On the morning after the demise of the late king, as many of the cabinet ministers, as were in town, resigned their credentials of office into the hands of the secretary of state for the home department, who, at a court held a few hours afterwards, delivered them to the sovereign. At the same court the lord chancellor appeared without the insignia of his high dignity, and gave up the seals to the king. These proceedings, which, on similar occasions, are generally matters of high importance both to the individuals and to the state, were in this case a mere ceremonial. The seals were immediately returned to lord Eldon, and the other cabinet ministers were severally re-appointed to their former offices. After the oaths of allegiance had been administered to those who were present, a privy council was, in compliance with the royal command, forthwith holden; and as many of his late majesty's council as were then in attendance, were re-sworn privy councillors to the new sovereign. The council being thus duly constituted, his majesty made the following declaration : "I have directed that you should be assembled here, in order that I may discharge the painful duty of announcing to you the death of the king, my beloved father. "It is impossible for me adequately to express the state of my feelings upon this melaucholy occasion; but I have the consolation of knowing, that the severe calamity with which his majesty has been afflicted for so many years, has never effaced from the minds of his subjects the impressions created by his many virtues, and his example will, I am persuaded, live for ever in the grateful remembrance of his country. "Called upon, in consequence of his majesty's indisposition, to exercise the prerogatives of the crown on his behalf, it was the first wish of my heart to be allowed to restore into his hands the powers with which I was intrusted. It has pleased Almighty God to determine otherwise, and I have not been insensible to the advantages which I have derived from administering in my dear father's name the government of this realm. "The support which I have received from parliament and the country, in times the most eventful, and under the most arduous circumstances, could alone inspire me with that confidence which my present station demands. "The experience of the past will, I trust, satisfy all classes of my people, that it will ever be my most anxious endeavour to promote their prosperity and happiness, and to maintain unimpaired the religion, laws, and liberties of the kingdom." His majesty next, in compliance with the requisitions of law, took and subscribed the usual oaths, in the Scottish mode, for the security of the church of Scotland. The form for the proclamation of the new sovereign was then agreed upon; and, on the following day, that ceremonial was gone through with all due solemnity. As his late majesty expired on Saturday, and as the next day, Sunday, the 29th of January, was the anniversary of the martyrdom of Charles I. which is observed by our church as a solemn fast, it was necessary to defer the ceremony of the proclamation till the Monday. Scarcely was the pageant over, when the sudden and severe illness of the king excited a general apprehension, that a new cause of public mourning might soon be added to those which existed already. For some days previous to the death of his father, he had laboured under a violent cold; and though seasonable precautions were taken against the progress of the malady, the agitation naturally produced by the loss of a parent and a brother, within the space of a single week, aided, no doubt, by the bustle and personal exertions which the commencement of a new reign made requisite, aggravated all the symptoms, so that towards the evening of the day (Jan. 31st) of his proclamation, they assumed an alarming aspect. When it was announced by a formal bulletin, on the following day, that the king had been attacked by an inflammation of the lungs-the very disease which, only seven days before, had in so short a time carried the duke of Kent to a premature grave-the most gloomy presages naturally suggested themselves. These, fortunately, were not verified by the event. After nine days his majesty was declared convalescent, though it was some time before he recovered his usual strength. By the common law of England, the demise of the crown operated as a dissolution of the existing parliament. To prevent the inconveniencies which might arise from the want of a legislative power on the accession of a new Sovereign, two statutes (7 & 8 W. III. c. 15, and 6 Anne, c. 7) have VOL. LXII. enacted, that the parliament in being shall continue for six months after the death of any king or queen, unless sooner dissolved or prorogued by the successor to the crown; and that, if separated by adjournment or prorogation at the time of the demise of the crown, it shall notwithstanding assemble immediately. Accordingly, both Houses of Parliament, though they had adjourned from the end of December to the 15th of February, met on Sunday the 30th of January. Mr. Cowper, the chief clerk, administered the oaths to the lords in attendance, who immediately adjourned to the following day; but