Mr. An

find, that, at different times, different commiffions had been iffued for opening Parliament. At one time, fuch commiffions furnished powers for giving the Royal affent to bills; at others, they imparted powers to prorogue and adjourn, and at others, the powers granted were merely thofe of opening Parliament, and continuing it open. On the present occafion, it was only thought neceffary to give powers to open the Parliament, and fo to continue it.

Mr. Anstruther having observed that he admitted that the ftruther. commiffion was good, if not liable to any other objection, whether it contained powers general, or powers limited, or fpecific, begged leave to remind the Houfe, that the argument had generally run, in the course of the debates, that a commiffion was to iffue, authorizing Commiffioners to give the Royal affent only to the Regency bill. If no new cominiffion iffued, he conceived, under the general words of the commiffion. laft iffued, that the Commiffioners were left to exercise their difcretion, and give either the Royal affent or diffent to the bill.

Mr.Burke

The question was then put, "That the bill be now read a "first time." It was read accordingly; and the breviate of its contents being handed to the Chair, the Speaker proceeded to read it. The breviate ftated, that the bill authorized His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to exercise all the Royal prerogatives, and to tranfact every act of Government during His Majefty's illness, in the name and on the behalf of His Majefty, in the fame manner as His Majesty could have exercised the fame, fubject only to fuch limitations and reftrictions as were therein after provided. It then ftated the feveral limitations and restrictions fpecifically; and that it contained clauses, investing the care of the King's perfon with Her Majefty, and adding a council of advice for the aid and affiftance of Her Majefty. It stated, that the faid council was to be invcfted with peculiar powers. It stated alfo, that there were claufes in the bill, providing for the refumption of the Royal authority in the perfon of His Majefty, in cafe of his recovery; fignifying, that by advice of the Queen's council, and until His Majefty's iffuing his Royal proclamation, he fhould be empowered to resume the fame ; and it contained various other clauses.

Mr. Burke remarked, that the bill appeared to contain fo many claufes, and fome of them of the moft ferious importance, that he hoped, anxious as they all were for every poffible difpatch of the bufinefs, and the restoration of the Government, that due time would be allowed for the fair and deliberate difcuffion of the various claufes. The bill was, a bill to make many Kings, which of itself was a matter that deferved very nice attention; but the claufe authorizing His

Majefty

A

Majefty to refume the exercife of the Royal authority, on the fuggeftion of the Queen's council, proceeded on an idea fo unfair, fo wild, and absurd, and was at the fame time fo new to the House, having never been once hinted at in debate, that it demanded a most jealous confideration.

Mr. Chancellor Pitt faid, that he wished exceedingly that Mr.Changentlemen would not go into any debate upon the bill, be- cellor Pitt fore they had an opportunity of reading and understanding it. The bill would, he learnt, be printed by the next day, in time for its delivery before the House met. When gentlemen had the bill, therefore, to perufe, they would be better able to discuss its contents, than they would be from merely hearing the breviate of the bill read, which containing only a general fummary of its feveral clauses, could not give them fo clear an idea of the object and provision of its claufes, as they would receive from examining its detail. If the fact were, as the right honourable gentleman had ftated, that the provision for His Majesty's refumption of his Royal authority was unfair, wild, and abfurd, as the right honourable gentleman had thought proper to pronounce it, before he had read the claufe, the whole extent of the proceeding upon that conviction would be for the Houfe to decide, whe ther they could be ready to go into the Committee upon the bill on Saturday.

Mr. Sheridan remarked, that the bill was ordered to be Mr. Shebrought in on the refolutions that it had been voted, and ridan. that therefore, if it contained any new matter not grounded on any point included within thofe refolutions, the order of the House had been departed from, and the bill ought not to be fuffered to proceed.

cellor Pi

Mr. Chancellor Pitt begged leave to remind the Houfe, Mr.Chan that if any one of the claufes in the bill under the confideration of the Houfe fhould be deemed improper, the House would have it in their power to difpofe of it; or if any of its claufes required amendment, they would have a fit opportunity of amending the fame. This he was certain of, that however it might ftrike gentlemen that the claufe was a new one, which provided for His Majefty's refumption of his Royal authority, when it fhould please Heaven to restore him to his former health, the principle of that claufe was very far from being novel. No gentleman in that Houfe could object to the idea, that proper provifions ought to be made to enable His Majefty to refume his authority, when he fhould recover. It had been a principle much debated, and on which there had been no difference of opinion, nor was it poffible that any difference of opinion could fubfift on fuch a fubject. If, therefore, the claufe fhould, after

exami

Mr.Grey.

examination, be found inadequate to its object, the House would be able to correct its defects.

Mr. Grey expreffed his full conviction that there was not a greater nor a more ardent defire on one fide of the Houfe than on another, to provide effectually that His Majesty might be enabled to refume his Royal authority, as foon as he fhould recover. Certainly, all must agree, that every neceffary provifion ought to be taken for that purpose; but he could not but obferve, that allowing His Majesty to refume the exercife of the Royal authority, upon the advice of the Queen's council, and by virtue of the Royal proclamation only, without the interpofition and cognizance of Parliament, did, upon the face of it, appear to be a most novel and extraordinary provifion.

