Star.
London, England, 1814-06-21 00:00:00

ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE TRADE 6

Mr. WILBERFORCE, .expressing his trish M
iiifo the
his discussion
sio cusnof
postpone his motion, as it could not be duly consi.
dered on that evening, suggested the postponement
from Treaty Mondayty onfe next, until
I.order in
uesd aro a 'i'uesdar,
t
proposi-
tion to be brought forward on Mund.iy.
The CHANCELLOR. of the EXCHEQUER
did not consider himselt 4s authorised, in the absence
ot his Noble Friend (Lord Castlereagh), to consent
to such an arrangement.
Alter a short conversation (in the course of which
Mr. WHITBREAD suggested that Thursday in next
week would be an eligible day tor the discussion of
the Treaty), Mr. WILSZRIOHCK tiled his nylion for
Monday,. in the h•ipee!ust Lotd C.tstlsre.igh might
be induced to defer his.
Mr. HORNEA gave notice, that on Friday, or
positively betore the discussion ot the subject, he would

„

I.

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move for information of all that had taken place rela.
• tive to the Abolition, in consequence of the Addresses
of that louse, and more particularly of all that had
passed during the Negociations for Peace.
On the motion of Mr. W. SMITH, a Retails was
ordered to be laid before the House of all Ships or
Vessels brought to any Tort in the Colonies, and con-
demned under any of the Acts for the Abolition of
the Slave .1 rade ; specifying the day of their con-
demnation, the number of Slaves they contained, their
sex, their subsequent di;position, &c. Also a similar
Return from the High Coot t cf Admiralty in this
country.
THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF WALES.
Sir M. W. RIDLEY rose, and said that, seeing a
Right Honouraiile Gentleman in his place, he was
anxious to ask him a question relative to a circum-
stance of the utmost importance to the interests of
this ceu.itry. He alluded to the intended tirarriage
of 1. r Royal Highness the Princess-Charlotte of '
Wales with the Hereditary Prince of Orange, a re-
cord of which intended marriage was already on the
Journals of that Base. Whenever that question
should he brought before Parliament it would, from
its extreme importance, necessarily occupy their at-
tention very largely ; and he was' thertfere the more
anxious to know, at this advanced period of the Ses-
sions whether it was the intention of. Ministers to
make any speedy communication to the House upon
the subject ? (Hear, hear, hear.)
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
said he could give no ether :Inset er to tlie-question.of
the Hon. Baronet than to say, that the Ministers of ,
his Royal Highness had received no authority to
make any emmutinication to Parliament.
"Mr. WHITBREAD rose, and said it was impos-
sible the answer they had just heard from the Right
Honourable Gentleman could satisfy either that
House or the country at large—(Wear, hear, hear!)!
It had been solemnly announced by the Sovereign
Prince of the United Netherlands to his own people,
that an alliance was about to take place between his
-son and her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of
Wales; and it had been proclaimed by her Royal
Highness the Princess of Wales, in her cominunica-
.., tion to that House, now entered upon their Journals,
that the illustrious heir of the Meuse of Orange had
announced himself to her as her future son-in-law.—
(Hear.) ,Questions upon this most important sn'ject
had 'been asked from time to time; but They had
never been answeted—they were uniformly evaded
by Ministers. 'But he thought the time was now
come when that House shoOld no longer safer itself
to be treated .with that disrespect (dear, heai.)
Mr. BATHURST rose to order. • He -did not
think it exactly tight, when Miniiiters had. declared
they had no commission to make any dmin ni cftion
to the House, that a diseussibn 'should be prema.
tamely forced on. Such a practice was both Mimi-
venient and irregular.
'Mr. WELITBREAD said, that he-would put the
matter in a shape which would render irregular, by
concluding with a motion. He 'repeated, that the
House of Commons had been treated disrespectfully.
If Miiiisters,in so important a ease,• and attar such a
lapse of time, had no •aumoriry to communicate to
the House the state of the proceeding, it became the
House to interfere, and to address his Royal High.
ness the Prince Regent to give authority for such
c,lnmunicAtion. The Right Hononrabie Gentle-
. man opposite had not denied that the assertion in her
Royal Highness the Princess of Wales's letter, of
the intended marriage of her Royal daughter with
the Hereditary Prince of Orange, 'was true. It had,
however, been publicly reported, and was as publicly
believed, that the intended marriage; which, with the
concurrence of his Royal Highness the Prince Re-
gent, had been so long proceeding, was suddenly at
;an end. The grounds had even been stated on which
it had terminated ; and those grounds were so inti-
mately connected with the question which 'was to be
• brought forward by an Honourable Gentleman to.
morrow, that it was of material importance to the
' House to know the fact ; and to be informed, if the
intention was put aside, on what grounds that had
occurred. It had been generally stated, and it had
been generally believed, that circumstances closely
ec nnected with the object of the Hon.' Gentleman's
motion, were the cause of that which had taken place.
It had been stated to-day, in the very streets. that
her Royal Highness the Princess Charlotte of Wales
bad declined any further proceeding in the intended
• . narriage, on account of the situation of her Royal
Mother.-.(Loud crier of Hear, hear.) If that was
the case, it undsubtedly must endear her Royal
Highness to every generous and feeling heart.—
It would prove, that the subject on which the House
were not to touch, as too delicate for their investiga-'
tion, had risen to such great political importance that
it might, very possibly, operate to prevent this most
beneficial and desirable union. In order to ascertain
the fact, the Honourable Baronet, his Hon. Friend,
had proposed a question to the Right Hon. Gentle-
. man, whichbad been very unsatisfactorily evaded.
He was sure the Right Hon. Gentleman and his col-
leagues could not be disposed to push ahe discussion
Of a subject so interesting and important to the close
of the Session ; and nothing was more certain, than
after the business of next. week, no great attendance
could be expected in Parliament. In the hoperthere-
fore, of obtaining satisfactory information, or at least
with the determination, that his wish to'do so-should
be recorded in the Journals, he would move, " that
an humble Address be presented to his Royal High-
• mess the Prince Regent, praying that he would b?
graciously pleased to acquaint the House, if there be
a treaty of marriage on foot between her Royal High-
:less the Princess Charlotte of Wales, and the Here-
ditary Prince of Orange."
sir M. W. RIDLEY seconded the motion. He had
tiaitered himself, that the answer to the question
which lie had put to the Right .Hon. Gentleman,
would have proved satisfactory. As that, unfortu-
nately, had nut been the case, he was gratified to
find the subject taken up by one who was so much
more-able to do justice to it than himself. 1-fis Ho.
pourable Friend had stated many reasons far ex-
pecting that the House would be put in possession
of some information un the subject; another, -which
he (Sir M. W. Ridley) had }ward, and. which still
mote convinced' him of thowediency of brioging the
subject under the consideration of Parliament was, the
it port, that in the event of the marriage taking place,
hie Royal Highness might be induced to' quit the '
soulary. This supposition rendered bim more thin

