The Sun. — London, England, 1806-07-04 00:00:00

IMPERIAL P4RLIAMENT HOUSE, OF PEERS. THURSDAY, JULY 3. THE Royal Assent was given by Commission tr the Additional Assessed Taxes Bill, . the Tortola Free Port Bill, the Irish Spirit Licence Bill, the Irish Mine Bill, the Excise Regulation, Bill,- the Stamp- Office Regulation Bill, the Gibraltar and Malta Postage Bill, the Prussian Yarn Bill, the Duke of Grafton's Agreement Bill, the Temple' Bar and Snow Hill Lottery, Bill, and -several Private Bills. The Commissioners were the . Archbishop of Can 'terbury, the Lord-, Chancellor, and Lord Walsing- ham. The Judges resumed the delivery of their opinions,, ih the case of Lheina v. Cra,wford.. , Mr. Ihstice Heath, Lord Chief Baron Macdonald, Lord. Chief Justice Mansfield, were all of,opi moo that the Commissioners had• an interest in the property sufficient to enable them to ,effect a legal and valid policy of assurance thereon. All the Judges hating delivered their opinions, The LORD CHANCELLOR moved to postpone the further consideration of the cause till Wednesday next.—Ordered. , Lord GRENVILLE presented two Messages from his Majesty, similar to those brought into the House of Commons one being the usual Message previous to a Vote of Credit, and the other relating to con tinuing the Annuity of mol. per annum granted to the fate Lord Rodney to the present Lord. • • ' His Majesty's Messages were; on the-Motion - of lord GRENVILLE, ordered to be, taken into consi eeralion to-morrow. ' • - ROYAL FAMILY. -. Lord GRENVILLE moved the Order of the Day ! for taking into consideration His Majesty's Message*. His-Lordship observed that, on the first part of the Message, he could not-conceive that any doubt could' bgitlyesiclit as Co the propriety of re6lifyiii,ei' an-over sight which had occurred respeEtitig the: Provisions made in the year t 778 for the Younger Branches of His Majesty's Illustrious House, and which had not been discovered until .after the death of His Majesty's brother, the late Duke of Gloucester, when it being, of course, wished to continue the an nuityenjoyed by that illustrious Person to the present Duke, it was found that this could not be done in consequence of an oversight In not properly transferring the provisions' made for' the Younger Branches of the Royal Family from the Aggregate to the Consolidated Fund. There could not therefore, he conceived, be the least . objeEtion to making provision for Carrying into' effeet now what was evidently the intention of , His Majesty and Parliament at the time. With respe& to the second part of the Message,* relative to the proposed increase of the Allowances to the Younger Branches of His Majesty's • Family, he also conceived. there could be no doubt as to its propriety. •It was cer , tainly necessary, in our present circumstanceS, that every one should make great sacrifices to maintain the dignity, preserve the honour, and §,ecure the interests of the Country, and to uphold the Monarchy and the Constitution. To these sacrifices every one, con vinced of their necessity, cheerfully contributed. To kee:. up the splendor of the Throne, and support the dignity of the illustrious Branches of His Majesty's Royal House, was a part of the Constitution, and an object to, which everyone, who venerated that Con stitution, would readily contribute. Theremust be, he was certain, a full convidion, as the fad, was that_ His Majesty would not have made this appeal to his Parliament had there not been a real necessity for making that increase at which His Majesty's Mes• - : sage pointed. No increase'had taken place in the provision made for the younger branches of the Royal. Family Since the year 1778, a period of nearly thirty years; and when it was Considered hoW • much cir cumstances had altered in the course of that period, and how greatly the price of every article necessary to the establishment of a household had " increased ; when it ' was considered also,• that - the illustrious person's for whom an increased allowance was now asked, were, from their age and period of life, com pelled to an increase . of :expenditure, he was con vinced there would remain no doubt as, to the pro priety; the expediency, and• the necessity of con curring in the proposed increase. The .sums pro posed to he granted_ would _come more properly be fore the House whena Bill for that.purpOse came up froth the 'House of' Commons. The Noble Lord Concluded by moving an Address, concurring in the jabjeab of His Majesty's Message.