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Accordingly the Commons returned to their own House, and Mr. Hatfell, one of the clerks of parliament, having taken his feat at the table, and the members who were sworn having taken their feats in their turns,

Lord

2. Whether the election be in their own abfolute choice? "For, to clear thefe two we might view the antient records; thofe of Richard II. are the first that mention their speaker.

"It doth not appear by any of them, that the Commons had ever any fuch commandment to chuse their speaker, neither is a word of it in any record of Edward III. which have the speeches at large, touching the fummons, most of them concluding with a charge of the Commons to confider and advise amongst themselves, but nothing touching the election of a fpeaker.

"Yet out of doubt they did firft chufe their speaker, before they entered into any debate of charge.

"The firft charge to chufe their speaker is in anno 2, Henry IV. and it is continued until this day.

But as touching the fecond queftion, furely the election of the fpeaker was antiently free to the Commons, to chufe whom they would of their own Houfe; which appears in this, that the King never rejected any whom they made choice of."

Thus far Elfynge.

Had Mr. Elfynge lived until the year 1678, he would have ftruck out his laft affertion, viz. "that the King never rejected any whom they made choice of." In the parliamentary books and papers of the year 1678, there appears to have been a ftrong debate, on the King rejecting a fpeaker chofen by the Commons.

A new parliament met on the 6th of March, 1678, and the Commons being (in the ufual manner) commanded by the King to chufe a fpeaker, they returned from the Houfe of Lords to their own House, Col. Birch. when Colonel Birch rofe, and recommended the right honourable Edward Seymour (who was fpeaker of the laft parliament) for his great ability and long experience in the employment, as the fitteft perfon for fo great a truft.

Sir 7. Einley.

The motion was agreed to, and Sir Edward Seymour was prefented for his Majefty's approbation. As foon as he was at the Lords' bar, the Lord Chancellor faid to him, "That if his Majefty fhould always accept a perfon pitched upon by the Houfe of Commons, then it would be no great favour to be chofen fpeaker; and there"fore his Majefty being the best judge of perfons and things, thought "fit to except against Mr. Seymour, without giving any reafons to "the perfons chufing, or the perfon chofen." And therefore he or dered them to fix upon fome other perfon by to-morrow morning, to be prefented to the King for his approbation.

The Commons returned to their own Houfe, when Sir John Ernley, chancellor of the exchequer, ftood up and acquainted them, "He had orders from his Majefty to recommend Sir Thomas Meers to them to be their fpeaker.

Mr.

Lord George Germain rofe, and addreffing himself to Mr. Ld. George Hatfell, faid the bufinefs firft to be proceeded upon, was that Germain. which his Majefty had been pleased to direct, which was the choice of a speaker. His Lordfhip then defcanted for a short time on the duties of a fpeaker, and the neceffary qualifications for executing the office. He faid, to be capable of filling the chair with dignity, the perfon propofed muft understand the conftitution of the ftate, be well acquainted with the law of

Mr. Sacheverel faid it was never known that a perfon fhould be ex- Mr. Sachecepted against, and no reafon given. It is done to gratify fome par- verel. ticular perfon.

Mr. Williams. This feems to be a queftion of right. For above an Mr. Wilhundred years paft it has not been known that any speaker was ever liams. excepted against. The thing itfelf of presenting him to the King is but a bare compliment. If we fuffer this, we shall be put upon daily. Sir Thomas Clarges. There were parliaments long before there were Sir Thomas fpeakers chofen; and afterwards, for the eafe of the House, among Clarges. themfelves they pitched upon a fpeaker.

Mr. Garraway. If you admit this, you would admit any thing! Mr. GariaIf Mr. Seymour be rejected from being speaker, pray who muft chufe way. the fpeaker, the King or us? It is plain, not us.

Sir Thomas Lee. To except against a fpeaker without giving a reason, Sir Thomas is to do a thing that may fet us together by the ears; and then they Lee. [meaning thofe who advifed the King to reject the fpeaker] have their defigned end. But I fhall not confent to part with the leaft right that belongs to my country, for which I am chofen a reprefentative.

