The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1804-05-01 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. DOUSL Or LORDS, MowsAT, Aran SO. The Duke of MsvCI4ESTEII, Lnrd SOUTIIAMP- Tex Lord TORRINOTON, and the Earl of Itilias•v . took the oaths and their seats. The several Bills on the table were forwarded in . . their diSerent stages. immoral Bills were brought up from the Commons sod read a first time. DEFFN(T OF THE COUNTRY. At the moment it was expelled that the Marquis of Sr orroao would make the motion on the de fence of the country, which stood according to the notice given for this day ; Lord HAWKES BURY rose and addressed the House, in which he informed them, he was ahuated by an anxious wish to prevail on the Noble Marquis to postpone his motion. He assured the Noble Marquis and the House, that he had reasons of the highest and most weighty- importance which im pelled him most forcibly to make this request. These reasons, it WAS true, were of that delicate and peculiar nature, that he could not at the present moment, consistently with his duty, enter into them further ; bet he could assure their Lordships, on the pledge of nil own personal charaher, both as a Minister and a Lord in Parliament, that, were they known to the House, they were of such a nature as would induce, he was certain, the Noble Marquis to post pone his motion to some future day, which might be moo agreeable and convenient to him. As to his own part, he had no inclination to hint even at any other day, but left it entirely at the discretion and pleasure of the Noble Marquis, confident that, under the circumstances he had alluded to, he should find the Noble Marquis inclined to comply with a re quest, which, according to the usage of Parliament, had, under similar circumstances, never been refused. The Marquis of STAFFORD said, thht import ant as he thought his present motion to the interests of the country, and highly desireahle as he conceived it was, that it should be brought forward as speedily as possible, yet, from the information then given by the Noble Secretary of State, and the pledge he had made that the reasons far postponing it were of that high import which rendered it at the present mo ment enrenaely incoovenient and improper to reveal, he should certainly give way to those reasons, thouhh unknown to him in any other way than from she essertion and pledge of the Noble Lord, and 0 agree. for the present, to postpone his motion to some Antra day. • Lord GRENVILLE said, that in cases of this azure, it was undoubtedly true that reasons of the ' first and highest importance might reside in the bosoms and knowledge of His Majesty's Ministers, which were not known to that House, and which it might be highly improper to disclose. If such were the ease, he would be one of the last men in the Haase, or in the country, to press the Noble Lord to disclose these reasons. He thought, however, that when such a request wls made by His Majesty's Ministers for a delay, such as was now required, cf a motion which concerned as nearly and as import antly the dearest interests of the country, as any rho' ; ever made in that House, that it became a ' •rmbent on His Majesty's Ministers to name which the Motion should be postponed, and it should peremptorily come on. This he to be absolutely necessary ; and though Marquis, who had given notice of this rno .., hid so candidly and liberally agreed to postpone it ; yet he thought it his duty, as an individual Lord of Parliament, to po:nt out to the House, that in a matter of this importance the greatest care should be taken, that, whilst this question was thus, from motives of candour and liberalise, agreed to be ;mo oed, no other question hi business of a simi hid s nature should be allowed to be brought on either ' / Iyy Ministers, or any other Noble Lord. He would, tberefure„horose that till the day fixed for the present motion to be brought forward the House should adjourn. The LORD CI IA NC EL LOR left the Woolsack, and said, that he could by no means agree tar a moment to the proposition of an adjournment just made by the Noble Lord who spoke last. He thought that what had been so candidly advanced by his Noble Friend (Lord Hawkesbury) to induce tie Noble Marquis and the House to postpone the motion to some future day, was folly sufficient to entitle him to that proposed indulgence. It had been the invariable usage and custom of Parliament to acquiesce in tits • kind of requisitions. At as events, however, he n:usr ohjrO to the proposal of the No ble Lord for an adjoin nment of the House till such titneas the present motion was heed to be ahuaily brought forward. This he did on the !lamer ,its and weighty inconveniences that must incvitaLly attend such a measure. In the first place, it woulsi En r* a d Y and unnecessarily ret a rd, a n d f or suc h a gth of time, entirely put a stop to the procedure of all the private Bills then in their progress through the House. In the second place, there were several Money Bills beim the House, the hindrance and .. _ d , -lay of which could nit Int be amulet. with the , - .