Star.
London, England, 1810-02-27 00:00:00

it'll—WM was olvinplitis perstalall=Viter, tig
the high and palmy virtues of his reign, and not ter
that unworthy influence about which .50 much had
been said. Allusions were made to what the people
expected; and this was one great cause why he should
oppose the present infringement of the Royal prero-
gative. The more noise there was out of doors, the
more firm, in this case ought that House to he found.
Lord ARDWICKE said, that he had heard of

no clamour about the Bill. Some expectation of ad-

vantages was held out from it; and, under the cir-
cumstances of the country, he wished their Lordships
to reflect whether this was a time to disappoint the

public expectation ?
Ldrd BORRINGDON declared himself friendly

to the fill: as facilitating future regulations in the
public econainy. (Hear, hear.) Still he thought the
benefits to be derived from it, or the evils to be re-

medied by it, had been excessively exaggerated ;
that, in fact, its operation would be prospective, and
not immediate. Referring it as to individuals, he
thought the granting of places in reversion produc-
tive of numerous calamities. Either persons were
frequently found incapable of filling the places to
which they succeeded in reversion ; or, tired of long
waiting for such places, they were seen to dispose of
their prospective emoluments for any temporary con-
sideration, and thtia plunged themselves into the
deepest state of misfortune. Reversionary anticipa-
tions also too often prevented men from exerting their
natural abilities, and availing themselves of advan-
tageous circumstances. As the country looked for
benefit from the 13W, and great mortification and
disappointment would occur if it was not encouraged
by that House, he, for one, wished it to proceed.
Lord REDESDALE entered into a minute and
,extensive examination of the principles of the bill, its

- rbrd GROSVENOk rnsejureplf, And twit a
succinct view of the.arguniz;ntOtiil statements which
Hbad been urged again4t his motion. He was very
pointed in reference to Mr. Rose's pArnplilet, which,
he said, after labouring to prove a vast deal, proved
nothing. The antiquity which had heen'urged by a
Noble and Learned Lord in favour of the system
complained of, was no argument in its favritit:'lt
was remarkable, he s:tid, that Ministers were peen- •
liarly reserved on the present question ; but he thought
it would better become them to speak:out ; and he
would advise them, for Glace, at least to consult the
temper and teelings of the people ; to shew them
that some disposition existed in the Legislature to
comply with the general wish, and. that the door
to political reform was not to be perpetually closed.
The LORD CHANCELLOR now put the ques-
tion upon the second reading, when the House di,
vided :—,Contents 33—Proxies 34-67—Non-contents
49—Proxies 47-106.—Adjourned at half past nine.

objects, hearings, and consequences. He considered
it as having a tendmcy to infringe on the established
and salutary prerogative of the Crown. Much as.
had been said about the influence of that prerogative,
largely as it had been magnified in popular report, a
calm and candid investigation of the truth would
shew, that the Royal influence, so far from being ex- •
orbitant at this time, was much inferior to the influ-
ence which prevailed in former reigns, and even in
that of King Charles the First. He could not disco-
ver any just or sufficient argument against reversio-
nary grams or pensions. Many Noble Lords were
now in possession, and most honourably in the pos-
session, of such grants and pensions ; and he could
not readily prevail on himself to believe, that those
Noble Lords would be very ready to relinquish them,
at least from any arguments that night advanced.—
,His Lordship adverted.to a pamphlet lately publish-
ed (Mr. Rose's) in which it was clearly proved, that
the influence of the Crown, so far from being iri
creased during the present reign, had been in a gra-
dual progreis of reduction, and that it must ne,:es-
sarily suffer diminution in proportion to the increas-
ing commercial wealth of the nation. He considered
the bestowing of reversionary grants as no more than
equitable remuneration for meritorious services,
whether those services were performed in the army,
navy, or in any other department of the state. The
immediate object of the motion he did not consider
as being very important ; but from the manner of
its introduction, combined with other circumstances,