Colonel Birch. He that advised this, will readily advife more, I'll Col. Birch. warrant you.

Mr. Powle. This ill advice muft proceed from fome who are too Mr. Powle. near the King. But I hope there is not a man here fearful of speaking his mind freely, in favour of thofe whom he reprefents, nor yet afraid of being diffolved, if it be to-morrow, for maintaining the right of those who chufe us to fit here for them.

The Houfe adjourned till next day, and prefented a reprefentation to the King, fetting forth their right to a free election of a fpeaker, and hoped his Majefty would accept of the choice they had before made. The King anfwered, "All this is but lofs of time; and “therefore I defire you to go back again, and do as I have directed "you." They prefented a fecond addrefs, fhorter but sharper than the firft. Upon reading this addrefs, the King faid, "Gentlemen, İ "will fend you an answer to-morrow." Accordingly, as he had often done before upon great difficulties, he refolved to put an end to the difpute; and on the next morning, Thurfday the 13th of March, he came to the Houfe of Peers, and prorogued the Parliament until the Saturday following. Thus ended the firft feffion of the new parliament; and thus the King found a way to gain his point; for on the 15th of March, being the first day of the fecond feffion, William Gregory, efq. ferjeant at law, was chofen fpeaker.

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the land, and, above all, be perfectly mafter of the law of parliament. He must have a zealous attachment to the rights. and privileges of the Commons of England, and a fufficient degree of ability and integrity to fupport, maintain, and defend them; he must be diligent without being precipitate, and firm and decifive without being arbitrary or rafh; and that, which he confidered as a fpeaker's moft-important du-. ty, was his conducting himself with the ftricteft impartiality on every occafion.

The late worthy speaker, his Lordfhip remarked, had, for nearly two Parliaments, gone through the duties of his high office, with great honour, great diligence, and great dignity, the office, he faid, was a very laborious one, and required full health and vigour; the right honourable gentleman who last filled the chair, when he was first elected to that high fitua-. tion, was in poffeffion of every qualification both of body and mind, which the duties of the office called for; but the Houfe had, unhappily for the right honourable gentleman, and unhappily for the public, been witneffes in the courfe of the very laft feffion, that the right honourable gentleman's conftitution was much impaired. It would, therefore, neither be decent in him, nor would it become the House, to fhew fo little gratitude and refpect to the right honourable gentleman for his many and acknowledged fervices, were he to propofe, or they to adopt the propofition for putting that gentleman again into a fituation, the fatigues of which were too heavy a burthen to be impofed on him, confidering his precarious ftate of health. For that reason, and from that confideration. only, it was that he had turned his mind to another gentleman, and meant to conclude what he had to fay with a motion, propofing that gentleman to fill the chair. His Lordship trufted that when he named Mr. Cornwall, all thofe who had fat in former Parliaments would think he named a gentleman poffeffed of thofe qualifications which were requifite for the due execution of the duties of the chair. Mr. Cornwall, before he came into that House, had done his country effential fervice, and acquired great perfonal honour by the very able and active fhare he took in the adjustment of fome public accounts, fubmitted to the investigation of certain perfons commiffioned for that purpose: Mr. Cornwall had alfo fat feveral years in Parliament, was well acquainted with the law of the land, the law of Parliament, and all the forms, orders, and rules of proceeding peculiar to that Houfe; he therefore flattered himself that it would not be thought, that he made an improper motion, or a motion likely to challenge much objection when he moved, "That Mr. Cornwall be elected Speaker."

