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Mr. Townfhend.

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Mr. Courte

naye.

his Sovereign with an extempore fpeech. The House well
knew how that speech had been received in the city, and how
the author of it had been thanked. A ftatue had been put
up in Guildhall to his memory, with his figure ftanding in a
pofition of oratory, and this fpeech in his hand.

This live-long speech e'en Balaam's afs might own,
Fit for eternal record, cut in city stone.

Were that Houfe prepared to follow the example? Would
they, the great reprefentatives of the British nation, go look
for precedents on the other fide Temple-Bar? Would they
build up the fame of a difplaced speaker, because, like a city
mayor, he had infulted his Sovereign-?

Mr. Townshend rofe to call the honourable gentleman to order. He faid, as a young member, he was excufable, because, it was not to be fuppofed, that he was acquainted with the rules of the House, but that he could not fit filent and hear the King's name ufed to influence debate within those walls. This error had been fallen into, on the first day of the feffion, and he lamented, that he had not then rifen to call the right honourable gentleman who was disorderly, to order.

The Speaker from the chair told the honourable gentleman, who had used the name of the Sovereign, that it was the firft, the most important and most sacred of all the orders of that House, never to use the name of the King in the course of argument, with a view to influence the freedom of debate, and begged him in future to attend punctilioufly to this order, as it was his duty to enforce it ftrictly upon all occafions.

Mr. Courtenaye apologized for mentioning the Sovereign; and then called upon all who were like himself, young members, to recollect what had paffed on the firft day of the feffion, when the fcene was the moft ftriking that perhaps ever was exhibited within thofe walls, and when the principal actor in that scene, the late fpeaker, had given an example of heroic fortitude equal to any that ever had been displayed by a Roman matron. He wished for the pencil of a Weft, or a Copley to do it full juftice. Being but a bad painter, he must have recourfe to poetry, and recall the idea of that scene to the minds of the Houfe, by ftating, that it ftruck him as a strong resemblance of the fcene which paffed between Paulo Purganti and his wife. The late fpeaker on the first day, fat and heard the noble Lord who had moved the queftion of that day, and the right honourable seconder anxious for his health, expreffive of their care for his conftitution, and thence defirous of removing the burthen of bufi

nefs

hefs off his fhoulders. The House heard the right honour able gentleman, the late fpeaker, confefs, that his conftitution was impaired, that his faculties were injured, that he was much the worfe for having fat fo long in that chair, and yet afterwards when the right honourable gentleman's friends had expreffed a defire of that gentleman's return to the chair, the right honourable gentleman had ftood up, and like a Roman matron, defpifing the thorns with which the feat was filled, defpifing all fear of reftlefs days, fleepless nights, and dull debates, declared hiinfelf again willing to undergo the punishment of fitting there.Thus the doctor in the tale, like the noble Lord, was laborious in recommending patience to his wife, in giving her recipes for her health, but fhe, with Roman firmnefs, in fpite of all advice, ftill urged her wishes and her refolution, till at length the doc tor cried,

I'll do it but I give you warning:

You'll die before to-morrow morning.

And then, like the right honourable gentleman on the firft day of the feffion, Paulo Purganti's wife, in defiance of the E threatened danger, replied,

Let wanton wives by death be fcar'd:

But, to my comfort, I'm prepar❜d.

Having raifed a laugh by this allufion, he obferved that what the right honourable gentleman had faid, refpecting Mr. Grenville's bill, and the conversation that had been held that day with regard to the Coventry election, was but an ill compliment to the Houfe; for it was pretty plainly telling them, that were they not restrained by a pofitive act of Parliament, they would have proceeded immediately to have declared Mr. Yoe and Mr. Holroyd duly elected members for Coventry. After urging this, he called upon the young members to recollect, that all who had voted with the majority on the first day of the feffion, were bound in honour to vote against the prefent queftion, an obligation which he declared he felt, and fhould certainly comply with.

Lord Mahon defended the motion from the various attacks LordMahon, that had been made upon it, and faid he did not, like other = young members, approve of Sir Fletcher Norton's conduct upon hear-fay; he drew his approbation of it from the records of the Houfe, and from what appeared upon the Journals. That the Votes and Journals conveyed to thofe out of Parlia ment, authentic proof of what paffed within those walls; that therefore it was neither prefumptuous nor unfair for him, or VOL. XVIII.

others,

Sir George
Savile.

others, who, like himself, had not been in the laft Parlia ment, to form an opinion on the conduct of the late speaker. His Lordfhip reprobated, in the strongeft language, what had fallen from colonel Onflow refpecting the King's civil lift, and faid he never would fit filent in that House, when he heard any honourable gentleman compare the grants of Parliament to the crown, for any purpose whatever, with the private fortune of a private gentleman. He contended, that the Houfe had itself come to a decided opinion upon the fubject, and that a formal resolution stood upon the Journals, by which it was exprefsly declared, that the House had at all times an indifputable right to controul the expenditure of the King's civil lift, as freely and as fully as the House had a a right to controul any other part of the expenditure of the public revenue. This right, he afferted, was inherent in the conftitution of Parliament, and of the utmost importance to the fubject; it was effential to the rights and privileges of that House, and effential to the freedom of the people at large. His Lordship reprobated the idea of calling the House of Commons a great gentleman; no comparison of that kind, he said, would hold, and fuch comparisons ought never to pass unnoticed. After very warmly oppofing the opinions of thofe gentlemen who had objected to the motion, his Lordfhip concluded with declaring he fhould vote for the queftion.

