Star. — London, England, 1801-04-02 00:00:00

.~ PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. HOUSE OF LORDS, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1. All the Dins on the Table were feverally paffcd a Rage each. The Committee on the Trim Mailer of the Rolls Bill, on which a Debate is likely to take place, is adjourned to next Tueiday fez:night. Two Protella have been entered on the fubjetet of the Pro eeedints of the Houfe yeftertlav, in the Committee of Privi kges. One of them is yrotinded on the Previous gLiellion,and figned by Lord Rawdon and the Earl of Radnor. che other, on the motion to expunge the Protelt of any Peer or Peers againft a Bill, and alierting the Noble Subkribers' ancient and undoubted light to Align their realms for dlflinting front the Majority who patted inch a Bill as they diffented from, is hoed by fifteen Peers. The Duke of Norfolk is the firft fuhfcriber, and Lords Thanet, Alhstnath . Holland. Ma g. Cartiarvon, Ponfonby, Dundas, Latildowat, Suffolk and Iletkibirc, and Derby. are among the others. Many Dills will receive the /loyal Attrnt by Cumniffion to morrow.—.liljoumed. HOUSE OF COMMONS. The Miller's Indemnity Bill was read a 3d time, and naffed. Mr. WI tot at oaCK gave notice, that he fhould, on an early day after the Reed's, propofe to the Houfe Come CffifiCat tuna lure for relieving the Lower Clalfcs, labouring, iu certain places, under peculiar diltreft. Colonel Fr LLARTUN gave notice, that be &mild early after the Reed's, bring forward a Motion to facilitate the carriage of Ruck Salt from Chefter, &c. to Scotland. POTATOS 5. On the motion for the third reading of the Bill for the en couragement of the Cultivation of Potatoes in follow Lands, Mr. Ow's se role to relilt the motion, and prekuted a pe tition from his Conftitucnts ag;iinft it. Bill was an cppofcd by Mr. ELLISOY and Sir W. Et.- FOR o, on the ground that it would be better to kavc fubjeds of agrienlturc to be regulated by the difcretion of the Farmers than by Legillatiec interference. • A motion being made for the third reading of the Bill on this day Bs months, a divifion was called for, and there appeared, For the motion 40--Againft it 22. -Majority 13. Mr. CORRY brought up the Report of the Com mittee of Supply for Ireland ; and, on the Refo lution being put, to make permanent certain charges for the Officers of the Hook of Commons in Ireland, &c. &c. which before were only annual, Sir JOHN PARNELL rofe to afk, whether it was the intention of the Right Hon. Gentleman to make thole grants permanent ; and whether they were to be paid out of the Confolidated Fund ? He muft confcfs, indeed, that the items to which he was calling the attention of the Houle might very well, from their infignificance, be overlooked. They principally regarded indemnities fof local Com rniffioners, and might be more properly confidered and difctiffed in a private Committee than in a Committee of the whole Houk. Mr. CORRY confeffed that he was avetfe from difcutfmg the appropriation of grants each feffion in a Committee of the whole Houk ; he was there fore for making them permanent. They did not exceed 60001. and that could not be confidered as a fum worthy of giving the Houfe any trouble. Sir JOHN PARNELL contended, that feveral of the grants were perfettly new, and not among the ufual grants. When from annual they were to be made permanent charges, it was right to in quire minutely into them ; but that inquiry might better be referred to the Private Committee. In the prefent ftatement there was an additional fum of 20001. per annum to that voted heretofore. Mr. CORRY dekribed the nature of the employ ment and duty of the o ffi cers for whom thefe &- larks were intended, and contended they were different from thole alluded to by the Honourable Baronet. After a few obferrations from Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Hobboufe, refpeding the impropriety of hur rying filch votes through the Honk, merely be tante the funs to be voted were laid to be infig aificant, the Refolutions were agreed to, and Bills ordered to be brought in purlitant to the fame. Lord HAWK ssn vRY brought up a variety of pa pers reepthing the Convention of El-Arita, in Egypt, and Sir Sidney Smith's powers and in ftructions, which he moved Ihould Le on the ta ble and be printed.