The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1803-03-19 00:00:00

- "62 1 11111ail f e. - 1 ; • ~ I ;. i , . i , i , ~ . i I ? 1 1 i . • 4 . ! • . P I • Ii i 1, 'l..' . '., i f J i .• i i.. I 111 .. 0 0 , I t . - 1 I , i 1 1 1 ! ,i . i I • • It 1.. ) . , , • ... 1 0 e . $ II L : : . . .... IMPERIAL lIOUSE OF LORDS. rittrov.., MOTH 14. The Lust Advocate of Scotland was heard, in ram on behalf or the Appellant, in the Appeal anw front the Interlocutor of the Court of Ses sion. Mn. .th Cr.n ford v. rutau.is Coutts, Estvgaer which t further hearing was adjourned to Moods?. LARLDOM OT LIMERICK. The Patent of creating N'is,:ovint I.:rnerick, Earl of Lisuerick, was read ; when his Lordship took his beat onahe Earl's Bench. The Marquis of SLIGO then moved, that two Choate, the Fifth of George the k irst be read, which were read accordingly. By these Clauses, every new. ; -ereated Peer is di mace! to take the Oaths previous to his taking his Seat, voting, or taking any part in a Ll:bate in that House, un der a penalty of 1001. A conyeriAtion ensued, in which it was stated, that Lnrd Limerick, being cletied by his Peers, and baying a Writ directed to him accordingly, and takes the Oaths and his Seat, and share in the De bates of that House, as Viscount Limerick,' it was unnecessary for him to take the oa:hs a second time, there not having been occasion to issue a new Writ to him. The Loan Cnswest.ton, Lord Fa.t.tneotorGit, and Lord Al vAnt.t.v concurred in this opinion, and the Marquis of Suno readily yielded, ciccLuing he only wished, that every Member of the Irish Peerage, who had a right to a . 4 4cst in that House, should be corrc in complying with aU the neces sary forms Noncr—.% R TIT 'CFAS t f DOCK YARDS. Th.: Earl of CARLISLE rose, declaring that he had come down to the House, with an intention to make a \lotion relative to the Artificers in his Majesty's INick.yaids. had any of his Majesty's Mi nisters been in their places, hut that not happening t' be the case, he would forbear to make his Mo. tion. lest it should he deemed unfair or inicandid to offer to make it in their absence, notwithstand ing that he was not aware that tile slightest objec tion could be made to it. His Lordship said, that he thought it necessary to take that opportunity of declaring once for all, that he w.ts Jett-mined to ezencisz his undoubted right to deliver his semi- , ments upon every subjeft that occitrred to him, freely, as an independent Peer of P.aliament, nei ther rnsioned by any Minister, an erpe&ant of any favour—no man's slave. He would not be deterred fro:n this line of comiuft from the siverities of any maa's comments, whether conveyed through the medium of sarcasm, advice, recommendation, or dogma. /le might be told that he kept company in a very confined circle ; that his compa nions had notions as narrow as his own, and that no observations he •or such bumble individuals could offer to that House were diserving the slightest no tice. His Lordship conciuleil with declarmg, that he vrtrlld oa the first day nest week, when his Ma jesty's Ministers should be in their places, make a Motion respeeting the Artificers in his Majesty's asck-yards, and he named Monday. The L9iLD CHANCELLOR left the Wool sack, and said, it was impossible ft.r him to ima giire, from the slight mention of the Motion, which Cu; Noble Larl had given, whether it would afford ground for objeition or not, That as the Noble Earl had thought proper to advert to what h a d passed in a former debate, he thought it became him to say, that it was the undoubted duty of their Lordships to sliest , the utmost respell to each other; that this principle had, and ever should govern his condo& ; but if the Noble Earl was so sensibly alive to his own feelings. it breams him to consider, that other Noble Lords had feelings as well as himself, and that no man, not utterly insensible, would pa. tkntly endure the being charged in the roundest and most degrading terms, that he was weak, inca pable, devoid of his duty, and unfit for his situa tion, when he w.ls perfealy sure, that he had ho. nesaly and conscientiously discharged that duty. Those who expeaed civility and resi,ea, nit's: them selves tint learn to treat others with civility and respea. the Earl of CARLISLE read his motion, to satisfy the Noble and Learned Lord of its full ex tent. Its oblea was, that monthly returns cf the number of artificers em; loved in his ).I.4jesty's duck-vards, since the firstof July last, be laid before the Ilonse. The LORD CHANCELLOR said, till the mo tion came to be more fully discussed, it was still impossible to say whether it was linble to oblation or n.n. It being an Order that no Bill relative to the Re venue, or Income of An y part of the Royal Family should be received from the Commons, but when the Judges were in the House, an order was d;rat cd to be made for receiving it, spet-7..tfly th.tt the: Juiges were absent on their respeCtive Cir cuits. Aker vari Ars Bills were read a third time, and six or eight private