--Carried nem dis. The Address was ordered to be presented to. his Majesty by the Lords with white staves. The Earl of SUFFOLK; addressed the House on the subject of Vaccine Inoculation, to which he pro-, fessed himself a warns friend. His Lordship stated, from a conversation he had had with Admiral Mas seredo, the popularity of that mode of Inoculation in Spain, where it was considered as one of the greatest benefits that could have been conferred upon man, Lind. The Post Officb Regulation Bill was read a third time and passed. . The Thread Lne Bill and the East India Shipping Bill pass&l through Committees, and were reported. Adjourned till 'to-morrow (this day.) - HOUSE OF COMMONS. THURSDA/, JULY 3: The Deputy Usher of the Black Rod summoned the House to the House of Peers. The Speaker, on his return, dechired that the Royal• Assent had been given to the West India Auditors' Bill, the Tortola Free Port Bill, and several others. WEXFORD ELECTION. The SPEAKER observed, that he had to acquaint the House that the person on whose behalf the Pe tition coinplaining of an undue Eleaion, and the re turn for Wexford; had been presented to the House, had not entered into any recognizance, pursuant to the Statute. In consequence of- this the Order for raking this Petition into consideration on the. ioth Of this month was discharged. - . Mr. RossON withdrew his Motion for Friday (this day), resre&ing the Barrack Abuses in the Isle 0r Wight, as the Papers moved for by'the Secretary at War were not yet in the Members' hands. He iirornised to bring forward the Motion on an early day..riet week.. •Thel,andTalt Commissioners' Bill was reported, and Oi-dered to be read a third time . to--morrow. preented an Ac s connt, of the aclyanceiXfor out of the Civil List Resienue for the last. four years, &c. Sm.—Or dered to fie or - k,tlie Table. 7 . , The Report of _the Committee on , the Oil of Vi triol ASR was agreedlo, and a Bill ordered -accord, ingly. The Irish Road Accounts were committed.—Re port tomorrow. The Westminster Hall Avenue Bill was read a 2d time, and 'ordered to be committed to-morrow. The ,Report of . the Cotninittee on the Post-Office A&s, as far as related to the Letters of , Non-com missioned Officers iind Privates in 'the Army and .Navy, was 'brOught up. The Resolutions were agreed to, and provisions ordered to be made ac cordingly. ' • The.Repo'rt of the Committee on the Scotch For feited EstateS, the Report of the Committee of Supply respeaing the 1,000,0001. to the East India ComPany, 'ace. .B;.c. • arid the Report of the Commit: tee of Ways and Means reseeding a Lottery, were brought up, the Resolutions agreed to, and Bills or dered. ' The Assessed Taxes Allowance Bill was read a third time and passed. The Irish Poor Bill Was also read a third time - and passed. The Earl of Ormond's Butlerage Bill was reported, and ordered to be read a thirdliine to-morrow. - - MI-. GRANT, from the Commissioners of Military Inquiry, presented a Copy of the Memorial of Mr. John Pritchard, laid before them on the 3d of Jan. 1806.—Ordered to lie on the Table. Mr. VANSITTART moved for leave to bring in a Bill to enable the Commissioners of the: reasury to issue Exchequer Bil's on the credit of the Aids of the Year.—Leave giVen. • • Mr. VANSITTART moved for leave to bring in a Bill to Amend and render more Effedual the Qua rantine Laws in Great Britain. . Sir JOHN NEWPORT said, he wished to ex plain to the House why this Bill was not intended to extend to Ireland. .The fail was, that the Qua rantine Laws In Ireland differed in many instances from those in force in this Country ; and it was thought better, upon Consideration, that this 'Bill should be confined to Great . Britain,'and that a Bill should be brought in next Session to assimilate the Quarantine Laws of the two Countries. Leave was given to bring in the Bill. The Committee upon the Irish Militia Service Bill was put off till Monday. The Report of the Linen Drawback Bill was brought up, the Atnendments'agreed to, and the Bill ordered to be read a third time to-morrow. The Ordnance Lands Bill was committed.—Re port to-morrow. . . The Greenwich Hospital Bill, and. -Greenwich ,Chest Bill, were cornmitted,—Report to-morrow. Mr. TIC 11 %V ITT stated, that some private interests might be affeeled by the stoppao of the embank , ments at Catl,vaier, and in such a case he wished to know from the Noble Lord- below, (Howick) whe ther compensation should be made. Sir WM. ELFok.o also urged the necessity of at tention to`this circuMstance. , Lord Howie agreed that when private interests were affe&ed by any plan for public accommodation, the parties ought to be indetnnied ; gut theproPer. Course of proceeding would-be by a Petition to Par= liament. Mr. IVIEuEux, from the India Board, presented an Account of the net revenue , of the• _ceded provinces of Oude.—Ordered to' lie on the Table, and to be printed. , Mr. WINDHAM moved the- re-committal of the Training Bill. Mr. RYDER asked whether thiS was With a view to prevent being- debated en the'Report, as well'as on the third reading) if it Was, he would now oppose it. But if it was intended to recommit it, with a view to correct some errors, he would not now op pose it • It'lr. IPINDHAM replied, that , it was merely With• a view to make some amendments,. after which it would be open to_be debited en the Report a be fore. The Bill was then recommitted, some amend ments were made, and the House resumed (Here the further .proceedings upon it were .postponed for a few minutes, apparently because some Of the prin cipal Members of Opposition had not arrived), , The Report of the Linen Drawback. Bill was con sidered, after whicli it was