The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1805-05-09 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS—WCDNESDAT, NUT S. Their Lordships were engned in a close Committee of Fri , d ges, relative, as we und,rstood, to one of the sanding Orders, collaterally anilying to the case of L ,rd Viscount Dd..iyille. Ti,- order for the excles;on of strlngert was stri-tly en ' foreee, hot the Committee adj•nutted till five o'clock to mor i row evenme. On our admission into the 11...1 , :5., A Counter Petition, from the Unit- 'icy ~f Oxfore., to that i . pooentea on the part of the Roman Coliolie , of I e.,,,i,i, ‘,., reading by the Clerk. It wa, ve,elitc , l . ily the 1,• , n1 CS. u. caller, High Steward of the lliityer,ity, and owl.:red to In. on the table. Th • Bias before the Heine were foricioltd in their r, :;refire act es. MR JUStICE FOX. The LORD CHANCELLOR notified his in tention of coining forward oa an early day next wee!, por.siblv on Monday (but on that, lie should be regulated by the considcrarionof a Noble friend's attendance, to whose accommodation, all their Lord. ships, be was sure,would be most willing to attend), with a Molitia for having some record or entry , • 113ade un the Journals of the principle upon which the proceedings that hitherto obtained in the case of Mr. JOstice FOX proceeded ; cr at least as far as • such principles were understood by some of t heir [ Lordships. Ile was apparently about to move for &summons, ill reference to his contingent intention foi Moocer, but was informed, that a summons al ready stood for that day. Lord GRENVILLE said a few words in an un der tone of voice, in consequence of what tell from the N:ihle Lord, but seemingly, that he should not tlren trouble their Lord'hiiss with any obser vations on the business. UNIVERSITIES ADVOWS(hN RILL. On tills Order being read for the re-commitment of this Bill ; The Eael of SUFFOLK, who had inadvertently yisen to address their Lordihips before the Order Vas read s again rose, and made fpveral observations etpressive of his hostility to the, Bill ; he particu larly deprecated the discustion o: a measure, vrO;ch would so injuriously affect the Loy patronage of the country. in so thi ol in attendance of Lay Peers. He thought , re, the consideration a. of the Bill ought to be postponed, until a fuller " attendance of the Lay Peers should he obtain ed. There was another ohjeCtion which struck him forcibly with respen to the Bill, namely, its intrenching so materially, in his opinion, upon the statute of Mortmain. Though, he thought, in the resets state of things and of religion in skis country. treat acquisitors to the church may not expelled from suck a cons i deration ; yet, from persons in a dying state, particularly women, something in that way moy be required. Yet, still its opera tion with respeOt to that statute was, he thought, a micelial consideration. He again pressed the idea of its being improper to discuss such a measure wi . .h so thin an attendance of Lay Peers, and with such a body as presented itself en the reverend beech. be despaired of having his objedions properly r. intetidocl tr. . One or toe of the Reyererd Prelates having ob served, that not many minutes ago there had been a remarkably full autodance of Lay Peers ; 1 ,. I The Noble Ea olseerted, he was aware of that ; their Lordships were tired out by listening to a very .long conversation : he intimated an intention to . ' Yr move to have the Bill postponed. The IP Ka CHANoIZLI..OII observed, he should Mtn it incumbent on him to oppose suds a motion : the Noble Earl should recoiled that the Lill, both in principle and detail, had been itgoinlind again discussed ; with respett to the objection of the thin attendance of Lay Peers, a great number were in attendance not ten minutes before, who, if they thought with the Noble Earl, with respell to the operation of the Bill on the lay patronage, would most probably have remained to express such appre hensions. Some few remarks, in the way of explanation,were afterwards interchanged between the Earl of Sur root and the Noble and Learned Lord, in which the lettslobservedtheremay become Peers who preferred their dinner to their duty ; and the former, seeming to think, as toe proceeding then stood, it would be preferable not to trouble their Lordships further at present, accordingly quitted the House. Lord Viscount SIDMOU CH expressed his thanks to their Lordships for having so readily de ferred the recommitment of the Bill from Monday until that day, in consoquo cc of his inability