Star. — London, England, 1805-04-09 00:00:00

PARLIAMENT4Rr PROCEEDINGS. HOUSE OF commoss. MONDAY, APRIL L CATHOLIC Mr. FOX rote and finally fixed liriday the loth of May for his /notion ou the Petition of the Roman Catholics of Ireland. SLAV" TIMM Lord HFIVRY PETTY gave notice that be Cbould move to morrow the. e weeks for leave to bring in a Bill to prevent a fop rho of Foreign Territorks with :laves from the Coalt of Africa in Praia width. mori v AGAINST LORD VISCOUNT MFLVILLI. hlr. WHITBREAD role to make his promifed ?minion, founded on the Tenth Report of the Corn millioners of Naval Inquiry, which he prefaced by a speech in fubllance as follows— When firsl, Sir, I gave notice of my intention to call the attention of the Houfe In the fubjedi nn which I am now to addrefs you, it was my intention to follow the precedents by which the Houfe have been generally guided, and to move that the Tenth Report of the CommilLoners of Naval Inquiry be taken into confideration in a Committee. I have, however, film, on mature relkaion, Peen reafoo to alter this original refolutiun, and confining myfelf to the twill important pint of that Report, to make that the foundation of certain propofitions with which I fhall have the :ionour -to conclude. With due refpett, Sir, to all the Coinasiflioners who have ever fat under the authority and appointment of this Houk, I melt be perrn;tted to fay, that none was ever more honourable in its origin, none had ever profccuted its ipqpiries with more real advantage to the public intera. It is well kqown that thi. Corn er:4ll4n originated born the late Eoard of Admiralty, at the head of which prefida that Noble Lord, who had fir often Signalized his prowefs in fighting the batiks of his count-y. That Noble Lore, hoer ever, not fatisfied with combatting asid Subduing her enemies abroad, returned home to overthrow her do ream foes, by exploding thole mines of corruption which rendered al: advantages of vid..ry fruitlafs and unavailing. The Commiffioners thus conflituted have already made a variety of Reports, though I am forty to fay that on few have any proceeshags hitherto been four Jed. I certainly do take fame de• gree merit to myfelf f.,r having moved for cet laid pipers caleillated to elucidate the Fiat Report, and %%as then givim to underhand that a Commiflion had been appointed to carry into efrcel fuch fuggef sifts in the Report as appeared likely to be adopted with advantage. What progrefs has been made by tb.. Commitlion, does not !lithely) appear, though at a future time I may feel it my duty to bring the m itter a .tain ander the eonfideration if the Houfe. But to return to the Commifliotrers of Naval Tnquiry, I think it i. clearly demonttrated, that it they have had greater difficulties to encounter than any 'former Commit:on fuffered—if they have been attacked in a manner "contrary to all decence by the whole holt of jobbery and depredators, whore villanies it was Oar object to ezpofe— if they have been defcribed as era:et - nig ilia °Mei, of loquilitors rather than of Commiltoners—if their view. have been vilified and traduced, not only in .this Houk but thiliaghout the public at large—if ever; poffible obflacle bas been thrown in the way of theirinvaigations—if every thing, in Short , has been done to &tuft them, and make them rclinquilh the great.talk entrulled to them by this Houfe—and if, overlooking all thefe confider ationi, they have thought only or difcbarging their duty to their country, it will not Purely be 'denied that their merit has been greatly enhanced, that they are entitled to the warine/ gratitude of the bell interells of this Empire. By their aromas and perfeverance they have difcovered what eluded the moll diligem inquiries of various Commilllons appointed for the purpofe of afeertaining the amount of various abufes in the public expenditure, which all the vigilance cf Committees of this Houle could not fully bring to light. The Comnsiilioners having thus done their duty to the pubic, it fell to my lot to bring to jut: tice the criminal; wliam they have ezpofed. It is neediels for me to infill, Sir, on the importance i" the fubjeFt on which lam now addrefling you. 14 is important to the high perfon, - .hem the propo fi Con• with which I lir ill conclude, principally involve It is important to the %cry falvation and exiticnec 01 onr y. It i- important to the Commiflioner who hive broaght 1 , ,i w: rd this moll interefling Re port. If :he f ..!r:d.:,a3 it appears to me that they are in date 'a finch and as it.iirikes me it is al mod invoT.ble fr./ them m t to decide, it will prove that no per fun zu:ii y i,f lo flagrant a violation of an AI" of Parliament, :-!