confideration of his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant's speech be poftponed till Thursday next."

The ATTORNEY GENERAL faid it was a new idea, that it would be refpectful to his Majefty to diffolve the Government and not provide for the payment of the army. He asked, will any man, who is a lawyer, ftake his profeffional character, by affert ing that we are not fitting in a full Parliament; to support that affertion, he must prove that there is no fpecies of government exifting in this kingdom. He faid if the confideration of his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant's fpeech fhould be poftponed to Thursday next, the money bills cannot be paffed in the ufual courfe; and if the right honourable gentleman will take upon him to risk the confequences that might refult from fuch delay, and from the civil and military establishments falling to the ground, he fhould only fay [alluding to Mr. Grattan] on his head be it.

Mr. GRATTAN, in reply, faid that the right honourable gentleman had totally mistaken his argument; he had not faid a word that could be implied of any intended delay on his part to provide for the payment of the army; nor had he the most distant idea of impeding the ordinary supplies; as to going into a law argument on the prefent competence of Parliament to proceed to bufiness, a fubject of that kind could not be very pleasing for the difcuffion of the Houfe; but in his opinion it would be indecorous in this Houfe to go into any bufinefs till after Wednesday next; he should therefore perfift in taking the fenfe of the House on the amendment which he proposed to the motion made by the right honourable gentleman who had opened the debate.

Mr. MASON faid, that if the usual forms were adhered to, the House could not poffibly go into a committee of accounts before Thursday; for if the Houfe was to take into confideration the Lord Lieutenant's speech on Monday, the House would come to a refolution, that a fupply be granted to his Majesty, which refolution would be reported on Tuesday, and an addrefs moved for to the Lord Lieutenant, that he would be pleafed to order the public accounts to be laid before the Houfe; and allowing for these delays, which were mere matter of form, the committee of accounts could not fit before Thursday.

Mr. BROWNE (of the College) faid, notwithstanding the lofty words of the Attorney General, he fhould not be afraid of lofing his profeffional character, in cafe he fhould not be of the fame opinion upon the question, that the House was only a convention] with Lord Loughborough, and many of the ableft and greatest legal heads in England. However, at prefent, he should give no opinion upon it, but wait until the King's incapacity was

afcertained, when the queftion would neceffarily arife. In the mean time, he was against going into any business whatsoever, because it would be prejudging the queftion, and determining that we were a Parliament; and he could not help thinking, the wish to go into bufinefs immediately, a trick in Government, which might affect hereafter the momentous queftions expected as to the regency; for if any gentleman thought they had no power to debate a bill, to be ratified by fome phantom of a commiffion appointing the Regent, or to do any act, except addrefs him to affume the adminiftration of affairs, and of that opinion he was himself, they would be precluded by alluding to the present tranfactions; and being told that the House had already proceeded in a legislative capacity in going through the money bills, he was ra ther of opinion, they could do nothing whatever until a Regent was appointed. It was the intereft of Lord Buckingham to defer the business of appointing a controlling power over him. As long as the money bills went on in their ufual course, there was nothing to urge him to expedition to that appointment; and he fhould expect every kind of trick and artifice, on the part of Government, in order to obtain procrastination.

[Here he was interrupted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.]

Mr. BROWNE obferved, that the gentleman's haughty and overbearing manner had juftly, upon many occafions, given offence to him, and many other gentlemen, and his obfervations fhould always be received by him with the utmost coolness and indifference.

The CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER faid he hoped the honourable gentleman would not impute motions to him which had no kind of existence. He did not rightly understand what the honourable gentleman meant by faying, that the motion appeared to him to be a kind of Government trick. He could af fure the honourable gentleman, that the motion which he had the honour to make, had no object in view but of a mere parliamentary nature.

Mr. BURTON CONYNGHAM obferved, that the motion only went to preparatory proceedings of Parliament. He afked, muft it not be allowed that a fupply is an object to this country? He hoped that when the House went into the ftate of the nation, that its proceedings would be marked with temper and unanimity. This, he faid, would dignify their conduct. He declared himfelf of no party, and hoped fincerely that the Houfe would go through the whole of the business with a becoming dignity.

Colonel HOBART faid that when the queftion of adjournment to Monday the 16th inftant was proposed, the night before, by the

right honourable the Secretary, what was meant was to go on that day into the state of the nation; but it was not intended to poftpone for any time taking into confideration his Excellency's fpeech.

Sir JOHN BLAQUIERE faid he perfectly coincided in opinion. with a right honourable gentleman, [Mr. Conyngham] that temper and unanimity would dignify the proceedings of that Houfe; but he was not of opinion with another right honourable gentleman who had made the motion, that a delay of a few days would be attended with any danger. He could not fee the neceffity of hurrying the Houfe into bufinefs; there was time full enough. In the year 1775, he remembered the money-bills paffed in three days; it was a cafe of exigency, and no inconvenience enfued. He faid where there were two evils, it was better to forego the leffer evil, in order to avoid the greater; and he should fupport the amendment which was propofed by his right honourable friend.

Mr. CUFFE expreffed his approbation of the amendment.

Sir HENRY CAVENDISH faid he could fee no rifk in poftponing business for a few days; nor was there any fear of feeing an army without pay; in his opinion, the queftion of Regency ought to precede all other confiderations.