to at tend ; however, it was no: Las intention then to trou ble the Committee with the discussion of the clause he intended to propose, as he lavlieved many of their Lordships, who had so tecensly retired, withdrew upon an understanding that what lie meant to bring forward would not be di -cussed that night. He therefore should r. o press it ; not that lie intended, after what passed, to intern; pt the progress of the Bill. bat to take the opp.otonity of a future stage, to propose what he inteode .1, possibly on the consi *atom of the report, the t:iird reading, or, if such may be deemed mote mos:tient, as to a certain ex tent, it would be more rag lam to discuss his intended propositions its a Committee. and with that view to recommit the !Oil. The Eisi.np of G7s:FORD, after the discussions the measure hol unorgone, deprecated any Unlit cessary delay. The Coniti.ii!el proceeded with the consideration of the Bill; a 0..: on the suggestion of the Bishop of throw, !everal anwrohnents, chiefly of a verbal oature, were Ina,:e. tik Some farther cony Lion ensued as to the pre fet able mode a sub.,c , paviit proceeding, with a re ference to the Noble N. isc.eaia's intended provi sions, betsseen his Lordship seed retie or two of the Reverend Prelates ; the t:-Ott vas, that the Report of the Bill was ordered to 5-: received to-morrow, and an apparent underszandino, that on Monday, the Bill shonid he ::!., , i a third time. To ! LO lop toi :, t N ::1 , 11..1.0it presented a Bill, the principal ele,•Oof which teas, to encourage the elitisation, planting. &c. of Choreb, College, and hospital Load, alio to provide regulations with re,ped so the growth, telling, Sc.. of timber on the same. Ali he should prooose at present would be, the first reading, and plinth% of time Bill, intending . k should be over for cuesideratioa; and, in the meaa lime, he alsoult consult the opinions of the Re * 'tread Personages opposite to him, ausl which he meant to take previous to his proposing any thing Suttter upon the Bill. The Bill was fostbwsth read It first kiMe k aissl osolesed to be printed. • 9 • 0 . F. . ~; ~.- - • Mr. tow o, attended by several Members, brought up a ptivate Bill from the Commons, which WAS read a first time, after which the House Adjourned till to-morrow. - HOUSE OF COMMONS. An Account was ordered to be prcented of the Seer made from Barley, and alto from Rick and \tilt, in Scotland, from the sth of July, 1801, to the Itteat 'term& Mr. Johnson, from the Cluef Secretary'. Office in Ireland, presented an Account of the Sums sicirelided in Criminal Pro sectirimis in Ireland, during the years 1801.2 3, and dried to lie on the Table. The Irish lust Fruits Office Bill went through a Committee, and .was ordered to be reported to morrow. Lord J. TtlY NNE obtained le ive to bring in a Bill foe the more easy recovery of small debt• hi the city of Bath. Sir \V, DOLBEN presented a petition front the Scholars and F. I .ins of tile Universtty of Oxford, against the claims lately mg d by the Roman Catholics of Ireland, in their peti tion to l'arliament.--Ordaed ter lie on the taint. Mr. LEE. said, thin as tine n ight pusiibly arise some dif ference of opinion with rerdect to the Irish Small Mini Bill, which was read a fiat tint', lie should move that it be read a second time to•morrow, with "el view th.d the blanks should be filled iip, and th.• Bill printed; which was agreed to. Mr. AL FN: \N DER brought up the Report of the Irish Ponce Bill, which was ordered to be rvad a third time to- inntrow. 'fire Irish small Promissory Note Reitraining, and the Irish and Engl,.h Bank Si".ver Token Bills, were read a third time and ria.sed. To; Hill for encouraging the ers.sumption of Beer in Ire. hod went t;iroulll a Canimittee, the Report of which was ur.l..i. d !o hi- received to-nionow. 'lne Hill for rendering the Duties en Wine imported, per nsati-nt, was read a firsttime, on the motion of Mr. Huskis suit, sod orttroA to b • read a second time to-morrow; as was also ih-f Slate Duty B-11. The Spanish Red Wine Duty Bill was read a first, and ord-,.d to Ile read a second time mi Tue,day next. The Land "lax Commi•onii , vs Names Rill went through a Committee, the Report of which was ordered to be received '0 RI 0 row. C ,, mmittee on the Isle of Man Bill was deferred till Vl ed ne.day next. 