The Sun.
London, England, 1802-03-18 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS,

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17.
GENERAL MAJTLAND.took the oaths and his seat
for Haddington, &c.
A Message frorn the Lords informed the House,.
their Lordships had agreed to the One Million Ex-
chequer Bills 'Bill, the Cinnamon Duty Bill, the
Indemnity Bill, anda private Bill. •
Mr. CATHERWOOD, from the Office of Corn
Returns, presented an Account of the Average,
Price of the different- sorts of Grain in England and
Scotland, from' the sth of July, rBor, to the s:h of,
January, IScyz, distinguishing the different Prices
in each Month. Ordered to lie on the Table.
The Marine Mutiny Bill was read-a third time
tnd passed.
Mr. FOSTER moved for a new Writ for Queen's
County, in Ireland, in the room of the Right Hon.
C. COOT E, now Lord COTLECOOTE, a Peer of the
United Kingdom.—Orderede

FINANCE OF IRELAND. •
Mr. CORRY moved the Order of the .Day for
the House to resolve itself into a Committee on the
Irish Duty Bill.
_ _

The House having resolved itself into a Com-

mittee,
Mr. ROBSON said, he found there was an Aft.
similar to the present, passed in the month of March
listyear, and that-, in the month. of July,ean Aft
was passed repealing a part of the former .AEI ; he
wished, therefore, to know, whether the present
Bill referred to the A& passed in July. • ,
Mr. CORRY-said, that certain Duties had been
enafted by several Afts of the Parliament cafe Ire-
land, .which were continued by an Aft of the last
Session. Some of these Duties had been either al-
tered or repealed by other ACts, The object of
'the present Bill was, to continue those Duties for
a year subject to the operation of all
,the Alts re-
jative to those Duties • which had been previously
passed, and which would stand precisely in the
same situation in which-they then did.
Mr. ROBSON said, the ()Ned pf the AEI passed
in July; was to add a fifth to all the pensions in
Ireland, by taking off the duty which was before
paid upon them. The present Bill would confirm
that aft, if it was the opinion of the House that
the ACI should be confirmed ; he should say nothing
more upon the subject, but he thought the House
ought to beaware, that such would be the effe& of
the present Bill, and he considered this an oppor-
tunity to discuss the objea- of the A& for repeal-
ing the Duty which he had alluded to.
Mr. CORRY said, the Hon. Gentleman was per-
feeitly right when he stated that the Ad passed in
July would be • confirmed by the present Bill, and
that the Duty. repealed by that ACI would still
stand repealed. The tax alluded to, was a Duty
of 4s. in-the pound, imposed upon all persons who
were absent from Ireland, by an Aft of the Parlia-
ment of Ireland. After the Union had taken place,
when all distinction between the two countries
• was done away, it was held to be absurd that a
man should be taxed for living in one part-of the
United Kingdom in.preferenee to another. In con-
'.sequence of this, 'it was proposed to the House, in
the last Session, to repeal the •tax, the amount of
which -was then
,stated, and, appeared to be,- only
to,ooole a year.. The House thought it consistent
with propriety to repeal the tax, and'it would still
remain repealed under the present Bill.
Mr. ROBS(:).N said,t he could not conceive why
:the ACt for the Repeal :of the Tax was not proposed
_at the time the Taxes for the year were brought
forward. • The, A%t must, he said, have passed with-
out any debate, as he had never heard a word of it.
His reason for mentioning it now to the House, was
that they 'might know what they were doing,- as
the Tax being once taken off, he supposed, they
• should otherwise have heard no more of it, but the
Repeal would have been regularly confirmed every
year, without any notice being taken' of it.
Mr. STEELE said, be ought to apologize for-
troubling the House ; but as it appeared to be the
objea of the Hon.'Gentlernan to inform the House;
that there was an addition of a Fifth to. the Places and
Pensions on the Irish Establishment,it was his objeft
to state what appeared to him to be the real nature,
of the case; The Tax alluded to, was a Tax imposed
upon Persona -holding Places and Pensions in Ire-
land, who were Absentees from that Country, and
- . was in the nature of a penalty, or punishment, • for.
that Absence, as the Tax applied only to those
Places and Pensions which were held by Persons
,residing out of Ireland. The Honourable Gen-
, tleman had supposed, that the Tax must have been
repealed without any debate upon the subject, as
he had heard nothing of it. It happened, however,
that there was a debate relative to the repeal of that
, Tax; and the probability was not only, that
the Honourable Gentleman must have heard it,
but that he must have 'taken a part in it. There
was a general feeling with respeCt to the Tax, that
as the tyvo Countries had become one United King-
dom, a penalty ought no longer to be infliaed upon
• a Subjea residing in this. part of it, in preference
to theother, particularly when he might be called
here, and,- in a manner, compelled to stay here, by
e. his public duty. Upon the. impulse of this feeling,
the measure of the Repeal of the Tax was brought
forward: the produce of the Duty was also stated,
Which being founl so trifling, that, together with
several other circumstances, induced the greater
part of the House to concur in its repeal, and he
trusted the Tax would still remain repealed.
Mr. JONES said, if he understood the Bill
rightly, it .went to repeal a certain 'fax. The

