The Sun.
London, England, 1830-07-07 00:00:00

very first illness with which he was afflicted awakened his
mind to the necessity of making such a provision, and
though that indisposition, as he himself stated in his roes-
stage, 't was not attended with danger," he did not hesi-
tate at once to recommend to Parliament the propriety of
adopting such n measure, and his Parliament thought with
him, and a Regency was oceordingly appointed. Now
if his very first sickness put an end to the want of a Re-
gency to provide against the possibility of future and
contingent dangers, he (Mr. Brougham) would contend
that that precedent was entirely with him, and he called
upon them now to net upon it.—(Hear, hear. )—lf they
acted upon it, they would not content themselves with post•
piling the settlement of that question until the assembling
of the new Parliament. Themoment that George 111. was
warned of the danger which existed, the moment that his
eyes were opened to the necessary caducity of the life of
man, the instant that he became fully sensible of the perils
by which human existence was on all sides beset, the in-
stant that an illness, though not a dangerous one, had
aroused in his mind those fears and apprehensions which
the prime and vigour of youth had hitherto prevented him
from entertaining—that instant he took immediate ma-
sons to provide against the dangers to which the possible
demise of the Crown might expose his people and the
country. No idle sentimental delicacies prevented him front
at once recommending to his Parliament the propriety of
the appointment of a Regency. Again would he (Mr.
Brougham) appeal to that precedent, and again would he
call upon the House to act upon it. if they neglected to
do so, if they neglected to provide against this contingency,
and that it should occur, they could not allege that they
had not been fully warned as to the possibility of its occur-
rence. He had now discharged his duty. Ho was now
Acta to return with the rest of the Members of that House
into the great body of the subjects of this realm, and to u
certainty all of thorn would not meet there again. He could
not, however, bring himself to believe, notwithstanding
what had been said, that there were any Members of that
House too much engaged with electioneering matters, and
too busily employed in canvassing their constituents, to
allow them to discharge ou this occasion that important
duty which they owed to those whom they represented,
and to their country,—namely, the duty of providing for
the security, the safety, and the peace of this great em-
pire. Do not let it be said that they neglected to dis-
charge that duty because they confided in his Majesty's
Ministers,—the reason which one Hon. Member for a
county had given for his determination to vote against this
motion. He (Mr. Brougham) knew the time when there
was scarcely one of the Members for counties who would
not be ready to lend their consciences to the dictates of the
Minister of the day, and they were also followed in that
disgraceful race of servility by several of the Members for
towns, and he would not exclude Aldermen from amongst
the number.—(A laugh.) Indeed he could not here forget
what had been said with regarrlto that distinguished orna-
ment of that House, whose eloquence now was mute—that
it' the Thames were blockaded, if Plymouth had fallen, if
Portsmouth were besieged, sod almost taken, and if Lon-
don alone of all our ports held out, he bad no doubt that
they would find Hon. Members from counties as rea,ly as
ever to express their confidence in Ministers, and that
worthy Aldermen would sleep on their pillows in per-
fect security, fully impressed with the conviction that
Ministers were entitled to their support, and would
preserve the country.—(A laugh.) He (Mr. Brougham)
had no disposition, in supporting such a motion as
this, to attack the illustrious individual at the head
of his Majesty's Goverment. He entirely disclaimed
any feeling if hostility towards him when he prayed the
House to take measures to secure the country against the
possibility of future danger. He did not give that advice
through any motives of hostility towards that Illustrious
Person, nor in doing so was he actuated by any sus-
picion that that lilustricus individual would be capable, in
the eventof such a contingency arising, of acting in any
way detrimental to the interests of the country. He had

t►re brilliant services of that illustrious man in the field as a
sufficient guarantee that such would never be the ease—
there was, his still greater civil services to his country, for
which posterity both in England and in Ireland would for
years to come bless his name, even more than for the tri-
umphs of Waterloo and the glories of Salamanca. These
constituted with him (Mr. Brougham) the pledge, that,
under such circumstances, should they possibly arise, no
danger would accrue to the country at the hands of that
distinguished person ; but he (Mr. B.) felt that he bad a
duty to perform here to the people. He would distrust all
Ministers, because they were Ministers, and his only anxiety
teas to provide against the possibility of any danger to the
country. The dangerswhich he apprehended were not den•
ere from the Ministers in that or in the other House of
liament. The difficulties against which he was anxious
provide had been fully pointed out even by the oppo•
nents of the present motion. Those difficulties did not
scare him from the discussion of this subject now. On
the contrary, he was of opinion, that it was those very
difficulties to which hie Hon. and Learned Friend (the
A ttorneysGeneral) had alluded which should induce Parlia-
ment speedily to proceed to the consideration of this question.
