The National Register.
London, England, 1811-03-03 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER

iMPERIAL PARLIAMENT,
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HOUSE OP LORDS.; , , •

lki

P.,1,r....._

.. • MONDAY, Fee. 4..5._ •
• On the motion of Lord Grenville, the, Revenue Laws'
Amendment Bill was. read a • second time, and ordered to be
referred to' the Committee on the Revenue Laws.
On. the motion of Lord keedesdale, the Bill for the Relief of
Insolvent Debtors, was read a second time, and ordered to be
committed on the sth of March.—Adjoumed to Thursday.
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• THURSDAY, FEB. es.
The Ilia for ascertaining the Population of the United King-
dom was read a first time..
Lord HOLLAND said he felt it imperiously his duty- to call
their Lordships attention to a case of singular calamity and
.wretchedness, which terminated fatally in a case of an unhappy
,•: rhatt-centintd for debt in January last, and which was a pro-
.x‘tineteeinstance of the wretched state, in somepoints of view,
of his. Mejney's prisons in.:ehis kingdom. I-le alluded to the
vardiet of. a,Coroner's Jury .in January last, on the body .of a
persondeceased in the Marsbalsea prison, and who was stated
to have died-from, want. The particulars of. this case were pe-
culiarlyaiiiictit}g. The unfortunate individual was immured in
t 1 a MarehiVide 'Prison in November last, for a debt of only'
sever: pounds. It appeared that. he was in the greatest distress,
and trad'no other means of subsistence than the charity of his ,
unhappy fellow-sufferers in the same prison. lie was reduced
even to gnaw -the bones which were thrown into the yard ; lie
had 'neither bed net-clothing.; the Miserable room which be in-
hahited'had no window ; and when Jury viewed the body '
it wa's in • a state which it was impossible to desetibe. The
Oortiner's Jury had actually returned a verdict of—" starved to
death;"ei-htte.' upon reconsideration,. they.. Iluelly returned the
=ideated- verdict of 4 letlieVe tleat the decea.seci's
deetli*as tended by wane' of -food 'and ncitliing, and of prOper
attention in his illness." The facts which he stated could be
• proved in !evidence if thought necessary, at their. Lorile4ips'
bar. Two shilling, it was tree, W.C!ee found in his p.ocleetee het
the money se:fountd was conveyed there atter his death ;. or if
before, it was so near his end that it t ante too late, to do hine
any good. His Lordship then made' a number of appropriate
remarks on the wretched case he bad just • narrated, and con-
cluded with moving, that a copy cif the. proceedings before
the - Coroners Inquest be laid before the Honse.—Orderedee