produce of this Tax was stated to be only to,oool.
a-year, and therefore of no consequence but these
-sums of zo,oodl. and 10,0°01.. a-year, and other
small sums, might go towards the repeal of the In.
-come Tax—[Mr. JoxEs was proceeding to make
observations relative to the Income Tax, but there
being aloud cry of " Order, Order," he Yat doyvh.]

Mr. ROBSo N said, that he understood, that
the Pension List of Ireland was paid out of the
Civil List, and that the latter was paid cut of the
Consolidated Fund. If this was the case, it ap-
peared to him, tbat rss.: out of every r 7s. ;of this
Addition to the Pensions of Ireland, must come out
of .the pockets of this Country.
Mr. COR•RY said, that the Hon. Gentleman had
made a bold and alarming charge, and had rested
the decision of the question upon the truth of this
faa, viz. that the taking ofr .thest Duties would
render it necessary to take so much more out of the
joint-fund of the two Countries. Now if the Hon.
Gentleman should turn .out to be radically and
completely wrong—if he should turn out to be
completely deceived in the faa upon which he had
founded his assertion —if it should appear that
Gieat Britain was in no way whatever concerned
in the business---,and if no objeaiori had been made
to this measure on the part of Ireland, by whom
this expence .vas to be defrayed, he was sure the
Hon. Gentleman would not persist in his assertion.
How did the faa stand? The Pension of both
Countries formed a part of their joint contribution ;
the'deduaions from the Irish Pensions are made in

the Exchequer of Ireland, and go into that Ex-
chequer, which is distina from that of Great
Britain, consequently every shilling taken from the
Pension List 'of Ireland, was a part of its Ways
'and Means, and was totally unconneaed and distina
from that of England. The sum would be to be
made good by Ireland, and the People of Great
Britain would not be affected by it one way or
the other. The House would therefore see, if he
had made himself understood,—that there was not
the slightest foundation for the, Right Hon. Gen-
tleman's assertion. _

After-a few words from Mr. ROBSoN, the Bill
passed through the Committee, and the House hav-
ing resumed, the Report was ordered to be received

0-morrow.

VACCINE INOCULATION.

Admiral BERKELEY presented a petition from
Dr. Jenner, .for leave to present the Petition to
which the Honourable Member had called'the at-
tention of the House orr a preceding day,,but which
.could not then be brought up, on account of the
forms of the house not having been complied with.
The Petition was brought up and read.
Admiral BERKELEY then moved, that the Peti-

tion of Dr. Jenner, to which he had before allud-
ed, should be brought ,up. He should not, he said,
add any thing to what he had before stated relative
to the subjeft.

Mr. HODHO USE expressed his approbation of
the objett of the Petition. He trusted, he said, it
would be found, that the discovery of Dr. Jenner
had exalted Medical Science, and opened new sources
of human felicity.

The CHANCELLOR of the .EXCHEQUER said
that before a Petition of this nature could be re-
ceived, His Majesty's recommendation was nem-.
sary : he had it in command from His Majesty td
signify that recommendation. He hoped, it it was
the pleasure of the House, that the subjea would be
enquired into with every, degree of minuteness, in
order that it might be ascertained whether the
had or had not been, or was or was not pro-
duElive of great public benefit ; whether the Peti-
tioner was entitled to the merit of that discovery,
and whether he bad or bad not, or could or could
not derive any private benefit from it, If the re_
sult of- this inquiry was favourable to, the Peti-
tioner, there was no doubt that the House would
display that disposition which it always sheaved to
remunerate persons of merit, for discoveries of pub-
lic importance.
Mr. WILBERFOIZCE said, that since the in-
trodudion of inoculation more persons 'bad died in
the Metropolis of the small pox than before,. the
disease having become more general, in consequence
of the freedom of communication with persons af_
flitted by it ; whilst before the introduCtiOn of
inoculation, they were treated as if infeded with
the most contagious distemper. He therefore wish-.
ed that the discovery of Vaccine Inoculation might
be, upon inquiry, thoroughly authenticated..
The Petition was then brought up and read, and
ordered to be referred to a Select CommiLtee.