Star.
London, England, 1816-04-03 00:00:00

MALT DUTIES.

Mr. WESTERN begged leave to ask the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer, whether he had decided on
yr! arringe cuts Tweeting the mode of remitting
the Malt
The CIiANC-ELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
teplicd, that he had a Ell in preparation respecting
that prni,(, which he would• to-morrow submit to the
onsidEration of the House. He, therefore, moved,
that the House re.oive itself into ii Committee of the
whole House to-ntorrow, to consider of the mode of
ninittiks Nl.ilt Duties.—Ordered.

TKPASt'ItY CONTINGENCIPS.

Sir.lol-IN NEWPORT moved, that thi detailed
*mums of the Treasury Contingencies, as presented
tothetiouse, s'sould be printed. •
Mr. TIERNEY said, that he would not faithfully
toe discharged tiis duty to the country, Litre did not
"1114 autiaion of the House to one item in those
acauhts. The papers. presented last week to 'Palle.'
°ItOT, swing the increased diminution of Salaries in,
61T:sultry Departnients, had represented the sit.'
141 of Mr. H irriscm, Assistant-Secretary of the'
Treasury, as increased from 63,000 to £1,500 per
ham. No on- c.,,u151 more readily acknowledge'
sense of (!;e intezr;ty and abilities which Mr.
Harrison hal evtr displayed in that office than he,
did, but he felt himself imperiously called upon not
to suffix any thing to pass unobserved that in the
'ort,eavuured tit:necessary expense. The office of
iissietani•Secraary was originally taken by Mr.
iianison at £2,000 a year, which had since been in-
"se, d to esmoo. 'Stich .41 salary, he conceived,
fully adequate for any Assistant-Secretary, no matter
I_4l;ngy be his talents, particularly as the Principal
ntary had only £l,OOO. The item in the papers,
"mitt, to which- he partieolirly alluded, was a
"uitY of &UV) to the same Mr. Hzrrison for his
lier:torious services. Grai:nities were often given,
!atilt/ter to a sum of that extent ; and if the Trea-
nrY assumed such a power of granting at its good
r4an'e le51100,• why might it not as well grant 10
1''4115.000, and where would such proceedings step ?
• tcntingent fund for the year in that department
via
£154X10 vete.' in the aggregate ; and had he
n c't moved for the detailed account, the House would
''t have known of this grant. It was not his inten-
rt proceed further on this point ; to say the truth,
..._°^li motion he could make. would be one of irn-
.•
`nment ; and such a motion, proceeding from him,
Itin perhaps be attributed to party motives. There
were, however, many Gentlemen who had received
tied instructions from theiiConstituents to keep
e~et watch over the public expenditure, and it was
iialprubable that some one of them might think
Ttndlbound to preceed n it.—(Nsee Clswelkr
q tie E L.
jc""iffier I/tang—Thy Right awl. Gentle.
rfaAllor 'continued Mr. Tierney, mig"t spore his mirth,
the rarely the detection of a svelte proceeding like
Present, was notof a nature ea txcite merriment.,
Itt(Ve d the matter would be brought forward by
iti
"giber, .'nd sifted to the beam.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEVUER,
conceived that the remarks of the Right Honourable
Gentleman had been more proper, if deferred until
the business had been brougha regularly before the
House. The Right Honourable Gentleman had re-
presented.this.as a detection of a secret transaction ;
but every thing had been conducted according to the
usual proceedings of Parliament. The accounts were
always made up in such a manner as to embrace all
the contingent expenses in one sum, and then if any
Member taillight proper to move for the details, he
would have experienced the same facility as had been
shewn on the present occasion. The Right Honour-
able Gentleman had remarked, on his having smiled
on hearing his extreme delicacy in not submitting a
motion himself, and at the same time iving pretty
broad hints to others to proceed on it. He, however,
would feel some consolation in falling under able
hands, and not perishing under a less !nighty anta...
He stated that Mr. Harrison had, in 1805,
been appointed by Mr. Pitt to his situation in the
Treasury, at £2,000 a-year, with a promise of an
eventual increase of IESOO at the expiration of five
years. The Gentleman had been of the profession of
the law, and had sacrificed considerable prospects,
by accepting the office. In 1807, Lord Grenville
was so well
..satisfied of Mr. Harrison's merits, that
he thought proper to anticipate the time of service
laid down by. Mr.. Pitt, and gave him the increase.
In 1809, the business of the office had increased so
much, that it was thought proper to make a second
increase of £500; and now the Lords of the Trea-
sury, in consequence of some extra-official dirty of
Mr. Harrison, have increased the salary by another
£5OO during the continuance of that business. The ,
salary of W.OOO he conceived burly adequate for a
jeer arrsr,t situation—but during the war Mr. Rani
son bad peifonued much extra duty, for which he
bad received no remuneration. In 1814, he applied
to the Lords of the Treasury for some compensation;
and they, considering the state of his circumstunces,
his family, and his ill state of health, thought the
best mode of ccimpensation was to give him a sum.
of money, and that sum they raced at £5,000- He
contended that the Lords of the Treasury enjoyed
the undoulsted right of making, this erazitity, and
that there were many precedents for it.
Mr. TIERNEY, that he should not seem to take
any advantage of the :Right Honourable Gendeman,
desired that the Clerk might mad the. minute of
Treasury relating to the affair.
This beiniF done— •
Mr. MEL HUEN-begged leave to ask, if, during
the illness of Mr. Harrison, any extra salaries had
been paid to assistaats?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQtJER
said, that if the Honourable Member had attended
to the minute just read, be would have seen that an
extra salary had been granted.
Mr. WYNNE commented strongly on .the irnpro,
priety of making such a grant, without the consent
of Parliament.
Lord CASTLEREAGH 4. claret. that there was
no intention to conceal the circumstance from. the
House. There had been many precedents of this
nature, is which persons had been rewatded by he
Tneasury for extra labour, and he had no doubt,
when the House was made acquainted with time es-'
tent and importance of the duties performed by Mr.
Harrison, that' they would not consider tie Treasury
had exercised the power vetted in them, o: making
grants of this description, in an uuwarralitalile or
culpable manner.
Mr. J. I'. GRANT observed, that he did not mean
to enter at length into this question at present; yet he
trusted he might be permitted to sty, that althotTgh
no imputation might justly rest uptum the Right Ho.
nourable Gentleman an.l the' Noble Lurd on this oc-
cilium, yet the course .hey litcl taken with respect to
tnis grant, showed no great desire .o attract the at.
tention of the House; and they most have well
known that it was a subject which was eminently cal-
culated tti excite inquiry, it it appe ired in the shape
M which, mn point of fact, it ought to have appeared.
No man was niore•;anxitus than he was liberally to
reward public servants but he could not aporove Of
the principle of rewarding one public scream, when
it %V.ts not possible to reward others who might-Ist!
equally meritorious, and have equal claims:;
I'ONSONBY was satisfied that the Legisla.
tare, in vesting a power in the Treasury to reward
their servants tar extra labour, never had it in con-
templation, that under that poaer they 'shoal.' mdse
such enormous grams as that to which the attention
of the House had nov been called. He thou ghat his
breacho
of a guilty.f
..Majesty'sbdinistess had been duty
in not stating this grant in such a way as to meet the
attention of the House, so that they might inquire
into its fitness or unfitness.

