Star. — London, England, 1801-03-17 00:00:00

r PAR LI.diVENT - 41Zr PROCEIWING S. I-TOT'AL 01 1.0R1) , , MONI,AV, MARC!! Id. unirsr. or COMMONS. ADDITIONAL TAI _Olll HORSES. A n „by CI.. 1.01 (.711;onlo:rl4ii , to 01.. Ae p, ;01 Frid Lilt. "rig, MI.:: • 1 . -, ,•,4 Pair t! uthk 't% • isr4 , l ; z: . la .L 1 : • D., Jilt! Oti r . , . c 4 firit 'CI .Inm-him r.r Bit!. an 1 otherg, 4;,nu. Natur.,:i,-tion Bills, palrz..l a Th, I.A 1 .1f DA t. ;lave noti-e f 7. ; ror venrcl motion 1•r an tinquiry loin th• .•e of the ‘r:^t‘ ;and tl e Cot}due: of the Wa , -, nil Frithe: nl t, aod tr.c.vt d that tbc Lou I.x ftwtmoned. Ordered. Orth vra‘ wade for th, refpeetirt Intra At ureic:ma rvrty f, Mon ar,-,,plit.g to Act of Parli:uuent, to be: torthnith laid upon th.:T.41,1c.--.‘djourned. Several new Mt nilm , w•, re fworn in. atnore whorii were Sir \Vv.! IA NI GRANI and Dr. IIyt.ENAN, wilt, took Ow (Nabs and i heir feats. Sir W. Fi.voll1) brought up a petition fiom the p-rion who has obtaincd r patent tor tnalmfadturim, nAper Itraw, prAyi.. • that map ht aflowed to make tome altero in. in tile fpec.fi - ,011 , 1', and that it may be lodged in t h e of the I.ord Chasseekvr for the Utter fecurity of the invention. Re fiverd to a Committer. New Writs wet, moved (or the borough of Devi:el. in the room or tai. lUglit Honourable HENRY ADDINGTON, who h a t accepted the Olfirc of Chancellor of the Exchequer and Firil Lord of the Trcafuty; for Cerff ("Ale, in the room of I. BOND, Ffq. who hag been appoinfrd one of thr Conuniffinntrc of the Trrafury ; and for the borough of Weobly, in the coun ty of Hereford, in the rnom of Lord G. Tu NI.C, who Inv accepted i limibr appointment. Colonel Pointe put off big motion for the remoral of the Mutineers corifineJ iu the prifou of Cold Bath Fields from this day to Friday next. The ATiORNiT C N elt•L tare notice of his intention of moving tn-morrow for leave to bring in a Bill for the ir.deartni fication of fueh puffins as have had their mills &Brayed by riots in daft rent parts of the country. A me age from die Lord. informed the Houfc that their Lortithips had agreed to feveral Bea, in which they requelted the col re nevem ce of the Houle. The Big for the hater eenulatioa of t►e Coal Trade was read a &It time, and ordered to be read a fecund time to- Morrow. On Inc motion of Lord W. Roseau., Mr. T./111)111mi* up the Report of the Committee sm the Bill for the better relief of A certain frfeription of Poor. Alter a the..' eouverfation between Lord W. Lastest., Sir R. Bt'ITON, Sir CHARLES BUMIURY, Mr. WHIVISLAD, Mr. VANIATTART, and Mr. :.1. A. TAYLOR. the further confide ration ot tbe Report was dalyed till Wednefday, and the Bill In the moats time ordered to he printed for the ufc of the Members. Tic American Flour Bill was read a third time anapaffed. The Hauf• went into a Committee on the Expiring Laws, end (event Refolutiens being agreed to, the Haute was return ed, and the Report ordered to be brought op to-morrow. STATE OV THE NATION. Mr. LONG rote to fuggeft to Mr. Grey the pro riety of again putting off his Motion on this rub jelt under the prefent circumftances, affuring him at the fame time that if he complied with this re quell for the prefent, there would be no danger whatever of any fubfcqucnt delay. Mr. Guy laid, that though he . felt it particu• 'arty unpleafant thus to be fo often obliged to de lay his Motion, and though he conceived it to be extremely amfortunate for the country that this delay had taken place, yet under the prefent cir etunftances be would not obje& to the delay of a few days, snore efpecially as the Hon. Gentleman *Allured him that no further delay would be re quired. 