HOUSE OF COMMONS.

MONDAY, JUNE 8.

CALL OF THE HOUSE. ADMINISTRATION.

Mr. Brougham, seeing a right honourable gentleman (Mr. Canning) in his place, wished to know if it was his intention to bring forward the motion of which he had given notice, for an inquiry into the state of his Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects of Ireland, on Thursday next?

Mr. Canning. had no objection to bring forward his motion on an early day, but under all the circumstances of the case, he did not think he could bring it forward on Thursday next.

Mr. Brougham said, the reason why he asked the right honourable gentleman was, that his motion on the subject of the Orders in Council stood for that day; and if it was the intention of the right honourable gentleman to bring forward his motion on Thursday, he intended to bring forward his own on Friday next, otherwise he should bring it forward on Thursday.

Lord Castlereagh rose to acquaint the House that the Marquis Wellesley having resigned the power with which he was vested by his royal highness the Prince Regent, for the formation of a new Administration, without having accomplished that object; and another noble lord (the Earl of Moira) having this morning also surrendered the powers with which he had been subsequently vested, his Royal Highness had this day nominated the Earl of Liverpool to be First Lord of the Treasury, and communicated powers to him to form a new Administration. In such a state of things, he would put it to those gentlemen who had given notice of motions, whether they thought it proper that questions of such vital importance to the country should be discussed in the absence of an Administration.

Mr. Canning said, as far as he was concerned he had no objection to take any day for his motion; but there was one difficulty in the way, that the day after his motion had been fixed on by the honourable and learned gentleman (Mr. Brougham) for bringing forward his motion on the subject of the Orders in Council; but he had no doubt that the honourable and learned gentleman would also consent to a

postponement. He should therefore, on that understanding, name Thursday the 18th for bringing forward his

motion.

Mr. Martin, of Galway, said, he had given notice of a motion to the same effect as that of the right honourable gentleman (Mr. Canning), in the view that the right hon. gentleman might be called to fill a high official situation; but after what he had just heard he should now withdraw his motion.

Mr. Rose wondered that the honourable gentleman (Mr. Brougham) should entertain a wish to bring forward his motion on so early a day, when he knew that one-fourth part of the evidence was not yet printed.

Mr. Brougham, called on as he had been, wished to set the House right as to the motives of his conduct, and to explain his reasons for persisting in his intention to bring forward his motion on Thursday next. The objection of the right honourable the Vice-President of the Board of Trade, that one-fourth part of the evidence was not yet printed, was totally inconsistent with the fact. There were seventeen parts of the evidence; he had himself seen the sixteenth part printed, there remained therefore only one part to be printed; and he had learned from the Vote Office that that part would be delivered in the course of the present day; so that, in point of fact, the whole evidence would be printed and delivered before to-morrow. It was exceedingly painful to him, in the present state of the country, and the distracted state of the Government, to think of being obliged to persist in his motion; and if it had been a motion like that even of the right honourable gentleman (Mr. Canning), he should at once have consented to postpone it; but in a question of the nature of that which he was to bring forward, to delay it was to risk the safety of the country (Hear!) He would ask those who had read the last advices from America, whether, if they stood in his situation, and had his responsibility, which he himself certainly felt to be very great, they would advise him to consent to a delay which might be attended with such ruinous consequences to the country? Whilst they were delaying from day to day, to see whether an Administration could be -formed, compatible with the secret wishes of this or that individual-whilst this or that cabal or intrigue was carrying on whilst parties were adjusted and balanced, and whilst it was considered whether this or that branch should resign for

the purpose of strengthening Administration-what was happening all the time in America ?-(Hear, hear !) They were endangering the safety of the country, for the sake of preserving certain personal connections-(No, from the Ministerial side.) But what was their interests, in comparison with those of the commerce and manufactures of England? (Hear!) He would implore the House to re flect on what might happen from their yielding to this delay. There were interests at stake of persons over whom he had no controul. He alluded to the one hundred delegates who were anxious to return to appease their hungry workmen, thousands of whom were looking with painful concern to the determination of the House, to know. whether they were to starve or be suffered to live. While intrigues and cabals for places at Court or in Administration were going on, the House had a plain course to pursue. They were engaged in an inquiry; there was a full Parliament, and there was one responsible Minister, the Earl of Liverpool. In point of fact and substance what did the House lose? There was a plain question before them, and it was their part to do their duty. He wished to say one word before he sat down, with respect to the person who had just been announced as Prime Minister. In spite of the declared sentiments of Parliament as to the incompetency of this set of Ministers to meet the present crisis-(No, no! from the Ministerial bench)-the fact he would maintain was so-the House had recorded their incapacity-the House were now to be told that this was not a time for pursuing the discussion, because Lord Liverpool had been appointed Prime Minister: he should therefore move that the Call of the House be postponed to Friday next.

