Star.
London, England, 1802-12-15 00:00:00

men Mr. ATCIIIO General GascoioNt, and
Mr. VANSITTAIT, the
_Petition was received and ordered to lie on the table.

Angus IN THI mAvv.
Captain lkoimistudtat moved the Order of the
Day or the fecond reading of the Bill for veiling
the Board of Admiralty with certain powers for
punifhing Abufes.
Admiral BSC( es.a v raid, he hoped to hear finite
explanation of a miftake which it was apprehended
he Laboured under yellerday. He did fay, th at
he apprehended the Admiralty were in 2ofeffiort
of power fullicient to appoint Conunithoners to
examine into' du* sbufes, without Coming to that
Houfe. An Hon. %Nieman thenfaid, there was
no fuch thing, without *tripling any reafon what.
ever for laying fo. He had not then ken the pa-
tent of the Lords of the Navy Board, fo that he
doubted whether he had not been under fome mit-
take, but he had this day examined the Patent, the
refult of which wax a conviction in his own mind
now, that he was correa in what he lived yeller.
day on the fubjelt of the power of the Board to
which he had alluded, that the Admiralty certain-
ly had the power, and that they had it to a much
greater degree than he had before apprehended
athey
y,habdy twhhoatwewvaers,ratihad
yt e
;cwarsdall perfeetly done
ay on the neeeffity
of this meafure, a necefflty which he did not by
any means pretend to controvert. He believed it
was perfeefly neceffary that the Houfe fhould en.
tertain this Bill, for that it was fit that the power
it tended to delegate, should be lodged with Com.
miffioners chofen for that purpofe ; he would,
however. remind the Houle of a faying of a Noble
Lord, which, although a joke, was full of prong
fenfe and meaning, of the firength and import.
ance of the Admiralty Board.—" That the Navy
Board was hcwn out of the Admiral Tree." He
did not ufe this exprefflon with a view to oppofe
this Bill, but merely to juilify hinifelf in the af-
fertion he made relpeaing the original power of
the Board of Admiralty, and he raid it alfo by way
of caution, left fome of the public Papers should
mifiake his meaning, and confequently mifrepre-
lent what he faid.

Mr. COOPER laid, that on the fubjetl now before
the Houfe, he thought it his duty to deliver hit.
fentiments. I; had been afked, why the Admi.
ralty fhonld come to Pat Lament for a power which
they had already ? That was not correct ly Rated,
and that objeaion had been anfwered, yeiterday,
ery ably, by the Minifter, by laying, that the
Power vetted in the Navy Board was not fufficient
for the purpore intended ; and, he added, that
fufficient power fkould be given to the Committee
for that purpo(s. Indeed, if the Powers of the
a'he thfaoinrganhtdthmisacnrilyurfmane one.
Navy were five times greater than they are,
comein filo;drarthdeTonth°t:
Hottib and Paid, “ There are a tmany
abates in the Navy Department, earn call OQ
you, as the Guardians of the interefts of the coun-
try, to adminifter the remedy ?” He willed to
know, whether any meafare could be more direa,
honourable, and fair than this ? He alluded to
fame infinuations which had been cart out aanft
a Noble Lord high in Office, upon the ok or Pa,
tronage. If there was any charge agWilhat
Noble Lord, let it be slide fairly ;let the queftion
be brought to view in a manly and fair manaer ;
but let not the Houfe compromife its dignity, by
liftening to infinuations and allegations, that were
made without the shadow of proof to fupport diem.
But what was the capital crime imputed to Admi-
ninration ? Why, we were told that a gallant Of•
ficer, an Admiral, who, during the late war, eon•
dated hinifelf with great gallantry in the fervice
of his King and Country, had been appointed Am-
lutrador to the Court of St. Peterfburgh. If merit
was to be imputed to a man as a clime, he ad-
mitted the complaint is its full extent ; but it was
laid, it was very unufual to fend Admirals, or any
Naval Officers, on Embaffies : he law nothing in
the olajeftion, unlefs incapacity to fill the Diplo-
matic Station could be proved. Upon the whole
matter, he approved of this Bill as a part of the
generalfyfem of the prefent Adminiftration, which
was that of vigilance, moderation, economy, and
corration of abufes. If thefe were to be thelgrounds
of ieproach to the Adminiftration, they ihnuld
have his fupport as long as they continued to com-
mit fuch like enormities.
Mr. GARTHEHORE (one of the Lords of the Ad-
miralty) replied to fome obfervations that he con-
ceived to have been made by Admiral Berkeley
refpcding the powers of the Navy Board to invef-
tigate this matter.
Admiral BERKELEY, in explanation, Paid, that
he had been mifunderftood. He did not fay that
the Navy Beard had thofe powers, but he thought
it competent for the Admiralty to appoint a Board,
which would be adequate to the inveftigation of
this butinefs.
Mr. jaavis dented that the Admiralty had the
power of appointing fuch Commiffioners as the as
went to appoint. It would be recolleaed that one
of the objeas of this Aft was the regulation of
Prize Agents. This was a fubjea molt unqueltion•
ably not within the jurifdiaion of the Admiralty
Board at prefent. Another power that is fought
to be given to thofe Commiffioners, is that of call•
ing for all papers and records that may be necef-
fary in their enquiries. This was a power which
the Admiralty had not at prefent,.and therefore
could not poffibly communicate to any Board they
might create. But there was another reafon infi-
nitely more important in the appointment of there
CommiXo:.ers. It was not intended merely to
look into the abufes which prevailed in the infe-
rior departments of the Navy. The abufes, if any
exifted, in the Admiralty or Navy Boards, were
alfo to be examined by thefe Commiffioners, who
were to dire4t their inquiries from the higheft
the loweft departments of the Navy. It woula
therefore appear evident, that thole Boards ought
not to be judges in their own caufe. He could
afthre chore Gentlemen whofuppofed, tatalthough
the Admiralty Board might be too much occupied,
yet that the Navy Board had leifure time enough,
that this fuppnfitinn was by
the falt• The Gentlemen who compoleci that
Board were, to his knowledge, extremely attentive
to the dudes of their fituauon ; but thofe duucso
NMI
no means agreeable to

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