tion which your majefty is pleafed to declare of our former conduct; and to give your majefty the

The addrefs of the house of Commons. Moft gracious Sovereign,

E your majefty's most duti

firmly perfift in exerting our zealous endeavours to promote due obedience to the laws, and reverence to the legislative authority of this kingdom; and to establish fuch regulations, as fhall appear to be moft conducive to the mutual benefit and fupport of all your majesty's dominions.

With hearts full of duty and affection, we offer our unfeigned thanks to your majefty for your paternal care and tender concern for the difficulties, which have been brought on your fubjects by a long and burthenfome war and for your royal withes, that your parliament may take every occafion for their relief. Animated with thefe fentiments, we affure your majefty, that we will proceed with that temper, unanimity and dispatch, which your majesty is pleafed to recommend to us in the purfuit of thofe great and important objects, to which your majefty has directed our atten

tion.

His Majesty's most gracious anfever. My Lords,

I thank you for this dutiful and affectionate addrefs. The fatisfaction which you exprefs on the intended marriage of my fifter, the princefs Caroline Matilda, is particularly agreeable to me. And accept with pleasure, the affurances you give me of your zea lous endeavours for the advance ment of the profperity of my kingdoms, and the happiness of my people, which I fhall ever have mof fincerely at heart.

commons of Great Britain in parliament affembled, beg leave to return your majefty the most humble thanks of this houfe, for your most gracious fpeech from the throne.

Permit us, at the fame time, to offer to your majefty our dutiful congratulations upon the marriage agreed to be folemnized between the prince royal of Denmark and her royal highnefs the princefs Caroline Matilda, as foon as their refpective ages will permit; which happy union cannot but be most pleafing to your faithful commons, as it muft tend to cement and ftrengthen the ancient alliance between the crowns of Great Britain and Denmark, and thereby add fecurity to the proteftant religion.

We beg leave alfo to declare our fatisfaction at thofe events of the last year, which promife the continuance of the peace fo happily established and maintained by your majesty's wife and fteady conduct, and to exprefs our hopes, that the fresh affurances, which have been given by the courts of France and Spain, of their good difpofitions, the unanimous choice of a fucceffor to the imperial throne, and the undisturbed election of the king of Poland, will fecure and confirm the general tranquillity of Europe. In this fituation, we think it our duty to give our particular attention to fuch regulations, as will most effectually promote the internal good order and profperity of thefe kingdoms.

Your

Your majefty may be affured, that we will, with chearfulnefs and dispatch, raife fuch fupplies as fhall be found neceffary for the current fervice of the year. And, being thoroughly fenfible of your majefty's paternal concern for the relief and welfare of your people, in recommending to us the improve ment of the public revenue, and the diminution of the national debt, on which the future fafety of Great Britain muft depend, we will apply ourselves, with the utmoft zeal and affiduity, to carry into execution every proper meafure which may contribute to these great and falutary purposes, and which the ftate of your majefty's dominions, and the circumftances of the times, fhall require..

We acknowledge, with the livelieft gratitude, the gracious expreffions of your majefty's tender affection, and of your conftant care for the mutual benefit and fupport of all your fubjects. And we affure your majefty, that, animated with thefe fentiments, we will endeavour to deferve the confidence which your majefty is pleased to repofe in us, by purfuing every public advantage; and will proceed therein with that temper and firmness, which will beft conciliate and infure due fubmiffion to the laws, and reverence to the legislative authority of Great Britain.

tions on the marriage agreed to be folemnized between the prince royal of Denmark and my fifter the princefs Caroline Matilda. My conftant endeavour fhall be employed to preferve the public tranquillity, to fecure the rights, and promote the happiness, of my people,

His majesty's most gracious speech to both houfes of parliament, on the 24th of April 1765, to recommend a regency bill; with their joint address thereupon, and his Majefty's most gracious answer. My Lords and Gentlemen,

HE tender concern, which

TH

I feel for my faithful fubjects, makes me anxious to provide for every poffible event, which may affect their future happiness or fecurity.

