The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-05-22 00:00:00

THE STATESMAN.

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grounds on which the Motion vet that he should meh who had been ill thehahit of n •
.. As to ! meisures which had been sanctioned I, 1 '
. • :
manent prosperity of the country. - But such must ,
ed to vote for the Amendment. _ pposhig thou
be the fate of all Administrations, unless there
total change of system,im a be compel,
nil IT aide the reins of' Govern
founded on a reform is the the men wire. g F. ment, ICo those men it had also been oh. • - 1
y larliameat.
of the people. That corruption meet it Wit quite Immaterial to him from what party they'1 .I,•t tet. that v
representation had come into power by improper aed ' • . 11l
''
be rooted out, with which every Ministry had been were selected. He, for one, was ready to sup- I Hone' influence. Could any such I • •
ueconsti•!:.
Administration hear) 1
hampered and surrounded—a change of se stem could port mlywhatever—[(lour, . o eection he r•• 14
]. to those who were now Ministers) They• 'Ll'
c. .
only elect this which was so necessary for the saris. —that evinced by its conduct that it had the public !very men who lus.l h mere tat
been conthieting for ans y..
Ron of the country. Such being his sentimente,he , beitefit in view...et/fear, hear I] !the Government of the router • ' mote,
• ''."
could not approve of the Address, because it did not
i Parliament sencitieied :ir in, aoYe'c 1 i•
et a mane h
I 1..1t
go far enough; it pretended to remove evils, but! ~ o .e..m.1 ~ i; •
it the Honourable Mr.WARD admitted, that if the he believed, had also 0 • • 'lnd L.!'
m epprieeeten of the
only went to extirpate mere specks from the surface motion
were in aniiii ltvaidle-to the CoteeiitutiOn rAc.,..int,.,
y .
, I Bto himself he had toil:30, that fr-mcireu-n ' ".'
of an excellent Constitution. But the Address, any tempory advantage that might be derived from it ; with which it was usitseces,a• wto 'i oubl- . ""c"
the floi,se
however, had been opposed on extraordinary grounds. ought to be forgone, in order that our constitutional :be did not form a part of the'nea Ail e' •' tl' . i .tie, ratoo •
An Honourable Member (Mr. Eyre) had told them, , principles might be preserved entire. He, however, :He must state, however, in answer t•• as Ho iG.
that it was wrong in Parliament to give au advice i could not agree that it was necessary to all precedent, i tlemah (Me. Ward) that the efforts made to it; en'
•to the Sovereign touching the choice of Ministers. , and a viola-Hon of the Constitution ; and if ever there , the strength of the Governments anti the pe re c,(lcitsee
Wrong forsooth ! It was wrong in that Member's were a time when the advice of Parliament respecting that effect; were made eith the ctmast e,ta:••,'
ltd
eyes, aye and unconstitutional too, that the repre- an Administration was necessary, if the prh liege of was convinced that the Right Hon. Gentlemaiir. (Jr.
sentatives of the people, whose great busineis it was ' addressing the Sovereign were not to be denied alto- Canning) could not say, that he belitwed t..at tic
to tell their Sovereign what he could not know by . ether, it was the preeent. This was a time of great was any insincerity in the offer. As to the
part c;l
any other means •
difficulty and national danger, and the Admi. difficulty which prevented the. Right lion. G ee;
, it was wrong, they now were public dif
told, to pray of him to form a strong and efficient: nistration which had to conduct affairs at such an man f: um accepting !he offer, those trio in tee it
Administration, his present servants not possessing ! eventful and important crisis was one of acknow- certainly did not consider the' it woeld have beer;
the confidence of the people. But such a practice : lodged weakness.—[lleac, /rear I.] This was ad- insuperable obstacle. As to the (plaints% whic:i 4hno
was not unconstitutional ;on the contrary, it was ! matted on all hands—it was the general feeling of , had recently delivered on the Catholic question, sal
agreeably to the practices of the Constitution in the i the country. With such a glaring fact before their ! the notice of a motion he had given upon that sob.
best of tunes, as well as in the most perilous. By ; eyes, critically situated toe as was the country, with , ject—they supposed that he might have tolghl it
what other means could a Sovereign get at the truth respect to its internal situation, and external rela- !unnecessary for him to make suet: a motion if helve
of the real situation of our afiairs, and by What thane, was not this a time when they ought to. ad- :came a Member of the Government, as iii that eee
Delver movie could he übtain a knowledge of the real , dress the Prince Regent, if they might address him !be would have opportunities ofcalling the attentimt
!value of his eervantsy if that House, if Parliament ;at all I—, But without reverting to the general feel-1 of his colleagues to the subject in the Cabinet, whet.
