The Sun. — London, England, 1816-05-04 00:00:00

IiNIPERIAL PARLIAMENT. TIOPSE O 1 LORD'S, FRIDAY, MAY S. A person from the Stamp-Office presented an Account of the Stamps issued for Country Bank - tkotes, moved for by , Lord LAUDERDALE find anothhr tram the Chamberlain of Londiin's Office presented papers. Laid on the table. The Earl of ALBEMARLE presented a 'Petition from the Agriculturists of Norfolk, praying re lief. Laid on the table. • • The Earl of LAUDERDALE moved for • certain fin 'her Returns on the subject .4f Bank . Notes in circulut ion. Ordered. The Transport Contract Bill was read ft second lime, and the'Custorns Duties Bill was conunitted. ANIENDMENT OF THEfr STATUTE BOOK. STAN Hors . rose. pursuant to notice, to call the attention of the House to the confused state -of the statutes, and to propose a remedy for that inconvenience. The Noble Earl said, there was 1,0 subject on which the'Noble Lords could be summoned of mote transcendent, importance than the motion ,he was then to bring htflore them. It was to' bring under codsideration the Statute Book , itself, and all the laws therein contained.-- It Noble Baron,. not then in' the House :(Lord . (;ren% ilk), in 1809, moved that several of the J tqlges' should prepare and lay before the House ti li,ll for •redtteing isto one Act all the laws in force, and imposing the penalty of death for resistance to the Revenue Laws. The Act of the of the King accordingly reduced into • one • Act all the Laws on the subject.-- 'lke House, on that occasion, was sensible of the advantages to he derived from the change„ and lie called upon thenOin the" . present instance to go furs her,, .and make Abe change general'. Actuated by the principle sanctioned . by'the Noble Sarno,. he moved in a former Session of Parliament (and - moved succesfully) drat-the Judges should be. in suucted to compress into one Act all the.taykin force-for' inflicting the punishment of pillory.-'- The Judges, in pursuance of that instruction, byught in a Bill,wbich thee laid on the )11per was attached to the Bill, in which the Sedges made .the following observation-rbe punishment of pillory is Octi only punishable the solute, but by common law: These are all the-. casekt bat occurred to its, but We cau by no Menus take on ourselves to saY,.thaf there may not be o thcra o f the same haVe escaped atir observation." Tisis . ' the Noble: Lord considered , a. fair and horrourabteaditii.psion' Mi l the part' of the Lords Judges, that statutes milibiliave escap. , ed them. The fact. was, overlooked two most important statutes., namely; the 2d.of George . H. and the Sls't george III; By. the first of those Acts, the crime of perjury was not only made peeiSliable by pillory, but transporta tion fur seven yeasts: The 3lst of . Geo. 11. cap,' Io,.section 34, made the taking of false oaths, to obtain seameos,' wages, felony, withoht benefit of Clergy. In the loterinitance the penalty of death was the punishment for perjhryi and it their Lord ships referred to the 3tidgea liill,they would fitid it not mean tiitlaroviany Maitre on tile Judges ; but the.csrcumitande ot-overlooking. the above statutes was elioitgli Co verve the statute' book was. confused and incorrect: . It Was in such. a state,tbat no: lawyer, coettl get at its contents. Their Lordships were awere that the trial of War ren. 1-1 list jags lastedsii years. During 'that "trial lie was fretoiently resew, and had opportunities. of askingior information of that excellent - man, - the Baron of the Kxeriegiter, Lord Chief Justice The - Learned • Jeilges gave him all the in fgrutalon Ise, could require, 'and he was 'enabled to learn the differenca'of opinion which prevailed On 'the effect and meaning Of the various tines. A Leas tied Gentleman, Mr. Selby, bud published„two.book on the SuliSect of Trusts and rowers,, lu-Whlch it appeared there were not less 1435 decided cases, differing in law points' from each ,other. A gentleman, named Vinci*, published 80 abridgement of the Statutes, some years since, id 21 folio volumes.. Ar present the abridgement would be twice that number of Yoe lames. The law was so vague anti uncertaits as it stoOd at present, that no man could acquire .a knowledge of it. " The late Lord Thurlow," said Earl Stanhope, " and 1, had a dispute in this Liouse about, the, sense of certain Sta tutes, anal It appeared he was wrung, and I was right. It was, a feather in my cap to get the better of such a man as Lord Thurlow, I went to sit. on the TiVoOlsack, and Lord Thur. Ivw said, in his peculiar tone of voice, I should be ashamed if .1, did not know common law as well as any man, but there is not a man who knows contents of your d---d Statute Book," (A. latigh.)