otherwise be merely waste-paper. When an honorable confidence is earned and obtained, we then give to the decisions of a Speaker, not a reluctant submission to their force, but a ready acquiescence in their justice. If, Sir, I am right-if I think correctly when I say, that the authority of station is much increased by that respect which we naturally pay to men distinguished by virtue as well as by talents, then I can recommend still more strongly the right hon. gentleman whom I have named; for without being guilty of the indecorum of raising the veil that conceals private life from public observation, I may appeal to every man who knows him, whether throughout his intercourse with mankind, he ever met with an individual of purer principles, of higher honour, of more spotless integrity of character? In times like these, when the acts of public men are not passed lightly over; when no very charitable judgment is commonly pronounced on their motives, his unblemished reputation has nobly stood the test of scrutiny; and he has not only escaped censure, but united all parties in his praise. I therefore move, Sir," That the right hon. Charles Manners Sutton do take the Chair of this House as Speaker."

Lord Clive said:-Sir, when I consider the importance of the situation of Speaker -when I reflect on the abilities necessary to fill it effectively, and the knowledge both of the law and the constitution, which is requisite to enable an individual entrusted with the office satisfactorily to discharge his high duties I feel that a great difficulty exists in finding an in. dividual competent to so arduous an undertaking. The gentleman who has just been proposed by my right hon. friend, appears to me to possess in a very eminent degree, all the qualifications necessary for the important office in question. In addition to the high, but merited encomiums which have been bestowed upon him by my right hon. friend, may be noticed the great practical knowledge of its arduous duties which he will bring with him to the chair, the patient attention with which, during the short time that he filled it in the last parliament, he listened to every thing which was said on either side of the House, and the impartial decisions he had given on those oc casions, when, in the heat of animated discussion, the accustomed rules of debate were supposed to be violated. On all

such occasions the House will enjoy the benefit of that calm but dignified manner with which-by a temperate and welltimed appeal, without forgetting what was due to the individual in error-he had shown that he can restrain that impetuosity which, if unchecked, would frequently lead to the destruction of the harmony that ought always to attend grave legislative deliberations. On every occasion he has displayed a happy intimacy with our usages and institutions which has called forth general applause and gratitude. His parliamentary learning, his indefatigable diligence, his patient research into the precedents and authorities of former times, deserve the highest encomium. Nor let me forget the perseverance with which he discharged another duty of a very important nature, and not the less important, because not under the public eye, I mean the laborious examination of those private bills by which the disposition of millions of property are annually regulated.-Amongst these and his many other high qualifications, there is one which, although adverted to by my right hon. friend, I cannot prevail on myself to pass over wholly without notice. It is the pure and unblemished character for which he is justly admired by all who have seen or heard any thing of him. Happily, this is in England particularly looked to as a criterion by which to judge of the fitness of an individual, for an office of high trust; but if it be a necessary consideration in the appointment to any office, it is doubly so in the appointment to that of Speaker of the House of Commons. In that situation, as has been so eloquently expressed by my right hon. friend, the mere possession of commanding talents, and an accurate knowledge of the laws, customs, and prerogatives of the House is not sufficient, unless accompanied by our perfect confidence. To prove that these qualifications are possessed by Mr. Sutton, it is only necessary for me to repeat my appeal to his conduct in the last parliament. It is fortunate for those who have the honour of proposing his return to the chair, that we are not recommending a stranger to fill that high office. To the knowledge which the majority of the House have of the manner in which he has already conducted himself as Speaker, he will be more indebted on the present occasion than to any thing that his friends, however truly, can say. The House has had experience

tude, and must ever impress on my mind, the deep obligations I owe to those who have conferred it on me. In every word which has fallen from my right honourable and my noble friend, respecting the difficulty and importance of the duties of the person who is destined to fill the chair of this House, I fully and entirely concur. They are attended with difficulties in their nature sufficient to make any man, be he whom he may, distrustful of his own abilities; the more especially when he recollects the able manner in which the func tions of the high office in question were performed by the distinguished person whom I had the honour of succeeding. Iam, I unfeignedly assure the House, distrustful of my powers for the due discharge of so important a trust. Nevertheless, if it shall be their pleasure a second time to confer on me the high honour of filling that chair, it shall be my constant and unwearied effort to do my best in the fulfilment of its several duties; always relying on that indulgence and kindness of which I have already had such abun dant experience."

