The Sun.
London, England, 1822-03-12 00:00:00

[BRITISH PRESS.]

The Chancellor of the Exchequer made his-
promised exposition last night respecting the ex-
tent and character of the system of retrenchment
upon which the Ministers of the Crown acted
during the last recess of Parliament, in pursuance
of the votes of both Houses. The principal part
of the Right Honourable Gentleman's speech
referred to the superannuation scheme, by which
a certain graduated proportion is 'to be taken
from the salaries of all Civil Officers under
the Crown, for the purpose of forming a fund
to be applied to the support of retired and
superannuated Officers. The most interesi-
ing portion, however, was that which spoke of
the reductions that have been effected in the
several departments of the State. The public
will be pleased to learn that from the Civil List
a reduction has been made to the amount of no
less than 75,0001. a year. In this his Majesty
has granted 30,0001. a year from that portion of
the Civil List which relates more inimedialely
to his own personal expences ; 20,00(i1. have
been conceded from the salaries of the prin-
cipal Officers of State, and 25,0001. from the
appointments of the Officers of the Household.
The reduction in the Public Offices of State
is estimated at 12,0001., and in the department
of the revenue at 66,0001.; and a further gradual
reduction, estimated for the present year, at
15,000/. is to be accomplished by a diminution of
the salaries of office as the present incumbents
retire, and new officers succeed to the situation:-.
The result of the labours of retrenchment in Ile,
land present only the sum of 31,0001.; so that
the total amount of the present reductions eA-
tends no farther than 189,0001. a year.
mises, in the mean time, are largely made of fit-
ture reductions ; but the utmost exertions of the
Ministers of the Crown, not sparing even the
Civil List of the Crown or their own salaries,
could etTect.no greater retrenchments in the im-
mense establishments of the Government. This
extraordinary result of such disinterested labours
is the more remarkable, as the Nliiiisters theta-
selves at the close of the last Sessbn of Parlia-
ment voluntarily adopted the estimates of I.7ti`2; as
the scale by which they proposed to regulate
future expellees of the empire. The ChancolloT
of the Exchequer's speech is fraught with very
minute details, which of course we shell not re-
peat. It will be seen that he concluded his ex-
position by moving certain resolutions relating
to the establishment of the Superannuation fund,
and that those resolutions were agreed to by the
House.

Accounts from Glasgow, dated the 7th, mpi..
tion a most violent hurricane which occurred there on tot
noon of Tuesday,accompanied by showers of sleet al:d .
aiderabledamage was done in many parts of the city, and vs y
great apprehensions were entertained for the safety ot the a;
ip-
ping in the Channel. Tl.e vessels at the Bank drove col a -
derably, and it is feared were damaged. A vek.scl frtm D. -
merara arrived at the Clyde , name then unknown, with L
sails and rigging much damaged.

Mr. TOWERS, surgeon, of Kendal, whose mur-
der of his wife was noticed in THE SUN about two
months ago, has been just tried at the 'Westmor-
land Assizes. The trial lasted nine hours, and
the Jury being convinced of the mental derange-
ment of the prisoner, acquitted him of the charge
but he will be confined for life as a lunatic.

.h

PARLIAMENT,

311OUSE' OF LOILDS, MONDAY, MARCH 11.

persons who, not being in • the country at the
time, could not express it within the limited pe-
' 'riod. As it was proper that there should be no
'•unnecessary delay he should wish, as early as

possible after the' Bill had been received from

the other House of Parliament, to proceed with
the measure, and Should feel it his duty to enter
fully into the discussion, and to meet the objec-

ROYAL ASSENT.
lit a quarter before four o'clock the Loan
CHANCELLOR, the Earl of SHAFTESBURY, and
Lord REDESDALE,, appeared as his MAJESTY'S
C'oiimaiisioners, and gave the Royal Assent to the
Sogar,Snufrand Tobacco Bill, the Exchequer
Bills Bill, the Transfer in Aid Bill, the Irish
Arms. Importation Bill, the Irish Seizure of Arms
indemnity Bill, and the Irish Population Regu-
lation Bill.
The Duke of MONTROSE announced that his
Majesty had received the Address of the House,
of the 7th in6t. and had graciously been pleased
to order that the Papers applied for should be
laid before their Lordships.
Mr. MASON presented a Return of the Salaries
and Pensions granted by the East India Com-
pany during the last month.—Laid on the table.
The Bishop of CHESTER presented a petition
from Macclesfield, expressing the unanimous
opinion of honest tradesmen, and praying for an
alteration in the laws respecting Hawkers and
Pedlars.—Read and laid on the table.
The Attorneys and Solicitors Act Amendment
Bill was read a third time and passed.
ASSIZES.

Mr. BROGDEN and others returned from the
Commons the Commissions of Assize Bill.
REGISTRATION OF DEEDS.

