The Sun.
London, England, 1810-12-06 00:00:00

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of Charles IL clop. 1, has ben quoted, biz
'`) ;t• is er,JA:7d, that an: r,erson who maintains
t-e two Houses or Parliament have any leg's.
:tithority without the King, shal incur all tr,e
sof a premunire. This has been much
i.:,.trtr-d to on the pre,enr occasion, tx,th as declara-
tory of-the, ancient Constitution, and as a law still in
and consequent y ninding upon our conduct.
Ir s,. th.o.,.fore, material to consider it with alien-
tiOn, Iwctike if its operation bei,really such as has
been stated, every discussion 'of restrictions or limi-
a:torrs is in the present moment prematUre, and
airy hereafter become .useless .and nugatory . For
r. 7„ own part, I have no scruple to confess, that I.
pelt rt all• [noted by the authority of this sta.; •
tut e, wly.ch I consider as wholly inapplicable to our
ptr2,.ein situation. No one can douht, that in 7the.
ordin.try course -of Government, the principle of
• that ,i6t is binding tipoa ns•as • the very foundation
1 and cot.ner-stone of the British Co.,stitution.. When
the throne'of these kingdoms is full, and when the
'E.ing i 5 perSonally capable of discharging the duties
, Of his4ration, his express coneurrelye is unques.
_•:tion3bly necessary to every act of legislative piwer.
But on such an occasion as the present, it appears to
• • me, ttrat the very same necessity by which we are
compelled to act at all, extends itself to 'the m inner
in which we are to att,, superseding both the letter
. of thiS statute,
.and the principle ou which 'it is
founded.

• " I certainly had the honour to ,concur entirely,
not only. with the general principle on ,which we
hava asserted the right of the' tAko Houses to.pro-,
• yide forthis'eMergency,, but also with the grounds
on which we resolved that the proper mode of
making such provision would be, by determiniug
on the means by which the Royal assent may be
•give,n in Parliament' to a bill fur' establishing; the
Regency. In etery step which we take tinder
• our pr.:sent circumstances; it is,. in my opinion.„
extremely material, that we should adhere, as far
as possible, to the est ihlished forms of that Con-
stitution, toe very lornas of ;which are dear to the,
hearts of Englishmen,. And in this pariculor in-
wance; I n.'t•tye that • the signification of the
Royal aSSeilt, by the great seal, that wg in through
which
,the authority ot the Crown -speaks, i,,the
m wa
most solemn and authentic anner, is not point
of form only, but follows as, a necessary conse-
quence front some of the most important principles
of the Constitution, which could` not be neglected
without 'great ,and manitest danger. But looking
to the substance, of the ditty
.which we are now
callf.d upon to perform, Lean haven° difficulty io
declare explicitly, that in, proViditig for this emer-
gency, I conceive that the two }Lusts of Pallid-
merit must in re dity act iii a. legislative capacity, in
so. far, and so far. only, as the necessity of the case
requires : that it would be and nugatory for
us., in the situation in whico ..4,e now stand, to be
afraid ot words; or not to look to the true sense
and meaning ot those Measures which •we are
oblige 3 to take; and that no distinction can on any
just principle, be maintained between ads of,legiS-
Jat,on, properly SO called, arid'. those proceedings
which •,v.. al wad s been adopted, in cases of a ne-
cessity at a c'; il.ir io the present. .
" If, Inc. eed, 't • w ere any force: in. the Aai)jec-.
tion whic: has thus ,be •rt raised, it must apply
equally to every stei. that can be taken, and the oo-
• ly, inference t hat could be draw n (to n rt
.would
be, tha; we were now in a situation for which do
remedy' could by any posslynity be pi ovided.. 'We
have already •declared,•that we acknowledge tick-right
existing in ,any person, however. exalted. his rank
may be, to ad_ iii this instance on the King's be-
half, except under the, authority of. Parliament.—,
And if it be (rue, that no aca, whiCh subsatitial-
ly and really of a legislative lnature, can be per-
..,ed, even in such a case as the present, by the
Lords and Commons. of Great7Brirain alone, .it is
ithpossible that we can cure this defeet by appoint-
ing ,some p. rson, who, deriving his authority froth
(IS,. shalt '.exeicise the Royal functions int he place
of the Sovereign. For whatever form we may
adopt, would it not, in truth, be directly and plain-
ly an aei of legis:ation, to deClare that the force of

laws sh.ill lien:efortb be given; and the obedience of
the subject _be.duly plid,• lot to acts of -Parliament, •
passed by King, Lords,. id Comilions, but to bill's'.
pa,ssed by the two Houses, and assented
.to by-a

kegent, having no auibozity to give such assent, ex-

cept w14...t he derives from our proceedings ? In any
case, thetefore, this statute, if it applies at all to

the presant circumstances, must prevent the possi-
bility of any legal provision being made tor this si-

tuation. Whether we attempt, by one att.-of legis-
lation, to provide for. this emergency by ourselves,
without the personal intervention ot the. Sovereign,
or whether by another at.t ot legishitiOn, we auto-

rize some person to supply th 6 pldce of the King,
and to proceed, in concurrence wilh_us, the.statute
is equally opposed as a bar to our proceedings,, and

no alternative xemains, but that of an immediate

and total dissolution of the Government.

" On this ground alone I should contend, that
such a principle of latv c twor_exist as applicable to
these .circumstances. And I should urge, in sup-
port of 'this position, the opinions of those writers
whose names are. thv.tirst in Legal weight and autho-

rity, paiiicularly that ofSirWillia—in Riackcone,
who.tells'us expressly, in arguing.an a point inane-

. .
'didiely connected with this.stibject, that " the ne-
ce3biiy ofthe case supersedes all law."
" But I must also beg lease to desire that this
question nay be examined upon the example. apt!
',roc:flee of our ancestors in two distitiguistie3 in-

s►ances ; the one occurring at, the wry period of
pihslng ti►ts statute w;►ich I have belore reierred

10 ; tie other whim) no very lohg term of years
subsequent to it. At the Restoratioh, the firs; step
"tt hich was taken for re•esfabhshin the Btitish con-
stitution, was 'to declore; by a soiento iesolutton,

that the only legal government of these ',kingdoms
resided in the King, Lords, and Cot-unions. Yet,
iniwed;attly atter 11116 declaration: bad
.teen wade
by butt) Houses, and aftt4 they had recoe,nised their
true and lawful Sovereig,n, they proLerded in his

absence to t:,e exercise of several factions both of

tt-sisl,tive and of Execuriye -Government ; mot i:er-

intencli, g to 'superbede the authority 'of
the ir they had
,so teeetttly
; but thvy it;their. duty both to
iatid theft c0t:c414).;.t0 verfoup whait:vut aab