The Sun.
London, England, 1811-02-26 00:00:00

done, at the time, of a share in lite Cavern-,
meat.- ' In enakieg this declaration, he -did; not
wisleeto beeshought ate anxienseto exhibit's bra-
vado saf.tetterosity ; he wotelrf state distinctly
aid iie., ' lcitly the grounds : Lord
,Eldon watemest
If
coetaili y tlfteMiniattey 'charged with the particelar
at specified in the 'Hen. Gentleman's statement e
but these ;tees were .not done without the advice of
his colleagues in office, and: the opinions of the
Physicians in attendence neon- hie Mejesty.— The
Right Hoe, Gentleman 7sees greatly-mistAetelf he
thought he could prove the Ws stated, . He (Lord
C.) was enablrel to dispiove many of 'his asswned
feels, and convince the House that Lord Eldon was
not. the orik7 Minister of the Crown who had ac-
cess to his Majesty from the Areth of Eebruery to
the 231 of April. The opinions of the .vlsele of:
the Ministers weretaken, end he assured the House
that not one of his colleagues' would have had ac-
ass to his Majesty, if,. in the judgment of the ,
whole taken. collectively, it was not only thought
justifiable, bet necessary to do the aBs charged. If
they bad not done those Ws, (hey would leave been
justly held criminal in a constitutional point of
view. That hi should, prepare to prove what he
had asserted was beyotad'doubt. During the period
Constituting the disease, when his Majesty was
deemed incompeteoe to transaa further business, it
would have been criminal in his servants to give
-advice, and therefore Ilene had been given. But
the Hon. Gentleman had charged the Noble Lords
with dereli&iois of duty ; and to prove hie charge
had asserted that he was in possession of fags. If
so, why had not the 'Hon. Gineleinan brought for-
ward his charges 130061:1:, frit the :Wits were within
his view in 1904 as well as now ? The charge of
dereliaion at' duty to the conntry,would therefore,
with truth ripply to the Hon. Gentleman. With
respect then to the evidence, of Dr, Heberden,
'which it would not he necessary foe him et read,
the proposition which the. HOneurable Gentleman
endeavoured to establish deduced from .that evi-
dence wee- this : the King's 'disease was either a
case of menial derangement, or of incapacity to
tramiett public business. . Now what ~ was the
substance of the evidence of Dr. Heberden !e--
- On being asked on this point he replied, that
he fecolleeted' being called in to attend his Me-,
jesty on the t th of Febritery, and so emanated till
the 23d Of April ; that a few deye before the 23d ot
April, his' Majesty, in the.iddgment of the Nei-
elects, was' in a ' state of mind compet4ht to the
transaction of public, buSiness. The House would
not discredit the evidence of Dr. Hebertlene--he was
a Mali of whom he had some knowledge, eminent
in 'his profession. But the Hon. Gentleman talked
of cross-examining' the Dotter; but this cross-exa-
mutat ion "Would Come with a bad grace now, for it
must be recolle6ted, that the 'Hon. Gentleman was
a Member of the Committee;-of thisielouso :appoint-
ed to' exa (nine the Physicians, ,and might have
gene into that cross;-examiliatioe with better- ef-
tea. This evidence of Dr, lieberdett must: be takeb
in context with that gi% eta before the othrtr House,
and 'then it would be -seen, etewiLhstaediog wl!at
the Honeetable Genthenau led said as ,to the last ,
Bulletin, that the opinion at that Physician was,
that hie 'Majesty was competent to transact rub-
lie business at the disco ntierattece of the BelletinS
in March, five weeks before the.23d OtApril, The
'Nehle Lard wished the Haute to understand dis'-
tinetly that he had no anxiety to evade the question,
or to argue it unfeirly. The Honoeirable Gen-
eleman had called upon him to account ter the slate
of hishire Majesty's health in the intervening period
from the 12th of February to the 22d of March, sod
he sheeld do it most cheerfully. 'He should 'blush
and hide his head, it aey one could 'conceive that
he would shrink from the, inquiry. , He stood upon
very high groun', end should detiver himself from
the diflicultiee which the Honotnable ,Gentlernan
seemed' toltrink he had thrown in his way, by meet=
ing the charge in a rnanly and open manner On.
tuft 12111 February the first bulletin„annonneing his .
