The Sun. — London, England, 1801-03-31 00:00:00

G Evidence printed, as, in his mind, nothing se clear and so decisive had yet been offered on the sub. Sett. He then proceeded to suggest those remedies which he thought most likely to answer the pro posed ends. He meant merely to throw them out, in the hope that Ministers would digest and im. prove them, which his imperfe& abilities were unequal to. He first proposed that the number of Bankers should be taken, and, as far as possible, the. extent of the Paper Circulation ascertained. It may be said this was a private transaftion, with which the Legislature should not interfere, but he insist. 1 ed that, where private transaaions tended to public injuries, it was the duty of the Legislature to inter. fere ; there were two Ails, he said, passed this reign, the effect of which went, in some degree, to restrain these issues, a measure which was much more necessary at present. He would also suggest the expedient of laying on a shilling Stamp Duty upon every Note issued ; this would have the et_ feet of abridging their circulation—if not, the Public would have Five per Cent. out of the im mense profits of those Bankers. Another exile. dient, the effeEts of which would be very beneficial, was the establishment of Public Granaries. A great difference existed between the weights and measures in different parts of the kingdom, and these he thought should be equalized. With respeet to the sale of Corn in the Metropolis, he thought there should be two instead of one marker, which would give the Public those benefits obviously resulting . from competition. Another important considera tion with reaped to the prices of Grain was, the immense body of Cavalry maintained in the kingdom, for which number he thought there existed no . necessity. The immense' quantities of Land lying waste, from seven to eight Mil lions of Acres, was another cause of the present evils ; were these reclaimed and taken into eulti iration, the most beneficial effetts would be pro duced. He also thought that all the Country Markets should be held on the same day, as by the present mode, a great opportunity was afforded to the machinations of Forestalling, &c. These were the principal points which the Noble Earl suggested in the first instance, as likely to obviate in their adoption, the evils comp k lained of; and he conclud ed by moving, " That it be an instrudion to the Committee of the House, to inquire into the extent of the Paper Currency, and what' etre& the same has with respeEt to the present High Prices of Pro. visions." On' the Question being put, Lord HOBART said, it was notshis intention to follow the. Noble Earl in the various statements he had just delivered, but he observed that -the Morion was at least unnecessary, ae the Committee whom it was proposed to instruet,. were diligently employed in investigating the very important sub. .jets under their akasideratiOn. That he was con. fident that whatever appeared to them most wise and expedienito recommend, they would do, and they were already Considetably advanced in their work. He therefore thought it improper; at present at least, to instrua them Upon any particular point. With respea to an Official Document, to which the 'Noble Earl seemed to allude, the Letter of a Noble 'uke, he was upon inquiry, fully convinced that every line of it was justified. by the existing circumstances, and its circulation through the Country was attended with very beneficial effect:. In regard to the Noble Earl's observations on the late Harvests, and the state of the Country with =sped to Provisions, he begged to refer their Lord.. 'ships to the important Reports of both Houses of Parliament ; from these, on which his Lordship observed somewhat in detail, it would appear that the present Scarcity was to be attributed to the dis pensation of Providence, and which, otcourse, was the operating cause of the high Prices. With re. sped to the point on which the Noble Earl Laid so much stress, the Country Banks, he was not then prepared to give a decided opinion ; but he was certain the House would feel the impolicy, not to pay danger, of treating upon that system by means of which this Country has risen to an unexampled height of prosperity and happiness ; and they should en tertain, with the utmost caution, an y proposi tion tending to interrupt t hat system , or to tr enc h upon any particular branch of Commerce. In regard ' to the high Prices'of Corn arising from th ese , or fro m t h e War, no positions could be more erroneous ; the latter had already been ably argued arid de -eided upon by the House. Added to which, the Reports of the C'ommittees he had already referred to, and a reference to the prices of Corn in former years, particularly in 1793, 4, and 17 97 ( resp thi n o- ‘ihich his Lordship entered into some detailed c:lculations), shel,vecl the falsity of the po sitions. In these periods the issue of Country Bank Paper was never thought of as the causes of the high