Star. — London, England, 1810-05-15 00:00:00

the nature of that demand and that therefore the' East India Company did not, in the age' erhent they then made with the Committee. .He th p o: t it howy ever, that it would be as well Lo let the go to the Committee, and to wait for their report. Mr. WHITBREAD could not reconcile it to him self, that the Company should put in a elaim that must have been supposed to have been included and disposed of in a general striking of accounts. If two years after such a settlement, they advance a claim said to have existed prior to that aettlement, such a claim ought to be denied them. Mr. DUNDAS thought that' it would be rather hard to deny the Company the right of coming to that House to make their complaint respecting a point in which they felt themselves to be aggrieved. The Committee would determine on the justice of the complaint. He had stated on a former occasion that their accounts had been settled according to the Re port of the Committee in 1805, and a balance struck, but that statement might net be found to be altoge ther inconsistent with the claim since advanced on the part of the Company. The Motion was agreed to. MAJOR CARTWRIGHT'S PETITIOV. Mr. WHITBREAD said, he held in his hand a Petition from an individual gentleman, on the state of public affairs, which that individual had requested him to present to the House. As so much had lately been said in the House respecting the language in which Petitions had been worded, he was determined GENUINE AND CHOICE OLD POR C WINES, FINE EAST. INDIA MADEIRA, SHERRY, CHAMPAIGNE, BUR. GUNDY, AND SICILIAN WINES. TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION--By Mr. ROBINS, - At the St. Alban'4 Tavern, St. Alban's-street, Pall-Mall, on FRIDAY NEXT, at Ten, in Lots, ABOUT THREE HUNDRED and TWENTY DOZEN of fine flavoured OLD PORT WINE, of choice vintages, the principal part of which has been in bottle several years; twenty dozen of very fine East-India Madeira • fifty dozen of fine old Sherry , thirty-five dozen of choice Sicilia n Wine, se lected by an Officer of DiStinction during his service in the Medi terranean. Likewise about ten dozen of Champaign and Bur gundy The whole the genuine property of the Gentleman on whose account it is sold. Catalogues may be had at the St. Alban's Tavern ; at Garra way's ; and of Mr. Robins, Warwick-street, Golden-square. RdRLIAMENTARr PROCEEDINGS. /MUSE Or LORDS, MAY 14. A great number of local and private Bills were forwarded in their respective stages, and two were brought up from the Corn mons by Mr. Greenhill, Mr. Chute, and other Members. CRUELTY TO A?;INIALS. Lord ERSKINE, in consequence of the objections made to biz Bill for more effectually preventing malicious and wanton Cruelty to Animals, and wish ing to frame the Bill so as to meet with the unanimous concurrence of the House, moved for the present to discharge the order for its committal on Thursday. Ordered. — Adjourned till to-morrow (this day.) MUSE OF COMMONS. The Irish Malt 13ill went through a Cnmrnittee. Aker some observation,. from Mr. H. Comhe, Mr. Foster, ' - " 4 - - - __ _,, ... Mr, I'erccval, Mr. Whitbread, &c. the House reS;ltned, and the ' to examine attentively that of the present Petition be report was ordered to be r e ceived this dny—the operation a the ' fore he undertook to bring it; and though it was very ism to commence from the Ist itember. I long, he had carefully perused it, and did not observe The scotch Extract Bill was read a third time and passed. 't_l . Id t it co ntained any thing which could give offence .Mr. WHITBREAD called the attention of the Right Hon. Gentleman to the report of the Exchequer Funding Committee, .to the House. Jt was the Petition of Mr, Jahn Cart by which it would :.ppear roar some gross misconduct bad been 1 wright, whose political opinions on the state of the re observed by some of the Cle:ks ; when the report should be taken presentation of the people in that House, and of the into consideration this day, lie wished the Right lion. Gentleman i , necessity of a Parliamentary Reform, were well known tot notice it. I Mr. WHITBREAD stated to the House, that if the late Sc. 1 tothe whole country; and though these opinions might cre:ary for Foreign Affairs was in his Flare, lie was pt , Tared to . not exactly coincide with those of some of his Maps ask him some questions relative to the late correspondence with ' ti's Ministers, yet it teemed those of them who vrcre America. He did not intend to mike aly motion, ahe had in the Admiralty departmeni s did not conceive so ill looked into the papers and