Lord Teynhampresented a Petition from the Parish of St. Michael and St. George, in Dublin, praying for the Abolition of Tithes, and for the removal of Mr. Stanley from the Chief Secretaryship of Ireland.
§ Earl Greyconsidered a petition to that 1133 House, which prayed for the removal of a person appointed to an office by the Crown, could not be admitted. It was evident that the power of removing him did not rest in that House; and, there-fore, it would be preposterous to admit a petition for an object which it was not in the power of the House to carry into effect.
The Lord Chancellorsaid, that he was not one who felt disposed in any way to close the doors of that House against the petitions of any class of his Majesty's subjects. On the contrary, he was disposed, if possible, to overlook any irregularity which might accidentally occur in the wording of petitions, if there were no objections on the very face of the petition to its being received. He should have been inclined to extend this rule to the present petition, without paying any regard to the merits of its prayer; but that House had not the power, any more than the petitioners themselves, of accomplishing the object which the petitioners had in view; and, therefore, it could answer no good purpose to receive the petition; it would be a mere mockery of the right of petition, than which the people had no right more valuable, if their Lordships were to entertain a petition, praying them to do something which it was as impossible that they should do as if they had been asked to do something physically impossible. The appointment of any Minister depended entirely upon the Crown. If the petition had been, that their Lordships should move an humble Address to the Crown, praying the removal of any Minister appointed by the Crown, that would have been perfectly regular. The objection, therefore, was merely one arising from the inconsistency in petitioning the House to do that which they had not the power of doing; and did not extend to a petition to the same effect if tendered in a proper form; but worded in the way in which it now was worded, it was impossible, in his opinion, for that House to entertain it.
Lord Teynham withdrew the petition.