The Lord Chancellor said, he was perfectly convinced that the words to which their lordships had just been ear witnesses, must have made the deepest impression upon their minds; and it could not but prove extremely gratifying for them to know, that the mode they should adopt upon the present melancholy occasion, would give the utmost satisfaction to the exalted personage, who must necessarily feel the greatest interest in their deliberations and decisions. For his own part, he should confidently declare, that no man could be more determined than he was to avoid having any questions brought forward that were unnecessary, and that he was ready to bind himself by any words, or phrases, however strong, not to vote for any question that took any other direction than the straight path of the public good. Questions of right were generally invidious, and often unnecessary: and, on the present critical occasion, no question ought to be brought into agitation, which the nature of the subject did not absolutely demand to be discussed. He reminded their lordships of the steps they had hitherto taken in the important business before them, and of the stage at which they had arrived, observing, that they had followed the same line with the House of commons; but it had so happened, that the House of commons were in a more advanced stage of the business. At present their lordships' committee were employed in searching for precedents, and had not yet been able to make their report. When that report should come before them, they would see what step ought farther to be taken, with a view to do that which they must all wish to see done-to restore vigour and efficacy to the executive government of the country, and above all things, to take care faithfully to discharge the duty of subjects, and preserve the rights of the King entire, so that when God should permit his Majesty to recover from his present melancholy malady, he might not find himself in a worse situation than he was in before his infirmity, or disabled from the full exercise of all his rightful prerogatives. He could not avoid taking notice of the eloquent and energetic manner in which a noble viscount had, in their last debate, expressed his feelings on the present melancholy situation of his Majesty; feelings rendered more poignant from the noble viscount's having been in habits of personally receiving various marks of indulgence and kind

ness from the suffering Sovereign. His own sorrow, he declared, was aggravated from the same circumstance: his debt of gratitude also to his Majesty was ample for the many favours which he had graciously conferred on him; and which, when he forgot, might God forget him! In the last conversation that had taken place in that House upon the subject, two opinions different from each other had been propounded. As these opinions ran in opposite lines, and could not be brought to one and the same point, some path between the two, he conceived, must be chalked out. What that path was, remained for their lordships to find, and, possibly, they would be assisted by some communication from the other House. It was, nevertheless, his opinion, that no question that was not absolutely necessary ought to be agitated; and that, if it could be done, the proceeding with perfect unanimity was most desirable.

Earl Fitzwilliam remonstrated against the idea of having it stated that private affection ought to govern their lordships in an important proceeding, on which the public welfare so essentially depended, He was persuaded that the Brunswick family would consider it as an ill compliment to them, to ground a proceeding of that magnitude on the basis of private and personal affection to the King.

The Lord Chancellor assured the noble earl that he misconceived him if he imagined that he barely rested what they ought to do in the present emergency on their private affection for the person of the Sovereign; they had heard him expressly declare it to be their duty as subjects to preserve the rights of the King entire. Not that he would have any noble Lord, or any man living, imagine that there was a shade of difference between the public allegiance and loyalty due to the Prince and the private affec tion and love which his subjects bore him. His Majesty, through a reign of twentyseven years, had proved his sacred regard to the principles which seated his ancestors on the British throne, and his anxious desire, on every occasion, to maintain and uphold, in all its purity, that constitution which had made its subjects a free and a happy people.

Viscount Stormont said, that his sentiments were, in many particulars, congenial with those of the learned lord on the woolsack. He would, therefore, only detain their lordships with stating in what

he differed from that learned lord. The learned lord had stated, that two opinions had been propounded in the last debate which ran in parallel lines, and could not be reconciled and brought to one and the same point. So far from this being the state of the case, he thought that nothing could be more easy than to reconcile the one to the other. He should beg leave to remind the House, of what he had in his speech on Thursday last repeatedly mentioned, that the agitating the subject that day discussed, and which gave occasion for the two opposite opinions to be stated and insisted upon, was not imputable to him or to any one noble lord who had spoken on his side of the question. Their lordships must all remember, that the subject had been introduced by the Lord President in a most extraordinary, and he would say, disorderly and unparliamentary manner. [Lord Stormont was called to order, and the House was for some seconds thrown into confusion, by different lords rising at the same time to speak.]

The Duke of Richmond said, that as no question was before the House, he would move" That the House do adjourn."

Viscount Stormont observed, that lord Sydney had called him to order; and the earl of Derby, and several lords near him having repeated the words "Lord Sydney to order,”

Lord Sydney rose with some warmth, and said, he was commanded by five or six lords on the opposite bench, to speak. He lamented that the House had already betrayed a temper which, in his mind, ill became the solemnity of the subject they were discussing. Such behaviour was not decent in such an assembly, and at such an awful moment. He knew not what offence he had given, that he should receive a reprimand; but if any noble lords had taken offence at him, he would have them learn, that there were other ways of settling differences between one gentleman and another. He thanked Heaven, warm as he was by nature, that his warmth seldom lasted long. After this indication of his return to coolness, lord Sydney stated why he thought lord Stormont had transgressed order; he had grounded this idea, he observed, upon the allusion of the noble viscount to matter which had passed in a former debate.

