The Sun.
London, England, 1830-06-29 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS

We yesterday stated, what we again urge to-day,

the necessity of the early settlement of the Regency
question. If the present possessor of the Crown
were to die before a Regency Bill were passed, the
young Princess would, in the eye of the law, haves

attained her majority, and would, in fact, be Queen.*
It is needless to point oat the inconveniences that
might and would arise from confiding the Govern-
ment, without limitation, into the hands of a chik
of eleven years of age, and the difficulty that would
then necessarily occur in settling a Regency. No
Minister, it is presumed, would run the risk of the
occurrence of such a state of things; which, how-
ever, would be done by deferring the consideration
of the Regency till the assembling of the new Par-
liament,—this latter course occasioning as it would
a delay of some months. The next point for con-
sideration is the constitution of the Regency. It i,
hardly necessary to remark how essentially and
vitally important to every member of the commu-
nity is the manner in which the Regency shall

be formed. It is not only the present good
government of the State which depends upon
thiF, but the future character of the minor So-
vereign may also be materially influenced by it.—
Upon the counsels, the views, the example, which
may now be given to the young Princess who is
destined to sway the sceptre of these realms, may,
and probably will, depend the colour of her future
reign, and the happiness or misery alike of herself
and of her subjects. When these things are taken

into consideration, it is not too much to hope that
the members of the Legislature and of the Govern.

merit will consider the subject apart from all the
jealousies and littlenPases of party politics, and that
they will unite as citizens of a free state—one and
all equally anxious to promote that measure which
shall appear the most likely to conduce to the pros-ii
perity of the state. To expect entire unanimity in'
any known assembly would be Utopian; but if the'
menthert of the Legislature will come together, de-'
termined to act according to the best of their judg-
ments for the good of their country, the result cannot
fail to be satisfactory. Who is there so fit for

1
the office of Regent as the Duchess of Kent,
the mother of the future Sovereign ? Her high
.-et' personal character,—her devotion to the best in-,
terests of her child,—and the admirable and most'
sensible education she has thus far given her,
1. prove her to be fully worthy of such a trust. By such
ft a choice the office of Regent and of Custos of the
future Sovereign would be united in the same per-
son, which is always desirable. An exact precedent
also for this course is to be found in the Regency
. Billt of 1751, by which the Princess Dowager of
:1 Wales, who, like the duchess of Kent, was a
foreigner and not in the succession to the Crown of
'.. England, but who also like her was the mother of
: l the future Sovereign, was appointed Regent. A
Council of Regency, at least a Council, counter.
railing by its powers that of the Regent, and so,
in fact, dividing the prerogative of the Crown, is a
course to be avoided; the constitutional view of the
subject being, that the power of the Crown, whether
vested in the person of a King or of a Regent,
should be undivided. In 1751, the Council of
Regency appointed by the Bill of that year had
r` most extensive powers, which tied up the hands of
. the Regent, and must have been productive of great
inconvenience had the Regency ever been called
into action. This was done to torment the Princess
`p Dowager, whom George 11. was afraid of, as the
head of the party of her late husband, Frederick
Prince of Wales; and also to perpetuate the party
views and power of the Duke of Newcastle, then
Minister, and of the Duke of Cumberland. Let us
• now review other measures which may be proposed.
The precedent of 1765, by which the King was
enabled, by an instrument under his hand, to nomi-
nate any one person of a certain number named
. in the act, Regent, is peculiarly objectionable. The
-power of appointing a Regent ought not to be ex-
ercised by the Legislature. Then, if ever there was
a measure likely to lead to confusion and even to
disputed succession, it is this. Look at the his-
, tory of France, and see when the Kings of that
• country appointed Regencies by their wills, to what
disturbances it led, and reflect that if even Louis
XIV. could not ensure obedience to his will upon
the subject of a Regency, what chance has ally
other Sovereign of doing 90 ? The Duke of Cum-
berland is presumed to be out of the question, and
should be argued to be so from the circumstance of
his becoming, by the death of the King (William
IV.), a foreign Sovereign--nnmely, King of Hanover. •
i But the most unjust of all decisions would be
to make the Duchess of Clarence, then Queen-
Dowager, Regent; for being, like the Duchess of
Kent, a foreigner, she has no 'interest in the future
Sovereign, and, in fact, no permanent connexion
with this country, having no children, and her hus- •
band being dead. It is impossible for any person
to do more justice than ourselves to the personal
character of the Duchess of Clarence. Her blame-
less life has been passed in the performance of every
religious and moral duty befitting her high station, •
and we have no doubt that NOW that she is called
to act upon a larger theatre, her conduct will be
equally excellent. But while we thus bear testi-
mony to her unsullied virtues, we must at the same
time repeat the remark, in which we think her
own good sense must make her concur, that it would -
be an unjust decision to place the Regency in her
hands to the prejudice of the Duchess of Kent. '.
To sum up all, it is evidently most desirable that
the Duchess of Kent, who can alone be supposed
to have the real interest of her child at heart, should ...
be sole Regeor, to prevent—what must otherwise
happen—the Princess Victoria being made use of .
to forward the intrigues .
Rn d interests of others; for •
it is presumed that any Prime: or Princess (except
the own mother of the child) w;is? should be se-
lected as Regent, would very probably C.2nsider the
situation more as a means of consolidating thee- own
power and greatness, and advancing their creatures
• and dependents, than as trust confided to them for •
the benefit of the Princess herself, and for the good;
of the country. The two Houses of Parliament
should proceed, as legislators, to discuss and settle
this question practically, and taking the case exactly
as it stands, without looking backwards or forwards.
It never has occurred before,—that is to say, under
lexactly similar circumstances,—and may never again._
If they attempt to make it applicable to the future,
'they will divest it of many advantages for the pre-;
sent. The proper person to be Regent is allowed on
I all hands, by those who can give a disinterested
• opinion, to be the Duchess of Kent. She is the*
only member of the Royal Family who has never"
mixed in party politics, or taken any public or
private step calculated to divide public opinion; - .
while, at the same time, she has lived on open and
'dignified terms with all parties. She has also
presented a remarkable and singular instance of the
same undeviating line of excellent conduct ever.
since she first came to this country,—living in a re-
tired manner, and confining herself to the education •
and care of the Princess Victoria, with the devotion
and attachment which usually belong to humbler •.,,
stations; taking especial care at the same time, that
the education of the Princess should be conducted s'
on the most liberal plan, and which might the most
enlarge and enlighten her mind, and render her fit
to be the Sovereign of this great and free country. -
It should also be mentioned, that the Duchess of .
Kent possessed the unbounded confidence of the
late King (George IV.), who never interfered with •
her, or found fault with her measures. Would it .:
not be hard, after all, if, from intrigue, private inte-
rest, or public jealousies, the Duchess of Kent.
should be deprived of her natural reward—the Re-

• " Neither can the King in judgment of law, as King,
ever be a minor or under age. • • • • It bath been
usually thought prudent, when the heir-apparent has been
very young, to appoint a protector, guardian, or regent,
for a limited time ; but the very necessity of such extra-
ordinary provision is sufficient to demonstrate the truth of
that maxim of the common law, that in the King is no
minority, and therefore he has no legal guardian."...._
BlaekstoPie's Commentaries, Book I, c. 7, sect. 2.

t See Parliamentary History, vol. xiv. p. 991, &c.