The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-03-16 00:00:00

1101.18 E OF-COMMONS, WEnsanur, Ithactt IS.

FRIENEfLY SOCIETIES.
SirJ. YORKE preaented a petition from Mr. John Sutoon, of
Goodman'a.lieldii, prayini that the regulation of Ft-le:oily S,cietiea
might be Otani' finder the direction of a Board of Conouisaiunere,

ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.
MV. Alderman IVOOD presented a petition from the Mayor
and Aldermen of the borough of Launceston, in Cornwall, pray-
ing for the abolition of slavery.
Similar petitions were presented by Mr. Calvert. from NVare.
in Hertfordshire; by Sir B. W. Vaughan, from Sayloch ; and
by Mr. Calvert, from Lyndoeh.
Mr. ELLIS presented a petition from the Guild of Merchants
of Dublin, praying for a summary remedy for injury done to
dwelling•houses, and the abstraction of fixtures and materials of
houses, inhabited by insolvents and paupers In keland.—Ordered
to lie on the table. _ _

LINEN TRADE.
Sir G. HILL moved for an account of foreign and Irish linens
imported during the year ending January, 1826; also for an ac-
count of flax imported during the name period, and other accounts
relative to the linen trade.—Ordered.

BASIN STOKE CANAL.
Mr. BANKES preeetra petition from Shaftesbury in favour
of the Basingstoke Canal.
DUBLIN KING'S INNS BILL.
On the motion of Mr. ELLIS the House went into a Cont.
mittee on the King's Inns (Dublin) Bill.—Report to be brought
up to-morrow.
The House resumed.
ALLOWANCE TO CORONERS.
Mr. LITTLETON presented a petition from the Coroners of
the county of Stafford, praying for an increase of allowances.
CHELSEA AND KILMAINHAIV HOSPITALS BILL
Sir C. LONG having moved that the House resolve itself into a
Committee on the Chelsea and Kilmainbam Hospitals Bill, the
House resolved itself into a Committee thereon, when the Hon.
Baronet said, that as he had not had before an opportunity of
stating to the House the object of the Bill, lie would now briefly
lay it before them. Mr. Wyndam had, in the year 1806, intro-
duced a new system to facilitate the enlistment of soldiers, by
which they were allowed to enter the service for a limited period ;
that however entirely failed, and when the men had a choicet they
invariable chose to enter for unlimited service. The plan which
had been devised by Mr. Wyndham was defective in many other
particulars. and by its operation brought a heavy expense upon the
country. There were at present about 80.000 pensioners who were
chargeable on the country, and the expenditure imposed by the
plan, which he (Mr. Wyndham) had originated, amounted tc
700,600; by that system a soldier, after having served only 27
years, might appear at Chelsea Hospital and claim a pension, and
a soldier discharged from the army at the age of 12, after having
! served the stipulated period, might receive a pension for life.
When such persons had appeared to claim a pension he had asked
them if they were not in perfect health ? They answered, they
were, but that the law entitled them to a pension for life, anti that
they only claimed a right which the law had given them. When
foreigners were entitled to those pensions they were slowed to
commute them, and soldiers serving in the East and West Indies
were allowed to count differently from all others ; but what was
most extraordinary in the system of Mr. Wyndham was one very
, curious and ;fanciful provision he had made, which enabled a
I soldier to count one year's absence as two years' service; that was
udquestionably as preposterous an expedient as could well be de.
riled. Another anomaly of the system was to be found in the
modicum of pension which it allowed; for the soldier who re.
ceived only one shilling per day while in actu4 service, received
eighteen-pence when he became a pensioner. We said he enter-
tained the highest respect for the talents of Mr. Wyndham ; but
he could not, notwithstanding, approve of the system which Imbed
Introduced for the regulation of pensions, and which it was his
object to amend. The object of the Bill was to consolidate the
law, end to introduce some new regulations. He would deprive a
pensioner of Chelsea or Kilmainham Hospitals oc his out-pension
to ease he became an inmate of the Hospital. The want of such a
provision was now felt, and he was confident that It would improve
the discipline of those Hospitals if it was introduced. At present
there was no such check upon the pensioners, and they conse-
quently misbehaved themselves, because they knew that when they
went out of the Hospitals they were still entitled to the out.pension.
Another regdlation he would introduce was, to change the law,
which, as it stood at present, made the personating a pensioner for
the purpose of receiving his pay a capital offence. The Bill which,
was before them would provide the punishment of transportation
fnr such a crime, and would award the same punislimeet to the
offence of forging a certificate for the same purpose. He had made
these statements relative to the Bill, to shew the House the state
of the case at present, and the alteration which the Bill was in-
tended to introduce.
Sir ROBERT WILSON said that Mr. Wyndham had intro-
dueed the Bill alluded to, to diminish the expense of the recruiting
service, and to induce persons to enter the service for 3 limited pe-
riod. He highly approved of the proposed alteration of the law, In
making the personating a pensioner, or forging a certificate to ob.
tarn his pension, a transportable offence. He thought that com-
mutation of punishment would be attended with great good.
Sir C.SO'NG observed that the Gallant General opposite (Sir
Robert Wilson) had said that she object of Mr. Wyndham's Bill
was to diminish the expense, but he would ask the lion. and Gal-
lant General if it had had that effect ; he believed the contrary
was the fact. Of those men who had enlisted, not one out of thirty-
five had entered the army for limited service, and, in his opinion,
Mr. Wyndham was totally mistaken in his views. Al'ould that
House have supported a law which gave a man, in the vigour of
lite, a right to a pension for life, and allowed him to count one
year's leave of absence as two years' service? He thought not. and
he was quite sure such regulations should not continue to exist.
General GASCOVNE said he disapproved of the present sys-
tem. It had brought on the country an expense equivalent to that
of from twenty to twenty-five regiments of infantry. As often as
the Army Estimates had come before the House he had declared
that the system was a detective one, which threw additional e
upon the burdens of the country, and brought a tax upon the
public.
Sir C. LONG explained.
The Report was then ordered to be brought up to-morrow, and
the House resumed.