were not permitted to address him on such important lug of tae country as to the weakness of the present • ever he' judged proper.. If that point of iliff•reace
subjects, surrounded as the Sovereign generally was 1 Administration, what was the universal opinion of it had then been his only objec. tion to j• i ftheAdministra.
by courtiers and parasites, who were interested in lbefore the calamitous death of Mr. Perceval ?• Why, : tion, it was natural to supeose that it mileit have thus
concealing the trut'h from him ? Such a privilege that he was the main support of it—and even the ' been removed. lie understood him, ho,ceeey, ye.
was of the highest value to Parliament, and of the friends of that Right Honourable Gentleman were 1 cently to have taken, up the opinioa that those cie
most important consequence to the country. Such a ! wont to maintain, that his talents and his character ; tholic claims ought to be brougia forwent a,: Govern.
practice was constitutional, it was identified with the ' were such, that they were sufficient to cure the, de- ment measures by the Mininistration of the day,._
Constitution so much, that its preservation, and ,the , feels of all the parts of the Administration. lie :He must say thatit WAS Much to be regrett.aL•that
stability of the Government, depended on the exist- had been withdrawn, and it would be bat an ill corn- the Government had not been able to acquire hunk..
ence of such a privilege. As to the Address, he • pliment to his memory, if his friends 'were now to cession of “rongth of which they were so desirous;
had already said that it did not go far enough ; but, . maintain that the present. Administration could go but still tee eropositiou had been made with the lg.
with respect to a mere change of Ministry, which on when the main support wns gone. 13at pos. ' wren sine :H,: on the part of Governmcnt; He had
was its professed object, such a change would do ; siley they should be fold that an attempt had, In his possessiote an explanation of the sentiments cf
nothing for the country, unless an enlarged and li- i been made, without success, to strengthen the present !the Admittistreti, non this particular point, which
beral policy were determined on. Something mere' Administration. True—but what sort of au attempt ! bad been laid before the Right lion. Centlemau,aue
than a mere change of men must he obtained, or the, was it ?—[llear !]--It was like the attempt made : which he did not think it necessary for him now to
country could not be benefited. If, however, the Ad- three or four months ago, with this exception, chit state. lie thought, however, that the Adminatra.
dress were a mere aatack on the present arrangement i the recent offers were more inadmissible, more iesiii- • emu now forming, ought not to be presumed alto.
he thought it might be retorted on them with some' core, and more disgraceful than those made on a gelber inefficient to carry on the business of the coun.
show of truth, that they had not yet been tried— former occasion.--[f/car, hear-U.—To have acceded try, when it was recollected that there was at the
that the present men had not had an -opportunity of , to the recent oilers would have demonstrated, that ! head of our Couticits, a Noble Lord (the Earl of Li.
showing whether they were competent or incompe- . mere place was all that was wanted, for acceptance : verpool), whom Mr. raft, about ten years ago, de.
tent. The Noble Lord, who was to take the lead in !of them would have been obtained by a total sateen- clared•to be, in his 0e...i0n, equal to any individual
that House, might be found as competent to carry on ' der of principles—of all those principles which had of the opposition i.i talents, integrity, and character,
the affairs of the country, as he now was to vie with ' induced the individuals in question to act hostilely with the exception wily of Mr. Fox. When such a
every body else in the estimation of the nation. Con- 1 to all the measures of the present Administration.— man was placed at the heat! of, our cousreils, he gaff
sideriog the subject however as he did, he thought it i Theoffors were such they could not but be refused— no ground far despairing of the efficiency of the Gu.
was incumbent on that House, from the peculiar si- ! acceptance of them could never have been contem- . vernment.
tuation of the country, to approach the Prin:e. Re-1 plated.—[//car, hear!]—They were of so abhorrent: Mr. CANNING ca .1. that it had been his wish
gent, and in language at once firm and respectful, to i a hue—of so insulting and degrading a character, ! and his inteutioa not e. eave..troubled the II Inge up.
call his attention to the internal and external situa- that had the individuals to whom application was :On the present q.l •1i,•11. it waq not be- vise he
tion of the nation ; to impress on his mind the abso- made, accepted the invitation held out to them, the thoughtebatehere was ;tee thina'ia Cie g . ,::rat pro.
lute necessity of conciliating a great portion of the : exertion of ever such great talents as they possessed eposition brought befoie the Reuse witice included
cinpire—l; land; and, above all, to tell him that : for the course of a long life, and that too with the him ; or which would make it imeroper forhisu to
there was ;great dissatisfaction throughout the land, in; most enviable success, would scarcely have been so ' speak to the general qu:stion, wh ..;ter rho Ilooset
consequence of the present calamitous situation of'. successful as to redeem their 'character, for having should or should not address the t•rilice iteeeeit, far
affairs. It was right that he should be made ac-' abasedcined' their principles in the estimation of the . the purpose of obtaining an elicient A ore iie metre
(painted with these important and awful truths ; and, : country. Anxious, however, as they were for the for the country in Runes of Bile 1.1 .tir;,•tty .1,•! ih • pre.
