The Sun.
London, England, 1812-03-20 00:00:00

THE PRINCE REGENT'S LETTER.

The Order on which their Lordships were sum-
moned being read,
Lord BORRINGDON rose to bring forward his pro-
mised motien on this most interesting and important
subject. He adverted, in the first instance, to the
infrequency of his corning forward, or of his taking
any active part in the discussions of their Lordships' •
House. It was usual for one so circumstanced, when
urged to come' tot ward on a great public occasion,
by a sense of duty, to expatiate upon the purity and
patriotism of his motives : though he meant not to
follow this example, he should, in a_ word, assure
their Lordships, such professions could not possibly
be made with more sincerity than by the individual
who had now the honour of addressing them. The
motion he should have the honour to submit, he
beggedleare solemnly to assure the House, origi-
nated solely with himself, and not from the sug--
gestion of an) men or any set of men, either in that
House or out of it. It arose solely from his firm
conviLlion of the necessity to avert the alarming and
extensive dangers with which the country was star-
-rounded, invoking calamities, in his apprehension,
of no less magnitude than an imMinent separation of
the two sister countries, and consequently so far, a
distnembertueet of the Empire. Of these calami-
ties, in his contemplation the most alarming symp-
toms were developing themselves ; and these cala-
mities were pending at a period, beyond alt former
precedent, of danger and difficulty. Whether these
conclusions were errOneoue or not, they were the
firm convictions of his own mind, and were the sole
Motives of.his thus coming forward to call for the
interposition of that House. The conduCt of the
illusttious Personage who now governed -the Coun-
try, on the occasion of the lamented indisposition of
our venerable Sovereign, must be fresh in the recal-
leaion of their Lordships. The anxious sense of
filial dUty by which that Illustrious Person was pe-
netrated, induced him on "that occasion, and as.long
as the hope of recovery existed, to continue and ad-
here to that system of measures which "had received
the sanction of his Royal Father, and which, under
the circumstance, it must be painful to him to have
doue away. At length, when thN confirmed nature
of his Majesty's illneSs led to the investiture of his
Royal Highness, .by Parliament, with- the full end
unrestricted authority of the Crown, his Koval
Highness was, necessarily, no longer influenced be
these considerations, which had so , honourably
be-
fore distinguished his Royal Highness's conduct.
What -were then the bright. and cheering prospects
of the Island; and whrit were now the gloomy
clouds that overhung i ? Dating the interval he
alluded to, the Most importaet conquests were
wrested from the ene.ny, and added to the colonial
possessions of the British Crown. Though a for-
midable navy had been constructed by the enemy;
yet every vessel that ventured to put to sea found
it's way into a British port. The colonial power of
the enemy was, strictly speaking, annihilated. Por-
togal -was wrested from the military occupation of
France ; in the 10111 year of the war, and the .4th
year of the Peninsula war, not only. had Portugal
been recovered from the grasp of the enemy,. but
the British arms, on every occasien; shone with
honour, ;n the tertitories of Spain, conducted by
no of the first Generals 'of the aet.,.. Whet were

[PRICE SIXPENCE-MAL:7-T:

the Rroyects on the other 11.9:.d•?, ;J4 com-
mercial disti-ess, multiplying bankrupt.:;:s, the ma-
nufacturing system most serionsy detcrt9rated,- and

new lawF,giing additional facilities to:a p tpet cur-
rency, were recently pas ~zed. In some of the prirt-
cipal provinces cf :the interior-, rir, . di,.,rder, and a
contempt of law prevailed,' ;drlo,k amounting to
insurrection. A new war on iioot H,I• Peninsula
thredtened us. In such ..rduou4 i,u : circum-
stances, not withstandiugnearly t w hole i,lEutopei
population was confederated against ,s—not with-
standing the small comparative population of our
own Country, yet from the pale of the British Con-
stitution was excluded one-fourtii cart of tile popu-
lation of tlar Untied Kingdom. In giving to the.
House this general outline Lit the situation of the
nation,.l atftirs, be felt extremely anxious nut to be.
Considered as stating it wit lra spirit of passion, or,wiLlt
any sentime.lts of dismay or despair ;
trary, he came forward under the cun4,c ion that.
were the people united, arid th,- atiiiis of the coun-
try well administered, its resources %Vete Judy equal
to meet all the exigencies of its, situation, not 111..,:f e:l.}T

to work out our own security, but equal io Conti-
nuance, and even, if necessary, to the extensiw: of
succour to our Allies. Under these circumstances

