The Sun.
London, England, 1810-03-23 00:00:00

fHOLiSS OF COMMONS,

. THURSDAY, :MARCH 22,A •
person from the Bank presented accounts of
all the issues of coin from, the Bank ,
since the :year 1803, sunder-Orders in Counail,
specifying the particular Orders; and the amount
of the burns issued theieon. Ordered ta- be
printed:
. _
The notion respeaing the 14acir LaWs was pot..
ported till Monday se'nnight.
Mr. H. Sumlica,•piesented a petition against the
Blackfriars-Bridge Sunday Toll BilL—Ordered folic
on th& table. '
The Blickfriars Sunday Toll Bill was read a Third
time, and, atter ,a few .words from Mr. Herbert,
passed.

•
, A Petition was-pretented against the Rothirhithe
Dock Bill.—Ordered to lie on the table till 'be se,
rand 'reading of the Bill. The second teadint being
_

Mr. IV MARTIN opposed the Bill, aq he thought
he meast ire likely to produce serious inconOnien,-csA
inasmuch itAvyuld occasiocally subject 'he houses
in Rotherhithe ,to an inundation.. Air. Dodd, the
projeatOr, Was to gain 10,19001. by the passing of
the Bill, yea it was on his testimony thit the House
was Called upon to sanction the Measure. Corisi..
dering this as It mere speculation, Oril alculated to,
enrich the proje6tor-,
_tie Moved,,as an amendment,
that .the Bill should be read.a setOnd tune on that
day six months.

- Mr. H. THORNTON- objected to the. systeAl of
gratiih)g charters to .:uch applicants, and conse.
civently oproseil the Bill. •
Mr. R. 11D defenct,A the cOnduet of Mr.D _d;
and confet‘cied that ahe .Bill was ,u,ort.-. repsonuble
I -
than ihe Holl,Gentlealati opposite wist the House
to belit-ve it tO he. • • . •

A di% hiot, tpok-place., when the numbers, .sere.
for the arnen:l agpiusi it 37.- The Bill
•Nas of CoUrse C.eu read a. second bole. -
..On the of Mr; SkAw Li't-.Ot,E, a Com-
mittee was appc4iited to Cousid eCY ti.r C 24.1Je.c. tl,y,
of giving odiice of judos:4-6,13415. '
A Me.Sap_tr,,,:it 'lle Lords was tectivecL request-
ing the
Conimons rermit I'. W. Coke, &q..
Member 'of their [-louse, tio atfe;;ii
mittee 01 the Lords oil the Corm Di tillers Prohibi-
lion Bill.

The`lrish Distillery 'Bill was read a• third lime,
and, passed:

Cul. BARRY brought up the'Report of the Corp-
miltee fur improving the Bogs of Iceland.-70,cierod
to lie on the table.

'Mr. FosTctt brOtight in -a i3lll lot continuing an
Mt . the DrawbaCks Sugar i,s• rv-
land, which was read a first and ordered 41
a kecond time to-morrow,

- .
. .
On,
_the motion of Mr. ROSE, '-the Freeport Bill
went through a Committee; the report of which
was otdtred to be received to-morrow,
The Quarantine Regulation Bill • was read a Glut('
time and passed. ... _ . •
The Committee on the Expiring Laws Bill was
postponed till Thursday next. i
• MOTION FOR THANKS TO SIR ROBERT
WILSON.

