baker had been allowed to follow the course he was disposed to adopt, there would have been no riot, no disorder, no bloodshed. An Officer from the Government had prevented Sir Robert Baker from acting as he was about to do, or that Magistrate, who deserved a r ewar d v er y different rom that which he had received, would have taken a course that must have prevented much mischief. He then came to that , part of the conduct of the , Government which had been most culpable—that given respecting the military, which had led to the most disgraceful scene that had ever fallen under his observation. He himself had seen a great part of it, and he lamented- to say, the soldiers sent to act under the 'orders of the civil power had, in fact, acted against and broken the peace which they ought to have preserved. He did not blame the Officers, for they, it appeared, had not ordered the men to act as they did. The men ought only to have acted in obedience to the orders of their Officers ; but they had attacked the people , with their swords, and even with fire arms, without orders.-- Soldiers acting such a part were nothing . but a lawless band with arms in their hands, attacking their fellow subjects, whom they ought to have protected, and they were guilty of themurder and manslaughter which had been committed. He admitted that the soldiers were placed in a very perilous and painful position, but how often were soldiers drawn up where they must be ex posed to be shot at, and' yet abstain from acting till ordered for ward by their officers. Here then was a want of discipline. He would willingly admit that stones had been, thrown, and that the soldiers had otherwise been much insulted; but still he must say that in his eyes they had been the first aggressors. He gave credit to Sir Robert Baker for his conduct through the day, and was of opinion that if the orders sent for a detach ment to advance to Tottenham-court-road, had arrived ten 1 minutes sooner, the result would have been most calamitous. With the military force at their back, Ministers must have tri umphed, if they could value such as they would have gained by cutting down and riding over the helpless populace. That no respect was intended to the Queen was plain from what 1 took place after the body had been carried through the City. The moment the procession left Whitehapel, all the ornaments were removed, the attendants who had previously been on foot were allowed to ride, and the whole procession was like that of the funeral of the most ordinary personage. An inquiry ought to have been instituted after the verdicts of murder and man. slaughter had been returned. Had a soldier been shot and the Coroner's inquest returned a verdict against ten persons, did any one belieVe that then the matter would have been allowed to rest up to this time without any inquiry being set on foot ? He hoped the Hon. Officer was then in the House who on, a former night' reflected on the Coroner's Inquest that had sat on the body of Honey. He (Mr. Hume) knew some of the individuals who had served on it, and he could state that a more respect able Jury had never sat, and no Jtiry had ever been more fairly called together. Ministers, he contended, on the occa sion of the funeral, had not only treated the late Queen with disrespect, but they had marked their contempt for some of the most iMportant institutions of the country. He therefore felt it to be his duty to support the motion of his Hon. Friend. Colenk GOSSETT, Mr. PEEL, and several other Members, rose at the same moment; but the Colonel was declared in pos session to explain. He merely stated that the mourners might , have availed themselves of Captain White's boat, to have ac companied the coffin from shore, and that some surprise was expressed at their not having done so. General GASCOYNE said, that among the many other obligations which he owed to the Hon. Member for Aberdeen (Mr. Hume) was that of being compelled, in consequence of allusions which lie had thought proper to make to him, to trou ble the House with a few observations on the present occasion. He must begin by saying, that he never saw a case which had more entirely failed.—(Hear.)—Upon the 'occurrences of that funeral, he believed there was but one opinion among reflecting minds, and that was, that there never had occurred a more dis graceftfi transaction thin the attempt to obstruct and force a victory over the civil authorities of the country in the discharge of their duty, and to drag,. in temporary triumph, the body of that Queen, when dead, whom they had m a d e in life the un happy tool of Party.—(Loud cries of " hear" from the Trea sury Benches.)—Having set out with stating, that he rose in consequence of expressions which had dropped respecting him from the Hon. Member for Aberdeen ? he must complain of that Hon. Member's allusion to him in his absence last night. He (Gen. Gascoyne) would now express the regret he felt for having used a phrase on a former night, which appeared to have given offence to the Hon. Member (Mr. Hume). It fell from him in the heat of debate, and he now regretted having used it.—(Hear, hear!)—But what had the Hon. Member said, not in the heat of debate, but after a night's sleep over the words ? • Mr. DENMAN rose to order. He was sure that the House had heard with great satisfaction the Hon. and Gallant General express his regret for a phrase lie had used on a former night ; but he was now referring to a former night, which was disorder ly, and might, perhaps, lead to recriminating topics.