The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-05-31 00:00:00

Ale

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pr pp bsed it, se to acknowledge that Parliament was
nut to he ess•peremptorily bound by former arrange-
ments us to be precluded, upon adducing fair reasons,
from entering into a new e:msideration of the 'omits of
tlisAsimiralty. The p“wer was always complete, but
the exercise of it was no: eiway.. expedient. Ile wa,
as jealous as any min the constatitionll powers of
Par ististliF, but he did nut, therefore, feel that it was
net ebrtry or becoming, vchni the arrangements of the
Civil List bad been once adjusted, that Parliament
sliJuld vexatiously entt. into minute inquiries of its
various applications, provided the Crown kept within
the limits of the original settlement ; but if the Crown
passed those limits, and in consequence found it neces-
_

'ark to come down to the House for further demands,
thou lie allowed that the question lay open fur a new
investigation, and to he dealt u ith according to the
discretion of Parliament. But in the present instance
there was no reason for adopting the proposition of the
Noble Lord. In all the arrangements, from the He-
ruintion do% n t.• !!:e present day—arrangements made
you di:ferent tri.tc:pleg —the Droits and casual ret•e-

:Les were uniformly left wit:niched, as an inherent
right of th.• Crown. The Noble Lord (Uacre) had

founded an arguriont on the ground that there was, in
the present histans..e, a certain SUM as'igned fur the

maintenance of the Royal eAtahlit.huient. But he
ehould have !mown, that ever since the reign of Wil-

limn, whether tit dignity of the Crown was niaiii-,
twined by a specific sum, or uncertain revenue, the
Droite were never affected. The arrangement ou the
accession of tieor ire the WeCOMI was on a different prin-
ciple hum that which took place in the commence-
rent of the reign of George the Tbirl. In the former
nose there was na lint of the Civil List pro; ided for
bir a sum certain, but a reimintent was fixed, and
the Crown ha 1 all the advantage of the 'Tec-
ate, exceetling that minimv.:•. when there was an
2COBi, ealy subject to the general responsibility of
attinisters. In the case of George 111. there wasa spe-
ale sum, and both a this; mum and mu.: images were
fixed; but Parliament, in making such a regulation,
did n.st attempt to torch the Druits of the Admiralty,
or the Fear and a Half per Cents. or any of the casual
nvennes of the Crown, though that was a time of
*car, and there was a very considerable fund in posses-
sion of the Crown arising from those Woks. The
legislature did nit think it advisable to deprive
Om Crown of its advantages, if any such should
tesult to it, from the prosperity of its peculiar re-
venue. The principles on which the Noble Lord had
g-..nr were not by any means conclusive. Its times of
pace the Droits had no existence: and in time of war,
it was of essential importance that they should be
at the uncontrouled disposal of the Crown. It
was, besides, impossible for Parliament, in all the
amplitude of its functions, to deal justly with a guys-
G.:3 that combined distinctions -o numerous, and con-
siderations so minute and complicated. There was an-
other most important point which the Noble Lord had
cot contemplated. It was not only necessary to make
allowances out of the DAsits to captors, but to make

restitution to neutrals. In many instances the country
/i4..1 been saved from a war srith Neutral Powers by the
facilities which this loud afforded for immediate repa-
ratien. Thus, it supplied the means of pre. jug the
character and honour of the country. When improper
septum were made, the discretionary power which
the C e cn had over It relieved the country from the
coasequences. The amendment of the Noble Lord, it
Was true, only affected the surplus after the adjustment
of SW 'h demands, but that Noble Lord could not, in the
a.eplintian of the nine millions which thirty years of
war had produced, point out a single item which could
L.z impugned, as having been disposed of with any im-
proper political views, or fur any personal considera-
t'on. The Noble Earl then observed upon the disposal
of the surplus, after satisfying the fair and incidental
c'airns, and maintained that the largest distribution
le.d been made by the appointmen, and sanction of
Parliament, be believed to the amount of 120,100/.
p r annum. he other grants from the same fund
sr-re made to the younger branches of the Royal Fa-
r.,.l'7 ; and in the commencement of the Urgency there
was one grant of 7,000/. for the furniture of a ',alive.
Those purposes, it must be obvious. were neither per-
s•Jeal or political. He repeated, that this fund was
n:ver, in any former reign, divested out of the Crown,
or at any time fettered, ss hether the maintenance of
04 Civil Government was founded upon a specific sum,
or appropriated and fluctuating revenues. It was
en,ingh, wider every view of the case, that the present
offered a security which had never been given by
any similar Bill previous to it ; for in no former Bill
wa; there an obligation to account to Parliament for
thy disposal of those funds. No account of the Grohs
seas, indeed, ever refused, but it might have been.
Here, however, it was made peremptory to furnish Iles-
ci orally an account of the casual revenues, and the
nuttier in which they had been applied. He hoped,
therefore, that under these circumstances, when more
era- conceded to Parliament than had ever before been
aliowed on the sante suls;;;;;:,::.0 ltegisiatUre would net
sy.:t on a more marked principle of 'UMW. in re.gard
t Site Sovereign than it had ever before exercised. By
t ;c present arrangement, there could be no possible
a,i,use of the casual income ; and if advantages should
IF'ae,rnere was no reason offered why the Crown should
LI deprived of them.
lord ELL/NBOROIL7OII spoke in favour of the amend-
m:at. He said, that be regretted his Majesty bad in
mid. a sacrifice of those funds to the public. Such a
concession would bare gained his Majesty the sincere
thanks of his people. He (Lord Ellenbornugh) was
soot a person who could easily fall out with the splen-
• dear and dignity of the Crown, but he wished, as his
truest glory, that the Prince should lie popular; a So-
vereign of England, to be happy, must be pupdlar.
• Tlae sacrifice could nut be great, and if it orates, it was
worth making, in order to obtain the national grati-
tude. It had been stared, that, i•i peace, the funds
atnaut.ted to aluiost nothiug. He hoped his. Majesty
• wurid live lung, and that the peace would continue
still longer; and if hi: wishes were to be fulfilled,
little could be sacrificed on the part of the Crown for
the splendid acquisition of the public affection. There
were constitutional grounds on which he found it int-
restive to object to the principle which recognised in
his Majesty the appropriation of the surplus to him-
self. He might ask how could he dispose of these
funds I„;lshapOy, his Majesty.lad no children ; there
.were bone &rarer te, him than his people. Would he