Star.
London, England, 1811-01-01 00:00:00

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then he shmeld ge Pe consider it as if it had not leaped.
This inquiry invoked first ii tpeesdiia of right ; !mit
a question of expediency. First, it went to Smart the;
right of the two Houses of Parliament to abridge thei
Royal Authority. Such a. right must be built either i
on the Statute 'Lanier Common Lart of the Lande-•
or it must be founded on the authoriuf of some of the
' Text Writers, Who had delivered down to u; ph*
was not ;o be found in the Records. Were them: any
of these, he asked, which could be found to suppose
the precedent on which the Right Hon. Gentleman
now relied, es the ground-work of the Resolutions'
now proposed by him / The Right Hon. Gentleman..
and those who supported his argument, contended that
there were no instances of any persons being at any
time. appointed Regent in which he was so appointed
without limitations. These Gentlemen must, however,
have thought very differently from what they read,
He (Mr. Leach) had thought it his duty to apply his
mind to this subject, not from any wish to serve one ,
party or another, but a Trustee for the liberties of
the people ; and he had come to a.vere different cot.-
elusion indeed, from that adopted by the Right Ho-
neurable Gentleman, The conclusion to which he had
come was this, that Parliament at no time, when
called on to supply the Royal Authority, had ever
taken upon it to limit or restrict the full exercise
of it. He did not see, that if it was deemed proper
to appoint a Council along with the Regent that the
:full exercise of the regal authority was in the Regent ;
but he did assert, that no instance was to be found of
elny restraint having been imposed on the exercise of
the royal authority. The Noble Lord (Castlereagh)
italked of eases of temporary absence of our Kinge.-
.There, however, it was to beobserved, that the Re-
gents acted not by the appointment of the Parliament,
but of the King. They were not there too, to exerelee
ail the powers pf royalty, but only some of them which
the King; themselves could not exercise, the remain.
ing powers being to be discharged by the Kingi them-
selves. They were the Custodes Regni, the Substitetes
of the* King, acting either expressly under his orders
as to particular duties pointed out to them, Qr receive
ing his instructions chile he was out of the country.
This brought the Honourable and Learned Member.l
to consider an objection of n most absurd kind, which'
had been started on a former occasion, and which had,
again Leen revived ens a former night's debate, during
the agitation of the present question. The Right Ho-
nourable Gentleman gravely told the House, that the 1
Constitution of this country knew of no such name 40
that of Regent... It was of an uncertain definition, of
, which the Constitution knew nothing. They found,
in their acts mention made of the Custodes Regni, 1
the Guardians of the Crown,"&c. but nothing to mark
out the Regent as a person on whom the duty of sup-i
plying the Exectitive Powers of the State must de
{solve in the event of their being at any time suspend.
ed in the person of his Majesty. This doctrine, like
many other great absurdities,, came pn the authority
of a great man (Mr. Pitt.) In the Act of the 24th
George 11. however, Gentlemen would find mention
made of this very same uncertain name a Regent :
' And again, in the sth of George 111. this sante uncere
tain name, and whatis still more, having the uncertain
definition attached .to it, is to be found, in which it is
described al importing Ale whole of the Royal Auth
rity. The description of portion* pointed et by the
e Right Honourable Gentleman and those who support.
red his argument, far from being of the description of
'Regent, were no more than the substitutes of the rip
appointed by him to execute some specific duty , which
from absence:; or other cause, he might at the rime be.
prevented from discharging in personee-(//ear.)--,
l'he Honourable Gentleman should now proceed to
• a review of hur history, and see, if though Parliament,
at tinseiesitpplied any deficienc.y arising in the excite
the of the Kingly (Power, they, ar the same time,
'bridged it. Olt the death of Edward IL when the
young King was under the influence of the Queen end
of Mortimer, it did net appear that any limitations
were imposed on the Regent. On the Accession of
Richard 11. ;on of Edward the Black Prince, a Coup-i
of twelee eiereappOinted, having all the powers of.
Government 'unlimited. On the death of Henry V.
.first HuMphrey Duke Of Gloucester, and afterwards
the puke of York, were appointed not Regent, but
Peotectar or Defenspr, along with a Council of shorn
they were only the head, and ip whoM, as a body, the
full exercise of the Executive Power was vested. They
were told, however, that though there was no defi-
ciency in the political, yet there was a deficiency in the
, moral capacity of his M)jesty ; and that a necessity thus
arose on the pa; t of the House to supply the want in the
titig!, will. The necessity, however, which created
the right limited it also. What ivas the limit thus
imposed ?' To supply the King's will, Whom were
they called on to aepeint for this ? The Prince of
Wales. Ilea if the deficiency was thus supplied, was
not the necessity setisfied and the duty ofe.he House
ceinciaded ? Bet what did the Right Hon. Gentle-
man say to the House ? He told th'em not on;y. to
supply the want of the King's will, but also to limit
the authority of the King. The *lssuer was plaie,—
. If there be a neeessity for supplying the want of the
King's will, 40 so i supply the want ; but do not
destroy the entirety of the Monarch. The Right Hon.