prices, why then should it produce that effc6t now t He then touched upon the point of the Waste Lands, respecting which the Committee were then busily employed, whose merits, in what they had already done, was very ably pointed out by the Noble Lord, as well as those beneficial effects which the Public had every reason to expeCt would result from their future labours. The Earl of WARWICK shortly delivered his sentiments. He seemed to say, that much of what had fallen from the Noble - Earl anticipated what he himself had proposed to suggest, and to incline in favour of the Motion. Lord AUCKL AND observed, that the Noble Earl had attributed much of what he had to depre tate) to a pop u lar cause, and one which was in general very-ill understood. 'What the Noble Earl said, had a tendency to shake the Commercial Sys tem of the Country ; the nature and process of the Institutions so much descried, were 'egregiously misconceived—the issue was for value received — the Point was plain—the issuer was ultimately an. werable : his sign upon the paper gave it value, as the stamp upon a piece of metal gives it a nominal, or a different value from the real. These banks create a little circle of security round them ; the proceed. ing was similar to that of lending money. When the Paper came round again it was repaid by the Is. suer. His Lordship entered into some calculations to evince that these establishments had far from an injurious tendency, and concluded by expressing his hope, that on a question of such delicacy and importance, the House would be led by its own hood sense, and nut induced to tamper with that sys. tern► which had-conferred the greatest piaaital Bene_ fits upon the Country. The Dub , of ATHOL ekpressed his oPinion that the scarcity complained of principally arose from the dispensations of Providence, and entered into some details to shew that the establishment of the Pro vincial Banks, particularly in - the Northern parts of the kingdom, had produced some very salutary e ffe Cis . Earl DARNLEY did not materially objea to the Motion of the Noble Earl, at the same time that he doubted the expediency of it. After a few words from the Earl of SUFFOLK, ill reply, his Motion was put and negatived. SCARCITY. The Earl of WARWICK rose to make a Motion .on the Subject of the existing Scarcity. His Lord ship said, he still adhered to the opinion which he had formerly stated to that House, that the present Scarcity arose not :1 - OLn real but from artificial causes. He adverted to tho number of Ships, and other Craft, loaded with Grain, in the River Thames, as well as the number of Warehouses fiile with the saine commodity on both sides the Rig Cr. His Lordship proceeded to enter into minute eticu_ lations as to the average produce of Acres of Wheat, compared with the price at whiCh he theiight it could be sold. He stated the distresses of the Poor Labourer, unable to buy food for himself atid and the necessity there was, either for a Rcdudtion of the Price of Grain, or for an Increase of the Price of Labour. After animadverting on the sentiments expressed by Mr. Alima Sm TH, and other Writers, his Lordshi v rn'Perted to the opinion he had former ly expressed in favour of a Maximum, and as 'a pre paratory and necessary measure, wished the extent or . the Population of the Coantry might be ascer-, tained, and at the same lime, the Quantity of Grain, the produce of last year's growth. His Lordship concluded with a Motion to this effeet, that the Magistrates in the different Counties, Cities, and Corporations, through - out Great Britain, be direct ed to require a Statement, upon oath, to be de livered to theM by Corn Dealers, and. Corn Growers, of the Quantity of Wheat, &c. either sold or raised by them, bince•the loth of April last, distinguish ing the average Prices, and the Quantity still on i nand. The Earl of MORTON said, that not only in his capacity as a Member of Parliament, but also as a Magistrate, he, must *Et" to the Noble Earl's Motion, upon the groUnd of the impratlicability of obtaining the Account which was the professed ob. jed of the Motion. Nothing short of a positive Att 01 Parliament could aimpel Co►n_dealers, &c. to a compliance with such a requisition ; nor, if they were so obliged, would it remedy the , evil complained of. -- Mg Duke of IkONT ROSE also opposed the Mo tion, as being of an injurious tendency, as well as impracticable to be complied with, It 'ended to make the lower orders dissatifted wit% their con dition, and instead of bring, resived to. the dis pensations of Providence, to attempt a remedy by force against those whom they were led to imagine caused an artificial Scarcity. The quantity of Ships loaded wit:i grain in he Port of Lond , m was no proof of a superabundance of that article in the Country. He had heard much clamour raised on that account, but without foundation. In times of Sciiseity, ?,11,1, whither Corn was brought from such Counties as might have good crops, and purchased on behalf