'He wifbed to know what day next week would be convenient for the confideration of the Motion ? Mr. LONG fuggclting Wednefday fc'nnight, and Mr. Grey aceeoCngto this, the Motion now [lands for that day. The Motion fOr the third reading of the Horfe Duty-Bill was then made, and gave rife to a deful tory difcuffion. After a fhort converfation betwixt Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Role, and come other Members, a claufe by which horfes employed in hackney coaches are to be exempted from the operation of the Aft, was agreed to, and introduced into the Bill. Colonel Pox Tr R role to move fur leave to bring up a elaufe, exempting from the operation of the Aft farmers whole rent is under fifty pounds a year. Sir RORER r BUXTON thought it was of great confequence that the Houle lhou!d give every polfible encouragement to the proprietors of (mall farms, but conceived that the clause propofed was calculated to be t ,, 0 extenfive in its operation. He was convinced that twenty pounds embraced too fniall a proportion of the poffeffors of fucL farms, while fifty pounds was too wide in its application, and therefore cnr.ccived that a fum betwixt thefe two c'tremes wouls! be the faireft mode of calcu. la . i. u. Mr. P!ri- thought that no flifficient grounds had been pruduceJ in lupport of thl propoled claufe. The eYen.ption of [scrim' , poffeding farms at a rack rent tinder twenty pounds had been propored from iaformati..n that 'his would .fiord 'chef to a very numerous dais of farmers in the Northern parts of the kingdom. This then might perhaps be ex tremely expedient and falutary, but he could not help confiderin,g it as a very dangerous principle to contend that Gentlemen were to he allowed to bring forward claufes of exemption ftnm any 11, merely from eircumftances peculiar to a particu lar of the country. This would be a mode of proceeding highly impolitic, as well as de. ftraiive of the ulinle public revenue. Mr. M. A. TAvLert adverted to the cafe of cu rates, who had in his apprehenfinn particular claims to exemption from the burdens of this tax. By the former Bill nn this flibjat they were not ex cepted. and he could not help thinkirg that the H o nk was called upon in junice to extend relict to men who did all the duty belon: 4 ing to the cic rical ear:slier, whilfl their fuperiors were loliing at e Ile in their carriages. The Bill wit then read a third time, pared, and onkred to be carried to the Lords for their con currence. _ Mr. M. A. TA rims then gave notice that as loon as his Majelly's Chancellor of the Exchequer thoold take his feat, he would feel it his duty tr, filmic for •tt. reveal of fn much of this Ad as would be necdrary for granting an exemption to Curates w h o per i,,, n . e d ( p i ty in tan churches, and 'bore isiconac is below a hundred pouuds a year. STAMP *UV( RIM- On the Motion for the third leading of th... Stamp Duty Bill, Mr. Sit ra in rote to call the attention of the to the fubjea of the difcount to be given to the Proprietors of Nov papers, tot*Phich he had 'Livened on a former °major. He trulted from titte. --nanner in which the Right Hon. G ol der /l an (Mr. Pitt) had fp , iken on that occaiion, he would be difimfed to admit the jullnels of their claim to :inve additional dit'count. Mr. PITT laid that, in confequence of the Rate :hem male I,' the Honourable Gentleman, he had ' made lonic (liquifies into the fubjea, hod had rea 'On to believe that the Proprietors of Newfpapers did think thentietres entitled to a greater relict than the Bill propofed to afford. It was to be re colletied, however, that the propofed difcount was detigned to afflrd a compenfation only for any rile which might be occationed by the operation ofthis 1;i11, ft. had been Rated, indeed, that thc ' ' price of paper had ;muted in a molt extraordi nary degree, and that confequently the Proprie tors of Newfpapers thus labonred under great tilt ', advantages. This, to be lure, was a fair fubjea of conlideration ; but it had nothing to do with the epteition now bcforethe Houfe : the whole quellion now was, Whether the Houle were to afford them inch a fair difcount as would leave them e xataly in the fame fituation as they were previous to this new tax ; or they were to be allowed filch a dif count as would put them on a better footing than they were before the tax was impofed ? It might be a fair thing to apply to the Houk for relief, if they felt themfelves unable, without a very ferious lots, to carry on their hufinefs, in confequence of the rife of paper, and from the operation of other circumitances ; and the Houfe might, perhaps, feel it to be their duty to afford them relief to a certain extent. The high price of paper, which they now felt fo (evenly, might be the effeEt of temporary caufes : but, whatever