• is...latest public and private inconvenience. In the third place also, there were a variety of ether Bills, whose progress it was desireable should be expe dited as much as possible for the itterest of all parties therein cor.ccrned. As such, he submitted it to the Noble Lord and to the House, how extreme- Is unjust it wonid be to adjourn the House, and thus I pat a top to all itniness publ;c u well as private. merely to attemi the present motion. for the post ponement of whirl be thought. accot,Jug to the usage of Parliamentary proceeding, sufficient reason. had been already adduced by his Noble Friend. Lord lIA WKESRUR Y said, that in rising to Teo nest the Noble 111-arqui to postpone his motion, Ilibe had, es fairly and canslidir as posible stated the importance of these reasons which induced Linn to \ de so i and thoagn he could not reveal the natute of , them. farther than he mad done. be had still further I risiged his chario,ter, Lai they were of the utmost stoportacce and del.cacy, and could not be farther i ts...chest apoo at the present moment. No other or 1 further engagement sc.ald he then cuter into. On the contrary, if the Noble Marquis should be de , tetrniaed to bring forward his motion. which he understood is ha? &litany himself agreed to post ! pone. he way reedy and willing to enter theninto the disetruion, if it should still be persisted in. The Earl of CAILISLE said, be saw no reason. from any thing which had been proposed bf the ;oble Sectetary of !taw that should induce iris j-~ Noble relaticm to postpone his motion, except one, which was—that in the intermediate time Minister:, had determined they would resign, and retire from those situations which it was the primary intention of the motion of his Noble relation to evince to the House and the country, they were so totally inicle quAte to till. If any such acknowledgment as that ere made, he, for his own part, should have no obje.ftion to the postponement of the motion. If it were not, he thought it would be very wrong to agree to it, unless some further pledge aas given by the Noble Secretary of State, that no measure of a similar tendency, or any other that could tend to create any material difference of opinion among th.ir Lordships, should be brought forward in the mean time. Lord HAWKESBURY said, he had already given all the reasons which it was in his power to adduce, consistently with his duty ; and as those had bean sufficient to induce the Noble Marquis to con sent to postpone his motion to a future day, he could not conceive on what grounds other Noble Lords could objea to what the - Marquis had with so much liberality agreed. Lord GRENVILLE said, the Noble Marquis had most unquestionably a right to the disposal of his own motion; but, as the Noble Secretary of State had not previously given any notice of his in tention or wish to have this motion postponed, but suddenly proposed it at the very moment it vras about to be made, he thought the Noble Marquis was entitled to Tetrad an assent, into which he had in a manner been surprised, and especially as the motion might be said to be in the hands of the House. It was by no means his wish to put a stop to, or to create, any degree of inconvenience to pub lic or private business; but he thought some pledge should be given, or engagemen t entered into, that in the intermediate time o tpostponement of the motion, no question of a similar tendency, nor any measure that was likely to cause any considerable difference of opinion, ought to be brought forward. - Lord HAWKESBURY said, he differed very widely from the Noble Lord who had just sat down, as to the present motion being in the hands of the House. The motion had not been V.ltially made, though notice had been given of it, and as such he was clear it was still in the hands of the Noble Marquis, to be disposed of as he should think proper ; and as the Noble Marquis had already, with the greatest candour, agreed to postpone it, nothing more was in his mind necessary than for the Noble Marquis to fix the day when he would wish to bring it forward. Lord HARROWBY expressed himself by no means unfriendly .o the motion being postponed, after what had been said by the Noble Secretary of State; but still he thought it was necessary some further engagement should be entered into, that no question of a similar nature should be intr..thiced in the mean time, between that and the day on which it may be fixed to be brought forward. The Marquis of ABERCORN said, he tho'ight the question had already been very fairly deter mined. The Noble Secretary of State had come forward with an assurance to the House, that rea sons of the highest importance induced him to come forward, as one of His Majesty's Ministers, and re quested the Noble Marquis to postpone the motion of which ha had given notice to be brought forward on the present evening, to some future day, which should be most convenient and agreeable to himself. The Noble Marquis, with that degree of candour and liberality which so happily chantilerised all his aSions, had almost instantaneously consented to the postponement of his motion, which had been since objeaed ta by the Noble Baron (Lord Grenville), on the or side of the House, with a degree of inflexibility to which be was but too prone. For