Right

Right Hon. Welbere Ellis rofe to fecond the motion, and Right Hon. faid, that although the noble Lord by fo fully ftating to the Welb. Elit House the duties of the office, the qualifications requifite for the person chofen to fill the chair, and the praises due to the late worthy fpeaker, had left him little to fay, he could not confiftent with his refpect to that right honourable gentleman, his duty to the Houfe, and his regard for the gentleman who made the fubject of the motion, content himself with merely feconding the motion. Mr. Ellis, after this exordium, went into a difcuffion of the subject, under the three heads of, the nature and importance of the office itself, the compli ments and thanks merited by Sir Fletcher Norton for his able discharge of it, while he held it, and the reasons for expecting that Mr. Cornwall would prove capable of filling it to the fatisfaction of the House and to his own honour. With regard to the first, he faid it was an office of confiderable dignity, and of great emolument; that the duties of it were laborious, and he that filled it must expect to be in fome degree. a fufferer, in proportion to the good the Houfe and the public derived from the exercise of his talents and the conftant employment of his mind. This fort of exchange of health and honour, he observed, no elevated fituation was free from, and therefore, though he fincerely lamented, that the late speaker should last feffion have had occafion to complain of the impreffion made upon his conftitution by the fatigues of his fituation, he could not but own, he confidered it as a natural confequence, and as it was a proof that his country was the more indebted to the honourable gentleman for his fervices, he thought it neceffary, now an opportunity offered, to afford him the relief the Houfe had in its power, by choofing another fpeaker. Confidering the very critical fituation of public af-. fairs, he faid, there would undoubtedly be many debates in that Houfe, and poffibly there might arife much contention; the perfon to be elected fpeaker, ought therefore, exclufive of a competent fhare of knowledge of the common law, and the law of parliament, to poffefs temper to allay heats, prudence to prevent irregularities, and spirit and firmnefs to reprefs the rifing ftorms of paffion and conteft. With this view it was that he looked upon Mr. Cornwall as a proper fucceffor to Sir Fletcher Norton; nor could he give that gentleman better advice than to let the conduct of the late fpeaker be his model, if the Houfe fhould honour him fo far as to feat him in the chair.

Mr. Dunning expreffed his aftonishment, that the noble Mr. Dan Lord near him [He fat on the treasury bench, next but one ning. to Lord North.] had not rifen, and faved him the trouble of propofing the late speaker to continue in the chair. He was,.

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he faid, exceedingly furprized, on coming down to the Houfe, to hear that it was generally understood within those walls, that Mr. Cornwall was to be tpeaker. There was no gentleman for whom he had a higher regard, nor for whofe abilities he had more refpect; and if the chair had been in the fair and ordinary fenfe of the word, vacant, the propofition of Mr. Cornewall (as that gentleman, he trufted, well knew) would not have met with the finallest objection from him; on the contrary, he would readily have given it his fupport, fuch as it was; but at a time, when, in fact and truth, there was no vacancy, when Sir Fletcher Norton, the late speaker, was in the House, and to all appearance as capable of executing the duties of the office, as much to the fatisfaction of the Houfe, and as much to the honour of himself as ever, and no man could execute the duties of it more fatisfactorily nor more honourably, it ftruck him as the moft fingular of all meafures, to confefs, as the noble Lord who made the motion, and the honourable gentleman who feconded it, had done, that the late fpeaker was the propereft and most able of all perfons to fill the chair with dignity, and in the very moment of making that confeffion, for the noble Lord and the honourable gentleman to propofe another candidate. He had expected, when the bad health of Sir Fletcher Norton was talked of, and urged as a ground for not continuing him in the chair, that either the noble Lord, or the honourable gentleman who spoke laft, would have ftated to the Houfe that Sir Fletcher Norton had formerly applied to them, declaring his defire to refign the chair, and affigning as a reafon for lis fo doing, that his health was in that impaired ftate, in which the noble Lord and the honourable gentleman had both declared it to be, although every man in the Houfe could fee, that if appearances were to be relied on, or if affurances were to be believed, Sir Fletcher Norton was as well, as fully in health, and as fully capable of going through the duties of the office, as ever he had been fince he was first chofen to fill the chair, which had received fo much dignity from its being occupied by a perfon perhaps qualified to fill it, more to the general fatisfaction, with more accomodation to the bufine's of Parliament, and more to his own honour, than any other member of that Houfe. Mr. Dunning mentioned the happinefs he had experienced in a long and intimate acquaintance with Sir Fletcher, and spoke of his character in terms of the warmeft eulogy. He concluded his fpeech with moving, "that Sir Fletcher Norton be continued fpeaker."

Right Hon. T. Townthend and Sir Fletcher Norton rofe together, but the former continuing on his legs, he was heard first.

Mr.

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