The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-31 00:00:00

to perform than that of resigning ouroffices. I, will net
use any arguments to show why we think we were jus-
tified in prolonging the struggle until the present
day ; but I say that it was our conviction that our duty
to the Sovereign, whose confidence we enjoyed—that our
persuasion of the necessity of the measure which we
advised, and our notions of the interests of the
people of this country, rendered it incumbent on us
tO continue that struggle to the present moment.
I have on former occasions justified the course
which we pursued on those particular occasions,
and in future debates I shall be ready to justify theni again.
Butl am now only stating the conviction which we entertain.
Sir, it has been our fate now to hold power for a con-
siderable number of years, but I will only say,
that as long as we could use the power as we
believed for the benefit of the country that it
was without reluctance we continued in office ;
and this I will say, that I do not think the possession
of power in this country can be accompanied
with satisfaction, unless there are means of carrying into
effect the measures which Ministers feel essential to the
welfare of the country. I do not allude now to
particular measures of less or minor importance,
but to measures of greater and transcendent moment. i
With regard to such measures, we began, in the com-
mencement •of Lord Grey's Administration, with the
Reform Act--we end in proposing measures for the free-
dom of commerce. With large and important mea-
sures we commenced—with large and important
measures we end. In the pursuance of great objects
we triumphed— in the pursuanco of great objects
we were defeated.—(Loud cries- of " Hear, hear, hear.")
Another mat ter I may allude to, which relates both to Lord
Grey and Lord Melbourne, as first Ministers of the Crown.
Lord Grey, at the time of the Reform Act, and in the first
year of that measure, enjoyed, together with his colleagues,
great and almost universal popularity. Lord Mel-
bourne, as being the first Minister of William the
Fourth, became, at the accession of the present
Queen, the adviser of a Princess who came
to the Throne at the earliestperiod at which by law it was al-
lowable to exercise the power of sovereignty; and therefore
it became his duty to offer that advice, and give that
information, which a Queen, without experience, could
not to be supposed to have, and which was received
with that confidence and reliance which her Majesty was
pleased to repose in her Ministers. Now, I will venture
to say that neither of these principles—the great power
of popularity which were enjoyed by the Ministry of
Earl Grey, nor the power and favour of the So-
vereign enjoyed by the others, owing to the
circumstances in which Lord Melbourne was placed—
would enable any Ministry to conduct the affairs of the
country without the confidence of this House ; and while
fault has been found with them for proposing measures
which were not for the advantage of the coun-
try, they have both shown great forbearance
and a great desire to preserve untouched and unim-
paired the Constitution of the country and the pre-
rogatives of the Crown. Having said this much with
regard to the two Ministers under whom I had
the honour to serve—and I may add with pride
and gratification—l may then perhaps be allowed to add
a few words with regard to the person who now ad-
dresses you.—(Hear.) I will not pretend to say that
there will not be other persons holding different opinions
who will bring to the administration of public affairs
a larger capacity and more competent intelligence of
these subjects. All I venture to say is, that while
placed in the situation which I had the honour
to hold, no considerations of a private nature—no
wish for personal advantage—had diverted my attention
from my public duties, and I have endeavoured to give
every moment I could spare to their discharge.—(Cheers.)
With respect to the measures which I have proposed,
and the measures which I carried into effect, all I wish
to observe is, that I have endeavoured, to the
best of •my power and ability, to exercise
that power for the promotion of the best inte-
rests of the country, and of the Sovereign whom
I had the honour to serve. This House has decided at
the very commencement of the Session that it will take
measures for directing the attention of the Govern-
ment to the measures alluded to in her Majesty's Speech.
I can only say, that although that decision may call
upon us to give our opposition to measures to
which we cannot give ,our approval, I am sure
that in all. the 'fiiffiFe- cobs nation's of the HOuse, I shall
be ever ready to give that advice to the House which
will promote its object, and tend to secure to it the
affections of the people of the United Kingdom, and which
will conduce to the welfare and prosperity of the great
empire which this House is said to represent.—(Cheers.)