--Mr. Dunning and other great laWyers had uniformly refuied to answer questions of law ; they generally said, bring any Statute, and we will endeavour to expound it. He could ap ply, with a view to correct the laws, the words of :eript • If the salt bath lost its savour, wherewith shall it be solted ?" — 7 41 Dtmuinl and Lord Tbstrloor could not .ac quire a knowledge or the-Statutes, who could it had been called glorious uncertainty by Law.; y e r. s , Worioas,. indeed, to them, but'inglorious ' to their unfortunate clients. 'The more the House investigated the Subject, the more it would appear like an Aegean stable. He complained of the hraseology, and onser'ved, that the Code Napo leon, now used snider the Bourbons, .was wiitten in'plain intelligible language. The House should look to their Magna Charta, as' an example, of plain wisdom .of our ancestors. Comparing it 14.101 the modern Statutes, the reader might say, in the words used hy Hamlet, in the closet scene-- i 6 Look here upon this picture and this t" Ha Eta was " A comhiaation and a form in deeils, Where every god did seem to set his sent, To give the world assurance His 'Lordship concluded by moving-- , That iiiho i s ms. ;4. ii! tesolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House, to consider Ifle twit means of arranging the Stilt - ate Law of the C.ountry under distinct and proper heads." TNe Loan CifAtTCELt.oit could not enter upon tlif: whole of the Noble Earl's- }tegument, yet he was ready to admit that elas4ifice tion, under some ads of law, would by useful. in that view he gboula not object to the appolntment of a Select Committee. After sonic further :_.onTersation between' Earl Stanhope, the. Lora Chancellor, an Lord Hol land, the Molio:, amendetl , by the Lord Chan cellor, who intro , inced the words ‘;;Select Coin mittee" instead of a Cotnriiittee .gut the whole House." Alotion, thus amended, Was put and agreed to without a division. Lord STANHOPE then moved, that the Peers preSeut should form the .aid Committee...which was ordered.—Adjourned. MUSE OF COMMONS.' , . A Peraon from the Bank brought tip a Return of 'the Foreign Gold and Silver deposited in the Bullion Office in the last two years.—Ordereil to he printed. . • , Petitions against the Leather Tax werie'pre: sented from, Boston, Guildford,. Mnsselburgit; Kent, Newark, and Radnor.—They weie read, and ordered to lie on the s Table. Mr. CALVERT presented two Petitions from the Commissiooers for lighting and watching South.; work, against the GAS Lights. . POOR LAWS. Lord MORPETH presented a► Petition from MI Saints, in Cumberland praying fora ropeal of the duties on Lead, and also for the revision of the Pool-Laws. _ _ Mr. Cuttwetl supported the prayer of the Pe titiOn, as far as it regarded the Poor Laws.. He. observed - , that the distress of the country, from their operation, was in many instances extreme,. And. he mentioned an instaw7e of one parish,which bad to pay 2sB. in the pound for such rates. He should on an early day bring the subject wore. fully before the Howe. The Park,' Apprentice Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be Committed on Monday. Mr. SwASN brOliOlt up the Report of - the Hel stone Election Bill, which teas agreed to, 'And the Bill ordered to ,be read a third time on . Monday.. . Sir C. MoNcK gave notice, that on this `dry Week he should move for a Committee to enquire. into the Estates of Greenwich EI OS Pi t di •He also' gave . notice, thq du the 2lst instant be should submit it motion respecting thtlonian Mr,.*NsuNG rose for the putpnie of correct ing a inistahe.which'had been - madain the report , of his speech on ‘Vedneiday evening; given in One of the Morning Papers. The words. which 'he had' been made to' ute4.ore, " that,the Bank was thankful for the—restriction.,Bill, as i 4 felt that ca,ll payments.couldAiot , be ,v.esunied for trio years:" -He was in-the.recollection ache El n i is i in what he had said, and had dot used those words. What he .said was, that the measure 'wll nut con; fined exclusively:to the Bank; but that it aifected . the interest of .the public. , Sir Jotini . NEWPOKT brought in a for the better enabling landlords In, Ireland, to recover their lands from W tenants, which,' after it few words from Sir 11. PattNet. 