The Statesman.
London, England, 1818-04-25 00:00:00

arguments of his Learned Friends, it should seem it
vas their wish_ that when a Gentleman wished to
?Ty Ward of the Court, be should come, and beg
permission of the Court, to make his addresses to the
Lady. Such certainly was not the practice of the
Court, nor was it even agreeable to common sense ;
but it was astonishing bow Mrs. Taylor could pre.
tend to he ignorant of this affair, when it wall well
beown to all the world. The whole case showed
*hat Lord Stewart had acted in a fair, open, sod
inertly manner, and having obtained the consent of,
the daughter, he had no alternative left bet to apply
t **the Court. The Learned Gentleman thee con--
defied by espressing his earnest hope that this would
*ppm in the same light to the Court, and he fondly
trusted that Lord Stewart would appear to have die.
charged his duty, and that all his ansiety arose from
his honour being impeached es it had been, unjustly.
Sir A. Piocorr followed on the same side, and
spoke at very considerable length. He hoped the
Court would not permit a person standing in the d-
isunion of his Lordship, who bad with so much ac.
wag given a summary of the proceedings of his
whole life, even from his boyish days to the present
period, who had been employed, and was now eat.
ployed, in the most arduous and distinguished office,.
sad who had received so many honours not only
• from the Public, but from his Sovereign. to be run
down and vilified by these who had made assertions
without having the power of proving their truth.—
Whatever were the feelings which lied influenced
the guardian, the Cosa:could net forget the justice
which has due to all mankind; and when his Lord•
phip had been accused of loading a dissipated mad
irregular life, it was impossible for the Court not to
institute a strict enquiry, to ascertain upon what
foundation these assertions had been made. The
whole would he found to, rest upon anonymous let-
ters, and there did not exist the least tittle or *oil.
dence to prove that his Lordship was, or bad been.
in embarrassi-d circumstances ; no post-obit bonds
bad been given, no mortgages had been entered into,
but it had bean distinctly proved that his Lordship
wee in actual possession of an anneal income of be.
tween 17 and 18,0001. a year. Then %%hat, were the
vices which his Lordship had been guilty of? Had
be been addicted to gambling ? No. To intosication ?
?4n. What families' repose, then, had be disturhed ?
What daughter had he debauched ? None. These
were circumstances showing isregulatity of life,
bet none of them had been attempted to be
proved. When it was considered of what value a
man's good character was to him, lie would appeal to
the Court whether this system of tilification ought to
be passed unnoticed ? Whether a person of great
merit, such as his Lordship, was to be run down by
persons of no merit at all ?—All divot assertions had
been made in general lPfels; there was nothing spe-
cific; and the informers were ashamed to show their
beads. Ile espressed his opinion, that the disparity
in the age of his Lordship and Lady Frances was no
bar to conjugal felicity. After having touched upon
the point of fortune which his Lordship at present
enjoyed, he alluded to the objections raised to the
union of the parties by the Learned Counsel on the
other side, on account of the conduct of Lord
Stewart, Which was termed collusion, or, he be-
lieved conspiracy. The prayer of his Lordship's
Petition was not to be granted on this account, and
a sermon had been preached to show that titles and
bonnets did not conduce to conjugal felicity. Ought
a Petition, he would ask, to have been presented to
OP Court to allow his Lordship to make his bow to
Lady Frances, to help her Led+ ship into her cu-
rium or to do any other act which the world might
construe into a sign of affection nn his part ?—We
had, indeed, arrived at new and extraordinary times,
when all classes of mankind were to act upon a
system of puritanism, and not upon the open manly
feelings by which they were usually governed. The
Learned Counsel then detailed at great length the
circumstances of the case, making observations upon
particular parts, and-concluded by expressing his sin.
erre hope that the Court would not grant the liijone.
Lion against a communication between the parties,
but allow the matter to go before the Master.
Mr. Howse, as Counselnlso on the part of Lord
Stewart, made an ingenious speech in favour of the
claim of his Lordship.
Sir S. ROMILLT, at great length, and with much
ability, replied to the various arguments of the
Learned Counsel on the part of Lady Antrim and
Lord Stewart. it had, he observed, been complain.
ed on all hands that this matter had been made a
subject of 'public discussion. He would venture to
affirm that there was no lady 'listing, not even Lady
Antrim herself, although she possessed all the feel-
ings which a mother ought to have, who had the
welfare and happiness of Lady Frances more at heart,
or who was more concerned at the necessity of this
public discussion than Mrs. Taylor herself ; she had
no child of her own, and her nearest relteioo was
Lady Frances, for whom she !tad all the feelings and
affections of a mother. With a degree of ansiety
which bed, in some measure. even affected her health,
she steold have sacrificed every thing but her niece's
happiness to prevent soch a public discussion. Rea-
sons, however, *shied for adopting the course which
had beets pursued, of the nature of which he conceiv-
ed it unnecessary for the Court to be informed. If his
Lordship bad heard this ease in his private room, the
consequence would have been, not that Use ablic
would have heard nothing of it, but that the most
false and injurious representations would have been
made. 'fbere was a case which had occurred bet a year
ago, of a privete hearing, • here a guardian was to be ap.
pointed for a family; and the representation that
went abroad in the papers was, that his lloordship
bad interposed, and had taken from the father the
care of his children, merely becalm be entertained
some opinion controry to his Lordship's sentiments,
and taken from papers- left in his drawers. A repre-
sentation more fetes could not have been made. Ano-
ther consideration was, that if the repetitien of this
young Lady could have been the least sullied by this
public discussioe,that would have been a strong rea-
son against it; but this was a case in which no possi,-.
ble blame cookkettacb to the young lAdy. All that.
could be said was, that she was au object of com-
passion, that heels ffections bad been dusted by splen-
did sights and gaudy Mouth, and that she bad been
perhaps • little too hasty In giving her consent to a
merrier/ which in its results would be so prejudicial
to her happiness. With regard to personal objections
to..Lordltewattlimvelf) alihnogh be bad purimsely

wit*.

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