hon. member for Bramber should not bring forward his motion he might proceed with that of which he had given notice. Mr. Arbuthnot suggested Tuesday: Mr. Tierney protested against postponing the motion from to-morrow. It did not appear to him to be at all necessary to the accommodation of the royal and illustrious personages now in the country, that the chief ministers of the crown should be running about with them whithersoever they went. Holidays had been given on the occasion to most of the public schools, and now it seemed a holiday was to be given to parliament. What necessity was there, because the merchants of London thought proper, very handsomely and munificently, to give a dinner to the royal strangers, that the noble lord should withhold his attendance from that House? The subject about to be brought forward by the hon. gentleman was one of the most important that for many years had been agitated in parliament, and he contended that it ought not to be treated in such a way as must render all due discussion of it impossible. On Tuesday the review at Portsmouth would take place, and after that, other occupations of a similar kind; so that if the hon. gentleman's motion was not brought on by Monday next, it must be put off until the week after next, and he should be glad to know what attendance was then to be expected in parlia ment. should the hon. member for Bramber not persevere in his motion, the hon. gentleman might bring his forward? Mr. Calcraft deprecated the uncertainty which would be produced by letting both the motions stand for the same day. He was happy to see the hon. member who had given notice of the motion respecting the abolition of the slave trade in his place, and he would take the liberty to intreat him to postpone his notice. Mr. Wilberforce said, it certainly had been his intention to bring forward his motion on Monday. He was extremely desirous to do so, and he knew it would be exceedingly inconvenient to many hon. members if he did not. When he had given the notice he had observed, that he did not think the motion was likely to lead to much length of discussion, but that if it did, he should have no objection to adjourn it. Under these circumstances he undoubtedly wished to bring it forward; but he would be the last man in the world to stand in the way of any other arrangement which the House might deem expedient. Mr. Methuen expressed his anxiety to meet the general wishes of the House. If by any temporary delay it were to be supposed that his motion would go off entirely, nothing on earth would tempt him to postpone it for a single day; and he would not now consent to defer it until it was distinctly understood that it should be duly discussed, unless such arrangements should happily take place as might render that discussion unnecessary. Mr. Arbuthnot denied having stated as a motive for postponing the motion, any engagement of his noble friend. What he Mr. Tierney thought that the noble lord had said was, that imagining no business who was in the House yesterday, when the of importance was to be discussed under conversation took place between the sethe present circumstances, his noble friendcretary at war and himself respecting the had signified that understanding to many honourable persons. Mr. Calcraft thought it would be expedient to defer the discussion of the subject until the week after next. He dif. fered altogether from his right hon. friend, in supposing that the attendance would then be thin. On the contrary, as there were so many great questions to be considered, he was persuaded that the attendance would be full. postponement of the army estimates, might have taken the opportunity of saying that which he had now sent down the right hon. gentleman to say for him. If the hon. gentleman's motion was not brought on to-morrow, it could not be brought on for a considerable time. On Monday se'nnight the treaty of peace was to be discussed. On Tuesday, after the long debate of the preceding night, not much attention could be expected to another Mr. Whitbread observed, that the motion question. For Wednesday it was well to be made by the hon. gentleman, al-known that questions of great public imthough extremely important in its nature, was not likely to extend to such a length of discussion as that respecting the abolition of the slave trade; why not, therefore, fix it for Monday, in order that portance were always fixed. He implored the hon. gentleman to press his motion tomorrow. It was the day for which he had originally given his notice; it was the day on all accounts the most proper. If the noble lord, whose request had been made by the right hon. gentleman, had, in the most distant manner, hinted that it was the intention of his Majesty's ministers to take the pleasure of his royal highness the Prince Regent on the important and interesting subject which the hon. gentle man meant to bring before the House, he should be one of the first to recommend him to abstain from his motion; but as nothing of the kind had taken place, he begged of him not to be a party to any procrastination. The Speaker said, that the hon. gentleman was master of his own notice. He must choose for himself, and make that choice known to the House. Mr. Methuen then fixed Tuesday for his motion. HOUSE OF COMMONS. IRISH LOAN.] The House having gone into a committee of ways and means, Mr. Fitzgerald rose to state the terms of the loan of 3,000,000l. made in Ireland. He observed that he did not then intend to occupy the committee with a general view of the finances of Ireland; that his right hon. friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer for England having postponed to a future day his general statement, he would, in order to adopt himself to the usual course, follow him in a similar line with respect to Ireland; but that it was necessary that he should state the loan this day, and hoped its terms were such as would receive their fullest approbation. He then proceeded to state that the loan for 3,000,000l. in Ireland, had been contracted for on the following £330 147룸 £477 1109 1 412 5 11 9 The charge for interest for money received, being to the public 41. 