leges, which he had fortified and eftablished by his judicious alteration of his father's bill, a bill that, in his opinion, had gone farther towards fecuring the firft and the most invaluable privileges of that houfe, than any measure that had ever taken place in parliament. Mr. Pulteney mentioned the customary ufage of a previous direction from the crown, when the chair became vacant; but as, under the melancholy circumftances of the times, no fuch form could take place, and as it was abfolutely neceffary that the chair fhould be filled, in order to enable the house to proceed with the very delicate and peculiar bufinefs before them, which demanded dispatch, the choice of a speaker immediately was fo indifpenfably requifite, that he fuppofed no doubt could remain on that queftion.

Mr. Welbore Ellis rofe next, and after adverting to the unneceffary and, as he thought, unwarrantable delay which had taken place in fupplying the deficiency of the third eftate, and to which it was owing that they were under the neceffity of taking the informal step they were now engaged in, he moved that the name of fir Gilbert Elliot fhould be inferted inftead of Mr. Grenville's. This motion was feconded by Mr. Frederick Montagu, who joined with Mr. Ellis in the higheft commendations of the gentleman propofed by them, for his candour and conciliating manners, his powerful eloquence, his knowledge of the laws of his country, and his zeal for the conftitution.

After a fhort addrefs from the two candidates, of mutual preference to each other, the house divided; when there appeared for Mr. Grenville 215, for fir Gilbert Elliot 144.

During the interval of the speaker's illnefs, Mr. Pitt communicated to the prince of Wales the plan he had formed for the conftitution of the regency. This letter, together with the obfervations of his royal highness thereupon, will be found in the State Papers [p. 298 & feq.] and will render any further remarks from us on that fubject unneceffary.

Jan. 6,

1789.

Mr. Pitt having given notice that he should this day propofe to the house the reftrictions, within which the exercise of the regal power should be granted to the regent, Mr. Loveden, the member for Abingdon, rose as foon as the order of the day was moved, and obferved that before the house proceeded to fettle the terms of the regency, he conceived that they ought to know exactly where they were, and what the exigency of the cafe really was, the providing for which had become the object of their deliberations. No limitations of any kind could be fuitably adopted, without having a reference to the cause which created the neceffity for their introduction; and therefore, before they went a ftep farther, in his humble judgment they ought to know precifely what was the prefent ftate of his majefty's health, what the degree of alteration which it had undergone fince his majesty's phyficians were laft examined, and whether the probability of his recovery was increafed, or lefs than it had been, at that period. This was the more neceffary, as reports had gone abroad, of a very contradictory kind, and the autho rity of the different phyficians who attended his majefty had been made use of to give fanction to thofe reports. He should therefore, he said,

beg

beg leave to move, "That the phy*ficians who have attended his majesty should be again examined, "to inform the house whether any "alteration or amendment had ta"ken place in the state of the king's "health, and if the prefent fymp"toms were fuch as to give reafon "to hope for his majefty's fpeedy "recovery."

This motion gave rife to a warm debate, which was managed not with the most perfect temper and moderation on either fide of the house. Our readers will already have remarked, that an entire change in the minifterial offices of government was confidered as one of the immediate confequences of the appointment of the prince of Wales to the regency. As the reftrictions which Mr. Pitt had declared his intention of moving, could not fail to weaken and embarrass in a confiderable degree the new administration, and as the propriety of these restrictions was contended for upon a presumption of the speedy recovery of the king, the contending parties caught with great eagerness at fome little difference of opinion relative to that point, which prevailed amongst the medical gentlemen who attended him. In the courfe of the debate on Mr Love den's motion, Mr. Pitt treated the opinion of Dr. Warren, who was lefs fanguine in his expectations of an immediate recovery than others, as if it had been dictated by a partiality to the rifing administration; and he infinuated, that from the warmth with which that opinion was taken up and defended on the other fide, it looked as if thofe gentlemen spoke from their wishes. Thefe infinuations were repelled, as being both fcandalously unjuft and bafely illiberal; and in return, Dr. Willis,

who was extremely confident in his expectations, and confequently the favourite on the other fide, was reprefented as a tool employed to ferve the defigns of Mr. Pitt's faction. After much altercation on this fubject, it was agreed that a new committee fhould be appointed, and that the phyficians should be reexamined.

Jan. 13.

The committee fat till the 13th, when the report was brought up, and a motion was made by Mr. Burke, and feconded by Mr. Wyndham, that it fhould be re-committed, on account of their not having examined into the grounds of the different opinions held by the phyficians refpecting the probability of the king's recovery. This motion was negatived without a divifion: the report was ordered to be printed, and to be taken into confideration in a committee of the whole houfe on the state of the nation upon the Friday following.

On that day Mr. Pitt Jan. 16. rofe, and after expreffing his fatisfaction at having confented to the motion for re-examining the phyficians, the event of which had juftified his former opinion refpecting the probability of his majefly's recovery, he proceeded to open the bufinefs which was to be the fubject of their prefent deliberations. This, he observed, divided itself into three diftinct heads.-ft. The nature of the king's illnefs.-2dly. The principles upon which the two houfes were authorised to act on this occafion.-And 3dly. The application of thofe principles to the measures which he fhould propofe for remedying the prefent defect in the perfonal exercife of the royal authority.