Mr. HtiTcHiNspN felt much 'satisfaction in -rising
to address the
.House on a subjc& on which he
thought a very wide -contrariety:Of opinion
'not exist, as the merits of, Sir Robert Wilion
'were so generally acknowledged, both
.in and.out of ,
that House. He wished them to dismiss from their
minds the consideration of -two points that might
appear to be in some measure tonnected.with the-
subje6l. First, the present perilous state of the Pc.
ninsula ; and, secondly, the policy or impohey of
the war. The want of success in such-a contest,
he contended, could afford no rational grounds for
withholding their Thanks.. from a meritorious
UEIi er ;' and where merit like that dispiayed 'by
Sir Robert Wilson was 'conspicuous, felt• anxi-
ous t hat they shotild bestow on it that applause
and those rewards to which it might appear en-
titled. He then entered nto a detail of the ser,- 6
vices of Sir Robert Wilson, dwelling strope,ly-on
the valour, skill, and activity displayed by him in t e
Peninsula, which had gained him the thanks Of tie
Poriuguese Goverment, who offered him a peniion
while they procured him the proudestdisencuen he
could hope—.--thesipprobation of an admiring -enetn),-.
:This fact was proved by intereeptedletters, in
it appeared that a high rank h -the Legion of •
uOur had been confe,rred on those s'lto had
guished themselves serving against Sir-R. Wilson.—
' It it, should*la said there were no precedent
a motion, he Would' say the times, were; such mat it
became necessary ,such a-precedent should be. has ie.
Why were the battles of Vimiara, Corunna4Kl
laVera so requited ? Was it- because tite poser -or
France had been overthrown, and the balance- :.f
power restored 3 7o ; it was impoSsible to suppOse ,
that Sir John gooceor Lord Wellington ,:vitil,SUCh'
numbers as they Commanded could attain an, hject
so mighty. • They were sent to set Spain and Port-
ugal an eiample -ot valour,- vt, hich followed, -14
free those countiriet frOm the 'yoke of France. Sir '-
Robert-Wilson-hal fully'acted pp to tin, principle,,. and was therefbre entitled, gratitude. Here.-
•gretied the role Mnitsterg in \Portu-gal and.Spaiti (Mr,
and Mr.-Fier4 were not there ro beat' kt- -
timoriy to his high deserts. -He pledged hiinsOt -to
prove that his movements in tt.e Peninsula
directed by *sound policy Though young, -Sir Rit- •
bert Wilson had been seventeen years- almost con- :
staatly in distinguished services, which auxi(:tydy:
sought to share even. bj the moit distant and
pitahle countries.-He .(Mr. Hutchinson) did. not -
join. the vulgar xlamour agaiust Buonaparte. tre
thou3ht him at obee•the greatest! statesman
,:ani the
greatest warrior. that ancient or irioderp tales had
prvdeiced ;--and should be continue at the head-of

.

ti -;t 11e:rierlse Power, which was constantly increas-
ieg, and which had hitherto been exerted but to
the of those who opposed it, he thought,
it trehable we might have to contend against it for
very existence. With this impression 'on his
!wild; he thought it was necessary to foster, encou-
Lige, and -even to seek out military talent, that we
might be enabled to meet it, and resist it with suc-
cess. -He concluded by moving-
4, That Sir R. Wilson, and the troops under his command.
by entering Spain in September, 1808, in the moment of peril
.I,d alarm, and by. the resolution they displayed in the face
of a so pet for force till the ensuing May; when Sir R. Wilson
fell back to join the army of Lord ‘,Vellington, under vk horn
he served as a Brigadier-General, had rendered services to the
• crop mon cause which merited the thanks of that -HouSe,,.v Inch
the :;peaker.should be di rated to communicate to that officer."
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was cer-
tain tici `disposition existed to undervalue the ser-
vice. of Si'r R. Wilson. As far as they went, they
will deserved -every encomium the Hon. Gentleman
bestewed on them. It was, however, o un-
what they had ever done before, to vote thanks
. where no signal instance of victory called for them,
that valuable and important as his services were, he
c nil not accede ro the motion. He hoped the
Hon. Gentleman would withdraw it, and not corn-.
pel him (as he otherwise must) to oppose it, and
-House to refuse their thanks, as, he apprehend-
cs in -that case they would. The Hon. Gentleman
• cist have been partly ,aware it could not .te ac-
ceded tee As he had stated there were no precedents
for such a motion. He must also be aware that
-there Were many gallant affairs in the course of that
eampaign which had not received their thanks ; that
even the battle of the-Douro, • brilliant as was that
action, had not been deemed of sufficient import-
mice to call for that honour,• an honour which, he
,i4s of opinion, ought not to be confetred but on
,some signal occasion.
Mr. CANNING thought the grounds stated by his
Right Hon Friend, and the general conduct of the
, House precluded the possibility of carrying the mo-
tion, at least in such a manner as would be gratify-
ing to t hat meritorious Officer. Valuable as his ser-
. - vices were, they were not such as to call for the
Thanks of that House. They must all remember
runny such applications having been made, and the
;notions being subsequently withdrawn. That he
- thought would he done in the present instance, if
the feelings of Sr Robert Wilson were properly con-
' suited. The battle of the Douro had not been thought
- intitled to such an honour. The cavalry belonging
• to the army engaged at Corunna, and General Paget,
who bore a sufficient mark of having deserved well
of his country, had not been included in the thanks
given. by that House; he, therefore, was of ()pi-
- nion, they could not with propriety give them to
Sir R. Wilson. -The Hon. Gentleman seemed with-
out cause to think his services spoken lightly of ;
and in a former debate, some remarks had been
made on Lord Wellington having spoken of him as
being " an able partizan ;" in so expressing himself,
he conceived that Noble Lord had no intentions,
of her than that of so charalerising that service in
w hid, Sir R. Wilson had so eminently distinguished
himself; and w hich, if it did not entitle him to the
thanks of that House, had gained him the esteem of
every man in it.