The papers were then ordered to be printed.
POOR RATES.
Sir ROBERT HERON moved for leave to bring
in a Bill, for amending certainclaases in an Act re-
cently poised respecting the Lincoln Poor R•ttes.—
He was not aware of any good which resulted from
particular local Acts respecting Poor kat:, as be
thought the Act of the 22d George 11. was admi-
rably suited to every case. After a painful recitsl
of the miserable state of the workhouse in that city,
be mentioned that there were far cells strongly
guarded with iron bolts, not for the reception of
lunatics, but fbr the punishment of such ror per;ons
as might fall into any transgression. In each of tlie.e
there were strong iron staples in the wall and floor.
to which the poor delinquent was chained. Among.
several instances of cruelty, the worthy Baronet men-
tioned, that a Chelsea pensioner, 70 years of age and
totally blind, had been, for a whole fortnight, chain-
ed to the floor b:cause he bad been drunk I—(Near,
hear.)--That a very young girl, having contracted a
certain disease, bad been chained in a similar manner
to the Moor, lest she should contaminate others. One
chain fixed round her body had been weighed. and
would the House believe him when he stated, it was
no less than 28'pouhds weight! I These facts he
pledged himselt were true. He moved, therefore,
for ie...ve to bring in a Bill for amending the present.
Act.--,[The House expressed, in the mist decided
wanner, its strong abhorrence of such unparalleled.
cruelty in this country
Mr. ROSE ..xpri.sst:d his approbation of the prin-
ciple of the But, but stated some objections to the
mode ni wni,h h. tt..n. Baronet MAUI to Carry it
into edect ; 111(.11
b.r K. tifr.:KON. r:pbed.

Mr. iaewinwara Su 4,imuss. Rossuin and Sir

tarncrs. dwelt at considerable length.on the meet.
sity of making wore change in the existing system 01
Poor Lawi.—Leave was then granted.
, Sir.R. HERON immediately brought in the B;11,
which was reed a brit time, and, ordered to be read
a second time on 'ruesday, wand to he printed.