Star.
London, England, 1812-04-15 00:00:00

r,

he first mentioned
appointment, he
to make was one
d it was to be.op.
!oder the necessity
Cclonel M'Mahon
'ny. That it might
n to assert ; but,
d a right to be in-
. that they might
) be estabhslied.,
the same office as
tte Secretary ; but
it were the duties
the Private Secre-
te a mere maw.
tnie over to this
rion, he was igno-
, private Secretary,
ut he had no such
ur own times, hp
of his unfortunate
is well known his
ness, and to every
his Majesty's un-
influenced, which
' Communications,
He Mr. Wynne)
nel 1 aylor should
at he should have
!re Was a delicacy
Ited such a props
all common cases
per Pi ivate Setre.
!sty's commends,
ho was exercising
when there was
;on exercising the
there for such an
I that the increase
uire the assistance
the department of
;natnc..-6 for Coro-
xi so much as to
person entirely.i
to got over by the
former occasions,
he Commander
eral Officer* mepT
ant. He wished
it by Ministers• to
h. the Secretary'.:
third person ; and
ch Col. M'Mahon
,d not agree, to the
ich would oblige
pretary of the So-
takenby him as
ce upon those pa?
Secietarh Thi4
g it._ It was too
House to reqqiro
dahon had bees
ch a vote of the
and ;tow it hat
w office for him.
:Alion had *0.2

tad no doubt I he
rvices of Colonel
:eeper ofthePrivy
might have been
'ointments no one
umstances attend-

;ion that delicacy

ye communicated
.d induced him to

:luded by moving
Islay, appointing
y to the Regent.
he thought the
subject into more
id said that he un-

hat he (Lord
t Hon. Friend to

e any grounds on
tion of the paper
hear the grounds

Hon. Gentleman,

of with doing so,
!nt as required an
ie appointment of
before the House.
of Col. M'Mahon

rive any constitu.
iyal Highness, or
msibility from the
.cretary of State.
I's being a Privy
refore be bound to
,ord Castlereagh)
f a Privy Cous-
in of his course to
regularity of the
a minute of Trea-
: no more required
appointment of a
:retaries of State,
He assured the
ltment of Colonel

fourth Secretary,
iponsibility which
—(Hrar, hear.).
point to compare
)f King William,
o compare the h-
it they were then..
-suaded his Royal
3 get through the
.cum stances of the
/ould consider the

at it was not un-
were acceded to
ssary, as it could
pers asked for, in
r some such mei?
is it was, and not
illation from the
otion.
the greaten T4r,o
fa itht ul servants
ause to the Prince
houzlit, however,
ivised, as to tits
olonel,M4Mahop.
Colonel Ai bikci

...