was its caufe, there was nothing in it peeuliar to the prefent tax. As it did not appear that the propofed difcount was infufficient to place them on precifely the fame footing they were previous to its being Unpaid, he thought the Houk would feel no difficulty in agreeing to the tax as it now flood, leaving the con fideration of what further relief might be ne ceffary till the fubje& cadre regularly by petition ' under their confederation. Mr. SHIRRIDAN, in reply, contended that the ex planation now given by the Right Honourable Gentleman was far from being fatisfadory. The Right Honourable Gentleman had Rated, that it was his intention to give a full compcnfation to the proprietors of Newfpapers, but he had not de nied that the difcount propofed was far from be ing a real indemnification. If it was meant to af ford them a fair compenfation they were entitled to a much larger difcount, or to have the prefent li mitations to the price of their papers removed.— He could not allow it to be either fail' or juft to fay, that, however the price of paper had increaf ed, however the wages of journeymen had ad vanced, however every thing connefted with the expence of printing had been augmented, there cit.. eumftances ought not to be considered when the difcount to be given was to be fixed. Paper had advanced within a fhort period 3o per cent. and by the new tar it would be raifed 20 per cent. more; the price of the wages of journeymen had been confiderably augmented, and under there circum fiances they had a fair claim to an additional dif cqunt. He had been informed by the proprietors of newfpapers in the country, who paid a revenue to Government of upwards of fifteen hundred pounds a year, that milers a larger difcount were allowed, they could not poflibly go on with their Winds. Even on the principle of encouragin the revenue, it was therefore the duty of the Houfe to grant fuch a fair difcount as might operate as a full compenation. He fhould, under there cir cumftances, propofe, that inflead of four and a half per cent. as now fpecified in the Bill, eight per cent. fhould be granted as a difcount. If the Honourable Gentleman, however, rejeeted this propofition, he fhould feel it his duty to propofe a clan& to be added to the Bill, freeing the proprie tors.of newfpapers from the limitations to which they were now rubjetted, and allowing them to raife their prefent price. Mr. PITT perfilted in contending that the pro pored difcount left the printers of newfpapers in a titivation in no refret worfe than they were at the time the tax was impeded. Mr. Sit MOAN and Mr. Pmr afterwards feve rally explained. Mr. Hos:imps' maintained that the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Pitt) had by no means proved to his fatisfaCtion that the propofed difcount would afford a fair compenfation. By the operation of the tax, the Proprietors of Newfpapers would be compelled to encreafe their capital. and in this view it was eafy to fee that the difconnt would fall Ilion of the compenfation propofed. Mr. Rust, on the contrary, argued, that four and 4 quarter per cent. was a fulficient compenfa dun, and that the additional quarter was deligned merely to apply to the fire of Newfpapers in par ; ticithir inflances. Mr. SH V RtDAN I S clank was then put and nega tived, and the Bill read a third time and paid. Mr. SHI RIDAN fail, that he lhould take advan tage of the couceflions of the Right Hon. Gentle man, and bring forward this fubjeet again under the emsfideration of the Houfe on a future day. IRkLANO. Lord CA 5 R EACH brought in a Bill for the further flifixnlion of the Habeas Corpus Alt in Ireland, which was read a fira time, and Ordered to be read a (mond time to-morrow. Sir JOHN PARNELL alluded to the necelEty of re pealing certai.. flanges, prohibiting the landing o: the cargoes of ips belonging to the Eall India Company direttly in the ports of Ireland. He walled that the Honourable Gentleman (Wi. ydcr) who had brought in the meafure equalis ing thz bounties fur importation, would intro duce fame repealing claufes calculated to give full operation to the meafure. If however he &gild not be difpofe4 to do this, he Ihould feel it to be his duty to move for the repeal of the OSUMI to who It he Lad Adverted. 