The Prince, on his part, showed that time had in no
degree abated his repugnance to those restrictions, and he answered the
minister's letter by referring him to that which he had addressed to
Pitt on the same subject in 1788. And he induced all his brothers to
address to Perceval a formal protest against "the establishment of a
restricted Regency," which they proceeded to describe as perfectly
unconstitutional, as being contrary to and subversive of the principles
which seated their family upon the throne of this realm.[165]
Perceval, however, with Pitt's example before him, had no doubt of the
course which it was his duty to pursue; and the Opposition also, for the
most part, followed the tactics of 1789; the line of argument now
adopted by each party being so nearly identical with that employed on
the former occasion, that it is needless to recapitulate the topics on
which the different speakers insisted; though it is worth remarking that
Lord Holland, who, as the nephew of Fox, thought it incumbent on him to
follow his uncle's guidance, did on one point practically depart from
it. As his uncle had done, he denied the right of the Houses to impose
any restrictions on the Prince's exercise of the royal authority; but,
at the same time, he consented to put what may be called a moral
limitation on that exercise, by adding to an amendment which he proposed
to the resolution proposed by the minister an expression of "the farther
opinion of the House that it will be expedient to abstain from the
exercise of all such powers as the immediate exigencies of the state
shall not call into action, until Parliament shall have passed a bill or
bills for the future care of his Majesty's royal person during his
Majesty's present indisposition.
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