Star. — London, England, 1802-03-30 00:00:00

dealt the extreme rigour Pfluftiet to the Prince of Wales, by letting apart the greater part o: his re-1 venue for the difcharge of his debts. Much as he was olipofeJ to fupport the iplendour of die throne, he th.tight that this mealure was worthy of imita. tion in the prelim inftance. That which was now propoted he regarded as fraught with immature able dangets to the contlitimou. Lord Moms laid he would vote with the Noble Secretary of State in the motion ht had made ; but iii doing Co he wilted to be tioderftood as not pre cludi% himfelf hereafter from afking information on this fubjeift, which h. certainly cournfered ne cellary. He considered it a fit fubjet for an en quiry that fo many charges were made on the Civil Lill which had no cruiueZtion whatever with that eflablithment. The Lou febrile,' expellees of his Ma jelly bore no prrportion whatever to the other ex. .peaces. This was a point which ought to be clear ly explained to the public. it would be recolletl ed, that iii thole intamous publications which had beat difperfed through the country Come years ago, for the moll mifchievous and worn of purports, great pain, were taken to reprefent his Mikity as tifelliug an income of one million a year. The lea thefe grufi falfeboods had op the public mind was well known. He would tell the snail aphu fiaitic of theft demagogues that the eftablifhment of a monarchy was as uscononikal as that which belonged to any' Republic whatever. He would appeal to the example of hiftory in all ages, and ant all countries, and all him whether the mo gallingaiiil vexatious Demociacy that ever euilled, could condo& the affairs of its Govamnent with 'more acononly than a Monarchy ? The annals of all nations, and the univerfal experience of man 'kind, warranted him in laying, that a Democracy was the moll expenfive, lava, and extravagant of in Governments. It was one cfential part of fuch a Government, that one man having but a tem porary and precarious pofferion of the fupreme tower, would study only to keep up the stipendiary onereft which he had in it, and would take more of the public money for the purpose of enriching of making the moil of his uncertain fitu talon, and of bribing theft who were to keep him in his power, than the whole expence attending the enablilliment of an hereditary Monarchy. The poet Milton had laid in Come of his works, that the trap pings alone of a King would be fufficient to fttp. tort the Whole expence of k Republic. That great man mull certainly have been blinded with endiu • Safm, or guilt? of grofs adulation ; for no Govern ment in this country was ever more expenfive than the common-wealth under which he lived. The • fplendour and trappings of the Crown were as ufe ful to the State as they were conducive to the dig- Pity of the Monarch, yet there trappings formed but a very (mall part of the ellablithment, the prin cipal part of which was applied to pturfes of fuch utility that the State could not exit without them --loch as Courts of Junice, &c. The gloomy re treat of a fingle tyrant might keep up a fhort-lived fifiem of ;economy in the State over which he pre- Aded ; but that could add nothing to the happinefs of a people. The King of a country fixed and per manent in his fituation, could have no inducement either to ezercife an extraordinary parfimony or • prolulion : and that fituation ought, even on prin. tiples of the molt rigid cpcoaom and felfiihnefs, to be fupported in a manner as af fl uent and fplendid as polifible ; for furl would be as ofeful to the pub lic as it mull be honourable to the individual. There were many charges in the accounts then before the Houfe, which, if clofely filled, would be &Nee to revere animadverfion. The whole arrangement of the Civil Litt was a bad one. Thole rums called occafuntat payments ought to appear more del. site : and if they did not, it would always be a *temptation.to Minitlers to load the Civil Lift with anomolous charges. He would recommend the moll expedient corresivo to be applied to the re currence of fuch charges. The Monarch ought always to have a feparate allowance ; and that fo ample as to prevent the podibility of any excels occurring in the enablifbment of his boufehold.