Page images
PDF
EPUB

Mr. Huffey referred to the Act of Parliament of the first of Queen Anne, chap. vii. which being read, he observed, that fuch was the fenfe of the country one hundred years ago in refpect to the aid of the civil lift, and it proved the fubject of the foreft and Crown lands, and that of provifion for all the branches of the Royal Family of this country, to be closely connected. Out of thefe lands a revenue might be had, not only for the purpose of maintaining the establishment of the Prince of Wales, but aifo of alleviating the burdens of the people. Eight years ago the Committee had made a report upon the fubject of thefe lands, and he was of opinion they ought to be fold; therefore he had moved that thefe Reports fhould be referred to the Committee on his Majefty's Meffage, as worthy of the most serious confideration. Thefe lands had never produced above 6000l. a year, although they might be improved to the amount of 400,000l. a year. On that account this appeared to him to be a proper fund for the purposes above mentioned, and therefore he wished the matter to be referred to a Committee. He wifhed to have an establishment for the Prince, and a relief from his embarraffments, obtained in an handfome way, without burdening the people, and he faw none that was fo likely to do fo, and at the fame time relieve the people of fome of their burdens, as this of the fale of the Crown lands. As a ground to establish what he faid, he wished to refer to thefe Reports, and the House to judge of them. If he was stopped in limine, the fault was not his. If the House and the Public were of opinion that these lands fhould remain as they are, he must be fatisfied. He had done his duty in bringing the fubject forward, and he wished to fay nothing more upon the fubject.

[Mr. Burdon and Mr. Duncombe interrupted Mr. Huffey in the courfe of his fpeaking, with a queftion as to his object in wishing to have the Reports referred to the Committee: His explanation is given in the above account of his fpeech.]

The Chancellor of the Exchequer affured the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Huffey) that for his part he had not the smallest objection to letting the Crown lands, &c. go to the benefit of the Public; but as he could not poflibly fee any natural or neceffary connexion between the Hon. Gentleman's motion and the King's Meffage, he would oppofe it. In the confideration of the latter, two things were to be attended to, namely, the establishment of the Prince's houfehold, and his prefent immenfe embarrassments, none of which the plan fuggefted would at present promote or remedy. The Hon. Gentleman has faid, that he wifhed not to burden the people; but would the

taking away the foreft lands from them be not a burden? If cultivated, he has alfo faid, that they would annually produce a confiderable fum, without confidering that fuch income is merely contingent and remote. If, then, this be the cafe, the liquidation of the debt is not likely to receive any immediate fuccour from fuch fale or improvement, and it must be derived from fome other channel. As to the Act of the first of Anne, he denied that it could be deduced from it that the forefts, &c. were fubject to be made liable to fupply the deficiency of the civil lift; and if the Houfe would go to alienate them, they would do wrong. In confequence of the management of Crown lands, different Bills have from time to time been brought into the House, all of which were of very important confideration. The structure of our navy ought to be ever the primary confideration of the Houfe when this fubject comes before it, and whenever that fhould happen, he thought it ought to be in a feparate Committee.

Mr. Fox admitted that he might perhaps be prejudiced upon this fubject, in confequence of the fhare he had taken in fome difcuffions upon it, and the opinions he had then delivered. From the ftatute of Queen Anne it was clear that these lands were applicable to the making a provision for the Royal Family. Something additional, he fuppofed, was intended to be given to the Prince of Wales; and if fo, it behoved the Houfe, in a moment of exigency like the prefent, to look at the resources of the country, and in that view he thought the Reports in queftion ought to be examined. If it fhould be more convenient to raise this additional income, and perhaps in fome degree to relieve the Public, by the alienation of the Crown lands, he thought they fhould be alienated. He was convinced that a landed eftate for the King of Great Britain was in no way a beneficial estate for the people; for it tended to increase an influence already too great, namely, the influence of the Crown. Under all the views in which he faw the fubject, he was led to agree to this motion.

Mr. Eaft declared himfelf forry that the motion had been made, because it tended to bring on a difcuffion which was not before the Houfe. They had not yet faid that they would look into the incumbrances of his Royal Highness, and therefore to agree to any motion that went to appropriate a fund for the discharge of them was improper. If the House should agree to inquire into the incumbrances he mentioned, they should examine them deeply, and look at them over and over again before they came to any determination upon them. He was therefore against this motion.

Mr.

Mr. Fox begged it to be underflood that he did not mean to confider the Houfe as pledged to do any thing with regard to the incumbrances of his Royal Highnefs; that would be matter for future confideration. He had faid a few words with regard to the additional income of his Royal Highnefs, because he never heard any Member yet fay, he thought it would be improper.

Mr. Grey was against the motion. The queftion that night was to be what, under the circumftances of the country, would be fit to grant to his Royal Highnefs? When the incumbrances came before the Houfe, this motion would be proper; but it was not fo in his opinion in the prefent ftage of the proceeding.

Mr. Ryder fai hat the motion of the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Huffey) might as well be introduced in any other Committee, and was entirely against its being confidered collaterally with the King's Meffage.

Mr. William Smith interrogated Mr. Pitt as to a word. that had fallen from him in the courfe of the converfation.

Mr. Martin approved of the principle of the motion, and hoped it would be brought forward at a future time.