the members of the House of Commons, who had assembled, could not proceed to any business, as, in consequence of the absence of the lord high steward, the oaths could not be administered to them. On Monday both Houses again met. The lord high steward administered, in the long gallery, the oaths of allegiance to such members of the commons as were in attendance. Then, the Speaker having seated himself in the chair, and taken the customary oaths, the members who had been sworn before the high steward, were re-sworn at the table of the house. swearing in of members continued until the 2nd of February, when both Houses adjourned to the 17th. The funeral obsequies of his late majesty were to be celebrated on Ash-Wednesday, the 16th of February; and it would have been indecent, that the public councils of the nation should have exhibited scenes of personal invective and political hostility, while the mortal remains of their late sovereign were not yet committed to the grave. [C] The On the 16th of February the funeral took place. It was adorned with every circumstance of gloomy splendor befitting such an occasion; but it was less honoured by all the decorations of royal pomp, than by the spontaneous sympathy which it excited in every heart. Though George III. had for some years been, in effect, dead to his people, he had been still among them, and it was in his name that they had been all along governed. Now the separation between a virtuous sovereign, and subjects who acknowledged and admired his virtues, was complete; and the marks of private and public regret, which were every where exhibited, showed that the separation was deeply felt by the people. On the 17th, parliament met; and on the same day, lord Castlereagh presented to the House of Commons the following message from the king: "The king is persuaded that the House of Commons deeply participates in the grief and affliction of his majesty, for the loss which his majesty and the nation have sustained by the lamented death of the late king his father. "This melancholy event imposing upon his majesty the necessity of summoning, within a limited period, a new parliament, the king has taken into consideration the present state of public business, and is of opinion, that it will be in all respects most conducive to the public interests and convenience to call the new parliament without delay. "The king, therefore, recommends to the House of Commons to adopt such measures as may be found indispensably necessary to provide for the exigencies, of the public service during the interval which must elapse between the termination of the present session and the opening of a new parliament. G. R." On the same day, lord Liverpool presented a similar message to the Lords. The line of conduct pursued by the ministers in both houses, was extremely cautious. The message, so far as it announced the death of the late monarch, called only for condolence; but, in announcing the immediate dissolution of the House of Commons, a subject was brought forward, which party spirit would not fail to turn to some advantage. The propriety of the dissolution might be denied ; and even if that were granted, there was still plausible ground for maintaining, that such a topic ought not to be submitted to the deliberations of the representatives of the people. The ministers, therefore, proposed, that the latter part of the royal message should be taken into consideration on the following day; and that, in the mean time, each House should immediately vote his majesty an address of condolence on the loss of his father, and of congratulation on his own accession. All parties acceded to this arrangement, as tending to produce a becoming unanimity, without any compromise of political principle. Accordingly, the proposed address being seconded in the one house by the marquis of Lansdown, and in the other by Mr. Tierney, was voted without a dissenting voice; we might even say, without discussion: for all the speeches, to which it gave occasion, were eulogies of the virtues of the deceased monarch. There was a single phrase in the Address with which Mr. Tierney was not quite satisfied. It was the passage in which the Houses of Parliament declared, "that they derived from the experience of the past, as well as from their confidence in his majesty's character and virtues, the firm conviction that his reign would be marked by a constant endeavour to promote the general prosperity and happiness of his people." This allusion to the experience of the past, Mr. Tierney thought it would have been better to have omitted. On all the past he turned his back, and wished to see it buried in oblivion. A new reign was commencing; and he anxiously hoped, that the measures adopted in future would be such, as would promote the honour of the crown, as well as the welfare of the country. As the indisposition of his majesty prevented him from receiving the addresses on the throne, that of the upper House was presented to him by the lords with white staves; that of the lower, by such of the members as were of the privy council. The Commons, on the same day, and the Lords, on the following day, voted separate addresses of condolence to his