The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1807-02-19 00:00:00

IMPARLIL PA RLIAMEAT.

HOUSE OF LOBOS—WaomaiDAT, F,. 19.
The Attorney. General was lr..ard in behalf of
the Resposidents in the cause /*I twat r. th • Exe.
entors Samuel Dick. The art` er cons:derk.
don was lo.,ointed for to-morrow.
blesu.. ,lihcitte and Giddy brought up from
the Comn,o-s the Newfoundland Trade and Lord
De Dunranwill,'s Indemnity Bills; t s the letter of
seich they had agreed witholt any a,nentiments.
On the Motion of Lotd.W ALSINGH AM, the
Irish Controverted Eleetion. the Cape of illond
Hope. and the Barrack Coromissioners' Bills, were
severally read a third rime, and passed.
Some Naturatilatirm Bins were forwarded in
their tespedive stales.—After which the House ad•
jaunted.

HuIAE OF COMMONS.

A new writ was ordered to be issued for the elec-
tion of a Member to serve In the present Parliament,
for the Borough of Armagh. iu the room of the
Right Honourable Lord Viscount Acheson, who
had succeeded to the Earldom of Gators!.
Earl Temple presented a Peution front the Nett
India Planter• against the Bill for the Abolition of
the Slave Trade, which was ordered to he on the
table.
Mr. PAT lESON, observing the fiecretary of
the l'reasury in his place, requested ti be informed,
whether it was the intention of Governmeta to ci
tinue the Duty on Malt. which Aft would necessa-
rily expire ore the 25th of March nest, or +eh they
any measures would be *doped relative thereto?
Mr. VANSHIA KT replied, that Government
was anxious to obtain all the information on that
subjca necessary to form a just estimation of its
expedience, and that proper steps would be taken its
the aaair immediately.
Two Petitions were presented against the Oak
Bark Bill, wnich were ordered to be referred to the
Committee upiat that Bill.
Mr. Corry presented a Petition from the House-
holders in the Parish cf St. Michael's, Dablin, re-
lative to the cleansing, watching, and pavi: g of the
streets of Dublin.—Ordered to be referred to a
Committee to examine the matter thereof. and to
report their opinion.
The London Dock Company Bill was read a
third time, and passed.
• BARRACK DUARTMEN T.
Mr. ROBSON rose. in pursuance of his notice. to
make his promised Motion upon this subjeft. Ile
said, that since the period when he fir.t sinornitred
this matter to the consideration of the House, there
had been no less than six millions of money voted
fur the Barrack Department of Great Britain, and
upwards of two millions for that of Ireland. Some
people might think he was too araiins on this head;
but he could not help again endeavouring to con-
vince the House, that by not avlopting wliat he had
so strenuously recommended iii the year MX, tiro
millions of pounds sterlteg bad been already tort to
the public. The great anuses in the Barrack De-
partment. of which he bad to complain, ware in the
hire of moss buildings which are called ti mporary
Barracks. He would state a case wl.ich occurred in
the S coed Report of Military Inquiry, which had
been long bef oe the Kassa and the pisOlso. Mr.
Page, a Barrack Master. was called upon and ex-
amined as to the house that was takes as a tempo-
rary barrack, previous to his being appointed to .be
situation Iv held, and be informed the Commis.
sinners, that the House they alluded to was tented
at 601. a year, ai'hough it was o ly wot,h 301. In
lOW, Mr. Page was app..inted Barrack %faster ;
and it appeared that he, is, league with i gentleman
of the name of Green, a Supeonteadaut of Bar-
racks. (and who in the Report is catled a lee)err)
boeght that very same house. and itiotedia.ely
theseatter the sum of 1631. a year was chars -4 Is
Government. He (Mr. Kiaison) menet us sat, that
Government have been ;urn; tor us use f .hat
house 13001. w;.en they ought 0.,1y to have paid
to
the awns It of 631. . In sayntg thi., he did not
state the case so strongly cc it might is 'as
house be eluded to was at Wiachestet ; whets only

