The Sun.
London, England, 1839-06-01 00:00:00

EV fis,NIN'G rt. ITION.

(Great cheering.) Tho battle has been fsuelit with va-
rious suceess—(Cheers)—but I any, and I know the
Noble Duke opposite, who understands more of battle
than I do, is of the same opinion, that that attempt has
signally failed.--( Cheers. ) In fact, a worthy friend of
mine, who is a staunch Whig, stated to me that he never
witnessed such a failure in the world.--( Cheers ) This
was not for want of zeal out of doors.— (Cheers. ) How
was this attempt made.? Why, the ten-times repeated
falsehoods have been without exception reproduced. and on
them have been grafted slanders the most despicable; but
though ridiculous and contemptible for their absurdity, yet
not the lest despicable, and incite iting a deep, malignant,
and a false and corrupt nature, and those who could make
them the subject of their discourse.—(Great cheering.)
My Lords, I deeply regret to have lived to see the day
when so great a name should be mixed up in such false-
hoods. It shows me that common reason, and sense, and
charity are no longer hereditary in a family, which was in
former periods of its history illustrated by all those orna-
ments of reason and sense, and advanced, besides, by im-
mortal genius and spotless integrity, which once made the
name of Henry Grattan to shine pith such a surprising
bril.iancy and I ustre.—( Tremendou cheers.) Is ly no noire,
my Lords, with respect to these slanders, on recount of the
weakness of reason to which I have ascribed them—
((heers)—but there have been others, for whom neither
from past history nor present times I feel such tenderness
and pity.—( Cheers.) I warn my Noble Friends against
saying that they will give up their conscientious opinions
to the dictation of others —(Great cheering.) I warn
them not to suppress those high and honourable feelings
that burn within their bosoms, from f-ar of losing any
support—(Cheers)--for they may be well assured it they
persist in counteriancieg such persons, they wol be them-
selves deserted—(Cheers)—it they truckle to them they
Will be abandoned—(Cheers)—if they yield to them
they will be despised—if they promote them they will
he abused.—(Cheers.) And if they contaminate the
Bench with them, they will be impeached.—(Tremendous
cheering.) But there is ap honourable and manly course
open so them—they must discountenance all such persons,
tney must refuse to pay the filthy price.—(Cheers.)
They must pref., r hostility to support from such quarters,
they must consider that alliance is worse than hostility,
and feel with the noble portion of their countrymen, that
the saliva is more pernicious than the too h. —( Great
cheering.) Then, my Lords, I come to ask the question,
having dealt with the history of the last 12 days, what there
is on the 31st May, that shows that the Government have
more the confidence of the Houses of Parliament,
than they had on the 7th.—(Cheers.) Anxious as I was
to put an end to the finality doctrine, anxious as I always
have been to hold out the right hand of fillowship to her
Majesty's Ministers, I was in hopes that they meant tc
make some change in their policy; but those hopes have
been put an end to by the statements of the Noble Lord.
All the supporters of the Ministry stated that they intended
to do so, and that they would have crone it before if Lord
John Russell bad not placed himself in the way. New,
my Lords, from the knowledge I have of Lord John Rus-
sell, I believe that a stronger Reformer than that
Noble Lord does not exist; and when it is stated
that that Noble Lord was the only Minister who
insisted on the finality of the ROorm Bill, I know
that that opinion was entertained by the whole of the
Ministry. It was not the doctrine of Lord John Russell
alone, but of the whole Cabinet. That doctrine, I trust,
they have reconsidered, and if they have, I will tell
them that their failure lately will be accounted nothing
if they will only allow themselves to be found fighting in
the ranks of the people.—(Cheers.) I had some hopes
of that, but they are damped by the generalities in which
the Noble Viscount has dealt.—(Cheers.) What I de-
precate, my Lords, is the tendency in many quarters to con-
sider the basis of the new Government to be totally different
from any yet known. Whoever heard, or fancied, or dreamt
of a] Whig Government standing upon a Bedchamber
question—(Cheers)—a question of personal feeling to-
wards the Sovereign, and a resolution to stand by the
Sovereign, and a rallying cry to fly to her defence.--
(Great cheering.) Yet that is the ground upon which
the Government is now to stand, and that is the ground
upon which it applies to the country for support. One of
the first of the falsehoods that has been stated in support
of that ground all over the country is this—that an
attempt was made by Sir Robert Peel to deprive the Quen°
of all her Ladies of all kinds and descriptions
(Cheers.) I have seen that stated over and over
again, and anything more false was never uttered by
mortal man.—(Cheers.) Another falsehood is that
it was intended to take from her Majesty the society of her
earliest friends, those friends to whom she had been at-
tached from her cradle, who had watched over her in
sickness, and spent happy hours with her when in health.
—(Cheers.) That statement, my Lords, is as utterly
without foundation as the other to which I have adverted.
Her Majesty is now nineteen years of wee, nearly tsventY'
and how long I would ask, have these eadies watched over
her ?—( Laughter. ) None of these associates of her
childhood could have been of more than two
years' stand-
ing.—( Hear, hear.) And if the feelings of any man,
woman, or child, were excited in favour of the Noble
Viscount by the statement of Sir Robert Peel's negociae
tion, one hundred men, one thousand women, and ten
thousand of younger persons, were excited by that appealwhich came bonne to every bosom—that of tearing from an
amiable young lady the friends of her earliest childhood.--
( Cheers.) All that turns out to be a fabrication.—( Hear.)
It is all false—There is not a shadow of truth in it. No
man can venture to stand up here and say, that the Noble
, Duke opposite, or Sir Robert Peel, ever asked of her
Majesty to give up even for one hour, any one of her early
associates. Well then it is said, they should not be re-
moved—what business had they to be removed ? Why not
allow the Noble Marquis's (Normanby) Lady. and the
Noble Lord (Morpetb), formerly my colleague for York-
' shire, why not allow his sisters to remain? For all I know
they might have remained. All that was stipulated for
was, that there should be the power of removing them.
