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that Commission. now, Sir, difived to an
advanced period of the Session, and as the Corn-
missioners have not gone through their labours,
though there are some points in the consiu& of the
Commissioners, which in my conscience I cannot
approve, yet I think it necessary, in candour, to de-
clare to the House, that those points I attributeto mis-
take, and I have no difficulty in stating, that after the
circumstances which have appeared, it is absolutely
necessary to have an inquiry which will chew the
impartial and dispassionate judgment of the House,
and be the foundation to acquit or condemn, and
even punish, those who may be found guilty
of any peculation; of the public money entrusted
to their care. In so multifarious, so great, so exten-
sive, and so stupendous an expenditure as ours
is, and unfortunately has been for many years
past, I am afraid we cannot expel that every
thieg should be exaaly regular; but 1 am sure the
House will apply themselves to the subjeft with pa-
tience, impartiality, and justice, and I am clearly of
opinion, that if, after the labours of the Commission-

ers,it is deemed by the House that a further inquiry is
necessary, it should certainly be done by a Selea Com-
mittee, especially as the Hon. Gent. has said, that I
am myself implicated in these transattions. I have
now been many years in a high official situation, and
hope I shall not be accused of vanity when I say,
that I flatter myself the public will give me credit
for not having been a party to any cot rupt proceed-
irgs whatever. I trust my friends will do me the
justice to believe, that whatever may be the implica-
tions or appearances from the transallions of others,
my conduct has been free from every imputation of
that kind ; and I have no doubt that, whenever the
inquiry is made, it will he equally apparent to all
the world. I have no objeftion to the Motion of the
honourable Gentleman, but only to the indefinite
manner in which it is expressed. The Honourable
Gentleman has given notice of another Motion which
he intends to make, that the Attorney General may
be ordered to prosecute Lord Melville and Mr.
Trotter, in order to recover hack the money they
aresiipposed to haveobtainedfrom the public finances.
I suppose, therefore, this Motion cannot be meant
to e.. end to proceedings under a Bill of dis-
' covery. I conceive the objet, therefore, to
he an inquiry into the amlication of money ap-
propriated to naval services having been diverted
from those, and applied to other purposes. I have
therefore drawn up a resolution, which I thi:ik will
answer evt•-y aim and end of the Honourable Gen-
tleman's motion, which distinctly specifies the cir-
cumstances he has in view, without at all interfering
with the proceedings against Lord Melville and Mr.
Trotter, and I believe the hest mode in which I can
use it will he by moving it as an amendment." Mr.
Pitt then read his amendment as follows:
" That a Seleti Connut!-e se appointed to enquire further
imosiw:h parts of the Tenth Report as relate to the appli:atlun
of money granted for Nasy services, and applied to ether
branches of the public service. And also to any communica-
tions that may have been marls to the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer er to the Lords of the. Treasury, relative to any irre-
gularities in the mode of drawing the public money granted for
the service of the Navy from the Hank, and to any proceeding.,
that may have been ta►en fir the recover. of the arrears 'lie
from the late Mr. -Tellico., and to report the same with their
opinion to the those "

Mr. FOX said the Right Hon. Gent. who had
just sat down. seamed to imagine, that if the House
should be of opinion to order a prosecution by the
Attorrey-General, that then they should not gu into
a Committee. He differed from him in that resped,
and thought they ought to proceed immediately ;
but the gre it ohject was, if they went into inquiry
at all, they should do it as men who are determined
to go through with what they had begun ; and should
evince to the world, that if they did set on foot
inquiries, they were in earnest, and would prom& and
support all those in whom they reposed so sacred a
trust. He paid a high compliment to the honest.
honourable perseverance and inflexible integrity of
the Commissioners in training the Tenth Report,
when it was to be recolleaed that the result was
to crimimee one of the most powerful men in
the kingdom. The objea of the House at present
was, to take care that whatever farther inquiry was
instituted, it should not fail to be anted on with
equal integrity and pertinacity, and that whoever
might be appointed Commissioners should be sup-
ported by all the weight, power, and proteCtion of
the House. He thought the House was rather in a
carious and somewhat extraordinary predicament.
If the Attorney General was ordered to prosecute,
the House could not tape& after the• part he
had taken in the present and late debates, in which
this subjeet had been introduced, to find in him a
wry zealous eivocate. As to the inquiry itself, and
the appointment of the Committee, he, for one,
certainly could not doubt that these Hon. Grade-
men opposite to him ss ill, after what they have said.
cheerfully come forward and vote for the same
Commissioners. He hoped, however. the House
would look with a jealous eye to this appoint-
ment, when they recolleeted that the Right Ho-
nourable Gentleman who is to bring it for-
ward was a person who had avowed himself in
some degree a friend to the very man whom the
House had already censured. NVhen all these cir-
cumstances were fully, fairly, and candidly con-
sidered, he must own that he thought the business
was in very unfortunate hands. If the Motion was
to come from any other than the First Lord of the
Treasury. he thought it would appear under more
fortunate and promising auspices. He did not
mean, he said, to accuse the Right Hon. Gentle-
man of any unfair pradtices ; but he could not help
reminding the House, that at the moment they were
exulting at the deteaion of abuses which bad hap-
pened under his own administration, they ought to
consider whether he ought to have the nomination
of those persons who are to inquire into the abuses
of other public offices with which the Right Hon.
Gentleman is more intimately conneded than he
was with the Naval Department ; and the House
should consider whether that quarter was a good
one from which such an inquiry was to emanate ?
The House had great reason to be jealous, and it
was their particular and bounden duty to give their
utmost proteaion, countenance. and support, to
those who have so nobly and courageously perse-
vered in the discovery and deteftion of flagrant
abuses, and whose inflexible integrity had exposed
them to the public eye. He hoped the House
N. la not, when this Committee should be ap-
ps.ated, stiffer them to be confined within narrow
limits. The Right Hon. Gentleman had that
day, for the first time, expressed his disapprobation

(litho condnd This had rais-

ed his suspicion, and bethought it his duty to put
the House on its guard. It had been, at differen•
pgiods, customary to institute inquiries in that
Hulls?, which were never afterwards thought of.
He alludrd to the Committee that was appointed to
enquire into the state of the finances, just after the
first stoppaze of the Bank to pay in cash, which had
never proceeded to any researches, though it wa,
now will known what they might have discovered.
He thought the sithjet of the highest importance,
and hoped the House would look to it with that

jell nisi- it deserved.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
said, he had no atocbment to his own wordhif

the Hon. Gentleman would consent to change the
motions.

