112 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



to bring forward, he moved for a 

 variety of official documents, which, 

 alter some trifling conversation, was 

 agreed to. 



Mr. Leycester moved, that the 

 house proceed, by impeachment, 

 against lord INIelviile, for the of- 

 fences charged against him in the re- 

 port, and the attorney general be 

 directed to stay proceedings. The 

 grounds on which he made the mo- 

 tion, were, that the rank and sta- 

 tion of the defendant demanded all 

 the respect due to the high order, 

 of which he was a member — that 

 the trial of an accused person, before 

 his peers, was more consistent with 

 the spirit of the constitution — that 

 there was a strictness of proceeding 

 in courts of law, which must be pro- 

 ductive of embarrassment in point 

 of form — and, that a proceeding by 

 impeachment woul.d be more inju- 

 rious to the noble lord where he 

 was guilty, and advantageous to 

 him where he was innocent. 



INIr. Bond opposed the motion, 

 on the same ground which he took, 

 when moving lor a criminal prose- 

 cution. He thought, that a resolu- 

 tion, deliberately agreed to, by a 

 majority of the fullest meeting of 

 the house ever known, ought not 

 to be so hastily rescinded, and cal- 

 led upon parliament to assert its 

 character, and take care not to ex- 

 hibit the miserable spectacle of in- 

 considerately changing its mostdeli- 

 berate resolutions, and leave it in 

 the power of any one to overturn 

 the most solemn decisions, on a 

 notice of twenty-four hours. 



The Attorney General supported 

 the motion, and contended, that the 

 mode of a criminal prosecution did 

 not constitute a gr(>iit majority of 

 the house. Those who voted for 

 impeachment were 195, but being 



driven out of that, and thinking 

 that a criminal prosecution was bet- 

 ter than none at all, they had join- 

 ed the other party of 43, who op- 

 posed that measure, which made up 

 the majority. After a long debate, 

 which turned more upon points of 

 form, and on the consistency of 

 parliamentary proceedings, than on 

 the merits of the charges, and in 

 which the solicitor general, INlr. 

 Banks, Sir W. Burroughs, Mr. C. 

 Wynne, Mr R. Williams, the chan- 

 cellor of the exchequer, Mr. Whit- 

 bread, Mr. Fox, Mr. H. Addington, 

 Mr. R. Dundas, and Mr. Ker took 

 part, — the house divided, npon a 

 motion made b}- iNJr. Fox, for pro- 

 ceeding to the other orders of the 

 day, on which the numbers were, 

 ayes, 143, — noes, 166, — majority 

 '23. The question for the impeach- 

 raent was then carried, without a 

 division, and an order made " that 

 " Mr. Whilbread do go to the lords, 

 " and at their bar, in the name of 

 " the house of commons, and of all 

 " the commons of the united king- 

 " dom of great Britain and Ireland, 

 " impeach Henry viscount Melville 

 " of high crimes and misdemeanors, 

 " and acquaint them, that this house 

 " will, in due time, exhibit particu- 

 " lar articles against him, and make 

 " good the same." Which message 

 was delivered by Mr. Whitbread, 

 accompanied by a great number of 

 c mmoners, at the bar of their lord- 

 sliips, on the following day. After 

 which, a committee was appointed, 

 to prepare the articles of impeach- 

 ment, consisting of IMr. NN'hitbrcad, 

 Mr. Fox, Mr. Grey, Mr. Sheridan, 

 lord Henry Petty, lord Marsham, 

 Mr. Giles', lord Folkstonc, Mr. 

 Raine, Dr. Lawrence, JMr. Creevy, 

 Mr. Holland, Mr. Calcraft, Mr. 

 Kinnaird, lord J. Hamilton. Mr. C. 



Wynne, 