After

'After a very minute and laborious enquiry, the committee appointed to examine the king's phyficians had collected a body of evidence, which contained the opinions of all those gentlemen, and from which the committee might collect the following information:-That his majesty was by his illness rendered incapable of attending to the business of his ftation; but that it was probable he might recover, and be once more able to refume the reins of government. In these two points, all the phyficians were agreed; and though no one of them could venture to fix a time when that happy event might be expected, yet they were unanimous in declaring, that it was more probable that a recovery would take place, than that it would not: they were no lefs unanimous in faying, that though the interval between their firft and their fecond examination had not produced any confiderable change in his majefty's health, no inference could be drawn from fo fhort a space of time against the probability of a cure.

Though the phyficians were agreed in these points, they were not all equally fanguine in their hopes of his majesty's recovery; but it was remarkable, that fuch of them as were least converfant in the diforder with which his majesty was afflicted, and had the leat opportunity of being acquainted with the particular cafe of the royal patient, were the leaft fanguine in their hopes of recovery that thofe who, without any great degree of experience in the particular diforder, yet from their conftant attendance upon his majefty, had a better opportunity of being acquainted with his cafe, and the ftate of his health, were more fanguine than the former and,

finally, that those who were moft converfant in complaints like thofe of his majesty, and were befides conftantly attending upon his perfon, were the most fanguine of all in their hopes, that his majefty would recover, and poffibly in a fhort time.

In confequence of thefe differences of opinion, a difpofition had appeared in fome members of the committee to difcredit what had been faid by the phyficians, as if undue influence had been used to make them publish opinions, which they did not entertain. The fact, to which he alluded, he should not hesitate to ftate on account of the refpectable perfonage involved in it, as he was convinced that the more her conduc was inveftigated the more it would redound to her honour. It was furely natural, he said, for her majefty to wish that the people, to whom the knew the king was fo dear, fhould be made acquainted with any, even the least, alteration for the better in his health: accordingly, thinking that fuch an alteration had taken place one day, as would jultify a more favourable account than the

phyficians had figned, the expreffed a defire that it might be fo changed as to contain what the conceived to be the exact state of the cafe.

Having explained this tranfaction, Mr. Pitt proceeded to confider the principles on which they were authorised to act in providing for the deficiency in the executive govern

ment.

It had been determined, that the right to provide for fuch deficiency devolved on the two houses of parliament; but there was abundant reafon to hope that the occafion would be temporary and short. What they had to provide for, therefore, was no more than an interval,

and

and he flattered himself that it would prove but a fhort interval. lf, however, unfortunately, his majesty's illness should be protracted, they might leave it to parliament to do what at prefent was clearly unneceffary; to confider of a more permanent plan of government. They were to provide only for the prefent neceffity, and not to exeeed it; they were alfo to provide against any embarraffment in the refumption of the royal authority, whenever God, in his providence, fhall enable the rightful holder again to exercife it.

ney were therefore to grant fuch powers, and none others, as were requifite to carry on the government of the country with energy and effect.

acts

Upon thefe principles he should propose to invest the prince of Wales with the whole royal authority, to be exercifed in the name and on the behalf of the king, fubject to fuch limitations and reftrictions only as fhould be provided. He obferved, that in the fucceffion act of queen Ann, and in the regency of George the fecond and George the third, the exercife of all the royal prerogatives were granted in a fuller manner than he intended to propofe: but on the other hand the regent, in all thofe cafes was fettered with a council, the confent of a majority of which was neceffary to authorize his acts.-Under the prefent circumstances he thought it more advifeable to leave the regent entirely free in the choice of his political fervants; but at the fame time this required fome limitation of the authority with which he was to be invefted.

The first restriction he meant to propofe was, that the authority of the regent thould not extend to the

creating any peer, except fuch of the royal iffue as fhould attain the age of twenty-one. There were three grounds, he conceived, upon which this branch of the prerogative was intrufted by the conflitution to the crown, none of which were applicable to the present cafe. First, it was defigned to enable the king to counteract the defigns of any fac-l tious cabal in the houfe of lords, which might have acquired a predominant influence in their deliberations. But was it at all probable that the government of his royal highnefs thould be obftructed by any fuch cabal? He, for one, was ready to declare that he should give no oppofition to any adminiftration the regent fhould chufe to form, fo long as their measures were compatible with the profperity of the kingdom. On the other hand, he faid, fuch a number of peers might be created, as would confiderably. embarrass his majesty's government on the event of his being restored to health. Secondly, This power was vefted in the crown, to enable the fovereign to reward eminent merit, and thereby to invite others to the fame laudable exertions in the public fervice. But was it, he faid, to be fuppofed that for want of fuch an incentive for a few months, the country was likely to be deprived of the fervice of men of merit. If his majedy recovered, as they all hoped, and had reafon to expect he would, the power of creating peers might be exercited by the rightful holder of the prerogative; but if, unfortunately, his majetty fhould grow worfe, and be pronounced not likely to recover for a long time, parliament would have it in its power to take off the restriction, and veft the regent with a power, which though

not