your Lordships expressed yourselves anxious "to have an opportunity of fully considering a measure of such deep importance to the highest interests of the community," you, of course, intended that your judgment was to be coupled with a control-not a judgment without fruit; not a judgment which would be followed by no practical result. It was,

then, a sneer and a mockery-for I will not use a harsher expression-to tell you that you would be enabled to exercise your judgment upon these annual reports, though, I repeat it, I can hardly bring myself to believe that it was so intended by the noble Viscount.

I

I pass, my Lords, from this subject to another of no inconsiderable importance· another measure of legislation. The subject to which I have just adverted was in substance a measure of legislation by one house alone, for which your Lordships may indeed find precedents; but precedents drawn from times of tumult and disorder, which I can scarcely think the noble Viscount would wish to see renewed. now call your attention to the first Jamaica Bill. The Assembly of Jamaica contended that we had infringed their privileges, by legislating without necessity respecting the internal affairs of that island. They did what they had before done under similar circumstances. They presented an address to the Crown, and resolved that they would not proceed in any work of legislation except such as related to the maintenance of public credit, until they received an answer to their address. They were immediately prorogued, and were afterwards continued under prorogation. No answer was returned to their address; no explanation given; no communication of any description was made to them: but a bill was prepared by the Colonial Office, and brought into Parliament to annihilate for ever the constitution of Jamaica ; I say, a bill to annihilate the constitution of Jamaica: for, though that bill was in terms only directed to the suspension of the constitution for the period of five years, every one who reflects for a moment must be aware that the practical result of such a measure would have been its complete and entire extinction. A measure so strong and so despotic met with a vigorous opposition in the other House of Parliament. A reformed House of Commons-itself a representative assembly, and professing liberal opinions could not well consent

to abolish another and ancient representative assembly, except in a case of absolute necessity. The bill, on its second reading, was carried only by a majority of five. It was considered as lost, and so in substance it was. Her Majesty's Ministers felt and stated that they no longer possessed the confidence of the House of Commons. They never had enjoyed the confidence of this House; and as to the people, they well knew that they were regarded by them with hatred and contempt. They, therefore, tendered the resignation of their offices to Her Majesty, and that resignation was accepted. The history of the few days subsequent to that event I pass over, it forms no part of the matter which I have to submit to your Lordships; it has, besides, been so fully laid before you by the noble Duke, himself an actor in it, and was afterwards treated in so able and masterly a manner by my noble and learned friend opposite, that the recollection of the whole subject must be fresh in your memories, and I will not impair the effect of it by any statement of my own. But there is one point connected with it to which I must call the attention of your Lordships. Her Majesty's Ministers tendered their resignation-that resignation was accepted, and they stated that they only held office until their successors were appointed. Then commenced the communications for forming another administration. While these were still in progress, the ministers, who only held office until their successors were appointed, interposed, individually and collectively, with their counsel, advised the letter addressed by Her Majesty to Sir Robert Peel, and were thus the negotiators with their political opponents. In the result, they advised Her Majesty to break off the negotiation, and to restore themselves to the position they formerly occupied for that was the constitutional effect of the whole proceeding. Such a course of conduct never before occurred in the history of this country; and I trust in God that it never will occur again. And what, my Lords, was the first act of this restored Government? Their first act was to draw up their celebrated Cabinet Minute-a document historically false, argumentatively false, legally false; and the unconstitutional character of which was only equalled by its folly, its extravagance, and its absurdity.

Ministers, I have said, were reinstated in their former position. They had declared that they had lost the confi

dence of the House of Commons. What had they since done to regain that forfeited confidence? Every act, every circumstance which had occurred in these transactions, had tended only to sink and lower them still further in public estimation. Far from having gained an increase of confidence in the House of Commons, all these proceedings had tended only to weaken and degrade them. It was necessary, however, to put the question to the test; and the second Jamaica Bill was brought in. The pretence was, the necessity of continuing certain laws which were about to expire in that colony; but other clauses were engrafted upon it, equally pernicious in principle with the bill which Ministers had abandoned. The second reading was carried by a majority of ten. With a majority of five, they confessed that they had forfeited the confidence of the House of Commons; and with all this management they had contrived to advance this majority in a house of six hundred and fifty-eight members from five to ten. Such was the fruit of these intrigues.