ordinarily anxious that the real state and nature of
the whole proceeding should be laid before the House.
Mr. STEPHEN said, that the Hon. Gentleman
(Mr. Whitbread) had redeemed himself from the
charge of disorder, by reducing his observations to a
formal motion. If every thing that was within the
rules of order, was also Within the rules of propriety
—within the-rules of delicacy—within the rules of
public decency—then the Honourable Gentleman's
conduct might have been not only orderly, but it
might hare been delicate, it might have been decent,
and, for aught he knew, it might have been discreet.
But if, in defending himself from the charge of
disorder, the Hon,urable Gentleman had exposed
himself to other imputations—if it should be the
opinion of a great majority of the House that he hadH
not exculpated himself from all impropriety, by the
mere reduction of his observations into a fin-dial mo•
tion, then, he (Mr. S.) must regard that motion as the
.most indiscreet, as the most indelicate, as the most
indecent—(order ! order !)
Mr. WHITBREAD spoke to order. There were
sertain words which he took to be Parliamentarily
disorderly. He assured the House and the Hon.
and Learned Gentleman, that if the words which hej
had used were loch as it was orderly to use in de-
bate, they would not offend him. " Improper," he
conceived to be a Parliamentary term ; but the use of
the word "indecent" was, in his ()Pinion, a trangres-
sion of the ordinary language of that'House. it was
a word which, under any circumstances, he would
not have:applied to the Honourable and Learned Gen-
tleman, and he hoped the House would not allow any
Hon. Gentleman to apply it to him (Mr. W.)
Mr. STEPHEN expressed his surprise at the inter-
ruption which he bad experienced, because he was
sure it must be in the memory of every one who heard
him, that " indecency" was a charge as often ad-
duced by the other side of the HOuse, against a mo.
tion made by their political opponents, as any other.
The Honourable Gentleman had said, that he would
not impute indecency to him (Mr: S.) and that he
misted, in return, not himself to be so charged. But
the fact was, that he (Mr. S.) had not applied the
word " indecency" to the Honourable Gentleman,
but only K. his proposition.. He certainly was not
aware that it was unparliamentary to state that any
ploposition was improper, was indiscreet, and was in-
decent ; and unless he heard otherwise from the Chair,
whose instruction he requested on the subject, he
should continue to use such terms, as justly applica-
ble to the Honourable Gentleman's motion.