if the Privilege of Parliament to Address the So- ' well-being of the State, they knew that character was' sent : the reason which made eine f A noel ;i g to
vereign were not to be denied them altogether, he' strength, and determined to preserve their own.— , speak on the present necasiila, wis, tee far that
could not coeceive an occasion where the exertion of ; Offers, it was true, had been made; but it was also whatever might be slid by him, would pessibly be
it would he more proper than the present perilous i true that they were rejected. Contemplating the conceived by some Gentlemen a: In•••ree•!isig from
mo neat. He, however, not deeming the Address to' weakness of the present Administration, lie could not i personal feeling,—from the result ;.1' an appieation
go nu- enough, firmly believing that nothing but a but suppose that such offers as had been made, were ; which had recently been made to lain. flit tied,
change of system would benefit the country, had in-: made solely with the view of affording to Ministers • therefore, been very unwilling to deliver his sce•ti-
tended to move an Amendment. e 1 the opportunity of removing all odium froni them- ! meats on the present occasion : but when he hail hem
_ .

The SPEAKER stated, that the motion already
before the House being covered by an amendment
(that of Mr. Eyre), the Hon. Baronet's could not be
pot until the previous motions had been disposed of.
Sir F. BURDETT then read his Amendment, to
give the House an idea of what he had intended to
move. It said in effect, that it was highly necessary
to listen to the distresses and complaints of the peo-
ple, for the purpose of redressing them ; that the re-
sources of the country ought to he applied to na-
tional objects; and that, above all things, theris
ought to be a reform in Parliament, to give to the
people a full, fair, and free representation.
Mr. WILBERFORCE could not approve of the
Address, because it went to attack a most valuable
prerogative of the Sovereign, that of being free and
uncontrouled fn the choice of his Ministers. Deem-
ing the Address an intrenchroent upon a great consti-
tbtional principle, he certainly should resist it; and
be trusted that the house would not be induced to
set so dangerous a precedent. But it seemed' as it
the Ministers who might be appointed by the Sove-
reign, were now to be called on by Parliament to'
give some pledge; to tell them their opinions • to;
state to the House what measures they intended to!
pursue; and, in fact, to undertake to follow a givenl
line of conduct. Were they really so far to depart •
from the Constitution as to set such a preeedehir
He spoke not from party motives, and he thought
the present attack premature. The House was' called
on to prescribe to the Prince Regent to form a
strong and efficient Administration ; and coupling,
the speech of the Mover with the Motion, it appear..
ed that this proceeding was attempted to be, justified:
on these
_grounds ;—first, that expressed • in the
motton ; secondly, that the present Administration
was not such a one as ought to be desired ; and
thirdly, that proper means had not been . re-
sorted to for the purpose of obtaining such an
Administration. Now, what information had Par,
liament 'before it to justify the adoption of these-
points? It had none; there was no information be-
fore it that could justify it imacting as if proper mea-
sures had not been resorted to to form a strong and
efficient Administration. There had appeared in
aome of the Newspapers certain doctr.pents on this
point, but he very much snspected their authenti-
city. They, however, could not justify Paitament
in such a proceeding, inasmuch as they were not
prop-rly before them. On other occasions, Papers
had been moved for.to justify the propostd preceed-
ing ; but in the present instance, and the fact was a
wonderful one, information had not baen deemed
necessary to justify the Motion. They were called
ou to make a most serious and dangerous intrench-
ment on the Prerogative of the Crown, without !LlN-
kr previously grounded themselves on l'arliamentar,
information. So narrow and untenable were the

selves, on its being said that no attempt had been
made by Government to strengthen the Ministr).—
As to any argument, that the House ought to wait
till it eaperienced some measures of the new Admi-
nistration, knowing what they did of the men, it
would be quite specious. The situation of the coun.
I try was such, that they ought to have men at the
head of their Couucils, who had been tried in public
stations—who had established a character in the
1 country ; therefore they ought to address the Prince
' Regent. Recent events established one important
fact, namely, that the present system of the Govern-
' ment was not so very eacellent—that it was such,
: all the splendid offers of place, and all the proffered
blandishments of a Cdurt9 were not sufficient to al-
!
I lure individuals of high character, and of acknow-
I!edged talent, to the support of it, nay, the .Govern-
-1 Ment was reduced to that situation, so wretched was'
the policy that it ts as pursuing, that it could not get
l even ordinary support. 'The present Government
!might jtisly be called the _Anti-Catholic Administra-
tion, the only merit of which was, that it had in-
creased its strength by gaining to itscl the co-opera-
, tion of one Noble Lord (Castlereagh). Under all
! the circumstances, he could not hut approve most
tcnrilially 'of the, Address, as must the House, he
• ilioughtvexce2t it was ready to
crinew te' a mast Ala&
-111/. .