been ealPgreei to thitt of Colonel Taylor, but they .
were
widely different. Colonel Taylor was thetye
hand orthe Sovereign ; and though Colonel
andTa hylto:hoad so
conducted-himself, that not even the
s
b f adow
imputation could attach to him, yet he
•
(
E ) was one of those who thought Col. Taylor •
shad have been made more responsible for his con-
duct than he had been. Delicacy to his Majesty,
however, had prevented such a measure being urged
by the -I use. But here, in the present case, was a
thillouse—( loud eheering)—liere was a les-
lesaesincill fowhicrh bright to instruct them.
alf the business
was so much increased as to require fourth Secre-
ore of State, let it be stated, and he would be one
of the first to suppo. rt the appointment of one ; but
1a him be appointedin a constitutional manner—in
eel a manner as would render him properly respon-
sive for his acts. With the manner this appointmene
bad been made he could not egree, and therefore the
section should have his most cordial support.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
would agree that this question should not be consi-
dered as if directed merely to a private person, but
that it should be discussed upon public grounds. An
old and faithful eer:ant was, he would admit, de-
serving of reward ; but, at the same time, such a
consideration alone would not be sufficient
fur the
establishment of a new place ; nor, if its illegality
were proved, should it any longer be allowed to con-
tinue in existence. The Hon. Gentleman who spoke
last seemed to him to convey, in his approbation of
rewarding old and faithful friends, more than he ex-
pressed. Did ne mean to say, that the individual
filling the Throne of this country should alway
' choose his servants from among his private friends ?
Did-he mean to say, that the Monarch of this coun-
try was to be the head of a party ? If so, he would
tell him that this was a sentiment the most unconsti-
tutional—(Hear)—and the most aristocratic that
could be expressed. There were certainly ocher per.
sons who had been more nearly connected in private
life with his Royal _Highness than the present Mini-
stry; but the connections of private life should not be
:motive in the selection of public servants. He was
willing to make any apology if he misunderstood the
Hon. Gentleman ; but what that-Hon. Gentleman
said seemed to him to have such a tendency. The
paper moved for at present he did not think necessary,
because, if the appointment was ilegal, the House
might proceed against such an illegal appointment
without the production of the instrument. But in
truth the appointment could not be considered illegal,
because no per.on would deny the right in the Crown
to establish a new office. The appointment of Co-
lonel Taylor was of the same nature, and it was made
by those persons who now complained of the present
one. The duties attached to it were merely those of
manual labour. It was true, that.his Majesty had,
eSrforty years, managed his businees. without such a
Secretary, and it was astonishing how he could hive
done so ; but they should recollect the difference of
circumstances and of habits in his Majesty and the
Prince Regent. Tile opposition to this appointment
tppeared to him most extraordinary. It would ap-
pear from it as if Gentlemen were destitute of any
teal ground of opposition, and had taken up this for
want of a better. They shewed a disposition to com-
plain, but without cause. (Near.) Much twat had
been made use of about exterior and interiorCabi nets ;
but did any person believe that Colonel *Mahon
Seas really a Secretary of State.?
Mt. PONSONBY did not believe that his Ho-
nourable Friend reea- nt to say that public servants
should be always chosen from among private friends.
He was convinced that uo such motives could ope-
tote on the Prince Regent ; and the situation of the
Right Hon. Gentleman opposite was proof that such
motives were not the guide of his conduct, for he be-
lieved that Right Hon. Gentleman had never ban
the private friend of his Royal Highness. Even
though the legality of the appointment in question
were admitted, the constitutionality of it would yet
remain doubtful. When they were told that there
teas no* so much for a King to do ' • so great an ac-
cumulation of business; it seemed to be forgotten
that his Majesty the King came to the Throne about
the middle oi the memorable seven years' war ; at a
time when there was five times more foreign corres-
pondence than any of the present Ministers would un-
dertake to manage ; yet he had contrived to perform
all his duties without the aid of any private secretary,
then to the moment when nature had rendered
Colonel Taylor necessary. If there were to be such
an Officer, then it oould be for Parliament to define
the duties, and to impose a proper responsibility.
This was absolutely necesssary. For see the con.
sequences! A Piince might conic to the Throne who
was not of such mature years as the Prince; possibly
a wcrnan, and possibly one who was bowed down by
various calamities; and under such circumstances,
*maid not this Private Secretary have some influence?
Would not the Sovereign be inclined to rest on this
Private Secretary's advice ? It was not in the nature
of things that such an Officer could be without the
Highest influence of any person in the State ; an in-
fluence, too, of which neither the law nor Parliament
could lay any hold—(llear.) Much had been said
at various times, as well as on the present evening,
about interior and exterior Cabinets; but the Right
Honourable Gentleman (the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer) had called all that had been said on such
subject a kind of cant he had said that it was a kind
of cant constantly used by the Opposition—by those
persons who were not now in office, but wished to
get into office. That might have been the language
of Opposition at various times ; but could either the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, or any man conversant
with the histery of the country for the last 50 years,
saye, that there had not been such things? (Hear, hear.)
Every one knew, as did the Right Honourable Gen-
tleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) in parti-
cular, that there had been exterior and interior Go-
vernment, exterior and interior Cabinets. As to the
bey office, it was one that was pregnant with evil ;
and. though the Chancellor cf the Exchequer had en-
deavoured to treat the motion with mum levity, yet
he felt convinced that the Right Honourable Gentle-
man, in his own mind, did not think lightly of
A Noble Lord (Castlereagh) had said, that business
bad so much increased, that the Prince Regent was
compelled to have a Priiate Secretary, otherwise his
loyal Highness would be so "buried" under the im-
mense piles of official and other papers, that he would
not be able to get from under them. If the piles of
papers really were so huge that the Prince Regent
Would hive been in danger of being 44 buried" under