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
Jonstrrortr, from the Chief Secretary's Office in Ireland,
presented an account of the Imports and Exports of Bullion to
and from that country.. .
The Slierlis of the City of London brought up an Address
from the Lord Mayor,
,Aldermen and Commoners a4sernhied,
against the Bill for granting a pension of £2OOO a year to Lord
Wellington —Ordered to lie ou the Table.
Mr. LONG postponed his Motion relative to the proceedings
of the Treasury in the case of the Sarah Maria, b consequence of
the absence ct Lord Cochrane.
Alderman COOMgE withdrew his Motion, standing for to-
MOrtOW3re:Apccting the Answer of his Maiesty'► Ministers to the
4:ity of London, on the pree•mration of the Address demant'.ir•g
an Inquiry into the Causes of the Faiore of the Scheldt Erpedt-
tion, for the present, in consequence of Lord 'Temple having
given notice of a Motion to that effect.
WEST INDIA DOCK COMPANY.
Mr. BAR HAM rose, in pursuance of his notice,

lie felt himself peremptorily called upon to oppose it.
-

to call the attention of the House to the concerns of
this Company, which he was induced to do from the
solicitations of some respectable Gentlemen. The
circumstance to which he had particularly to allude,
was a departure, on the part of that Company, from
the Act passed in the 396 of the King for their gui-
ctance. He understood the Act particularly speci-
fied that the proprietors of the Dock were not to re-
ceive more than ten per cent. for the property which
they sunk in establishing it; and that all surplus of pro-
fits was to go to a reversionary fund, for the benefit of
the public, by reducing the debt, :Lad thus lessening
, the duties imposed on ships lading and unlading in
the Docks, to a lesser sum than was deemed neces-
sary to be paid in the infancy of the Company. It
was for the abuse and misapplication of this fund that
he now had to complain. He understood that the
subscribers were paid the full sum of ten per cent. and
that the Income Tax was paid out of the whole mass
of profits, by which means the subscribers received a
dividend equal to eleven per cent. contrary to the words
of the Act. The public were consequently deprived
of the advantage which would accrue to them, were
any subscriber to pay the Income Tax on his own di-
vidend. In order to account for these abuses, there-
fore, he should move that " the annual accounts pre-
sented to the House respecting the Direction of the
West India Docks be referred to the consideration of
a Select Committee • and the said Committee be in-
structed to report their observations and opinions
thereon."

