PREFACE.

THE almost unprecedented success which the Author's work on the other House of Parliament has met with, has naturally induced him to lay the present volume before the public. He hopes it will, not only from the nature of the subject, but from the spirit in which it has been written, be found a suitable companion to "Random Recollections of the House of Commons." His great object has been to preserve the strictest impartiality in his various Sketches, and he trusts he has, in this respect, been successful. He also hopes the volume will be found fully as interesting as his work on the other House of Parliament.

In a volume embracing so great a variety of facts, it is possible some slight inaccuracies may be discovered; but the Author hopes that these will not only be found unimportant in their character, but few in number.

London, March 28, 1836.

RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS,

&c. &c.

CHAPTER I.

THE HOUSE.

In accordance with the plan I adopted in my work on the other House of Parliament,* I begin this volume with some account of the interior of the building in which the Lords assembled for their legislative deliberations prior to its partial destruction by the great fire of October, 1834. That edifice, as is generally known, has been repaired for the accommodation of the Commons at an expense of upwards of 30,000l. It is generally supposed that it was originally the Banquet Hall attached to the royal residence; but that on the erection of Westminster Hall, it was converted into the Court of Requests, in which the King received the petitions of his subjects. It was afterwards, but at what precise period is not known, appropriated to the use of the Lords. At the union

of Great Britain and Ireland, in 1800, it was enlarged and repaired, and put into that condition in which it was found at the time of the late destructive fire.

The interior of the late House of Lords formed a large and spacious chamber. Its length from south to north was eighty feet, and its breadth from east to west, forty feet. The height from the floor to the ceiling was about thirty feet. The place was well lighted by three semi-circular windows on each side. The windows were about six feet in height, and their tops were only about one foot below the ceiling. The walls beneath were all hung with tapestry of the richest kind,

*"Random Recollections of the House of Commons."

divided into compartments: the last of the tapestries which had been made to decorate the walls of the House were the most superb. They consisted of representations of the dispersion of the Spanish Armada in the year 1588, and were presented by the States of Holland to Queen Elizabeth, in testimony of their admiration of the consummate skill and bravery of the English fleet on that occasion. On the borders of these tapestries were medallion portraits of the various officers belonging to the English fleet at that period. These curious and valuable tapestries were all destroyed by the fire of 1834.

At the southern or upper end of the House was placed the King's throne, which was fitted up in 1820; it was a splendid and costly piece of furniture. It consisted of a large canopy of crimson velvet, surmounted by an imperial crown: it was supported by richly gilded columns, ornamented with oak leaves and acorns. Their pedestals were decorated with olive branches, and other figures emblematic of the glory of Great Britain. It was always kept covered, except when occupied by the King, or when bills were about to receive the royal assent by commission. It was elevated about three feet above the floor of the House, and was ascended by three carpeted steps. In front was a brass railing to prevent any other person than the King himself approaching it. Outside of this railing, on either side of the throne, the members of the House of Commons and other distinguished persons were allowed to stand to witness the proceedings of the house.* At the northern end, or that farthest from the throne, was the bar of the house, where members of the House of Commons who had messages to deliver to the Lords made their appearance, and where they might, on any occasion, stand during the debates. Other persons were also privileged to stand outside the bar, while the business was proceeding, provided they had been taken into the House by a Peer. The bar was capable of accommodating from one hundred and forty to one hundred and fifty persons in a standing position; with which position they were, indeed, obliged to be content, for no seats were provided for them. During very interesting debates, the space at the bar and the space on either side of the throne exhibited a living mass of human beings.

Immediately before the throne was the Woolsack, on which the Lord Chancellor sat during the proceedings of the house.

* These observations will be understood as equally applicable to the present house.