My late indifpofition, though not attended with danger, has led me to confider the fituation, in which my kingdoms, and my family might be left, if it should please God to put a period to my life, whilft my fucceffor is of tender years.

The high importance of this fubject to the public fafety, good order, and tranquillity; the paternal affection which I bear to my children, and to all my people, and my earnest defire, that every precaution fhould be taken, which

Gentlemen,

I return you my thanks for this very dutiful and affectionate addrefs; and I receive with the greatest pleasure your congratula

tion of Great Britain undisturbed, and the dignity and luftre of its crown unimpaired; have determined me to lay this weighty bu finefs before my parliament. And, as my health, by the bleffing of

God,

God, is now reftored, I take the earliest opportunity of meeting you here, and of recommending to your most ferious deliberation the making fuch provifion, as would be neceffary, in cafe any of my children fhould fucceed to the throne, before they fhall respectively attain the age of eighteen

years.

the

To this end, I propofe to your confideration, whether, under the prefent circumstances, it will not be expedient to veft in me the power of appointing, from time to time, by inftruments in writing, under my fign manual, either queen, or any other perfon of the royal family ufually refiding in Great Britain, to be the guardian of the perfon of fuch fucceffor, and the regent of these kingdoms, until fuch fucceffor fhall attain the age of eighteen years; fubject to the like reftrictions and regulations, as are fpecified and contained in an act, paffed upon a fimilar occafion, in the twenty-fourth year of the reign of the late king, my royal grand-father: the regent fo appointed to be aflifted by a council, compofed of the feveral perfons, who, by reason of their dignities and offices, are conftituted members of the council eftablished by that act, together with thofe whom you may think proper to leave to my nomination.

commons, in parliament aflembled, prefume to approach your facred perfon, with our warmest acknowledgments of the peculiar goodnels expreffed in your most gracicus fpeech from the throne.

We humbly intreat your majefty's acceptance of our heartieft congratulations upon your recovery from your late indifpofition. Your majefty's return to your parliament has diffipated all those anxious fenfations, which the occafion of your abfence had excited; and as the re-establishment of your invaluable health is an object to your faithful people of the fincereft joy and exultation, your majesty has fhewn a most affectionate regard to their fatisfaction, in condefcending to take the earliest opportunity of giving them fo pleafing a proef of it.

This great mark of your majefty's attention demands our moft fincere and dutiful thanks; but we have before us a ftill more engaging inftance of your watchful folicitude for our future fecu rity and happiness.

The conftant tenor of your juft and constitutional government, diftinguished and endeared to your kingdoms by an unwearied ppiication to the advancement of their interefts and profperity, had already filled our minds with a moft cordial fenfe of gratitude. The new proof, which your majefty is now pleased to give us, of your truly paternal goodness, by ex

and house of commons.

Moft gracious Sovereign,

lity, dignity, and luftre of your crown, with all the happy effects of your love to your royal chil

ful and loyal fubjects, the lords fpiritual and temporal, and VOL. VIII.

jects, beyond the period of your own continuance among them, [S]

muft

must infpire us with ftill higher degrees, if poffible, of reverence and affection.

Whilft we contemplate, with admiration, that magnanimity which enables your majefty to look forward, with a cool compofure of thought, to an event, which whenever it should please God to permit it, muft overwhelm your loyal fubjects with the bittereft diftraction of grief; we cannot but be deeply affected with that compaffionate fentiment of your royal heart, which fuggefts a provifi:n for their comfort under so severe an affliction.

May it please the Divine Providence to exempt us from the fatal neceffity of fuch a confolation. Your majefty has shewn, from the first day of your aufpicious reign, fo confcientious a regard to the laws and liberties, the religious and civil rights, of your kingdoms, that we fhould be infenfible and unworthy of the happiness we ourselves enjoy, if we did not ardently with to tranfmit it uuder the fame gracious care and protection to our children.

