Star. — London, England, 1820-06-17 00:00:00

, 'pe, • t • 11:‘,446 • . a. . • . • - r '44 • •• • .iitdag Wasshoz, Masts. Jong, as riosaant, cony mans. - Mr. CURWEIT precasted a redden kegs eertehtPatenheess praying for some alteration he the Laws Meth. to Patents, foe effectually securing the Specifications. The Petition was laid ea the table, and the 'IP& Member gave nonce of a monies for Wednesday neat on the subject. Mr. STUART WORTLEY, the Chairman et the Eked= Committee for Bishops' Castle, reported that Messrs. Holmes and Rodgers were to be the sitting Members, and that the lion. Douglas Kinnaird and Ms. Knight were net duly elected. —*The Report further stated, that the right of election was vested in the Burrow resident in the Borough foe a year and a day . Clerk of the Crown was ordered to attend, and amend the Writ accordingly. Tie Petitions on both sides' were declared to be" neither frivolous nor vexatious. Sir E. HARVEY presented a Petition from certain persons resident in Essex, in favour or the Colchester Sessions' BilL— Ordered to lie on the table. Mr. D. W. HARVEY presented Petitions to the same effect from three Parishes in the neighbourhood of Colchester. —Laid on the table. Sir THOMAS-ACKLAND presented a Petition from cer tain Agriculturists of a Parish in Devonshire, complaining of the distressed state of Agriculture, and praying for relief.— Laid on the table. Mr. LINDSAY presented a Petition from the Linen Manu facturers of Perth, praying to be put on the same footing with those of Ireland.—Laid on the table. Mr. FINLAY presented a Petition from the Burgesses of Glasgow, praying that no alteration might take place in the laws relative to the Importation of. Timber from the Baltic.—' Laid on the table. • On the suggestion of the ATTORNIT-Gintsach who stated, that the Criminal Laws were now under legal inquiry, Sir J. M ACK INTOS.II consented to postpone the second reading of his motion, relative to that subject, till Wednesday. Mr. LITTLETON presented a Petition from the several Members of the Corporation of Litchfield, complaining of the undue interference of Peers in Elections for that City, and pray ing that the laws against such a practice might be revised and amended. The Petitioners complained, that this influence was I used by several Noble families residing in the neighbourhood of Litchfield, as well as in the County of Stafford. In the year 1799, the number who hail the elective franchise was 300, of whom only forty were leaseholders; whereas, from that period down to 1813, the number had increased to sii hundred, in con sequence of annuities being given as a qualification by the Noble families alluded to and their connexions. The Hon. Member' , assured the House, that atnung the many Petitions he had pre sented from the County of Stafford, there was not one more re spectably signed than the present, or deserved more to be taken into the serious consideration of the House. Mr. W ILLI AMS said, that he should again introduce the motion be had submitted to the House last year, against the practice of spitting votes at Elections, in the hope that it might prove of some service towards checking the interference com plained of in the present Petition. The Petition was read, and laid on the table. INSOLVENT DEBTORS' BILL. Lord ALTHORPE moved the third reading of this Bill. The Noble Lofd observed, that it would he proper the provisions of the 13111 should be ex tended to the Islands• of Guernsey, Jersey, and Al derney, where no relief whatever was at present ex tended to Insolvent Debtors, who, in many instances, were confined for life. He said he should feel it his duty to call the attention of the House to the subject in the cour s e of the next Session. The Bill being read a third time and passed, Mr. Alderman WOOD proposed three Clauses, by way of rider, the first of which provided that every debtor, upon applying for the benefit of the Act, should be immediately placed in actual custody within the walls of the prison. Lord ALTHORPE objected . to the Clause, as be ing contrary to the spirit of the Bill before the House, which expressly guarded against the system of obliging debtors to waste their property in unneces sary confinement.