'fr. Itru - At P;.‘l:c in and (tale? that th: martire milich be had bmi , ght torw••.d o.ould of nec;liTite involve the repeal to whi. h the :light Honourable Baronet had alluded. If how ever the repeal was not brought forward in Curb a way as to latisly the willies of the Honourable Ba ronet, he would hTve it in his power to fnbmit my further propolltion to the Houfe, and for his own parr he thould be happy to difcufs the merits of any fuck pro;:olition as might be brought for ward for their confederation: Lord CASTLEREAGH brought in A Bill for the Continuation of certain Irifh Duties, which was read a firft timc and ordered to be read a fecond time to-morrow. The Houle, in a Committee, agreed to feveral refolutions on Irifh Expiring Laws. The Report was brought up and ordered to be received to morrow. Leave was moved for bringing in a Bill to Pro hibit the making of Malt, or the Diftilling of Spi rits from Grin ain Ireland for a time to be limit ed.—Granted. MARTIAL LAW IN IRELAND. Previous to thp fecond reading of the Bill for continuing Martial Law in Ireland, Lord CASTLE REACH mit to make a few obfervations on the number of officers which, according to the Bill, were ncceifary to conititute a Court Martial, and which had furnifhed a lubjee of ccnfure on a former night. He 'Hated, that when the• Bill was intro duced in 1799, the Irifh Parliament had not judged it neceffary to enter into any detail of regulations for the management of courts martial, but had thought it moil expedient to leave this to the de-1 termination of the Governor. When the Bill v:as brought in a fecond time; this regulation had been adopted, on the fuggeftion of an Honourable Member, though he could affert with certainty that/to court martial s'cr did fit which was corn pored of fo fmall a number.—Previous to every court martial an enquiry had always been Mai tuted, and the report of thole who had inftituted this enquiry had, in all cafes, become the ground of its future appointment. Though for hiturell he was convinced that the regulations which might be neceffary in the execution of this law, would be more properly left entirely to the Executive Go vernment, inftead of being the fubjee of Legilla- 1 tive appointment, becaufe by this means a greater degree of refponfibility would attach, yet he was perfe.ftly willing to accede to say alteration which would tend to fatisfy the fcruples which exill in any Gentleman's mind. Mr. M. A. TAYLOR rote to fay, that he fhould certainly give his molt decided oppofition to the ufe of any fpecies of torture in the execution of this kw. He united the Noble Lord would in troduce a claufe into the Bill on the fubjee, and if he did not, he should certainly propofe it in the Committee. Lord CA Vl' LER TAG u prOfefid Mint& altogether at a lots to conceive to what the Honourable Gen tleman alluded. He had never heard of a charge more groundlcfs than this; and he hoped the Ho• nourable Gentleman did not mean to convey a charge that the Government had, even in any one intbuice, countenanced the ufe of tortur... With refpeti to the clank, it ntnuld be time enough to Rate his opinion on it when it was propofed ; but, in the mean time, he had thought it incumbent on him to difclaim the charge in the moll unqualified manner. Sir Joan Pat a att. rofe to remark ou the azure; but fat down or. being reminded by the Speaker that this was not the queflion before the Houfe, but the fimple point of the &cowl reading of the Bill. Mr. M. A. TavLoa.—l hope, Sir, I (hall be heard in vindication of what I have heard from many different individuals. The Noble Lord fup pores that I meant to convey a charge on the con dud of the Government of Ireland. I will tell that Noble Lord that I am hut in the pralice of making charges on frivolous grounds, or in a fide way. I examine fully the grounds on which I bring forward any charges, and then, Sir, I Rate them in a fair, open, and manly manner If he would only give hinsfelf the trouble to think a lit tle upon the fubjeCt on which he teems to have fuch doubts, he would find I am not the only one who entertains the opinion of torture having been in-' flitted in Ireland, but that a charafter of high au, thority in Ireland eapreired the fame in one of his fpeeches in the Houfe of Commons of that country, which was afterwards publifhed (and with his name fa is it, exclaimed a Meader). The fame things were mentioned by other Members, and the fame things were vindicated by the prefent Chan cellor of Ireland. On what ground .then does the Noble Lord fay theft things are not permitted in Ireland ? I fay they are permitted—they were per mitted under the adruhuffration of Lord Camden, the predeceffor of the prefent Governor, and they are continued under that of Lord Coxnwallis.