of the inhabitants of' other Counties, where the Crops had failed ; and supposing in two neigbouring counties, ;ts Somerset and Devon, that there was a ..leficieney of Corn in the one, and an abundance in the other, instead oftheir buying and selling imme diately with each other, the Sellers and Purchasers would both resort to the London market. This alone accounted for the unusual quantity in the River, but was no proof against an existing Scarcity in the Country at large. His Grace stated the mi nute investigation of the Committee, and if the No ble Lord (WARw c it) had any ideas or information to state on the subject, he thought it would be much better for him to do so in the first instance, than to touch on topics upon loose or partial information which had a tendency to irritate and inflame. Lord HOR ART in like manner, argued on the impraaicability of complying with the Noble Lord's Motion ; and went over the same ground with the Noble Duke. His Lordship vindicated the labours of the Committee, and expre:ised his surprise at an insinuation of the Noble Earl, as if it was like trying the Country by a Jury composed of prejudiced arid interested persons. The Earl of IfitIRIVICK rose to explain. He said he by no means. meant to east any refleaion up on the Committee, or to insinuate that they were prejudiced ; but what he alluded to was the c•:- deuce brought before that Committee, and which he still thought was oir, red by persons Ivhose prejudi ces and interests tended to mislead the Committee and the Country, The Duke of BEDFORD also objeaed to the Motion, and controverted the Noble Earl's ealcula_ tions and statements as to the average quantity of Corn and Grain, and the price at which it could he afforded to be sold. The Motion might do ham, but could produce no real benefit or remedy. For his own part he believed there was an existing Scarcity, and that, till next Autumn, little or no redation could be expeaed in the price. He com plimented the Noble . Earl on the goodness of his intentions, but . objeaed to the Motion now pro. posed. The Earl of D ARNLEY also objeaed to the Motion. The Earl of WARWICK said, tli3O nothing he had heard, had made him alter his opinion on the subjed, and although he might stand alone, et he rested in the consciou,ness of having done his duty as an individual Member of Parliament. The Motion was then put, and negatived without a division. The Irikh !'Taster of the Rolls Bill, and several other Bills passed through the Committee. At a Quarter before Nine o'Clock the House ad. jourried. • .110 USE bF commoNsi 14014 DAY; MAItCH 30; • A Message from the Lords stated, that.. their Lordships had agreed to TAyLor.'s Divorce Bill: . Mr. M.`A;TAYLOR rose to avail himself of this opportunity of calling the attention of the House to certain rumours which he had heard, and which he thoUght of importance to examine into, because they went materially to affeet persons who might hold property which might come to them in consequence of . a Divorce. -He understood that there were persons of opinion, that a marriage by a person after having been. divorced, was not a legal marriage. He did not mean at present to enter at length into the discussion; but he should contend that it was undoubtedly in the power of Pari'ament to dissolve a marriage, and that any of the parties marrying afterwards, would be legally married. Mr. TAYLOR was proceeding to state his senti ments upon this subjed, and was stating his .opi_ ' nion upon the nature of the Marriage Contract, when he was called to Order by Lord TEMP LE and by Mr. WM. Du o AS. Mr. TAYLOR conceived he was in Order, and said, he merely rosy to call the attention of the House to this important subi j cd in a future stage of this Bill. Lord DE BLAQUIERE rose, and was pro ceeding to shew that Mr. TAY LOR had been out of Order in the observations which he had made, when he was interrupted by T/:e SPEAKER, who stated, that though not conlinon, yet every Member has a right, on the question tbr the first reading of a Bill, to state his reasons either for supporting or opposing it, and that except the Noble Lord intended to do one of these thing, he himself was deviating from Order:. Mr. WILBERFORCE made a few observations on the nature and dissoli , bility of the Marriage Contraa, with reference .to what had fallen from Mr. M. A. TAYLOR, in which he' expressed his opinion that; in one sense, Marriage is a civil con trast, and that every Government has a right to appoint certain ceremonies, without which it cannot be valid ; but that it is a religious obligation which every Christian must consider binding upon him for life. Lord DE BLAQUIERE again rose, and was again reverting to the subjed of Order, when the SPEAKER again interfered. The Bill was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time. Mr. 1-101110 USE said, that if it would be agreeable to the House ) 11aa would name the T3th of April, as the day on which he would bring forward the Motion of which he had already given notice, respeeting the Treaty concluezd between this Coun try and the Emperor Fon. 1. of Russia. NICHOLLS gave notice, that he would take an early opportunity after the holidays, to call the attention of the House to the Bank of England. Mr. M. A. TAYLOR rose to call the attention of_ the House to a subject of which he had given notice, the propriety of exempting Curates who keep one horse, from paying the Duty on Horses.