present them in parliament, they made their election of their representative; but when they sat in a committee above stairs, to try whether A. or B. was entitled to a seat as representative of such or such a borough, they sat as judges, and their report was an adjudication of the right of A. or B. If gentlemen would do him the honour to recollect his manner of treating this subject, on the preceding day, they would, he hoped, in justice admit, that the meaning which he had now explained, was precisely that which his words, on a former occasion, had then been calculated to convey, and that he neither talked of the usurpation of the two Houses, nor suggested a single idea to warrant the im puting to him any intention of that sort, or any thing like it. Let it be recollected where he was speaking, and to whom he was addressing himself; to the House of Commons, one of the constituent parts of the very court that was to make the adjudication of the Prince's right. Let it be recollected likewise, whether the rest of his argument, both in his speech and his forcibly impressed his own; be that as it | persons, whom they thought most fit to remight, what had been understood to be his meaning, or what had been misrepresented to have been his expression and sentiment, when speaking as a member of parliament, ought not to have been treated as it had been; as if public proceedings, of a grave and solemn nature, ought to be grounded on so unsubstantial a foundation. The first point, from which he must exculpate himself was, the supposition of having spoken from the authority of any person whatever, much less from the authority of his royal highness the Prince of Wales. He had spoken merely of himself, and delivered his opinion, as an individual member of parliament. In that private capacity, and without the Prince of Wales's authority, he had freely delivered his opinion, and the opinion he had stated and meant to state, was, that from the moment that the two Houses of Parliament declared the King unable to exercise the royal sovereignty, from that moment a right to exercise the royal authority attached to the Prince of Wales. But he must state what that right was that so attached; and he would trust to the re-reply, did not go expressly to the nature collection of gentlemen, whether he had not so explained it, when he had last occasion to speak upon the subject. A new term had been put into his mouth in another place, which he had not used; it had been said, that he had declared, "that the Prince of Wales had a right to assume the royal authority, upon the interruption of its personal exercise, in consequence of the King's illness and inca-royal authority. Had he not said, that pacity." What he meant was this: he conceived the exercise of the royal authority to be the right, under such circumstances, of the Prince of Wales; but he had spoken of it as a right, and not the possession. Before the Prince could exercise that right, he must appeal to the court competent to decide, whether it belonged to him or not, or must wait till that court, on the part of itself, made such declaration. That court was composed of the two Houses of parliament, while they were sitting; the Prince had the right, but the adjudication of that right belonged to the two Houses. The more clearly to understand this, it was necessary to ex plain the precise meaning of the word election, and to contrast it with the term adjudication. That House could legislate and provide such measures, as it deemed advisable for the public interest: when they individually gave their votes for such of the Prince's right, as he had now defined it. He had, in terms the most explicit and unequivocal, asserted it as bis opinion, that when that and the other House of parliament declared his Majesty incapable of exercising the royal authority, that was the precise period of time when the prince's right attached, and when that House ought not to delay in restoring the the same principles that made the Crown hereditary, made the executive power, and the government of the country, hereditary likewise? Upon that ground it was, that he had argued as he had done, and this he conceived to be the nature of the Prince of Wales's right. Having thus, as he hoped, clearly explained his meaning, he was free to acknowledge, that greater differences of opinion prevailed respecting the right of the Prince of Wales to exercise the royal authority, under the circumstances so often stated, than he could have expected, but much of that difference of opinion, he found, arose from some nice, logical, and legal distinctions, taken between the term right, and claim: distinctions more equivocal, in his mind, than solid and substantial, and which were rested on arguments and principles, which he confessed his understanding was too dull to comprehend. One idea which he had learnt was, that several persons admitted that the Prince of Wales had an irresistible claim, which the parliament could not reject or refusé, whenever it was made, without forfeiting their duty to the constitution. To that idea, he, for one, had no objection; because he knew no difference between an irresistible claim, and an inherent right. In another place, the right of the Prince of Wales had been deeply investigated, and that by inquirers every way equal to the discussion, who all gave their sanction and authority to his opinion. If the Prince of Wales had done him the honour to have asked his advice how to proceed, he should have told him, as parliament was sitting, that he thought his royal highness might have sent a message to either, or to both Houses, stating his claim, and calling upon them to decide upon it. But, as he had said on a former day, his royal highness's forbearance was such, that he would send his claim to neither House of Parliament; but would wait patiently, and with due deference, being conscious that the two Houses ought to acknowledge the justice of that claim, and thereby restore the royal authority.