with great force of argument, and knowledge of the laws and conftitution, the right of the prince of Wales to the regency, in preference to any other perfon whatever. He grounded his doctrine refpecting the right of hereditary fucceffion to the throne, and, by analogy, the right of hereditary fucceffion to the exercife of executive power, on Mr. Juftice Fofter's treatife on the principles of the conftitution. He was ready to admit, that the right of hereditary fucceflion in either cafe was not an original vefted right, which belonged, in the first instance, to one of a family, and was defcendable to the heirs, in like manner as defcendable property of an ordinary defcription; but that it was made hereditary for the general benefit of the community, and to guard against the danger and mifchief refulting from the pretentions of a variety of claimants on the one hand, and the known and ascertained fatal confequences of an elective crown on the other.

The firft refolution, he contended, was defignedly formed to cover a concealed purpofe different from that which the words of it profeffed to import. It was neither more or lefs than a declaration, that the office of regent was an élective office, and that the two houfes of parliament were the electors.

He concluded with remarking upon the flight difference of opinion that fubfifted amongst them. Some had allerted, that the prince of Wales had an inherent right to the regency; others, that he poffe fled an irrefiftible claim; and all agreed that he was the only fit perfon to be appointed regent. Being therefore unanimous in the main point, he infifted that they ought to carry that into effect, and not to wafle

more time in the mode of doing what all agreed ought to be done forthwith.

The original refolutions were defended, upon the grounds before taken, by lord Camden, the duke of Richmond, and the lord chancellor ; the former infifted much upon the wifdom of our ancestors, in fhackling every regent with councils i of regency, or fuch other reftrictions as fould prevent them from grafping at the whole of the royal authority. He begged, however, that his obfervations might be confidered as applicable folely to the wildom of our ancestors, and that he concurred with them in thinking that to be the true line of policy. He meant not to glance at the prefent heir apparent, who he was fure would be the laft man defirous of affuming powers, which the two houfes of parliament fhould not think confiftent with the fafety of the crown. Such, however, was the natural proneness of human nature to ambition, that it behoved the two houfes always to regard with jealoufy every opportunity that afforded the means of gratifying that paffion, and to provide reftrictions to check its progrefs. With regard to the prince of Wales, fo amiable had been his conduct, that it fet fufpicion at reft, and rendered the task of limitation lefs difficult. There was no intention, in reality, to withhold from his royal highness above one or two inftances of exercifing royal authority, and thofe, fuch only as a due regard for the prefervation of the crown on his majefty's head, and the fecuring to him the power of refuming the exercife of all his royal prerogatives, when he fhould be reftored to health, indifpenfibly demanded.

The duke of Richmond purfued

the

the fame line of argument. He faid, he had the highest refpect for his royal highnefs the prince of Wales, and had not the moft diftant idea, were his royal highnefs declared regent inftantly, and by the means recommended in the amendment, that his royal highnefs would do any thing improper; but, his duty to his majefty, and the duty they all owed to the crown, and to themselves, made it incumbent on them to guard against any poffible danger, and to deliver fuch a precedent to pofterity as should at once mark the extreme caution with which they had proceeded in a cafe of fuch infinite difficulty, and fecure the fafety of the conftitution to future ages. If, without any fuch limitation or reftriction, the prince were inftantly declared regent, he conceived that the whole perfonal property of his majefty would come into the hands of the prince of Wales, and all his majefty's fervants, from the noble lords with white ftaves down to the lowe page, might be removed. Nay, the very phyficians that had the care of his majesty's health might be changed. All his majesty's wealth, likewife, might be feized, and perverted from the ufes to which his majefty might have graciously intended to apply it. The duke faid, that when his majefty fhould happily be on his recovery, the knowledge of the alteration in the ftate of his houfehold, and of his perfonal property, might have the worft poffible effect upon him. He was, indeed, fure, from the ftrong marks of filial affection and tenderness which his royal highnefs had manifefted, during his majefty's melancholy illnefs, that every care would be exerted by the prince; but, he was reafoning

on the poffibility of the cafe, and it was the duty of their lordships to guard againft that abuse of power, to which, from the infirmity of human nature, every man was liable.

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The

The lord chancellor contended, that the words of the amendment were fo loofe and undefined as to convey no diftin&t import. words purported to be a refolution of that houfe, that a humble addrefs be prefented to his royal highnefs the prince of Wales, praying his royal highness to take upon himfelf, as fole regent, the adminiftration of executive government. He begged to know, what the term regent meant? Where was he to find it defined? In what law book, or what ftatute? he had heard of cuftodes regni, of lieutenants of the king, of guardians and protectors, and of lords juftices; but he knew not where to look for an explanation of the office and functions of a regent. To what end then would it be to addrefs the prince of Wales to take upon himself an office, the boundaries of which were by no means afcertained? But the amendment attempted fomething which probably was intended as a fort of definition of the term regent, and of the nature of a regent's office, by adding the adminiftration of executive government. There again, however, the expreffion was dark and equivocal. What was meant by the executive government? Did it mean the whole royal authority, all the fovereign's functions, without reftriction or limitation of any kind whatfoever? If it did, it ought to have faid fo in exprefs words; and if it had, would any noble lord have contended, that fuch a broad degree of authority as amounted to the actual dethroning of his

majefty, and wrefting the fceptre out of his hand, ought to be voted by that houfe? He begged their lordships conftantly to recollect, that in the contemplation of law, the political character of a king of Great Britain was always whole and entire; and he defired them at the fame time to keep in mind, that the king's natural character was infeparable from his political character. It was, as Sir Matthew Hale, who had been mentioned in the courfe of the debate, well obferved, owing to this having been fomewhat loft fight of, that fo many mifchiefs had enfued to this country.