% that contained in the Tent!i Report, that in , individual ftrongly fulpested of conniving at fuch an unwarrantable application of the public money, or receiving any advantage from however high his rank or eaten five his influence, (ball efcape with impunity, the pub tic v ill look with reference to our decifions. They will he convinced that a uoor is opened for the intro. duCtrn of regular ity and mew:only in our public ex penditure, and drat if our burdens are extreme, their produce will at halt be applied to the purpofes for which Pa-liament intended them. If on the con trary our decifion 'hculd be contrary to all thefe juR types and expen..tions ; if we Shall, in defiance of th e rep.at on the table, pronounce the Noble Lord ot Utility, then indeed the people will have Serious tu:e for complaint and indignation—then the vul gar ::fret ion may with great apparent plaufibiliiy be employed —w e may with truth be accufed of Seeking tri.ly emolument as our role, °Nee, in place of the "nn.! of our country—No longer can we be confider. e:'d as States - men, animated by a laudable Spirit of am. bitten —that ambitit i implanted in our nature to in ttcut to high deeds. We mull then be confidered as acting July from thefe bale, Sordid motives which deg:Ade the charadler of the 'Lacrimal', and render him c. n:tmptible in the eyes of his fellow citizens.— Fet.ring !bele truths (effetely, I do trail, Sir, that the /Lure will accede to thole propoiitions which .1 is my intention to found on the fads which the Tenth Report has difclofed. This Report involves eonfidea:tle number of individuals. It is not • , 1 11 v . • t ••••• 1' r ---E\s- f, . • jyr ‘ 4 - • .4$ • Pr.' .• At. only Lord Melville and Mr. Trotter, his pay-mafter, that are involv e d, b ut we h ave Mr. Wilion and Mr. Mark Sprott, who cut no inconfiderable figure on the kene. We have alfo brought before us the high and refpeaable Company of the Bank of England,— If I am not alfo mifinformed, that Report to a cer tain degree, involves the charaaer of the Right Ho nourable Gentleman (Mr. Pitt) on the other fide of the Houfe. With refpett to what is faid in the Report about the Bank of England, I anr not fatisfied that the condo@ of the Governors in allowing the mosey, the public money, to be with drawn is the way in which it had been, was cor refl. On the contrary, it has every appearance of be ing in dire& oppofition to the exprefs regulations of An Aft of Par lament. The evidence of the Officer of the Bank who was examined before the Commif Goners, does not fully do away this imprdlinn. With regard to what I alluded refpeding the Right Hon. Gentleman oppofite, I Mall explain my meaning in a few words. I have, Sir, been informed that the Right Host. Gentleman feveral years ago, when be la & held the fame fituation which he now enjoys, was informed of the exiftence of the praltice of withdraw ing the public money contrary to an exprefs Aft of Parliament, and that no Reps whatever were taken to put an end to it. if this Remittent be correa the Right Hon. Gentleman will permit me to fay, that his conduit betrayed very culpable negligence, and a very nnjullifiable connivance at a praaice which every man who values the proper regulation of the public expenditure mutt confider as highly dangerous. ! In bringing forward a charge againff Lord M. I do not bring a charge againit mere unprotefted indivi dual. During the greater part of his life he has en joyed an ample (hare of the public rewards, and pub lic honours.. For a period of thirty years he has been in the uninterrupted polfeffion °lronic lucrative office, and he has at the fame time exercifed a moft extenfive influence. He has, no doubt, many friends attached to him by the conteinufnefs of obligation, and though he is not now prefent to hear the charge pre (erred again& him, he has many friends in this Howe who will be happy in the