-Mr. Fox declared, that he could not help thinking, that the conduct of his royal highness deserved the commendation he had bestowed on it, and was entitled to universal applause. For his own part, he could assert, that he had entertained sanguine hopes, that in the adjustment of a business of so delicate and important a nature, men of every description would have concurred in one leading and essential circumstance, and have allowed, that let there exist what doubt there might, of the Prince of Wales's right to exercise the royal authority under the present circumstances of the country, there could be none of the propriety of investing him with the sole administration of the government, and with the unlimited exercise of all the regal functions. He had not yet abandoned these hopes altogether. The right hon. gentleman had named an early day for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House to take into consideration the state of the nation; he did not mean by an early day, a day too early. He had before declared, that after the authentication of the King's incapacity, the House ought not to lose any time in restoring the royal authority; but, surely, it could not prove a matter of indifference whether the House should or should not, be enabled to know what sort [VOL. XXVII.] of proposition it was, that the right hon. gentleman meant to bring forward on Tuesday next, in order that they might turn it in their minds, and come prepared to discuss it, with some knowledge of its propriety and expediency. He wished the right hon. gentleman not to regard him as hostile on the present occasion. He knew it was so usual for the House to see the right hon. gentleman and himself acting in an hostile point of view towards each other, that it was difficult to consider them in any other light; but, what he now suggested, he suggested on grounds of general convenience, devoid of any party consideration whatever. If the right hon. gentleman did not feel the proposition that he had made as he did, he could only lament that he did not. He did hope, however, that the right hon. gentleman would not think it unfit to give the House some general outline of what he meant to state to the Committee on Tuesday, that gentlemen might not be puzzled with the novelty of the proposition, and embarrassed how to vote. He was inclined to hope, that, as to essential points the difference between the right hon. gentleman and himself was extremely minute; an advantage, therefore, would result from a communication of the intended proposition; the opinions of weighty men upon it might be ascertained, and thence it might be seen whether arrangements might not be made to reconcile difference on small points, in order that the question, whatever it might be, might be carried with unanimity. What some conceived a right in the Prince of Wales, others might deem at the disposal of the two Houses of parliament; but that was a difference of opinion of no material import to the main consideration of the act they were to do, and which they must proceed to do in some shape or other. When the thing itself was decided, it would remain to determine by what mode to notify it. He conceived there could be but two regular methods; one by a declaration, the other by an address, or perhaps both conjointly by the two Houses. He knew not whether the right hon. gentleman was willing to communicate the outline of what he meant to state to the committee next Tuesday; but he had no difficulty to declare unreservedly what his own opinion was upon the subject. His opinion was that the Prince of Wales ought to be declared regent, and capable of exercising all the regal powers, in the same manner and to the same extent, as [3 A] they would have been exercised by his Mr. Pitt begged leave to remind the House, that they had just received a voluminous report from the Committee, appointed to search for precedents, in order that gentlemen might have every information before them, to guide their proceedings, under the present arduous and singular situation of the country, that the wisdom of their ancestors, the statutes of the realm, and the records of parliament, could afford; and he had moved to refer that report, together with the examination of his Majesty's physicians, to the Committee of the whole House, who were to take the state of the nation into their consideration upon the ensuing Tuesday. In that Committee, the topics touched on by the right hon. gentleman would necessarily undergo an ample discussion. In the last debate on the subject, there appeared to be a point at issue between the right hon. gentleman and himself; and from all that the right hon. gentleman had then said, it still appeared to be no less at issue than before. The right hon. gentleman had explained, as he thought proper, the meaning of a very essential part of his speech, on the preceding Wednesday. Mr. Pitt said he should be sorry to fix on any gentleman a meaning, which he afterwards declared