§ On the motion, that the House do adjourn,
§ Mr. Humesaid, he conceived it to be most important that the country should understand, before the prorogation of parliament, how her majesty was to be placed at the ensuing coronation, and that every precaution should be taken that was calculated to prevent the peace of the capital from being disturbed upon that occasion. If any of his majesty's ministers had been in the House, he should have felt it his duty to have gone at greater length into this subject than he then felt inclined to do: but being one of those individuals whom a noble marquis on a former night had accused of having by their exertions risked the peace of the country, he could not allow himself to be placed in such a situation again as would compel him to have recourse to similar proceedings, without protesting most loudly against it. From the nature of the court to which her majesty's claims had been submitted, he could not draw any favourable augury as to their decision; though he was convinced that her lawyers had made out as clear a right for her coronation as existed at present for the king's. Taking for granted, then, that the decision of that court would be against the existence of the claim, the point which he wished to ascertain was this—whether ministers intended to persevere in their, system of insulting, persecuting, and oppressing the Queen upon all occasions, or whether they intended to assign her a place among the other members of the royal family at the ensuing coronation. That her majesty would attend in person at that ceremonial, he entertained not the slightest doubt. From what he knew of her spirit and resolution, he was convinced that she would be present at it if not as a part of it, at least to prevent the rights of future queens-consort from being compromised and degraded in her person It was upon that account that he now gave notice, that he should to-morrow submit to the House a motion on the subject,
§ Mr. Butterworthlamented the introduction of such a subject at a time when no minister was in the House to notice it. He trusted that her majesty would not be so ill-advised as to pursue the plan which the hon. gentleman had chalked out for her. She had already had ill-advisers enough about her; and he trusted, for the sake of the little credit and popularity which she still had left her, she would not interfere in the manner alluded to.
Mr. Alderman Woodshould not have risen, if it had not been for the extraordinary expression which had escaped from the hon. gentlemen, as to the little credit and popularity which her majesty retained. He was surprised the hon. member had dared to make such an assertion, when he must have known that ninety-nine out of every hundred of his own constituents were strongly biassed in favour of her majesty. So far from her majesty's popularity being upon the wane, it had even increased since the conclusion of the infamous investigation into her conduct. Her majesty, he was sure, would not be dictated to by any person, as to the course which she ought to pursue. He had, however, no hesitation in saying, that it was the decided intention of the Queen to attend the coronation, notwithstanding any thing that had occurred, or that might occur, before a particular tribunal.
§ Mr. Butterworthconceived that nothing could be more ill-advised than her majesty's intention of disturbing the coronation.
§ Mr. Humesaid, that if the hon. gentleman intended his observations to apply to him, he could only inform him that he never had the honour, and most probably never should of being one of her majesty's advisers.