Bill, were received faun the Commons by Sir William F.lforl aad others, the House adjourned to Monday next. IJOI'SE OF COMMONS. rttnav, staitif The PM for enabling the Grand Junelion Canal Conspany to raise certain Sums ni Money, for the purpose of extending the Canal room the Bason at Paddington to the London Docks, eras read a third time and passed, and ordered to the Lords. The Chairman of the Committee for enquiring into the merits of the Petition complaining of an undue Eleaion for Ilchester, brought up a Report, stating, that Sir JUIIH Ii.rANE, Bart. had absented himself from the said Seleet Committee ; in conse quence of wii:ch, they had adjourned till to-morrow. And that he had read a letter from a Physician, i•itimating, that the state of Sit idiot kLANL'S health was such as to require his immediately set ting off for Bath ; which being verified on oath, he ;se tc di-wit:aged from further attendance on the said Sete t Committee. Sir MA L IHF.W RIDLEY brought up the Report of the Committee appointed to enquire into the merit: of A Petition complaining of an toJae Election for the Borough of Great Grimsby, u :ten it appeared to the said - Selett Commitec, that Aite.ighe Boucher, Esq. was duly defied to serve as a Representative in Parliament for the same, and that John Henry !oft, Esq. was not duly eleeted to carve as a Burgess for the said :lorongh ; and that 1111.11kPobill4trel ti lini.iA : Atlisesl %knish. Esc e,tag to ?:use beeu retutrael, and is declared duly cleated to represent the said Borough in Parliament ; and that the Petitions end oppositions to them were tot frivolous or ettaa tialia On the Motion of SIT MA TTLIEW WM/ T Kin. us V, the Deputy Clerk of the Crown was ordered to attend, and amend the Return for Great Grims by, according to the said Report. Sir MAT (HEW WHITE. RAMS Y bEettlelt up ano ther Report from the Great Grimsby ommittee, -.eating the following resolutions, which he was di reaed to lay before the Mouse : that it appeared to the Comniittee, that John Simpson, Esq. Mayor and Returning-Officer for the Borough of Great Grimsby did, previous to the Eleftion, hold a Court of Common-Council, and admit several persons to the freedom of the Borough illegally, of his own will and authority, and contrary to the constitution of the said Borough ; and that he the said John Simpson, Esq. availing himself of his authority as Returning-Officer, did unlawfully rejeat certain law ful aotes, and admit several unlawful ones, which he might not to have admitted. On the Motion of Sir M. W. RIDLEY. Burt. this Report was ordered to be taken into considera tion on fuesdav the ..soh inst., Sir M. WHITE RIDLEY, Bart. then moved, that so much of the minutes of the said seled Com mittee, as was contained in the Report, should be laid before the Home; which was agreed to. Hato Has:la - roe, Esq. as High Sheriff of the county of Dublin, got leave of absence, to attend the assizes. A Rill for continuing an 16t for staying Proceed ings under an Ad of Henry VIII. for preventing ecclesiastical Persons from holding a Plurality of Livings, was read a tiest time, and ordered for a second reading on Monday next. On the !slattern of Mr. COlt RY, the order of the day for the House taking into consideration the ameadments of the Lords on the lrisit Postage Bill was read. The Amendments were then read a first time; when The SPEAKER said, he thought it his data to call the attention of the House to the clause which the amendment made by the lanais went to eepunge. It was proposed by the clause to extend to the he eretary of State for Ireland, and his Deputy, and to the private Secretary of the Lord Lieutenant, and certain Clerks, the privilege which was enjoyed by persons in similar situations in this country, of send ing packages, and receiving letters and packages, free of postage. The Lords wish to have this clause struck out, which they had no right to do, as it was an infringement of the invariable and undoubted ;Ai vileges of this House. His wish would therefore be, to have the consideration of the said amendments deferred to a distant period, in order that it may net again come before the House. Mr. CORRY then moved, that the said amend ments be taken into consideration this day six months. The SECRETARY at WAR moved, that the Lords' amendments on the Mutiny Bill be taken into consideration. The amendments were then read a first time. The SECRETARY at WAR stated the nature of the amendments ; which, he said, arose out of a mistake in letting the Bill go out of the lion* with the omission of certain technical terms. The first amendment went to rectify a clause for subjecting deserters, who were sentenced by a Court Martial to transportation, and who returned before the expi hiration of their time, to be dealt with as felons, were under similar circumstances. The second went to amend the clause which en:eaed that deserters found at large, when tinder sentence of transportation, should be subje& to the penalty of death. The amendments, in both instances, he