—Agreed to. IRISH VUDGIT. Mr. CORRY moved the Order of the Day for going . into a Committee of Ways and Means, and ant tne AccoUnts prefented by Mr. Weathera ll, ihould he referred to the Laid Committee. The Hot& then refolved itfelf into a Committee Of Ways and Means, Mr. BRAGGY. in the Chair. . Mr. Colon- Paid, that in difcharging the duty which it had fallen to his lot to perform, it would be his objeit to take up as little of the time of die Committee as pofliblc. If, however, there were any parts in his (laments which the Committee or any Gentleman might with to have explained, he would give it with the greatell picallire. It might be expcifted before he entered into the 11..*,nent of the charg.s upon Ireland, that he fliouldlay a fcw words about the Finances of that Country. In doing fo, however, he &add endeavour to give the Committee as little trouble at ; he Mould begin by Rating the charges which Ire land would have to bear leparately from Great Britain, then her joint expences in confequence of the Union, and then he fhould date the Ways and Means by %%Lich lie meant to cover the Supplies. It mutt be in the recolleelion of every Gentleman who heard him, that the principle of the Union, which in his opinion had been fo much to the in tereft of both Co:.ntries, agreed upon, aaa. a prin ciple of complete and entire Union (lithe ( :organ ments of the two Countries.—As far as refpated the Governments, that principle had been corn pleteiy carried into eft:t.—lt was no longer an Uaiun of two Crowns, it was an union of the Sroverty. But °sting to iOme circumflances fublillutb Ant.(cedent to the Union, it became tv cetfary, for a fhert time, to adminifler the Finan ces of the two Conotries in :t ii:parate manner, and not in that p..rfea Unity which it was the üb je.l of the greatca mcaftwe to which he had allud ed, to tiled.. As, therefore, at prefent the Fi nances of the twoConntries were feparate, it would be necclfary for him to (late to them in two points of view, both as they affected Ireland rep:lrately, and iot conjunaion with Great Britain. He would now proceed to !late the Lparate Charges, the Mt of which was the Intereft of the National Debt, which formed the great Article otf the 3(p-trate Charge upon Ireland, as the Military sixpence formed almoll the whole of her joint Charge. With refpeft to the Debt of Irelan d, it would :op war to ears accuaomed to the Millions of this Country, to amount only to a (mall Sum t. it was at prefent no more than 36,00c,0001. It was, however, a burthen of great importance to that Country, and which' had increafed molt rapidlyl during the prefent war. The proportion of the Debt of Ireland, at the commencement of the war, was to the Debt at prefent, in the proportion of t to 14. Her Debt at that period was to that of England, as t to too, but now the proportion of the Debt of Ireland was to that of England, as 1 to to.—But a large part of the Debt of Ireland was in 5 per Cents, and if they were reduced to 3 per Cents, in which a great part of the Debt of England contifted, and if the Irifh Debt was all reduced to 3 per Cents. then its propor ' Lion would be as t to 8 to the Permanent Debt of England.—He mentioned this to thew, that if in the profecution of the arduous conteft in WhiCll 1% were now engaged, Great Britain had incurred great Burthens, Ireland had :the increafed her's, in a very great degree : She had made very great financial, and, from the unfortunate lima— tion in which the had been placed, great tary exertions, alfo, without murmuring ; and he mulled from the improvement of her • fitu atiou, which he doubted not would be the rcfult of the Union, the would be enabled to bear them without difficulty. The intereft upon this Debt amounted to a larger film than thole who were only accuttomed to 3 per cents. would at firft fuppore, - it amounted to 1,696,0001. In this nate ment, he did not include the Taxes which it would be neceffary to lay on in contquence of the Loan for the fervice of the prefent year. Of this Debt Ireland had been under the neceffity of borrowing fo large a fum in England, that the intereft which the paid to this country amounted nearly to one million. The Sinking Fund of Ireland, which was included in the (um he had before mentioned of 1,696,0001. was founded upon the fame principle as that of this country, which had been introduced by a Right