it was, that wider an authentic, but nolotticid
ment, his ROyal klighness the Pimee Regent had
been pleased to express his graci,ms wish that
a Government for the cAltuty- should be formed
on an extensive and liberal basis. \l'hile 'he
thus mentioned the name of l is RVal Highness,

he begged to
:be. understood a 9 not conSidoring
the Prince Regent, to have acted without the .
advice of others. Upon the failure of that nego-
tiation, the greatest possible calamities- seemed 10
impend with respeal to our doineslic situation and
circumstances. When he recoil led the languzige

held, as he understood, in another place, by one of
the Confidential- SerVants.Of the Crown, ,who ex-
pressed a wish that the College of Maynooth had ,
never existed, or words to that effea, what must he
his alarm as to the influence such language must
have on the minds of their fellow-subjects in the
sister country ; must it not, iii the nature of things,
induce a Indus animus among them ? A, Right 3
Hon. Gentle Man, whose wisdom, talents, and mo-
deration, were never,to be sufileie.otly applauded,,,.
hadgiven notice of a motion on the st*icawhich
he just principally alluded, on the 14th yf
but by the votes of the Commons on the table, hp
learned, that on the 13th, that House determined
on a call ; bat rumour said, 'that this call was pro•
posed by a high confidential Servant of the, Crown,
whosecontinuance in Office was considered as a bar
to the desired arrangement. fie, was also credibly,
he btlieved, informed, that several Member-s ot the

ecclesiastical body had come forward on the occa-
sion, in a way not very consonant, to the sacred na-
ture of their sacerdotal
.funCtions; in this condale
no doubt, they were supported by.others. These
alarming symptoms had prineipaliy occurred Within
the last. five weeks. But these were not the only
symptoms which induced a marked deterioration in
our affairs. Their Lordships must be aware of the
present si,uation both of the diurnal and the pro.
vincial press. Were the public prints not ranged
on_ two sides ? Were they not doomed to read on
one side of an overweening, overbearing, ambitions
aristocracy, that even sought possessioe of the.
Crown itself; and on the other hand, the most ti-
rulent and scurrilous language direaed against the
. Illustrious Personage at the read of the National
Government. Could they be indifferent as to the
effeets which such language might have on the
minds of the community at large ? , It was impossi-
ble, when they contemplated the marked deteriora-
tion ;n the circumstances of the country, the recent
conduct of Miaisters, and of the motives, which ru-
mour has assigned
.to the offer of the highest ho-
nours and m irks of- distinCtion to certain leading
charaelers ; it was impossible, he thought, whatever
personal feelings Neble Lords may have, a Parlia
mentary support could be given to the present Ser-
vants of the Crown, so far as to what was strongly
rumoured. But they knew it to oe true, that on .
the i3th of Mortrary last, his Royal Highness the
Prince Regent, with a laudable anxiety, highly be-
coming his illustrious charatier, had expressed a
wish thaf, in the present critical situation of affairs
in the Peninsula, no measure should be adopted -
which should induce our All es. to see.,i spthat he
meant to depart from the system which had' been
adopted. Subsequently, however, to the expres.
eion of that wish, his RoyoleHighness was placed in
such a situation', as to induce a Noble Marquis
(who he' hoped would in tire course of the debate;
state. his reasons for sucha..proceeding) to OTe in his
resignation. A Noble Marquis, Who. had for above
two Years and a half condueled the whole diplomatic
correspondence of the Peiliesula, so meet: to his
own honour and the advantage of the country ; that
Noble Marquis, who had' previously represented Iris
Majesty in Soinewas no lessa person than a brother
of the Earl of,Weiliegton I,nresell! He had already
stated, that the geen ques ion of our *domestic po.
-hey had, in the course of the last few wees, as-
sumed a new and more decided charaeler. Our"
prOspeds, which had in some sense hrightened,werp
now plunged into a deeper gloom ! And (tom what
he had stated,weise here nO otnei reasons, he thought
that ii fellowed as a matter of eeesequerice teat some
change should, if possible, be effected in 11:e Ad rinis.
tration of the gevernment. A letter signed by -two
Noble Lerds, one ot-.whoin was prevented from at-
tending that eveniee, in eomequence .ot a receet
domes.ic ,thiAy, had appeared in consequence of
the document he had alluded to.- One of tho'se who
signed that letter, a Noble Lord, was pr(!sen., aria
arrld autlitjently speak as to its authenticity-and the.
construction %%pie!) ititp,th it oh2,lit tobrat. h►ot'
a view of these d.,curnel.ts thonht in might
still be indulged, tho by a contieuairce of tins
giaciOus encleawers of his Royal l-I,;o;;esi,,thecoun'.‘
try way still be eratined by ,:eetne anA-eninistratiou