The Sun. — London, England, 1821-02-10 00:00:00

preceding night. He reminded them of the lan , guage held resp ec ti ng. t h e fund-holder. By one it was proposed ' that he should be taxed—ano ther called him a monster-Land a third wished to devise some system to get at hiM. - He referred to these merely to shew to what a state the coun try was reduced, when it. was seen that the seve ral rrietribers of the community were ready to _make war on each other's property. Yet while things were in this situation, Ministers did not talk 'of relieving the exigting. distress. Night, after night they went on with the old stories of Committees of Supply and Ways and Means, and nothing was heard of Reform. Ile could not consent to go on thus and vote away the public, money, unless Ministers would pledge themselves to alter their system. lle.hoped the time would never co m e when the agriculturist and fund h older should war on each other ; he hoped the' property of both would remain eternally secure. great er monster than the fund-holder was to be foond in the placemen who sat in that House."' As lo ng as those , inefficient placemen, the Lay- Lord s of the Admiralty, and others who had little to do remained there, little good could be done for . the country. These, he contended, ought to be regarded as pensioners, and, as pen sioners,excluded froth that House. By a report made in 1508, it appeared, that there were 72 such placemen in the House who held in-' ':causes ; which annua ll y amounte d to no less than 1500001. Forty of these were enough to form 'a House, and could exercise all the functions of a Commons House of Parliament. Was it to be endured: that ire times like--these, 'such P e s°-ns shoufd sit there to obstruct those _who The were anxi ous t o e ffe c t an econom i ca l re f orm. — friend s Of retrenchment had another set of ° Piponerits in those who Were called the indepen- . dent. Members —Members, whose families and co nnexioria were 'maintained out of the taxes— I'aving situations as ,collectors of the Land-tax, - in the Excise, or as distributors oC stamps:— (Rear, hear, hear ! from the Treasury Bench.) — He would ask if the Chancellor of the Exche quer could deny the fact ? Could he deny that UW1)01'0118 lists came before him every day of the connexions of these independent Me nbers ? No man at the Treasury. could- say, that they were not constantly there after what they called their Property. He would stake his -life on the cor rectness of that statement. It was these two' s ects that prevented the accomplishment of a Reform —the 72 Placemen and the independent -.Members; who had nothing_in their own pockets it was_trite, but: whose families were supported out of the taxes.' When he considered that Mi nisters were thus supported, he was not surprised a ti t their ma j or i t i es ; he was only astonished that Ile opponents made so good a fight as they did. "le honed his Hon.. Friend (the Member for Xnar n. eshorough) would continue to support the 'terests of economical Reform. Another Hon. Gen tleman st could not he praised too much for - I„, i g, e sting an' improvement in ,the mode of col t`a.cting the taxes, by which a large sum might be ,4.!'d out of the enormous sum of 4,000,0001. n ot was now p a id, f o r th e i r co ll ec ti on . It - was the at a time like this that the 72 Placerneu and zvis r `` le Pendent Members ought to oppose the ea; e l s o the people. Without overstating the frig or o eitide Ministers, he was sure that a say -)000,000t. pet annum on ex- Pendit u -/-,‘ re might., be effected, and of course the . 4 - , - !es might be diminished to_that amount. But Would 'do this would be quite a different assetn and Would not only save this 4;000,0001. but would hold' out the 'happiest and most encou t King - Prosp e ct s tc. the c oun t r y. H e h a d i n - , :_nded t o offer these re mar k s aga i nst. t h e Speak leaving th e Ch a i r f or the House going into h_` - . o nnittee of Supply, but th a t opportun i ty 4 ving been avoided, he had taken this opportu atl of expressing his sentiments. He moved, as .i.,__lt erlen dment, that the Chairman sh ou ld re p ort I",ll74ress and as k l eave to s i t aga i n. fr e t he of the EXCIIE QUER said, th a t te Speech of his Majesty from the Throne, Tr , Wh i ch stated a reduction of the military establish e R , e , a diminution of the public expenditure was lie was ha ts' ppy to. inform the H ou s e , be des in that xpoctation the co un t r y wou ld not a ,- not • nt e d :he had ev er y reason to hope, air i ndeed th at a re d uct i on of