Mr. HIBBERT said the Court of Directors had

Lord DARNLEY' professed to have listened with f not infringed the Act of Parlidment in any degree.
profound attention to the arguments and reasoning At tlie time the act was passed, there .was no Income
advanced on the present question ; and he could not Tax collected ; and after that Tax had been adopted,
repress his astonishment at what he heard from the a long conflict took place amongst the Directors as
Noble and Learned Lord who spoke last, especially to the propriety of continuing to pay the subscribers
when that Noble and Learned Lord maintained, that ten per cent. ; and after mature consideration, it was
the influence of the Crown had not only been, during determined that the Property Tax was n to be levied
the present reign, comparatively small ; but that on the indivilual, but paidout of the general profits of
such influence must naturally diminish in proportion the Company. The Honourable Lientleman son•
to the accumulating commercial wealth of the court- chided by opposing the motion.
try, that is, that the influence of the Crown must de- Mr. MAR RIO rr conceived, that even if the
cline in the same proportion as excisemen and tax- Property Tax was paid out of the reversionary fund,
gatherers are multiplied. He conjured their Lord- and the proprietors received their ten per cent. it
ships to take into their view the present state of the would not be deemed preposterous, nor could the
country, and conformable to the hopes and expecta- profit they gained be called more than liberal.
tions of the country, and to its true interests, as well After a few words from Mr. ROSE. and Mr.
as those of the Royal Family itself, to give effect to BARING in reply,
the present bill. And he ardently hoped, that if any The question was put and carried.
of the Royal Family were now present, they Would HIS MAJESTY'S ANSWER TO TIH ADDRESS 017 THE HOUSE.
participate in those sentiments, and adopt that policy, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER ap-
and not allow a false veneration for antiquated error geared at the Bar with the Answer to the A ildress,
to prevent the interposition of salutary reform. praying the production of such papers, memorandas,
Lord ELDON left the Woolsack, and said he or narratives, as his Majesty may have received from
could not give a silent vote upon the present question, the Earl of Chatham relative to the Scheldt Expedi-
which he conceived to be involved in circumstances ,tion.—The EARL of CHATHAM asked his Majesty's
of importance more entitled to their Lordships' seri- permission to report to him his proceedings during
ous consideration, than the bare question itself, or the Expedition to the Scheldt, when his Majesty was
any benefit that could be expected to result from it graciously pleased to comply with his request. His
in a financial point of view. But he must take this oc-. Majesty received the Earl of Chatham's Narrative on
casion to observe, that as to the principle of that part the 15th of January last, and held it in his possession
of the royal prerogative respecting grants in reversion, till the 10th of February, when the Earl of Chatham
he conceived it to be inherent in the Crown, and for begged it might be returned to him in order that he
the best and wisest purposes. And he felt the more might make some alterations. The Report, as al-
confident in maintaining that doctrine, as he was for- tered, was tendered to his Majesty on the 14th of
titled in it by the high sanction of Lord Chief Justice February, when he directed that it should be deli-
Hale, and by that of another great man, Lord Coke. vered to the Secretary of State. His Majesty did not
With respect to the alledged inutility of such grants keep any copy of this Narrative in his possession, nor
for efficient purposes, he )rad the experience of sixty has he at any time before or since received any other
years, which taught him that men were not more paper or memorandum.
grateful for acts in possession than for those in rever- Mr. WHITBREAD then rose. In any thing
sign. But the main objection his Lordship had to which he was about to say, or in any question which
this bill was what he had before inforced, the infor- he should put to the Right Honourable Gentlemen
mality with which it was brought into that House.— on the other side of the House, he wished to guard
The Bill required &liberation rather than decision. It' himself against misinterpretation. His veneration for
had arisen in another House, and had for its object the Crown, as well as his personal respect for his Ma
nothing more, at least immediately, than suspension. lesty, would not suffer him to make any erroneous
Nothing had since resulted to make that suspension imputation ; he trusted, therefore, he should be exci-
permanent, and yet that House was called upon, with- nerated from any such motive in the question he should
out any document, proof, or even argument adduced, propose. He begged leave to .ask, therefore, which
to make the suspension perpetual. He rested his of his Majesty's Privy Councillors, who was a Mem-
objection, net on the individual motion now before ber of that House, took his Majesty's pleasure upon
their Lordships, for he by no means would object to the Address of that House ?—[Plere the most profound
any wise, general, and efficient system of financial silence reigned through the House.]
economy. But he would not consent to abolish this Mr. WHITBREAD.---" What am Ito under-
part of the regal prerogative, while the power of re- stand from this silence ? Is it that the question will
vcrsionary grants in other quarters (the Admiralty not be answered ? or am .I to put it is any other.
and Ecclesiastical Courts) remained untouched. His manner ?
Lordship made a pointed allusion to the reversions The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
which bad been laudably bestowed upon the illustri- said, he was ready to return an answer to any ques-
°us ancestor of the Noble Lord (Hardwicke) who now tion put by the House—(Hear, hear,)—if,thcre was
opposed the principle, and upon-other eminent per- any thing arising out of the answer of his Majesty
soas who succeeded him in that high office which he which could call for an explanation. But when a
(Lord Eldon) now held. His Lordship repeated, questiou was put in a sort of 'threatening manner, he
that he did not at present contend for the permanency' wished that it should be adopted by the'House before
of reversionary grants, but far due time to deliberate ;heanade.any reply.—(Crietof NettecAlitiiroon the Mini-
on so important a subject:. The motion of coarse he I.rterial side of the Nowt. y '• 7' 4
must oppose. I Mr. WHITBREAD s'aid-, *gat he had not put the

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