opportunity of undertaking his defence. Thinking theu. that I take no unfair advantage of him, I proceed .to that charge which his frierids will be fully able to explain to him in ano ther place. In concluding this bufine(s, it will be my ohjea aridly to adhere to that moderation which is the molt adapted for the inveftigation of truth, but at the fame time, with that firmnefs and - per-reverence which my duty to the - public impofes on me. In the cafe which I have to lay before the Houle, there are cif cionftances of aggravation which will render it neceffAry for me to occupy a greater portion of your time, than I could otherwife have wifhed, and to em ploy terms of greater (eve - ity, wifith, on other oc cafions would readily be (pared. When, Sir, I look to the individual who is the principal criminal againft whom my charge will be dir ailed, I fee many ma lons which eocreafe the magnitude of his offence.— At the dole of the American war, when we were plunged in a Rate of the greateft national difireli, and when the, public begaq to fe e th at t h ere h a d been a grofs mifapplicgion of our refoarces petitions flowed in from all parts of the country, praying for Come reform in the expenditure of the national trea- Cure. The Right Hon. Gentleman opyofite was then in the dawn cf his political life, and in nothing did he teem more defirous of recommending himfelt fro notice and dißinetion, than by his zeal for the re form of abufes, and his anxiety to have a regulated fyftem of economy eflabliffied in every part of the public expenditure. Committees were accordingly appointed —and on the reports which they produced regulations were framed for diminilhing every fort of utincceffary expenditure, and by removing all thofe caufes which had formerly created there metres.— Of there the molt prominent was the regulation fdr caning the balances in the hands of public officers. It was at tlie fame time refolved that a number of the tees and gratuities formerly vatting in public offices 'timid be withdrawn, and that initead of them perma tent and adequate falaries fhould be allowed. It was tat titularly laid down, as a molt important repletion, .iat the Paymailer of the Forces and theTrerfurer of ;re Navy (hould have a fpecific falary, and that they hould neither, direaly nr inditealy, derive any ad antage from the ufe of the public money. Now, Sir, hole Refulutions are alive to the recolleftion and feelings of many Gentlemen who are now Members ,d this Houfe ; and lure I am that Lord Melville is the very lilt man in the world who can at all plead ignorance of their exiflence . He, indeed, diftinguith e-d himielf at that period for his profelfed zeal for the reform of abufes, with what fincerity I leave it to the judgment of the Houfe to decide. He, Sir, Cutely could not poffibly have mifunderflood the in tention of the Legiflature, and I am not now to in fr;rm for the fir ft time, that the abufes in the offices of the Payma(ter of the Forces and the Treafurer of the Navy were the leading features in all the Reports of the Parliamentary Committees of that day. In 178 t, a pofitive refolution pallid on the Reports of one of tittle Committees, &elating it as their opinion, that neither the Paymafter nor the Treafurer of the Navy fhould draw any part of the public money till it was politively wanted for the public fervice. The Report further goes on to Rate the opinion of the Com mittee, that the Treafurer of the Navy fhould hence forth aft as an accountant, and not as a banker, to the nation. A Report was at the fame time made of the amount of the Treafurer of the Navy's falary, which was two thoufand pounds, exclutive of profit arifing from the tile of balances of the public money in his hand. It was on there Reports refolved that All there balances fhould be forthwith paid into the Bank of England, and that the falary of the Trea furer fhould be fixed at four thcufand pounds, in lieu of all fees, emoluments, or gratituties of whatever delcription. What, Sir, was the condua purfued by Mr. Barre, at that time Treafurer cf the Navy ? Even before the Refolution had been fubmittcd to the Legiflature, be (pontaneoufly paid into the Bank of Logland the whole amount of the balances at that period in his poffeflion. In this cafe the Houle will