Lord Rawdon complained of the introduction of any discussion that was likely rather to excite disagreement and diffe

rence of opinion, than produce unanimity and cordiality. He complimented the Lord Chancellor on having so expressly declared his coincidence in that sentiment, and mentioned the bills that were pasted up in the streets, with a view to call the multitude to take a part in the discussions of parliament, and to mislead and inflame their minds by inferences grossly false and violent. He joined in deprecating the discussion of the question of rights, and said, if he stood singly on the subject, he would divide the House against its being agitated.

The Lord President said, he could not sit silent, and hear himself charged with having been guilty either of a crime, or at best a very censurable act of indiscretion. A noble viscount had said, that he, in a manner equally extraordinary, disorderly, and unparliamentary, had introduced the topic concerning which they had discoursed last Thursday. He was ready to confess, that he did take notice of what had passed in another place, in the course of his opening speech; but he denied that, from the general words which he had used, any noble lord was warranted to fix on him a charge of having spoken im a disorderly or an unparliamentary manner. Not that he meant to deny that, by "the other place," he did mean the House of Commons. He certainly did, and if the question were put to him, whether any allusion in that House to what had passed in the other was disorderly and irregular, he should admit that it was; but such allusions they all knew, though in strictness irregular, were made every day and overlooked, or if noticed, done so by stating that they were disorderly, in so good-humoured a tone, that no party felt uneasy. The noble viscount had, that day, used the word "unparliamentary," with so angry and vehement a tone, that it seemed as if they were determined to proceed with a degree of passion and animosity, exceedingly to be lamented. He must, however, in justice to himself, deny that he was that wicked and bad man who had broached the doctrine of the rights of the Prince, in contradistinction to the rights of the two Houses of Parliament. He did not first broach the doctrine; and, therefore, he did not hold himself answerable for the consequences. Having been broached, it must be noticed, because they were engaged in a proceeding which would materially affect the liberties of posterity, and therefore nothing dark or doubtful

ought to be suffered to remain untouched and undecided in the adjustment of so

momentous a concern.

Viscount Stormont proceeded to state why he thought the two opinions that had been propounded in the last debate might be reconciled. As it was then publicly known what was the intention of government with regard to the regency, which he reminded their lordships was a circumstance not known to the House when they had last discussed the subject, his opinion was, that they should forthwith proceed to declare the Prince of Wales sole Regent. At present, with a dismembered legislature, the country stood in a situation in which it ought to be suffered to remain as short a time as possible. As it was necessary, according to all their opinions, to proceed to practical measures, it ill became them to waste the time in agitating theoretical speculations. Of that nature was the question of right, which, in his mind, it was equally idle and fruitless to discuss. He remonstrated against delay, and asked the House, if they wished to follow the example of that whimsical set of philosophers who, when Mahomet the second scaled the walls of Constantinople, and took the city by storm, were actually made prisoners in the act of sitting in debate upon fruitless metaphysical speculations and frivolous inquiries. He thought it behoved them to proceed to declare the Prince sole regent, and, as all the royal prerogatives were allowed to the sovereign, not for his pleasure or satisfaction, but with a view to the good of the subject, to vest the Prince with them entirely. He put the case of an affectionate father, who would wish his son's government to be prosperous; to be prosperous it must be strong, and without every power which government ought to possess, it could not prove either prosperous or strong. Great must be the danger of continuing without a vigorous executive government. With regard to the safety of the state from foreign enemies, he looked to the vigilance of ministers, the force of the country, and the friendly dispositions of the neighbouring powers. A variety of reasons might be stated to prove the pressure of the moment, and the urgency of the case. He particularly pointed out the anxious and unpleasant situation of lord Carmarthen, as secretary of state for foreign affairs, who, for several weeks past, had not been able to forward a single instruction to any of our ministers abroad, since it

was well known all such instructions were sent in the name and by the command of the King.

Earl Stanhope expressed his anxious wish, that what the House had that day heard from the Duke of York could have been given in writing, so as to have been made, in some way or other, matter of record. It was too important a communication to be suffered to remain in fleeting words, which could not be handed down to posterity for them to quote as a proof of the existence of an essential part of the constitution.

The Duke of Gloucester rose, and after stating the peculiar unpleasantness of his own situation, and declaring that it was only four hours since he had heard that any thing was to be agitated upon the subject that day, deprecated the discussion of a question, which could only tend to produce the most mischievous consequences. He declared himself a mere individual, not influenced by party, but actuated by a sincere love of his country, and a strong sense of what he knew would be his Majesty's feelings, were he happily to recover from his present lamented indisposition. His royal highness trusted, that the good sense and loyalty of a majority in each House, would yet prevent the threatened decision on this point. Perseverance in it was mischievous to the last degree, and could not be meant for the public good. For his part, he felt so strongly on the subject, that if the attempt was persisted in, and the question brought before that House, he could only say, that he believed he should not dare to trust himself to come forward and speak his sentiments on the extraordinary conduct of those, who were unnecessarily inclined to compel a decision on so delicate a question.

Lord Cathcart said, that the papers pasted against the walls of the public streets, which had been alluded to by a noble lord, were not the only attempts to inflame the minds of the multitude. Other papers, replete with violence and falsehoods, and calculated to misrepresent the conduct of ministers, and make it appear that one of them brought himself forward as a competitor with the Prince of Wales, had been first pasted up, and distributed through the cities of London and Westminster. He concluded with moving an adjournment; which was agreed to.

Dec. 17. The Lord President of the Council brought up the Report from the