ordered to be read a third time to-morrow. LORD RODNEY'S PENSION. Lord HENRY PETTY brollght up , a Message from the King, which was read as usual by ,the Speaker. It was as follows : , G . R. " ,having been, made to . his Majesty that the Pension of roool. per Annuli], granted to the late Lord Rod. ney, on account of the eminent services performed by his fa ther, George Brydges Lord Rodney, should be continued to the present Lord Rodney, Grandson of the said George Brydges Rodney, his Majesty acquaints the House of CHOI - that he is favourably disposed to - the same, and there fore recommends it to his faithful Commons to make provi— sion for continuing the same Pension accordingly." The Message was ordered to be referred to a Cothmittee to-morrow. Lord HVAIY PETTY then brought up another Message,. which.was as folloWs : "G. R. " His Majesty, relying Upon the zeal, wisdom, and fidelity of his Faizhful.Commons, and on the importancp of the ob:. jed in view, recommends it to them to take such measures as may enable him to counterad the enterprizes . and designs of his Enemies, and as the exigencies of the time may re- quire." This Message was ordered to be referred to the Committee of Supply. Lord HENRY PETTY gave notice that to-morrow he would move for leave to bring in a Bill to amend and consolidate the Land Tax Ads, and to exonerate small Livings and Charities from the Land Tax. Mr. WINDIJAM moved the third reading of the ,Militia Bill. Sir WM. ELFORD stated some objedions to the discontinuance of the Ballot, and maintained that the system of bounties was contrary to the princi ples on which the Militia System was founded. Mr. TINDH42O replied, that he was about to propose aClausew, enable His Majesty to have re course to the Ballot if it shbuld be necessary, and thiS would, in some measure, meet the objeEtions of the Hon. Baronet on this head. The Bill was then raid a third'time and passed. A Message from the Lords announced their as sent to . the Poit - Oigce 4egulAtion Bill and other. TRAINING BILL. The Report of the Committee on the Training Bill 'was brought up. On the question that the Amendments be read a second time, Sir HENRY .21i/LD;II.4Y observed, that whe ther the reports about negociations for peace were true _or false, it was certain that we ought to have a consi derable force on foot. -A general damp had been thrown upon the spirits . of the Volunteers. But he ob je&ed to this measure, first, because it could not be carried into execution without the grossest breach of faith to the Country. He had supported the Bill of tBO3 on account of the state of affairs at that time. But a solemn pledge had been given to the Country that the provisions- of the A&. should not be enforced if a certain number of Volunteers enrolled themselves. This Bill violated the pledge so given. He opposed the. Bill also on another principle—lt was a heavy tax on the poorer classes, which it had been the policy Qf the Noble Lord op posite (Petty) to exempt as much as possible, and to make the burden fall on the rich. He also objea ed to it on account of the injustice of its opera tion. Why was it not extended to Scotland ? Were the Scotch not to he trusted, or were their Coasts not exposed to invasion ?—Scotland ought certainly to bear its part of the burden. He ap proved of the Ballot, but as to the Constable 'he could not see what could be the use of such a per son at the drills. He concluded by moving that the word now should be left out, and the words this day three months, substituted in its stead. Mr. EYRE obje&ed to the Bill because it was unnecessary. We , ought only to resort to compul sion in the last instance--Cunaa Arius tentanda.— At present we could have a sufficient number of Volunteers. He adverted to the injury which the labour of the Country would sustain from withdraw ing such a number of men from it for 24 days in the year. As to the Volunteers, he believed they would be completely destroyed by this measure.— The Volunteers relieved their Distritits ; but under this Bill the System would have a contrary effed, for the young, the aEtive, and those who had most time to spare, would avoid the Ballot by going into the Volunteers, and leave it to fall upon others. The Right Hon. Gentleman complained of having been misrepresented. It might be so—but how could he explain away the sarcasm in • this Bill, which reckoned 300,000 Volunteers as nothing ? This was one sarcasm on the Volunteers which he could not by any ingenuity explain away. If, how ever, he adopted the Clause proposed by the Right Hon. Gentleman below (Yorke), which went to relieve the Counties from the onus in proportion to the number of Volunteers, his, obje&ions would be ' in a great measure done away. Mr. WILLIAMS asked, whether, in the pre sent situation of the Country, we were to give Mi nisters no credit for saving five millions in three years ?