— He would have the funs for that particular purpofe much larger than it was. At that time he would fiebear Gyms any thing concerning the affairs of the Prince; but he could not help obferving, that the provilions for the younger branches of the Royal Family were Much too finaU for their rank and fituation in life. With their prefent incomes it was impoffible they could live in the manner it wasexpetted they flioulitg-A degree of prodigality was required of them, which it was impoilible they could pratlife. If afuhfcription was to be made • to a public charity, it would be expeecd that a Prince mull give in proportion to his rank : but this our young Princes timid not do. His Lord- Sir then repeated the condition on which he gave his vote—namely, that be was not thereby pre cluded from demanding more information than he already Eoffefied. Lord Plume's fail he did' not mean to preclude the Noble Lord from 41ning fo. The Earl of Caemakvox (aid, he did not come down ther e th a t d a y wi t h any niggardly difpofi tion ; he would cheerfully vote any Cum that should be necaary for the ufe of die Crown ; but the linos now required to be made goodwere not fonts expended by the Crown, but by Ministers. It was for this reafon he wanted to enter into an enrol, y an the fubjeil. If the doitrine that the Report of a Committee of the Houle of Commons was a fof ficisnt document for their Lorilfhips to proceed upon wa*uue, the Houfe had then no opinion of us own ; it was no ufe for it to be fitting there.— It was their Lordfhips duty to fee that Mr. Burke's Aa Ibould not be violated; that improper charges &old not be made on the Civil Lill, which that Aa had declared to be not liable in future to any debts. A Noble Lord oppofite to him Rated, that the •Honfe had no occafion at all to enter into an enquiry. Lord HOBART Tore. and denied be had (aid fo, what he Ilated was. that the appointment of a Se- WAS not musecelfary. vue then laid. that be underfirlod t. that the Houfe was called on to concur ht any meafure that lhoula paying thole debts without any how they had been coqtrailed. He ' was aoteeenfrary to know wbethqr this debt had recently been incurred, or was accu- inolating for 15 years ? The Noble SecrctAry State did the greatelt injury to the Crown, when he told the punlic that all thefe cipences were to be paid without any enquiry. Hi) Lordlhip took notice of a part of the accounts which were called Fee Funds, and dcfired to know what they al lulled to. The Earl of WISTMORLAXD trailed that, aftk.r periifing the papers then on the table, it would not be deemed neceffary to -enter into any Inch enquiry as was called for. If any one was Jidlitisfieci at Ste expenditure exceeding the income of the Civil 111, let them look back to our hillory, and fee the fplendour in which the Monarchs of this country formerly lived. But he would go no birther back than a century. King William enjoyed an income of ioo,oool. which, if the difference in the value of money, and the price of all neceffaries at that and the prefent period were confidered, would be found infinitely a Luger income than his Majetly poffeffed at the prefent time. And if his M.►jcfly now continued to poffefs the hereditary' revenues of the Crown, which had been exchanged for the pre fent annuity, he would be ten millions licher than he now was. Mr. Burke's Bill gave power to his Majefty to nuke occafional allowfnces to any branches of his Family he -chore, and it would be very hard indeed if he could not fometimei out of his Royal Bounty repair the confeynenets ofjuve nile indifcretions. • Lord Nuts/4 rofe to explain the meaning of Fee Funds. The whole of the fees at the Secre tary of State's Offices were laid up in one fund ; and when the fdaries came to be paid, they were paid out of this Ina : which if not fnfficient, the remainder was made up from the Treafury. Their Lordthips then divided :—Contents for the original Motion So—Non-contents +.—The Amendment was then negatived. Adjourned at Half pall Seven. synAt ne Ilarta left Committee vs • LordCARNAIV MIS to be the Eat, declare it would C propored for I yawl as to boy would ailt, if it w HOUSE OF COMMONS. Mr Jahn Anderfon brought up a report of the Committee an a Petition rdattvs to improving the entrances into London.