his own part, be was no way personally interested in the question, farther tb.sn having been induced to come out of the country in order to attend the discussion of it. The frowns or smiles of the Noble Baron were alike equal to him; but he thought the inde pendence of the Noble Marquis was such, that he might certainly, if he chose it, postpone his motion, without the leave or consent of the Noble Baron, who appeared so strenuously to oppose it. Lord MELVILLE said, that he was perfectly aware of the usage of Parliament as to the post poning of any motion, when the same was request ed by His Majesty's Ministers, either on reasons ad duced, which shewed that it would be dangerous or inconvenient to the public interests to bring it for ward at that particuiar moment, or that it was per orally inconverdent to His Majesty's Ministers, or to any other Noble Lord who wished to take a part in the discussion,to attend on that particular day. In either or any of these case% his Lordship said no man would be more ready than himself to accede to a proposition so generally confirmed by the usage of Parliament. In the present instance, h iwever. his Noble Friend had not mentioned any instance of personal inconvenience to himself, or any other of His Majesty's servants. He had only said he had reasons for his request, wh:cb he pledged his charac ter were of the highest importance. To such a pledge he was as wiWmg as any one to pay the most tosplicit deference, from 'he respea which he had always entertained for his Noble Friend, but he begged the House to recollea, that there were other measures then before the House relative to this very subjea, the defence of the country ; and he begged leave to submit it to their Lordships, whether it would not be necessary and adviseable that these should not be brought into discussion such time as the present motion was disposed of. fie thought, therefore, with his Noble Friend near him (Lord Grenville), that if their Lordships did not think it necessary to adjourn for the few days the question might be postponed,some engagement should at least be entered into that no question of the same nature should be brought forward, nor any other that might in its nature and consequences produce the same difference of opinion that . present motion was likely to do. Far' FITZWILLIAM said, he thought, if the motion was postponed, some such engagement as that mentioned by his Noble Friends near him, should be entered into by His Majesty's Ministers. Lord HAWKESBURY said, he had already more than once assured the House. that the reasons which induced him to apply to the Noble Marquis to postpone his motion to any future day to be fixed by himself, were of the highest importance ; and that his duty would not permit him to say more, as to the nature of those reasons. He had, in addition to this also, pledged his own peronal charade'', that these reasons were entitled to the full weigh t which he applied to them. After having done all this, he could not but consider the determined up p made by several. Noble Lords, to the Noble Marquis's acceding to this request, as the aft of a fa&ion, or rather of a party guided by mere difference of opinion. If therefore they would not listen what had been stated, he should certainly be ready to enter upon the subjed of the motion. He coal.] not think of giving any further pledge, .rir of enter ing into any specific engagement on the subjeCt ; but he could not conceive their Lordships would agree to put a stop to or throw any unnecessary im pediments in the way of public or private business. He had no doubt is his own mind, but that every care would be taken in bringing forward that busi ness, to abstain from any thing which would have a tendency to create a discussion that should have a reference to the present motion, or any thing imme diately conneeted with it. Lo;d MULGRAVE supported the arguments already used by his Noble Friends near him, against postponing the motion, without some such engage ment as they had so properly adverted to. He expressed himself highly indignant at the term of taelion which had been so lately applied to h:rn. and his Noble Friends near him. " Fac tion: (he exclaimed). How can such a term be applied to us; but because we refuse implicitly to submit to a fallacy which wo should be ashamed to be blind to." The Noble Secretary, however, had, since he used that term, assured them that they might trust to a man of his conciliatory temper and iapners, and had indirealy given them to under stand, that no measures should be brought t'orsvard winch might have a tendency to provoke discussions to which they had ohjaled as mediately or imme diately conneaed with the present motion. Lord GRENVILLE said, he looked on whit had fallen froin the Noble Secretary of State as a vir tual acknowledgement, that no business should be brought forward that was connciled with the present motion, or that might create discussions of a simi lar tendency, and as he did not with to impede in any degree the public or private business then in its progress through the House, he should not make the motion of adjournment to which he had alluded, nor further oppose the postponement of the present