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P

three officers were quartered for more than ono
y .air, at an additional allowance, he believed,
of eight shillings a week ; so that the country
has been paying, he might say, the sum of
1.7791. where they ought only to have been paying
$5l. 10s. there having been no other use made of that
house. the other officers and• men being quartered
elsewhere. He thought,theiefore, that Gentlemen
could not conceive that he was unreasonable in
pressing farward such an inquiry. When at Wey-
mouth, he went through curiosity to visit a large
Barrack, adapted for seven hundred men, and
he had an opportunity of seeing how ill they
were accemmeidateei, notwithstanding the extra-
vagance of the price charged to the public.
He also had occasion to observe, how dissatisfied
the officers and inhabitants of that place were,
at the enormous expence. The Barrack to which he
alluded, was called the Queen's Barrack, at Wey-
mouth. It is placed in a narrow street; and on in-
quiring as to how they were supplied with water, he
learnt that there was none but what was brought
from a pump at a considerable distance, and even
that was very often dry (d Insish.) A complaint
was made to him by the officers in these Bartacks,
that this want of water was a great grievance. He
also understood from them, that they were obliged
to take the men to a considerable distance, to ex-
ercise them upon a piece of ground, for which they
paid sixty guineas a year. In addition to all these
inconveniences, he saw that the Barracks themselves
wets exceedingly unwholesome, the apartments
being only five feet high. and no air being admissible.
He hoped he should not be deemed unreasonable in
pressirig far a speedy inquiry and reform in these
particulars, the more especially as Ministers had un-
detteken to procure the reformation of every abuse.
He declared that he did not attach blame to any
particular person, whose duty it :eight be thought
to remedy these evils, as he conceived it ail to oti-
gioate from a bad system, and from negket. Ali-
nistere, he seeposed, had not yet had tinie to put
these Barracks cat of that footing which was so dis-
graceful to tee country. It was surely unnecessary
for him to state to the House the Necessity for eco-
nomy. He found the Barra .k Departmert in Ire.
land, to the full extent as bad as it was in England ;
and he was the more ALIT met', when lie looked at the
ernenditute of that clumsy. This country paid, be
might say, 151. out it every 171. towards the ex-
penditure of Ireland ; and, in the gloss, it would be
found nearly to vial that of England. On these
grounds, therefore, he should move fir the same
Pacers being presented as to Ireland. as he had for-
merly done, and would now do, as to England
The Hon. Member then concluded with aloe-
That there be laid before the House a
Return of all the buildings, sr every description,
rented or hired by Government, and used as
B. necks or places for lodging or containing
Officers and Soldiers of the Army, or of persons
and horses attached to the Army ; that the
said return do embrace every building which
has been rented or hired, and so used. in the whole
of Great Britain and Ireland, from the Ist of Ja-
nu..rv, 1793, to le January, 1807 ; that the said
Kr urn be exhibited in fifteen columns, placed in the
order, and containing thr several heads here follow-
ing, vra : tst—The date of the year, and of the
month and day, wh n such buileing was taken.-
21-I'he county and palish in which the building
is situated 3d—The name or phrase. describing
the building. 4th—The number of Officers that
are or have been genet ally quattered or lodged in
the building. sth—The number of Non•com-
missiorr•d officers end men, and of horses, that are
or have been generally quartered or lodged in the
building. 6th—The name of the proprietor of the
7th—The name and rank of the officer
or nerson by whom the building was taken on the
part or sth-•=fhe weekly rent, or
hire of the building. 9th--The yearly rent, or hire
of th; building. 10th—The mane and rank of the
officer or person, or officers or persons, through
whose hands the rent er hire his bees paid to the
preps ieter of the building. 11th—The time when
any alteration (if any) in the rent or hire of the
building was made. 12th—The weekly rent or hire
of the building, since such alteration. 13th--The
yearly hire of the building subsequent to such al.
teration. 14th —The time when the building was
given up, if not now occupied by Government
15th--An account of the whole of the sums that
have been expended in repairs upon the building ;
and that the said Returns do ceeibit all the names
and descriptions of the said buildings, following
one another in their Chronological reeler ; the build-
ing first taken by Government, standing first, and
ter•: b5..1.1•r.g last taken, standing last."
bud 11011'ICK said, that this was a subject
which wit undoubtedly very deserving of the at-
tention of the House, but he should confess, that
when he considered the form and extent of the Hon.
Gentleman's Motion, he had veiy great doubt as to
the possibility of complying with it. He thought it
was one which could only be made out by a lteport,
stating the result of an inquiry before a Com-
mittee. He understood that the Motion now made
was a repetition of that made last year, which the
Hon. Gentleman seemed to complain had never
been complied with ; and he was under the neccs-
si:y of still saying, it weis imposi ible to do so, ti.ete
being already a Military Lemnersion, and aLo
Commission of Inquiry into the Barrack Accounts,
appointed upon the express tecommendetion of Lien
Milit.uy Commission. H•, therefore. thought a
due degree of dili; ence was already paid to the
sabjeet. and that any further measures would rather
obormit, than facilitate river operations. An Aa
had lately been pacs.•d to empower these Commis-
sioners to examine persniis. and to call for papers
relative to the business bemee them. Under all these
eiecurretences, he could not possibly consent to the
Mntinn.
Colonel BARRY rose, he said, merely to prevent
a misc••nception going abroad, in consequence of
what the II in. Gerd man had said with regard to
tie Barrack Deeertment in Ireland. It was un-
doubtedly concluded with a considerable degree of
expense, the tire or rest of temporary Berracks
tieing exorbitant; bet what w•as the cause of it ?

