80] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1S12. 



point without conciliating the Ca- 

 tholics. After some further obser- 

 vations on this topic, he asserted 

 that his motion came before them 

 destitute of any other influence 

 than what it might derive from its 

 own merits. It was entirely spon- 

 taneous : he had consulted no one 

 about it, and was then actually 

 ignorant whether it would be se- 

 conded or not. As one of the 

 greatest friends and admirers of 

 Mr. Perceval, he had come forward 

 in an open and undisguised man- 

 ner to show that the government, 

 deprived of him, could not be 

 supported by all his friends. He 

 felt a pain in so doing from his 

 relation to the noble lord below 

 him, but it was a sacrifice on the 

 altar of duty. The honourable 

 member concluded by moving the 

 announced address. 



Lord Milton seconded the mo- 

 tion. 



Mr. Eyre opposed it as an un- 

 constitutional interference with the 

 prerogative of tlie crown, of which 

 there was no instance upon record. 

 The house had interfered when an 

 administration had been formed 

 and found inefficient, but had 

 never come forward with its pre- 

 vious advice. He disputed the 

 honourable mover's ground of the 

 inefficiency of the present adminis- 

 tration. They had, indeed, lost 

 their greatest support, and had 

 attempted to remedy it by seeking 

 the aid of persons whose political 

 opinions were nearly the same with 

 their own,but who would not concur 

 in the proposal unless certain ques- 

 tions were conceded to them : 

 questionsal ready determined by the 

 votes of the house, and he believed, 

 by the opinion of the country. 

 He had no great reliance upon the 



prophetic anticipation of what an 

 administration was to be. He had 

 seen administrations prematurely 

 denounced as weak, conduct public 

 affiiirs with activity and vigour, 

 whilst others of great promise had 

 miseraldy failed. The honourable 

 gentleman then moved as an 

 amendment, " That the other 

 orders of the day be now read." 



Lord Milton supported the ori- 

 ginal motion, and contended that 

 it was not only the right, but the 

 absolute duty, of the House of 

 Commons to interfere when they 

 saw an administration about to be 

 formed which was not likely to 

 obtain the confidence of the people. 

 He said that the unsuccessful at- 

 tempt of the present ministers to 

 ally themselves with men of abili- 

 ties who differed with them upon 

 great political questions, was an 

 acknowledgment of their incom- 

 petency. 



Sir F. Burdett gave reasons why 

 he could not cone ur either in the 

 motion or the amendment. There 

 had been many ministries composed 

 of persons of ditieient principles, 

 who, nevertheless, had done no- 

 thing to relieve the country from its 

 dangers and burdens, which never 

 could he done without a constitu- 

 tional reform in the representation 

 of the people in parliament ; and he 

 read a proposed amendment of the 

 oriiiinal motion to that effect. 



Mr. Wilberforce argued at some 

 length on the unconstitutional 

 nature of the interference with the 

 prerogative of the crown implied in 

 the first motion, and said that thirtj' 

 years ago, the question whether 

 the house should have a previous 

 negative on the appointment of 

 ministers had been decided. Per- 

 haps it might be said that the 



motion 