-t:hentrhe thought that Colonel M• ,Maho' would stand
but a very, sorry chance ; for if the one were not Alla:
certain it was that the other was not Herculet—( Mu-
tual laughter, and cries of Hear, hear.)—He had heard,
or somewhere read, of a favourite cat or lap-dog, that
was drowned in a bowl of milk ; and he should ex-

pect to hearsome day or other, that Col. M'Mahon

had been suffocated under numberless reams of offs-

cial papers.—(Much laughter!)
Mr. Secretary RYDER could not but endeavour
to rescue his Right Honourable Friend (the Chancel-
lor of the Exchequer) from the Hon. Member who
had last spoken. The Hon. Member maintained that
if the appointment were illegal, it certainly must be
unconstitutional ; that, however, was not the case.—
It was, however, somewhat curious that Gentlemen
opposite had not stepped forward to find fault with
the appsintment of Colonel Taylor ; that they should
not vent their mournful plaints until the Prince came
to act for his Rny;tl Father.
Mr. LAMBE said, that unless all the main prin-•
ciples of the Constitution were over-ruled, the House
must agree in the production of the document moved
for, with a view of reversing the appointment that
was made. \J en Colonel Taylor had been appointed
private Secretary to the King, there was a great' dial
of dissatisfaction at the circumstance. •He had not

heard the slightest ground of necessity advanced for
this measure; for creating a new Ministei between
the Crown and the public responsible Ministers. If
all communications were to come through this Private
Secretary, who could tell how far the public business
might be delayed—how much influence he might
possess—and how far he might not take the whole
business of the State into his own hands ? Who could

tell that this Colonel M'Mahon might not one day be
actually King of England ? He might influence
every thing, and at the same time be protected by
complete immunity. If the House would not inter-
fere in this appointment, any man who wished for
power hereafter would act like a mere driveller, if his
own ambition did not lead him to aspire to this new
appointment.
Mr. CA I.CRAFT' saw nothing unconstitutional
or alarming in the appointment ; and it would be
cruel to deprive the Regent of the assistance which
the press of public business rendered indispensible—
' (Hear, hear.)—Let Gentlemen talk with a little com-
m:,: sense on this subject—(Hear, hear.)—For seven
years Colonel Taylor filled a similar office, and no
complaint was made of it at that time ; and why
should the present appointment be objected to ? He
I admitted that, the appointment would be improper, if
his Private secretary gave advice (Hear, hear,) to his
Sovereign ; but such a thing was not likely : and as
the office was mdispensible, in the present great accu-
mulAtion of public business, he would oppose the
motion. .