four millions, or • 00 0l Y na th j i- 'g so` large' could b e effected, but that th e ; Pa r ing the estimates of the p re s en t v e ar w i t h fea r c Preceding, -there would probably be a di scuss ?; one million. He was very willing to h at be that wh en th e E st i mates came to be voted, 6f t h e sa w no benefit in mixing up the discussion the notir(Penditure with every question before the r tb _ ', ll --• The question novv - only was, out the wh e iciisual annual taxes should he voted, with- C.. .010t1.0 the service could not go on. ' t , t DA:vie s W as o f op i n i on t h e est i mates li n:ti e roduced b e f ore grants were propose d , • Pit ge ti'''', 4 ght the 'h ouse ought to feel greatly eCt foe- 14 , 3. 4 1. don. Friend for bringing the sub .tkr r eY esti mat In the Session before last, the ^l. 4 a , , e s Were n o t produced till the mon th stu s; of-',l3"o.Which ti me near l y t h e w h o l e o f t h e had b et ,,,., ' D° °looo/. f or th e serv i ce o f th e A rmy - th at 4. 11,1 1 . : v oted. Though it might be pleaded sued h y custom justified the course pur 'enghto •linister s , he thought the Estimates S • be Produced. at the beginning of every essmn " SrW of Parliament, lie wished the Secretary ask e d him ' been present, as he would then have ti the Ar m y Estimates were to be tPirleodittici : I l e e n hadn i- o ‘ Zt y wo questions to put to h ow " Hon. Gentleman. He wished to know much of the 1,000,0001. to be saved, would be saved on the- Army and wh e th er or no t t h e P cr r act!c e of smugglingl,ad been p reven t e d f rom l e _asnle; by the ex ert i ons of the Navy and the Re "Me Officers ? The Cu ANCELLOR of the, EXCHEQUER declined answ ering these q uest i ons at present. ' Mr. I - ,ocKnAnT was aware that the mode- Pused by the lion. Gentl p ro eman (M r . C reevey). Pe as i a s not usual ; but aft e r th e statement made last f ight r l o , the House could not be called upon toggle • _ trust and confidence. It h a d _b een j ustly stated by a Noble Lord, that no b reac h should he le, c•le on the r a ti onal faith. Nothing could he Jacked to but economy on the part of Ministers. - 114. had no doubt that the taxes were imposed and collected legally ; but the question eras, were they collected equitably ? T hey had been unposed 'in. _monies numbered, and it was always.meant that enough, would be left to support the parties taxed. On account of the depreciation of too-, ney, an increase of salary, was granted to dilfe-' rent Public Functionaries, and .to the -Members of the Royal Family. But now -that things had come back to the level of. what they were 30 years ago, no retrenchment -had been made in favour of the People, lie did not wish to dis— turb the fundholder in the receipt 'of . his. divi dends; but no injury could arise from equal taxation. En the Roman history, one class had: been so oppressed by-usury., that they abandoned the city. Ile wished the Government to attend to economy, and to chew the people that they., were interested in their welfare. As a diminu tion of expellees had taken place in the -price of the articles of life, a corresponding retrenchment ought to* be made. Mr. HustE would enter his protest against the misrepresentation.of the speech of the. Member for Taunton (Mr. Baring). The object of the Right Hon. Gent: was to continue the tax. on malt, as well as spirits, though, by the. Act by which it was granted, it Was to expire within a limited time. But the continuance of a single tax should not be voted till Ministers came forward with a statement of their intentions as' to retrenchment. The tax was demanded on the ground s of a reduction of a million having been :node in the public expenditure; but the Chancellor of -the Exchequer. had stated, in 1817, that the expences of last year would only be 17 miliions,when,insteadof that, they had-amount—. ed to 10 millions, being two millions above' his own calculation. With the exception of the sala ries of Ministers, which had received no increase, the salaries and emoluments of all other classes of Public men had been kreatly increased. In Eng land and Scotland individuals had been kept in office, for the sake of patronage, at an expense to the Public'of from Ito 200,0001. But should he: divide alone with his Hon. Friend, he Should op pose the proposed tax. Had the Income Tax been continued, there would have been no re-• trenchment. Mr. R. WARD said, that the higher Officers' in the Ordnance had been reduced—his own salary to the amount of .6001. a-year ; another to, the amount of 5001.; and a third to the amount of 3001. Mr. lIUME stated, that the Storekeeper of the Ordnance had retired with a' salary. WARD--The Storekeeper has retired %yid' no,salary at all.