motion. The Marquis of STAFFORD then proposed and moved, that his Motion should stand fixed for Fri day next ; which was agreed to. Earl SPENCER urged several arguments of a similar tendency to those made use of by his several Noble Friends who had preceded him in the present conversation, relative to the motion being postponed. He condemned severely the expression of &Rion that had been applied to him, and his Noble Friends near him, which, he hoped, however, had been inad vertently used. He looked on what had last been said by the Noble Secretary of State as a virtual en gagement that no discussion of any business should be brought forward that might lead to differences of opinion, similar to those counters' with the pee sent.motion, and for that reason only he should ab stain from any farther comment on the subjet. On the motion of the Marquis of Stafford, the Lords were ordered, to be summoned for Friday next. Lord HOBART gave notice, that on Wednesday next, he should move that the thinks of the House be given to the Officers who have so highly distin guished theinv-ives Litely ip India. On lusLordship's motion, the Lords were ordered to be summoned for %N ednesd.sy next.—Adjourned to tomorrow. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Mr. Serjeant BEST brought up . Bill for making a better Prnvision tor Incumbeuts in the City of London. which was read a first time. Mr. N. BROWNE brought up the Caledonian Canal Bill.—Read a first tune. The Dalkeith Port Improvement Bill was read third time and passed. Mr. H. LASCELLES brought up a Bill for the better Regulation of the Wooßen Cloth Manufac tory in YorLshirc. He observed, that the trade was now going on under a suspe n ded Aft of Parliament. The chief objed of the present BiH was to prevent men from weaving woollen cloth, unless they had served an apprenticeship of seven years to the trade, and also to encourage the weaving of cloth at more even prices. lie now, he said, brought in the Hill in consequence of a Petition which was pm:rated to the House, and the Report of a Committee on the same; hut, in doing so, he wished it to be un derstood, that he gave no opinion whatever of his own with regard to the propriety of the measure. After some observations from Mr. Wit 11E1170 act and Mr. Baaoss in favour of the Bill, it was read a first time. A Petition was presented from several ir.hahit ants of l.i►erpool against the Bill now before the House. for enlarging the Queen's Dock at Liverpool. Ordered to lie on the fable. On the - motion of the CHAICCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER an order was made for laying be fore the 1 louse an Estimate of the probable Annual Produ.:e arising in consequence of an Ad for lay;ng Contributions on Property, Protessions, ()Aces, kc. And a person from the Treasury appeared at the Bar. and presented the same, which acre ordered to I,e printed. Mt U ILIA\ said, that in cor.secine-.ce of the disc •:, which was about to take pltee a day, on ti,e .abjetzt of the Budget, he wished to sstpone his motion relative to the restraints whicl. Irish Ro man Catholic Militiamen, coming to this c.stiotry, would be subjeet to ; and he fixed on Thus s.lAy next for bringing on the same. Mr. ALEXANDER brought up a Bill for m.k ing Allowances to British Militia Subaltern Officers in time of Peace. which was read a first, and or dered to be read a second time to-morrow. On the motion of Mr. FOSTER, an Order was made, that the House do to-morrow resolve itself into a Committee on the Petition from the Irish Linen Merchants. Mr. FOSTER brought up a /1,11 for directing the Public Accounts of Ireland to be laid ar.nually before Parliament.—Read a first time. Mr. Secretary YORKE said, that the Volunteer Bill, with the Amendments which the Lords had mad: in i:, was not yet printed ; and be therefore wished to postpone the coosideratiou of the Amend- I 4~ ments till Wednesday....An Orler was male ac cordingly. I.ord CASTI.EREACM tom notice, that on Wednesday nett he would call the at: ration of the Iluuse to the aubje t of the late Soc.:as...es in CONIMITTF.F. OF W IYS AND MEANS, Mr. BUDGET. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved the Order of the Day for the House to re. solve itself ir.to a Committee of Ways and MeiClti, lie also moved, that s vend Accounts of the p-.;. I in, I then stilted thunalithil' duce of the Customs, Excise, and of the •War , Taxes, be referrei to said Committee. The l'stotooo being agreed to, the Speaker kit the C" - atir, and the li House resolved into said Committee ; Mr. As.cit; u nto in the Chair. The CHANCELLOR of the E XCH EQ UNA then rose and poke to the following effed: Ipiite . • it is my duty to lay before the Committee the Wars and Means for raisins/ the Supplies which mar - be necessary for the services of the present year. Rut before I submit the particulars to the consideration of the Committee, I wish to call their attention to the means adopted last Sesslon for movidinrfor the expences of the war within the year. It seems, Sir, to be universally acknowledged, for I hive not been able to discover a single dissentient se.' that no other system can be so advantageous as that which enables the country to provide against a hat accumulation of public debt ; and that as ae bast e l begun so we should continue to ad upon a system that will enable us to continue the straggle as long 1 as it shall be forced upon us by the exorbitant am -j 1 bition and implacable animosity of the enemy. was, Sir, upon this principle , and with this view, t 1 • House agreed to my proposition in the Commit of Ways and Means us the last session, for raising.' 