GENERAL HISTORY. 



[77 



for the children, and afterwards an 

 annuity for their mother. The 

 sums which he proposed were 

 50,000/. for the first purpose, and 

 2,000/. per annum for the second ; 

 and he moved a resolution for the 

 former grant. Some members re- 

 garding this as too little for the 

 services of the father, and men- 

 tioning a larger sum, Mr. Wilber- 

 force rose, and after making a 

 warm eulogy on the character of 

 the deceased, observed, that how- 

 ever general the sense of his 

 claims on account of private merit 

 might be, yet that his political 

 opinions were known to have had 

 many o|)ponents ; and as it was 

 highly desirable that the vote should 

 be cordial and unanimous, he 

 thought the sum mentioned was a 

 proper medium. The same opi- 

 nion was held by Mr. Whitbread : 

 and the first resolution being put, 

 with the addition by Mr. Bankes, 

 that the sum should be paid with 

 out fee or deduction, it passed 

 nem. con. 



The second resolution, for an 

 annuity to Mrs. Perceval of 2,000/. 

 without fee or deduction, being 

 put by Lord Castlereagh, was car- 

 ried nern. con. 



This unanimity was disturbed, 

 and the debate unfortunately as- 

 sumed somewhat of a party aspect, 

 by Mr. H. Sumner's motion, "That 

 the annuity of 2,000/. payable to 

 the Hon. Jane Perceval for ber life, 

 shall, after her decease, be paid to 

 such male descendant of the Right 

 Hon. Spencer Perceval as shall be 

 at that lime his heir, for the term 

 of his natural life." 



Mr. Whitbread declared his dis- 

 sent from this proposal ; Mr. WiU 

 berforce expressed his apprehension 



that such a vote would be suspected 

 to have originated from the politi- 

 cal opinions of those who had 

 usually supported the deceased 

 minister; Lord Castlereagh moved 

 an amendment upon it which went 

 to set it aside; and other members 

 spoke against it. When, however, 

 the division took place, Lord Cas- 

 tlereagh' s amendment was rejected 

 by 107 against 67, and Mr. Sum- 

 ner's motion was carried by 136 

 against 23. 



The report being brought up on 

 the next day, the first and second 

 resolutions were read and agreed to 

 nem, con. Mr. Huskisson then 

 rose, and after some observations 

 respecting the situation of Mr. 

 Perceval's eldest son, now at the 

 university, who would come out 

 into the world with a slender pit- 

 tance, proposed that the third reso- 

 lution should be recommitted, and 

 a grant included in it of 1,000/. 

 a year to the eldest son on his 

 reaching the age of 21, without 

 prejudice to his reversionary right 

 tothe sum already voted. A debate 

 then ensued, in which, unanimity 

 being no longer the consideration, 

 the friends of the late minister 

 showed a determination to main- 

 tain the ground they had gained, 

 and carry the national bounty to 

 his family as far as the feelings of 

 the house would permit ; whilst 

 the members in opposition seemed 

 to think that enough had already 

 been done for justice, and that 

 augmentations would only be an 

 abuse of the public generosity. 

 Regarding the particulars of this 

 discussion as neither pleasant nor 

 instructive, we shall only state its 

 result. This was, that after the 

 original resolution, and a motion 



for 



