The Sun.
London, England, 1808-03-02 00:00:00

OFFICLS IN 11.YERSION DILL.

On the Order of; the Day beine, ro..d for the second
reading of this Bill, , •
.Earl of LAUDERDALE called the anew.
tion of the House to those passages in the Speeches.
of his. Majesty to Pirli,lnlent, on tilt 27th Of April
and the 26th of June, eApressing a 'desire that the
inquiries, with, a view' to public economy, should be
continned.• ifhe Committee of Finance which had
existed in the former Parliament had.heitii
pointed in this, which Committee had recoil).
mended this measure. His Lordship adverted to
the circumstances of this Bill having been thrown
out in the last Session, when none Of the Ministers
were present, except the Noble and LeaTneci Lord
On the Woolsack i and expiessed a hope that, wider
all the circumstauces in which tins Bill was again
pressed on their Lordships' attention, they mould
not now reject it. It was highly important, at a
-crisis like the present, that the people should see
that there was a disposition to attend to every minu-
tiae that could tend to relieve the pressure of those
burdens which they must necessarily bear; whilst,
at the saute time, the mode ofranting offices, which
it was sought Co prevent, was by q) mean's a good
mode of rewarding public servants, from the vari-
ation at different periods in the rofits of offices, and
tended frequently to confer of ces on those who
were incapable of executing the duties or them.
Lord AUDEN opposed the Bill, on the ground
of its twine; a 'direct and unnecessary infringement tilt
the Kin's Prerogative. He also objected to the
Resolution of the House of Commons, subsequent
to the rejedlon of the Bill last Session, whit:bite
considered rather as a species of legislation. He
was aware that his opposition to the Bill was liable
to meth, misrepresentation ; but that should nut de-
ter' him from performing what he conceived to be
an act of public duty.
Earl SP ENCEii was perfe&ly convinced of the
•
purity of the 'motives which actuated .the Noble
`Lord. He did not thiuk this Bill of any essential
or vital importance ; but under the circumstances
in which it was befere the House, he thought their
Lor&hhips ought to pause before they again re-
jeaed it. He thought it rather tenders to mpi.,lrt
the preropttitip of the Crown, than to ;:iirgiq;o
upon it.
The LORD CHANCELLOR objected to the
Bill in its present shape, as wholly unfit to pass into
a law, trout the vague manner in which it was
drawn Up, and the general, enadments which it con-
tained.' wits wilting, hOWever, to vote for the
second reading, if there was any prospect of by mo-
difying it in the Committee as to tree it from those
ObJetilonS to which at present ho thought it liable
but if it was intended to. press it in its present shape,
be must Jdecidedly ohjetl to it.
Lord HAW< ESBUR Y wished the Bill to go to
Comtnittee; on the gt-oods that it might be ex.
pedient. to regulate the granting et offices in rover-
Sion, so as to prevent abuse, and also to give thud
plan of economy which it
fur lee maturing at any
might be ,wished to propose, and which might,
theretbre, render it adviseable to suspend for a cer-
tain time the granting of offices in reversion, that
in the mean w one it might be ascertained whe-
ther there wens any otlice.s which it Would be ex-
pedient to regulate or abolish. it wow in this view
of the sebjea that be voted lor the second reading,
in the hope that the Bill might' be modified in the
Committee.
Lord GAOSPEIVOR approved of the Bill in its
present shape, and hoped that no compromik would
take place,, out that the Bill would puss as it was.
Thy Earl of 111ESTMOBELAND supported the
Second reading oil the same grounds as Lord
"Hawkesbery. As to Ministers not attending.on the
• discussion of this Bill last Seestoo, why did not
111oble Lords on die other side attend that discus-
sion ; and why had not this Bill, if it was so int-
portant, been tiooner taken up by them ?
Lord lISDASDA LE obje6ted to die Bill altoge..
ther, and thought it incaptthie of any modifications
which could r•niicr it fit to be pa6sed into a law. He
also objecied to the Vote of the House of Com..
mons, for addressing his Majesty not to grant
Offices in Reversiou, u;hich he considered a sort of.
of the Legislature alone.
Legislation by one branch
If there was any measure of finance to be 'pro-
posea, let them have the '1.11(4)e- of the.intqlsure t
fore them, and they theo could lodge- 01 the prupti-
ety of this Bill.
Lord Hobt,ob, in adverting to the tipeeph of
the, Nate .E 4 r '('WeAcnprl4lo), deprecated that BPO'
ties of recriminatory observations, which cooldlehd
o no possible good. Noble Leeds on his side of the