— It is perleftly well known, that a great number of Curates officiate at two different Churches on the same Sunday, and as these Churches are often at the distam.e uf-from tiro to mei miles from each other, he is obliged to keep a horse in order to be enabled to do his duty. The Motion which he meant to make was, that the House should resolve itself into a Committee, to consider the Act of the 38th of the King, and then in that Committee, he meant to move, That Curates, whose income does not exceed tool. and who keep only one horse, shall be exempted from paying the duty imposed by that Act. Ile could not extend his Motion according to the rules of the House, to exempting them from the new duty imposed this year, because there is no clause in the Act allowing the whole or any part of it to be repealed this Session. His , Motion must therefore be confined to exempting them from paying the 11. 4s. imposed by what is commonly called the Consolidation Aa. This 'll. 4.5. and the los. additional duty imposed this year, form a sum-which Curates in ordinary have no adequate fund for pay_ ing.—Many of them have not above 401. a.year ; in Wales, many not above 301. and even the best Curacies, which require the performance of service at three, or even four different Churches, seldom exceed soh or 601. a-year. For the security of the Revenue, however, IP! should wish that a provision should be made that there should be no exemption unless the Commissioners for the collection of the Tax should be convinced that the horse was kept really and hona fide foi the purpose of enabling the Curate to do his duty. He wished much, and he was sure that the Right Hon. Gentleman the CHAN.. C E LLOR of the -Exc H EQU ER concurred with him in opinion, that the Parochial Clergy could be obliged themselves to do their duty. In that case, there' wouldle no occasion for the Motion which he wish ed to make. He concluded with moving, " That the House resolve itself into a CoMmittee icevon sider so much of the ACI of the.3Bth of the King, as imposes a duty of il. 45. on petsons keeping one horse." Me CHANCELLOR *film EXCIIEQI,ThR he thought the Motion of the Hon. 'Gentleman might he much better worded, and at the same time an swer the purpose which he had in view. At pre sent, in his opinion, much too great a latitude is left in the Motion. He therefore propose] to "The Hon. Gentleman to substitute for his Motion, the following : "That the House resolve itself into • a Committee, to consider of the expediency or ex empting Curates keeping one horse, from the Duties imposed by that Ad." This Amendment to the Motion was acceded to. The nizANCELLOR of the EXC'HE'QUER said, that it was all cimes most disagreeable to him to find it his duty ►o oppose any measure which had for its objetti extending relief to any class whose situation seemed to require it. But he felt himwlf called upon to be cautiovs of san'tioning any measures which went to let loose the sources of the public revenue, and more particularly of doing so on suggestions of hardship felt by any particularslass of men. He ,did not wish however to carry this principle into I unifoim and rigid primer; Ira allow that the Curates area clasS of Men 'who have the strengtA claims to indutente," and that perhaps there is iiJ class Whose means of living are less adeghtite to what they ate 'entitled to frdni their education; their manners, their character and' the which they ought to hold ih c)ciety.L-tstie still he conceived the Motion to he Largely expressed, as it is a well known fael, that there are Many Curates in very easy eircumstances For his own part, he recolleCted several cases in winch persons who had an independent income df Sor 6col. a year; held Coracles. To such there could be no intention of extending the ploPosed exemption. He, therefore; would propose, that instead of leaving the expresshOil in the .NlCtiei neral, " to Curates," it Should be said, e' to Curates in certain circumstances." . He wished; however, the grounds on' which he would agree to the Motion; to be clearly understood. fle would only agree to exempt Curatei from the Pay inent of the Tax; who do not contribute to the Income 'lax. On this ground, and on this alcshe, 'would he agree that the Hthise should go into a Committee. He was anxious that there should be no appearance, in this measure, of any ihclinatiOn to let loose the sources of the Public Revenue, and that it should not be considered as any precedent for the admission of such pleas .of hardship to a particular class of men against the