observed, agreed with the original intention of the Committee for drawing up the Bill, and was owing to the accident of its being sent up to the Lords in an imperfect state. The amendments were tken read a second and third time, agreed to, and ordered again to the Lords. On the motion of the SECRETARY at Watt, the Order of the Day for the second reading of the Mi. litia Officers' Bill was read. Lord FOLKSTONE rose to state his objections to th.: second reading of the Bill. lie was surprised beyond measure when he read the provisions of this Bill; for though what has been already done with regard to the Militia, has been highly in injurious, yet this he considered as a death-blow to thet corps. Ile was not in the House' when this measure was brought forward, and when a debate was occasioned by it. (Hem the Noble Lord was called to order by the Speaker, for alluding to a former debate.) He looked 'upon the Militia as a constitutional defensive force, enabling us to em ploy our disposable force for other services. On that account, he said, the spirit of the system went to call upon men of fortune, whose zeal and in fluence in the hour of danger would be of most im portance, to come forward and fill up the Militia. What then was his surprise to find, by the provisions of this Bill, that unqualified Officers were to be ad , mittesdall admission at all times improper, but at this period paatiL elarly dangerous and improper, when men of property should come forward to fill the commissions of the constitutional force of the country. He wishes to he understood that he means • nu distespe& to unqualified Officers, their services may be useful where qualifications were unnecessary; but h.: thinks in the Militia, when unqualified Offi cers wet the qualified Oilicers should g.) out. As to filling up of commissions in the Maim:, from the half-pay of the line, it went, he said, to the total annihilation of the system. If it was neces sary to call half-pay Officers into aaioa, he contend ed they should return to the line and tight there. The SECRETARY at WAR observed, that the provisions were much the same as they were last. war. He was therefore exceedingly surprised to hea.. the Noble Lord call the present measure a death-blow to the Militia system. The provisions extended only to Officers who had served last war, and the principle was the same as was then aged upon, of empowering the Lord Lieutenant to fill up commissions with unqualified persons on proper re commendation. As to the clause which relates to the admission of half-pay Officers, it is taken word fur word from an Aa of the last war, which autho rises the Lord Lieutenants of Counties to fill up the commissions from that class of Officers, if the regi ments were incomplete at a certain period. He was therefore the more surprised at the expressions of I the Noble Lord, that qualified persons should go Al+ nut if unqualified persona wet! admitted, a; it *as a principle not new, but already afted upon and Vane' tinned by experience. He was as much inclined to stick to qualifications as any man, with respea to superior Officers, but it was well known that the a ppointment of Subalterns without qualifications was absolutely indispensible. Mr. SHERIDAN said, that any Member who brought forward an objeCtion to any measure pro posed at the present moment, should not do it with out the best reasons and on very good grounds. He should not do it without also having it in his power to propose a better one. He was a warm fiend to the Militia, because he considered it a constitutional force, and he regretted as much as any man that in novations had taken place in it. Particularly one, which was this, that Colonels who had brought their regiments to the utmost perfeelion, with great pains and considerable expencc, should afterwards find themselves in the situation of recruiting-officers for the line. He would even wish to stick to the system of ballot, and have every man who was drawn serve in his proper place and person. And he agreed with the Noble Lord, that should the awful event of a re newal of the war happ: n, that the property of the country ought to fill the ranks cif the Militia. The Noble Lord says, that qualified persons should turn out, if wolaalifiect persons were admitted. — But (said the lion. C 'utleman with indication), if young men of fur;.:.: have not the spirit to put thernsalv( aat the head. of their countrymen in the hour of Wiager, wilt the Noble Lord say that the Lo: d Lieutenants of .Counties should not admit young fellows, who would otherwise be hunting or idling about, to step forward to defend their coun try, barely for want of qualification, when we all know, that with regard to subalterns, qualifications were never insisted open ? As to the appointment of officers from the half-pay of the line, where they could not be otherwise employed, he thought it ad viscable ; and where a qualified Captain could not be found, lie thinks it should he filled up from that quarter. Mr. BASTARD, as the best