M;liesty's malady was issued, end on the -teeth- of
the same month, an Hoeourable Baronet, orit now a
Member of the Hense, brought forward it motioe-
cm the ,subje6le to which his Majesty's Miniiters
geve a full and explicit answer, so ae to ealiilyehe
' House.' On that day, as well as some days previous,
tate Members of the Cabinet had before them the
examination of the Physicians, and the pratiical
question at issue wei, Whether it was then the duty
of Ministers to come to Parliameet with a slate-
meot . of his Majesty's ihnesteeend ask for their
advice.; or was the situation at the country such
es to warratit . them in abstaining from so doing /
In. 1804, the situation of things was widely dif-
ferent. The.Parliatuent had been regularly conven-
ed. by his Majesty. In the present instance it was
not sitting. In the former case, ex necessitate ref,
it was obliged to take cognizence of the question
whether it was necessary, under the existing &earn-
, stances of the country, to deliberate upon what was
/best to- be done, or • Whether, as there was no
absolute necessity for suppleiog the temporary
absenzo of the Royal .Atethority, it would not be
more advisable to wait for the recovery of his Ma-
jesty.' The House, he was sure, would not go the
length of saying, that in such a state of things his
Majesty* Ministees were compelled to come to
Parliament, especially as that step would have pro-
duced the additional difficulty of impeding and
suspending the fundions then going on with re-
sped , to public business. lit this state the Cabinet
put the question to the Physicians—ewhether, ite
their opinion, the state of his Majesty's health was •
such as to render him competent to do an afe of the
LIAM:II6M Government ? Thiaquestion was pOl an
the 524 of February, and also on the 27th of the
same month ; and they were also required to stale,
whether, in their opinion, one of his Majesty's ser-
vants might have 'access to him 'on public business ?
To these quektiens the Physicians answered,---that
his Majesty was not only competent :to Iransad
public businesS, but that he was in n state of consi-
derable itnprovetnent ; that if' the at necessary to
be done sheild lead to any protraaed discussion,
then it would he fleet desirable that it should be
avoided. The Hon, Gentleman had talked' much
of `the interest beitig'proteeed ; but he (Lord
Castlereagh) knew of no princtple mote
_soured' and
intelligent than that of the respeniibility of Minis.-
• tors, which threw a shield of proteCtion around the

interests of the public. The substance of the et i•
deice of the Physicians, which he well reeolleCted,
and which was refreshed by etenierwida Whichhe%ad
taken at the time, eves what hehad stated. This
evidence the physipians,'he was sure, would con-
firm,
it Parliament :thought necessary to grant the
motion Of the Hon. Gentleman. Down, however, ,
to the :eh 'of March, his Majesty W 36 not ealled an
to do any ad, ; when on the- eathasf February the
motion came under discussion, it was the opinion of
Foi thatit wits the &by of the Government to
make a communication to Parliament of the snbjea.
In that opinion Mr. Windham concurred, mill, in
consequence Mr. Addington, thee in the head of his
.Majesty's Councils, ,declared in. his place that there
was not any necessary suspension of the Royal Au-
thority ; which communication was grounded on
the distind assurance of the Physicians. On that
occasion Mr: Pitt, whose confidence in the exiting
Government of that day, would not be -suspected
to be partiCulatly marked, did most successfully
comend agiftist the opinions of tie Gentlemen. op-
,. pesite. - deprecated any unnecessary communi-
cation to Parliament, because he considered that the
practical result of such cemmueication would be the
necessary sOspetnion of all public business in Par-
liament. -He di cl.ircd that he question ought to
rest with the servants of the Crown, and they had
the evidence of the Phyaicitins on the competency
of his Majesty. Mr.Addington vacated his seat on
the f eth of Feb. 'On .1 he e7i hof the'saine month a
very respeCtable Gent. (Mr. Nicholls), not now a
Member of the Houie, was to haye made a motion
on the very delicate subject ; but a at. Hon. Gentle.
man opposite very indignantly opposed the notice,
and the cOnseiiuence was, that it was totally sup-
pressed. Untal the sth ut Match, nu at of Gmern-
ment was done. On that day, his Majesty's cun-
sent was obtaieed to a loch involved in it the
property ofthe Clown—th.n was a tact which the
.House could ascettain without retelling to the.
Journals of the Lards. Previous to the Assent
being given by Commiss'on, the Lord Chancellor
stated to the House, that he„hatkaecess to his Ma•
jesty on the eth; earlalso agein on the sth, and his
Majesty was ple)aseslitii signify his assent to the Bill.
