Star.
London, England, 1820-06-03 00:00:00

being .oppressed. The Hon. Gentleman had com-
pitied our present situation with that of 1792; but
would any man say that the two periods were at all
similar ? He must know that the pay of the military
was now nearly double. Ile compared the Esti-
mates of 1788 with those of the present day ; and
contended, that we had 5000 men instead of 3000
we had a Driver Coi pc which did not then exit, and
we had also a more efficient Sapper and Miners Corps
now. The state of the Empire had greatly altered.
We had fifteen or sixteen new Colonies ; besides, the
gun-wharfs ef the Navy, which were under the Ord•
nonce Department, had been doubled. There was
an army belonging to us in the lonian Isles, which
ought not to be suffered to starve ; but if the Hon.
Geatlenian would get them the £OOO from any
other source they would be very much obliged to
him. It was well known that the Government was
obliged to purchase gunpowder where they could:—
The consequence was, that many complaints were
made of it in the American war. Government then
established manufactories of gunpowder, and since
that time there had been no complaints, and we had
now the best gunpowder in the world. It would
not be worth while to throw away the 4..%100,000,
which the manufactories cost, for the saving of
£lO,OOO :t-year.
Mr. Clt EEVEY said, an extraordinary answer had
been made to an objection which he felt an interest
in, as it was similar to one which be was about to
make. When it was objected that a sum should not
be voted for Gibraltar, because there were other
means of supplying that expense than by a vote of
Parliament, it was answered that it could be made
the subject of a separate motion, and this too in a
Committee of Supply—(Hear, hear).—Now he (Mr.
(7retwey) would not consent, on the part of the People
of England, to pay for the repairs of Forts at Barba •
does and the Leeward Islands: He would produce
an Act of the Assembly Of Barbadoes, which pro-
vided
for that purpose, without burthening the People
of England. Mr. Creevey then read the Act of the,
Assembly of Barbadoes of 1663, declaring that it
was necessary for several purposes relating to the Go-
vernment of those Colonies, and specially for " the
reparation of the Forts;' that a competent Revenue
should be raised, and that for those purposes they
granted a duty 0f.41/2 per Cent. to be levied on all
Imports—(Hear, hear).—What then had they to do
but to apply this Revenue? He would spew that
the Revenue existed. There were Papers before the
House shewing that the Duties had produced £57,000
a-year. But it had not been applied to the purposes
of the Colonial Act, and he would tell them why.
Instead of repairing the Forts, £1,500 was given
from it to Sir C. Lone; £5OO to Sir Home Popham
—('or what service from a Member on Me Mini-
•sterial side).—He (Mr. Creevey) did not know for
what Sir Home Popham bad got it, but not, he pre-
sumed, for repairing the Forts ! Mr. Huskisson had
another Pension, Lord Hood another, the Honour-
able Fulke Greville, and Lady Mansfield another,
with various others ; and by these several Lords and
Ladies, and Gentlemen, this Fund was swallowed
up, which should go to the repair of the Forts. There
was the Colonial Act creating the Duty, there was
the money raised by it, and which instead of repair-
ing the Forts, went into the pockets of Ladies and
Gentlemen!—(lfear,hcar).—This was a subject which
had been before spoken of, but never discussed ade-
quately, because it had never been discussed by it-
self. The Act bore date 1663. For some time after,
it was not applied as it should be. In the time of
Queen Anne, the Planters of Barbadoes petitioned
the Crown on the subject, and the House of Com-
mons addressed the Crown. Mr. Secretary Vernon,
from the Queen, declared to the Ilouse, that the
Fund should be thereafter applied to the repara-
tion and erection of Forts, &c.—(Hear, hear).—
In the Civil List Act of that day, in going over the
small hereditary Revenues, the 4i per cent. duties
Were always excepted. So far was he from thinking
that this was not a fit time for bringing forward this
Subject, it was, in his opinion, the very time. They
should tread in the steps of the House of Commons
of the reign of Queen Anne. He was quite sure that
when the question came to be understood in the
country, that it would not be endured that they
should vote a sum for the reparation of the Forts in
the Leeward Isles, when there were funds specially
for that purpose. He was sure that the country
would not, without dissatisfaction, see its Represen-
tatives not only not apply this money to its proper
purpose, but put it into their own pockets, and bur-
then the people to make up the deficiency. When
the process was understood, it would not be long en-
dured. His experience gave him considerable ex-
pectations on this subject. When he, first made a
motion in the House on the two overgrown Teller-
ships of the Exchequer, he was almost hooted out of
the House, such was the clamour at his having
thought of invading the sacred rights of property.
But the progress of opinion respecting those offices,
after that exposure, was speedily such, that the Noble-
men found all at once that the circumstances of the
country were so peculiar that they could not feel jus-
tified in retaining the superfluous emolument, and
after receiving it for nineteen years, begged to be re-
lieved from it for the future!—(A laugh). They knew
that though there were only forty-64e Members in
the House against them, there was not one man in
the country for them. The pensions charged on the
41 per cent. fund was so contrary to law and de-
cone', that he was quite certain that when the thing
was fully known the Ladies and Gentlemen would all
be desirous to take their leave!—(A lave). He was
happy to find that it was lately stated in the HouCe
that ;1 prospective claim of £l5OO a-year on this fund
had been abandoned. He had not before known the
fact, but he hoped to see the Lords and Ladies drop'
ed. one by one— (A laugh). He should take the sense
of the Committee, and if defeated, he should divide
on the Report, and if he was not then successful, he
should make a specific motion on the subject. His
intention was, when the vete came which embraced
that item, to move an Amendment to omit the ex-
pense of the fortification of the Leeward Islands. As
to another subject, he remarked that the confusion
of the estimates of the military half-pay and civil
snper-annuations was a violation of the Act of the
50th Geo. 111. ch. 15. In the Army Estimates, the
expenses were, in obedience to that Act, stated sepa-
riaely under each head.
Mr. W ARD, in reply, contended that this was not
t:.e pinker time for inquiry into the application of