Mr. WHITBREAD said, a very material part of
the incpi;ry was, whether Lord Melville VIAS a parti-
cipator with Mr. Trotter ? He did not wish his two
motions to clash or interfere with each other, and

appealed to Vie Learned Gentlemen to say which
course it would be best to pursue
Mr. SI-IF.R I DAN thought the Honse ought to
go into the inquiry without delay, and then might
go into the motion for the Attorney General to pro-
secute. As to the notice given by the Right Hon.
Gentleman, he could by no means think him the
properest person to institute such an inquiry ; he
who was in a manner on his trial as an encourager of
delinquents. He understood the Rizht Hon. Gen-
tlemen meant the inquiry to take .place thoespeu-
diture of the army, barracks, &c. with all those,

,
the First Lnrd of the Treasury was closely conneded
and implicated, and it was, therefore, improper
he should institute such an inquiry.
Mr. CANS I NG said, an H, ~-)urable Gentleman

opposite had challenged his Right Honourable Friend
to go into a general inquiry, and nnw he 1, td ac-
cepted the challenge, it WAS contended he WAS wrong
in doing so.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
said, there was nothing in the Tenth Report against
him.

Mr. FOX said, certainly not by name, but there
was by implication ; and the Right Honourable Gen-
tleman had admitted that sortie part of the naval
money had passed through his hands.
Mr. GREY said he could not agree there' was
no presumption that Lord Melville was a partici-
pator. He thought the reverse was the case. As
to the order of the Motions, the inclination of his
opinion was, that the Attorney General should pro-
ceed, and the Committee take place afterwards.
The MASTER of the ROLLS said, there were
but two alternatives for the House to choose, either
to go into a Committee of general investigation, or
leave the matter to be decided by a Court of Law ;
if the House chose the latter, the case should go
before the Court without any previous prejudice or
c'i,cussion. He, however, agreed that the first
wouP. be the preferable way.
Mr. FOX observed, there were abundance of
precedents to chew that the House has constantly
ordered such proceediags to be taken upon the re-
port of the Committee. The question, therefore,
for the HOLMe to consider was, whether they would
go into that Committee, or have recourse to a court
of liw.?
The MASTER of the ROLLS explained.
Mr. KINNAIRD considered that there were two
objets in view ir. the present question : the one was
to ascertain from the report what sum might be due
to the public ; and the other, whether there were
any grounds of impeachment against Lord Mel-
ville ? If, by reserve- to the one mode, the reco-
very of the money could only be attained, he would
much rather adopt the other measure. The House
was not acquainted with the extent of the guilt of
lord Melville ; that was not as yet ascertained; and
the Right Hon. Gentleman had intimated as much
as that he did not think there were sufficient grounds
for striking the Noble Lord off the list of His Ma-
jesty's Privy Council. He was sure the public mind
would not be satisfied without the extent of his Lord-
ship's guilt were ascertained, for which reasons he
thought the Committee should be appointed.
Mr. GEORGE PONSONBY was not for re-
ferring the matter to the Attorney General, as he
conceived it would be a dereliction of their powers
to an inferior tribunal. Suppose the House had or-
dered the Attorney General to file an information
en the Equity Side of His Majesty's Court of Ex-
chequer, for an account, under which he was sub-
jed to certain pains and penalties, as far as his
knowledge of the practice went : the Defendant
might demur to the information. Mr. Trotter was
Paymaster and Private Secretary to Lord Melville ;
suppose he had advanced several sums of money to
Lord Melville, for which the latter had paid no
interest, this would be a participation of the profits,
and he would wish to know how an information
could get at it ? He did not speak with any degree
of harshness ; on the contrary, he felt as much com-
miseration for the parties as any man could do,
but he did not think the public would be satisfied
with a mere legal proceeding.
Lord HENRY PETTY was against any thing
which could interfere with the proceedings of the
Committee ; the country had come to the general
conclusion that Lord Melville was guilty ; that had
been recorded by the unanimous vote of the House,
which had hitherto done every thing they ought,
and he hoped would still persevere.
Mr. WHITBREAD said, he shonld not perse-
vere in his motion relative to giving instrodions to
the Attorney General ; but be would still persevere
in his motion with respect to the• Committee.
Mr. PI CT said, he should aho persevere in his
Amendment.
Mr. WHI ['BREAD replied, that the Right Ho-
nourable Gentleman had cl.enged the grounds of his
Motion ; to which
Mr. PITT answered, that the Honourable Gen-
tleman himself had changed his grounds.
Mr. T. GRENVILLE declared he should vote
for the I.trge powers of a General Committee; but
he would have wished a prose:ution by the Attorney
General.
Mr. PITT said,, hat when he proposed ,the
Amendment for a limited Committee, he had ifna-
gined the Motion would be followed up by the se-
cond notice relative to the instructions to the At-
torney General.
M-. WINDHAM declared his sentiments wete
in perfect concurrence with his Honourable Frieods.
in their conclusion for a Committer with large and
extensive powers.