£4-4 LON 
they were guided in their proceedings by the precedent of 
the year 1788. 
After various adjournments, in the vain hope of fome fa¬ 
vourable turn in the king’s malady*, at length, on the 20th 
of December, Mr. Perceval thought fit to move, in. the 
houfe of commons, three refolutions : the firft declara¬ 
tive of the incapacity of the fovereign ; the fecond,on the 
competency of the two houfes of parliament to fupply that 
incapacity; and the third, that the proper mode of doing 
it would be by bill. Of thefe, the 1 ft pafled unanimoufly ; 
the 2d with the fingle negative of fir Francis Burdett; 
but on the 3d Mr. Ponfonby moved an amendment, 
“That an addrefs fiiould be prefented to the prince of 
Wales, praying him to take upon himfelf the office of 
regent.” On this motion a divifion took place, in which 
the amendment was rejected; the votes, for it being 157, 
againft it 269; majority for the minifter, 112. In the 
houfe of lords the lame refolutions were propofed, and car¬ 
ried, after a fimilar amendment had beeh moved on the 
third, and rejected ; the divifion being, contents 74, non- 
contents xoo; majority, 26. The alfent of the lords to 
the refolutions having been announced to the commons 
on the 31ft, Mr. Perceval moved five feparate propofitions 
as the balls of an intended bill for regulating the office of 
regent. Of thele, the firft appointed his royal liighnel's 
the prince of Wales, regent, under certain reftriftions 
and limitations; by the i'econd he was reftrained from 
. conferring the rank of peerage for a time to be determined ; 
by the third, from granting offices in reverfion, or places 
or penfions for a longer term than during the royal plea- 
fu re; the fourth made regulations refpefting the king’s 
private property; and the fifth related to his houfehold, 
veiling the management of it in the queen. 
The firft Hand made by the oppofition was againft the 
leading propofition, “That the regent fiiould be laid un¬ 
der certain reftriffions;” the hon. Mr. Lambe moving an 
amendment upon it, “That the entire royal power fiiould 
be conferred upon him, without any reftriftions.” In 
this debate the fame ground was gone over again as on 
the occurrence in Mr. Pitt’s miniltry, with the fame re¬ 
sult, the amendment being negatived by 224 againft 200 ; 
butthelinallnefsof the majority indicated that the minifters 
began to totter in their feats. The views of the two par¬ 
ties at this period are eafily underftood. The oppofition 
contemplated the eftabliftnnent of the regency as the con- 
clufion of the prefent adminiftration, the members of which 
■were avowedly deftitute of the prince’s confidence; they 
therefore naturally wilhed to put into his hands as much 
power as polfible, and refilled every reflriftion which 
would operate as a limitation of that influence and au¬ 
thority to which they expefted. to fucceed. The miniltry, 
on the other hand, borne up by the profpedt of the king’s 
fpeedy recovery, an event which his phyficians reprefented 
as little lefs than certain, were chiefly intent upon the 
means for facilitating his refumption of the regal office, 
and in the mean time retaining a portion of the influence 
attached to the poffelfion of court-favour. It was there¬ 
fore their policy on one hand to rellricl the regent in the 
distribution of his graces, and on the other to eltablilh a 
counterpoife to the authority necefi'arily conferred upon 
him, in the houfehold-appointments left at the difpofal of 
the queen. 
1831. The early days of January were confumed in long 
debates as to the mode to be purfued for the ilfue of mo¬ 
ney from the exchequer for the ul'e of the army and navy. 
It was obliged to be decided according to the exigency of 
the cafe; but was not effected without a proteft of twenty- 
.ohe lords in the upper houfe. 