House had not previously taken up the Bill only be-
cause they did not, wish to 3hew a want of candour
towards Ministers #pe 'the sake.ni
.cateiii,m; 'a little
popularitY., He could noebelp observing, that those
Noble Lords' who had opposed the Bill in totn had
attid with the greatcsrfatrness. His Lordship de-
fended the Vote of the Home of Commons, which,
being merely for an humble Address to his Majesty
to suspend the granting of Offices in Reversion Un=
.
til six weeks after the commencement.of this Session
of Parliament,. he' could not conceive liable to the
objeetions of the Noble and Learned Lord.

The Duke (f MONTROSE observed, with re-
speet to recriminatory observations, that it was nOt
fair the attack should be all on one side. He op-
posed..the'Bill in into, thinking it incapable ref any
desirable modification.

The Earl of DARNLEY supported the Bill.
Lord AUCKLAND, ii0(11 the unlimited ettaanients
of the Bid, was not prepared to assent to it.
The House diirtded on the question for the se-
,
cond reading ; the numbers, as we understood, were,

Contetits - 34 , Not Contents 36
Proxies - 35 . Proxies - 25

69 6 t
Majority—a.
TIP! Ili:1 was, w•e understood, rend a second'tinie,
and committed for Tuesday. Adjourned till Thurs-
day.

HOUSE. OF ,commoNS.
. TUESDAY, MAIM!! I •
Committees were- chosen by Ballot, to try and
determine the merits of the Petitions complaining of
undue Ele6tions and Returns for the Boroughs of
Newcastle and Yarmouth. The following are the
Gentlemen composing the Committees.
NESCCASTLE COMMITTEE. /
let. Hun; Maurice I.li4,6eraiii. Samuel Smith, ESQ.
eitiverly iicwick, Esq. Alex. M'Kerizre r/sett Esq.
W. WilnerlOtee. Esq. • Lord Viscount Templeton,
F. W. Grant, Esq. Sir Lawrence Palk, Barr.
Sir Edward Knardibull. Lord Viscount Newatk.
C. I. Brandin's, Esq. 1 Charles Milner,
NOM INEE.
HerVy joddrcl, Esq. l 1V nn. Dickenson, Esq.
YARMOUTH commiTTEE.
Andrew Strahan, Esq. lion. Thomas Onslow.
M. H. I3elien, .sq. Win. „Gordon, Esq. ,
Sir R. Pccie, Lan. H. Stuart. Esq.
Lord Arthur Somerset. Edward Holler, Esq.
Es.i. Thus. Cholnionci4ey, E'l.
Lord Vi OLIIii huh:anis, I Henry Guldsworth, Esq.
W. Manning, Esq. . ,

140141 N ES.
Sir Arthur Wellsley, Barr, Mellish, Esq.

A Message troth the Lords, informed the House,
that their Lordships had agreed to t..e 10,500,000 i.
Exchequer 13i114 Hill, and Petty Customers Place
Abolition 13111, without any amendment. • •

Orders in Council Bill should take place on Monday
next, the CHANCELLOR of the ExchEsatnajrniug
previously iniimat6d his intention to carry the Bill
through the Committee this niklit, and to have the
Report , brought up on l'hurslay or Friday next.
Mr. WHARTON brought up the Report of the
Cimnbittee of tilt% whole House upon the King's
most gracious Message, relative to the Grant of an
Arinhity to the FaMily of the late Lord Lake.—The
Resolution was agreed to, and a Bill ordered, pur-
suant thereto. .