Gentleman said, however, at least his ergiimere went
to this-eewhe, if you limit it to the pure necessity
of the case, there will an inconveniency arise. Can
this be so ? If the House were now Legislating,
they might see what was required of them. .But
• they were npt legislating ; and the question was this,
which theytwere called 'on to do in discharge of'
the prdiaary functions of the Constitution ? The an-
swer was, No! They were bound in discharge of
their ordinary funttions to aid the King, not to act
without hirn. 'l he necessity of the case was lo 'do
what the Constitution taught them—to fill up the
def,ciency, and, in some measure, to make a King. I
Mieiseem called on the House not only to supplyl
the Royal Will, but to model it On necessities of
I their own creation. Thus would' the two Houses
i be called on to say What the Royal Will should
he—whet the Prerogatives which. the Right Hoe. ,
Gentleman wished to restrain ? it.re they not per-
sonal to hi; Majesty i No.—They are for the good
of the country. They are for inaintaining the ba:-
lance between the Three Estates of the Realm.-
- Tihen, is • k—can it, be expidient that- those prero. ,
getives should be limited and restrained •by one of
those three branches ? • What was the evil against
veleet: it was sought to guard ie.-That the .autho-
ritY of the King might, during the Regency, be
dhnitinNsi. Then, to avoid 'this uncertain evil,
the Hinese ems' celled on $ incur a certain evil 1 I
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was

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101 l pf the Tte7ent. They were to prefer ed 11::n to hal-^ fal4rt ir,"" v. 711 tally 9,40.4ei1e I.— 4
. . • a Celliid eillatfon 'Of tile twist teat ei, I TtitrAtin is tt WA;, Rio ei.e.iiiffitt fb,f tileii. dp„t
Foe-fear- ot aa uncertain evil which: might never el 17A8 wascomplete arid acre.' we* by theleeieteeoe.
occur.. The King might abuse the prerogetive as t while the second \VAS both ittcemplete and meter it:
Well as the Regent; but Was otti Goestitution so upon. This difference made :.ite first a peonaneoe
'weak that it could not cheek such en ebtise? Wee i precedent, while the latter part was only considered
lit more tormideble in the hands of-a Regent than 1 aeplicable to the special circumstances on that oc.
it might be ityposed to. he in the hands of e I casein.
King? Was a .temporary more 'dangerde; and Fort! The call for the Queoion became great, arid
midable than a tixed and permanent authority ? : Strangers were ordered to withjeam—The Cemaio
The Honourable and Learned Gentleman proceeded tee then divided on the Amendment—Ayes eve—
ostite that he had looked into authorities, as to the Noes 224—Majority for Ministers 21.
ppointment of Regeecies of a temporary natere, I Tke riumberi on the 2d Resolution were—Ay.
In the case of Philip and Mary, in Act woks passed ' 2213—Noes 210—Majority for Ministers 16.
:providing the Regency to Philip, in the event of Mere. 0* tlie Third Resolution—Ayes 253—Nees
;dying leaving a child, and during the mipority of —Majority for Ministetsl9.-4tljounied.
such child, the Government was entrusted solely to
She Philip:might have died leaving a child within
one month of being major, but even there, though for 214
so short a period, Philip must have been unlimited
I Regent. In the reign of Peen Ann, whe* eiothing
f coal be more'probrible th:iii that the successor should,
be abroad at the time of her death, a Council of Re-
gency.was appointed to act till the successor shoeld ar-
rive, and although nothing coul.l he more temporary
than the supposed period of the absence of such sec- I
censor, foe poly limitations were against dissolving'
Parliament it the mean time, or repealing the acts of
Uniformity, and fur protecting the Established Reli-
gion in Scotland.. So that it was deemed more expe-
dient to trust every Wag, even these temporary go-
vernments,than to endanger theCounery by limitations. i
In the 24th Geo. 11. when a Regency was again ap-
pointed, the only limitation was against the altering
of the two 'Acts concerning religion. Aid in the Act
of the sth of the present reign, even the restraints as
'to the altering of theca two Acts was omitted; thus
sheaving that even then it was deemed more expedient
to trost pitery thing than v infringe the Constitution,
by imposing limitations on the prerogative. ' It may
be said these were cases of Councilsof Regency. Was
it possible, however, that 'Gentlemen could figure that
there was less danger in many than incise ? Would
it he ergued that the many were less liable to abuse
power than one ?Where there was responsibility neither
on one nor the other, all were loosed ; and It would
be found thaohreach of duty had been complained of
with most reason where the offence had been com-
mitted by the many, and where they wanted personal
responsibility. It may be ob:jected---4, Oh ! then you
cannot even make provision.tor his Majesty's return
on his recovery." His argument, however, did not go
to that. That did not necessarily form any restric-
tion, and might be done collaterally. In imposing
limitations on the Regent, that House would not only'
be limiting the power of the Crown, but adding this
to their own powers. The reason supposed by Gen-
tlemen on the other side was, that the Regent might
effete to discharge his duty properly, hut that his first
act would be a violation of it. The House, hoivever,
was not to Suppose so. But if ,this should turn ont
to be the fact; had the Billie not mAnt of checking
it ? Could Gentlemen suppose the Constitution st
infirm, so weak, as not to check such an attempt if it
should be made? It had been enabled to stand up
against the encroachments, and to check the abuses of
the power of the King,and why notof that ofthe Regent?