—(Hear, and loud cries of Chair !) • The SPEAKER said, that the House would feel the diffi culties he should have to encounter in the situation in which they had done him the honour of placing him, it he were called upon when any devi a tion f rom s t r i ct or d er took place, to inter pose his voice; but he was persuaded, that the more they de viated from the strict line of order, the more convinced they would be of the inconvenience of such deviation, and of the necessity of maintaining forms which were sanctioned'by wis dom. It was most certainly irregular to refer to a former de. , bate ; but as he had not interfered in the allusion of one Hon. ' Member, which was irregular when it was made, he was at a loss to see how he could now interfere to prevent another Hon. Member, who conceived himself alluded to in his absence, from giving that explanation respecting himself, which he deemed relqant. The inconvenience, however, of these deviations from order were so palpable, that he hoped to prevent their re ' currence.—(Hear, hear.) General GASCOYNE resumed, and said that he had freely confessed his regret for the personal allusion into which he had been betrayed on a former night in the heat of debate, and'only meant to add that he was certainly provoked to it by similar personalities in other quarters. Some of the Gentlemen who sat on the upper benches on the right hand side of the House, were certainly too fond of imputing improper motives to their political opponents, and arrogating to, themselves the whole in dependence of the House.—(Hear, hear.)—.lf motives were to be thus attributed, h e was one of those who thought that. the Gentlemen who opposed Ministers in the hope of driving them from their seats and succeeding them in office, were as liable• to an undue bias as the official persons to whom alone they attri buted such motives.—(Hear, hear.)—The Honourable Mem ber (Mr. Hume) had last night assumed something respecting the manner in which he (General Gascoyne) had acquired his present military rank. To that allusion he should only reply,4 that he had obtained his present rank by 40 years of service. extending when and where it was required, or wherevei he had the honour of command, sometimes by loss of blood, and often with fatigue and danger.—(Hear, hear.)—Th e on l y ot h er allu sion he should make to the Honourable Member would be to recommend to his attention the good old proverb, which he was perfectly disposed to remember himself—" Brother, brother, we are both in the wrong."—(Hear.) Mr. Secretary PEEL, in rising to make a few observations, said, that he regretted much that the Hon. Member for Shrews bury had thought fit again to agitate a question which he re garded as one which would have been much better left in peace. He would, indeed, have looked upon its being a much more pru dent course to leave it in the r e ti rement w hi c h i t had obtained, rather than again to bring it forward in order to excite the at tention of the public. The Hon. Member had, however, used his own discretion, not in bringing the question forward, but also in expressing his opinions thereon ; he would also use the right of exercising his discretion for the purpose of making a re ply to those observations. He had no personal knowledge of the matter, but he could assure the Hon. Member that he had care fully attended to the evidence which had been laid before his predecessor in office, and that after his mat ure cons id erat i on o f the subject, h e h a d come to a firm opinion, Ghat the line of conduct which had been adopted had been that most calculated not only to comply with the wishes of the late 'Queen, but also to exhibit every respect which was compatible with her elevated situation. On approaching the consideration of the subject, he would premise, that it was his intention to con fine himself within very narrow limits ; and he would avoid a ll other topics whatever, except t h at which was immediately before the House. On a former occasion he had fully stated his opi nions relative to the conduct of Sir R. Nilson ; ffi e Ho use wou ld not expect that he should enter aga i n intothat topic. The real question for consideration was, whether his Majesty's Go vernment had shewn any want of respect to her late Majesty's remains. He felt that if he rested that question upon the argu ments which had been used by the several Ilon. Members who had preceded him, to the arguments advanced by the Hon. and Gallant Officer, in relation to the course which had been adopted by the military, to those brought forward by the Hon. Gentle man connected with the Lord Chamberlain, as to the regula tions adopted by that department, and to those advanced by the Gallant Admiral, as to the conduct of the Admiralty, he should have placed the question upon most satisfictory grounds, for those Hon. Members had fully shewn that the proper respect had been paid by the persons connected with those various de partments towards her Majesty's remains. After the regula tions which had been adopted by those various departments, in order to insure success, he was sure that the, House would judge fairly as to whether any disrespect had been shewn,' from a rope having accidentally failed, or a step having been wanted in the mere detail. He was convinced that even the minute at tention of the Hon Member for Montrose had not sufficed to find any particular topic on which he could fix his finger, in order to brand it with