—This measure did not destroy the Volun teer System, but put it on its original footing=--for it was well known that at first the Volunteers were only accepted on condition of- clothing themselves. Much as' he regretted the loss of the late great Mi nister—much as the Country had to lament him— much' as he deplored his death yet, while 'the measures of the present Ministry went to promote economy and the real interests of the Country; as he thought they had, for the ,most part hitherto done, they should always have his warm approbation and cordial support. Mr. FONBLAN - QUE thought Ministers entitled to the Thanks of the Country, for this measure, and denied that it was calculated' to break down the spi rit of the Volunteers, who, on the contrary, must be encouraged by the exemptions which it proposed in their favour, and by the aid which it promised to afford them in the common object of all—in thede fence of the Country.- _ _ . . . Colonel BASTARD conceived , this measure pe culiarly obje6tionable, inasmuch as its expence and oppression were incalculable, while the prospe& of good from it was quite vague and indefinite.— It proposed to substitute a visionary System of De fence, undirected by military skill—unsupported by local influence, for those Volunteers who had ac quired the advantageS . of the one, and who, as in the case of the - Corps commanded by the Duke of Northumberland, evinced the power and efficiency likely to be deriVed from the other. General LOFT US, feeling that if our Army were treble its present amount it would be in sufficient for the, defence of our widely-extended Coast ; approved of this measure as highly calcu lated to augment our means of safety, particularly in the event of invasion. • Mr. MATHEWS considered the measure before the House as unnecessary and injurious. It was singular, he observed; that Gentlemen on the other side talked of the expenditure .of millions as. of a matter of insignificance,. and yet they rested upon economy as the great recommendation of their course of proceedings with respe& to the Volunteers. The Hon. Gentleman remarked upon the facility with which the present Ministers contrived to change. their principles with their places. Mr. GILES vindicated the character of the mea sure under consideration - , to which, he maintained, the charge of involving any breach of faith towards the Volunteers was totally inapplicable. This asser tion the Learned Gentleman sustained by referring to 'the Levy en Masse A&, from which the charge Was professedly deduced, and also to the Circular Letter from the Secretary of State, which was pub lished subsequent to that A&. From both he in; ferred, that nothing like-a permanent pledge was given that if a certain number of Volunteers offered for'any distria, ..such distri& should be pniformly exempted from the operation of any measure of the nature before the House. Mr. RYDER - contended,. that the operation of this measure would he to reduce the Volunteers to a state of degradation and inefficiency. The deli cacy lately professed for that gallant body, which led to a certain Clause of the Bill before the House, procepded entirely from a desire to redu,- some part of the unpopularity attaching to this measure, and by no means from any =pea or esteem for those Corps. . Mr..C.I#YNNE replied to the last Speaker, and maintained, notwithstanding all the House had heard of local influence, that the people who should be , called upon in the hour of battle would go forth with much greater,alacrity Under the command of persons whom they should know to be versed in „military business, than Under:the direaien of those with *liom they 'might 'happ,Nl 19 be peisonally ac quainted or locally. wnnetsl4, . .11, '• Sir R. LAIPLEY had souse Clauses to propose, which he had no doubt would be very agreeable to the Volunteers, as they had in view the arrange ment and improvement of their discipline. The SPEAKER suggested to the Hon. Baronet, that this was not the proper ,time to propose such Clauses. Lord KIRKW4LL asserted, that the opinion which the VoAtinteers - had been naturally induced to form, as to •the views of the Right Honotirabie Author of this Bill, had served materially to damp their zeal and diminish their numbers. In support of this assertion, the Noble Lord stated, that he had the honour to command a Corps of Volunteers, which- consisted, of 460 strong and effeetive men, twelve months ago, but which at the last muster rem turned no more than 80. A similar redu&ion was, he apprehended, to be generally, looked for, from the language and projects of the Right llon. Se' cretary. L _ _ Lord DE BLAQUIERE could not imagine any thing more absurd than the proposition of an effi cient Levy,.for which neither Officers nor adequate instru6ion was provided. Lord. BINNING called upon the Learned Lord, on the Ministerial Bench (the Lord Advocate of • Scotland), who was not present on a former evening when this measure was under discussion, to state his opinion upon the propriety of extending it to Scot land. If there was any benefit in the measure, the Noble Lord could not conceive that; upon any prin ciple of fairness, Scotland should be refused a parti cipation of it ; and if it were a burthen, he did not think it fair that it should be confined altogether to~ England. There