'The Thames Ballast Bill was referred to a select Committee. Mr. GREY moved for a new writ fir the County of Galway, in the ro o m of Lord Dunlo, now Earl of Clancarty, an Irish Peer Ordered. A Message from the Lords announced that they had agreed to the Soots Excise, and several private Rills. THE LATE SHERIFFS OF LONDON. Sir FRANCIS FANS presented a petition from Sir William Rawlins, Knight, and Robert Albion Cox, Esq. stating, that having been Sheriffs of London and Middlesex in the year 1802, they had, in consequence of the proceedings in the Middlesex Eletlion, unfortunately fallen under the displeasure of the House, for which they entertained the most sincere contrition; they added, that they had already undergone a long imprisonment in Newgate, and that the longer continuance thereof would be highly prejudicial to their healths, and to their pi irate con cerni, and pr•tying that on these considerations the House would condescend to liberate them. The Petition was ordered to lie on the Table, and the Hot•ourable Baronet gave notice that he should move to-morrow that they be brought up the mat day, for the purpose of being discharged. 0 NEW DUTIES IN IRELAND Mr. FOSTER observed, that when he brought forward the Irish finances, he stated that he should have to propose Additional Stamp Duties in Ire land. He did not mean, at present, to state any more than the heads under which the duti,s would stand ; without specifying, at pre;ent, their parti cular amount. The first was, a DUI •,11 die admis sion of Attorneys, by a stamp on tti,..r articles ; a Stamp Duty on the Powers for reeeiviitg Rents in Ireland; duo on It :erred Rents, and the lastri ments for the Incic,se of Rents ; ditto on Probates of Wills ; ditto c).l Legacies; ditto on InsurancPs against Fire : which he meant to assimilate exadly with the duties imposed in England, and in which, he Was happy to 5.17.", that he had the approbation and concurrence of all the parties concerned is these insurances in Ireland. tie concluded with moving several general resolutions, conformably with what he had stated. Sir JOHN NEWPORT said, lie dil not mean to make any objeaion to the Resolutions, in this early stage; but he apprehended, that the stamp duty upon the indentures of Attorneys Clerks might operate against the freedom of eledion, as these persons, after serving their clerkships, were, at present, possessed of the right of voting for Re presentatives in Parliament, upon which it was by no means desirable that there should be any addition al restraint. He hoped, therefore, that the duty would be so modified, as not to be produdive of the injurious effe4l% he apprehended from it. Mr. FOSTER replied, that he should be very ready to accede to any modifications the Hon. Bart. may thiok proper to propose, for the purpose of ob viating all his apprehensions. The Resolutions were then agreed to—together with an additional one, that the foregoing duties be paid in English currency. He further moved, that an allowance of 7h 101. per cent. be made to all sta tioners in Ireland, who sold stamps without any ad ditional charge for the paper, which was agreed to. EARI.S SPENCER AND ST. VINCENT. Mr. DENT gave notice, that if the papers moved for by an Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Jeffery) yesterday, should be ordered by the House, it was his intention to move for an account of the promo_ ;ions of Officers, during the Administration of Egils Spencer and St. Vincent. PUBLIC ACCOUNTS. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHF.QUER moved for a Selea Committee to consider of the account between the public and the East-India Cont. patsy ; which was agreed to, and the CommittPe ap pointed, consisting of Mr. FItANCII, Mr. Jou N s.) &c. of the Opposition, and api oportiouate number from the Ministerial side of the House. SIR 110 ME POPHIAM. Mr. KINNAIRI) said, he came down to the House, fully prepared to give such a statement as, he wasconv inced, must inducethc Liodse to go into the Committee wiiich he meant to move for; but, having since found, that his motion was not likely to meet with any opposition, he should not waste their time with any thing more, than reminding them of the great importance of the motive, which was, " That a Seled Committee be appointed to consider of the several papers before the House, relative to the re pairs of 11;s Majesty's ships Romney and /.2 Sensible. while under the command of Sir H. Popham, in the Red Sea. Sir H. POPT-lAM said, that the only motive he hai for offering a few observations was, that he should not be supposed to acknowledge the justice of any charge alleged against him, by Lis acceding to the . mtaien for a Committee of Enquiry. There was not a single particle of charge, watch he was not, at the present moment, fully