fee clearly that Mr. Barre was not placed in circum fiances at all parallel to :hole under which Lord Mel ville had acted. There hitherto culled no pofitive law to force Mr. Barre to furrender up his balances, but be very wifely bowed to the decifion of a Cnrn mittee of the Houfe, and (heaved his readinefs even to anticipate the future refoluticm of the Legiflature. Mr. Barre thus gave the prompt-ft proof of his obe dience to the voice of Parliament, and it was proved before the Commiffioners by the only perfon now fttrviving to attell the fad, that Mr. Barre never afterwards, diredly or indirectly, received the leaft emolument from the public money bcycnd the eta blifhed falai y ; and the fame obfervation applies to every one of tlile.in - his employment (a loud cry of bear, bear!) Lord Melville fucceeded Mr. Barre for a few months,, as Treaforer of the Navy ; anti whether, during this Thort period, he received any advantage from the public money, whether it was placed iu the Bank of England, locked up in his iron chell, or lodged in the ,hands of a private banker, I ha 7, ton ar this day the opportunity of deckling. THs is at leaß certain, that Lord Bayn ing, who fikcceded Lord Melville, had no fort of difficulty in aufwering the Commtilioners. His an- Ewer was manly and honourable. On being ail.-A, whether he enjoyed any feparate emolument or ad vantage from the public money, he unequivo• cally anfwers in the negative. After the diffolution of the Minißry of that day, we again have Lord Melville Mariner of the Navy. On his returning his old Ration he difcovercd that the falary did not exadly synclinal to the fum which Parliament pro p/lied. An Al of Council accordingly paired on his reprelentation, Aiid the net falary of four thoufand pounds a year was eltabliflted. This fum fo ella• blifhed, was expref.ly declared to be in 'lieu of all emoluments, tees or advantages. In 1785, in con. fequence of a recommendation froth hie Majeßy in his fpeech from the Throne, an At was palled, con taining thofe regulations on which the futeretondult of the Civil Department of the Navy was to be or ganized. At that time the Right Honourable Gen tleman oppofite, held out to the Houle the moil bril liant pilture of the beneficial effeds of thefe plans of improveinent. While he fpoke of the means by which economy was to be promoted, he did not forget the Noble Lord againft whom my charge is now to be preferred, as the perfon the moll fit to carry them .into the fulleft activity. He malt now have teen his millake, or, at leaff, the public were long fince con. vinced both of the fallacy of the hopes by which they were flattered, and the peculiar unfituefs of the Noble Lord to undertake any thing like national reform in any one of its departments. From the condud which the Noble Lord has fence purfued, one would think that he had been employed in the work of refino• only to bring it into contempt; that he was put forth as an indrument of correcting abufes only to render !teem more inveterate. The Bill of 178 - 5 did pats, and the Noble Lord was the perfon felected to carry it for the approbation of the other branch of the Leginature. Never was the fpirit as well as the letter of any Act lets favourable to wilful mifreprefentation ; never could any thing afford a more wretched handle for any thing like Tobterfuge and equivocation. I cannot fuller myfell to believe that the friends of the Noble Lord will attempt to !erten his conduct, under a pre tence that the letter of the %I'M has not been violated. Such an apology would only terve to heighten his criminality ; and, for the Noble.t.ord's own fake, I troll it will not be retorted to. Bitt, Sir, let me only call your attention to the preamble of the Bill, and the Houle will fee that neither its letter nor fpirit can be mifunderflood for a 'tingle moment. The pream , ble of the Bill recites all the abides fpecified in the leveret reports, alludes to the refolutions for the cor rection of thefe abufes, and fpecifies that a fpecific Glary is to be given in lieu of all fees, emoluments, or advantages. A competent falary was ellablifiled, that all temptation to make an improper ufe of the public money might be avoided. Thus then, both according to the fpirit and letter of the Aft, it was impoffible