knowledge, and of their gross and We have thus examined this important subject in its principal bearings and relations, as extensively and minutely as our limits would admit; and as it cannot be deemed a subject unconnected with British history, or indifferent to Britons, we trust that we shall be excused for having devoted so much room to it. We shall now conclude this chapter, with offering a few remarks on the plan which government actually pursued with regard to the renewal of the charter. In the first place, as interfering with a monopoly so long and extensively established as that of the East India company was certainly a matter of serious and complicated difficulty, they acted wisely and prudently in examining the subject with the utmost care and attention. Evidence was heard at considerable length before the house of commons; and though it necessarily consisted, for the most part, of those who had been in the service of the company, and who consequently had a partial feeling towards their views and interests, yet much useful information was collected. In the second place, government appear to have acted prudently and wisely, in not only examining this evidence at great length, but also in proffering such a renewed charter to the company, as would at once secure them part of their exclusive privileges, and give them time and opportunity to prepare themselves for the loss cf the whole; for though we have contended against the monopoly, we are not such rash and unadvised speculatists, as to maintain that a monopoly which had existed so long, and which of course had incorporated itself so intimately with many parts of our political and commercial system, and on the continuance of which so many persons depended for the necessary or comfortable means of subsistence, should be at once entirely destroyed: a gradual preparation preparation was necessary for those who were interested in its continuance, as well as for those who hoped to reap benefit from its de struction. When the question respecting the renewal of their charter was first agitated, the directors and proprietors of the East India company assumed high ground, and seemed disposed not to accept of a new charter, unless it were granted them on their own terms; but their tone changed, when they witnessed the firmness of government, and that the nation was against their pretensions. Some time must necessarily elapse before the real and permanent ef fects of opening the trade to India, either in a political or a commercial point of view, or as they will operate on the situation and character of the natives, can be clearly and accurately ascertained; and we should be upon our guard against mistaking and confounding the immediate consequences with the necessary and permanent consequences. In all great political and commercial changes, much confu sion and partial evil must at first result: it requires a considerable time to elapse before every thing adjusts itself to the change; and till this adjustment takes place, any judgement that is formed must be rash, premature, and unjust. CHAPTER XI. Transactions respecting the Princess of Wales-possess both a political and a moral Interest-First Communication to the Prince in 1805 Warrant for Investigation, May 1806-Report of the Commissioners-acquit the Princess of the criminal Charges-but not entirely of the others-Letters of the Princess to the King, August 12 and 17-Abstract of her Letter of October, in which she enters into a full and minute Examination of all the Evidence-complains of the Substance of the Proceeding, and the unfair and indecorous Conduct of ibe Commissioners, in not letting her know immediately the Result of the Report -Remarks on the Testimony of Lady Douglas-on Cole's Deposition respecting Sir Sydney Smith-and Mr. Lawrence-on the Evidence respecting Captain Manby-Conclusion of the Letter-Delay in admitting her to the Royal Presence-ber Remonstrance on the Cause of it-Change of Mimisters-New Ministry completely avow her Innocence-Her Letter to the Prince, January 1813-Proceedings on it-Her Letter to the SpeakerAddresses to ber-Conduct of Ministers, Opposition, &c. on this Occasion. A LTHOUGH the inhabitants less circumscribed in their nature, of this country take a greater and more peculiarly and generally interest in, and pay more attention characteristic of mankind. In the to politics, strictly so called, than year 1813 such circumstances howthe inhabitants of any other coun- ever did occur in Great Britain; try in Europe; yet it does not often and a political event occurred, happen, that the circumstances which, while in that character it which call forth and display this was strongly calculated to excite. disposition, also appeal to feelings attention and interest, also spoke most most powerfully to the feelings of every person who was the friend of injured innocence, and who sympathized in the distresses, and felt joyful at the triumph, of that innocence. We allude to the events which took place respecting the princess of Wales. To the mere cold politician they were important, as they threatened to affect the succession to the throne, and as they were calculated to display most thoroughly the characters and conduct of some of the highest personages in the state, as well as those who were at the head of the different political parties; while the same events were most interesting to all who considered that the person to whom they related was a female of the highest rank, a deserted wife, a stranger, and a mother deprived in a great measure of the society of her daughter. In order, however, to give a clear, connected, and complete view of this business, it will be necessary to trace the transactions relative to the princess of Wales from the beginning. In the month of November, 1805, the duke of Sussex informed the prince of Wales, that sir John Douglas had made known to him some circumstances respecting the behaviour of the princess of Wales, which, in the opinion of the duke, it was of the highest importance that the prince should hear, as they must, if true, not only affect the honour and peace of mind of his royal highness, but also the security of the succession to the throne: the duke added, that sir John and lady Douglas were willing, if called upon for that purpose, to make a full disclosure of all they knew respecting the con luct of the princess of Wales; and that the duke of Kent had known of these circum stances in some measure for more than twelve months. His royal highness was naturally much astonished at this communication; and particularly that the duke of Kent should have been so silent on a matter of such infinite importance to his feelings and honour: he therefore requested the duke to state what had been communicated to him, and also to explain the reason why he had hitherto kept it concealed from the person most affected by it. Upon this the duke of Kent gave in a written declaration; the substance of which was, that about the end of 1804 he had received a note from the princess of Wales, informing him that she had got into an unpleasant dispute with sir John and lady Douglas, in consequence of their charging her with having sent the latter an anonymous letter and a loose drawing; and she requested the duke to use his endea vour to settle the difference between them, or at least prevent the subject from being