important duties of that high station which he may one day be called to fill. The allusion to assistance that might be expected from the King, was repeated by Mr. Curwen and other members, and commented on by Mr. Dundas, who said, he was surprised at one resource which had been pointed out by some honourable gentlemen, in the affection and benevolence of his royal father. (A cry of hear, hear, pervaded the House.) That cry, Mr. Dundas said, he was confident, could only proceed from a few voices, and by no means discovered the general feeling of the House on the subject. They had repeatedly had occasion to examine the situation of his Majesty with respect to the civil list, particularly on occasion of granting establishments to the Duke of Clarence, and to the Duke of York on his marriage. They might recollect, that on the arrangement formerly made with respect to the debts of his Royal Highness, part of that provision arose out of the liberality of his Majesty. The civil list was indeed large, but was wholly appropriated to particular services, except the sum allotted for his Majesty's privy purse. The idea of such a resource arose out of the miserable feeling which he was surprised that any gentleman could entertain. He knew not (and his means of information were as good as those of any other member) of the existence of any such sum, as that which had been referred to. Besides, he would ask, with that numerous family with which his Majesty was blessed, were there no other objects. who claimed his royal munificence and attention? The Prince of Wales was the last who might be supposed to have such a claim; he, from the situation in which he stood, was the peculiar care of the public. Allusion might be made to the revenues which his Majesty derived from the electorate of Hanover. But had his Majesty no state to support in that quarter? Was he to rob his Hanoverian subjects in order to pay debts contracted in this country by the heir apparent to the British crown? The appeal that had been made on this subject he could consider as neither fair nor candid, and, as such, he should dismiss it without further observation. These remarks of Mr. Dundas drew a most animated speech from Mr. Fox. That great statesman enlarged, in the most eloquent terms, upon the glorious opportunity afforded in the present instance for the display of royal munificence, and lamented that his Majesty had not been advised to lead the way upon this occasion. He did not mean to say that the whole 600,000l. should be paid by his Majesty; but he would say, because he felt, that it was a little unseemly, at a time of such general calamity, that his Majesty should be the only person in the kingdom, who did not contribute a single farthing towards the discharge of the incumbrances of the Prince of Wales. This, he could not help repeating, was unseemly. He hoped his Majesty would be better advised upon this subject. A glorious opportunity offered itself for the display of royal munificence; and a handsome conduct upon such an occasion as this, would do even more for the constitution than the most vigorous exertion of the arm of power. It was with this view he had contended, and sorry he was he had contended unsuccessfully, against the additional 100,000l. a year to the income of his Majesty himself, during the continuance of the American war; because, when all the subjects of his Majesty felt so much during that war, he thought that his Majesty would do well to show them a lesson of frugality and economy. If this principle were correct, and the application of it just at that time, how much more was it now, when the question is'how many burdens are to be laid upon the public to relieve the Prince of Wales from debt?" He would say again, it was unfortunate that some person had not advised his Majesty to lead the way upon this occasion, to shew the public an example of liberality, and to convince them that he felt, himself, the necessity there was for indulging a generous temper. Happy should he be, when this subject should come to be discussed, if the house, by a gracious communication, should be given to understand that the illustrious personage to whom he alluded, intended to take some share in the contingent burden which might be felt. On the 5th of June, Mr. Pitt presented to the House of Commons an account of the proceeds of the duchy of Cornwall, during the minority of the Prince of Wales, an abstract of the debts which his Royal Highness had incurred, and an account of the application of 25,000. for finishing Carlton HouseFrom these documents it appeared that the several sums paid from the revenues of the duchy of Cornwall during the minority of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales amounted to 233,7647. 