Yet, feeling, as we do, the importance of every measure that may tend to the perpetuating, in all events, our happy conftitution; in deference to your majefty's recommendation, and under a full conviction of that confummate prudence, and beneficent intention, which were the motives of it, we will not fail to apply ourfelves to the immediate difcuffion of the high and momentous object, which your majefty has been pleafed to propofe to our confideration.

Our deliberations concerning it will be animated by the hopes of fecurity to our pofterity, under the bleffing of Almighty God, and in concurrence with your majefty's falutary defigns, the ineftimable bleffing of a legal proteftant fucceffion to the crown of these realms in your royal family; and will be influenced by a juft confidence in your princely wifdom, and paternal concern for your people.

We fhall go into this confultation with a fenfible anxiety arif. ing from the fubject of it; but we humbly affure your majefty, that we will conclude it, with all the difpatch compatible with its fingu lar importance; repeating, at the fame time, our earneft fupplication, that, through the mercy of God upon this proteftant church and nation, a precaution, fo expedient in profpect, may become ufelefs in the event, by your majefty's living to form, under your own inftruction, a fucceffor worthy to inherit the allegiance and affections of a free people, by a long and mature attention to the example of your royal virtues.

His majesty's most gracious anfever.

My Lords and Gentlemen, Your affectionate congratulations upon my recovery, and the fenfe which you exprefs of your happinefs under my government, give me the greatest fatisfaction.

Be affured, I have not a more fincere concern, or a more earnest defire, than to fecure to my faithful people, both now and hereafter, the religious and civil bleffings of our invaluable conftitution.

Abftra

Abstract of the act, passed in purfuance of the foregoing speech of his majefty, to provide for the adminiftration of government, in cafe the crown fhould defcend to any of his children, being under the age of eighteen; and for the care and guardianship of their perfons.

T

HE preamble to this act mentions, that, in confequence of a tender concern in his majefty for his faithful fubjects, and an anxious defire to provide for every poffible event which may affect their happiness or fecurity, in regard to the administration of the government, as fet forth in his majefty's fpeech, it is enacted;

That power be vested in his majefty of appointing, from time to time, by three inftruments under his fign manual, a guardian to his fucceffor, in cafe the crown fhall defcend to any of his children being under the age of eighteen years, fuch guardian to have the care and management of the tuition of the perfon of fuch minor, and to execute the office of regent of this kingdom and to be either the queen, or princefs dowager of Wales, or one of the defcendants of the late king ufually refiding in Great Britain.

That a number in fucceffion, by way of fubftitution, in cafe of death, may be nominated to fucceed in the guardianship and regency; but no more than one perfon to act as fuch at one time; and fuch persons to be disqualified from act ing as guardians and regents by non-refidence, or by marrying a papist.

That the inftruments of nomination be fealed with the king's

feal; and the feals of the arch

bishop of Canterbury, lord Chancellor, and prefident of the council; and to be feverally depofited with them: but, upon the revocation or alteration of fuch inftruments by the king, or death of any of the depofitaries, or removal of any of the faid officers of state, to be delivered up; and on the demife of the king, during fuch minority, the privy council is to af femble, and the faid inftruments are to be produced and read.

That a perfon guilty of opening any of the faid inftruments, with out his majesty's order, or refufing to deliver up the fame to the privy council, fhall incur the penalties of premunire.

That one of the inftruments being produced fhall be effectual to give authority to the perfon nominated regent: and all acts of legal power, done otherwife than by confent and authority of the regent, are declared void.

That the council of regency, for affifting the regent, fhall confift of their royal highneffes his majesty's brothers, Edward Auguftus, duke of York and Albany, William Henry, duke of Gloucefter and Edinburgh, prince_ Henry Frederick, and prince Frederick William, and his royal highnefs his majefty's uncle William Auguftus, duke of Cumberland (the faid prince Henry Frederick and prince Frederick William, to be members of the faid council of regency, when they fhall respectively attain the age of 21 years, and not sooner) and alfo of the perfons and officers following, viz. the archbishop of Canterbury for the time being; the lord chancellor or lord keeper, or the first commiffioner named in [S] 2

any