Mr. WHITBREAD then rose. 46 This, Sir, is
a new era—(Loud cheer:, and cries of hear, hear!)—
An ara in which persons are doomed to lose the
hinds of their early youth.—(Hear, hear).—This is
a melancholy fact.; but this is a new era ! I have
been accustomed to hear the voice of my Honour-
able Friend (Mr. Calcraft) raised in my support;;
and had I opened the door and come into this House I
v hile my Honourable Friend was speaking—had I
only heard his voice, from the knowledge which I
thought I had of his political principles, I would
h.tve laid any wager—l would have belted any odds
th.it he was speaking for the motion.—(Loud cries of
Hear, hear.)—But, Sir, how should I have Leen de-1
ceived ! for my Hone Friend has spoke most vehe-
mently against this motion. I am much surprised,
but I am surprised only in common with those who
sit near me, and amongst whom my Hon. Friend
(Mr. Calcraft) was in the habit of taking his seat."
[ 4 fr. Galt-raft did not sit on the Oftliosiaon bench a: he had
been accustomed to do.] —Mr. Whitbread then went on
to express his surprise that Mr. Calcraft should corn-
plan of those who approved of the present Motion,
for not finding fault with the appointment of Colonel
Ta)lor, since that very Honourable Gentleman had
often been a party to those deliberations on that very
appointment, which had ultimately induced them to
forbear all opposition on account of his Majesty's
infirmities. Although this was a new era, and al-
though all predilections had ceased, yet there was
some consolation to be drawn from the fact, that
while they had lost a strong friend, their new antu
gonist was comparatively weak.—(Hear, hear, bear.)
—His Honourable Friend (Mr. Calcraft) seemed to
have forgotten that the case of Colonel Taylor, and
the appointment of Colonel M'Mahon, were .marked
by different circumstances. Colonel Taylor was not
I a Privy Councillor, -nor was he a Member of Puha-
, meet at the time of his appointment.—(Mr. Stephen
here evinced some doubt: of Me correctness of Me latter state-
ntent.)—Colonel Taylor was not a Member of Parlia-
ment at the time of his appointment ; and to ascer-
tain the correctness of this statement, he would refer
the Honourable and Learned Gentleman opposite to
the Almanac for that year. (Much laughter, and loud
tries of Hear, hear.) Besides, ColoN2l Taylor was paid
by the King out of his Privy Purse ; (Hear, beer)—
and that appointment had not taken place till the in-
firmities of his Majesty made it absolutely necessary;
indeed, he would assert, that in his opinion, no grea-
ter affront dould have been offered to his Majesty
when in possession of all his faculties, than to insi-
nuate that a Private Secretary was necessary to assist
him in the discharge of his Regal Functions. Allud-
ing to the necessity of a Private Secretary, a Noble
Lord (Castlereagh) had introduced something of a lu-
dicrous nature, possibly, unintentionally, as his Lcircl+
ship did sometimes, (Laughter) and the Hon. Seat+
tary (Ryder) had come to that "rescue," but had' not
been able to use his weapons I—The Noble Loud had
tilked of Colonel *Mahon being necessary for dig-
ging up the Prince Regent from under piles of official
papers ! What a new era !—But they had talked of
dcaerations between Colonel M'Mahon and the Prince
Regent—Deliberations ! " aye, there was the rub,"
that was the point on which they split. Such an of-
ficer was unknown to the Constitution.—But Colonel j
M'Mahon, it seemed, was to select such papers as I
were necessary for the Prince's immediate notice, and
such as might be kept back—( Hear, hear, hear.) Here
was the danger! It was making Colonel M'Mahon
the comptroller over the fortunes of men (Hear, hear.)
If Colonel M'Mahon were only to tie up the papers
for his £2OOO, then it had the appearance of being
created for him. The office contained the power of
abuse. It however would appear that the Ministerial
arrangements were not yet concluded, as he observed
Members its various parts of the House who had not