— To prove it, we have only to look to the reports of the Committtes of the frith Hintfes of Parlia ment. Does the Noble Lord fuppore we are quite ignorant of what paffes in Ireland ? Does he think, becaufe he hears a cry of hear, hear, from a cer tain quarter, that he has therefore got me into a fcrape. lam not going to give any opinion with rerpee to the Bill, which is about to be read a fe cond time. I have a(certained all the riffs by perfons who have come from Ireland, which prove how far fuel , a Bill is necefary. What then becomes of the bu:,i a/Tertion of the Noble Lord, that the pradice alluded to was one of which lie had nc knowledge. He comes forward to deny its exiftence ; and becaufe he hears a cry of order from a certain quarter, he thinks he has got me into a (crape. I did with, when I mentioned this topic, to have given no pofitive opinion on the nit rits of the Bill. I have, however, Sir, taken Come pains to difcover whether fuch eircumflances em itted as would 'unify its continuance; and with great patience I have waited to hear the gpistion of thole Gentlemen, who, from their local know ledge, art beg qualified to (peak on the fubjel. I have converted, Sir, with Englilis Gentlemen who have been lately in Ireland, and who have travelled over different parts of the country, both by night and by day, and their information has inclined me to think that there now trigs nothing in the (fate of Ireland to iotlify the oration. v•ait, . ............. •-•,! f the I hakard a deeifi, hilt if focit as I havc with all poiriblQ ad,p;,,l, certainly fed rnyiltlf hound to giretity tice,at:ve to the mealure. Sir foto: PARNT hegan by Rating, th it from the fullefl information he was entirlca to lay, that the Lord Lietitenart had cvcr difeovered himfelf ready, not merely ti check unneeeffiry cruelty, hut to lean to the tide of mercy. 'fliat cruel!;es had been perpetrated during the height of the ie. hellion, all were necellitated to admit with regret, but it was not true that these cruelties owed dieir origin to Courts Martial. He had many reafone which would diffuade him at prefent from paying court to the Lord Lieutenant, but a flatement of there circumilances he owed to jultice and truth. He did not feel bimfelf inclined to difputc the Ile ceifity of the meafure, under the prefent circum (lances of Ireland, but he could not help wifhing that it might undergo every poffible modification. If it were pdflible, he should like to fee a permanent Court of Civil Juitice eftablifhed, which might be proteded in the due cxercife of its authority. By the Union he trailed that at lean there would be a uniformity of Law for England and Ire Land— . he did not believe Ireland to be in In dif trafted a Rate as fame Gentlemen have reprelcnted, yet lie was willing to admit that the meafure might, under proper modifications, be attended with ad vantage. He was anxious that as far as poffible the civil authority might be exerted, and he was periliaded that the exercife of civil authority, aided by military power, would meet the evils of the .country. As long as it was neceffary to tranfgrcfs the principles of the conititution, as long as it was nccclfary to furpcnd the exercife of law, In long would difconteat he protraaed, fo long would the violence of difaffeaion be continued. The return of the ancient forms of juitice, the exercite of the general pri!icipk of law, he viewed as the fpeedieit meaus of producing the complete zeiloration of tranquillity, happinels, and order. Sir LawatENcr PARSOKS entered into a minute, c'scumilantial detail of the prefent Rate of Ireland. He !hewed that in various parts of the country not