I can assure the House that I shall follow that course,
and in whatever circumstances I am placed I shall ex-
press to it my conscientious conviction ; and whether
they be the acts of the Ministry of the day, or of
those who are opposed to them, I shall be
always ready to give such an opinion as
I think may tend to the permanent improvement
of our institutions---never, as I expressed on
another occasion—never defending abuses as
if they were institutions ;, and, on the other hand, never
ready to sacrifice institutions as if they were abuses. I have
only further to say, with regard to those in this House with
whom I have conducted public affairs for many years,
whether they have been my - supporters or my
opponents, I wish personally to express a hope that in
all our future relations there may be no personal bitterness
(Cheers)—and if our resignation tends to the
future welfare and prosperity of the country, I
shall always look back with satisfaction to this day in
which that event has occurred. I, now Sir, move that
the House at its rising do adjourn to Monday next.
(The Noble Lord resumed his seat amidst loud cheering.)
Lord STANLEY then rose and said—Sir, after the an-
nouncement that has just been made, and after the allu-
sions that have been made by the Noble Lord to by-
gone transactions, which have involved and ultimately led
to the resignation of her Majesty's Ministers, I should do
injustice to the feelings of the House,and to those who sat on
that side of it especially, if I did not state that we feel a cor-
dial participation in the sentiments of the Noble Lord.
Whatever may have been our political differences, no
sentiment of personal preference can, have been engen-
dered in any person's mind. It was my good fortune
for some time to act with the I\ oble Lord, and it has
been my misfortune for some time conscientiously to
differ from the course which the Noble Lord
has thought proper to pursue ; but, as I claim
fur myself and every Gentleman who felt
it to be his duty to oppose him conscientiously, so I
give him credit with having been influenced by no
considerations but the sense of duty—(Hear)—which
to a man of his high honour must be paramount to
every other.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord, in
the discharge of his high- duties, was distinguished
for his zeal, perseverance, and talent, whether in
the discharge of the duties of his own department, or
in the management of the particular business of
this House.—(Loud cheers.) Sir, I will not go back
to make any observations on the statement made by the
Noble Lord of the course pursued by Parliament
further than to say that the Noble Lord has fallen
into several inaccuracies, and he must permit me to
say, with respect to resigning office, that having in the
course of the last session received no very equivocal de-
monstration that her Majesty's Ministers, as a whole,
did not possess the confidence of the House, which the
Noble Lord considered so necessary to carry on the
Government, the Noble Lord and his colleagues pro-
pounded certain measures which I will not now enter into,
but in which they were defeated, and it was not until
that time that the Noble Lord considered that he had only
two alternatives to pursue—one was to resign, and the
other to appeal to the country. The Noble Lord chose
the latter alternative, and I believe that no one will
deny that it was perfectly competent for the Noble Lord
to resort to either of those alternatives. 'The Noble Lord
resorted to the appeal to the
people, and that appeal
had proved unsuccessful to him. 'The Noble Lord said
that, upon the first day of the session, he had thought it
his duty to submit great measures to the House for its
decision, but they Lad been objected to by the House.
Now, I must take the liberty of saying, that that is not
exactly accurate, because by no possible acquiescence
could the House assent to the measures
which the Noble Lord proposed, nor by refusing
to assent to the Address, did the House in any
manner determine upon the principle under discussion.
If I wanted any illustration of this, I need only point out
that, whereas one sentence of the Address contained
expressions relative to particular parts of the Budget,
that Address was disapproved of by Honour-
able Members who agreed in the proposals of the
Government,
while it was supported by other Mem-
bers who did not agree in those proposals, and
who were not ready to adopt their recommendations.
The Address was supported by some Hon. Members who,
like the Noble Lord the Member for Lincolnshire, were
altogether opposed to the measures of the Government,
but who asserted that they did not in any manner, by assent-
ing to the Address, pledge themselves to the recommenda-
tion it contained. The feeling of the House was this, that
in the circumstances in which we were placed, the con-
siderations to which the Crown invited our attentive
were considerations of too great importance to become
the subject of incidental deliberation in the House
of Commons, which, after all, could not come to
any decision upon the matter, and which did not wish
to enter into the discussion in the absence of a Govern-
meat possessing the confidence of the House and the
country.— (Hear, hear.)—lt was for these reasons
that I had been induced to refuse to assent to the
recommendations that have been made, and to assert
that this House had not that confidence in her Ma-
jsty's present advisers which could justify them