14] ANNUAL REGISTER, ISN. 



and insanity to which the royal suf- 

 ferer might arrive, which he con- 

 tended was utterly unfounded upon 

 any thing that iiad appeared on the 

 examination of the pliysicians. He 

 touched upon the proposed augmen- 

 tation of the queen's income, for 

 which he coulci not discover a 

 single reason ; and also upon the 

 lot, 000/. to be granted to the 

 regent for covering the cost in- 

 curred by his assumption of the 

 government, respecting vviiich he 

 thought that nothing more could be 

 expected from parliament than a 

 willingness to grant whatever might 

 appear proper under the specified 

 heads of expenditure. He con- 

 cluded by wishing that the resolu- 

 tions might lie on the table for a 

 few days, that gentlemen might 

 have an opportunity of considering 

 the subject. 

 The Chancellor of the Exchequer 

 in reply said, that a fuller consider- 

 ation of the plan, which he was 

 aware was a complicated one, would 

 come on at a future period when 

 the bill should be brought in ; and 

 lie then made some appeals to the 

 •feelings of the committee respect- 

 ing a liberal provision for his ma- 

 jesty's comforts. Mr. Ponsonby 

 spoke again, and before he sat down 

 begged to be allowed to ask one 

 question, which was, whether in 

 granting to his royal highness the 

 sum of lOO.OOOZ. it was done under 

 the notion that his claims for the 

 arrears of the duchy of Cornwall 

 were totally given up and ex- 

 tinguished ? To this the chancellor 

 of the exchequer answered, that 

 it appeared to him that the under- 

 standing ofthe House in thedebatcs 

 on this topic was, that his royal 

 highness had totally relinquished 

 every claim of that description. 



Ofthe further conversation that 

 passed on this interesting subject 

 on the present occasion it is iiot 

 nece£5ury to give a summary, since 

 tlie particulars will all come under 

 notice in following the progress of 

 the bill through the House. It 

 may, however, be of some conse- 

 quence to observe, that the asser- 

 tion of the chancellor af the ex- 

 chequer respecting the duchy of 

 Cornwall called up Mr. Sheridan, 

 who, after reading the prince's 

 message from the Journals of the 

 House, contended, that it amounted 

 to a mere abandonment, not a 

 withdrawment of his claims, which 

 remained in full force. 



The resolutions were put and 

 agreed to, and the report was 

 ordered to be brought up the next 

 day. 



On January 18th, on the ques- 

 tion being put that the report of 

 the resolutions be brought up, Mr. 

 Creevey rose, and said, he must 

 enter his protest against covering 

 the deficiencies of the civil list from 

 the droits of admiralty, which, he 

 contended, were strictly the pro- 

 perty of the nation, and ought to 

 be brought into the supply. He 

 also said the same thing respecting 

 the Leeward Island duties, which 

 former sovereigns had given up, but 

 which, he asserted, were now 

 parcelled out among ministers and 

 their adherents, as he pledged him- 

 self on a future day to prove. Mr, 

 Brand entirely coincided in opinion 

 with the last speaker as to the droits 

 of admiralty. He then made some 

 objections to the arrangements of 

 the household as stated by the 

 chancellor of the exchequer, and 

 thought the sum proposed for the 

 maintenance of the king and 

 queen was immoderate. The 



chancellor 