for the Noble Lord, or any other human lbeinr, to miflake what was the direct otted of the Legifiature. Now, what was the tint ad of the firll part, in the fecund Trearnrerfhip of Lord Melville, with this Act exprefsly in his view? The Act lays, that all money !hall be immediately taken from the hands of the Treafurer, and lodaed in the Bank of England. The AR patted in July, 1785, anJ it was not till the fubfequent January, that the balances were paid into the Bank, agreeably to the terms of the Act. What poflible excufe can be fet up fur fuch an extraordinary I violation of an Ad of Parliament, in the framing of which the Noble Lord hirnfelf, in all probability, took a material intereft. He is the firft to violate that law to which fo much importance was at tached. In what manner too dues this violation tat:t. place? It appears, Sir, that on the alit of January, 1804., the balance in the hands of the Treafurer of I the Navy, was upwards of feventy thoufand pounds; and in July, 1785, it had increafed to upwards of a hundred and thirteen (lowland pounds, being an augmentation of more than forty-two thoufand pounds betwixt the two periods to which I h a v e al luded. I with to kno w WM; why this del a y i n th e transfer of the balance t oo k ;:lace ? It is impoffible to account for this on any conlifteta principle. The only way of accounting fur the matter fatisfactorily, is to fuppofe that it was withheld with the foie view of private emolument. 1 know, Sir, it has been con tended, that Are delay took place in confequence of tome regulations in the Treafurer's Office being in complete ; out will fuch a pretext as this impote even on the weakeß underlianding ? What difficulty was there in the transfer which the ACt requited ? What new regulations were wanting to complete the laic lodgment of the balances of the Treafurer of the I Navy in the Bank of England ? But it is to Inch wretched pretexts as thefe that the Noble Lord is re duced when unable to give any other rea.fon for the violation of an Ad of Parliament, titan that which I have kilt referred to. Such is the lituationin which we find the Noble Lord at the expiration of the &ft part of his f:cond Treefurerlhip. I (hall now go on to the conlideration of the fequel of this fecond free furerfltip, which forms the grand fubjed of the Tenth Report. In doing this I (hall arrange myvarious obfer. vations under three dillinet charges. In the first place, then, I charge Lord Melville with having applied the money cf the public to other ufes than thofe of the naval department, with which he was conneded, in exprefs contempt of an Ad of Parliament, and in grofs violation of his duty. I charge the Noble Lord, in the fecund place, with conniving at a fyliem of pe culation in an individual, for whole condua in the ufe of the public money, he was deeply ref - prate, and for this connivance I denounce him as guilty of a high crime and mifdemeanour. To there two charges I (hall, on the prifent occation, chiefly confine my felf ; but there is Rill a alit J, on which I (ball not in fill very largely now, but which, if the inquiry is in llituted, I (hall feel myfelf molt powerfully called on to fuppott in this Houfe. I mean, Sir, here to al lude to the (iron fufpicion that the Noble Lord himfelf was a participator in that fyflem of peculation. to which I have referred, and is conreqnently liable to very fevere pains and penalties : rui.cfs what has been laid could he unfaid, unlefs what has appeared before the Commiflioners could be obliterated, it ap pears to me alrnoft impollible to get rid of this hie prelllon. I have Paid, Sir, that I will purfue this in. quiry with moderation on my own part, but I repeat ; that I will follow it np with fteed:nefs and firmnefs for the country. It is certainly to the honour of our public men, that even in times when party fpirit was At its height, when the political w rid was the mat violently agitated and cnnvulfed, charges fuch as that which I now bring funs erd againit the N .bie Lord have feldom been preferred. It is a fingidar circumnance, however, that the only instance of a limiter charge, for a great number of year s, was brought againft a great public criminal by the fame Noble Lord whole acculer I now appear—l allude, Sir, to the cafe of Sir