The Sun.
London, England, 1816-06-07 00:00:00

invo4ct:

• .
144111) CHANCELLOR gave notice, pursuant
to his pr•iciice, of the Intention to propose
tcs-
n the clause in a Divorie Bill (Abuy's
. „
Ui-
vorce n oeevej ple,ventnig the intermar-
riage of the offending parties.

-CIVIL LIST BILL,

The .Order for summoning their Lordships on
.the consideration of this pill being read,
The Earl.. of LteearooL rose, pursuant to his
,notice, to a tote shortly the pounds upon whith
the question:of the Civil List was brought uncler
,the view of Parliament. . The original compact,
4lemhserved, between the Crown and the Public,
at the commencement. of his- present Majeiry's
reign, and the arrangement founded thereon, were
.materinlly t'ifferent in principle from eny of thoie.
,vehlelt were taste since the Revdiution anteeedent
,to that period, It, was much more unfavourable
o the Crown than- any preceding arrangement.
-Yortnerly the tivil branches. of the Government
'avere provided: for r by the Crown in coma-
tittence of certain hereditary revenues granted to
'the Sovereign, and with respect to these a mini-
/num was fixed, in which, if the amount fell below,
Parliament was bound to make up the deficiency.
the reign of Queen /Wm. the amounts of the
L:st Rxpendittne was fixed at 700,0001. in
the reign of (,eo. 11. the same principlawasacted
lapin), only that the mittirsttot was increased to
800.0601. Upon the accession of his present Ma-
jesty, a different, principle was,adopted ; the'he.
'.reditary revenue was no longer voted- to the
Crown, but in hen thereof, a lithited sum was
.Noted for the purpose. At first it :was 800,0001.
but, it was afterwards increased to 900;0001. The
-difference •in point of principle was obvious ; in
the latter arrangement At wasintuns was fixed,
which precluded the Crownafrom the advantage
which may arise from ,any excess in the heredi-
tary revenue. In the coarse of a long reign,
wherein unprecedented fluctuations, snore espe-
cially in tise, took place in the value of money,
and the prices of every article, it was. natural,
t ha t corresponding fluct tint ions Ihotthi arise in
the Civil List Expenditnre, and frequent re-
enrrenees to Parliament become necessary:—
aid the Crown been left in possession of
those hereditni'y revenues, frerw the increase
its churn no applications of the ~kind would have
been necessary. Proceeding to 'the consideration
of tlie Civil List itself, the Noble Etrrl,observed,
it was calculated not only for the personal ex-
pences of the Sovereign, butt for thOse of the Ad-
ministration of a great part of the Civil Govern.
went of the country. Under the Bill before their
.Lordships, from a view of the artieles of the 4th
and oth classes together, and including the Privy
Parse, which contained. all the personal expenses
and establishnieut of the Sovereign, they would
see. -the whole expence- was not more. than
409,0001:per anninn, whitit was not more than
one-third of the gggregate amount of the Civil
List. Thii Was limited, indeed, compared -with
the establishments of oither Sovereign Pritiees.—
Their Lordships were imam that tinder the recont
rwraogement the elloAveace fel. the Ring of Frt4tee
:was 24 A)oo ,014 I VI ef,, .or: 1;006,0001, sterling,
and that was exclusive of the expend' .the

Ktiyat VanniY,
or of env r2tt or tnc t.!%11 AU
nistration of France. The Civil List of this coati-
try was more comprehensive in its 'objects ; but
the expeuces of the Civil Government, and those
personally appertaining to the :Sovereign, ‘were
properly continued. separate 'add distinct. Their
Lordships, in the dislitirseme'ra of their own.pri-
vate revenues, must lie aware of the vast differ
cote which should exist between an artangenient
of expenditure funned now, and one formed 56
years ago. Thcaverar,e necessary expenditure of
the Civil List for seven years previous to thy year
'lBO7, was Acrid 1,100,0001. per minion. To this
Wass to. b, added the sum of 1701. per annum,
.which was unfortimately necessary, by the tin-
happy situation of bi's Majesty ; but the present
arrangement Of the Civil List was calculated at an
expense of about 1,338 0001. a-year. The recent
excesses ill the expenditure proceeded
vat ety of unavoidable causes, combined with
that general and obvious consideration to
which he had naturally adverted, and espe-
chilly in the diplomatic branch, and those at-
tendant upon the negotiation for a genera)
peace.. The reductions in the expenditure, in
Ender to bring it nearer to the Civil List revenues,
were effected by withdrawing certain expellees
which were noW chargeable upon them, and de'-
fraying the amount thereof in another way, a
mode which was considered the most applicable
to the principle
~of the Civil List. If, hereafter,
ally reductions in the general ekpences were found
practicable, it was certainly intetriled- to make
them. The whole was arrangett in such a way,
as to be periodically under the observation and
controls} of Parliament. Ills Lordship then enu-
merated the principal heads of expenditure which
were withdrawn from the Civil List, and advert-
ed to the necessary appointment of an auditor
distinctly for the expenditure of the Civil List,
who was to be vested with appropriate. powees,
This Officer Avis also be connected with, ,and
outlet the peculiar, controul of the 'Treasury,
to whom he was to he responsible, as the
former' Was to be 16okt:it to by the public
in this branch of the nattenal expenditure.
The Noble Earl then detailed certain arguments
through which savings to the public would be
*effected, 'and entered upon sonic Calculations ttr
establish, that notwithstanding what had been
urged as to the certain branches of the Civil Lis-
penditure, the expences in these branches, were
greater at certain liefioth of thelate reign thin*
they were in the present, and demonstrated that,
in the measure before their Lordships,.evety pob-
sibie torenvon Was. paid to the consideration of
economy, that Was consistent with the dignity
which constitntionallyappert3ined to the sovereign
person and atithorii,y, 4111 d to the real interest and
advantage of the public. .The Noble . Earl
.eun-
eluded by. moving,
." That this Bill be now read
a second