prepared to te fute, in the completest manner; and though there may be some points proper enough to go before a Committee, he must. at the outset, deny, that they . c ould attach criminality upon him ; thoug h he must declare, that there was a degree of criminal inairs try made use of, to attribute blame to him. The Hon. Gentleman ( Mr. Kinnaird) said, on a former night, that he had been treated consonant to the ge neral usage and praaice of the navy, and in the same manner as Sir Richard Bickerton, Sir Richard King, and Sir Andrew Mitchell. When this as sertion was first made, he must acknowledge him self to have been so nervous, that he did not feel bold enough to contradict it; but he had, at present, a full refutation, in a letter from Sir Richard King, in which he informed him, that when some imputa - tions were made against his conduit in the East In dies, he attended. and was examined before a pub lic board. In his case, however, there was a de viation from the usual praaice, and he seemed to be singled out as a viiim both to the Navy and the Admiralty Boards. They had sent for Capt. Sauce, to try whether he could say any thing against him, and he had at present a copy of their letter to that Officer, and his answer, in which he pettedly exculpated him. This was on the Ist of Oillober, and they ordered Captain fiance to attend on the Tuesday following, at ten o'clock. They then en quired of him why he received in the La Senri6le stores, men, &c. different from those appropriated' to vessels of that class ? He must here beg leave to say. in corroboration of Captain Sance's testimony, that he never gave orders for any alteration in the quality of the stores, and that when he left the La Nentile in the Red Sea, he left it nearly a wreck. Vide in the Red Sea, General Ilaird consulted him whether, after the army should be disengaged from the Egyptian expedition, it would be most advise able to attack the Mauritius or Batavia ? The an swer was, that he had not a sufficient naval force fur either ; but he at the same time thought it his duty to enquire whether, if such an attempt could be made, the East India Company would furnish the necessary stores ? and receiving an answer in the negative, he was under the necessity of supplying the ships in the best manner he could for the service they were destined to perform. Every thing relat ing to this subjea was fully explained in the report of the boatswain of the ship ; and he had to complain that the Navy Board refused to receive it, though it fully accounted for the ring and shank of which so much had unnecessarily and injuriously been said . The papers specifying the particula rs, were afterwards lost, but that could never be made a fault attribut able to him. To speak of the ship itself, he had to state that, on leaving England, he was obliged to sail down the channel with a strong westerly wind, which obliged him to put into Portland Roads with the vessel in so very bad a state, that nothing but the extreme importance and necessity of the service upon which he was sent, could ever have induced him to sail for India in so ill-conditioned a conveyance. Ali this would be proved by th% papers on the '1 able, as well as the unavoidable repairs which the ship had received in the different parts where he was obliged to stop. Having heard that, notwithstanding all these disadvantages, imputations were made against his charader by the Board of Admiralty, he did not hesitate to demand an enquiry, which bring refused, lie must insist that never was an officer so injuriously and unjustly treated. The same ill usage was fol lowed up in die overstrained Reports of the Com missioners of Naval Inquiry ; and reports were cir culated that he was to be prosecuted in the Exche quer, after having been refused a Court Martial, which ever had, and ever must be, the proper judicature, before which an officer of the Britsh Na vy should, in the first place. be tried. This was the system under which the Naey of England throve, but in this case, for some per verse or wayward mo tives, that praaice was reversed. %Vas it right to substitute for the regular tribunal of a COWL-mar tial, a scandalous paper war, and an innumerable set of scurrilous pamphlets, originating from sources from which they ought not to have come ; as he was assured on no less authority than that of some of the publishers themselves. In proof of this asser tion, he could produce a letter from a Gentleman who was formerly a Member of that House ( Here a zeneral ern of rend ! read!). He then read a