—The Clause was then withdrawn, as were also the two others. EAST INDIA VOLUNTEER CORPS. Lord BINNING brought in a Bill for authorizing the East India Company to embody and provide for a Volunteer Corps la this country. On the question that it be read a first time, Mr. M. A. TAYLOR observed, that he could not, understand why a Volunteer Corps should be re quired by the East India Company now, when it was understood that such bodies were not required in the country. He wished to be informed by the Noble Lord what necessity existed for such a corps at present? Lord BINNING said, that he had it not in his power to give an answer which the Honourable Member might think satisfactory ; but he under stood it was desirable that such a corps should be kept up in that part of the town where the Company had their House. Mr. M. A. TAYLOR thought the country had already sufficient del/lands upon it, without this un• necessary expeme. Lord BINNING replied, that the expense was not to the country, but to the Company. The Bill wa•2 then read a first time. On the ques tion that it be read a second time, Mr. HUME said, that he was aware of what the object of. the Volunteer Corps vas; and, perhaps, the House would be surprised when they heard that ob ject, and the way in which it was intended to pro vide for them. The object was to protect the Com pany's warehouses in town, and yet the expense was charged to the Political Department—(Hear, hear). These were, perhaps, spme Members not aware of the divisions of expense in the Company's affairs.— They came generally under two heads—Political and Commercial. For the Political Department the Company were almost yearly raising loans in India, and yet with the incumbrances on that department, they now wished to charge this new expense upon that head. But, independently of this objection, he did not see what need the Company had of any Vo lenteer Corps for their protection. Why not for the B ink of England as well ? They had property to protect equally valuable, and yet they had not thought of such a step as this. He therefore pro tested against the measure, as involving the Com pany in an unnecessary expense, which it was not in a situation to bear. Lord BINNING remarked, that whether or not the Company's affairs in India were becoming worse and worse, this was not the time for discussing.— When the present Bill was printed, its object would be seen, and it would be found that there was nothing said about protecting warehouses. Mr.CREEVEY objected to this additional expense at a time when the Company were borrowing in India. In order to ascertain whether the Company were able to bear this expense, it would be necessary to see their Accounts, or to have, as was formerly the case, the India Budget, as it was called, laid , before the House. Lord BINNING observed, that the Accounts were annually laid before the House, and he did not see that any necessity existed for bringing forward an Indian Budget. After a few words from Mr. H. BERNAL, Lord BINNING again rose.—He said be could not • kelp remarking, that the Ambut awn n i gti-, sring 'node to this sni4 - eni,. - 4111ai - Oilken.Or strongly called for th e • raising of Volunteer. Corpi\in England, and his observations were loudly cheered upon his own fide of the Noise; yet the Honourable Gent - leman on the same side now con tended that they were quite unnecessary. Colonel DAVIES thought it was necessary to say a few words after what had just fallen from the .Noble Lord. He did- conceive, certainly, that the raising and: corps was the most constitutional in crease which could be made to our military etablish ment, because it was an increase-emanating from the People themselves: but then he contemplated that the Stinding Army was to be reduced in pro portion ; for it costa not be necessary to maintain it at its present amount, if the other measure were adopted. It was in this feeling that he had wished them to trust to the - People, and had given such a support to the proposition. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw upon the question of the second reading of the Bill. Consi derable confusion ensued in the Gallery in conse; quence ;_ but no division took place. Upon the question that " it be read a second time on Monday next," Mr. CREEVEY moved, as an Amendment, "that it be read on Monday fortnight." Mr. M. A. TAYLOR wits of opinion that the raising of an armed force in the Eastern part of Lon don would be, under present circumstances, neither wise nor prudent.—The Bill was then ordered to be read a second time on Monday next. THE QUEEN. • Lord CASTLEREAGH rose to move that the adjourned debate on his Majesty's most gracious Message be further adjourned to Monday next. He assured the House, that he regretted being obliged to make this motion, but circumsta►►ces had occurred which rendered a further delay unavoidable. What ever the issue might be, it was most desirable that it should be known as soon as possible ; but he was hot to-day placed in a situation to afford that informa tion to 'the House, without which the merits of the question could not be fully appreciated. Beyond Monday, hoWever, no further adjournment ought to take place, and on that day he hoped to be able to explain to the House the result of what