The National Register. — London, England, 1812-02-09 00:00:00

---~,.P THE NATIONAL REGISTER. estahh -htnent, is at least to incur the arus pro/much, before a reasonable expectation can be indulged of bringing others to the same persuasion. But my Right Hon. Friend sees another danger, and is alarmed for the pecuniary resources of the Church. Considering that a general concur rence of sentiment should be first manifested, arid that the measure now proposed may be attended with the various practical advantages, I must I give my vote against the motion. The Hor.. C. Hutchinson supported the motion, as did Lord George Grenville and Mr. Herbert. Sir ARTHUR Piorrier could not conceive a more proper time to Comply with the object of the present motion, and to give effect to the claims of the Catholics, than the pr sent. It was trifling with the feeling of the Catholics, to play off this political pantomime upon them ...to say to them, your claims are fit to be received, but not at present —and to point out to them no time when these claims may be taken into consideration. The Union of 1801, had been the occasion of feeding the Catholics, he could not say with promises, but certainly with expectations. The Catholics had received a Grant between the period of 1793 and the Union. The Act of 1793 contains a long cata logue of offices from which Catholics are excluded . In 1801, at the time of the Union, it was held out and promised, that all local dif ferences would be removed, that the questien would be imported, would be transferred into a United Parliament, free from all lu,al pre judices. But from 1801 to 1811 and 1819, during these eleven years, in what situation were the Catholics of Irelaad ? They were like subjects out of the pale of the Legislation ; their care could not be taken into consideration, for a reason so well known to every person in the House, that it was superfluous to allude more forcibly to it. During that situation they had been inure like outcasts than subjects.—Sub jects no doubt they were to your Legislatnre ; they were subjected to the payment of taxes but all considera: ion of the complaints were suspended. It was perfectly ridiculous to cons=ider that as now sub sisting, which had already suspended the faculties of the Leei,lature, and was contemptible to the last degree, to state that the Exalted Per son who administer,. the Government of these realms, should be so far under the influence of prejudice, as to refuse to act upon the advice of Parliament. They had hitherto been kept back by some story of a Coronation Oath, or some nonsense like that, never made intelligible -(Hear !)--as if that or any thing similar could ever operate as a sus pension of the Supreme Legislatute. Mr. Weeeesetv POLL' having lit'ver taken part in any former dis. oussimis on the subject, felt himsel little eyial to the task he had in rising undertaken. The Rip ht Hon. Gentleman here entered at length Into a detail of the proce.iings in Parliament last ye...r, on Mr. Puu sonby's motion regarding the Circular anti Proclanntlen under the Con vention Act, during which lie insisted, that no attempt had been made to show that the Irish Government had acted contrary to the real and true construction of the Convcin.: in Act. lie followed up this part of the speech, which was urged with much ingenuity, by noticing the reasons which had induced the Lord Lieutenant to issue the Circular and Proclamation. Mr. PAe went on to state the measures recently a !opted, which had drawn upon the Duke of Richmond, and his ad visers, the severe animadvereions that were heard that night; and in doing so, he entered at much length in matter already before the Public, regarding the interviews he had had with Lord Fingal', at the time the Catholic Comn;ittee was sitting in Dublin, in which he in formed his Lordshie, that he had consulted the Crown Lawyers of Lngland and Ireland, and the Vli!ii:.t.ers of b Ith were fully convinced that the Catholic Committee, consisting of 117 Membei a, was an illegal assembly under the Convention Act, and that the law would be put in force against it, or if it was allowed to rcmaii: unmolested it would annul the Government. He justified the is.; sir of the warrant of the Chief Justice, authorised by all the Law Giiicers. and warmly com bated the assertion, Hutt there was scarce ally contrivance betsseen the Government and the Court. He eonclnded, by expressing his decided Hostility to the motion. Mr. tiu CRI I) A N would not thick of detaining the House long at this la e hour; but he never heard a Si , t3:ol with which he more completely disagreed than that just delivered. It was admitted, that the Catholics had a right to some concessions. but because their cause had been ill pleaded by an intemp e rat e adv ocate , o r because restraint had made shorn n - ,lpatient, was that :.ny reason why justice should not be done, even tor our own ie concluded by moving an adjournment, wkich was carried witheut a division. TL'I.SII `r , FEB. 4. The Regency Expences Bit! was read a I.!ird time and passed. Sir Jo UN o T the tittered into the Catholic gut in a speech of comiar.thlr h.r.gth, which brought on a lung and iirguenentit live debate, in which gceat :tbllity, and !audit ingenuity wero played on both Fide.; hot it is iniposib.e fur ens to detail the same, as it world fill up the whole of our P4er. r. `.V. - Wvnue, Mr. WlCithread, Mr. Ponsotiby, Alr. 1.1r."1 it- ne.v, and Mr. Eiliot, tiprortcd the motion for goir.e Conottittee: while Mr. C. A.tainm, Mr. Fitzge rald, Mr. :Ilati:•*:•3 3titton ' Lured Castlereagh, i\ r. Secretary Rytier, ti Ateoiney-Grtter.,l, and :11r. I'vrceval, opo-ed it. At half ;.ast o'el%)ck e t 11'ee'.11,•zilay etlut the House divided, witelt the num ber were—E.' :r the :notion, 13; ; At;tltU3t it, 5!...