letter, stating the indignation of the writer at learning from the publisher of one of these scurrilous pamphlets, that it came from the hands of Earl St Vincent's Board of Admiralty. The letter was signed by 4‘ Joh Macnarnar' (formerly Member for Leices - er) (a laud laugh!) He next adverted to the coo ua of the Admiralty, in sending a letter to a subor dinate Officer, Captain Edwards, soliciting and ex horting him to ransack his memory, and try whether he could discover any blame imputable to him (Sir Home), from the time of his sailing from England till his return. He read a copy of that letter, dated 31st of November, 1803, and asked, whether it was a proper kind of condua in men, boasting of libe rality, to tamper with an inferior officer, in a way so very insidious? Mr. K iNN AIRD called the lion. Officer to or der, for having first read the letter, and afterwards repeating words very differently from those which it contained. Sir H. POPHAM proceeded to observe, that he did not consider himself at all irregular, in giving to the letter, what must appear to every one to be its fair construdion ; and appealed to the Gentlemen of the Learned Profession, whether he would not be authorised in doing so, even in a Court of Law ? He would repeat, that it was unfair and illiberal to soli cit any officer to ransack his memory for any thing that he could think blameable in the condua of a superior officer, from the time of his leaving Eng. land for India, until the period of his return to this country. He might possibly overstrain the con struaion, but he would put it to any man of honour, whether such a letter was a fair one, from a public board, in respe& to any individual ? In some in stances, it was possible that his conduce mignt have been, in some degree, irregular; but be would ever maintain, that it was not criminally so; while be could not help animadverting on what he must call the criminal industry that was employed against him. He, in common with the House and the public, highly applauded the general proceedings of the Commissioners of Naval Enquiry; but be was not a little surprised at the manner in which he was spoken of, after Mr. Lewis bad been ezamined as to his 6 3 . • . . • randdet, and aftetbe had, upon that astl-_ ;i s testimony. bees honourably acquitted hf. ;0007i„,i• with any Naval Officer. Upon that sullen, b e rents a short pith., letter (e las2b) to die Combissioner s of Naval Enquiry, challenging an investigati on i n any supposed collusion between Mr. I,ew:s and hi ll . Ilaiisig the whole course of his command, Ice vs 44 conli,lent that it would appear, that he alway s ma nifested the strongest desire of retre nching expenses, and had contributed to it, by every means in his power ; as a proof of which, i he would state, th it the whole of the Ohl materials belonging to t h e Roinavd, s.ild for no more than lei after the re •• • Which he fancied wriuld he sufficient to I pap,s. le w. that repairs were not made till they were ahsolntely necessary. It was n itural enough that he should be somew!i it warm upon this subjed. Ile n ever e,. _...._ _ . .. .. „_ peaed that he shoal I have occasion to mention any thing in that H "Ise iespecling his priv at e fa m il y; but lie hoped due allow.micc would be male tor . any warmth even approaching nearly to intempe. ante, which he might be led Into. when it VIII con sidered what a length of time he remained tudar these aspersions, and that he hal a famly which I must of course have feelings with him on a sulijea .' in which his honour and charaaer were so e., a- tially implicated. As to the accusation reap. Clileg the high rate of exchange, he had only t.) say, that rhaete than 2 gaveot:d7 6dsf.. ; while other for nobillsheing diawn at a i ng l ivr bills, irons vario us offices on the same service., were drawn at is. in 8,, exchange. His rations also to each man, in the Sick and Hart Office, were no more than 45. and a farthing, while those of Admiral Blankett, on the same service, were 4i...red...per man. A :other leading objet of his d rring his command w , s , to consider how much freightage could be saved; and he had the satisfadioi to say. and was ready to priv y. that, on his arrival to the lied Sea, be di,i h ir g e.d freightage to the amount of 17,0001. per month, a w l, by following up the same system, it afterw.t, amounted to a saving of '27,00J1. per motalt. the House thin c' mrare these impottant • with the paltry sums supposed to be °yr: • in the repairs of tht ships, and then• judge w he was most en•i+h d to comanendation Or to