4 very large proportion of the supplies within the year. I stated, when I last addressed a Commit tee of the House upon the subjed, that if the %,,. arr.ount of the Ways and Means should be '26,000.004 , ''' • i by raising 10,000,0001. by war taxes, it would bd I I possible to provide for the service of the year .0 without making any addition to the public debj: that, combined with the surplus of the consolidatid fund, of the sum applied by the Comnissioneri Ilbr liquidating the national debt , and for the redemp. tion of the land tax , sums combined would affora the means of carry ing on thecontest without any addition to the n a t ional debt. That this measure may not have answered all the purposes which the most sanguine eaped-s i o tion may have anticipated, may be truo. ; but t h aw has produced the happiest effe& upon our fiaavoubt no one. I think, will deny. It hapFrned, city, after the last war, that, horn some ci t nai ns stances of internal pressure, and others ant. cons t a the negotiation, this country es perienced a t o uc h derahle interruption to its commerce, and reduc e ' difficulty by the large stock of sVest India p.of the, on hand. Had it not been in the power . g uy . House to apply a remedy of another kineZ,. ! ;,, I would have been under the necessity of givint jx , t sistance in money, and I believe, Sir, I need i l, say that a large loan would have only encreaet.l e , . difficulties under which the mercantile iuterest n o ' laboured. These. Sir, being my sentiments ta e :., that occasion, and feeling, Sir, as I then elid„ conceived that this House did create tocoarn-se ow expe&ation in the minds otthe merchants, that when the day of difficulty arrived, it was to Parliament they were to look for assistance and relief. It became us, therefore, to repel that idea, and to teach m chants, a body of men for whom certainly I ha e q 1 the highest tepee, to ad in the day of prosper i ty • with caution, and to provide by a prudent foresight ' ' against the day of diffiCulty. R e should, I ma, teach them to depend upon their owls prudence ft r support in adversity, and not habituate them tolotat to Parliament for assistance in every case of an barrassment. Sit', I do not mention this for tie purpose of refleeting upon a body of men for whom I have already said I entertain a L'gh reaped. I advert to it. Sir, because the difficulties to obit+ I ' allude have been surmounted, and because I take ' credit to myself for the smallness of the loan last session, at the same time that it enabled these sons to overcome the difficulties of which they had to complain. I shall nut, Sir, detain the Commit-' tee in arguing the principle which I have laid down of raising the supplies within the year. lam de- .' sirou., however. to shew the measures which have been adepted for carrying it into execution, and the 1 success which has attended them. In the Commit- I tee of Ways and Means last year, Sir, to raise ' I:45030,0001. for the public service by war taxes, upon that occasion I estimated the produce of the tax upon property at 4,500,0ati1. but I als, stated at the time my reasons for presuming a probable defalcation, and admitted that if the war,. noses produced H 1,000,0001 my hopes would be 4 fully gratified. In the discussions which took place in the House opus the property tit. considerable exemptions were granted to persons vi!iuse proper y was under 1511 a-year, which coricellicraly made a large dedudion from the produce of the tax as I originally estimated. I do not. Sit) question the, propriety of this decision, it was, no doubt, a wise ono ; I mention it merely, Sir, as explanatory of its eff-d, and I do think, I reason up•as sure and certain grounds, when I say its elect was to ilim.i- • nish the amount of the proauce of the tax b, a sum of i,00.),09u1. Of coarse, S.r, th it wl'.:, I orivinAlly e,tl :meld at 4.519,0001. could nom-, s c . co: ~:1:.4 to my units c aculation, produce more Ciao -;i5I).‘,0001. Ti.e amount of the adf.trxta: Doty upta the C ;•tom• a .3 Exr ,e WA. L. 114 f, Th.• produ:e of t'ae Property Tax 3, get -r 11,! Co4sequently, if from 1r...400,0001. I ot iginS timated r produce of only 10,000,0001. I Lit right to expolt. nor did I expea from 11,500, more than 9,000,0001. I shall nr": mat% amount of the Customs and Excise. The a. amount of the Duty upon Imports and Exports the year ending the 25th of January last, I fan. 2.221,6001. There was also a large of duties outstanding, with the exc.4.• the duties upon tea, making together, for year, a sum of 4,399,2001. and conscque intitled to estimate the produce of the c the whole year at 8,7711.4001. But. think I would be justified in cakul" whole amount, as the sto:k b he eluded, and may Wove:visaged i 1 Is ~, te R ti IPII