talked of. The duke upon this had an interview with sir John Douglas, who persisted in his belief that the letter and drawing were the work of her royal highness; and was with diffi culty prevailed upon by the duke to abstain from a prosecution. In the course of their conversation on this subject, sir John spoke with great indignation of the conduct of the princess, and threatening, if he should be annoyed again, to make further disclosures: as, however, the duke of Kent, at last, pacified him, he thought it unnecessary to trouble the prince with these circumstances, considering the whole as a gossiping story, which might be entirely founded on the misapprehension of the parties. The prince, however, was not satisfied that that the matter should remain in this unpleasant and unsatisfactory state; and sir John and lady Douglas made a formal declaration of all that they conceived themselves bound to charge the princess of Wales with; which was submitted by the prince to the late lord Thurlow. He gave it as his opinion, that his royal highness had no alternative, but that his duty imperiously called upon him to submit it to the king, as the royal succession might be affected if the, allegations were true: the nature and extent of these allegations will be afterwards seen in the course of this narrative. In consequence of this opinion of lord Thurlow, and some further examinations which took place, the declarations of William and Sarah Lampert, (servants to sir John Douglas,) William Cole, Robert and Sarah Bidgood, Frances Loyd, and sir John and lady Douglas, were submitted to his majesty, who thereupon issued a warrant, in May 1806, directing and authorizing lord Er skine as lord chancellor, lord Grenville as first lord of the treasury, earl Spencer as one of the secretaries of state, and lord Ellenborough as chief justice of the court of king's bench, "to inquire into the truth of the allegations, and to report to him thereon." The statements made by sir John and lady Douglas, and the other persons who were examined, not only imputed to her royal highness great impropriety of behaviour, but accused her, partly on the ground of what she had said herself, and partly on the observation of the informants, that she had been pregnant in 1802, in corse quence of illicit intercourse, and that she had been that year secretly delivered of a child, which had been brought up in her own house, and under her own inspection. Sir John Douglas swore positively to his having observed the fact of pregnancy; and lady Douglas, not only that she had observed it, but that her royal highness made not the least scruple of talking about it. To this point, therefore, as by far the most serious, the commissioners directed their first and particular attention; and after having well and carefully weighed all the evidence and circumstances attending the alleged pregnancy, they declared, in their report to his ma jesty, their firm conviction that there was no foundation whatever for believing that the child which lived with her royal highness was her own child; or that she had been delivered of any child in the year 1802; or that she had ever been pregnant that year, or at any other period within the compass of their inquiries. They next proceeded to examine the truth of the other allegations; on which they gave it as their opinion, that several strong circumstances respecting the improper conduct of her royal highness had been positively sworn to by witnesses who could not in their judgement be suspected of any unfavourable bias, and whose veracity, in this respect, they had seen no ground to question. They concluded their report with expressing their opinion generally, that as, on the one hand, the facts of pregnancy and delivery were to their mind satisfactorily disproved-so, on the other hand, they thought that the circumstances to which they referred respecting the conduct of her royal highness, particularly those stated to have passed between her and captain Manby, must be credited till they should receive some decisive contradiction; tradiction; and, if true, are justly entitled to the most serious consideration. This report was dated the 14th of July, but a copy of it was not delivered to the princess of Wales till the 11th of August. On the following day she wrote to his majesty on the subject: she began by stating that she had flattered herself that the commissioners would not have delivered in their report before they had been informed of various circumstances, which, to a delicate-minded woman, it must be very unpleasant for her to have spread, without having the means to exculpate her self. Her observations on the other parts of the conduct of the commissioners also were very pertinent and severe; they had given credit to evidence taken behind her back, without her knowledge, and which she had had no means or opportunity to refute: she had not even been allowed to explain or account for any part of her behaviour, which might, without such explanation, seem to be improper. In short, she had been condemned in an unfair and unjust manner, and therefore conceived that she had a right to complain to his majesty on the subject, and to request of him his protection. On the 17th of August she again wrote to the king, having in the mean time consulted with her legal advisers: they in formed her, and upon their infor mation she stated to his majesty, that the copies of the report, and of the accompanying papers, which were sent to her, were unauthentigated; that in some parts of them there had been erasures; and that copies of the written declarations upon which the report proceeded, had not been transmitted to her; she therefore begged that his ma, 1813. jesty would give directions that the copies of the report, &c. might be authenticated, and that copies of the declarations might be sent to her. She also requested that she might be informed who were her accusers, and how many there were of them, in order that she might judge of the credit due to their accusations, and be enabled to refute them. His majesty was graciously pleased to order copies of the de clarations to be sent; but of the other parts of her royal highness's letter no notice seems to have been taken. Having received these papers, the princess of Wales submitted them to her legal advisers, the principal of whom is understood to have been the late Mr. Perceval; and on the 2d of October 1806 she transmitted to his majesty her observations on the charges against her, and on the evidence on which they rested, in a very long letter. This letter is drawn up with un common ability: while it displays a very considerable portion of acute ness and penetration, such as might have been expected from the legal experience and talents of Mr. Per ceval, there are in it many pas, sages distinguished by that digni fied, solemn, and pathetic tone of remonstrance and feeling, which could only have proceeded from the person most interested in the subject. The letter is so very long, that we can only notice the most important parts of it; those parts which either examine the most ma terial evidence with the greatest acuteness and effect, or which display the character and frame of mind of her royal highness the most clearly and completely. After mentioning that the ex travagance of the malice of sir John and lady Douglas had de Q feated |