Mr. M. Robinfon agreed that there was no connexion between the Reports and the fubject of the Prince of Wales's eftablishment and debts; but it he would fupport Mr. Huffey's motion, because he thought it a proper measure abstracted from the prefent question.

Mr. Burden faid a few words.

Colonel Macleod wifhed the Public to reflect that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had been minifter of this.country, and had loft to the Public upon one article the difference between 6oool. and 400,cool. a year; for if the Crown lands might be made to produce that fum, the minifter muit have neglected his duty in not making them produce it.

The motion was then negatived.

The queftion being put for going into a Committee,

Mr. Mainwaring defired to know of the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Houfe would be pledged to if it confented to the Speaker leaving the chair.-There were two points to be confidered, as he underflood: The establishment, and the incumbrances of his Royal Highnefs. He withed to know if the Houfe would be pledged to go into both, if the Committee was agreed to. or whether Members could fay, "We will go thus far, but no farther ?"--He faid, he afked this, because he had not made up his mind upon the fubject.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer conceived, that the motion. Itself was an aufwer to the Hon. Gentleman's queftion. The VOL. III. Com

Ff

Committee was to take his Majefty's Meffage into confider ation, and then every Gentleman would take what fhare he ple: fed in the difcufion.

The question being put and carried, the Houfe refolved itfelf into a Committee of the whole Houfe. Mr. Steele, in the chair, having read his Majefty's Meffage,

The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, that the object recommended in his Majefty's Meflage had already been the fubject of fome obfervation that day. He was perfuaded that if he could completely feparate one part of the fubject from the other, as he thought eventually he must do, in the vote he. fhould propofe, he would meet the unanimous with of the Houfe. Upon one part of it he flattered himself there would hardly be a difference of fentiment; as the general object was one in which they were all united. He was perfuaded, while he locked at the power of the public purfe, and while he con-fidered that he was to apply for an establishment to be fettled on the Prince of Wales, after the happy event of his union with a Princefe of the Houfe of Brunfwick; when he reflected on the bleflings the nation had continued to enjoy under that illuflrious family, of which this Princefs was a branch, that there was but one general fentiment felt by Englishmen, and that they would be unanimous in their determination to fupport the dignity and fplendour of the Prince and his Royal confort. This was a difpofition which would arife out of the fentiment, he had almoft faid the inftinct, of the people of this country, and he was aflured, that any application that was made to fupport the fplendour of the House of Brunswick would never be unfuccefsful. That Houfe had on every occafion fhewn its readiness to protect the principles of true liberty, and to have always in view the real happines of its fubjects. He mult lay it down as a general ground refulting from reflection on the hiftory of paft ages, as well as from a confideration of many recent circumstances, that in the days in which they lived, it was the immediate interct of every defeription of the people to fupport the strength, to maintain the honour and neceflary dignity and fplendour, not only of the British monarchy, but alfo of every branch of the Royal Family. What we gave to them for thefe purposes, we gave in reality to ourfelves. This he did not mean to be done by a profligate wafte of the public treafure, but by a prudent ufe of it; and in allowing an handfome share of the property of the nation for fuch a purpose, they had always been amply repaid by the fecurity it gave them for a continuance of those blethings they enjoyed under that system of government, the centre of which was monarchy-a fyftem,

which, notwithstanding all the idle theories of modern pretenders, and all the attempts that had been made to bring it into disrepute, comprised in it all that they had seen, not only of dignity and force, but alfo of protection to liberty, and every thing that could be efteemed most valuable in a well-regulated fate. Thefe were confiderations which, he was fure, would guide the vote of the Houle, on the question of the establishment to be made for their Royal Highneffes the

Prince and Princess of Wales.

If that were the only question to be brought before the Houfe, he fhould have confined the vote which he had to propofe to what, according to his view of the fubject, came diftinely within that principle. But, while he was aware of that being defireable, he was bound in candour to fay that he had other topics to bring forward much lefs agreeable to his own, feelings. Thefe topics, however, he fhould keep as feparate and diftinct as poflible from the other queftion. For that reafon he fhould not that day propofe any provifion to be voted for the difcharge of the incumbrances of his Royal Highness. It was his duty however to flate the circumstances of these incumbrances. He wished to God he could do otherwife. It would be more to his fatisfaction, more to the fatisfaction of every man in that Houfe, and he believed more to the fatiffaction of every man in this country, that the part to which he alluded could have been avoided; but fince it unfortunately exifted, the fame fentiments which their duty and their inclination led them to agree to fupport the fplendour of the Throne by an establishment, led them all to wifh that incumbrances fhould not be permitted to affect its credit; and however they might lament it, yet their loyalty to the Throne, and their regard for its interefts, which was infeparable from their own, called upon them to look at thefe incumbrances, and to fee that they fhould not affe&t too deeply the cafe of the Heir Apparent.

He proceeded to ftate his own view of the whole fubject, and each of its branches in its order. First, as to the happy event of the marriage of his Royal Highnets, which met the wines of all the Members of the Houfe, and on which they had already expreffed their joy; in confequence there must be an additional establishment. Next came to be defrayed the expence attending the ceremony of the marriage, and then the expence of completing the building of Carlton Houfe, as a refidence for their Royal Highnetles. With refpect to the expence of the marriage, or of the furnishing and building of Carlton Houfe, they would not be objects for the prefera Compittee, and therefore he fhould not propofe any refolution upon

[blocks in formation]
« PreviousContinue »