The National Register.
London, England, 1813-02-28 00:00:00

DIV NATIONAL lIEGISTEII.

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poommissmisir •
Lord. CASTLIGREAGA resisted the amendment, which Was We/Mil/C.4
and Mr. Grattan's Resolution agree' to without a division.
REGENCY. •
Sir FRANCIS BURDETT •nSC to make the motion respectidz the
Re-
gency of which he li ereviously given notice He would begin by
stating what his motives were. His sole aim had ever been to secure
to thl Cieren all the 1- flu ncc and preroe•dives with whielt the Con-
stitution had armed it, and which were as oecessery to the suppoer of
ire authority as the welfare of the people. It apeeared to him, that
the privileges of the Crown had been &cid% infringe I on on two occa-
sions, to w'ieh the disease which afflie:s his Majesty hal witortue
nately riven birth The first was in 1788. and he was convieeed that'
the mede lately adopted in forming the present- Regency, hat been dic-
tated by imperious end violent faction, whew only oject was to re-
main 'hi p wer ureter every change of tretittestalice, careless how far
..itth measures ',Heeded the people and degraied the Royea authority.
It was a fundamental principle of the Coineitution that the !cog never
died, because hi.s authority develyee. iteinettiately after his decease, on
his bUCCerS:T. It was evident, then:lgoe, by analogy, that the Re-
gency belonged by right to the Heir Apparent, wit. throueli any
cause Mialever, the Kis% was un,dee to Whin the dunes of his hielz
office. The Hon. Baronet illustrated this position by exateples drawn
from the History of England, aed enforced the danger of entrusting
ter e tern al authority ter any time to otl•er hands than thole of the' Heil"
A irearent. Yet, in the settlement of the Rege cy, throne)) a faction
not less absurd thee uneotistittitienel, the Chancellor bad been em-
powered by both Hou'ses, to affix the royal seal to their own acts, as
though they had been the acts of his Majesty. A similar faction
might depose a King without his knowlOge, amid that su pp siti n was
not so unfounded as it might appear to certain persons, since it had
happened in France, donne the insanity of Charles Vl. that the Par.
liament of Paris li •rt made use of the great seal to depose his son.
The Honourable Baronet was as anxiens as any one liter the life
of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent should be proloeged,,
hut if he were to die during the life ot his Majesty, the nano,: would
find itsclf once more exposed to all the inconveleences ants dangers of
an interregnum, such as that which had preceded the present Re-
gency. Such an event might seem irmerobeble, and he sat. erely
hnpAt it would not take place, but it would be imprudent net 'he
part of the Legislature to leave such i:-npertant interests to the hands
of chance, end to pay less attention to the welfare of the State than
individuals do to the concerns of their famil alter them. The Hatt.
llaron:t then vindicated the purity of ht, metitee, and pointed out
how unfounded were those which had been attributed to him since he
hail given notice of this motion. Their best refutation would be the
proposition which he intended to make. He had no private end in
view ; he had avoided all personality. and his only wish was to sece re
to the nation the uninti rrupied exercise of the Rot al Authority. He
would not even &si,rnate, in his tnoti-n, the eel son to whom the
Regency should belong in case the event lie had alluded to should
happen, althotieh it was his intention afterwards to name her R 0)51
Highness the Princess Charlotte of Wales. tie would, therefore,
content himself with " asking leave to introduce a Bill to prevent
any interthetion in the exercise of the Royal Authority in case his
Roy al Highness sit 'tild die during his Majesty's Life."
Lord COCHRANI seconded the motion.
Mr. BRAGS& BATHURST thought, that a measure of the nature of
that proposed by the Honeurable Baronet ought to comers:commended
by he Crow. ; and that un'ess in case of a very strong necessity, the
House were net called upon to interinee! in a wiener of such delicacy.
• Mr. Brarti, Lord A. Hamilton, Mr. C. W. Wynne, and Mr.
Potionht• sueported the melon.
Lord CASTLEREAGH thought the measure not called for on any
greunds either of necessity or expediency. If he were to argue the
measure on .. the grounds ef tee Honourable Baronet, his motion
seemed rather haterdel to invalidate the constitutional authority oldie
two former precedents of 1788 and 1810, teau to provide for airy im-
mediate or probable einergeecy. So far he must give the motion his
decided opposition. He deprecated any revival ot those queetions ;
but he thought it a great hi-ssing that iegeecrel provision Pas! been
made, on most mature consideration of the whole scope of the ques-
tion, by the rules and maxims then laid down and acted upon, toe
one of the most trying wet critical situations in which the govern..
mentor the country could nee placed. If the question wets argued on
the ground of particular expediency, the danger to be provided against
was bp small, so very remote, that it did not appear to affiard any
sufficient reason for a legislative enactment.
Mr. WHITBREAD gave his most hearty Concurrence to the motion
of the Honourable Baronet.
Sir V. Beieeele replied and the House then divided—when there
appeared for the motion, t 9 ; Against it, 238.—Majori:ty against the
;notion, 165. Adjourned.

WZIMESDAY, 'M. 21.
After the presentation of a number of Catholic Petitims, and some'
warm altercation between several. Irish Meihbers on the subject of
them, Mr. Whitbread postponed his motion fur ppoo till alter the.
Etter recess. • • Y.
Mr. W. Si.tivo p ted a Petition From „the Dissenters of all
Iteseriptions in the AtiObourixa.of I,..eti4ons pray ins to be Xlielie4
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