— The Illefoletioos were agreed to, and leave was given to bring In a MI fur reifies a Wu of money for the perm* of carrying into elks three Adis of Parliament far improving the entrances into the City of Landon at Temple Bar atuFSnow-hill. In a Coanmktee on the report for the improvaneat of the Pon of London, a refolutioo was moved by Sir John Anderfan, that his Malefty be embodied to ordct an Wise ofsgnooi. from the Chamberlain's Ogee, towards improving the Pon of London, and that the tonnage duty paid to his Majefty be combined until the aney advan ce d out at the Confolidated Fund be repaid. The was agreed to, and the report ordered to be received tmnsprrow. Mr. Alexander brought up the report of the Committee of Supply for the terrier of Ireland. After fevers! rcuurks From Mr. ft/erne, the refoktions were agreed to. Land llobotSpencer took the oaths and his feat furTaviftoch. . . Petitions were indented from the Boroughs or Lyon and Warwick, praying the Repeal of the lemma Tax, and were ordered to he laid upon the table. Mr. Vaticinate moved far, and afterwards prefented, an A.- count of the fonts received at the Exchequer, on the Dnty of i titol . l . o2t. Ducks, feast the sth of January t ;Ss, to the sth dillininladni each year. CiriTifelgrave gave notice, that it was his Intention, after the reccfa, to pror(e fame Refoludons to the Houle tepee:nog the Bill, commonly called the Grenville Ad, far regaining Elm time. He dared the Houk to underftand, that the Refaludaos he &add bring forward, meld Nat hi the finalleft degree trench upon the principles of that Afit. The 014e4 a( them was to expedite the bearing of Petitions before Committees of the Route of Commons; and to visits fame alterations with regard to the mode of taking Meta. RURAL or TUX INCOT4II TAX. The CH411011.1.011 of the Excitacissa gave no tice, that on Monday next he Ihould fubmit certain Refolutions in order to raife the largeft proportion of the loan for the fervice of the year. He begged leave alfo to date, that it was his intention to pro pofe a RsrssL of the Income Tee ( Hear ! Hear! from all parts of the Houfe). He had always en tertained the idea of doing fo, but the circumlian. ces in which the country had lately been, prevent ed him from carrying this tntention into effect : Peace alone could induce him to fuch a procedure, and he felt happy that it was now in his power.— He then moved that the Houfe mould ref olve it (elf into a Committee of Supply, and that the Re. .I port of the Committee, and the feverul accounts relative to his Majefly's Civil Lift, be referred to the confiderPtion of the Committee. As the queflion"was about to be put, Sir F. Bo eaSTT gave notice, that upon this day fortnight lie fhould bring forward a motion for an enquiry into the cotaluEt of the late adminiftration. The Committee was then g one into. The CHANCILLOR of the Excatioyra.- 11 Sir, before I proceed to enter into the particulars of the report now'on the table, or to refer more minutely to his Ma . jefly's molt gracious Menage, upon which it is my intention to pmpofe a refOlution, I trod the route in a Committee will approve of not red ing it on the mere feelings, honourable as they are, oialleition and attachtnent to his Majefty, but on thole combined confiderations which cannot fail to make the moll forcible appeal to the generofity, the juilice, and the wifdons of the Houle: Before !en ter upon thefe topics, I am defirous of being in• dulged with the attention of the Committee while I advert to another part of the queftion, which ap pears to me neceiary to be fird dated to the Com mittee. I cannot. Bir, but derive the greateft fatif faEtion from the confideration of our being now in that dite in which Irian enabled to contemplate a clue fliou deeply i nterelliog to the fubjeasof thiscoun try, in a way that affords the molt ample room for Jilcuffion; we have now on the table of the Houfe of Commous a report containing all the information which it was poffible for the various offices connect ed with his Mujedy's civil lift to furnifh, and cer rainly all that can be neceffary to enable the Houle to cometo a full examination of this fubjea. I derive the greater fatisfaEtion from the cirtunaftanceofthe report being on the table, in as much as the Houfe w id have, what it never has had before, a pla in, clear, and latistidory Itatement of what really are the charges and expenses ofhis Majefty's civil lift. The report will alfo furnith a complete rawer to the °Nervations and comments of ignorant and dif needed perfons. It will appear that a very in confiderable portion indeed, when compared with the liatements whir.ll have been made, is applied to the perfisnal ufe and-enjoyment °Phis Maje ft y. I rejoice that we have a