not be sitting at the time when the bill now under consideration would expire.

Earl Grey considered the continu ance of the restrictions to the extent proposed in the bill, as dangerous to the monarchy. As the noble lord had put a question to him, he would answer it by another; and he would ask the noble and learned lord, what ought to be the punishment of that man, who, when his sovereign was in a state of proved incapacity, notoriously under medi cal care, and the necessary restraint which his particular malady required, should come down to that house, and declare there was no suspension of the royal authority? What would he think of the person who, under these circumstances, should put the great seal to acts in the name, and as if by the express command, of the sovereign? Let the noble and learned lord answer these questions if he could. Respecting the amendment of his majesty's health, it was impossible the noble lord, in his short interview, could have the means of forming an accurate judgement. Earl Grey then adverted to the evidence which had been given by Dr. Heberden, that his majesty was in a state of mental incapacity from the 12th Feb. 1804 to the 23d April following, during which period he attended on him. In that interval the sign manual was put to various acts which required the royal interposition. He concluded by giv ing his assent to the noble baron's amendment.

him God, he could not have acted otherwise than he did. What was the natere of the crime imputed to him? Why this, that he had acted in cbedience to his majesty's commands. He would ask the noble earl (Grey) what he would have thought of him, if he had refused to do so; and what kind of crime he would impute to those who disobeyed his majesty's commands? With respect to his majesty's indisposition, he had stated from himself, as from a person ignorant of the medical profession, his confident expectations of his majesty's recovery within a reasonable time. This was a species of disorder as to which he had little confidence in the opinions of physicians. If all the physicians on earth were to tell him that his majesty's recovery would be speedy, he would not believe them. Upon the same grounds, were they to declare that his majesty's recovery would not be speedy, he would be equally incredulous. The restoration of the sovereign to the full exercise of his mental powers depended upon other causes than mere medical aid. In the language of the Scriptures, if it was the pleasure of God that "there should be light" in the royal mind, "let there be light." He would act upon his oath, in despite of the opposition of all the world. His opinion was, so help him God, that there was a most material amendment in his majesty. It was little more than 48 hours since he had an opportunity of ascertaining this improvement in his majesty'; and he trusted in God that his gracious master would live many years, to be, as he had always been, the benefactor of his subjects. He should oppose the amendment for many reasons, the principal of which was, that parliament would

A division on lord Grenville's amendment then took place :Contents 84, Proxies 38-Noncontents 88, Proxies 51. Majority for ministers 17.-Six other divisions followed, the result of which was, that the amendments made

in the committee, where absentees were not allowed to vote by proxy, were all overruled; and the bill restored to the state in which it came from the commons, with the exception of some verbal alterations.

The bill was passed, and sent to the commons, with a message, desiring their concurrence to the amendments: to which they agreed. Feb. 2. The earl of Liverpool proposed a resolution, authorising certain lords to apply the great seal to a commission for granting the royal assent to the regency bill; which was agreed to.

House of commons, Feb. 4. Subsequently to a conference with the lords, Mr. Dundas appeared at the bar with a resolution of the lords, in which they desired the concurrence of the commons to the following resolution:-"That it is expedient and necessary that letters patent, under the great seal, be issued for the purpose of giving an assent in the king's name to the regency bill."

The chancellor of the exchequer stated, that, in pursuance of the course on which the house had entered, it had now become necessary to consider the best mode of giving the royal sanction to the bill which had passed the two houses; and with this view he should move, that the house do resolve itself into a committee of the whole house on the state of the nation.

Mr. Ponsonby added his protest to those of the hon. members who had spoken against it; and termed the whole of the proceeding a "fraudulent fiction," which defied and trampled upon the constitution. The Speaker (Mr. Abbot) said, that, after the strong protestations made by gentlemen on this question, and which were so disparaging to

the character of the proceedings adopted by that house, he confessed he could not prevail on himself to give a silent vote on this question. In the earlier stages of these proceedings, he had abstained from offering himself to the notice of the house, because he did not think he could have thrown any new light on the subject, and therefore did not wish to enter generally into the debate. But now the question was brought to such a state, that, from respect to the house, he felt it necessary to give the opinions which occurred to him. First, he would take notice of the assertion made at the first meeting of the house, that it was not to be considered as a house of parliament, and that it was a matter of doubt whether the meeting was legal. He hoped an assertion of that kind would never be heard in that house without due reprobation; and he considered it a most mischievous thing to say that its members were not the lawful representa, tives of the people. It was most clear, from the reason of the thing, and the usages of the constitution, that when any impediment arose in the exercise of the government, new and extraordinary powers devolved upon the house of commons. It then became the right and the duty of the house to fill up the chasm in the constitution. The task was difficult and hazardous ; but, from the peculiar state of public affairs, duties and powers devolved upon the house, which must remove every doubt as to the legality of its proceedings. This course of proceeding was fully jus tifed by precedent. At the time of the Restoration, the two houses of parliament, surrounded as they were by dificulties, did for a time wield the sceptre of the absent mo

narch,

that the accounts of the year would be laid before them, and that he depended on their liberality for the supplies of the year, the speech closed with the anxious wish of the regent to restore as soon as possible his delegated power to the sovereign, whose calamity was so sensibly felt by the nation, but by none more than himself. An address was moved in the house of lords by

The earl of Aberdeen, who, after lamenting the heavy calamity which had befallen his majesty, said be had no doubt that every noble lord viewed with the greatest satis faction the wisdom, the judgement, and the moderation which had been displayed by his royal highness throughout the whole of this important transaction. Every one, said the noble earl, must approve the principles on which he had acted in this unfortunate emergency; and the merits of his conduct, in the sacrifices he had thought proper to make, contrary to his known opinions and feelings, could not fail to be duly appreciated by that house, and by the whole nation. Fortunately for the affairs of the country, the hopes of the restoration of his majesty's health were at present high, and were improving from day to day. Should the recovery of his majesty be yet unhappily retarded; should Providence still be deaf to the wishes and the prayers of the people, and of the prince; should it prove unlikely that the king could soon resume the exercise of his royal authority, (how that authority had hitherto been exercised, the experienced blessings of a reign of more than fifty years could be appealed to, and could best evince) then there would be a great consolation to their lordships and to the nation, arising

from the reflection, that there was a successor to his majesty, who had most sincerely at heart the public good, who placed the general benefit above his own personal wishes and feelings, and who regulated his public conduct upon principles that must ensure universal public approbation and respect. On such a gratifying topic he might easily expatiate, as it afforded him an ample field of panegyric; but he felt that such an attempt was rendered totally superfluous by the opinions and feeling entertained by all. Here, his lordship said, he might come to an end; but that it was the general practice on such occasions to take some view of our situation, as shown in the various topics mentioned in the speech. The most prominent of its leading features was that which related to the affairs of the peninsula. With regard to the state of affairs in Spain, he admitted that the appearance of matters was chequered; but there were, notwithstanding, in that country, many circumstances that kept alive hope. The high and gallant spirit of the Spanish nation still existed; the determined hatred they bore to their invaders continued in undiminished vigour; the ardent desire of maintaining their liberty_re mained in unabated force. The sacred flame of liberty and independence had been, it was true, partially obscured, but it still continued to burn; and he hoped and believed it was never to be extinguished by the oppressions of the enemy. Notwithstanding all the exertions of that enemy, his attempts had hitherto proved unsuccessful against the city of Cadiz, which, as well as that of Ceuta, was garrisoned by a British force. In this respect, then, there were considerable grounds of satisfaction.