111 favour' of -it, .was read a first. time, and `Ordetedlo be read a.second time en •• • • The 'Customs pett;tllol, and the Cork Untyllill ivere• each read . 4 third, lime and passed. • .•; : q Mr. LitlslllN4i . oii. ' brought, in the Soop,Diity,., :Bjll, Which was read a first time, and orderedfor.„ a'second reilding.un Monday. . , PhOPENTY TAX ASSESSIONTS: . Mr. BROUGHAM rose to move for 'theprectlocl tiun of certain lettere,-addressed,by. the:Board of Taxes to the Surveytors of the different districts,.. calling upon them to transinitto .the Board, exact copies of all.the assessments •of the Pt opertyTax made in 1815. Last year,in the months of March, , May', and. August, siinilar letters :had been atl dressed to the Surveyors calling for the Assees ments made up to the year ending April 5, 1815. Then, these were understood to relate - to the' bet ter enforcing of the payment of the Tax, but note that the Property Tax had been put an.end to by Parliament —when it bad been hoped that even , the nauie of that Impost would -never be heard again, 'it naturally excited surprise that this cot-- respondence should he discovered . to have taken place. He complained much •of the tpublicity which the copying these Assessments wou'ltre cessarily give to them, MI should he. glad to hear from the Right Hon, tientlemau opposite, that o'rd i ms for making out copies of them had not been given; or that if given they had been issued with our the knowledge of the Trensirry. Ile Mined for the production of the circular 'letters sent to the Surveyors ache Districts respecting Copies of Assessments of the Property Tax in the months of March, May, and Angnst 1815, and for a similar letter, dated April 1816. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER had no objection to the production of the Papers-called for by the motion. Such Circulars as the lion. Gentleman had described had certainly been issued by the Board of Taxes in the discharge of their 'duties. No new orders bent been issued on'the subject ; but it was obvious if some step of this kind bad not been taken, many irregularities Artist have occurred in the collection of atears. Mr. BROUGHAM thought, front the manner in which these copies of assessments had been called for,, it did not' appear that they were required merely for the purpose of 'collecting arrears. 13y the direstions given to enter them earthily in a neat book, it should seem they were:to - he made out for purposes of reference, that ..ny "lumber of ; years hence it might be seen that Mr. Such-a-one paid un such an assessment hi chi, years 1814 and 1815. He now gave notice, that he Should shortly move for the production of all Records elm nected with the Income Tax. After a few words. from Arr. Baring, General Ferguson, and , the Chuncellor of the Exchquer, which could ndt he diitiottly heard In the Gallery, the motion was agreed to. ROYAL MARRIAOE Lord CARTIAREA gave nonce, that on Thurs.: day he should move for an Address Of Congratu lation toltis Royal Highness the Prince Regent on the marriage of the Priticess Charlotte. , Mr. WYNNE. thought the earliest possible mo ment ought-to he seized for l'oting the Address. It would be more confortitable to the rules of'the . House to proceed with it immediately, than to let • the •business stand over to the day named by the Noble Lord.—(Cries of " Move, move !") It aaortlerteo mo d,tbnciay that the Horse on its rising adjourn Wit. LIST: Lord CASTLERgA6H (burin;; moved that the House .6hould take into its colisideintiou the re port of the Committee on the Civil List) rose, pursuant to the notice he bad given, to move - for leave to brio }; in ts . Bill, for the better regulation of the Civil List. The subject he stated to be one of great difficulty, from its com2licated na ture ; that it was hardly possible to make it so clear to Gentleosen, who did not give more iitten tion to the details of it than most Gentlemen could do,. as to'enableahem to see all its coin binations ; and it was 'also - one of great delicacy, from the eiretnustance of Rs' bearing neon the personal expellees of • the -Sovereigns, which were necessarily looked:at with a jealous eye in a free . (wintry like - this': •It was painint -to Cuter upon. this question; as a• 'notion prevailed, that the greater portion of what-wai voted cur the Civil List, was. voted for the public splendour or do . mesric enjoyments of the, Crown, He wished to put the question on its ,proper footing ; he did not deny that a emusiderablepart of the slim given to the Civil f e ist .was appropriated to support the splendour. of the Sovereign ; but the greatei por- 1 thin of it was as much voted for the public ser vice, as the grants tut the Army and Navy. proposed, ill th'e Esfioutteubirch he !vas about (9 Sisliniit to the "House, to omit the grants 40 the jwtior branches of the Royal Family,as also the Nnosor Ystablishment, which arose out of the calamity of our'haviog . at present a Sovereign in 'capable of ili,char ;4 ing the functions of Royalty. This rlons, it would, be, found, thatout:of , the . 80111 of 1,339,00.01. voted iot the ; Civil List, the: ''charge immediately creates( by the splendour_ or the dootesticc:OtnfOrt;s fifAlre'Sovereign, amounted' mite) more than . 409;000/. th f is = sum _be M.. chided thC . 60,0001; tor the privy puySe ; and do jog this, it would be, seen, the charge inunedl 7 ktrelycFcat.ed b' the 6,roWn amounted tit but 409,0:001.. Which wets not bne-,lliird . of the whole' List.t 7 Some _of . the debts on the Civil •, List had certainly been incurred by the 'expense of the Saver'eigii 'be was prepared to state that the great mass of th,ern grew out of the pub lieservice. These were unavoidable, front the, 'fluctuations in the public expenditure connected With the Civil List. "I' he allowances to i‘linisterti.had not exceeded 200,0001. from 1804 to 1811, when we were excluded front' almost everTPart•otthe'contincht, •Thely - now exceeded •that aum by about 150,0001, from the altered state of Or, political relations. The great additional charge ihns thrown on one branch of the Civil • List woad give the kloitse some idea of the (Ufa , .ciaty of confieing at all times the eApenditure . .within the bontids whiehlad been prescribed for it. The expellee 'of other loyal . Vartlilies be wished to be looked at ; not that be meant - to cow- - tend the system acted' upori in foreign: 'countries.' was- to be taken as a model for Englan d ; birt thought it but fair that his:estimates atottld compared with the chargessostaitied elsewhere.— In Prance it would be seen that about 1,000,0001. '(24,000,000,of livres) was distinctly set apart for '; the ftovnl Family, Out,of.khis aunt no part of the exflonCes of the public service was to ha alefraye& —it Was fairly to set against the 409,0001. claialed for the Support of the CroWn•in'Englan4 . • and sides the 1,000,0001'. whics he had mentioned, the.. French princes received krgessgrtind otherallow« - ances from th e e nation.. 11 4e actual eqttices T a the Sovereign had become greater than they. were 50 years ago, be contended this coolittbot etelte' surprise, for.h9wvould, any Andividnal or / Sove6 - reign be expected to require no more to support his establishment now, than was sufficient at the period to which, he 'had referred ? It ought, also, , to be always retnembered,that the S'tivereign, troth: motives of economy, bad eatliirr his reign ac cepted, a. fixed sum - in lieu of that provision Which • bad been formerly Made. for the Clown. lf, in stead of doing this, the Sovereign had retaiKedibe improvable funds set apart for . -his .piedeeesSbr; - George 11. he would have had 110 'Occasion to come to Parliament once in thewhole course of the 56 years of his reign but; on the contrary; be,' in= stead. - of bayiug .debts to discharge,; would, 'have had a surplus revenike 46,300,000 . 14 illy! betook into this actount all the pail isions made 'at diffe-', rent tinies by Tarliiinfetir 'tor all the numerous branches of the Royill Family, and allthechargei whielliadhcen.taken o ff , the Civil List and car ried to the. Consolidated • Fund.. Thepoblielad therefOre gained 6,00.,0001. by the as eitegemeat made With; 1h o,,Ctown , by which the OVereigir gave up the fructilyiug.Tiveno4 :tivlaell"Parliatnent lard previously placed in his hands. In moving for leave to brio ; ; in his Rill,. he should first bring before. the liquse a rctrospeetiVe view of the in come an' expenditure of the Civil List since.lBo4; and heshonld, 2dly, sobwit to Mem prospectively, the probable 'amount of its future expenditure; and when on this head, it would be remembered, the'provision made for it had been corifessed to be inadequate- from the year ,1802 ; ,bot till the re taro of peaceit was not thought advisable to make a new artapgcment, as from the casual aids grow 7 ing out of the war, in Admiralty droits and other fttnds *teeming to. the , Crown, it wits hoped that the augmented charges might be met, withoutany tievi , provision being required, till a pacification should at length take place. The third head on which be should speak, would be on the prospec tive regulations which it might beproPer to adopt for the time to come, in order to provide for the splendour and comfort .of the Crown, and to make a future recurrence tf) Parliament for assistance unnecessary--=at least for a very 4teuded period. lo the first place, he proceeded to state what bad been the actual.ex'penditure of the Civil List for a course or years. • The average expenditure of the seven years up to the yea! 10 . 11, was - - - ,01 ,103,000 In 18iq the charge was . - •• - 1,74,000 In Isla - - - . 3,3 , 16,000 1n.1814 - - 1,361,000 115 I n - - " - 1,436,000 and in the year ending January FAIL, 1816 1,413(4000 The areraxe amount of the Revenues of the Civil Liss in the_seven years op to 1011 wai 995,000 Since that perlotl. from ,yatious circumstances, the Revenue hail risen to • - - • 1,060,000 it'lvoultl baleen, in the seveh years up to Ie I, there had been It deficiency of 1,0010001. IR this stall of the Etkevidi. turf, as compared with the Revenue of the Civil Liat, it must be seen there was necessartly a tendency to incur a debt. The gross amount of the debt created since 18(14 Fr..1M.1 was - • - In discharge of this, P.irlittrnent had advanced 1 an& Croon, tn,nt its West ludic p v o el t: { e l s e' same And during the saute period the Crown had ad - vaticed, haul the same funds, for the service of the Public - - - - - - 1,00 0 , 000 Had the Orown, instead of advancing thii sum to ~ the Public, applied it to the liq'ilidation Of the Ci vil List debts, it would,_have sufficed to cover then), and made an. application to Parliament on account-of the debt incut red ; within the period he had named wholly unnecessary:, But it was not merely the sum of 1,000,0001. advanCed in 1807 , that had been given from the funds:of the Crown to the Public Service, but in the course of the war the nation had received • not less than. 2,800.0001. from the same source. It would' be seen from the statements, he had offered, that the frequent appeals which had been 'made to Parlia ment, arose, not from the faults but from the 'visa • fortunes, or rather from the merits of the CrOwn, in accepting for ,the ample funds formerly vided, a fixed income, which Was known to fie inadequate. The debt remaining on the Civil List. down to the sth Jan. 1816; amounted to 277,000/. 'lbis had been met by aluither ad yans:. from the Droitl, and therefore he had not to propose: that a provision should be made to covet that ex-pence. He now procaded to she second head on which he ,proposed to speak. Jc having been understood, that she subject was to be fully investigated on the return of peace, an .• isintate was made last year of its future es•'• - .The_ monist of that estimate eras 1,478,680/), That which he .should !tole sub it; to the consideration .of the House . amounted- to S 1•.339,4951. There it would ,he seen tress a re duction, of , 139 - ,ooolt The WitAsor meat he 'thought it fair to deduct from this esti' mate.. But, for tlJe circumstance which cooed the nation tti have, at the same time, a Sovereign -de facto, -and a Sovereign de fare, the 100,0001: 'which tha'tUstablishinerit required might have bees' spared, as well as -the 60,0001. for the Privy Purse,. and the 10,0001: granted to her. Majesty in eO5l - of :the, situation •of things at Windsor. But for that Calamity, the grant of 170,0001. tO • which' he hail just referred, and which lied been proposed to Parliament by Mr. -Percival itilB l2, might have been spared ;- .he therefore thought he was justified in deducting that stun frarn:F ° estimate, as it was a charge which the lustier would not have to bear in ordinary times. PI 170,0001. deducted from the estimate which be ban proposed oft . 33R,000!, brought hi s es timate down •• to 1,168,0001. This was that which ought to be, •' compared with the estimates of 1811 .or I That the provision for the Civil List was Wade. citrate, had been admitted not merely by Commit' ~ -tees of that-House, but virtually by the House itself, in the law, by which it was declared, that ' whenever there should be an excess of 124,00015. over the estimateof 1804, Or.of 10,0001. over that of 1811, the subject should be-brought under- 0 1 . consideration of Parliament. The estimate he bad named of 1,168,0001. compared with the average expenditure of the seven years, up to 181 whicb amounted to ;103,0001. gave an excess of 65:0 001 - • - This was the whotaaddition in point Offact,..which Ile _propOietlihould be made to the estimate of 18 ( 1 ,and this, when—Parliament considered the Derr charges thrown7on the Civil List, would not, he thought; excite their surpriie, , , He was; in the present instance, obliged •to Unite the Windsor • 'Establishinent with 'other charges which he had mentioned. to that which 'he bad dbt ought fortvard as the propereitimate for ordinary times,- and this 1 • b i t-ought it- up- to he sum be bad nalited... ! I,39,oool.' . Theincome of the Civil List; Biking the Exchequer fees at 48,0001. (which they had amounted to in the-last year), and the Scotch fees at 10,0010., arikinilt to 1,088,0001. ; so that comNrect the Projected estimates 41'. 1,339,0001. there would be a.• deficit' of 251 ,000 L • • Ot this- 5 a- ell'arge of '170,0001. arose out of his Majesty's malady. It was now for the House to consiger in what way . this deficiency of 251,0001. was to he met. There were two toodA of meet ing it ; the one by voting additional:revenues- to the Civil 'List ; the other by relieving it from • some of -the Charges which it had - hitherto borne. He . , strongly recommended the latter course as that • which ought 'to be preferred. When lie haul Sltewn thafin one Department, that with which he had the Honour to be connected ' there had been in one year an increase of expellee • to the amount of 150,0001. he thought the House' • would feel it s% as desirable to withdraw . from Inc.. '" Civil List charges which were subject to such! , great. fluctuations, and ivhich were of an ilia.- dental nausre. He wished to take from the- firtit class a charge of 30,5001. which he purposed carry to the Consolidated Fund. This was created': by the allowances made to the junior branches of • the Royal Family. Last year it had been in con. tetnplation to propose that it should, be relieved from the 100,0001. for the Windsor Establishment. Under this head there had been a reduction is present year, and -the design had therefore been abandoned. The incomes of the junior branches . of the Royal Family, it had been thought well to take from the Civil List, as it was desirable that these should all be raid from one fund---the! -Consolidated-Fund, into which they Would IVO. nit the demise of any of those Illustrious -.Per. sonages. He next proposed to take certain charges from the fourth class—the Lord Chaffi'.. berlain's . department, which were extremely fitte - ',', tuating, and incapable of being tied down mall: fixed estimates.. He propose(' to relieve it 6'0 1 .4 a charge .of 15,0001. fur allowances to rglre i g t - / Ministers'.; from 10,0001. for the Board of 11701)0., From occasional payMents to the amount of , 197,0001. and from an item in the second class, creating a charge of 13,0001. These together' , tt w oh o et t ie r l l xe d va r el e lni l o i d e i v ittt e l3tr t et l ) i fo e 2i C ss i v , i o l o L ol i s . t fr oin art expendltu the Civil c ostraitsitl f., would os 3 r , e 6 d o tt o. C l 7 This, compared with its revenues, would leayetk surplus of 4,2001. lit the, first class he Antiei! pared savings to the amount of 26,4001. wider. the heads of Foreign _Ministers and Consids with respect to the former, he wished to nut ) such an arrangement as might "protect them fro.r . .those inequalities of income to which they wcr now subjected...an arrangement which would save 2.500,000 702,000 1,738,000 • .