Mr.Chan- Mr. Chancellor Pitt answered, that he must still contend cellor Pitt that it was by no means the purport of the clause in question to enable His Majefty to refume the exercife of the Royal authority, by virtue of iffuing his fingle proclamation, as gentlemen appeared to imagine. To remove the impreffion which muft neceffarily prevail, if fo ftrange an idea were futfered to go abroad, he would fhortly, and, in the abstract, ftate the nature of the provifion contained in the claufe alluded to. The claufe provided, that upon its appearing to the Queen, and to the majority of her council, that His Majefty was fully reftored to his health, and upon His Majefty's requiring a Privy Council to be fummoned, and fignifying fuch requifition, under his fign manual, to the Lord Prefident of the Council, confifting as well of those who had been Members, as those who were Members, ufually fummoned, fhould be convened, at which His Majesty and the Queen fhould be prefent, when His Majesty's phyficians fhould be examined, and upon its appearing to the majority of the Privy Council fo fummoned, that His Majefty was recovered, His Majefty fhould be authorized to refume the exercife of his Royal authority, upon the iffuing of his Royal proclamation for that purpose, figned not only by his fign manual, but counterfigned by the majority of the faid Privy Council, and that Parliament fhould be immediately called together to recognize and ratify the proceeding.

Mr.Bunke

The bill was now ordered to be read a fecond time on the morrow, and to be printed.

The Houfe adjourned.

Friday, 6th February.

Three petitions for private bills were prefented, read, and referred.

Mr. Burke defired that he might be permitted to trefpafs upon the patience of the Houfe, whilft he adverted to a fub

ject

ject which would claim their notice, if they confidered themselves authorised to proceed under the fanction of the commiffion, which had conftituted them a Parliament, in a regular parliamentary mode, and that was, the immediate refumption of their proceedings, in the ferious and important trial of Governor Haftings, in Westminster Hall. The enfuing Tuesday, the Houfe well knew, was the day to which the Houfe of Lords had adjourned the trial, previous to the prorogation of Parliament, at the end of the laft feffion. He had hoped, therefore, that the House of Lords would not have rifen without pursuing the fit means for providing for the going on of the trial on fome future day, if fuch fhould be their intention, or of fignifying that they intended to proceed on Tuesday. If, however, that House were called upon to proceed on the trial, on the approaching Tuesday, they muft be ready to go into Weftminster Hall, and the Managers muft, of neceffity, be prepared to come forward with another charge. He thought it his duty, there.. fore, to give notice, that when the Managers fhould be called on to proceed, the next charge which they meant to go upon, would be that respecting the prefents.

Mr. Chancellor Pitt moved the order of the day for the fecond reading of the bill," To provide for the care of His "Majefty's Royal perfon, and for the adminiftration of the "Royal authority, during the continuance of His Majesty's "illness."

On the Speaker's putting the queftion, "that the bill be 66 now read a second time,'

Mr. Burke expreffed his extreme furprise that the bill Mr. fhould be proposed to be read a fecond time, without Burke. the House having heard a fyllable as to what the principles of the bill, when opened, and its claufes and provifions. He had often known the principles upon which a bill had been ordered to be brought in, either totally loft fight of in the bill itfelf, or fo violently ftrained and departed from in the various claufes, that fcarcely a fingle principle upon which the Houfe had refolved to legiflate, was to be found in the bill, or to be found entire. It behoved the House, therefore, at all times, to watch great and important bills narrowly, and to fee that they were not d.ceived and deluded; and that while they meant and had resolved to pafs a bill for one purpofe, they were not induced to país a bill, containing provifions to anfwer a very different purpose. There might poffibly exist some doubts as to the conftitutional and legal competency of the character in which they were then proceeding to act, as a branch of a perfect Legislature. In argument and in debate, he and others had much queftioned the validity of the commiffion, under the autho

rity

rity of which Parliament had been opened; but, admitting for the prefent, that there had been exercised a competent power to make the Houses a Parliament, and enable them to do the act, upon which they were proceeding, they ought to see what the bill was, before they went on with it; and, therefore, though he meant not to debate the subject at large, he fhould take the liberty of calling the attention of the House, before they read the bill a fecond time, to the extent of its provifions, and the extraordinary manner in which the refolutions that the two Houfes had come to, were now attempted to be made ufe of, and carried into effect. Never furely was there a time, when the people of England and that House were fo called on to see what they were doing, and to examine, with every poffible degree of prudence and forefight, the serious and important confequences, to which what they were doing might lead. His Majefty's incapacity to exercife the Royal authority, had been established to the conviction of the two Houses, in a manner which left all poffibility of doubt out of the queflion. Indeed, if the examinations of His Majefty's phyficians had not taken place, the fact would be too clear to have admitted a difpute, from a great variety of confequences neceffary to be detailed, because they were confequences, which they not only all faw, but felt. The duration of His Majesty's malady, the turns which it might take, the difguifes which it might affume, lay hidden in the fecret receffes of the difpofitions of providence. His Majefty was infane, but his malady was not like that of some other perfons, who were under confinement in houses and places deftined for fuch purposes, intermittent, various, fubject to degrees, lucid intervals, and occafional vifitations of reafon, but his faculties were totally eclipfed; not a partial eclipfe, wanting fome digits of completion, but a total and entire eclipfe. They were, therefore, to fupply the defect in the exercife of the Royal authority. The prefent bill was indefinite in its duration, because that bold promiser, Dr. Willis himself, could not fix a probable time for the chance of His Majefty's being capable of recovering fufficiently well to be fit and able to refume the exercife of his Royal functions; and as Dr. Willis, in the fanguine temper, ungoverned zeal, and impetuous rafhness of his mind, could not take upon him to decide what would prove the duration of His Majefty's illness, it was not likely that phyficians of more moderate minds, of cooler judgements, and of more fober reafon, fhould take upon them to decide the duration of the malady, which had ftruck at the Sovereignty of the empire, and wounded all that was Sovereign, either in the political or natural capacity of the King upon the Throne. No pe riod like a moderate time, therefore, had been mentioned, for

the