-The Martinis 4 LArtsn6tutte deprecated the
principle •upon which •I he Jobk seeu:ed to
proceed, of e*letildting the personal expenditure
Of the 'Sovereign of ibis "country by a reference to
that-of the Monarch of france,'Or of any arbitrary
Government whatever; The principle upon which.
such a.caleniation should. be made, ought to he
founded in the nature. aud•chatacter 9t the live
calistitotion 01 this country; And more pirscfcn.
hsrly with. reference- to t hat compact or bargain
made het %veto the crown and the pui,lk as Olit
commencement of the present reign. tie strongly,
arpi ()vett of .contintring the separation ot the per-
.sonll expenditure of the
_crown from the other
branches ot the civil Government, The Noble
Margnis strongly iticuleated a recurrence to the
principles of economy_ in all those arrangements,
told seemed .to say a compßrittive view
,01 the
expenses of the. American Government - wonld
be a better criterion for Shaping_ ma eivil..List
by; than that tainded to by, the. Noble -Earl...
lle believed in former reigns ...the general pritc- .
tice was,to liquidate the debt, of the Civil :I,;ist,
by a recurrence to the Droits of .Admiralty;
mode which .114 still Utung,l4, wool& be most pre.
ferable, far more i) than a Series of procedures,
which to a 'certain extent, showed the. crown ns
coming down informa patiperia to Piirlimitent for
the liquidation of its debts. With respect to the
•
newly constituted officer, the Auditor, he thought
It was more calculated for the convenience of the
,Treasnry, than for the exercise of a eopirotil by
The powers to be granted to hint
were not calculated to be beneficiatto the
,Upon the whole, he could not give his entire ap-
probation to the present fill. .He acknowledged
the necesibity Of some measure of.the kind. •

• Lord HOLLAND contended
,that the prov4loos
of the Bill were at variance with the prinriples
Inid down, miii still 'lnure with the statements
matte by the Noble Earl. With his Noble Rela-
tion, he thought unfavourably of the.bene,ficiul
efficacy of themew Officer, who was to receive a
salary of 15001. a-year. He thought ij would be
far preferable to recur to the Droits of the. Ad-
miralty, which he considered as a dangerous en-
gine in'tbe hands of the Crown,- and regarded as
kind of bonus to the Crown for going to war.
Sonic more general comprehensive measore than
the present he thought should- be proposed, It
did not contain that principle of reciprocity be-
tween the People and the Crown, , which he
thought was requisite ;, the advantages seemed to
him to be an the side of ,the latteri,and for the
various reasons, he had stated, he certainly could
not oppose the measure in its present state.
The Earl of HAReoway, in
_answer to what bad
fallen from the Noble Baron, vindicated she con-
duct of his, Majesty's Governmett in framing the
measure in gnestioth The Noble Lord,-he thought,
mined to he guhyd more by abstract and theore-
tient notions, than by the result of practice antlex-
pevienee. With respect to the idea of the Droits
of Admiralty operating as. a Bonus to the Crown
to engage in war, it was one of the ;unit chimerical
arguments he bad ever, heard. Certainly there
never could. be found any. Minister so mad, or so
profligate, as to advise the Crown- to plunge the
country lot° all the calamities and expenhees of
a war, for so paltry and inadequate a considera-
tion. • - ' '

The Earl of Livetwoor„ who argued that the
conduct of Parliameut at the conunentement,of the
present reign, manifested it.; sense that tlte Dioita
of Admiralty (which were then %-ety considerable)
should coutitute-at the diftpourkof the Crown.
to Iht:-alluiiou tuittiq by the :Cobh% Marquis;, Co the

CliperlCCS
or rile uavCr nmctic OF Lila 'l6autteu,
Statei, he did not think it a very, happy one, inas-
much as in'point of tact, the, expences of the Civil
Government in that country, combining those of
the general Government with those of the Federal
States, .were compiamively greater -tbau those of
Great Britain. •

Earl ..inosvErtott disapproved of the intended
lippointment of the Auditor, whith, he said, he
should duly notice in the Committee.

The Bawds then read a second time, and com-
mitted for Monday.
After disposing of the reinnining Bills upon the
table, their Lordships adjourned till to-morrow.