7s. 7 d. onefifth per cent. and the total charge for interest and sinking fund only 5l. 11s. 9d. This he would take upon him to say had been the best bargain made for the public for many years, and with the sincerest feelings, he hoped it would prove fairly advantageous to those who had contracted for it; he could not avoid drawing the attention of the committee to the peculiar circumstance, of this being the largest loan ever made in Ireland; that the legal interest in that part of the empire was 61. per cent; that the loan made in England this year was smaller than usual, and much less than had been previously expected; that the legal interest here was but 5 per cent; and that, though the loan to this country was made on terms admitted by all as eminently advantageous, yet had the loan in Ireland been negociated at 4s. 7 d. less interest per cent, and 7s. per cent. less total charge to the public. He hoped, therefore, to meet the full concurrence of the committee to the resolutions which he had to propose thereon, and felt it unnecessary to detain them by any more lengthened statements, reserving himself for any observations which might be made, or any further information which might be demanded on the subject. The Resolution was then put and agreed to, that a sum not exceeding 3,000,000l. be raised by annuities in Ireland, for the service of that country. The Report was ordered to be brought up on Monday. HOUSE OF LORDS. Monday, June 20. VISIT OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA, MARSHAL BLUCHER, &c. TO THE HOUSE OF PEERS.] From two o'clock till four, many ladies were introduced into the body of the House, and sat upon the peers' benches. There were not many peers present, but most of them had on their robes, and waited the visit of the king of Prussia, the princes of Prussia, and their distinguished attendants. About five o'clock, his Majesty the king of Prussia, attended by his two sons and marshal Blucher, entered the House by the Prince Regent's door, and took his seat on the right of the Prince of Wales's chair. Marshal Blucher stood beside his majesty, and frequently conversed with him. The two royal princes sat near the bench of bishops, on the right of the throne. The archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor, and the marquis of Camden, then took their seats in their robes, as the royal commissioners, on the bench in front of the throne. The Commons being sent for, they shortly appeared at the bar, to a very great number, with the Speaker at their head. The royal assent was then declared, in the usual form, to the Irish Exchequer Bills' Bill; and to a few other Bills of a private or local nature. In a few minutes after the king of Prussia, and some of the royal suite retired. he was made to suffer by him constituted the main allegations of the petition. Sir S. Romilly said, he should only move at present, that it should lie on the table, trusting that the magistrates of Lincoln The Earl of Liverpool, adverting to the order, which stood for Thursday, for the consideration of the Treaty of Peace, observed, that it might be inconvenient for many of their lordships to attend on that day. He should therefore move to dis-shire, who visited the county gaol, would charge the present order, and that one should be made for taking the Treaty into consideration on to-morrow se'nnight. This being moved, was accordingly done, and their lordships were ordered to be summoned for Tuesday the 28th. Earl Stanhope rose and said, that as there were then many persons in the House, some good persons too, he should call their attention to a subject of great public importance, which he had introduced on a former evening, namely, the abuses alleged to exist in Gloucester gaol; but as the topic must be new to many who were present, he should move that the Petition of John Perryn be now read. The Clerk was accordingly proceeding to read the Petition, when Lord Kenyon rose and moved the standing order for the exclusion of strangers; this was enforced, and, consequently, the numerous assemblage of members who still remained below the bar, for the purpose of getting a more distinct view of the illustrious visitants, the ladies who were seated in the body of the House, and the ordinary strangers, were obliged to withdraw. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Monday, June 20. PETITION OF MR. MORRIS, CONFINED IN LINCOLN GAOL.] Sir Samuel Romilly presented a Petition from Mr. Robert Morris, confined in Lincoln gaol, complaining of various hardships and grievances endured by him therein. The petitioner had been many years confined as a debtor to the crown, but, during the period of his confinement, he had committed a misdemeanor in assaulting one of the turnkeys. For this offence he had been convicted, and was sentenced to one year's close confinement. It happened that this Robert Morris had been one of the principal witnesses against the gaoler of Lincoln castle, when the general regulation and management of that prison was under enquiry by a commission appointed by that House, and now since his conviction, he had become entirely at the mercy of the man he had so deeply offended by his evidence. The consequent hardships examine into the