General_TAßl.wrox would bear testimony to the
merits of Sir R. Wilson, but had reasons for being
or opinion it would be best to withdraw the motion.
Wi‘h respect to what had been said-of theapplica-
•tion of the word " 1-,Arti7,n" to H. Ito
would observe, a " .partizan" was a General in mi-
niai ore. Ile was his own Commissariat, his own
Cluarter-marer, Adjutant, &c. and had to procure
his own intelligence. It was the best field tor Offi-
cers to display their talents in, and for torthing a
G,:neral. He thought the motion would be well
withdrawn; and the state of Europe was such that
it could not fail of affording Sir R. Wilson ample
opportunities of distinguishing himself, so that the
thanks of Parliament would be awarded to him
• without hesitation.
Lord CASTLEREAGH aanowledged, in the most
fiA:ering manner, the services of the gallant Offi-
, cer, but he was of opinion that it was a mater of
great'delicacy and difficulty, and therefore that the
House should be cautious how it indulged its feel-
ing of q),,lause and appi obation. The fad was, the
sei vice was not performed in the British, but in, the
P rtngue,fle army ; certainly great praie was duty for
hip exertions in forming a corps there, which 'per-
formed many gallant achievements; still the House
s4,onld be-c,ireful to place a limit to its rewards, and
give a dignity to those already conferred, by bestow.:.
ing them as-the, reward of greater sert;ides. He was
sure Sir R. Wilsoh himself w,uld be the last person
to draw any personal satisfaction hom the sacrifice
the House should make were this rneaiure pursued.
:He said the united feeling of this House was the
f;`‘, warmest approbation of the gallantry,of the Hon.
Officer, and concluded ,by hoping the Hon. Mem-
ber would withdrawa his motion.
• After some remarks from 'Sir James Hall, Mr.
Hutchinson expressed his gratifica, ion at hearing
the.merited praises bestowed on pia gallant Friend,
all& as the House did not seem to wish to go any
lenths, he consented to withdraw his rnution.
I'h CHANCELLOR of the ExcamuEit'regretted
the absence of a Noble Lord, horn whom he
wished to learn the nature of the questions and re-_
solutions which are to take place next Monday, re-
latite to the'Expedition to the Scheldt. It was an-
- Swercd, they, would principally concern the policy
. of the EXpeditioni and the appointment of Lord
Chatham.

TfiEASURER OF THE POST-OFFICE, DUBLIN,
4 Sir JOHN NEWPORT, pursuant to notice, rose 10
cell the attention of the Hous.to a measure which

•
intimately concerned what must now be confessed
by boil' sides of the House as absolutely necessary,
!Wily. He referred to several Resolutions of the
Irish Parliament in "the year 1784, relative to the
ar.:nting,of
.pensions as, rewards • for services, and
citieFiy• that which enaaed that no revenue officer
should be entitled to retire on a salary till after a pe-
riod of 40 years blamekss service. Ile next teterred
to the 9th Report of the Commissioners of Parlia-
mentary Liquify, v. hid' condemns the case in ques-
bun as a gross violation of the salutary rules which
were laid down for the encouragement of economy.
On these grounds„ therefore, he moved the follow-
ing Resolutions Those of the Irish Parliainent.
2.
_The 9th Report of the Commissioners Of Parlia-
mentary Inquiry, which says that the late Treasurer

• t the Post:Office, Dublin, after holding that situ-
• ation for eight years, has been superanuated, wilh-

out having discharged any servica whatsoever. Arvi
that the House consici•.:qs he has neither riglit,or
to this- pension, but that it is a-violation of
Ct:0110111 V.