Hon. Gentleman lately at the head of the Finance, and which had been attended with fuch beneficial effeas. The original Sinking Fund of Ireland was adopted in Ireland, under the pa tronage of a Right Hon. Friend of his, and it then amounted to no more than too,oool. a-year. It bore a proportion to the Debt of that Country oft to 70, whereas the Sinking Fund of England, at its eftablifhment, bore a proportion to the Debt oft to ago. Since the eftablithment of the Sink ing Fund in Ireland, it had paid off about a million of the Debt, and it now amounted to 400,0001. a-year. He would fay no more at prefent upon this part of the fubjeft. The next article of the feparate charge of Ireland, was thefum of 622,0001. for the compenfation of Boroughs, which was all that it was thought defirable to raife in one year. The next item . was soo,oool. for the improvement of the inland Navigation, thefe three funs toge ther, made fomething more than 2,400p001. which formed the feparate charge which was to be pro vided for by Ireland. With rape& to the pro portion of the joint cliarge which Ireland was to bear, a very large part of it, viz, 4,t50,0001. was for the MilitaryExpences. The other part of the joint charge, which was for Civil purpofes, amounted to above 600 pool. making together ! fomething more than 4.700,0001. This, of 300,0001. for the Vote of Credit. This, added to the rum which he had Dated as necefary for the feparate charge of Ireland, would mal.e whole amount of the Supplies neccilary to be provided by Ireland for the prefer* year, above 7,t00,0001. He would now Date the Ways and Means by which he propcifed to cover this charge. It was customary, in the Parliament of Ireland, previous to the Union, to grant the Supplies from the 25th of March in one year, to •the 25th of March, in the next year. Lail year the fame plan was adhered to, and the Supplies were granted to the ufual period, and provifion was made accordingly.— But in confequence of the Aa of Union, the joint charges between the two countriescommenced from the ill of Jan. t 8o s, and confeqssantly the Supplies from that period to the 25th of March, mail be thrown into the joint eftimate. It would, there fine, be necefrary to difappropriate the balances re maining in the Treafury of Ireland for the period he had mentioned, in order to make them applica ble to the current Service of the prefent year. The amount of the balances in the Treafury of Ireland, on the tit of Jan. 18ot, amounted to 1,697,0001. betides floo,oool. a llie balance of the Loans.— In addition to thole, were to be taken into confi dcration the Revenues of the Country which con lifted of the fame leading articles as thefe of Great Britain, viz. in Port Duties, or in other words, in Cullom, which, in Ireland, were termed Port- Duties, in the Inland Duties, in the Afreffed Taxes, and in the Revenue arifing from the Poll Office. The Income arifing from the Port Duties amount ' ed to about 2,500pc01. from Stamps about 150,0001. and from the PoD Office only about ze,oool. after defraying the charge of collating.' In eftimating the Revenues of the current year, he &add form his calculation upon the three quar ters of the year tip to Cbriflmas laD; they amount. cd then to I,Bcoopeol, confequently he fliould take their whole produce at 2,400,0001. He begged Icive here to remark that in the Revenue received in the three quarters upon which he was calculat ing, there was nut included any produce of the duty upon Malt. The reafon of this mutt be ob. slims to the Committee, the diftrefs of the Country %%as lb great, that it became necefary to flop the snaking of Malt. It was true that it was permit. ted for a fhort time in the month of Oanbcr, but thoii: who knew the mode in which the amount of thefe Duties were returned, mull know that t h e Officer did not make his return until a moto r after it was collouaed, and that a month's time was given for its payment, confequently the Docks which wore during the fbort period that it was al lowed to make Malt, did not come into the Trea fury until after Chriflmas, and confequently did not come within the three quarters upon which he had eftimatcd. lie would take the prosince of this Duty at itoopool. which would snake the Reve nue amount to about 5,600,0001. It had been anal, is Ireland, to have one or two Lotteries in the comic of the year, and as he fan nos objeaion to it, be thould propoth one for the prefent year, the produce of which he gnash' take at sio,cook The Aims 7, i pticah'e to then 1 thc prifeilt year, Ili( i 5,24 7,r-coi. 11.:1.010. Hl :it: Tecalbry I . 