The. Laid Chancellor is the greatest Law Otlicer
. in
the Sate, and as a Privy Councillor, is sworn to
give honest and fair advice to the. Sovereign. 'lf
the Noble Lord hadloond his Majesty its' a state of
mind incompetent to give his Coeseet to, any act,
.coulttany Gentleman say that he was a person ca-,
pable of declaring in his plaCe, in the face,of Par-'
hameut, that: hts• Majesty was competent to dd.
ad of the Government, when in , point of lea he
was, net He stood, thereforei in this situa-
colleegpes
,at the time of the
Noorti
ea sLournde;
of
fle
eiltllie would claim for hitn that can-
dour and jtistiee which he knew ho was entitled to.
The question was not of a political nature, and the
opinion' of, the. Laid Chancellor as to his Majesty's
competency to do the a was formed .upon two
conversations, and nolo the examination of the
Physicians;, After that examination, the advice of
the whole of the Cabinet .was taken, and then it
Was that the Lord Chancellor had access.'. Several
Rills were ready tor assent, . amid. among, the nom-
her was one of very great importanctithe Mutiny
; What then would have been the situation
Of his Majesty's servantS if they had suffered the
, Mutiny Aa -to:expirt: A heavy responsibility,
would have attached to them, it they had not had
the spirit in go to his Majesty to get his consent to
that Act, The Hon. Gentleirem bait hail ever cOll •
skinned this line of .cundett.' Woeld 'he ore-good
that the House were ready to vote against the opi-
nion -of the. 'Physielani? If so, they -would hat e
commintal an acct tantamount to that of dethroning
the Sovereign. Mr. Addington had access to his ma,
jeatron the leilrof March,' btu i?ven then he had
not ventured to appear in the' Royal presence neatl
he received a previous message from Sir 'Leaas Pspys,
that he ,enight with plopriety have that interview.
Mr. Addiugton attended With some official papers
necessary to have sittixs.d to them tiffs Maj:tsty's sig-
nature, and it Was so affixed. Nothing further ie-
tervenett-betweee the 19th and the 2.241 on whiCh
latter day the Bulletins were discentiimed. OUbien
day,it was the opinion of Dr. Heberden, that his
Majesty was so completely restored to hearth that
lie was competent to transad all public bthittess, not
merely as the Hon. Gentleman had stated, up to the
toth of June, but up even'to the teth of October.
On the gth of April the' Physicians were again exa•
mined, and their enanimotts opinion was, that his
Majesty was luny competent to carry on publie bu-
siness. His health was so perfeelly re-established,
that at the end of July, when the Session closed, his
Majesty came down to the House, and pionounced a
Speech on the occasion. The Noble Lord trusted that
he had said enough to convince the. House,' hat not only
the Learned Lord, but the rest of his Majesty's ser-
vants in 1803, Were justified in ihe. steps they had
taken ; that what they had done proceeded train
public motives ; that his
,Majesty's stare of mind
was competent to the transaCtion of public business
at the period alluded to by the Hun. Gentleman ;,
that with respect to the assertion the. liii Majesty
was uot in full health nit the time, why, to be sure,
"that was a sort of charge which required ;scarce au
answer ; for could it he supposed that after an
WI( so violent, attended with fever, that leis Ma
jesty's vigour would, as it were, on the 'instant-
turn ? That hiN health of mind was perkily re-
stored, the House, he was
oubt; and, ,coavinced,would not have
der all these consi-
ons, he felt cnr,'filcnt
dan
he cotluitct purl 1i 4
bt ycrta'NstdatiHuse foitttir.lll:iniat
y
inisters, If to fasten
however, was still the obje t Ilia Mori. G man,tielu-
he. th sired to take his Intl share ; and what-
ever might be the judgthent of 'the should
bow with the most yelled :13birkiiiloo.
convincingti
id. 0 til .tnr33:°l speecht
it
e)1:tol W;f diltt 6011 lisSettii:Nl:e t(w)itbuiii:segi blYt'aul l'h''dtt:cf:till'yl'cri!,:taeba:ogele. andu:i
otef
eSjscobbillTidt htl-s ttdniiiti3irai le
ho. isoreeis, to s.ty a 11.-W words
With' tire Noble Lord, that tilt. Nutite Lord itodhitn i
Sell, and all the Confidential hi:Avant:int the Crown
ehatved by the 1100. (;;C:M14111“1 as cinhin3l tor al-
of that day, viere r'tiltiahy reSponiihte for the ad
.
IP )0 41t oo4ht be title that Lord Lid or I,4nd