HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



87 



Mr. Yorke, February the 1st, 

 gave notice that when the inquiry 

 should be gone into, he would proi- 

 ceed to enforce the standing order 

 of the House for the exclusion of 

 strangers. This he did, not from 

 any wish to keep their proceedings 

 ftom publicity in due time, but 

 with a view to guard against the 

 possibility of any misrepresenta- 

 tion or misunderstanding out of 

 doors before the minutesshould be 

 published.* The House having re- 

 solved itself into a committee on 

 the expedition to the Scheldt next 

 day, Mr. Yorke, according to his 

 notice, moved the standing order 

 for the exclusion of strangers, 

 which was of course enforced. 

 On the subject of this standing 

 order, one of those settled at the 

 commencement of every session 

 of parliament, a motion was made, 

 •February the 6th, by 



Mr. Sheridan. There was no- 

 thing in what he should propose 

 that savoured of party motive or 

 political bias. His sole object was, 

 to impress on that House the vital 

 necessity of meriting by its con- 

 duct, at that critical period more 

 than ever, the confidence of the 

 people. AHouseofComraonsthat 

 regarded its own character, and 

 respected the opinion of its consti- 

 tuents and the public, should not 

 resist the feelings of the public at 

 a period like the present. What 

 was there in the investigation in 

 which the House was now engaged 

 that called for secrecy, disclaimed 

 in a recent inquiry which might 

 have pleaded for that delicacy ? 

 Would the House grant to an ac- 

 •cused ministry that protection 

 whichconcealmentcouldafFord, on 



a question of great political ira- 



" The minutes of the evidence were published every third day 

 ^CB6 of the investigation. 



portance, after having refused it to 

 the son of their king, in an inquiry 

 where the House was compelled to 

 put aside the veil which the imper- 

 fections of humanity had thrown 

 over the frailties of domestic life ? 

 He was willing to believe that mi- 

 nisters did not wish to screen their 

 conduct by any such expedient, 

 and he was sure, from the inde- 

 pendent political career of Mr. 

 Yorke,' whohad enforced theoi'der, 

 that he would have disdained to 

 be their instrument for any such 

 purpose ; and he was at a loss to 

 conjecture what could have in- 

 duced the honourable gentleman 

 to press that order at that most pe- 

 rilous crisis. — He begged leave to 

 ask what was the sanctity of this 

 supposed standing order ? In the 

 first place, he contended, that it 

 was no standing order atall. It was 

 passed at the opening of the session 

 upon question. It might have been 

 rejected when proposed, and of 

 course was liable to revision and 

 repeal on any subsequent occasion. 

 It was a mistaken idea to suppose 

 that that order empowered any 

 member to call upon strangers to 

 withdraw. The order, which Mr. 

 Sheridan read, said, " That any 

 stranger appearing in the House 

 shall be taken into custody by the 

 Serjeant." The powerand authority 

 rested with the serjeant-at-arms 

 alone. And how was he to enforce 

 it ? If, in proceeding to obey the 

 order, the serjeant should find two 

 or threehundred persons collected 

 in the gallery, it would be impossi- 

 ble for him to take them all into 

 custody, and therefore he must 

 shut them up in the gallery whilst 

 lie went to collect his posse comi- 

 tatus. In the mean time the de- 



', during the pro- 