Their situation had become uneasy and almost desperate, and it became necessary to attempt something to regain the confidence of a party in the House of Commons, and the subject of the Ballot was selected for that purpose. It was perhaps, after the Reform Bill, the most important question that had been submitted to the consideration of Parliament. If ever there was a measure respecting which it was incumbent upon the Government to act as a Government, it was this measure of the Ballot. The opinion of the Government was well known regarding it; but they thought, that to make it an open question would be considered a concession, and would tend to increase their influence with a certain party in the House of Commons. It was a shabby proceeding! It was supposed, however, that there would be a further advantage attending it; that it would enable some members of the Cabinet to win the regard of their constituents by their votes in favour of the measure. The result of this policy was an entire failure-it disgusted many-it conciliated no one; and when a leading member of the Cabinet, with unexampled frankness, let out the secret that he had voted for making the question an open one, as the best way of defeating it, the shabbiness of the proceeding was forgotten in the contempt of the hypocrisy and deception which had

been practised in this transaction. I cannot then, my Lords, congratulate the noble Viscount, and his government, on any accession of strength gained by the course pursued upon this question of the Ballot.

When the second Jamaica Bill was over, the 9th of July had arrived. Up to that day not one bill of any consequence had passed the two houses. The whole was a blank. We had passed, it is true, the Mutiny Bill, and the Annual Indemnity Bill; we had passed nine or ten money bills, of the ordinary course and character; we had also passed twelve or fourteen other bills, some for the amendment, some for the continuance, of former bills, and others for trifling and unimportant matters, to which no opposition was made in either House of Parliament. There were many bills lying on the table of the House of Commons, and several of them of an important nature. It became, therefore, necessary to inquire what the Government intended to do with them. The session was far advanced, and members were naturally anxious on the subject. And accordingly, we find, upon this intimation, that measure after measure was abandoned. I hold a list in my hand of these bills. There was a bill for the Registration of Voters in England; it was abandoned. A similar bill was introduced for the Registration of Voters in Scotland; it was in like manner abandoned. The Fictitious Votes Bill (Scotland)—a bill of importance to that country, was abandoned. The Preparation of Writs (Scotland), abandoned; the Registration of Leases (Scotland), abandoned; the Heritable Securities (Scotland), abandoned; the District Sessions Bill, abandoned; the District Prisons Bill, abandoned; the Town Councils' Bill, abandoned: so also the Ecclesiastical Duties and Revenues Bill, it was abandoned. The Factories' Regulation Bill—a bill which had been much discussed, and of vast importance to the interests of humanity, was abandoned. The Collection of Rates Bill, the County Courts Bill, the Embankments (Ireland) Bill, and many other bills of different descriptions, all, all were abandoned, because Ministers, from not possessing the necessary energy, vigour, and capacity, and above all, from not enjoying the confidence of the House of Commons, found it impossible to carry these measures through Parliament.

But there is another measure on which, at the close of the session, some reliance may possibly be placed, and upon which,

therefore, I must say a few words. I allude to the Postage Bill. That measure was at first ridiculed and assailed by the retainers, and also by some of the members of the Government. It was abused as absolutely impracticable; with a deficient revenue to give up another million, upon such an experiment, was the very extreme of impolicy and absurdity. All this was urged and circulated with great activity by the members and retainers of Government. But the measure was pressed from without, and Her Majesty's Ministers did not possess sufficient vigour or character, nor enough of the confidence of Parliament, to resist it; and, in opposition to their better judgment, they prepared to bring in the bill. Not having the courage or the ability to look the measure directly in the face, they hit, as they fancied, upon a contrivance to get rid of it by a side-wind; and Her Majesty's Chancellor of the Exchequer, with that singular ingenuity which distinguishes his character, thought that if he could introduce into the bill a clause distasteful to the House of Commons, he should be enabled to defeat the measure. Accordingly a pledge was introduced, that Parliament would make good any deficiency which might be occasioned in the public revenue by the adoption of the new project. This pledge proved as he had anticipated, distasteful to the House, and it was strenuously opposed. It was said, and said justly, by its opponents, that such a pledge was unnecessary; for that if the revenue proved deficient, it would become the duty of the House of Commons, without any such pledge, to make that deficiency good. At length, however, in spite of all these manœuvres, the Postage measure passed through all its stages in the House of Commons. Then the Government looked for assistance to your Lordships; the cry was, "the Lords will never pass the bill-they will not suffer the revenue to be thus reduced; it is sure to be defeated in the House of Lords." Well, the bill came on for discussion here upon the motion for the second reading; and I never observed, upon the consideration of any important ministerial measure, a thinner attendance upon the opposite benches. The noble Viscount moved the second reading; he urged with great force, with all the talent, and with all the knowledge of the world which distinguish him, every reason that could be urged against the measure; and, after he had expatiated upon and