Star.
London, England, 1811-01-05 00:00:00

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The CHICgtELLOR of the lICCHEQUER
then rose and said, that after the discussion which had
already taken place on this subject, the House would
be enabled to form some ground of opinion why he
, should have thought it unnecessary to bring this bu-
lginess before the House of Commons. His opinion,
formed on the most serious consideration, was, that it
would be better Ministers should have dune it by
themselves, on their own responsibility, to be_ sub-
mitted to Parliament, when their whole conduct as
to this transaction could be fairly and fully laid before
the two Houses for their consideration and approval.
The House would see by the papers the absolute ne-
cessity there was for the immedilite issue of the money
—but every member in the House ought to be made
acquainted with the grounds on which the money was
to be issued. Within these walls, it was impossible
any one should conceive that Ministers could have a
thought of raising or issuing money without the con-
sent of Parliament first had been obtained ; but in
this case, the whole he had attempted to do, was in
his idea mere matter of form. An Act of Parliament
(the EYehequer Act) has directed the mode in which
money is to be issued lay the Lords of the Trea-
sury, after being granted by Parliament ; and the
mode thereby prescribed is, that issues of money from
the Exchequer shall only be made by the authority of
the Great Seal, the Privy Seal, or the directions of as ,
Act of Parliament. It appeared to him and the other
Lords of the Treasury, that as certain sums of money
had been expressly appointed by an Act of Parlia-
ment for the particular services of the army ;nod
navy, the Exchequer would have been fully justi-
fied its issuing those monies en the warrant of the,
First Lord of the 'I reasury, it being under the direc-,
tions of art Act of Parliament ;--and therefore he
looked upon the King's Signature as mere maser of
Form. In consequence, however, of what be had be-
fore stated, and of what fell from the Right Hoe.
- Gentlemen opposite, that such an order might not be
obeyed, he had applied for a Privy Seal, which would
have been a sufficient authority ; but not being able
to obtain that, he had issued the two warrants for
this money. It was no concealed instrument, but
openly issued, and he hal immediately dispatched
them to the Auditor of the Receipts of his Ma-
jesty's Exchequer. These Warrants were No. 1 and
No. 2, for £500,000 each ; one on account of the
Treasurer of the Navy, and the other on account ot
the Paymaster-General of the Forces. To these Wa-
rrants he had received an answer from the Noble Lord,
who was Auditor of the Exchequer, the words of
which he would now read. After acknowledging
'that Mr. Fisher had brought him the two warrants,
his Lordship says (No. 3), " I have been up to this
" moment totally unapprised of any intention on the
" part of their Lordships to transmit me any such
" Warrant, etc." To this he (the Chancellor of the
Exchequer) transmitted de answer contained in No.
4, and referred generally to the correspondence: The
Right Hon Gent. protested to the House in great sin-
' eerily, that he could not after tl.'s correspondence and
the legal opinions, bring to his mind to suppose the
Noble Lord wood have refued to agree to the issue
required by the Warrants, but that he would have
contented himself with protesting strongly against the
measure, and have left it entirely to the responsibility
of Ministers. He might, perhaps, have taken a wrong
step ; but if, with two Acts of Parliament expressly
in his favour, he hrld come down to the two Houses
to trouble them on this subject, he should have
petted to have been called the most pusillanimous
Minister that ever was, in hesitating to do that from
his own authority, which the exigency and necessity
of the case so imperiously required. In the Loan Act
passed last Session, three or more Commissioners of the
Treasury, or the High Treasurer for the time beng,
were authorised and empowered to issue the monks
appropriated by that Act to the service of the
Army and Navy ; and the proceedings which have
prevailed in the Treasury of the E!xhequer, having
the authority of the Sign Manual, seemed to him to
have been matter of form, and he did therefore take
upon himself to issue the order, which might be repre-
hensible ; but he did it oft a firm conviction of what he
had stated being the case till the refusal of the De.
puty Clerk of the Privy Seal had convinced him, be
at least thought that that could not be dispensed with.'
He might be stiled a Rewbell by some—a P.ewbell and
an usurper; but, conscious that he had only been die-1
icharging his duty as the necessity of the case required,
he confessed, he did not feel so much alarm at such
epithets and imputations. h might be said, that there
was no precedent for this in the proceedings of Parlia-
ments in 178 S-9 ; and that, in the present year, we
were acting contrary to what they then did. But sup-
pose there had been no act like this at that time—if
no similar case had then occurred, should we say, that
if such a case had happened to come before Parlia-
ment, they would not have met it in the way he pro-
posed to do ? At that time, the country was in pro-
found peace, and no steps were taken in many cased
where the Great Seal and Privy Seal 'were requiregf,
because our foreign relations did not actually sequin
it; but in many cases at home the Privy Seal had been
used, such as the Judges going their circuits's '&6—
There had also been orders for removing troops front
Ireland to America, in which the officer issuing the
order declared he had not the official authority ; but
those who received it knew the reason, and would
therefore do it on the responsibility of Ministers, to
be judged of according to the exigency and necessity
of the case, illustrated by what he conceived to have
I been the feeling of Parliament on that occasion. He
had been told that an opinion had been expressed out
of that House, that if troops must of necessity
be sent to Portugal, and Parliament vets sitting, Mi-
nisters could not legally send them without the au-
thority of Parliament for so doing. But how would
the House deal with a subject ot this sort? If Mi-
nisters were to apply to the House for such a purpose
as that of sending troops to Portugal, they ought
to lay before it all the doctiments relative to such
reinforcements—nay, dip whole state of the army in
Portugal, of its wants and necessities, intelligence
which would be in the hands of the enemy in a few
hours after it was thus promulgated. He thought,
therefore, the responsibility of Ministers was in such
a ease preferable to a Committee of the two Houses
of Parliament, who cannot act without such commu-
nications. On that responsibility lie had acted as the
necessity of the case appeared to him to require,
and hehoped he had not anticipated erroneously thede-
cision the House would come to on the point. A case
of exigency had now aimed. The money was not
I be got by any other mewls bet iv this vplica.