document which will put all doubt atreft. I trnft that the Report will have the alit of not Gentlase 46116116u* 1%1 they are above giving way to filch inistrimi• fnmaifitions, but thole per(.us who have bei : ii.ine • a by ignorance, to look into their errors, aml to becorae defiraus of correding them. I hope it wil! no longer be Rated, after the Report Grill have been gone into, that his Majelty enjoys advantages arifing lion; Income of Revenue beyond thufe his illearious Prcdecellins. I will to call the at tention of the Committee to the circumilaiices which attended the Kings of this Country in pail times. Let us recoiled what poll Bois, applica ble as fourccs of revenue, were enjoyed by the So. vereigns of this Country in former timei,ani then. Confider what is the amount of the Civil Litt Ede blilhment, which Come have invidiotilly contralted with thole revenue& The Sources of revenue an ciently enjoyed by the Kids% of England, not only were calculated to fill theecoffers of the Mouatchs who poteffed them, but alto to enable them to op piece their fubjeds ; for when their revenues were in their own hends, they had the kfs occafi ~,, to apply to this Houfe,and Parliament confequently had but feldom the opport unity of exercifing that invaluable privilegeh can alone iufure our falety—i-the privilege of impsling a eefiraint on the abufes of the Executive Goverumeni .oftliceoun try- His Majelty on the throne had the power of applying any part of his revenue to his own ci . ur- i , perks, either in a manner offenfive to the people 'oi l the country, or for purporee of prodigality and! corruption. It was only, Sir, in the commence ment of the reign of Charles the Second that eftimates were introduced as means of contionl on the expenditure of the public revenue. It was in the time of Charles the Second that the right of Purveyance andPre-emption was given ep as a fource of enriching the King-for the purpqk of relieving . the people of this country from a pre rogative fo injurious, a price was to be paid for it by Parliament, in confequence of which an here, ditary revenue was granted in lieu of it. I men tion this rather incidentally, the main purpofe be ing to eftablifh the point that the wl;ole of the King's hereditary revenue cenfifts of the grant to Charles the Second, for the abolition of the Court of Wards, and the privilege of purveyance and pre-emption. That there was a difpofition to throw into the lap of the two fucceeding Kings al confidereble part of the revenue of the country, I allow; and at the commencement of the reign of William the Third, it was fubmitted to Parliament whether his Majelty, joie Corms, was in the flos don which entitled him to that revenue which had belonged to the people of England. The Com mons happily abttained from coming to a decition. I fay happily, for it was perhaps the calif,: of a very large portion of the land of the country find ing its way to the polfsilion of the fnl?jeds. Par liament having refutid to fay whether the King jars Corosur was entitled to the revenue of his pre deceffors, proieeded to eftablifh a Civil Lift. They gave to King William an annual Civil Litt, at the tame time endeavouring to afcertain what were the expences of the houfchold and ettahlifhment of his Majelty. I am as inclined as any one can he to adopt the opinion expreffed by an Hon. Gentle man in this Houle on a former night, that if a Civil Lilt is granted it thould be rendered perma nent, bat I am alfo perfuaded that the principle cannot be uniformly applied. The very plirpole for which a Civil Lift is granted implies the impolli bill!), of its being ablolutely permanent. It is grant eci tor the purpofe of the fplendor of the Crown, and the dignity of the Executive Government; and in the courfe of a long reign circumflances mull occur ip which its expences mutt neceffarily be increated or diminifhed. The tepid increafe of the wealth and the ex tenfion of the commerce of the country haVe hitherto prevented any deereafe in the expences of the Civil Litt, and I have no hefitation in laying, they have jullified the augmentation which has been made to It. In 1697 we find a Civil Lift Eltablifhment was firft permanently fettled, and the aggregate of it was at that time 680,0001. At the aecellion of Q4een Anne it was 700,0001.