means of preserving order amongst the Officers of the Militia, advi cd to break the Colonel immediately, if these should be any impropriety in his power to prevent. The Bill was then read a second time, and on the motion for its commitment, Lord FOLKSTONE disclaimed that he had wished for unqualified persons to be admitted as officers in the Militia. He, on the contrary, was desirous that all such persons may be excluded as were professedly disqualified. With regard to those who had been already admitted, he was of opinion, that true and timely notice ought to be given to them as early as possible, and Lao they may not be taken by surprise on the sudden revival of Militia principles, whieli had long been neglefted. An Hon. Gentleman, said he, (Mr. Sheridan) has stated to you that there was a backwardness and want of spirit to stand forth; in the gentleman of landed property, too much devoted to hunting, shooting, and other amusements to enter into the Militia. He looked on me at the same time pointedly, as if it had been my fault that persons of that description did not evince all the promptitude he wished for. I wish him, howesooa to know, that I have no indi vidual concern in this business ; and what I fear is, that the effea of this Bill will be to prevent quali fied persons from applying fur commissions in the Militia. Mr. SHERIDAN—" The Noble Lord who ad dressed you last has, I am sure, misunderstood me. regret that unqualified persons should hold any more than the rank of Subalterr s iu the Militia Ser vice ; but it' gentlemen of landed property will not step forward, the Government has no chance, but must fill up the vacancies in the best manner they can. When I looked at the Noble Lord, I assure him, that I thought at the time that he was in the Militia; but now that I see his intention is good, I make no doubt but that will be produftive of more benefit than his speech can do harm. (This last observation had the effeet of producing a good deal of laughter.) General TARLETON expressed his approbation of the Bill, and of its provisions, which he said would be unnecessary if the landed gentlemen had shewn spirit enotigh to come forward. Colonel MITFORD, in a very low tone of voice, which prevented us from hearing the whole of what he said, stated, that that there were three primary principles, which gqverned the constitution of the Militia establishment of this country. The first was, the landed qualifications of officers ; the second, that they were under parliamentary regulations, and not arbitrary ones ; and the third, that their appoint meats were under the inspefhon of auditors. All these principles he contended to have been violated by the kist Aa of Parliament, and to the revival of it by the present Bill he had this decisive objeftion, that :t would stop the gap and obstruft the right which the ancient Constitution gave to landed pro prietors, duly qualified to apply for commissions in the Militia, which would now be filled up by gen tlemen for the most part unqualified. Mr. STRICKLAND replied, that the observa tions of the Hon. Gentleman who spoke last must have been occasioned by a misconception of the Bill. If he had examined it with more attention, he would find, that those original principles of the Militia constitution, to which he adverted, hacrbeeti not overthrown, but religiously observed ; that it was not compulsory, and that the I.ord Lieutenants had only the discretionary power of appointing other suitable officers where the gentlemen of landed property did not come forward. The SECRETARY at WAR returned his thanks to Mr. Strickland, fur having given a complete an swer to all the objeftions that had hitherto been made. The Bill was not, as had already been stated, compulsory in the Lord Lieutenants, but empowered them to fill up vacancies in the' best manner they were able to do. But it did not pre clude the precautions to be taken. We know not when the war may commence, or how soon we should be called into the field, but he deemed it ab solutely necessary that the country should be in every respell prepared-for any difficulty it may have to encounter. if there were any objeaions to be made, on any clauses proposed, he should be. ready to hear and discuss them in the Committee, which lie moved to sit on Tuesday next.—Agreed to. The Bill for regulating the Office of Surveyor-ge neral of the Forests arid Perths, was brought in, read a first time, ordered to be printed, and read a second time on Monday next. 1/11SII POSTAGE. Mr. CORRY drew the attention of the House to bill which had come from the liouse of Loa: ~. vAtit inch anuentimenvols tNey, Representatives of the people, could not admit& The objedion to it in the other House arose front the tenor of the bill not being conformable to the title. The Irish postage-duty had always been granted annually s and in the last year the Parliament was contented with reviving the former Ads. This bill, however, as far as regarded Irish packages, and the power of franking them, was found to interfere with British privileges, and the interests of the British Revenue. What he therefore meant to propose, was to bring in another bill retaining all the provisions of the for mer, but omitting that clause which had been ob jcaed to in the other House. The House would see the propriety of expedition in passing this bill ; for the at, being annual, would expire on tic ‘251 . 