—(A laugh.) Mr. HusKrssoN said, that the simple question , before the House was, that the tax of one shil ling a bushel on ,malt, which had existed since the reign of Queen Anne, should be continued. But the discussion had branched out into vatious topics. The ground upon which the AesolutiOn was opposed is, that the estimates are not before. the House. It would he most extraordinary if there should exist a disposition on the part of Ministers to refuse - it ;* but he could. assure the House it was no such thing, and-that no grant of any kind for the army or navy should be made until the Estimates were laid before the House. He thought it most desirable that it should be so, for it gave Gentlemen an opportunity of exa-.. minim; them. But he thought the observations whictl'hati hean_trtade rather pre%ature : and he agreed with the If onour‘able Gentleman opposite (Mr. Lockhart), that if the people were to unite and turn the attention of the Legislature to their distresses, they would best _serve their own interests. Sir J. Nzweottr was glad. to hear from the Right lion. Gentleman opposite that the distresS complained of by the Birmingham Petitioners was-not general: He .hoped the Right Hon: Gentleman would take an opportunity of stating what were the districts which enjoyed prosperity. With respect to the Estimates, fie was willing to allow that in time of war they could not be got ready by the opening of Parliament. But now that we were at peace, he saw.no rea sonable objection to .pursuing sitch a conrse.—; They ought to be taken into consideration before the Session, if Ministers had any view to re trenchment, without . being driven to it by, Par= liament. He strongly objected to the manner in which the business of the lion,ze was transacted. It was not uncommon to see forty or fifty Bills go through the different • stages at the end of a Session when there were scarcely any Members present. The consequence was, that the Bills passed in so defective a state that they were obliged to be brought in to be corrected in the next Session. He recollected a Bill. hav ing passed both Houses of Parliament to im pose a duty upon madder; in which it was afterwards discovered that the word Madder had been entirely left out.--:-.(A laugh.)—An Hon. Friend near him reminded him of another case in which a Bill had ,passed confirming-, the sentence of a man who was to be imprisoned for six months.—" The half of which," it stated, 4c was to go to. the King."—(A laugh.)—The other branch of the Legislature .had complained that Bills were sent up to them so late, that, as they had not time .ta examine. them, they refused to pass them at all, Such faCts as these must tend to disgrace the House in the .eyes of .the whole country. He hoped this subject would be taken into conaideration• without reference to the:party from whence it came, as he disclaimed all feeling of hostility in pressing it .upon the attention of Gentlemen, opposite.—(ll ear, hear!) _ _ litlstossoN had not stated that other dis tricts were in a flourishing situation in compari son with the Birmingham Petitioners ; but that they were in a progressive state of improvement. He begged to assure the . Right Hon. Member that he could produce to him proofs, which would satisfy him that many of our Cotton and Wool len Manufactories were in a state or improve ment. With .respec4•to the errots in the Bills which had been alluded to, they were mere ver bal inaccaracies, which might occur under any circumstances whatever. Mr-BROWN complained of the depressed state of the Linen Manufactories in Ireland. With respect to the cause of the general distress, be believed it to be the great exertions to which the country had been driven. It had been placed by a great and glorious war, in the very highest rank arnorig-,..nations. Thank Cod, /_ was so. , ut the struggle had prOdUced the effect wlt C i it e now comp-lained he believed the etnerkee cies of our situatidu could Only have been Met and .remedied by One masterly hand. That mas terly hand was now. no itiore=L--he meant the late Mr.. Pitt.---(Hear, hear !)--The Hon. Member then compared the state of. Ireland with that of this country,'and concluded that the former was by far the most lamentable. • • Mr. II usaissos explained. • C r..tosto NE'thought the agriculturist" was a good deal distressed by the reduction in the quantity of bread now consumed.. This Ilo'4se was not competent to give any .permanent relief, by a Legislative Act—that was only to be-effect= ed'by'a gradual return to the' ancient • state Of things. regard to the Petition presented last night from Birmingham, it -appeared to him that the distress complained of was' owing to local causes.