Star.
London, England, 1816-03-15 00:00:00

they hid subStikted
_ _razes,' in the hopeethaewith.4
Itof the nisr, they would be at once niWieti
i-TY-Ohr them. The petitioners did not pray for therelief
!of any War Talcs in partimilar; but against all ge.
tierally ; and of that isspectablii meeting already
mentioned by hint, there was not one person who
did not concur in the sentiments of the petition. They
stated their convictios, that oothing but an-exact and
rigid system of economy, could extricate the country
from its present distress; and that they more particle.'
larly expected. from the promises in the Speech from
Lihe Throne, that some economical measure"- would
have been adopted. They couldnot, therefore, but
'share in Abe disappointment felt at present by many
of his Majesty's most loyal and respectable subjects,
on finding that no sinecures had been abolished, no
.economical measures had. been adopted, and that the,
emoluments of public officers had not been reduced.
As all other articles had falleb in price, it was proper
-that the emoluments of office should be reduced also.
What would they feel when they learned not only
that there had been no. reductiose but that an in-
crease of the salaries in almost all the departments
had taken place ? Had the ancient salaries been re-
tained, the value would have been increased iu pro-
portion to the reduction in price of all other articles.
The Petition was mcst respectfully worded, but the
Petitioners did not the less keenly feel the disappoint-
ment of all their just hopes and expectations. They
prayed for a reduction of our establishments, to what
was sulEc•ent for the protection and security of the
nation, Ind stated their conviction. that there could
be no salva_rien for the country. but in introducing
the most rigid economy into every branch of our ex-
penditure. They prayed also for a reduction of sala-
ries, which :tad oily been rai oat to their present
heioht in coesequence of the increase in. price of all
the necessaries et lite ; ana that measure* should be
radopted for previntarg in future any excess taking
place in the Civil I. se
Mr. BA itCLAY presenoet .`etition, signed by a
large body of Inhabitants of Parish of St. John,
Southware, against the Property Tax, and s large
Military Establishment.
Mr. METHUEN presented a Petition from the
Manufacturers of Bradford, in the county of Wilts,
against the Insolven: Debtors' Act.
Sir GEORGE h;LERK. plesented a Petition
from the Owners .n:l Occupiers of land in the parish
of Ratho, in the c.ainty of `Edinburgh, praying that
the Property 'l'ax should nU4, be c.sitinued, and ex-
pressing a hope, that if the exigencies of the country
should require its renewal, the House would adopt
such modifications as would put agriculturists on a
level whir the rest of the community.
Mr. FINLAY presented a Petition from the bo-
rough of Rutherglen .igairist the Property Tex.
Mr. HO WO RTH presented a Petition from the
borough of Eveshaniakenst the Property Tax. It
Was, in his opinion. a Tax which the most urgent ne.
cessity could alone justify. The people, in submit-
ting to such a burden, confidently expected that it
wou:d cease with the war; and the proposed renewal
in a time of peace was a measure which filled them
with a just and well-founded alarm. He certainly
could not see any necessity for the impo.ition of a
tax like this during a period of unprecedented dis-
tress, and in opposition to the wishes of the people.
The discussions which hid already taken place, in
his opinion, had been productive of great benefit ;
and he was determined. therefore, if Ins health per.
mitted him, nut to give a silent vote on a question
of such imentacce to the country. This system of
taxation, whilst it draitiad the pockets of the people,
added incalculably to the irtituence of the Crown ; the''
inquisitonal powers cantided to the Commissioners
had a direct tendency to tee introduction of arbitrary
power ; and the principle of the tax was wholly in-
compatible with, and utterly repugnant to, the prin-
ciples of a free Constitution.
Mr. CALVERT. seeing an Honourable Gentle.
man, the Membcr for Surrey, in his place, wished
to set himself right with respect to what had been
stated by that Honourable Gentleman on presenting
the Petitioh from the County of Surrey. He had
not been present on the occasion alluded tee,—he had
made the most diligent inquiries, and he found that
the House dia not then contain above SO persons.—
The Honourable Member was reported in the news-
-1 papers to have stated, that the petition was carried
by a large majority of the meeting at Epsom. He
himself had been at the meeting,. and he could say,
that though one or two Gentlemen spoke'iu favour
of the Property Tax and the proposed Establishment,
yet when the question was first put, only one Gentle-
man held up his hand against the Petition, but be
afterwards did not hold it up, and the question was
carded unanimously.
Mr. HOLME SUMNER appealed to every person
acquainted with the business of the House, if any
imputation could with propriety attach to him, of
having purposely presented the Petitibn when it war
empty. As, to any misrepretentations in news-1
papers of what he said in that House, he would not
deign to make any answer on such a subject but he
appealed to any of the Honourable Members oppo-
site, who were in the House on the occasion alluded
to, whether the manner iu which he mentioned the
petition, was worthy or unworthy of the respectable
meeting at which it was adopted.
Mr. CALYER 1' merely wished to give the Ho-
nourable Member an opportunity of explaining the
proceedings of the meeting in a different way. •
Mr. BENNET bore testimony to the full state-
ment di the proceedings of the Meeting made by the
Houourable Mentber for Surrey. ,
Mr. W. SMITH presented a Petition from the
Churchwardens, &c. of Mitcham, against the Pro-
perty Tax.
Mr. CROKER presented a Return to an order of
the House, requiring certain papers relative to the
lonian Islands.
INSOLVENT DEBTORS' ACT.
Mr. LOCKHART, in bringing forward the mo-
tiotr of which he had given notice, for the suspension
ut proceedings under the Insolvent Debtors' Act,
unquestionably telt that he was discharging a most
unpleasant duty. The glneral call of the country,
and a sense of duty, caged him, however, to bring
before the House a law which had produced the great-
est mischief in the country. That law had not been
at first proposedas a measure in v.ltich its author had
the fullest confidence, but as a law of experiment,
fromwhich better effects were expected than those
whichhad actually resulted from it. It was nut ne-

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