Henry George Herbert, Earl of Carnarvon. Henry Richard Fox Vassall, Lord Holland. DLXXXI. AUGUST 17, 1820. The first proceedings taken against the Queen was a message sent by George IV to the Houses, on the 6th of June. On the 8th of June, a Secret Committee of fifteen peers was chosen by ballot. On the 5th of July, the Queen petitioned to be heard by counsel on the subject of her petition, but a motion of Lord Dacre to that effect was negatived. The Bill of Pains and Penalties,' or the 'Queen's Degradation Bill' was then introduced by Lord Liverpool, and read for the first time. It may be found in Hansard, new series, vol. ii, p. 212. The House adjourned from the 25th of July to the 15th of August, and on the 17th of August the Duke of Leinster, on the motion for the order of the day, moved that the order be rescinded. This motion was rejected by 206 to 41, and the following protest entered. Ist, Because we fully concur in the opinion which has been expressed by the House of Commons, that the proposed enquiry would be disappointing to the hopes of Parliament, derogatory from the dignity of the Crown, and injurious to the best interests of the Empire. 2ndly, Because the institution of proceedings which are allowed to be anomalous to the spirit of the British Constitution, and which do not appear to be warranted by considerations of State necessity, is in our judgment inexpedient, and may be viewed with much suspicion by the people. 3rdly, Because it does not appear to us that any object which could be attained by the proposed enquiry, whatever may be its result, is of such importance as to be commensurate with the evils which, under all the circumstances of the case, may be expected to arise from it. Philip Henry Stanhope, Earl Stanhope. George Kenyon, Lord Kenyon, for the first and third reasons. George Capel, Earl of Essex. John Russell, Duke of Bedford. Robert Dundas Duncan, Viscount Duncan. William Charles Keppel, Earl of Albemarle. Peter Leopold Louis Francis Cowper, Earl Cowper. Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbull Hill, Earl of Hillsborough Peter King, Lord King. DLXXXII-DLXXXIV. AUGUST 19, 1820. In the debate on the second reading of the Queen's Degradation Bill, Lord Grey moved, 'That it appears that the Bill now before the House does not afford the most advisable mode for prosecuting the charges against her Majesty, and that therefore under the present circumstances it is not necessary or expedient to proceed further with it.' This motion was rejected by 179 to 64, and the following three protests were entered. Because in all the debates upon the principle of this Bill, and more especially upon the present, it was vindicated only by its supporters from the particularity of the case, as not being clearly, if at all, a proper subject of impeachment by the House of Commons: a proposition which we desire to deny on the Journal of this House. Because her Majesty the Queen, even when only the wife of the Prince of Wales, was a public person, whose chastity was protected by the highest penalties of the criminal law, her fidelity being not only of the highest consequence to the security of the Kingdom, but her virtuous conduct and example essential for surrounding the Throne with the respect and affection of the people: adultery therefore in such a high public person, more especially such a publicly adulterous intercourse as is charged by this Bill, though circumstances prevented its falling within the Statute of King Edward III, as an act of high treason, was nevertheless and from that cause a high misdemeanor, and manifestly within the constitutional jurisdiction of Parliament by impeachment in the House of Commons, if from giving credit to the evidence, and under all the circumstances of the case, it had appeared to the wisdom and justice of that House to be a fit occasion for that constitutional mode of proceeding. Because, if such misconduct in the Princess of Wales as is charged against her Majesty by this Bill, does not affect the dignity and character of the nation, as if committed when Queen, so as to bring it within the legal principle of a high misdemeanor, it must necessarily follow, that the preamble is false and unfounded, inasmuch as it alleges that by such conduct great scandal and dishonour had been brought upon his Majesty's family and this Kingdom.' Because, if these propositions are true, this Bill, even upon the admission of its authors, ought not to have been brought into this House, nor ought now to be further prosecuted, being supported by no necessity or expediency whatsoever. Thomas Erskine, Lord Erskine. Edward Adolphus Seymour, Duke of Somerset. Because every Bill of Pains and Penalties is a departure from the essential principles of public justice, which State necessity alone can warrant. Because this Bill is a Bill of Pains and Penalties, and in this case no such State necessity has been proved to exist. John Bligh, Lord Clifton (Earl of Darnley). Sackville Tufton, Earl of Thanet. Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbull Hill, Earl of Hillsborough (Marquis of Downshire). Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire. George Capel, Earl of Essex. William Charles Keppel, Earl of Albemarle. Thomas Brand, Lord Dacre. Augustus Frederic Fitzgerald, Viscount Leinster (Duke of Leinster). John Russell, Duke of Bedford. George William Campbell, Lord Sundridge (Duke of Argyll). George Eden, Lord Auckland. Robert Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor. Because a Bill of Pains and Penalties is a departure from the ordinary course of justice, and ought not to be resorted to, without the strongest motives of public necessity or expediency. Because we cannot admit that such grounds of public necessity or expediency can exist for proceeding in the present case by such a Bill, on the charges against her Majesty the Queen, which might have been and may still be brought before us in our judicial capacity by impeachment. William Frederic, Duke of Gloucester. Charles Grey, Earl Grey. Robert Montgomery Hamilton, Lord Belhaven and Stenton. Robert Dundas Duncan, Viscount Duncan. John Russell, Duke of Bedford. George Eden, Lord Auckland. Henry Fitzmaurice Petty, Marquis of Lansdowne. Edward Smith Stanley, Earl of Derby. Gilbert Eliot, Earl of Minto. John Bligh, Lord Clifton (Earl of Darnley). George Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Grafton. DLXXXV. OCTOBER 20, 1820. During the course of the proceedings before the House of Lords, at the second reading of the Queen's Degradation Bill, Lord Lansdowne moved that 'John Allan Powell be directed to produce at the Bar of the House, sealed up, extracts from such parts of his correspondence with Colonel Browne, as relate to the causes of the mission of Giuseppe Restelli to Milan, and of his detention there.' This Restelli had been sent by Colonel Browne to Milan, for the ostensible purpose of procuring the legalisation of certain papers, and he had not thereafter appeared, an allegation being made that he was ill. As the absence of this person seemed suspicious, it was urged that the evidence which might be procurable from Mr. Powell's correspondence should be called for. Mr. Powell was the agent of Colonel Browne. The motion for the correspondence was carried by 122 to 79, and the correspondence was therefore supplied. The evidence. is in the Lords' Journals, vol. liii, p. 732. The following protest was entered. Because this resolution appears to be inconsistent with the principles upon which all courts refuse to compel the production of any part of the confidential correspondence of professional persons employed confidentially as such, in the matter to which the correspondence relates. Because no particular circumstances in this case appear to be sufficient to authorize our not adhering to the rules of proceeding founded on those principles. Because, therefore, this resolution, if acted upon as a precedent, may dangerously affect the administration of justice. John Scott, Lord Eldon (Lord Chancellor). George Douglas, Lord Douglas of Lochleven (Earl of Morton). Richard Grenville Brydges Chandos, Marquis of Buckingham. George King, Earl of Kingston. John Sommers Cooks, Lord Somers. Charles Compton, Marquis of Northampton. Edward Henry Pery, Earl of Limerick. Edward Digby, Earl Digby. James George Stopford, Lord Saltersford (Earl of Courtown). Henry Richard Greville, Earl Brooke and Warwick. Cropley Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury. George Gordon, Lord Gordon (Marquis of Huntley). William Lowther, Earl of Lonsdale. Charles Ingoldsby Paulet, Marquis of Winchester. William Murray, Earl of Mansfield. John Freeman Mitford, Lord Redesdale. George Gordon, Lord Meldrum (Earl of Aboyne). George Fermor, Earl of Pomfret. Edward Boscawen, Viscount Falmouth. Montagu Bertie, Earl of Abingdon. John Rushout, Lord Northwick. Henry Conyngham, Marquis of Conyngham. George Harris, Lord Harris. George De Grey, Lord Walsingham. Francis Napier, Lord Napier. Robert Cotton St. John Trefusis, Lord Clinton. Robert Smith, Lord Carrington. William Shaw Cathcart, Earl Cathcart. John Loftus, Lord Loftus (Marquis of Ely). Somerset Lowry Corry, Earl of Belmore. John Bourke, Earl of Mayo. John Murray, Earl Strange (Duke of Atholl). Francis Gray, Lord Gray. James Ochoncar Forbes, Lord Forbes. Robert Stuart, Earl of Castlestuart. George William Coventry, Earl of Coventry. William, Duke of Clarence. Charles Cornwallis, Marquis Cornwallis. |