general enforcing of measures which it 'is found nec6sary to adopt for .the supply of the demands of the S;ate. Aopiications of this kind had often formerly, been made to him, but he had always found it his ihity to resist them. Mr. M. - A. TAYLOR agreed that the Income Tax was the best criterion that could be adopted for ascertaining who should be exempted, and also to insert after the word " Curates,." the words " in certain circumstances," in his Motion. The Motion thus amended was then agreed to, and this day fortnight was fixed for the House re_ solving itsellinto the Committee. Mr. BR ACC E brought up the Retort of the Com mittee, appointed to examine into the ci.uses of the delay, which had taken place in the Return being made to the Writ for the Election of a Member for the Borough•of Callington, in the County of Corn wall, in the room of Sir Jowl Clu.L, deeeased.— The Report was read,. and it appeared from it, that the Clerk of the Crown had issued the Writ ; that it had at list' come into the hands of Mr. CLEVE LAND,' a Member of the House, who engaged to transmit it to the High Sheriff; that he sent it with this view to the Exeter Mail Coach-Office, where the packet containing it was booked, addressed . to his Agent in that Town, to whom he had given dirthions con cerning it, but that the Agent never received it. The Report was ordered to lie on the Table ; and Mr. BRAGG 8 moved, " That a new Writ be ordered to be issued, it appearing that the former one had been lost." A conversation took place upon the propriety of adopting some measures to smite the proper for warding of Writs, to the Sheriff when issued, and to prevent the mistakes which so often, whether ac cidentally or from something worse, take place in this point, in which Mr. BAKER, Mr. THORN TON, Mr. CURIV EN, Mr. CLEV EL ND, Mr. JONES, Mr. ROBSON, and the CHANCELLOR of the Ex- CHEQUER took a part. The Motion was then agreed to. Sir ROBERT BUXTON brought up the Report of the Bill for the better Collection of the Poors-rates, which was read. The Amendments made by the Committee were agreed to. Several new Amend ments were also made, and the Bill .was ordered to he read a third time to-morrow. Mr. CORRY said, he should now move the House to resolve itself into a Committee of Supply, !Ind that the several AcCounts presented by Mr. CROFTON., of the Irish Treasury„should be referred to the said Committee. The House then ,resolved itself into the COlll.. MitteC, Mr. BRAGG E in the Chair. CORRl . said, he, should now have the ho_ nour of stating to the Committee the sums necessary for the Civil Services of Ireland; those for' the Mi litary Department had already been stated. The Resolutions which he held in his hand, and which he should have the honour of proposing, to theCorn mittce, were these which were annually voted in the Parliament of Ireland, and (with a very few excep. tions) contained nothing new. Relying upon the confidence of the Committee, he should think it unnecessary to enter into the details of the partieu-, lars for which the Sums were required,. unless the Committee expressed its pleasure that he should do so. If, however, any Member required expla nation upon any part of the subjed, he would give it with pleasure. If no such wish was expressed, he should , reserve the observations he had to make, until he stated the Ways and. Means. It was, hoW_ ever, necessary for him at present to state that, on account of the circumstances of the times and the dearness of Provisions, the Grants, to those Pul , lic Charities which had always been the objects of the bounty °idle Parliament of Ireland, (and which he trusted this Parliament would still continue), were necessarily because the Children in the Public Schools, and the'r.,:”;_ent; in the Hospitals, must be fed and taken care of, and as it!raordina ry expences had been incurred, the Grants were ne(7:7 sarify increased. - He should not . trouble the Com mittee further except to move the R eso l ut i ons. H e then moved, that there be granted to Fits Majesty, for the Protestant Charity Schools, a Sum not ex ceeding 18,2131. 45.,8d. being 19,7351. Irish M.o. ney. Irish. English. For the Foundling - Hospital ' 15,006 0 Marine Society . ' - - • 2.,000 o Hibernian Society for Soldiers' Children - -31 t Westmoreland Lock Hospital 6, Roman Catholic Seminary - S,OOO o Society for discountenancing Vice 100 o Female Orphan House' • 500 o House of Industry - - 16,894 o Pratique Dublin Port - 1,047 to Apprehending Offenders - 2,500 0 Civil Buildings - - 32,000 0 Criminal Pfosecutions 25,000 o P tinting the Statutes of T reland 4, coo 0 Printing Gazette - • 7,026 0 Treasury incidents - - 2,000 0 Fur working the Ir icklow Gold Mines - • - - zoo° o For the Battle—ase Clinch - 746 o For Heralds' new CLoathing li dt . B6 .c 13,1i!.. 1 6 3 I 3 I 3 ,6 51 7 .9 6,1 3 13 to 7 ' 33 4 12 4 2 , 6 13 6 461 to 9 94 1 5,5 9 3 966 IS 7i 2,307 13 1 0 29; 3 38 23,076 IS G 3,692. 6 2 6,44 10 :9 1 . 8 0 3 913 1,. 6 683 6 Boos 9 .3