a tingle Court Martial had taken place within the two years, but that offences of every deferip. tion had been tried by the common law of the land. He called on the Noble Lord who brought for ward the meafure to Phew, in a tingle in&ance, that the Juilices of Affize had been obliged to in termit their ufual courfe of legal proceeding—that they were unable to 6nd Juries for the trial of of fenders, or that the Juries when found were unwil ling to perform their duty. He defied the Noble Lord to produce a tingle inflame where this had happened, or that the Jultices had complained of any Juries refilling to atER them in the exereife of their legal authority. If no fuch inflance could be produced, if the Judges had in no cafe 'complain ed of their inability to execute their duty, the na tural inference was, that the country was in a Rate of tranquillity. The Honourable Baronet then entered into a full view of the Rate of a confider able number of different counties, and contended. that in none of them was there any thing to jellify the meafure. He deprecated the pradice of el. aggcrating the didurbed Rate of the country, as hoding out an encouragement to our common enemy to projea an invasion—and concluded by contending that all the boated advantages of the Union in diffufing civilization over Ireland by the introduaion of Englifli fettlers, would be nugatory as long as martial law was continued.. Mr. WiLLIAM BRAIIANZON PONSONRY thought the queilion now was not fo much refpeding what had paired in Leland before, as what was bell to be adopted fur its future tranquillity. From every thing that fell under his knowledge he was con vinced that the Rate of Ireland was not nearly fo diflurbed as had been reprefented ; but he allowed that at prefent there prevailed a confiderahle de gree of difcontent. The prefent meafure did not feem to him well fitted to remove their difcontent, but he conceived that the loyalty of the people would be better edabliffied by a mild fyllem of po lky. The adoption of fuch a fyftem, he was per was the only thing which would ever ba nith ditaffedlion and retort cordial attachment to the Government. Lord Casreta 'sox Paid, that there could be nothing more unwarranted than to fuppofe that • the AFt now before the Houfe was ever to be ufed for the purpofes of cruelty or tyranny. If Gentle men meant to fay that the Irifli Government had ever in any inflance countenanced torture, he felt himfelf called upon to repel the charge with incig nation. He did not pretend to deny that, during the rebellion, cruelties of the moll atrocious kind had exited, but the caufes of thefe cruelties were of a nature altogether oppofite to that which fonts Gentlemen feemed difpofed to inlnuate. So far were they from being infligated by the Government s that they arofe from a want of means in the hands of Government to afford to the loyal part of the com munity effedual and regular pretedion. From this inability in the Government protection was of ne cern ty entrufted W individuals, nor was it furprifiag that, in the coate s betwixt rebels and loyal fubjeds, cruelties of the molt atrocious nature were ocea lionally perpetrated. But it has been under martial law that the Government has been enabled to take the defence of the loyal fuhjed into its own hands, that tl , e contells betreen individuals had been put an end to, and that the cruelties which marked the early periods of the rebellion had ceafed. To the extinction of thefe cruelties, the efforts of the Lord Lieutenant were from the firft direded. His ob jed has ever been to mitigate the cruelty infepara bie in force desrec from a Rate of warfare, where the defence of ivies or the protedion of property iá not derived from the Government, but committed to individuals. 'ais has been the conflant prin. eiple on which the Government has aged, and it has been on this nuatfure that its views have been carried into full ethd, and that they have heed enabled to firike terror into the guilty, and to in. fpire the well•difpored with confidence and &rec. tins. It was the duty of Gentlemen *bo ra = fpebe of the cruelties of the rebellion to that confpiraey was organised, and to forpond their wonder Ibnto at a period when the loyal tab