—(The lion. Member was here cAll ed to order by- the Chairmani•who reminded liim that it was irregular to allude to the debate of another night.) . Mr. 13:touoitAm then interfered, and •in •a warm 'manner complained - that the lion. Chair man was not warranted in calling the lion. Rem ber to order as he • did. With great subthission to the Chairman, •it appeared to him, that in a Committee of Supply every Member was at li berty to allude . to any subject whatever which was connected with the general 'state of the na tion.—(Hear.) Mr. BIt6GDEN had no wish to dictate to the Committee, but thought _himself called upon. to interrupt the lion. Member when he was taking a course which 'appeared to Ern irregular.— (Hear !)—He admitted that in a Committee of Supply a Membercoiiid allude - to any topic con nected with the state of the nation, but he was yet to learn that it . was r egu l ar t o a ll u d e ' t o a former .debate. iro submitted to the lesson-which had been read him by'the lion. and Learned Gen tleman, and he would.only say - that he. left it en tirely to the Committee to say whether or not the ifon. Member aught to proceed. (Hear!) Mr. Bnoucu.un said, that from the many -al,. lusions made to the'suNect to-night; it could be hardly said to be the debate Of another night. The lion: Member seemed to him to 'be answering some observations which 'had been made on the petition from Birmingham that night in the Corn mittee.—(Hear.) Mr. BIZOGDEN repeated, , that he-left it entirely with the Committee whether the Hon. Member would .proceed or not.----(Go on!) • Mr. Gr.ansT.os, resuminz, said, that by.let ters lately received from Liverpool, he was in formed that the wages of the men were consi derably raised the: e. In some branches. of ma nufacture a considerable improvement had;taken, place, but others were not in so forward a:mate. With regard to the depression in the iron trade, some time ago ave imported all our iron from Russia and Sweden,' but now we not only fur nished enough for the home consumption of the United Kingdom, but supplied many of the fo reign markets: The Von. Member then, in an swer to some allusions; stated, that none of the persons filling Government' situations in pver cool were related to or in any Way connected with the present or late Members. CaZEVEY asked if Mr. Faulkner was not aTreTatiye of Gen. Ttiiil toh, gi d witetter4t Mr. Staiiniker, Comptroller of the 'Post-office.at Li verpool, a place -worth 4000 L a year, was not related to some-late Members? Mr. GLADSTONE said, he was not awar6 that the individual in question. wasa relation of either of the present or late . Memtier's. The support which those Gentlemen used to give Ministerial candidates was that support which one independ ent Gentleman gives another. Mr. CnEEVEY was : sorry to mention names; and, in fact, Mr. Stanniker was a particular friend of his. He had, however, heard that this Gentle man was brother-in-law to Mr. Bolton, and when there was a contest for the place which he now tilled,Lord Lonsdale•was - applied to to support him.—(Order.) _ _ Mr. 13noonEN suggested, that these personal allusions were irregular. Mr. WESTEttN would not vote a-shilling, of the public money until some reduction was made iii the public expenditure. This would in the end ruin the country, for when the expenditure was more than the taxes, what else than ruin would follow ?He asked, was this tax-'a renewal. of the additional tax on malt, which had .been im poSed two years ago?. He thought that' addi tional tax most impolitic, and• he gave,notice that he world bring forward a specific proposition for reducing it. Mr. ifusKissoN explained, that there were two malt duties ; one, .which, with the land tax ) was perpetually appropriated to support the Civil List ; the other, additional one,. not perpe tual," nit appropriated to the Consolidated Fund, in iSIS. It was this latter, the continuance of which was contemplated by the present Resolu tion. He-denied that within the last year, there was any diminution of tlw Consumption of malt, for, in fact, the returns exceeded -those of the two or three years before. Mr. FORRE'S said a few words in support of the Resolutions, which were not distinctly audible. Mr. CluitvrY saidohere was one Resolution Which related to some Excise Duties, which would expire in July next., and the Resolution proposed to continue it. This was a uew Tax to all intents and purposes. He should not .divide the House upon the Malt Tax, Mat upon the Resolution to which he had referred. Sir W. DE CRESPIGNy spoke against the system of collecting the Revenue. It was his intention shortly, to bring it before the attention of the House. Sir PRANCIS 13tAti.r. defended the late Corn:- mittee of Supply, which had been denominated farce by an ( ilon :7 Membvr_ (Mr. CrOevey) theit present. If it was a farce, it was rendered so by the acting of the:Hon. Gentleman himself.