.411:11ethe syslemlsTiliveurrtism.
..
Lord WALPOLE opposed the motion for an Ad-
dress, as did Mr. HERBERT, they consideringthat
it went to Make a dangetoui attack . di the preroga.
I tire of thi.Crowo.
Mr. RYDER. thought that the proposition, if •
; adopted would be a violation of one of the most im.
I portant and fundamental prerogatives of the Crown.
The lion. Mover had presumed, that neither those I
I who had been at present nominated, or those whom I
1 it might be in contemplation to nominate, could by
any possibility form an efficient Administration, and
i therefore wished Parliament to interfere before the
Administration was actually formed. Ile thought I
the lion. Gentleman ought to have brought torivard i
some precedent before he proposed such an extiava- !
gant measure. In that case which had been alludNl !
to, 'Mr. Fox had not brought forward any motion to I
interfere with the exercise of the lto}al Prirogittivnl
in the appointment of an Administration ; but his I
proposition was merely for addressing his Macy
not to dissolve Parliament previous to the fawn of
the new writs on the appointiaent of Ministers....
f'oen then he apoligzed 'for bringit:g !'u....vard such a
motleitin the absence of Mr. Pitt : uul vet in those
times, which were times of great heat and irritation,
no finch motion as the present had beim made. The cir.:
c:irnstances of the case were then different; for an
Affmitiistration had been dismissed, who had Ewe..
uniformly supported by great majori!it., i.i Parl:a-
meat, and g uew.Admiuistration had been formud of

so particularly ca:led upon by his Right Mei. Friend
(Mr. Ryder), he thought be &;h( appear waeting in
respect both to him and to the House, if ha did not
answer the call which bad been al pointedly made
upon him. His Right lion. Friend, however, must
Igive !.im leave to say, that this call appeared to him
to be somewhat unfairly made upon him. Ali Coat
had passed upon the occasion alluded to, Fad, by
common consent, been reduced to wliting, in order
to avoid the possibility of mistake tiro,' the subject.
If, then, he was placed at the bar of his country to
answer for his conduct upon that occasion, he woull
Irefer to the written paper as the record upon which
I his defence was rested. rinse who would not allow
i him to rest his defence on this writtou paper, might
1 take'the technical advantage, the unworthy advantage
I (as it appeared to him) of that ebjection which had
'I been suggested by the Right Hon. tri,mber far York-
shire (Al r'.W.), that such a pa per was not regularly be-
fore Parliament, and.therefore could not be f)ro pe rty
referred to. He had to comel.iin of hi• Right lieu.
Friend for travelling out of l'• ! !.,?cord, for not confin.
ing his observations to whatepp?:,reel on the face of the
'Viper, bat calling upon him to answer other points
1 which were not in it. It had made it necessary for
him to de, what was most alien to his feelitegs; and
lis siefendiaglis own conduct, he should final it Im-
possible to, ovoid contrasting it with that of others
-upon this point. His ;light Uou. Friend, in spiels-
ing of' the sincerity of the proposal, had teled
`whether, if he had .accept;cl the proposal, and joie-
eel the Administration, he should not still have con-
ceived himself at liberty to speak or vote upon that
point as he judged proper? Undoubtedly he should
have considered himself at liberty so to do: if li'
.vas contented generally to light against those prin~
ciPles, which he had decidedly avowed, under the
bannets of those who were-decidedly hostile to them;
he certainly might have made his solitary speech, or
.given his solitary eeet, wherever the question was.
1 brinielit fOrsiard hi Parliament—[/leer. . 11:(ti• n
1 1,
INO would not say but. that there we-re-Alum orable
I.' Men who might have thought that this wa:; se ill-ient ;
!'but his mind was not'of that construction, Heron''
I ceived, tIMt it was his duty to give whatever of iv-
illiteneo or authority he possessed to the attnieuncat
I of measures which he. considered of the ittimyt l!V
purtauce. Ile hoped•that the ilotse, would near is
I mind that those words were arusig from him,
nd
that it would. be most. painful fur him, when ( ::,pa
ito . pstify his own-conduct, to app er as if IP *O3
t-htow.:ng a
Inpntatio;m%on others. 11'e al:nwed twat ... it
Was the executive Prerogative of Co. C awn to 1I
point its Ministers; and that' hefere. Pao.iam .et in-
ierfered with respect to the exercise cf this r,: WO'
tire, the case must he strong amid urgent. Geode-
.nen should, however, re-ollect that tine line..., of
•Commons stood in-a double • capacity. It was not