—in fad the amount or it was near,oool. but it was charged with the payment of de 9oo bts, by which it was reduced to the former fum. During her reign there was one inftance of an application to Parlia ment to relieve the excefs of the Civil Lift. In the reign of George the Firft, the average ex peaces of the Civil Lift were about 800,0001. Ap plication was made to Parliament in his reign for relief. At the acceilion of George the Second, the various branches of revenue which had been voted to Anne and George the Firft were alto voted to the King on the Throne ; but it was ftipulatcd that Parliament was to make good any deficiency below 800,0001. When his prefent Majelty came to the Throne, many erroneous opinions had - been entertained that the re-, venue enjoyed by his late Majelty, and which would have been readily granted her Parliament to his prefcnt Majelty, washii hereditary revenue, which he was entitled.to in right of his Crown. The error was this—that the hereditary reVitlllt iconfitted in nothing more than what was given to 'Charles the Second in lieu of the Court orWartts, Pre-emption, Tonnage, and other Royal Preroga. lives. There was, however, no doubt in ti:e mind of. Parliament with regard to giving his Majeily the fame as had been enjoyed by his predecetrors: It is well known his Majelty Was fully. Perithtded there was filch en intention on the part of his Par linmeet ; had the fad been otherwife, the Houli: would have been left juft towards his ;staidly than former Parliaments had beenwith regard to his prey deceffors. In confequence, no doubt, of his Ma lefic being aware of the Sentiments of Parliament, a Meffage was brought loon after his acceftion, by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, flating . , that hit Malays ever stefirous of giving a proof of fineere regard for the welfare of his peoele, left itio his (wailful Commons in making pros ifion for the fupport of the dignity of his Crown, to arrange Each difpofitione and fettle fuch a fum fcr the ex pences of his Hpufehold and Civil Lift as would heft Alit the interelts of the public. The conduit of his Majelty in giving up his hertelitary rights, and leaving it to ftrliament to provide the whcile of his revenue, hai been Galled by Sir William Illackftoae a proof of the molt dahlia-died boun ty, and in confequence of it Parliament of igned a nvaaae of 9cioeoool e a year, fubjed to life ennui tic; to the Prince( Dowager of Weirs. th Amelia, and the Duke of Cumber. . amounting to 7c,0001. Tr could not (and it,,: it was foretold) happen otherwite than that in .. courte of a long period growing . incumhtani would :trite, which would render it necetlary'l his Majelly to report to the liberality of Parlii !neut. Accordingly in 1769, an application was made to this Ht'ufe, in coistequence of which h teraut of 513,5 t tl. was made to his Majeay to make good the arrears of his Civil Lilt. In r, oo,ocol. was granted for the fame porpote. in 1776, the incumbrances arifing from an create of expences, which were hourly growing upon him, were fuch that his Majeßy was reduced to the neeeffity of making another application to Padiarrient, and a fum of 618,34. was granted to relieve him from ais difficulties. In 1784 there was a further rent of 60.0001. and in 1 7860f210.0001. Thewhole tom, therefore, that has been granted at different periods to pay off the Excefs of the Civil Lid Expences has been 1,533,5111. I would a& whether the fums which have been granted to 'hie /staidly on account or the arrears of the Civil Li*. lip to the prelent, time, when the fitttatuut and circumlbinces of his family are taken into con. federation, and when we advert to the ft t, that the country, during the whole of the period, has been advancing in wealth and profperity, is a fum which, added to the amount of the. Civil Lift of each year, was capable of producing a revenu e equal to what was enjoyed by Annd, or George I. or IL We have arrived then at a period whoa his Majelly is again under the neceinty of requir ing the :alliance of the Houfe. The courfe that has been taken will, Pam perfuaded, be confiderea by the Houfe with lati.ladion, if not with gr ate tude, as meaning to e ut the Houfe in potreflio* of the moll complete information, and leave na room Gn• cavil or doubt by the concealment of any thing that could in the Icait tend to elucidate the fubjeta. His Majelly having cep-died himfelf moil gra cioutly on his Meffage to the Houle, and requetted that the objed of it might be taken into contider arien, it was thought necellary