The relation of the procedings in the two houfes during 
the debates on tlie feveral dailies of the regency-bill is in¬ 
volved in lingular perplexity, refultingfrom thefl actuations 
of party and the vaccinations of opinion, whence proceeded 
a variety of amendments and re-amendments, admitted in 
.one houfe, and rejected in the other, according to the pre- 
aalenf feelings of the day. Ic feveral of the conceited points 
DON. 
the minifters were defeated ; and at one time it feetned pro¬ 
bable that the propofed reftrictions would be in great part 
annulled ; but at the aftual palfing'of the bill it appeared 
that they had recovered their ground, a circumltance 
that may reafonably be attributed to the flattering reports 
of the king’s progrefs in amendment, which excited fan- 
guine expectations that a very Ihort period would inter¬ 
vene before he would be in a capacity for refuming the royal 
authority. It was doubtlefs recollected, that in 1789 a 
recovery had taken place while parliament was ftill oc¬ 
cupied with difcufiions concerning a regency-bill ; and a 
majority looked forward rather to the revival of the pre¬ 
fent adminiftration than to the temporary transfer of 
power to a new one. After, therefore, the draught of the 
.propofed bill had undergone fome inconfiderable altera¬ 
tions, it was prefented to the queen and the prince of 
Wales for their acceptance, which was fignified by thofe 
perfonagesby their feparate anfwersaddreffed to both houfes 
jointly. In that of the prince, a regret was delicately 
exprefled that he had not been allowed the opportunity 
of manifefting, by his conduft, what were his reverential 
feelings towards his father and fovereign ; and he accepted 
the office of regent, reftricted as it was, “ftill retaining 
every opinion exprefled by him on a former occafion.” 
According to the plan adopted by the minifters in con¬ 
formity to the precedent of 1789, the great feal was affixed 
to a commiffion for the opening of parliament, which ce¬ 
remony took place on January 15th; and on the 17th the 
regency-bill was committed. Its claufes underwent frefh 
dilculfion in its paflage through the two houl’es; and va¬ 
rious amendments were propofed by the oppofition, but 
were negatived by the minifterial majorities. The lalt 
ftand was made upon the duration of the reftrictions, 
which lord Grenville attempted to reduce from twelve 
months to fix, but without fuccefs. 
Both houfes being finally agreed on the claufes of th6 
regency-bill, the great feal was affixed to it by commiffion ; 
and on February the 5th it received the royal affint, if fo 
it may be called. Strong protefts were however made to 
the laft by the oppofition-members againft the fiction em¬ 
ployed of fignifying the king’s affent by the great feal to 
an act founded on that very incapacity which difabled 
him from performing any legifiative function ; and the 
expedient was condemned in unqualified terms as fraudu¬ 
lent and unconftitutional. On the other fide it was not de¬ 
nied that there exifted an irregularity in the cafe ; but it was 
contended that the peculiar circumltance occafioning the 
fufpenfion of the royal authority, for which no legal pro- 
vifion had been made, rendered fome irregularity unavoi¬ 
dable, and that the application of the great feal was the 
leaft that could be deviled. The fpeech which on this 
queftion appeared to make the greateft impreffion was that 
of Mr. Abbott, fpeaker of the houfe of commons, who had 
hitherto taken no part in the debates, and whole ftation 
and character gave the Itamp of importance and impartia¬ 
lity to his opinion. 
Of the claufes in the regency-bill, the moft important 
of thofe relating to the regent himfelf are the following': 
—He is to exercife, in the name of his tnajtfty, the royal 
authority belonging to the crown. He is to be deemed 
a perfon holding an office in truit, and is to conform to 
the ftatutes relating, to perfons under that circumltance t 
he is reftrained from granting peerages or fummoning 
heirs-apparent, or appointing to titles in abeyance ; like- 
wife from granting offices in reverfion, or for a longer pe¬ 
riod than during pleafure, except thole which by law are 
granted for life, or during good behaviour, and except 
penfions to the chancellor, judges, &c. Thefe reftrictions 
to continue till after the lit of February, 1812, and then 
to determine, provided parliament (hall be then afiembled* 
and have been fitting fix weeks previoufly. 
With refpect to the queen, the aft veils in her the cars 
of his majelty’s perfon during his indifpofition, with ths 
foje direction of i’uch portion of his houfehold as lliall be 
deemed requilite for due attendance on his perlon, and 
1 ths 