not to have been his meaning. In whatever way, therefore, he had before understood the right hon. gentleman's words relative to the prince's forbearing to assert his claim, he was willing to take the matter from the right hon. gentleman's present explanation, and to meet it upon those grounds on which he had then, after maturer deliberation, thought fit to place it. The right hon. gentleman now asserted, that the Prince of Wales had a right to exercise the royal authority, under the present circumstances of the country, but that it was as a right not in possession, until the prince could exercise it on, what the right hon. gentleman called, the adjudication of parliament. Now he, on his part, denied that the Prince of Wales had any right whatever, and upon that point the right hon. gentleman and he were still at issue; an issue that, in his opinion, must be decided, before they proceeded one step farther in the great and important considerations to be discussed and determined. Concerning one part of the right hon. gentleman's speech, it was impossible for him to remain silent, as the right hon. gentleman's ideas in that point had not appeared to him to be quite accurate and distinct. He seemed to have intended to have re and the provision that it necessarily required; a question that involved in it the principles of the constitution, the protection and security of our liberties, and the safety of the state. Whatever, therefore, might be the order of their proceeding, he hoped there would be an unanimous concurrence of opinion, that it was impossible to let the question of right, which had been started, undergo admission, without its being fully discussed and decided. It was a question that shook the foundation of the constitution, and upon the decision of which, all that was dear to us, as Britons, depended. In his opinion, therefore, it was their first duty to decide, whether there were any right in the Prince of Wales to claim the exercise of the regal power, under any circumstances of the country, independent of the actual demise of the crown. In the discussion of the powers with which the regent was to be invested, there might be differences of opinion, whether the whole of the royal prerogatives should be delegated, on the grounds of expediency; there might be differences of opinion, whether a portion only of the royal authority should be dele nounced all idea of the Prince of Wales's right to assume the exercise of the royal authority, under the present or similar circumstances, without the previous adjudication of parliament or of the two Houses; but, if he understood the right hon. gentleman correctly, he had used the words, "during the sitting of parliament;" the plain inference from which expression was, that if parliament were not sitting, the Prince of Wales could assume the exercise of the regal authority. Mr. Pitt declared, that he thought the Prince of Wales could, in no one case, have power to assume the right. If there were no parliament in existence, he granted, that the heir apparent, acting in concert with other persons in great situations, might, under such circumstances as the present, have issued writs, and convened the two Houses, for the purpose of providing for the exigency. Such a proceeding would be justified by the necessity of the case, and with a view to the safety of the nation, which superseded all forms; but, that it would be a legal and formal summons of the parliament, or that a parliament could be called together, without legal authority, he must absolutely deny.gated, and a part reserved, on the grounds Such a meeting would be a convention, like to that assembled at the time of the abdication of James 2, and in other periods of difficulty; but it could not be a legal and formal calling together of a parliament. With regard to the question of the Prince of Wales's right of assuming the power, during the intermission of parliament, and his right not in possession, as it was called, during the sitting of parliament, he need not rest much upon the distinction, denying, as he did, that any right to assume the regal authority, under any cireumstances, independent of the consent and approbation of parliament, existed in the Prince of Wales. But, supposing the right of assumption of royalty given up altogether, and that the prince must have the right adjudged by parliament, he denied that they were canvassing a right, and acting as judges, as the sentiments of the right hon. gentleman so manifestly intimated. It was subversive of the principles of the constitution to admit, that the Prince of Wales might seat himself on the throne during the lifetime of his father; and the intimation of the existence of such a right, as he had remarked on a former occasion, presented a question of greater magnitude and importance even than the present exigency, 1 of prudence and discretion. These were, important topics, which they could not discuss, unless they first knew, whether they were sitting as judges, or as a house of parliament, possessing a power of deliberation, and capable of exercising a constitutional discretion. They must first ascertain, whether that which should be vested in the hands of the Prince of Wales, was matter of adjudication on their part, of right in his royal highness, or as a trust in behalf and in the name of his Majesty; and therefore, he should think it his duty to bring forward the question of right, as a preliminary question. If that question should be decided in the affirmative, there would be no need of specific measures. Should it, however, be determined upon. a contrary ground, the way would become cleared, and the House would know how to proceed. He had, indeed, mentioned the alternative, but, Heaven forbid, that the fatal alternative should be decided in favour of the intimated right of the Prince of Wales!