He juftified the taking the advice of the two houfes of parlia ment on the prefent occafion, as the best mode of proceeding. Of old, when the number of privy counfellors was not fo great as at prefent, and when it was not cuftomary for his majefty to have thofe perfons members of his privy council whom he never chose to meet, in a dilemma like the prefent the measures to be adopted for the public fafety might originate there; and others there were, who thought his majefty's cabinet council the proper place: he differed in refpect to both. He had heard, indeed, of fome antiquaries, who were of opinion, that, upon fome emergencies, a middle council between the two, compofed of the judges and the king's minifters, ought to be formed; but, the beft council of all, in his judgement, was the grand council of the nation, the two houfes of parliament. It was now faid, after the rights of the two houfes to fupply the defect in the exercife of the royal authority had been difcuffed and de

cided, and when they were called upon to concur with the house of commons in refolving upon the means, which were to be reforted to for that purpose, that the two houfes were about to exercife the powers of executive government, and to do an act of legiflation. Had minifters, of themselves, put the great feal to a commiffion for calling the two houfes together, and opened parliament in that way, he was perfuaded that the charge of their being about to take upon themselves the executive government would have been thundered in their ears ten times more loudly.

The lord chancellor (poke of the noble qualities of the prince of Wales in terms of great praife; but, he faid, there might be heirs apparent, whofe lives might have afforded the two houfes fufficient realon for fetting them afide from the regency; he maintained, therefore, that it was expedient that the two houfes fhould not abandon fuch a power, nor, under the circumstances of the cafe, avoid avowing it to be their right.

The marquis of Lansdowne, in a fpeech of great length, expreffed his general approbation of the meafures propofed by the minifters. In contradiction to the doctrines which had been afferted, concerning the two houfes of parliament, that they were then in a convention, he had no hetitation in declaring, that the prefent was to all intents and purposes a parliament, a parliament regularly aflembled. The king had affembled them; the king had the undoubted authority thus to affemble them, be cause the king was living. He pretended not to any great knowledge of law, but he knew enough

of

of it to be perfectly affured that, according to the law and the conftitution, the throne was never vacant; and that the king, in no age, in no condition, either as a minor or otherwile, was ever confidered as incompetent to the exercife of the royal functions. The fame principle prevails in regard to minors, who prefent to livings at a year old, and other matters. It is not to be prefumed, that these old principles of law are without a meaning. Whenever called for, they are found to have been fuggested by the deepest wifdom, and calculated to meet future exigencies, whatever whatever fuperficial people may think, who never forefee or comprehend difficulties till they happen. It was of the utmoft confequence to every country, that it should not, on any event, be left without a government, practically as well as legally competent to every exigence. Parliament was the natural government of this country, and nothing was wanting to make the prelent legally as well as practically competent, but a commiffion from the crown.

He wished, therefore, that his majefty's minifters had come down at once with fuch a commiffion as the third propofition pointed out, and that, instead of having to difcufs the propriety of putting the great feal to fuch a commiffion, they would, in the first inftance, have acted upon fuch a commiffion. It had been oblerved, that fome rifk would have been run, if the officer holding the great feal had, of his own authority, affixed it to a commiffion to hold the parliament in the king's name. Some rifk undoubtedly would have been run, but great officers were created for

the execution of great and important.acts, and if they would run no risk and no hazard, they had no bufinefs in great fituations. He could not, however, fee that any risk would have been run by any man holding the great feal, who, in the prefent critical fituation of affairs, fhould have affembled the parliament, and brought together the collective wildom of the nation; and, fure he was, that the two houfes were fully equal to the acquitting of any minifter, who had, in fuch an emergency, put the great feal to a commiffion, conftituting them a parliament.

Upon the queftion of the claims of the prince of Wales, his lordfhip was not lefs firmly decided; and upon principles, as we find them stated, more general than thofe on which it had been be fore argued. By the principles established at the revolution, he faid, the crown itself was declared not to be defcendable property, like a pig-fty or a layftall, but a defcendable trust; and therefore he contended, that hereditary fuc

ceffion was not to be confidered as

a right, but a mere political expedient; and that this reafoning obviously applied with double force to any claim to the regency. He was therefore anxious it fhould be not only difcuffed but decided, that the eyes of all mankind might be opened to the important fact which maft refult from the difcuffion and decifion, that the people had eflential rights of their own, but that kings and princes had no rights whatever. He wished it might be decided, for the benefit of foreign countries, that thofe who fuffered oppreffion under governments the most defpotic, might be

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taught

taught their rights as men, and learn, that although their rights were not, like the rights of Eng lifhmen, fecured by precedents and charters, yet that their rights muft be acknowledged, as foon as ever they chose to affert them.

At half after twelve o'clock the houfe divided on the queftion; when there appeared, for the amendment 66; Noes 99. The three refolutions were then severally put and voted. After a mort debate upon

Dec. 29. the report, which was made on the 29th of December, they were finally agreed to, and a committee appointed to acquaint the commons therewith at a conference.

A ftrong proteft was entered against agreeing to thefe refolutions, and figned by the dukes of

York and Cumberland, and fortyfix other peers.

Thefe proceedings of the two houfes of parliament were not beheld with indifference by the body of the people at large. The friends of the ministers were active and fuccefsful in procuring addresses from a confiderable majority of the counties and corporations of the kingdom, in approbation of the meafures propofed by them: and, on the other hand, petitions were alfo prefented to both houses, particularly from the counties of Northumberland and Southampton, and from the inhabitants of the city of Westminster, expreffing the ftrongest difapprobation of the propofed plan of the regency, and of the principles upon which it was founded.

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