4 9 " 400 . BALIIICC of t lit. two . c.OOO - • - I.,,tLry • 'qr. 0303 M.tkiry thegaher - - k. 47,000 . From thi• turn there was lc 1 , . a deduaton of for dr.: Loyalists, ',ad not yet heen paid, :tad sthich it N% AcCeliary to pay as loon as po (Wok , us order to .rabic thole unfortunate per. ions to rebt.ild their houses, and to reflore the in (airy of the Country. There t+ as alto a fum of 70,0001. to be dedtuted, paid by Ireland to her Forces in the Garriiiins of Great Britain, which would leave the Sum iemainiag applicable to the SCI'VCC of the !. car, 4,947,0c:..1. here Was 411- other fum AVllich lie had to mutton, though it did not form a part of tie C'ssisrge or Expenditure of the prefent tan, and that was about halt a million of ESclietilier 11111 s, or Ts eafury Bills, as they were called in became they were calculated in the Debt which he had /laud, and provided for in the intetelt. They were, therethre, no charge upon the public this year, except that, as they were iffised at 5 per cent. and the money borrowed to pay them was at rather more than 5 per cent. It was alto to be obfetved, that as long as they re mained Exchequer Bills, there was not the expence oft per cent. for the Sinking Fund, which would be nceeffary, as foon as they were funded; but with the exception of this fum, which did not amount to above io,oool. they conilituted no part of the charge of the prefent year. The Ways and Means being therefore unequal to the fupply of the year, it became neceffary to borraw the fum 0f2,500,0001. The Committee would now perceive the manner in which he propofed to cover the Suppliesof the year. He fhould now proceed to (tate the new taxes, and in this part of the fubjea he fhould occupy as little of the time of the Committee as poffible. The fum neceffary to be provided as the Intereft and Charge of the Debt, including the 1 per cent. for the Smking Fund, would amount to 188,0001. but in providing the Taxes it would be neceffary to take into con6deration three other items.— In confequence of the Union there were to be no Ditties upon the Exports and Imports from either Country, and hi the arrangement of the Ditties, there would be a deficiency on the past of Ireland, of 60,0001. and that turn it would be neceffary to make up. There was another (mall fum which he had to mention, and in which he hoped the Com: mittee would concur with him in opiniop. It was with retpea to a Tax upon Ahfentees, which was very Email in its amount, not exceedinglObol: hot ' as Gentlemen were now bound in duty to attend a certain part of the year in this Country it would be ahfurd to snake them liable to a Tax for that which they did in difcharge of their duty. It was therefore intended to abandon that Tax.— Another article by which the Revenue of Ireland would be diminifited was, the duty on Hops, which it was neeelfary to reduce to the fame amount that it was in this Country. This would create a de ficiency of 75,0ar01. All thefe fums together would make the turn necelfary to be provided for by Tales 263,0001. In feleiting the new Taxes, it was natural for him to look to thofe of this Country, and to rely upon the great expe rience and authority of the Right Hon. Gentle man by whom they were pmpofed. It was betides defirable, that the Taxes fhould be upon the fame Articles, if not to the fame amount in the two Countries, unlefs there was tome local reafon which rendered it improper. The firft article, therefore, he fhould have to mention, would be that of Sugar. —ln point of fait, there was no choice upon this fubjea ; becaufe, in confequence of the Colonial Compaa entered into between the two Countries in the year 1780, it was ftipulated that all articles fhould come to Ireland from the Colonies fuhjea to the fame Duties that they came to England, therefore when the Duties were enervated in Eng land they were inereafed in Ireland, and when they were diminillted in England they were alto dimi nilhed in Ireland. The Duty he fhould propofe was 25. per hundred weight, and taking the average quantity of frgar confumed in Ireland in thecourte of three yearslaft paft, he should eftimate