The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-06-02 00:00:00

ROYAL SCRODS IN SCOTLAND.

General Feateussort presented a Petition from
the Borough of Cup4r, comphit :: i : ig of the date of
r.'preseutat►o►t in Scotland, and praying fur in
adcquatt reform en the Royal Burghs.
Lurd BINNING said, l►e understood the Petition
prayed fur Parhauteutary Reform and Uuiverval
Suffrage.
General FERGUARCIII read an extract from the
prayrr, which deprecated that course of 13rf•rur,
and bit the whole subject to the consideration of
the llouse.—( hear.)
Leeti MERINO will, the Petition purported to
lie that of the Corpurati ttttt whereas he understood,
it was adopted at a meeting of turty•six—eighteru
of whom were agaiust it. The Corporation had
nut been regularly convened, and the Petition
'Amid only l►e received as from individuals.
Criteria I:Eat:tissue replied, that the Meeting
had hero publicly colivetied, dud was numerously
attended. lie certainly war Hot as accustomed as
the Noble Lord to vote In huge msjorittes, he
yielded to his better experience ou such points.—
(Beta%)
The SPEAKER decided, that as the Petition had
the Seal of the Corporation, and was signed by the
proper officer. the House was bound to receive it,
as that which it 'towelled to toe. It was for the
officers to account with the Corporation for this
exercise of authority if soy objection were started.

—The Petition was '
received. and ontered to 1 e
printed.
CONVICTIONS AND EXECUTIONS.
On the motion of Sir .1. MACIIINTO4H. an hum-
ble Address to the Prince Regent was ordered, pray-
ing that time be laid before the House. a statement
of the number of capital Convictions and Bisect.-
lion% in London awl Middlesex, from the year
1749, to the year ISlS—and of the number of
committala from the year 1805, to the year 1817,
inclusive.

•
CRoWII EXTENT&
Sir S. RottiLLY pretenied Petitions front the
following individuals, whn were confined by the
Crown after property lidd been taken by
extents, viz.—Win. Crott, of Ipswich ; Samuel
Cooper, of Brampton; John John Ruse,
George Steven% and Thum*, Clark.
The Prtition4 were ordered to lir on the bible.

The CHANCELLOR of the EILCHEQUER-;;id.
that all complaints of this kind Were periodically
referred to the Lords of the Treasury, who owe
relief in eve, y case which they deemed entitled to it.

A Message from the Lords announced their
Lordships' concurrence to the Lottery Bill, and se-
veral other Bills.
REGENCY AMENDMENT BILL.
Lord CASTLEREAGH, in moving for the second
rending of the Regency Amendment 8011, shortly
stated the stature of the measure. It was divided
into two branches-Ist, by the addition of four
Counsellors, to give her Nlajesty every facility in
the tuatiugetnent of the duty which devolved upon
her in the core of the Royal person. This add,-
t to her Council was actually necessary, from
the absence no public business, at certain periods,
of the Lord Chancellor, and other Officers of State,
who were appointed to assist the Queen by'llte last
Act. It was necessary that two or more of the
Council should reside at IVitidisor, in the event of
her Majesty's health requiring 1.11 occasional
ab-
sense from that place. The second branch was,
to provide for the care of the Royal ',tram! iu
the event of the demise of the Qureu, during a
dissolution of Parliament ; it was intended that
in such a case the Council should continue to
have the rare of his Maj,sty until the meeting of
the next Parliament, which shall be within 60 days
sifter the demise of the Queen, in the same mousier
Na was provided iu 11111 Majesty's case. It was right
to of this contingency in the Caine nianner
iii both cares. The Bill sanctioned the principle
of the former measure, and merely gave the COMP,
sellnrs the power of exercising their functimis until
Parliament reassembled, iii the event of the occur-
rence of the contiogesicy to which he alluded. Tile
Bill conferred no new power, but merely provided
for contingencies which might possibly anise wheat
Parliament were-nnt assembled.