The SPEAKER observed, that if he had under-
stood the phrase used by the Honourable and Learn-
ed Gentleman to be applied personally, he should
have thought it highly disorderly ; but as sirrlply des.
criptive of any proposition that might be submitted
to the House, it did not appear to him to offend
against the laws of Parliamentary Debate.
Mr.- WHITBREAD, on the understanding that
the word was not intended to be personal, expressed
himself quite satisfied with the Speaker's decision.
Mr. STEPHEN repeatel, that his observations
were not intended to apply to the Honourable Gen-
tleman, but to his proposition : which he would againd
say, was most indiscreet, most indelicate, and most
indecent. And this he would assert, not only with
i•gar4l to the psuposition itself, but with regard
some of the circumstances stated by the Honourable
Gentleman in support of it. What the fact was
the House knew not. The Honourable Gentle-
man assumed it ; but was Parliament, upon the
strength of that assumption, riot only to break in
upon the sanctity and delicacy of conjugal rela-
tions, but also upon all those of a parental nature ?
As well as being most indelicate, the proposition
made by the Honourable Gentleman was most wan-
ton ; for he himself stated that the intended engage-
ment, which was the object of it, had been relit).
quisixd. Would it be to treat rank and sex with re-
spect to drag into public view all the delicate circum-
stances of a proceeding, which, according to the Ho.
nourable Gentleman's own declaration, was not likely
to be completed ? What would the Honourable Gen-
tleman think of such a proposition it it regarded his
sister or his daughter? Was it compatible with the
attention due to the delicacy of the female character,
to expose all the circumstances of an abortive nego.
ciation, such as that which the Honourable Gentle-
man had described ? And this, after it had been dos.
tinctly stated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
that his Majesty's Ministers were authorised not :o
make. any communication to Parliament on the sub.
jest (kar, hear.).—He understood the cause of the
cheer from the Honourable Gentlemen opposite. He
had inadvertently misplaced a word—he had said,
that his Majesty's Ministers were authorited not to
make any communication, instead of having said, that
they were not authorised to make any communica-
tion. He was not afraid of any such wretched hosti.
lity, however Glamourous. —lt would only recoil
on those from whom it proceeded. If ever there was
a motion which. required a regular notice ; if ever
there was a case in which the House ought to have
time for consideration ; if ever there was a subject on
whiCh Ministers Shbuld have an opportunity afforded
them for digesting their answer, it was the present.
It was under the impression of this conviction, that.
although he saw his Right lion. Friend, (the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer) preparing to rise, he had
ventured to claim the attention of the House. It was
most unfair to take his Majesty's Ministers in this
manner by surprise and suddenly to place them in a
situation of difficulty ; for no othet purpose than to
afford the Honourable Gentleman a vehicle for ob-
servations which it would have been much better he
had never uttered.