had occurred on the subject in the interval of suspension. He had now only to request Honourable Members to consi der the question as placed precisely in the very same situation as when it was first introduced. Mr. TIERNEY expressed his hope that no further adjournment would take place after MondaY, and under that impression he should certainly not oppose the present motion. Mr. BROUGHAM concurred entirely with the Noble Lord opposite, that no further delay ought to take place after Monday ; but no blame could attach to either party in this respect. Both parties had evinced every disposition to expedite the result. To delay the exposition of that result beyond Monday would be very wrong, uni.ess some circumstances. should occur which could not now be foreseen. He had one observation more to offer, and that was, to express his anxious wish, in common with the Noble Lord, that the House would suffer the question to stand in the same state till Monday. Mr. BROUGHAM suggested in arrangement to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 'for postponing a motion of his, which stood for Thursday, till Thurs day week ; to which the Right Honourable Gentle man assented. RELIEF TO IRELAND. The CHANCELLOR oldie EXCHEQUER rose and stated, that it was his intention to submit to the House certain papers which he held in his hand for the purpose of calling their attention to them in a Committee of the whole Hense. These papers were connected with the distressed state of Ireland, and it was his intention to propose such a remedy for that distress as Parliament could apply (Hear, hear). When, upon a former evening, a question was put to him with respect to the intentions of Government towards Ireland, he replied that it was not then in his power to make any proposition upon the subject. But since that time, tiom inquiries uhich he had made, and from the more urgent solicitations for re lief which had been forwarded to Government, he did not think he ought any longer to delay . bringing the case before Parliament. It was his duty to state, that the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland had already ad vanced a sum to meet the immediate exigency of the case, fully relying upon the nature of the cir cumstances as sufficient to warrant the expectation that Parliament would sanction the measure he had adopted. It would be recollected, that in 1817 a Bill passed the House, authorising the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland to appropriate a sumvf £250,000 to the execution of new public works, the ultimate object of that 11 being to afford employ-' ment 'to the lower classes, who were then exceed ingly distressed. Of that sum the half still remained unexpended, and when application had been made to the Lord Lieutenant for relief; under the severe calamities which had recently occurred in the South of Ireland, his Excellency, with the advice and ap probation of the Commissioners, agreed, upon re ceiving sufficient security, to order £lOO,OOO to be issued for the support of the commercial credit of the country. The object of his (the Chancellor of the - Exchequer's) measure would be, not only to sanction•that advance, but to authorize the Lord Lieutenant to make such further advances as might be found necessary, even to the extent of half a million—(Hear,hear).—Whatever reluctance might be felt, in the present state of the country, to In crease the amount of the year's supplies, still it was necessary, if relief were to be administered at all, that it should be as effectual as possible. He con cluded with moving, " That the • papers which he now presented be referred to a Committee of the whole House."—The question was put and carried. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER then moved, " That the House should resolve itself into the said Committee to-morrow." A short conversation took place across the table, between Mr. TIERNEY and the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, the result of which was, that the Right Hon. Gentleman altered bis motion, and moved, " That the House do now resolve itself into the said Committee."—The question was put and carried. The SPEAICER having left the Chair, the CHANCEL- Loa of . the EXCREQUta presented the papers to the Chairman, and they were read by. the Clerk. The fent paper was a letter signed Isaac Jones, dated Cork, ~ ~. . 