GENERAL HISTORY. 



[87 



Regent's mmisters in their view 

 of the subject ; but this being the 

 scale of allowance which they 

 intended to propose for all the 

 married sons of his majesty, it 

 was thought not to be just or 

 proper to make an exception in 

 the case of the duke of Cumber- 

 land. It was therefore resolved 

 to bring the subject again before 

 the House, which, in4eed, was a 

 necessary course, unless they 

 meant to act on the principle of 

 perpetual exclusion. The same 

 provisions were therefore intend- 

 ed for him, as for the junior 

 branches of the ro3'al family. 

 The whole expense of the pro- 

 posed arrangement, supposing 

 that the duke of Kent should 

 marry, would amount annually to 

 55,5001. An outfit to a corres- 

 ponding amount was also to be 

 proposed; as it was only by means 

 of a liberal outfit that any chance 

 was afforded to the royal pair of 

 being enabled to avoid getting 

 into debt. This provision in the 

 first year would have been 

 110,500/., and the permanent 

 annual charge 55,500/. 



He had now to state the out- 

 line of the plan which, under all 

 the circumstances, it was the in- 

 tention of ministers to submit to 

 the House, and the sources from 

 which the charges of it were to 

 be supplied. He must first, how- 

 ever, observe that in his o^vn opi- 

 nion nothing ought to be deducted 

 from the regular incomes of their 

 royal highnesses in consideration 

 of what they might receive pro- 

 fessionally ; nor should their in- 

 comes, in either their single or 

 married state, be regulated by 

 the sums which they might derive 

 from other quarters. With re- 



spect to the duke of Clarence, 

 he had no revenue except that 

 granted him by parliament, and 

 his pay as an admiral, which 

 amounted only to 1,100/. a year. 

 The proposal in his case was, that 

 the amount of his income, added 

 to his present revenue, should 

 reach to 28,000/. instead of 

 40,000/. as first proposed ; and 

 as to the other royal dukes, it 

 should amount to 24^,0001. a year, 

 instead of 30,000/. He concluded 

 by moving the following resolu- 

 tion : " That his Majesty be ena- 

 bled to grant an additional yearly 

 sum of money out of the consoli- 

 dated fund of the United King- 

 dom of Great Britain and Ireland, 

 not exceeding the sum of 10,000/. 

 to make a suitable provision for 

 his royal highness the duke of 

 Clarence, upon his marriage." 



This proposition was warmly 

 encountered by the House in 

 general, and was the cause of 

 many speeches. At length Mr. 

 Holme Sumner said that he could 

 not consent that the House should 

 provide for the duke of Clarence 

 on the ground of his being pre- 

 sumptive heir to the throne, a 

 situation in which he did not 

 stand. He therefore must dis- 

 agree to the present demand for 

 the duke, but was disposed to go 

 to the extent of 6,000/. He would 

 first ask, however, was the House 

 in possession of the necessary 

 information to assure it that such 

 an increase wduld be applied to 

 uphold the splendor and dignity 

 of that illustrious personage ? 

 Before any increase was granted, 

 the whole of the circumstances 

 ought to come before parliament, 

 and it ought to be ascertained 

 that the sum granted would be 



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