The Statesman.
London, England, 1810-12-29 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OP LORDS. FRIDAY, Dac. 28.

STATE OF THE NATION.
The Earl of I,IVERPOOI. moved the Order of
the Diy for receiving th Report of the Committee
of the whole House on the State of the Nation.
On the question (or agreeing to the third,
Lot! HOLLAND rose, in pursuance) to his mo.
lion of iast night, to aiove again the Amendment he
had bubmittcd to the Committee. On this occasion"!
he would not trouble their Lordships with any ob.
serva,ions, as the proLeetlingyould be merely pro
forma, and for the purpoiti of enabling him regu.
larly to r 'cord Hs opinion, and to enter his protest
on the Journals. The Noble Lord then moved,
with .1 view to the scope and object of his Amend:
meta, that certain Acti should be read, which were
those of 1:-Iiry VIII. Mary I. and Chit.les 11. re-
ferral to In his I,4rd:hip's speech' of last night.
The titles of those Acts being read, the Noble
Lord moved his Amendment on the third Rooks.
Intion ; the prominent feature iu which was, to re.
his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to
"k upon him the Administration of the Govern.
went,all acts of Itoyalty, save
what the exigencies or the public service shown re.
quirtontil a Bill or Bills should have passed both
Houses iirTarliament for the security, &e. of his
M ajesty's Person,and providing for the re-assumption
of his full Royal Authority, whenever 'it should
please Divine Providence to restore to him his ca.
pacity for the personal exercise of his Royal Au.
thori:y,
On the question being put—
Lord IC,Rt;IiINE having been prevented by sud.
den iudisposition from delivering his sontiments yes.
tertlay, was anxious to state his opinion now, which
he would do as shortly as possible. lie agreed that
it was the right and duty of the two houses of Par_
diamout, of the LwAtes of the Realm, to supply the

. .
defect unhappily caused by the calamity which had
fallen lion the Sovereign. He admitted that thu
political rapacity of the King remained entire, and
that *ha, they Fad now to do was to stiprly the
means of cv.reising the King's Authority. Of the
two modes proposed to effect this, namely, by 13111
or Address, he considered the latter decidedly pre-
feia oh; and the most view course. In proceeding
by Bill, they would essume the Royal Authority,
whilst by proceeding by Addres,..thef would only
confer it. It once the Great Seal was used by or.
tier of the two Houses, he feared the effect of the
precedent, Bad men might ac a future period
make use of the precut:cot to destudy the Coustitu.
Lion, by clothing themselves under. a similar tiction
with the I;.iyal Authority. By resorting to the
mode of Address, all inconvenience and danger
would be avoided. Having first addressed the
Prince of Wales to take upon him the Atlniiiiistra-
Coda of thu Government, they might then t,:inler to.
him fur his assent a Bill desiaratory of their inten-
tions, in constituting him Regent, and he putting the
Great Seal to it, a constitutional regularity would
eau preserv,i, and all incouveaienee and danger
avoided. in the precedent which had beet' advert.
ed to in the succession of Henry the Sixth, then an
infant, the Duke of Gloucester first took upon
MID the Adlniinisttatitauf the Government, and had
the Great Semisielivered to him before the Parka.'
silent adopted any Bill relative to the Regency.—.
And there appeared in the Parliament Roll of that
Session, an instance in which the Duke of Glouces.
ter, as Regent, had given clisslnt to a Bill. By
adopting the swum of Address, the wisbe,d.fur pur.
pose would bet:fleeted in a simple and direct man-
ner ; the Regent, by putting the Great Scat to the
Hill relative, to tha constitution of his Regency,
would render the measure perfectly regular, :old
consistent with Olt:Constitution ; but if once they
&Parted from this plain and constitutional mode,
and dileeted the Great Seal to be used of their own
authority, the precedent might be used in future fur
the must dangerous purposes. He was. therefore
decidedly of opinion, that the mode by Address
was that which, in every point of view, ought to be
preferred. The question of Restriction he would
not now argue, but was decidedly of opinion, that
the Royal Authority ought to be maintained whole
and entire.

Thu Girl of DARNLEY followed, and warmly
contended Cr the adoption of the mode of pro;
cceding by Address in preference to the mode
of a Bill, as recommended by Ministers. tie cen.
sured the ilvla)s which had hitherto taken place, as
tending to leave the Government of the country
withuat its constitutional head. It would ho moth
more wise, as well as more csnisistent with the chg.
silty t ?ornament, to Collier the powers of Go-
vernment on the Royal Personage in trarstiott, in
the simple and direct way chalked out by the
Amendment, than the tylious and circuitous mode
of µmei: Aling by Bill. When expressing his sen.
timents as hostile to a head of Governsaent so
constituted as Ministers wished to propose, he ap
plied (as ..‘e understand the Noble F,arl) the well-
klit)lftl tines of Shaltiptrov,. to a Regal polyp. so
cuubtitute4-
14 A vice of Kings I—
#, A King of shivilaml patclie,„"

dil• iP..

Lord EENYOS, uq tho ether side, argued in
favour of the mode of proceeding by Bill, as the
most c insistent:lnd constitirional way of appoint.
ing tli• Royal Persunn;;e in question tu sthe tempo.
:4,y head of the Governmeiit. His Lordship, who
oxpres•-cd himself th‘oughiuit in a very low tone,
;adduced a I.li tviy of arguments in favour of his con-
clusion, As to the claim of right, us it was nut
expressly urged, he vt told not enlarge upon it, but
he thought it impossible suck a claim could be
founded on the true principles of the Constitution.
Hi! instanced, hypothetic. 44, a case occurring in
the reign of Queen. Anne, when the then illustrious
head of the House of Brunswick was declared
by law the presumptive Heir to the Crown, could
that Illustlious. Person chim a right to the I.e.
gcncy, did a similar incapacity • exist with her
Majesty, as now unhappily existed with the Deign.
jog Sovereign?
The LORI/ CHANCELLOR then put the pies_
fin; respecting Lord liulland'v Amendment, when
• o-aliert con' - rsctran arose lactwi:en Earl Stanhope,
,sbe Nowt and Learned Lord, any) Lord Holland,
'touching the welt correct duct V4riiiunnatnri way