-Mr. Pitt next took notice of the call which Mr. Fox had made upon him, relative to the future propositions to be brought forward by him in the Committee which had been moved for, to take into consideration the state of the nation. He said, that, if the question of justify the principles of this explicit declaration of his intention, on the ground, that, whatever was given to the regent, or withholden, ought to be given, or withholden with a veiw to the moment when his Majesty should be capable of resuming his rightful prerogatives; a circumstance to which it peculiarly became him to look, in the situation in which he stood, ho noured with the confidence of a sovereign to whom he was bound, and strongly attached, by the ties of gratitude and duty; Whatever judgment might be formed of what he had declared, he was conscious of having given a free and an honest opinion, and was satisfied with that consciousness. He conceived it could not be thought necessary for him to go any farther into the subject, as the adjustment of the whole proceeding must rest with the Committee on the state of the nation, where it would be necessary to come forward with the different propositions separately, and to proceed, step by step, to mark and define, by distinct resolutions, what parts of the royal prerogative should be given to the regent, and what withheld. right should be decided, as he thought it would, upon constitutional principles, he should, in that case, certainly proceed to propose measures for providing for the interruption of the royal authority, occasioned by his Majesty's present incapacity to exercise it; and, as he was always happy when he could concur with the requisition of the right hon. gentleman, he would state the outline, without feeling any prejudice to the person who had called for it; but, he begged to have it understood, that what he was about to state was-but of that he would say no more. not to be a matter of debate at that moment, nor were any arguments then to be raised upon it. He proceeded to declare that, however decided he might be in his opinion against the whole, or any part of the regal power being vested in the Prince of Wales, as a matter of right, in any way in which that right had been explained, he was equally ready to say, that, as a matter of discretion, and on the ground of expediency, it was, in his opinion, highly desirable, that whatever part of the regal power it was necessary should be exercised at all, during this unhappy interval, should be vested in a single person, and that this person should be the Prince of Wales: that he also thought it most consistent with true constitutional principles, and most for the public convenience, that his royal highness should exercise that portion of authority, whatever it might be, unfettered by any permanent counsel, and with the free choice of his political servants. With regard to the portion of royal authority which ought to be given, or that which ought to be withholden, it would be premature, in this stage, to enter into the particular discussion of it: he had no objection, however, even now, to declare in general, that whatever authority was necessary for carrying on the public business with vigour and dispatch, and for providing, during this interval, for the safety and interests of the country, ought to be given: but, on the other hand, any authority, not necessary for those purposes, and capable of being, by possibility, employed in any way which might tend to embarrass the exercise of the king's lawful authority, when he should be enabled to resume it into his own hands, ought to be withholden; because from its being given, more inconvenience might arise to the future interests both of the people and of the crown, than any which could arise, in the mean time, frow its temporary suspension. Mr. Pitt added, that he could Mr. Fox answered, that he was ready to admit that the right hon. gentleman had nearly stated every point which he had desired, and, indeed, full as much as he either did, or had any right to expect from him, and that with great candour. The right hon. gentleman had taken a distinction between the right of the Prince of Wales while parliament was sitting, and his right while parliament was not sitting, and had asked, what would have been the Prince's conduct under the latter circumstance? In that case, Mr. Fox said, he supposed the Prince would have done what the right hon. gentleman had stated might have been done; he would have convened the two Houses of Parliament, and referred to that convention the consideration of the state of the nation, and expected when they declared the incapacity of the King, that they would have also declared his right to the regency. Some words had slipped into the right hon. gentleman's speech which seemed to insinuate, that he had put the regency in a point of view very different from that in which he had placed it. The right hon. gentleman had remarked that the House was to decide whether it was a right or a trust. When he (Mr. Fox) had stated that the Prince of Wales had a right to exercise the royal authority, he most uns |