The Sun.
London, England, 1807-02-19 00:00:00

MA LT DUTY

Mr. PATTISON seeing .the Right Hon. Secretary'
to the Treasury in his place, wished to,ask, whether
it was the intention of i\linisters to continue, or
make any alteration in, the Duties imposed on Malt
last Sesion, which would e's.pire on the 25th of
next month ?
Mr. VANSITTART informed the. Hon. Member,
that the subjet,t had occupied •the earnest attention
of the Trcatury, and that it should shortly be his
duty to bring the question. under the consideration
of the House.

BARRACK, DEPARTMENT.
Mr. ROBSON'snid; that when in 1802 he had
submitted certain Notions to that House fir :niecly-
ing abuses oencrally prevailing in the Barrack De-
partment, 1;:e had been -thought by his friends too
zealous a devotee in the cause of refbrm, but when
•.-it was recollected that since, that period six millions
and upwards have been devoted for this apart-
ment in this Country, and more than two millions
for the same in Ireland, and when it is considered
that had the measures he had 'then proposed been
adopted, two millions at least of the' money of the
Country • would have been saved—when such were
duly weighed; he was sure he would not now he
thought as having been zealous without cause, The
great and leading abuses in this Department werain
the building and repairing of Barracks. He would
shortly state to the HouSe the Circumstances of a cae
of which he had personal knowledge. 'Mr. Page;
Barrack-Master of Winchester, bought a house,which
he rented titer sixty pounds' per annum, and which
ought to have been rented at thirty pounds per an-'
num. This house, in the year 1801, a Mr. Green
parchaces, and next day the Government is charg-
ed for this very house no less a sum than 1631. ios.
Thus, in the space of . four or five years, pay-
in,- 9901. for that which Government ought to have
bad fur 831. 10s. and including the adanional
terest, and the necessary expences arising out .of di-
lapidation, the expences might be fairly, rated within
3 limited number of years at 17791. instead of 831.
TOs. ; b2sides, this house lodged but three ,Officers,
and even a Captain's .allowance per week W.:s but
eight shillings io4ing Money.;-- so 'that surely'this
was out of all reasonable proportion. He should
state, with the indulgence of the House, alio--
ther' case which had come within his own know-
ledge. Upon the 17th of September last he
• .
had, througha motive of curiosity, paid a visit
to t.l,;;e building in Weymouth, called' tht# thieen's
BarraCks, and containing seven hundred men. What
was the situation of this Barrack ? the worst in
every resped• that could be colick..ived—stuck Up in a ,
nal row unwholesome street, adjoining a public brew-
house—not ground enough belonging to it to parade a
company, of, course an additional expence of sixty

. .
guineas a year for parade ground—no gates to this
building—no place to air the men in a season of wet
we;ither,and what was more objectionable than all,
'no water—the water was supplied from' a distant

pamp,,and that a bad one, foi it was often dry---no
internal accommodation—the men obliged to lie in
hammocks ; when he stated all these several grounds
nt conlplaint, he .diA it nut with a view to attach,
blame to any of the Otiicers connetled with this de-
partment—,-they were no: to be censured—they could
net help it,' the fault was a radical fault- it was, la
the system itself, and until that system was altered
and improved upon, it was to no purpose to attach
blarne to 'the Officers aaing upon so vicious and
ill-organized a system. He >vas sorry to say that the
Barrack Dopartment in Ireland was in almost as de-
plorable a situation, and yet that House paid fitteen
out of every seventeen shillings that werc expended
in that .country under the head 01. this department ;
the Honourable Gentleman then concluded-. with
rnovng the following Resolutions
" That there be laid before this 1-I,hise a Return Of all ihe

- Buildings'of every description renrea or hired, by L;ovcri:ineilr,
and used as "Barracks or. p ;aces for iodging or contain:nil oflicers
anti soldiers of dr army', or pi perz,os sod horses amcned to
titz.! army; that the tall do embrace every imildwg
- which has so been rented, or hilt..., and so used, is rile whole
t reat tietwczn the isr day orjait, 179; and the
24th of June, 134: That the si:id Return be exhiuited in lc
Glurniis, placed- in the order mid. containing the several beads
}:cif: folio% ing, viz. Ist, The date oft he year and r:f the rt:::nth
vyastakeni Thc
arkt 4.: ,ty when elch building respe6tivvly