Then if this was only' a case of expediency. and
if he could ;hew the House that there was no case in
which the two Houses of Parliament had ever asium,
ed the right of limiting the powers—of the Ki,
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TI I E EVf,NING STAR.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 1811.
Cuecomcfrani.=-Holiday at the ltas.
of irINDSOR CASTLE. ns:c. 31.
ft His MAJESTY has passed a good night, and
as well to-day as he was yesterday."
(Signed as usual.)
• 44 WINDSOR iIASTLE, JANUARY 1, ISI I.
4i His MAJESTY has passed,a quiet night, witheat
much sleep, and continue; the same as he was yes.
terday." ( Signed as usual.l
Letters from Liverpool mention the arrival of at
American ship. the Lucia, at that port, in 20 days,
from New York, with a Copy of the President's Mes.
sage to Congress. of which the following is the sub-
stancel,The President alludes to the Act passed at
the dose of the last Session, and speaks of it as hay.
ing induced France to repeal her Berlin and Mi.
lan Decrees, which are mentioned as the only De.
trees affecting neutral commerce ; and the* notices the
renewal of conunercial intercourse with France, con.
sequent upon the rescinding of those Decrees. He
goes on to say, that it might have been expected, that
France would also have made reparation for Amcii.
can property confiscated ; but that this expectatica
had not been fulfilled. He then proceeds to state,
that the British Government bad notified, through
the American Minister in London, their willingness
to repeal their noxious Orders, as soon as neutral con!.
merce should be actiutlly restored to it former footing;
and twat it had been communicated to the EnglL4
Government, by the American Quvemment, th
not only-the Orders fst Council must be abandoned,
but that England must also abandon the general and
illegitimate blockader.
A letter from from an Officer of Distinct' it in
Lord WELI.I.NGTON'S Army, dated the 14th ult. says,
" I am five leagues from Lisbon, on the banks of the
Tagus. I think we are likely to remain here these
three months. The French have now their turn,
having got a strong position, where we cannot attack
them. If they advance on us, then we shall fall back
upop our strong position. I imagine we shall pate
the whiter in "fatal quo, or withlittle alteration; unless
the PellOch retreat, which I du not think likely."
1101k:ter from Lisbon, of the 15th ult. says :-
44 .11svieyverson it of opinion here, that ncthing
be da until tile spring._ Great fortifications are

ig _ . int,-e war_
itbis'a case in which they 'would wish, for t e first i _ 14.4 i _a es ti meth tho Tags% townie& the
the ;
!time, to introduce it ? If it was merely a question of ',i shipping ; first line being front Cana to Piedad
expediency, he would not believe there Was. 3 Gentle.. and the second from Almaida to Costa. One hundred
man in the House who thought that this was the fast : traneparts are going from hence, it h repeated to fetch
introduced acted
time when such aprinciple was • " '
on. The Hon. and Learned Gentlearian
.had gone
'cavalry,"
! •By letters from "Oporto of the I2th ult. we leant
through the authorities with much care andlabour, tlAt the wrench corps which- threatened an attack
and he could. assure them, not on his own antholite ; ppon Coimbra, bad soddenly fallen bads from Con-
but he could do more, he could assure then on all dent to Ouriau„ in conreadenre of being apprized of
the authorities in our Statute Book, First, That the ' thea einforcements that had joined Colonel Miusa.
right now sought to be acted on never had existed. ' Advice: have been received direct from Tarragona
That not only was there no authority in support of it, tf the `loth of November. Tortota sill held out,
but that it was reielled by every 'authority on the a and the patriotic troops corttintied to hatrass the
:object, all of which were repugnant to and incon- enemrliin.every quarter of Catalonia. Consideratle
eistent with it. Next, that the expediency was as un. progress had been made in the new levy ordered by
founded as the claim of right. And if, ear the first the Provincial Juata.
time the House was to countenance such a proceed. Letters from Hamburgh, of the lath ult. state,
ing, they would do it under an awful responsibility . that i t had been notified to the Senate, that the French
they had received the ROyal Prerogative -handbi Governinent has resolved to annex that city to France,
down to them full, entire *nd without having been as well as Lubec and Bremen. The letters add, 63:
once trampled on—they were about to send it down the people of Bremen are so depressed at the ine.li.-
to their posterity mutilated and defaced.—( Loud anj Bence, that they have shut up the theatres, and ad
repeated cheer: thrt:ulbest the whole HOTile,) . places of amusement.
