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various items of charge in that department should be audited by a committee of this House, or by the King himself. If the household were not given up to His Majesty's management, the civil list could be quoted and exposed to much greater ridicule than the honourable and learned gentleman had thrown upon the part he had selected. Unless the Monarch should be put on board-wages, and should dine in a chop-house, they must come to the monstrous conclusion, that there would be more dishes on his table than he absolutely required. If the King lived in this guilty state, and his expenses were audited by Parliament, there would be more ludicrous charges than those for the worthy vicar of the Tower, and the not less worthy keeper of the lions of the Tower.

Here the right honourable gentleman read rapidly from the civil list," Oilery, grocery, lemons, fruits, and oranges, milk and cream, butter, cheese, and eggs, bacon, butchermeat, poultry, fish, and vegetable, stationer, china, and brazier, cider, and brandy, beer, bread, and wine"all those were detailed in that account, and must form part of the household charges.

On the subject of the household the honourable and learned gentleman ought to have made up his mind before he had brought forward this question; for it was as easy to do so on that subject as on the other points on which his motion was founded. When he had entered that House he had expected something more practicable from the honourable and learned gentleman than a proposal to strip the Crown, at one sweep, of a right that had adorned it since the Revolution; to divest the King of his peculiar power and privileges; to make the civil list less involved by making it entirely new. His proposal was as impracticable in its nature as it was undesirable in its effects. At VOL. IV.

every former period the civil list was more obscure and complicated than the civil list now proposed. Considering, then, the greater complication of former times, and the greater intelligence of the present time, he did think, although they had not arrived at the summum bonum of the honourable and learned gentleman, that they had made considerable progress from obscurity and confusion, for every former report had been less intelligible than that of 1816. He did not think that by laying an estimate before the House of every item, they would give greater satisfaction to the country, or that they would allay the discontent of those who were now dissatisfied by putting forth the precise charges more distinctly. It was not necessary, for the purpose of satisfying the people of this country, to separate the Crown from its concomitants. Whatever illusion (or, if they would, delusion) there might be in such an opinion, he was not for stripping off from the monarchy every thing which rendered it respectable in the eyes of the country. He objected to the motion of the honourable and learned gentleman, because it was ill-timed and undeserved. If any new demands had been made, if any proposal had been presented that might lead to new burthens on the country, he could understand why, in the ardour of repelling such a sally, gentlemen should be carried, as it were, into the work itself. But when nothing was demanded; when the Sovereign, he would not say consented-declared that he would receive with gratitude and satisfaction the civil list that had been acquiesced in for four years; when this declaration was made, when the Sovereign expressed himself satisfied, and declared that he would have no reduction made upon any sums falling in to the country, what was the return? "Aye, but you have other funds, and we wish to have them taken from you; we wish you to be a

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King after a new fashion; we require your allowances to be limited to your physical wants; we desire you to rival the President of America. Oh, incomparable temptation ! But he would not be induced by this temptation to strip off trappings which were neither costly to the people, nor dangerous to the Constitution. Technically speaking, he admitted that this was a new reign. On other occasions there had been a sameness of office, with a change of sons; on the present occasion there was sameness of person with a change of office. The change was not so total as when one formerly a subject became the Sovereign; for it was only the investing with original sovereignty one who had exercised it in a vicarious character. It would be easy to show that the difference of claim ought in this case to be the other way. They (the Ministers) adhered to the pledge given, and nothing was asked; but nothing could be more natural than that he who became King from being Regent should consider himself entitled to some augmentation. But no augmentation was asked. And here he would state that the idea of any augmentation of the civil list was never contemplated for a passing quarter of an hour, and never for one moment intended. This he thought it necessary to state distinctly, because a report of a different kind had gone abroad. He hoped that the House would take the opportunity of availing themselves of the confidence expressed by the Sovereign-that they would not reject his demands that they would not seek to strip him of his rights-that they would not stoop to consider whether they could save by his promotion. He certainly did not mean to treat with any disrespect the motion of the honourable and learned gentleman, and disclaiming any such motive, he should conclude with moving, that the other orders of the day be now read.

The question being put "That the other orders of the

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THE KING'S MESSAGE RESPECTING THE ARRIVAL OF THE QUEEN.

JUNE 6th, 1820.

LORD CASTLEREAGH presented the following message. "GEORGE R.

"The King thinks it necessary, in consequence of the arrival of the Queen to communicate to the House of Commons certain papers respecting the conduct of Her Majesty since her departure from this kingdom, which he recommends to the immediate and serious attention of this House. The King has felt the most anxious desire to avert the necessity of disclosures and discussions which must be as painful to his people as they can be to himself; but the step now taken by the Queen, leaves him no alternative. The King has the fullest confidence that, in consequence of this communication, the House of Commons will adopt that course of proceeding, which the justice of the case, and the honour and dignity of His Majesty's Crown may require.

"GEORGE R."

The Message having been read by the Speaker, Lord Castlereagh laid on the table of the House the papers referred to in the said Message, sealed up in a green bag, and moved, "That a humble Address be presented to His Majesty to return His Majesty the thanks of this House for his most gracious Message, and to assure His Majesty that this House will proceed to take the same into their immediate consideration," the motion being agreed to, the noble lord next moved, "That His Majesty's Message be taken into consideration

to-morrow."

The motion was agreed to, and on the motion of Lord Castlereagh the papers were ordered to be kept in the custody of the clerk of the House.

June 7th, 1820.

SECRET COMMITTEE ON THE PAPERS RELATING TO THE CONDUCT OF THE QUEEN.

The order of the day for taking His Majesty's Message into consideration, and also the Message itself, having been read

LORD CASTLEREAGH moved, "That the papers, which were yesterday presented to this House by Lord Viscount Castlereagh be referred to a select committee, to consider the matter thereof, and to report the same, with their observations thereupon, to the House."

MR. CANNING* declared, that as he had never risen to deliver his sentiments on a subject of so much delicacy and interest as that before the House, so had he never before been called upon to discharge a duty to himself so painful and embarrassing. The occasion out of which the necessity for performing this duty arose, and the circumstances connected with it, were of a nature as novel as they were delicate. He had listened with the greatest attention to the speech

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