GRATTAN. 255 investigation of an individual, to say what were the reasons, which had induced his majesty to bestow upon any person those honours, which the crown alone could constitutionally confer. As to the charge that had been made, he could not avoid expressing some surprise, that gentlemen were not sufficiently alarmed by common fame at the end of Lord Northington's administration, to bring forward such a charge then. Common fame certainly did then report, that peerages had been notoriously granted in return for seats in the Commons House of Parliament: yet the right honourable gentleman and his friends were in the confidence of that administration, and must be pre sumed to be informed of the fact. On which, Mr. Conolly remarked, that his right honourable friend had asked a plain, unequivocal, direct question, and the House was to judge, whether he had received an intelligible and satis factory answer. The division was one hundred and forty four against, and eighty-eight for the motion. Four days after the above, Mr. Grattan, adverting to some circumstances connected with the former discussion, made use of the following strong language:- “Sir, I cannot avoid observing, that in this day's de bate, gentlemen on the other side of the House have adopted a certain tone of power, I presume in conse quence of a very indecent and disorderly interposition on the part of one, who does not belong to this House, though he has lately interfered in i t s proceedings”. Sir, I am not uninformed t o what length that person went within these walls even during the debates o f this House; i t seems t o me somewhat strange, that gentlemen o n the other side should dwell s o much o n the necessity o f par liamentary decorum, when they have been evidently spirited u p b y a n interposition, which i n itself was the grossest violation o f parliamentary decency. Sir, I have been told i t was said, that I should have been stopped, should have been expelled the Commons, should have
This appears t o have been the Lord Chancellor.