Mr. WELLEiLEY POLE said, he had listened ,With
attention to what haq fallen from the Houourable.
Baronet, and-would now, with -the permission of.
the House, shortly state his, easons for dissenting
from the motion. There was no man more sensi-'
ble than he was of the necessity of adopting, upon
all occasions, rational economy, or who approved
more than he did of the resolutions of the House of
the House of Commons, tespeaing the period of
'superannuation. ,He begged leave also to state,
that, as•far as he had had an opportunity of observ-
ing, no person could .be more desirous of attending
to these objeas, 'and of enforcing economy, where-
ever it could be practised,..than the present Lord
Lieutenant, the Duke of Richmond. With reaped
to the subject now before the House, he begged to
state, that it appeared to him that'the Commis:dpn-
ers had taken a mistaken view of the case. The
Hon. Baronet had stated the retirement of the Trea-
surer of the Post Office in Ireland, as if he had been
superannuated upon his lull pay, after having served
the office only eight ye.as. Now, an attentive pe-
rusal of the Report would shew, that that was not
an accurate state of the case. The fa& was, that
the Gentleman alluded to was appointed to the
office of Treasurer in tad() ; that office was consi-
dered as a complete and perfect sinecure, and if
Gentlemen would take the trouble of Consulting the
Appendix, they would find a statement of the per-
son who performed all the duties of this office.—
What were the circumstances that induced Govern-
ment in,lBoo to grant this Gentleman such a sine-
cure, he did not pretend to know, but the faet was,
that he retained his office through several
strations, iu one of which,the Honourable Baronet
was Chancellor of the Exchequer, and that he al-
ways held it as a complete sinecure. He believed
he should not be contradiaed when he stated, that
it was an established principle, that whenever a sine-
cure place was taken away from a person, for the
purpose of making any reforms or improvements in
an office, a compensation- was always given to that
person. Thus Gentleman held his office by a patent
during pleasure. He need not tell Gentlemen that
patent places were of two kinds, sortie removable
with the Administration, and others from which
the person cannot be rer:oved unless he be guilty'of
some tuiscotrdu&—and the office in question was of
the latter description. In the year 1807, an able
Report•was transmitted to Gov'erument from the
Post Masters General, stating the absolute necessity
there was of a reform in their office ; and, among
other alterations and improvements which they sug-
gested to make the office efficient, they particularly
pointed out the expediency of a complete alteration
in the offices of the Treasurer and the Accountant.
ii "Mr. W. Pole here read an extraa from the Post
Master General's Report, in which this object was
strongly enforced.]--prom the extract which he had
read, it appeared clear, that the office of Treasurer
was considered as a sinecure, and that the Post
Masters never had it in their view to call upon this
Gentleman to perfOrm"the duties of the office, for
tire> merely expressed a hope, that upon the death
of the persons then holding the offices of Treasurer
arid Accountant, the,grant would be made to effi--
caent persons. He flattered himself that he had
said enough to shew that the office was not of the
oescrosoon wnrcn the Honourable Baronet 'had re:-
presented, and that, being a sinecure office, held by
patent, it did not come within the meaning of the
Resolution to which he had alluded. The Honour-
able Baronet had thought proper, not in a very re-:
gular way (though he did not complain of it), to al-
lude to a private conversation which had passed be- -
tween hint and the Honarable Baronet. The Ho-
nourable Baronet had supposed him to go much fur-
'ther in that conversation than he had actually done.
He never meant to say, nor ever did say, that he
would rely upon so paltry a plea as that of recri-
, miattion ; he never would think of defending any
part of his conduct upon such grounds. The ex-
pressimi he had made use of to the Honourable
Baronet was this: " I will convince you out of
your own mouth ;" and he would now state what
he alluded to. In the beginning of 1807, the Hon.
.Bart. had framed a Bill for the abolition of certain
offices that were useless, and the reform of certain
others that were in part useless. In this Bill the
offi
ces of that de-
scription as were vacant, should nut be filled up ;
and that such as were not vacant, should be abo-
lished after the death of the then possessor. But
it never occurred to the Hon. Baronet to call upon
the holders of these offices to do more than they
did then. This appeared to him to be a complete
justification of the Duke of Richmond. This per-
son had held the office for.saveral years without
doing any duty—he had received the place as a sine-
cure, and it h,id always been ,aousidered as a sine-
cure, and it was thought that under these circum-
st:ince4 he could not be called upon to perform new
duties. It was principle upon which this
Gentleman had been permitted to ,retire, and
that principle was distinaly ackeowledged iii the
Honourable Baronet's Bill. It was to establish that
point that be had referred to the Honourable Ba-
ronet's Bill, and not with airy view of recrimination.
An Hon. Gentleman opposite to him (Mr. Whit-
bread) had said lie was sore when any allusion was
made to him. If he was sure, he would not shrink
from the touch, he would never avoid investigation.
Bin' he assured-the Hon. Gentleman, although he
would never suffer hiinself to be attacked unjustly;
he never Would, do the other hand, defend any
measure or any at which he thought was improper.
He had now stated the general grounds upon which
this Gentleman was allowed to retire; with respect
to any other part of the arrangement he was per-
tealy in the dark. He had found no trace IA 'the
office, except merely the order for the retirement.—
He was allowed to retire, on his salary of 5.001. a
year; and a person.had been appointed to succeed
him, with a salary of 6001.-a year, in cunaequence
of the great duties which he was required to per-
form. His Noble Relative who was in office
at the time (Lord Wellington) was now oh-
sent, and therefore he teuid n e
not ascertain th
particplar can.es which.-induced him, to advise it.
He had written to the DaV of Richmond tespeal-
fully to solicit an explanation, and the alas w er he
had received was in substance the alarie as that which
he had stated to the House. There was no man
more anxious to promote real economy than the