Lord CASTLEREA.GH, in explanation with re! ! We regret to have to state the loss of a vessel bound
spect to some part of his speech alluded to by the to the East Indies, with a valuable cargo. The par.
Hon. and Learned Gentleman, stated that he had titulars are contained in the following letteei dated
said a special act was passed in respect to the Peerage . Deal, Dec. SO :
conferred on Sir J. Cornwall. 1 " Sui.= A.person who left Dunkirk this. morning,
Mr. WILLIAM SMITH declared his disincline- at eleven o'clock. brings us the following melancholy
tion to trespass on the attention of the Hause after information :4-That on Thursday evening last, the
the able.minner in which the qttestiori had been al. Elizabeth country ship, anchored off the South Fore.
endy discussed ; but there 'Wet+ one or tun points oa land, drifted from* thence into Calais Roads, from
which he was anxious to explain himself. Much thence on the Splinter, where she knocked off her
weight had been placed by many Gentlemen on the rudder, and cut awayher mizen-mast. No assistance
precedent of 1788—to that precedent lie lied at that coming after her repeated signals, the Captain put of
period given his assistance, and he freely avowed, that to obtain it ; but, when alnfost half-way between the
he has since repented of that support. It was impos.! wreck and Dunkirk, the ship heeled off, anti'drove on
sible to deny that at that time, a great struggle for , the outer edge of Dunkirk Brake, and went to piecci;
power chewed itself in the discussioe of the question ; • when every soul on board perished, except twenty-two
and that the great object of those Who recommended who landed at Dunkirk, and were instantly conducted
it, was to take all chances for the retention of their 'to &hon. No letters were suffered. by the Comman•l
power. dant to ire brought away.
• The names of the tierce--

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Mr. BRAGGE BATHURST observed, as there : " !'names of the persons saved are :
was no'case analogous to the present before the Re. i " Captain Bostwick, Captai,l Jackvon, Mr, Baker, 2d Officer,
volution, he sbourd dismiss from his mind all corisi- I, M.... r. laird, ad officer, Mr. Erik, fret mariner, Mr. H,yw .
ern i AMS.
deration of the different references introduced. The
House was now called as our ancestors were then to 1 - "
u"""
alfol!It, U'
he crew together amounted to upwards of three
act upon necessity; and the question wasnot, howmuch ; hundred persons.
i Ike superb purply Robe, p•roented to lir RMA itsTr by tie
of the Royal Authority should be allitidged? but rather Dn. a 41.,,,,„..„ said tube lornimt•i„.a with „ th,„„.„ i lie .
how much of it, under such circumstances, should
Parliament delegate to the individual put in tempo- ° soils of uncomnica size and superiOr lustre. It is really rem .r.•
able, what a nutnber of circumstances have lately uectu rr,'.
nary possession of the Royattdnctionsf In his opinion , barrivinisc With the Present, which Dame roriune b speed -1:
it was bound by a due respect for the interests of • about to'make to British Adventurer*, or. 45 Lheaal l'i .*,,, to
out presenrgreu and novel state Lottery scheme.
the legitimate possessor to grant no greater 'portion .-e.- ---
than was actually requisite-fol. *the support of that sivall.
L temporary authority. He yeas surprised-tolrear fromo rz,s, i
IEZ psi
a:. rgo
fh ~, oneo.nth the Lady of Major Hon . e 27th Ult. tin.e,
the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. Canning) ' '
• MARitiklD
zuch kn untenable position, that the precedent in I I'sß i At Rlckmanoworth, the Rev. Ede:3rd Aubery, R:rtc7 oi
was to be followed in one part, .and wholly to be lost cripoqini, Rottandskire, to Miss Williams, daughter of lb•Stri
light of in the other—that the House shbuld adhere ' Williams, Dol. Mow Park, Hens, and M. P. for Dorch,ster..
I tek the first, and act decidedly hostile tn the second I Fitt).
part of that proceeding. In his opinion the House t oleriie rich ult. as hi, seat, Ihinihall, Cheshire, after a phi.
was bound strktly to adhere to kin all its branches. Iha illness, aged OS year., Martial Lady of %% 'll4l'l Davel"
Mr. CANNING in explanation, said, rilat the. in- pore, 'tsi: a
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, pßar.eivable ab.urdity which th-1 Jut ..,s-Iptaker suipos- 1.014D0N : Printed and publieled by i.rvEL KENT, a be
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