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and altheugh many rumours were afloat upon this subject, the
people turned a deaf ear to the tale, ina.npt until, the malady
.was proved beyond a doubt could they lie inclnefill to believe it.
The moment it was announCed by the auttidtity 'of 'the Lord
Chancellor, however, th3t his Majesty was resto.red.to his men.,
tal health, and that he-Would shortly be able to testnite',the ex•
ercise of his Royal Function, both Houses of Patliartient evin•
ced such delicacy, that they instantly stopped the measure;
which they were. proceeding to adopt, and, wailed with anxiety
for the arrival of that happy moment, which created a Semis
ment.of extacy from one end of the kingdom to.the other, and
on the assurance of whiclievery eye
'glistened with joy. From
that time, tWelVe years elapsed before any return of the disorder
was observeable, and In 1801 his. Majesty
.was again announced
by the Physicians, in official Bulletins, to be indisposed. These
Bulletins, however, were couched in terms so ambiguous, that
had it not been for the former illness of his Majesty, no person
Could have supposed that there was any thing in the King's
malady which could make him Incapable of exercising his Royal,
Authority, It was now well understood, however, that during
that illness, the first account of which was received on the 21st
of Febrhary, hii Majesty was not in a sound state of mind; a;-,
•to use the words of the Physicians, “his jadgMent was in
eclipse." Nevertheless, two days afterwards,' namely, on the.
24th of February, a Commission was signed by the King.—At
the period of 1801, a very remarkable political event occurred :
Mr. Pitt thought it necessary to resign into his Majesty's handi
those Seals which. he had, for so may years; the 'charge of, and
which were subsequently delivercdto a Right Hon. Gentleman,
then a Member of that House, but since made a Viscount, and
called up to:x6e Lords. It was not, however, till the 11th of
March that Mr. Addington took his seat as first Lord of the
Treasury, and Chancellor of the Exchequer, at Which time also
the Bulletin of his Majesty's health ceased to be publlshed, from
which circumstance it was meant to be inferred, that the King
had recovered ; when it ths•perfectly well known that his Ma-
jesty was .not SO recovered, and afterwards had a serious relapse,
during which the Royal' Authority was • exercised, although it;
could not have the sanction of the King, syho was not of sound
mind. On thel4th of February, 1804, the King was again taken
ill,.and on the 15th. his illness was published •in a Billed() frc
the Physicians. On this occasion, too, was the delicady and fOr-
bearanceofthe HOuSe again observable, except in one instance,
wherd an Hon. Gentleman signified his intention of making a.•
motion upon the subject, when a R ighz. Hon. Gentleman depre-
cated any inquiry., and Mr."Pftt•said,• Minister, would give no- :
tice of any material change of his Majesty's health: Froth that
time it was taken or granted the-King was well. The .Bulletins
ceased on the 22d of March. So that Altholfgh the people were
to understand from the publication of theliulletins having ceased
his. Majesty was perfectly well, yet he was rot declared welt
enough to take his scat in Council till sheAptil.. With
regard to 1801—that was gone by, and he ( WalfV-. . Inbreed) did
not think it necessary to carry theitilaniry so Par But when
he foundnd in an *A ct for the appointment-of the.lt
t,
7. person
named es the civil adviser of the Queen,"whO, in mill,. wa9-the
Lati:l, High Chancellor of England, who in 1444 was in,the fame
office, and who was still in that high situation ;"where' be %asy
Litird Sidraouth in the Upper Ficnise, a Right lion. Gentkrnan
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opposite to him (Mr. Yorke,) and a Noble Lord under'thel,al-
lery(Lord Castlereagh.) within the reach'cif those LAWS er4artit
which they had offended, he trttsted the House would put!Pra
in•a situation to prove his assertions,!. rd to gie'theisi. in °nor-
tunity cstivinclicatir4 their Coricttret. Whatever triune tnightte
;imputable to theSecrethry hi' the' Admiralty, :-.ltl the Ntble
'Lord to whom he alluded, would tat;itte out in the inquiry ; but
with respect to Lord Eldon and laord Sidirtoutii 'be -Was pre-
Oared to prove, that Whichlie s as 'now prepared to assert.--.
On the 10th of Mirch' Lord Eritni was striellY questioned is-
kkqat. state Flia, Majesty wai,..i thl that irigeitiPtss Lord, by a
.figure pretty common with him, applied his *hand to his lita.-.,
hnd declared on his conscience, which 'that -Noble Lord, he
dassoodivas pretty familiar with his: OsVii• •retponsibility of
ituation andof character, and, tool all the protestations hi his.
lijcitsty.'s well-being upon hivaself. ' He would 'call the H(-:..oaasoto the recollection Of his Majesty, 'on that day havit.4.
•beeireMployed to sign certain‘ipapers, when, to speak in the
words:of an intelligent gentlensan, his indgMent was' under the
darkness bf an eclipse. And it would be further recolletted,
thavon the 26th .of March, 'fjord Sidmo'uth came to the House
With a message, signed by his Illajelay'S name, and by his atitho-
rity ;—teen atthat time his Maje sty was struggling through an
awful dlstemner,andSwas not'recovered to he seen' by his sub-
jects in private. He wished that; the Ministers implicated in
that most disgraceful businesswo aid wit themsebies in a situa-
tion to answer to his statements, : tnd dispro;re them should they
'be able. He considered it as ;sow iat material thing that the pub-
cli should he informed of ap.. the , particulars, . than they might
know who they could repese irt tst and 'confidence in. Lord
L Liacoll Was employed in the Que Sn's prett,nt Coancil, and again

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