The Earl of BLESINTON, in proposing a Bill
for the Registering of Irish Deeds, should not
have troubled the House with any observations,
had he not understood that it was believed in
Ireland that the object of the Bill was to effect
some alteration in the mode of registering. He
wished therefore to state that its sole effect
would be to give persons residing in England the
option of having their deeds registered in Ire-
land, or else of having them registered here,
with the power of sending memorials of it after-
ward to Ireland. It was also proper to add that
by this measure no expense would be created to
the country.
The Bill was then read a first time and or-
dered to be printed, and the second reading
fixed for this day fortnight.
NAVY FIVE PER CENTS.
_

The Earl GREY said, he observed by the votes
of the other House, that a Bill was in progress
there for a very important object, affecting the
interests of the 'holders of the Five per Cents.,
and he wished to know what was the course in-
tended to be pursued with regard to the Bill on
its coming up to their Lordships ?
The Earl of LIVERPOOL said, he expected the
Bill'to come up this evening, and he proposed to
move the second reading of it to-morrow.
Earl GREY said that his reason for asking
this question was the importance of the subject.
If he understood the nature of the Bill right,
the time allowed to the holders of Five per
Cent. Stock to express their dissent, would not
only expire on Saturday ne,xt, but all those who
by that time had not expressed their dissent,
Would be included amongst those who had as-
sented. It was proper, before such a step should
he taken, that their Lordships should have all
the details of the measure before them, and that
more time should be allowed than it was now
proposed to grant. If the Bill were only brought
in to-day, it could not be printed until to-mor-
row, nor properly in the possession of the House
till the day after; and yet on Saturday, the
time which it would allow to the Five per Cent.
Stockholders to decide on a question materially
affecting their interests would expire. He
trusted that the Noble Earl would not hurry
such a Bill, without giving their Lordships ample
time to examine it in all its details. He (Earl
Grey) was not a holder of Five per Cent. Stock;
his personal interest would be all on another
side ; it would be to his advantage that the pub-
lic should be relieved to the fullest amount, both
of interest and capital. But whilst feeling the
weight of these considerations, he wished that
the House should be well informed before it
agreed to such a measure. He also wished for
time to have the opinion of the Learned Judges
upon the subject, and to ascertain whether the
holders of Five per Cent. stock had not taken it
under the condition that they should not be paid
off until a certain portion of the public debt had
been discharged. It would be most extraor-
dinary if such a measure should be pressed with
so much rapidity and a large body of individuals
should be deprived of a right on Saturday next,
by a Bill which had not been brought into the
House. He also understood that the measure
was not complete in itself, and that it would be
necessary to introduce another Bill to give it full
effect. Under such circumstances it would be
as unfair as extraordinary that the public should
be subjected to the operation of an incomplete
measure.
The Earl of LIVERPOOL allowed that the sub-
ject ought to undergo the fullest possible inquiry.
It was not his intention, therefore, to suspend
any Standing Order, or to do any thing which
'could tend to curtail discussion. But he must
contend, that it was for the advantage of the
public that no unnecessary delay should take
place. The metits of the question lay within
narrow limits, and he should have no difficulty
in satisfying the House that both his Majesty's
Government and Parliament were fully com-
petent to adopt the present measure under the
anthority of existing Acts. It had now been se-
Vera( weeks before the public; all the indivi-
duals concerned knew what was proposed, and
tad had a full opportunity of judging and de-
ciding what it would best serve their respective
interests to do. There was no possible unfair-
ness in this. All had till the last hour to express
their dissent, and there were special clauses for

dons' of the Noble Earl, or of any other Noble
Peer,

Eitrl GREY had no, wish to create unnecessary
;delay, but conceived that in so important a mea-
-1 sure some delay was necessary. The Noble
Earl said that the measure had been for many
weeks before the public : but did every man,
who on Saturday next would lose the right of
expressing his dissent, exactly know the conse-
quences of assenting or dissenting ? lie saw no
possible disadvantage which could arise from de-
lay, especially if that state of prosperity which
his Majesty's Ministers had asserted did exist,
were to continue. But delay was also necessary
on another ground ; for if the negociations be-
tween Russia and Turkey were to end in a diffe-
rent manner from that which had been antici-
pated, the situation of the public would be ma-
terially changed. Before individuals should thus
be compelled to express their dissent, they ought
to be allowed time to ascertain the situation in
which they stood ; and if the House did not give
ample consideration to the subject, it would fail
in its duty and might be the cause of serious in-
jury.

The Earl of LIVERPOOL contended that, if the
argument of the Noble Earl were good, it proved
the necessity of postponing the measure not only
beyond Saturday, but until the negociations be-
tween Russia and Turkey had come to a termi-
nation. Otherwise the situation of the Five per
Cent. Stockholders would not be improved by.
delay. With respect to the state of these nego-
ciations, he could only say, that if his Majesty
had to make a Speech this very day, he would
not advise him to express himself in different
terms from those which he had used upon the
subject at the opening of the Session. As to the
number of the individuals who had hitherto dis-
sented, it was inconsiderable, and the amount of
the stock which they held did not exceed, on
Saturday last, three or four hundred thousand
pounds. There was no reason in the state of
foreign affairs to prevent their Lordships from
immediately proceeding with this Bill, unless
they should be disposed to adopt no measure of
the kind, as long as discussions should be carried
on amongst Continental States, which might pos-
sibly have an unfortunate issue.

Earl GREY conceived that the real question
was, whether there were not good grounds, at
this very moment, to think that the peace of
Europe would be disturbed on account of the
decision to which the negociations between Rus-
sia and Turkey must soon come ? It would have
been better, and the measure would have borne
a character of less severity, if the whole trans-
action had been deferred till the termination of
those negociations had taken place. If the
House followed the course which the Noble Earl
proposed, it would not act consistently with
what was due to its own character, or to the
confidence placed by the public in its decisions.
It was undoubtedly in the power of th,. Noble
Earl to force this measure through, but it would
he most unseemly if he did so, especially if the
House were not made fully conversant with all
its details.

The conversation then dropped, and the House
adjourned during pleasure.

The House resumed at nine o'clock, %%hen Mr.
LUiIIINGTON and others, from the Commons,
brought up the Navy Five per Cents. Bill.
On the motion of the Earl of LivcnPoor., the
Bill was immediately read a first time and or-
dered to be printed. His Lordship then gave
notice that he should move the second reading
of it to-morrow, for which day the Lords were
ordered to be summoned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.