THE HISTORY O F THE PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES O F THE HOUSE of COMMONS, In the FIRST SESSION of the Sixteenth Parliament of GREAT BRITAIN, Appointed to be holden at WESTMINSTER May 18. THE Commons affembled agreeable to the return of the writs, and a number of members being fworn by the Lord Steward, they attended His Majefty at the bar of the House of Peers, where the Lord Chancellor addreffed the Clerk in the usual terms *—That His Majesty deferred declaring the caufes of calling this Parliament until there fhould be a Speaker of the Houfe of Commons--and therefore directing them to chufe a fit perfon to be their Speaker, and present fuch person the next day. The members being returned to their own House, and the pleasure of His Majefty being fignified by Mr Hatfell, The Marquis of Graham moved "That the right ho- Marquis of nourable Charles-Wolfran Cornwall be called to the chair." Gram. This was feconded by Sir George Howard. Mr. Fox highly approved of the motion for re-feating the Mr. Fox. late Speaker. He rofe only for the purpose of taking notice * For the detail of the bufinefs of electing a Speaker, vide this work, vol. I. for the year 1780. of the criminal and unwarrantable conduct of the High Bailiff of Westminster, who had not obeyed the precept, and had made no return whatever, or what was at leaft equal to no return*. Mr. Fox fpoke of the conduct of the High Bailiff in terms of great indignation, and gave notice to the House *The election for the city of Westminster continued till the 17th, the day before the return of the writ. The High Bailiff made the following return : "Thomas Corbett, Bailiff of the liberty of the Dean and Chapter of the collegiate church of St. Peter, at Westminster, in the county of Middlesex, doth hereby certify unto the Sheriff of the said county. of Middlesex, that by virtue of a certain precept, dated the 16th day of March last, and on the fame day delivered to him the said Bailiff, by the faid Sheriff, for the election of two Citizens to ferve in the enfuing Parliament for the city of Westminster, and by virtue of the writ therein recited (proclamation of the premises in the faid precept first mentioned, of the day and place, as in the faid precept is directed, first being made), he the said Bailiff did proceed to the election of two Citizens to ferve in the enfuing Parliament for the faid city of Weftminster, on the 1ft day of April now last past, on which day appeared and were put in nomination the three candidates herein after mentioned, and a poll being demanded, he the faid Bailiff did forthwith proceed to take the said poll, and continued to take the same day by day, during fix hours each day, viz. from nine in the forenoon to three in the afternoon, until the day of the date of these prefents inclufive, on which day the said poll was finally clofed, when the numbers on the faid poll for the faid candidates stood as follow, viz. For the Right Hon. Sir Samuel Hood, Baronet, For Sir Cecil Wray, Baronet, 6694. 6233 5998 The faid Bailiff farther fets forth, That on the faid final clofe of the poll, a fcrutiny was duly demanded in behalf of Sir Cecil Wray: which fcrutiny the faid Bailiff has granted for the purpose of investi. gating the legality of the votes more acurately than could be done on the faid poll: and the faid fcrutiny, fo granted, is now pending and undetermined, and by reason of the premises, the faid Bailiff humbly, conceives he cannot make any other return to the faid Precept than as herein before is contained, until the faid fcrutiny fhall be determined, which he fully intends to proceed upon with all practicable, dispatch. In witness whereof, he, the faid Thomas Corbett, Bailiff' of the faid liberty, hath hereunto fet his hand and feal, the 17th day of May, in the year of our Lord, 1784. THO. CORBETT, Bailiff.” that that this return must be inquired into before they could, with decency, proceed to any other bufinefs. It was the most attentive concern of the House to take care that the reprefentation of the people was compleat; and this breach of privilege ftruck at the root of reprefentation. If the Bailiff of Rye had acted like the Bailiff of Weftminster, they would not have had the most proper person that day to call to the chair. He stated the point in a variety of strong lights, and gave notice that he fhould call the attention of the Houfe to it, as foon as it was poffible for them, by their rules, to proceed to bufinefs. The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, that when the proper The Chantime came for the difcuffion of the point, he had no doubt cellor of the Exchequer. but gentlemen would treat it with the attention which it deserved in the mean time he trufted that the harsh epithets of the right honourable gentleman would not have any influence on the House, nor prejudice them against the object of them. The question was carried unanimously, and Mr. Cornwall was placed in the chair, May 19. The Commons attended His Majefty at the bar of the Houfe of Peers; and the Speaker being approved of, he humbly claimed for the House their ancient privileges; and this ceremony over, His Majesty opened the feffion with the following moft gracious fpeech from the throne: "My Lords and Gentlemen, "I have the greateft fatisfaction in meeting you in Parliament at this time, after recurring, in fo important a "moment, to the sense of my people. I have a just and con"fident reliance, that you are animated with the fame fen"timents of loyalty, and the fame attachment to our ex"cellent conftitution, which I have had the happiness to "fee fo fully manifefted in every part of the kingdom. "The happy effects of such a difpofition will, I doubt not, "appear in the temper and wifdom of your deliberations, "and in the difpatch of the important objects of public "bufinefs which demand your attention. It will afford "me peculiar pleasure to find, that the exercise of the << power entrusted to me by the Conftitution, has "been productive of confequences fo beneficial to my ❝ subjects, B 2 |