merits of the case, and afford redress if it called for redress. Should such not be the case, he reserved to himself the right of bringing the matter forward at any future period. The Petition was ordered to lie on the table. CAPTAIN MANBY'S EXPERIMENTS FOR preserving the LIVES OF SEAMEN.] Mr. Rose said, it was his intention to have moved that the House should on this day take into consideration the report of the committee appointed to enquire into the merits of captain Manby's invention for preserving the lives of seamen in cases of shipwreck. The right hon. gentleman then went into a detail of the merits of the invention. Captain Manby had been instructed to examine, for the purpose of discovering those tracts of the coast where his apparatus could be used. After a particular survey, it appeared that it could be used on every part of the coast of the kingdom. It had also been computed that the expence of providing the apparatus at stations all round the island of Great Britain, would not exceed 75,000l. He concluded by moving, that the report be referred to the committee of supply, which was ordered accordingly. THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF WALES.] Sir M. W. Ridley rose, and said that, seeing a right hon. gentleman in his place, he was anxious to ask him a question relative to a circumstance of the utmost im portance to the interests of this country. He alluded to the intended marriage of her royal highness the Princess Charlotte of Wales with the hereditary Prince of Orange, a record of which intended marriage was already on the Journals of that House. Whenever that question should be brought before parliament, it would, from its extreme importance, necessarily occupy their attention very largely; and he was therefore the more anxious to know, at this advanced period of the session, whether it was the intention of ministers to make any speedy communication to the House upon the subject? (Hear! hear!) The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, he could give no other answer to the question those grounds were so intimately connected of the hon. baronet than to say, that the with the question which was to be brought ministers of his Royal Highness had re-forward by an hon. gentleman to-morrow, ceived no authority to make any communication to parliament. Mr. Whitbread rose and said, it was impossible the answer they had just heard from the right hon gentleman could satisfy either that House or the country at large. It had been solemnly announced by the Sovereign Prince of the United Netherlands to his own people, that an alliance was about to take place between his son and her royal highness the Princess Charlotte of Wales; and it had been proclaimed by her royal highness the Princess of Wales, in her communication to that House, now entered upon their Journals, that the illustrious heir of the House of Orange had announced himself to her as her future son-in-law. Questions upon this most important subject had been asked from time to time, but they had never been answered: they were uniformly evaded by ministers. But he thought the time was now come when that House should no longer suffer itself to be treated with that disrespect. (Hear, hear!) Mr. Bathurst rose to order. He did not think it exactly right, when ministers had declared they had no commission to make any communication to the House, that a discussion should be prematurely forced on. Such a practice was both inconvenient and irregular. Mr. Whitbread said, that he would put the matter in a shape which would render it regular, by concluding with a motion. He repeated, that the House of Commons had been treated disrespectfully. If ministers, in so important a case, and after such a lapse of time, had no authority to communicate to the House the state of the proceeding, it became the House to interfere, and to address his royal highness the Prince Regent to give authority for such a communication. The right hon. gentleman opposite had not denied that the assertion in her royal highness the Princess of Wales's Letter, of the intended marriage of her royal daughter with the hereditary Prince of Orange, was true. It had, however, been publicly reported, and was as publicly believed, that the intended marriage, which, with the concurrence of his royal highness the Prince Regent, had been so long proceeding, was suddenly at an end. The grounds had even been stated, on which it had terminated; and that it was of material importance to the House to know the fact; and to be informed, if the intention was put aside, on what grounds that had occurred. It had been generally stated, and it had been generally believed, that circumstances closely connected with the object of the hon. gentleman's motion, were the cause of that which had taken place. It had been stated that day, in the very streets, that her royal highness the Princess Charlotte of Wales had declined any further proceeding in the intended marriage, on account of the situation of her royal mother. (Hear! hear!) If that was the case, it undoubtedly must endear her Royal Highness to every generous and feeling heart. It would prove that the subject on which the House were not to touch, as too delicate for their investigation, had risen to such great political importance, that it might, very possibly, operate to prevent this most beneficial and desirable union. In order to ascertain the fact, the hon. baronet had proposed a question to the right hon. gentleman, which had been very unsatisfactorily evaded. He was sure that the right hon. gentleman and his colleagues could not be disposed to push the discussion of a subject so interesting and important to the close of the session; and