Page:Substance of the speech of His Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence, in the House of Lords.djvu/6

 much abler and better calculated to form a correct judgment of the subject.

The Noble Secretary of State (Lord Grenville) has frequently thrown out the idea, that the delay originated with those Peers who had taken a decided part against the Bill. If professional knowledge and local experience have extended the examination at the Bar to a length that may, in the opinion of some Noble Lords, have been much more than what was satisfactory, I, for one, plead guilty. It was my wish, by the most minute research, to produce such a body of evidence as would convince your Lordships of the rectitude and policy of those with whom I have the happiness to act. We have not been the cause of unnecessary delay. The delay has, in fact, originated with the Noble Secretary himself; for on the day appointed for the second reading of this Bill—upon which I had intended to have submitted a motion to your Lordships—he