1/4,lll9.4llooreaaddrsessa to his Eseelinaey,lite Lavti-liini.l MOM et aria& It shortly stated -the Allure Of t*llt two Deabriattbut City, and the nalamitous- comitsences tilt had ffitiv Oad o naffirayed the atatotibn of the Cainstdttee to the Pe- L.., tildtbnlcompanied the letter. v nilas, Tb""ita and'ipsinci Pe p r ai w in a h s ab th itiab e Petkl or Cotit tlf the , to the L o rd rand LkuCmr"-te nantheyt.welret stated, under that enta two s w e h me en n t t in o Enk e pubsc s allu t d o ed th t: had failed, X 580,000; that in consemience there was no- cieculating me dium in that part of &coot:wry ; that the losses which had been generally incurred, and the total stoppage of the circulation, amount of would be attended with the deepest calamides to that part of. Ireland, if some relief was not imtnediately administered ; that private individuals were Unwilling or unable to afford that re lief, and that the only hope of the' Petitioners was reposed in the Govivnnasit. They trusted that am* pecuniary idvauce would be made, for which sufficient security would be given. This, they concluded, was the only means by which confide:tee could be restored, and commercial credit sustained, The third paper was a letter from Mr. Gregory in reply to the above, in which he stated, that his Excellency the Lord Lieu tenant had determined to comply with the prayer of the Peti tion, and, with the advice and approbation of the Commis sioners Of Public Works, had ordered the sum of £lOO,OOO to be issued front the Treasury for the puripse mentioned. The-CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER rose and said, that as soon as these papers had been plaCed in his hands, he thought it his duty to lose as little time as possible in bringing them under the consi deration of Parliament. It was now his object to make such a motion as would in the first place sanc tion the advance made by the Lord Lieutenant ; and in the 4iext place, to place at his disposal such an additilmal sum as would effectually promote the ob ject in view. There was a strong analogy between themaasure which be now intended to propose, and that which Lad been carried into effect by . Nlr. Pitt in 1793, in this country. The successive failures of several Country Banks at that time, had so materi ally diminished the circulating medium in the inte rior of the country, that fears were justly entertained that the number of failures would go on increasing if some relief were not afforded. Mr. Pitt then ap plied to Parliament, and assistance to a considerable amount was afforded, and with se much success was the measure attended that the evil was completely remedied. One of the consequences of the measure Much was now about to be proposed, would be to increase the circulation of the notes of the National Bank. A guarantee would be given to the Commis sioners for the repayment of the money advanced, with the usual interest, but before the measures should be completed, it would be necessary to have a com munication with the Lord Lieutenant, which, he feared, would be attended with some little delay. —The immediate effect of the vote which he should propose, would be to spew to those who wished to alarm and agitate that country, that Parliament had not lost sight of its real interests, and that the House was prepared to pay every attention to those in. terests when it had the power of relieving them— (Hear). The Right Hon. Gentleman concluded, amidst cheers from all sides of the House, with moving-4 , That whatever sum or sums, not exceed ing, on the whole, £500,000 have been, or may be advanced by the Lord Lieutenant of-Ireland to such firms as have given sufficient security for the repay ment of the same, at the usual interest of 5 per cent. shall be -made good by the House." Dr. LUSHINGTON recommended to the House, and to the Right Honourable Gentleman, not to lose sight of general principles in agreeing to a measure of this nature. He thought the present measure was distinguishable from that which had been carried into effect by Mr. Fitt, in 1793. Assistance was af forded then, not because Banks had failed, but be cause many were in danger of failing, unless some assistance was given them. The embarrassments under which the Banks at that time laboured, arose from causes which they could not have foreseen. But in the-present case, the Right Honourable Gen tleman did not state what were the circumstances that led to the failures in Ireland. He protested against grants upon the mere general ground of dis tress; for if that were once admitted as a-sufficient claim on the assistance of the House, they would soon have numberless petitions for pecuniary relief from Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, and other districts, which suffered under the severest distress. The Right Honourable Gentleman did not state any peculiarity in this case which was to distinguish it from other claims of a similar nature: The real fact was, that the Banks which had failed had been induced to overtrade--(Hear, hear!)