were many parts of Scotland to which this Bill would be as applicable as to this Country, and there was no danger of its meeting any such opposition as the execution of the Militia Law formerly did. But that opposition was not, in fad, the effect of The' Militia, but of that disaffec tion to the Government which, he was happy to think, was now no more. The LORD ADVOCATE was .surprised at the line and tone adopted by his Noble Relation, who had just sat down,' and those who acted - with him. They. maintained that this measure would involve, a breach of faith, and an invasion of the King Pre-t rogative ; would be produdive of great expence and oppression ; yet, said they, " give dshare of this abomination to Scotland." They had been abusing the Bill for some weeks, asserting that it would lead to confusion and pull down the Volunteers ; and yet, With all their professed regard for Scotland and the Voluteers, they would have the scope of its opera• tion extended. As to the opposition to, the Militia Law, which had been alluded to by his Noble RelaN lion, and which had been asserted to proceed, from disaffeaion, he was not disposed to come into that opinion. He was aware that disaffection was often stated to prevail very generally in Scotland, and that be himself was deScribed as one of the disaffected. But if he was disaffected then, he was so still; for he held no principle at that time, which now, in the King's service, did not remain perfectly unchanged, 4nd .they should ever continue so. But to return to the opposition which at the outset the Militia Law met .in Scotland—that opposition did, in fact, arise from the general misconception prevailing of that Law, and the pride and arrogance of some persons in that Country, who would not condescend to cotnmuni-. cate with the lower orders, and explain to them it, object and pro Visions. If that .Law bad been pro , perly understood, he ventured to say that it would have experienced no resistance whatever. In the distria where he resided' the' Law was fully ex-t plained to the lower orders, and therefore it wa s . carried into execution without any attempt even, aC opposition.—With regard to the Bill under conSil sideration, ,the Learned Lord confessed himself anxious that its principle should be extended to Scotland, and this opinion he had already commu nicated to its Right Honourable Author. But yet he would not desire the Present Bill to be so ex, tended, as in many of its parts it was inapplicable to that Country: he would rather wish to bring in a separate Bill upon the subject ;_ and be would pledge himself to prepare such a Bill in 48 hours as should be perfectly adapted to Scotland. The Learned Lord asserted, 'that the former Levy e 4 Masse Ati was quite, imprgticable in Scotland; and he concluded with pronouncing a high eulc.- , gium upon the condu&, disposition, charader, and efficiency of the Volunteers of Scotland, Lord ,BINNING explained. Mr. CANNING congratulated that part of tlia. Country to which the Learned Lord belonged on the , spirit with which he had declared his readiness within forty-eight hours to prepare for Scotland a Bill to the effe& of the present,, which, though the solitary measure of that great Government—of that concentration of talent of which they had heard so rniach—had occupied them four months in . digest... , ing. He begged of the Learned Lord to redeem his pledge, and not to be the first Lord Advocate of Scotland who transaEted business in the slovenly manner pra6tised by the English Government for the last four months. The Hon. Gentleman then proceeded to contrast the present Bill, with the Levy en Masse A&, Which.it was intended to supersede, and, in every particular in which they dif fe red, gave the preference to the latter. The LORD ADVOCATE Of SCOTLAND expiainea. Mr, IVINDHAM, after alluding to the topic to which the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. tanning), and those with whom he a6ted, never ceased to resort, and in which their observations were so uni formly unmixed with spleen, assured the Right Hon. Gentleman, that, while the subje& seemed to af ford such inexpressible delight to those on his side of the. House, it did not cause to him (Mr. Wind am), or his friends, the smallest mixture of pain. He' proceeded to shew that the measure was not so immediately called for in Scotland, either from the danger whiCh menaced it being less, or from the circumstance that the excellence 9f the V-olunteurs in that part of the Kingdom rendered it more secure. He then answered the different cbje&ions to the measure in order, particularly remarking on the disingenuousness of imputing to him the fallipg off of the Volunteer Force in this Country, when in fa& it was alone attributable to the voluntary con tributions being exhausted, and to the disinclination or want of ability on the part of the original contri butors to renew them. Mr. R. DUA 7 DAS hoped that the Learned Lord (Advocato r ) before the House rose, give no tice of his intention, lc defiance of the opinion d 'the Right Uonour4ble Secretary, to bring in a