20] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



Sir Sam. Romilly rose to give an 

 account of the proceedings of the 

 commissioners, of 1806, as far as 

 he was concerned with them. He 

 stated that the measure was adopt- 

 ed, as he believed, on the sugges- 

 tion of lord Thurlow ; and he tes- 

 tified as to the impartiality with 

 which the examinations, at which 

 he was present, were conducted. 

 He gave some arguments in favour 

 of the legality of such a commis- 

 sion, and replied to the assertion, 

 that if they could acquit, they must 

 have an equal right to condemn, 

 by instancing the case of Margaret 

 Nicholson, whose insanity being 

 ascertained before a committee of 

 the privy-council, she was never 

 brought to- trial for her attempt 

 on his majesty's life. 



Mr. Whitbread said, that he did 

 not rise to support the first resolu- 

 tion, concurring in much that had 

 fallen from the noble lord ; but he 

 thought, if the House dismissed the 

 subject without further explana- 

 tions or proceedings, her royal 

 highness would be grossly injured. 

 When the noble lord talked of the 

 appetite for calumny, was he ig- 

 norant of the many newspaper pa- 

 ragraphs, the tendency of which 

 was, to libel the princess ? It ap- 

 pears (he said) that her royal high- 

 ness, finding that the intercourse 

 between her and the princess her 

 daughter, was more and more re- 

 stricted, addressed a letter to the 

 Prince Regent, which was thrice 

 returned unopened. At length it 

 was read to hin., and the cold an- 

 swer returned was, that ministers 

 had received no commands on the 

 subject. That letter had at length 

 found its way to the public prints, 

 and lUen his J. highness, as Prince 



Regent, Summontdapvivy-onimcil 



to consult what to do, and their 

 advice was, not to refer to the pre- 

 sent conduct of the princess of 

 Wales, buttotheevidenceof 1806. 

 In the proceedings ofthat year, the 

 witnesses against her are declared 

 infamous, and their evidence un- 

 worthy of credit as applied to the 

 principal charge, yet the same is 

 considered as good when applied 

 to levity of manners. It was con- 

 sidered as insufficient to deprive 

 her of the honours of her rank, 

 and of access to the king, and so- 

 ciety with the princesses, yet is 

 now raked up to remove her from 

 her child ! Mr. Whitbread then 

 read the minute of council of 1 807, 

 signed by lords Eldon and Castle- 

 reagh, which doubted the legality 

 of the commission of 1806, yet, 

 (said he) these noble lords go back 

 to the same proceedings of 1806 

 as their guide. He next read that 

 part of the minute of 1807, which 

 not only acquits the princess of 

 every charge of criminality brought 

 against her by the Douglasses, but 

 exculpates her from every hint of 

 unguarded levity attributed to her 

 by the commissioners of 1806. Do 

 then (said he) lord Castlereagh or 

 lord Eldon mean to escape from 

 their words ? The princess of Wales 

 threatened a publication of her 

 case, drawn up by Mr. Perceval, 

 lord Eldon, and sir Thomas Plu- 

 mer, if she was not received at 

 court ; this they advised her to do, 

 with what other feelings than that 

 she was innocent — immaculate ? 

 and is it to be endured, that this 

 evidence is to be raked up in order 

 to condemn, defame, and punish ? 

 Mr. Whitbread cort'jiuded aspeech 

 of extraordinary energy, with mov- 

 ing as an amendment to the mo- 

 tion, that an address be presented 