Wren si,i,ners were mai-chin?. and rcquired soar-
tors, tt.ey wine 'Wired to take any Louses they
emild procure, at whterzt Ore the ptoprietors
chose to egad. He knew ti u it was the opinion ..f i
Cie Gentleman at the head f that Department in
4" eL._.....-% •bw tit manrut

Barre/As might in all cases to be adopted as much
its possible. If there were say fault in regard to
that pail of the subjell, he gather thought it was
bemuse too great economy Was observed, instead of
too greet espence.
ROBSON, in reply, said, that he was per-
seeded if the Noble Lord would take the trowsle
to read the motion at length, he would then see
whether or sot such an account already existed in
any Public Office, and if it could not be produced
in a day or two, be should still i v ist that the House
ought not to separate till his motion was consented
to. Such a document ought to be Teddy by this
time, considering the lengtb of the notice given
upon the sobjed. There were no less than 591
established Clerks in the Barrack Dcparmerst, and
therefore it could sot be alleged that there was not
sufficient help to enable the Barrack Master to
comply with the request of a Member of Parlia-
ment. Last year he confined his inqairy to one
Parish or Distria in the Isle of Wight, and in that
place he bad since found that the Rents of Tempo-
rary Barracks were reduced to one half. Barns
hired for that purpose, and rated at 2,2001. were
now lowered to 1,1001. by means of the motion he
bad formerly made upon this inkjet. All this he
could prove to have taken place, although he was
now to be refused the production of that which
would enable him not only to bring several Bar-
rack-Masters to the Bar, but also to save the sum
of two millions to the public. As he believed,
however, that some reform was in agitation by
Ministers themselves, he could assure them, that he
was not wishing to satisfy any revenge upon this
occasion, but merely to press upon them the neces-
sity of a speedy reformation in these abuses. All
he wished to know was, how the new account it.
that Department begins, and how the old one ends ?
Bat since he tilt an opposition 'to this inquiry,
merely on account of the mode he proposed, in
order to attain this objt be should hare no ob-
jeftion to give up his motion without dividing the
House.

Lord HOWICIC begged the Hon. Gentleman
and the House diAinftly to understand, that lie had
not refused him any papers, which could, with pi o.
priety, be produced. If hii motion could possibly
have been complied with, without interfering with
the Commissioners already appointed, nobody
could be more ready than he was, to support such
inquiries.
The motion was then put from the Chair, and
negatived without a division.
Mr. ROKSON further added, that he should,
upon a future day, stook a motion to the House,
that would reach the Barrack Departmen.s upon
foreign stations. He hoped the charges abroad,
(kw instance, in the Island of Sicily) would not be
found such as were formerly existing in the Island
of Corsica.

A Message from the Lords announced their
Lordships a4seist to Lord De Dunstanvilte's In-
demnity Bill, as agreed to by the Coalmn, and
the Barrack Commissioners Bill.

L