. At the same time, he
avowed that he saw no danger in his writings and doctrines, or of any
other writer of his class, because the good sense and constitutional
spirit of the people at large were a sure protection against them. Fox
intimated that these were once the opinions of Pitt, and that he had
only altered them when he saw, or thought he saw, the means of stirring
up division among the friends of freedom. Whether a division in the
camp of the Whigs was stirred up by Pitt or no, it is certain that such
existed at the present time, for several opposition members, as the
Marquess of Titchfield, Lord North, Windham, Grenville, with others,
spoke in favour of the address; acknowledging their conviction that the
doctrines promulgated by the press, and the conduct lately pursued by
clubs and societies demanded the vigorous interposition of government,
lest they should lead to the evils experienced in France. The address
was carried without a division, and it was then communicated to the
house of lords, and their lordships' concurrence requested, in order
that it might be presented to the king as the address of both houses. At
this time the Prince of Wales was as closely connected as ever with Fox
and Sheridan, and it was supposed that he might share their opinions
with reference to the French revolution. On this occasion, however, he
put the public in possession of his sentiments upon this subject. As
soon as the motion for an address was made and seconded, the prince rose
for the first time, and said that he should be deficient in his duty as
a member of their lordships' house, unmindful of the respect he owed
to the constitution, and inattentive to the peace and welfare of the
country, if he did not state openly what was his opinion upon a
subject of such magnitude, as that on which their lordships were then
deliberating. He continued:--"Having been educated in principles which
taught me to revere that constitutional liberty of the people on which
their happiness depends, to those principles I will give my firm
and constant support. The matter at issue appears to be, whether the
constitution was or was not to be maintained--whether the wild notions
of untried theory are to conquer the wholesome maxims of established
practice; and whether those laws, under which we have flourished for so
long a series of years, are to be subverted by a pretended reform, which
the people will not sanction. As a person nearly and dearly in