1: of this month, and that expiration was by no means unprecedented. On emergency, when the Lottery Bill was passed, some little time back, the whole pro cess of passing the bill took place in the course of two days. Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. The Bill omitted the clauses objeaed to by the Lords; read a second time, went through a Committee, the blanks tilled up, and the report ordered to be received on Monday . Mr. JOHNSTONE moved for an account of the receipt and disbursements of the Island of Ceylon, since it came into our possession. Agreed to. A message from the Lords announced their having agreed to the Prince of Wales's Annuity, and several other Bills. Adjourned to Monday: - THEATRE-ROTAL, DRURrLANE. THIS EVENING win be presented a New Historica! Play, ilt Three Acts, called THE HERO OF THE NORTH. The principal Characters be Mr. Pope, Mr. Wroughton, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Ral'mond, Diiw ton, Mr. Bannister, Jim. Mr. Ds Camp, Mr Can!Ned, Mr. Sedgwick, Mr. Grimaldi, Mr. Gibbons, Mr. Fisher. Mra. Young, Mrs. Mountain, Mrs. liarloam, Miss Manage, Mrs. Eland, Miss Tyrer To lw idded, THE WEDDING DAY. On Monday, Mr. Cooper will perform the Chan ".e! of King Ric:iaril the Third. THEATRE-ROYAL, COVENT-GARDEN. THIS EVENING will be perfumed a New Comedy called JOE-IN BULL I Or, AN ENGLISHMAN'S FIRE-SIDE. The principal Char-afters by Mr. Mr. Cooke, Mr. Fawcett, Mr. Johnstone, Mr. If. Johnston, Mr. Blanchard, Mr. Emery, Mr. Waddy. Mrs. Gibbs Mn. Davenport, and Mrs. 11. Johnston. The Overture •ind Music composed and selected by Mr. Kelly. The Prologue to be spoken by Mr. Brunton. With a Lyrical Epilogue by Mr. Johnstone. To which sill be added, THE. PRIZE; Or, 2,5, 3, R. On Monday, The Haunted Tuwer, with Cock and Kr-, ,__: TILE BRITISH PRESS. LON DON, SATURDAY, MARCH 19. A cii e took place yesterday at the Stock Exchange, which produced a great ferment in the monied and commercial part of the city. At the opening of the market, a gentleman, who has been a dealer in the funds to an astonishing amount, and whose opinion has been always considered as a sort of index to the rise or fall of Stocks, declared him self a defaulter for the Omnium account. Those only who are acquainted with the nature and extent of his dealings, can conceive the sensation which this declaration excited. The 'Change was for several hours all bustle, anxiety, and confusion. The evert was the only subject of conversation and enquiry, and for the time absorbed every other consideration. The person alluded to having been for a long tine in the confidence of the monied world, and the evils likely to result from his defalcation not be ing in their nature definable at a view, there is a probable or possible extent to which, in the first moments of surprize and alarm, they were not carried. It became of course our duty to make enquiry into a subjea of such general importance; and while we lament the misfortune of the indivi dual, we have the pleasure to state, that the conse quences will he very disproportionate to the fir,t impression. We have good reason to believe that the Stock to be delivered upon the Omni;em accoun•, of which yesterday was settling day, and upon tl•e approaching Consul accounts in April, w ill nor altogether much exceed a million ; and the difference•, we believe, according to the best grounds of esti mate that could be obtained, do not amount to much more than 100,0001. In the first moment of appre hension and alarm, it was estimated three time , .. greater, and its operation upon the Funds was such as to occasion a considerable depression , is the early part of the day. Towards the close of the market, however, they not only recovered, but rose. above the price of the preceding day. This faa i 3 in itself sufficient to ahew that the consequences were at first much exaggerated. A Messenger arrived at a late hour on Thurrd.o, night, with dispatches from our Ambassador ► Paris. As their nature has not transpired, it presumed that the answer was not decisive, and the hopes of continued peace encrease with every hour of delay.—We are well-informed, that the PtasT C)Nsci. was in every respeet unprepared for Hi: MAJEsry's Message to Parliament, and the re. monstrance of our Government of the same date. He was at Madame BONAPARTE'S rout when the dispatches containing them were delivered to him. Yesterday a Court of Directors was held at the East India House, when Roar Swill, Esq. took the usual oaths, and his leave of the Court. on being appointed AdvocateZeneral in Bengal. The Court adjourned at six o'clock till Tuesday neat. ~..r..5~'" . 11 J • 1 -, t