I must say however, that a new ground has been taken
elsewhere, something very extraordinary and quite novel
has been propounded, and the obvious, simple and natural
arrangement now is, that there should be one set of men
in the public offices, and another set of women, the wives
of their antagonists in the public offices elsewhere.--
(Laughter.) It was reserved for the year 1839, and for
us Whigs, to promulgate that doctrine. The Whigs
refused to take office because the relative of a Noble Lord
opposite, held the office of Lord Chamberlain in his
Majesty's Ilousehold.—( Cheers.) The explanation
we have had of that circumstance, was the most
unsatisfactory that could be given, but it seems
to be the rule of these Household 'discussions, that
the explanation should be of a 'less satisfactory
nature than any other. This is the extraordinary position
in which we are placed, but it throws this light on the mat-
ter, that when the Minister says resign, it means that the
.
husbands go out, but the wives, for conformity, do not fol-
low—half go out, but the better half remain in.—( Bee
of laughter:) And when he comes down and say', in the
usual and customary formula proper to these occasions,
that the Ministers only hold office until their successorrs
are appointed, is means that they only hold office till their
wives and sisters prevent any successors being apfmir'teit
—( Laughter and cheers ) That's the meaning of it.
is painful to discuss matter s in which ladies are necessarily
involved—it is very painful; but whose fault is it? The
Ladies of the Bedchamber have become a State question h--
tneyhave become a political engine—they have become t
pivot on which political movements hinge—t hey are the nell
obstacle to the confidence of Parliament being
given to
those whom the Parliament selects to confide in.,
They cease to be the mere private companions :f.:
the Sovereign, and be come the actors in State h
fi
fairs—they become Statesmen although not clothed with
a masculine character—they become agents and operator!
standing between the wishes of Parliament and the fu
meat of these wishes. If it were not for these circumi;
stances it would be try duty to maintain that silence sebi___#c
I observed on the former occasion ; but it is now bee'',
a constitutional question, and there are so many
gray
constitutional questions mixed up with it—it has so Mal
important bearings connected with it, that I confess I vie
the consequences that may result from it with dismay, an
I would rather be relieved from the necessity of content'
plating them. It is perfectly justifiable ground for a 00;
vernment maintaining itself in office that it has the support
of the people. If the Houses of Parliament differ, ID'
constitutional mode of adjustingthe difference is an aPPeal
to the people. If the Lords differ from the Commeegt
and that the Crown is not a mere cipher (and no one
holds the doctrine of the Crown being a mere cipher 4
greater contempt than myself)—if the Crown agrees the
te
the Commons, and that the Commons differ from
Lords, if the matter be of a trifling nature the G„yern-
merit goes on as usual—if it be of a very important
(e)bbs; •
ratter the constitution chalks out the proper plan t .d,,d
adopted, and if a new election by a clear and dee'
majority shows that the people adhere to the Comftle(e'se'
and differ with the Lords, then I say that the Constitution
of the country is, that the Lords must give way to the
Crown and the people ( Hear, hear,)—othervrise e.s
mixed form of Government is mixed in vain. But this
not the position they now stane in—this is their novel sod,e
portentous position, that neither the Lords nor the peopi.
have confidence in them. They have both abandoTid,
them ; they have lost the confidence of the
confidence of the Lords they never had. They have And
lost the confidence of the Sovereign, and that's all.
; rester
on what ground is it stated that that confidence ''„gt.
h on
on Monday the 14th than it was on Monday e
th
eased
what ground is it that this continued but not inc eased
confidence will enable them to carry on the business
of the country in the face of the two Houses ?
That's the question.—( Hear, hear ) It remains yett
unanswered.—(Hear, hear.) Then it comes to this, that
Parliament and the country are bound to yield to the
PecTlee not
wishes of the Sovereign. In the present case it is not the
caprice of Parliament—it may be the caprice of the Sore-
arenidgnn.evelra supposititious case; _
who had less of
.e than the Illustrious Personage
what may be called esprit,
now or, the throne.—( Hear, hear.) But, m
amwes ntrremaerpeelyrspount,rhelieve,
my Lords, sup
pose the Sovereign says,-
I don't care for the Lords or
the Commons—I shall insist on keeping in my ministers,
because I shall insist on keeping iu those two Ladies of
the Bedchamber." And that's the position in which we
are gravely told the country is now placed. That's their
case—that's their statement—that's their representation,
stripped of all the exaggeration and falsehood which has
been grafted on that statement—that's the real, unadulte;
rated, unmitigated statement of the Constitution"
principles which the Noble Viscount lays before Parlia-
ment.—(Hoar, hear.) My Lords, this is new—this is
portentous—this is strange and uncouth language to
heard in this House. We belong to a country, and we are
governed by a Crown, in which the wisdom of Parliament's
everything the absolutely
r personal feelings of the Sovereign
not to be named—to be named inpersonal matters surely--
in all things belongingindividual" and considers'
tions to torcs
tions to be consulted—to beekindl treated, to be respect-
fully venerated, to be touched WltYlt the most tender, nna
cautious, and timid, and shrinking hand, but never to in-
terfere with the sober judgment of Parliament—e•never to
interfere for an instant, or to countervail the highest
inte-
restst of the State—never to be allowed te eegulateem.
guide, to govern, or to sway the State affairs of this realo,,
That is the language of the Constitution, and if it be
inut_
then we do inot live in a limited but under an +issue
to
monarchy. Gracious God that I should be oat I
argue this and to urge this with Whigs.—( Loud ,29