„9. Majo;:ity against tic inotiwi), FEI3. 9. THURSDAY. FEB. 7. Mr. PERCEYAI. said, that he should, on Monday, move the thanks of the House to Lord Wellington. Mr. WHITBREAD enquired of Mr. Ryder whether the scandalo us proceedings at Nottingham, which had for three months disgraced the country, were quelled, or whether any measures were in contemplation fur that purpose ? Mr. RYDER said, that he had reason to think, that for the last two days the riots were subsiding,—that he trusted to he able, in a few dap, to bring before Parliament something which might lead to discus.ion on this subject. 'lle Hon. Gentleman had preferred no charge; if he should, he was ready to meet it. EAST INDIA COMPANY. Mr. WALLACE moved the re-ape ointment of the select Committee which had b:en sitting on the aft - airs of the East India Company. Mr. CKEEVEY objected to the motion ; and proposed as a more effica cious measure, that the whole House should go into a Committee on the subject.. He took a general view of the causes from whence arose the Company's difficulties, and considered these difficulties to arise from their appearing in the character of Sovereigns, under the disguise of Merchants: territories and revenue was more the object of the Company than commerce. He next adverted to the commercial distresses of the country, and urged the necessity of permitting all the subjects of this country to have a free trade whh India. The Hon. Gentleman then alluded to the produce of the Property fax, which, in the year ending October 5, 1811, hart fallen short of what had previously been, by n e less -a sum than one million one hundred thousand pounds. Generals GA scolotve and TA n exTo sr described the distressed state of commerce at Liverpool, and wished the trade of India to be thrown open tor their relief. The CIIA scELLoR of the Excitrotrea was of opinion that the Fact India trade might be opened in a very considerable degree, and that such enlargement might be made with perfect security to the East India C:mwany. While contemplating this, however, they cu; ht to keep in mind the great importance of preserving the tranquillity of the .e possessions, and he should never enter into the discussion without at tending to both those points. In reply to Mr. Creevey, he was not pre pared at that moment to say what had been the produce of the Pro perty Tax between the sth of October, 1810, and the sth of October, 1811, but he could state from the latest returns, m: de up to January sth, 1812, that the f.lling off in the la•t year, instead of being one mil lion one hundred thousand pounds, was but two hundred and eigley. nine thousand. fhil was the total decrease, as compared with the year ending the sth of January, 1811, the year in which the returns were greater than they ever were in any pre,•edine year. Compared with the returns of the year ending the sth of .I:lnuary, 1812, instead of there being any dilniutrition• of the revenue, there was an in crease of between 7 and Beo,oool. The revenue of the year ending in January, 1811, was greatly increased by the collected arrears of former years. After some general remarki from Sir Samuel Romilly, Mr.Whithread, &c. on the present state of commerce, the motion of Mr. Wallace was agreed to, and a select Committee appointed..--Adjuurned. FRIO %Y. FES. 7. • REVERSION BILL. Upon the motion of Mr. BANKS for the second reading of the Rever sion Bill, Mr. W. De r:nA s said, that he conceived it incumbent upon the R4lit Men Gentleman to shcw stronger erounds than had yet been t.y.ltibitcd foe the adoption of the n7easure he had priTosed. It could not he de d upon the principle of national economy ; that it could not pro duce the most trifling pecuniary emolument to the country ; and it had the very formidable di-advantage of temling to destroy one of the Royal Prerogatives. The power which the Bill was calculated to ov2rthrme, one which was certainly most meritorious and honourable in its application, as the places which it had under its influence, had heal originally established there for the purpose of being bestowed upon those who had rendered essential service to the country. Mr. BANKS said, that the Fill had always been brought forward in that House upon the principle of political expediency. With ro.p:et to the observations that those offices were kept exclusively for those toen who rad rendered their country service, that argument could be easily overturned, by pointing to Numerous occupiers of places in Reversion. Was it not evident that young children, or men whose faculties were not more enlarged or more enlightened than those of infants, were aKointed to those places, -and was it possible that persons in such a state of incompetentcy could be capable of performing the duties of their offices ? By granting ellicient offices in reversion, it would hubs. putably follow that those oliices would ultimately become sinecures. — With respect to the allusion of the Right Honourable 0-eutlentan to the argument of e( onotny, an argument at:rib ated to hint, he was tot mistaken. Ile ILA never advanced it for the purpose of inducing the House to think that the economy of the mea s ure would be its est:4:lmA recommendation. It had been stated that this measure would detract from the prerogative ; its effect would be crunpletely the reverse, for by granting places in reversion the prerogative was incumbered, :stud nia would, by taking away that inicumberarce, give the prerogativo a strength and energy which had been before relaxed. CLIANCELLOIL of the EXCUEVER opposed the Dill. 1g to ti ti a