Duke of Richmond, but at the same time, he would
not be guilty of injustice to an individual merely to
avoid popular clamour. His Grace thought that re-
form in the Post-Office was necessary ; and he did
not- think that, in order to effeet that objedt, he had
a right to take away a Patent Office without giving
a compensation. Having stated' thus much, and
feeling that a great part of the Hon. Baronet's reso-
lution contained a mere detail of fats, to which he
could' not'give a dired negative, he should therefore
mole the previous question.
Mr. BATHURST made a few remarks, to which
Mr. W. POLE replied.
Mr. WHITBREAD thought the Hon. Member
spoke very much in the :dark ; he said that patent
offices were Of such a nature that no change of po-
lilies ever interfered with them. The person in
question he understood to be in the prime.of life,
: and perfedtly capacitated to discharge his duty to
Government ; the year 1800 he said was fertile in
compensation of offices in Ireland. Could it be
possible, he asked, that Ministers would consent to
go into the previous question, and quietly to lavish
away 1 tool. a year ? He wished the R'ght Hon.
Gentleman had given the House some more infor-
mation respediing this office.
Mr. WELLESLEY POLE said ,he was ready to give
every explanation in his power. This office was
given to the Gentleman alluded to -in /1800—it was
given as a sinecure and held as a sinecure. The du-
ties of the Treasurer were perforMed by a Clerk in
the office. Upon the recommendation of the Post-
Masters, he gave up his Patent, .and another re-
sponsible and efficient officer was appointed in his
room, and he was allowed to retire upon his salary.
This was all that appeared in the records of his
office, the word superannuation did not occur imthe

business.
The CHANCELLOR of the Excusiattga stated that.
it was not in its nature a surrannuation, but a com-
pensation for the abolition of an office • in support•
of this, he adduced, as an instance, the,office of
Master of the Rolls in Ireland, subsNuent to the
Union.
Sir S. ROMILLY earnestly entreated the -House
would not go to the previous question. The ex-
cuse which was alleged, of its being a sinecure, be
considered rather as..an aggravation of the case. •
Mr. GRATTAN mentioned the. Resolutions' of
1784, which particularly condemned the practice of
superannuating young men ;
_he recollected hearing
in the Irish House that they should all appear at the
Bar, to shew what vigorous peresons were thus con-.
sidered.
Mr. P. MooRE, in general, thought the reports
of Committees should be disregarded.
Mr: GILES spoke in favour of the Resolutions.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL was of opinion that
this case did not come within the rules laid down by
the Irish House of Commons. He asked, was this
House to adopt the opinions of Commissioners ?--•
. This circumstance was by no means a case of su-
perannuation, but a compensation for being depriv-
ed of an office.
Mr. M. FITZGERALD and Mr. BARHAM supported
the Resolutions..
Sir JOHN NEWPORT replied; and then the House
divided on, the Resolutions of the Right Hun.
Baronet
Ayes . 31
Mies' 52
Majority for the p:evious question —at
THE L ICAL rvir
Mr. Secretary RI( DEA moves for leave to bring in
a 'Bill for amending the Local Militia Ads.

Mr. WHITBREAD suggested the propriety of not
imposing unnecessaty oaths, and of placing the
Field Officers on Captains' pay.
Mr. Secretary RYDER was disposed to attend to

the suggestions of any Hon. Member.
Mr. WIgDHAM made a few observations, as did
also Mr. GILES and Mr. WYNNE ; and then leave
was given to bring in the Bill.
The Bill was afterwards brought in, read a first
time, and ordered to be read a second time to-
morrow.

The Bills for' the better Pre(rention of stealing in

Shops, of stesling in Dwelling-houses, and of sieal-
ing on Canals. and Nxiigable Rivers, were read a
second time, and committed for this day se'nnight,
it being understood that the principle of the Bill
will then be discussed,
The Committee on the Embezzlement Bill Was
ordered for to-morrow.

The Report of the West India Dock Company's
Accounts xt as laid on the table

Mr. MARTIN gave uoice that he should tó-mor-
row move for a similar Return to that moved for
by Mr. Burke in 1789, on the subjed of the places
in the gift of the Crown.