Thursday, 20th November, 1788.

WHEN the Chancellor of the Exchequer had entered

the House,

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The Speaker rofe at the table, and obferved, that, as he believed no new commiffion had been iffued for the farther Speaker. prorogation of Parliament, he wished to know whether it was the pleasure of the Houfe that he should take the chair?

A general call of Chair! chair! immediately prevailed; in confequence of which, the Speaker went to his feat, from whence he ftated to the House what writs had been iffued by him during the recefs of Parliament.

The new Members then took the oaths; and when they had all been feverally fworn, .

'Mr. Chancellor Pitt rofe, and faid, that, confiftently with his Mr. Pitt duty, he must beg leave to inform the Houfe, that the caufe of their being thus affembled, without the ufual fummons and notice that they were to meet for the dispatch of business, upon the commiffion for the laft prorogation of Parliament expiring, was owing to the contingency of the unfortunate illnefs with which His Majefty had been feverely afflicted, and which had prevented his fervants from receiving his commands. He added, that the few authorities which exVOL. XXV.

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ifted, and which were at all fimilar in their application to the prefent fingular fituation of affairs, had been confulted; but, as they did not point out the poffibility of iffuing a new commiffion for the farther prorogation of Parliament, nor enable them to open the feffion in the ufual form, nor indeed in any way at all regular, he trufted that every gentleman would agree with him, that, under the prefent circumftances, it would be highly improper for the House to proceed to the difcuffion of any public bufinefs whatever, and that it was abfolutely neceffary for them to adjourn. He meant, therefore, before he fat down, to fubmit to their confideration a motion for the adjournment of the Houfe, at its rifing, to that day fortnight. One more point, and one more point only, he fhould take the liberty of fubmitting to them before he offered the motion of adjournment, which was, that if His Majefty's illness should unhappily continue, contrary to the wifhes and prayers of his People, longer than the propofed period of a fortnight's adjournment, as it would be indifpenfably neceffary for the Houfe to take into their immediate confideration what measures were proper to be adopted, in order, as far as they were competent, to endeavour to guard against the dangers which might arise from the not being able to open the feffion in the ufual form, fo it would be equally incumbent on them to enfure as full an attendance as he then faw, in order to give the proceeding, whatever it might be, all the weight and folemnity in their power to contribute towards fupplying the deficiency of the Royal proclamation. He, therefore, fubmitted to the confideration of the House the propriety of a motion, which, with their confent, he fhould offer for a call of the Houfe on that day fortnight; and that the call might be rendered as effectual as poffible, he fhould accompany it with another motion, directing the Speaker to write circular letters in the most serious and folemn manner, requiring the attendance of every Meinber on that day fortnight.

ἐσ

The Chancellor of the Exchequer now moved,

I. "That the Houfe, at its rifing, adjourn to that day fortnight."

II. "That the House be called over on Thursday the 4th "of December next."

III. "That the Speaker be directed to fend circular let"ters, requiring the attendance of every Member on that day." And,

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IV." That the House do now adjourn."

The Houfe agreed to the three firft-ftated motions nemine contradicente, and, upon the question put, adjourned to that day fortnight.

Thursday,

Thursday, 4th December.

The House met, pursuant to their adjournment from the 2cth of laft month.

The Speaker having taken the chair,

Mr. Chancellor Pitt prefented to the Houfe a report of the examination of the King's phyficians, taken the preceding day upon oath, by the Privy Council, relative to the ftate of His Majefty's health.

This report was, by order, immediately read at the table by the clerk, and was in fubftance as follows:

Dr. Warren's opinion, as deduced from the questions put to him by the Privy Council, was, that His Majesty was at prefent incapable of attending to public bufinefs; that there was great probability that His Majefty would, in time, be able to refume his fhare in the government of the country; but that he could not fay when fuch an event was to be expected. His opinion was founded on perfonal experience, and confultation with other phyficians.

Sir George Baker, Sir Lucas Pepys, and Dr. Reynolds, were feverally of the fame opinion.

Dr. Addington was still more fanguine in his hopes of His Majefty's recovery, as he had feldom, or ever, known cafes attended by fuch fymptoms as he had discovered in His Majefty, fail of a happy termination.

Mr. Chancellor Pitt then moved, "That the faid report Mr. Chan"be taken into confideration on Monday next."

At the cellor Pitt.

fame time, he gave notice, that on that day he would move that a Committee fhould be appointed to fearch for precedents in any degree applicable to the prefent melancholy state of public affairs, and report them to the Houfe. He added, that the awful magnitude of the prefent crifis, called for the most serious deliberation; and the Houfe could not, in his opinion, proceed with too much folemnity, or be too cautious in its determinations, in a bufinefs of fuch moment as was that which muft fhortly be brought before them.

The queftion was then put on the motion, and it was agreed nem. con. that the report fhould be taken into confideration on Monday next.

Mr. Chancellor Pitt afterwards moved, "That the order "of the day for calling over the Houfe on this day, should "be difcharged, and a new order made for calling it over on Monday." This motion paffed without any oppofition.

He then moved, "That the Houfe would, at its rifing, "adjourn to Monday next."

Mr. Vyner fincerely lamented the melancholy occafion Mr. Vy which rendered fuch motions neceffary; and he believed

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every

Mr. Chancellor Pitt.

Mr. Fox.

every man in the country was truly concerned at fo dreadful a circumftance. A report taken by the Privy Council was, he observed, undoubtedly entitled to great weight; but he questioned whether it fuited the dignity of Parliament, that fuch a report fhould be made the ground-work of a parliamentary proceeding. He felt himleif at a lofs to determine whether that Houfe could, or ought to take the report of the Council as the guide of its conduct; he was ra-. ther inclined to think that it ought to order the attendance, of His Majefty's physicians, and hear them examined at the Bar, before any final measure should be propofed. or adopted. This, however, he threw out only as his private opinion; the Houfe would judge for itself.

Mr. Chancellor Pitt declared, that nothing could be farther from his intention, than to preclude any measure which the House might, in its wisdom, think it neceffary to adopt, for the purpofe of procuring the most ample information. He was of opinion, however, that when gentlemen reflected upon the delicacy of the fubject, and the dignity of the great Perfonage to whofe ftate of health the report referred, they would think with him that the mode pursued by the Privy Council, was precifely that which ought to have been adopted, and which Parliament might, without fuffering the leaft infringement of its dignity, purfue. They would pleafe, likewife, to remark, that the examination of the phyficians, by the Privy Council, had been taken upon oath, which could not be the cafe if they were to be examined at the bar of the House, as the Houfe of Commons had not power to adminifter an oath to a witness.

Mr. Fox obferved, however willingly he gave his entire and approving acquiefcence of the fteps that had been taken in this melancholy bufinefs, he fill had his doubts, as well as the honourable Member who fpoke laft but one, whether gentlemen ought in duty to reft fatisfied without the perfonal examination of thofe phyficians, on whofe teftimony they were to found confequences of the utmost importance. They would, no doubt, all feel it neceffary to act with every poffible delicacy in the courfe of their proceedings; but, at the fame time, if delicacy and their duty. fhould happen to clafh, the one ought not to be facrificed to the other.

The question was at laft put, and carried nemine contradicente.

After the motion had been thus difpofed of, The The Speaker expreffed his doubts, whether, during the inSpeaker. efficiency of one branch of the Legislature, he was competent to ue writs for filling up the vacancies that should happen in the Reprefentation of the People in that Houfe