bill,➡to condemn without any public hearing, the noble lord would find to be infinitely beyond any power which he possessed. Therefore, for the noble lord to say what the committee would not do, he should take as no concession; nor should he'counsel her majesty to consider it as any concession. It was not even an approximation to an argument; it was not even the shadow of a shade of reason. As to the comparison between the committee and a grand jury, there was no analogy. A grand jury was sworn; it was impartial, and it was impartially selected. The party impanelled had no peculiar interest in the question at issue.--A grand jury certainly decided on ex-parte evidence; but what sort of evidence was offered here? Letters and papers, with or without names, he knew not which, forwarded from beyond the Alps, the result of a commission sent by God knew whom. He was in utter ignorance of the contents of the green bag; but this he knew, that all the evidence was within the bag, except some persons might be called to prove signatures. They were the result of a ten months' residence at Milan. A man of high rank and learning, who had stood particularly high in the profession to which he belonged, and who had been esteemed by all who knew him up to that ill-fated hour in which he had engaged in this business, had procured this evidence. This expectant master of chancery had obtained the

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contents of the bag. That individual, who had so far forgotten himself, who had so far lowered him self, as to engage in such a transaction, had gone about prying into all corners, and mixing in the lowest conversations, to pick up the idle and mali. cious gossip. He had mixed with bargemen on the lakes, and ferrymen on the rivers; with the company of ale cellars and wine servants; and hád taken down the evidence of cast-off menials. had gone to the impure source of every pollution; and by such means had the green bag been filled. He (Mr. Brougham) would not say that such base work ought not to be performed; it might be requisite to resort to inferior means to procure evidence; but such base work ought to have been performed by hands as naturally base and mean. All that the committee could do was, it was said, as nothing; but this he denied. The report of a committee of that house was no light mattery and he would have gentlemen to reflect how they would like to have their conduct similarly examined, and made the subject of the report ofsa committee. How would they like to be examined in privacy and darkness, on documents as darkly procured? What would they not give of their earthly goods to escape from such a report? The noble lord said, he could appeal to the house afterwards; so he must if he had no other resource ; but not all the oily rhetoric of the noble lord could

prove, that if the committee only said, " Aye,” the queen was not traduced and blasted. Besides, many things might happen after such an unfortu nate result, and before the queen could accomplish the objects requisite to prove her innocence. And then, where was the essence which could wash out the blemish of such a report? No it was vain to liken the committee to a grand jury. Here the ob ject was to get confirmed the result of a previous inquiry, on which the ministers had expressed their opinion. He said, let them act upon that opinion, without going to the committee. Let them act on their own responsibility, without, seeking to shelter themselves behind names more respectable than their own. Why did they not do so? but prizing their places so highly, and to which they held so fast, did they not dare to meet the question casamen? He spoke the language of the constitution, when he said they should procéed bons their own responsibility. But they sought to proceed obys a tribunal that was unknown As to the value of the opinion of either, he would as leave have the committee's as the minister's with this exception, the minister's opinion would have no stain. The proceeding proposed was gross, glaring, and unpardonable; and afters the experience they had had of green bags and secret committees, they had little rea son to be fond of them. He and his learned friend

were not to be placed on the committee, He thanked the noble lord for this, because it would spare him the pain of seeing the forms of justice half pursued, while the substance was wholly abandoned. Her majesty had commanded him to call for a full, fair, opens investigation.

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speedier the beginning of it was, the more completely would she be gratified, the more ample it was, the more decided would be her satisfaction. But, that it would be a short investigation, iches who knew the course of such proceedings, felt it to be impossible. Therefore, no time was to be lost; for, if the investigation went on, they might expect to sit to no ordinary period of the session. But in calling for inquiry her majesty protested strenuously and decidedly against a secret one. Whether the body by whom her case would be considered were designated a grand jury, a secret committee, a select committee, a private tribunal, or an inquisition, she cared not; but she required, that the body called on to pronounce an opinion on her conduct, whether intermediate or ultimate, should enable her to hear evidence, to see the witnesses adduced against her, and to confront them by every means within her power. He, as a member of parliament, in the discharge of his duty to the house, and to the country, implored gentlemen, once more, to take into their serious consideration all the circumstances

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he now finally laid before them. His last prayer to the house on this occasion, the last wish he would breathe on the subject was, that the negoti ation which unfortunately had not been brought to a favourable issue, might not be broken off all at once and for ever! but if it were possible, that the country should be spared those calamities to which such an inquiry must give rise. He implored the house to consider how far more virtuous an act they would do, by avoiding such an investigation, rather than by showing their constancy and perseverance in steering, however successfully, through these accumulated difficulties. 2015 A

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Mr. Canning assented to all that had fallen from the 2 honorable gentleman respecting the painful nature of the inquiry. But that inquiry had been forced upon ministers, who had left nothing undone to avoid it. At an early part of the session, ministers were taunted with the dilemma of prov ing her guilt, or admitting her innocence. But ministers still kept silence, from a wish to avoid so painful an inquiry. In July, 1819, ministers had received a communication, pointing out the same terms as those offered. He did not mean to state that the queen was a party to the proposal, though from the quarter from which it came, no idea could be entertained that it could have been look ed upon as discreditable. In 1814, he had advised the queen to reside abroad, and the same advice