Sir George Savile complimented Lord Mahon on the fentiments he had juft expreffed, and humoroufly declaring he rofe as a young member, faid, he could not but take notice of what his right honourable friend who made the motion, had alledged, of his having fhewn it in one form to one perfon, in another form to another, and in a third form to a third perfon; but that this, that, and the other mode of dreffing it up would not do. He declared this defcription of dreffing it up one way, and dreffing it up another, made him for a moment look upon his right honourable friend as either a mantua-inaker, a taylor, or a botcher, who having found it fo extremely difficult to dress his child to the tafte of fome macaronies, fops, or capricios, had at laft brought the babe before the Houfe quite naked. The motion, he declared, ftruck him to be the moft naked of the kind that ever was exhibited, he begged therefore to know, and he called upon his right honourable friend to fay, who it was that this would not please, that would not please, nor the other would not please?

Mr.

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Mr. Townshend, laughing, faid, he did not expect to have Mr. Townbeen called upon for fuch an explanation by his honourable hend. friend, but that he was not afhamed to acknowledge the fact. That he wished the thanks of the Houfe fhould be voted unanimously to the late fpeaker, and therefore he had endeavoured to make it palatable to the treafury bench, being too old a member of Parliament, not to know the weight of that bench in that House. That it was to fatisfy them, and make the motion acceptable to their tafte, that he had dreffed and redreffed it as he had described. Having ftated this, Mr. Townshend, took notice of the objections made to it, and faid, he was perfectly content if the motion was to be loft, that the loss of it fhould go out to the world on these two points. The one, that the fpeech of Sir Fletcher Norton at the bar of the House of Lords during the existence of the last Parliament, was deemed an unpardonable offence by mini, fters. The other, that as a punishment for Sir Fletcher's conduct, minifters were determined to ouft him, and had oufted him accordingly, on the first day of the feffion of the prefent Parliament.

Mr. Rigby faid, that he made no fcruple to declare, that Mr. Rigby. he difliked the fervices of Sir Fletcher Norton. Sir Fletcher Norton he thought, had acted wifely and well, during the former part of the time in which he had filled the chair of the House; perhaps a day would come, when Sir Fletcher Norton would repent his not having uniformly pursued that conduct to this day. Mr. Rigby contended that the motion was without all example, that Mr. Onflow had been thanked by a living Parliament as a prelude to another motion, for an addrefs to his Majefty to reward him. Was that meant to be the example to be copied? If it were not, the prefent motion was nonsense.

Mr. Fox replied to Mr. Rigby and Mr. Courtenaye, afking Mr. Fox. if these gentlemen meant to ftate it, the one as an hiftorical fact, that Sir Fletcher Norton had flown in the King's face; the other, as a recital of a well known tranfaction, that he had infulted the King? He ridiculed, in poignant terms, Mr. Rigby's expreffion of a doubt, whether a day might not arrive, when Sir Fletcher Norton would repent of having changed his conduct, and taken a decifive part in fupport of the people against the influence of the crown. Mr. Fox alfo feconded Lord Mahon's idea of the civil lift of the King being as much fubject to the controul of Parliament, as any other part of the public revenue. He faid, the public had a right to have

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the

Earl of Surrey.

Mr. Daniel Parker Coke.

the juftice of the country fupported out of the civil lift; to have the great offices of ftate provided for from that branch of the royal revenue-and they had a right to look for a proper and a becoming establishment for the Prince of Wales. He paid the Prince's understanding the higheft compliments, and, as it were, pinned the noble Lord in the blue ribbon down to his promife of last year, that the houfhold of the Prince of Wales fhould be provided for without any further call upon the public. Mr. Fox was profufe in ironical compliments to Lord North, and preffed the noble Lord not to truft himself alone with oppofition upon the prefent queftion, but as he had a right to be fufpicious of their having fome defign or other to attempt to change his principles and take away his fenfes, (which the weaknefs left upon his mind as well as body, by his late illness, might poffibly enable them to do,) to bring a good company of his old friends and acquaintance with him into the lobby.

Earl of Surrey faid he muft vote for the motion, which was no more than juftice to the man, who had worn out his conftitution in the fervice of his country. His Lordship wondered, he faid, that juftice had not been infifted upon by the fpeakers in favour of the motion.

The queftion was put, and the Houfe divided. Ayes, 136. Noes, 96.

.

Went into a Committee on the Land and Maltbills, No debate.

November 21.
gave

Mr. Daniel Parker Coke notice that he intended to move on the 27th, that the thanks of that House be given to Earl Lord North. Cornwallis for his fervices in America.

Lord Beauabamp.

Lord North faid, that he apprehended there would be but a thin attendance of Members till after the holidays; therefore he moved, that all orders for hearing petitions on controverted elections before the holidays, be difcharged. Agreed to, and new days, in January, February, &c. appointed.

Lord Beauchamp rofe, he said, to make a motion of which he had given notice yesterday, that a writ be now ifsued for a new election of members of Parliament for the city of Coventry; a motion which he would have made in the usual courfe of bufinefs, without faying any thing in fupport of it, if he had not been led, from what paffed in the House yefterday, to expect that it would receive much oppofition. There was not any complaint brought against the burgeffes of Coventry; they were innocent, why then fhould they be punished by a temporary disfranchifement? It had been faid that

the

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