Dr. Lushingtonsaid, he regretted extremely the absence of the noble secretary of state (lord Castlereagh); but he was, nevertheless, obliged in his absence to bring under the notice of the House a subject which he should rather have wished had fallen into other and abler hands. It became his duty, however, in consequence of the absence of her majesty's solicitor-general, private notice having been given to the noble lord to whom he had alluded, that such a motion would this evening be made—to submit the subject, which was one of considerable importance to the judgment of the House. The circumstances out of which the motion he was about to make arose were as follows. In 1808, his late majesty was pleased to order a service of plate to be made, which he afterwards bestowed on her present majesty, who was then princess of Wales. She continued to use it from 1808 to 1814, as her own private and personal property. On proceeding to the continent, in 1814, her majesty placed it under the charge of Mr. Mash, of the chamberlain's office. On her return to this country she caused application to be made for the restoration of the plate, which then became necessary for her use and convenience, and he greatly regretted to state that the lord chamberlain was pleased to authorize this answer—"that the plate could not be returned to her majesty, because it was the property of the Crown, as would be made to appear from official documents." Her majesty naturally felt herself greatly aggrieved by the treatment she had received from government; but little did she expect that, in a case where her comfort and convenience were concerned, nice points of etiquette would have been raised, for the purpose of de- 478 priving her of articles which were not only necessary to her as befitting the high rank she held, but were also necessary as connected with the habits and manners of every individual moving in an elevated rank of society. But so it was, in addition to the numberless insults, oppressions, and indignities that had been heaped on her majesty, this last, the most despicable, the most base, the most petty, the most contemptible, had been resorted to. He could not conceive what satisfactory answer his majesty's ministers could give for persisting in this cruel line of conduct. He trusted they would not shrink from the responsibility which their situations imposed on them. If the conduct adopted towards her majesty in this and other instances were indefensible, on them alone must he responsibility rest. If it were answered to him, by ministers, "we stand on the strict rule of law, and as this is the property of the Crown, her majesty has no right to demand it," he would reply, "has she not the same title and the same right to hold and to enjoy this plate as other branches of the royal family have and do exercise with respect to similar presents? Have they not received and enjoyed, without interruption, similar presents bestowed on them by the late king, who had himself enjoyed the presents received from his predecessors?" Should such an answer as that which he had supposed be persevered in by ministers, it would be most unsatisfactory to the country. The queen having been deprived of a residence in one of the royal palaces—having been deprived of those outward insignia of respect, the keeping up of which was, perhaps, more for the honour and dignity of the Crown than it was grateful to the individual who! wore it—he hoped every person would oppose this last pitiful insult, the depriving her majesty of those articles which! were necessary to her comfort in her private residence. He trusted the chancellor of the exchequer would come for-ward and state that the plate would be given up, and that this course of paltry annoyance would be abandoned. The learned gentleman concluded by moving "That an humble address be presented to his majesty, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions, that there be laid before this House, copies of all official papers relating to the service of plate presented to her majesty the queen by his late majesty, in 1808, and used by her 479 majesty till her departure from England in 1814."
The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, if he had received the same notice of the learned gentleman's intended motion as had been given to his noble friend, he would have sought for information on the subject, and would doubtless have been prepared to give an explanation. He was, however, ready to state all the information which he at present possessed. It was unquestionably true that a service of plate was presented by his late majesty to the princess of Wales for her use, which service was placed in the apartments occupied by her in Kensington-palace; but that plate, having been paid for out of the civil-list revenue, could not be considered as the queen's private property, but as the public property of the Crown. He had, he conceived, some reason to complain of the course adopted by the learned gentleman, who had evidently taken the House by surprise. He thought it was extremely unfair to take advantage of the absence of one hon. member, in order to call on another to enter into an explanation, and also to enter into an engagement with respect to a transaction which the latter was not aware would have been brought before the House. He should therefore suggest, that the motion should be merely considered as a, notice for Monday.
Dr. Lushingtonsaid, that as the right hon. gentleman had stated that on Monday an opportunity for explanation would offer itself, he acceded to his proposition, and on that day would repeat the motion which he had just made, and which he now begged leave to withdraw.
§ The motion was then withdrawn.