GENERAL HISTORY. 



[11.^ 



ment. Mr. W. then moved, that 

 all the words after the word that 

 be omitted, for the purpose of in- 

 troducing, " it appears to this 

 House, that Mr. Speaker did, at 

 the close of the last session of 

 parliament, at the bar of the 

 House of Lords, communicate to 

 his Royal Highness the Prince 

 Regent, certain proceedings of 

 this House, had in a committee of 

 the whole House, relative to his 

 Majesty's Roman Catholic sub- 

 jects, which did not terminate in 

 any act done by this House ; and 

 did at the same time inform his 

 Royal Highness of the motives 

 and reasons which he, Mr. Speaker, 

 assumed to have influenced the 

 members of the House voting in 

 committee, in their determination 

 thereupon ; and that Mr. Speaker, 

 in his speech so addressed to his 

 Royal Highness the Prince Re- 

 gent, at the bar of the House of 

 Lords, was guilty of a violation of 

 the trust reposed in him, and a 

 breach of the privileges of this 

 House, of which he is chosen 

 guardian and protector. 



Mr. Baukcs lamented that so 

 weighty a charge should bebrought 

 against the Speaker, whose con- 

 duct, as he conceived, had been 

 perfectly consistent with the es- 

 tablished usages of parliament. 

 After several observations in his 

 vindication, he said, that when 

 »both the motion and the amend- 

 ment were disposed of, he thought 

 the House should come to some 

 specific statement on the subject ; 

 and he read the following resolu- 

 tion to that purpose : " That it 

 has been customary fop the Speaker 

 of this House, on presenting the 

 bills of supply at the close of a 

 session (ihe King 'oeing present on 



the throne) to make a speech at 

 the bar of the House of Lords, 

 recapitulating the princi|)al ob- 

 jects which have employed the 

 attention of the Commons during 

 their sitting, without receiving 

 any instructions from the House 

 as to the particular topics, or in . 

 what manner he should express 

 himself; and that nothing has 

 occurred which calls for any in- 

 terference on the part of this 

 House for the regulation of the 

 conduct of the Speaker, either at 

 the bar of the House of Lords, or 

 elsewhere." 



After some other members had 

 spoken on each side, with little 

 variation from the preceding ar- 

 guments, Mr. J. P. Grant rose, 

 and expressing his surprise at the 

 manner in which the Speaker and 

 those who espoused his cause Viad 

 attempted to vindicate his con- 

 duct, observed, that the question 

 in itself was perfectly simple. 

 There were two privileges of that 

 House which he held to be of 

 paramount importance to its vital 

 intt^rests : one, that the crown 

 should not interfere, directly or 

 indirectly, with any measures that 

 were in progress through it ; the 

 other, that it should express no 

 censure or disapprobation of such 

 measures as had been concluded. 

 The latter he thought the more 

 valuable privilege of the two, be- 

 cause the crown, by animadvert- 

 ing upon what any member or 

 number of members had said, 

 might intimidate others from per- 

 forming their duty. This in fact 

 had been done by some of our 

 monarchs, and especially was the 

 constant practice of queen Eliza- 

 beth. Supposing therefore the 

 Prince Regent had nnswen-d the 

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