found it unnecessary. Mr. WHrI'BREAD brought up the Report of the Exchequer of them ; for Mr, Cartwright, after having been forty- Bills Bill, which was order, dto lie on the table, and to be printed eight years in the naval service, the greatest part of Mr. WHARTON Wei upon the table certain Accounts con- which time he had been a Lieutenant, had very lately, cabin; an Estimate of the Expence incurred in rebuilding the ! without any solicitation on his part, or any expectation pub is edifices ems :mad by tire in Trinidad. He then moved , of . n • such an honer conferred on him found for th.t production of a Copy of a Letter from General Heslup, , h a vin vtn , Governor of the said Island, to Viscount Castlereagh, respecting ; himself promoted by the Board of Admiralty, at the the same.—Ordered. I age of upwards of 70, to be a M:tster and Cmman , •_ . ..._ ME. GRATTAN, in consequence of the illness of an Honour able Nierninr who was to suiTort the Catholic Claims, post poned his motion respecting them from to-mJrrow ~this day) till Friday next. Mr. BROUGT ' IAM's intended motion upon tl e subjtct of Austrian Correspondence, was postponed by the lion.i.;taideman to this day fortnight. • Lord A. SOMERSET gave notice, that he shou!d to-morrow move for certain papers connected with the affairs o the East- India Company. ter, Mr. Cartwright's character was, however, ex tremely well known to be highly respectable ; he had • published a great many of his political opinions, but always in so temperate and rational a way, that those who differed with him could not find fanit with his language. Some of the doctrines in this Petition were expressed in very strong terms; but such, as in 11's opi nion, could not be deemed offensive. There were many Mr. 81,36-IFORD chtoined leave to briog in a BAB for amend ing so much of the Act of the I 4th of the K,ing, relating to Malt s as concerned retailing of Small Beer without Licences. BEAKS AND WILTS CANAL BILL. Lord PORCHESTER moved the third reading of the Wilts Canal Bill. partS of it in which he (Mr. Whitbread) agreed, some of which he doubted, and others in which he differed ; but, upon the whole, it was such a one as he thought it his duty, being applied to, to present to the House. He move d, therefore, that the Petition be brought Sir M. W. RIDI.EY moved the the Bill be read a second time this day fortnight. Sir RALPH MILBANK and MRWHARTON supptirted the Amendment, on the ground of the necessity of a Rider to pre trent the Bill from injuring in its operation the rewctuttlo coal Trade. The House then divided-. ? For the Amendment. Against it 10S Majority in favour of the Bip S 6 The Bill was then read a third time, passed, and oixtered to the Lords. qp ; which being agreed to, it vas read by the Clerk. The petition was very long, and from the rapidity with which it was read, we could only seize on a few of its prominent points. It stated the petitioner's sur. prise at the decision of the House in the case of Lord Castleregh, and that the sale of teats in the House was as notorious as the Sun at noon-day, and that he could not but be shocked at the profligacy of sel ling seats, and the audacity of vindicating it. That sharpers, Nallobs, and Eaa.india Despots, had long . been known to have their actual agents Members o f the House. That the agent of a French King's mis tress had once a seat in ht ; and those of the Nabob of Arcott had been proved to amount to seven, It then went on to censure, in strong terms, the ille gal and unjust proceedings of the House in the case of Sir Francis Burdett, and the employment of a standing army to quell a rabble of boys, when the PoutConsitatus, properly employed, would have been fully or more than sufficient to have maintained the peace of the Metropolis ; that Government itself was only to blame, if compelled to call on the standing at-- sotto quell the disturbances, having neglected to keep up the Civil power. Civil Government alone was free Government, military interference was rank despotism. The number of the standing army which had, on a. Jute occasion, been brought into London and its vi cinity was 34,000 soldiers, with a strong train of ar tillery—a force equal to that with which a King of England had beaten the whole French army at the battle of Cressy. Such treatment of the people was' not to be endured. The Petitioner, therefore, hoped the House would take in good part this humble ex postulation, and prayed that they would retrace their steps and retract those proceedings, of the flagrant illegality of which, he pzesumed, no one could enter tain a doubt, &c. Mr. WHITBREAD moved that the Petition do . lie on the table. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said there were two expressions hn the latter part . Of the Petition which he thought very indecorous, viz.— " that such treatment of the people could not be en-. dured," and " the flagrant illegality of the conduct of the House." Those alone were, lie thought, suf ficient to justify the House in not suffering the Peti tion to lie on the table. This petition was so long, that if the House entertained it, they might soon ex pect to receive folios. Mr. WHITBREAD said, that from the character of Mr. Cartwright, and from his conduct for a series of years, but more particularly from the conversation he had held with him on the subject of the Petition, previous to bringing it into the House, he was sure the Petitioner had not the smallest intention of insult. , iig the House. He believed he was only actuated by the ambition of having- his sentiments on the late proceedings recorded on the journals of the House. He was surprised to bear the !tight Honourablo Gentleman object to the length of Petitions. Petit. tioners had a right to state their grievances and conk plaints in the way they thought best, and most cos). ducive to attain their object ; and, if they were to bF confined to any paqieular length, the right of pets. tioning would, in many cases, be dune away. The Right Hon. Gentleman had, however, only touche4 on two expressions in the Petition as in his opinion in decorous, one of which was, that the House halt ; done some things past endurance. Perhaps Major Cartwright did not mean to say that this House of: Commons hid done acts past endurance, but that a House of Commons, not constituted *Of the virtuous persons now ariatuld him, might dos acts past enL EAST INDIA COMPANY, Mr. ASTELL presented a Petition fiotn the East India Company, praying Parliamentary aid to the amount of two millions. The Petition was read by the Clerk at the Table in a low tone of voice. We understood it to set forth the justice of a revived claim on the part of the Petitioners to a balance alledged to be due to the Petitioners from the Public, according to the Report of the Committee in 1805—That ac. cording to a subsequent Report of the Committee in .1808, it appeared that the Public were in debt to the Company in the sum of £51,600. The Petition ? rent on to state Lather the claims of the Petitioners upon thi Public, the details of which we could not collect, and concluded with asking leave to present another Petition, pursuant to the prayer of the same (the n ) time for presenting privaie petitions beving ex pired). Mr. ASTELL moved, that the petition be refer. red to the Committee appointed to consider of East India Affairs. Mr. CREEVEY said, that the Committee in 1805 1 had reported the debt of the public to the East India Company to amount to two millions three hundred thousand pounds, a sum which had been afterwards liquidated to £300,000 ; but between the year 1805 to the year 1808, this balance of 0300,000 had, (by what means he knew not) been increased to one mil lion five hundred thousand pounds. He complained of the Company's reviving a claim antecedent in point of time to the report of the Committee in 1808, When an Honourable Friend of his upon the floor, (Mr. Whitbread) had put a question to thy Gentle man opposite respecting the state of those accounts. Ile was told in answer, that they hadheen closed,and a balance struck ; but now it appeared that the Corn-' Tony were reviving a claim which they were justified to supposing had then been settled. He stated fur ther, that there had not been an Indian budget for four years, a circumstance not calculated to rase the - declining confidence of the public in the solvency of the Company. The Company; in 1807 borrowed two inillions--in 1808 a balance of £150,000 was said to te due to them from the public, and in 1609, in their petition to the House, they stated that their income met their expenditure. And now, in 1810, they come flown to the House and ask fora further loan of two millions. He could look upon this in no other light than that of a desperate attempt. • Mr. GRANT !indicated the justice of the claims 'of the Company, and thought that Gentlemen might defer their opposition till they had before them the re on of the Committee. It had been a maxim in that liousithat theft doors should be opened wide to pe titions-(Hear, from the Opposition)—the maxim ought to hold in the present case. Lord AIi.CHIBALD HAMILTON was of opi 7 stioti that . sib Money should be "granted to the East India frfaxm"- -- 11l they had laid before the public 1 their affairs. tithe EXCHEQUER said im altedged to be revived Come within the province iffointed to investig ate Judi! COMParly t4l they ha • •a ful; avid.cleas exposition of • • aIteCIIIANCEL4OR of tja!K with respect to tbc.