The present Parliament appeared to him the fittest for the
settlement of such a question. Let the matter be contem,
plated for a moment in this point of view. The present
Parliament was about being dissolved. It was only reason-
able to suppose that many of the Members of the present
Parliament would be rejected on an appeal to their consti-
tuents; yet if the calamity, against which a provision like
that recommended to.night was necessary, should occur
before the meeting of the new Parliament, that new Par-
liament chosen by the people would go for nothing, and
this old Parliament in which the people hail lost confi-
dence would be re-assembled for the discussion and deci-
sion of this important question ; and here he could net
hut advert to an extraordinary assertion which bad been
made by the Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary for the
Home Department, which equalled any of the extraor-
dinary statements that bad been addressed to the House by
his lion. and Learned Friend the Attorney-General. The
Right Hon. Gentleman had asserted that if any defect
should occur in the sovereign power of the State, for
whits! it might be necessary to provide a remedy, that the
Constitution gave to Pediment itself the power of pro-
viding such a remedy in a constitutional manner, and he
referred to the instance of the abdication of James H.,
when Parliament voted the Throne abdicated, and gave
the Crown to a fi.reigner. Good God ! was this
the precedent which they were to have quoted for
the ordinary course of the Constitution ? Were they
to refer for a constitutional precedent in a case like the
present to an act of revolution which changed the dynasty
and the ordtr of succession?-..(Hoar, hear.)---Were
they to recur to the Convention Parliament of that period
for the precedent by which they were to he guided on this
occasion ? That was not the way in which be should pro-
ceed, nor was it to guard against such an evil as occurred
et the time of the R. volution that he (Mr. Brougham)
was desirous to provide a remedy. He was anxious to
provide u remedy against that evil to the possible occur-
rence of which every individual in the country was fully
alive. His fears were derived from the apprehension of
seeieg the two Houses of Parliament with en empty
Throne, and eompetitors fiercely contesting their right to
the sueceseion, without any authority in the empire able
to crumb rebellion, sod to Ibtaild up for the rights of the
law. There were many great evils In an hereditary Mo-
narchy, there were many grievous burdens to which it
subjected us, and there might be many sound political
principles to which it was opposed, but it had one great
redeeming &awe, which would reconcile him to it even
were Its faults still greeter nod more numerous—it ren-
dered the succession to the Throne certein, and provided
in that way an effectual remedy against that evil which
could never be thought of without horror—the evil of civil
war in a countey.—(lfear.)—ln conclusion he begged to
trey, that he gave hie cordial end honest support to this
motion, end that he di() so not more as a faithful repre-
sentative of the people than as a loyal and dutiful subject
of the King.—(Cheers,)
Mr. DOHERTY typosed the motion.
Mr. R, GRANT replied.—He utterly disclaimed, u he
had done at the outset, the imputation of having introduced
this motion through party or factious motives. The pro-
prietyuf discoeing apd settling such a question now had
been enforced in those organs from which they usually col-
lected the public opinion, and more particularly in one of
them, which was generally regarded as the one most in pos-
session of the confide ace and sentiments of Ministers, and
indeed be understood upon good authority, though he did
not Mean tp 09, bbst it was official authority, that up to two
or three days after the aemsion of his present Majesty,
Ministers had been determined to bring the neestion forward
in the present Perliament. He should perilit in his motion.
The house then divided, when there appeared
)q
the Motion , 93
itgainet 4 , , err 247
Alnjority ngatnst it ; . ..
LIM. LAW AMENPSIENT PILTI
On the warn of the Arroatqfcr-Ga?ixam, the House
reselved itself into a Committee on this Bill.
Lord MORPETH proposed a clause as sn amendment
90 a clause to exempt newsp.tpers from the additional WO/.
security peeelty imposed by the Bill.
The ATTOREy-GENERAL contended that the
clauee was necessary owing to the licentious tendency of
the press...(Laught(
PAVENPORT was of opinion that the existing
law proyided otijiipient remedy.'
Mr. HUME retread with his Honeurable Friend. If
there could exist a doubt on the subject, the recent tFbor