Mr. ROBINSON was of opinion, that much un-
netessartwarmth had been exhibited in this discus-
discussion which took plate solely because
onellapourable Gentleman having asked a question,
raiidilratifig. been told that his Majesty's Ministers
Were not authorised to make any communication to
Parliament on the subject, another Honourable Gen-
Ilethan thought proper to make a motion relative to
a piOceeding, of which the House, as a House of Par-
liament, had DO knowledge whatever. If his Royal.
Highness the Prince-Regent had made any commu-
nication to the House on the. subject, and if a consi-
derahleperiod had elapsed since that communication,
;here might be some ground to call on Parliament to
acquiesce in the' Honourable Gentleman's motion.
But. as far as he knew, the House, as a House, were
not aware even of the existence of such a negociation
as that which had been alluded to. No wol se reason
could possibly be brought forward to induce the

House to interfere in such a delicate subject, than
tories, which, according to the Honourable Gentle-
man, were hawked about the streets with respect to
it; except, indeed, it were that singular' one de.
scribed by the Honourable ll.tronet as particularly
operative on his mind—namely, the report, that it the
marriage were concluded, her itoyal Highness would
be induced to leave the country. Surely, when it
was asserted that the negociation for the marriage was
broken off, this last reasun for inquiring into the sub-
ject became extremely futile and absurd. There could
be no necessity for any precipitation or warmth in the
business. if the Honourable Gentleman thought in
the present stage of the proceeding (whatever it
might be) that it was expedient tor. Parliament to in-
terfere, at. least let him give the House time to cool,
and Ministers, who were responsible for the advice
which they might give on the subject, opportunity to
afford to it all the consideration which its importance
demanded.
Sir M. W. RIDLEY explained. What he had
stated was, that he understood, in the event of the
marriage h.wing taken place, her Royal Highness
would have quitted the country—a circumstance of
such importance, that the sooner it was brought for-
ward in Parliament the better.

Mr. HORNER agreed entirely with his Honour-
able
Friend (Mr. Whitbread) as to the extreme im-
portance of the subject, both as affecting the illustri-
ous character more immediately concerned,. and as
involving in it some of the greatest interests of the
State. But while he agreed with his Hon. Friend
as to the importance of the question, it was impos-
sible for him to deny the truth of what had been said
by others as to the propriety of greater deliberation,
and an extended notice of the discussion. He was
not presumptuous enough to suppose that his Hon.',
Friend stood in need of his advice to shape his Par-
liamentary conduct ; but he earnestly recommended
to him to' postpone his motion until the House should
be better prepared, and in better temper to discuss it;
letting that which had passed stand for a 'notice, not
doubting, that whenever it might be brought forward,
he (Mr. Homer), viewing the subject in the same
light as that in which it was seen by his Honourable
Friend, should concur most cordially in his proposition.
Mr. WHITBREAD declared, that there was no
one to whose advice he would sooner listen than his
Honourable and Learned Friend who had just
spoken, and no one to whose advice he was less dis-
posed to attend than the Honourable and Learned
Gentleman opposite. As to the qualities of modera-
tion, propriety, and discretion, he would go to the
Honourable Gentleman opposite (Mr. Robinson) for
them—he would go for them to his Honourable and
Learned *Friend behind him (Mr. Horner) ; but in
his search, he would avoid and run out of the way
of the Honourable and Learned Gentleman opposite
(Mr. Stephen). He would abstain from noticing a
word of what had fallen from that Honourable and
Learned Gentleman. He (Mr. Whitbread) said
he wished to forget it ; but he could assure him
that he did not care a straw about it. With respect
to the suddenness of his motion, it should be recoh
lected that the occasion was as sudden. His Honour-
able Friend, without the slightest concert with him,
had put a question to the Right Hon. Gentleman
opposite, on which that Right Han. Gentleman had
thought proper to remain mute. Upon this he (Mr.
Whitbread) had availed himself of one of the most
useful and important privileges of a Member of that
House—that of raising an trnmediat, question—in
order to enable him to make the observations which
appeared to him to. be necessary on the subject.—
Having done this, he was perfectly ready to wave
any further proceeding, never having seriously meant
to take the question -out of his Honourable Friend's
hands. With the leave of the Hoaso, therefore, If!
would withdraw his motion.

The motion was accordinOy withdrawn.
PRINCESS OF WALES.

_ ~..__..
In answer to a qu.•stiun from Mr. Possobinv, Mr.
M!TRLJZN declared his determination to persevere in
bringing forward, to-morrow, his motion relative to
her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales.