The Sun. — London, England, 1820-07-05 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS, JULY 4. (ContiLueri trpm our Seeond Page.)] COMMISSION ON SCOTS COURTS. Lord A. HAMILTON said, in moving according to the-notice he had given for a copy of the cor respondence respecting the Commission appointed to examine into the offices connected with Courts of Justice in Scotland, lie recal to the House that the Commission in question had exe cored its dories very laboriously and faithfully,-had rottfle eight Reports to the House, and recom mended saving: to . the amount of no less titan 15,0001. a year, and the abolition of places in tounther and value to a large amount ; though up to this hour no one of their recommendations bad been complied with in the abolition of ft single {dare. It was said, on a former occasion, tlyit this Commission had dropped nit the - tletnii&ot the' C l own, and that to this cause alone was. to ,be attributed tie discontinuance of the . Commit 7 sion. From the facts winch he should mention, tom the correspondence he wished to move for, he t=bould skew Olt tie demise of the Clown was not the real cause of sheregsation of the Commis- sloth 011 tbe t'rmise of the Crown, it wal re- presented to the Secretary of State for the Home Department that the betsineas foe %shich the Com mission was appointed- we- not completed. Ti representation %vas not attended to, and the Se cretary signified his intention that the Commis aion should drop. The Commissioners then ,thought fit to enaire . am offer to perform the re maining part of their task gratuitously; even this was not acceded to ; and up to the time that he (Lott! A. H.) made his motion respecting the Fath Baron of the Exchequer, no change of this d'termioation had been signified. It was to be observed, that the Commission had not expired in the opinions of the Commissioners themselves and they could not be considered bad judges of the law of the case, as two of them had been Lord Advocates of Scotland, and the three others bad practised at • the Bar. The Secretary of State himself had corresponded with- them, as with a legally existing Commission. But as steps had since been taken to revive this Commission, he should not apply himself further to the pre vious part tec the question. Nuw as to the man ner in which the Commission had been revived afk warrant bad lately been sent down to the Crown Agent in Edinburgh, to revive the Com mission, without any notice being given to any of the Commissinners, or any inquiry whe ther they , were willing to accept the offices, so that up to this moment the Gentlemen oppo eite did not know whether the Commission was not a dead letter. This was a most disrespectful manner of treating the Commissioners, but was accounted for when it was considered that the ap pointment of that Commission was originally car- Kgahist their wish by a majority of one. If this was the manner of treating Commissioners, who executed faithfully the trusts reposed in them, there could be no hope of economy or improve ment being effected by their means. The Com mis,iouers had now dismissed their Secretary, sold whatever furniture :was attached to their es tablishment, and relinquished their office.. so that a delay must necessarily take place ere they could again proceed to business. The Noble Lord con cluded by moving for a Copy of all Correspon dence between the Commissioners and the Secre tary of State, in the year 1820. Lord CASTLEREAGH said, he did not controvert the facts of the Noble Lord's speech, he only con muted against the inference, - that the Government was not disposed to take all advantages which they could derive for the public from 'the investi gations of the Commission. There had been doubts whether the appointment of the Commis :on to. come inferior Courts, and whe ther it legally continued since the demise of the Crown. The Secretary of State for the Home Department had decided in the negative ; end the House would see, that though was proper that Commission, of this nature should be continued long enough, there were reasons of economy against their being continued too long, The Noble Secretary in question, lied in consequence of time opinions. given by the Law Officers of the - Crown, changed his determination, and :orange merits were made to re-assemble. the Commission before the Lord Advocate left town. As to the observation, that the recommendation of the Com mittee bad not been complied with, it was the opinion of the Government that the inquiry should be terminated before they proceeded to act on the suggestion of the Commission. After-this expta station, he hOped'the Noble. Lord would not p ress for the production of •the correspondence. . Mr. J. P. GRANT was glad to hear the Commis sion was'io he again made effective. There was a Bill which had been introduced by the Lord Ad vocate, and which stood for to-morrow, for the regulation of the Court of Session. Much dif ference existed among professional men in Edin burgh, as to the provisions of the Bill, and he "roped there would be no objection to postpone it to the next Session, after it had been printed. Lord CASTLERHAGII Said, it . etas intended only to fill up the blanks. Lord A. HAMILTON consented to withdraw his motion. He• ptntested, however, against the principle of the Noble Lord (Lord Castlereagh), siz. that no ste was to be taken on the recom mendation of a Commission till it had totally ter initiated its lA - swiss. The Reports of the Com mission were on Courts entirely distinct from orig. another, and their inqeiries, under certain heads',' bad been for years quite complete. Mr. KeteeeD7 said, lie agreed with the Noble Lord (Lord Castlereagh), as to the impropriety of continuing too long this Commission as the expence of I'o,oool. a year was of some conse (Ocoee, be. wished to know how long it would :•tiow continue / _ Lord CASTLEREAGH said, the Commissioners bad estimated that in' one year they would com plete their labours. The motion was withdrawn. COLLECTION OF THE REVENUE. Mr. Hume rose, pursuant to notice, to call the attention of the House to the Collection of the Revenue ; and that he did in no spirit of hostility to Ministers. He would only bring forward such facts as were substantiated by documents on the table of the House. To are first Resolution he presumed no objection would be made, " That the !louse would institute a:minute, ingulry into all the branches of the public expenditkore, and watch over it with the utmost vigilance." The same Resolution bad last year been proposed by. Mr. Va►rsittart, when he proposed the atiditioual taxes. The second Resolution related to the collection of the revenue in the years 1796, 1810, and 1820 ; and a comparison of the expense of the collection in these years respectively ; as also the gross amount. The amount of the revenue in 1796, had been 23 millioris ; in 1810, 45 mil lions ; Bird in 1820 53 millions. In the last year the expen , e of, the colleciion bad borne a per cenrAge of 61. Is. 2d. forming an increase Of 20 per cent, above what it' had been be fore; in 1796. In that year the expen'e of col lecting the revenue had amounted to 1,700,0001., while in .1820 it had risen to the sum of 3.341,0001. At the time that the circulating me dian ii'ad r hied niucb ,depreciated, it Was but Lair that the salaries of littblietitlicers should be increased, but as that depreciation hatritt great degree ceased, the salaries ought to be reduced in the same proportion. So far, however, was that from being the case, that an additional ex pence of 160,0001. had taken place since January, `lBl9 and in 1820, an addition bad been made of 72 individuals above the number of those em ployed in the preceding year, .vith salaries in the aggregate of 4,9041. The dimimution of the ex pence its the last year had amounted to 59,0001. though in the Customs alone the reduction was 92,0001., which proved that au-hi - Crease had taken place in other departments. On Public Monu ments the reduction had been 14,0001. In 1796 tbe• expence of collecting the •Revenne had been 5 per cent.; and in the present year the total ex pence had been 3,341,0001. That calculation was confined to Great Britain, and did not include Ireland. In 1819 , the expences of quarantine amounted to 92,0001.,-and had increased in the pre• _ _ sent year. The Revenue of Ireland for 1820 was 5,220,0001., and the•gross per centage on collec tion was 161. Bs. 11d. and 201. on the net receipt, though in 1808 it had only been 151. He shook confine himself to the great heads at Revenue, ant lie must observe, that in general the increase in the Customs had exceeded that in the other branches of the Revenue . . In Scotland the per centege for colleCting the heveoue was 161. The Customs were under the control of the Treasury, while the Excise was partly under Commissioners. Though there had been an excess for the last year on the Excise, yet the excess had been more on the Customs. The reason was obvious. In the Excise, preferment was given according to se niority, while in the Customs it depended on interest, and not merit. In the City of Aberdeen, which he represented, the 'situation of ; surveyor became vacant; and instead of being bestowed on the next in seniority, it had been !given to a young man from Edin burgh, totally ignorant of the duties of the office. The place was worth 2001. a-year. A reduction ought to be made in the Customs equal to that in the Excise. The next point to which be should call the attention Of the House was that of Superannuation. In 1810, the amount of superannuation had only been 10,2491. But after, the Act of the 51st of the late King, it had increased, in 1817, to 61,3351,-in 1818. to 76,0001., and in 1819, to more than 80,0001. — The reason of that increase was obvious, as su perannuation added to the patronage of Ministers. That increase had not been confined to the Customs, but extended to all the departments, under the control)l of the Treasury. The Reve nue.in Scotland and Ireland- was collected at dif ferent rates front that of England, and that Mode of collection should be done away. While he was upon the subject of the Revenue, he Most obierve,.that .the Post Office was one of the best conducted of all the .Public Departments-: Ile should next proceed to the Office of Receiver. General ; and on that subject two questions: would arise, one of which related to the expence to the Public, and the other to the patronage of Ministers.. In that Department there were 95 distributors - of Stamps, and 65 Receivers-General in England and Wales, and his Resolution would go to state, that the duty might be done at a much less expence. - The salaries of these Officers amounted to from 40,0001. to. 50,0001. and the total amount of the balances was about 3-14,0001. w hile the whole of the ditty wits discharged by deputy. While the Receivers-General kept the balances for a quarter in their hands, in the Cus toms and Excise it was paid weekly into the Trea sury. Its London the taxes of a large district had been coiltcted without any poundage, and the individual thought himself sufficiently remunerat ed by the use of the balances. In the Post Horse Duty the. Pitblic had never lost a shilling, and a similar course to , that adopted in the case of that duty should he taken with respect to the other branches of 'the Revenue. The per ceot,ege should be taken away, and a salary be allowed. In the case of 10 Distributors of Stamps, there had been a deficiency of 390,0001., and the arrears for the present year, amounted to 115,0001. The next Resolution would refer to the Distributors of Stamps, some of whom bad balances in their hands to the amount of 100.0001. At the places where Stamps were sold, the public were made to pay at the rate of 71 per cent. In 1818, in Aber deen, 44551. hall .been paid as poundage to the Distributors of Stamps, while the duty might be done for a quarter of the stint : he hoped no ob jection would be made to the Resolution being entered on the Journals, to shew the opinion of the House. His first Resolution was, that, in order to hasten relief to the country, it was ex pedient that a minute inquiry should be made into the whote of the public expenditure, and the ut most vigilance be directed to the management of the Revenue. Mr. LUSH INOTON stated, - that the .Hon. Gen tleman, in adverting to the expencea of 179 G, had omitted to take into account the Departmeut of the Post Office, and that omission would come quently materially affect the result. The year `1797 would have afforded a better standard of comparison, es it had the same items of expence as the year 1820. At that time the salaries were small, and the . emoluments arose principally front tees. At that time there was no superannuation , and those diversities made it diffietilt to institute a comparison between the different periods noticed by the Hon. Gentleman. He (Mr. H.) had made Jo s iii . t . iike as to the per centa- t ,e w 1 l;c1, was °illy 51. 13s. Efd.'• Mr, flums4fere stated; that he had taken the account from the Dcidtments on the table. Mr. LirsitiNGToti ptiaceeded and said, that the Hon. Gentleman had taken the wrong line of figures, and that had been the cause of the mis take. He (Mr. H.) should have compared years when the state of the country was similar ; but, instead of that, he had compared a time of peace with one of War. The years 1617 and 1818 formed the prpper time of comparison with the present year ; and the Revenue and the Expendi ture of the present year were far more favourable than of the three preceding. The third Resolu tion might be adopted, though he should move that the others be negatived ; and in their room he should propose three of his own. The amount of the reduction for the present year had been much more than 59,0001. There was no ground for comparing the mode of collect ing the Heecnue in England with that prac tis.d in. Scotland and Ireland. Out of a sum of 330,000,0001. in the collection of the Stamo, from the year 1790. the arrear was only 130,0001. and of that 13,0001. only was a desperate debt. A demand was made each quarter for the balances in the hands of the Receiver General, and the poundage was 14s. 2d. Though in the case of the Di,tributors of Stamps the duty was done by deputy, yet Government looked only to the prir•.- cipal. The Superannuation had increased greatly since 1810, when a salary had been given in lieu of fees. But that had been attended with benefit to the Public, as men in the prime of life had been substituted for aged and infirm. The lion. Member concluded by stating, that be should move two Resolutions, declaratory of the state of the ReVenire in 1818 and 1819 ; and a third, stating, that a minute inquiry h ad been made into every.branch of the Public Expenditure, and that it was expedient that the same should be con tinued. Sir fi. PARNELL was of opinion that the great increase in the expence of collecting the Revenue had not been satisfactorily explained by.the last Speaker. By reducing the per centage front 7to 5 per cent. a saving of 1,200,0001. would accrue to the Public. • Mr. J. SMITH expressed his surprize that the first Resolution should be opposed. lo Ireland the system of the Revenue was a job; as 16 per cent. was paid in the net, andands 22 per cent, in the groat amount. LUSHINGTON and Mr. J. SMITH explained. MT.'W. SMITH said, that it was within his knowledge that a distributor of Stamps receives' 30001. or 40001. a-year. This person did his duty ai well as any man in the kingdom ; but he wished to know what 'any man could do in the dist' lbw , lion of stamps to entitle him to 40001. a-year.— The Chancellor of the Exchequer had said, that the Country" Bankers should not be receivers of the land-tax:; . but he believed they were so. The truth was, that the presetit Government was one of influence, and it ought not to be, nor should the•Count'c+ - Permit it, if be might he allowed to say so. The GovernMent would not want that influence if the People bad , a proper confidence in that House. No man could believe that the fair collection of the Revenue in 'lreliod could' cost 16 per cent. He was, however, iii despair that there was in this Country either power or perseverance sufficient to effect the'Reforni'necessafy to get the better of that influence by which alone tl►e pre . sent Government existed. Mr. TIERNEY said, that the general feeling of the public was, that. nothing was to be expected in that House : he- himself -had beep encouraged to proceed in these details by Mr. Pitt,•the great est financier that ever this country saw ;, but at last his exertions in that way became tedious to. the•llouse, and such would be the fate of every Man who endeav'oured in this manner to serve the country. He believed firmly, that if the Govern ment were fairly to meet the evils in the face, in order by true economy and retrenchment, t o bri g back the country to what it was fornietly, they would have the support of that House,or, at all events, of the Country. No malt 'could doubt that a great saving could he made in the money paid for the collection of the Land Tax, Stamps, &c. It bad been said that the collection of these Taxes had been carried on to the amount of 300 millions; without any loss but 13,0001. He would venture to say, that this collection might . bc made much cheaper, and with as little risk. He knew he was speaking in the wrong place about .the general collection of the Land Tax, the County Members being better able than he was to give an account of the 'profits of the collection of that tax. - He was ready to vote for the Resolution, wide) stated tliat 'tbe collection of the Land-tax and 'Stamps could be' done at a much cheaper rate to the Public ; and upon That I;e•was ready to 'take the Sense of the House; un lea Something Should occur in the course of the debate to alter his opinion. Tie CHANCELLOR of ' the EXCHEQUER CODsi dercd the Resolution's as useless. It was true that the Revenue of France was -easier and cheaper than that ollieland, for the principal Revenue of France was a Land Revenue. He denied that the Land-tax or the Stamp-duties could be better or c heaper collected than it now is. Mr. Hume replied. He defended his calcula tions, and contended that the balances of Reve nue Collectors should be paid over weekly. Mr. LusntsoTore again asserted that the Hon. Gentleman had committed blunders'in his reckon ing. The Gallery was then cleared for a division, which we were informed took place on the Reso lution relative to the Receivers-General of Taxes. For the Resolution Againit. it Majority — 25 HIS LATE MAJESTY'S WILL. Mr. Hume rose to make his motion respecting the late King's Will. - By the 39th and 4011 of the late reign, his, Majesty was allowed to sell any property which be might have purchased out of the Privy Purse, or otherwise. George I. dis posed of _certain of his property to the Duchess of Kendal ; but George 11. - set it aside. In the Re gency Act there was an appointment of Commis sioners:to manage his .111-; & jesty's property ; he therefore conceived it to be the duty of Ministers to take charge of all the property belonging to his late Majesty on his demise, and to bring it to the account of the pnbiic money under tbelr re: 9ponsibility. If they had done 'that, they done right ; but if not, it most have arisen fro m some other will which deprived them of the power, of doing so. He regretted that he was obl i g e d to make this motion, bat it arose from the no" willingness of Ministers to give any explanation un the subject. He then moved for Copies of of Minutes of the Lords of the Treasury respecting the private property of his late Majesty , and ant endeavours of theirs to ascertain the amount ofit• Tile CHANCELLOR of the.ExcHeaUßit said, WI was permitted by the King to state, that paPe r. belonging to his late Majesty had been fon"' that had not been reported upon• The total son l , of 90;000l. had been found to be the property to his Majesty, exclusiveaof the Wey mon estat e' which was on sale. This would, perhaps , shosf the House the impropriety of proceeding f urther with the inquiry.--;(Cries of withdraw !) Mr• Hume said, if this explanation lie d been given last night, he should not have made 1 0 motion. He should therefore withdraw it.. Lord CASTLEREAGH said, that the whole of bo Majesty's property. would-only he 105,0001. The motion was then withdrawn. BANK FORGERIES • The CHANCELLOR OF the EXCHEQUER Obtßitleil leave to bring in a Bill to prevent still further ibts forgery of Bank-notes.• - • After an observation from Mr. MABentsv, tit ° a sufficient titmice should be given to the CouotrY Bankers, Sir J. MACLINTOSH was happy to find that th e punishment for having - implemetits for forging ti le new notes was to be but 14 years' transportatio n. The Alien Bill was ordered to be read a seco , ' a time on Friday. The other Orders of the D.-iy were then dispose d of, and the House adjourned at ONE o'CLOc-g- BOXING. FIGHT BETWEEN MENDOZA AND OWES* Yesterday this . fight took place orl B a nste o Downs, fourteen miles and a half from Lotia °l " heiween the celebrated Mendoza and Owen (," conqueror of Bully Hooper), tor fitly guinekis a side ; also two oilier •6gilis.—The once gr eat fame - ot Mendoza, althbugh 55 years of age , rendered him the favourite' at 6 and. 5 to 4 ' Owen was known to be a good man, but it w as thought he h ad not science enough to oppose tho . accomplished Israelite. I ike tag end ot the 1 0411 was completely drained ; and the name ot Me" . .doza likewise attracted a number of swells frorl the West, who had not seen either of the .rbo e4 Ould ones fight. Owen is 5I years old. It l a upwards of fourteen years since either of algal entered the ring. Omen, attended . by -Crib AO' Josh. Hudson, threw up his hat first ; and Mtn' doza, tollo,wed by Randall and Harry Lee , re' prated the token of defiance. Mendoza vr ag loudly cheered, and backed 5 to 4. I. Mendoza, on throwing off his clothes, exhibited a ve d fine manly bust, his eyes sparkled with confidence, and the+ was altogether an appearance about him that seldom char," terises an individual of 55 years of age. Owen, on the O a ' trary, looked thin; and the tout ensemble was rather me 3 e 4 th ld. ttaauttuutr dt n fii w a minute ithout te % d v t. al e iin n emys f i eo s e rett: a .: l ca s it o d.h u i4t, p ,we w sa i * r d ict s ,rar t :f ee x5:11. Owen ny s x ti a an Some exchanges then't °° place, when they closed at. the ropes, au.d after an attenq r to fib on the part of Mendoza, which was frustrated by Osvec" . struggle for the throw took place; but its going downDal3• was ahe undermost.' Loud applanse. " Well clifine,l .o . , Sk from the"Clnistians ; and front the •Snyder , s, Dan, rod must win ;"- and 2.t0 1. an the Jew. 2. Mendoza ran in with great alacrity, and made a tart or pushing forwards and got Owen on the' ropes, when th e Lati n , went down and his beck gut scored from them. Great 4 plause for Mendoza. 