County and parish in which the building is situate ; 3d, The
name or phrase describing the building; 4th, The number ut
officers that are, or have been, generally quartered or loil,;ed in
the building ; sth, The number of non- commissioned oili,ers
and men, and of horses, that are or have been generally guar.
tered or lodged in the bltilding ; 6th, The mune of the pro-
prietor.of the building ; 7th, The name and rank of the ollicer
or person by whom the building was taken on the part of Go-
vernment ; ' Bth, The weekly rent or hire of the building; nth,
The yearly rent or hire of the building ; loth, The name-and
rank of the officer or person, or officers or persons, through
whose hands the rent ur hire has- been paid to the proprietot
of the building; t ith, The time when any alteration (ifally)
in the rent or hire of the building was made; izth, The week-
ly rent or hire of the building subsequent to such alteration;
13th, The•yearly rent or hire of the building subsequent to
such alteration ; t4th, The time when the building was given
up, if not now occupied by Government; tsth, The account
of the whole of the sums which have been expended in repairs
upon the building; and that the said Returns do exhibit all the
names and descriptions of the said buildings, following one
another in due chronological order, the building first taken by
Government standing first, and the building last taken stand-
ing last."

Mr. 'JAMES MARTIN, (Member for Tewkesbury)
seconded the Motion.
Lord HOWICK had great doubts as to any prac-
tical good effects that could possibly arise from a
Motion of such extent as that submitted by the Hon.
Member ; he did not know whether, if the Motion
in its present entent was acceded to; it would be pos-
sible to enforce it; to make out the lists called for,
would require the aidoftwen ty-fbur additionalUerks,
and even then it could not. he said what time would
be occupied in completing thoe lists, perhaps too
late for-any of the purposes required ; besides, this
department, was now, subjea to. the stri4l investiga-
tion of the ,Com Missioners of
,Military Inquiry,
• and upon their eXpreSs desire another Commission
was appointed, which Commission had been silt-fi-
de:llly empowered fur adequate examination by an
A& just passed for that purpose. . •
Colonel BA.RItY Vindicated the Barrack Depart-,
meht in Ireland.
'Gen. PORTER did not think that the evils com-
plained of in the Barrack Department were of such
• an extent as the Hon. Member seeimd to apprehend.
Mr ROBSON said,-that if the Arconntwhich he
called for could not be made'out by to-morrow, that
such a belief should, in his mind, be in itself an nrgent •
reason to that House to appoint a COmmittee of In,-
quiry into that Department before it adjourned.—
What ! to be told that his lists could not be furnish-
, ed, because of a paucity of clerks hi an establishment.
that already maintained 59 t ! When it was, recollect-
ed of what great national benefit Motions of a simi-
lar nature were in the course of last year productive, '
he could hot think that if- he-persisted in his present
Motion, the House would inconsiderately defeat it.•
He had been the cause last year of a saving in the
Shells of barns, of the difference between 11001. and
22001. He should not now, however, push his Mo-
tion to a division, as he had learned that something
of what he aimed at, had been in agitation.
Lord HO WICK wished to have it distinctly un-
derstood, that he should never be against the pro-
du&ion of Papers of that nature, whenever they were
put into any prafticable form.
Mr. Robson's Motion was then put, and negatived-
without a division.

A Petition was presented for the Improvement of
the Harbour of Dover.

Mr. VANSITTART presented Papers relative to the
Recruiting Service.—Ordered to lie on the table, and
to be printed.

.A.:lCles,:ige from the Lords acquainted the House,
that their Lordships had agreed to the Cape of Good
Hope Bill, the Bat rack Department Commissioners'
Bill, and the Irish Controverted Election Bill, with-
out any amendment.