nothing was more certain, than that after the business of next week, no great attendance could be expected in parliament. In the hope, therefore, of obtaining satisfactory information; or at least, with the determination that his wish to do so should be recorded in the Journals, he would move, "That an humble Address be presented to his royal highness the Prince Regent, praying, that he would be graciously pleased to acquaint the House, if there was any treaty of marriage on foot between her royal highness the Princess Charlotte of Wales, and the Hereditary Prince of Orange." Sir M. W. Ridley seconded the motion. He had flattered himself, that the answer to the question which he had put to the right hon. gentleman, would have proved satisfactory. As that, unfortunately, had not been the case, he was gratified to find the subject taken up by one who was so much more able to do justice to it than himself. His hon. friend had stated many reasons for expecting that the House would be put in possession of some infor mation on the subject; another, which he (sir M. W. Ridley,) had heard, and which still more convinced him of the expediency of bringing the subject under the consideration of parliament, was the report, that in the event of the marriage taking place, her Royal Highness might be induced to quit the country. This supposition rendered him more than ordinarily anxious that the real state and nature of the whole proceeding should be laid before the House. Mr. Stephen said, that the hon. gentleman (Mr. Whitbread) had redeemed himself from the charge of disorder, by reducing his observations to a formal motion. If every thing that was within the rules of order, was also within the rules of propriety-within the rules of delicacywithin the rules of public decency-then the hon. gentleman's conduct might have been not only orderly, but it might have been delicate, it might have been decent, and for ought he knew, it might have been discreet. But if, in defending himself from the charge of disorder, the hon. gentleman had exposed himself to other imputations-if it should be the opinion of a great majority of the House that he had not exculpated himself from all impropriety, by the mere reduction of his observations into a formal motion, then he (Mr. S.) must regard that motion as the most indiscreet, as the most indelicate, as the most indecent-(Order, order!) indecency to him, and that he trusted, in return, not to be so charged himself. But the fact was, that he had not applied the word" indecency" to the hon. gentleman, but only to his proposition. He certainly was not aware that it was unparliamentary to state that any proposition was improper, was indiscreet, and was indecent; and unless he heard otherwise from the chair, whose instruction he requested on the subject, he should continue to use such terms, as justly applicable to the hon. gentleman's motion. The Speaker observed, that if he had understood the phrase used by the hon. and learned gentleman to be applied personally, he should have thought it highly disorderly but as simply descriptive of any proposition that might be submitted to the House, it did not appear to him to offend against the laws of parliamentary debate. Mr. Whitbread, on the understanding that the word was not intended to be personal, expressed himself quite satisfied with the Speaker's decision. Mr. Stephen repeated, that his observations were not intended to apply to the hon. gentleman, but to his proposition; which he would again say, was most indiscreet, most indelicate, and most indecent. And this he would assert, not only with regard to the proposition itself, but with regard to some of the circumstances stated by the hon. gentleman in support of Mr. Whitbread spoke to order. There it. What the fact was the House knew not. were certain words which he took to be The hon. gentleman assumed it; but was parliamentarily disorderly. He assured parliament, upon the strength of that asthe House and the hon. and learned gentle- sumption, not only to break in upon the man, that if the words which he had used sanctity and delicacy of conjugal relation, were such as it was orderly to use in de- but also upon all those of a parental nabate, they would not offend him. "Im-ture? As well as being most indelicate, proper," he conceived to be a parliamentary term; but the use of the word " indecent" was, in his opinion, a transgression of the ordinary language of that House. It was a word which, under any circumstances, he would not have applied to the hon. and learned gentleman, and he hoped the House would not allow any hon. gentleman to apply it to him. ་་ Mr. Stephen expressed his surprise at the interruption which he had experienced, because he was sure it must be in the memory of every one who heard him, that indecency" was a charge as often adduced by the other side of the House, against a motion made by their political opponents, as any other. The hon. gentleman had said, that he would not impute the proposition made by the hon. gentleman, was most wanton; for he himself stated that the intended engagement, which was the object of it, had been relinquished. Would it be to treat rank and sex with respect to drag into public view all the delicate circumstances of a proceeding, which, according to the hon. gentleman's own declaration, was not likely to be completed? What would the hon. gentleman think of such a proposition if it regarded his sister or his daughter? Was it compatible with the attention due to the delicacy of the female character, to expose all the circumstances of an abortive negociation, such as that which the hon. gentleman had described? And this, after it had been distinctly stated by the |