— (Loud laughi►►g.)- The following Resolutions were than carried without a division :—The 'Annual Malt:Duty— The 'Ex.cise Duties on Tobacco and Snuff—The renewal of the *Duties upon Pensions and Offices. . _ The Resolution for the renewal of the Sugar D6tics was pu'. ttratiz: , :s . were ordered to withdraw.— Lie Hott:;'j C:en divided ppon the ei: th , neSvltitiop Agailisq it v .; . . The house hav;ng, restirtid, .it Ives ordt , ::,-! that the Itepfirt of the Csp.-nrsitti_:c• should. be re ceived on rvlotitay. PRP:SWF:NT OP TtlE Br) OP CONTtIO:A.. Mr. Hume rosy to call the attention - of the House to the Subject, Whether or nnt.the Hon. the Presicrent of the Board of Controul had not vacated his seat i i that-IfOuse by his appoint= meat td that °lce. If the appointment was dat ed prior to his taking his seat, then he • did not vacate his seat but if subsequent to, it, it ott;ht to follow, that the Right -Hon: Gentleman's S:ea s t. in Parliathent was vacated. He wished to See the warrant nf„appoiamept, in order to ascertain its date. The House (ight not to be ittdifferck to.the inroads that Were making every day upon the CmiStitution of the country. 'When any one at that side of the House called for any thing like Reform; they were tinswered that the'House was averse to innovations. By the 6th of Ann,any one holding an office of profit under the Crown, was absolutely disqualified from sitting in that House. it was contrary to the spirit of the Ten stitution that Gentlemen, holding places at the discretion of the CroWn,should have seats in that House; yet there W', at this atoll - tent, four iti divi:ltials )rofessedly servants 'of the Crtiwni who, in the teeth of the Statute of Anne, mingled their votes with the proceedings of that 'House. When the Beard of.Contt'oul was first instituted, it was never intended that the. Comniisgidners were to receive Salat•ies. Things went on in this Way from 1784 to 1793, when by the 23d „Geo. 3. 5,0001. was divided amongst the three Commis sioners. Since 179: - .1, every President of . the .Board, on. his cOming.into pace, vacated his seat as a matter of course. It mi',fht be said that the . President received no, ; but was not his extensive patronage more than money ? He contended that patronage being " emolument" was within the meaning of the Act. ,By a statement published two years ago: by a late Member of tlrat House (Mr. Grant) it appeared that the President of. 'the Board of Controut had at his disposal no less than 500 regular appointments. Perhaps the present R:ght Hon. Gentleman hadf not yet had his share of these ; but the. late President, within the,last year, appointed 26 'cadets, 2 writers, and 40 assistant surgeons.—(lfear!)—This patronage was worth 12,0001. Not long 'since a Noble- Lord was charged at the Bar with buying a seat in that House, and the price which , he appeared to have given for it, was to procure one writer's place.— in November last the late President appoint ed two writers ; which, was in fact worth two seats in Parliament. • This patronage the Cum- missioners exercised though the- 15th- .clause of the Act referred to. was 'intended to limit it. By returns into which he had looked, be ascer tained that the whole expence of the Board of Con troul was to the East India Company 803,0001. This Board which cost so much, and which ought to have cost nothing, the duties of it were dis charged by one Commissioner. The lian.Mem: ber concluded, by moving for a copy of the ,war rant of appointment in Letters Patent,. by .whit} the Right lion. C. Bathurst was appointed a Pre shield or the Board of Tnide. Mr. C. BATuuItST had no objection to the in , troduetion of the documents ; but lie thought the Hon. Member should presume that he was . un wil ling to produce them before he argued on them. The 33. Geo. 3, gave all officers under the Crown, who did not immediately fill offices' of prof:t, a right to sit in that House. He received uo salary