Lord Castlereagh said, if it was the intention of the hon. gentleman to persist in bringing forward his motion, he should be compelled to take the sense of the House whether they would allow a question of this magnitude to be discussed in the absence of an Administration. The honour-able and learned gentleman had thought proper to mix a great deal of desultory matter with his notice. This was not the first time he had had occasion to complain of the desultory notices of that honourable gentleman, who was in the habit, on all occasions, of throwing out assertions ou all subjects which were not grounded in accuracy of statement. Nothing could be less consistent with the duty of a Member of Parliament than to declare his intention to proceed with

his motion on a day when there was no existing Administration, and particularly on a question on which, as the hon. gentleman had stated, the fate of the country depended. He did not think the honourable gentleman would wish to erect himself into an Administration. With respect to America, he did not know where the honourable gentleman had collected his information regarding that country. The conduct of the honourable and learned gentleman was not certainly unparalleled, because it could be paralleled by his former conduct; but it was certainly very different from that of any grave person in his situation. He did not know that the House had any controul over the conduct of any bonourable Member, if his discretion left him upon any occasion; but he should think his own discretion had for saken him if he did not take the sense of the House upon it. When the subject of the Administration was discussed lately in that House, he had ventured to state, that his Royal Highness wished to strengthen his Administration as much as possible, and he had then predicted that it would be found much easier to pull down an Administration than to raise one to supply its place. He denied, however, that any act of this House had stamped an incapacity on any Administration (hear! from the Ministerial benches). The Address of the House was merely expressive of a wish to have a strengthened Administration; but he knew of no vote of incapacity passed by the House. He hoped the hon. and learned gentleman's own discretion would relieve him from taking the sense of the House on the subject.

Mr. Wortley wished to take this opportunity of asking the noble lord (Castlereagh) a question.

Mr. Martin (of Galway) rose to speak to order. He did not mean to preclude the honourable gentleman from putting any question, but

Lord Folkestone contended that the honourable Member (Colonel Martin) was himself not in order.

Mr. Martin explained; when

The Speaker observed, he was departing from the ques

tion of order.

Mr, Martin said, having been interrupted himself when putting a question on a former occasion, on account of its being contrary to order, he wished to know if such a proceeding was now orderly?

The Speaker observed, that strictly speaking it was not in order, but sometimes from motives of convenience it was tolerated by the House.

Mr. Stephen, Mr. Wortley, and Sir Francis Burdett, spoke shortly on the subject.

Mr. Wortley wished to put a question to the noble lord, with a view to enable him to determine whether he should bring forward a motion.

Mr. Wilberforce said, asking a Minister a question was quite different from putting one to any other Member. After a few words from Mr. Rose,

Mr. Stephen said, he wished to speak to the question. He would object to the House going precipitately into any discussion of the question before considering the evidencepart of that which was lately printed, and that which was yet unprinted, was the evidence in favour of the Orders in Council. For the honourable and learned gentleman, therefore, to wish to press his motion, without giving the House time to consider the evidence on the other side, was quite of a pièce with the whole of the test of his conduct.

After a few words from General Gascoigne, and Mr. Stephen in explanation,

Lord Milton rose to object to an expression of the noble lord (Castlereagh) respecting the impossibility of discussing this question, without a Minister to take charge of the discussion. Could not the House carry on a discussion themBelves without the direction of a Minister?

Lord Castlereagh explained. It was necessary to have the presence of an Administration, who might be in full knowledge of all the circumstances of the case, and particularly of the correspondence.

Mr. Whitbread said, had a stranger then come into the House, he would have thought, from the language of the noble lord, that it rested entirely with Government whether such a question should or should not be agitated in that House. In his opinion the earliest day was the fittest for it. The noble lord had said, by delaying it they would have a responsible Minister to give advice, who was in possession of all the facts of the case. This was a mere delusion, for the negociation between this country and America had ceased long ago. All the world was in possession of the correspondence between the two countries, except the House of Commons. The situation of this country with respect to America was critical in the extreme; and whether the discussion should go on this week or the next might be the difference of peace or war with America-(Hear!)—