Star.
London, England, 1820-07-07 00:00:00

" THE PETITION

OT CAROLINE AMELIA, QUEEN CONSORT OF ENGLAND, TO THE LORI'S
SEIRIICAL AND TEMPORAL IN PARLIAMENT AISSEMIILEE.
" The Queen has heard, with ittexpreesible astonishment, of
.the proceedings of the House of Lords; proceedings which
have in view the dissolving of her privileges, and founded upon
the Report of a Secret Committee, before whom she had no
Counsel to assert her rights and who have proceeded entirely on
written papers, and by whom no witnesses have been examined.
She further learns, with surprise and regret, that her Counsel.
were last• 14ht refused a bearing at the bar of the House of
Lords ; and further, that a list of the witnesses, on a future oc-
claion to be produced against her, has been refused to her. Un-
der such circumstances, her Majesty doubts whether she can
do more than make her most solemn protest against the whole of
such proceedings. Still, however, she relies on the justice of
coui Lordships, and still prays that her Counsel may be heard
at your Bar to state her claims."

Lord DACRE thoul;ht her Alajesty's Counsel
should be now called in.

The LORD CHANCELLOR observed, that the
Petition did not state what the points were to which
Counsel were to be heard. He contended, that it
Arouid be irregular, after the Bill had been read a
first time, to hear Counsel on the part of any person
interested in it, until it had been moved to read it a
second time;and the proofs had been gone through,
which would justify a second reading. It was stated,
in the Petition of yesterday, that the Counsel were
entrusted with the communication of weighty matters,
hich might affect the conduct of herfuture defence;
but then that defence, it was presumable, might
never be called for. It was .averred that the facts
ri:ich were to be stated might affect the nature of
the proceedings; but then the regular time for hear-
ing them had not yet arrived. The real question
was, not whether Counsel should be called to the
ha-, but whether on being called, they were to be
inA:uczed as to ss hat points they were to confine
themselves to ? if they were not so instructed, they
could not be heard, unless their Lordships intended
to surrender all their functions. They could not
grant a bearing against the proceedings in the pre-
sent case, without interfering with the privilege of
the Peer who had laid the charge on the table. It
was altogether the most extraordinary proceeding
v, ilia he had ever known to have been submitted to
that House.

The Earl of LIVERPOOL said, that Counsel
might be called in and questioned as to the Points
to sshich they wished to be beard, and then withdraw,
the pleasure of the House was ascertained. If
their intention wiy; to object to the preamble of the
Eli, that was an intelligible gronnd—if to require a
list of v:itnesses, that was an intelligible ground—if
to request delay, that was an intelligible ground—
so would be the demand of a speedier progress of the
Bin. He was of the same opinion with the Noble
and Learned Lord on the Woolsack, that Counsel
could not be heard on the matter generally. As the
Petition contained no averments which confined
them to particular points, the house should ascertain
and reArict them. It was then ordered, on the mo-
tion of his Lordship, -that Counsel should be called
in and questioned as to the points on which they
wished to address the Home ?

Counsel was then called i;i, and Mr. Bnouonnza
and Mr. DENMAN appeared at the bar, when
The LORD CHANCELLOR said, that he had
been commanded by the House to ask them what the
paints were on which they wished to be heird in sup- •
porting the prayer of the Petition ?
Mr. Baouomix then addressed the House, and
said, that he now stated, in behalf of the Royal Pe-
titioner, that he was instructed to make answer ge-
nerally, and to take an objection to the whole of the
proceedings. Islet. Majesty had' been laic night Served'
with a copy of the Bill which had been read a first
time, and ordered to be printed. That Bill con-
tallied charges of the grossest nature against that ;
Illustrious Personage, and her Majesty could not
suffer the shortest interval to elapse without preferring
at the bar, by her Counsel, objections to the who.e
cqusse of proceedinglicedites. As a Bill had been
brought in and read a first time by their Lordship,'
her Majesty could not but express her regret and !
disappointment that she had not been heard by her
C6unsel yesterday, before the first reading of the
Bill; anti that under all the circumstances of the
case, their Lordships had not thought fit to comply
with her request. On her part he had to state ob-
jections applicable to the peculiar circumstances in
which her Majesty was placed, and to the iclation in
which their Lordships might possibly be placed with