—They extended their issues beyond their capitals; their speculations were frus trated, and when the day of reckoning came, they were found unable to answer their engagements—. (Hear, hear!)—He would not, however, oppose the grant; because, though little acquainted with the state of Ireland, he knew enough of it to believe that the most urgent distress prevailed among the lower classes in that country, and that unless some assist ance was afforded, the most complete misery would be the consequence. It was on this account that he gave a reluctant consent to the motion. Sir GEORGE HILL admitted that the present distress ih Ireland was in some measure caused by overtrading ; but even so, circumstances might occur which might fairly entitle the persons embarrassed to the attention of Parliament. But that was not the only point to be considered : there were, in fact, many solvent houses, which, on acco u nt o f the sudden di minution in the circulating medium, were involved in embarrassments, which they could ultimately sur mount, if they were assisted by the House. - Lord ARCHIBALD HAMILTON said, that the present calamities were caused by the system of pa per circulation, which, be contended, was_a_system of false credit; and one in which the country could not long persevere. Mr. GRENFELL observed, that his Honourable and Learned Friend had argued the question as if it was the intention of the Right Honourable Gentle man to relieve the Bankers only. But, if he under stood the motion right, it Was meant to relieve not the Bankers, but the whole country, which was now suffering from the imprudence or misconduct of those Bankers--(Hear, hear!)—He agreed with his Noble Friend, in attributing the present crisis to that system of paper currency wliicb wah established thirty years ago; but it had its own cure within it, and he be lieved that it was hastening to its termination. He, thought the Right Honourable Gentleman had stated that some communication with the Lord. Lieutenant would be necessary; before the measure intended could be completed. For his part, he was strongly inclined to wish that as'little delay should be inter posed as was possible, and he feared that the smallest delay would do away the whole benefit of the mea iare--(ffaar, heat).--Itt object, after all, was only to educe the Bank of Ireland to advance money, os such security as they could -find eligible, and he thought that any the smallest delay ought to be avoiVed—(Hear, hear!) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, i n explaitaiion, said, that the Honourable Member wh o had just sat down had rightly explained the object of his. motion, which was, to rel levy . the 'country, in its present distress, from whatever cause it proceeded. He also admitted that no delay ought to occur. Mr. FOSTER said, that heaconceived tile object of the motion'to be, to prevent the further progress of the'eVil, WhiCh was now rapidly extending, and to meet it is all its ramificatiOns. The case was Several houses were in possession of property, which they could not negotiate,. nor soon convert irto a medium of circulation. The object of the motion' was not to encourage over-speculation, but the con trary. He agreed that it was essential to the success of the measure that no delay should occur in its nue-- ration. The effect t:pf the friiureof the Rank in D:11)- lin would be, to bring down inevitablerain on man 7 establishment*, unless they Were upheld by Pa:'!ia , ment. A run was made, in consequence of it, on 'several of the other Dublin-Banks; and though they had stood that run, and would be able to stand any run which might be made upon them, still it would undoubtedly ocesion' them' much dAcxlty. thought, ,every possibie_assistance ought to he af forded, and with all the expedition which the forms of Parliament would permit. Mr. C. GRANT said, that the motion of his Right Hon. Friend was one which &set:seed to meet the unanimous approbation of the Ffouse. The Honour able and Learned Gentleman opposite did not cor rectly state the object of the motion, which he de scribed as peing meant to relieve merely the 13ankci-s. It was necessary to look to the extent of the mischief, and to dread its diffusion, unless some means were taken to prevent it. The distress t% hich was felt, the that great try it was in deedn the , l a o n s d se s m w o h s i t c h h e w a r e t r i e l), it sc d i u d r r h e e d i s% h e e the e P n a t r s t aff Parliament to to a i ff l c e 4rd on i l n y u ni e o d d i e, ate h r o ei e e v f e t t o ail w necessarily circuitous, and attended with delay. If it i l ien l r i nc ii f uman legislation could afford that relief was c was possible that the House could do it at once, he was sure it would be voted by acclamation—(Hear, hear).