,
been acettstomect to sit where they were. As to the
duties of the Sovereign, in modert times they were,
it appeared, so gigantic, that they would not bear a
comparison with the pigmy proceedings of former pe.
nods. The Somersets, the Godolphins, and the Marl-
boroughs of foriner days, were mere pigmies when com-
pared with the giants of one-time 4 Muck laughter.}
The Secretary of State at thtt time, who occupied
the place now held by the Nola, Lord, had none of
those mighty arrangements to mike. Brit the Noble
Lord's hands are full of diplomacy, and even at the
Prince's Levee it was become necessary to appoint
Colonel M.Mahon to bind up the immense rolls of
additional papers with red taps. It was true, George
the Third, on the decay of his sight, was obliged to
appoint a person to trace his ideas on paper, but had
the Prince Regent, a man in' the prime of his years,
any such infirmities to provide for ? Oh ! but then,
said they, the Prince Regent would have no leisure
to ruminate on the mighty projects of his illustrious
Ministers if he had the tape to tie with his own hands.
To be sure they called out yes, but the sum was ex- ;
ceedingly little ! Why, then, let the Regent pay it
from his own privy purse. It was impossible for the
House to repress the inclination which a constitu-
tional impulse created to know what description of
duties Colonel M'Mahon had to perform ? Being
a Privy Councillor and Privy Secretary to the Re-
gent, was, to all intents and purposes, to he a Seem- I
tary in the Government. Front the cheers which the
Right Honourable Gentleman (Mr Perceval) op-
posite had given when he mentioned the predilec-
tion of men, he undoubtedly deemed, that he had
taken an aim at the other side of the House ; but he
could assure the Right Honourable Gentleman, that
his shot had flown over his.head and he remained
untouched. For his own part, he had no pretensions
whatever to the title of early friend to his Royal
Highness ; indeed, the whole veracity of the state-
ments rested on written documents, which, if the
Right Honourable Gentleman would consult, he
would see little occasion fir his cheers. We could
know nothing now-a-days of private attachments,
and apparently much less of political opinions.—
(Hear, hear.)—Of those predilections he would only
say, that the moment when the scene of private life
closed, the assumption of a public office prevented
all examination of conduct by earlier principles; and
we had to contemplate all the actions which distin-
guished its commencement as performed for the wel-
fare of the nation. But at the beginning of the new
zra, he should vote, that the appointment of a new
and intermediate Minister should be explained in a
'satisfactory manner to the House.
Mr. WILBERFORCE declared, that while he
Contended for the necessity of the office, he should be
lead if the Prince paid the officer himself.—(Luud
shouts of Hear, hear.)
Lord FOLKSTONE supported the motion.
1 Mr. FULLER should vote with all his heart and soul against
the motion. Did not they allow on the other side that his Royal'
'Highness had an immense number of private letters to write ;
and was that no ground for the appointment? Gentleman should
recollect, that when his Majesty ascended the Throne, be was
young and hearty,—(A Laugh).—that he used to get up and go
Ito bed early.—(A Laugh).—and that he was quite able to go
through all his papers without any help. Now did not they
know that the Prince Regent was not so young, and that he
would therefore want a Secretary ? The question was a Gren-
ville question. It was worse than a party question. Tithe Gren-
ville* wanted to be so very patriotic, why did not some of the
family throw up their sinecures ? It would have been real patrio-
tism to take no more of the public money from an overburthen-
led people ; not to be sucking their blood as those patriots seemed,
.out of affection, determined to do. Sinecures, that, when they
were conferred on that family, were worth about five or six
thousand a year, now bad increased 50,000; and yet it was this
bloated family that complained of Colonel M.'s appointment.
In fact it was their vanity that was disappointed, and all those
measures were the result of that disappointment. There was a
Irincorous hatred lately manifested against all the measures of the
Prince Regent, and it betrayed itself on th,s as we!l as on other
occasions. Let the country now fee who are the real friends of
the Prince Regent. He did not mean any disparagement to Lord
Grey and the Duke of Bedford ; but they chose to load them-
selves with the Grenvilles. hey tied a mill-stem about their
necks ; and if they sink, it was not the fault of the Prince, nor of
the country, but their own.
. Mr. WYNNE then replied, and the House divided—For the
mottos 100—Against it, 176—Majority 76.
Mr. LUSHINGTON appeared at the bar with the Report of
the Committee of Supply, which was agreed to:—Adjourned.

Accessfully acted, he may be enabled, after posees.
sing himself of the Midges of the Tagus, to drive the
enemy across the Ebro—never to return.
Sir ROWLAND HILL'S covering army is at Merida,
with his out.pos! s on the road to Almaraz ; and Sir
TuostAs GRAIIAM is advanced on the road to Seville,
waiting the approach of Marshal Sow., who, it is
expected has, by this time, raised the siege of Cadiz:

Fort Picurina, at the time -Earl WELLING es
head-quarters were established there, after the battle
of Talavera, was a heap of ruins, and allowed to
remain in that state by the Spaniaids ; but the
French, on obtaining possession of Badajoi, saw that
it was of the utmost'in portance to fortiii
which is situated not more than 300 yards from the
fortress, and is on a level with the tops of the houses
in the lower and principal part of the town.

We tejoi:e to learn that one of the earliest acts of
the new Spanish Regency was to place under strict
blockade the whole line of the sea coast of Spain now
in the hands or the enemy. This praise-worthy mea-
sure has completely intercepted all supplies of provi.
sions from America to the French armies in Spaini
and the consequences have been ruinous to the cause
of the invaders. SOULT, as our readers already know,
has been obliged to break up from before Cadiz with
the greater part of his force. The only vessels now-
permitted to pass will be those which are licenced to
supply the patriotic armies. Several American vessels
have been captured under these new regulations.

A Gentleman lA° arrived by one of the American vessels, Is.
farms us, that such is the state of Commercial men in America,
that ft is almost impossible to borrow rive, y on any terms,.
Four per cent. per month is a common interest—some fir pressing
occasions pay even much higher Where is the American Go.
veinment to procure its loan of L•leven Millions of Dollar., wiles
the money market is in such a state ?