that a Committee ftiould be appointed. A Committee has been ap pointed, and the fubjeat has been invelligated in a manner adapted to the with of his Majelly. They have unravelled the whole of the accounts; they have Rated whatever was calculated to render them clear and capable 9f being fully underllood. They had no authority to offer any opinion of their own —they have net offered any—they have made no oblervations whatever except fuch as were necef fary to enable the Knife to comprehend the accounts fubmitted to them. This leads me to the centider ation of the accounts themfelves, and whatever may be the feelings of regret by which I am aaa ated, and painful as it may be to me to rellea that if the Committee lhall adopt the Refolution I (hall have the honour to propofe, it will predate a con iiderable additiOn to the burthens of the People, I aniperfuaded the Committee will neither ditcover in the report or the accounts the flighteft impute tian of miainanagement with refpeet to his Maier. ty's Houfehold—eof , earruption in any quarter—or of profttlinn: in the difpofition of any part of the him allotted to the expellees of the Civil Lill. Un der thole heads of charge of which the Houfe is juftly molt jealous, namely, Pentions and Salaries, there has been a very confiderable reduation. It appears that in comparing the increafe and decreafe with regard to the petitions and allowances to the Royal Family, the &II chats of the Civil Lift Ar e counts, the total increafe above the ellimate is 45,1831. In the fecond slats, which refers to "the (Aeries ofthe Chancellor, Speaker, and Judges, there is a decreafe of 2,9871. below the eftimate. In the third clefs, oomprahending the titlarks to Minaters refident at Foreign Courts, there is an encreafe of 129,6431. In the fourth clafs,containing the charge for Tradefmen's Bills, the excels on the whole amounts to 74,0901. In the ph clots, the charge for the Menial Servants of his Majefty's Houk bold, there is a decreafe of 1,6051. In the firth clefs or Petition Lill, there is, on the whole account, a decreafe to the amount of 114,4021. In the 7th Clafs, comprifing the falaries-payable out of the Civil Lift Revenues, there has been a gradual diminution, by which there has been a for. mg of 129.7501. The Bth Clefs, containing the falaries of the Commiffioners of the Treafury, and Chancellor of the Fpxchequer. admits of neither ex. cefs or diminution. Under the head Occafional Payments, there is an increafe of 1,047,5871. the particulars of which are ftated in the Report of your Committee. I with the Committee, in ad verting to the Civil Lift expenditute, to divide it into two branches—the hoafelsold, and Civil Litt Eftahlahment, and I am perfuaded it will expe rience tome degree of furprife that the increaleft aspences of the former are fo fmall as they appear to be. It is, impel:Die for any individual who is obliged to preterite an appearance of rank, who of late years has been able to do fo, out of fit little al at the period when the prefent Civil Litt Was granted to his Majelly. When Gentlemen refer to their experience of the increafed value of every article in the courfe of the hail two or three years, and when they reflex on all the circ urn fleece* of the times. I am Pure the excels will be readily accounted f or. I defire to have it under. llood. that I do. not mean to attribute the excels fo much. to the war, as many other perfons may he inclined to do. It will be recolleaed that during the war there, have been three years of fcarcity. Many of the articles to which the expenditure dials litajetty's civil fi ll refers,have certainly beat: inert:ac ed by the. war, but not in the way Gentlemen hi ve Rated. However fatisfatlory the accounts are in one point of view, they mull be a fubjea of regret and flume on the other, becaufe it. is for the Committee not to be fenfible what dittitea. ty his Majefty rot& have experienced with regard to his honfehold. I am fully aware there are ma ny parts of the accounts which ought to rcc..ave ettplanation—it is not, however, my intention 4 at prettnt to enter into the various articles wild) compote the accounts, unlefs I am called upon fo to do by the Committee—there are, however, leveret articles which I feel it incumbent on me to advert to. In page 52 it will appear, that part of the debt is the debt under .the lirft clefs, inclel. iag gla debts incurred by the (keen, on we...a it