—Unhappily it was not in their power tb con sfAi or alleviate the miseries of those who were deeply suffering. It was impossible for him to pass orzr this question without adverting to the patience, the temper, and tranquillity with which those calamities were borne throughout the country—Wear, hear)._ Although the evils which had occurred pressed with peculiar weight upon the lower classes of the people, and though these evils were naturally to them the source of indescribable misery, still no instance had occurred where any improper means had .been re sorted to for the purpose of removing them—(ficar, hear).—He trusted that this would be felt as an ad ditional ground for recommending them to the pro tection of Parliament—(f/ear, hear).—With fegard to the delay _ which was feared by the Honourable Gentleman opposite, he would remind the House, that the one hundred thousand pounds which had been advanced by the Lord Lieutenant was already at work under the confident expectation that the measure would receive the sanction of Parliament, and therefore if .any delay were necessary, it could not be so detrimental as had been thought. Mr. VESEY FITZGERALD said, that great ad vantage would undoubtedly' be derived from the money which was proposed to be advanced; hut he expected a still more extensive and permanent benefit from the moral effect which the grant of itself would produce. When the country saw that such a measure was approved of by Parliament, apprehensions would be diminished, and that would immediately contri bute to the security of commercial credit—(Hear, hear).—He would have been tempted to observe at some length upon the arguments which-had induced the Learned Gentleman opposite (Dr. Lushington) to give only a reluctant consent to this motion, if those arguments had not already been sufficiently answered. He would say, however; that if drat Honourable and . Learned Gentlemln had exhibited to his mind the picture of the miseries which the. people of Ireland were suffering, and of the Mild, patient, and forbear ing temper with which they bore up against all their misfortunes, his consent to this motion Would neither have been cold nor reluctant !—(Hear, hear).—Ha: would only add, that if it were: possible, and consist ent with the duty of his Right Hon. Friend, he would suggest the expediency of communicating the vote of the House this night to the Lord Lieutenant with as much eXpedition as he could use. It would pro duce a most useful moral effect in the country, if it were known there that the House had agreed to afford relief to the extent of half a million. He had no doubt it would tend to prevint, in a very ger at degree, the necessity for the application of those very moans of assistance which were now proposed. Mr. C. GRANT thought it right to inform the House, that he had this day written to the Lord Lieutenant, by post ; and he expressed hit confidence that Parliament; upon a proposition being shade, would take such measures as would effectually relieve the distresses of the country: Mr. W. PARNELL supported the Resolution. Lord CASTLEREAGH was happy that this oc casion would furnish him with an opportunity of congratulating his country on the feeling which its distresses had raised in every part of the House— Wear, hear).—Never was the participation of the House, in the distresses of that country, so strongly marked as on the present occasion —(Hear, hear). — He had always ventured to assure his countrymen, that if any question arose where the disposition of the House could influence their decision, it would be seen that that disposition was one of partiality , o' Ireland—(Hear, hear).—The House, by the manner in which it received the proposition which was made this evening, had given the strongest testimony of its sympathy In her sufferings—(Hear, hear). —He trusted that this measure would be found to be one of great practical effect. Mr. KIRKMAN FINLAY approved of the mea sure in the strongest terms, and referred to the year 1812, when similar assistancela t f been given to Scot land.—The question was then put andcarried with out a dissenting voice.- Thellonseresumed,.and the Report was ordered t o b e rece i ve d . to-Morrow. COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY. Upon the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the :~' ~:: • i••i I 1 I - 4 i 1 k tl bl it of I,c r( pc it v( of E , ra at sic th erc AV ne re; in de Or tai tat exl oa Col Po 1-h the Sol but fro per the It ilia poi ac Get whc day cou the and (He it m of Tea pOs per mit tivt thei sho the • COn 11 bar, affe still cou disc Cu kne the: the' but thei the] so s inte to t not thei kne the tar, tirel The cess con dust gre: lion ord4 ceps arc( for to r anis 'tenc 'Corn all best as IA pros tali() aloe no n into IAI the , cog] ....itli