CASE OF MRS. ELIZABETH PRIM/AM.
Mr. ABERCROMBY presented a petition from Mrs Elizabeth
Priddam, complaining of the conduct of the Bank of England, and
praying the /louse to interfere to obtain an inspection of certain
_documents from the Bank, in which she is interested. He said he
would state to the House the circumstances of this case. This per-
sun had stock to a large amount in the Bank, which had been sold
out; the dividends were, however, paid after the stock had been
sold by a power of attorney. The dividends having been punc-
tivilly paid by the banker, no suspicion was entertained of any
change in the stock, until the failure of the bank in question took
place. It was then found that the stock had been sold, and an ap-
plication was in consequence made to the Bank to ascertain how
that was sold. A private individual, a friend of the applicant, had
ascertained that the stock was actually sold ; but when an applies.
thin was made to the Bank, by her solicitor, to ascertain how the
it was sold, and if the power of attorney was regular, he was
refused the means of obtaining that information. and was not able
to inspect the necessary documents. The solicitor wrote to the
Bank to obtain permission to inspect those documents ; a written
answer was returned, acknowledging the receipt of the solicitor's
application, and stating, that before the Bank would allow the in-
spection, the Bank required that she (Mrs. P.) should admit that
she did not intend to impugn the validity of the sale. He would
ask, what right the Bank had to make such a condition the mire
/ • co
of reference to those documents; a send application was made,
and the answer riven to that was, that it had been submitted to the
Directors, but th ,t, in conformity with their uniform practice, they
could rot permit an inspection of the documents, unless an admis-
sion was made to exonerate the Bank from responsibility. It ap.
peered to him that this conduct of the Bank was illiberal and un-
lair, and amounted simply to this, dist a man might be &prised
of his property by a forged power of attorney, and the Bank will
not allow a reference to the documents to move the irregular sale of
that stock. It was remarkable, and well worthy of notice, that the
Bank had stated it was in conformity with their uniform practice
that the application had been refused ; and it surely could not Mr
a moment be supposed that such conduct should be allowed to
continue. He hoped the House would take the case into considers.

umIINIM