The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1805-04-26 00:00:00

eltarge his dety in representing the MN to His Ma=
Mr. WI lITBRE ID expressed mnch sorrow that
the Rigle H tn. Gentleman, after the solemn man-
ner in which the Resolutions were carried to the
foot of the Throne, should not feel it his duty to pro.
teed further ; lie, however, thought he should not
be doing his duty to the public, if he allowed the
matter to rest there : Iv:, therefore, gave notice that
he would, on Tuesday next, move to take His Ma-
jtty's answer into consideration.
seLe.c.T COMMITTFE.
Mr. WHITBREAD rose, and spoke to the fol-
lowing purport It now becomes my duty, Sir,
in consequence of the notice I gave when the House
last met, to submit to their consideration the motion
I then mentioned ; especially as the Right Hon.
Gentleman has this very night prematurely in one
sense, and, as I may say, tardily in another, given
notice of a Motion he intends to bring forward on
Monday next for a Committee to enquire into the
Military Expenditure of the country. Why the
Right Hon. Gentleman has determined to take this
step, I cannot tell, unless it be that he wishes to
get the management of the business entirely into his
own hands, and to settle it as he shall think proper.
This indeed ought not to appear to me very sin-
Euler or extraordinary, for I very well remember,
at some years ago he took a business out of my
hands, and, after affeaing to take it up on a more
extensive scale, and to give it a very large scope in-
deed, he literally finished it by doing nothing at
all, (We suppcse the Hon. Gentleman here al-
-100 to the Motioniat brenght forward respecting
the Poor Rates.) The Right Hon. Gentleman had
told the House, it is his intention to institute an In-
quiry into *lithe Public Offices : with all my hear!, I
here not theslightest objeCtion. F ieim what basal ead y
4 been discovered, mach may, indeed, be expeEted.
I only hope and trust that the Commissioners will be
armed sold invested with the same pees crs as the
Commissioners of Naval Liquiry possess-1; and if
they discharge the tru-• . be repose.] in them with
the same fidelity, fi .nness, and integrity, as the
others have done, I think the Committee cannot be

too soon appointed. But, Sir, the Right Honour-
able Geteleman at the same time ea us, he had
boos that, us the course of this investigation, it
would be found that no peculation. in these other
offices heve taken place. I must own, Sir, that I
enter e:n no such flattering hopes ; tor, after what
has appeared, I think it is almost in vain to expeCt
it; the rare so as an Honourable Gentleman has
told the House that Lord Melville had a fair oppor-
tuuity "(making a very large fortune, had he been
se inclined. How my Lord Melville should have
that opportunity of making a large fortune, unless
by means of the public money, I am at a loss to
gam; and if it was to be done by that means,
1 ran hardly flatter myself that the prat-flee
fro been confined to any one department.—
With re.gard to the immediate objeft of the motion
I have now to bring forward, I need not, I think,
enter at any length upon it, as the Right Honourable
Gent. has said it is not his intention to oppose it,
though I must own there are some points in it.
which are of delicacy, and some which immediitele
/implicate the Right Honourable Gentleman him-
self. Before I say more c e the subjeet, I think it
necessary to mention to the louse the reason which
satiated doe introduce the name of Mr. Wilson
into this debate. I asked the question of the Right
Honourable Gentleman opposite to me (Mr. Can-
ning), whether Mr. Wilson was dismissed, because
I was of opinion that the Right Honourable Gentle-
man 61 not aged with becoming repett either to
the House, or to the Commissioners, who have so
laudably and honourably discharged the trust re-
posed in them by the House, in retaining him its his
office, after the Commissioners had given it as eleir
opinion that he ought to be dismissed. He refused
to answer the questions put to him, and the Right
Honourable Gentleman excuses him for so doing
because he was not bound to answer what might
dive him in legal guilt. I say, Sir, this is no
e (else. Are nitnesses allowed any such excuse in
a Court of Justice? No, Sir; and lam sort y the
Commissioners did not commit him for his refusal.
But, Sir, the fa Et is not so. We have the explana-
tion of Wilson himself, and by that it appears evi-
dently that in answering the questions put to him,
he could not hive eliminated himself, for he afled
merely as a deputy. I hope, however, after what
his passed to-night, the Right Hon. Gentleman will
be in his place when my Hon. Friend brings forward
his vote of thanks totheCommissionersfor theiclabo-
rions and honourable services, and that he will then
fairly tell the liouse,whether he does not think they
deserve it. It has already been said, that the Hon.
Admiral, who is at the head of that Commission,
ought to be dismissed from it, because he declared
he was sorry he had not committed Wilson. I too
him truly sorry that the Commissioners did not com-
mit him. I think they ought to have committed
him and Mr. Mark Sprott also; and I have no
doubt in my own mind they had full power so to
do. lam not aware, Sir, that it is necessary for me
to trespass any further or, the time of the House,
and I shall therefore move
'4 That a Select Committee he appointed to make a further
inquiry into the tranme.inne contained in the Tenth Report of
the Commmeonem of Naval Inquiry, and to report the same
with their nbservatioill and comments to the House."

The question being put from the Chair;
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
rase and spoke to the following purport : 's I do not
rise, Sit, to oppose the present motion, though I
cannot say it is exa&ly such as meets my approba-
tion: inn before I say a word 2.s to the motion it-
self, I think it necessary to trouble the House with
a few observations on what has been said, as to the
notice which I have given for Monday next. The
Hon. Gentleman has accused me of having prema-
turely taken that notice out of the hands of an Hon.
and Learned Gentleman, who had given a similar
ole previous to the recess ; but I appeal to the re-
colleetion of the House, whether that Hon. and
Learned Gentleman's notice was not expressly con-
ditional ; that if, after the recess, I did not bring
forward such a motion, he would. I appeal also
to the recollection of the House, that when the
Hon. and Learned Gentleman first made his motion
en the subjcsi, I said most explicitly, that I had nn
other objeetion to the nsotion,than its being brought
forward at so early a period of the Session; but tbatif
the Commissioners could not close their labours before
the crd of ;he Session, I would certainly bring for-
ward a :notion to the satue effeet, for continuing