The Sun.
London, England, 1811-01-05 00:00:00

SA U DA I,

be uniaerially held to apply., in the discussion of that
night also, to the person, whoeVer he may be, in-.
vested with the- royal authority ; it was a princh
pie,. indeed, _which ought, generally to apply- to 'all
Parliamentary discussion of 'the measures of Govern-
ment. Nothing of personal consideration to that
exalted Personage, but as referring:to the conduct of
those upon whose advice he acts.. This was a princi-
ple which he a ished to haves disiinctly understood
in the outset ; and the system which had hit ()erre pre-.
'veiled in ad discussions in the legislature, he argeeo,-
should be considered as prevailing on the present
occasion, and that nothing which fell from Noble `.
I.or.ts in freely discessing this important subjeci,
should be construed into a want of delicacy, or fail-
ure in personal respect to the Illustrious Personage
so closely connetted• with \ that .subject. Havieg
premised this consideration, he begged leave to call
the attentiou of their Lordships to the immediate
subject uotiertheir consideration. The grounds of
the present proceedings were similar to t tiose Which
prevailed on. a former occasion of the like andaos
chid). natute. There was no example whatevgr, he
observed, in the history of the country; save in two
instances, which may be regarded as specter, of
usurpations, where the individual appointed to the
head of the Go% ernmeat, as a Regent, was no!, in
sortie way or other, limited or rove-tined. It was a
general principle, persaditig the whole history of
ahe country, that in all c .ses where, the States of the
Realm acted upon the exigencies of the I,lloMents
time person upon whom. the government of, the
country, as Regent, was conferred, 'Was circutn-
setibed or restrained. This was a principle • and
practice, proceeding upon grounds' :et established
upon principles founded in the natute and original
principles of the Constitution. Upon this pi inciple
their aecestois proceeded; it was founded in truth,
and upon the principles of uniSersal justice, and
/with a just regare to the inestimabiCConsiitution of
•the country. :This principle of constitutiutial dis-
tinction between the situation of the King and that
of .Regent *as every where apparent. The King
.held all his rights and powers tor the-benvti! cat the
people--the King, too, it should be considered, had
peunanetit interest in these rights.and powers--a
Regent, on the other hand, was a person called up.
on Ed exercise these righis teinpoisarily for another
a Regent had therefore only a temporary interest •in
the powers vested in him. This constituted a lamad
distinction—the difference between permanent tights
and powers, amid temporary powers. It was in this
view also to .be CUrlSidered) that the permanent
interest' attaching to the indiVidual' who wears the
Crown aff'orded a considerable degree, of security
against these rights and powers, while dos tem-
poraiy interest which the ft.-gent alone possessed,
may be considered .as some degree of temptatare
to the abuse of these powers : there was the dif.
terenee tit security attended 'by use 'consideration
of permaneot over. met of • temporary powers.
The ie.ptaary powers of Regents always af-
forded, more or less, a sunjett of consti-
iumtonal jealousy. The principle upon which their
ancestors acted, was, that while i hey provided tier
the present, they were not forgetful of the future,
and they always bore in mind, the consideration of
the resumption of the legitimate authority of the
.Sovereign.—.Upou these general' principles, every
instance of regency had hitherto been founded in
this. country, • and the same priticipie obtained whe-'
they was temporarily unoccupied or,
full, or where such measures originated in full Par:.
liainents of King, Lords, and Commons.. While
contending for this principle, he admitted, that a
considerable difference had, at different times pre-
vailed as to the mode in which such pritteiples were
cataied into execution; but whatever the anode was,
whether by the inters eotien of a Coencil,'as a con-
trouling puwer, ur by the temporary suspension of
the royal power, stilt the principle of restriCtion oh-
taineth Whatever degree of difficulty *night appear,
from a view of the words " adaiintstering the Ge•
veintuent of the country,", as appeatieg upon the
Journals, he believed it was neVer yet intended that
by such investiture, all the prerogatives of the Crown
should be given to the regent. This observation,
he more especially applied to the .vd Resolution,
with.resped to the creation. of Peels, lie could not
think .:such a power was meant to be conferred
by these words. This principle guided the prece-
dent of 1788, whatever variation there might be,
arose born the difference of circumstances in the
two eases. fie eatainly thought that with regard
to thepower in the question ut ‘Var and
.Peace, and
itt matters of at. similar nature, no.restitction
or lerdiation would' ba expedient, aa.''Mpon these
grounds the superintending coniroul of Parliament,
us prescribed by the Constitution, was a sutileient
.restraint. Any -farther restraints than those propos'
cd would be, he thought, to embarrass Gozeromentr
and tend to do away the practical 'good wising front
the constitutional formation of the executive—the.
same principle applied to all the great officers of the
State, bnt, the whole should be arranged under the
contemplation that the power was revocable by the
King, an the assumption or re-assumption of his
Royal. authority. In such a case as that before them,
and where the limitations were intended but for a
definite p6rtod, there did not exist the necessity for
creating such a body ire the Siate, as a Council to
Nutria the powers of the Regent. Hole, as in
all the former cases, they were called upon to re-
gard the peculiar citcumstances of thecase. They
should bear in mind, that the exercise of the powers
so constituted should be temporary only, and also
should not forget the probability that existed of the
resumption tit that power by the lawful Sove-
reign. He observed, again, that the whole' sys-
tem now under consideration. proceeded, .as in the
Case of me, upon two great leading tarts-e-ftrat,
the persona Mt:opacity of the Sovereig to exer-
- efse his Royal fuctittns ; and, secondly, time proba-
bility which•exerWa, amid even the. noundent eXpee