GENERAL HISTORY. 



[79 



CHAPTER X. 



Mr. Wortley^s Motion for an efficient Administration — Negotiations for 

 a New Administration ; and Discussions in Parliament on that Sub- 

 ject — Repeal of the Orders in Council. 



WHATEVER might be the 

 general opinion of Mr. 

 Perceval's talents as a statesman, 

 no one denied his abilit\' as a skilful 

 leader in the House of Commons. 

 His loss to the existing administra- 

 tion was therefore considered as a 

 stroke which they could not possi- 

 bly survive ; and it immediately 

 set in motion all that mass of poli- 

 tical intrigue and speculation which 

 never fails to be called intoaclivity 

 upon a prospect of change in the 

 government. The first operation 

 of the parliamentary campaign 

 opened on this occasion, was the 

 motion of Mr. Stuart Wortly re- 

 specting a strong and efficient ad- 

 ministration. 



This honourable gentleman rose 

 on May 21, to submit to the House 

 of Commons a motion for an ad- 

 dress to the Prince Regent, pray- 

 ing his Royal Highness to take such 

 measures as might be best calcu- 

 lated to form an efficient adminis- 

 tration. He said, it was notorious 

 that an administration was upon 

 the eve of being formed which no 

 disinterested man thought adequate 

 to meet the exigencies of the times; 

 and he thought it a more manly 

 part to resist in limine the formation 

 of such a government, than to 

 look on idly, and afterwards com- 

 mence a systematic opposition to 



it. His object then was, to address 

 his Royal Highness to form an 

 efficient administration, thereby 

 implying that the persons now 

 about to be called to, and to be 

 continued in the management of 

 public affiiirs, did not possess the 

 confidence of the country. With 

 respect to the grounds of his mo- 

 tion, they might be stated in these 

 three questions: Whether at the 

 present crisis, an efficient govern- 

 ment,possessing the full confidence 

 of the people, was not absolutely 

 necessary ? Did the present go- 

 vernment possess that confidence ? 

 Had all been done that might have 

 been done to form the desired ad- 

 ministration ? The first of these 

 positions was too self-evident to 

 require an answer. The second 

 was in his mind equally true and 

 certain. If the present govern- 

 ment had not been very strong 

 even with the aid of Mr. Perceval's 

 great talents, they were certainly 

 worse than weak without it. As 

 to the third, he thought that little, 

 very little, had been done towards 

 the furtherance of an object so de- 

 sirable. He then alluded to the 

 abortive attempt which had some 

 time ago been made to enlarge the 

 basis of the administration, and 

 said that he was convinced nothing 

 effectual could be done in this 



point 