‘l,6l . • to Comp w. it did pot pathe Committee diva a • 'durance. There might be many eases in which the an the imaitt t fur but ke did not people might say the acts of the House were pant I present Address. endurance. If they had a person on the rack, and Mr. CEEEVEY did not admit the the tortures of which proved his death, he might Admiralty to be the property of the - very naturally, during the continuance of his torments, wing that when the Civil List was say it was past endurance; and could any one deny i hundred thousand pounds, every othe r it? When the taxes were collected in such an arbitrary I surrendered. It could not unquestionahl manner as they were at present, could the people, when ;in the cootemplatien of any one expressing their incapacity to pay them, be blamed th at,lih might by accident idesthat have comerevenue,sevenintoor for saying it was past endurance ? He thought not, ng It was very natural for them to say so, because they ' the Crown. His Majesty, in the felt it; and if they petitioned to be relieved, what his reign s had given evidence, of hi s other language could they use to express their feel- on this point, by stating that he had ings more appropriate than that it was past endur- counts on this subject to be laid lief( ante ? Another point mentioned by the Right Ho. and that the balances should be appli nourahle Gentleman was, that which mentioned the ties of the State. This question w; illegality of the late proceedings. Was it to be won- I the House on a motion of his Honourab dered at that a gentleman who thought them illegal ; Francis Burdett), who, he hoped, should say so He, for his own part, had no doubt it forward. At present, he would prefer of the legality of the Speaker's warrant, where it was Majesty to his Declaration in the y , issued for proper purposes ; but he had great doubts !incomes and gross sums so frequent, as to the legality of an instrument, enforced on the different branches of the Royal Famil principle of actual law, which had not the authority that the public expenditure did not of any other than that branch of the Legislature more than 10 millions, whereas it which issued it. Since the determination of the Com- millions ; to request of his Majesty mittee, and the resolution of the House to plead to mind his Declaration in the early part the action, the subject must be brought before Court, and, in conformity thereto, to order and if that Court should determine against it, it must sums thus arising to he applied to then be allowed to be illegal. He thought s there- the State. I fore , that to reject a petition, on account of such an ' Mr, HUSKISSON did not agree expression, would be going too far, and should there-. Revenues of the Crown were taken fore vote that it do lie on the table. , Civil List was increased. Neither Mr. BRAND said, he conceived it was the un- ;itch an Address as that now proposed doubted right of every subject of tleis realm to ques- to his Majesty, unless in the ca s e of - don the legality of any and every proceeding that aid of the Civil Fund. If, however. t ook place i n that House, and he hoped the Housi l that the Civil List, or this Fund, would never consent to reject any Petition because ; applied in aid of the Civil List, was the Petitioner questioned the right which the House defraying of the annuity now sough might at any time think proper to assume. He should he thought they were the proper fin therefore vote for the petition lying on the table. the annuity ought to granted. Mr. RYDER thought the expression, 66 such treat--I be was admitted, that the King had at , mentof the peoplepast all endurance" fully sefEcient to this fund, a sum equal to the grantin; warrant the rejection of the Petition, and if the House' If so, he must say, the charge ought permitted such insulting language, they would deserve 'on the public. He should however to receive it. charge eras wise, proper and laudable, _ _. A division took place—tor receiving the Petition , had not had the means. 