thing occurring in the debate that deserved attention on this head. His lordship said, that with respect to the household, it was the intention of himself and his friends to resign the situations which they at present held, previously to the new adininistration's entering into office. This intention of theirs was well known; they took every means of stating it in quarters whence it had any likelihood of reaching the ears of the persons interested; and in particular they communicated it to a right hon. gentleman who took an active part in the negociation (Mr. Sheridan). Their intention originated in a wish to save the Prince Regent from that humiliation which he must have experienced from their being turned out of office. He spoke in the name not of one or two, but of all the officers of the household. They all stated to his Royal Highness their wish to resign, and only requested to know, ten minutes before certain gentlemen received the seals, that such a circumstance was to take place, in order that they might make a timely resignation.

Mr. Ponsonby, who rose next, began with affirming, with regard to what had fallen from the noble lord who spoke last, that he now heard it from his lips for the first time in his life, that nothing of that import had ever been stated to himself or Lords Grey and Grenville, and that they never entertained the remotest idea that such an intention existed. He then went into a history of the negotiation with those noble lords, in which he referred to certain letters and minutes which will be found among our state papers. He

adverted to the proposed removals in the household, and denied that, as had been affirmed, they were greater than were ever before meditated on a change of administration; and he enlarged upon the necessity of giving strength to a ministry which would have much opposition to encounter, by inspiring a general belief that it pos sessed the full confidence of the sovereign.

Mr. Canning then rose to give to the House an account of the share which he and Lord Wellesley had had in the negociations in question, and produced several minutes of communications and letters which we shall also copy. What the hon. gentleman disclosed respecting the part taken by Lord Moira in these transactions was most material, and made a strong impression on the public. After defending the noble lord for objecting to the displacement of the great officers of the household, the right of doing which he did not deny, but thought that a construction would be given to the exercise of it which might occasion great public mischief, Mr. C. said, there was one point connected with this part of Lord Moira's conduct which he was authorized to state particularly. Fearing that he was not entirely understood by the Prince when he received his unrestricted commands to form an administration, on returning to the royal presence, he put this question directly: "Is your Royal Highness prepared, if I should so advise it, to part with all the officers of your household?" The answer was, "I am." "Then (said Lord Moira) your Royal Highness shall not part with one of them."

With this very singular circumstance we shall close our account of the parliamentary proceedings on the interesting topic of a change in the administration; for Mr. Sheri. dan's subsequent attempt to explain his advice given to Lord Yarmouth against the resignation of the household, scarcely merits a narration. After two amendments of Mr. Wortley's motion had been put and negatived, in one of which there was a division, Ayes 164; Noes 289; the motion itself was negatived without a division; and thus the old ministry remained decidedly in possession of the countenance of the House of Com

mons.

Whilst this political ferment was agitating the different parties of candidates for ministerial power, the examinations in reference to the effects of the orders in council upon the commercial and manufacturing interests in the kingdom were going on with little interruption in both houses of parliament. A vast mass of evidence being at length collected, Mr. Brougham, on June 16th, brought the matter for final decision before the House of Commons. He began his speech with observing, that the question, though of unexampled interest, was one of little intricacy. Its points were few in number, and involved in no obscurity or doubt. At a distance, indeed, there appeared a great mass of details, and the eight or nine hundred folios of evidence, together with the papers and petitions with which the table was covered, might cause the subject to appear vast and complicated; yet he did not doubt in a short time to convince his hearers that there has seldom been one of a

public nature brought before that House through which the path was shorter, or led to a more obvious decision.

The hon. gentleman then took a general survey of the severe distress which was now pressing upon so many thousands of our industrious fellow-subjects, proved not only by their petitions, but by the numerous schemes and devices which had been resorted to as a remedy for the evils caused by the suppression of their accustomed sources of employment. He reminded the House of the general, outline of the inquiry. Above a hundred witnesses had been examined from more than thirty of the great manufacturing and commercial districts. Among all these there was only one single witness who hesitated in admitting the dreadful amount of the present distresses. Birmingham, Sheffield, the clothing trade of Yorkshire, the districts of the cotton trade, all deeply participated in them. He then adverted to the proofs by which this evidence was met on the other side of the House; and took into consideration the entries in the custom-house books, and the substitutes and new channels of commerce said to compensate for those that are closed. He next touched upon the topic so often resorted to by the defenders of the orders in council, that of the dignity and honour of the nation, aud the necessity of asserting our maritime rights; and he maintained that every right may safely be waved or abandoned for reasons of expediency, to be resumed when those reasons cease. He lastly dwelt upon the great importance of the American market to the goods produced in

this country, and the danger of accustoming the Americans to rely on their own resources, and manufacture for themselves After a long and eloquent harangue on these and other connected subjects, Mr. B. concluded with the following motion: "That an humble address he presented to his royal highness th Prince Regent,representing that this House his for some time past been engaged in an inquiry into the presen distressed state of the commerce and manufactures of the country, and the effects of the orders in council issued by his Majesty in the years 1807 and 1809; assuring his Royal Highness that this house will at all times support his Royal Highness to the utmost of its power in maintaining those just maritime rights which have essentially contributed to the prosperity and honour of the realmbut beseeching his Royal Highness that he would be graciously pleased to recal or suspend the said orders, and adopt such measures, as may tend to conciliate neutral powers, without sacrificing the rights and dignity of his Majesty's crown."