the Re venue arifing from it at 24,00ri1. The next was an article on which he nutted the Committee would pardon him if he occupied their attention for a few moments, while he Rated the difference which fub fitted haween the mode of colleaing the Duty in this Country and in Ireland. The Duty was paid according to the quality of the Tea. viz. black tea of 25. a pound paid a Duty of sfll. and green tea of 7d. a pound; the Duty increa(ed upon every 6d. incrcafc in the price of a pound of tea ; the erred, of this was, that the Duty only attacked when • there was an increafe of 6d. in the pound; he fliould now propofe to make the Duty operate ac cording to the regular and gradual inereafe of the price. This alteration, with the Duty, would make the whole amount to about 35 per cent. making the increafe not more than 6 or 8 per cent. The duty even now with this increafe would be lower than it was in England. The next fource to which lie looked for an increafe of Income was the Poft-office. The number of perfons entitled to frank in Ireland had been, in confequence of the Union, diminifhed by two-thirds, exclufive of the Peers and thole who were entitled to frank mull neceffarily pats a confiderable part of their rtrix ;a this Country—But he did r,zz, (oink he fhould be l itatttfied is lool.eatg for a greater font in addition to the prtfint revenue of the Poft-orsee than 5,0001. :rite next article was an additional Duty upon i Stamps,.upon Notes, sills of Exchange, Receipts, Bonds, (for the payment of money, not for the performance of Contrails), and Pellicles of Incur 's:res. There west nearly the fame articles which were the objeas of taxation in this Country, with the exception of Deeds, upon which it was not his intention to propofe a Duty. It was not fo eary to eltimate the produce of this tax in Ireland as it would be in England, from the different regulation with refpea to Stamps and the different mode of keeping their accounts. He could not, therefore, venture to Ilate, with any certainty, what the amount of the Tax would be, but he did not think it could produce more than 5,0001. lie had alto to pi swore a Tax upon Policies of lidiarance, o Inch did hithztto not hefOre in Leland. The undowriters of this Country were afraid, tir,:in the increafe in the Stamp that pe l f or . s ' would be induced to go over to Ireland, and ,:urn Offices there. But as there was little infurance in Ireland, molt if it being done. .n linglard, that Tax upon iks:icies of Infurance would not in jure the Trade of Ireland, and itavould only par vent them from going to Ireland, in order to evade this Tax in this Country.—'rlicre was another ra.- tide which he had to mention, and to Which he begged the psaticular attention of die Committee, he meant Coals. He begged to dept.ecate nialt earnellly, being snifundertlood upon this fubj:a ; becaufe any milconception might create (~a1 fiderable alarm. In eourequeitre of the Union no Duty could be levied upon he prodwe either Country going to the other. Hen:vain there was a duty in this Country upon Coals ;tang to Ireland of about sod. per ton, producing a Revenue of aboutl7,oool. it year. This duty could not now be collected in England, and, therefore, it was propolcd to coiled it in Ireland ; but he hoped no miltakc could arife upon the fubjed ;• it was not intended to lay any additional burthen upon Ireland. He was anxious that no alarm be created either among the Colliers of this country Or the Manufadurers of Ireland, for there would be no incrcate in duty, it was merely intended to coi led a duty which had been raifed in this Country; in Ireland; and if the Coal Trader in Ireland fhould attempt to make this a pretext to raife the price of the article, it would be impoffible for him to avoid detedion, and that difgrace which would belong to fuch dithentelly. Having faid thus much to prevent the poffibility of being rnifiniderftood upon this point,he fhould propore a duty upon Coals of sod. a ton, which would produce the flame fum in that country that the duty produced in this country while it citified. Thefe films taken altogether make about 98,0001. It would be neceffary for him to mention one other item. The Committee would recoiled that in the obfervations he had made he had taken no notice of the Diftillcries of Ireland. In the Revenue' for three-quarters of a year, upon