disrespect. Indeed, that Hon. Member, whose respect for the memory of her late Majesty it was not for him to doubt, had exercised his ingenuity in order to dispel his grief by an extraordinary mode--a mode which he could not consider possible, if the admissions of the Hon. Member had not esta blished it, for the consideration of the expenditure of black seem ed to him more calculated for a tailor--(loud and long laugh ter)than for the. lion. Member, whose affliction could not be re garded as acute. The House had already seen from the obser- ' vations of the several Members connected with their depart- • ments, that the regulations for paying respect to her late Ma jesty had been most extensive, and that no want of respect had been shewn by them. Even the Hon. Member for Montrose had appeared to assent to the fact of respect having been shewn by the Lord Chamberlain and Admiralty departments, as well as by the military. He would therefore confine himself solely to the facts co-nnected with the removal of her Majesty's re mains from London. It was in the recollection of the House, that her late Majesty had died on Tuesday, the 7th of August, and that onthe subsequent day a message had been sent to her Majesty's executors, stating that it was the intention of his 111 a jesty's Government to take charge of the funeral. From her Majesty's will, it was evident she had expressed her desire that her remains should be deposited in the tomb of her ancestors at Brunswick, and that they should be removed from England within three days after her decease. Application h a d imme diately been made to his Majesty, who had granted his assent ; the funeral was therefore regulated to be in immediate readiness. It had even been delayed to Monday, by means of whicn all the charges of indecent haste had been proved to be incorrect. It had been objected that the body had not been removed by the Yeomen of the Guard. That had not been the case at various funerals of several members of the Royal Family, at which exactly the same etiquette had been observed as in the funeral of her Majesty. The bodies of the Duchess of Brunswick, of the late Duke of Kent, and of the Duchess of York, had not been removed by the Yeomen of the Guard. The non-removal of the body by those yeomen was not therefore to be regarded as an insult. The funeral, therefore, being in readiness on Tuesday, the removal of the Queen's remains was then effected. On their removal, a scene took place which he had never before heard of, a scene so disgraceful, that he was persuaded if the Members of that House had heard that, in any other country, at the funeral of the Queen, not only the orders of the King, but the regulations of the Government, had been violated in a similar manner, they would say, th a t th a t ki ng d om was upon th e point m. of yieiding its Government to anarchy.-- Under these circumstances, could it be said that Government was answerable for the consequences which occurred ? No, it was to those who opposed Government in the arrangement which had been then made, and who originated and opposed obstructions to the execution of duties prescribed by the exist ing laws, who should be called on to answer for those conse quences which it was to be regretted had then taken place. Nothing, in his mind, could ever result from concessions to the people (as they were then erroneously called) upon sucha 'sub ject, but confusion and an aggravation of riot. _He was satisfied that in all such cases the time must come, when blood must, as a consequence, be shed, either by the party performing their duty, or those obstructing it. As to the officer who on that oc casion had the conduct of the party, the conduct which had been, pursued, with reference to him, was, in his mind, fully justified by his negligent performance of the duty with which he had been entrusted ; and there could be no doubt, in his mind, that this officer, under the'circionstances, ought to be dismissed.-- As to the indecent haste with which it was alleged the funeral had been hurried along its intended route, he should only say, considering the interruptions which had been attempted to be thrown in the way, he thought these were enough to have apo logised for it had it really taken place, which, in point of fact, it did not. On the first application by the executors to his Ma jesty's Government, two days had been appointed for conveying the body to Harwich ; but on a remonstrance being made, three days'were given, if three should be found necessary for the con venience of the parties. As to what took place at Colchester, he should state, the executors having declined all responsibility, the Government was therefore obliged to undertake the charge of the funeral both here and beyond sea. Was it then possible that the persons employed by Government should permit an in scription which ran in these words, " Here lies Caroline, the injured Queen of England," to be affixed to the coffin, whereby a stigma and disgrace would be supposed to have attached it selfto his Majesty's Government ? this would have been a breach of their duty, and the attempt was an outrage and insult to Go vernment. Had the executors undertaken the duty which, by her Majesty's request, they were called on to assume, the question would have been different ; but as they did not, it was com pletely altered, and the fault lay at their doors, who having divested themselves of all authority to interpose, commenced this outrageous and disgraceful proceeding in the church.-- i