T. Rumbold for malverfations in India, but it is not my with to carry matters to fuch an extremity againfl the Noble Lord, though my duty impels Me to bring him before the proper tribunal. In making out my charge ageinit the Noble" Lora I mull call your attention to what is Rated in the Report, for it is material to fee what is the nature of the evi fence produced. Firn of all, then, the Com mittee found that there had been for a number of years deficiencies in the Treafurer's Department, to the amount of upwards of 674,0c01. a year. lam not now wiihing to ren much on the corrednefs of the particular fum. Whether it be ten pence, ten pounds, or even a million, the principle is the ferric, whatever be the magnitude of the deficiency. That a deficiency did exill is not denied, for even Lord Mel ville himfelf owns its existence. In this fttuation the Commifiloners evinced a very laudable &lire to efcer tain how the deficiencies originated, and for this pur pole it was neceffary that Lord Melville and Mr. Trotter (hould be fummoned before them. As in this Rate of the bafinefs I than have frequent occafion to allude to Trotter, it may be proper to lay a few words in explanation. When I fpeak of Trotter, I Ipeek at the fame time of Lord Melville, for in the whole of this balinefs they are completely identified. The a&ion of the one I view as the adion of the other. This indeed is the wet view taken by the Commit. tees which reported on the fituation of the Treafurer and Paymafler of the Navy. They considered the office of Treafurer as a mere.finecure, the whole of his butinefs being done by a Deputy, and in this rela tion precifely does Mr. Trotter nand to Lord Mel ville. The one tranlads the bufinef., and the other incurs all the refponfibility. The Trealurer of the Navy, as in Lord Melville's cafe, was often t Privy and even a Cabinet Councillor, and it is very fit that he (hould be relieved from the cares of office. But if he is to enjoy emolument without labour, it rarely is not alking too much to have a little refponfibility at tached to the diaributien of the public money. So much then as to the identity of Mr. Trotter and L: rd Melville in this bufincfs. So zealous did Lord Mel ville appear for the prcper adminittration of the Civil Department of the Navy, that not letistied with the Bill of 1785, he adually propofed and obtained au Aft of Council for authorizing, in the management cf the pecuniary concerns of the Navy, a variety of freth regulations. (Here the Hon. Member read a few peliages from the Aft.)—Thu_; continued he, were all the regulations that the Noble Lord propof ed for the economical guvernineut of the Navy con. ceded to him, and lie had nothing left to impede his favourite plans of improvement, yet he is the man to authorize his own Peymalter to hold in contempt the peremptory orders of the Legiflaturee He heaps up • regulations, and he takes not the leaft care th.tt they !hail be in one lhepe or other oblerved. Oa the contrary, there deficiencies ate evidence how grofsly. the intentions of the Legiflature had been evaded. BcfOre I confider what Mr. Trotter's anfwer was, let me remark, that the general complexion of the I evidence before the Commitlioners was cf a very ex traordinary defcription. I had almost laid, all the witneffes gave a reluctant and difgraceful testimony. I was rather unguarded in my expretllon, for I own that feveral refpedable Gentlemen gave their tefli mony with a candour that did honour to their elle rAlc.lCl and feelings. The others gave a testimony extorted from them, or flickered their guilt under raytterious liknce. Much as I approve of end ad mire the proceedings of the Commillioners, I do with that they had forced fume of thole gentlemen to fa vour us with a 1 tie more of their reludant informa. lion. I think they might have dine this in perfeet continency with the powers with which they were levelled. What is (Wed in this reludant testimony has, however, this advantage, that it petTeffes the firongea charaderof credibility. It has been Itraneely afierted by lonic perfons that the Report of the am miffioners is Altogether ex puree, and ought not to be the foundation of any decision. I really, Sir, am at a lots to conceive how anymr,i h ad netatcanm Orange afTertion. I ails, si