from the office, and .he therefore - did ,not COMA under the operation of the Statute of Anne. ITN knew nothing of what the patronage of office was. With regard to the otter two Connnissioners, he could-assure the Hon.3'lember that they has not by any means sinecure places —they had often long reports to draw up, and were constant in their attendance in their du- ties. His name was only put in the place of Mr. Canning's, and by the law there was no such office as a President of the, Board, they being all called simply Commissioners. Mr: CREEVEY contended; that a regular salary of 500Q1. a year was cut out for the President of the 'Board of Controul. .lie insisted that it was a place of profit, and as to the duties . of the other CommiSsioners, he never could see what they had to do. At the same time that the warrant of office was pro:,lnced,-he would wish that a return of the, share of the'patronage which the Presi dent of the Board of Controul enjoyed should be .produced also. Mr. W. SMITH asked if a considerable patron age was not attached to the office, which:might be considered as equivalent. to a salary. It was well known , that formerly the ,constant price given for a writership in India was 30001. and upwards. Then a great influenee aros&from, the power of appointin , T cadets. He did not impute to the Right Iton. " 'Gtmtleman that te.wished to derive any such emoluments ; but he would say., that the power of these.appointments greatly'in. creased the influence of .the Crown in that House, just as much as if the . salaries We're paid out of the Civil List.--Mr. BATIIULIST explained. Mr. M. FITZGEtt ALn - tho9lA-ht this a matter of so much importance that it was imperative "on the House to inquire whether the. !tight .Ho. Gentleman.held his, Situation in violation of the taw of the. land. .Every' other •office,nrider-.the Crown might be held durin'the Session of Par liament, as long as the holder ,of it refuSed - for that time to ac-cept the ernolumepts of it. It he possessed the patronag '' e of this office, be could (notwithstanding all the ease with which he gained his seat in Radial - new) obtain it stillmora easily, by being able to bestow t. o .6.Cadetshipo t , Writerships, and so many situations, ,as- As sistant Surgeons, among leis constituents.. When Lord Melville 'was at the head of this Hoard, In. dia was peopled. with aspiring - youngScotchmeri. 'Then, came a change' for the better.; and..wheu a►► Irishman got at the head of it, none hut Irish. men got appointments in India. There would, he nosv . hoped, come a still happier change ; and England would at last have her due share in the a4viitages to be derived from East India,.Et.; , - tronage. - • ;._.. . . BATH - tin:4 explained: L (4114- , no-t neces sary to examine the ,propriety or unpropriety of the patronftgi , t.. Tile til_testien,itzEtkediatply before the I,lonse•vvas a mere question ,of law. , A raft ORP looked. at. TueStlLn diff:t . - .renti); hiS Holt. 1~, tend lie conieisnd thijt . the Act iu questidd intended to' seild; the . tleditier to his COnstittient§ that they prod-wince' . their ofOion . updd his iild'epi.".llflence;_ sliip . etraecilied that the C; - otiOitiii-tnts,d,tlie Hon. Gentleman. were• not todislike .hint in ocirisequente of fits havido- accepted this ricer office. Mr: Cdtrail4E+ 'explained' the. rmilitie :of the business attached to the Beard. to which' th,t Hon. Mentber is Secretary. There was.n6 salary attached - to the office ; avid as' to the t .' argu'ineint respecting patronage, he should n - dt cdvideseicd to rehly to it. 'there could . certainly be no doubt that the patronage_ of the. Crown cr;etiti•d obligation, but the same argurnent would applf to ribbandi and all other lionoiirs which ernatiatetl from the King. In short, if the argil:nen( could hold, there would be no point to which it might not be carried. • • • Mr. DElimArl said, - according to the practice now obServed, there woulik he-in extreme fat-litY of eVadincr the law.; for a Member i - ttiht sit in Parliameilt7f6r any length of time, and theti receive the whole arrears of salary due to him, ire .wished to kno - W what Wai to becothe of the salary I Was it to be reserved for this Right lion. Gentleman who lately resigned the office-- (No,.td.)--,-Qr. WaS the. Right Hon. G-entlemart who now held the office likely to fall into the : receipt of his salary at any future period?