The Sun.
London, England, 1820-06-17 00:00:00

ROYAL MARRIAGE ACT.

Lord 1-4)I,I:AND—My Lords, I trust your Lord-
ships will excuse me in now availing myself of the
privilege which undoubtedly belongs to every
Peer, of at once presenting a Bill to the House ;
courtesy and usage also generally allow the first
reading of a Bill 30 presented, as a matter of cour'e,
thong it 1 do not mean to claim that as a privilege.
The first reading, however, of a Bill, being consider-
ed neatly a matter of course, it is not my intention
to enter at length into the reasons and considera-
tions for bringing this measure forward. 1 shall
confine myself to e few words for the purpose of
explaioiug the object of it. The purpose of it is
simply to repeal the Act of the 12th Gen. 111.
commonly called the Royal Marriage Act (here
his Lordship briefly described the contents of the
Act) ; an Act which I maintain tends to embroil
us in foreign wars, which 1 think 1 can prove by
no very strained reasoning, tends to produce civil
wars,.and which evidently tends to the produc-
tion of immorality, and to the making of unhappy
matriages. Under other circumstances, I might
have gone into the consideration as to how tar
this Act tends to affect the case which is so pain-
fully forced upon your Lordship's attention. At
present, however, 1 shall confine myself to this cir-
cumstance, that were the Royal Mart iage Act re-
pealed,the marriage to which our attention has been
so painfully called, might then be considered as a
compulsory one under the provisions of that Act,
and it might be dissolved without regard to those
circumstances which must be considered in adju-
dicating questions with regard to the dissolution
of other marriages, whilst, from the circumstances
under which such a dissolution of tuatriage would
take place, no future Sovereign could adduce it
as a puecedent. I have merely, my Lords, briefly
put this consideration as one s hich may arise out
of a repeal of the Royal Marriage Act, but with-
out meaning myself any thing more than the sim-
ple repeal of the Act. It was necessary, howe-
ver, for me to say thus much, in order to relieve
myself from all those reports which it seems have
circulated out of doors tespecting my intentions,
some of them I understand extremely absurd, and
attributing to me motives which I could never for
a moment entertain. The Bill 1 have the honour
of presenting, and which 1 now move should be
read a first time, is simply fur the repeal of the
Royal Marriage Act ; it is my intention to move
that it be printed, and when the pt iota are on
the table, to move the second reading in the comic
of about eight or nine days.
The Bail of LlYERPOOL—Admitting, as I do,
my Lords, the privilege of a Peer to present a
Bill, 1 cannot admit that he has a right to its
being read a fist time. I mention this, because
cases may arise in which it may be absolutely
called for to oppose the first reading of a Bill. 1 cer-
tainly do not mean to oppose the first reading of this
Bill, but I give my Noble Friend notice, that 1 shall.
most decidedly oppose the further progress of this
measure, conceiving myself called upon to oppose
it by every consideration of sound policy and re-
gard for the Coestitution,
Lord HOLLAND, in explanation, disclaimed the
assumption of any right to have a Bill read the
first time; the privilege be contended for, and
whichwas undoubted, merely extended io pre-
senting a Bill.
The Bill was read a first time.--Adjourned till
Monday.. -