11s. 2d. £. S. d Debts on various securities, and bearing interest 500,571 Tradesmen's bills, and arrears of establishment, 19 1 86,745 0 0 from October 10, 1794, to April 5, 1793 52,573 5 3 £639,890 4 4 Mr. Pitt then stated, that it was his intention to move in the committee, that 65,000l., with the income of the duchy of Cornwall, should be set apart for the liquidation of the debts, making an annual sum of 78,000. The burden, he said, could not be thrown upon the civil list, which in the event of the demise of the Prince, would be charged with the jointure of the Princess. He should therefore move, that the committee have a discretionary power to provide, out of the hereditary revenue of the crown (in case of the demise of his present Majesty) during the life of his Royal Highness, for the payment of his debts; and, in case of the demise of the Prince, to provide out of the consolidated fund for the payment of such sums as should then remain unpaid. He explained, that for several reigns it had been thought proper to commute the hereditary revenue for a civil list. The mode he proposed was at once calculated to give security to the creditors, or, in the event of an accession to the throne, to render his Royal Highness responsible for the payment of his remaining debts. One of the most eloquent speeches delivered at this interesting period, and which made the deepest impression on the public mind (if we except a speech subsequently delivered by his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence) was that which was delivered by Mr. Sheridan. In the inflammatory publications of the day, Mr. Sheridan had, with peculiar virulence, been accused as one of the evil advisers of the Prince, from whose pernicious counsels the greater part of his embarrassments had flowed; but from this charge Mr. Sheridan vindicated himself so fully, that we cannot help feeling the utmost surprise, on looking over some recent publications, to find that Mr. Sheridan should have continued to be charged with being a prime agent in leading the Prince of Wales into his serious embarrassments. This distinguished orator opened his speech with urging the propriety of ministers having suggested to his Majesty the necessity of his setting an example on the present occasion. Were, he asked, the expenses of the Prince so very unpardonable? His Majesty possessed many great and good qualities; but on the subject of expense, and keeping his promise with the public, would the Prince lose by the comparison? In this he imputed all the blame to ministers. On his Majesty's accession, the civil list was settled at 800,000l. a-year, which was thought so ample, that parliament was assured from the throne that the civil list should not be suffered to run into arrears: since then, debts of the civil list had been paid to an amount, which, at compound interest, would exceed seven millions!! The Chancellor of the Exchequer had, in the early part of his administration, assured the House that no more debts should accrue on the civil list, yet he soon after called upon the House to pay a new debt. Mr. Sheridan then adverted to the embarrassments felt by the Prince of Wales on account of the narrowness of the income which had been fixed for him, during which his Royal Highness had often done him the honour to consult him, chiefly because his Royal Highness knew his fixed determination to accept no favours; and Mr. Sheridan took that opportunity of declaring that he had never received any presents of great value from the Prince. He had, he said, advised his Royal Highness not to make the promise he made in 1787, He had at that from the improbability of its being kept. time drawn up a plan of retrenchment, which was approved by the Prince, and by his Majesty; and the Prince told him the promise was not to be insisted upon, though to his great surprise he found it inserted in the King's message, which had been seen by his Royal Highness. The Prince wished him to retract it, but this he declined. Ministers had then a check upon the expenditure of his Royal Highness, which they had never enforced: they had never interposed to stop a shameful profusion of money upon Carlton House. Another plan of retrenchment therefore followed, and the Prince was advised, Mr. Sheridan said, by Lord Thurlow and himself, not to apply again to parliament, and to take no part in politics, but to retire from public life, and apply the greatest part of his income to the liquidation of his debts. Another noble lord, however (Loughborough) having, about this time, obtained the Prince's notice, he, it seems, told his Royal Highness that such advice was too nearly allied to that given to Monsieur Egalite, and clearly pointed out the quarter from which it came. His lordship, though mistaken in his allusion, had that effect on his Royal Highness that his former resolution was superseded, and the present application made—an application which he extremely condemned, and thought of a nature that tended to shake the very foundation of monarchy in this kingdom, more perhaps then any plan that the most inveterate Jacobin could have pursued. The monarch, as far as was possible, was rendered unamiable, and the House insulted. The Prince was held up at once to scorn and reprehension, and at last obliged to live in splendid penury, to stand, as it were, in a gilded pillory, and to do penance in an embroidered sheet, proclaimed to the world a wasteful prodigal, unfit to be intrusted with the management of his own affairs. Something, he said, ought to be given by the King. There were debts due to honest tradesmen, to whom no exception could be taken, which ought not to be postponed. There were, on the establishment, 22. 3 U |