1

The cry of "Chair! Chair!" then resounded from all parts of the house; on which Mr. Manners Sutton was conducted from his seat to the chair by Mr. Peel, and lord Clive, where, standing on the upper step, he addressed the House to the following effect:

"In offering my most respectful and cordial thanks to the House, for having conferred upon me the highest honour which it has in its power to bestow, I have only, with the utmost sincerity to assure the House, that I will strain every nerve to justify the choice it has made, by a strict, steady, faithful, and impartial discharge of the duties entrusted to me." And thereupon he sat down in the chair; and then the mace (which before lay under the table) was laid upon the table. Mr. Canning then spoke to the following effect:-Sir; In rising to move the adjournment of this House, I cannot refrain from availing myself of the opportunity of congratulating, not so much you, Sir, as the House itself, on the choice which it has just made of a member to preside over its deliberations. The various and important functions belonging, Sir, to your high station, have been already so accurately and eloquently described, that not one word more need be said on that subject. What we have just heard from you, Sir, is sufficient to prove how

high your estimate is of your duties, and although you have spoken distrustingly of your qualifications to discharge them, you have pledged your determination to exert yourself to the utmost in the justi fication of the choice that we have made. But, Sir, however implicit the credit with which we must be disposed to receive the declarations and promises of a man of your character, we have on the present occasion, something more than declarations and promises to assure us of the fulfilment of our expectations. We have, Sir, your own example-we have the experience of your conduct in the term during which you presided over the discussions of the last parliament. You were last year, Sir, elected to the chair of this House, after a contest with a gentleman, to be put in competition with whom is no disparagement, but a high credit to any man, be his character what it may,* Yet, Sir, I am at a loss to say, whether the contest of that day, or the unanimity of this, reflects the greater honour on the object of our choice. In that contest there was not the slightest mixture of those asperities which political: rivalry is too apt to engender. Every member gave his vote as his peculiar predilections led him, without evincing the least disposition to undervalue the pretensions of the respective opponents. The unanimity on the present occasion, is as wise as it is generous. Generous-because it offers that homage which past services merit; wise-inasmuch as no man can feel humbled by the uninvidious superiority which the qualifications of the individual whom we have chosen, have acquired by their having been tried. That you may long continue to fill the station to which you have been thus honourably raised, is, I am sure, the wish of every gentleman who hears me. And I am also persuaded that we agree in the confident expectation, that as long as you remain in that high situation, you will preside over our debates with a firm but temperate authority, and, above all, with an impartiality which will show that you consider yourself the servant of the whole house. That you may long go on in the course which has already placed you so high in our estimation, is not more our wish than it is our confident expectation; and as you have on this occasion united

• Mr. Charles Willliams Wynn. See vol. 36. p. 843.

Speaker. And I have thereupon in the name and on behalf of the Commons of the united kingdom, laid claim to all their ancient and undoubted rights and privileges: freedom of speech in debate, freedom from arrest and molestation for their persons, their estates and servants; free access to the royal presence whenever occasion shall require, and the most favourable construction of all their pro: ceedings; all which have been confirmed to them in as full and ample manner, as they have been at any time granted or allowed by his majesty, or any of his royal predecessors. I may now once more be permitted to express to the House my unfeigned gratitude for this most distinguished mark of its confidence, in again electing me to the Chair. I implore of the House its constant and steady support, in enabling me to maintain a strict attention to its established rules and orders, which are not more essential to the convenient dispatch of business, than they are to the dignity and independence of the House itself. I have now only farther to submit to the House, that the first proceeding is for each member to take the oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, to make and subscribe the Declaration, and also to take and subscribe the Oaths of Abjuration and Qualification, as by law required."

The Speaker then proceeded, as the first Commoner, to take the oaths. The other members were then called up to the bar in alphabetical order, according to the counties they represented, and took the oaths.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

Thursday, January 21.

THE PRINCE REGENT'S SPEECH ON OPENING THE SESSION]. This day the session was opened by commission. The Commissioners were the Lord Chancellor, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the earl of Harrowby, lord president; the earl of Westmorland, lord privy seal; and the duke of Wellington. The Usher of the Black Rod having been sent to desire the

attendance of the House of Commons,

Highness the Prince Regent to express to you the deep regret which he feels in the continuance of his Majesty's lamented indisposition.

"In announcing to you the severe calamity with which it has pleased Divine Providence to visit the Prince Regent, the Royal Family, and the nation, by the death of her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom, his Royal Highness has commanded us to direct your attention to the consideration of such measures as this melancholy event has rendered necessary and expedient, with respect to the Care of his Majesty's sacred person.

"We are directed to inform you, that the negotiations which have taken place at Aix-la-Chapelle, have led to the evacuation of the French territory by the allied armies.

"The Prince Regent has given orders, that the Convention concluded for this purpose, as well as the other documents connected with this arrangement, shall be laid before you; and he is persuaded, that you will view with peculiar satisfaction the intimate union which so happily subsists amongst the powers who were parties to these transactions, and the unvaried disposition which has been manifested in all their proceedings for the preservation of the peace and tranquillity of Europe.

"The Prince Regent has commanded us further to acquaint you, that a Treaty has been concluded between his royal highness and the government of the United States of America, for the renewal, for a further term of years, of the Commercial Convention now subsisting between the two nations, and for the amicable adjustment of several points of mutual importance to the interests of both countries; and, as soon as the ratifications shall have been exchanged, his Royal Highness will give directions that a copy of this Treaty shall be laid before you.

"Gentlemen of the House of Commons; "The Prince Regent has directed that the estimates for the current year shall be

(C)