—(o6 l S. 4—At all events, he expected that an account: would b gien of tiiis salary. He had heard of a Gentleman who, after having held an office for some years anti retired from the same, received. all the salary attached to it. Lord BINNING said he felt it necessary to rep i.l the nuation thrdwn out by the Learn e d Geotienwi !Milt lion. Friend of his, who was incapable of aciing in tba Winner he snpposed. a.,ured the Ntd.,Te Lord he threw out nO such insinuation. fle !pertly stated; that a ease of the kind to*ht happen: ' tikied tiny Man tniayttiat hii Itikfirffnu. Frieud'wns capable of acting in the way ir,sinnat.(l by the . Learned Gentleman. Mr. DENMAN declared he Made no sock He did nut mean to reflect on any indiyidual whhtever. But . he wished to know Whe was to become of the salary if th 6 person the office did not teceire it ? Mr. AsTF.LL paid a coMpliment to the manner in which his Itieht Hou. Friend had filled his Office. 'nit! salary of .he office; if n,it receive,l by the person hotding it. would neige into the fttnds of the compAtif.—(Hear, bear !)—The notion was then,agreed to. Mr. HITME next morel for the last Qoart&ly Warrant, authorizing the payment of the sltiAry.• Colonel DAVIES asked what was to' became of the which vr,ss not to be teceired by the Right Honourable gen tleman. Mr. RATFILTIIST said hr was not °Waked tri answer that qui•stion; but he understood the Sala' y was to be saved to the India Company The tuotiott was azreed to' with the om4sion of tie word' " quarterly."—At ELEVEN I he'liouse adjourned.' BRIGHTON, 'FEB. 8. RETURN:If the KING and the PRINCESS AUGUSTA At half past three o'clock this aftprnoon' on; 'most *gracious SOI , ERFTGN, accompanied in his. travelling carriage by Sir 13. BLOOMFIELD, gladden ed our population by returning to the. Palace here. About 3uo of ,the, 851 h, under the cornmanil 13sTn,•nith the colours and band at' the .regiment, were drawn up near th e - Pa-lac;; north gate 'when his :NlAuEsTy arrived, with -a, string of carriages filled- with Nobility, and -ft. crowded- concourse ,Of the inhabitants of the town. The military presented arms, and their band struck up the national anthem, as the SO YERE!GN passed, while the ladies waved' the r handkerchiefs from the carriage windows, ,and. the populace rent the air with their joyous accia-- •mati9ns and quick repeated peals of buzz Ilis MAJESTY several tithes bowed, and:'..the expression -of his countenance was regar with pleasure, as it beamed the assurance that he rightly appreciated the character of the scene h.t contemplated.—The Princess Atic;usTA accom panied by Lady MARY TAYLOR, alighted,at the Palace about two hours subsequently. Ro y , AT, SoCIiTY.--fit the sitting of the Roy'al. Society on Thursday evening, a Captain li..A.rrati. read,an interesting paper on the subject of a vol cano, which he has discovered . in the moon. . examining the dark part of , the moon through a telescope, he perceived a bright 'sp9t. resemblin,• a-star ;- and subsequent observations convinced him it was a volcano. As that •part of the :moon in which it situated, has now becorne illiuminat ed, the volcano is no longer. visible, and before the period for observing it returns, it will proba bly have ceased to be in a state of eruption. DUEL PREVENTED.-Information having been received that a duel wus to take place early yes terday, between a Captain S--ti anti T.. H. a Gentleman of fortune, the latter was watched when he left his house, in the vici nity'of Mary-le-Bone New-road, at five o'clock 'yesterday morning,„ a - nd repaired to Finchley Common.;:the opposite. party 'arrived soon after : but some suspicion was , excited, and the parties returned to London, having •avoided any, _thing like preparation for a_breach of the peace. The constables' orders were tp aPprehend the parties preparing for the duel. Match to.oallc Seventeen Miles in. Three 719-.trs. —A Gentleman of the name •of BtwmonottsT, matehe_d.hinaself, on the - last day of January, for 1.00 guineas, to do the. above great match, and he started' yesterday morning on the .Bexley road. One of his ancles began to swell : , tt the 13th mile, which increased .so much that he resigned the task, after doing 14- miles in two, hours and /8 minutes. A. man was offered to be backed on the ground ,to.run. two miles..in ten minute9.' The race was made for ten guineas, :and. he won it by nine ; seconds. . • There was a St. Lutieg ;Meeting yesterday to address the QUEmana petition- Parliamerit, but it preseniedno RC W feahlre;• • • , Captain GOUGH, of the 'First Regiinent of .Life Guards.; who was tried by a Court Martial at Knightsbridge. Barrack •6r the 17th ult., on charges preferred by CAIRACIC, has been honourably acquitted. • ...