Prince's party, that a council of regency might be proposed, as on former occasions, at different periods of our history. They could not, therefore, but derive satisfaction from this explicit avowal of Mr. Pitt, that he had no such intentention; while, on the other hand, they were greatly displeased with his resolution to sift the question of right to the very bottom, and to suggest restrictions which might defeat the ambitious hopes, and avaricious expectations of some among them. But, though Mr. Pitt was accused, on this occasion, of being actuated solely by a wish to create a delay, and to protract the important subject of discussion to the latest possible moment, from an eagerness to retain the power which he possessed;-it is most certain, that every such unworthy motive was foreign from his heart. He was deeply impressed with a conviction of the importance of the question of right, and he felt it to be his duty to bring it to a solemn decision. It was, indeed, indispensably necessary, for reasons already stated, that it should be so decided before a single step was taken, beyond the examination of the physicians. Besides, it must not be forgotten, that the question was not brought forward, nor even provoked, by Mr. Pitt, but that it was the spontaneous production of Mr Fox. The delay, then, which it occasioned

all important and beneficial as it proved in its effect, was solely imputable to the latter, and cannot, in any degree, without the most palpable violation of justice and of truth, be ascribed to the former. The opposition, however, who deplored the indiscreet frankness of their leader, resolved, if possible, to prevent a discussion which, they were fully sensible, must, independent of the delay, prove a source of mortification to themselves. They found means to persuade several members of the royal family to concur in their sentiments, and to join in their design. For this purpose, then, earl Fitzwilliam introduced the subject to the House of Lords, on the fifteenth of December, the day preceding that which Mr. Pitt had fixed for the important debate in the House of Commons; and his lordship, no doubt, expected, that if he could dissuade the Lords from entertaining the question, it might prove the means of preventing that debate. The earl represented the inexpediency of promoting, under the present circumstances, the discussion of any ab stract political questions, when all parties were agreed in substance; and he called upon the ministers to say, whether they meant to introduce any proposition of that nature. But the propriety of calling that an abstract question, which was immediately to be applied to prac

tical purposes, and which must of necessity be the basis of all the proceedings on the business of the regency, is not very discernible. Earl Canden said, on the part of the ministers, that, as the most essential rights of the two Houses of Parliament had been questioned by persons of great and respectable authority, he thought it had become absolutely necessary that they should not be left doubtful and unsettled. 9

The Duke of York then expressed his full concurrence with the sentiments of Earl Fitzwilliam, and joined his lordship in deprecating the proposed discussion. He asserted, as a fact, that no such claim of right had been made on the part of the Prince; but he studiously forbore to say that the Prince disclaimed the existence of such a right. His Royal Highness added, that he was confident the Prince understood too well the sacred principles which seated the House of Brunswick on the Throne of Great Britain, ever to assume, or exercise, any power, be his claim what it might, not derived from the will of the people, expressed by their Representatives and their Lordships, in parliament assembled. The Prince could have no claim but what was derived from the laws of the realm-nor could he exercise any power which did not flow from the same source; and the laws do not proceed from the will of the people, but are made by

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the King, with the advice and consent of the two Houses of Parliament, who are the King's great councils, and the legal representatives of the people. The existence of a right, in such cases, imposes the duty of exercising it;-and if the Prince were convinced, that the right claimed for him by Mr. Fox did really exist, and there can be no doubt that he did, it would have been as much his duty to exercise it, the moment the King's incapacity had been declared by Parliament (that is, if Parliament had not called its existence in question,) as it would have been the duty of Parliament to call upon him for that purpose. The Duke appealed strongly to the House, on the ground that the discussions could not be necessary to the present object, and would be extremely painful to the feelings of the Royal Family. The Duke of Gloucester urged the same reasons; deprecated the discussion as only tending to produce the most mischievous consequences-and asserted, that a perseverance in it could not be meant for the public good. The ministers, however, foreseeing none of those mischievous consequences, and feeling a strong sense of duty, rejected these solicitations, and remained firm to their purpose.

Mr. Pitt, accordingly, on the appointed day, (Dec. 16,) opened his propositions to the

House of Commons. sequence to know the sentiments of so eminent a statesman, upon a question which had never yet arisen, and which Parliament were now called upon to decide, for the first time, and as that decision must be considered as a guide to posterity, on a similar exigence, should ever any such, which Heaven avert, arise, they will be detailed at considerable length. Indeed, this may be considered as an epoch in the parliamentary life of Mr. Pitt: he had a difficult and a delicate task to perform,-and he performed it, as he did every other duty which his public character imposed upon him,-with frankness and with firmness-without fear and without disguise. He first premised, that the House were then in a committee to take into consideration the state of the nation, under circumstances the most calamitous which had befallen the country at any period; a century had passed since any point of equal importance had engaged their attention. The circumstance which had then occurred was the revolution-between which, however, and the present case, there is a great and essential difference.-At that time the two Houses had to provide a Sovereign for a Throne, which was then vacant by the abdication of James the Second; at present, they had to provide for the exercise of the Royal

As it is of essential con