which he had founded his calculation, the Dillil leries were not included ; heeaufe in confequence tof the pretfure of the times they had been flopped. In other Teats the Revenue arising from the Dil -1 tilleries had amounted to 400,0001. and lonic 'times near half a million. In the month of August haft permiMon was given to diflil from Sugar, in confequence of which there had been a confider able increafe in the importation of fugar; but as the port duties upon the fugar were taken off when 'it was allowed to be diddled, the income was of courfe fund', and the excite duty %men the fpirits fo diftilleadid not exceed 55,0001. There was great reafon to exped that the importation of sugar this year would be confiderable ; he had fpgken of thgar before, but he wished to keep dillinkt that which was for the ordinary confumption, from that .which wits for the purpofe of diddling. The or divary confumption of fpirits in Ireland in far •ner years was between three anti flair lons ; but it was not poilible that the confer:spools conld be as great this year as it seas upon'former. occalions. The thilrels of the country Mutt da minith the oonitimprion from the want of means of purchafing. Betides, the high , price of fpirits would give encouragement to trituggling, and to the diddling from grain in the dills in the mottn; tains.. from all theft eircumflances he was nelit difpofed to take the confumption this year at snore than one-third of the ufual quantity, and there- . fore he (lonid calculate the duty upon the digit imported for the purpofe of diddling at i oOpoot He fhould alto have to ,propoce an Excite Duty upon all Spirits which were fir .diflilled, which would be lower than the duty of hill 'year, and would amount to as. 3d. a.gallon. This would.. he efiimated, produce about 2 . 12,0001.- There tem fums, with the produce of the Taxes which he had before mentioned, would more than cover, as the Committee would perceive, the fum which It wasmicelfary to raife by taxes in the prefent year. He had now, as fitortly as be was able, dated the Supply and Ways and Means of the year, but there was one fubjed upon which' he wfthed to trefpfs for a few moments longer on the attention of the Committee. It had been kis ed in another piece, in the debate which took place refpeaiirg the Union, that it would cited a fusing to Ireland. It was not neceffary upon this part of the ftibjea to go into very minute (*rations, but he thought it right to inquire what was the laving to Ireland, and what was the additional bnrthen which Eng land incurred in confequence of the Union. Thetid was, that by the Union there would arife to Ireland a fusing of jut One Million. It would befaid then, that if Ireland did not pay, England loulattil that if Ireland had a fasting Of Me Million, Eng land muD of courCe - Imre had an adiiitioniii bur then to an equal atnour.t. In point of fad, the'otrir additional burthen which Great Britain svould have to pay would be 369,0c01. which formed the 'FA:- ference between the expellee co(lreland,4allich v.. 16 4,717,0001. and her prnportion uf erpendi cure, trhich amounted to 4,3laissoecti. "nbody could lament more fin.cerely diastase did, the unfortunate ncecflity which reified, i.fa - aa'aisiviring fo large .1 Force in Ireland ; but upon this titbjed,thc Com mittee would, he hoped, bear this in their conti deration. When the• a:ntlemcn of Ireland al- Inte tm.:4lA;enztiily concurred in -,e-,-r:far!r:g date of that Country to be foch, as to TUtithre the pretence of a large Military Force, lie did taoß rarneftly deprecate, that the Houfe fhould draw a general conclafion from a particular fat!. True it was, as the Gentlemen of Ireland had Rated, that Force was neceffary for the Wity of the Country; but he deprecated the idea of that date/nem conveying the real etlabliflied charac ter of the People of Ireland. He hoped and be lieved the lioute had too much jettice to miftake the temporary phrenty and ddiriata of a te.ver. for the fecied and permanent ditpaition of the People of Ireland. It was undoubtedly true, that a Inge portion of them had been &laded into acts of violence, but he triitted they would loon he reformed, and that they wash! be worthy to - be admitted into the Nablus and ativaion% of their fellow fnbjeds in England. They w;a /41 'thew s be was te l fad a gratefid recatitaioa . Ei