sure? After haei g performed these services, ar a discharged his ..uty in the Red Sea, wan ships almost unfit for service, he sailed tar Calcutta, where he was under the nescesity of ordering those repairs, the expenses of which had been so much complained of. If it was possible for the Committee to make the matter more clear than it was from the documents on the tal-rle, and the statement he now made, he could tilt have the least possible objeaion to it. He would aga t e repeat that in some instances it was possible he might have been wrong; but such errors were wholly to be ascribed to the difficult nature of the service. He certainly had much to complain ei the manner in which he had since been owed, botk by the Admiralty and Navy Boards, and under such impressions he should consider the institution of a fair enquiry as the happiest moment of his life. Mr. HUTCHINSON expressed his satisfaaion that these papers had boon moved. for, as he was convinced the general impression ttust be the same as it was on his mind, viz. that the Hon. Officer had discharged a mast important trust with great &A lity, great perseverance, and treat honour; um!, in doing this, had evinced an extraordinary degree of talent. He was a friend to the Committee, but, w from any douibt as to the charatter of the Hun. Officer, and it was with the greatest pleasure I.c seized the present opportunity of delivering his st - timents of approbation Oil his general praise-srott:.y condua during the whole of that expedition. Mr. PITT s tiJ, that, in agreeing on his part to a Committee, he dol so on the same grounds as tlri , u adduced by the last speaker ; that it was not mein,: to any doubt as to the condua of the Hon. Offic who, in hi. of idols, had most clearly dune a s,,, f every shadow t f a uspicion or insinuation that tout I be raised agsinst it, and he could say; from l own kn.:wit:Ll..us, that his whole life had been ~ in the most zealous, honourable, and utitte.t:: exertions in the service of his country. but thought the Committee was absolutely tiece.• sary not only to investigate that mass of v.l.i -minous accounts relative to these ships; but aiso into the citcuinstance of the report of one Board to another criminating his conduit; and still fur ther into the extraordinary circumstance of the loss of those documents on which that report WAS tinanded ; a loss which, be hoped, would be tound to have been altogether accidental ; but which, as it stood at present, certainly deserved inquiry. There WAS another subjea also which he hoped would be clea-ed up, and which was, perhaps, as astonishing as any that ever happened in a tree country like this—an English Officer in the Navy, impre , sei into the service, as a common seaman. The lice. Gentleman , wishes to have all those points \'wt sifted and investigated ; but he apprehended Cie Motion, as it then stood, did not go far enoug'ats accomplish that. He had, therefore , drawn some additional matter, which he thought sven:l fully answer the purpose, and which, if it was no: objeaed to, he would propose , by way of amt meet, which he did, to the following purport : And that the said Committee he diraosed to C USIPf i,.:0 the several matters relative to the said and to din sal reiaorts and proceethite. of thr Navy the dattalt!', and the Commissioners of Naval Inquiry t also iutisahc 1tv1. 4 of the Navy Board of the 4th of May , 1804 ; teal thr sow.heis that were lost relative thereto ; and als o i nto the 71.'" it• actions which viol; place relative to the insprs-son, ri Ewan Itartholoinea - , into the service of the Nai y. • non 4CA111.111, and to moor% the same, will then ' the Home. which being read from the Chair — Mr. JEFFhItY (Poole) said, that ti , c I Officer, in what he had that nigh t so teat is • eloquently stated, had convinced his mind fllAt had discharged the important and arduous duty trusted to him, in such a manner as refltaed a l e highest honour on his zeal, his talents, and his Per:i severance, and he was happy in the opportunity paving this small tribute to his merits. Mr. 11. SCOTT paid the highest complime nt t !, the manner in which the Hoo. ()timer had eleci lt :7 the high and insporram trust committed 10.1 charge; most particularly in the savings be _7 made of 27,0001. a month, whilst in the Red !•', He hid corresponded with Sir H. and le" ) others relative to this expedition a P irr s 'oto th e te ; 'pony of all he had been able to polka, he e`l„ knew or heard of any man who had cooduami t' self better than the Host. Officer allotiod to lald w t. 4,