Star.
London, England, 1818-04-15 00:00:00

•. ...

Mutroi that tlse ybe after the word
• Tbeg".* the 414 • • 't!Lordships. _
The•LORD C OR stated, that the ori-
ginal question was, this Order be discharged."
The motion since snored was the Address of the
Noble Lord ; and the question he had to put was,
that the words " this Order be discharged," stand
part of the question.
Lord HOLLAND objected to this, and insisted
that the question should be, that the words he had
moved as an Address be inserted in the motion.
The LORD CHANCELLOR agreed to. this, if
the motion were so formally put.
Lord HOLLAND inserted words to that effect.
Viscount SIDMOUTH then rose, and strenuously
opposed the adoption of such st• motion. He begged
their Lordships to recollect the circumstances from
which such a question arose. His Noble Friend, in
proposing, under peculiar circumstances, to postpone
the consideration of the Prince Regent's Message for
a single day, had begged it might t be understood,
that if discredit' were attachable In such a case; it
would rest, not upon the House, but upon himself
and his colleagues. This was freely and candidly
admitted by his Noble Friend. He had also state
that if Noble Lords would only wait until to-morrow,
would distinctly state the grounds upon which the
Address should be proposed. His reasons for post-
poning it were also weighty and adequate. Were
the proceeding to be merely a complimentary answer
the &alai Message, not a day would have been
passed over. But the subject was one upon which
the House could not properly proceed without special
information from the servants of the Crown as to
what was intended. Were a different course pro-
posed. the Noble Baron would be the first to com-
plain, and he would set his face against the adoption
of an Address, if the necessary information were
withheld. There were 4tdequate reasons for the short
postponement. Some farther consideration of the
subject, from circumstances, may be necessary—some
alterations from what was originally intended, may
be allowed as necessary, and different views of some
part of the subject may be entertained, or different
impressions may be ' received by some Members of
the Administration. These may constitute adequate
reasons for the postponements and these would be
state to-morrow. trt cewas :tow for their Lordships to
decide whether they would adopt the Motion of the
Noble Baron, without any information whatever
upon the subject, or wait the interval of one day,
when the whole subject would be regularly before
the House, and full information would be officially
communicated by his Majesty's Ministers. The Mo-
tion of the Noble Baron was, he must say, not only
unprecedented, but unparalleled ; and ht trusted the
House would, upon other grounds, never think of
adopting such a motion, which was necessarily un-
accompanied by any explanation whatever.
Lord KING argued in supporting the proposition
of his Noble Friend. He deemed the reasons assign-
ed on the part of his Majesty's Ministers totally in-
saificieut to warrant a departure from the long esta•
Wished course. He particularly disapproved of a
part of what was thrown out by the Noble Viscount,
which would appear to him as if Ministers could not
make up their minds without a hint as to the degree
of assistance they may receive from certain persons—
from persons without the walls of Parliament.—
Whereas, his Noble Friends were desirous of discus-
rag and of deciding upon the subject exclusively
within the walls of Parliament.
The Earl of LAUDERDALE expressed, upon the
*hole; his disapprobation of the course proposed by
his Noble Friend. Though he may deprecate the
departure from precedent which the Noble Lords on
the other side proposed on this occasion, yet the con-
sideration of precedence was fully as much against
the present motion for an Address, and he regarded
it, of the two alternatives, as more disrespectful to
the Crown than the course so much reprobated by
the Noble Lord near him. He considered it as pre-
ferable to wait the interval proposed by his Majesty's
Ministers, when the proper and necessary informa-
tion may be communicated on the subject.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE contended that
so solid reason bad been assigned by the Noble Lords
opposite for the prescribed postponement, and still
less did he approve of what had fallen from, the
Noble Viscount respecting particular causes which
might operate upon the minds of his Majesty's Mini-
sters, so as to induce them to recommend the delay.
What he referred to with respect to the removal of
impressions upon some of their minds might seem to
proceed from some quarter without the bourne of
Parliament. Where, and how, would he ask, were
particular impressions to be removed, if not by ar-
gument in discussions in that House? Where were
dse sentiments and the intentions of his Majesty's Go-
vernment to be communicated or discussed, if not
within the walls of Parliament? This could be done
no where else, consistently with the principles of the
English Constitution. Their sentiments or intentions
on such topics could no where, safely or .constitu-
tionally, be communicated or changed, but in and
by the result of discussions in the Legislature of the
Country. With reference to these considerations,
and under the impression that the proposition of his
Noble Friend embraced the preferable alternative of
the two, he should certainly support it.
Lord HOLLAND, in explanation, professed him-
self not so particularly attached to the particular
elurse of proceeding which he felt it his duty to pro-
pose, but he would freely withdraw it if any other
Noble Lord would suggest a line of procedure which'
he could at all regard as more eikeible, and equally
rzspectful to the Crown—(hear, hear.)—The course
may, as the Noble Viscount said, be unprecedented;
but he must observe it arose from a line of proceed-
ing for which he would say no precedent whatever
could be found—(hear, hear.)—The postponement
of a day on such reasons as were attempted to be
assigned, may, on such grounds, be extended to
two, three, or for any number of days. If any
Noble Lord thought any part of his Address objec-
tionable, it was competent to him to move to amend
it—(Hear, hear.)--.For his own part he deemed it
the less objectionable course, which, under circum-
stances so novel and unprecedented, could be pur-
sued ; and he certainly held it as preferable to a
course; which he could not only regard as disre-
s->ectful to the Crown, but also disrespectful to the
parliament--(hear, hear.)
The question was put, when the Address, as pro-
posed by the Noble Lord, was negatived without