3. The Jew behaved extremely handsome, and shewed good fighting; but Owen planted a treinendonsJtit on :" e r d sloza's left cheek, just under the left rye, 'whence the ell flowed copiously, and Mendoza went down—yet he jun*" gaily. Randall told Mendoza he should not have done 0 6 '0 "'Let These ould Ones alone" said Josh. +' they know. r a ..01 about fighting than you and I do." Even betting, but o%` fur c T hoi. . 0 0 eelatter -pugilist now gave the amateurs some traits of pugilism. Nlendoza again was nob 6 ed , and the c4cyli, was , profusely_ running. down his cheek. In going ". Owen was undermost. • • .0 ; 4 5. Mendoza now - shaved be was completely gone •b'/ lo t/ apy Superiority of fighting, and Tom Owen displayed 0. that astonished the sing. Mendoza received a dreadfol;3 oa • 6. Owen, in retreating from his antagonist, lan aga4" stakes. in struggling,. both went down. " 7: Here Tom Owen was the hero of the tale. He ' i t % big Mendoza, and got away with all the dexterity of a YouL;tif was now, only Mendoza by name—his excellence as.a 6S Ip had evaporated, and Isis hits were generally short. a close at the ropes, exhibited the advantages of his st°ll',lo held Mendoza as firm as If the latter had been sercirciiar:ak a vice, and pummelled him at the back of the neck .SO. fully severe, that Dan at length fell down exhaustetor " Bravo" from the Christians, and the Jews.werg 111- Junking. -O r . 8. Mendoza came to the scratch bleeding; and after 04..10'0 'three exchanges, Owen went down from a hit. -The will) were now roaring with delight, and backing MendY,l a 10 1 great confidence. 9. Lung sparring, and Owen convinced the speCtiO . r !;ill e i he was a pet feet waster of the art.. He hit, Mendoza front of the eye,Jobbsl him also in the face, and at 111 :,lir of the ropes. Owen-held Mendoza by the arm, and 07 10 him till' he'Went down.-2 to ►on 10. Owen gut away from his antagonist in fine sti lg ;tie. fact, Owen was every thing, and be quite satisfied tb t tilf fetus of the present period, that in his day he nid,siihfa been a boxer of first - rate .qualities. Mun duza was p" Id" all over the ring, when Owen threw his : o pponents a heavily upon hint.-3 to 1. 4 4 t 's '11 11. Mendoza was hit to pieces, and both your own, Tutu : and Duke's-place must all be rte, mourning." • hitt P se i 121lr, and last. Mendoza was quite :theism] gofib and at the ropes, he was again held by Owens ahisrfrie down. The Jews now sling out in grief " its o f trice ;" and Nlendoza said he would not .tight any O , OF - a po' f , was terribly puill.s•hed, •and defeated in iLt minitte!„l„ 01 ) „‘ seconds; while on the contrary, Owen had not a scrlsjob his face. The latter was carried out of the ring 1 4 Hudson, amidst the cheers of the spectators. . • WI; REsfaims.—Owen exhibited all the fine poin ts ors 4l lie got away—planted his hits , whic h were h e atry t. 7: .e d e . fp, dexterity, and won the fig: t in a style that astut?l,%ust one present. Alendoza is quite an altered nianas . and he could out make a hit tell. - SEetrar FR:HT.—West Country Dick and Vars_aVtilroe for a purse. This was au' excellent contests fitt rounds, occupying 23 minutes, victory was d eclare bor t of Dick. • elf 3 • THIRD Ft GUT —Harris, who distinguished hims time since with Green, entered the lists with a orw or el s o name of Wyber, also to!' a purse. It was a trtost b" tO O% and Wyber proved himself a game Mad; butnono• chance, and lust it in 31 rounds, 30 minutes. him away. --=------- . i t.l —. LONDON: Printed by .1. B. CARSTAIRS, of ''',. by "41 fi Ormood iF D o -street, Qua and pu blisbe ro , SCRIPPS, of Nn. 7, South 'Bolton-street, at or° Office, No. 112. St' and : where AdrettisenseD.l Letters, Acc. (Emit. pli4) must be addressed. , . . ~ ~ E T itg re t also usu a l to at ricer, If a liro u! ca m , toy tu b (.; ;tic Nll 1 4' {II I ftstat ' t te test Pou tk 44 } o t treit 4 1 4 au 4 'S d Pa l4l: Le ti eat liat - - - e. - P t hc I t vt bajir ~..., I ttco Rt. t , f*:,T A , * 4 .,, ar e titru 4 1I( °ld `l IIC c :Ll 4 l 116,, `'hit tv t , l 11 4 , :Ltd