XXIII. 1788. simple, obvious, and rational. On the ascertain- BOOK ment of the fact respecting the incapacity of the sovereign, Mr. Conolly moved, February 11,1789, "That an address be presented to the prince of Wales, requesting him immediately to take upon himself the government of that kingdom as regent, during the continuance of the king's incapacity." This was carried WITHOUT A DIVISION. To this resolution the house of lords acceded. But the lord-lieutenant, the marquis of Buckingham (late Earl Temple), refusing, by a rash and hazardous exercise of discretion, to transmit this address to England, commissioners were appointed by both houses to present the address in person to his royal highness. The rapid and unexpected recovery of Perfect rethe king happily superseded the object of their the king. commission. But the prince in his reply declared, "that nothing could obliterate from his memory the sentiments of gratitude which he felt for their generous kindness.” Among the innumerable evils attending the mode of procedure adopted by the British parlia ment, one of the most formidable was the possible, and even probable, dissimilarity of the decisions of the two legislatures. Had the prince of Wales refused, under the degrading circumstances with which the offer of the regency was accompanied in England, to accept the government of the kingdom, there is good reason to believe that it would covery of XXIII. 1788. BOOK have been conferred upon the queen, while the prince would have been constituted regent of Ireland, with the usual powers of royalty. This would doubtless have given rise to a question of the most important, and at the same time of the most difficult, nature, viz. Whether Ireland, agreeably to the political compact subsisting between the two countries, could constitutionally emancipate herself from the executive government established in England, under whatever name, or by whatever persons, it might be exercised? Of this perplexing and dangerous question, the prudence of the prince, in accepting of the regency under all the concomitant humiliating restrictions of parliament, fortunately precluded not only the investigation, but even the mention. In the speech delivered by the chancellor in the name of the king to the two houses, his majesty conveyed to them his warmest acknowledgments for the additional proofs they had given of their attachment to his person, and their concern for the honor and interest of his crown. It soon appear. ed that the late proceedings of the ministry were in the highest degree acceptable to the sovereign: and those persons holding posts under the government, who had concurred in the measures of the opposition, were unceremoniously dismissed from their offices; amongst whom were the marquis of Lothian, the duke of Queensberry, lord Carteret, and lord Malmesbury. XXIIL 1788. This was the first occasion on which the queen BOOK in the long course of twenty-eight years had attracted public notice as taking any part in political concerns; and she now exhibited herself in a mode by no means to her advantage. Eager to secure what share she could of the regal authority, and even, if circumstances favored, to grasp the whole, she scrupled not to set herself at the head of the opposition to her son, now of mature age for government, but who, if the plan of the minister had been carried into effect, would have been little. more than a pageant of state. After the recovery, or partial recovery of the sovereign, it was thought that her majesty, who had now acquired a relish for power, entered deeply into political intrigue, and employed her whole influence in favor of the existing minister, without displaying any of the talents or capacity for government which so remarkably distinguished her illustrious predecessor, the late queen Caroline. It was rumored too by those who had access to the court, that in proportion as her prudence declined her pride increased, and that her original attention to economy had degenerated into the most sordid meanness and avarice.* * In allusion to a well known foible of this princess, the following epigram was composed by a lady celebrated for her wit and talents: These are my jewels, wise Cornelia said, While round about her knees her children play'd. Viewing her jewels with admiring eyes, These are my children, wiser Charlotte cries. BOOK 1788. Shop Tax Before the first auspicious moments of gratulation had subsided, Mr. Fox renewed his popular: motion for the repeal of the Shop Tax, to which repealed. Mr. Pitt did not, in the present circumstances, choose any longer to refuse his assent; though he: declared he had heard nothing in the way of argument which induced him to change his original› opinion. He accordingly moved an omission of: that part of the preamble to the bill of repeal, by which the tax was pronounced a partial and oppressive imposition, militating against the just principles of taxation. Hawkers' and Ped lars' act ex plained and Mr. Dempster at the same time moved for a repeal of the Hawkers' and Pedlars' Tax, which was amended. originally imposed on the extraordinary ground! of its operating as an indemnity to the shopkeeper;: thus sacrificing one set of men to the convenience and accommodation of another. A total repeal of this law nevertheless could not be obtained; but a bill passed to explain and amend the act, by which the more onerous clauses were mitigated, and these friendless and injured people restored in some measure to their civil and commercial rights. Mr. Beaufoy's second A motion of much greater importance was inmotion for troduced soon after this (May 8) by Mr. Beaufoy, the repeal of the Test. being a renewal of the application two years ago submitted to the house, for the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts; "prompted (as he said) thereto by the unalterable confidence which the XXIII. 1788. dissenters reposed in the disposition of the house BOOK to do justice to the injured, and afford relief to the oppressed. And they could not forget how frequently the legislature had granted the requests, which causeless alarms had at first induced them to refuse." This motion was supported by Mr. Fox with a force of argument which could not but make some degree of impression on the most callous and prejudiced mind. This great statesman laid it down as a primary axiom of policy," that no human government had jurisdiction over opinions as such, and more particularly over religious opinions. It had no right to presume that it knew them, and much less to act upon that presumption. When opinions were productive of acts injurious to society, the law knew how and where to apply the remedy. If the reverse of this doctrine were adopted, if the actions of men were to be prejudged from their opinions, it would sow the seeds of everlasting jealousy and distrust; it would give the most unlimited scope to the malignant passions; it would incite each man to divine the opinions of his neighbour, to deduce mischievous consequences from them, and then to prove that he ought to incur disabilities, to be fettered with restrictions, to be harassed with penalties. From this intolerant principle had flowed every species of party zeal, every system of political persecution, every extravagance of religious hate. |