32—Against it 91. Mr. R. DUNDAS said, that the SOUTH WALES cowman. never been intended to bear charges On our returning to the Gallery, we found this had been an application to pay Mr. H. SMITH speaking on the subject of refer- Civil List, then lie thought it would ring a Petition of the South Wales Collieries to a ! per to call for an account of this kin, Committee. He stated that many parts of the West ' not to be called for in connection - of England felt a serious injury from the advanced i Brunswick's pension. He would oppose price of coals, in consequence of the exclusive right Mr. HUSKISSON explained. of Newport, and one or two other ports of the Bristol Mr. BROUGHAM would not Channel, to supply coals to Bristol and other towns occasion for calling for an account without paying Port Duty. He wished that the in- was when a deficiencr should be juries complained of should at all events be enquired taken place in the Civil List. The into, and therefore he moved that the Petition should stitutionally the right at any time ' be referred to a select Committee. account—for if a Soverei should This was opposed by Lord ARTHUR SOMER. happened in the reign of - Charles I SET, and many other Gentlemen, ott the ground the sake of these droits, he might that from time immemorial Newport and other make himself independent of Parliament. I ports above these islands which are supposed to be was so anomalous in the British at the very mouth of the Severn, might send coals contrary to its spirit, that it ought without duty, as it was considered inland navigation, with the utmost jealousy. It was whereas every thing that lay beyond these islands were to produce an account of the amount supposed to be on the sea, and that therefore port of the fund. duties ought to be paid. On the faith of this ancient Mr. HAWKINS BROWNE opposed custom of the River Severn, large sums had beat ex- on the ground that it ought not to h pended in mines, in the county of Monmouth ; as , the . Duke of Brunswick's pension, also in making the Monmouth Canal. It was con- I ward at all,, it ought to be distinct tended, therefore, that granting the Petition would i objects. be an injustice to those who had thus sunk their pro- ' - - Mr. JOHNSTONE supported perties on the faith of the existing law. I Mr. TIERNEY said, that not Mr. DA VIES GIDDY, Mr. ADAM, and other Gen- , had been advanced against it except tleaien, supported the Petition, and thought, that i man, who said, that the acceding to when so many districts of the country complained of I create an unfavourable impression suffering a serious injury, it was but justice to them ithe mind of our enemy. This argument to enquire into the cause of their complaints. T he tto every subject, and if acted upon House then divided. House a great deal of trrouble. For the Petition 74—Against it 63—. Majority 11. The House divided—For the motion DROITS OF ADMIRALTY. it 103—Majority 19. Mr. TIUNEY brought forward his motion on Mr. DENT, when strangers were this subject. Regretting as he did the misfortunes of stating his reasons for the revival the Duke of Brunswick, for whom, considering the Committee. A person had come liberal manner in which the House had lately con- had commenced, and had been ducted itself towards the Crown, he had hoped there contended was irregular. might have been some other way of providing than The SPEAKER. thought, that by an application to Parliament, lie Celt it his duty to cumstanees the Committee ought , submit to the House the proposition of which lie had dered. given notice. It was for Ministers to say, if the money of the country was to be granted merely because it was asked.-410,000 a year had lately been grpted to the Duchess Dowager of Brunswick, but he felt himself called on to hesitate before he agreed that £lOOO a year should now, in addition, be laid on the people of this country. He had no objection that tht annuity might be fixed and certain, that the Royal Duke should have the grant secured to him from the Consolidated Fund ' • but at the same time if another fund could be found from which the Consolidated Fund might lie recruited to an equal amount, be pre sumed the House was called on to see that this was not omitted. This he was certain might be done from the Droits of the Admiralty, and he could not figure a more legitimate or appropriate way in which they could be applied, this being for a purpose not uncon nected with the Crown, but in aid of a distant branch of the King's own faNily. He accordingly moved an Address to his Majesty, expressive of the concern of that House for the misfortunes of the Royal Duke, and of their desire to alleviate them, with which view they had granted him an annuity out of the Consoli dated Fund; but at the same time begging to repre. sent to his Majesty the burdens under which the peo ple laboured, which it must be the wish of his Ma. , jesty and that of that House, if they could not dimi nish, not unnecessarily to augment ; and therlfore praying that his Majesty would be pleased to order a sum to be paid from the Droits of the Admiralty fov the use of the Consolidated Fund, to make good said 1 annuity. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER thought the proposition perfectly new, and that it would be less offensive to move a General Address ' to his Majesty, praying him, out of the Droits of the Admiralty to make provision for the exigencies of the State. By the Address now moved, the Right Ho. nontable Gentleman first took credit for the liberality of the 'House, and then turned round and asked his Majesty to pay for it. Without regard to any tie of connection, the Duke of Brunswick had on this coun try all that claiM of national liberality which those who had lost their dominions in earlier periods of the French Revolution had experienced. He did not mean to say that 'the fund alluded to wai not sidll .. STAMP OFFICE. Mr. WHITBREAD, according move for correspondence relative • He dwelt on the necessity of reform ceeded to enumerate several items held in his hands. Articles which fling in themselves, but at the same cone under the observation of the He chiefly wished to call the attention to the Stamp department in Scotland, tional allowances and salaries had ' rious officers by the order of tke every tribute of praise to the exertions the head of the deFartmcnt, but had not suficient power to enforce which he ought to be invested hy iury. He concluded by moving before the House, Copies of the tween the Boards of Treasury subject of the revision of the Stamp Office up to the present , count of the Appointments in the of warrants thereof, together wi Removals and Supercessions of creases and Diminution of their Salaries. Mr. WHARTON was of opini pondence alone would answer every .every thing else relative to the sill- . He dwelt largely on the character vices of Mr. Ned ; but acknow! of a proper establishment in Scotian, Mr. HUSKISSON stated that wish to enforce the regular and Qf the Clerks, who he said were . paid. He observed, that the present , owing to the ill health which was * r. Neel's exertions. Mr. W. SMI'T'H said, that the generally em pl oyed empl and o so ye m d e i t n im O effis, Offices i d n ° more than two ; it would be proper, minish their number. The CHANCELLOR of the , read from the Repdrt a passage. commended thq necessity 4 diumishing the t ber 311 nin:ion l h e , itil uid toent hseos s ettled 'eneo st y e a ctr u e b arte itribl . a t ii re‘ e :r em ;v ordered Yd l hav y: nttbtebt e il n a lt E uol : ° t a ief , :_ t s o p t K before Friend (I, a;1,11, ‘ s eket ... serw a i ist:te)is a lf.cei l ldot hrduiues.a understood Ipoihyds d oe y sak ibelet l b tb d t p n re o f w er rtferrir k ls, d i. of thus be e tPoy e r otip: eule d a t ya thennl t i re d o a stw t i e xc eeded,, h looenP e a :l6 l ataieb t l go3rm h i l r t h es.' ;er an n i) R e ' et it:cit k °:i n o ea3d4l t • . e ti e 4eri o fgt hiavu t h a tr,d n . t Civil toi adequateiacopvihb 3yufdpoltiet grants Lf a t n u ht 4. k4 r h e , , rnn yet i bnes t i n.l ia e c Y ots l , v o se 4 i a l u y t l t i d ° lt,et u ip b et that thee'l g s itt o l iteo f tfr : tril e oo t .. t p as ledotort s ' ► t u t si agreel n d g have t theseh bee n period, rh i o du o osu w inl i t. th ogf the Duke Id h n Hous e h a d oP ea Pose tany the h e b :o c st a a l It to a certain de rliament. This tu Constitution_, and it to be watched o 'as due to the pu. ount and applica opposed the ma to be connected vi on. If brought t inct from such c•- d the motioiy n a 'single ar . . , , , tpt that of one to the motion w, m on out resources' , gument would app Ton would give motion were admitted, al of the Stock-m e in after the divi :a counted, which hat under these ht to be revived.-- 0 ling to notice, rose e to the Stamp O !form there, and pr' ans from a report lich he said were ame time should ba the Commissioners. mention of the H. Scotland, where ad. ad been granted to • the Board. He . !xertions of Mr. at complained that enforce reform, • by the Board of T • ig 4 , That therein he Correspondence r and Stamps, on e management of t period; also an At se Office, and the d with Accounts of if OffiCers, and all I r Salaries." pinion that the c - every purpose—alm. subject was perso cter and excellent Avledged the n otlan Q. :hat it was Mr. V d adequate atten. ere shamefully tied resent delay was part ras' the consequence the time the Clerks do not exceed four . [a the present case, roper, therefore, w the EXCHEQU • tge which strongly hing the