Mr. SECRETARY FITZHERBERT admitted that if it was feafible, the first business that ought to be done by the Houfe fhould be the completion of our legislature; but the motion made by the right honourable gentleman could not be strictly confidered as bufinefs, but only preparatory to bufinefs. He obferved, if any inconvenience fhould happen to arife from the delay, Administration were entirely exculpated.

Mr. WILLIAM PONSONBY faid he was in favour of the amend

ment.

The ATTORNEY GENERAL ftated, that from Thursday next to the 25th of March was but forty-one days, and the moneybills take eighteen days going through, and then are to be certi fied into Great Britain, and receive the great feal of England before they are returned; and he was ftrongly inclined to think, that great difficulties would arife from the delay.

Mr. CHARLES O'NEIL faid he was of opinion, there ought to be a decent paufe before any other business fhould be gone into.

The SOLICITOR GENERAL faid there was no man had a greater refpect for his Majefty than what he had, but if even on

Wednesday next his royal highnefs the Prince of Wales fhould be declared by that House to be Regent, before that refolution could be made known to the Prince, and the receiving his royal highnefs's anfwer, fo much time would be loft, as the money bills could not poffibly pafs in the ordinary and usual manner.

Mr. BURGH (of Old Town) faid he never meant to give offence, but never should be deterred in that House from making a charge, or flating an argument, or doing his duty.-The true conftitutional idea of a member of the Commons was, that he came into that Houfe to affert his principles-to urge his arguments, and to maintain his conduct-to engage in manly and contentious debate, not to practise Chesterfield's letters; he therefore made no fcruple to fay, that for Administration to impute to his fide of the House the confequences of there not being time enough to pats the money bills, how it was to affect the country, or the Regent, &c. was abfurd, when they themselves were the caufe of the deficiency of time, and of all the confequences they-ftated, by having prorogued the Parliament. He faid the Commons of Great Britain, on account of the urgency, had proceeded to bufinefs on a day, though not appointed by the King-that the King himself had appointed, here, the usual day for doing bufinefs, notwithstanding which they were not fuffered to meet. He obferved the abfurdity of this on account of the unufual urgency of bufinefs, the immediate neceffity of appointing a Regent, and on account of the different preparatory stages that our accounts and money bills were to go through, which were not required in England. He faid there was one fimple, fteady, obvious principle, to which throughout the whole of this great bufinefs he should adhere: finding himself a member of part of the legislature, his very firft and permanent duty was to take care to provide for any deficiency in that legislature-to render it full and complete before it proceeded to its functionsto fill up the conftitution, and not to fuffer the confideration of any bufinefs, or of any perfon, however great, to interfere with the perfecting of that greatest business, the restoring a third eftate to its full, free, perfect, constitutional energy.

Mr. BUSHE faid that it was better for the House to make up their minds at once, and pass a fhort

money

bill.

1

The question was now put on Mr. Grattan's amendment, which was carried in the affirmative without divifion.

The ATTORNEY GENERAL moved, that the books of the corporation of the borough of Ennifcorthy, which have been in the poffeffion of the Clerk of this Houfe for fome time past, be delivered up to the portrieve of said borough.-Ordered accordingly.

The Houfe adjourned till Wednesday the 11th inftant.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1789.

Mr. GEORGE PONSONBY moved for the order of the day, "That the Houfe do refolve itself into a committee of the whole House on the ftate of the nation."

Mr. PARSONS faid he felt it impoffible to fit filent and fee the House run precipitately into meafures of the most difficult and alarming nature; that in the whole circle of the conftitution there could not arise a more delicate question than that which was now about to be forced; the fingle bond of connection between the crowns of Great Britain and Ireland, was the identity of the executive government; by his Majefty's illness, a deficiency arofe in that government, and in repairing that deficiency, the House should exercise all its wisdom to preferve the connection unimpaired; for if any difference fhould be made, it must have innumerable ill confequences, the very leaft of which would be the alarm it must give the British nation. He therefore adjured gentlemen by the duty they owed their King; by the tender regard they felt for him, now in the moment of his deep diftrefs; by the wish they must all have to preserve the connection of the two countries unimpaired, to give the subject due deliberation. If a triumphant majority fhould, notwithstanding, force the question before the Houfe was ripe to come to a decifion, on their heads be it. If they would shake the crown, and caft away the fceptre of Ireland, he could only lament their folly, and defpife their temerity; they would not, in his mind, deferve even the degraded name of the followers of a faction; they must be confidered as confpirators against the conftitution.

Mr. FITZHERBERT faid he did not think the House perfectly prepared on the present day to come to any decifion; he expected to receive further documents, by which, when the House should be perfectly informed of the manner of proceeding in England, they would be better able to form their determination, and to preferve entire the unity of the executive government. Their firft refolution, he apprehended, must be a declaration, that from the unfortunate malady with which his Majefty is afflicted, he is for the prefent rendered incapable of executing the functions of the third estate. The next that they fhould proceed to provide for was the due execution thereof; and he believed another would naturally follow, as there was but one mind in the fubjects of both countries, as to who the illuftrious perfonage fhould be on whom they would beftow the regency. No man could doubt that his royal highnefs the Prince of Wales would be appointed to that high truft: but in fo doing, both nations should make as little difference as poffible in their proceedings, fo as above all things to preferve the unity of VOL. IX.

D