MOTION FOR AN INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF THE NATION.
A motion was made both in the lords and the commons, soon after the re-assembling of parliament, for instituting an inquiry into the state of the nation. In the upper house it was moved by Lord Darnley, who proposed such an inquiry as might point out remedies for the disorders of the state. He was supported by the Earl of Carlisle, the Marquis of Lansdowne, and Earl Fitzwilliam; but his motion was lost by a considerable majority. In the commons the necessity of inquiry was strongly urged by Mr. Grey, and ably supported by Sir William Young and Lord Temple, but his motion shared the fate of its counterpart in the upper house. The debate was chiefly remarkable in the commons for calling up Pitt to defend himself and the system which he had pursued, which he did with unanswerable argument. It was on this occasion that he made explicit declaration of the motives which induced him to resign.