Du the motion that it be read a second time,
Mr. TIIIINEY said, that he would not object to
the measure it it was deemed advisable by those
who had the best iliforinaliou upon the circuits.
sta.•ces of the eisse. If it were fur her Majesty's
couvessience to have an additional number of Coun-
sellors. he would not obj.-ct to this, extension,
he must say he disliked the manner in which this
Council was composted, to the exclisiou of men
who were not armor political adheresits of his Ma-
jesty's Ministers. What objection mild there be
to the introduction of such a man as E..' Spencer
in this Council-114'0-0r to a Member of the
Royal Family ? It was ivroiig to exclude the
branches of the Royal Family from any part in the
care of the King. It were to be wished, indeed,
that one or two of such characters as lie had alluded
to were substituted for the number of Lords of the
Bedchamber that were now found on the list. The
state of the Queen's health, it was assumed, might
cause iii occasi I absence from Windsor ; why
not then substitute some Member of the Royal Fa-
mily in her place P It was never intended that the
Council should have the care of the King under
any circumstance ; that trust was solely reposed in
the Queen, and she was to have a Council mere-
ly to aid her with their advice. They never
had the power of doing more than advising her
Majesty as to the execution of her trust.—
The reel object of the Bill was to give Minister* en
opportunity of dissolving Parliament. There was
two necessity fur it. It had been alleged that the
provisions of the Bill were omitted by oversight in
the Regency Act ; but when the House considered
how that Act had been debated, line by line, they
could scarcely admit the correctness of that asser-
tion. He would allow, however, that the Bill was
so far de►irable, as it went to guard against what
might be a great incusivenience—the revival of the
former Parliament, after much of the expense and
trouble of en election had been incurred. His Ma-
jesty's demise was a contingency it did not pretend
to take into consideration. In that event, the
01. l Parliament would of necessity be called again
into existence. It was extraordinary that the
framers of the Bill were so averse to providing
for the administration of the Regency in case
of the demise of the Prince Regent. la such
ass event, there was not a second opinion, but
the Duke of York should he the individual on
whom the Regency ought to devolve. Why thei
nut decide on at once, and cut off the difficulties
that might by possibility arise from leaving it un-
determined ? was another point to which lie
wished just to allude—the useliesa expense of
the establishment ut Windsor. He spoke of
it not with a view to popularity, but front a
real conviction that a great unnecessary expenditure
was rettriell on there. It was ridiculous to say,
his Nlajesty's comforts were ut all promoted by it.
He would be sorry to advise any thing disrespectful
or hurtful to the feelings of any branch of the Royal
Family ; hut lie must express the opinion that some
regulation might be adopted there to effect a consi-
derable *riving to the country. He could nut enter-
tain much hope that his suggestions would produce
any practical effects this Session, at that late period
of it ; but he should not have discharged his duty
to the country if lie had not made these few other.
vations.

Mr. CANN:ma said, it could tint be expected
that the whole of tl►e Regency Act should be revis-
ed at a time when by mooch the greater pert of the
Srse had el spied. With respect to the point
alluded to by Right Hon. Gentleman. the demise
of tl►e Regent, his Majesty's Ministers had had
some tttttt salmi last Session of the sense of the
House oil the fitness of discussing it. A Member
tl►e opposite side bud thrown out some obser-

rations on the .snliject, alien enough transpired to
spew' that the House was adverse to making any
provisions for the contingency, and the Howe had
always tannifested a similia feeling. 'File Right
Gentlemen *nulled to the establishment at
Windsor. He was free to confess that that rota-
bliilinsent might be a ft siihfril of conioderation
whenever the detnise of the Queen took place; and
he wax sure that the delicacy observed by the Right
Hon. Gentleman himself would excuse his going
further into the question. The Bill exactly met
the case it was intended for. The C tttttt nirsioners

had all been selected on the same principle as the
former ones.
Sir S. Itumtt.t.ir said, that a reduction of the
establishment at %Viinlaur was uqw imperiously
called lot, as the t sanguine could Scarcely en-
tertain any hope of the recovery of his Majesty.—
If his Miijesty himself could for a moment he roused
from his dream of understanding, amid made sensi-
ble of the vain pomp and skew kept up by his sub-
jects, on pretence of his comforts, lie would be the
strongest in reprobat of
Mr. W. WYNN thought the provisions of the
presesit Bill were necessary, nude• the
circuue-
struces, sod that it would be more respectful to the
(Loyal Family that hi• Majesty should remain in
the care of prisons familiar to him than of compa-
rative strangers.
Bill was then read a second time, and ordered
to be committed to-morrow.