that he had his reasons for believing that inquiry which was not necessary if her majesty had remained out of England, became necessary as soon as she returned; but he had not specified those reasons. He merely gave his opinion without producing any grounds for it; and he had forgotten that her majesty was not only to escape a trial if she remained abroad, but was to receive 50,000l. a year. The feelings of the country might have been interested in this question; but was that interest diminished by the presence of her majesty in England? The noble earl had alleged that ministers were driven to the course which they had adopted, but he had not explained why they were so driven. The course of these proceedings was from the beginning wrong-highly inconsistent-highly dangerous-derogatory from the honor of the crown, and injurious to the best interests of the country.

On the evening of the day that the report of the secret committee was made, the queen took an airing for several miles along the western road, in a chariot and pair. The princess Sophia also rode out along the same road, in a coach and four with outriders. The illustrious ladies met near Kensington-gate, but not the slightest recognition took place between them. The queen's carriage, however, was at the moment attended by a number of persons from Kensington, who expressed much cla

morous disapprobation towards the princess; at the same time peremptorily ordering her servants to take off their hats. The mandate was not obeyed, and a momentary confusion ensued; but the whips of the respective drivers, and the mettle of the horses, soon put an end to it, by whirling the carriages away, in different directions, almost at full speed.

On Wednesday, July 5, Lord Liverpool brought in his bill of Degradation and Divorce, of which he had given notice on the preceding evening. Previously, however, to the order of the day being read, Lord Dacre rose and observed, that he held in his hand a petition, which had just been handed to him from her majesty the queen, who, being informed of the extraordinary course the house of lords had taken yesterday, stated that she had various weighty matters to urge before the house, which were necessary to be urged in the present stage, and desiring to be heard this evening by counsel at the bar. Although he was ignorant of the nature and weight of that information which her majesty was urgent to communicate to the house, and could not decide how far it might induce their lordships to wave their prescribed course, it ill became him, he conceived, to decline the duty of presenting it; and when her majesty now stated that the acceding to her prayer was necessary for her further defence, he trusted that their lordships

would listen to her solicitation. Such communications might also tend to accelerate the proceedings by counsel at their lordships' bar.

His lordship then presented the petition from the queen, which, on his motion, was read by the clerk :

The humble Petition of the Queen, to the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, in Parliament assembled.

The queen, observing the most extraordinary course that has been adopted by the noble lords in the secret committee assembled, begs to state to the house, that she is perfectly ready at this moment to enter upon her defence on the charges against her, as far as she can understand them, and she begs to remind your lordships, that as it will be absolutely necessary for her to have certain witnesses for her future defence, she begs to have the nature of the charges against her distinctly stated in the present stage of the proceedings; and she further prays that, as it is important to her interests to make some statements on the present occasion, that she may be heard by her counsel at the bar this evening.

Lord Dacre moved that her majesty be now heard by her counsel.

The earl of Liverpool: My lords, I must say that her majesty the queen has been ill-advised in presenting this petition, though I by no means mean to object to its being received. It appears to me, however, that there is, in point of fact, no proceeding at the present moment before the house to which this petition can properly apply, as in a par

liamentary sense, her majesty cannot be supposed to know any thing of the report of the secret committee, whilst the bill of which I had the honor of giving notice, is not yet presented. When that bill is on your lordships' table, a copy of it will be furnished to her majesty, and her majesty's convenience will of course be consulted as to time with regard to whatever evidence she may think it necessary to adduce to rebut the charges against her. At the prèsent moment, it does not appear to me that there is, in point of fact, any stage of proceeding to which the petition of her majesty can apply.

Lord Dacre, Earl Grey, the Marquis of Lansdown, and Lord Holland, contended, that there were circumstances peculiar to this case, which removed it from all ordinary rules, and that an infraction of their practice might be conceded on an occasion like the present. The lord Chancellor and lord Ellenborough replied. The question for proceeding to call in counsel was then put, and negatived without a division.

This discussion being closed, Lord Liverpool brought in his bill of pains and penalties; he declared, that if he had now to retrace the steps he had taken, he knew not how he could move in any other course than that which had been decided on. From the fairness of the mode of trial in that house, and the power their lordships had to examine evi

dence on oath at their bar, he conceived there was a greater chance that substantial justice would be done between the parties there than in the house of commons. He might state farther, that though this could not be considered a bill of divorce in the common and ordinary sense of the word, still its effect would be the same. The king and queen did not come before them as individuals; it was a question between the accused party, in her capacity of queen, and the state itself. Yet as it must necessarily relate, in some degree, to the marriagecontract between the king and the queen, it was on that ground more consistent with the dignity of the parties that it should come there, than be brought in the first instance before the other house of parliament. The only question that remained, was, whether this bill should have been brought in originally under the responsibility of the executive government, or whether it was not more proper to submit the documents in the first instance to a secret committee. He had reconsidered this question; he had reconsidered it with reference to principle and to precedent; and he had no hesitation in saying that, with reference to either, he thought the course adopted by their lordships was the just one. He would venture to say, that there could be found no instance where measures of this kind were adopted without previous enquiry. As to the more immediate proceedings, he wished a copy