majesty, and the duchess of Kent, on the occasion of the death of the duke. After this concession to public decency, parliamentary proceedings assumed their usual character. The first topics which came into observation, were the proposed dissolution of parliament, and how far the public business should be proceeded in previously. In the former part of the session (that part of it which passed before Christmas), the attention of the legislature had been occupied exclusively by the late riotous proceedings of the illdisposed, and the measures which were deemed necessary for the preservation of internal tranquillity. The whole ordinary business of a session, therefore, remained yet to be dispatched; and this could scarcely be comprised within the period of six months from the demise of the sovereign, beyond which, the duration of the present parliament could not extend. The canvass for the approaching elections had already begun; the very paper which announced the death of George III. contained an advertisement from Mr. Brougham to the electors of the county of Westmorland: every day added to the existence of the present parliament, was a prolongation of the canvass for the next. keep the country for six months in all the confusion, immorality, and ardent excitement, which accompany a general election, would be little praiseworthy in ministers on any occasion, and would almost be criminal at a time which had been immediately preceded by a period of unusual civil disturbance. On every great principle of public policy, speedy dissolution was the wisest course which could be adopted; the disbursements, which would be necessary before the meeting of the new parliament, being provided for by a temporary act. This, indeed, was not exactly the course which had been followed upon the accession of the former princes of the House of Brunswick. To a Hitherto the existing parliament had immediately settled the civil-list of the new sovereign; and there was a good reason for such a course of proce dure, inasmuch as, in all former instances, he to whom the crown had devolved, did not, before his succession to the throne, possess any parliamentary revenue equal to the exigencies of the royal dignity. Such was not the case with George IV. As he had exercised the prerogatives of the crown for several years, the revenues allotted to him had been estimated with a view to the royal dignity, and might easily be continued on their actual footing for a few months longer. The difference of the cases, therefore, amply warranted a difference of practice. It had been a matter of imperious necessity to settle the civil-list of George II. or George III. without delay, because neither of these princes had any civil-list at the time of their respective accessions to the throne. It was not a matter of equal necessity to settle the civil-list of George IV. immediately; because the civil-list, as it had existed during his regency, was adequate to his kingly dignity, and might be prolonged without inconvenience. Ministers, indeed, might be taunted with reluctance to bring -the expenses of the court before a House of Coinmons composed of members, who were on the point of being sent back to their constituents, to account for the manner in which they had discharged their trust. It might be said, that it was perfectly consistent with regal policy, to submit matters which touched the court closely, rather to the first session of a new parliament, than to the last of an old one: since, in the former, intrigues and ministerial influence would be omnipotent; while, in the latter, more regard would be paid to popular feel ings. But such taunts, however well they may be fitted for purposes of debate, ought not to sway our sober judgments. If a transaction is defensible on broad general grounds, it must not be disapproved of, because there is a possibility that some sinister motive may have a share in recommending it. In pursuance of the plan, which, on the whole, appeared most advisable to ministers, on the 18th of February, lord Liverpool in the Lords, and lord Castlereagh in the Commons, moved an address, which was an echo of the two latter paragraphs of the royal message. This address was agreed to in both houses, though not without considerable debate. The grounds of opposition were various. Lord Lansdowne insisted on precedent. On the accession of Anne in March, of George I. in August, of George II. in June, and of George III. in October, the existing parliament proceeded without delay to the consideration of the civil-list; and he concluded, that the same course ought to be followed now. Lord Lauderdale agreed with him in his conclusion; because he conceived, that to postpone the consideration of the civil-list until after a general election, was, in fact, to submit its arrangements to the public at large. The late increase of our military establishment was also dragged into the discussion, on the pretence, that parliament should not be dissolved, till it had leisure to examine into the propriety of that increase: as if, forsooth, a measure which had been deliberately adopted a few weeks before, could now be reconsidered with extraordinary advantage, amid a great |