Mr. Rose acknowledged that a very considerable degree of distress did exist among our manufacturers, but would not admit that it was so much owing to the orders in council as the hon. gentleman had represented. He corrected several statements made by him, and shewed that the commerce of France had suffered in much greater proportion from the effects of these orders. Our shipping interest, he asserted, had been benefited by them, and if they were repealed, the Americans would come in for a large share of our carrying trade, especially to South America.

Upon the whole, he would not deny that our manufacturers were likely to obtain some relief from the repeal, but government was placed between difficulties on both sides, and it was their duty to adopt the measures which would be least detrimental. In his opinion, the preponderance of argument led to the conclusion that the repeal of the orders would be more prejudicial than their continuance. The great body of merchants held the same opinion. Four-fifths of those of Glasgow had petitioned in support of the orders; those of Bristol were unanimous in their favour; and so were a majority of those of Liverpool: there was no petition from London against them, whilst a great number of London ruer chants had petitioned in their fa

vour.

Mr. Baring, after a warm eulogy of the enlightened view of the subject taken by the hon. mover, said that the House had two questions to decide: 1. whether these distresses were attributable to the orders in council? 2. whether any benefits had arisen from them in any other quarter to compensate for these calamities? Mr. B. made a number of particular observations relative to these two points; and he concluded with giving it as his conviction, that by our orders in council we lost the most substantial commercial advantages for an object we could never obtain-that of forcing our trade with, the continent.

Lord Castlereagh began with lamenting the precipitation of the hon. gentleman in bringing for ward this motion, and pressing to a hasty discussion a question than which none more vital ever came

before

before the consideration of parliament. He deprecated any interference on the part of the House in a question in which commercial considerations were mixed with those of maritime right, and, pending a delicate negotiation, dictating to the executive government the course it ought to pursue. After various observations in defence of the policy and justice of the orders in council, and in answer to some of the mover's statements, the noble lord came to the point by saying, that Great Britain would consent to suspend her orders in council, provided America would suspend her non-importation act. The experiment might then be tried of the practicability of restoring things to their ancient system. Under these circumstances he trusted that the House would not consent to the address-and he moved the order of the day.

Mr. Whitbread then begged the noble lord to say precisely what he proposed to do with respect to America.

Lord Castlereagh said, that he meant that a proposition should be made to the American government to suspend immediately the orders in council, on condition that they would suspend their non-importation act.

Mr. Whitbread was of opinion that if this proposition were to be sent out to America, and it was expected that the House and country should wait till they received an answer, it was the greatest delusion that ever had been attempted; and he proceeded to express in strong terms the urgency of the distress felt by the manufacturers, and the necessity of giving the intended relief without delay. Mr.

Ponsonby also spoke against the measure proposed, as calculated to create delay.

Lord Castlereagh, in further explanation, said that it was never meant that there should be any delay in suspending the orders in council: the intention was that they should be suspended for a definite time, and that this circumstance should be communicated to the American government for the double purpose of ascertaining whether it would in consequence abrogate its non importation act; and also that it might apply to France to return to the ancient system of belligerents.

Mr. Wilberforce objected to the mode proposed by the noble lord, because it shewed an unwillingness to do that which, in fact, he intended to do.

Mr. Canning, in giving a kind of middle opinion on the subject, contended that revocation was better than suspension.

Mr. Brougham, after congratulating the House on the prospect of speedily getting rid of these orders, hoped that the noble lord would withdraw his motion for proceeding to the orders of the day, and explain more distinctly what was the exact intention of govern

ready prepared to make the sacrifice which the voice of the country rendered inevitable.

On June 23d, there appeared in the gazette a declaration from the Prince Regent absolutely and unequivocally revoking the orders in council as far as they regarded American vessels; with the proviso, that if after the notification of this revocation by our minister in America, the government of the United States do not revoke their interdictory acts against British commerce, the same, after due notice, shall be null and of no effect. Mr. Brougham, on this occurrence, declared the full satisfaction of himself and his friends with the frank and manly conduct of go

vernment in the mode it had adopted; and both sides of the House seemed happy in the prospect of the amicable intercourse which this proceeding would restore between the two countries. We cannot, however, refrain from expressing our astonishment, that during the debates there appeared so little consciousness that the question of repealing or continuing the orders in council, was a real question of peace or war with America; and that deferring the decision so long, was rendering it altogether unimportant. In fact, before the news of the repeal reached the United States, they were actually at war with Great Britain!

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